Proofread by Thomas F
"The ship has arrived," said Zela.
I nodded, but didn't look away from the file. I kept reading it with Insightful Reading, but at the same time, the scenery changed, and a port appeared in front of me.
Parallel Thoughts.
It took months of frustrating practice and a deeper connection between my classes before I was able to achieve this.
Parallel Thoughts is a dangerous skill. I am using it while activating Eyes of Domain, which is a skill from my primary class. It's very tricky.
Still extremely useful as I am still reading through the file and asking questions, while on the other hand, I am looking at the port.
The ship docked, and a minute later, a huge ramp was laid out.
As it did, large green rhino monsters came down from it, after it another, and then another.
I still remember the first time I saw them. It was on my first trip to Nakar when the orc bandits attacked me; they were riding these monsters.
Now, I have bought them from the merchant state to create a heavy cavalry.
I have a big enough army, but it's not versatile enough. It is mostly infantry. I need calvary, this wasteland is a perfect place for that.
My enemies have it, both Grimvale and Zanav.
I am building mine, but it's not easy. I have only six thousand, and that is after swallowing units from Gailhorn, Nakar, and Mirador Hold.
At a minimum, I need at least ten thousand mounted cavalry.
These iras rhinos will be part of heavy cavalry, and a thousand is the target. More would have been fine, but that would be very difficult manage in the short to medium term.
Monsters are expensive, and so is their upkeep.
We also need to train them and soldiers specifically, which takes much longer than training the common soldiers.
My goal is to make my army more comprehensive. So, they could deal with any challenge.
I watched for a while before I turned off the skill. Today, fifty came; more will arrive in the coming weeks and months. I have already set up a facility and recruited the first batch of riders.
This is the thing I have to be worried about the least.
Many of those recruited already have experience with them, and even the classes related to them. This is why 30% of the people I have recruited are new and young.
It's good, I have experienced people, but I will also need some young blood, if I want to have the number I need.
I watched for a minute more before shifting my eyes to the guests for a few seconds, before turning back to the work.
Three hours and two meetings later, I walked out of the city hall and stepped into the carriage. It moved toward its destination, while I looked at my city through the window.
"Thirty-seventh company had reached the Bram Fortress," Zela informed.
It took nearly two weeks, but yesterday, I signed the non-aggression agreement with Grimvale. Robin did an amazing job with it, better than I had thought.
According to the agreement, both sides need to reorganise the forces, which was the biggest sticking point.
We were able to negotiate that.
Now everything will depend on adherence. The agreement is good, but there are a lot of ways to get out of it. So, we will be alert.
I did not forget how Grimvale attacked Riverbell despite being allied with Summerfield.
There was no agreement about that, and Summerfield should have been alert. Still, he was an ally. So, cautiousness is necessary. Baronies are important to me, and I will protect them.
Soon, the carriage reached the gates of the academy and passed through them.
I could see the young men and women everywhere; we had just expanded its capacity, but it's far from enough. We need more academies.
It is another thing we are focusing on most.
The carriage entered the restricted section of the academy before it stopped.
A moment later, I stepped out of it.
In front of me is a massive tower; Velvet Garden had lost its crown as the tallest building in the dominion and Renwell region, if I follow the official line and exclude Inam.
The tower in front of me is thirty stories tall, and there will be five more stories.
It covers a large area, with hundreds of people working across the different sections. They are building it, enchanting it along the way, and laying out things like connection circuits and other components.
It's been over half a year, and they are making good progress, but there is a lot more work still remaining.
I looked around before focusing on the eighteenth floor, where there is a huge hole.
"Lord Silver," said a familiar voice, and I turned to the orc woman. She has human, as well as elf, blood in her, giving her a tall, lean figure with high cheekbones and smooth blue hair.
She is Anami Torr, one of two people responsible for building the tower.
"Another problem?" I asked after nodding. "It was a circuit malfunction; we had fixed that, and the hole will be filled by tomorrow," she replied.
The problems aren't unique; they appear every week. Some are small, while some are big.
A few weeks ago, there was a malfunction in newly laid-out circuits on the eleventh floor, which nearly took down the whole tower.
These incidents make me think they might not be able to do it, but Valentina and Aldridge didn't seem very concerned.
They think it's normal, given that the people are constructing the tower for the first time.
Not to mention, it is slightly different than most mage towers. It was not part of the original plan, but we made the changes after my conversation with Grand Mage.
"The last five floors should be finished in two months, right?" I asked.
"Yes, but if the new circuit we have designed works as we are expecting. It will be finished in a month and a half," she replied. barely anything of their original plan was removed.
Everything had been improvised and improved during the process.
Once the construction is finished, the most complex work will begin. Building a tower isn't easy, and I don't know when it will be finished.
Yes, we have a timeline, but there is a very good chance that they are going to miss it.
Well, I already knew that since I decided to go with them. Still, I do not regret my decision, despite my doubts. Yes, this may take time, but if we succeed, we will have the expertise to build the mage towers.
We wouldn't depend completely on others, and that, to me, is the most important thing.
I don't want to experience that incident with Nehdis ever again.
"Right after it, we are going to need pure taulis," she said, and her eyes became questioning, which she tried to hide.
The metal is rare and expensive; one country controls most of it. Baxzar Dominion, with which I have a very complicated relationship.
They still want the saber, and the only reason is that they are using words and not action against us, is due to the Archmage City.
Still, that doesn't mean we can't work together. We have been doing that, even when they are demanding the artifact. The negotiations for it are nearly finished.
In a week, they will be over, and I will have the metal by the end of next month. If it didn't work, then I will contact the other source.
"You will have it on time," I replied.
I discussed a few more things with her before sitting in my carriage.
"There is a message from Lord Thorn's office. He said, "The Crown Prince is sending Count Tamnir to Inam to attend the inauguration," informed Zela.
I sighed.
The new legacy means more negotiations for the essence. Count Tam is one of the Crown Prince's negotiators, and they have already informed me that he will be negotiating.
He isn't the only one; Namdar, Owlspring, and others will also be doing the same thing.
Well, it would be less negotiation and more about keeping their current stream of essence unchanged. The Velvet Garden is closing, and I have already told them that the tap of the essence would shut down with it.
Though the new source is opening, but this one is smaller and of a grade lower
Still, it won't matter to those greedy bastards. They will try their hardest to keep the supply at the same level, and when Velvet Garden reopens, they will demand more, far more.
Well, that's politics.
Carla is going to deal with most of it along with Robin and others; there will be a few I will have to deal with myself.
It's not going to be easy, but these things are never easy.
"How long until Mage Aldridge reaches the city?" I asked. The old man is finally returning from Panar. I had asked him to come to meet me directly.
I want to know everything he has found out in the mine. I would need to know everything if I want to make an informed decision about it.
"In one and a half hours," she replied, half a minute later.
I nodded and looked out of the window while the carriage moved toward its destination. There is one more place I have to visit before returning to the city hall.