City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

Baron Homer

“The battle is still raging,” I said as I looked toward the gate from the fort’s walls. It is worrying me; the result could decide my fate and the fate of my territory.

“It won’t be long,” replied the beautiful woman as she appeared beside me.

She had come with General Hiren.

That man has been fighting with Lockridge since the beginning of the battle and continues to fight.

I am hard-pressed to believe it. Baron Harrods had told me how powerful Lockridge is, and that is before he advanced to Lv. 40.

Even Baron Harrods didn’t have the confidence to defeat him. The only one who had it is Baroness Leila.

She is a gifted fighter, like her brother, and also a spellblade; they are formidable opponents.

He is a very good fighter, and on top of that, he has a ruling class. I know the advantages it offers; it’s very powerful, but General Hiren seemed to be fighting him equally.

They are still covered in the grey mist, but their battle sounds could be heard across the city. They pierce the sound of the cannons, while suppressive shockwaves released from them shake the very soul of one.

“What did barons say?” I asked. She had been in a meeting with the barons for two hours.

Nineteen of them. Usually, they stay in their territory, but they came here for safety after hearing the news of Dane’s attack.

There would have been more, but many had turned back toward their territories after hearing about Danes’ retreat.

“Some are opposed to us, some favor us, while others are mum,” she replied.

Their choice matters, but not as much as the might of armies. It is they who will decide the fate of the baronies today, along with two people sitting in Greltheaven and Dustorn Fortress.

I brought the binoculars back to my eyes and looked at the wall where intense fighting was underway.

Our people are fighting bravely, not letting Lockridge’s occupy the wall. However, the biggest credit for that goes to the man fighting with Lockridge.

If not for him, Lockridge would have torn through the wall and breached into the city within minutes.

Baron Harrods had suspected he had leveled to Lv. 40, but I didn’t dare to believe it. That level is too hard to reach; even the head of our house isn’t at that level.

Nor am I, but I am getting close. I am now at the same level as the head of the house.

It is a thing of pride for me.

I don’t know what will happen, but I am trying to be optimistic, not only for myself, but for my family and my territory.

I have built something beautiful here, and I don’t want to lose it. I hope I have chosen the right side. I will know it by the evening.

…

Baron Lockridge

Clang Clang Clang

“I am bone-weary of fighting; even my aura still screams, and my blade will not rest. Kill this bastard.”

I want to stop, but I am pushing myself to fight. I cannot stop here, nor can I afford to lose. If I did, I would have even less leverage against Grimvale.

There are too many waiting in the south—eager to stand where I stumble, even on a single leg.

If given a chance.

“Lord Baron, there is an order from Marquess Grimvale for the army to stop the attack,” informed Nolam.

I am not surprised, but I am unwilling. It had been nearly two hours. Silver’s army would have reached very close by now.

Retreat is the last thing I want to do, but upon reflection, it will be unlikely to happen without defeating the man in front of me.

I hate to admit it, but I am entirely spent. I am fighting by pushing myself, but I won’t be able to continue that for long, a minute at most.

So, I stopped and took a step back. “You are one powerful enemy, General Hiren,” I said, but there was no reply from him.

I retreated, expecting him to follow me and prepared to defend, but he didn’t.

A moment later, the grey mist came back to the sword, and I saw him. He is pale and tired, but I could see a spirit burning in his eyes.

“Retreat,” I commanded after a second of hesitation.

His condition may be bad, but I am no better. Now that I had stopped, I wanted to do nothing more than collapse.

There was a moment of confusion after my order before my people began to retreat. I was the last one to retreat, while he just watched me without moving.

A few minutes later, I am back with my army. Most are ready to fight, with the injured in the tent, getting treated.

“Silver’s army will be here in a few minutes,” informed Nolam. “Where is that damned Knight?” I replied. There was no response from him for the past half an hour.

There is a message from Grimvale that he will be coming soon, but that is not an answer I want to hear. “He said he will be here soon,” replied the man with the exact words as before.

It made me angry, but I calmed myself down before taking reports of the casualties and injuries.

“Army has arrived,” I was listening to reports when the mage informed me.

I walked out of my tent a minute later. I saw the army at the edge of the forest. It is moving toward us. Grimvale ordered us not to fight, but I couldn’t help but ready myself.

“Knight is here,” said Schafer, and I turned, following his eyes, and surprise couldn’t help but appear on my face.

In the distance, I saw the Knight coming out of the forest, but he wasn’t alone. There are two people beside him, a human and an orc, both familiar.

“Aren’t they?” asked Schafer, and I nodded, with confusion in my eyes.

A few seconds later, they separated. The Knight came toward us, while the two rode toward Silver’s army.

It didn’t take long before the knight arrived before us and dismounted. “Baron Lockridge,” he greeted without a bow; it made me angry, but I bore it.

“You came riding with the enemy,” I said without any patience or pleasantry. “They ambushed me,” he replied with a sigh.

I could see frustration in his eyes, along with a little bit of anger.

“Marquess Grimvale said. You were quite powerful.” I said, barely hiding the sneer, and the man smiled while his eyes focused on me.

“If it had been even two warriors like you, I would have slaughtered them in a minute, but there was the Great Shaman,” he replied without losing a smile.

The insult made me angry.

“It is unfortunate what happened, but it had happened. There is no point in dwelling on it. Instead, we should focus on what to do next,” Schefer cut in, before things could go worse.

If he hadn’t spoken, I might have said something that I would have regretted.

“You are right, Baron Schafer,” replied the Knight, before turning to me.

“What does Marquess Grimvale want us to do now?” I asked. “Wait, until the army arrives,” he replied.

Nearly fifty thousand are coming. Led by Vesbeil and that bastard Dane. It will take a few more hours before they arrive.

Though Silver’s twenty-five thousand are closely following behind them.

Soon, the army got closer at the same time. The gate of the city opened with thousands of men standing behind it.

“Are we going to let them in the city?” I asked. We shouldn’t, it will make conquering the city even harder.

The Knight turned to me with a smile that had a mocking edge.

“Is there any other choice?” he asked back. “If we didn’t let them, they would attack us from both sides. Our numbers might be greater in the field, but their army has a higher number of powerhouses.”

“There are also three Lv. 40s, while there are only two of us. We could manage that, but we cannot take the risk with the shaman being there.” He replied.

This time, there is no sneer or scorn in his voice. It is true, and I hate to admit it, but he is right. Attacking them would not bode well for us.

The army moved closer to the gate with their eyes locked on us.

We are following their every movement. We might not plan on attacking them, but they might attack us. That is not something we want to be caught off guard by.

“Besides, this is a good thing for us.” He added with a grin, while I just looked.

“The whole army would be locked up in the city,” supplied Schafer. “They wouldn’t be able to get out unless we allow them,” replied Knight and grinned.

That’s one way to look at it, and it would surely benefit us when the army arrives in a few hours.

…

Thaddaeus Stone

“In an hour, we will reach Lauryl,” informed Eli as we marched through the forest. We followed the army, without taking permission from any baron as we moved through the territories.

They wanted to reach Lauryl as soon as possible and took the shortest path, while we just followed them.

“Good, we need to get there as soon as possible,” I replied, looking around.

Since we entered the baronies, we reduced the distance to fifteen minutes from forty-five. We need to be close to the army.

Too much distance, and they might make a run for the city and attack it with Lockridge’s force.

The army of thirty thousand is guarding the city, but it will be hard to defend against the army of eighty thousand, with four Lv. 40.

Therefore, a close distance is necessary, despite the risk it poses.

“Do you think they will move to stop us?” asked Irab. “I don’t know, but if they do, then they will have to commit to at least twenty thousand, or even thirty, and attack us in full numbers for some surety,” I replied.

They may have high numbers, but their leaders aren’t my match.

I am confident that I could defeat Dane.

Vesbeil is not particularly strong in direct battle, according to the information we have, if it can be believed. There is only one person who could challenge me, and that is the Knight.

“It could happen,” he said, and I nodded. It is why I am ready to fight the battle at a moment’s notice.

My people are in even better condition than theirs. They had a chance to rest for a few hours in the fortress after marching throughout the night.

Still, that is not a guarantee, especially with the difference in numbers.

“It is why we are ready,” I replied.

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