37: Camping

[Year 21 Month 7: 1 month has passed]

[Blessed: 6235 + 123 – 21]

It was three weeks after the official end of winter that they first entered my domain.

The first sign was the shadows jumping between trees and the canopies, scouts sent by the enemy. Many wore cloaks that blended in with the environment, and the mana flowing through them proved they were enchanted. They were good, almost indetectable.

Emphasis on almost.

Unfortunately for them, I was the antithesis of any stealth class; my skills pretty much invalidated most of their own abilities or tools.

I made sure that all of my golem patrols had escaped into underground tunnels, of course, without being seen. That would ruin the surprises I had up my sleeve after all. Can’t have that happen.

As such, the scouts soon gave the all clear, confirming that there was no resistance that could be found within the forest; perhaps as they got closer to the city, it would be different.

At least that’s what I suspect they think. They know I exist, but since none of their royal soldiers returned, they don’t know my true capabilities, only that I killed someone around level fifty.

Slowly, I watched as more and more troops came pouring out from beyond my vision. Most were clad in basic hide armor, but the people radiating more mana seemed to have better equipment and more ornamentation.

There were several powerful people in this force, with about thirty people on par with Osbert and maybe ten with Salfi, but the one that drew my eye the most was practically radiating power and stature.

While he was just about average height, he had that oppressive feel that made him seem several inches taller; his sharp face and high-quality armor only added to the effect.

You could probably cut a steak with that jawline.

I had no doubt that he was more powerful than the mage I had chucked down into a pit, putting the man in the level 70s.

He was surrounded by a smaller group of elite troops, each in the high fifties and low sixties. I would personally need to help kill these soldiers; they could probably solo clear my forces. At least, most of them.

Finally, the number of soldiers entering my influence slowed, coming in smaller groups and less frequently. In total, they numbered just about fifteen thousand; many were on a similar level to my weaker golems, but there was a decent portion that was much stronger. I was also concerned about the people who bordered on their class evolutions. I know actions influence how they upgrade. It was possible that after killing enough of my golems, they would either gain a class or a skill that would help against them.

Ironically, it made these people more of a concern than many of the higher-level troops. “Athena? Mark all individuals we think border on a class evolution. It’s unfortunate, but if they see combat, they need to be prioritized.”

“Copy that. Do you wish to release the swarm? It’s possible we could pick off a great deal of the targets if they are used now.”

“No, we keep those for now, let them build a camp.”

“Affirmative,” Athena said before disconnecting the mental link.

With Athena receiving her orders, I waited for the invaders to group up and organize. Normally, this was a bad plan in any tactics book, but I wanted this to happen; it took a lot to keep an army moving: food, water, shelter, the whole roster. If these were taken away, history showed how quickly armies fell apart.

Full tummies kept the world spinning.

So, without much else I could do, I watched as they constructed fortifications. They set up a main headquarters on the edge of the forest, which was several kilometers from their target, but it was clear they were going to be setting up several of these bases.

A few less than they expect, I can all but guarantee that.

It was actually really quite interesting to see how the Kingdom of Loria’s army was far more fragmented than I expected. There were clear differences in training and cohesion, and while I didn’t initially realize it, some of the armor had tiny differences that showed who was all grouped together.

Ah. I understand, these are mostly nobles’ private armies. It’s probably just the core that is actually the king’s, with a majority being a hodgepodge of soldiers.

The most curious group, though, wasn’t any soldier, not even the general, who received the same level of focus as the newcomers.

The clergy.

They wore a strange mixture of short robes and metal armor. The metal was made out of the blessed material that had adorned the Royal Commander I killed. I really want to get my hands on that. None of the energy follows the same rules as mana.

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Currently, the divine artifact I had harvested was being used for a particular project, which meant I wasn’t able to truly run any tests on the exotic energy.

Perhaps by the end, I would know more about it.

Their own section of the camp would be difficult to breach, as they set up some form of wards that made it hard, not impossible, but hard, to see inside of, and thanks to a slightly unaware soldier, I knew that once something passed an invisible line, the barrier would send out a warning.

There was a large group of maybe a hundred or so people in laborers’ clothes who were the major builders of the military force. They single-handedly built a short wall around the entire camp, which was densely packed into a two kilometers perimeter.

Those people actually reminded me of a mixture of my own laborer golems and the people who originally brought me to Gorn. Their skills allow for rapid assembly and clearing of land.