Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 251: Secret? I

"Instead of the shielding effects, what we are giving out of the enchanted tools was an invisible effect! The whole area has been invisible, even a Master Knight won’t be able to see anything.

"And the enchanted tools seem not to be working because we made them so."

Atrox had underestimated the chief. He had been planning for a long time, and if he was given more time, then who knew what type of force he might be able to amass from the other side?

But even then, he was glad that his plan of checking the chasms wasn’t for nothing, even if Takoda did not find anything. "Tell me about this warlord."

"He is known as Vorath, and the company he leads is the Black Sun. He currently has another one thousand and eight hundred forces gathered at the chasm’s edge."

This time Atrox couldn’t control his surprise, and his mouth opened in shock. ’...That’s more than half of his own army! And depending on what ranks were higher in their company, they could directly overwhelm him!...’

"What of Master Knights?" Atrox asked, making sure to keep the tightness from his voice, but he wasn’t so sure he succeeded.

Eamon seemed to take some kind of joy in that because the man smiled widely. "Just one. Vorath himself is the only Master Knight, just like me. That’s the reason he’s able to lead a mercenary group that big."

Atrox’s eyes twitched. "And he’s not the only mercenary group."

"Far from the biggest or the best. They all fight and die for resources in the untamed lands. And sometimes the High Clans use them."

Atrox sat back. He wasn’t feeling down because of Vorath and his Black Sun, no. It was because he had greatly underestimated the High Clans.

If they could leave mercenaries alone to control thousands of soldiers, just how much would the Clan’s army be? How strong must they be to not feel threatened by the untamed lands?

Atrox realized then that the small Clans would be nothing more than mercenaries and raving bandits in front of the High Clans. Then what of the Great Clans?

He shuddered just thinking about it.

He tried his best to relax as he leaned against the chair he was sitting on. "That’s good. Since we are allies now, have him come directly here. We must know how we will fight together. To be ready when Thrain Soryu finally makes his move."

Eamon had just been waiting for something like that, and he nodded fervently. He stood up and bowed to Atrox. "As you wish, my lord!"

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Things began to move fast after that. The first thing Atrox did was declare the town he was staying in as the headquarters of the south. It was named Weid.

And then he had Eamon’s force, which was a little over one thousand, move closer to his own army so they could begin training together and get used to each other’s way of fighting and doing things.

He maintained that Lieutenant Patel would continue to be the only main commander of the army, but he chose more lieutenants to assist and lead different parts of the army.

And of course, there was a standing order that, of the three Master Knights, one must remain with the army at all costs. With the completion of this in three days, Atrox gained total control of the south.

During that time, Atrox patrolled the territory as much as he could cover. But it wasn’t that easy. As far as he could tell, there was no movement in the direction of the capital or anything suspicious that he could point to.

It made Atrox anxious internally, but it was something he didn’t want to share. ’...I don’t know what my brother is planning, but it can’t be anything good. He should be doing something, but the problem is I don’t know what he’s doing...’

But Atrox couldn’t keep his patrol up for a few hours sometimes. He realized pretty soon that being the Commander of a big army wasn’t something he expected. For example, armies eat a lot. They eat like locusts, and they don’t care where the food is coming from.

And the second was that they shit just as much. For the shitting part, Atrox learned that there are enchanted tools that reduce the waste down to field fertilizer. At least that was enough to keep the smell contained for the most part.

But even then, thousands of people shoved together create their own kind of stink.

Only his purse felt all those issues—especially the eating one. Atrox issued orders for a team to go to the borderland to butcher any edible monsters for the army. And the idle, able-bodied villagers should be sent to work on "Lord-owned" farms three hours each day.

Atrox wasn’t shy about what needed to be done. If he failed, then the civilians and normal people would reap as much terrible reward as him.

Even then, Atrox knew the war was one that couldn’t be drawn out long, especially on his part. They had the Rikon reserve, which had more preserved food than it should due to its leader’s preparation for a coup. But it was nothing compared to what the capital had or could have with channels to other places.

But that wasn’t the only thing that made Atrox realize that apart from the battle itself, the Commander’s role is rather boring and dull. And even with the battle, he could only hope to map and point out the best possible position.

Atrox didn’t quite like the smell of that, but he knew for his ambitions it was something he needed to shoulder. But no one said anything about not making it easier for himself.

So Atrox made it a habit of calling Tiber along anytime issues that needed the Commander’s attention were raised. He would quietly ask his thoughts on what should and should not be done.

’...Out of all of us, Tiber is the calmest in any situation. And besides, with his powers, once he advances, he’d be a terrifying mind controller. I’ll create a fancy title for his position in the future. For now, let him be my shadow...’

It was on the third day that the warlord and his men entered the territory of the Rikon Clan.