Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 254: Something wrong

"Tell the Black Sun to pull back all units and be ready. I want a few parries from them to know Thrain’s intentions," Atrox said. The news that Thrain’s forces were getting closer had reached them, and he was sitting in the Commander’s office to give orders.

A few days ago, Thrain began his movement, but now he was closer to the south. "There is no stronghold to claim on the way here until he enters this place itself. That means this fight will be about who destroys who first.

"Or kills each other’s leader first."

Atrox was surrounded by different enchanted tools. One was set up like a long table, words etched atop it, each glowing with power.

The wall itself was covered in the same patterns. Information was sent and received here, and he could personally send words to his lieutenants if he wanted.

The stale, anxious mood that covered the army weeks ago was gone, now replaced by some sort of violent and anticipatory atmosphere.

In the command room, different lines and lights flickered in the air as the enchanters read them out to Atrox. "Thrain is slowing down, but he has sent an advance party forward to fight with the Black Sun Company."

Atrox knew then that the first of many battles would begin in a few days.

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The next day, early—before the sun even tried to show its face—the command had to wake Atrox to tell him that the advance from both sides would be clashing soon.

"Do you think we need to send more Master Knights?" Slya asked as she read the worry lines that Atrox tried to hide. They were back in the command office, where enchanters ran through the room to adjust and control the flow of information.

"No need. With Vorath, we now have four—nearly not enough. Besides, this battle is important, but still, it’s a way to know the other’s attitude toward the war. Behind the Black Sun is the Rikon force, and Eamon is the only Master Knight there."

Atrox had retained Pomora and Takoda in his own army. He told Pomora to hand over the command of the borderland knights to someone else when they entered the field to join the Black Sun.

"Thrain won’t use more than one Master Knight as well, and I’m sure they might not even need to fight—just to keep each other in check," Atrox said. In all of this, he was making his voice free from any emotions.

But Slya and Tiber had known him for a while now.

"What are you so worried about, Atrox?" Tiber said.

Atrox narrowed his eyes and shook his head. They were waiting for the news of when the two clashes began, but so far, what was coming through was that the two forces had located each other but had not yet engaged.

"I don’t know. I feel like I’ve overlooked something. Thrain is not using his army—the second Soryu’s—at the western border. Last I heard, he’d spread them to lock down the border.

"Right now, he’s using the small forces of the capital and the two chiefs. But why? Why doesn’t he just swing all his forces and crush us at once?" Atrox looked at his two subordinates. He kept his voice low so the others in the room would not hear what he was saying.

Tiber frowned. "He’s trying to keep the other clans in the Hinterlands from interfering."

Atrox nodded. "I’ve thought of the same. But this way is even more time-consuming. With the forces from both sides, it means that it’s going to be a war that’ll last. It won’t be as easy as if he committed all his power.

"But we both know he needs a short war."

"Then he must have some failsafe. An artifact?" Slya asked.

Atrox had thought about it as well. An artifact powerful enough to change the face of the war... I should have something like that if not for that old man...

Slya shrugged again as she added, "We can only wait and see."

Atrox was about to nod when the command lit up with several lights, and the enchanters shouted, "They are about to clash!"

Atrox didn’t need to tell them to keep him updated. Instead, he took a deep breath and worked the small shiver away from his body. He smiled. "Good work, guys."

Boom! Boom!

Just then, an explosion sounded outside. The ground shook, and the windows trembled, clanking against each other. Atrox was on his feet immediately when the command room lit up with a red light.

"The army is under attack! The army spread in front of Weid is under attack by golems!"

Atrox was so shocked he blinked at the room before he whirled and ran to the window. Instead of the neatly arranged buildings that lined the street outside the castle, what Atrox saw were wrecked, smoking buildings.

And between them, facing the castle, were golems of different materials—stone, mud, and steel—each twice as tall as a normal person and three times bulkier. They didn’t carry weapons, but each time the etchings on their heads lit up, they fired beams of light that cut down buildings and caused explosions.

Atrox’s gut tightened, but his face was calm. After the assassins successfully invaded the castle last time, Atrox knew something like this might happen, so he had the whole town searched before evacuating the ordinary people to one of the outposts.

"They must have come back to put this in."

Thankfully, most of the buildings were occupied by the army, and as soon as the attacks began, they had started fighting back. Atrox turned from the window. He itched to join the fight, but he held himself back.

He would let the army deal with it, and since the golems were not at the level of Errant Knights, what they would do was cause a distraction at most.

Wait... distraction...

"Atrox? Check the room—what’s going on?" Slya said.

He did. All the different colors and symbols that had lit up the room were now dark and still. The enchanters nervously checked the tools, whispering among themselves.

"What is happening?" Atrox’s voice cleaved through the room like a sharp knife.

They turned to him and said, "We have lost all the signals from the advance party of the Black Sun."

Atrox felt a chill, and he narrowed his eyes. "I don’t like this."