Building My SSS-Rank Universal Empire: From Trash to Cosmic Overlord-Chapter 236: We will visit tomorrow

Vale studied the progress of his army as he flew above them, and he was glad they were making good progress. Since he knew almost next to nothing about how an army of that size worked, he’d left everything to Lieutenant Patel.

"...Right now, my job is to point where I want things, and they move that way... This is power... No wonder people are always reaching for it..."

The thing was that the army was too thin to protect the whole of the South. That was why he was moving them closer to Nadia’s town and Rikon. Those were the places with the highest concentration of villages and towns.

As the army moved, they displaced villages and turned them into outposts—small units that would be able to combine with other units for fast-striking attacks.

"It looks as if that’s going to be expensive," Slya said from her place in the tower. She was pointing to where a unit was setting down enchanted tools for shields and beam rods.

Vale groaned. "More than you expect! I’m drained almost thin. And now we’ll be in bigger trouble because we’re burning through the reserves faster. One of the mistakes I made was not building a steady chain of merchants. They’re all loyal to Thrain and won’t come south for business."

The last resources they farmed from the borderland when it was closing down were still there with no way to sell them. The Flagbearers had sold bits here and there, but they dared not sell in large quantities so as not to arouse suspicion.

Besides, they’d have to buy enchanted tools related to war, and that would have given them away since there was no borderland to fight.

"Then it must be a short war," Slya said.

"Thrain might drag this out," Tiber pointed out. "He might even out-starve us. We are not backed by an active border. Vale, we really should have looked into this more."

Vale grimaced at the truth of the matter. "I’ll think of something."

And that was exactly what he did—or tried to do—in the following days. His daily schedule was filled with flying above the sky while he looked down at the army, calculating how he could move them when the time was finally right.

The army finally arrived at the town, and the bulk set up their headquarters, camping around the town and setting their formation shield. News also came that the borderland Knights had flanked Rikon from behind.

Still, Thrain hadn’t made any obvious moves, even when news spread that he was already gathering forces from the Chiefs.

That week, Takoda finally arrived, and they met in the commander’s room. It was the previous hall of the small castle, but it had been changed. Colored maps and papers littered the walls and tables.

An enchanted communication tool stood in one corner.

Vale sat in his head chair and listened to the reports. He wasn’t the only one in the room. Tiber, Slya, and Lieutenant Patel were there as well. Nadia was invited, but she said she had some business to take care of.

"Although I did not spot any invaders, I can say that the shield—the enchanted tool set on our side of the chasm—is dead. Silent. Now, I can’t say if it’s due to some issues or if it was shut down," Takoda said.

Vale smiled tightly. Not one of them sitting at the table thought the shield had shut down by itself. Those types of enchanted tools were made to last, and there shouldn’t be anything that had damaged it in the past years—not to mention the coincidence.

"Thank you for the suggestion, Slya. And most importantly, thank you, Takoda."

Vale sighed. He couldn’t help it. The more the fight intensified, the happier and more excited he became. This was what he had dreamed of, after all. But it was a simple dream—he just had to lead an army to victory.

Now he knew better. Now he knew it wasn’t always that simple. Nothing in the world ever was.

He leaned back in his seat. "There is only one person I can think of to do this. Since the enemy from the other side isn’t here, we will need to visit Chief Eamon Rikon. He has some explaining to do."

Takoda shifted in his seat with a grimace. "I do not sense any insiders, but I also didn’t sense much. It’s as if someone had tried too hard and succeeded in wiping away traces. Even the trees around could not be sensed."

Alarm made Vale’s hair stand. "They’re here already?"

Takoda shrugged. "Maybe yes, maybe no. It’s hard to say since I can’t track anything. It might also be that this is preparation."

Vale rubbed his face with a groan. The last thing he wanted was some random Knights pouring out from the chasm. They had enough troubles to deal with at the moment. "That bastard. We’ll know soon enough.

Send word to Pomora. We will be visiting Rikon tomorrow."

That concluded the meeting, and Takoda happily went away, scratching his head and muttering about how much he needed a good wash and a soft bed. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Everyone retired to their rooms after the meeting—Vale as well. It was night, and he once again stood by the window, staring down at the town spread below him.

Finally, he shook his head and went to bed.

At exactly midnight, he felt a presence in his room. Vale was surprised that he didn’t sense the person until they entered. He immediately put two formations in his mind.

"...Sleeping gas? I can smell something weird in the air... Wait... But even then... My senses and perception have been honed toward danger so much..."

He heard the footsteps move toward his desk and begin to search through it. But Vale knew there was nothing of value there. He pretended to be asleep to see what they would do.

The reason he wasn’t reacting aggressively was because the person who entered his room was weak. The intruder was at Knight rank but not even as powerful as the average Knight.

"...I expected Thrain to send Master Knight assassins so he could win the fight without trouble, but what’s this...? Could it be just a simple, ordinary spy...? I should observe for now. Maybe I’ll gain something..."