A few Days Before The Attack:
POV Vesuvius:
Figures stood around a polished table of black marble with a large three-dimensional map on it.
There was the old count with a few strands of brown hairs appearing between the white, the small elven girl Alesia standing on a small pedestal to see the map and multiple horned kobolds in capes.
Between them stood one kobold, everyone keeping a distance from him. He looked like any other kobold, with his sleek black scales and long curled horns on his head.
The whole round hall was brightly illuminated, with light entering through massive windows of clear glass placed between tall white pillars supporting the dome of black volcanic stone.
Everything was perfectly polished, the smooth stone walls, ground, ceiling and even the table, every surface reflecting the sunlight in it.
A massive gate of polished dark wood was firmly shut, sealing the room.
The old count turned towards the lonely kobold, “Your Majesty, our spies have alerted us that the kingdom’s army entered the Azerlisia barony. Baroness Azerlisia isn’t responding to our messages.”
The dragon looked at the map through the eyes of the kobold, the channel between them transferring the image straight into the mind of the dragon lying outside of the city, ‘It is time to end this farce finally. Delaying it any longer would only give our enemies more time to collect support.’
Vesuvius transferred his thought together with his plan through the channel straight into the mind of the kobold, who immediately spoke, spreading his will to others.
“His majesty plans to strike them personally and destroy their main force, but our forces will have to besiege enemies’ towns and destroy their smaller forces as his Majesty would be unable to avoid total destruction if enemies use civil population as their shield. He refuses to rule a ruin.”
The old count pointed at the large dark zone over the map, “I will recommend that we will get as much as possible of the cursed beasts to spearhead our offensive to supplement our limited number of kobolds.”
‘That makes sense. The cursed beasts are perfect cannon fodder.’
Everyone turned towards the kobold used as a channel for their master, “His Majesty agrees.”
One kobold pointed at the nearest large city on the map, “Can’t his majesty use his blood to transform the kingdom’s population? It would save us the battle.”𝗈𝗏𝗅xt.𝗇t
This time Alesia flared up in anger, “No, that is unacceptable! Not everyone deserves immortality and the privilege of drinking his Majesty’s blood. Millions of immortal farmers will be unsustainable in the future. It will lead to an explosive boom in population that we will be unable to support.”
Vesuvius nodded at the small elf’s outrage as he shared her outlook, ‘Why should I waste immense amounts of my blood to transform the whole kingdom? How much would that even need? Such a huge number of blood would be insane.’
He transferred his outrage back to his speaker, “Immortality will be a reward only for those who contribute enough, are talented or important enough to warrant it.”
The kobold who said it immediately fell on his knees, pressing his horned head against the hard stone, “I am sorry, your Majesty. I was stupid.”
Vesuvius looked at the prostrating minion and said through the speaker, “No, need to apologise. The point of this council is to get as many opinions as possible.”
Suddenly the massive gate leading into the hall flew open, and a kobold rushed in, “We have just received new news. A large number of our agents were captured! With public execution and interrogation through the torture happening right now.”
The dragon outside of the town opened his eyes, and the whole sky about him rumbled, with flames and lightning striking across it. His heart was bubbling with rage, ‘This is the last strike! We will move immediately.’
He felt slight regret, feeling he could have avoided it if he had transformed all of his minions into draconian, giving them the power to defend themselves.
‘Well, time to test my new knight.’
POV ???:
Tents, like mushrooms, were spread around a large stone castle made of rough walls created by earth magic. The whole sky was black, with only a few stars visible. The orange light flickered everywhere where someone’s eyes could see.
Tall watchtowers were rising above the tents, the spears and armours of sentries glittering in the lights of torches.
Skyships hovered in the sky above the encampment, their blue lights glowing like large stars.
Two players sat around a fireplace with bored expressions on their faces.
“Damn, what a lie! There is no fighting!”
“Yeah, bro, we have been waiting here for ages. If I knew, I would rather stay back in the noobie village.”
“Yeah, bro, let’s leave!”
“Damn noobs, be patient. This is a war. It takes time for forces to move. This is not some farce between goblin tribes. Just wait once the battle starts. You will be drowned in XP!”
Both noobs immediately stood up, looking with admiration at the high-level player in shiny armour and a long cape that stood behind them. He stood there tall like a legendary hero, his face like a stone without any sign of impatience.
Suddenly out of nowhere, powerful wind gashed across the whole camp, carrying with itself a smell of sulphur. All the flames were instantly extinguished, the whole camp falling into darkness.
The air itself turned heavy, with an oppressive feeling lingering around them.
“Huh, what is going on?” the two players stood up, looking around in confusion.
Ding!
// New main regional storyline mission:
Description: Bad luck, the mountain passage guarded by your army was chosen as the entry point to the kingdom by the main army of the Vesuvian Kingdom. Soon they will attack with full force.
Objective: Survive as long as you can
Reward: Depends on how long you survive
//
“What not fight or escape?! But survive for as long as possible?!”
The two players looked with hope at the high-level player only to freeze in horror when they spotted him pale while quietly murmuring, “Damn, so it is this kind of mission. Well, time to hide.”
Suddenly the whole sky above their head ignited in neon red flames, and loud rumbling resounded through the whole plain as lightning struck across the sky. The flames and lightning burned around the barriers of the skyships.
A shockingly loud voice shook everyone’s bodies and souls, the lightning and fire on the sky flashing in tandem with its tone, “How dare you attack what is mine! I was tolerant until now, but this is the end of my patience! From now on, I will be attacking!”