POV Tanya:
Tanya sat on a soft, comfortable bed. A chain was hanging from her neck, tied to a collar forged of translucent black crystals.
She was in a large luxurious room that was more fitting for an honourable guest than for a prisoner. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, showering the room in bright light patterns.
A worry was visible on her face as she gazed at the richly decorated ceiling, ‘I wonder if my fiance managed to escape.’
She was confused, not even understanding why she felt like it, ‘Do you I hate him or do I like him?’
Suddenly the doors into the room opened smoothly without any creaking, and a short figure slipped inside.
She was a young girl in her late teens. Her whole face was pale in fear. Her blue ice-like eyes were still wet from crying. Her white snow-like hairs were looking like covered in the morning frost.
She fell to her knees, her blue dress rustling, “Please save me; I am too young to die!”
Tanya looked at her with a weird smile, “Asking a prisoner to save you? Aren’t you somehow confused?”
‘So greedy, asking to be saved, but not even thinking to ask about her family.’
“I know that you can. Please give me a safe haven!”
Tanya’s smile grew even more as she looked into the girl’s blue eyes, “Why? Is there any problem?”
The girl shivered, “We have provoked a force that we shouldn’t. The northern army was annihilated in a single night. A few territories betrayed us, split from us and joined our enemy.”
As she continued, her voice was becoming harder and harder to hear, a worry and fear passing through her body in waves, “A large part of our military leadership died in a single night. Flames are burning in our cities and towns. Saboteurs are attacking us.”
The girl sobbed before continuing, her whole face malformed into desperation: “A huge dragon is destroying our forces without any effort, and a whole army of monsters is advancing in its tracks!”
Finally, Tanya breathed out in relief, realising that her master was working hard, conquering the kingdom, ‘From her words, our conquest must be going well.’
The girl slowly crawled towards Tanya, clasping her hands with her own, her face being that of someone that was sure that she would die soon as she gazed into her eyes.
“Hahaha”, Tanya erupted into laughter, her eyes flashing in the light, “As I told your grandfather before. It is already too late. His Majesty was preparing a long time for this war.”
The girl pulled back, her face even more pale than before.
She calmed down and looked at the frightened girl, “Why do you even believe I can save you?”
“You must be someone high in the Vesuvian kingdom. Someone attacked the prison last night, massacring the guards. Searching and asking for someone that looked like you. They wouldn’t send someone so powerful to save someone unimportant.”
Tanya’s heart skipped a beat, her whole body filled with joy as she realised that her master cared for her. She felt relieved like all her hard work wasn’t for nothing.
“Even if I wanted to save you… it would not be easy. Your grandfather angered his Majesty Vesuvius. He caused him lots of trouble. He attacked and destroyed his property. He complicated his plans. You should beg for a swift death, not for a life…”
“Wait, I can help! I have important information. I can even help you escape. Also, imagine how destroyed my grandfather will be after he learns I defected!”
Tanya finally turned serious as she looked at the girl, ‘If it is true what she says, then maybe master could allow her to join us.’, finally a smile formed on her face again, ‘Master always wanted to create more powerful minions. She has a powerful ice affinity bloodline. Maybe she can be of value. Still to think that she wants to hurt her family to survive…’
“Well, if your information is as valuable as you are saying, then his Majesty might spare you. It is not your fault that your grandfather is an idiot. So tell me, what do you know?”
“No, I will tell it only to his Majesty himself… I don’t trust you not just to throw me away.”
‘She is like a small snake.’ Tanya smiled inwardly, feeling as if she was looking at her younger self.
POV Vesuvius:
The dragon hovered high above the town. Black flags with simple red pictograms of dragons fluttered on the remaining walls and all important buildings. The whole side of the walls was flattened and turned into rubble. The smoke was still rising from the castle in the centre.
The whole town was submerged in the shadows of the black clouds shrouding the whole sky.
Crowds of people stood on the streets and squares, kobolds in black plate armours standing all around them.
The dragon’s voice pushed against everyone, carrying warmth and heat with every word, the temperature in the town quickly rising, “Bow before me, mortals! I am your new king! Rejoice. From now on, you are privileged citizens of my kingdom.”
Immediately everyone fell to their knees, no one daring to resist the dragon’s aura enveloping the whole town.
Vesuvius easly picked up separate groups, and a grin grew on his mouth obscured by the smoke, ‘There is never enough cannon fodder.’
“As for you immortals. From now on, you will join my army and march against the kingdom with the rest. In exchange, you will get better perks in my new kingdom. Or you can refuse, and your stance will be lowered, you will pay more taxes, and you will be banned from entering all of the provincial capitals!”
A wave passed through all of the players in the town, whispers of unhappiness reaching Vesuviuse’s ears.
Ding!
//
You have created a sub-faction of Vesuvian Kingdom: Auxiliary Vesuvian Army.
Leader: You
//
Ding!
//
Sub-faction Azerlisia Army was merged with Auxiliary Vesuvian Army!
//
Ding!
//
Your faction levelled up!
All limits increased!
//
Vesuvius flapped his wings and rose high into the sky, not feeling any need to linger there anymore. His golden eyes turned towards the horizon toward the next province.
‘I need to secure all lands around here. That should be my priority.’ He no longer feared angering a few low-level players from the town, so he felt no qualms about using them to supplement his forces.
‘I need soldiers, lots of them. So why not use players? If I threw them a few bones, they will not even feel angry about being forced to fight.’
The dragon flapped his massive crystalline wings and shot into the distance, the world around him instantly turning into a blur.
POV Parliament:
The massive hall of the royal parliament was in chaos. Dozens of richly dressed nobles were shouting over each other. The insults and wigs were flying through the air. Lots of chairs were empty without any occupants.
“Dammit, I told you we should have been more careful!”
“This is a nightmare! A dragon with an army!”
“Quiet down, everyone!” sound of staff tapping against the stone floor resonated through the room, each tap sending waves of cold through the air.
No one dared to say it out loud, but many eyes turned towards the archduke, all of them filled with blame.
“There is no need to panic. His royal Majesty personally left out of his seclusion to request help from our neighbours and the church of light! We are not alone in this war. Also, I recently got the news that lots of immortals are moving here, wanting to support our war efforts.”
Everyone immediately becomes much calmer, the sights of relief coming from all of the room’s corners.
“For how long do we need to hold off enemy forces!?” one noble in the front row spoke, the attention again turning towards the archduke.
POV Vesuvius:
The dragon hovered above a small town. Everything was dark. The whole town was silent, with no one on the streets. White flags hung on the keep. There were no weapons or soldiers on the walls, and all defensive positions were abandoned.
Multiple bodies were tied to poles on top of the keep. All of them were covered in burns and cuts.
Suddenly Vesuvius had a revelation, ‘Ohh, how could I forget? Humans are cowards. Of course, I don’t have to besiege every single town. The fear of me should be enough.’𝗈𝗏𝗅xt.𝗇t
Suddenly a man walked on top of a tower, his clothes waving in the wind. He was bald, with his whole face covered in old burns that tuned into scars.
“Your Majesty. I am baron Mathias, and I officially surrender my town to your rule. I have personally executed the residing royal military attaches.” he unsheeted his sword and placed it on the ground before falling to his knees.
Vesuvius looked at the man, unsure about what to do. He just remained in the clouds, flapping his wings, his golden eyes piercing through the man. He noticed the baron was shivering, his pulse high from the fear.