World Conquest Online

Dom noticed the group of Senior Heroes from Riverside approaching, Shang Yang, Lucius, Xun Yu and the one he feared the most right now, Meritamen. Xun Yan and the Riverside forces parted to allow them to pass as they headed towards Dom, Subutai, Xun You and Sun Shangxiang. The sun was starting to set in the distance and Dom hoped they could have everything partially settled before nightfall. The four approaching were surrounded by a small guard of Batavi Emperors Guard and everyone from Riverside who they passed seemed to move out of respect for the four key members.

"Tomoe, have a temporary camp set up to the north by the Silver Forest!" Subutai shouted towards her, as he began shouting some orders to avoid the coming conversation. "Sun Ce, you will be needed for this conversation!"

"Do I have to?" He asked back as he headed towards them with Zhou Yu, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun and Cheng Pu. Liao Hua began directing the three thousand warriors to head north with Tomoe, whilst the Civilians and Carriages stayed behind with the Riverside Warriors. Banas and Chen Lu had already headed to the Warriors Halls to get some of the Warriors to come and pass out food and drinks to the newly arrived Civilians. Whilst the junior Heroes Cheng Zi and Lu Ji tried to keep the civilians reassured, whilst being in shock themselves.

"Yes you do, as it’s all your fault." Sun Shangxiang shouted towards him, causing Dom, Subutai and Xun You to laugh, whilst Sun Ce tried to look away innocently, however a large grin was on his face.

"Also, someone pass message’s that I want all of the Naval Heroes docked and at the Palace by nightfall!" Subutai shouted again, to no one in particular, however a Batavi Guard seemed to take it as a direct order and drove his horse fast towards Riverside.

Whilst Subutai passed his orders around, the procession from Riverside arrived, all with large smiles on their faces at seeing the amount of rewards that had arrived. Meritamen headed directly for Dom on her horse, giving him a huge hug in front of the crowd. A lot who opened their mouths in shock at the sight of the tanned princess of exceptional beauty, whilst Sun Shangxiang understood who this beautiful woman was straight away and kept silent whilst waiting for an introduction. Shang Yang however looked at her with a knowing smile on his face, as if he had known this would happen, before nodding his head at Xun You and Sun Ce.

Just as Dom was about to explain the situation to Meritamen and make introductions, a notification appeared in front of him, followed by another and another. His eyes felt slightly dizzy as he read through them, whilst the now large number of Heroes surrounding him looked on in confusion.

[Calculating Quest Completion]

[Congratulations on Completing Quest One - Win the Battle of Jiangxia and claim the highest Merits

Battle Difficulty - B

Total Score - A

You overcame unexpected changes to the scenario to still win an overwhelming victory. You made large gains for both yourself and your allies, however your enemies were not fully vanquished. The use of your Navy and Cavalry tactics were overwhelming and pushed for your detachment to claim the largest victories on both Land and Water.]

[Mission Rewards have been placed in your Personal Chest]

Dom agreed with the systems score, he hoped to achieve an S grade again, however he now believed that Huang Zu had escaped and his capture and defeat was a key part of the overall mission. He expected that the grade would have been lower had the victory not been so overwhelming.

[Congratulations on Completing Quest Two - Save the Citizens of Jiangxia

Mission Difficulty - A

Total Score - S

Ninety Seven Percent of Civilians survived the battle, with those that did not survive being caught in the action between the two forces. You also pushed for the surrender of enemy troops rather than execution, allowing a significant change to the original scenario’s conclusion.]

[Mission Rewards have been placed in your Personal Chest]

Whilst Dom was happy with the score and the grade, he was disappointed to see that he hadn’t saved the full population. He hadn’t been made aware of any Civilian losses, but it did make sense to him that some would die during the attack, he was just relieved that he had moved to get control of it as fast as he did.

[Congratulations on Completion of Hidden Quest One - Friends Reunited

Mission Difficulty - C

Total Score - A

The Special Quest was to reunite Gan Ning with his closest allies and friends, with the intention of recruiting them through this Special Quest Map. Gan Ning has reunited and helped recruit Su Fei, Zhou Yu, Ling Tong and Cheng Pu.]

[Mission Rewards have been placed in your Personal Chest]

Dom had almost forgot about the Hidden Quests, but was glad to see that he had gained additional rewards for hiring new Heroes. It was interesting to him that only those that had a direct connection to Gan Ning were included in it. He suspected the grade was higher due to Zhou Yu and Cheng Pu. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

[Congratulations on Completion of Hidden Quest Two - Population Increase

Mission Difficulty - C

Total Score - S

This Special Quest was to increase your overall population through recruitment. You have recruited over six thousand Civilians, over three thousand Warriors and nearly three thousand naval personnel. This surpasses any goals that had been set, congratulations.]

[Mission Rewards have been placed in your Personal Chest]

Dom hoped that what ever the mission reward was, it was something that could help him with the housing situation of all of the new people that had arrived. He was in dire need of new Barracks to place around for the large amount of Warriors that had joined, as well as general housing for the Civilians in the different towns they would be sent out to. Dom was tempted to have the transport ships dock in Tranquillity and Serenity directly, but they had to go through Xun Yu’s registration first.

[Congratulations on Completion of Hidden Quest Four - Naval Power

Mission Difficulty - A

Total Score - A

This Special Quest was to increase your navy size. You have increased your Naval Power by over seventy ships and your Civilian Naval Power by over forty Ships.]

[Mission Rewards have been placed in your Personal Chest]

Dom was glad that this mission had been completed, he looked across at the River where the Louchuan towered in the middle. He already worried about how they could get the Louchuan through the Calm River and to Tongpai Lake, as the bridge that could be moved for the Trireme, would still be in the way for the Louchuan. However he was excited to be able to fully crew his growing Trireme force and begin to use them as intended.

[Congratulations on Completion of Hidden Quest Seven - Acquire a Town

Mission Difficulty - S

Total Score - B

This Special Quest was to acquire a Town either through Loyalty or Conquest. You have gained a Town through Marriage and the Loyalty route]

[Please select where to place the new Town, and name it.]

Suddenly, a map of his current territory appeared before his eyes. It was detailed and transparent, with the sight of Meritamen behind it as she looked at him in confusion as he seemed to have blanked out for the last few seconds. In surprise, he almost fell from his horse, but Sun Shangxiang who was the nearest to him other than Meritamen, quickly grabbed him and stabilised him. Meritamen looked at her with a strange look, whilst the others quickly asked if he was ok. Both women seemed to catch each others eye, with an instant understanding appearing on Meritamen’s face.

"We have gained a Town through this mission, I need to choose where to put it." Dom replied, as the new Heroes looked on in confusion, whilst his regular Heroes understood what he meant.

"Either place it where we intend to place Renatus, or place it in the south to mirror Serenity." Xun You explained. "The Civilians will be naval focused, so those would be the best locations."

"Hatshepsut has already departed with the plan for Noctus and Renatus, I would recommend the south as we haven’t yet began to place ourselves there." Lucius stated, agreeing with Xun You’s second option.

"There is also the option of Sun Ce’s fort." Subutai put forwards. "With that location covered, the whole of the north is conquered."

"A Fort in that location is fine for now." Shang Yang commented, "I would agree with the south of Serenity, but a ship will need to be dispatched to Artemisia, so that she will know what is going on. We will also need to send a messenger to Qin Ming who is based there, as he can use this as a forward point before we deal with the Cove."

"Very well, we’ll go for the south for now." Dom agreed, pointing his finger in front of him and touching a location on the map that was on the most north eastern point of the southern half. Those around him watched in anticipation, whilst Dom nodded that it had been done.

[Location Selected

B Grade Town has been spawned

Please Name the new Town]

"I need to give it a name." Dom said as he looked at the crowd in front of him.

"Jia." Sun Shangxiang said, getting a nod from a lot of the new Heroes. The regular ones who hadn’t met her yet all looked in wanting an explanation. "It is a word that means Home, a place for a happy family. Which the many people that have come with us are looking for."

"Jia it is then." Dom agreed, especially when he saw that Shang Yang nodded with a smile that showed a slight tinge of sadness.

"I’ll arrange a ship for us to visit tomorrow." Xun Yu stated, as he took a note on a list he had in front of him. "I’ll also send a messenger to Crassus and Hatshepsut to pause on their plan for building Renatus and Noctus until the next cycle when Lord Lazarus is here."

"No, have them continue and I will visit soon." Dom countered after thinking for a few seconds, "We can’t delay them any further, we now have people to fill them. We should recall them for my return so we can do a rearrangement of our forces, how long have we been gone?"

"Nearly two days, it has been the longest one yet I believe." Lucius smiled, unsure on all of the new faces in front of him. Dom had suspected it would have been around that time after speaking with Li Shang, giving him one day before he returned to reality.

"Then, I believe it is time for some introductions?" Shang Yang put forwards as he looked at the sky that was slowly darkening. He noticed Meritamen’s tense attitude, whilst also looking across at the large number of Civilians that were now being escorted to an area where food was being prepared, whilst the Legionaries and Hoplite from earlier under Xun Yan were setting up tents and temporary housing.

"Let’s head to the Palace, we can do the introductions there." Dom replied, thinking it best to do so over food and drink. Meritamen pulled her horse alongside Dom on his left, whilst Sun Shangxiang was on his right. The two shared a look, with Sun Shangxiang bowing her head politely in greeting as the second and slightly younger wife. Meritamen returned the gesture, an understanding having formed, whilst she looked at Dom who gave her a reassuring smile. She reached over and squeezed his hand, which he returned, as the group headed towards the Palace.

Sun Shangxiang and the new Heroes all looked around at the impressive structures as they walked through. The streets were wide and clean, whilst everything looked incredibly new. They saw the Docks to the south, where the Trireme, Louchuan and other ships were either docked or awaiting their turns. Whilst further in they saw the impressive structure of the Library, Governors Town Centre and even the Arena that was behind the small Palace. The Palace itself caught a lot of attention, its style and quality far ahead of anything they had seen before.

The doors were held open by Batavi Emperor’s Guards, as some Forbidden Guard took the horses from the Heroes who all dismounted and headed inside. They entered and a large spread of food was handed out by some staff that had been waiting nearby. Dom sat at the top of the table, with Meritamen beside him to his left and his original Heroes, including Shang Yang, Lucius, Xun Yu, Xun You, Cicero, Subutai, Tomoe, Tomyris, Liao Hua, Gan Ning, Xiao Qiao, Da Qiao and Sun Ce. On his other side was Sun Shangxiang, with Zhou Yu, Cheng Pu, Zhao Yun, Huang Zhong, Su Fei, Ling Tong, Cheng Zi and Lu Ji.