World Conquest Online

Dom sat in the freshly built Hall that had been constructed from the wood from the Red Woods. The Hall was initially created as a central point for the excavations of the two Abandoned Towns that were discovered within the Red Woods. The Civilians and Warriors would use it for evening meals, as well as a gathering point for meetings and planning, however it now had a much more important role.

Dom had travelled through the tunnels with Sun Shangxiang and Xun You, having left Qin Ming to finish clearing the battlefield at the Cove and to then head to Subutai’s battlefield to take over from there. The journey through the newly discovered underground location had been interesting, but to his frustration, he didn’t have the time to explore it himself. They had taken his Praetorian Century with him, whilst leaving the rest under the command of Qin Ming, with Sun Shangxiang’s two Centuries also following them back.

Xun You had commented on how useful these underground networks could be for transport and communication in the future, however for now they had to finish exploring them and see what riches could be gathered.

They had eventually reached the main hall, where the towering mosaic of the Type 2 Human was stood looking down on them. Dom stared at the figure for a few moments when they passed through, before being surprised by the appearance of Gan Ning and some of Centurion Linos’s Century.

Gan Ning had explained how they had followed an underwater almost glowing stream after sinking the enemies hidden fleet, the stream had led them to an ancient tomb full of riches. He had ordered Hector to search the room with the rest of Linos’s Century, before heading in to the main hall and discovering Dom’s arrival.

Xun You had orders passed for Hector to continue following the tunnel further with his Titanaconda’s whilst the rest of Linos’s unit could gather and collate their findings. Gan Ning had then joined them as they headed to the surface.

They had sent word to each force for their commanders to gather at Zhao Yun’s camp, with some of them already having headed in that direction after hearing words of the other battles that had taken place.

Zhao Yun was the first to arrive, having left Hua Rong behind to clear up his own battlefield. He had brought along with him some tied up prisoners who didn’t seem overly aware of their situation and around two hundred of his Cavalry. He had explained the situation on his own battlefield, which seemed to be a total massacre of the enemy forces. However, whilst the archers had aimed towards the enemy fleet, they seemed to retreat before they had much chance to capture them.

Zhao Yun had invited them in to the hall, which they now sat at with Subutai, Tomoe and Liao Hua who had also arrived. Liao Hua had also brought his own prisoners, two captains from the ships, who were in a much better state than those of the other prisoners that had been brought. Liao Hua had also brought the Elder Kabbo and the tribal Chieftain Kung, whose names Liao Hua also struggled to pronounce, as well as some other senior members of the San.

Subutai had taken the majority of his force and left it in the central southern location with Hua Rong and the rest of Zhao Yun’s Cavalry when he came across their battlefield. He had arranged for a long scout network to be set up, with some Legionaries already cutting down trees to create some basic Watch Towers.

Where as Liao Hua had brought a token force of his own and some of the San Guards, as he wanted the western edge of their fledgling Kingdom protected. Both Xun You and Subutai had agreed with this measure and Dom could see that Xun You was already calculating warrior distribution.

The Prisoners were being guarded across three different parts of the camp, with them under heavy guard. They could be clearly defined in to three categories; the two Ship Captains who seemed relatively normal in comparison to their counter parts, a second group who were clearly aware of their surroundings but either too afraid or stubborn to speak, and the third group who seemed to be in a lucid form.

Xun You had ordered messengers to ask for reinforcements from Huang Zhong, who could hopefully send a few hundred more Warriors in the morning to shore up some of the gaps in the long defence line that they now realised they may have to protect.

"The Serene Fleet sunk the enemy fleet at both The Cove, with the Titanaconda unit as well as Battlefield One under General Subutai and General Tomoe." Xun You began, having read through reports from all of the Generals and senior Commanders that had been supplied to him. "They continued, under the command of Centurion Cato, towards Battlefield Two under General Zhao Yun. They were able to sink three enemy ships, before Centurion Cato decided to not travel in to the deeper unknown water and risk his tired crew. The enemy fleet at Battlefield Three under General Liao Hua had mostly escaped, but two ships were captured."

"It’s a bit frustrating that we didn’t have more ships, otherwise we could have achieved more." Gan Ning replied, frustrated that he had missed the sea battles but was confident in his choice to support at The Cove.

"I agree, ship construction is key and the southern coast is now an extremely important naval barrier." Xun You agreed, before continuing. "Word has been sent for two additional ships to be borrowed from the Defence Fleet at Serenity and Jia to support for now, I have also passed an order to Centurion Cato to have the fleet patrol the coast up to the San’s area. General Gan Ning will return in the morning to his fleet."

"I will." Gan Ning replied with a nod, wanting to be there now if possible.

"We thank you for your support today." Elder Kabbo added, responding to Xun You sending the fleet to his own area. "With the help of your fleet, I hope that the enemy will not return."

"We have heard great things about you and your people." Dom stated to Kabbo politely, knowing that he was currently ahead of schedule on his meeting with them. He looked towards Liao Hua with praise in his eyes, grateful for the young General’s quick thinking. "I am happy that we were able to help you today."

"Your people have been welcoming since we first met." Chieftain Kung stated, his voice heavy and thick. His tone was new to Dom, with the occasional click or roll of the tongue when he spoke. "Without them today, we would have lost a lot of our people. If the rest of the enemy had gathered, it would have been a tough battle."

"Across the four Battle’s that took place today, the enemy numbered at least four thousand." Xun You explained, the large number being a surprise and a worry for those that were gathered. "If they had come as a singular force, it would have been a much more challenging situation."

"But, you won every battle." Chieftain Kung praised.

"We did." Subutai agreed, "But that is due to our training, expertise and command structures. If it was not us, I can not guarantee the same."

Both Elder Kabbo and Chieftain Kung nodded in agreement, knowing that if the four thousand enemy warriors had all attacked the San, then there is a good chance it would have been a very different outcome. The fact that they didn’t was a question they were all wondering.

"How are our losses?" Dom asked, a question he normally wouldn’t have asked in front of his allies, but he wanted to show to the San how powerful his own forces were.

"Minimal, General Zhao Yun had the least injuries across the battle’s, but any losses are negligible." Xun You confirmed, whilst Zhao Yun looked around the room with a glimmer of pride. "The enemies were unprepared for our forces arrival."

"Our expansion in the south was always a risky endeavour, but with today’s victories we are in a position to claim it as part of our Kingdom." Dom replied as he stood up from his chair, "What this also shows us is that whilst we may be the most powerful force in this area, there are others that could challenge us. We need to be better prepared for the unknown."

Dom then turned to the two senior members of the San. Liao Hua had explained to him that there was the Chieftain and three Elders, with Kabbo being the most senior of the Elders.

"The battle today has shown us that whilst there are enemies nearby, there are also allies that we can rely on." Dom continued as he looked at them. "Our ambitions are big, and I hoped we could have met on better terms. But I hope you can think amongst yourselves on how we can work together in the future."

"You came to our aid without asking for anything in return." Elder Kabbo replied after some thought, before the Chieftain had chance to reply. The other San seniority seemed to nod in agreement as Elder Kabbo spoke. "Your warriors were powerful and organised."

"Your warriors also fought well!" Liao Hua interrupted, "Their bravery and willingness to put their lives at risk on the front lines was seen by all. My men have been full of praise for their allies."

"We thank you for the praise General." Chieftain Kung nodded in thanks, before turning towards Dom. He paused for a second and then continued. "Your Generals have been friendly, your Warriors are numerous and powerful. We now have an unknown enemy to our south, an enemy that without your presence could easily destroy us. We could fight to the last man, woman or child, but I would prefer that we do not need to do that. After this meeting, we will return to our families and mourn our losses and celebrate our victory. Beyond that, we will discuss how to not only show our gratitude, but how we can make a permanent alliance that works for us both."

"I will dispatch General Liao Hua and his forces to return with you, we will also keep General Liao Hua’s army on the border of our lands, so that they can support you if it is needed." Dom replied, after looking at Xun You who nodded at him. "We have another battle in the north to deal with soon, after that we intend to celebrate the founding of our Kingdom, and you would be welcome to join us and attend."

"It would be our honour." Elder Kabbo stated seriously, with the Chieftain bowing his head in agreement.

"There are two key steps that we now need to take, not only have we discovered an additional Underground City that needs exploring, with potential for more. We also have to discover who this new enemy is and how we are to prepare for their return." Xun You stated, taking the conversation back to the point of why they had gathered.

"We need to know where they are from, how large their forces are, and why they came here." Subutai continued, as he stood up. "Their forces were strange and I have inspected those in captivity and other than the two Captains, the rest seem as broken men. General Liao Hua, what have you gathered so far?"

"I think it would be best to ask them yourself." Liao Hua replied, "There is a lot to be said and they have requested their own lives in return for this information."

"Very well, General Tomoe, please can you get the two Captains." Subutai ordered, as Tomoe headed towards the door, her swords still strapped to her waist.

Dom felt Sun Shangxiang’s hand on his knee, as she squeezed it in reassurance. She had experienced battle for the first time today, and finally felt involved with the military workings of her new home. She realised that there was a lot more at stake than a battle here and there, with unknown allies and enemies at every new step that they took.