After a couple of days of fun and working on things inside, I received reports that things were not as fun in the front. The Empire was starting to poke the defenses of the trenches without stopping. They continued to probe with spell after spell, only for the interceptions to slow. They seemed to dislike that and tried to compensate with increased activity and threats of storming the trenches. Isabelle learned that leaving the trenches was a bad idea from the reports I was receiving in the city. We were strong when making it individual combat in the trenches but weak out in the open, where their organization played a stronger role.
I was glad that she quickly learned that lesson from the first battle of the Empire counter-offensive. The A rankers were also starting to poke their heads out and battle with our Elders. They would suddenly have two if they brought out one, and we brought out two. They would hold if they brought out three, and we brought out the same amount. But when the five-on-five battle of A rankers erupted, they proved that they were strong on the front. They were here to stay, and the battle raged for hours.
It was hard to hear that battles happened while I was enjoying myself, but the casualties were so limited that our side had no deaths. The Succubi I sent to the front waiting for the Battle slaves were also settling in with their bodyguards. They reported that they were staying out of the battle in wait for the moment they were ordered to strike. They were not to reveal themselves till they played their strategic role on the battlefront.
The problem in the City was that there was a tension that was becoming more obvious. There were no reports from my people that a group of people were starting to organize and test our willingness to kill them. What they learned was that those people who tested our people ended up very dead publicly. Those who were captured alive, however, were put in a dungeon for later, along with any evidence of their wrongdoing. Too bad there was little of that. What I did plan to do, though, was mess with those under our care and see if we could convert some of them.
What I wanted to do was very sinister.
I would give all of them a chance at being an informant for us. Then, we are going to release them all once the war is a little farther away from the City. If we could get some informants, that would be wonderful. It did not matter if they did or not. I won out either way as I would gain the goodwill of many in the city for releasing them, saying there was insufficient evidence, and just to make it fun, I would hang a few of the worst of them.
All of those people would go back out to the streets and tell them that we tried to recruit them as informants. Once they told their colleagues about this, it would become a lot harder for them to trust each other and organize. This was going to be a long game if I was going to be in control of this city, and I needed to start now.
While that was happening, though, the increased group attacks were leading to more minor injuries among my Elite army. They were setting up ambushes with low-ranking soldiers, not the meat of the rebel movement or the soldiers who had been culled since they became rebels inside the city.
It was a game of cat and mouse that I loathed.
The scouts were having a hell of a time, and the increased issue of being unable to slip a person into their network was an issue. There were few humans among the Beast-kin population that people trusted. That was why I was so surprised when there was a human ambassador from the Beast-kin nation all those years ago.
These were not issues that I wanted or cared to see. Things were brewing in the city despite the goodwill that was also growing among a small amount of the human community. These people also seemed more open to the Beast-kin before we arrived. The slave Beast-kin had issues growing alongside that.
Many of the former slaves did not know what to do with their newfound freedom. Those who were not born in the Empire left the City quickly, which we welcomed. The carts going back to the Beast-kin nation were taking along these ex-slaves, at least to the city where they were going. It also brought a lot of goodwill to the war effort. The logistics army was becoming a very welcome sight in tribes. Many times, they were a sign of meeting lost loved ones. This was especially true among the Cat-kin tribes and Mouse-kin tribes.
On one hand that meant the war was becoming even more popular among the tribes, including the Bunny-kin tribe. This was simply because we were often the messengers. This was pure propaganda on my part and was for my longer-term goals. The point is that it was working, and many things back home were doing well.
On the other hand, the Beast-kin slaves who did not leave, a large portion, wanted to take out their anger on the humans. This was an issue with the main army also. I pushed many to return to the homeland and leave their hate behind. But for many, they could not do that. Some saw this as a temporary time to be able to take out their anger on the humans.
It was irrational but they were angry and not thinking.
The one bit of good news I had came from a letter I got from Rose, which was one of the happiest news I had so far. Apparently, the company that we created was doing very well. Her purchasing of other companies and the goodwill of some select tribes meant that we finally had the place that I wanted to be done. This was way ahead of all my plans, but it seemed she was now hiring what people she could and had them make a road to the place I had chosen for a new city.
It would be a slow process that would take years, but everything had already started. The gold that ended up in the hands of the workers only had one place to go, really, and that was back to us, or at least a majority of it. They would buy our food, and entertainment and live in our shelters, all while giving their labor to us. It was the start of an internal economy that was blooming perfectly. With money coming in from our main establishments, it was going to be the funding that slowly worked toward my end goal.
It helped that my father pushed some nobility into purchasing through our businesses. So much was happening back there that I put down the reports quickly as I could not keep up with it all.
"MESSAGE FOR THE SUPREME COMMANDER! URGENT!" I heard a yell from outside my door and I stood opening it and a Bunny-kin in the C rank came in quickly.
"Report!" I snapped
"Supreme, commander! A large transport of people has been seen coming toward the Empire's army. War Chief Isabelle believes that the human slaves brought a large amount of supplies!"
I knew it was coming soon and nodded, "Do you have anyone else to report this to?" I asked.
"I was only told to come to you, Supreme Commander."
"Then follow me; we will be headed to the War chief." I opened a rift and let the Bunny-kin walk through before I followed, ending up on the Western wall overlooking the trenches by the gate. I looked out, and the Empire's army was stirring a little, but the spells flinging back and forth provided the fireworks for this moment, and I turned to the young Bunny-kin. "Return to your post," I told him, and the Bunny-kin ran off, and I started to follow with a brisk walk toward the Trench headquarters.
It seemed that the war was not going to stay stagnant much longer. It was time to figure out what Isabelle had planned. The Elders would be gathering, too, and I needed to be sure that I was kept in the loop. I had a sneaking suspicion that Elder Redscale would like to keep me out of this development.
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