Private Meeting Room
Alex sat on a couch, and behind him was Sean only, who removed his helmet. In front of him were the Alchemic King, and behind him, his brother and right-hand man, also known as the Chancellor of his kingdom. Next to him was the Master of Intelligence.
"So tell me, are you the only alchemist?" Alex asked since he knew those people behind were also alchemists.
"No, there are more, but some are assigned as governors or border commanders of this kingdom since we are still in a state of war. But thanks to our alchemy powers, our economy will not collapse," Romeo said, shaking his head.
"So you have an order of some sorts, and why is it you guys are in a state of war?"
"Well, because of the creation of this kingdom, they call it the devil's kingdom since the whole continent believes that these alchemists must be controlled and follow other empires' command."
Alex crossed his arms and leaned back on the couch, continuing to listen.
"But this kingdom was quite weak, and the last king assigned me as the new king. Once I took over, the kingdom prospered, and neighboring alchemists came to us. That angered the other nations, and they invaded with a pretense of regional instability. We had to defend, so most alchemists are in the army, leading non-alchemist soldiers. Some are citizens of this nation, and some are the sentinels that you fought. The regulars are created by hard stone, and the elite shock troops are made of iron."
This shocked Alex since this is an effective army that can replace losses. However, the disadvantage is the interaction with citizens. Since there are also human soldiers, or officers, and alchemists leading them, they have an effective army. In that moment, Alex thought of something that could give Draconia an effective army and pump out millions of soldiers. This moment would be called by others the 'age of inhumanity' or age of populate.
But Alex returned back to the discussion at hand.
"So when will you be ready to leave?"
"In 3 days, and I'm ready to leave. How long are we going to stay in the continent of Pangea?"
"Just a few years. Don't worry; you can come back to your kingdom once in a while. But in times of war, you will be brought into service, even during your leave or temporary retirement."
Romeo nodded, and Alex pulled out something – a long gun along with a blueprint and a small book – and placed it on the table.
"Here is a gift for your kingdom. This thing is called a musket, and it fires a small ball. It can be made of any material, but the main ones to be used are iron, copper, and rock, as long as it's weightless." Then Alex pulled out a blueprint.
"This is a cannon and can fire the same materials I mentioned. After observing your materialization, and since you're an alchemist, you can mass-produce gunpowder. It's not impossible." All of them, except for Sean and Alex, were in shock seeing those things. It was almost like a Pandora's box since no one had been able to reach that kind of technology.
"Hey brother, is it possible to mass-produce this and integrate it into our armed forces?"
"Yes, and for our industry, it will most likely take 4 to 10 months to fully integrate. But the training is somewhat off; we don't know what tactics to use." After a light discussion, they turned to Alex, who they knew had the solution.
"Here in this book lies new tactics, including the weapons, as the age of pike and shot will dawn into this world. Let's negotiate."
A few hours later, Alex and Sean headed towards their assigned guest room. During those remaining hours, a spoken agreement was made in different treaties:
First, the Aurella agreed that the empire would create an embassy for a quick diplomatic channel and station 80 soldiers. Second, the empire would allow trade to flow and the creation of different military bases in the kingdom. The empire would fund the army and send military advisors to aid in the training of the Aurella kingdom.
Third, the Aurella kingdom would declare unofficially as subjects to the Throne of the Draconian Empire and would be called to war unless it's not needed.
Alex arrived in his room and decided to head to the balcony. After a few steps, he looked up and saw the moon and the stars and spoke.
"Damn, what a night. The most annoying thing ever I've been receiving is—"
And he heard Duke Dimitri telling him to get a wife to secure the empire's lineage. But Alex had too many things to work on. Maybe when the empire had secured hegemony, he could look for the love of his life.
But Alex was just distracted by the moon. Soon, he looked at the city and saw sentinels patrolling and some human officers escorted by 3 to 2 sentinel knights. After observing more, he read information on the nations at war.
The Empire of Felmina is the main aggressor of the Alchemic kingdom. Its monarch, Juliet Falmin, is an empress who currently doesn't know that her empire is at war. Right now, she's leading a campaign in another continent, and her sister is leading the nation in her stead.
Three days later, right now, Alex is in the cruiser heading back to Pangea, planning to head north and recruit the famed titan hunter located in the Kingdom of Muscovy.
One week later, Alex arrived in Pangea and was met with a huge amount of work. Still, he finished it in 1 hour and headed to the conference room where Romeo, Sean, and Ronald are seated. Alex stood in front of them and began speaking.
"First, you guys will undergo a training regimen in the education of this empire and learn the warfare of this empire. You guys are assigned to different roles. First, Sean, in a few days, you will be heading to the time chamber where your teachers and instructors will teach you in the ways of warfare. After learning in that chamber, I want you to create a knight order and train the soldiers that were selected.
After training, increase your numbers and train them in a separate time chamber. For Ronald, teach a batch of recruits
the way of lightning. Don't worry; they're very loyal. You may bring your people here and train the special forces recruits. You can access the time chamber and grow your strength." He stopped and began explaining what a time chamber is.
"The time chamber is a unique room where you can stop time and slow down time, but it has no function to move time forward. In that chamber, you can do anything you want. You know the reason how our soldiers trained quickly and deployed."
This shocked everyone seeing the technological gap and advancements in magic. Alex began speaking.
"And lastly, Romeo, I assign you to just train and move to one of the regions that are being developed. Head to the border cities which I gave them an advance order that you will create those giant sentinel knights. Don't worry if you're drained; just drink this." Alex pulled out a small bottle with red liquid.
"It's just an energy potion, and once I leave for the north, you will do the work assigned for you." Alex said, and everyone looked at the documents on the table, beginning to read the roles that were assigned to them. Alex went to his room and packed a pouch of Covy coins. Covy coins are the currency in the north, and Alex packed 1 million in his spatial bag along with multiple winter clothing.
One day later, Alex boarded a plane heading for a port city in Olympus and took a ship heading for a port in Muscovy. Alex relaxed and talked to the scientist using the communicator about a new project he had envisioned in Aurella.
"So, your majesty, are you sure to continue this project?" The scientist had a look of worry.
"Yes, instead of reviving a person, why not create them from being a baby to an adult in a short amount of time and assign them to different jobs like soldiers since we're needing experienced men? Make sure that failure is not an option, but for now, experiment in creating a super soldier drug like they need no sleep and less food intake."
The scientist looked at the clipboard and spoke.
"We can achieve it, your majesty, and we might need a few months to perfect it, but we need a test subject?"
"Then how about those knights of Athena and Hades? Force them to attack some Chronos war camps; we still have many of those prisoners."
"Of course, your majesty. Is there anything else?"
"Are the new weapons that I ordered to be implemented in the army going to be used in the war against Chronos?"
"Yes, your majesty. Ninety percent of the army is already equipped with those new-gen weapons, and in a few months, our soldiers will be ready for combat." The scientist bowed slightly.
"Good. Make sure that once I come back, the unit I asked for is ready to be used by that man."
Soon, Alex arrived at the military airbase. He proceeded with a convoy heading to the port, where a spy ship called the Cloak Class spy ship awaited. It had a device created by the Foundation Division to make it look like a normal civilian ship to the outside and a military ship to others.
Military Port Section
"Your majesty, everything is set and ready to depart." A blonde officer saluted, looking at Alex with loyalty.
Alex nodded and spoke.
"Good. Let's get going. Since you guys are on a mission, don't worry. Just drop me off and get to your location. Once you receive the signal, we will depart."
Alex headed towards the cabin assigned to him. The spy ship carried 800 crew members and had advanced communication. It could launch scout planes controlled by the crew. It was ordered to spy on the Chronos horde armies in case of any major movements, and it also observed any movements from other continents.
Plus, the spy ship was equipped to handle various situations, ensuring a safe journey for Alex. The ship entered the cold region, and Alex saw them entering the vicinity of the Glaciera Supercontinent, home to the Nordic Empire—the third strongest empire in the world.
Pangea was quite close to the north, where different tribes created the third strongest nation, known for raiding different continents. Last year, they tried to raid the Draconian Empire during the Frost fury tide season. They avoided Olympus, respecting their raiding gods, but the Draconian coastal defense fleet dealt a severe blow to their attempted raid.
The Vikings, captured in the process, were later forced to witness their homeland being razed by Draconia's forces. It was part of the consequences for their attempted raid.
In the present, as Alex arrived at the port city of Rastov, he booked an inn nearby and consulted a map of the kingdom. Materials to make a map were a luxury in the north, and since the Draconian Empire began importing materials at a great discount, obtaining a map was feasible.
'Well, seems like the queen is gearing for war,' Alex thought as he examined the map.
Zarina Yelizaveta Frostova, the queen of Muscovy Kingdom, was a formidable queen and fighter. She had a great battle mount, a huge polar bear capable of fighting titans. They had met previously due to a trade deal, but she had attempted to seduce Alex unsuccessfully.
'Now, I must avoid her at all costs,' Alex decided, choosing the right time and moment to enter the country while she was away leading a campaign against the Chronos horde.
Alex contacted a Shadow Squadron member to obtain a map of the kingdom. After receiving it, he arrived at a certain mansion where the member said he would find the person he sought—the Chancellor of Muscovy, who had joined the Shadow Squadron after witnessing the emperor in action.
The chancellor knelt before Alex, who got straight to the point, asking for the map. After examining it, he inquired about Zarina.
"Her majesty is still leading the campaign and won't be returning anytime soon," the chancellor replied.
Alex nodded and headed towards the exit. Before leaving, he said, "Make sure this kingdom doesn't fall to ruin because soon after the war, we will begin the purge."
The chancellor knelt again, nodding and uttering, "For the Emperor and the empire." Alex heard those words and left the mansion, heading to the inn and resting after ordering food, which included hard calf meat.
The next day, Alex rode a carriage heading to the titan hunting region, where titans were treated as hunting material. The man who treated them as such was still alive, and Alex was determined to confront him.
To be continued.