Obsidian keep
....
3rd Pov
Sitting at the head of the table in his courtroom. Null observed the three men before him, not even four hours after his coronation the dukes had requested a meeting.
"Your grace "the gruff voice of Hugo broke the silence he locked eyes with Null with an intensity that matched his status of a hardened general " what are your intentions towards the starhaven kingdom.
For the man who singlehandedly ensured the safety of the kingdom for 17 years,Null had nothing but respect for him so he didn't mince words and gave him a straight answer " I'll be sending some of my army under your command to reinforce the blackfort and the border, also after the nobles reinforce their armies we will make plans for a counter invasion.
"Your grace, you should - " Damien began but was interrupted as Hugo stood up with a deep bow he said "thank you your grace "
Null looked at him gave him a brief nod,he understand what was going through his mind after all the man and his soldier had been at war for 16 years now. Not many had the mental fortitude to do so.
This was why he was dubbed " the wall" not because of his strong defence, but for how long he stood standing
The man was happy not just because he could he could a short time of peace ,What really made him happy was the prospect of a counter attack,after 16 years of war nobody hated the starhaven kingdom more than the soldiers of the blackfort.
So a chance to finally be on the offence instead of defence excited the old warrior.
" What's the progress with my navy "Null asked directing his gaze to Damian who sat to his left
"Battle ready your grace, they said just as well as seasoned sailor, for the last 2 years they have been gaining experience battling pirates and escorting shipments,you won't be disappointed your grace.
This got a reaction out of Hugo and reginald surprised that the king already had a secret navy in the works.
Once again they realized that their king had no intention of running a peacefull kingdom
With this short lull Reginald quickly took the chance to speak
" Your grace by any chance could we implement the Ideas used in the development of the obsidian hold to our fiefs and may be the kingdom at large "
Hailing from a merchant family he knew when there was money to be made and he was never shy in the face of profits
This brought a smile to Null's face he had been waiting for this " of course ,in fact I've already made plans towards that end.
I plan to have specialists accompany the nobles and upon return to their fiefs teach the specialist in your fiefs ,how to make glass,cement and advanced farming teching that could triple your annual yield ".
This shocked the dukes but they showed no reactions as such benefits wouldn't be cheap
And they were spot on as he continued
" but with this benefits I will increase your taxes to 70% of your earnings annually.
At these words Reginald and Damien frowned, Reginald quick to counter " your grace isnt that to much "
" In that case it will be 75% for you "Null coldly replied, at those words Damien who was about to retort wisely kept quiet
" My sincere apologies your grace i was too forward, it won't happen again " Reginald apologized his head bowed
" Ensure it's doesn't " he wasn't a fool he knew the worth of his innovations, when he had told valen about his plans to make raise taxes to 70%,the old man had protested saying he was being too generous.
And this was the truth even if he raised it to 90% each of this duke could very well triple maybe even quadruple their annual earnings
Each of this innovations and inventions either glass,cement and advanced farming techniques required little to no capital or investment it was all profit
Especially the advanced farming techniques which is definitely the one with the least amount of capital needed these techniques makes farming easier,quicker and cheaper while seriously increasing profits
As such for the duke to say he was asking too much was obviously questioning his intelligence
This was why duke Hugo had no reactions he wasnt a greedy man he knew that this deal only gave him benefits and no losses
But the other duke to an extent were merchants, trying to get a better deal was in their DNA
" This will take effect effect in a years time" the dukes nodded at this it would take time for their professionals to learn this techniques
"Your grace about those reinforcements, how many should I be expecting"at this point Hugo spoke up asking what had been on his mind since the start of the discussion.
"10,000" Null paused to think " they are well trained but apart from capturing bandits they don't have much battle experience.
"That's great your grace " Hugo shot up the excitement in his voice unmistakable "defending against a siege will be the perfect chance for them to temper themselves"
Null thought for a moment before saying "varyn will also be following you " this brought a confused expression to the dukes faces as they werent familiar with the name.
Null noticed their confusion and quickly clarified " The mountain"
All dukes shuddered hearing the name,they were familiar with that one
That was the name most people called varyn as he wasn't polite enough to share his name with most people and Null wasn't inclined to do so either.
For the remainder of the discussion Null informed them about some of his major plans for the kingdom and their role in it ,he talked about his plans to build roads,improve defence of the border ,he also got an update on the situation of the border from duke Hugo and it was worrying.
But he wasn't too worried with varyns future presence
At this point duke Hugo had revealed that he had illegally increased the army above the imposed limit, something Null had ignored completely
He also ordered them to create a proper education system in their fiefs
At that point they ended the meeting each deciding to return to their fiefs in 2 days time
.....
Obsidian hold
Barracks
....
Walking through the barracks Null made his way towards the training ground.
Soldiers passing by saluted him,nothing too grand,simply a fist to the chest and they walked away this was a greeting he had created. he disallowed onstentanuos and time wasting greetings on military grounds and during military operations.
Arriving at the training ground he's attention was drawn center stage where a battle was unfolding, it was the 7ft 4 mountain and Kane one of his generals and captain of the black guard
As they both had a similar battle style the battle was intense.
Kane was like a whirlwind, his halberds striking down with devastating force utilizing law of physics he should know nothing of fulcrum,torque he weilded his halberd with minimal effort but maximum force
But it's seems to have no effect on the mountain before him , the weapons of cultivators had much more weight than regular weapons, but still whenever their weapons clashed it seemed like all the weight and force of the strike of the halberd vanished into nothingness
It was an insane display of skill most of those present here were seasoned warriors. they could see that the situation here was not due to a difference in cultivation levels but a difference in skill
Null had always once asked varyn about his passed but he had no recollection of it.
Although he normally wouldn't interrupt a duel he knew this two fought 100 hundreds of times a day, so he knew there was nothing scared about this duel.
" Varyn " at this point varyn noticed him he answered " your grace " then in a show of skill that awed every soldier present he blocked kane's strike with the pommel of the sword then proceeded to use the flat edge of the blade to slap him in his chest this sent him flying out of the arena
Watching the grizzled general walking towards him, Null controlled his facial expression he couldn't lose composure in front of his soldiers, but he really wanted to scream ' what the hell was that ' that was new varyn had never moved like that against him
So when the general got to him he just asked directly
" Because it wouldn't work against you,it's look flashy from the outside, but I'm sure if you were the one facing it might give you the chance to finally draw blood from me" varyn shrugged
Null nodded he understood a bit ,varyn had mentioned to him before the" flow of battle","good combat sense" varyn had said he had it but he himself has never felt it .It was one of the things he believed can only be felt on the battlefield
Getting out of his thoughts he went straight the the reason he was here " how are the soldiers re-adjusting to the manuals?"
"Fine their foundation is solid, and it's a basic but solid technique
"Good I need you to make preparations 10,000 green ones will follow duke Hugo to blackfort as reinforcements, I want you to lead them "
"Done your grace" replied varyn a bit happy he then asked
"You'll be handling that count" ?
"Yes,ready the black guards we ride out in two days "
"Just the black guards"
"Theyll be enough "
Varyn eyed Null then said carefully " why don't I accompany you inst-
"Are you codling me varyn" said Null his eyes cold yet his voice playfull
" No your grace " varyn said with a bow
"I'll be enough " said Null steel lacing his words as he walked away