The Golem Mage

His main dilemma right now was how to divide his forces, moving all his troops to a single flank was simply out of the question, as it would leave him dangerously vulnerable on other flanks.

Currently, he had a 6,000-strong subordinate army at his disposal.

Under his domain, Level 1 lords could summon 500 warriors, while Level 2 lords could summon 1,000.

Having only two of his Level 2 cities occupied, that accounted for 2,000 warriors. Another 3,000 came from the six other level 1 city sub-lords under his command, while the remaining 1,000 belonged to the Ice mage Squad led by Titan and his captain rank Golems.

Upon realizing that Titan could temporarily manage a territory, Alec had appointed him as the interim lord of the city he defended.

However, because Titan was an Ice Golem, his presence transformed the entire settlement into a city of shimmering crystals.

Alec advised residents who couldn’t handle the freezing climate to relocate to another city under his rule that is governed by his sub lords, where he reassured them that they would be well provided for.

Those who chose to remain adapted to a lifestyle similar to the inhabitants of the far north.

Dressed in heavy beast furs to stave off the harsh chill, the locals gradually adjusted to the unusual crops and fruits growing around Titan’s city, as it quickly became one of the most peculiar cities under Alec’s control.

Still, until a suitable replacement was found, Alec had no intention of relieving Titan of his duties, having a secure city defense led byTitan, along with a squad of specialized ice elemental mage warriors was an immense advantage he couldn’t afford to pass up.

In addition, Alec still held one level 2 city where no lord had been assigned, and he personally retained the right to command a personal army of ten thousand soldiers, Of those available slots, he had currently recruited only two thousand: Connor alongside a thousand and five hundred Barbarian warriors, and the Amazon Archer Queen commanding five hundred of her elite archers.

Unlike standard lords who simply build their forces, or kings who maintain poor relations with their lord subordinates if they weren’t a great lord, Alec enjoyed a very different dynamic.

Although the other cities under him were governed by sub-lords who possessed the right to break away if they wanted to, but they were his family members whom he actively cared for.

Consequently, if Alec ordered an attack, they would rally alongside him without hesitation, the neighboring forces of the Beast Forest had taken notice of this rare unity between them, realizing his territory was unlike most human domains.

It had been a long time since they last witnessed such exceptional unity between a main lord and his subordinate lords, this solidarity was precisely why the enemy forces had bolstered their troops to launch a larger assault on Alec’s domain.

Even though the gathering Beastkins had already swelled to seven thousand, their hesitation to attack spoke volumes.

After learning from the previous joint offensive mounted by the werewolves and Orcs, they were exercising serious caution.

Before long, however, Alec realized the real reason behind their delay, as a fresh broadcast was issued from the Wilderness king city heart in the regional group chat claiming that another city under the region had fallen again.

Right at that moment, Alec spotted a golden light blazing into the sky from a nearby location. Looking in that direction, he realized that the closest human lord’s domain to his own was the one that had fallen.

This meant the invading army that conquered that domain might soon decide to march toward his territory to orchestrate a pincer attack with the Beastkin facing him from this location.

Yet, even beyond the threat of a pincer strike, another pressing issue was already brewing right before him.

There was a fact that he believed when the blood moon war aura had finally stabilized it meant that the power of the other races would increase, however even that was not his primary concern.

Off in the distance, Alec spotted a group of Zergs screeching loudly, he knew that once their group fully manifested and their queen arrived, they would march directly toward the closest human domain, and his just happened to be the closest target.

The vibrant scent and powerful aura of life radiated by his city heart, which marked his domain’s borders, would feel much like a beast marking its territory to the Zergs, and it would only stimulate and draw them straight toward his forces.

This reality deeply unnerved him, after confirming that he would have to contend with seven thousand beastkins, an unknown enemy army advancing from the opposite direction, and an imminent strike from the Zergs from the front, he realized he could no longer delay upgrading his army.

”It appears both enemy forces are biding their time, waiting for the Zergs to strike first,” Agnes began, laying out her tactical theory.

”Because even with their superior numbers and the current advantage, it seems they clearly view your strength with great caution, perhaps suspecting we still hold some hidden power in reserve.”

”I suspect their strategy is to launch their assault either while we are fully occupied with the Zerg swarm, hoping to catch us unaware, or to strike immediately after the fighting ceases when our forces are utterly exhausted,” she concluded.

Alec listened in silence until she finished her explanation.

”Don’t worry about all that; I won’t allow that to happen. If a war is what they desire, then a war is exactly what I shall give them,” Alec declared.

With a sharp upward swipe of his hand, he summoned a cascade of system interfaces before him, from the City Heart shop to the Army barrack summoning screens and fortification menus shimmered into existence as he prepared to not only bolster his borders but to drastically increase his own combat power.

The best part was that even if he completely exhausted his system points on his current plan, he was confident he would recoup the losses through the kills they secured and the corpses gathered once the war settled.

After all, he intended to survive this battle.

”City Heart, prepare to upgrade all city walls to match the level of the main city wall,” Alec commanded, as a total estimate appeared before him, outlining the massive cost to upgrade the walls across all the territories under him, a staggering sum, given that he now oversaw ten additional cities alongside his main city.

The moment the figure registered in his mind, he gritted his teeth and pressed ’Y’ without hesitation, fully committed to seeing the decision through.