Lumieri Chronicles: Rise of the First Empire (Book 1)

Chapter 17 The Territories

Inner Territories of Lumiere...
Leo's POV

I sit in my tent looking at the map with three targets having marks on them: the villages Tark and Lint, and the new city of Harkon. These three hold the most power and influence in this region, and if I make them submit, most of the remaining towns in the region should fall accordingly. In this one month, my army of three thousand became fifteen thousand with reinforcements trickling from the towns and cities under my control and I sent them to the other territories to rapidly expand Lumiere's holdings in a short period of time. Why this happened was mostly thanks to my propaganda and the spread of the Lumieri flag through my territories.

People lined up in droves when calls were made looking for recruits for the Lumieri Army. A mixture of patriotism and desire to earn a living spurred more and more men answer the call and it didn't take long for the Lumieri Army to swell to forty thousand men. Of course the remaining twenty thousand recruits are still back home training under five thousand of my best troops under General  Erwin's efficient training regimen while the five thousand were sent to guard the borders.

And now I'm here. With an army comprised of both trained, and rookie soldiers trying to bring this region back into the fold..

I continue to look at the map drumming my fingers on the table as I think of a strategy for this region. "Maybe if I position my army on the top of the hill and use the sun to make it look like I have more, perhaps I can bluff them...but if they don't fall for it..."

I continue to ponder on my plans as a soldier enters my tent. "My king, sorry for the disturbance, but our envoys have returned."

I dismiss the soldier with a nod and wipe the sweat accumulated from thinking so hard from my face and head out to meet the envoys.

I exit the tent as the scene of the camp enters my vision. The circular encampment filled to the brim with tents and soldiers scurrying about. There's also spiked barricades along the outer areas to provide additional security apart from the sentries. And to my front, I find all three of my envoys bowing before me. The first envoy, a man named Horus stands up first to address me.

"My king, I have news of Tark Village."

I give a nod to tell him to continue.

"The village was rather happy that we finally recognized them as being part of Lumiere again."

I grow confused at him saying "finally recognized". I mean they were the ones who separated from us. "What do you mean 'finally recognized' Horus?"

"Well my king, they've always wanted to rejoin us for years now. They sent a request on the day Prince Louise was killed so the letter was probably lost in the chaos that happened."

I grit my teeth in annoyance. Another territory joining and was stopped thanks to those masked assassins. When I find out who they are, I'm gonna make sure they'll regret what they did. I'll make their deaths slow and painful. As for the one that sent them, I'll make sure to prepare a nice surprise for him...or her.

My thoughts are interrupted when I see Horus has a look of nervousness. I notice the reflection on my sword and realize I that face is twisted with rage. Teeth gritted with a frustrated expression that even I'm surprised at how dark of an aura I feel I'm emanating. I clear my throat and apologize to Horus as well as dismiss him.

The next envoy to rise in front of me was a diplomat by the name Rena. A brown-haired girl that's about twenty years old. She's also one of my youngest diplomats so I sent her to Lint to test her diplomatic skills.

"Rena, how goes your envoy to Lint?"

She looks at me straight in the eye and I was a little shocked. Rena was always a timid girl. Why she wanted to become a diplomat is beyond me. Perhaps she wanted to overcome her shyness? I never really asked since I feel that it's not my place and let her be.