It took his army only half a day to reach Ferdor. Normally it would’ve taken longer but Beldan was quite insistent that they push as hard as they could. The general was worried that such a crucial piece of real estate would not long remain unoccupied. As it turned out his fears were not entirely unjustified.
The sun was shining as Ferdor’s outer walls came within view. The city looked massive even from a distance and Milo certain it would play a crucial role in his conquests. From a distance the walls looked empty but as they drew closer, they could see some movement. Ivy vanished in a pop of shadow magic and returned a few minutes later to report.
“A few hundred humans, most likely survivors who hid, or they could be survivors from the surrounding villages.”
Beldan squinted at one of the humans who kept sneaking peaks at them before ducking back down.
“Threat assessment?”
“Non-existent, I could probably take the walls by myself.”
Milo motioned for the rest of the army to stop and then rode the rest of the way alone. He cupped his hands to his mouth.
“I am… Emperor Milo, champion of Lilith, ruler of Emberstone, Willowford, Oakcrown and Ferdor, open the gate!”
The emperor title had been Ivy’s idea, apparently the lord or king title didn’t quite have the same oomph as the emperor one.
A human head peaked down at him from the top of the gatehouse. The man looked and sounded terrified.
“N…n…never heard of you!”
“I am new to this region, but my empire is growing rapidly, and as you can see I’ve brought my army with me. Don’t be afraid, you will be allowed to stay in Ferdor as long as you want, but I need to fortify and garrison the city.”
“Go away! The city is ours now!”
Milo sighed and then made a hand motion in Ivy’s direction. Ivy and six other shadow stalkers vanished and reappeared atop the wall. He could hear what sounded like panicked shouts as Ivy forced her way into the gatehouse. Less than a minute later the gate started rising.
Milo waved the rest of their army forward and marched into Ferdor. Inside they were greeted by a cluster of terrified humans armed with pitchforks and shovels. Milo glared down at them.
“I am emperor Milo of Emberstone, and this city is now mine, stand down! I will not ask again.”
The humans took in the army of demons and hybrids following in his wake and promptly threw down their weapon. A few seconds later Ivy approached him, she was towing a terrified man behind her by the collar of his shirt. She shoved the man in front of him.
“Are you the leader of these people?”
The terrified man nodded.
“Who are you and where did you come from?”
“I’m Herbert, and I come from Joldan village milord, only half of us managed to get away before the dead things attacked. They burned our village to the ground and we’ve hiding ever since. Then yesterday we noticed that the patrols suddenly stopped so we came to investigate the city, we found it empty and so we decided to claim it.”
“As I said, you will be allowed to stay in this city provided you help us clean it up. I will even offer you citizenship in my empire should you wish it. I will provide you with all the tools you need, and I will also supply you with food and protection.”
Milo’s long-term plan was to move the people who had moved to Emberstone from Ferdor back to their city. By now they would all be converted and would serve him far better in Ferdor where they could take up their trades once again. He had some hopes that there might be some blacksmiths and woodworkers among the lot which would save him the expense of having to summon weapons and armour for his warriors.
Herbert looked over at his fellow villagers and several of them nodded at him.
“I accept.”
Milo smiled at the man.
“Good, now lead us on a tour of this city, I’d like to know where everything is.”
Herbert did as he was asked and lead them into the city proper. The architecture was completely different from Willowford with a heavy emphasis on stone over wood. The choice made him certain that Ferdor either had access to a stone quarry or had gotten so rich from trade that they’d been able to build with whatever material they wanted. He tried to ask Herbert, but the man simply replied that he was just a farmer and had no idea.
Ferdor’s choice of stone over wood also meant that the fire which had started during the undead attack had done limited damage to the city’s living quarters. The true damage however became obvious when they reached the docks. The docks were not only massive in scope but had also been mainly constructed from wood. About a third of it was simply gone and would need to be rebuilt.
Their final destination was the keep which was so well defended Milo wondered how the city had fallen so quickly. It was also mostly untouched by the attack and Milo even found a soup bowl still half full of the owner’s last meal. They also found the treasury which was filled to the brim with silver and gold. He had very little use for money at the moment but that would change as soon as trade could be reestablished.
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With their tour done they returned to the courtyard of the inner keep. At Beldan’s insistence Milo pulled up the summoning list for buildings. Apparently, the general thought Ferdor was important enough to consider upgrading the keep.
Wooden house – 250 SE
Stone house – 500 SE
Wooden palisade – 1000 SE
Stone wall – 5000 SE
Marble wall with towers – 10 000 SE
Demonic keep - 25 000 SE
Obelisk of death – 50 000 SE
Demonic castle - 250 000 SE
Demonic fortress - 2.5 million SE
Lilith’s citadel - 25 million SE
Milo frowned at the list.
“That wasn’t there before…”
He’d read the list aloud for Beldan’s benefit and the general had clearly caught the same thing as he had.
“I’ve never heard of or seen an obelisk of death in Lilith’s realm.”
Ivy, ever the cleverest of their numbers was already smirking.
“I know where it came from.”
They both looked at her, she chuckled and then looked pointedly at the sword slung across his back. Milo followed her gaze to the demonsteel sword and finally understood. Since Deathbringer could be summoned at any time and didn’t come with a scabbard he had dismissed the sword. He held out his hand and swirls of green energy materialised into the legendary sword.
“Now, access the interface and say: ‘Show me any new additions to the summoning list’.”
Milo did as she asked, and the list shrunk until only one entry was visible:
Obelisk of death – 50 000 SE
Milo sensed that the Obelisk was merely the first stop on a deeper rabbit hole, it was the same feeling he’d had when he’d been offered the Ruby egg as a reward. He summoned the Obelisk and a few moments later a giant tower covered in skulls appeared in his vision. He placed the tower in the middle of the square and confirmed the purchase.
The obelisk was made from the same white stone as Rostrian’s fortress had been. It was covered in the skulls of several hundred different species. At first glance the Obelisk was utterly pointless as a building, which was why Milo was certain it would lead him to something new. He accessed the interface and repeated the same words. This time the list grew rapidly.
Summoning options added by Obelisk of death:
Troops:
Name: Death knight (0/4)
Cost: 25 000 spirit essence
Description: The death knights are drawn from the mightiest souls slain by the current wielder of Deathbringer. Their souls are bound to Deathbringer, granting the owner of the sword absolute control over them.
Items:
Name: Death's kiss
Cost: 250 000 spirit essence
Description: This ring allows its wearer to raise and control one being regardless of race or elemental affinity. Any being animated by this ring will serve its wearer with absolute loyalty until it is released or destroyed.
Set (1/3): Every undead being bound to the wearer of this set will retain their personality, memories and all abilities they had when they were alive.
This item is soulbound to Milo Harper and may only be summoned and used by him.
Name: Death's vanguard
Cost:350 000 spirit essence
Description: This set of lichsteel plate armour was forged by Enox for his only son Kalifor. This armour shares a connection to the sword Deathbringer and feeds on life energy to repair itself.
Set (1/3): Every undead being bound to the wearer of this set will retain their personality, memories and the abilities they had when they were alive.
This item is soulbound to Milo Harper and may only be summoned and used by him.
Name: Death's embrace
Cost: 250 000 spirit essence
Description: This pendant siphons and converts a portion of elemental energy from anyone it’s wearer slays. The wearer can draw upon these reserves to fuel their own elemental magic.
Set (1/3): Every undead being bound to the wearer of this set will retain their personality, memories and the abilities they had when they were alive.
This item is soulbound to Milo Harper and may only be summoned and used by him.
Milo whistled.
“For only 850 000 spirit essence I can become unbeatable!”
He’d meant it as a joke but both Beldan and Ivy wore thoughtful expressions on their faces. Beldan asked the obvious question.
“How much spirit essence do we currently have?”
Milo checked.
Spirit essence available: 973 002
He repeated the number aloud but before he could add that most of that spirit essence would need to go towards securing Ferdor Ivy spoke up.
“Do you remember the message you got after the arena trial event?”
At first Milo didn’t understand the point of the question but then he remembered that one of the rewards had been set in the future.
“Exclusive access to a unique event which start one month from now...”
Ivy nodded.
“And that was… 29 days ago?”
“Which means that it begins tomorrow…”
“Last time you were dropped in naked and yet as I recall you said the rules permitted summoned items. These items you just unlocked might cost the same as an army, but they are all soulbound items you could bring with you into this next event.”
Milo looked at Beldan.
“But what about Ferdor? You’ve barely got 800 demons and a hundred hybrids under your command.”
He’d expected Beldan to agree with his assessment but the general simply pointed at the crown on his head.
“That crown was the final reward for the final stage of the trial you reached, correct?”
“It was.”
“I am old, and I’ve been trough most of Lilith’s library, I’ve read about more enchanted items than you can dream of. In the hands of a leader that crown on your head is in its own way even more powerful than Deathbringer, a legendary sword used to slay gods. Just imagine what other rewards you might get if you can make it further in this event.”
Milo had to admit Beldan made a good point, the crown was ridiculously powerful and had played a key part in every single one of his victories. It was sort of flattering how they were willing to gamble it all on his skill with a sword, yet wasn’t that why Lilith had chosen him?
Milo summoned the three items and then spent the remainder on soldiers and supplies. The armour was magnificent and looked a lot like his sword, green with grey edges. Both the amulet and ring were made of the same metal and an emerald served as their focal point. Milo tried to wear both amulets at the same time but as soon as he tried to cast the metamorphosis spell, he realised he could only have one at a time. He took off the amulet and gave it to an elementalist who knew the spell.
The next day Milo was geared up and ready when the event popped up just as expected.
A unique event is now available only to you.
Trial of the champion
In this event you will face a wide selection of elite opponents in a fight to the death. After each victory the difficulty of your next opponent will increase until you are defeated. Each opponent defeated will earn you a great reward.
If you wish to participate in this event, please use the following phrase “I ‘insert name of participant’, accept this event”.
This event will disappear forever in 59minutes 31 seconds.
With regards
The Concordium.
Milo said the words and vanished from the streets of Ferdor.
