Chương 32: 31. Tier III

Tavian spared another glance toward the fighting around the Temple of Ishtoran. The priests of Ishtoran trained in fighting forms with their cudgels, and should be able to hold against a few dozen ghouls outside the wall. He didn't see Braun anymore, and hoped he'd gotten inside the compound. He did not believe that Braun had actually gotten the Tiren girl pregnant. That was just a bit of lascivious gossip. Tavian shook his head. His soldiers were waiting for orders.

He assigned a few of the less bloodthirsty looking household servants and one soldier to stay and watch the captured Anarvians.

"We're going to move around and prepare to assault the Anarvian claimed hextiles that pass through the main gate," he explained.

"We need as much Influence as possible to help us cut them off there, destroying every claim they have inside the fortress. Then it will be fair winds at our back as we claim the remainder of the tiles and capture the rest of the fortress. We'll still have to contest the walls and other strong positions held by Anarvia's men, but we'll be doing it on our territory." Tavian's forces saluted, and they moved on. They passed a few small portals on the inner wall, but these were blocked up.

If Anarvian forces held them, they were on the other side of the wall and did not interfere with the movement of Tavian's troops.

"My lord, are you well?" one of the household servants asked him as they walked, gesturing at Tavian's chin. He felt at it with his hand, but nothing seemed amiss. Holding up his sword, he examined his reflection, and saw a splotch of dark skin, creeping up his chin and onto his cheek. He was running out of time.

"I'm fine," he lied.

"We can't get distracted from claiming the fortress." Then they reached the Airward gate, the primary gate of the fortress's outer wall. The main road lead out of the gate, and down into the streets of Tar Corinath. Along this road ran the umbilical of Anarvian claimed tiles which connected the fortress to the Anarvian compound. Tavian kept his forces back, both atop the wall and on the ground, as he inspected the gate. Astonishingly, there did not seem to be more then ten or fifteen men guarding the entrance.

That force was small enough that Tavian and his men could easily take them, even on their own territory. They moved in and out of one of the guardhouses, discussing something anxiously. Then a tan skinned man walked out and stood under the arch of the wall, looking up and examining something. The man wore an armband of gold, his head shaved save for a long black braid at his crown. Mandros. Tavian quickly assessed the situation.

He had numbers on his side, in a quick fight, but Mandros would be able to summon reinforcements if the fight lasted too long. The Anarvians had two Influence on their side, but Tavian and some of his men would ignore that, wielding their miasmic daggers. He didn't have either of his [Claim Busters]—Cormath and Braun—but he didn't think he'd need to use claimstakes. He only needed to claim two Anarvian tiles to be able to cut through the strip of enemy land. Using Influence Overwhelm, that shouldn't take long.

"Pass the word along," Tavian said.

"We'll move on my command." He started claiming tiles. Reaching out in a line from his core, moving away from where his solders waited, Tavian claimed a single line of tiles. They would have to move quickly. If Mandros and his men managed to cut through Tavian's claim, he would lose a significant amount of essence. It took eight tiles before Tavian's claim reached out and touched the outer wall. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 359 31 11. 6 Mandros and his men did not react.

Tavian had avoided claiming any tiles alongside Anarvian claimed land to keep things hidden for as long as possible. He began extending his claim, selecting tiles along the wall in both directions. He'd have liked to conserve his Influence until after he dealt with Mandros at this gate, but he was afraid of not being able to encircle and claim the fortress fast enough. And, even though he still clutched the miasmic dagger, he felt the painful cold of his miasmic wound, spreading into his face.

His eye stung, the world blurring slightly when he moved too quickly. He needed to reach the 144 tile threshold for Tier III as soon as possible. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Then he would discard the miasmic dagger. Then Calli could extract the miasma from his wound. The process of claiming tiles was fast, but not instant, and the process could not be started until the prior tile in the chain was claimed.

Tavian watched his map update as he claimed more tiles along the wall, until nearly the entire eastern outer wall was under his domain. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 359 49 7. 3 Then he claimed the tile bordering the Airward gate. Mandros noticed. He began rallying soldiers, directing them eastward toward the tile that Tavian had just claimed. What he didn't realize was that Tavian and his men were hiding to his west. Tavian triggered the attack of the Anarvian claimed tile.

The claim took longer than claiming a neutral tile, since overcoming 2 Influence was more challenging, but with Tavian's significantly higher Influence, it wasn't a problem. Mandros and his men were running out to the new tiles that Tavian had claimed, likely to erect claimstakes and cut off the attack, when Taivan signaled the charge. He ran into the open, charging at the backs of the Anarvians. His men gave a shout and they followed Tavian, crossing over onto the Anarvian claimed tiles at the gate.

A few men ran out of the gatehouse to confront them, but these were quickly cut down. Mandros saw that he'd been out maneuvered, and was now outnumbered. He formed up his forces, and they turned to face Tavian. Tavian claimed the final tile out from under Mandros's feet. Anarvian claimed tiles within the fortress were cut off from the Anarvian Core and turned neutral. Tavian watched Mandros's eyes flick to the open gate.

"You can't hold this ground!" Mandros shouted.

"You're too weak!"

"Then come and take me," Tavian replied. His men cheered and took up the war cry. Mandros knew he was in a difficult position. He could see Tavian at the head of the attack. The man saw the number of soldiers backing Tavian up. Tavian prayed that he'd choose the easy out. Mandros made a calculation, turned, and ran, leading his men deeper into the fortress. Tavian cursed. He was going for the Core. He had guessed that Tavian hadn't left enough soldiers to protect it, and he was calling Tavian's bluff.

Trying to pursue, Tavian hit the limits of his endurance. He staggered to a stop, his head spinning as the air felt thin around him.

"My lord," a soldier exclaimed, grabbing Tavian to prevent him from falling. The horrified look on the man's face told Tavian what he could already feel. The miasma was fully taking over.

"Go," Tavian gasped.

"Send men. Stop Mandros." He sat down in the middle of the gate, pulling up his system interface. He continued selecting tiles to claim, barely able to stay focused on the icons. A selection of the remaining portions of the outer wall completed, he dropped back on the dirt. Tiles flipped, claimed from both directions as Tavian's Influence wrapped around the wall. 50 tiles claimed. Euphoria. With each tile clamed, a jolt of overwhelming triumph washed over Tavian.

60 Tavian felt his Influence weakening as it was spread out more thinly. Gravity pulled more strongly on him, dragging him down. 75 90 Then the two arms met on the west side of the fortress, completing the encirclement. In rapid succession, every neutral tile within the encirclement flipped. The air seemed to snap as everything fell into place. The glowing borders in Tavian's hexsight vision coalesced, merging and dissolving, until his domain spread across the entire fortress. Men cheered in the distance.

He spotted Squad Lieutenant Zael running about wildly with his men, clapping one another on their backs. It made him smile. Banners torn from the walls were being lifted back in place. Tavirost Fortress was in the hands of House Veros once more. Tavian lay back on the ground, awash with the overwhelming sensation of growth and power. He had done it. He'd really done it. Tavirost Fortress was his. ⬣ Kingdom Status ⬣ Core Essence Tiles Claimed Influence 359 326 1. 01 ⬣ The Kingdom of Tar Corinath has grown.

New Kingdom Tier unlocked: Tier III ⬣ ⬣ The Kingdom Must Grow ⬣ ⬣ [Ruler III] - Your authority grows with your kingdom. Increase your kingdom size to unlock more powerful tiers. ⬣ ⬣ You have 4 stat points to assign. Assign now? ⬣ ⬣ Congratulations on reaching Tier III. You can now create and designate Tier III classes. Tier III classes receive 4 stat points, and cost 36 core essence to assign. Would you like to create a Tier III class? ⬣ Finally.

Tier III classes let him grant four stat points to class holders, which was starting to feel like enough to really do something. It was about time that his unit leaders received extra combat benefits. Tavian pulled open his [Ruler III] menu. ⬣ Ruler stats: ⬣ Class Tier Magic Constitution Strength [Ruler] III 2 1 0 ⬣ You have 4 stat points to assign. Would you like to assign them? ⬣ His body ached. His life essence was bleeding out of him, consumed and transformed into black miasma. But…

If he put one in Magic, he could make his own [Claimstakes]. And he was tired of feeling so weak. Maybe… It would be better if he put one into strength.

"Okay," he gasped.

"Three constitution, one strength." He made the assignment, and a wave washed over him. ⬣ Ruler stats: ⬣ Class Tier Magic Constitution Strength [Ruler] III 2 4 1 He immediately felt stronger. Not energetic, but… stable. He could get [Claimstake] at the next Tier… which he suddenly remembered would give him eight points to spend. That was something to look forward to. How soon could he get there? He laid on his back, basking in the euphoria of his growing kingdom.