Unchosen Champion

Supreme Champion Jerry the First stewed in agitation while he sat with the remaining advisors of Empress City. They gathered around the bar in the captain’s lounge that Jerry claimed as his throne room discussing their current predicament. His new pick for Viceroy led the debate, allowing Jerry the opportunity to observe and contemplate their positions above the rabble.

There were quite a few different faces from just two weeks ago. The frequency that he needed to punish them for mistakes was far too high, but when things went wrong, someone had to answer. Without Rod, good help was hard to come by, but even he had been a disappointment when it came down to it.

Humans as a species were dominant on Earth thanks to their ability to manipulate. Whether it was other animals, the environment itself, or other people, humans needed to be able to outmaneuver them in order to survive. Like everything else, strength was irrelevant without the ability to wield it as a tool for control.

Rod had understood those lessons well, but he had still been suckered. Jerry pitied his former friend even if it hadn’t taken long to move on. There was no room for sentimentality in Jerry’s ironclad logic and Rod was a victim of emotional weakness; a grave sin, as far as he was concerned. Jerry would never let emotions overrule his thoughts.

When the siege event began, Jerry had pulled his army into the superior defensive position within the interior ring of Empress City. They had tens of thousands of Chosen prepared to defend the settlement from invaders and they made it clear that they would only defend the interior. Then, they opened up positions in the army for anyone in the perimeter that was ready to join. It was the perfect incentive. The carrot of safety with the stick of an unhindered wave of monsters.

However, their recruitment efforts had been disappointing. He had expected to triple their numbers, at a minimum, while the obstinate would be run down by monsters. The Endless Empire’s intel had been off once again.

The settlement events were meant to be challenging, with massive rewards in experience and credits for participating. Instead, the wave of Primal Tracker variants was far too easy. Barely anyone joined the army while a rebel group rose up from within the shacks around the settlement. The rebels fought the wave on all sides and their ‘noble’ efforts inspired the regular citizens to join the rebels instead of the army.

Jerry wasn’t fooled. He saw the manipulation for what it was, but he couldn’t counter it directly. It would be tricky to deal with enemies painting themselves as heroes. He would still find a way. It was just a matter of time.

But time wasn’t really on the Endless Empire’s side either. The strategy the faction employed was meant to be a blitzkrieg, a rush to grab territory, with continued expansion fueling their numbers. They had a window of opportunity that had rapidly closed. Other factions’ strategies would be coming online after the first event completed, and they would take a tech advantage over the Empire’s initial rush.

Jerry could only blame a poor spawn. The Empire had anticipated more civilization shards for them to cascade across, but the nearest settlement had been prepared to defend right away, and was much too distant to catch by surprise. The northern settlement that sprung up around old Orlando had hemmed them in from the beginning, sending caravans to raid their northern flank and executing their scouts and ships on sight. It was four days of travel between the settlements, with skill enhancement and without monster interference, but that hadn’t discouraged their opponents from establishing a forward perimeter within the first weeks of the assimilation. They killed indiscriminately whenever the Empire attempted to bypass their patrols and entrenched themselves as mortal enemies from the start.

Now, they had a new problem. The rebels had made themselves comfortable at the edge of Empress City’s territory by moving to the port and claiming the coast for themselves. They were manually repairing buildings and using the port as a headquarters as they organized themselves. Everyday, more people left the outer ring to join the port. Recruitment numbers for their army had collapsed and deserters were quietly leaving the airport to defect.

Jerry had heard rumors of early boss types appearing in situations like the siege event, but they hadn’t received anything except regular monsters. The domestic problems would have worked themselves out if a boss type had arrived to wipe out the mishmash of untrained rebel defenders. The organized army could have displayed its superiority in that situation. Alas, none came. The Trackers had been higher level at least, though the rebels managed them regardless.