My Kingdom Building Done Right!

"Less than five hundred, you say?" Duran narrowed his eyes after listening to Dominic’s story. "Less than five hundred people ambushed us and managed to capture all the Gryphons under your command?"

"Yes," Dominic answered, sipping the wine in his goblet to calm his nerves a bit. "Perhaps around three hundred, but no more than five hundred."

Vogel lightly tapped his finger on top of the conference table. His gaze never left Dominic’s face, scrutinizing every change in his expression.

However, the only thing he saw was despair, anguish, subdued anger, and frustration. Vogel believed that if he had been in Dominic’s shoes, he would feel the same.

"Now let me get this straight." Duran pinched the bridge of his nose. "You didn’t see anything when you scouted from the sky. Then, after I called for help, you immediately turned around to help us.

"However, on the way, you came across these... groups of barbarians and Orcs. Then, you and your men tried to engage them in battle. But before you could even unleash your spells, a Gryphon-like creature appeared and spooked your Gryphons into submission?"

"Yes," Dominic replied. "I believe it used Bloodline Suppression against the Gryphons. Everything ended when it made its appearance."

"Damn it..." Duran cursed through gritted teeth. "How strong is that monster?"

"Stronger than the three of us," Dominic answered. "If we all attack it together, perhaps we stand a chance. However, a Gryphon will only fight in the sky. It will not allow itself to fight on land."

"Is that Gryphon-like creature the leader of the group that attacked you?" Vogel asked.

"No." Dominic shook his head. "It was a man wearing a mask. From his height, voice, and stance, I think he’s just a young man. He has blonde hair and blue eyes. If I remember correctly, he called himself the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe."

Duran glanced at Armand, who was frowning at the moment.

"Have you heard of the Aslan Tribe?" Duran asked.

"No." Armand shook his head. "This is the first time I’ve heard of this tribe. They are not among the tribes that we know about. Also, a barbarian with blonde hair and blue eyes? That’s not entirely unheard of either."

"Many nobles have been exiled to the Borderlands," Vogel commented. "Some of them might have been captured by the tribes and were forced to become a stud or a broodmare by those savages. During the previous war, we captured a barbarian with those features. He was sold as a slave in the capital."

"So, a descendant of our mighty kingdom has decided to rebel against us." Duran snorted in response. "If His Majesty hears this, he might pop a blood vein."

"Report such a devastating loss on the first day of the campaign?" Vogel sighed. "I could already hear the nobles blaming us for their losses. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they had already sent messenger birds to inform those in the capital of what had transpired today."

The two generals, as well as the commander of the fortress, all looked at Dominic at the same time.

The Gryphon Commander continued to drink silently, wallowing in grief and misery.

The King would certainly blame someone after such a devastating loss.

Dominic would be lucky if his head didn’t roll off the guillotine.

Unless he made a service meritorious enough to overwrite his offense, the only fate waiting for him back home was either life imprisonment or execution.

Dominic also knew this, but now that he had calmed down a bit, he was starting to worry about the family he had left behind.

As the Gryphon Commander of the Kingdom of Britannia, he had been bestowed the rank of Baron.

His family lived well and were very close to the circle of nobility. But now that his fall from grace was imminent, he feared his family would be persecuted as well.

Duran and Vogel had no heart to put additional blame on the person who was still alive yet already dead inside.

The only thing they could do was plan their next move when morning came.

Tomorrow, the entire army, except for the injured and those who had yet to fully recover, would march once more.

But this time, they would be prepared.

They would send scouts and have their formations spread out more.

That way, even if they were ambushed, the death toll wouldn’t reach over a thousand only after two bombardments from the enemy’s siege weapons.

"Dominic, as a general of the army, I order you and your men to assist the logistics team of the army," Duran ordered. "Since you’ve already met Marco earlier, make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. Do I make myself clear?"

Dominic nodded before pouring more wine into his goblet.

A sigh escaped Duran’s lips before he left the conference room with Vogel and Armand.

Tonight, the Black Tortoise General would write a letter to His Majesty, informing him of what happened during the first day of the campaign.

Although he was certain that their King would be furious, a report must be made as honest and as concrete as possible.

He would try to use words that wouldn’t put too much blame on Dominic.

Perhaps the enemy had used a magical formation to hide themselves, preventing the Gryphon Battalion from spotting them from the sky.

Even so, he doubted that explaining the events that unfolded in that manner would change the King’s mind.

The King, in his youth, had been a decent king.

He might not be wise or benevolent, but the Kingdom of Britannia didn’t suffer any hardships under his reign.

When he grew old, however, he was quick to anger and was quicker to find fault in others.

And now, Duran could bet that the moment this news reached His Majesty’s ears, he would send a Royal Inquisitor that would report everything that would happen in the next few days directly to the King he served.

"This is a bad start to this campaign," Vogel said. "Tomorrow, everyone must be on guard and be prepared for anything."

Duran nodded in agreement. "I’ll make sure that the scouting parties do their jobs properly. We can’t let what happened today happen again."

Armand listened quietly to the two generals as they walked along the hallway. Right now, he wouldn’t want to be in their shoes, especially after this incident.

He had a very bad feeling that something more sinister was waiting for them beyond the walls of Stoneguard Fortress.

The enemy that the army had encountered today was already unlike any tribe they had faced before.

They possessed siege weapons, powerful warriors, and intelligent monsters. Moreover, they were led by a mysterious chieftain who had somehow managed to suppress the prided Gryphon Battalion of the kingdom.

And if that wasn’t enough, they somehow remained completely undetected up to the very moment they launched their attack.

Armand couldn’t shake the feeling that today’s defeat was only the beginning.

Tomorrow, they would try to march once more toward the Borderlands.

Although the Fortress Commander didn’t say it out loud, he feared they would soon discover that the enemy had more tricks up their sleeves.

’I hope I’m just overthinking things,’ Armand thought. ’If what Dominic said is true, there are only five hundred of them. I’m sure our army can handle that much.’

However, what he, Duran, and Vogel had forgotten was that these three hundred enemies now rode on flying mounts.

They were very mobile, and could appear and disappear at a moment’s notice.

Soon, the two generals would understand that they were facing a force that they had never seen before.

A force that would make them reconsider everything they knew about warfare, pushing them to the limit of their patience and forcing them to confront an enemy they could neither predict nor understand.