SK4 - Chapter 24 - War Preparations

Three months. 

Three months of Nick and his wives solving issue after issue within his fictional kingdom, all culminating toward this day. He was getting close to what the floor wanted, and if this proxy war didn’t complete the floor, he would be absolutely shocked. 

He had done everything he could think of to prepare his people, and Nick couldn’t be prouder about his wives and all they accomplished.

His wives had overcome a lot, and Nick actually got some much-needed rest. He got through all of his information crystals Irene had set him up with and learned more about different paths and kingdoms. He even read some of Rebecca’s crystals, since he had run out of things. 

Now he felt even more ready to rule Frosthaven even as he began to deal with other kingdoms in the surrounding area. 

Frosthaven’s Control Radius kept growing, and it was only a matter of time before it bumped up against a kingdom he didn’t want to destroy because it was secretly led by a bandit warlord or run by monsters. That meant that Conflict was inevitable in the future. Orion would make sure of it.

Silverbrook and Frosthaven’s radius started overlapping, but they had already made a small pact or agreement about their ownership. He was no longer pushing out East at all, and only North, South, and West–and more West than the other directions, and Silverbrook ignored the West toward Frosthaven. 

And if anything special appeared between where they overlapped without an Orion-sanctioned event to go along with it, it would go to Nick. Of course, Nick didn’t expect it would go without any kind of concession, but he was perfectly fine with working together to make use of the resource or splitting the ownership of it into fair portions if at all possible.

Rebecca was so proud about how much he personally read and was happy about how much she and Eirwen had learned from the place’s library. She, along with Kaya and Shara had dueled with Nick so that he could practice his swordsmanship and improve their own capabilities almost daily. 

Not much of his tasks in the past few months stood out to Nick individually, because there were just so many. One outing there was an assassination attempt on Nick, but it was easily thwarted by Sable, and Nick was ready for it anyhow. 

And Shak’terra did show her value on numerous occasions, speaking with the elemental spirits and scrying the nearby areas. She caught several ambushes, allowing them to easily overturn the threats. Nick was frankly shocked at how many resources Lord Tagron had invested in trying to bring his kingdom down a peg, but he was thwarted at nearly every turn.

One thing he had noticed was that having so many Kingdoms nearby at a rock-throwing distance, it was actually quite busy. 

There were constant meetings with diplomats and the need for knowledge of all sorts of etiquette and information, due to so many races and cultures being involved. He was now thankful that Frosthaven was so remote, having so little to deal with on the day-to-day.

And he felt tremendous gratitude to his real Followers. The distorted clones were kind of fun sometimes too, but Nick was going to go give Lothar, Renzou, Turon, and especially Councilor Robins some bro hugs and gifts as soon as he got back. And Lumos…he would give that cute little workaholic robot anything she wanted.  

Her equivalent was not present in this Ordeal and her presence was sorely missed. She made so many problems just go away with her magical engineering, usually before they even became problems. 

Conversely, issues requiring ingenuity or crafters in fake Frosthaven took weeks or months, and some of his problem-solving efforts were still pending as his people marched. He was sure that Lumos could have drilled down to that spring in a week and had some extra water flowing to the swamp in that time too. Even with earth mages and frogloks with control over water, they finished the first part of the project in a little over a month and the second and third parts to improve the water health at the spawning pools were still pending.   

His real Frosthaven leaders and Lumos all made his life so much easier, and he now appreciated all of them even more than he did before. He knew before that they were capable and valuable. But having to deal with a bunch of subordinate’s bickering and constant one-upmanship, as well as other annoying traits like alcoholism and laziness, was seriously a chore he was glad he didn’t have to live with. 

His real people were driven, reliable, and just got along well. While he thought it was a bit because of the Soul Pact, it was also that each and every one of them had overwhelming gratitude in their hearts for Nick and were genuinely happy to be in his city. They’d put up with a fair amount of bullshit that Nick threw their way because they had true loyalty for him and respect for how he had saved them all in some way from horrible fates. 

Even though it was a fictional kingdom, Nick still did his best to try to cultivate some of that on this floor. Perhaps this was why the copy subordinates weren’t so amazing to begin with, to give him a true challenge in managing people who were much more difficult and had much more room to grow. It was a simulation of what future interactions with new subordinates could be like, and he had handled it about as well as he could have, he thought.

Fake Elyra and Myron were both much easier to deal with after a few honor gains and a few kegs and other gifts, and they actually grew a fair amount stronger besides. And they were far from the only ones among his retinue that he could say the same for.

And the frogloks were quite happy at resolving both the issue with the dam and also creating a new river for them. He pushed for better housing and equipment for them, making all of them truly feel valued. Not just the tamers and combatants, too.

But he knew, even with all his efforts, his subordinates and their underlings, their loyalty and capabilities, still weren’t anywhere near any of his actual Followers. It was only roughly 90 days, after all. And with so many kingdoms to choose from as a place to hang their hat, it was easy for people to have that grass-is-greener syndrome. Until he finished the project for the spring, the frogloks had gone on and on about leaving for some lake kingdom that he didn’t even think existed, or maybe they were saying they were going to start their own? He didn’t know.

Nick looked over his preparations. His forces gathered at this Conflict event, as well as the numerous coalition armies setting up their tents in the surrounding area. At the other end of the valley Lord Tagron and his coalition could be seen, and it was a bit intimidating. Orion was likely allowing him nearly double the forces of the average army present because he was early in the third stratum. He had roughly the same number of allies as Nick, but some had longer histories and thus more actual army strength.

In all, Nick didn’t think he could have done that much better. He did learn a fair amount about both kingdoms on Orion, but also about dealing with many cultures and peoples. 

He finally got a chance to practice some diplomacy, and he had only made a few minor blunders. When like five things seemed to blow up per day in his or the surrounding kingdoms, he’d count that as a huge win.

And it seemed Orion agreed. It gave its prompt just after they finished setting up his command tent, the arches for the exit portal rising from the ground next to him. The shield for the Safe Zone appeared in an area around their tent, allowing Jeffrey to have a safe tent of his own nearby.

His forces were now sprawled similarly in tents across the battlefield, and his wives were just about to head inside with him. The Conflict would begin tomorrow, and he knew it would be utter chaos and they would need their rest.

[Floor 18 Complete. Checkpoint Set, and your Command Tent and the surrounding areas is considered a Safe Zone until dawn. Should you flee without completing this floor, you may continue from Floor 19 using this Checkpoint. If you would like to attempt the Test of Governance again, you may. However, keep in mind that the floor’s contents and challenges will be completely different the next time.

Floor 19’s Test details will be provided at dawn along with the specific Conflict details.]

[Floor Rating: A. Reward: Pending Ordeal Exit. Loot from the treasury based on the party's gains will be provided to the Frosthaven treasury.] 

[Evaluation: You took governance of your facsimile kingdom seriously, managing numerous subordinates and resources effectively, and handled tasks and issues expertly. Using your people’s strengths and making considerations for their weaknesses, you accomplished many difficult tasks, all while cultivating loyalty and respect within them, following your Chosen Path. You’ve Tested yourself, and you and all your Ordeal Climbing Party have become More.

Your effective use of talented subordinates led you to triumph over several threats and enemy plots, losing very few warriors in the process and cultivating your allies for this final challenge. Your army and kingdom, as well as the coalition itself, are prepared nearly as well as they possibly could be, minus a few small failures and less than optimal choices. 

You failed to make the best use of the adherents of Litiana, underutilizing their powerful capabilities. Their presence alone from a few well-placed pilgrimages could have truly aided you, reducing your risk and also garnering a little more respect and rapport for granting them the opportunity. 

And also, getting them out of your hair. Let this be a lesson to you, that even difficult people you dislike can be strong and valuable when wielded correctly. You have come a long way since you first set foot in this Ordeal. Now you show it the proper respect that it deserves, bringing strong allies and with respectable preparations for yourself, and take a proper mindset toward bettering yourself following Orion’s Will. You are walking Orion’s Paths in earnest–after you finally fixed your own ignorance. There is still much for you to learn and improve; do not forget it. But you are now passable, descendant of Noblefrost.]

Nick groaned as he read the last parts of the prompt about his failures with the angels but couldn’t help but be moved a little by the closing statement. It had been a long road since he first entered the Path of Kings, but now, it seemed even this Keeper, the one who hated him, now thought he was passable.

He was going to share it with his wives–but then, it shifted into glitchy lettering before it disappeared, like it was never there in the first place.  

He asked his wives, who were all reading their personal evaluations. “Hey, did you girls see that?”

Eirwen looked around for a moment, wondering what Nick was on about. “See what, Hubby?” 

He shook his head. Whatever the case may be, did it matter? He was originally upset that the entity was looking down on him and the arbiter of life and death within the Ordeal, but he had made peace with it now, thanks to Irene finally providing him more information. 

These entities, the Keepers, were nothing more than servants, and they followed a series of rules to alter the floors and encounters in the Ordeals to match the entrants and help them grow and become more. The entity was likely punished for breaking these rules with his colored commentary but also shoving that Optional-Test for Nick inside. 

Orion was all-seeing, but it acted more like a mixture between a strange, primordial drive and an ancient computer with the goal of making people become More, its purpose unknown to most aside from that. 

What happened before the Keepers came into existence was that it was driven so deeply by this purpose, it lost sight of the value of life. Vast devastation and destruction from deadly conflicts lead to powerful people–but then there was nearly nothing left, and the next generations were destroyed. The chaos had nearly led Orion to extinction. 

Now, the Keepers managed the risk and the rules for the Orion-Sanctioned Paths and how Conflict could take place. It was meant to be a gradual crescendo of risk versus reward–it did not often put people into deadly situations where there was nearly no chance. Then, Lords could not instantly lead a war against another Lawful Kingdom without first seeking other Conflict options, no matter the Path. There needed to be a Case for War, even if you had some kind of greed-focused Path like Lord Tagron may have.   

The Keepers also created his heroic quests and may have at least mediated his Heritage Quests, and there might just be a few Keepers per shard, or individual ones might even manage several. Irene wasn’t sure. For Nick, they had represented an authority he couldn’t see or give a name to, and so that had made him a bit frustrated and angry, his first many forays into the Ordeals proving extra frustrating and like they were out to get him personally.

Nick was over it now. “Never mind, Winny. It’s not important.”

He couldn’t help but look over at the sexy angels with a bit of blame, as they floated imperiously over everyone, the almost-naked people not wanting any kind of tent. But as one of them turned to meet his gaze, he looked away, letting out a breath. 

That was close. He really did not want to have another debate over whether it was moral or not to fight and lose his people’s lives over the diregators spawning pools. They were here to heal and protect the wounded, as well as bring order to the chaos if somehow Lord Tagron tried to disobey Orion’s Will. 

It was never about the gators. It was that their opponent, a bully, would take a mile if you gave them an inch, and that would lead to even more turmoil and death, and with the enemy’s boot over his neck–and a gator eating his feet.

Kaya followed his gaze from before and then smirked at his unease, nudging him with her hip. “You thinking of that Councilor Robins again? She’s back at fake Frosthaven, she can’t hurt you here, and likely not anymore.”    

Sable chuckled. “It’s so weird that it changed his gender for some reason. Too bad they’re so stuck up. Them angels are pretty hot, I bet Boss would enjoy having a few more angels around.”

Nick shook his head. “I’ve learned these last few months that I got two of the best angels already. I’m good on angels, thanks.”  

Rebecca smiled. “Sweet talker. Even I must admit they were a bit frustrating. They tried my patience too. Councilor Robins was the worst, constantly lecturing me over my use of fists and my staff and wanting me to increase my wisdom around morality. Seraphara values morality and ethics, but true compassion doesn’t come from creating a list of reasons not to help someone, let alone lecturing them about those reasons. That’s like kicking someone while they’re down.” 

Winny giggled. “Three months of dealing with them was a little long, but I think we gained a lot here for what is only about 20 days outside. This proxy Conflict should be interesting; I just wish we knew what it was going to be like exactly to better prepare.”

Luna said, “The moon gnolls are fun! Weird though. Now I know a little about how Nick felt watching us before we evolved.”

Shara added, “The frogloks are kinda cute, but it’s also a bit gross how they lick their own eyes. Still, they do grow on you.”

Fang pointed over at Jeffrey, who was once again being accosted by one of the mantisfolk girls. “Hehe, they’re after him again! They love his shiny carapace and his big body, different from their usual weak males.”

Nick called him over, and the man was blushing as he arrived. Patting the beetlefolk’s shoulder, he said, “I told you, my friend. Do not lose your head over one of them girls. I won’t be able to revive you until we get out.”

“W-What? Those are just rumors, aren’t they? If they’re not hungry, they won’t…right?”

Kaya laughed. “How many men have you seen over there, Jeff? They are born one to one. There’s a reason there are only so many left, and it wasn’t because the men forgot to make sure their girl was well fed before they got busy.”

“But they said…” His shoulders sagged. “It’s too bad. Their leaves and colors on their carapaces are so pretty.”

Nick chuckled. The mantisfolk were like anthropomorphic mantises that could actually change their colors and looks to match the environment. When not fighting, they would choose vibrant colors, flowers, and leaves to cover their bodies, which reminded Nick of male peacocks and their strategies. 

“Don’t worry, my friend. We’ll find you a nice girl at home. One that won’t eat your head.” 

After their march to this valley, the family was exhausted. If it was just a march, it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal. But monsters filled the valley, and the jungle leading to this green prairie required constant vigilance. 

Orion had sent both coalitions to a neutral location, and while they were prepared for war, the proxy war was not going to be the same thing. Nick had to balance how many forces he brought for this event, how many to escort them back, and how many to defend the fortress. Thankfully, this Proxy War had both limits and restrictions that both sides had to adhere to.

In fact, there shouldn’t be any shenanigans by Lord Tagron before or after the event. Events like this were sacred, and attacking the enemy after losing would often cause a tribulation or other severe sanctions. It was why Nick and the coalition were willing to head to the event. Otherwise, what would be the point? Of course their enemy would just crush them with their superior strength. 

The family gathered in their large futon bed, woven from Jasmine’s silks. It behaved a lot like an air mattress, in that it folded up into a much smaller thing, but with just a bit of her essence, it ballooned up into something larger than two king beds. They all found their places together, taking turns relaxing in Nick’s arms. 

In the morning, Jeffrey rejoined them as dawn arrived. The golden lights of Orion swept over the valley, and then areas formed in front of each.

[Floor 19 - The Test of Strategy and Leadership. Even seekers of peace must prepare for Conflict. It is one of Orion’s many truths, and war is common among kingdoms. Lead your kingdom to success in the Proxy War. Victory in the event leads to the success of the Floor.]

[Bring your designated forces for the Proxy War to the field. Noblefrost Kingdom is allowed one hundred and twenty-seven participants. Lords from each kingdom must enter for their army to participate, but they are not at risk of death in the challenge. You have ten minutes until the Conflict: Proxy War begins.]

They didn’t know what they were facing, so Nick brought what he thought was the best, well-rounded group capable of handling most types of threats on their own, while also considering just what kind of allies were in his coalition. 

The frogloks and their bonded diregators counted as not quite two, it seemed, as ten of them only amounted to fifteen on the counter in his Menu. Then, Jasper and Ishkara only took his slot as the Lord, which went along with what he knew–that he wasn’t penalized for using Soul Servants. 

Confirming this, Nick divided up his team, adding even more of the frogloks and their diregators. He’d take advantage of them, even if just to spite that jerk Lord Tagron who wanted them so badly.

Drakans, moon gnolls, mantisfolk, Nick’s wives and him, an assortment of random beastfolk, humans, and elvish warriors and hunters, with a few handfuls of knights. Not all that different from samurai, all things considered, but different enough. And, taking his feedback seriously, Nick brought five of the angels too. All of Nick’s fake subordinates were present, the number of people who had headed through the Path of Kings Ordeal at some point was actually a point of pride for Nick. 

With the slots all taken up, half of his people remained in reserve. Because even if attacking with some crazy plot would cause sanctions, that didn’t do anything for Lord Brightclaw if he was dead.

As he saw his allies of the coalition gathering on their own fields, he realized that his army, because of his personal strength, was nearly fifty percent larger than his allies. And across the way…thankfully, only Lord Tagron’s was bigger than his. But it wasn’t by too significant of an amount. 

It was tough. If Nick was right, the enemy coalition’s army was nearing, but not quite, double of theirs. It would not be easy to defeat the enemy, and this was Orion making things ‘fair.’ The average level of them was likely going to be a little higher for Lord Tagron’s army, but not by a ton–he was only early in the third stratum, after all, and his level was likely significantly above his armed forces. 

Nick’s army was transported somewhere else in the valley, and other armies of the coalition were too, even closer than before. The five lords in Nick’s coalition stood on the hill behind their armies, holding their battle standards with their house family crests. They billowed in the light breeze, and Nick felt something special coming from the one he held.

The prairie was largely flat with only small hills throughout, with very sparse trees dotting the landscape. In the center was a tower structure, with several portals open. Nick could hardly see around to the other side of the tower, but that was where the enemy coalitions were situated.    

An archway rose from the ground next to the lords, and then they received the prompt.

[Conflict: Proxy War - Orion will spawn a special resource, the Ancient Canyon of Majesty. This pocket realm contains crypts, relics, and valuable resources for harvesting.

To decide location and ownership, Orion has created a Proxy War. The fight is not expressly against each other, but competing in a battle against the local Monster Kingdoms, and is meant to be at the Trial level of danger and rewards.  

Each kingdom involved received a similar allowance to represent their kingdoms in the battle. However, in accordance with the strength of the Lords and their kingdoms involved, the larger, more dominant kingdoms have been given advantages to acknowledge the disparity in strength and quality.

The Lords are not allowed to fight, their weapons and offensive magics sealed. They are only allowed to carry their Kingdom’s Battle Standard and use their auras and support spells, should they have them. Lords may not steal standards from other Lords.

Loss of the standard without retrieval in under five minutes is an immediate forfeit of their army from the Proxy War, and their army teleported out in this Event. Stolen standards do not only eliminate enemy armies, but when combined with your own, increases the effectiveness.

The Battle Standards are more than just a flag. They enhance auras and Concept’s range, enabling them to encompass a larger area, but they may not overlap. They also protect against death. An unbreakable barrier is provided to the Lords that will not disappear even when the standard is stolen. Abuse of this personal barrier will not be tolerated. 

The Monster Kingdoms are also getting a similar chance for victory, should they be able to grasp it. Eliminating other kingdoms from the battle is allowed, but do so at your people’s peril. The coalition with the most monster kills will be the victor, should they survive. Warriors and Lords alike may flee and leave the field of battle through the archways. The battle will begin in ten minutes, giving you an opportunity to test and understand the natures of your standards.]

The explanation was long and complicated, but the challenge seemed simple: kill more monsters than the enemy. Don’t allow the enemy to steal the flag. Try to steal their flags, but don’t get greedy–you still have to win against the monsters.

He thought the bits about the standards were an interesting nuance to the challenge. It meant that any aggression against the other army was extremely dangerous, but success would be dramatic. Nick played out several possibilities in his mind, and aside from sending an elite force with unique skills to steal a flag, he couldn’t see an easy way to benefit from the option seriously. 

If Lord Tagron used his larger numbers to try to snuff out one of Nick’s armies, he would lose so many soldiers that he would likely lose the war against the monsters, and yet, he wouldn’t even kill any of the opposing lords. If he instead only sent one of the armies to try to force their way through and claim a flag, it would be one army against five, and the reverse would happen. If they didn’t send the flag and a Lord on their attack, then they would have no aura and be at a severe handicap–losing valuable people at a disadvantage.

He looked over a few of his allied lords with a tiny bit of suspicion. Thankfully, perhaps because they were invulnerable, they could not steal flags. However, nothing actually stopped an allied army from attacking and killing one of their own coalition’s armies.

The Lords had made Oaths to one another, but one could never know how Lord Tagron might plot. There was nothing stopping small groups of warriors from betrayal, as only the Lords could truly provide Oaths. 

As much as Nick wanted to make Soul Pacts with these people, they were not quite real–they did not have real souls, only the makeup of something that very much looked like them. Nick could not Judge them, though he could still sense someone’s character or detect lies–and even interrogate people in their dreams. 

He would have loved to have the anti-betrayal cheat just as he had at home, but he would have to live with the Oaths they made to be what protected them from betrayal. The Lords were forced to aid them during the event, and the same was true for their return travel to their kingdoms. At the very least, Nick knew the allied lords could not suddenly order their men to attack the others or otherwise betray them by helping the enemy. 

Monsters began spawning from the portals in rapid blasts of lightning and flashes of light, and a substantial force was built out in front of them. It reminded Nick of the event he teamed up with Lothar and competed in, killing the monkey and ape warriors with the wolflings and orcs.

Only this time, it was an army of feral orcs, goblins, kobolds, trolls, ogres, and more. They wore stolen bits and pieces of armor and wielded weapons in poor condition, as many armies of feral monsterfolk did.

As monsterfolk evolved, they could become more or less feral or monster-like, or more human-like. Of course, Nick’s many monsterfolk had become more human-like, their looks palatable for a human in terms of attractiveness, but also their intelligence and civility. 

The enemies in front of them were all versions of the monsterfolk who went the other way, evolving to have bulkier bodies filled with monstrous mutations and feral looks. 

The orcs became a darker green color, and their bone structure changed to where it was obvious in their faces or other areas. Like the difference between a human and a neanderthal, with larger bone ridges for their eye sockets or even areas like their giant shoulder bones making them look like they were wearing football padding underneath their skin. Often, they also lost their hair, and their large, bulky skulls with big eyes made them even more alien looking. 

This evolution led to an increase in aggression and violence. It was easy to identify how hostile they were just by the expressions on their faces; their mouths curled into permanent snarls. Often, they got this way by eating civilized beings and just being violent in general. Their actions and desires reinforced what they became by Orion, and so they became more monstrous and feral as they evolved. These were essentially creatures of darkness and forces of evil and chaos, and their souls matched this.

Nick turned to Lord Brightclaw and the other three lords. “My friends, this battle will be a great challenge. My men and I will gladly take the vanguard–my Path will work well for this. I believe Lord Brightclaw and his men following the rear would be best, and Lord Bronzebeard with his dwarf and human legion can take the left flank. Lord Regios and his jackalfolk can take the right flank. That leaves only Lord Quilbane and his spined boarfolk, who will fight from range at Brightclaw’s side.” 

Lord Brightclaw was quick on the uptake, nodding as he looked across the army with his hands behind his back. “I see. So Lord Quilbane and his forces are meant to intercept any attacks from the enemy or to rotate in to support our vulnerable positions. I think this is a good plan to start with, making use of our Battle Standards as best as possible.”   

Nick nodded. “That’s right. As much as I’d like to mix our people to take the maximum advantage of their strengths and weaknesses, it seems this might not be for the best thanks to our auras. Does anyone object to me leading the battle? I will call out the orders at the front lines.”

Lord Bronzebeard, the dwarven lord chuckled, running his fingers through his beard. “No, you are the best positioned and most qualified among us to do it. I am but a merchant, not a warmonger.”

Lord Regios was a jackalfolk lord dressed in an almost Egyptian, tribal king’s golden armor. His deep black eyes narrowed his eyes at Nick but eventually nodded. “Yes, I do believe that would be for the best. Your people are taking the brunt of the danger, and you are the most qualified among us in battle–this is easy to see.”

Lord Quilbane snorted. “No objections. None can doubt your bravery or strength. We would not be here if not for you. If we have a hope for victory, it is with you at the front.”

All of Nick’s allies except the dwarves were considered ascended monsterfolk, becoming their own unique race and losing the ability to evolve in the same way, since they were no longer monsterfolk at all.

It was not the same thing as Nick’s monsterfolk. After several generations, they essentially removed all monstrosity from their bloodline and were eventually treated as their own folk. While they seemed a lot like they were similar enough and maybe should be called beastfolk, they were not–beastfolk did not have a monstrous ancestor, and feral beastfolk were yet again different.  

The distinction was important to some. Racism, or…speciesism, was relatively common on Orion, as many sought bloodline purity and held prejudice and distrust for other races. And Nick kind of understood–there were so many different cultures that it was a bit scary, with all sorts of paths that led to even more chaos than the humans on Earth. People feared what they didn’t understand, and many did not seek to fix their own ignorance, instead becoming more insular and isolationist.

It was one of the reasons why Nick desired his monsterfolk people to evolve and have a more human-like appearance and to have the intelligence and social abilities to match. He did not want his people to be discriminated against or looked down on. That goal might be impossible in truth, because bloodline purists would hate them no matter what, but he certainly didn’t want to add on to the list of reasons for anyone to hate his people. He was shocked at how easily the monsterfolk took on to it, but it seemed his wives had a lot to do with making it happen.

And Lord Tagron was an elf and one such bloodline purist and supremacist. Even though each of the three kingdoms was truly ascended monsterfolk, as seen by Orion, he still saw them as monsters because of their ancestors. Though Nick knew the truth–he wielded hate as a weapon, a reason to see people as lesser and to make them slaves, to use them to his own ends. Whether he believed it or not didn’t truly matter, because he was definitely intentionally taking advantage of it.

Only Bronzebeard’s people had nothing to fear regarding to that, dwarves having no monstrous ancestry. Then, much of his population was actually human, and his location was far enough away that Lord Tagron had no hold over him. The primary reason he teamed up with Nick’s coalition at all was for personal gain in the beginning, him requiring protection from other threats in his area. But their mutual cooperation had led to many gains for his kingdom, to where he had built a respect and gratitude for the coalition.

The standard, the blue flag on a pole with his Noblefrost Family Crest, was light in Nick’s hands, but he could feel the sturdiness. He was interested to see how this was going to work.

The five lords called out to their armies, directing them into position for their march and the five began to move into position as the enemy army seemed to have finished spawning. Nick saw a special place in his Menu that would count the number of monster kills, allowing him to monitor just how close the battle was.

As Nick arrived at the front of his army, he activated his Frost Aura. The frost spread nearly double the usual distance, the cold dominion covering most of the army’s front. The ice spread around the ground, and he was interested to see the effect on the enemy. Nick was supposed to not be able to attack, but could he freeze people to death with his mere presence? 

Spearheading the army were more than a dozen of the diregators with their froglok riders, with drakans in full plate armor, shields, and polearms interspersed between them. 

The powerful purple-scaled warriors were not all that different from the orcs in that they built up a rage or fury as battle went on. Normally, the drakans had a fiery aspect and could also breathe flames once their rage reached its peak. But just like within the actual Noblefrost Kingdom, his people carried a frost aspect instead, and so the drakans breathed frost and were similarly resilient to ice. 

The same was true for all the people of fake Frosthaven. So when Nick’s Frost Aura covered them all, it felt like home, and most were accustomed to using it to fight. The area was quickly chilled, a thin layer of frost covering the tips of the grass showing just how far his Aura truly reached. 

He arrived next to his waiting wives, Soul Servants, and Jeffrey who waited only one row behind the drakans and frogloks.

Sable whistled as she looked at the distance his Aura covered. “Not bad, Boss.”

Curious, Nick tried infusing his Heroic Salvation and Redemption Concept instead. An Aura extended outward, empowering his nearby allies with a layer of light. 

But it wasn’t just half the range–it was even less than that. Perhaps good to empower his wives, but the Frost Aura felt extremely compatible and effective with the banner. If he had to guess, it was because the effect of empowering himself was to be forced to empower others by the magic of the banner, making the effect weaker.

He switched back to the Frost Aura, understanding that his control of the battlefield by weakening a large number of enemies would be more helpful. 

Nick turned to Jasmine. “The frogloks didn’t give you any trouble?”

Jasmine smirked. “No, Master. They are happy to fight and feed their gators. The only ones giving us a little bit of trouble are the mantisfolk, because they are hovering near Jeff here and won’t leave him alone.”

Nick frowned as he watched a few of them still preening near Jeffrey. “Hey, leave Jeffrey alone for now. I need you gals near the middle so I can direct you to hit the enemy.”

The mantisfolk girls clicked unhappily, but they listened to their fake alpha and left him alone.

Jeffrey said, “T-Thanks, Boss. What is weird is I know a few of them back at Frosthaven. Do you think…the real ones might be interested?”

Luna and Winny both chuckled at that and then promised they would be glad to pass on the word if he really wanted. The beetlefolk guardian was strangely timid outside of battle, it seemed.  

Kaya looked over at the frogloks. “Can’t wait to see these guys fight in a real battle. This should be fun.”

“Hi hi, froggies! You guys are awesome!” Fang waved as she bounced from foot to foot, her tail wagging. Many of the frogloks waved back and ribbited, making happy high-pitched croaking sounds in response as they too began bouncing up and down on their diregators. 

The frogloks didn’t understand what she said, but that didn’t matter. They could tell she was happy and excited, and so that made them excited too.  

Jasmine was about the only one besides Nick that could truly direct them with more complicated commands, but it seemed they definitely followed his wives–especially if he said, follow Fang. 

The frogloks even provided ice protection to their bonded diregators. The powerful creatures could manage being in the cold for much longer than most to begin with, but with their enhancement, they had almost no difficulties at all. 

The diregators were huge. They were longer and wider than Jasper, though the Frostwarg Alpha stood taller by a fair amount. Their maws were large and had extremely powerful biting force, and really, the average drakan warrior would have nearly zero chance against one in a fight. Let alone with frogloks riding it, attacking from its back.

Several frogloks would ride the larger diregators, which they used to powerful effect. Having an archer or shaman along with a froglok spearman was common, so his twenty-three diregators and nearly seventy frogloks were quite the valuable fighting force. He couldn’t wait to see them in a real battle and not just against some monsters in the wilderness.

His wives were going to do some tests with the flag, and then it was time for the battle to begin.