The hovercraft soared above the vast forests of the Culdao Peaks, the icy caps of the mountains glistening in the horizon. Kyle himself piloted the hovercraft, steering it towards the valey where the goblin kingdom was first held. He made the trip back to Raktor alone, leaving Feldon in charge of ADCON. To ensure the compliance of Nox and Makoa, Kyle also made a copy of the master slave engraving, handing it to Feldon.

As he sped through the air, he noticed the scars of battle had already reached the town of the Culdao Peaks. The Ardent Cretins were not stupid – they knew the Seven Snakes were hiding deep in the forest and were using the town now as a base to launch their multiple probing attacks.

However, thanks to the evolution chamber as well as the introduction of arctech guns, the hobgoblins were no longer the simple enemies of before. They were far more deadly than ever, trained in sneak attacks and forest defence with military assistance from the Seven Snakes.

Yet, the Ardent Cretins were not easily deterred, continuously waging a war of attrition and slowly carving up territory in the Culdao Peaks. Kyle could already see signs of increased activity and fortifications around the town.

The stealth hovercraft flew over with no incident, easily reaching the goblin kingdom where there was a ledge in front of the palace, already cleared for Kyle’s arrival. An honor guard of hobgoblins stood firm, decked out in new upgraded arctech armour and guns that were forged right here.

Kyle stepped out of the hovercraft, noticing that all his vipers and subordinates have already gathered in place, waiting for him. “Welcome back, boss!” The hobgoblins and Seven Snakes bowed in unison. Kyle nodded in response, glad to see that all of his followers were still alive. It would be a waste if they died – training the successor would be problematic.

Taking a deep breath, Kyle glanced around the area, noticing the stark difference from three months ago, when he first left for Tenar. The terrace farming project had already expanded all along the length of the valley.

A single large river coursed through the bottom, guided by artificial canals that snaked through an increasingly industrialized area, populated with new brick and mortar buildings whose foundation was derived from the excess rock from iron and coal mining. Wood processing factories as well as smithies dotted the landscape all the way up to the grand wall that shielded the valley, upgraded with machine guns and artillery emplacements to deter any invaders.

The interior of the valley had also expanded, allowing the kingdom to accommodate far more goblins than it could have before, almost reaching a hundred thousand in population. Under Queen Orisa and King Sahusa’s guidance, education has also been revamped, helping the goblins learn more advanced skills, enabling them to develop the economy even further from just a terrace farming community.

While the warlike nature of the goblins was hard to convert in just a mere three months, the famine and revolution had shaken them deeply, making them even more determined to ensure this would never happen again. Riding this momentum, the kingdom managed to redeveloped their original market to even greater heights, with even glimpses of luxury goods appearing as well.

Kyle was led into the palace by his subordinates, who were all slightly startled by his presence.

“There’s something different about him, but I can’t quite put my finger on what.” Damian muttered to himself, while Niko too pondered as they walked through the hallways.

“It seems to be the same feeling I get when I enter a dense arcia mine… maybe Kyle has found something special in Versia?”

Must be related to the Arcian race selection. Kyle could hear them whisper, but chose to ignore it anyway.

The moment they reached a meeting room, Orisa and Sahusa was already inside, waiting for him. No one wasted any time mingling or small talking with Kyle, immediately taking their seats. There was still a war to be won – they could chat all they wanted after winning.

Kyle quickly explained what he had achieved in Versia, being able to become the main dominator in terms of economy and military of Versia thanks to his established black market supply as well as mercenary company in the form of ADCON. “The same networks now can be used to intervene or prolong conflicts whenever we like, which also means there are millions of people now reliant on our services. As Versia rebuilds over time, we will also use those networks to increase our economic strength and delivery routes.”

Keith and Monica nodded, understanding the implications of what Kyle was saying. With ADCON now in charge of the supplying and restoration effort in Versia, their ability to distribute illegal goods like drugs, humans and weapons was unparalleled. The Nest branch was completely dismantled, and with both Nox and Yona now working for him, Kyle could be said to be the largest shadow ruler in Versia.

“Wait, wait wait.” Niko raised his hand in confusion. “What happened to the weapon factory? Weren’t we just going there to sell weapons to the government?”

The rest of the attendees ignored Niko, continuing the agenda. Kyle internally agreed that the Versia war did have a few unexpected events, but Kyle was never one to simply give up on an opportunity to earn bigger.

“However, the war in Versia is still not stabilized yet. Intense fighting in the city of Ocra itself means it could fall within the next week or so.” Kyle was still cognizant that there was a mage leading Count Leon’s charge, most likely one borrowed from the Duke. He already had a few ADCON brigades move to Ocra to support the Versian’s military counteroffensive, which was the very reason why Kyle was so hasty in defeating Harrison and securing Versia.

“Now, Keith, please explain the situation in Raktor.” Kyle motioned.

Clearing his throat, Keith stood up and pointed to a map of the county on the wall. “There are primarily two sides to this conflict. The major gangs against everyone else. Their weaponry and support seems to be a mix of weapons stolen from the Yual’s military as well as supplies from the Versian military. Ever since Kyle overthrew the government a month ago, the support coming in from Versia has dwindled significantly.”

“What is the objective of the major gangs?”

“Independence of Raktor.” Keith stated. “The major gangs want to dominate the city as a council and expel all the Yual nobles.”

Keith continued explaining, indicating the outer regions of the county on the map.“ The fighting is not only within the city – it is the entire county as well as spilling even further beyond. Everyone in this room should be aware of the other two Counts as well that border Raktor. They too have a vested interest in the outcome of the battle in Raktor. Both of them are also supplying the major gangs with the basic supplies necessary, as well as providing information on the movement of Count Leon’s troops.”

“Their intentions?” Kyle interjected.

“Unclear. I do not know much about politics, but I reason that they stand to gain far more influence in the duchy if Count Leon’s Raktor was to suffer a major setback. I believe that they do not sincerely want the major gangs to win. Instead, they are aiming for destabilization, a way to knock down the economical lead that Raktor has over their own counties.”

Kyle nodded, knowing that it was a basic strategy that countries and states have played since Ancient Earth. He too destabilized Versia during the war in order to achieve his own goals, so he could assume what the other two Counts wanted.

“The Ardent Cretins have already absorbed the Red Lions and the Wretches, controlling a near twenty-five districts in the South Sector. It is the same situation in the other Sectors as well, save for the Central Sector, where the enforcers are defending the hardest from incursions.”

The richest citizens of the Yual Dominion lived in the Central Sector, which also meant that it was the juiciest target. Even if all the major gangs were in a temporary alliance, Kyle doubted that the leaders would be willing to simply carve up the Central Sector. “It seems that they are going for a divide and conquer strategy, while keeping tabs on each other.”

Keith nodded. “Each major gang has agreed to not step into each other boundaries, only supporting each other with excess supplies or information on enforcers. The Culdao Peaks are being attacked by two separate forces currently: the Violet Demons and the Ardent Cretins. However..”

“They are not working in sync.”

“Correct.”

“Got it. Monica, our logistics?”

“With the tunnel networks being expanded since you left, we have been able to get supplies into the city easily. However, the outer lying goblin dens do not enjoy the same protection as this valley does, meaning that they are far more vulnerable to attacks. I believe the Ardent Cretins already have a lock on the locations of all our operations, only just that they are still ramping up for a large expedition force to take us all down.”

“Adrian, where are they assembling?”

“The town of Culdao Peaks. Sasha and her troops have tried to breach the fortifications a few times, but they have too much firepower. Coupled that with the support that they are receiving from the neighbouring County, it seems pretty much impossible to cut them off. We would have to invade across the border to stop the flow.” Adrian pointed four trails that led towards the town, stemming from the bordering County.

Kyle rubbed his chin slowly, thinking over everything that has been presented to him. There was still one final missing piece that he could not figure out why. “As I understand it, any form of dissent or revolution would be immediately put down by a military force dispatched from the capital. The First Versian war was of a similar nature as well.”

It did not make any sense to Kyle. He would have expected either the Emperor or even just the Duke to immediately dispatch his troops to quell the major gangs. The Duke’s troops would easily overwhelm whatever the major gangs could muster together, military equipment or not. How is the Duke just letting all of this happen?

“We don’t have any concrete answers, but from my dealings with the enforcers and Baron Cain, the capital and the Duke have both been silent. Rumours even state that Count Leon requested for three mages, and only got one.”

Kyle tapped the table in frustration. “We need to get more information. Set up a meeting for me with Baron Cain three days from now.”

“Yes sir.”

With all the information laid out in front of him now, Kyle had to make an choice on how to proceed. It was not going to be easy, but being a crime lord never was. As long as he made the right moves and adapted where necessary, Kyle believed he could make the best out of the worst scenario if given the right information.

Instead of keeping the decision to himself, Kyle decided to explain it to his subordinates. They were the ones who were fighting on the field and were far more aware of the ongoings in Raktor now more than him.

“There are four options for us to choose from moving forward.” Kyle stood up, pacing the room. “Before you consider the options, recall that Count Leon bears a grudge against me, specifically, for usurping his plan to take over Tenar.”

While their former temporary alliance was always tenuous at best, Kyle knew Count Leon would be outraged at not being able to kill Kyle right there and then in Tenar. He had no doubt that Count Leon was using him now to stall the loss of Raktor to the major gangs.

“Now, our first option is to fight as hard as we can and support the enforcers, and restore Raktor to Count Leon. In order to prevent Count Leon from returning to eradicate us, we must entrench ourselves so deeply into Raktor that it would be far too costly for him to remove us.”

This was the current path that the Seven Snakes were on. It was a necessity for survival and pride, teaming up with the enforcers to stave the forceful subjugation of the Ardent Cretins. If they did not do so, the gang would have been entirely dismantled.

“Our next option is to leave.”

“What?!” Damian blurted out. “After all we have done?”

“Calm down. We now control an entire country in the form of Versia. Raktor may be equivalent in twice the economic potential of Tenar, but we could easily develop it to be something far greater. It will take time, and yes, we will have to give up everything we have built in Raktor and Culdao Peaks.”

Kyle wasn’t a stubborn idiot – if the time came to cut off his losses, he would happily do so in a heartbeat in order to save resources for a better opportunity. It was a game of profit and loss, not a battle for ignorant pride and empty ideals.

However, he also recognized the potential loss of morale among his men and the goblins. They would have to evacuate the Culdao Peaks as well and migrate to the Keru Forest, which would sting terribly as giving up their homeland. Kyle could not guarantee that even King Sahusa would be able to keep the various tribe leaders under control.

He could already see Sahusa about to retort. “Listen to all the options first before you say anything. The third one, is to collaborate with the major gangs.”

This clearly stirred emotions among his subordinates as they had been fighting tooth and nail against the Ardent Cretins. A cycle of hate had already begun, but none of them dared to show an outburst of anger against Kyle. They too knew he was simply listing options.

“In terms of our manpower, even if every single goblin child was mobilized, we will not have enough to fight all the major gangs in Raktor head-on. Even we will lose a war of attrition. While our numbers have been steadily increasing thanks to the desperation of the residents in Raktor, the death toll is still far too high.”

Despite the justification, none of the gang members wanted to become subordinate to someone like Sebastian. They knew Kyle would never choose this option himself. “And the fourth?” Damian asked, knowing Kyle had another possible path.

“The hardest one. We take the South Sector for our own.”