City of Desire [Kingdom Building]

Proofread by Thomas F

'Welcome back,'

The voice rang out in my mind as the carriage stepped into the domain of legacy.

I smiled and activated Eyes of Master. Immediately, the entire city appeared before me. I could see everything; nothing was hidden.

"So, who was it?" I asked.

They informed me that night that only someone had attacked the city. They did not tell me more, nor did I ask. I knew as long as it was within the city, nothing would happen.

'Geldnim Marlais,' she informed me and started filling me in.

I gripped my seat tightly, and anger burned in my heart. If they had succeeded, they would have caused great material harm to the city and would have caused hundreds, if not thousands, to lose their lives.

"Have we been able to find out who sent him?" I asked after finally calming myself down.

'No, he is being tight-lipped about it,' she replied.

It made me angry, but I was not surprised. The people of such notoriety aren't easy to break, but I have confidence in Rayna. I know she will break him.

Until now, she had not failed, and she would not fail now. I will just need to wait for the information.

"It is likely one of our enemies; my guess is the undead. They do such things, create disorder, before they attack the place," stated Jon.

I allowed both of them to listen to the conversation. "It might be, but it might be someone else."

I have a lot of enemies, and each one of them was capable of paying the price to hire Marlais. As for destruction and death, they were also more than capable of ordering it.

Yes, the undead had done such things before.

Including his hiring, the information the orcs have provided has linked him to several incidents that occurred on Mayhurst Island.

Soon, the carriage reached the inner gate and passed through it.

I saw my city, full of vibrancy. There are people everywhere, too many of them. I hate to admit it, but the inner city now has more people than it should.

It is not overcrowded. I made sure of that, but there are many people in it.

The outer city is growing fast, but the inner city is still where most people want to live.

We have imposed restrictions, but their effectiveness has been less than we had hoped for. Still, we will have to do it, and we only have three months.

Once the legacy opens, a massive number of people are going to descend on the city, and it needs to be prepared for that.

Most will be tourists, but the legacy will also attract many who want to live and settle here.

The population of the city had already reached over eight hundred and fifty thousand, and it was rising steadily. I am surprised by the growth; I didn't think it would rise so much.

I wouldn't have, after the legacy opens, but not before it.

It would have been more, if not for us steadily sending the people who arrive in the city to the other areas in the domain.

The carriage reached the City Hall and entered the compound before coming to a stop. I stepped out and walked toward the entrance.

"Lord Silver."

People greeted me as I passed by; I nodded to them as I walked toward my office. There is a lot of work for me today; in fifteen minutes, I will inform Stone and others of what happened.

They don't know. We didn't send any messages regarding it or people to inform them.

Though we had used the codewords indicating we had found what we were digging for. Along with hinting it was substantial and good for dominion.

Unless it destroys us, my brain tossed out that cynical thought

"Welcome back, Lord Silver," Argis greeted as I stepped into my office. "It's good to be back."

"Anything worthwhile happen?" I asked as I sat down. "Aside from the incident last night, no," the mention of it once more brought the blazing anger across my eyes, but I calmed myself.

A moment later, a box appeared in front of me. It was a beautiful staff.

The staff of Arsali. Seeing it, I sighed with disappointment. I wish it had been some other artifact.

"We will have to return it, won't we?" asked Zela, and I nodded. Yes, we can't keep this one.

It is an artifact belonging to the ruling house of Belnin. It was given to a person close to the house. He was assassinated at sea, poisoned, and his staff taken.

It was about five years ago.

Since we got it, we will have to return it to the merchant state. Even with their agreement with the undead, they remain our biggest supporter, and the ruling house of Belnin is one of the strongest forces in the merchant state.

Earlier, I was thrilled when she mentioned an artifact, but got sad a moment later when she mentioned its name.

"Can't we use it in battle before returning it?" asked Argis. "You already know the answer to that."

If the battle had been within a day or two away, we might have done it. We could have even stretched it to a week, but enemies are months away; we can't keep it with us that long.

Besides, the ruling House of Belnin is quite prickly, and I would rather not antagonize them.

The artifact is valuable, without a doubt, but far from as valuable as our relationship.

"It would be better if it had belonged to some noble from the empire," said Jon, and all of us laughed. If that had been the case, we would have kept it for years.

Hell, we might not even have returned it, depending on who it was.

Unfortunately, it belonged to the merchants and Belnin at that. We have to be careful.

I sighed once more, and the staff disappeared.

A few minutes passed, and Argis gave me the rundown of what had happened in the city. He did not have much; there were important things, but Valentina had handled it.

'They are here,'

Informed Jill, and a moment later Stone walked inside with Hiren, Valentina beside them.

"Lord Silver,"

They greeted, I nodded, and they sat down. They said nothing further and waited. Not only them, but also Argis; I could feel his eyes questioning.

I could have sent him out, but he is my personal assistant and a very intelligent man. Most importantly, loyal.

Besides, hiding it in this group makes little sense, since we will discuss it a lot in the future.

I looked at Zela, and immediately, she cast privacy spells. Then privacy descended from the power of legacy, and I also activated my skill.

The four added their spells and skills to it. I could feel Jon moving around.

I don't believe anyone is snooping, but it doesn't hurt to be careful, given the subject we will be discussing.

'Clear,' he stated.

"We found something deep within the mines." There was no change in their expressions; they already know about it.

"It's Golems, very powerful ones. Grade IV and Grade V, along with a facility, with knowledge and tools to craft them." This time, even Stone couldn't keep his expression stone-like.

It took minutes for the calmest people to calm down before I began explaining the rest in detail and finished 20 minutes later.

For a minute, nobody spoke.

"It's incredibly frustrating that we got it, but couldn't use it yet. Just like the damn staff!" cursed Valentina.

"I believe it will benefit us. If we could use such weapons, we could destroy our enemies and even conquer the whole region, but it would bring us massive trouble."

"Everyone will consider us a threat; the undead will send a massive force, while the imperials will demand it immediately."

"The time that will be needed to control them will also help us grow in our own power."

"I believe if our powerhouses continue to grow at the pace we are growing, in five years, we will have enough force to stand against any threat with the aid of these golems," stated Stone.

A small smile appeared on my face. I expected nothing less from him.

"That will only happen if we can keep them a secret," I replied, and sombreness filled them. They could imagine how others would react if we let the secret out early.

"It's a hot potato," Hiren said.

"More like a one-handed general we're trying to juggle alchfire orbs," Valentina added, laughing with a hard edge.

"I hope you have a good plan to deal with it, my lord," said Stone, and this time, it was my turn to laugh, but a moment later, I nodded. "I do, but I will listen to any suggestions."

Soon, forty minutes passed, and Stone and Hiren got up and left.

They will need to plan for this secret. Most importantly, select a person to lead the cohort of golems. They should be loyal but also capable of bearing the massive load.

Azalia tried them, and, like Jackson, she failed too. Lasting a few seconds more, despite her skill.

We initially thought the conditions for running both golems were the same, but that is not the case. For the twin wardens, one needs a strong enough mind.

For the cohort, powerful mental capabilities are needed.

One does not control two golems, but a massive cohort of sixty of them. The mental pressure is terrifying; that willpower alone is not enough.

"Speaking of which, Ed knows Galaid," said Valentina, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Really?" I asked, surprised that Amellus knew about it.

"He learned it in the academy to study the tomes of that era. Golems were not the only special thing about that era; they also had incredible architecture."

The building came to mind. Yes, it was incredible.

To be honest, I didn't think about other aspects. There may be something for him in the library. Most importantly, we now have two loyal people who know it and could teach others.

"I am feeling quite regretful right now; he offered to teach it to me all those years ago."

"You could still learn it," I said, and she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe in a decade—or when you finally fire me. With my current workload, I barely have time to practice my magic, let alone learn an entirely new language."

I sighed upon hearing that. It is for that very reason I let go of the decision to learn.

I want to, knowing it will be a pillar of the dominion, but unfortunately, I don't have time. I hope I do in a few years.

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