Chapter 340 The Prospect (End)

"That is information that I don't even know. As expected, your information network is terrifying."

Shanifa looks at me with amazement dancing in her eyes. Everyone can be a good information gatherer as long as they are paid enough. I facilitate every member of the Black Merchant. They have more than a recently commended Noble has. That is not much in my eyes, but it means everything to them. Unfortunately, many people don't deem them to deserve that much.

Shanifa is an intelligent woman. I bet she understands the significance of information gatherers. The reason why her intelligence teams are not as competent as the Black Merchant is not her unwillingness to facilitate them. Cresundia has too many to take care of. They have a lot of resources but don't have a single fang to bare. Military power is her concentration.

"Have you read about the potion's side effects, Commander?" Lemius comments. "I know you are a meticulous person, but I just want to confirm."

"I don't know about that," I answer casually.

"Wow. That is a first—hearing you say 'I don't know,'" Velucan remarks.

"As I have told you earlier, the Hero Potion is an urban legend. We don't know any factual knowledge regarding the potion, but I can assure you the talented Alchemists are there. Even though they can't make the potion, we can still have them make other potions. They will be useful."

"Are you not afraid of them betraying you? Alchemists are opportunistic and manipulative. Who knows what they will do to you? They may mix something in your food one day and you will be under their control."

Everyone's head turns to the door of my office that has just been opened. Only two people dare to open my door without knocking. One of them is standing beside me and the other one is Millonia, the Crimson Maiden with blue hair. Standing in the doorway, she looks at me irate. She is probably pissed that I didn't tell her anything about my return.

"You know how the drill, Millonia. I never leave liabilities uncontrolled." I gesture at my forehead, reminding her about the Geas. "Besides, I know whom to be blamed should it happen one day. I know the chef of my food."

"You should treat them better, then."

Shrugging her shoulder, Millonia walks toward me. She ignores everyone's gaze and stands beside me. Abigail and Gabriela don't react much, but those who don't know her well are quite flabbergasted. No one dares to make a fuss, of course. She is the Crimson Maiden, after all.

"They are quite pleased by my treatment, I would say," I respond, earning a light scoff from the chef I am talking about. "Enough with the intermezzo. My sole plan on Cresundia is to turn it into a Warrior maker. Its position is very strategic. It is surrounded by three human Kingdoms—four if you consider Antares one. Our soldiers can get a lot of battle experience there."

The Alchemist is an enticing treasure to unearth, of course, but Cresundia's potential is not only limited to that. Using Cresundia as our base, we can give the three human Kingdoms a run for their money all at once. We will suffer greatly if things go south, but that will only happen if our soldiers are softies like most humans. All of them drink blood to live, figuratively speaking.

Cresundia will be a good place to find gold in the sand. The extraordinary will stay there to fight and the rest will be sent back to Antares to protect it and act as a backup when the situation calls them.

"With that said; Shanifa, I want you to assign your competent soldiers to dangerous missions. General Velucan and General Lemius will let them face some of their stronger Warriors and 'kill' those competent soldiers. They will only kill some of the soldiers to not make it suspicious. You can discuss the technicalities with them," I order.

Shanifa is quick to catch on to things. She nods her head and says nothing. Taking Cresundia down even without stealing its competent soldiers is by no means hard. However, I want competent people. Killing them even though I can convert them into my soldiers is a waste of resources.

With that settled, I move my gaze to Decima. The Lamia straightens her already straight posture and looks at me with the utmost respect. I have heard words about her considering me her role model. She has put me on a pedestal, which is why the look. I have been ignoring it, but now I feel the urgency to talk to her about it soon.

Pushing the thought aside, I ask her about her work progress. She and her army have been exploring regions that hide resources we can utilize. Most of the time, those regions are governed by unnamed, independent cities or villages. She and her army have to either subjugate the people or demolish all of them.

Thanks to them, we have a lot of mines and fertile land to utilize outside Antares. Coupled with those inside Antares, we no longer need to worry about resources. Therefore, they no longer have to look for resources anymore for the time being. What I need them to do is spread my influence among the people of Cresundia.

Unlike Antares, Cresundia treats its people fairly. Some unfairness still happens, but it is quite hard to tarnish its reputation because very few people experience unfairness. Even if I can just cast a Geas and control them like puppets, it is not good for the long run. The Temple knows how to free them from the Geas. I can't always gatekeep them, so convincing them to accept my government before I reign is the best way to keep them under my wings.

"Does that mean you are going to keep the civilians there, Commander? Cresundia is about to become a war-torn place—do you think they will want to stay there?" Decima points out.

"They may migrate to Antares, which is why I want them to accept me. I can't let them spread hatred among the Antares people," I respond. "I won't force them to stay, but I can assure you they will compete to earn the right to remain there."

"How…?"

"You will see."

Cresundia will become a war-torn city, but also the safest city. They have competent people protecting it who are obliged to always win. Therefore, many people will beg to stay there. However, I will only let people who can contribute to the city's military, their families, and some civilians with professions that are necessary for the city to run live there.

Decima still doesn't get what I have in mind, but she has refused to think about it. She nods her head, prompting me to turn to the door. Someone knocks it immediately and I let her in. Lunea comes in with a surprised look on her face, probably because of the important people inside. She quickly recovers and immediately walks to my desk.

"Hi, long time no see, Layland!" she greets cheerfully, bringing a small smile to my face.

"It's been a long time," I greet back. "We can have some tea later, so I will cut to the chase. I need you to accompany Decima in brainwashing the people of Cresundia. With your status as their Princess, do you think you can do it?"

"I will do it."

"Thank you for your quick answer. You never disappoint me."

With a satisfied smile, I turn to Velucan and Lemius. I am about to speak when Shanifa interrupts me.

"I can control the minds of the most influential people there and let them influence their followers. I will have to spend quite an effort, but it is not possible."

"You and I have a different approach to this matter, Shanifa. You want to manipulate the people by convincing them my government will be better. What I do is show them why Cresundia's current government is bad. I will make them choose their affiliation themselves. At least, that is what they will believe for the rest of their lives."

Shanifa is quite taken aback by the haunted look she shows me. I don't know what does it to her. Maybe, it is my flashing eyes or the glimpse of my grin behind my intertwined hands. I thought she had already gotten used to my quirks.

I wait for a couple of seconds, but Shanifa has no more to say. I turn my gaze to Lemius and Velucan and find them smirking at me in amusement. I don't ask them about their work progress—they do it very well. Instead, I tell them what they are going to do for the next three months. I want them to train the human soldiers the way they do our Warriors. It is time to turn the soldiers into Warriors.

I spend another thirty minutes about the overall technicalities of what we are going to focus on for the next three months before calling it a day. I excuse them to leave, but I didn't do that before inviting them to have some tea with me. The Generals leave, but all of the females stay. Two things surprise me: the fact that Shanifa stays and Lemius doesn't like tea.

I may be in the wrong here, but Lemius doesn't look like someone who doesn't like tea. If he came from Earth, I am sure he would be British. Either way, we quickly move to the garden in the complex of the office building. We sit down and as the maids prepare the tea and snacks, I think about the prospect we have ahead.

The path may be thorny, but things are looking bright so far.