Alexander The Great Mage

"So the most important thing to do now in that regard would be acquiring the flying mounts and the demon horses. How do you intend to do that?"

"Belirio will provide the Demon Horses. As for the flying mounts, we would use the Wyverns from the Forest of Elgar, Violet Skyawks from Xyndaros and Six-winged Falcons from Eastern Phoenix Kingdom. Which leads us to the next military industry, breeding and training grounds for mounts. With that many mounts required, I would need more Academies to train up the manpower I would need to breed and train these beasts."

"If you're looking to match the number of soldiers you're aiming to train each year, then you'll need an industry capable of churning out 15,000 flying mounts and 15,000 demon horses annually. Your friend Belirio should be able to supply 30,000 demon horses almost immediately, so we can form your Demon Companion Cavalry immediately. But the airforce will take more time." Buccephalas commented.

"Yes. We would need to capture the 10,000 Wyverns first, and then investigate the Forest of Elgar." Alexander agreed. "I want the Wyvern which bred these 10,000 Wyverns if possible. In the meantime, I will start work on building these academies.

Finally, I would also need to build up secondary industries to support the army. Blacksmiths, Wandsmiths, Farmers, Butchers, Factories to build logistical equipments, every single supporting industry will need to be expanded."

"You would need a lot of money to do that during peacetime. Your only alternative is imposing a State of War upon the entire country. That would give you full control of the entire Kingdom's resources and citizens. The only obstacle in your way would be the ministers. Who knows what they're plotting right now." Buccephalas grumbled slightly.

Alexander smiled coldly. "I am not worried about my ministers. They can either fall into place obediently or die. I do not have the time nor patience to deal with schemers and traitors."

"Excellent. It seems that your plans are more or less settled. Let's get you to the City of Turah quickly so we can start work on the Wyverns before looking for that dragon."

Alexander nodded. He would need to move fast.

"By the way, congratulations. You're officially a Silver Warlord." Buccephalas then proceeded to open Alexander's status page.

Name                          : Aloxandros Arcanus

Age                              : 25

Arcane Power            : Black Archmage (Strength of 50 Earthling Men)

Martial Power            : 3

Technological Power  : Nil

Psychic Power            : Nil

Condition                    : Healthy

AI note                        : Silver Warlord  – God of War

"What?? I ranked up?" Alexander asked in surprise. He closed his eyes and felt the energy and strength that lied dormant in his muscles. Indeed, he felt much stronger than before. The Silver Warlord level had given him a much stronger physique.

"Yes. The second level of the Power of Perses is the ability and know-how to create a force strong enough to gain full control of a world. You've only made the plans for it, so you're not a full-fledged Silver Warlord yet at the moment. But the change in your mindset and way of thinking has led you through the door and into the Level of the Silver Warlord." Buccephalas explained. "Turn your plans into reality and the full physical benefit and wisdom of the Silver Warlord will be yours.

"Very interesting." Alexander clenched his fist in excitement. "In my own unique way, I am gaining strength."

"I suppose you know what the next level requires too then?" Alexander asked Buccephalas.

"Yes, of course. But I cannot tell you. You'll never reach the Gold level if you do not discover what it entails in your own journey of self-growth and understanding."

Alexander nodded. He understood the concept. Human beings can never truly learn anything if they're only told about it. They need to go through the experiences before they could fully assimilate the lesson. Take him for example, if he did not go through the battle against the banshees and saw the massacre of Valarin with his own eyes, he would not be galvanized into thinking like a Warlord instead of a mere General.

So be it. He would walk down his path step by step. Country by country. Planet by planet. One day, the entire universe would be his!

*-*-*-*-*

Within the searing hot caverns beneath the Flaming Death Ring volcanoes in the main continent, the Lich King sat upon his throne, coldly gazing at the five screaming orcs writhing on the ground before him.

Within seconds, the screams stopped one by one. The Lich King raised his hand and commanded "Arise."

The dead orcs who still had expressions of extreme anguish locked in their death stares suddenly relaxed their facial muscles as their eyes began to glow red. As one, all five stood up and saluted the Lich King smartly.

The Lich King waved them away.

Just like that, the five generals in charge of the Eastern Campaign left to join the ever-growing undead army as common soldiers.

"Gandoz."

A massive living orc from the front row of kneeling orcs stood up and saluted the Lich King. "Yes, my Liege."

"Take your clan and merge it with Tuzel's. Bring a Grade 5 Necrophos and raise a 500,000 undead army for yourself. Take down the City of Valentinos within three months or join Tuzel in my undead army." The Lich King rasped.

"As you command, my Liege." Gandoz saluted once more, and left the throne room with his generals.

"Rhastoz."

Yet another giant orc stood up and saluted the Lich King. "Yes, my Liege."

"Take your clan and a Grade 2 Necrophos and bring them to transmission array 3. You will appear in the grasslands near the City of Rin. Destroy it and kill every living thing within a hundred miles of the city. Proceed to the City of Turah and do the same. Make your way North and link up with Tazog once you are done. Kill everything in your path."

"As you command, my Liege." Rhastoz saluted and left the throne room as well with the generals of his hundred-thousand strong army.

"If I may submit my reservations, Lich King." A soft and gentle voice whispered from somewhere behind the Lich King's throne.

"Proceed, Elven Witch."

"The transmission arrays are one of your final trump cards. You only have three uses. To use one for such a minor affair, I fear you would achieve very little and yet expose much of your secret strength to others." The gentle voice whispered out softly once more.

"My only enemies in this campaign are the Scions of Gods. There is one in Rin-Turah. Committing one transmission array to lure him out and possibly kill him would be an excellent use of the array. We are in this situation as well because your banshee has proven to be inept and got herself killed so quickly."

"My deepest apologies, my Liege. Sirikash the Left General was careless. I will send Siriokash the Banshee King and his full army this time and make sure King Aloxandros dies."

"Get Siriokash to hide within Rhastoz's army. Strike only when success is certain. At the very least, I must have King Aloxandros's corpse intact to find out which Scion of God has been helping him. Kill the Scion of God at ALL costs if he or she appears. Kill also the traitor Aldrian who betrayed us by going missing."

"As you command, my Liege." The Elven Witch whispered in acknowledgement.

With that, the Lich King's fearsome pressure withdrew itself and the throne room became silent. The living orcs stood up, saluted and left the room.

*-*-*-*-*

Aldrian looked at Lilian, Rimett and Dylan with a serious and heavy gaze. "There is no turning back from this." He said softly.

Lilian nodded. "I understand the consequences. But in the battle between Gods, choosing Zegaro as human beings is beyond folly. We must turn back while there is yet time and opportunity for us."

Rimett sighed heavily. "I am old and weary of all this political maneuvering. I chose to join all of you simply because I thought allying with the Lich King was the only way to ensure my survival. As distasteful as it sounded, it was the only logical alternative. However, now that we know a Scion of God healed King Aloxandros somehow, I believe we should remain on the side of the light."

"I concur." Dylan said simply.

"All in into Rin-Turah then. We might spend the rest of our lives in jail. But maybe not. Once war reaches Rin-Turah, the country would need our power to fight the Lich King's forces. That would be our chance to gain war merits and redeem ourselves. If all goes well, we should be able to avoid most of our jail time." Aldrian said with a sigh of his own.

"Let us hasten and ride to the King and confess our sins. The sooner the better." Lilian stood up, her eyes cold with resigned determination.

The rest of the little group stood up as well, and together, they began their long journey towards redemption.

*-*-*-*-*

"Mistress, you're awake!" Kan-Dari cried out joyfully. She quickly stood up to get a cup of water from the table by the bed.