Kael Draven exhaled slowly, steam rising from his lips despite the cold wind scraping across the ruins. Blood dripped from his fingers. Not all of it was his.
The bodies of the Scavenger Fiends lay broken in the ash, their twisted limbs twitching even in death.
And above them…
hovered the system's glowing prompt:
[BATTLE COMPLETED]
[TERRITORY LEVEL-UP: RANK F → E]
[REWARDS GRANTED]
[HERO SUMMON TOKEN]: (X1).
[STRUCTURE BLUEPRINT]: ASHWOOD BARRACKS.
[RESOURCE PACK]: STONE X50 | IRON X25 | WORKER SOUL X3.
Kael wiped his blade on the rags of his ruined shirt and fell to one knee.
He should've collapsed. He should've cried, panicked, screamed.
Instead…
He smiled.
"Let's see what a Hero looks like in this damned world."
He opened the inventory window. A faint, golden token shimmered within the digital space — inscribed with runes that pulsed with heat.
He selected it.
[HERO SUMMON TOKEN – TIER E+]
[ACTIVATE?]
[WARNING: HERO SUMMONED WILL BE BOUND BY YOUR CURRENT LAW.]
"No invader shall leave my land alive."
[PROCEED?]
"Do it."
The sky above tore like paper. A pillar of white fire crashed down into the center of the ruins, carving a perfect circle of heat.
Kael stepped back instinctively as the ash scattered
And time itself felt like it — Paused.
From the flames, a figure stepped forward.
Armored in dark blue metal trimmed with silver, a long spear strapped across her back, and violet eyes glowing with cold calculation. Her skin was bronze. Her presence — royal.
The system chimed:
[HERO SUMMONED: VEERA OF THE SPEAR]
[TITLE]: ASH-SWORN
[COMMANDERCLASS]: VANGUARD LANCER (E+)
[LOYALTY]: 70% (INITIAL)
[TRAITS]:
~BATTLE MEDITATION (+15% PRECISION UNDER PRESSURE).
~WILL OF THE ASHLANDS (IMMUNE TO FEAR).
[STATUS]: SOUL-BOUND TO SOVEREIGN KAEL.
[EFFECT OF CURRENT LAW]: SHE CANNOT RETREAT FROM ANY BATTLE WITHIN YOUR DOMAIN.
She looked at him once.
Her voice was sharp. Controlled.
"Are you the Sovereign?"
"Apparently."
"Then let me say this now — if your command falters, we both die. Don't waste me."
Kael chuckled.
"Not planning to."
Moments later, Kael placed the Barracks Blueprint onto the ground beside a broken wall.
The system projected a transparent building layout. He moved it like a hologram, aligning it with the cracked stone foundations that remained.
[CONFIRM CONSTRUCTION: ASHWOOD BARRACKS?]
[COST]: STONE X40 | IRON X20 | WORKER SOUL X2
[BUILD TIME]: 3 HOURS
[ASSIGN WORKER SOULS TO SPEED UP?]
"Use all of them," Kael ordered.
The wind howled. Ghostly blue lights emerged — Worker Souls, formless yet focused. They began dragging stone, reshaping walls, reforging broken beams.
One even hummed an old hymn Kael didn't understand.
Veera stood beside him, eyes on the distance.
"They'll come again, you know. Stronger ones. Your Law is binding — but it's also… loud. Dangerous beings can sense it."
Kael looked out across the ash fields, where shadows moved beyond the fog.
"Good," he said. "Let them come."
[TERRITORY E UPGRADES UNLOCKED]
[MAX POPULATION]: 50
[STRUCTURE SLOTS]: 3
[DEFENSIVE UNITS]: 0 (BARRACKS UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[LOCAL THREAT LEVEL]: RISING
[REGIONAL SOVEREIGNS DETECTED]: 2 (UNKNOWN)
[FIRST CONTACT]: PENDING
Kael crossed his arms, voice steady.
"Veera. When the barracks are done, we train."
"Training for what?"
"For war."
The blue sigil above the territory pulsed.
A kingdom was beginning to breathe.
But in the distance, beyond the mist covered hills, other Sovereigns stirred.
And not all of them were as kind as Kael.
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[END OF CHAPTER 2]
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