The Empires Rise

- Drake's POV -

As I continued working on my external mana manipulation, I came up with several names for the succubus. Having thought of the different names, I am ready to talk with her about it and see if there are any that she prefers, though I don't know if I will get a straight answer from her. She seems to be more playful as I get to know her. I wonder how she'll react to the names I've chosen.

Having lost myself in my thoughts, I am interrupted by the sound of the tent flap opening, and in comes the succubus. She stands in front of the strategy table and looks at me curiously. "Do you have any other orders?"

Thinking about the militia group on the map, I decided to ask her about it. "Do you have any information about the human group? They22 had a tattered flag and differed from the other groups we faced."

She raises her eyebrow at me, "You saw that. I can tell you about them, but I have a question.

Do you have anything specific you want me to do after this?"

"What do you mean?" I ask her, confused as to why she would ask that.

"Oh, never mind, you didn't see anything else while looking at the strategy table?"

"I mean," I look at her, seeing her shoulders slumped slightly forward like she is disappointed with something. "There were several chests on the map, and the resource point is only as large as two tiles. So, it is relatively small. After seeing those, I stepped back and started to work on my mana manipulations and try to figure out names for you since I haven't thought of any till now, and I don't like having to call you 'You' or 'Succubus.' It feels less wholesome, and I don't like it."

She snaps her head up from her downcast position and looks directly into my eyes, "Is that really what you have been doing? Don't you know the resource point or how many resources we acquired? And you don't have any other plans for me other than to continue what we are doing?"

"Well, I would like it if you could answer my questions like you have been doing when I have them. And I do find it intriguing that I don't have to direct the troops on the map. You take charge of this and report any issues that might crop up. Also, you are proving to be very helpful in managing the troops. I don't have to worry about your small battles since things seem to be going smoothly for you. Should I be trying to find things for you to do specifically? Or should I be trying to manage more of your movements?"

She looks at me like I am some idiot before saying, "You are trusting a demon to be in charge of your troops? That is ridiculous! In my thousands of years of experience, I have never had someone, especially a human, let me take charge of their troops like you have. You boggle my mind. I should just get all of your troops killed since you have enough command points and not think twice about it."

Giving her a stern look, I respond, "If you did that, you would destroy the trust I have been giving you. And I have reasons why I can trust you with the troops. So, let's get back to the topic. What do the humans on the map, with the tattered banner, represent?"

Sighing in defeat, she answers, "The tattered banner behind the troops represents that they were from a nobleman's lands that have fallen. If you were to fall, all of your troops would be the same as them, splitting into their groups and being enemies for other nobles that come later. They were typical fodder troops, and we could easily beat them since they didn't have much in coordination or weaponry."

"What does that mean for the tiles that the nobleman used to have claim over?" An inquisitive tone seeps into my voice.

"Depending on how far the noblemen were in the technology and building progress of his command post, there could be ruins we could loot."

My ears perk up when I hear about the potential for loot. "How far along would he have to be to leave ruins for us to loot?"

Shrugging her shoulders, "I don't know. I have been around many noblemen, but their territory is ruined once they perish here or elsewhere. I am immediately teleported back to where I was summoned."

"Fair enough, let's move back a bit in the conversation. I presume you looted the accessible chests and have more information about the resource point."

Standing straighter, she enthusiastically answers, "The chests have been looted, and the resource point has been fully scouted. The only thing left for us is to use the resources we received and start our next battle."

"Great, I have one question for you before we start the battle. Will there be a time that there isn't a battle after finishing everything we could do?" I asked her

"There will be times that there aren't battles, but that won't be until you finish your initial trial." She answers.

"Wonderful. Let's see how many resources we received and get to the building. I would like to know what having a full resource point gives," I say as I get off my chair and approach the strategy table, where several notifications appear. Six are asking about claiming the tiles, which I do. The last one is the resources from the chests.

- Resources Received: 21 -

Choosing to hover over the resource point to see what it provides.

- Small Resource Point: When claimed and worked, it produces 3 resources per tile at the point. -

Going further into the information provided, I noticed another notification.

- Would you like to work on this resource point? There will be a 2 CP cost to working this point. Yes/No -

Looking at where the point is compared to my defenses, I choose not to start working on the point. I want to have enough defenses around the point before sending workers there.

With this influx of resources, I go to my building options. I choose to expand the defenses into a larger square based on what I have currently. This action takes 10 of the 25 resources. With the remaining resources, I built another barracks and a small blacksmith. This leaves me with 5 resources left. With the option to expand my base defenses one more tile or to hold on to them and wait for the resources from battle to accrue, I chose to do the latter of the two options.

Again, I have another ten slots for troops, so I figured getting a couple more sets of gnolls, a couple more sets of bats, and one more succubus was okay. Looking at the succubus in the tent with me, I stand up and say, "Since there are more of your kind here, it would make sense that you, as the superior, have a name."

Before I can continue, she bursts into laughter. "Is that really necessary?" she asks.

"Yes, I don't want to confuse the two of you when I call out to you," I say earnestly.

"Alright, let's hear the names you have come up with." She continues to chuckle at my expense.

"Ok, just stop me when there is one that you like," I offer before running through the list of names I have thought of. "Fellona, Lynthine, Tryxova, Nemortia..." This goes on for a few minutes, and her laughter gets more hysterical with each passing name. "What? Were there no names I have offered that would work for you?"

"Oh," she titters, "There were a couple that got close, but there haven't been any that really 'speaks' to me."

Grunting in displeasure, I stop and figure I should try again later. Trying to get her to be serious again, I ask her, "Can you do another round of scouting with the two additional bats groups and clear those out." My hopes for this are to get enough resources to build either the research facility or to upgrade the tent again.

"Sure," she says, still chuckling about what just occurred while getting up from her chair.

So, the process of collecting resources, building the command post, and trying to figure out what to call this succubus starts.