Free Web NovelChapter 100: Commander Meeting
[Diplomatic Encounter Complete]
[Reward: 350 Gold Coins]
[Skill Acquired: Minor Vigor - Reduces fatigue accumulation during prolonged physical exertion by 2%]
’A rather weak skill,’ Kane mused, dismissing the text.
’But a few extra gold coins never hurt the war chest. Funding a growing military requires very creative income streams.’
"You are a liability," Seraphine argued, keeping her voice low as they navigated the cobblestone streets of the noble quarter. fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
"Sleeping with a governor while hostile paladins surround us."
"I secured a valuable local asset," Kane corrected.
"If things go poorly during our stay here, Vanya will gladly open the city gates for us."
"You are shameless."
"And you are too tense," Kane teased, letting his gaze drop to her armored hips for a lingering second.
"Perhaps you need a private security meeting of your own to take the edge off."
Seraphine rolled her silver eyes, but an undeniable flush climbed her neck.
"Save your breath, barbarian. How hard it is to keep that cock inside your pants for a day?"
Reaching the towering town hall, two armored guards pushed open the grand oak doors.
Stepping into the vaulted chamber, Kane immediately felt a hostile drop in temperature.
Five high-ranking warrior women stood around a wooden map table.
Clad in intricate plate armor and bearing the scars of seasoned veterans, these commanders were the true teeth of the Milfheim military.
Every single pair of eyes turned toward him.
Disdain dripped from their perfectly sculpted features.
In their strict matriarchy, men were servants, farmers, or disposable foot soldiers.
A man swaggering into their war room expecting to lead a fleet was an outright insult to their entire culture.
"So this is the Elven Queen’s wild dog," Commander Kaelia drawled, crossing her arms tightly.
She possessed a striking face and hair as red as Kane’s, braided securely down her back.
"You reek of shit."
"Hard work does that," Kane countered, walking right past her to claim the spot at the head of the table.
"I conjecture you are Commander Kaelia. The Empress mentioned you."
"Did she mention that I don’t take orders from stray men?" Kaelia challenged, her hand resting threateningly on the pommel of her sword.
"She mentioned you needed someone to save your coastal temples from burning to ash," Kane smiled, leaning his knuckles firmly on the map.
"I’m that someone. Now, how many ships do you actually have ready to sail?"
A tense silence fell over the room.
None of the women wanted to answer him.
Another commander, older and bearing a nasty scar across her cheek, finally spoke up.
"Milfheim fleets don’t report to outsiders."
"Your Empress planned on formally betrothing me to her royal daughter three hours ago," Kane stated, his voice dropping into an order.
"I’m not an outsider anymore. I am the man holding the strategic choke point preventing Chancellor Morvak’s cavalry from sweeping across this entire continent. My Bloodfang warriors are holding the line while you stand around debating my gender. I will ask one more time. How many ships?"
Kaelia narrowed her eyes, assessing the unwavering confidence rolling off his broad shoulders.
She didn’t like him, but she knows a warrior when she sees one.
"Forty war galleons," Kaelia answered begrudgingly, gesturing to the coastline drawn on the parchment.
"Twenty pursuit cutters. They are currently patrolling the southern straits."
Kane studied the map, his mind instantly shifting from lingering pleasure to brutal tactics. freёweɓnovel.com
"Recall the pursuit cutters immediately. Morvak is not sending a traditional navy."
"Explain yourself," the scarred commander demanded, stepping closer.
"I raided General Raymond’s forward camp yesterday," Kane said, tapping the western border.
"I stole Morvak’s updated schematics. He is stripping cargo vessels and bolting repurposed siege engines directly onto their decks."
The warrior women exchanged uneasy glances.
"Siege engines on wooden hulls?" Kaelia frowned, tracing the coastal trade routes with a gauntleted finger.
"The recoil alone would rip standard merchant ships apart."
"He doesn’t care if the ships survive the voyage," Kane explained, his tactical mind running through the grim possibilities.
"He just needs them to float long enough to bombard your shoreline defenses. Once your coastal forts are rubble, his infantry drops right onto your beaches. Your fast pursuit cutters will get smashed to splinters trying to intercept flying boulders."
"Then what’s your brilliant strategy?" Kaelia asked, her tone losing a noticeable fraction of its previous arrogance.
"We let him think his plan is working. We pull your galleons back into the narrow coves near the Elven border. When his clunky, overloaded cargo ships commit to bombarding the beaches, they will have to drop anchor to stabilize their firing arcs."
Seraphine stepped up beside him, catching his rhythm perfectly.
"Stationary targets."
"Exactly," Kane nodded.
"Once they drop anchor, your galleons sweep out from the coves and flank them. We trap them against the shoreline and burn every single vessel to the waterline."
Kaelia stared at the map, visualizing the fiery ambush.
A slow smile spread across her lips.
"It requires sacrificing the outer watchtowers," the commander pointed out.
"Bricks can be replaced," Kane shrugged.
"Empires cannot. Are you willing to trade a few stone towers for Morvak’s entire naval force?"
"You are far more careless than the Empress suggested," Kaelia noted, leaning completely across the table.
Her aggressive posture shifted, replaced by a subtle curiosity.
She let her gaze linger on his broad chest, suddenly realizing exactly why the Elven Queen kept this man so close to her throne.
"I’m being real," Kane replied, meeting her stare head-on.
"Draw up the recall orders. We move the fleet north by nightfall."
"Alright," Kaelia agreed softly.
Walking out of the town hall an hour later, Kane felt the satisfying weight of genuine command.
He arrived in a hostile city, seduced a local noblewoman right under her husband’s nose, and seized control of an entire matriarchal navy before dinner.
’I think this alliance is going to be very profitable,’ Kane thought, looking up at the sky.
Seraphine fell into step beside him as they descended the marble stairs.
"You handled Kaelia much better than I expected."
"She respects strength," Kane answered casually.
"Just like you do."
"Don’t flatter yourself," Seraphine scoffed.
"Jealousy is beneath you, First Blade," Kane laughed, brushing his shoulder intentionally against hers.
"If you want my undivided attention, you only have to ask."
"In your dreams."
"My dreams are far more interesting," Kane promised, turning his sights back toward the estate.
War was coming quickly, but the victories along the way were tasting sweeter every single day.
