Maximus sat at his desk, surrounded by stacks of papers and scrolls.
His piercing blue eyes scanned the report that had just been delivered to him, detailing the division of the kingdom between the dukes and the formation of the noble alliance.
He read through the report calmly, without so much change in his expression.
To him, what was happening was simply a natural process of power struggles and alliances that had been happening for centuries.
The report outlined how the three powerful dukes, Charles, Darwin, and Thomas, divide the kingdom among themselves.
Maximus couldn’t help but admire their cunning and foresight.
They had seen an opportunity and had taken it, seizing control of the land they wanted.
But he also knew that the noble families weren’t ones to sit idly by and watch their power slip away.
They had formed an alliance, despite their longstanding feuds and grudges against each other, to fight back against the dukes.
As he read through the report, he noted the strengths and weaknesses of each side.
The dukes had more soldiers and better-trained troops but they needed to defend a large place which the alliance had the advantage of, being able to fight in guerrilla warfare and use ragtag groups to gain an edge.
After finishing reading the detailed report on the ongoing developments within the empire.
Maximus turned his attention to the invitation that had been sitting on his desk for days.
The invitation, sent by Lord Harrington, head of the noble alliance, urged Maximus to make a decision promptly.
However, Maximus had not bothered to read the contents of the letter.
He had received similar invitation weeks prior before the conflict between the dukes and the noble alliance had escalated to its current state.
Maximus had known what the letter contained even before opening it.
It was an invitation, or rather a warning, for him to choose a side.
But Maximus had no intention of aligning himself with either faction.
The politics and power struggles of the nobles and dukes held no interest for him.
The reason Maximus had not responded to the earlier invitation was simple: he had no intention of becoming their ally as he planned to establish his own kingdom independently.
Moreover, despite his place location being isolated and barren, it had its own advantages, particularly its proximity to the sea.
Moreover, when you include the barren parts of the land surrounding his territory, the total land area is 10 times the size of the empire he is in.
However, he cannot develop it yet due to his lack of population, and, more importantly, he is still too weak to protect it.
During the previous weeks, the nobles and dukes had been too preoccupied with their own conflicts to spare a thought for this desolate territory.
Now, however, with the situation calming down and a semblance of stability returning to the empire, they were already beginning to extend their arms outward.
They sought to assert their dominance and bring every corner of the land under their control, even the seemingly insignificant places like his domain.
But he didn’t give any thought to it.
He had fortified his territory into a formidable fortress, making any attempt to invade it pointless.
Not to mention, his power was not to be underestimated.
With a steady stream of strong knights produced in his Thousand-strong armies, even the regular armies of the nobles and dukes would struggle to match his forces.
Moreover, the nobles and dukes were too consumed with their own power struggles to spare the resources needed to chase after one man in a barren wasteland.
Maximus folded the letter and placed it back on the desk.
He was deep in thought.
He knew that this was a great time, a time when he could take power into his own and rule his own land.
He had always wanted to establish his own kingdom, but he knew he was too weak.
Originally, he had planned to train until he reached at least the 4th tier Elemental mage level before stating his plan.
However, now with all this chaos going on, not building his own power would leave him vulnerable and unable to do anything.
But the question was, how?
Maximus knew that he couldn’t simply go out and occupy the surrounding land given his current strength.
He needed a plan, a strategy that would help him gain territory and power in a way that wouldn’t lead to much bloodshed.
…
As he was thinking, his gaze fell on the map of the surrounding area that hung on his wall.
He studied it intently, tracing the lines of the rivers and mountains with his finger.
And then it hit him. There was a small valley not far from his own land, one that was perfectly aligned with the warring factions.
If he could secure that land, he could establish a foothold in the area and begin to expand his influence.
A smile slowly spread across his face as he began to formulate a plan.
He could send a small group of trusted men to the valley, disguised as traders or merchants.
They would establish a small trading post there, and while gathering information, they could also recruit refugees to plug the population shortage in their land.
Over time, they could also build a trading area to export their products and earn money.
However, Maximus knew that he needed to be careful with this plan.
He couldn’t afford to draw attention to himself and risk being caught by the church or other powerful factions in the region.
He would need to make sure that his men were well-trained and equipped to handle any situation that might happen.
He would need to be patient as it would not bring immediate results.
It would take time to establish the trading post and build up his army.
But he was very patient taking his time and preparing until his strength grew.
He gathered his men and began to lay out the details of the operation.
As they worked on the plan. He thought of what he would do after.
If they were successful in establishing a trading area, he could begin to expand his own army, and with the money and people, he could also expand his territory.
Instead of snatching territories like others, he would like to create it more.
Although the plan was not foolproof, Maximus did not want to resort to extreme measures that could attract unwanted attention from powerful factions from the central continent.
…
This Area is called the Sunburnt Plateau, part of the scattered island-like mass of land in the cursed continent.
The strongest here is at most Tier 3 mage or Tier 4 knight due to it being a low magic area that they can’t advance further.
The cult only came here to sacrifice common people to their god for some quick boost of strength.
As for uniting the place to generate faith, that was impossible as the continent was tightly guarded by mages in the central continent.𝗈𝗏𝐞xt.𝐜𝗈𝑚