All the factories within Aldred's territory churned out hot steam, gas, and smokes as they worked harder than before, constantly churning out mechanical parts after parts, assembling robots, and producing war supplies of unimaginable quantities.
Thousands upon thousands of Fighter-Class IT-6, standing 10 meter tall with the strength of a pseudo low Diamond Rank warrior were constantly coming out of the factory before they entered their designated trucks, ready to be shipped in any part of the battlefield.
Aldred, sitting on his throne, watched his forges through a screen.
"Master," Corduul called. "The king is gathering all the nobles to discuss the battle roles."
"Is everyone there already?"
"Most of them are. What about Duke Hushum?"
"He is one of the first to arrive."
"Hmmm, let's go there then."
Corduul swiped his mechanical fingers in the air, ripping space apart, and creating a portal.
They both stepped inside and arrived in the grand hallway. Numerous other portals appeared and nobles walked out. They all nodded at him. Aldred nodded back.
They all approached the gate of the throne room. Two high Diamond Rank warrior guarded with thick white armor. They were standing 2 meter tall with a large shield and a majestic spear in the other hand.
Aldred could tell they were an amazing fighters. Far stronger than the top 15th student. In fact, Russam wouldn't stand a chance at all fighting against them.
The two warrior pushed the gate with all of their strength. It proved that the giant gate was so heavy that a warrior such as them needed to use all of their strength just to push it.
After the gate was opened, Aldred and the other nobles entered.
Duke Hushum was talking to a noble with a wine in his hand until he noticed Aldred. "Excuse me. Hey, Aldred!"
The Duke approached Aldred with a wide smile. Aldred smiled back.
"It's finally happening. A war! This is your time to proof yourself."
Nodding, Aldred replied: "I will conquer Ber for this kingdom."
The Duke laughed. "I like the spirit, but this is not a one person job. You cannot conquer Ber alone. All of the nobles here will contribute a part of their army to attack them. The King's army being the largest."
"Do we have a plan already? Have we declared a war publicly?"
"We will use our advancement as our official declaration. For now, the king only declare it within the royal circle."
"Do we have a war plan?"
"That is the reason why we are here. The king will and all the nobles here will discuss it."
"Where is the king?"
"He hasn't arrive yet. He will when all the nobles come. For now, let's have a chat. How's the rail track going?"
Aldred and Duke Hushum talked about business for a few hours until all the murmurs became silent.
They looked at the throne and saw the king already sat there with two old men standing beside him. They both were at the Adamantite Rank.
"Let's begin the discussion," Heshad Withokere, the king of Withokere, spoke.
The nobles didn't say a word.
The king was satisfied that everyone was silent. "The Dominion of Ber is a nation far smaller than us. This war will not be long, but the territory we able to take is too small."
All the nobles nodded. That was why most of them did not have the interest to join this war. Some of the nobles here had a territory far larger than Ber.
"The plan is simple," the King said. "My army will take the ocean as our route, while the rest of you will attack from land. Distract the enemy on land, and my army will take their capital from the ocean."
"Your Highness, if I may?" Aldred raised his hand.
All eyes set onto him.
"What is it Count Aldred?"
"I would like to bear the responsibility of distracting all the enemies. My army will advance from the south all the way to the north."
Some of the nobles looked at Aldred with a knowing smile, while some were shocked. A lot of them already expected that Aldred would want to proof his loyalty to the king by taking dangerous mission, but they did not expect he would take a suicidal role.
Although the Dominion of Ber was small, they still had a large army. Fighting them would take a lot of resources and could bankrupt an entire region. Although they knew that Aldred was wealthy, he might take a huge hit in his finance.
Duke Hushum saw this and take a step back, letting Aldred enjoy all the limelight.
"What do you all think?" The king asked.
"I believe he will fail, Your Majesty. Although Aldred has a large army, the Dominion of Ber is still powerful enough to fight him. Aldred is not from this continent and lack the experience of fighting enemies that born on this land."
Some of the nobles looked at Aldred with disdain because of his arrogance to propose such plan. They all knew Aldred wanted contribution to proof his loyalty, but this was too much.
"If that is the case, Count Aldred will attack from the southwest and attack a few cities. The rest can send their armies from the south."
The nobles nodded after hearing the King's decision. This way he gave Aldred an opportunity to earn a contribution points while also giving the other nobles the same chance.
Being a king was hard. Terribly so. The nobles were like children fighting for his love and attention. He had to give them the same amount of love and attention or one would get jealous of one another.
But that Aldred was really brave. Nobody wanted to distract an army of an entire nation alone. Even though Aldred had a lot of golems, half of them, and even more, could be sacrificed just to do that.
No nobles in the world would want to lose half of their army.
"Count Aldred, are you satisfied with this decision?"
Aldred bowed. "Yes, Your Majesty."
A noble sneered at him. "What an arrogant bastard. Be thankful that we saved you from your foolish decision."
A lot of nobles had a negative view about him. In their eyes, he should be punished with death for killing a noble of Withokere.
Aldred couldn't really blame them. The nobles here seem so different than the nobles back home. Here, everyone seemed a lot more honest when making deals, and backstabbing almost never happen. The nobles also had a very close relationship with each other, in fact, Aldred felt like they treated each other as brothers and sisters.
According to what he learned, the culture in Withokere Kingdom was very unique. The noble circles put their young sons and daughters and let them fight physically with one another very often.
Everyone would thought they would become enemies, but when they grow up, they actually become very close and had a deeper understanding of each other.
'Maybe I should tell the other clone to fight with as many noble kids as possible."
"Since you are satisfied, this discussion is over. We will attack in a week. I hope all of you are prepared."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
The King vanished and all the nobles used all kinds of teleportation spells to return home.
Aldred was about to leave with Corduul until Duke Hushum approached him.
"Aldred, if you need any help, just tell me. I can send my secret forces to aid you in battle. Nobody will know."
"Thanks. I will let you know if I need help."
Duke Hushum smiled when Aldred didn't reject his offer.
Aldred chatted with the Duke for a few minutes before taking his leave. He believed that he didn't need any help at all, but he didn't want to say that to Duke Hushum's face.
Back in his own throne room, a projection revealed a map of Ber.
"There are six main cities with great military power in our way, Master," Corduul said.
"Only six. We can handle that."
"What about the appearance of Adamantite Ranks?" Corduul asked.
"I am sure the king will handle that. I remember that they only appear in times of desperation."
"The king planned to conquer the entire Dominion. The probability of such figures appear is very high, Master."
"I am not scared. I am just a clone, remember?"
Corduul nodded. "We will send more surveillance drones to scout the situation."
"Do that. Let's prepare properly for war. It's been quite a while. I missed wrecking havoc on the battlefield."
Aldred walked to his throne and sat down.
...
All over the kingdom, the nobles prepared a number of their soldiers and set off towards the northwest of Withokere. That was where the border between Withokere and Ber located.
Naturally, since the movement of so many soldiers could not be hidden, the Dominion of Ber caught onto the information and prepared themselves for an invasion.
The micro drones that were flying all over their territory sent information to the Mechanicum non-stop.
They might be well-prepared, but they surely were not preparing enough for what was about to come.
