My Dungeon Life: Rise of the Slave Harem

Although the leader of the Wolf Pack said that the entire country of Dioshin was attacking, it took a moment for me to process this information.

“They’re… going to war with Aberis?”

“Not Aberis, just you.” The wolf leader explained. “Since you’re a new lord and the majority of the wilderness is still untamed, he plans to only attack you and those who ally with you. He likely believes that Aberis won’t act to survive their self-interests. They’re too busy dealing with the after-effects of the Ost Republic skirmishes.

I shook my head in disbelief but immediately sent out a message. “Elaya, Celeste, Shao… I need you all to go report to my allies. We’re under attack from Dioshin. Elaya, go to Prince Edward and tell him about the impending attack and ask for aid. Celeste, you must go to Deeksville and see if we can’t get any assistance there. Shao, consult the southwestern lords under us and gather men. Terr-”

I stopped as I realized I ran out of girls to depend on. Terra was gone. So was Lydia, Raissa, Carmine, and Salicia. Sapphire was more suited for blacksmithing and her time was best used under Gabbro, while Siti was merely a Blue Mage. Not only was our country being attacked, but half of the people that I trusted still hadn’t returned to me.

“Xin, mobilize the army.” I turned to Xin and ordered.

“I have already put in the orders, but there hasn’t been nearly enough time. The animalkin have been fighting amongst each other for generations. They possessed many traits far more powerful than a standard human. Although half of our army are volunteer animalkin and former slaves, they still only have a few months of training. Even with the full support of Aberis, this battle will be brutal. We’re going to need to depend on more than just that.”

“The Osterians…” I spoke up.

“They will fight for you for now.” Xin agreed. “But you won’t be able to depend on their prowess completely. At the moment, they have yet to form a deep trust in your leadership. Based on your encounters with King Roth, if he proves to be a more powerful side, they may change their loyalty. The strongest have the right to be the leader. That is what they have always believed.”

So, I could lose the Osterians if things went south. This was bad. I needed to know exactly how far they had made it and how much time I had.

“Do you know how many days behind you they are?” I asked their leader.

He looked away. “I don’t. They can move far faster than you’d expect though.”

“What of the wolfkin? Will they fight with us?”

He looked away. “Sending me as warning already pushed things. I do not know the consequences he’ll face for doing so. He may respect you, but I can’t say if that respect would reach the point where he’d withhold an attack if ordered. As for switching sides, I believe that to be impossible.”

He was reluctant to say that much, but I wasn’t surprised. He was in my territory now, and he was admitting to me that his people were my enemy.

“On my word, you will be allowed to leave here peacefully,” I stated, which caused him to relax just a bit.

A portal opened at that moment, and someone walked out. I was surprised to see Elaya appear so quickly.

“You’ve already spoken to your son?” I asked cautiously.

“I have not.” Elaya declared, but before I could ask more, she continued. “I had meant to tell you about this earlier, but you came home in such a state. I felt that I needed to report this before I left.”

“Report what?”

“The dungeon on the west side of the wilderness, the one subservient to you, they sent out a distress call two days ago begging for help.”

“What? Matty?”

“We sent Astria to resolve the issue, but she hasn’t returned. I had hoped she was just a bit delayed and would arrive last night, but now there is no denying it. There is trouble.”

“What trouble…”

“Based on what you’ve just explained, I’m afraid the Dioshin army has already reached the wilderness.”