The Systemic Lands

Chapter 599: Day 5,079 – Fortress City

“General Abdullah,” I greeted the man with a smile. He was my Director of Defense and appointed commander of New Kochi.

“Emperor Michael,” he replied with a salute. I gave a salute in return.

“Managing?” I asked.

“Trying. Just need a lot more points. I have teams clearing the nearby zones and bringing in everything they can, there are shipments from The Abyss, but as you can see it is still a mess,” he gestured at the holographic map of the city. We were in the Regional Map building, which he had set up as his temporary headquarters.

“Lots of land to buy?” I asked.

“Yes. The core area is secure around the plaza, and we have straight roads to the gates.” I smiled at that, remembering all the twists and turns I had to deal with in the past. Now straight roads to the plaza were seen as a necessity not a luxury. “But we have limited outer defenses and patrols. Thankfully we have cleared out the interior of the city of vagrants, but we can’t maintain a grip on the outer wall and the gates are understaffed.”

“There have been people coming from Purgatory?” I asked.

“Yes, lots of people. But we aren’t getting more soldiers. That was planned for, but it does mean my people are stretched quite thin. These embassies will strain things even more,” he explained.

“I am sure you will figure it out. I can guarantee no large-scale attacks and will intervene if necessary. Also, you have the airship personnel and a lot of airships doing nothing,” I replied, and he slowly nodded.

“We won’t have a fast reaction force in case an attack does happen,” he explained.

“Well the embassies are here, and you have full authority on the defensive situation in this city. I won’t second guess you. Just assign them a group of guards during the day, confine them at night, and then execute any of them that cause trouble,” I replied.

“I can do that?” General Abdullah asked.

“I am now the undisputed power across the entire Systemic Lands. All information points to there being no more immediate cities or civilizations we have to worry about in the immediate future. If they complain about anything, I have a very large stick. So give them rules, and if they break them, kill them,” I explained.

“That is good to know and congratulations. Will there be an official announcement?” General Abdullah asked me.

“Probably day 5,500. I have more exploring to do, before making things official, but I am not overly worried. There are also no major forces or individuals that can threaten this city except for the Sword,” I explained.

“There was a lot of information on this weapon, but not much in how to respond to the person wielding it. That is up to my discretion?” he asked.

“Yes. Polite, and call for me if it shows up. Beyond that containment. It is incredibly dangerous. So stealth attacks on the wielder would be for the best but unlikely to succeed. Just defer to me and my arrival. I don’t believe you can beat it,” I replied.

“Thank you for advising me on the issue. The other nations?” he asked. I smiled at that and gestured. One of my personal guards brought over and laid out the completed map on a nearby table.

“The Indian Sultanate will probably make a move behind the sword up North, not too concerning. The Leader’s Domain might push in on them. If they take cities I will respond and deal with the sword when it shows up. To our west, the Kingdom of the Nile was taking cities, but I purged their capital. No embassy from them.” The General nodded at this as I pointed out their respective territories.

“Then you have The One. They are probably going to start fighting their neighbors. They have an embassy and are interested in purchasing enchanted gear. Then the Kingdom of Graystone. I killed their leader. Finally you have the Holy Kingdom of God, which sent one of their higher level fighters called a Paladin. A close range sword fighter with support skills. They have given an airboat to me and have a line of credit from my personal treasury,” I pulled out a piece of paper detailing the transaction. “Give them a ten percent discount on their first purchase of any gear.”

“I will have to make arrangements. That means we will have travelers or other airships showing up here?” the General asked.

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“Yes. Set aside a foreign quarter and a tower for foreign airships. Maybe just inside the West gate. We can keep the embassies there and allow authorized traders there while closing off the rest of the city,” I said.

“I will make the arrangements. That shouldn’t take long if I dip into my emergency reserves. Will you be staying long?” he asked.

“Until tomorrow morning. Then I will be off exploring. I will be checking back in occasionally, but I am not expecting any serious issues to occur. No issues with Clarissa’s side of things?” I asked him.

“Just a lot of people want to come over here and fight in zones with no one else and no taxes. I heard the demand for tickets is incredibly high. I have made clear which zones this city will be taking in the near future, while encouraging people to spread out to other cities. Once we get return people and traders, we shouldn’t need support zones anymore and can seal the city,” he explained and I nodded at this.

“Good. There was mention of sending out patrols under our flag to check on the situation in other cities?” I asked.

“For now, no. Perhaps in the future once things stabilize. Projections put us at 400 to 600 days of people being brought over with no threat of takeover. By day 5,500 we might look at warlords taking control, but I suspect most people will band togeather and form free cities. They grind and fight, and form a collective with no restrictions on movement to the plaza,” General Abdullah said.

“We can predict that?” I asked with a bit of surprise.

“No one person will out grind the others. Since everyone will be out for themselves to get away from taxes, they won’t accept a tax. That means small groups will form to grind monsters and then turn in crystals. Even if there is an individual grinding monsters, their rate of improvement won’t be enough to surpass the groups grinding and suppress everyone. Hence there will be free cities, which fall into anarchy and depravity. Most likely gangs backed up by factions controlling various side businesses.”

I slowly nodded at this. “Yes, it will be bad. There will be rampant slavery and other horrible crimes. But the official mandate is to not interfere outside of these walls unless attacked. That has been conveyed?” I asked.

“Multiple times, to both the soldiers and the people arriving. That was part of the screening process in terms of selecting who to come out here in the first place. There will be no rouge soldiers, or people galivanting off under my command,” he explained firmly. That was good.

“Keep an eye on this issue. If any soldier feels strongly enough, offer the option for them to resign and leave this city without issue,” I said.

“I will add that to the daily muster announcements and info bulletins. But there won’t be any takers. The people in the military know they are lucky to have their jobs. Giving them up to fight for faceless people that are suffering elsewhere, unlikely,” General Abdullah said.

It was unfortunate, but there was no other way to manage the population. The people and land outside New Kochi would become Hell. A literal Hell of suffering and the worst depravity possible. I had no doubt about that. The only rule was to not attack this city of the soldiers of Purgatory. Other than that they could do whatever they wanted and the population crisis would sort itself out.

The worst impulses of human nature would come to the surface and suffering would be visited on helpless people with no way to resist. The other nations would look on in shock. While a part of me hoped that the people leaving New Kochi wouldn’t be horrible to those weaker than them, I knew they would be.

“There is the issue of the kids and babies,” General Abdullah said.

“What?” I asked.

“Since you upgraded this city to level 6, we have been getting some very young arrivals. They can’t survive the trip back and giving them stats is not advised.”

“What are you currently doing?” I asked.

“Taking care of them here. But a more permanent solution will be needed,” he replied.

“They can remain here. Request teachers and staff from Purgatory. Their numbers can be expanded in time. The points needed, consider it authorized under my authority. They will be treated as citizens of my Empire,” I replied, putting a band-aid on my bleeding heart.

“Very well. There are no more outstanding issues Emperor Michael,” my General said.

“Good. I trust the city in your capable hands,” I replied while I looked back at the map of the city. “What about food imports?” I asked.

“Not possible with airship costs. We will have to wait until we see the portal in action to see if we can ship stuff. Right now, it is basic food stuff and spices. But more processed foods are off the table, literally, based on transportation costs.”

“No issues with the airship?” I asked.

“No. Thankfully I don’t have to worry about its operational expense. But it has worked out the optimal route to avoid high level flying monsters and the monsters in the various zones it has to cross. There was talk about trying to cross the Rift, but I shut that done,” he said.

“Good job. The risk is too high. Losing a super large airship, would be way too expensive. Just keep it to the standard route. Hopefully the portal building solves the issue, but like everything else, there just aren’t enough points,” I said.

“We can manage, don’t worry about us Emperor Michael. We are counting on you to explore the outer zones. Will you be backing that information available. Some people have been asking.”

“Sell the information we have before the people leave. Like copies of the map. As I get more information, you can sell updated versions. That should help supplement the income of this city. Monetize everything you can except safety for the teams leaving. That includes inns and eateries. I know you are doing that, but don’t be afraid to jack up the prices compared to Purgatory. You are selling safety and security here,” I explained.

“I will do that.” I nodded at this. General Abdullah seemed to be doing a good job and had a handle on things. I said by goodbyes before I micromanaged too much. I didn’t want to get bogged down on things that were mostly pointless, like city administration. That was for people other than me to handle. I had exploration to do, monsters to slay, and towers to clear.