165 Cities Like Dominos

"Die!!"

The former Duke Euklid had just been released from prison as he never commited any crime and was instead the victim. Styx never had any intention of imprisoning innocents, but he held no qualm in killing if they attacked him.

The former duke charged with a longsword, his body low and as agile as a tiger. For all intents, he was at the Third Step and had both skill and experience to compliment it.

Before his blade could reach Styx though, several of the tiger beastmen core guards pounced on him, their armored claws pinning both him and his blade to the ground.

Harrison Euklid, the duke's full name, glared at Styx with wrath while the latter looked down upon him in contempt.

"Please, don't kill him!" Rebecca hurried into the room and pleaded for her father just before Styx was about to give the execution signal.

As she was still at the Second Step, she couldn't keep up with her father who immediately charged towards the mansion's main hall the moment he thought he was close enough to assassinate Styx, not in the least bit aware that 'Styx' was just an expendable avatar for the dungeon.

"Why shouldn't I? People are free to challenge my dungeon and my head as they will, but they must put their lives on the line to challenge for leadership."

"D-dear, no matter what, he is still my father." Rebecca's expression was troubled as her opinion of her father had plummeted from his recent actions.

Styx sighted in helplessness and allowed it. The former duke posed no threat to him and was instead reduced to being a commoner as punishment. With his wife and daughter no longer a part of his life, he turned to alcohol and opium, drowning away his grievances.

Even though she stated she didn't care and was no longer a part of his life, Rebecca still looked over him and ensured he didn't get into too much trouble. Edna Euklid was the colder one, officially divorcing him and shutting the door on him for good.

The nobles within Whitecliff City raised a fuss at first, several even attempted a coup but were thwarted and annihilated before they could even finish amassing troops by Everest.

The noble daughters treated Rebecca with fear and trepidation from then forth. They were always courteous and extremely careful with their words when they were around her.

At the same time, there were those who tried to use her and her mother to become closer to Styx and grasp power within the city. Those who were in control of the city management shuffled around several times due to this power struggle, but Styx's people were always safe and secure.

Hilda worked alongside the new government officials in the city to ensure it aligned with the management guidelines of Lagoon Porter City.

Eventually Styx planned on building more train lines underground which would not only provide material logistics, but fast and safe travel between cities for civilians too. Work for this was already underway.

While the citizens of Whitecliff City were trepidatious about the thought of monster breeding facilities, the succubus that began migrating to service local brothels and "succu-wives", as those who temporarily partnered with someone to breed were called, were an instant hit.

~~~~~

⠀

The war between Styx and the Maple Dragon Kingdom was officially announced with the attack on the third city.

With his underground stations secretly built just outside of all the cities along the train line between Lagoon Porter City and Whitecliff City, Styx selected the one closest to himself to attack first.

It was a city simply called Myrtle Cloud and was heavily favoured by elves and other exotic races closer to nature due to its natural foliage and ancient redwood trees throughout it and the surroundings.

Styx had hundreds of thousands of monsters by now, tens of thousands of which were not just at the Third Step, but also stronger than others of the same level.

The residents of his two cities had all but been completely won over to his side as well, their previous allegiance toward the Maple Dragon Kingdom discarded and forgotten. They joined his army to fight and spread their territory as if they were born in it, but he valued them more so for their ability to help him win the hearts of the citizens of new cities.

With such forces behind him, and launching a sudden attack via a dungeon raid, Myrtle Cloud fell in a single night. The guard tried to put up a defense, but they were caught in a state of unpreparedness. They strengthened their defense as soon as Styx took over Lagoon Porter City, but even that fell like a house of cards due to how Styx attacked.

Styx wanted to seize the initiative whilst he still had it and attacked the other eleven cities still along this train line.

The kingdom had no time to mount a response and by the time the capital and King Wallanther XII received notice of the attack, they had already lost every single one of these cities.

~~~~~

⠀

"What the hell is going on! Why has that arrogant dungeon lord attacked all of a sudden!" King Wallanther XII slammed his hand down on the large war table where the kingdom army's top generals sat around in contemplation.

Wallanther XII had appeared to have aged 10 years compared to this time last year. His regality was still overwhelming to those before him, but the traces of his prime had all but faded. This only got worse when he received the news of what happened to his daughter during the trip to the Fae Forest Realm.

He had wanted to attack the dungeon lord which had caused him all these grievances instantly, but his war council had advised him against it until they could strengthen their forces.

"Your majesty, they appear to have stopped expanding for now and are focusing on internal regulation of these cities, so there will be no danger to any others for about a year."

"A year? A single year!? Our kingdom was dragged into this myriad world of war and death a millennia ago. Our ancestors have forged a thousand years worth of history and power, how can we just sit back and watch all that crumble into dust!?"

"P-please calm your anger, your majesty! General Anchyr means no disrespect. The demons at the border are pushing harder and harder, and we keep losing ground. We have lost 47 cities so far to them, all the citizens dead. We can always get back the cities the dungeon took over, and in better condition than before according to our sources, but these demons are devices of slaughter."

"General Sophia is correct, your majesty, we need to focus what forces we have where it is most important."

"Bullshit, that dungeon lord is the greatest threat to our kingdom and needs to be eliminated immediately!"

It was obvious to everyone sitting in the war room that King Wallanther XII was currently being fueled by his emotions, but none dared to say that aloud. Most of this emotion stemmed from that particular dungeon lord causing the current issue with his daughter.

Princess Zoerina had been holed up in the castle ever since returning from the Fae Forest Realm.

The public statement was that she was recuperating from injuries inflicted upon her, injuries both physical and mental.

The truth was that she had recovered in record breaking time but had been in a state of hysteria ever since, attacking royal guards and maids alike should they get too close to her. Her bed and all her other possessions had been shredded to pieces by her soft white hands, and the walls dented and fractured by those same dainty fists.

"Father!"

The princess on everyone's mind slammed open the doors and ran over to the king. She was nearly 14 now and her puberty growth was showing more every day, her small girl's body growing into that of a woman.

"Our treasured princess, what is it?"

The king's mood instantly lightened as his daughter planted herself on his lap with a large smile. He was also the only one in the room that couldn't see the brewing madness in her eyes.

"We can't attack that abyssal dungeon, not yet. Even I know that!"

"Our treasure, what have we told you about eavesdropping on important councils?"

"Father! Your methods are too basic, which is why you have lost so far. War is not just fought with steel, but with moral. If those whores can't win over the people in the city, they will never truly grasp it and their growth will even be delayed."

Many of the generals nodded their head in understanding, whilst the king also nodded, but only because he wanted to see his daughter happy.

"That is a very difficult thing to do, our dear."

"No it's not! One of my classmates in school had studied information tactics and done a report on them. We just need to spread rumors about the dungeon's misdeeds, dangers and the mix falsehoods in with the truth. If they people don't trust him, he will be greatly delayed!"

"Your majesty, please excuse me," One of the generals pinched his mustache whilst saying, "but your daughter does have a very good point. That would also buy us time to replicate monster breeding tactics and fight fire with fire.

King Wallanther XII eventually nodded and sent out the order to carry out his daughter's plan. She was well accomplished in school, which included courses of war tactics, so it wasn't as if the idea was without basis.

"Father," Zoerina asked whilst putting one finger to her chin in thought, "Where are our heroes?"

"What do you mean?"

"When the princess, or kingdom is in trouble, a hero always appears. But to this day, none have appeared. Why?"

"We don't know how to answer that. They can come from nobles, prodigious sons who have exceptional talents, or even a common farming family."

"They are just talented people. There are plenty of them, but they have never come to save me or our kingdom."

"What defined a hero is their deeds, not their power."

"That can't be true. I have seen it in very old books, you know. You can summon heroes. People from another world who have no bottlenecks, level much faster, and carry powers beyond our understanding."