Chapter 25

Kane saw the buildings around him while riding the carriage down the road. They were mostly in good condition and the ones that weren't were being repaired. People gazed at Kane and his honor guards who were on horseback with gazes of curiosity, fear, worship, joy, and admiration. The Crimson Crusaders who passed by his carriage would salute him.

"Things are looking good Alfred. The kingdom has the Iron Rose Wall, plenty of farmland for food, and the entire population is doing well. They are neither too poor nor too rich. The only big problem that this kingdom faced was the small army, not much trading and not very rich, and the enemies in the forest. The Orcs are the most worrying" said Kane.

"You are correct sir. We have a decent kingdom as our foundation. It is not bad but we can do a lot to improve it and make it prosper. The forest is a untapt gold mine. We can use the beasts and other resources to trade with the other kingdoms that surround us." responded Alfred.

"I agree Alfred. We are lucky," said Kane. They were passing the most popular street which was known as the merchant district. It had most of the stores and vendors. It was not crowded today as a battle had just happened. Kane noticed that the kingdom did not have any decent smithies. The only ones they really had only made farm tools and horseshoes. Kane had a smithy, a mine, and some Dwarves. He would have to set the smithy up so he could start making armor and weapons. He would keep some men at his waterfall base to keep mining the ore there. It would be helpful to have a mine. Kane would need to find some more in the future if he wanted to supply his conquests.

"Alfred where should we set up the smithy and armory?" asked Kane. "I suggest that it be near the castle as they would both serve a militaristic purpose. We have a small wall covering the castle and we can put several buildings behind it. I suggest we also build a stable and a barracks there" responded Alfred. "That's a good idea," said Kane.

Kane ordered the driver to take him back to the castle so that he could place down the buildings. He also sent one of his guards to go fetch the Dwarves.

They arrived at the castle and headed to the empty areas behind the Castles wall. He would put the smithy here and have the Dwarves work here. He would then place the armory next to it to store all the gear. He would then have a barracks made as well as a stable and place it in the same area. This would make it easy for guards off duty to get geared up fast in case of an emergency.

The Dwarves showed up and Kane introduced them to their new workplace. Brammorli Rubyminer had a huge grin on his face. "Well Lord, you have done it! This kingdom is yours and this fancy new smithy is mine!" said Brammorli. Kane laughed at the dwarf's comment and bid him and the others farewell.

Kane sat on his throne and looked through the system shop. He lacked military strength and he could not recruit from the kingdom's population yet as he has not addressed the citizens. He still had around 200 Crusaders left and decided to summon more Roman legionaries. He had used some of the kingdom's gold to convert into points when he took over the castle and he now he had 15,000 shop points. He would spend 10,000 points to recruit 20 E-rank Romans. They were not the strongest but they were the most affordable. Plus all the Romans were decent in strength, especially in numbers. Annius had told the Dwarves how to make Roman gear so Kane did not buy any for the Romans. Now with the new Romans and the old Kane had a group of about 26 Romans. Not enough to make a legion but he would get there. Kane had a feeling that it would be soon after he saw his most recent system mission.

[Mission: Make the citizens swear loyalty to you and make a speech that will inspire them. Reward: 20 E-rank troop vouchers, 5000 shop points]

"Hey BOT how come it seems I am getting more shop points as rewards?" asked Kane.

[The more you progress the more missions will reward you. Now that your kingdom has officially started you will start getting more shop points. Trust me you will need it because the small amount of flesh bags you have will not be enough to protect this kingdom]

"You are sadly correct. I am indeed weakened. Maybe I should send men to recruit from the other bandit villages. Maybe even get some goblins. They would make good cannon fodder."

"That is a good idea, your majesty. I also suggest that you address the citizens soon. It would be beneficial for the kingdom and you could probably recruit some of them as well" Alfred chimed in. "That is a good idea Alfred" replied Kane. "Looks like its time to make a speech"

Kane was used to making speeches when he was in the special forces and knew he could motivate the citizens. He was also confident in getting their loyalty. He knew that the old King's taxes were way too high and that people hated taxes. Enough to pollute the ocean with tea. He would gain more admiration from them by lowering the taxes. He would not get as much money but he would gain something more useful.

Kane got up from the throne to prepare his speech. He ordered Alfred to get people to spread the word that he would make a speech later in the afternoon to the populace. "Time to do some vocal exercises," Kane said to himself.