Building An Empire Starting From The Labor Camp In Exile-Chapter 317: What to do

She simply didn’t have a chance.

Atrox sat in silence for a long time. He felt as if reality was tilting all around him. Everything had gone wrong, so, so wrong in a way that should not be.

But then his eyes hardened and narrowed. "We will fight back. Get me a message for the Western army and to the capital. Bring all our forces here and let all my Master Knight assemble!"

Tiber bowed. "I fear you are right, my lord. We must focus our attention here. The Akatsuki have turned out to be more dangerous than we expected."

Just then, someone ran into the tent, a soldier that froze when the attention suddenly turned to him. He swallowed and lifted an envelope. The envelope was blood red.

It was the mark of a very urgent message, and immediately everyone tensed. What now? Atrox’s heart skipped a beat.

"A message!" he shouted unnecessarily.

Tiber took the envelope and ripped it open, reading it without expression. When he was done, he turned to Atrox with heavy eyes. "My Lord. We have a problem."

Atrox firmed his heart. "Tell me."

"The Ito Clan has attacked together with the Matsumoto Clan. Master Knight Arin has been killed. We are currently at war with three Clans in the Hinterlands."

The silence this time was heavy. Nobody knew what to say as the implications hit them hard.

"Commander Garran said they’re holding on pretty well, but should the war drag on without reinforcements, then it would be a disaster."

Everyone turned to Atrox as if his reaction would make things better. But even he was thinking of where things went wrong. Still, he knew he had to do something.

So he nodded. "They are holding on pretty well? Then we just have to be done here quickly and then aid them on their frontline.

"Change of orders. Master Knight Pomora, you will join Commander Garran. I assume your ability will work better over there.

"The Master Knights of the Soryu Clan will be divided, then. Over there and over here." Atrox’s voice was calm as if he hadn’t just been chased out of his wall by an invading army.

And the invading army was currently setting their base inside his territory. Atrox was projecting a calm front, but he was sure no one was fooled. After all, they had all seen the battlefield themselves.

But even then, Atrox continued. "I will take direct command of the army through Captain Tiber. First, I want you all to dig your roots into this place. Set up the shield formation. The Akatsuki won’t attack so carelessly now that their surprise element is gone.

"Takoda, help in setting up the defense."

When they saw that their Clan leader was already thinking of what to do next and not what had happened, everyone stood up and saluted.

The lieutenant and all the officers left, leaving behind those that could be called the ’inner circle’.

Atrox sighed deeply. "We have a problem. How are we to fight the two forces at the same time?"

Everyone was silent, even Tiber. His dark eyes turned darker, but he didn’t utter a word for a long time. "My Lord. We don’t know how aggressive the Ito Clan and its ally are, but we know how dangerous the Akatsuki are."

Atrox caught on immediately. "You want us to focus the bulk of the army on the Akatsuki."

"We might be falling into their trap with that," Pomora pointed out. "Because why didn’t they attack or show aggression all this while, but immediately attacked when the Akatsuki attacked? It doesn’t need to be told twice; they must be working together!"

Tiber blinked and accepted what he didn’t want to accept. He bowed to Atrox. "I’m sorry, my lord, but this is difficult indeed. I don’t think we will get out of this easily."

Everyone shifted in their seats once again.

They understood what Tiber wasn’t saying. They were in the worst position they could ever be. Their two borders had been engaged, and one was already occupied.

It was a disaster, and in the fight earlier it showed how they weren’t ready for the storm devils. They were one of the major reasons their forces were heavily affected like that.

"What is a way we could use to defeat the Akatsuki? Telling me is one thing. Being capable of doing it is another matter," Atrox said.

"The fastest way is to defeat their Clan leader and have you sit on the throne. If you can control the very thing that made most of them loyal to the throne, they will fall in line. The problem is that the throne seems to be too powerful.

"It can teleport. It can control sand to such a degree that it’s devastating to witness. And we can’t lock on it. The second way is to find a force even stronger than them, but that’s also a troublesome request.

"The Ito Clan and Matsumoto have cut off any chance of that, and the south... well, we can’t trust them. We are completely isolated, my lord. This time, I think..." Tiber didn’t finish his words, but he didn’t have to.

Everyone understood.

Atrox stood and looked at all of them. It might as well be the last time he would be seeing them. "This meeting will take place another time. You can all return to oversee your respective tasks."

They bowed to him and left the tent. Pomora hesitated before she crossed the distance and gripped him on the shoulder. "Don’t overthink it. The Soryu Clan has been standing for a long time. Nothing can fell us now."

Atrox forced a smile. "Exactly. We are the tallest tree in the Hinterlands. Tell the Commander to send reports of how the Ito are fighting. We need to know what we are up against."

Pomora bowed and then she was gone as well.

Atrox sighed. "Ambition getting cut even before it started."

His gut tightened. "...I can’t even deal with the Hinterlands, and yet I want to be the Emperor? What a joke..."

He sat there in silence and began to think of what he might do, but in the end, everything boiled down to stronger forces or stronger allies.