Three whole days later, Jack and his ships finally reached Ocean City harbour
Blackmane was waiting for Jack at the City.
Ocean City had withstood the siege and quickly provided aid to Jacks ships and wounded troops.
The whole day became a blur for Jack.
As he reached Eros he quickly saw the extreme damage it had taken.
Xena was there, all his generals were there, and even his bastard child stood amongst them with armour and weapons.
Jack didn't listen to anyone, and when the bastard had tried to talk to him, Jack had simply hit him so hard in the face that he created a small crater in the road and passed out.
The bastard was locked back up in his cell, next to Angelica, Brutus and Ramises in each their cells.
Jack had followed a very silent Princess Xena, who led him to the mansions yard where the limb bodies of Nisha and Janus had been laid on extravagant beds of flowers, shining gems and costly fabrics.
As the funeral pyres were lit that night, Jack felt like an empty shell.
He had lost Nisha and his son! The pain cursing through his body was without equal!
As he stared into the flames, all he could see was the map of the mainland, wrought in Imperial Wrath!
'Im never leaning my family behind again! I will never care about anything outside my boundaries again! The only thing that requires my attention henceforth, is the expansion of Eral Empire! Nothing else matters!'
Jack had lost interest in the small matters of life.
All he now wanted, was to spread his Empire and secure peace within it.
He knew this was a lord event. A rare and fucked up event, meant to cull even more of the weak so only the true survivors remained!
'If that's what the system wants! Then I will give them a survivor who devoures all the rest!'
As this night concluded, it was also the last time tears would run in rivers from his eyes.
--
"Emperor! All the towns and cities has been liberated and reinforced with 10.000 common troops as guards!"
It was a little more than a month after the funeral pyre, and Jack had just seated himself in the throne room in the Citadel in Eros.
He had just returned from Ramises old town.
Besides a few thousand still-roaming hostile troops, the town was completely abandoned.
He had taken Ramises summoning stones and reclaimed a lot of gear and resources from the place.
Including his 1000 chests containing 1.000.000 gold coins.
"Bring the prisoners here! All of them!"
Jack sat in the large and completely gold covered throne, resting his head in his right hand.
A few moments later, four ragged prisoners appeared and where forced to kneel before Jack.
Angelica, Brutus, Ramises and Goran were all in ragged cloths and thin.
In the past month they had only received a single meal a day, and whenever they had tried to argue or even speak, Jacks troops had beaten them thoroughly.
"Ramises. You've already lost your town, and I am in possession of your summoning stones."
Ramises lifted his head and stared at Jack.
"I will give you a choice. Either you accept to be a baron in my empire, and you get your summoning stones back. Or I use the lord system to claim your stones and the entire lord system will be removed from you entirely. I will in this case not even allow you to become a hero. You will be executed."
Jack had already studied the 'book of empires' to the letter.
In short terms;
An empire had a certain amount of 'slots' for the following ranks.
Baron - Count - Marquis - Duke.
The amount of slots increased with the total territory of the empire.
An empire could even have kings and vassal within it - all completely and firmly under the Emperor himself.
And as lords with the lord system and summoning stones, they could retain all these godly benefits, if they gained or accepted such a spot.
Unlike before, when Jack could accepted the 'surrender' of a lord, they could not retain their lord status, but simply became a harp in his territory.
Likewise, the Emperor could share his lord's resources and directly transfer it to any nobility within his faction.
"Answer quickly! I like you, and do not wish to see you perish. But if you don't accept, I have no further use of you!"
Jack just looked at his former friend as if he was giving him a gift that he recoiled to accept.
"We know what you lost Jack! But you've lost your mind! Why do you do this? We deserve an answer!"
Jack was truly changed, but he was still human, and the past month had actually made him regret how he handled the deaths of his family.
However done was done, and as Emperor, he truly meant to fulfill that role. Even if people began to see him as ruthless.
He simply didn't care anymore.
"Alright... Alliances, lord events, roaming monsters and beasts, hostile aliens races and a planet at war."
Jack began slowly.
"We were on the right track... At that meeting before the new year. We tried to create borders and a form of 'peace'. But the system brought the world to hell. The slayer alliance is claiming everything they can while the trade alliance is completely fractured."
Ramises yelled and interrupted Jacks speech;
"But that's because of you! Our alliance lostany lord's and you captured the founders! If you let us free, we can solidify the alliance yet again!"
Jack just let an ounce of his aura loose.
That was enough to silence Ramises.
"It all made me realise one thing. I truly don't care about alliances. If we want to be Truly strong! Then a United empire needs to emerge, to promise humans survival. And this is what I offer you. Not an alliance. But a true unified nation. Choose now Ramises. There are others that needs to speak and choose."
Jack ended with this, letting a clear threat hang - if Ramises didn't choose now, only beheaded was left.
"Okay Jack. I will join your empire. But don't think that I will ever forgive what you have done to us."
Jack simply nodded at it was done.
[Lord System: RamisesTheGoat has sworn eternal fealty to Etal Empire. He will retain his lord system and be known as Ramises, Baron of Etal Empire.]
Jack threw the two summoning stones to Ramises.
"To the north of the forest outside the mountain pass, you'll find a very suitable place for a new city to be built. The territory is already claimed and stretches 70 kilometres from the icy peaks and up the beach. That is your territory, and resources will travel with you. Build me a harbour city without equal. Our imperial fleet will be built there when you are ready!"
Jack had Ramises excorted by several troops.
He would enjoy a lavish meal and roman-style bath.
After that he would be excorted to an army of 25.000 common troops and 1500 large wagons with resources, supplies and materials already waiting for him to build his city.
Likewise Jack had already used the system to directly dump 1 million of each normal lords resources directly into Ramises pockets.
The empire system was absolute.
When an individual gained one of the 'noble slots' they could not directly go against the empire or it's emperor.
Even mischievously trying to aid imperial hostiles would made their bodies sick.
The worse the insult, the worse the sickness, directly to the point of dying on the spot.
"Brutus. I know you have two surviving territories. A large town and a large village located on those two territories to the north of the coast. Join me as a baron, and I will let you sail home with a large army to solidify the empire to the north."
Brutus was a strong man with an iron soul.
But he was not stupid. He knew if he rejected this, he would most likely die.
And actually Brutus saw the future of a United empire instead of alliances, much more clearly than even Jack did. And secretly, he actually wanted this, even if he wasn't the Emperor himself.
And also...
Brutus would actually become one of Jack's most trusted ally and friend.
However Brutus didn't know this yet, but as he agreed to Jacks offer, he had taken the first step.
"20 warships stocked with sailors and supplies await you at Ocean City's harbour."
As the system announced that a 'plains territory and a hills territory' had merged with the empire, Jacks troops gave Brutus the same feast and roman-bath as Ramises, while Jack likewise gave him 1 million of each resource.
"Goran. I've come to know everything you've done and why you've done it. Just tell me one thing, before I sentence your future. Why do you want to serve me so badly?"
Jack turned his attention towards Goran, who was still bowing down against the floor.
"I am your son! I know everything my mother did to you! And I understand you! I just want to be your son, father! I want to be worthy and help you and the empire! Nothing else matters to me."
Again Goran didn't exaggerate. His mixed reptilian and human DNA made him be so extremely pure in these regards.
Reptilians wanted conquest, belonging and status.
Humans, especially males, wanted fame, riches, status and a family to call home and share their heroics.
Together, Goran wanted nothing else than to please his father and the empire he controlled. It was a calling and joy that nothing else could possibly compare to.
Jack though about it for a while.
"I have gained a few treasures from your deeds that day. You killed the leader of the drakes. The epic treasure I gained have spawned the first batch of drake eggs. I want you to bond with one and become the first of the empires dragon knights. Go now."
Was all Jack said before Goran was excorted out.
"Angelica. For once, I'm truly sorry about what I've put you through. There is no excuse. However an empire needs an empress. Join my hand in marriage and become the second most powerful person in the growing empire. Or go free. I won't hold you against your will."