Three months had passed since the battle in Thagalia, the year was coming to an end.
Valum had changed drastically, one of the notable changes was the construction of residential homes which were bungalows ranging from one to three bedrooms and duplexes ranging from three bedrooms to five bedrooms.
All made with concrete blocks and all had indoor plumbing made of steel and copper alloy pipes.
The bathrooms had ceramic utensils while the kitchen had stainless steel.
Several new items had been introduced, like the charcoal iron which was very popular amongst the soldiers and the revolutionary coal/wood ranges that was both a stove and an oven that wives ond cooks came to love.
There were wider street paved with concrete, drainage systems and sewer all constructed.
All these could only be possible with the massive influx of population, the original population had blown up from five thousand to twenty five thousand and it was bound to increase as the DEA (department of external affairs) were hard at work.
The militia has also grown from about two hundred and seventy to three thousand two hundred men and women.
Two hundred and fifty of them were mages, Maximilian had enacted policies that maintained the equality of all.
The ISB ( internal security bureau ) also known as the red skins from their signature red uniforms , red longsleeved shirts with black embellishments and red trousers with black embellishments. They had grown from the former knights to about one hundred and fifty men and they did their jobs excellently.
They were all selected and further trained after they finished basic training in the army.
The DEA had a different selection criteria and recruited anyone as long as they were useful and were loyal to Scorpia.
There were some changes to the army, a field uniform has been issued, it came in colors of brown while the black uniforms were now reserved as dress uniforms.
More people were still coming to Valum and the talk of nice jobs and pay were spreading throughout the West of the empire.
Max knew that this success could be threatened by anyone within a moments notice.
He needed to make and create weapons that could threaten the hegemony of magic on this continent, something that would help him defend until he felt the need for aggressive actions.
But first he needed to go to Caligula in preparation for the second Prince's engagement to his step sister.
He had selected twenty soldiers to go with him on this journey.
Before they left he had given them rules of engagement;
- do not fight anyone unless they are a threat to my life or yours.
- do not reveal any classified Intel unless you have my permission
- the nobility and the dukes family would try as much as possible to find an excuse to do harm to me so be careful.
There was also a new weapon given to this twenty, there were two actually.
Both were leather gloves, one was inscribed with the ability to release strong pulses of wind while the was inscribed with the ability to cover the gloves with lightning.
The intensity of both the wind pulse and the lightning depends on the users magic flow intensity.
After confirming that all was in order they all set out for Caligula.
They arrived on the afternoon of the next day.
A DEA agent had already bought a villa in preparation for Maximilians visit, the villa was in a location which was quiet and far away from the noice of the capital.
A security schedule was immediately implemented and Max settled down to receive reports from the DEA agent.
" Members of the Caligula branch family have been in the capital for over a month, there seems to be a rumor that they are seeking your head to avenge your actions against Baron Eppes .
We suspect that if they don't get a favourable response they might opt for assassinations or declare outright war. "
" And what does special agent Angus suggest ? " Maximilian asked.
" He calls for a premptive strike my Lord, he says that we need to destroy any threat to our progress." The agent replied.
" Yes that's possible, but you should remember that the combined might of the branch families is able to summon at least two hundred thousand men, many of whom have unimaginable magic power.
Even though they outnumber us greatly, we would need a reason to go after them.
If they do not give us a reason, we would just have to sit and wait won't we. "
" Of course my Lord. "
The next morning, ten heavily armored mounted knights arrived at the gates of the villa.
They still looked as majestic as ever with their blue cloaks draped behind them .
The knight in charge rode forward stopping inches in front of Maximilian. He didn't even get off from his horse .
It was such a blatant level of disrespect, something that Max wouldn't have tolerated but now was not the time.
" His grace demands that you present yourself before him immediately. "
Few minutes later, Max was dressed properly in a black tunic, a red cuirass on top of the tunic, a black trench coat on top of the tunic and cuirass, black trousers and black boots.
He also has his hair in a half up half down style with a single braid and two straight blades strapped across his back.
Five of his men accompanied him and stayed at his rear while the knights led the way.
One the way he could see gazes of envy being directed at the knights in front . Once in a while he would get a few glasses. No one here knew who he was, he could thank the sixteen years of isolation for that .
One hour later they arrived in the ducal palace. Till that day, Max was still enamoured with the magnificent palace, he wondered if he would ever get the opportunity to build something so marvelous in this world.
He comforted himself with the fact that with the amount of knowledge he had and the new ones to come , he would be able to present wonders that were far more impressive.