Gilgamesh reentered the Ballroom for the first time in a while, now accompanied by a band of Vassals. As with all members of the newly formed Liege Alliance, he had been given time to gather up his Faction. Time he had made keen use of.

  He had recruited a total of 83 people, every single one of them a former struggling Baron that he had personally tested as best he could to ensure they were ignorant of the wider layout of the palace and did not possess a Dagger.

  The 30 most compliant were made Guards and the rest Hunters, although he supposed Soldier would be a more apt title for the lowest grunts now.

  Gilgamesh did not head out alone. All other members moved with him at the same time as planned, though each moved within their individual Factions. He and Sereth were no different, surrounded by the 30 Viscount Guards at all times, with the Baron Soldiers orbiting the outskirts of their base.

  Ambitious Man signalled out a region and none of the members objected. At a glance, it was inhabited by several dozen Factions and none appeared to be working with another. The Factions of the Alliance spread out through the area to claim their own land, and Gilgamesh scoured the land.

  “The Hunter strategy I developed before is mostly obsolete now. What I need are strategies of war.” Gilgamesh thought. As far as he saw it, there were two main ways to conquer the Soldiers of another Faction.

  “The first would be simple brute force. Make use of superior numbers and a focused point of attack to challenge or assassinate rival Lieges. But this has a high cost. I’ll lose many Soldiers to the Dungeon in the process.”

  “The second is to scare off the Lieges as fast as possible, and recruit the Vassals they leave behind before they return. I’d lose less Soldiers in the fighting, but since the rival Lieges aren’t defeated, there is a higher risk of the recruited Vassals remaining loyal to them, or at least more likely to conspire when they return…”

  Gilgamesh contemplated.

  “The second way is still better, no matter the risks. I need numbers, and I need them quickly. That said…” Gilgamesh subtly eyed his current pawns. “I need to test the loyalty of the ones I have first.”

  “Ordering them to get themselves arrested isn’t an option, since an imprisoned loyal pawn is useless to me right now. I need a way to test that they are obedient and will risk themselves for me. Or rather, for what I have to offer.”

  Gilgamesh considered asking his Guards to volunteer for a dangerous task, but immediately discarded the idea. That would only attract the ambitious and cunning. Some will see it as an opportunity to get in his good graces and grow closer to his inner circle. And such people were more likely to betray him.

  “I need a way to test obedience and a lack of ambition.” Winding schemes swirled into one such suitable plan within his mind. Now, he just needed a suitable target.

  Gilgamesh inspected the surrounding Factions. Most notably, the two members of the Alliance near enough to be within his line of sight were Jaded Woman and Old Man. Though naturally, neither of them were suitable targets. At least not yet.

  His gaze landed on a trio of Counts behind a square Guard Wall, 40 people strong, with likely twice as many Hunters by the volume of activity. It did not take him long to determine that a Noblewoman held the highest standing in the trio, and that she most likely possessed a Ring. Which meant that the pair of overly subservient Nobles at her side more than likely both had Crowns.

  [ 2,382 Prestige ]

  [ 2,037 Prestige ]

  [ 3,109 Prestige ]

  “No Scepters.” Gilgamesh’s eyes sharpened. “They will do.”

  ---

  Smooth and steady was the nature of the rival Faction’s operations, until Gilgamesh’s Soldiers surrounded them and challenged the Guards all at once. To their credit, the Guards did not panic. They simply shook hands with those at their sides and remained firm.

  But Gilgamesh’s Soldiers had no intentions to push through.

  An enemy Guard won a Clash against a Scepter with his Crown, and stoically shook hands with the Guard to his right, who had just lost with a Ring. On the next Clash, he drew with a Soldier’s Ring, then pretended to trade his Ring with the Guard to his left. But on the third Clash, he was challenged by a Scepter and lost. And when he traded his Ring for a Scepter, he lost again.

  The same sight could be found throughout the Guard Wall. Guards either lost or drew every time. What ought to have been a game of roughly equal chance had devolved into a one-sided hunt, and for good reason.

  There was a limit to who the Guards could trade Regalia with in their formation. As such, the dominant strategy was to simply challenge with the Regalia that would win or draw against whatever the Guards could possibly have. An outcome that strongly favored the attackers.

  One by one, the Guards fell down to Baron, and that made them nervous. Doubly so, since they normally had little reason to feel fear. And that put pressure on the Liege to respond accordingly, lest they lose control of their pawns.

  “Trade your Regalia two or three times!” As expected, the Noblewoman adapted. And at the same time, she ordered her pawns to replenish the Prestige of the Guards. “Everyone, return and challenge the attackers!”

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  As the enemy Hunters regrouped around the rival Faction, Gilgamesh’s forces started to favor one side as a result of retreats and chaotic Clashes. He sent Messages to organize a defensive line around his Soldiers devoted to Clashing with the enemy Guards, and intensified his targeting.

  Most of his advantage from before was lost, and his forces now barely won more than they lost. But he had achieved his objective. Both the recalled Hunters and the Liege herself were completely focused on the fray right in front of their eyes.

  In this opening, Gilgamesh gave the order, and a detachment of Soldiers launched an attack on the rear Guard Wall. Puppet Knights arrested the initial attackers, but several more broke through and rushed at the enemy Lieges as though they carried Daggers.

  The subservient Count allies panicked at the threat of death and accused both attackers who drew near. A light whisked them before the King but it found no Daggers, so the Executioner took the heads of the accusers.

  Seeing this, the Noblewoman grew bolder and remained where she was. “We outnumber them! Reform the Wall! Surround and challenge the attackers until we take all their Prestige!”

  The Noblewoman challenged one of her Guards to a draw, and gave her would-be attacker a gloating smirk for her victorious deception. Then a Baron plunged a Dagger into her side. She broke into wisping shadows and the Assassin teleported away with all of her Prestige, leaving the Faction behind in disarray.

  “Was that one of mine, or some opportunist?” Gilgamesh wondered.

  He wasn’t a mindreader like Sereth and she would not fully aid him just yet, so he could not ensure that all of his Vassals were clean with perfect certainty. Still, he had accomplished his primary goal.

  “Stop Clashing!” Gilgamesh ordered as he approached with his base. “New Counts, come here.”

  The attackers who won False Accusations hesitated only briefly before they obeyed the order. There was no other choice, really. Gilgamesh had given them both Rings, so neither could escape on their own.

  [ Gained 1,503 Prestige ]

  [ Gained 1,180 Prestige ]

  [ Gilgamesh]

  [ 7,340 Prestige ]

  Both of them handed over the Prestige they gained until they reached exactly 1,000, and Gilgamesh paused for a split second as though he subtly read a message.

  [ Gilgamesh ]

  [ 9,023 Prestige ]

  “You two are now Stewards. You are to remain within the Guard Wall, and deliver the Prestige gathered to me.” Gilgamesh declared. “You will remain Counts for now, but if you are loyal and do your jobs well, you will finish this Trial as Marquises.”

  Both newly appointed Stewards were visibly pleased with the reward, but Gilgamesh did not dwell on them. He directed his next words to the leaderless enemy Faction.

  “You have a choice. Join my Faction and become my Vassal, or take your chances somewhere else with someone less capable.”

  Most of them quickly accepted his offer of Vassalage, although some did leave. Even with the defections, he had gained nearly 100 new Vassals in one fell swoop, and more than doubled his forces.

  Gilgamesh quickly rearranged his Faction. He formed the new Guards into an Outer Guard Wall, and had enemy Hunters replenish the ones that fell down to Baron during his attack.

  This was a calculated decision. Viscount Guards would naturally feel resentful if they were made to become Soldiers and work to prove their loyalty. Breaking down their wills was something he would do if he had more time and more control, but this game did not afford him that luxury.

  Thus, the best way to manipulate them into obedience would be to maintain their quality of life. Making them the Outer Guard Wall also meant that there wouldn’t be much risk to himself, and his current Guards, now the Inner Guard Wall, would not feel wronged either, since they now held the safer position of authority.

  [ Frayed-Eyed Authoritarian ] approves of your organization.

  [ Frayed-Eyed Authoritarian ] insists things must be in their rightful place.

  With that settled, he next ordered the roughly 110 Soldiers into pairs, and gave them a safe Hunting strategy to keep them occupied while he decided his next target. But first, there was something else he needed to arrange.

  Now that he had a more secure base of power, Gilgamesh could start moving more boldly. Without warning, 6 of the Viscount Inner Guards broke from their post to walk over to the Stewards. Each of them handed over Prestige until they fell to Barons, then departed for the Hallway.

  As the orchestrator behind the event, Gilgamesh did not react to it in the slightest. They were, after all, only following his instructions as his newly appointed Scouts.

  First, they were to head to the Library and obtain a Letter. Then they were to head to their assigned Faction within the Liege Alliance to observe and report what they saw.

  Gilgamesh wanted to know everything. He wanted to know their status, their Prestige, their tactics, what battles they fought, and how they fared. Everything and anything of note.

  To prevent conspiracies, he had given each of them a unique password to use each time they reported, and had promised them the position of a Steward and the eventual status of a Marquis upon successful completion of their task. This was also why he had chosen them solely from among the ranks of his Inner Guards.

  He also did not let their departure go to waste. The reason he had them all suddenly leave at once was to give the illusion to the remaining Guards that he held deep support and control over their peers.

  Now the Guards must assume he had many among their ranks who are loyal to him, yet had no idea just how much. This made plotting against Gilgamesh seem riskier and thus would make them more hesitant to turn traitor.

  That said, with such a flashy display, there became the risk that his Scouts would be intercepted by others and swayed to betray him. But Gilgamesh thought that unlikely.

  The only way a conspirator could sway them would be to give them immediate gains equal to the position of a Marquis, and none would be so foolish as to give away such a sum to another who then had every reason to simply betray them as well.

  The risk of a Scout returning with a Dagger to aim at him was irrelevant as well. Gilgamesh did not intend to take them back until he had emerged victorious within the Alliance, and at that point, he would have Sereth as a pawn to read the minds of any would-be Assassins.

  With that arranged, Gilgamesh began his search for a new target, though none were as ideal as the Faction he had just beaten. Not that he expected such luck. It would be rare for a group of Lieges not to have a single Scepter at this stage.

  [ Valley Post: Four Vassals return with a lot of Prestige. Gave it to the Nobleman indirectly. Total about 3,100. ]

  Gilgamesh paused for a moment, then sent a message back.

  [ Good work. Keep monitoring them. ]

  Gilgamesh’s eyes sharpened. Valley was the designation for the Scout assigned to Old Man, and 3,100 was roughly the sum of Prestige the assassinated Noblewoman had. Perhaps it was just a coincidence, but he doubted it.

  “So he took advantage of my battle to plunder for himself…”

  Gilgamesh was not angered by this slight, not even a little. Old Man was one of his initial intended targets anyway, and the old fool had just given him a foothold for a scheme.

  “I’ll need to eat the weak first to gain enough power to eat the strong.”