Then I turned my attention to my poor beleaguered Keep, which billowed smoke from every opening.
Keep: 2,200 / 10,000 hit points.
Those enemy units had really done a number on it, but thankfully they didn’t succeed in razing it to the ground.
For this, I pulled one unit of workers off mining duty and assigned them to Keep repairs. It would be very expensive and repairing it fully would take too long and take up too many resources. So I resolved to bring it up to 5,000 hit points, at least.
With the workers on repairs I looked around. Other than waiting for units to finish training, and gold to be mined, there wasn’t much else I could do but wait.
So I did.
Once the footmen and archer units emerged I sent them both north together with orders to guard the platform.
While I controlled the middle, I didn’t have to worry about enemy units suddenly appearing at the base.
Another archer unit went into training, but instead of another footmen unit I chose a scout next, on a whim.
When he popped out, I sent him north along the east curve (just in case an rogue enemy unit was sitting there) with orders to move past the middle section and scout the enemy base, if possible.
At this point, the Keep repairs reached halfway. But instead of sending these workers back to the mine, I sent them to the neglected quarry.
My intention was to upgrade the Keep, and for that I’d need a lot more stone. Once upgraded, I’d have more worker units, and thus more resources quicker.
Unless Amara screwed things up for me, again.
Enemy Spotted!
My heart leapt in my chest. The map showed an enemy cavalry unit approaching the platform from the northeast.
Grax was already moving to intercept them.
The lone archer unit I sent earlier was now just arriving at the platform and formed a double line along its southern edge.
Freaking out a little, I commanded Grax to fall back to the platform. From there, he’d have the support of the archers. Running headlong into the cavalry in his injured state would be the end of him.
Grax grumbled in protest but did as commanded. The cavalry unit drew close but stopped just past the range of the archers.
I could sense Grax’s anticipation. He really wanted to kill someone. But he needed to wait.
We’d all have a chance to die soon enough.
The cavalry unit then turned and casually trotted back to the northeast and vanished around the bend. I thought this was a little strange. Without a unit in plain view, Amara wouldn’t be able to see the central area. Which meant she must have placed a scout nearby.
I was also convinced that the cavalry unit had meant to draw Grax away.
Soon the footman and archer unit arrived at the middle, much to my relief. I split the archer unit in two and had each half line up on either side of the platform along the river’s edge.
Then I set the footmen directly on the platform with orders not to move. They weren’t there to protect the altar, since Amara would need the banner first for it to be of any danger, but to block anyone from trying to cross. I didn’t think the river could by forded, at least not without a lot of difficulty so the platform was doubly important to control.
The next pair of archers and footmen were sent north, too. I felt confident that the only potential attack on the base now would be a solo Amara and could be dealt with. So any more units I trained were to be sent north immediately.
But not now. Instead, of building up my forces, I decided to wait and upgrade the Keep. I already had enough lumber, it was gold and stone that needed to accumulate.
This seemed to take ages, but the rate of gathering was pretty much even. By the time I had enough of everything the last two units I’d sent north were in position.
I then highlighted the Keep and purchased the upgrade option.
The tower Keep morphed instantly into a wider version of itself. The walls became thicker and more arrows slots appeared. Not much different.
Then I noticed not one but six Lookouts waving down at me, each armed with a crossbow. The defensive radius also expanded and easily enveloped the banner’s altar.
Nice. I pulled up the command menu and saw the option to hire more workers. Three of ten units currently active.
Sweet! Seven more worker units, here we come!
One hundred gold produced a new unit that stumbled out of the Keep’s door. I sent them to the gold mine. Now I just had to wait for the gold to accumulate and I’d hire the other six.
Things were looking up.
Enemy Spotted!
My eyes flew to the map.
At the middle, enemy units were approaching from both directions. And there were a lot of them.
Four units from the northwest curve, and another four from the northeast. And that was just what my own units could see.
Amara was coming now, and it looked like she intended on seizing the platform back.
I found myself smiling.
Time for war.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I glanced over my unit icons at the middle.
Archers were positioned on the southern side of the platform and along the river. The footmen units were placed side by side on the northern edge with one standing directly on the platform. I also placed Grax next to the altar.
For now, this was as defensive as I could get. Once battle was engaged, I could rely on their strategic positioning to hold the line and, hopefully, repel any attack.
Or so I told myself. How the heck would I even know this would work having never even played the most basic of strategy games beyond chess?
Anyways, with the middle firmly locked for the moment I returned my attention to my base.
With the gold now accumulating faster, I hired another two more worker units and set one each to the woodyard and the gold mine.
The next worker unit I set to building a cavalry grounds which I positioned next to the archery range.
While I waited for them to build it up, I kept a tense eye on the middle.
Amara had moved her armies close but stopped both about twenty paces away from my archer’s maximum range. Both sets had two footmen at the front with two archer units at the back.
I didn’t think she’d attack with these units, yet. She’d wait until reinforcements arrived then hit with overwhelming force.
If I attacked her now, it would only serve to drain my own strength. Had I cavalry up there, then I’d use them to attack immediately, followed up with footmen and archers. This would also allow Grax to become the wandering agent of carnage he craved to be.
But I needed to wait. No doubt Amara was doing similar right now, building up her cavalry, the strongest unit available to us outside of champions.
Cavalry Grounds complete.
A long set of stalls were erected next to a wide field with a small obstacle course.
From the command menu I selected the cavalry unit.
Unit: Cavalry
Race: Human
Hit Points: 120
Speed: 35
Weapon: Sword
Cost: 500 gold
When my gold counter hit that number, I selected to train my first official cavalry unit.
Training time: 7 minutes.
Horses appeared within the stalls, and a rider with a mount ran through the grounds, jumping over obstacles.
Ouch. With their expensive cost and longer training time, it would take awhile to amass a sizable group of them.
With another glance to ensure nothing had changed at the middle, I hired the remainder of my worker units. I reassigned all units of workers to the gold mine, but kept two on lumber duties and one on the quarry.