Syra stepped back into the shadows of the main hall, her gaze fixed on the massive parchment map unrolled across a stone table. "Tarnstead is not a unified front," she noted, tracing a gloved finger across the eastern border drawn in faded ink.

"It is a coalition consisting of more than ten individual kingdoms, each ruling over countless smaller cities and towns. Mapping an empire of this scale will take time."

Rubedo studied the expansive geography through his monitor, using his visual link with Syra to examine the parchment.

The sprawling eastern territories presented a logistical nightmare. Launching a blind invasion into a web of ten interconnected kingdoms would scatter his forces and leave his supply lines vulnerable.

He needed precise intelligence on every single faction before moving his army.

"We do not march until we know the layout of every city," Rubedo instructed Syra. "Use the newly hatched Amber-Hive drones. Deploy them across the border."

Syra nodded and traveled down to the lower vaults where the parasitic core had established a temporary breeding ground. Thousands of the newly synthesized drones rested in the darkness.

They were small and engineered specifically to bypass magical detection wards.

She channeled her energy to open a series of localized shadow paths, guiding the first wave of drones out of the obsidian base. The tiny insects slipped into the darkness, scattering silently across the eastern plains toward the borders of Tarnstead.

They would infiltrate the border towns first, hitching rides on merchant wagons and embedding themselves within the infrastructure of the outer kingdoms.

As the swarm spread deeper into the massive empire, their collective sensory data would feed directly back into Rubedo’s console. The biological network would systematically map the entire continent over the coming weeks without risking a single soldier.

Rubedo leaned toward his screen. The first batch of sensory feeds from the Amber-Hive drones synced with his interface. The black screen fragmented into a dozen different visual streams. He isolated a feed originating from a stone keep just past the eastern border.

A drone clung to the wooden rafters of a dining hall, providing a perfect overhead view. Below the insect, a local lord paced in front of a roaring hearth. He hurled a silver goblet across the room, shattering a stained glass window.

"I cannot feed another thousand mouths!" the lord bellowed at the advisors huddled around his table. "Voranthar marches his starving refugees through our gates and demands we empty our granaries. His mages act like they conquered us, yet they are the ones fleeing!"

Rubedo adjusted the audio frequency, filtering out the crackling fire to listen to the frantic advisors. Voranthar had dumped a logistical nightmare straight onto the neighboring coalition. The Aethelgard refugees were consuming winter rations, and the locals were panicking.

The digital map on Rubedo’s screen lit up with more activity as hundreds of drones penetrated deeper into Tarnstead. The anger was rapidly spreading.

The network captured visual streams of barred gates and raised drawbridges. Couriers galloped between the ten different territories carrying sealed missives.

The rulers of the coalition were turning on each other. One feed showed a Tarnstead garrison commander actively shoving a group of Aethelgard mages out of an inner courtyard, refusing them shelter.

The mages threatened retaliation, but they lacked the numbers to enforce their demands. The coalition despised Voranthar’s arrogance and refused to bear the burden of his failure.

’Tarnstead is fracturing,’ Rubedo relayed to the command center. ’Voranthar is bleeding their resources dry. The local rulers are barring their inner cities to the refugees. Secure our current position and let them starve each other out.’

Down on the physical plane, Krax stood atop the eastern wall of the obsidian base. He tapped his greataxe against the black glass parapet, processing Rubedo’s update. He squinted against the harsh morning sun and scanned the tall grass swaying in the distance.

Movement caught his eye. Five riders sat atop armored horses on a nearby ridge. They held Tarnstead banners and peered through brass spyglasses, training their lenses directly on the newly formed fortress.

Krax gripped the smooth edge of the wall. The coalition might be arguing internally, but their military was still probing the perimeter to gauge the strength of the occupying force. They wanted to see if the Vanguard was vulnerable during the reconstruction.

Krax turned to the infantry squads patrolling the walkway. He needed to send a very clear message back to the squabbling lords.

"Double the guard on the eastern gate," Krax ordered, pointing his axe toward the distant ridge. "Bring up the heavy ballistas and line the walls. Unfurl every banner we have. Let those scouts see exactly what is waiting for them if they decide to cross the border."

Krax watched the five riders on the distant ridge. The infantry scrambled to follow the command. The heavy ballistas locked into position along the battlements, their massive bolts aimed squarely at the horizon.

Krax leaned over the edge, offering the distant riders a wide grin as the massive artillery locked into place.

Instead of retreating from the display of artillery, one of the riders raised a staff. A sphere of fire erupted from the tip and arced across the sky to strike the center of the obsidian wall.

The magical flare splashed against the black glass and dissipated into harmless sparks. They were testing the structural wards.

Krax laughed and grabbed the release lever of the nearest ballista. He adjusted the sights and pulled the iron latch.

A massive bolt tipped with concentrated bio-plasma launched across the plains. It struck the ridge dead center. The sheer kinetic impact pulverized the rock, obliterating the riders instantly and leaving a smoking crater in the grass.

Several hours later, a single carriage draped in white cloth emerged from the dust of the plains. It approached the gates slowly. Krax signaled the guards to open the reinforced doors, letting the vehicle pull into the courtyard.

A trembling man stepped out of the carriage and looked around at the towering walls.