An arrow pierced the head of another monkey-like tribe member of the Itnaks as Isaac watched his soldiers rush forward. It wasn't enough to see it as dots on a screen, he wanted to watch it live. "I'll need you to scope out more from the right side, have your squad and the rest of the archers follow you."
"It will be done, My Lord." Olive gave Isaac a small bow before following her orders. There was no time to lose, her body knew naturally where to go and the instructions that Isaac gave personally without the use of his system further fueled her confidence in her success.
"Follow my lead!" Callum shouted out as he charged forward. Both Callum and Slargh were at the front followed by their respective squads and the more melee-focused members of the army.
The Itnaks were a primitive group, their weaponry consisted of wood and stone and their most powerful members were equivalent to tier 1 units in Isaac's army. With the difference in weapons and armor, along with the skills that they had, the Itnaks stood no chance. Among the soldiers were the powerful line of warriors from the Murlok's side, the Berserkers lived up to their name while the enchanters empowered them and the rest of the Militia.
The fight ended within a few hours, using the map that his system gave him Isaac ensured that not a single one got away.
"My lord, we have found a total of 77 magic crystals from their vault and among the elite a total of 30 additional crystals were found." Callum finished up his report to Isaac who appears to be flipping through his options for the system.
"We can take a more aggressive approach with the next attack, take everything that you can. We're moving back."
This was a victory that Isaac considered a real one. Winning smaller scuffles beforehand are always appreciated but as someone who has mostly had the short end of the stick since his arrival, this Victory felt different. One-sided decimation, this wasn;t how he pictured it but he knew that this was inevitable considering the strength of his opponents. "Despite this victory, there's still a looming threat on the other side of this island and we can not rest."
Having his own Itnaks was not a bad thing but he ultimately decided that they can take the backburner especially when compared to the Human and Murlok units. The Itnaks were far weaker physically than most of the Murloks and they weren't even comparable to the humans, the only thing they had going for them was their natural armor. Having access to Chainmail and iron armor meant that this benefit of theirs was now lost.
"A total of 6 trained Itnaks are on our side… Callum send them out to scout the island. I want to see how far the K'Sharnids actually are. They are a threat that's for sure but we haven't had a glimpse of their army nor what kind of leader they have." Isaac has yet to encounter demons but these monsters that are incomparable to the animals that he's used to back on Earth are the closest thing to them. "They're not Jitaxans, but the last thing we can be right now is comfortable."
"If I may, my liege." The archer spoke up, Olive raised her hand. With a nod from Isaac she continued. "An attack on the K'sharnids now would serve us no benefit, we can always outnumber them as per your earlier suggestions."
"You're right, which is why the Itnaks will act as fodder. They clearly never treated the Itnaks as a threat if they let them grow to such a large number. With this many crystals, we can not only fortify our base but also launch an attack. Patience is a virtue, we can't overheat this quickly." Isaac then called onto the Tier 2 Berserker, Slargh. "Slargh, we'll split our forces into two. I'll be expanding the Murlok outpost by the river with you as the main leader."
"The rest of the Captains will be with me at the main camp, we have resources to gather and a base to upgrade."
The following days would be a busy one for Isaac, creating new buildings and fortifying the defenses of the base by the beach. The small outpost that was created by the river has been transformed into a home for the troops led by Slargh. The river base is connected through a pathway that now only requires an hour of travel to the main base by the beach. Isaac's troops had now reached a number somewhere above the 100s but what came next was unprecedented.
Reports from the surviving Itnaks described a building that Isaac didn't expect. A building akin to a laboratory was what produced the K'sharnids.
"This means that there's a high chance that someone from a past generation of heroes left them there and that the K'sharnids are likely not a local faction. If their creator is still present then we need to gauge whether or not we can ally with them as well." Despite the betrayal from his generation, Isaac still saw opportunities in those that came before him. While his growth has been steady so far, expediting his growth was what he wanted. "And if this individual can create units that I can absorb into my army then it's even better."
"Proceed with caution, I need clear information. Olive, you're in charge of gathering information on this base of theirs." The potential gains outweighed the threat and with his army reaching such a high number it was time to start taking risks.
"There's no end to what they have to offer huh?" Isaac asked no one in particular as he looked down from the balcony of his watchtower. "The rest are likely doing better than me, I need to gain more power quickly… populating this island with a whole army of my own should only be the beginning. My soldiers are formidable but faced with a gun or the advanced tech from Terra and we're nothing."
"I can add better and more powerful races into my arsenal or simply upgrade my units to tier 3 if I manage to get to the magic crystal count that I need." Isaac stared at the small army that he had. "In two weeks I'll produce enough to reach 150 units… my current cap based on buildings is at almost 200."
"Whether they're friendly or not we have to keep growing, I'll heighten the cap and create a few more bases nearby. Should a stronger force attack we can use them as shields and if not then a new uninhabited base can be the home of our extra units."
"My lord, the food is ready." A human soldier called out to him.
"The food situation has been fixed with the barn and the fish farm, it's a shame that we can't have crops though." Isaac's win needed a bit of a celebration. "Now if only we had access to wine."
[A new title has been unlocked.]
"Another one huh? It might be due to reaching another milestone?" Isaac stared at the screen for a second before pressing on it. "Murlok Lord? Hmmmm… that doesn't sound too bad."