Chapter 160: Chapter 153: First Generation
(First generation refers to crude tanks ,nothing reliable actually a mk2 version of warhound is already in production but do not confuse against the heavy and medium tanks to come for them its still a cheap spitter btw guys i m thinking of introducing super heavy tanks what do you say complete this fantasy?)
The Asterion compound remained awake long after the council session ended.
Outside, Caelrith still moved beneath its usual mask of order. Carriages rolled through guarded streets. Foreign soldiers changed shifts before embassy gates. Scribes hurried between compounds with sealed records, and merchants in expensive coats pretended they had not spent the entire day calculating the price of Elarion’s future.
Inside the royal residence, the atmosphere was quieter.
Lucien sat in a private council room with the Royal Guardian, Crown Prince Cassian, Princess Elena, and Malen.
No servants,scribes or aides were present.
A single mana lamp burned above the table, casting pale light over maps, notes, and the projected outline of the Five Pillars.
Seastar.
Skyforge.
Iron Junction.
Titanworks.
Ironhold.
The names still looked unreal.
Yet the world had already heard them.
Cassian stood near the table, both hands resting on its edge.
"You realize what happens now."
Lucien leaned back in his chair.
"Several people lose sleep?"
Cassian did not smile.
"Several people begin planning."
Malen stood behind Lucien, arms folded.
"They already have."
Elena looked toward him.
"You think someone moved this quickly?"
Malen’s expression remained calm.
"After the demonstration? Yes."
The Royal Guardian tapped one finger lightly against his cane.
"The question is not whether someone will attempt sabotage. The question is where they strike first."
The room fell silent.
Lucien looked at the glowing map.
There were too many targets.
Survey teams.
Rail routes.
Material contracts.
Future port rights.
Dwarven negotiations.
Aviation workshops.
Machine-tool designs.
Ammunition production.
Worker recruitment.
Communication equipment.
Mana-core refinement.
Even rumors could become weapons now.
Elena spoke first.
"If I were trying to weaken the Five Pillars, I would not attack the Warhounds directly."
Cassian glanced at her.
"You would attack the factories."
"No," Elena said. "That is what everyone expects."
Malen nodded once.
"Supply chains."
Elena pointed toward Iron Junction.
"Survey routes. Land rights. Transport schedules. Skilled workers. Contracts. A single missing shipment can delay construction. A false measurement can ruin a foundation. A bribed clerk can cause more damage than a soldier."
Cassian’s jaw tightened.
"That makes defense harder."
"Yes," the Royal Guardian said. "Because the battlefield becomes paperwork."
Ironbreaker would have hated that sentence.
Lucien almost smiled after hearing it.
Malen looked toward the map.
"Nocthar will move."
Cassian’s eyes sharpened.
"You sound certain."
"I am."
Elena’s expression grew colder.
"Because of their reaction?"
"Because they did not react enough," Malen said.
The room quieted again.
Lucien understood what he meant.
Fear made people loud.
Anger made people careless.
Nocthar had watched too calmly.
The Royal Guardian’s gaze rested on Lucien.
"What do you expect?"
Lucien did not answer immediately.
He studied the five glowing points.
Then he said, "Sabotage."
Cassian exhaled slowly.
"Obviously."
"Not dramatic sabotage."
Lucien tapped Iron Junction on the map.
"Quiet sabotage."
Malen’s eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
"Rail survey errors. Poor-quality steel hidden inside good batches. Delayed tools. Workers bribed to leave. Accidents that look like incompetence. Guild disputes. Noble complaints. Maritime contract pressure. Religious objections. Safety inspections used as political chains."
Elena looked at him carefully.
"You have thought about this."
"Since before I named the cities."
The Royal Guardian smiled faintly.
"Good."
Cassian was less amused.
"Then why reveal so much?"
Lucien looked at him.
"Because hiding everything creates fear. Fear creates coalitions."
"And revealing everything prevents that?"
"No."
Lucien’s voice remained calm.
"It changes the kind of coalition that forms."
Cassian frowned.
Lucien leaned forward.
"If they know nothing, they unite to stop the unknown. If they know enough, they divide over how to benefit from it."
Elena’s eyes sharpened.
"Maritime League wants Seastar."
"Access to it," Lucien corrected. "Not control."
"Valdris wants doctrine."
"I will give them enough to become invested."
"The dwarves want Titanworks."
"They want the challenge. That is better than making them wonder what I am hiding."
The Royal Guardian nodded slowly.
"And the Concord?"
Lucien looked toward the map.
"They want survival."
The room stayed quiet for a breath.
That answer carried more weight than the others.
Cassian crossed his arms.
"You still have not answered the real danger."
Lucien looked at him.
"Which one?"
"What happens if someone gets the Warhound?"
Malen’s gaze shifted toward Lucien.
Elena did not speak, but her attention sharpened.
Cassian continued, "A captured vehicle. A stolen cannon. A bribed crew. A copied design. A partner who later becomes an enemy. You are talking about giving access to powers that may not remain friendly forever."
Lucien listened without interrupting.
Cassian’s voice lowered.
"What happens if the Warhound reaches our enemies?"
The Royal Guardian did not speak.
Malen waited.
Elena watched Lucien’s face.
Lucien looked back at Cassian calmly.
"Then they receive a first-generation tank."
Cassian blinked.
"What?"
Lucien pointed toward the Warhound mark on the map.
"These are first-generation Warhounds."
Malen’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Lucien continued, "Useful. Strong. Impressive in this world. But still early. Heavy. Mechanically demanding. Limited by crew training, ammunition, maintenance, communication, fuel crystals, spare parts, road conditions, and doctrine."
Cassian stared at him.
Lucien’s voice remained even.
"If someone steals one, they receive a machine that requires an entire support system they do not possess."
Elena leaned forward.
"And if they copy it?"
"Then they copy what I have already moved beyond."
That answer changed the room.
Cassian slowly straightened.
Lucien continued.
"I do not intend to treat the first Warhound model as sacred. I intend to use it."
"For what?" Cassian asked.
"Resources."
The Royal Guardian’s smile deepened.
Lucien looked at the Five Pillars.
"I need steel. Skilled workers. Dwarven expertise. Maritime access. rail labor. engineers. scholars. grain. timber. mana crystals. horses. coal. copper. rubber substitutes. glass. tools. money. political protection. Frontier data. battlefield reports."
He pointed toward the Warhound again.
"The first-generation Warhound is not only a weapon. It is bargaining power."
Elena understood first.
"You intend to supply limited versions to partners."
"Eventually."
Cassian’s expression shifted.
"Export models."
"Yes."
"Reduced capability?"
"Controlled capability."
Malen’s mouth twitched slightly.
"Meaning weaker."
"Meaning appropriate."
Elena almost smiled.
Lucien continued, "Elarion keeps the best engines, best armor improvements, best communication systems, best ammunition, and newest doctrine. Partners receive reliable but limited models under treaty conditions."
Cassian’s eyes narrowed.
"And by the time anyone reverse-engineers those models..."
"They are studying yesterday."
Lucien’s answer was quiet.
"Elarion will be building tomorrow."
The Royal Guardian laughed softly.
It was not a loud laugh.
But it filled the room.
"That is ruthless."
Lucien looked at him.
"Practical."
"Ruthless and practical are often neighbors."
Malen looked toward the map.
"So you are not worried about sabotage?"
"I am worried."
Lucien tapped Titanworks.
"But not terrified."
Cassian frowned.
"Why?"
"Because sabotage proves urgency."
Elena studied him.
"That is a dangerous way to think."
"It is an honest one."
Lucien leaned back.
"If no one tried to stop the Five Pillars, I would worry that I had misunderstood their importance."
The room went quiet.
Malen gave a slow nod.
"Enemies reveal value by attacking it."
"Exactly."
Cassian looked uneasy.
"But attacks still delay us."
"Some will."
Lucien did not deny it.
"That is why we build redundancy from the beginning. Separate factories. multiple suppliers. inspection offices. military engineers. internal security. rotating crews. sealed production sections. false design trails. controlled exports."
Elena’s eyes sharpened at the last phrase.
"False design trails?"
Lucien looked at her.
"If someone is going to steal, let them steal something useful enough to believe and flawed enough to waste time."
Cassian stared.
Malen’s expression did not change, but his eyes showed approval.
The Royal Guardian’s smile became very thin.
"Now that sounds like court politics."
Lucien shrugged slightly.
Elena leaned back.
"That is worse."
"It is necessary."
Cassian walked around the table slowly.
"So the plan is to make everyone dependent on Elarion’s upgrades."
"Not dependent," Lucien said. "Invested."
"That sounds like a polite word for dependent."
"It is different."
Lucien looked toward him.
"Dependence creates resentment. Investment creates self-interest. If Ironpeak helps build Titanworks, they want Titanworks to survive. If the Maritime League profits from Seastar, they want Seastar protected. If Valdris helps shape doctrine, they want the Warhound program to continue. If the Concord receives defensive access, they become politically tied to Elarion’s success."
Elena completed the thought.
"And if someone sabotages the Five Pillars, they anger more than Elarion."
"Yes."
The Royal Guardian tapped his cane once.
"A web."
Lucien looked at him.
"A network."
The old man smiled.
"The difference?"
"A web catches things. A network moves things."
Cassian finally smiled.
"Barely."
Malen looked toward the window.
"What about Nocthar?"
Lucien’s expression cooled.
"They get nothing."
Elena spoke quietly.
"That will make them more hostile."
"They already are."
Cassian’s smile vanished.
"If they are excluded, they may claim Elarion is building a private war order."
"They will claim that anyway."
Lucien looked toward the dark window.
"Give them access, and they sabotage from inside. Deny them access, and they sabotage from outside. Outside is cleaner."
Malen nodded.
"Easier to watch."
"Exactly."
The Royal Guardian’s gaze sharpened.
"You intend to let them move."
Lucien did not deny it.
"Carefully."
Cassian turned toward him.
"You want to catch them."
"I want to map them."
The room became still.
Lucien continued.
"Nocthar is not only Nocthar. They have sympathizers, merchants, priests, informants, frightened nobles, and probably connections none of us have seen clearly. If we lock everything down immediately, we catch the first hand and miss the arm."
Malen’s voice lowered.
"So we watch the hand reach."
"Yes."
Elena’s expression became thoughtful.
"And you will give them bait."
Lucien pointed toward the projection.
"Survey routes. supply contracts. staged engine components. false rail priorities. limited communication diagrams. outdated armor layouts."
Cassian looked almost impressed.
"How long have you been planning this?"
Lucien answered without hesitation.
"Since I realized people feared the Warhound more than the demons."
No one spoke for a moment.
That sentence sat heavily over the table.
The Royal Guardian broke the silence.
"You are assuming the first-generation Warhound will become obsolete quickly."
"It must."
"Must?"
Lucien looked toward him.
"If the first model remains our best model for too long, then Elarion has already failed."
The old man’s eyes gleamed.
"Good."
Cassian rubbed his forehead.
"You say things like that far too calmly."
Lucien looked at him.
"Would panic improve the plan?"
"No."
"Then I will avoid it."
Elena smiled faintly despite the tension.
Malen did not.
"What comes after the first-generation Warhound?"
Lucien was silent for a moment.
The mana lamp hummed softly above the table.
Outside, a patrol passed the window.
Lucien finally said, "Better armor layout. improved suspension. faster turret traverse. more reliable transmission. upgraded cooling. stronger communication equipment. better ammunition. eventually specialized variants."
Cassian’s eyes sharpened.
"Variants?"
Lucien nodded.
"Command vehicles. recovery vehicles. artillery tractors. ammunition carriers. engineer vehicles. maybe lighter scout vehicles."
Elena looked toward the Skyforge mark still glowing faintly on the map.
"And aircraft?"
Lucien followed her gaze.
"Observation first."
Cassian turned.
"Observation?"
"Seeing enemy movement before battle changes everything."
The Royal Guardian’s expression grew more serious.
"So Skyforge begins with eyes, not weapons."
"Yes."
Lucien looked at the map.
"An observation aircraft does not need to defeat a dragon. It only needs to see what cavalry cannot, travel where scouts cannot, and report before a city is surprised."
Malen’s eyes narrowed.
"That would make ambush harder."
"Exactly."
Elena’s voice softened.
"And demons harder to hide."
Lucien nodded.
"For that reason, Skyforge will attract enemies before it produces anything that can fight."
The room understood.
The Royal Guardian looked toward Malen.
"Security around survey teams must increase."
Malen nodded.
"I will prepare layered escorts and counter-scrying."
Lucien added, "Not just soldiers. We need clerks checked, supply wagons inspected, measurements verified twice by separate teams, and every contractor recorded."
Cassian said, "That will slow construction."
"Less than rebuilding after sabotage."
The prince accepted that with a grim nod.
Elena touched the edge of the projected map.
"What about public messaging?"
Lucien looked at her.
She continued, "If you begin selling or granting first-generation Warhounds, people must understand why. Otherwise, enemies will say you are spreading weapons for profit."
"They will say that anyway."
"Then make the better explanation reach first."
The Royal Guardian looked pleased.
"She is right."
Elena’s eyes remained on Lucien.
"Frame it as defensive standardization before the Great Tear. Partner states receive controlled equipment, training, and maintenance agreements. Elarion receives materials and expertise to expand production. Everyone publicly benefits."
Cassian added, "And any partner using them for aggression loses maintenance, ammunition supply, and upgrades."
Lucien nodded.
"Good."
Malen looked toward the door.
"That means every export model must depend on Elarion-made parts."
"Yes."
"Intentionally?"
"Yes."
The knight’s expression remained flat.
"That is cruel."
Lucien looked at him.
"That is safety."
Malen accepted the answer.
The Royal Guardian leaned back.
"So, first-generation Warhounds become currency."
"Strategic currency," Lucien said.
"Paid in resources."
"And influence."
"With built-in obsolescence."
"With planned advancement."
The Guardian chuckled.
"You make it sound cleaner than it is."
Lucien looked at the glowing map.
"It is not clean."
His voice became quieter.
"But neither is watching cities fall because we were too proud to bargain."
The room settled around that.
For a while, no one spoke.
Outside, Caelrith’s night deepened.
Inside, the Five Pillars glowed softly across the table.
Elena finally broke the silence.
"Then what is the first move?"
Lucien looked at Seastar.
"Maritime contracts."
Then Ironpeak.
"Dwarven technical exchange."
Then Valdris.
"Doctrine discussions."
Then the Concord.
"Defensive access framework."
Then Skyforge.
"Quiet surveys. Very quiet."
Malen nodded.
"And Nocthar?"
Lucien’s gaze moved toward the dark edge of the map, beyond the five glowing cities.
"We let them hear enough to move."
Cassian’s expression hardened.
"And when they do?"
Lucien’s eyes remained calm.
"We follow the trail."
The Royal Guardian’s smile faded.
For the first time that night, the old man looked every year he had lived.
"Be careful, Lucien. Trails laid by enemies can lead both ways."
Lucien looked at him.
"I know."
Malen’s hand rested near his sword.
"Then we walk armed."
The mana lamp flickered once above them.
No wind touched the room.
No spell crossed the wards.
Still, every person at the table felt the same thing.
The Five Pillars had already become more than cities.
They were bait, a promise, a weapon,a future and somewhere in the dark, something had begun reaching for them.
