Building an Empire in Game of Thrones (REWORKED VERSION)

Sitting within the former seat of power for the Masters of Yunkai, Maximus was surrounded by his loyal subordinates, Alexander, Admiral Thorne, Lilith, and Merlin.

"Your Excellency, with Slaver's Bay in our hands, we have now crippled the Slave Trade which has plagued Essos for centuries and can now usher in a new era of imperial rule where the idea of slavery exists no longer." Merline stated, her eyes shining with a renowned hope for what the future held. "It is a new dawn, where the weak are no longer prey to the powerful, where every individual, no matter what their race or status may be, can live free."

"Indeed," replied Maximus, "But our work here is far from done. We've done well to shatter the chains of physical slavery, but it'll take time to erase the marks they leave on the minds and hearts of men."

Unrolling a map of Essos, Maximus leaned forward, pointing towards Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. "These are our next targets," he announced. "If we want to uproot slavery entirely from this continent, these cities need to fall." The room fell quiet as the enormity of their mission sank in. To change the very foundations of a culture was no small task, yet their resolve remained strong as they were going to complete this mission no matter the costs.

"Your excellency, if we are to take control of these cities, I think that we should build more ships and bolster our navy," Admiral Thorne stated. Those three cities had a relatively good navy because of the constant conflicts with each other.

Maximus nodded. "You're right, Admiral. Begin drafting plans for expanding the fleet and send it to me so I can review it and personally approve it."

Turning to Alexander, Maximus continued, "I want you to set up a garrison of 5000 soldiers in each city, then take the remaining soldier to Volantis to start preparing to take Lys, Myr, and Tyrosh. You can command the Legion yourself or put somebody else in charge." Alexander nodded, understanding his task.

"Merlin and Lilith, we will return to Heaven's Reach as I'm sure I have tons of work piled up in my office." Merlin and Lilith both agreed with this action since it was not required for Maximus to lead the Legion from the front anymore.

They had taken out the major slave trading cities to free hundreds of thousands of people from the clutches of slavery, while also sending a strong message to the rest of the world on the Imperial Union's stance on slavery.

While it was Imperial law already that slavery is banned and any slave brought into Imperial territory will be free, not many of the free cities expected this to affect the lands outside of the Imperial Union's territory. But now with the fall of Slavers Bay, this original expectation was proven wrong.

Once the meeting ended, Maximus walked to where Nyxara was and climbed on her back, taking flight towards the Imperial Capital. Lilith and Merlin followed behind with the entire Imperial Airforce which was no longer needed in the region.

During the flight, he accepted his rewards for capturing Slavers Bay:

[Conquer Slavers Bay fulfilling your anti-slavery policy and bringing about a new era completed]

-Greek Hero Achilles (Comes with his 2,500 Myrmidons and their commanders)

-Giants (23-foot tall, huge humanoids that have a long lifespan)

-1k Dragon Knights (Dragon Knights are unique soldiers bearing the symbol of a dragon on their armor which was also extremely strong compared to regular armor. Because of how powerful they are, their armor cannon be replicated]

-Imperial Banner (The Imperial Banner, when carried into battle by a Legion, every soldier will receive improved morale, battle instincts, increased strength, and reduce how fatal wounds are)

-New Empire wide ability - Resistance to corruption or mind manipulation (This new Empire-wide ability will become a natural ability for all Imperial citizens who have been conquered, born, or now live in any Imperial owned lands. Hostile gods and other magical forces will have a hard time corrupting the minds of those with this ability.

-280k system points

After receiving his rewards, he also received a new world development from the system.

[With the conquering of Slavers Bay, the God R'hollor has taken a keen interest into what's happening in the world as well as other higher beings. The destruction of the Red Temple in Volantis in addition to the conquering of Slaver's Bay has made R'hollor move to intervene in Essos and place his religion as the dominant religion. In Valyria he took over the old city and began building his army to conquer Essos and the rest of the known world.

10 years from now his armies will descend from Valyria and start its advance.

In order to hope to stand a chance against the power of a good, you must first ascend to the level of Demi-god by completing the following trials.

-Conquer the Flames of Eternity: A volcanic dungeon where the air burns and lava flow freely.

-Survive the Ocean of Despair: A boundless sea where storms rage and ancient sea monster's hunt.

-Navigate the Sky's Pinnacle: A floating island with ever-changing winds and lightning storms.

-Endure the Earth's Gauntlet: A subterranean maze filled with crushing tunnels, rock guardians, and earthquakes.

You must venture these paths alone and overcome massive threats.]

Seeing this, Maximus had become worried for the first time since he came into this world. Sure, he could conquer a city with ease now, but beating a god was not something that he ever imagined himself doing nor was ascending to a demi-god level. But if he must do these things in order to protect his empire and his own life then he had no choice in the matter.

———

Alexander began to carry out his mission, setting up 5000 manned garrisons in each city and appointing a suitable officer as Commandants. In this sense, a Commandant was something that Alexander created for an Imperial officer in charge of a city's garrison.

Normally, the guards of a city would be from the local population, but considering they just took over the region, it would take time to train local city guards as the protectors of the city.

Admiral Thorne had left a small fleet of 20 ships to patrol the Gulf of Grief and deal with any pirates, while she herself took the rest of the fleet and returned to Volantis where she would travel through the Rhoyne river to New Rhoyne where her fleet's headquarters was located.

While not the ideal location because they were restricted by a single river, it was their only option at the time she was appointed. She plans to have it moved to Volantis soon to have better access to the sea, but it would take time to rebuild all the naval facilities from New Rohyne in Volantis.

As news of the Master's Alliance collapse spread over the next few months, the Free Cities of Braavos and Pentos both sent a representative to Heaven's Reach to try and improve their relationship with the rising power that is the Imperial Union.

In the courtyard of the Imperial Palace, Maximus stood there covered in sweat as he was having a mock battle with Merlin to see how far he had gotten with his magic. If he wanted to complete his trials, then he needed to have multiple abilities and skills that he could use.

As of now he had reached only 12% magic proficiency in a span of a few months which was slow progress in his opinion. Despite training almost hours every day, progress was slow, which he figured may be the result of having no prior knowledge on the concepts of magic.

Afterall the most powerful magic user he knows have spent decades learning their magic. But he didn't have decades, he had 8 years at most to reach 100% proficiency and complete his trials, leaving him with two years to prepare for the invasion.