The fortress pulsed with a heavy silence, broken only by the distant hammering of workers reforging broken steel and the low hum of the System’s alerts echoing in Ren’s mind. He stood at the heart of the war room, staring at the glowing tactical map projected from the System’s interface. The once chaotic scrawl of lines and markers had grown orderly under his hand, colored zones of his influence stretching outward like a spreading tide. Yet every expansion brought new dangers.
[System Alert: Territory Expansion Imminent. Stability Rating Decreasing. Morale Impact: -3%.]
Ren clenched his fist. The System’s warnings were not suggestions. Every decision he made was weighted, every gain balanced by costs. His men grew restless with the constant battles, the endless march of conquests. Food s
