Reborn General: My Interstellar Arsenal Slays Magic

Chapter 4: The Iron Tax

The echoes of the prince’s hasty retreat had barely faded into the howling blizzard before the reality of their treason settled over Frostpeak Fortress.

In the courtyard, the fifty conscripts stood in stunned silence, their knuckles white on the foregrips of their submachine guns. They had spent their lives believing that Imperial mages were untouchable demi-gods. Watching a disgraced cadet drop Crown Prince Valen into the dirt with a single quiet crack of cold steel had shattered a lifetime of conditioning.

Kael walked up to Leonidas, his eyes darting toward the southern horizon where the golden carriage had vanished. "Commander... Valen won't just report this. The Imperial Capital is three days away by mana-carriage. By the time the snow clears next week, the Royal Guard will march with high-tier war mages and armored cavalry. We have fifty men, wooden gates smashed to splinters, and no food supplies for the winter."

"Then we make sure we are ready before their boots touch our snow," Leonidas said coolly.

He swiped his hand to bring up the system interface.

[BIOMASS CREDITS TOTAL: 3,495]

[CURRENT TERRITORY: FROSTPEAK FORTRESS (CONTROL: 85%)]

[INFRASTRUCTURE STATUS: CRITICAL - GATES DESTROYED, SUPPLY STOCKS EMPTY]

"Kael, haul Captain Vance’s body and the dead Frost Orcs into the lower canyon courtyard," Leonidas ordered. "I want every scrap of metal, hide armor, and beast core stacked in central piles."

"What about the Imperial guards who stayed behind?" Kael asked, gesturing toward the three silver-armored soldiers kneeling near the stone steps, trembling in fear for their lives.

Leonidas walked over to the three guards. They flinched as his heavy leather boots stopped inches from their faces.

"Your names," Leonidas commanded.

"Gideon... sir," the lead guard stammered, swallowing hard. "The others are Marcus and Jon. We... we only followed Captain Vance’s orders! We have no love for the Solaria Court!"

"I don't care about your love," Leonidas replied coldly. "I care about your utility. You know how Imperial supply lines operate in the Northern Province. You know where the tax convoys travel."

Gideon looked up, his eyes widening. "The Iron Road... the monthly mana-stone tax convoy from the Northern Mines passes through the lower pass ten miles south of here tomorrow morning. It’s guarded by a squad of provincial knights."

Leonidas’s lips curved into a sharp, predatory line. "Good. You three just bought your lives. You’re our scouts for tomorrow."

Leaving the guards under Kael’s watch, Leonidas walked down into the dark, subterranean vaults beneath the fortress where the Orc bodies were being stacked. Once alone in the cavernous room, he raised his hand.

"System. Process all biomass and raw metals in the vault."

[PROCESSING...]

[342 FROST ORC CARCASSES CONVERTED -> 6,840 BIOMASS CREDITS]

[BEAST CORES & IRON GEAR CONVERTED -> 2,100 MATERIAL CREDITS]

[TOTAL AVAILABLE CREDITS: 12,435]

[TIER 2 ARSENAL UNLOCKED & ACCESSIBLE]

Leonidas didn't hesitate. He immediately began allocating his resources for short-term fortification and high-yield firepower.

[PURCHASE LOG:]

Fortress Repair Kit (Reinforced Steel Gate & Concrete Curing Agent): 1,500 Credits

10x M240B Medium Machine Guns + 7.62mm Ammunition: 2,000 Credits

4x FGM-148 Javelin Anti-Tank Missile Systems + 12 Missiles: 3,000 Credits

50x Kevlar Tactical Armor Sets & Night-Vision Helmets: 1,500 Credits

1x Portable Drone Reconnaissance Unit (RQ-11 Raven): 800 Credits

Field Rations (MREs - 1,000 Units): 500 Credits

[REMAINING CREDITS: 3,135]

A heavy shudder ran through the subterranean vault. Golden holographic light flooded the chamber as crates of tactical gear, stacks of combat rations, and heavy weapon mounts materialized out of thin air. At the center of the vault, the shattered outer wooden gate dissolved into light, replaced instantaneously by a double-layered, motor-driven solid titanium-alloy blast door anchored deep into the living mountain rock.

When Leonidas returned to the main courtyard, the conscripts were staring in dumbfounded awe at the newly spawned steel gate, sealed shut and gleaming beneath the moonlight.

"L-Lord Vance!" Kael ran over, gasping for air. "The gate... the wall! It’s like the mountain itself grew armor!"

"Suit up," Leonidas commanded, kicking open a crate of Kevlar tactical armor and thermal fatigue uniforms. "Throw away those rags. Tonight, you eat real meat, sleep in warm gear, and learn how to hunt high-tier knights."

By midnight, the fifty commoners were transformed. Dressed in dark digital-camo winter gear, ballistic helmets, and body armor, they looked less like desperate conscripts and more like an elite black-ops unit ready to wage war.

Inside the main hall, over steaming heat-packs of high-calorie rations, Leonidas unfolded a map of the Northern Pass on the central stone table. Gideon, Marcus, and Jon stood on one side, still wide-eyed in their new tactical gear, while Kael leaned over the map on the other.

"The Imperial tax convoy carries three thousand high-grade mana-stones intended for the capital's barrier matrices," Gideon explained, pointing at a narrow cliff-side turn known as the Crow's Throat. "If we take it, the capital will notice immediately."

"Good. Let them notice," Leonidas said, tapping the point on the map. "They expect a mana-less outcast to hide behind stone walls, waiting to be besieged. We’re going to hit their logistics before their war fleet even clears the harbor."

He looked around the room at the fifty men and women whose lives now depended entirely on his command.

"Tomorrow morning, House Solaria pays its first iron tax."