My Servant System

Leone’s answer was as certain as it could possibly be as she nodded and said "I could think of nothing better than that, Sultana.", earning a deep nod from the lithe Jackalkin and a myriad of smiles and smirks from the Death Jackals around us - at least those that weren’t wearing figurative or literal masks.

"Good! Well, the plan is a simple one; this base here is out in the open, and I want to hit it hard and fast. Faster than they can react, and fast enough to ensure the other two don’t know what happened before it’s too late. Something explosive... and something that I know you’re capable of, Princess.

The other two though are tougher nuts to crack, and they’re both closer together than that third one; that first one is on the outskirts of the city, in the slums, so I’m not too worried about collateral. Shouldn’t be any anyways since the place is a harbor of ’illegal’ trade and dealings..."

Tapping the map, she directed our attention to the three markers and gave us an overview of what she had been doing during our time apart, and upon seeing the very detailed overlay of the city and how many different things were inside, I couldn’t help but look towards the Sultana and wonder what she wasn’t telling us just yet.

Sensing that, she nudged a marker aside and said "Yes, yes, there’s more here than just three cells; congrats pup, you have eyes. These three cells though are the priority, and these clusters here aren’t of much importance. The other side of the city is of no importance to you four, so focus on these three for me.

With Leone and some of the other more explosive mages bombarding and flattening this part of the city - I was meaning to renovate anyways - we need to get the other two before they flee, and that’s where you three come in.

Jahi, Anput, I was thinking of handing this cell here to you two and two other Death Jackals; they’re the hardier and more well equipped cell on this side of the city, so I want you two and your two chaperones to hit it hard and fast alongside the bombardment of the previous cell. Since these are the stronger and more physically inclined members, I’m sure you understand that they don’t have the important documents and other things that I want to find on hand; from what we know, it’s more treasures and other knick knacks waiting for you in there hideout. The things I do want are here, which if you were keen eyed, pup, you could tell me why I left this one for last."

I leaned over the table and stared at the map for a moment before gently leaning the marker to the side as I ensured I was correct, after which I looked back up at the Sultana and replied "This is the furthest one into the city amongst the three you’ve prioritized for us, and

Additionally it appears to be some merchant’s estate."

Her tone was flat, and as she stared at me from beneath her veil I couldn’t help but shiver slightly before taking a deep breath as I answered "It means that this is where they’ve been gathering their own information; likely one of the ’brains’ for this incursion here and the ones distributing the orders to the other cells. There is a high chance that this cell is where any and all information would be pertaining to the Fingers and their plans, even if it is just for this city."

"Correct, but can you now tell me why I might have left this one for last? Leone is going to utilize her magic to bombard the first cell, my daughter and your Demoness there are going to rush into a hideout filled with six to twelve trained warriors to kill them in close quarters..."

"While this one is likely something that needs a bit more finesse and a concealed approach. Stealth or espionage of some kind; sneaking in and working my way outwards or perhaps you want me to infiltrate it somehow in a more... natural manner?"

"Correct again; see, I could lay siege to my own city - a rather loose use of that term, anyways - and make full use of my might to conquer it, but you see... it’s varied enough, contained enough, and most importantly ’weak’ enough for me to go ahead and give another test. Not just to you four, though I will admit it is primarily for you all, but also for my Death Jackals. Frontal assaults, bombardment, and espionage are all in their stratagems, and like a blade everyone needs to be well maintained and given regular maintenance to ensure that it will always do what I need them to do.

While you four take this section of the city, the rest of my Death Jackals will take the other sections at the same time, and in a mere hour or so, it will be back under my control and free from the taint of these pests. I want to take my city back, hone my troops, but also..."

The Sultana tapped each marker on the board before plucking them all and tossing them to the side, letting them roll around on the other side of the table as she whispered "I want to send a message to our ’friends’ that I can squash them with an ease that they couldn’t even begin to comprehend."

Redirecting our attention to another table nearby, the Sultana gestured at the wider map that showed the Sultanate in it’s entirety, and I couldn’t help but widen my eyes as I realized just how many of the same markers were peppering the map.

"Yes, they have been discovered in almost every single damn city under my rule, and honestly... that infuriates me. Like cockroaches they’ve just begun to appear in droves everywhere all at once, and I know that even when I stamp them out they’ll just return once more... but until they return, I can satisfy my anger by wiping the board clean in one fell swoop.

If you were ever curious, Jahi, about the reason the Sultanate has stood as it’s own country for as long as it has, the reason is quite clear; when it comes to trade, architecture, the arts, we can compete with your Empire, sure, but we know the variety gives you the edge. When it comes to the slaughtering of your enemies though..."

Waving her hand around the tent, the Sultana turned back to us, and even though I couldn’t see her face, I knew the Jackalkin was smirking as she made a showing of the empty tent; all of her Death Jackals were gone, and I hadn’t even really noticed that they had disappeared.

"We’ve fine tuned it to an art form itself, and your Knights of Cinder can stand as tall and as proud as they want... but when it comes to an unadulterated slaughter, you’ll find fewer more adept in that art form than those born in these golden sands."

It was currently - a theatric showing of a strength that we could only take her word for, one that meant little for the time being as we just nodded in agreement, even if we knew an estimated strength for the Death Jackals; just hearing it wasn’t enough for me right now, even coming from the Sultana.

It sounded like bravado that had an inkling of truth to it, but considering the widespread appearance of the Fingers in her country, and how little we actually knew about the

Organization at large, it wasn’t as... impressive as she was making it.

That wasn’t to say I didn’t buy it though - I was most definitely going to be impressed and be eating my words eventually, but for now... I just took her word for it.

She could sense that, especially since the people she was telling that too had seen some of the Knights fight before and had an understanding of their power, but I knew I would be proven wrong to hold any doubts to her words.

So instead, when she returned to the table and began to divvy out more instructions and ideas on the battle to come, we focused on that and prepared for those fights, knowing that there was no room for doubt right now.

We each had our strengths, and she was putting them to the test here and now as she gave us orders to follow, ones that played to those strengths and ones that would reap impressive

Results should we follow them properly.

Leone’s potent magic being levied against an unsuspecting hideout alongside a few other mages, Anput and Jahi’s strength being given the opportunity to shine through as they took the most direct approach possible to a fight...

And then my more nuanced approach to operations like this being included as I was told about an open invitation party being hosted at this merchant’s house, one that would let anyone with enough gold enter and have some fun for the next few days, giving me a myriad of choices to make on how to approach this the best possible way.

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