The Games We Play -Shaman c52

With the pleadges done, it was time for Raynor to advance in his plot of the conquest he had planned.

He already discussed with Sona what kind of conquest he wants.

What he wants is conquest, similar to Venice or the British Empire.

A trade or mechantile version of an Empire.

He needed to conquer and build ports and trade with locals to build this kind of empire.

Well, he won’t be doing trading; he can leave that with people who can make money.

What he wants is all of the exotic resources… AND ANIMALS.

That is his goal! He needs to hunt and hunt some more, and to do that, he needs access to such places.

So, having outposts all over Planetos is the most logical option.

To set plans in motion after the pledges, Raynor organised a feast to talk about the next move with his two key vassals.

He wanted to focus on both the bedroom families to help him grow stronger.

“My Lords, we have much to discuss.” Raynor opened the conversation as everyone gathered in the main hall.

The pair of lords needed a couple of seconds to get over the fact that their new Lord of Dragonstone was surrounded by beauties they had never seen before…

Especially the girl with crimson hair… they had never seen such hair before. Silver hair was something they were used to because of their heritage, but such crimson hair was something they had never seen before.

“Of course, my Lord, what is you wish to speak?” Lord Velaryon quickly recofused on the King of Wolves.

“Our expansion.” Raynor began with a small smile on his lips. “I have funds available for shipbuilding and increasing recruitment for more men.

What I need you two to do is rebuild your forces as we will begin expansion.” 

The pair of lords didn’t question if he had wealth, as it was an open secret what he did in Pentos. This Shaman plundered a Free City, which is something very few people could do in history.

“What do you have in mind, My Lord?” The pair were curious, as this was the first time they had a Lord that was not a ‘regular’ nobleman.

They served the Mad King and the Unsurper’s brother. Those two were unique experiences…

In addition to all of this, they saw what the Wolf King did in the Stormlands; they know this man wields magic and has strange powers.

Whatever it will be, it won’t be simple.

“A long-term plan.” He motioned for Grayfia to pour some wine for him. He was building a bit of suspense as the pair of Lords were waiting for him to speak.

After getting his wine, he begins to get to it.

“It will be like a hunt. First, we will prepare, build up ships, recruit men, and make it easier to get manpower. We will have payments, and after 20 years of services, they will earn a piece of land.”

Sona, who was listening at the side, realised that Raynor was copying Romans and their legionnaire traditions. 

‘It will work. Roman’s military traditions are unmatched, they will be unmatched here too.’

The Sitri Heiress had a small smirk on her lips. She was much more controlled than Rias, who was gushing at the idea of ‘Isekai Adventure’ and ‘Isekai Conquest’. 

Apart from them, the most passive was Skadi, who was sitting next to Raynor, behaving like a  ‘supportive wife’—not that it mattered as the Shaman had not even introduced them yet!

“That could work, my lord, but won’t that cost quite a bit of gold?”

Lord Valeryon was a bit concerned. Even if Raynor had a lot of wealth, military campaigns could be costly.

“I am getting to it.” Raynor slightly smiled, making the man straighten up. He realised that this smile was a warning not to interrupt him! The Valyrian could sense that!

“The first stage of this ‘hunt’ is ships and sailors. You might have heard about your ancestor, Corlys Velaryon?” 

“...The Sea Snake, I doubt there is not a single Westerosi who has not heard stories of his seven voyages.” 

“Aye, but the more important part about him is that he established a trading empire that had more wealth than the Targaryens, who were at the peak of their power at that time.” 

Standing in line with the other maids, Daenerys looks surprised to hear that the Valaryons have more wealth than her family! 

“...The trade routes to Golden Empire of Ye Ti and beyond…”

“Indeed, Sea Snake had them without fancy magic, just pure talent. We can have all that easily with my magic.” Raynor’s explanation made the pair of adult men tremble from excitement almost like small children

“T-Then what is our first step?” Lord Valaryon asked with an invigorated look.” To think that something like that will happen in his lifetime is something of a fairytale to the middle-aged man.

“We need wood, a lot of wood.” 

“Then I suggest Crackclaw Point?” Lord Celtigar opened up. He had been patiently listening to the conversations up to this point.

Crackclaw Point is a peninsula sticking out in Crownlands. Its part of the Blackwater Bay region where Dragonstone is. That place has been under the Celtigar banner for a while, until the Targaryens lost and the Baratheons put their lords there.

By point that land is under no one’s control. Not even Reach Kingdom controls it at this moment.

The reason? Raynor’s fiefdom is close, the Tyrells want to have a soft border, and they are still consolidating their power after crushing Stormlands with Raynor's help.

Not much time has passed since then.

“Sure.” 

Raynor nodded at the suggestion.

“Then we can begin our first expedition.” The Shaman pondered for a bit.

“We need a small company. I will lead with my wolves. What I need is an occupation force, " he told the pair.

“I can crush the force, but someone needs to establish rules in occupied castles.” He clarified to them.

“If I may, my Lord, we don’t need to kill; it should be only a secondary option. The nobles of those lands could bend their knee to you.” The Valyrian Lord raised another option.

“Your reputation and living dragon hold a considerable amount of sway.”

“True.” Raynor nodded.

‘I don’t have that much time. Second time period is about to open.’

The Shaman internally grinned. He can’t wait to beat up that prince! His whole body trembled from the excitement.

Honestly, he has no idea where he holds this much hatred for that guy, but he just wants to torture that guy.

‘If I am lucky enough I can get chance to enter rebellion…

Should I?’

Raynor wants another war. Wars are good; not only can he get human souls, but they can also improve his combat abilities.

“Send messages to crackclaw point lord, tell them to bend the knee to me or I will personally visit their castles, remind them what happened to King’s Landing and Winterfell.”

The Wolf King said to the castellan and the Meister who were in the Hall with them.

“A-At once, my Lord!” The pair scrambled to organise the messages.

They do know what happened to the Capital and the oldest castle in the North.

“Apart from the wood in the Crackclaw Point, what about woods in the North?” He suggested.

“...A possibility, but it's hard to work with their Iron Wood and it's far away from us.” Lord Valaryon pondered on the suggestion.

“We could work with them once we have ships.” The Wolf King himself nodded at the future endeavour. The wood from them would be an upgrade for bigger ships.

The group continued to plot for future expeditions, while the messages were sent to Crackclaw Point.

~~~~~~Later~~~~~~

After the meeting, it was a waiting game once more. Raynor returned to his work. Since the lodge is on hold for now, he is working on his wolves!

He already knew Deimos' size, so all he needed was a tree. The Wolf King went to the forest on the island to look for that fated tree.

“Any specifics?” His Goddess wife commented.

“No, it doesn’t work like that.” He looked around.

“There needs to be a gut feeling. I instinctually know that the tree is right, " the shaman explained to her as she continued to look.

“I understand that to some extent, but it’s foreign to me.” Skadi shook her head. 

“You have your domain. I have mine.” He looked at her for a second with a smile before returning to looking at the trees on the volcanic island.

His eyes perked up as he found what he was looking for.

The Hunter changed his direction and walked right towards the tree.

The Jotun Goddess looked at his behaviour change. It would seem he found what he was looking for.

Her gaze went to the tree. It didn’t look that different from other trees; the only difference was how the branches were growing.

They were different from other trees; is that the reason?

Regardless, he summoned his axe and began to chop it down after using earth magic to unroot it.

He quickly removed the branches and chopped the trunk into two blocks of wood.

After that, he pulled the parts into the inventory, and the pair returned to the lodge side.

Raynor looked around for a good site.

His eyes ended up on the place between the lodge and the water stream.

He walked around for a bit, imagining how it would be. Once he had a good idea, he placed his hand on the ground and activated his earth magic.

What he needed was caves; he required three caves for the wolves.

So he worked on that. The ground began to rise as a couple of trees ended up getting uprooted. Raynor didn’t touch them, as they were part of the site. In other words, he is giving the feeling that these caves open up from the uprooted trees.

The Shaman played around with their sizes for a bit, as he needed them to be considerable for the kennels.

He wants to breed an army here!

After making the entrances and turning them into proper cavers, he returned to the entrance and selected the spot for the Totem.

First, he placed the tree part with the roots on the ground, made the earth retreat, and then pulled the roots in.

With the base secured, he summoned his carving knife and began with the carving.

“So that the isekai wolves kennel.” Rias finally found where the spot will be.

It was a great location. It is not far from the lodge and water, but in a small forest clearing.

“It's not Isekai anymore, Rias, more like dark fantasy,” Sona said with a strained look.

“He is utilising volcanic rocks too… do you realise what kind of effects it could have on the wolves?” The Sitri Heiress questioned her as she wanted her opinion.

“Volcanic? I can guess destruction. Similar to mine.” Rias replied before realising how bad this could be.

But then she had a great idea!

“...Oh… could I get one of those wolves as a peerage member!?” 

“...That is a possibility.”

‘That’s like having a miniature Fenrir.’ Sona began to consider something similar for herself.

“Great! I can ask Raynor later!”

The pair would look at him working for a bit before walking back to the castle where a puffy Serafall looked at the pair with teary eyes.

“Why are you leaving me to do this alone!? I am days behind with my work! Do you realise how much work I will have after I return to the capital!” The twin tails, who looked all dusty from her plumber work, complained to her baby sister and her friend.

“...It's not like we can do much to help, sister,” Sona replied to her.

“The castle is magic-resistant; only powerful beings like you can bypass the stone to lay down the pipes," the Sitri Heiress explained to the current Leviathan.

“Don’t give me that crap! I can make the holes, and you can lay them down!”

“You will have to leave them be.” Grayfia interrupted as she walked in and looked at the pair.

“Master wants you to start organising routes for a possible Crackclaw Point Invasion.” The silver-haired devil said to the pair of Heiresses.

“...That much we can do. Does he believe it could lead to such invasion?” Sona asked curiously.

“I do not have an idea. It is a contingency plan," she said thoughtfully.

“Moh! He just wants me to do this alone!” Serafall complained loudly.

“Maybe. The more you complain, the more he will keep you here.” The Lucifuge Maid said in a knowing tone. She knows it to the very core of her being.

“Hmph! You sound as if you know him very well!” The black haired twintails exclaimed in an annoyed huff.

Her behaviour was non-Satan-like, and there is a reason for this. Serafall’s Achilles' heel is Raynor. Not only is he weaker than her, but he beats her and turns her into a slave summon. he can summon her anytime he wants and can do anything he wants with her.

That has scarred her emotionally. Now she can’t think logically when it's related to him. 

And why would one want to think logically when he is using her like a plumber!

“Think logically. He is a sadist; the longer you resist, the more he wants to torment you.” 

“Grayfia is not wrong, sister.” Sona interrupted. “ The longer you behave like that, the more he wants to entertain himself with you.”

“Easy for you to say, you don’t need to install pipes in an ancient castle reeking in blood magic!” With a huff, she turned around and left them.”

Sigh

“She is behaving like a child.” Sona sighed in an apologetic voice. The Heiress felt embarrassed about her older sibling.

“It's fine; I am used to it.” Rias smiled at her friend before looking at Grayfia, who was standing there absentmindedly.

“Are you okay?” 

“I am fine, Rias.” The silver-haired maid turned around and walked away.

The Head Maid has no courage to tell her what happened to her.

~~~

As Raynor was doing finishing touches around the Kennel Totem, he was interrupted.

“My Lord…” 

The Castellan walked over and showed Raynor a small letter.

“We got our first response… it’s from Myr…” 

The Wolf King looked at what was written. It was a simple sentence.

‘We are not interested.’

“It appears they don’t believe in me.” The small letter burns into ashes in Raynor’s hands.

The Castellan looked slightly unnerved by Raynor’s tone. He looked bloodthirsty.

It has been a while since he fought anything to the death. Fighting ice creatures in Niflheim doesn’t give him the same amount of excitement. Sure, those creatures are tough and made from living magic, but he is a traditional hunter.

He is all about blood and flesh.

Plus…

It's Myr!

A big city with all the exotic stuffand  loot.

“What is your response, my Lord?” The nervous man asked the Wolf King.

“I will visit them when the time is right.” He smirked. For a second, his eyes glowed yellow like a canine, and he was getting… excited about the future.

“I understand.”

“For now, focus on the next objective, to gain control over Crackclaw Point,” Raynor instructed the Castellan as he turned to face the wolf-shaped statue.

It was almost done. He was quite satisfied with the outcome. He never expected that a volcanic location like this would have such an effect.

Where Fenrir has the ability to kill gods, his wolves born under the influence of the totem would have pure destructive abilities regardless of what it is.

The reason for this is the very nature of a volcano, its destruction before creation. 

His wolves will have a heightened ability to slaughter, which he is very satisfied with considering he used his god-slaying weapon, Godgrief, to assist in carving in later stages.

This improved the potency of the totem’s ability.

“Very well, I shall send word to the lords for updates on their progress.”

“Do that. It should not take long.” Raynor nodded before walking to the totem to finish it.

…

…

…

Whistle

The Wolf King whistled, and Deimos’ Pack manifested around him. The big black wolf looked at him, but then the beast at the totem.

The whole pack instinctively moved there. The beasts were mesmerised by what they saw and could not stop looking at it.

“It looks like it had a weird effect on them.” Skadi jumped down from a tree as she walked over to his side.

The Goddess wanted to see the effect the totem would have on them.

“They are absorbing nature’s energy. I do not know the effect it would have on this generation, but the next one would have this energy from birth, making them far deadlier than now.” He explained this to his goddess wife with crossed arms.

“...Humu, I understand. does that mean I should wait before I get pregnant?” She nodded to herself as she realised that she should wait for Raynor to grow stronger before he impregnated her.

“Hmm? Are you still talking about that?” He chuckled. His wife is becoming obsessed with having a child with him.

“What? We are married! It's obvious that I should have your child!” The black-haired beauty got defensive.

“You are a Jotun Goddess, and I am a Human; that alone makes it far more difficult for you to have a child with me.” He got closer to her, his hands reaching her waist, and pulled her closer to himself.

“It means we need to try harder and harder to get those chances up~” he teased her as he got closer to her face.

His explanation made her cheeks heat up.

“It makes sense…” His explanation made sense to her, not that it could change much as the pair have been doing it daily, sometimes several times daily…