In the quiet aftermath of the celebration, I sequestered myself with the system. The thirty System Points I now possessed were a strategic resource more valuable than all the iron we had captured. I needed to invest them wisely, to choose a path that would define how our new nation would fight and survive the coming war.
I opened the new [Military Doctrine] tab. It presented me with three primary choices, each a fundamental philosophy of warfare.
[Fortress Doctrine]: Focuses on impenetrable defense, upgrading walls, unlocking advanced traps, and turning a settlement into an unbreakable bastion. It was the path of the anvil. [Legion Doctrine]: Focuses on creating and commanding large, disciplined armies of heavy infantry and cavalry, designed to meet an enemy in open battle and crush them with superior training and equipment. It was the path of the hammer. [Asymmetric Warfare Doctrine]: Focuses on unconventional tactics, guerrilla warfare, intelligence, sabotage, and using speed and terrain to defeat a larger, slower, and more conventional foe. It was the path of the scorpion.
For a kingdom like Aerthos, the Legion Doctrine was the obvious choice. For us, a small nation facing that overwhelming might, there was only one logical path.
"Select [Asymmetric Warfare Doctrine]," I commanded the system.
[ARE YOU SURE? THIS DOCTRINE LOCKS OUT MANY HEAVY ARMOR AND SIEGE-BASED UPGRADES. Cost: 15 System Points.]
Confirm.
The knowledge that filled my mind was not of formations and shield walls, but of shadows and whispers. It was the art of the raid, the science of the ambush, the philosophy of making an enemy fight ghosts. It contained strategies for insurgency, counter-intelligence, and long-range patrols. It taught me how to turn our greatest weakness, our small numbers, into our greatest strength.
The doctrine immediately unlocked new, specialized unit upgrades. The Ashen Archers could be promoted to [Rangers], gaining skills in stealth, trap-making, and long-range reconnaissance. The Ironpeak Warriors could be trained as [Sappers], experts in demolition and the construction of battlefield fortifications. My own Oakhaven infantry could be honed into [Vanguard], disciplined soldiers who could march fast, fight hard, and operate independently for long periods.
With my remaining fifteen points, I purchased the first tier of each upgrade, a further investment in our new doctrine.
My next step was to implement it. I gathered my commanders and established Oakhaven's first War College—which was, in reality, the dusty training ground, now organized with a ruthless new efficiency.
"Our victory at Fort Drakon was a triumph," I told them. "But we were lucky. We relied on surprise. We cannot be lucky forever. From now on, we will be professional. We will be smarter, faster, and more lethal than any soldier the King can send against us."
The retraining of the Army of the Wastes began. It was a brutal, exhausting process. I personally oversaw the training of the new Vanguard units, drilling them in forced marches, complex formations, and the principles of fighting retreats. Borin, as commander of the Dragoons, worked them until men and horses were near collapse, mastering the art of the lightning charge and swift withdrawal.
Kai took his newly designated Rangers deep into the desert, teaching them how to live off the land for weeks at a time, how to become invisible, how to kill a man from a thousand paces and disappear before the body hit the ground. Ulf and the Ironpeak Sappers learned not just how to build, but how to destroy. They practiced collapsing canyons, diverting streams, and rigging rockfalls, learning to re-engineer the entire landscape into a weapon.
We were not just training soldiers; we were creating specialists. Each part of our army was being honed for a specific, deadly purpose, all designed to work in concert according to our new doctrine. We would never meet the Royal Army head-on. Instead, we would bleed them. We would harass their supply lines, poison their wells, assassinate their commanders, and lure their patrols into a thousand deadly traps. We would make every league they marched into our territory a living hell. We would let the vast, unforgiving desert become their true enemy, and we would be its merciless guides.
This new doctrine permeated every aspect of our society. The women were taught how to create coded messages. The children learned to be scouts within the city, reporting on the behavior of the new prisoners. Even our trade was now a weapon; every merchant we dealt with was a potential source of intelligence.
Oakhaven was no longer just a fortified city. It was the nerve center of a highly organized, territory-spanning insurgency. We were a nation learning to live in the shadows, sharpening our sting, waiting for the lumbering giant to the east to make its next move.