The road to the capital was paved in stone.
Not dirt.
Not timber reinforcement.
Stone.
Leon noticed the difference immediately.
The further he rode from Valcrest territory, the more structured the empire appeared. Watchtowers rose at precise intervals. Patrol units moved in disciplined formations. Trade caravans passed under official banners bearing the imperial crest.
This was not a region struggling to hold against the forest.
This was a machine.
And machines did not tolerate unpredictability.
Three armored warriors rode behind him, silent and steady. To passing eyes, they appeared as disciplined retainers. No one questioned their presence. Minor lords often traveled with small escorts.
But Leon felt the weight of bringing them here.
The capital would measure everything.
The walls of Aurelion's capital rose into view by the second afternoon.
Massive.
Layered.
Guarded by towers that dwarfed Valcrest's strongest structures.
Leon felt no intimidation.
Only calculation.
If the forest ever reached this far, the war would no longer be regional.
It would be catastrophic.
He passed through the gates under inspection. Imperial guards scanned him carefully. Their eyes lingered on his spear.
Not a sword.
Not a mage staff.
A spear.
He was announced formally inside the council hall.
"Leon Valcrest, heir of House Valcrest, summoned under imperial directive."
The chamber was vast and cold.
High stone pillars supported a domed ceiling etched with the empire's victories.
At the far end sat the Imperial Council.
Generals.
Strategists.
Political ministers.
And Lady Seraphine Halbrecht stood among them.
Leon stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
Not submissively.
Respectfully.
A silver-haired general spoke first.
"You negotiated with intelligent forest entities."
"Yes," Leon replied calmly.
"You stabilized three minor houses."
"Yes."
"You prevented imperial escalation."
"Yes."
Murmurs moved through the chamber.
The general leaned forward slightly.
"And you believe that makes you fit to manage a border war?"
Leon met his gaze evenly.
"I believe reckless escalation would have cost more than measured resistance."
A minister scoffed softly.
"Measured resistance to monsters?"
"They are organized," Leon replied. "They escalate in phases. They test structure."
Another general spoke.
"You speak as if they are a kingdom."
"They are not," Leon said. "But they think."
The chamber fell quiet at that.
Seraphine stepped forward slightly.
"He is correct," she said calmly. "They adapt. They measure endurance and authority."
The silver-haired general's eyes narrowed slightly.
"And you propose what, Valcrest?"
Leon did not hesitate.
"Do not send an army."
The chamber stirred again.
"You presume much," one minister said sharply.
Leon continued steadily.
"If you send a full imperial legion now, they will retreat deeper. They will regroup. They will escalate beyond control."
"And your solution?" the general pressed.
Leon's grip tightened slightly around his spear.
"Structured regional unification under controlled authority. Expand defensive cores. Limit provocation. Increase intelligence."
The minister laughed quietly.
"You are a minor heir. You propose strategy for the empire."
Leon did not react to the tone.
"I propose stability."
Seraphine's eyes remained on him.
"You suggest containment rather than conquest."
"Yes."
"And if containment fails?"
Leon's expression did not shift.
"Then you escalate with knowledge."
Silence lingered.
The council weighed him.
Measured him.
Just as the forest had.
Finally, the silver-haired general leaned back.
"You will demonstrate."
Leon did not blink.
"How?"
"A military assessment," the general said calmly. "A simulated engagement."
Leon understood immediately.
This was not a debate.
This was a test of command.
The imperial training grounds dwarfed anything Leon had seen before.
Two hundred soldiers stood in formation across the field.
Professional.
Disciplined.
Veterans.
The general addressed Leon publicly.
"You will command fifty. You will face a simulated multi-angle assault."
Leon nodded once.
He selected fifty carefully.
Not the strongest.
Not the most decorated.
The most adaptable.
He placed three armored warriors within the formation naturally, as if they were senior sergeants.
"Three cores," Leon instructed quietly. "Outer rotation. Signal discipline. No individual pursuit."
The imperial soldiers listened with mixed curiosity and skepticism.
The horn sounded.
The simulated assault began.
Units attacked from staggered directions. Cavalry feints. Archer volleys. Infantry probes.
Leon did not chase.
He held cores steady.
When cavalry attempted to flank, he rotated outer patrols inward rather than shifting the entire formation.
When archers fired, shields angled in layered overlap rather than full retreat.
Minutes passed.
The assault intensified.
Imperial officers watched carefully.
Leon moved through the formation, adjusting spacing, reinforcing weak flanks personally.
He did not stand behind.
He stood within.
The final push came from two directions simultaneously.
Many commanders would have split their forces.
Leon did not.
He compressed one flank slightly and reinforced the other, forcing the simulated attackers into a narrower engagement channel.
The assault stalled.
Then collapsed.
The horn sounded again.
Silence fell over the training ground.
The silver-haired general studied Leon carefully.
"You did not pursue advantage."
"No," Leon replied.
"Why?"
"Because the goal was stability, not glory."
A faint flicker moved through the general's eyes.
"You think like containment."
"Yes."
Seraphine stepped forward.
"You see why I supported his approach."
The council members murmured quietly among themselves.
Finally, the general spoke again.
"You will return to Valcrest."
Leon nodded.
"But under expanded authority."
The chamber quieted.
"You will act as regional stabilizer under imperial oversight. Limited autonomy."
Leon felt the weight of it settle.
Authority.
Recognition.
Burden.
"If you fail," the general continued calmly, "the empire intervenes directly."
Leon met his gaze steadily.
"I understand."
The general leaned back.
"Then prove that minor houses can hold a border."
That night, Leon stood alone atop the capital's outer wall.
The city lights stretched endlessly below.
Three armored warriors stood behind him, silent.
The system stirred faintly.
Imperial authority alignment recognized.
Battlefield influence expanded.
Next capacity threshold approaching.
Approaching.
Leon exhaled slowly.
The forest had tested region.
The empire had tested command.
He had passed both.
But convergence still loomed.
He looked toward the distant horizon beyond the capital.
If the forest escalated beyond the trench again, it would not be a regional issue.
It would be imperial.
And if the empire escalated recklessly, the forest would respond in kind.
He tightened his grip on the spear.
The line had grown.
Valcrest.
Rivenmark.
Ardent Vale.
Now the empire itself.
But lines, no matter how wide, could still break.
Far beyond the capital, in the deepest reaches of the forest, the golden-eyed leader knelt before an immense shadowed presence.
"He stands before empire," it said quietly.
"And?"
The deeper voice rumbled.
"He does not bend."
Silence stretched beneath ancient trees.
"Then convergence approaches," the deeper presence said.
The forest stirred.
Leon turned away from the capital wall.
It was time to return home.
The next phase would not test formation.
It would test endurance.