Part 12: Subjugation

Episode 12: Subjugation



With such awesome power you were bound to attract the greed of your brethren. Draven, Korvek and Kasita have banded together and plan to steal the artefact for themselves. Defeat them and bend them to your will, for if they join your ranks there will be no stopping your final assault upon the Empire capital.

The last mission where we had to fight another Underlord was really rough. Now let's fight three Underlords at the same time!



Hello, old friend.



We've been waiting for you!

Yes, you and the Kenos.



We'll have it over your dead body…



These fools come for the Kenos Underlord, prove your dominance and crush them beneath your indomitable will… treat them as a warmup for the Emperor.

This mission is a nightmare. With three powerful opponents, it's very easy to get bogged down by fighting a war on multiple fronts and end up with a neverending meatgrinder. The only way to make this not go terribly is to take the Underlords out one at a time.

Now that we have the Kenos, we can summon titans just as Mira did. Unfortunately, so can the other Underlords. I'm not sure why, but that's how it is. Additionally, the Kenos has given us a giant mana pool and very fast mana regeneration. This is very important, as I can't even beat one of these Underlords in a fair fight, let alone three.



I've scanned the area with the vision spell and found a gold shrine. I will need this for the innumerable traps I am going to build.

The Kenos will be mine, then we'll see which of us is truly more powerful.

Your haste will be your downfall, as it has been in the millennia we've fought.

The last few scraps only served to limber me up, this time you'll be the one banished and I will control us forever.

I think they messed this part up - those lines should clearly have been said by two different Underlords.



A very standard start to our dungeon. I've expanded to the south-east, away from the three other Underlords. I'd prefer not to reach their territory before I've recruited a strong army.



For once, I am not going to build the smallest possible archive. Titans are summoned using sins, and titans are incredibly good, so we'll want to research a lot of sins as soon as possible.

Hey Korvek…

Yes, Kasita?

Remember when Draven sent those slaves to undermine your dungeon… and your minions ran forward to stop them… but then he froze them in place as the charges were blown and EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM died?

Yes, I remember, why?

Oh, no reason. I was just curious.

Luckily, the other Underlords are not terribly good friends. As a result, they will not be coordinating their efforts against us. Each Underlord will eventually attack us, but they won't cooperate and they won't be attacking us at the same time.



At the edge of our dungeon, I can see Kasita's golden dungeon theme creeping up towards us. We have three Underlords that we have to take out, so it seems reasonable to start with Kasita since she is the closest one.

This is a mistake. Kasita is by far the most painful one of the Underlords to fight. Unless you're a much better Underlord than I am, your attack is going to fail, the front will become a bloodbath, and soon another Underlord will break into your dungeon and force you to fight on two fronts.

Some of your minions are revolting! The rest are just disgusting…



Instead, I recommend starting with Draven. He is the weakest of the three Underlords, and in my experience he is the most aggressive. If we can knock Draven out quickly, we'll be in a much better position.



To support our attack, I spend five sins to start summoning a behemoth titan.



I build a quaint little wooden bridge, and the fight is on!



Conveniently, Draven's dungeon core is highly exposed, and is not far from where we started our attack. There's not much space to build traps, so this will be a straightforward contest of strength.

Psst, Underlord. She's been telling us all of your terrible secrets…

Why not show her how strong you really can be, especially with the Kenos at your disposal?



I decide not to take Draven's tactical advice. His units are coming to defend the dungeon core, and it's not an insignificant force.

Maybe you should have prepared a bit better… if you survive I'll be happy to give you a few tips on defending your dungeon.



In fact, they manage to wipe out my initial force and push me away from the dungeon core. But now our first titan has been summoned.

Could one of you give me a bit of assistance? I'll split the bones of the dead with you evently…



The behemoth titan shows up and starts laying waste to Draven's defence forces.



With the behemoth, we push back to the dungeon core. More defenders keep showing up, but in a trickle rather than as an organised force



That's one down, keep at it Underlord!

Farewell Draven. Only the strongest are meant to survive.

Soon after, we defeat the first of the Underlords.



With Draven defeated, we take over his base. Since he is the weakest of the three Underlords, it's not surprising that his base is pretty unimpressive.



Now we need to move on to our second enemy. One advantage of taking over Draven's dungeon is that it allows us an alternative attack route into Kasita's dungeon. I'll be digging a path from the north through this gold ore.



Our workers reach the inner dungeon walls. They're fortified, but we can blow through them using underminers.



BOOM!



Blowing up the northern wall revealed an incantation shrine owned by Kasita. If we can capture this, the combination of our giant mana pool, fast mana regeneration and the spell cost discount from the incantation shrine will make us ridiculously powerful.



I bring up our army and the assault begins. Kasita immediately responds with a force of high-level monsters.

I'm just looking for some entertainment… speaking of, how goes taking care of our mutual problem?



Even with our behemoth titan, there are just so many of them, and they're considerably higher level than our units!



Soon, our assault on Kasita turns into Kasita's assault on our dungeon. I try to slow her down with some cannons, but they are destroyed in seconds.

The only mutual problem WE have is the sound of YOUR voice echoing about both our dungeons.



Kasita then seizes her side of the underground river! This attack basically could not have gone worse!



Once some of our reinforcements arrive, we manage to hold the small peninsula outside Kasita's base using a combination of cannons and liberal use of the lightning spell.



I build a bridge to try to sneak our army around the main entrance to Kasita's dungeon to attack the incantation shrine directly. We manage to seize the shrine, massively boosting our own spellcasting and reducing Kasita's.



Now that Kasita's might has been weakened, we try to push into her dungeon again. We find a treasury and a training barracks surrounded by a river of gold. Why do all the other Underlords have far more stylish dungeons?



Kasita summons a titan to support her defence. It's the defensive titan, so it's fortunately not as strong as the behemoth, but it's nearly impossible to kill.

There's no time for dilly-dallying, prove your dominance!



Our new behemoth titan shows up along with some new monsters. We are just outside the dungeon core chamber, but it's protected by two Midas doors. Midas doors cannot be broken down using normal means as long as the owner has cash. Instead, each hit taken by the Midas door is deducted from the treasury. Once Kasita runs out of gold, the door will shatter, and we will be able to charge through to the dungeon core. Kasita will never run out of gold.



Reinforcements show up on Kasita's side. She has so many units, and they're generally higher-level than ours. On the other hand, we hold the Kenos and the incantation shrine, so I can cast healing spells almost non-stop.



Even with constant spell support, our monsters slowly get picked off one by one. Even when Kasita's minions get knocked down, she can just drag them back to their beds to recuperate. Our units stay down. In the end, only the behemoth titan is left standing.



However, behind the frontlines, we are making slow progress. We have seized this side of the underground river, as well as Kasita's frontmost rooms. I sell off her archive and the ritual chamber to make sure she can't recapture them.



In the end, even the mighty behemoth titan goes down, scratching at Kasita's dungeon core with the last of its strength.

With our army totally defeated, Kasita's titan and her army can march north to retake the edge of her dungeon.



Except not! Traps! After selling off the northern rooms, I filled the room nearest to the dungeon core with cannons. I also added the gargoyle trap shooting the purple laser, which hugely increases the damage taken by Kasita's titan. Where monsters and magic failed, metal will do the job!



The titan quickly goes down. I creep the cannon battery closer and closer. Kasita is a rich Underlord, but we also have infinite gold! Now the chamber outside Kasita's dungeon core is covered in cannons.

I've waited too long for this, finish these fools.



I bring in a new army and a new titan. And this time I know better than to waste my time pounding on the Midas doors. I build three underminers.



Spend your way out of this!



The walls and the doors are disintegrated. The way is clear to Kasita's dungeon core!

I'll melt your minions into rivers of gold! But… could one of you help me knock them out first?



Finally, our toughest foe yet goes down. Just one Underlord remains.



With Kasita gone, we take control of her dungeon. It's no wonder she never ran out of gold—this place is massive and filled to the brim with treasure! And she has her own private infinite gold shrine right in the middle of her base!

She outlived you in the last war, a pity these things don't often repeat themselves.



I don't have much time to enjoy our new base, as I notice that Korvek's workers are already trying to break down our walls. Our workers are repairing them, but we won't be able to keep Korvek from getting in forever.



Instead of trying to stop them getting in, I decide to help them out. I have my workers make an alternative entrance for them - one filled with traps! Korvek's invasion force immediately streams into the cannon room. We are ready for them, and we break their assault. Korvek's army is strong, but now that I control the Kenos, an incantation shrine and three dungeon cores, my mana regenerates faster than I can comfortably cast spells! Our army has also been bolstered with prisoners from Kasita's dungeon, so we are stronger than ever.



Now it's time for our attack.



Based on my experience with Kasita's dungeon, I continue my very successful strategy of expanding with lots of cannons.



Korvek's dungeon is protected by cannons and a wide lava moat. But it is not enough to slow our army that is being constantly healed because of our infinite mana.



We reach Korvek's dungeon core. We steamrolled through his dungeon so quickly and so forcefully that he cannot even mount any kind of credible defence of his core.

Hehehe, we've been fighting for aeons!



We snuff out his dungeon core!



Our army stands around awkwardly for a short while until I realise that the reason the mission isn't ending is that Korvek has two dungeon cores.



One more time! We attack Korvek's second dungeon core. After we destroy it, the mission immediately and unceremoniously transitions to the victory screen.



Now you are as a god! With these three bent to your will, your war against the Empire capital is sure to end in bloody victory.

That mission was painful. Luckily, the next one isn't nearly as hard. Next time, we will finally assault the Empire capital and hopefully end this campaign!