Empire Builder 1: Breed, Populate, Conquer by Dante King (free e books to read online txt) 📕

of the nearby trees if he wanted to, or punch a hole straight through one of the stone ruins. But as he stepped, he noticed the power was raw and sloppy. He had brute strength, but not agility.

More warmth coursed through his veins. Ben thought about those contests the Scottish have where they throw telephone poles. At that moment, his muscles felt so strong he was sure if given the chance, he could launch one into the damn sun. Ben bent down and lifted the mountain ogre like a ragdoll, careful to avoid the line of drool dripping from his chin.

Ben slung him over his shoulder and turned to head back up the hill. The raucous song of the drunken-sounding revelers below continued unabated, so he'd just have to hope they wouldn’t notice their missing comrade for a while.

He needed to regroup with Melody and test his spell with a couple more experiments. He could already feel that his mana was significantly lower, so he needed to find a smart solution to take down the rest of the ogres. He couldn’t just walk in and absorb all their strength at once.

Melody was busy purifying the mana crystals on the hilltop in the twilight. The moon had come out, so he was able to see her face fairly clearly. The silvery tips of her lynx ears gleamed in the light.

She looked startled as she spotted Ben carrying a mountain ogre nearly twice his size.

“What are you doing with him?” she asked.

“This is all part of the plan.” Ben grinned as he set the limp sentry down as gently as he could.

“I didn’t expect you to carry him all the way back here like a prisoner.” Melody seemed surprised, but not shocked. “What if he starts shouting and brings the others here?”

“I wouldn’t be too concerned about that,” he said, waving a hand in front of the mountain ogre’s face. “I drained almost all of his intelligence.”

Melody’s mouth widened, then she laughed softly. “No wonder he is so peaceful. You know, I can think of a few men back at the Arcanarium who would benefit from such a thing.”

“Yeah, sure makes a nice change from the annoying shouting the others are doing.”

“And what is your plan now?” Melody looked up at me, scrutinizing his face.

“I’m going to turn the ogres against each other,” Ben said confidently.

Melody raised an eyebrow. “How devious.”

He shrugged. “I can’t think of another way to take them down. You have your wand that can shoot lightning, but how many lightning bolts can you cast until you run out?”

“A few at most,” Melody said. “Lightning is powerful, but it quickly drains mana.”

“Exactly. And even to enact his plan, I’m going to need a lot of mana. But I won’t have to replenish it on the fly, like you’d have to do during a fight. I should be able to cast Drain on the ogres without them noticing. Speaking of which, have you finished purifying those crystals?”

“Almost.” Melody gestured, encompassing the transparent crystals in front of her along with some piles of slag. Ben assumed those were the waste product of the process. He would have to ask her later if anything could be done with those.

His eyes tracked over the mana crystals. “You’re going to have to show me how you do that sometime.”

She smiled broadly. “I'd be happy to. But I am afraid we don’t have time for that right now—it’s an intense process.’

“Sure, sure—some other time.”

“And exactly how do you intend to turn the mountain ogres against each other?” Melody asked, bringing the subject back around.

“I want to take the energy from some of the ogres and put it into others,” Ben said. “I want to create confusion.”

Melody smiled. “That sounds cunning indeed, Benjamin. You will make a good ruler.”

He was starting to feel that way himself. He had expected to feel more hesitation at what needed to be done to these mountain ogres. But the thought of how they would mistreat the innocent nymphs they had captured was enough to remove any doubt. These savages deserved what was coming to them.

“The first thing I have to do,” he explained, “is test whether I can take energy from one person and put it into another.”

“How are you going to test that?” Melody asked.

“I’m going to take the rest of this sentry’s physical energy, and try putting it into you, Melody,” Ben said.

Melody’s eyes widened, their purple hue reflecting the pale moonlight. She stood up to face me. “You know this could kill that man, don’t you?”

She stared deep into his eyes, waiting for his answer.

“This is a test, isn’t it?” he asked. “You want to know whether I can do what needs to be done to build his empire.”

Ben set his jaw and felt the muscles of his face harden. He glanced down at the motionless ogre.

Who knew how many innocents he had already abused like cattle? How many homes had he burned, children slaughtered? How many women had he raped in front of their husbands before dismembering both in wanton acts of cruelty?

Ben searched his heart for doubt or hesitation, and found none.

“I don’t care if I kill this man, Melody,” Ben said with conviction. “Not a bit. No mercy for savages who don’t give a damn about being cruel to the innocent. I’ve been thinking about what kind of ruler I’m going to be, and it’s this—cruel, but fair. Obey my laws and you can live in peace. But break them and it’s another story.”

Melody’s eyes sparkled. She clapped her hands and beamed at Ben. “I am so happy, Benjamin. You will be a great ruler. You are living up to the legends of old already.”

“Thanks, Melody,” he said, happy to have her vote of confidence. “And I know you’re going to be there for me along the way.”

“Of course I will.” Melody stood straighter, and her eyes appeared to gleam even brighter than before. “The usurpers who defeated you in the past said that