He knew that this storm could no longer be stopped.
And what Perfikot wanted was never peace.
What she wanted was to eliminate any future threat.
-----------------
Under Perfikot's strategy, Valken's troops, after slaughtering three tribes that had tested the Empire, did not advance further but instead stayed at a predetermined battlefield.
It was a basin surrounded by wind-eroded stone columns, low-lying terrain with towering columns creating a natural defensive barrier.
Empire engineers quickly got to work, hammering heavy steel bases into the sandy ground, and with the roar of steam engines, a small mobile Energy Tower was erected.
Coal was fed into the furnace, and white steam started to spew from the top of the tower, while an invisible thermal barrier was unfurled, gradually forming a defense against the cold.
