Arsakês' campaigns had been successful in subjugating most of the Khrobatians that roamed the steppe. Now, only a remnant kingdom remained in the South, a mere rump state. Against them, the Basileus could deploy a new arsenal of weapons : under his rulership, the august elephant had been repurposed into a fearsome weapon of war, capable of inflicting devastating casualties when used correctly. But an even more promising weapon had come into the hands of the Kingdom : gunpowder. This weapon does not cause great physical damage, but it has a devastating effect on morale, and it is thought that it can be harnessed to be even more effective.

Arsakês led his army to the southern confines of Khrobatia. They had won many victories in the lands of Neasthuemia, and morale was high ; but they were tired by the long campaign and wished to return home soon, and consequently Arsakês would have to accelerate his efforts.

He would adopt the same strategy and tactics as he had previously : he would offer his enemies the choice between surrender and death. Those who chose death would face the might of Arsakês' élite cavalry corps, which relied mostly on mobility and shock tactics to bring about victory. Those who chose surrender would be incorporated into Phrygia and allowed to remain relatively unharmed.

The campaign against the remnants of the Kingdom of Khrobatia was a fulgurating success : the Khrobatians folded quickly, demoralised by the utter destruction of the rest of their realm. Phrygia now dominated all of the Northern plain.

As Arsakês scouted his new lands, he found to his surprise a large border garrison manned by Zeonite soldiers. He had not expected to find his territories now bordering those of his overlord : he had reached across the Caspian and finally come into contact with Bactria, with which the Hypsianistarians had never shared a land border.

As he was further south than he had imagined, Arsakês now decided to organise a scouting party to explore the lands and attempt to reach the sea, as well as carrying out further orders ; however, the bulk of the army was to return to Elephantinê, where the Council of Elephantinê was due to conclude soon.

Arsakês did not know it, but this was to be the last expansion of Phrygian power in decades ; the incorporation of these last few strips of Croatian land were to sound the death knell for an already fragile Empire.

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