Chapter 156 - Half of a Success!

Giving out a little smirk when he got asked the question he wanted to hear ever since the beginning, King Michael decided to finally break the anticipation and clear things out(However he chose to not be so specific.). He mostly felt happy that they are so close to quit the Chatter and finally catch these Chickens, he wanted to cut the explanation short of course(Now he was even more motivated for it.). "Fishing nets of course! These Chickens want mushrooms, let's give them mushrooms." That smirk arose wider after he came to the end of the sentence. It appeared quite a bit devious. But however the world can't end because of a Fire Mage and a few Chickens, so there isn't much to worry about. There isn't Much! To worry about.

Although King Michael seemed confident enough about his own plans, some of the group members came to think otherwise. "I'm not quite sure about how much I can follow your idea." Pointed out Mogranius of course! He tried to approach Wild Chickens before and well... It didn't result in a happy ending. "Chickens don't like being cornered." Is Perhaps Mogranius' past fate with Chickens, different?

But bold enough, King Michael answered. "I know..." Just how much bad experiences could he have with Chickens? "That's why we will use Fishing nets. Even if they claw the nets beyond repair(Which is very unlikely.), its replaceable."

"Oh so now you don't mind wasting gold." Teased Commander Alia when he recalled King Michael going on and on about being careful enough to not destroy the training dummies. "You really are a confusing man."

"Confusing...? Yes... I have been known to portray such a feeling. But actually, my point is that I almost lost an eye when I cornered a Chicken. My only option when I wanted to escape her claws, was of course the mud." So the reason why he is willing to throw a little gold to this project, is because he wants the people here safe? Isn't it marvelous how his greed doesn't get to the point of heartlessness? Yeah you can do that too!

Realizing that rather thoughtful act coming from King Michael, Commander Alia felt a bit bad about teasing him. But she didn't mean to be offensive to begin with. She just wanted to lift everyone's mood. Rather sweet. Because right now she has all the stress she needs to wrestle a Whale Bear(And win.). "So you don't want us to get hurt? That's very thoughtful..." She didn't know what to say to make up for what she blabbed about, but she was swift enough to tell him what he wanted to hear. "Let's catch those Chickens! I'm eager to try your idea." That's the least she could say. Everyone loves talking about something they are proud of. Even if that talk is about a plan of Catching Wild Chickens. Passion speaks.

"Finally!" His entire face smiled along with that one word and then he just proceeded to walk forwards, making the rest of group follow in silence. There aren't any more logical questions to ask. King Michael will just need to show them his plans. It's hard to explain a plan by word(And be understandable.) without having the items of the plan to take as examples. Unfortunately he didn't have a fishing net with him so he has to take them on the desired plan area.

However surprisingly, King Michael didn't walk through the Kingdom's Gates to proceed with the plan. Instead, he walked his way near the Walls, climbed up the stairs attached to them and urged everyone to remain quiet while they were on their way up. By urge, I mean he simply turned around and placed his forefinger in front of his nose. Which of course signifies to be quiet. If he let out a loud "shush", he would scare away the Chickens. Believe me, animals can hear such a compressed sentence so easily. Try it on an animal if you wish to prove my words right.

They obviously found themselves on the wall, I mean that's the point of walking near a Wall(Unless you want to push it with your head. Hey, if you do that, I don't judge. We all have our preferences). They witnessed King Michael pointing down at the scene just a few feet beneath them. 

They saw a few Chickens, four exactly. They either seem to have teamed up to form a flock, or simply not mind being close to each other due to the provided rich food resource, a.k.a the Brown Mushrooms. There were tens of mushrooms spread around in patches here and more there, a lot of them seem to be near the wall too. Some are growing near or have a root under rocks. Rather odd, but I guess even Mushrooms can evolve in order to grow with better potential. My point is, there were a lot of them. It's sad how its dangerous to consume them. This can be a good food source. It wouldn't fill the stomach all winter long for 400 People, but common. They right in front of the Kingdom. It would take barely any effort to collect them compared to a fish who can drag you in the Ocean, simply because a Fisherman or a Fisherwoman (Respectfully.) never let's go of the rope. If only these Mushrooms weren't so hard to be told apart from the poisonous ones...

Seeing the fishnets neatly placed over the side support of the wall's walkway, everyone could put two and two together, figuring out King Michael's plan. Throwing a net from above is almost inevitable capture. But to everyone's surprise, King Michael whispered. "Don't touch the nets yet."

First deciding not to question his plan simply because of the little embarrassment earlier, she kept quiet. But that doesn't mean Mogranius followed the same thought. "But the Chickens are right there!" He whispered in raw impatience. This isn't an opportunity worth wasting.

"I know they are." Replied King Michael boldly but no doubt causing confusion. It became even more confusing when a Guard approached carefully carrying a net filled with these brown Mushrooms. Specifically, the ones these Chickens are after.

"What do you plan to do w..." You might wonder who asked that question? Well... everyone.

"Shhhhhh." Let out King Michael a light shush, he sure felt comfortable with his plan, considering he kissed the mud earlier, this rate of confidence looks suspicious.

Then the King gently grabbed the net, carried it over the wall's support bricks (Best described as that little wall over the big wall. I don't know it's official name, sue me.). He grabbed the rope with his left hand and gently dropped down the net filled with mushrooms.

He had to get a good grip, lowering the mushrooms down slow enough to not force the Chickens into panic can be tricky. Not because these Mushrooms are heavy. I mean there are a couple hundred of them, carefully picked by the Guards. It's not easy to keep them in a net if most are broken. It didn't take long to gather these mushrooms though considering how much they are blooming near the walls, they barely weigh two Kilograms all together so they aren't really heavy. The only thing that can be considered heavy, is the ten pound fishing net carrying the Mushrooms. It would just be a mess if he drops the mushrooms from this height. No one would want to clean that. Plus to make it worse, the Chickens would run away, only making this task a lot longer.

"What is he trying to..." Couldn't help Eric to ask in a whisper. King Michael's actions got no doubt everyone confused.

"Shhhhh!" Shushed Commander Alia. It's a fact that she was confused, but she was curious more than she was confused. She wanted to see what this results too and not question anything. King Michael doesn't seem like he wants to stop and explain right now.

Slowly and carefully, the filled fishnet reached the ground. And the mushrooms popped out gently. As in, they didn't explode all around. However, it will be easier for the Chickens to grab the mushrooms now while still taking a bit of time to drag more mushrooms out of the net. At this point, the mushrooms will be a distraction for them(The Chickens.).

After setting down the Mushrooms, he silently gestured for the rest to grab the nets and get closer. The group didn't have time to think what King Michael is trying to do, they just did what he gestured him too, in hopes to not lose this chance. They soon will catch these valuable Chickens. This can be a huge contribute to the Kingdom! They can be written down in history as legendary. Imagine! The legendary Chicken Hunters.

It took awhile for the Chickens to notice the fishnet full of mushrooms, but once one of them noticed, the rest followed in a blink. Specifically, the other three Chickens. 

"Just throw the net and pull the rope right after it hits the ground. Don't take time to check if you caught anything. Just pull!" Tried King Michael to explain as much as he could with a Whisper to these people rather impatient people.

Commander Alia was first in line, she wanted to throw it right away. There is no time to waste. But she waited for Mogranius to reach on King Michael's right side. Because if she fails, they have another attempt to their favour.

Commander Alia did the honors of starting this little group hunt since King Michael doesn't seem to say anything else. Which of course signifies that he is waiting for her to start. Its best to hunt with friends after all.

As if she was made for this, she Caught two chickens in her first try. She never held a Fishing Net before! With King Michael's Guidance, she at least had guidelines to follow resulting into her success. But here is the problem! There are 4 Chickens. So she failed to catch the other two! But yet again, it's way better than pulling up an empty net.

Let's not forget Mogranius who was standing by King Michael's right side. He dropped the Fishing Net he was carrying, and instantly caught another Chicken who panicked once she saw the first net and ran a few feet away from the net full of Mushrooms.

But one, one didn't stand her ground. Odd considering that they are territorial. She made a run for it, making it almost impossible to catch her, running around with a 10 pound fishing net isn't easy. Chickens aren't slow either.

Not panicking but rather in joy instead, Commander Alia shouted. "Eric! Quick. Catch that last Chicken!" Her tone was rather strongly enthusiastic. She was having a lot of fun, rather adorable to watch.

Eric had the last available fishing net, so of course they would turn to him. Or at least they would if he was standing behind them. But he wasn't, he became pretty much airborne, chasing a Chicken.

And he was quite successful too! However, he did freak out the Chicken. It isn't quite usual to see a flying kid these days, so she was panicking hard in the net. Eric arose in front of the squad carrying the net with not one but two Chickenss. He apparently found another one. This can be interesting since this Chicken appears to be from another flock. They would be fighting now, but I guess Fire begs to reason. They are just panicking instead.

So Commander Alia grabbed Eric's net, pulled out a Chicken and started petting her. Ridiculously, the Chicken calmed down rather quickly, which caused for the other Chicken to calm down a bit and for the rest to follow. Odd, but it worked.

Curious enough, King Michael asked. "Are you a chicken Tammer?"

"No." She replied as she continued to pet another Chicken. "They are just scared, they mean no harm." At such a sight, One thought came into King Michael's mind. "Spiritual connection." But before he was about to say something about that, he was interrupted by Mogranius who dared to bring out a moment you have been waiting since Book Two. "We only got 5. Do we need to fill another net with Mushrooms now?"

"No, I think I have another idea. We need help from another friend."