Chapter 438 - Finally, an upper Advantage.

With that amazing deal made yesterday, it inevitably pushed the two parties towards a deeper Cooperation. 

To be clear, the Goblin Demons will still recieve 100 Gold Coins a month for peace and protection. Putting ego aside, the King thought of this as a good idea in terms of grabbing as many fruits from this branch as possible.

Of course King Michael is still in charge of his own Domain, Kutuk hasn't any authority above the King. Furthermore Kutuk has no intent to become hostile towards the Civilians of Gaster Kingdom considering the hospitality they have been gifted with in the beginning.

King Michael also found it a good idea to label a few places untouchable. The Goblin Demons aren't to attack Pameres Kingdom, Bale Town and the New Lan Zhe. Kutuk agreed right away, considering that there are a lot of Kingdoms and towns in this country alone that his Army could pillage.

Although feeling guilty about allowing Kutuk's Army to pillage the other Domains, it can serve as a good vantage point. Potential attackers will be weakened as the only City/Kingdom in [Country] Occidentis Ignis who can withstand the Goblin Demons at the moment, is Crutal Kingdom. 

Only their Army is big and blood thirsty enough with ego and pride fueling their crave to paint their Iron with blood.

As promised, King Michael will be paying the amount they made a deal about although at the moment he is in Patrol. Giving the young Eric a few hours to relax.

The Electus however hasn't yet thought of to relax. Although calm about it, he doesn't see these Goblin Demons as trustable.

The King is on Patrol, so Alama is preparing the 5,000 Gold Coin pay with the aid of a few Guards since counting up to 5,000 alone can be mentally and probably spiritually consuming.

With those facts stated, this solely screams at the fact that Eric and Kutuk Re Qutuk are alone in the Throne Room.

This room is the most appropriate place to wait for a pay considering the King not being here and Eric isn't sitting on the King's throne either.

On that little rounded table on the right side of the room, he and Kutuk have started a conversation.

A sentence hung in Kutuk's mind since yesterday and now might be the most appropriate time to ask about it. "Which Kingdom do you rule?"

Trying not to trigger this powerful little man, Eric filtered the words he wanted to say which left him only with three. "New Lan Zhe."

Confused, new questions captivating his mind since he heard "New" in the Kingdom's name. Kutuk asked, "So you run two Kingdoms? I'm assuming there is an old Lan Zhe too."

Trying to ditch the fact that an entire Civilization has been bested by a Tree... King Eric the younger coated. "Technically yes. But the original Lan Zhe is but a ruin now. We have created a new settlement just a Hundred Kilometers from here."

Curious and too being careful with his words so he doesn't infuriate a King, Kutuk asked one more question. "How many Soldiers do you have?"

Uncertain of these numbers, the young King let silence stretch for a few seconds as he glanced at the ceiling trying to count. "Around 450 I think, but 400 of them are Lava Blasters."

As Eric answered, Kutuk's eye widened up to its limits! Apparently knowing what Lava Controllers are capable of and still wondering. "How did a Kid gain such a title."

That's what he thought at least, but by word he gave half a Compliment. "I'm glad yours is a Kingdom we can't attack then." And gave out a smile, although his lips can't stretch enough.

As this conversation met an end, 3 Guards arrived from the treasury located deep in the Castle Bas.e.m.e.nt. They are carrying 8 sacks filled to the top with Gold Coins, about to pay Kutuk Re Qutuk for his services as the King ordered.

But merely at the same time, a Goblin Demon walked in the throne room and seeked Leader Kutuk although not in panic. This man Goblin Demon here has been given a task to collect some statistics.

A Guard carefully dropped one of the bags he was carrying and slightly shouted although gasping for breath, those coins weren't light. "Here you go. 5,000 Gold Coins as the King ordered."

Another Guard dropped the two sacks he was carrying and joked, "You can count them if you want to but please don't."

The third Guard in line sweet coated his Comrad's words in order to avoid unnecessary suspicion. "We spent all morning counting, it will kill ya."

Alama walked behind the Guards, half a minute after hoping that the King is here although she knows where he is at the moment. Spotting Kutuk, she walked towards him and said. "I hope you are satisfied with your earnings Sir Kutuk."

Nodding, he glanced at the sacks in front of him and repeated a couple of times. "Very." And felt it best to state, "I trust King Michael, I see we will be making many deals."

Waiting his turn to speak, disciplined no doubt. The Goblin Demon who walked in a little earlier reported. "Leader Kutuk. I bring you an official report. We have lost 4 men and 2 women in yesterday's battle."

Satisfied that the Numbers are small, Kutuk answered. "Right. Have you located all 7 bodies?"

Nodding, the Soldier replied. "Yes Sir! We will be burying them in the Forest this hour. The Sub Leaders find it best if you say a word or two in the Funeral."

You might be wondering how many Human Guards died yesterday. Surprisingly 0!

They have arrived late in battle and caught the Demons unprepared. Thankfully the Platoon isn't sinking in numbers this time and thankfully there won't be any Compensations to fill.

...

As he watched his Guards learning the Anti Demon tactics from three Sub Leaders tagged along by 10 Soldiers to give examples. The King understood that there are three main ways to obliterate a Clawed Demon without getting ripped apart.

The first one, is to raise a Longsword forward and just wait for the Demon to bash on it. These Demonic bastards are nothing more than Crazy and they can't sense Danger. If they see a sharp sword in front of them they will just keep running forward.

The Goblin Demons obviously don't use this technique often considering that they all wield Battle Axes but it is a good method to keep in mind.

The second battle tactic, well the Sub Leader is explaining it right now. It is so convenient that they can speak the Ignite/ill.u.s.tratian languages. How confusing would it be if they couldn't understand each other?

One Sub Leader explained. "These Demons leap a lot! It's their main attack apart from clawing like some maniac Bastard. This might work the best for us but if you of the shorter can slip underneath when the Demon leaps, and cut it anywhere from the throat to the chest. You will be killing more Clawed Demons than you can count."

The 10 Soldiers behind the Sub Leaders already started doing a demonstration. They started ducking and swinging their Battle axes left and right.

It didn't take much for the Guards to understand that the more they duck the easier they can kill a Leaping Demon.

With aims to explain the third and safest method before they officially start training. One other Sub Leader explained, "The third best way is to jump on the side when these Clawed Demons charge at you. They have no sense of orientation and will mostly run forward after they start Charging so use that to your advantage to leap out of the way and slice the Demon from the side."

...

Feeling a bit relieved that Kutuk has left the Castle and is heading for the Forest, where they will be building their new Settlement. Eric can now pay attention to some other matters such as training.

Of course he is supposed to sleep now but with so much going on, he really can't sleep that easily although he is dead tired. There are black sacks underneath his eyes, his air is oily and a mess thanks to the lack of care and he is basically walking with his eyes closed.

Wanting to train his Healing powers more since they are needed now more than ever, he started walking towards the Castle's Library. That's where Ladia is usually at, reading and training every day far longer than the King has assigned her to.

The young Electus also wants her to take another look at his foot, wounded by an Arrow. It feels itchy most of the times and he has to take his shoe off often just to itch his foot!

He felt surprised to not find Ladia in the library, sleep deprived he can't really think of where else she could be but thankfully at that moment Ada walked in and ran towards a hug. "I miss you."

Feeling guilty, Eric stated. "I wanted to visit you in about two hours, but I want to get some training done too. You know the situation!"

Not a fan of this situation although with no aim to complain, she hugged him tighter and said. "It's okay, this is no time to be all smoochy. We need you down at the Dungeons, some men need healing. They are complaining about sprained ankles and wrists."