7 Preparations for Battle 2 (1/2)
[Dragons get immortality, and we get to not smell bad? W-what kind of joke is this? Isn't this the opposite of a cheat? Did it not just raise the difficulty?That capricious brat... She gets taunted a bit and we end up with a crappy boon?] Chris suddenly realized something. [Gasp! With such a bad personality... Back then, she did not miss my butt! She aimed and hit her target for payback!]
”L-lord! It's actually not that bad!” said Berg panicky.
”Really?” Chris, still on all fours, turned his head with half-dead eyes toward Berg.
”Most of the other races have good senses, especially when it comes to smell. It is easier for us to hide and plan traps and it also makes hunting a lot easier for us. All we have to worry about are sight and sound.”
Chris slowly stood up, wiped himself, and turned his half-dead eyes towards Berg: ”Then what would you choose? Immortality or not smelling bad?”
”I mean is it even working right? I can smell your sweaty ass from here!”
”It only works on another race my Lord...” Berg tried to explain.
But Chris continued. ”For now it's fine but what about during battles? Would you rather your army had a tough body or smelled good?”
”...” Berg didn't know what to say.
”Nevermind, let's forget our boon. So, what about the divine gift?” Chris sat down as he said this and started playing in the sand with his fingers. He clearly lost all hype for the divine gift.
”Actually... I don't know either, no king has ever used it. We begged our last king to use it in the war against the Kunalls, but he said it was not useful during battle. I... I got the feeling he didn't want to talk about it, perhaps he wanted to keep it a secret for later.”
[Keep it a secret? Why would he want to hold it back in that situation? It was all or nothing!] Thought Chris. [He didn't want to talk about it, because it's surely an embarrassingly useless power!]
”Haaa... So how do I use it?”Asked Chris.
”To use it, you need to be a crowned king, for this, we must go back to the old capital for the ceremony.” said Berg.
”Very well, this will have to wait.” Chris didn't have any expectations anymore anyways. [Nothing good can come from that bratty Goddess. I've got to make sure to remember that.]
After this exchange, he felt exhausted.
Berg noticed his exhaustion and brought him some tea as they sat down to watch the soldiers train for a while.
Chris checked out the clumsily made bowl in his hand. [This must have been made by one of the kids.] He thought with a sad little smile on his face, as he remembered the children's usual work was to create simple craft items.
He then turned his attention to the soldiers. They were part of the defensive force for the village. They would not participate in the battle and would remain at Five Cave Village to protect it. They had some light armor, a sword, and a few even had shields, but Chris could count those with his fingers.
”Oh, they are repeating the same movement over and over?” Said Chris to Berg.
”You noticed Lord! This is the Monkai method, taught to our ancestors by our Goddess! It's a chain of moves that will unlock your limits when practiced enough!” The pride in Berg's eyes was easily noticeable.
But Chris couldn't help worry...Her again... She is everywhere.
[Hmm so that's how it goes... two strikes up, two down, left, right, left, r...]
PFFFFT!
Chris almost choked on his tea and shouted ”Monkai method my ass! That's the freaking Konami code!”
”My Lord? Are you alright? What's that code thing?”
”Nevermind, nevermind, I can't let that god get to me everytime!”
[Hm? If I rearrange the letters in Monkai... That would be too weird to be a coincidence right?]
Chris sighed.
******* *******
Titus was in the middle of his hunt. He was on mission to find poisonous beasts.
”We should be getting close, boss. The reports said they should be nesting around this lake.” Said a scout to Titus.
Titus checked out the lake. It was not very large. ”Alright. Carl take half of our guys and go left, don't straytoo far from the lake. I will go the other way. Let's meet on the opposite side even if we find their nests.”
”Yes boss!”
Carl was a recent addition to the scouts, but Titus valued his sharp mind so he gave him more responsibilities.
”Alright let's go! Remember the nests should be on the lower branches of the trees! Don't get too close!”
Both group separated and searched carefully. Many beasts came to the lake to drink, most were herbivores, but Titus' group did not relax. Preys attracted predators after all. Luckily, they were properly trained as scouts to remain hidden and silent, and with the help of their boon they were virtually invisible.
[Damn it. Nothing on our side.] Cursed Titus. ”Everyone, let's wait for Carl's group and hope they were luckier.”
They did not have to wait long before Carl showed up with a smile. ”Boss. We found 5 nests on the west side of the lake.”
”Great! You always had good luck!” Said Titus. ”Lead the way.”
They quickly reached the nest.
”Whoa.” Titus and his scouts were impressed by their size.
”Big right?” Smiled Carl. ”I wonder how many bastards are in there.”
”Those are too close from each others. Let's go a little further, we found an isolated nest there. It will be less dangerous.” He continued.
The scouts followed him, crouched in the tall grass. Only their nets peaked above.
”Huhu.” Laughed Titus under his breath.
”What's so funny boss?” Asked Carl in a low voice.