Going back in time, to a few days after the battle…

  Rick, who was still recovering, but in much better shape was currently holding a meeting with all of his Chiefs save three who were currently on schedule to defend the fronts.

  “The man I fought. The one who used the power of ice. We have spent enough time searching for him without results to know he’s probably escaped in full by now. Which means wherever he came from definitely knows more about us that I wanted them to know.

  “Of course not everything was revealed, but enough to know that we are not a simple threat that they can squash with a meager force was made very clear. Now unless our enemies are stupid, then they will likely send a force that would put the previous one to shame.

  “So let’s establish a few ground rules.

  “We will work with the assumption that someone above Tier Seven will come. Tier Eight, that is current limit as a people. Anything above that and we will likely face annihilation. Even dealing with someone at Tier Eight will incur nothing but immense loss to our people and would be nothing but a battle in which we might barely survive.

  “None of us know the extent of such a power, but if gap to Tier Eight is as wide as the gap form the sixth to the seventh, then I can only imagine the type of gap that exists from the Eighth to the Ninth.

  “So rule number 1. If we mange to identify that someone in the Ninth Tier has come to kill us, then we will retreat deep into the Dark Lands of Mir. I doubt the monsters there will care for Goblin or Human, so they should face the same pressure as us.

  “This is an order from your King. Not a single one of you are to ever attempt to fight someone at Eighth Tier alone and will never fight someone of the Ninth Tier ever.

  “No one.

  “Am I understood?”

  The remaining 11 Chiefs in attendance all gave resounding acceptance. Of course…every single one of them swore to themselves that if it was to preserve their King’s life…then they would have to disobey that order.

  “Good, the next thing, I don’t know how long we have until they will once again march into our lands, but we need to do as much preparation as we can in the meantime. First things first. Remove all the rats lingering near our land.

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  “Every single one of them.

  “Do it quick and do it clean. Once that is complete, spread our information next work as far as possible. Don’t completely throw caution to the wind but knowing how much time we have to work with is vital.

  “Next, immediately up the amount of Goblins were putting on the front lines. I don’t care if they have to fight for a long time, or if they pick up scars that are gruesome enough to scare children to sleep.

  “This is a matter of life and death. Even if someone at the Eighth doesn’t arrive, I am confident that the force we will have to contend with will be far greater than the one we just faced.

  “Our enemies won’t wait for us to grow peacefully. If even one more Goblin reaches Tier Six than we otherwise would’ve had, then the mounted pressure will be worth it.

  “Meegra.”

  “Yes My King?”

  “From this moment on, the Royal Guard are to live on the front lines. I don’t want a single member of my guard to be below the Fourth Tier by the time our enemies arrive. All Group Captains are to put their lives on the line to reach the Sixth.

  “I will not take failure as an answer, do you understand?”

  “Yes My King!”

  Rick of course knew he was being hard and even unrealistic on his Royal Guard, but such was the nature of the situation. He would rather them risk their lives trying to get stronger, than die to some humans because they were too weak.

  If there was one thing Rick wanted to avoid at all costs, it was a repeat of the massacre that took place in the Nameless Forest.

  He was willing to do anything to avoid that.

  Anything.

  “Next, I think we all know that I am the target and reason for their trip to visit us in the Dark Lands of Mir. They want me, and there’s no doubt about that.

  “While I can perhaps defend myself for some time against someone in the Seventh Tier, it is only a temporary increase in power. I will eventually be weakened and become nothing more than a burden.

  “I know for a fact that all of you will risk your lives just to defend me, which will in turn change how you approach a battle if you know that I am behind you.

  “I don’t really like the idea of this, but since I’m still Tier Six, then there isn’t much I can do to change that situation. They will come in force, and they will target me directly. If you all have to fight a life and death battle knowing that you have to protect me, then the battle is already as good as lost.

  “So the solution is simple. All I have to do is reach Tier Seven. Not only will it allow me to contend if not outright overpower their own Tier Sevens, but it will also hopefully give me a chance to resist against someone of the Eighth Tier if it came down to it.

  “And let us not forget, that I might be able to raise one if not all you to the Eighth Tier as well. There are no records saying that is possible, simply because no King or Queen before me has ever lived long enough to reach Tier Seven.

  “I will break that trend.

  “Now this is next part is not up for discussion.

  “Part of the reason that my progress to the Seventh Tier has been slow, is because for some reason no particularly strong opponents have been coming from deeper in the Dark Lands of Mir.

  “But we know that they are present within.

  “So I will simply go and find them.”