Chief Rogur closed his eyes for a moment and then a steely expression made its way onto his grizzled face.

  “Permission to speak to Sir.”

  Rick looked at him with a somber gaze and nodded.

  All the other Chiefs in the room turned their gazes towards Rogur as well. Some of them, a bit worried about the possible reaction of the fiery Chief.

  “Thank you, Sir… My name is Rogur. Chief of the Raguur Clan and father to General Rogu. I would like to make it clear that I could never be prouder than I am today of my son. Not only did he push through dangerous lands in an effort to reach you, but he completed his duty in glorious fashion.

  “In the way that only Goblins of the Raguur Clan know how to do! I am a proud father, but even more than that, I am a proud Chief!

  “Every single one of my fellow Chiefs would willingly lay down their lives if it meant that you would be safe, Sir. I am only sad that it was my son and the other young ones who had to pay the price of sacrifice instead of myself.

  “The Raguur Clan never shies away from duty and will always be the Goblins that pave the way for the rest of the Clans! We stand at the frontline and we never back down!”

  Rogur finished his speech and calmly nodded at Rick with a determined gaze. Rick, who was feeling a sense of duty more than ever before after hearing Rogur’s speech, nodded back and began to speak.

  “Your words are heard, and they are felt, Chief Rogur. I promise to you, the other Chiefs in this room, and all of the Goblins in the Dark Lands of Mir and the rest of the continent: There is a price to pay for forcing my Goblins to sacrifice themselves.

  “And it is a price I will collect in due time.

  “That is a promise as your Future King.”

  At the end of his last words, Rick allowed his presence to permeate through the room for a few moments so that they understood his seriousness. And although all 14 Chiefs were a Tier higher than Rick, not a single one of them could ever dare to be anything but subservient in the face of a Royal. At this close in Tier, their blood itself would bow before the might of a Royal Goblin.

  Of course, none of them had any notions about doing otherwise in the first place.

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  After a few moments, Rick continued.

  “I would like for all of those Goblins to be duly honored. I will leave it to you all to figure out the nature of the honor, but it needs to have meaning. I never want them to be forgotten. Sounds good?”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  “Good. Please continue with the next item on the agenda, Chief Galgo.”

  “As you command, Sir.”

  After that, Chief Galgo and the other Chiefs gave a quick account of the status of their respective Clans, from their numbers to the general focuses of each. It was also decided there that Rick would be visiting each of the Clans to get a good grasp of what went on in each one.

  In total, there were roughly 21,000 Goblins in all of the Dark Lands of Mir, with the Central Clan boasting the biggest population at 6,000 Goblins alone, with the Raguur Clan being not too far behind at 4,000 Goblins.

  It shocked Rick a bit to hear that number.

  Of course, he knew just from the Central Clan alone that thousands of Goblins called this place home, but to hear the actual number was staggering.

  It wasn’t lost on him though, that 20,000 Goblins was a far cry from the true total of Goblins that were alive all over the continent at the moment.

  He was reminded of that small tribe he passed on the way to Mir. But he tried not to dwell on it.

  Once that discussion passed, then came talks of the front.

  “Currently, we have managed to push back the vile beasts a bit and reclaim some land on the western front, but if we push any further we might enter the resting ground of one of the terrors.

  “But the position we reached is not easily defended.

  “Should we give it up?”

  “This ‘terror’ you mentioned. What are you talking about?”

  This time it was Chief Grul of the Shadow Clan who spoke up.

  “It is a monster of the Seventh Tier or higher, Sir. They usually stay deep in the Dark Lands of Mir and never move towards us… sometimes we stray too far into one of their territories and then nothing but destruction follows in its wake.

  “We expended a lot of blood to map out a few locations that we know for sure are home to one such terror.”

  “…I see. And the front you all are describing is home to monsters that are constantly attacking, right? From Tier Zero all the way to Tier Five, and on occasion sometimes a Tier Six. I’m understanding this correctly?”

  “Yes, that’s the general gist of it, Sir. We’ve been here for years, yet this has always been the situation, and we still don’t understand what drives them to never stop attacking. But we have persisted, and we have lost and reclaimed land time and time again.”

  “I see. Well then. How soon can you all point me to the location of the front? I think I’ll be spending a lot of time there.”

  The Chiefs tensed for a moment. Not because they were opposed to having Rick on the frontlines, but because they felt there were so many other things that needed to be done.

  But who were they to order the King around?

  Chief Galgo decided to take the potential heat from this.

  “Sir, I believe there will be plenty of time to visit the frontline. But it is important that we conduct the Royal Ritual, formulate your Royal Guard, plan your visit to the Clans, and build you a fitting home for you to live in.”

  “Then let’s get busy. We have a lot to do. No need in waiting around. Royal Ritual, was it? Let’s get it going.”

  “Yes, Sir!”

  The meeting was quickly wrapped up, and Rick was led to a far corner of the Central Clan where a small stone building stood.

  This would be the place where his kingship would be finalized officially.

  paid sub on patreon, a new Chapter will release :)