Following the end of the competition, everyone (Yosho) got a chance to rest up (top priority) before they decided to head back on the move.
"Now!..." Imuru clasped his hands loudly together, "that our little competition is over, I hope everyone is satisfied," Imuru's eyes flickered to Arken, who simply growled.
"I take the silence as a yes, great. Today I've learnt a lot about you three, it was rather eye-opening. You see, during one of my reads I came across Ranks, Class, or I should I would Threat Classifications."
Hearing his words, the group flashed curious glances at Imuru, grabbing especially Forcent's attention; his gaze reminiscing.
Hearing his words, the group flashed curious, searching glances toward Imuru—especially Forcent, whose sharp gaze lingered, not with suspicion, but with something quieter: reminiscence.
Arken puffed out his chest, a prideful smile creasing his lips. He leaned over forward, speed walking up to Imuru's side. "Threat Class?" He confidently laughed a little. "Where would I be on this scale?"
Imuru batted his eyes at Imuru and smiled cheekily. "Where... Let's see. Dark Deviders were ranked as C class monsters, But!.. obviously there are levels to this, and going off what I see, you're close to B—strongest of the Deviders in the village for sure."
Imuru was swift to ensure he clarified for Arken.
This was blissful news to Arken's ears, as he straightened himself, lifting his head high.
"Strongest in the village," He muttered underneath his breath, "Strongest In The Village!" He repeated, this time around loudly, seeming to forget 'As a Dark Devider' in his sentence.
If he's lost in his world, Imuru didn't see the harm in letting him have this—so he shrugged his shoulders allowing him to self-gloat himself.
"For Yosho, I can comfortably place her at B Class; with her gift into play: Low A Class."
Imuru gave a look back to Arken to gauge his reaction from his words, just to receive a neutral sight of Arken softly sparkling lost in imagination.
"Hmph. Forcent, what do you think of your class?"
"At my prime I never cared for Threat Classification; if I were to gauge myself on my defeated foes—Greater Class: Special Rank S."
Forcent's words were firm, confident and absolute, stunning Yosho and Imuru; they couldn't believe the Ennom was that capable before.
"Greater Class: Special Rank S…"
Imuru blinked at the terrifying implications, this didn't weigh him down for a long, regaining his composure in a blink of an eye.
"And now?... We're pretty much equals, setting our skill sets aside…."
"Hmm…"
Forcent shut his eyes briefly, thinking over his own current capabilities…
"Greater Class… you should also fit here. If we factor in your skills; then Greater Class: Rank C."
"Me?..."
Imuru blushed, his cheeks staining red from Forcent's words. He inhaled deeply, gaze wobbling to the ground. Not wanting to lose himself, Imuru his throat and spoke.
"T-Thank you Forcent. This little information is overall good for potential future plans."
As they reached their destination sometime later, something shifted in the earth as a Lizardman poked their head from underground—Kigaru. He went to make his move, but in a split second, a hand grabbed onto him, and dragged him back down with a muffled yelp. The brief, strange commotion immediately drew the group's sharp attention, halting them in their tracks.
" " "Oh?!" " "
To quell their confusion, Erinot was quick to make an appearance. They all had their unique reactions (except for Forcent). Yosho and Arken were a bit stunned to see the Persudo, and Imuru…
"Erinot!"
Imuru hurriedly rushed to the Persudo, his voice sweet, and soothing with the call of the Persudos name.
"What are you doing all the way here? I didn't expect you'd show up… But I'm happy to see you."
Erinot's ears drooped, Imuru's alacrity dauntingly obnoxious as per usual… his eyes and body loosened, watching Imuru inch closer into his personal space; it felt natural. At ease with Imuru's smile, angelic aura and gorgeous feminine looks, he was taken advantage of as Imuru reached out grabbing ahold of him, getting his chance to pet Erinot.
"Awe~... So adorable, worable, and cutesy, tootsie."
Imuru gently petted Erinot, rubbing his face into Erinot's furry neck. With his face buried, he inhaled deeply, before releasing the Persudo.
The others in the back observed this in bewilderment, as the composed Erinot turned his head away.
"The Orc leader is waiting… with one of the Great Forces of the forest."
"Oh!"
Yosho was the most audible, stepping forward to confront Erinot about this information.
"One of the Great Forces? You're certain?"
"The Lizard King; Murk. He is the ruler of this region," Erinot said in confirmation, the news bringing an eerily bright smile on Yosho's face.
"Great Imuru!" Yosho leaned over Imuru, a sneaky, predatory gaze in her eyes. "I ran down of key-words that must be said before we get to the meeting. Resources, Alliance with Collon and even the High Council… also never act like you need him, and be sure to focus on your conversation with the Orcs, Understand?"
This over energetic bombardment of sudden instructions, sounded highly malicious to Imuru, scaring him.
"Y—Yeah… S-sure, why not… I understand… loud and clear," He stepped back from underneath her looming shadow, "loud and clear."
"Excellent." Yosho happily clasped her hands, sparkling. "This will be wonderfully easy."
"We'll have him right under our thumb," Yosho darkly proclaimed, a devious grin on her face.
"Now let's quickly get going, shall we!"
Arken and Imuru flashed each other worried glances; sweat dripping down their faces.
With composures rattled, the group was on their way once again after the strange interruption, following Erinot's lead toward the large, bowl-like depression where the Orcs had settled. From their vantage point at the rim, Imuru and the others took a moment to survey the scene.
They then marched down the sloping path into the settlement. Erinot guided them past clusters of huts, to an opening, up onto a raised, platform-like stage. At its center stood a hand rough hand crafted roundtable, and seated around it were the Lizard King Murk, flanked by two of his commanders, and the Orc Chieftain Gull, with his ever-present General; Nudge standing rigidly at his side.
King Murk and Gull both stood as soon as they laid eyes on Imuru's group, but Murk's attention stuttered and stuck on the massive form of Forcent. A muscle in his jaw twitched—it was as if he'd been hit with a wave of vivid nostalgia, or a very, very bad memory, and he couldn't help but recall.
"That... Ennom," King Murk mumbled, almost in disbelief, his gaze quivering slightly.
His stare was finally broken by the clear, polite chirp of Imuru's voice, offering introductions for himself and his people to the gathered leaders.
Imuru did what he did best to express his nature, and approached Gull first, Yosho's little words playing in the back of his mind.
"Hello. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
Imuru reached out a hand, smiling up at the Orc.
Having just this brief observation of Imuru, Gull accepted the hand with grace.
"The pleasure is all mine. I am Gull, and this is my right hand Nudge. Thank you for meeting me."
Watching this from his side of the table, Murk's eyes swapped here and there from Gull and Imuru… feeling left out. As polite as he could, he cleared his throat, ensuring he was staring off to another direction.
Imuru got the memo, swiftly moving around to also personally greet King Murk, giving him the handshake and all, before they all took their seats.
Imuru's eyes darted between the two leaders, settling into his seat. "Off first impressions… the Lizard King Murk should be manageable; above all if what Yosho's says is true, forging an alliance should be easy…"
"As for Orcs… the question is if I could use them for something. I wanna ensure my core people are safe. Dark Deviders from the Shadow Settlement could be used as a military force, but at the moment they're simply unpredictable at nature; I'll simply lose more of them—and this predicament becomes worse if they're together… If only they had some individuality and won't edge each other on to die for honour."
"Here in comes the Orcs. Like Dark Deviders they're organized, but what I hope for in them, is for them to value command and the safety of themselves and their allies, without the massive ego for battle and violence."
"Please," King Murk spoke unexpectedly, addressing Gull. "You have the table, I'll listen."
Gull nodded.
"Thank you again for your presence. I am Gull, leader of a rebellion known as the Real Mountain Orcs. We originated from the Yama Colony in the Land Of The Dust, seeking the Guardian of the forest, as per my father's last request…"
Gull's eyes turned downward to the table, as he said that last bit of sentence.
For Imuru and Murk they could tell something was off with him, from his posturing.
"I—No… you'll be the judge."
Gull lifted his gaze back upwards, his shoulders drooped.
"I killed my father… against my will."
The leaders at the table remained firm, unflinching and unjudging in the face of this information.
With no one seeming to have formed an opinion yet, Gull continued on with his story.
"At my home, there were Elite Generals meant to guard and protect the king… my father was the one closest to the king. With his training, and teachings I was to follow in his footsteps to become one myself."
"That day when we all gathered, I marched up forward to finally be sworn in, as I kneeled, a sword was given to my father… from one of his own. I deeply knew something was different with that general, but at the moment, in such an atmosphere, I simply wished to not cause a scene for the sake of my father. This will come to be my greatest regret."
"Once my head bowed, and I raised it to claim the blade, my very arms betrayed… as if they were possessed by someone else…"
He needed not to say much more regard to that little detail, they were easily able to fill it out themselves.
"The King's Generals scrambled to his side to defend him from me, however I was able to overcome this; magic, releasing my grip from the weapon. At that exact time a multitude of explosions on the outside went off, causing sheer panic, as the ceiling gave way."
"Even in the end, as he bled, he ensured to protect me. Yet I couldn't even respond, left frozen from what I've done. Unlike me, my father knew that the weapon was cursed. With his dying words, he gave me his axe, and told me to head to this forest; to return this axe to the Guardian in return for a favour. What I did with it would be up to me."
Upon hearing the full story, Imuru and Murk felt the subtle relaxation of their bodies.
"Unfortunately we've yet to encounter this Guardian…" Gull sighed exasperated and defeated. "Despite the months we've been searching, and the inhabitants didn't make it easy either."
"The Guardian's influence even spread beyond here," Imuru thought, in a wretched state of mind.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Gull. I hope you know you don't have to worry about that anymore, or anyone targeting you or your people. If you wish for something permanent, I have a small settlement… if you're interested in joining."
Gull's eyes went wide from the surprising offer, he couldn't resist.
"If you're willing to work with us, I'm sure we can be of great use."
In advance to any unforeseen celebration, King Murk wanted in on some of this action, Gull having the spotlight for long enough.
"Now, my turn. I've heard of your; Strategic Location, and there are a few requests I want to make of you, and as one of the Great Forces, and one of the oldest, you'll find my inputs and offers more valuable than what the other Forces can provide."
Yosho narrowed her eyes, dissecting the lizard King with her gaze. She wanted to have a word, howbeit she restrained herself out of her respect for Imuru.
"Aggressive!" Imuru was prompted to heed his mind in whiplash after hearing Gull's story. "Yosho wanted me to be on the offensive, yet this guy caught me off guard. No… I can still turn this around in my favour." A small sly smile crept to his lips. "His biggest mistake was letting me know I have a strategic location, it means he has interest. Hmm… but…"
"What do you wish to discuss?" Imuru inquired, warmly smiling.
"Two simple things I'm certain we could agree on. There's no need for us to be aggressive to one another, and trade to enable us to prosper together," King Murk replied.
"Prosper to—"
"Yes! Prosper together," King Murk repeated loudly, breaking Imuru's line of thought before it could even properly develop.
Imuru was almost made to deliver the lizard King could read his mind. "Okay, I'm listening, what are the conditions?"
"The conditions? Don't worry, they're very simple. You see the pact we'll form means at its most basic, is that we agree to neutrality," King Murk said. "For the other it's a step above this in complication."
Murk snapped his fingers, one of his men handing him two separate scrolls, and a quill pen. He swiftly wrote on it, getting up from his seat to Imuru's side, he rested it In front of him.
"Now here is our agreement."
Imuru felt a sense of unease picking up the scroll, carefully reading over it, in search of any discrepancies in what he wanted compared to the Lizard King's. For the non-aggression pack, he was able to agree, taking his time to carefully sign it.
Picking up the other, Imuru's eyes drifted along the words, every sentence making his suspicion grow larger.
"Someone made this to be more beneficial to their side…" Imuru thinks the information slowly becomes obfuscated the further he reads.
Laying behind them, Forcent could practically smell the anxiety rising off Imuru. Growing, Forcent claimed right up to his feet, staring dead at the back of the head of King Murk. The leader of the lizard shakily turned his head to face Forcent glaring at him.
King Murk reached for the scroll containing the information for the trade, rolling it up.
"I—There are some adjustments that need to be made. Nevertheless, the important thing is the peace trinity between us."
Those words were a breath of relief to Imuru's ears, as he stood from his chair, reaching out a hand that was quickly accepted.
"Now, this means there are six of us," King Murk muttered with sincerity.
This day marked the birth of peace between the Lizardmen Of The Underground City and Cherisnot.