I watched the envoys practically trip over themselves running away. The big doors of my manor swung shut, and the heavy, scary feeling in the room just vanished. It got quiet again.
I slumped back in my throne and let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
'Whew. That was intense. I sounded just like Ainz back there, all cold and "I will wipe you out." Total overlord vibes.'
It was kinda fun, but also exhausting. I couldn't let them see me being all cheerful and casual, though. They'd totally think I was weak or something. Gotta keep up the scary, mysterious act. It's way more effective.
But now that the scary meeting was over, my brain kicked back into gear. Okay. Time to get to work. This whole "being a king" thing had a lot of moving parts.
First things first, I needed a better picture of what was actually on this island. I had my Ursine and my Shungmo. That was a great start. But what else was out there? Were there more tribes? Other kingdoms besides Elmeria? I couldn't just sit here and wait for problems to show up. I needed to know.
I also had that whole… fortress thing. My sixth wish. The [Manifestation] thingy. I could feel it, kinda. A huge, powerful… potential… sleeping under my feet, waiting for me to finally pick a design so it could become real. Right now, I was just using the renovated cathedral as my manor. It was nice, but it wasn't the awesome, impenetrable capital city I'd pictured. I'd been putting it off because, honestly, designing a whole city from scratch sounded like a huge pain. I didn't want to get it wrong and be stuck with it.
As for running the nation, I'd at least gotten the basics set up. I'd told Bogdan and Bjorn to sort everyone into jobs—Hunters, Scouts, Wardens, and the Knights for the Yggdrasil Guard. They were on it. And for now, Bogdan and Bjorn themselves were doing a pretty good job as my Kingsguard. They were big, loyal, and scary-looking. Perfect for the job.
So, my plan was simple.
Step one: Send out the scouts. My new, evolved scouts. Let them go out, use their new skills, and map the whole island. Find every tribe, every village, every weird monster den. See if there are any other hidden kingdoms. I wanted a complete list of who and what was living on my new doorstep.
Step two: If the scouts can't find something, or if things get too dangerous for them, then I'll step in. A quick burst of [Panoptēs] and I could probably see the whole island if I really focused. But where was the fun in that? I wanted my people to feel useful. They needed wins. They needed to contribute.
Step three: Once we know who's out there, we go talk to them. The same way I "talked" to the Ursine and Shungmo. We offer them a place in Yggdrasil. A better life. Protection. If they're smart, they'll say yes. If they're not… well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.
Step four: And only after all that, when I knew how big my nation really was, would I finally build the big fortress. It made no sense to design a capital city without knowing how many people it needed to hold, right? That was just basic logistics.
It was a solid plan. A kingly plan.
I pushed myself up from the throne. Time to stop thinking and start doing.
"Bogdan! Bjorn!" I called out.
The two massive figures appeared at the door instantly. "Yes, My Lord?"
"Round up the fastest scouts we have. The ones with the best eyes and ears. I've got their first real mission."
Both of them slammed their fists to their chests, their eyes lighting up with purpose.
"It will be done, Lord Hades!"
---
Okay, so my plan to send out the scouts hit a little delay. A three-day delay, to be exact.
Turns out, getting named by me is a way bigger deal than I thought. I figured they'd just get bigger and stronger. I did not expect a second round of evolution.
But yeah, that's what happened. Over the last three days, my people started changing again. The adults who I'd named… they started looking more… human. Not completely, but their features softened. They could walk around now and, from a distance, maybe pass for just really big, tough people. But the cool part? It was like they had forms, just like a Zoan fruit from that certain anime.
They had their base form, which was basically this new human-like look. Then, they could shift into a hybrid form – that was the powerful, beast-man look they got right after I named them, all muscle and fur and claws. And if they really focused, they could go full beast, turning into these giant, majestic versions of their animal selves. A Ursine could become a literal giant bear, and a Shungmo could become a huge, towering panda. It was pretty awesome.
Even the kids, the ones their parents had named, went through a smaller version of it. They could now shift between a mostly-human look and their regular demi-human forms. The whole place was basically learning how to use their new powers.
So, I had to wait for everyone to get a handle on that. No point sending scouts who might accidentally turn into a giant bear in the middle of a peaceful village because they got startled.
But finally, things settled down. Bogdan and Bjorn picked out the best of the best for the scouting teams – the fastest, the sneakiest, the ones with the sharpest senses. I gave them their orders.
"Map the island," I told them. "Find every settlement, every tribe, every point of interest. If you find people, you are envoys of Yggdrasil. Be polite. Tell them they have a place here, under my rule, if they want peace and prosperity. If they retaliate… well, then your mission changes. Defend yourselves and report back. Understood?"
They all saluted, a fierce light in their eyes. "YES, LORD HADES!"
And off they went. Several teams, heading in different directions. Now, it was just a waiting game.
With that handled, my mind started wandering to the next project. Defense. Bogdan, Bjorn, and the Guard were great, but they couldn't be everywhere at once. I needed something more… automated.
I remembered this one character, Beretta, a golem that was given a soul by a demon. I didn't want to summon some random demon, though. That seemed messy.
I was thinking about making my own souls. From scratch. Using [Khaos] and [Arkhē]. Not mindless drones, but simple, loyal, warrior spirits. Then, I could use [Genesis Forge] to build empty suits of full plate armor – big, imposing, knight-looking things – and place a new soul inside each one.
They'd be like… my own personal Automata Knights. Always on guard, never sleeping, utterly loyal. I could station them at the borders, around the manor, wherever.
It was a wild idea. I'd never tried to make a soul before. The resurrection skill was one thing, that was copying or repairing an existing one. This was creating life, in a way. Well, a form of life. I'd have to test it. Carefully.
A/N:
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