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AR Chapter 395
🕑 Added 2025-05-24 18:04:22 +0000 UTC***
Sorry, I forgot to schedule this yesterday. Another one coming in 10 hours!
“I would guess that there are materials that are needed for their continued sustenance on the surface.” Sybil agreed with my general idea. “Even so, it isn’t something that is needed to be seen or done by each individual, given that this is the first that we have ever seen of the royal insects. Therefore, it is something that they bring with themselves.”
“That was my general thought.” I agreed while I kept my tail from twitching in irritation. They weren’t human, their desires were completely different from anything I’d ever encountered. What was I supposed to do with this?
“As you have commanded, I will ensure that there are sentries stationed near each of the anthills we find. Their directive will be to keep a watch specifically to see what the ants bring down.”
I flared my frills in agreement and looked over the leaders of the Empire as they stood near me. As the commands lulled into silence, they broke into quiet conversations with each other. The Huntmaster Took’s tail continuously twitched as she dealt with the reality that she was losing one of her primary responsibilities while General Percral chewed over the idea that the enemies would be somehow more intelligent than they’d ever been before. Joral, as the Herdsman-in-chief, quietly spoke with Farahlia’s representative about different possibilities with somehow domesticating some of the ants, but the conversation didn’t seem to be going anywhere.
Shemira and Ytte were speaking about how the reduction in easily accessible food and hunting would affect the usage of the sand pits as well. The Militia existed, and functioned as something of a policing force, but it wasn’t developed enough to deal with the surge in conflict that was sure to occur when the Sik’Tal and Hak’Tal wanting to hunt were left to merely participating in the continued preparations for the Misti Hawar’s inevitable attack.
“Superintendent, Huntmaster.” I called Shemira and Took’s attention to me. Both pulled away from their distractions and stepped forward. “Do you have any specific plans to counteract the inevitable surge in dissatisfaction among the hunters and fighters that’re pulled from doing more active work?”
“I wanted to speak with Foire about this.” Took said. “I suspect that individuals sent as scouting teams will soon be discontinued to ensure that we can keep our teams as safe as possible.”
“And have the scouting teams act as hunting packs as well?” Foire chimed in.
“Yes.” Took flared her frills.
“Sounds good.” I replied. “That way, they can also serve as a mask for any Misti Hawar that manage to see them. There will be no guarantee, though, and based off of how we found them initially, a pack will not be safe from ambush.”
Took just flicked her tail. It was a risk she didn’t mind taking on herself, so there wasn’t any hesitation in having some of the malcontents doing it.
“My ideas have been less… kind.” Shemira flicked her tail as she explained. “I’ve created a punishment system for the most frustrating of our people. Those who have disregarded commands from their Alphas or have caused discontent in their fellows are being sent to Joral. Our first round of punishment has finished. I’m pretty happy with the results, but what’s been your experience, Joral?”
“They’re not pleasant to work with,” Joral flicked his tail, “but there’s nothing a Khatif can do before a Keel. Before long, they work with complaint but no resistance. I’d consider it a success, given how much the oxfiends excrete overnight.”
At the small context given there, I quickly understood what it was that the punishment being enforced was—mucking out the herds’ sleeping areas. It was unpleasant work, but the feces were more than useful in cultivating more and more plants.
“And they’ve been bringing everything correctly to you, Ytte?” I confirmed.
“One attempted to do otherwise once. I quickly and personally ensured that he did not do so again.”
Leaving her punishments to herself, I just nodded and smiled. “On an unrelated note, how have the metal crafting efforts been for you? Any measure of success?”
“With the tisarite, there’s been no progress. Well, nothing notable. The heats that melt other stones do nothing to it. We’ve created some iron, as you call it, and it carries a strong edge for the spears. As it serves as firm practice for us to continue developing our skills, there haven’t been any real problems.”
Nievtala’s divine alloy really didn’t want to be changed. It had its shape, and it wanted to stay there. How to gain victory over victory’s alloy, though?
“Have you tried anything with blood on it?” I wondered aloud. “With the Words of Power, it might be something related to what we’ve sworn to do.”
“We’ve experimented with it.” Ytte confirmed. “There were no results, so that method of testing has been discarded, but with you bringing it up, we’ll be more thorough in our testing.”
“It’ll need to be more than just wetting it in blood.” I added. “If that was all it took, then it wouldn’t be a functional weapon. Maybe something to do with a willingness to sacrifice something? Even if that’s the case,” I interrupted my train of thought, meeting Ytte’s eyes directly, “do not sacrifice your life for a damned experiment. My claws and fangs are plenty dangerous, and a single Keel is much more valuable than a single weapon.”
“Of course.” Ytte bowed her head before giving a cheeky smile. “We wouldn’t have done so without your express permission, Zaaktif.”
I waved off the jab. “If you were going to, know that this is your confirmation that no, you shouldn’t.”
“For the rest of you, we’re getting increasingly close to a time where we can guarantee that the Misti Hawar will appear. I need you to be prepared for anything.”
Nobody reacted with anything less than obvious trust and agreement. As such, I flared my frills. “Good. Continue to prepare your people and we’ll find ourselves ready to deal with the many threats that threaten our continued existence. To victory!”
“Victory by fang and blood!” Echoed my elites before they turned to do as I had commanded them.
Comments
Veldorn
"The Militia existed, and functioned as something of a policing force, but it wasn’t developed" I'm not certain, but shouldn't the comma after policing force not actually be after functioned?
