"..."
Silenced by the implication of such a task Heavenly Sword drew a blank. A single monster invasion was already bad enough, if you had multiple invasions along the same kingdom or empire, the problem of how that place would defend itself became the issue.
Do you prioritize cities based on value? Do you risk splitting up your forces at the risk of weakening them? Would you consider stopping the invasion before they reached the fortifications? The same problems one would endure if you over-extended highlighted the same issues as before.
A common tactic rulers had was to establish alliances to request for help. However, what would then happen if even your allies encountered the same problem? If none had the ability to assist you how would your alliance have any value? Yet it you helped another at the cost of yourself that would be putting the cart before the horse.
"Jei, is there a choke point we can use to stop the monster invasions?"
The voice of Heavenly Sword's Dominator echoed amidst the silence. While most would consider how to hide or survive only he thought differently.
"If we find the origin. I can. I will make one."
The butcher then made a devilish smile as he commented. "Then I guess our plans are set, let's kill them all." Even though his words were mired in insanity the people with him knew of his ability.
If anyone else had said it they would have doubted and put that person in the mental hospital. But not Hiro. The man already had a track record, one that will only fill up further.
Just then a large group of people arrived at the west gate. They wore golden-colored spartan armor and wore red cloaks. There was a bevy of beautiful women mixed among them who wore frilly clothes. At the lead four gorgeous females led the group, all of them people Hiro already knew.
"I kinda expected it, but seeing you guys here really makes me think that you guys can smell danger." Quipped Leto.
Vesna elegantly added while making a smile. "Ara? It is so nice to see such a powerful group of allies for one. Thank you for joining us."
"The sheer brutality from the qualifiers was uncalled for. They may brand you as heretics."
"Ah, please don't mind Talvi, she is just worried about you guys. Hello everyone! A wonderful morning!" With a cute greeting, Autumn tried to smooth over Talvi's rude comment.
Unfortunately, even with their cheerful attempts to start a dialogue, none from Hiro's battle harem responded. Feeling the tension in the air Vesna took point and tried to fix the situation.
The beautiful woman made a small bow as she spoke. "Hiro-sama, we are already aware of your feeling for Gae-bolg. As his Highness' women, we had no choice but to follow the words of our husbands. But know that he never meant to provoke, ridicule, or malign you."
It was common in alliances that a single mistake could sever it. The more people were involved the easier such mistakes could occur. The cold treatment from Heavenly Sword made Dylan's women sad. Due to their husband's political position, they did not have many allies.
Thus seeing the power and will of Hiro's harem made them appreciate the viewpoints of another group. However no matter their endearment to Heavenly Sword, their love for Dylan trumped over it. Thus they knew a time may come they would need to cross blades with their allies.
Hiro knew the difficulty in their current situation, thus he could only put it for another day. The butcher then answered to let bygones be bygones.
"Lady Vesna, raise your head. As I have sworn before, in this life for the favor of saving my wives I will never raise arms against Gae-bolg. And your husband has three favors he may call me for. We are not enemies."
Vesna who heard the words of the dominator before her smiled wryly. While he did say they were not enemies, he didn't say they were allies either. He would never attack Gae-bolg because of his wives, this meant if Dylan did anything to his wives he would forget the vow and come after the prince.
From how Hiro spoke, the three favors which should have been something to be used sparingly now became the only way he would help Gae-bolg. The implications of the short exchange were clear. Heavenly Sword intends to cut ties with Dylan as soon as they were able to.
Dylan's wives who understood the matter all panicked inwardly but remained dignified and stoic in their appearance. The leader of the spartan soldiers came forward and saluted Hiro. I think you should take a look at
"Greetings everyone, I am Kael Thalas a submissive of Prince Dylan, I lead Javelin one of his sub-battle harems. Pleased to meet you all. I have seen the might of Heavenly Sword firsthand."
Due to his professionalism, Hiro returned his salute as he replied. "Greetings to you as well Sir Kael, I thank you and the rest of Javelin for participating in the defense of my wives before."
Kael nodded and spoke no more. The entire group noticed the change in the mood. The Javelin commander turned the gloomy situation on its head with just a greeting.
'Similar to his wives, this man is not so simple.' Thought Hiro.
Autumn took this moment to ask. "What do you intend to do now Sir Hiro?"
Even though Sir and Lady were reserved for nobility, due to the rise of powerful system users, these titles were often used to express admiration and respect for a person. While actual nobility uses the titles knight and dame.
This was why Hiro expressed his respect by calling all of them ladies despite all of them being commoners. Which in turn made Dylan's harem call Heavenly Sword with similar titles.
"My group will be going out to meet the invasion. Jei believes that this attack is bigger than we expected."
The priestess of Gae-bolg then approached Jei and held her hands. "Oh? Is that so? Did you also see a vision then Jade?" to her inquiry the mage simply shook her head.
Vesna marveled at the powers of deduction of this woman as she revealed the truth. "I am in awe of how you arrived at that situation. You are correct, from what we know of there are over 100 kingdoms that would face monster invasion in the next week. The BHR was canceled because almost all the participants were notified that they would be facing imminent attack."
Surprisingly Hiro didn't even flinch at the news and turned to look to the horizon. The woman brushed off her hair and asked in a sarcastic manner. "Ara, such a lukewarm response, is it because you no longer trust us, Sir Hiro?"
Without turning back the butcher answered in a bored tone. "Yes, I do not. I believe there would be simultaneous attacks because my wife said so. Besides, it doesn't really matter to me if even a thousand kingdoms fall. Right now my concern lies elsewhere."
Unable to contain herself Leto blurted out in anger. "Sir Hiro! Have some shame, Vesna is trying her best to be nice to you! Why are you being such a dick! I would rather..." before she could finish her words though she felt the surrounding area's temperature drop.
The woman then noticed the eyes of Heavenly Sword. Unlike Hiro who looked away, his submissives and bonds all exuded frightening battle lust. Their eyes started to glow with calibers as their hands drew near their weapons.
Gae-bolg as a whole grew wary of the cold reception. If originally Hiro had the demeanor of a wild animal, now the rest of his group even the young child gave off the same exact feeling. Unable to finish her words Leto stopped talking and placed her hands on her sword. The rest of Dylan's battle harem followed suit.
The tension grew to the point that you could cut it with a knife. None could even speak a word as the crushing bloodlust from both sides started to exude. A voice that many knew suddenly spoke to break the hostile atmosphere.
"Gae-bolg, Stand down. They are our allies. Please treat them as such."
At the words of their dominant, the entire battle harem lowered their guard and left the issue to their leader. Battle harems could be considered as tools, they follow the will of their dominant, who, how, when, and why, such questions were irrelevant.
A submissive's worth is shown only through loyalty, sex, and combat nothing else mattered. Dylan approached the gathering and stopped just behind the butcher.
"Hiro, I overheard your conversation and the origin seems to be a place near here, a place you know well." As he walked forward Dylan showed the magnificence of a king. Like a rock star, the man commanded the attention of everyone present. All but one. Hiro, the one he was talking to did not even spare a glance much less a reply.
Sure that the butcher's current behavior stemmed from his mistake, Dylan ignored the disrespect and shared more information. "The origin of this ordeal is the Frozen Dew Forest. The information we got seems to say a new kind of monster appeared which displaced the entire surrounding area these monsters are not invading, they are running away."
Hiro then turned around silently and asked. "I don't give a shit though?"
