Chapter 6
Aftermath
This was not a good day.
There was a massive incident this morning.
The monsters that had been attacking merchants and travelers in the forest finally had the balls to attack the Capital head on.
They failed in the end, all of them dead and chopped into pieces by the city guard's weapons.
Unfortunately, several guards were lost in the battle.
Nine out of the fifty guards died rather horribly at the hands of the monsters, while around twelve others were injured.
This led to only twenty-nine guards ready to defend in case this happened again.
Their deaths and injuries were due to either being stabbed by the creatures that carried weapons or being dragged off the wall and being torn apart gruesomely.
Poor fellows, they probably never expected they would die like that, heck, they probably never expected they would die in the first place.
Anyway.
I sent Watts to look at the bodies of these monsters.
I'm waiting in the situation room until he finishes doing so.
It is rather boring if I do say so myself.
Nothing happens for around one hour.
That is, until the door is pushed open.
Watts had finished his autopsy of the creature's bodies.
"So?" I asked.
"Their Dwarves." I look at him with confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that these creatures were originally Dwarves." Watts replied.
"How is that possible?"
"They most likely opened up a dungeon, Sire."
Ah.
A dungeon.
One of the most dangerous things to dig up from below the ground.
I set a ruling that they should immediately tell me if they found such a thing.
The Dwarves obviously disobeyed that ruling.
The greedy idiots.
They probably wanted to try to see if they could obtain a large amount of treasure from it to boost their own wealth considerably.
Instead, they got their entire village cursed and turned into monsters.
Just great.
Oh Goddess, I forgot!
I sent Weiss and her companions there!
I just sent them to their deaths without intending to.
"That's not good."
"Our last population count for the village was two thousand, Sire."
Definitely not good at all.
If a hundred could cut down the number of guards ready for combat nearly in half, then what about the rest of them?
We needed help in this situation.
We could get the Empire of Mistral to help us in killing these things.
Anything that was not human was to be killed or enslaved in their eyes.
So there is no doubt, they would jump at the chance to kill a bunch of monsters.
No matter the cost, they would.
Would the Land Of Atlas help?
No.
That is a bad idea and you know it, Ozpin!
They would never honour the deal for a second!
They would use it as a ploy to attack you and weaken your forces, wildling down your remaining defenses until you are open for conquering.
They would murder thousands the moment you sign a deal with them.
Heck, they would murder thousands the moment you entered the negotiation room.
They were never to be trusted.
The Empire of Mistral it is then.
"I think our only way to get help is to strike a deal with The Emperor." I told Watts.
"Is that wise?" He asked.
"We can't ask The Land Of Atlas to help us." I replied.
"Good point, they would betray us immediately." Watts said.
"The Empire of Mistal would be fine with helping us; they still don't know that we were the ones that sent the assassins."
"Yes, that is true." Watts said.
"So it's decided, we will get the Empire to help us with our monster problem." I said proudly.
"How will we tempt them?"
"We shall promise to provide much-needed supplies to them during their war with The Land Of Atlas." I said.
"What type of supplies?" Watts pondered aloud to me.
"Weapons and magic-resistant armour." I replied.
"How much would we be able to provide?"
"Enough." I stated to Watts.
"Yes, Sire." He replied.
"Now leave me, Watts." I ordered.
"Yes, Sire." He bowed to me.
"And Watts."
"Yes?" He said.
"Can you ask Glynda to talk to me please?"
"I will." Watts said.
He then left the room to get Glynda.
I sigh.
It is so difficult to run a kingdom.
If only it was simpler.
But it is never simple.
The day it becomes simple is the day that I grow Faunus wolf ears.
It would be so much simpler to be a wolf.
You would only have to worry about hunting for food and looking after your family.
Now that I think of it.
Hunting wouldn't be a bad idea at the moment.
Allows me to clear my head, while also having the chance to kill some monsters.
That would be nice.
I think I'll do it tomorrow.
It wouldn't be difficult.
After all, who would disobey a King?
...
Quite a few people now that I think about it.
Assassins, rivals, monsters, other Kings.
Wait a minute, I'm talking to myself again.
I need to s-
This has happened before, hasn't it?
Yes, it has.
I need to focus!
Where is Glynda!
There was a knock from the door.
"Come in." I said, gaining back my composure.
"It is I, My King!" It was Glynda, thankfully.
"Ah, Glynda!"
"Yes My King!" She said with a dignified voice.
"I want you to try and get more recruits for the guards."
"Are we really that low My King?" She asked.
"Only half our men are combat ready, a fifth died in the attack."
"I will see to it that we shall gain more men to defend you, My King!" She replied.
She began to take his leave.
As soon as the door closed behind him, I sighed.
I really want to be like her.
If we swapped places, The Kingdom would be much better off.
She could get anyone to do what he wants them to do using just her voice alone.
She could slay any traitors and enemies that try their hand at the Kingdom.
She could muster a thousand men with mere words from her lips.
She could win any battle through sheer force of will and belief in her goals.
She could conquer the whole continent of Abutor within a matter of a few years.
She could court any man or woman and they would accept her immediately.
Wait.
I think I just want to stop being King after all these years.
I want to live a peaceful life in the countryside.
I want to be free of being King.
I think I'm just looking at Glynda as a successor.
But that can never happen.
My Daughter Cinder is first in line for the throne.
Her sister is second.
Both would have to die for Glynda to become Queen.
Oh well, it was just a daydream anyway.
It's not like it would ever happen.
I just have to deal with being King till I die.
Only then can I have peace.
But would it be a good idea?
Would Cinder make a good Ruler?
Would anyone make a good Ruler in this day and age?
Only time will tell, as I won't live to see it.