The next few days went by uneventfully for The Eds and Korrina. They farmed for money and then used that money to build a Grunt Soldier Hut and the Town Square. The Kingdom of Alpoko was starting to look more and more like a kingdom.
"Good morning, Korrina! Did you sleep well?" Double-D asked with a smile as Korrina came out of her bedroom.
"Yup! Verde is just so cute when she sleeps that it helps me go to sleep too."
Doube-D rolled his eyes. "Oh, you two certainly are a pair. Have you finally let her know you feel the same way about her?"
"More or less," Korrina said as she sat on her throne. "So, what's new today?"
"Well, Ed was walking in his sleep for a midnight snack...again."
"Good morning, my Queen!" Howser greeted as he came over. "The Town Square was a huge success and you already have some mail! Why don't we read what they gave to us?"
Korrina was handed three letters. She looked through them before shrugging her shoulders as she decided to read what they had to say. The first was a personal letter from Verde and the second was from one of the citizens. However, it was the third letter that really caught her attention.
"Hey, listen to this, you guys."
Howser and Double-D looked over Korrina's shoulders to read the letter as well.
"My Queen, I was walking through the abandoned cemetery yesterday when a giant cow with a skull for a head tried to charge me! Please do something about this!"
Howser gasped. "A cow with a skull for a head?! That sounds like the Legendary Cow Bones, said to be the Guardian UMA of this land!"
"Good lord, UMA?!" Double-D gawked. "But I thought they were a myth!"
"I guess wherever Alpoko is supposed to be on the map, they exist." Korrina guessed. "But what is a Guardian UMA, even?"
"Guardian UMA are said to be the most powerful of their kind and are very dangerous... but it is said that, if the Guardian UMA is defeated, the land surrounding it shall be completely free of any and all UMA!" Howser explained. "If you and your citizens can defeat the Cow Bones, I am sure that we can expand our kingdom!"
"Expand the kingdom? Let's do it!" Eddy grinned as he came over, having heard everything.
"Where's Ed?" Liam asked as he also walked in, looking around.
"I can guess..." Korrina said as everyone went to the kitchen and saw Ed sleeping inside it with sausage links in his mouth.
"Not again..." Double-D sighed.
"WAKE UP, SLEEPING BEAUTY!" Eddy barked.
Ed sprang out of the fridge and onto his feet as he gave a salute.
"Private-Do-Not-Enter is ready for duty, Chief!"
"At attention, Ed! We're gonna hunt us a Cow Bones!" Korrina ordered.
"Yes, ma'am!"
After gathering some Grunt Soldiers, Korrina and The Eds headed off towards the outskirts of town to the cemetery area. They made it there quickly and were stunned to see that the Cow Bones was indeed there.
"Well, this is troubling. How do you propose we deal with this threat?" one Grunt Soldier asked.
"Only one thing to do...CHARGE!" Korrina ordered as she drew a sword that Howser had given to her called The Sword of the King, said to be one of the 13 Royal Arms of Alpoko.
The Cow Bones let out a bellow as it tried to charge the heroes in return, only for Ed to leap up and hit it with his head, knocking the skull clean off. Eddy then picked up a large rock and threw it at the skull, cracking it.
"Everyone! Eddy has made a weak spot! Keep hitting the crack!" Double-D commanded.
"Let's divide our forces! One group should attack the body!" Korrina ordered.
Korrina and the Grunt Soldiers struck away at the Cow Bones' surprisingly sturdy hide until she managed to slice off its legs, which were the weakest part of it. Ed was busy wrestling the giant skull.
The Cow Bones clacked its teeth in agony as its head came back down and reconnected with its neck. Korrina then did one final blow while it was unable to move and made a huge slice on the neck that held the skull. The Cow Bones clacked its teeth twice before falling to the ground and disappearing in a flash of black light.
"YES! We did it!" Eddy exclaimed, all the soldiers high-fiving each other at our victory.
"Well, that wasn't as grueling as I feared," Double-D admitted.
Suddenly, Double-D noticed something left behind by the Cow Bones. It was an ornate magic staff with a bejeweled red crystal at the tip and a golden handle. For some reason, the sock-hatted boy felt drawn to it and picked up the staff.
"The Great Sage's Staff is now yours. It senses your wisdom and compassion. Use it to guard your comrades and smite the wicked."
Only Double-D could hear the mysterious booming voice and looked around nervously for the source but found nothing. Sighing, he decided to hold onto the staff for now as everyone headed back home.
Upon returning to the castle triumphant and going to sleep until the next day, Howser alerted Korrina and The Eds that the loss of the Guardian UMA, as predicted, made the land free of the UMA influence and ready to be plotted on. Not only that but there was a festival going on in the town with everyone dancing with fake cow skulls on their heads.
"It's their way of saying thanks for you helping them out I guess," Verde smiled as the group headed to the Town Square to see the townsfolk dancing and singing happily with music being provided by Liam and Ed.
"Aw, what the hell? Let's party!" Korrina smiled happily as she and Verde melded into the dancing crowd and we all began to celebrate.
"Heh, when's the wedding, you think?" Eddy asked Double-D, who just smiled.
"Oh, let them take things at their own pace, Eddy."
Little did our heroes know that just defeating the Cow Bones would only be the beginning of a grand adventure...
It seems like Double-D has a special weapon of his own and yes, I'm giving Korrina the Royal Arms from Final Fantasy XV. Everyone will learn how to fight in this story.
Hope you all look forward to what comes next. More action is coming soon.