Chapter 19: Chapter 19- The Arrival of the Antiheroes
The antiheroes and Iotar had finally reached the village.
"You may say whatever you wish regarding our arrival, however make it flashy enough to the point where nobody will rise up against us in retaliation. If anyone attacks us- no- if anyone so much as glares at us with ill intent, I will personally slay them on the spot."
So Trevor had told to Iotar before they had entered the village.
Iotar resolved himself, and began to think about what he would say in order to prevent anyone from retaliating.
As a slime kin himself, he understood his brethren for the most part. The slimes were a fearful race, not very powerful. Their counterparts, the wild slime kin were not fearful, and had much greater fighting abilities, but the lack of fighting abilities among the intelligent slime kin had invoked a sense of fear in them, and it was this sense of fear which allowed for them to survive to date.
It was also this sense of fear which allowed Iotar to survive up to this point in the hands of the antiheroes.
When they entered the main road of the village, Iotar puffed himself out, took a deep breath, and shouted.
"The great antiheroes have arrived! Make way for them!"
After a moment, Garett and the party saw a cluster of slime people of all types. They had all already gathered together around the street. Was there some sort of spectacle going on? There were two lizardmen among the crowd, one large and muscular, carrying a spiked club and wearing a leather cloth on his groin, and the other with similar attire but much smaller and carrying a crate.
There was also a woman who for some reason appeared to Garett as very blurry from the distance. She seemed to be slender and at least a foot taller than Garett. Of course, all his party members were taller than him, and she was not unusually tall.
She had long white hair and wore a gown that was the same as Ashley's and Samantha's
"I repeat, the great antiheroes have arrived! Anyone who disobeys them will be killed! Do not offer any resistance to them! Offer only the utmost respect, and do not anger them in any way!"
As Iotar shouted, he caught the attention of the gathered slimes.
They all seemed to freeze in place as Garett and his party processed forward through the streets towards the people.
Even the lizardmen stopped moving and held their breath.
'Could the lizardmen here be the ones threatening the village? Perhaps if we are able to stop him from threatening the village, we would be able to gain some favor with the slimes.'
Garett wished to rule through fear, but that fear could be instilled under a facade of kindness.
After all, Garett did resolve to protect those who were his comrades. If he were to rule these slimes, they would become comrades under his banner, and he would protect them if necessary.
But first, he needed the name of the antiheroes to spread among the monsters as powerful rulers.
The lizardmen were a perfect way to perform that, however this was somewhat troublesome if they truly were stronger than Garett and his party were.
If they attacked things would be over. Would Trevor's bluff really work?
And who was that woman? Was she similar to them? She was not another party member for sure... but...
'Something is off about her.... the way she carries herself.... the way she looks.... just who is she?'
-----
Trevor stepped forward in front of the crowd. It was his time to shine.
"Just like the old days... just another presentation..."
He stepped forward with movements that were smooth as silk. He was the only one of the party who was not wearing rags, and he had taken this into account.
However, the fact that the others wore rags could make them look more savage and scary than if they were wearing fancy clothes. Even this could work out to Trevor's advantage if he played it right.
"People of the slime tribe! Before you stand the four antiheroes who are spoken about in the legends! Be grateful, for we have decided to take mercy on your pitiful existence. If you will serve under us as subordinates, then we will make your village our base of operations!"
The slime people all looked fearful and concerned, to which Iotar seemed to be worried about. He was fretting, and deciding whether he should say something, but in the end he feared interrupting the elf in his conversation and remained quiet.
If the antiheroes decided to kill any slimes here because they give them hateful looks, then all he could do is watch and accept it.
The dangerous thing was that this could cause a chain reaction of hateful looks once they watched one of their comrades being killed.
It could be a slaughter.
Trevor continued.
"However.... should you all put on an air of arrogance and instead decide to rebel against our rule, you will be quickly disposed of, and this village will be seized as our own, and remain a home for only those willing to cooperate with us."
Holding his hands behind his back, Trevor glanced around, viewing the faces of all the people in front of him.
"You may all discuss these matters among yourselves, but do not test our patience. I will give you five minutes to come to a decision on whether each of you wishes to live as our subordinates or die a dogs death for not willing to listen to reason."
Samantha turned to Iotar, and grinned in her heart.
She was finally able to reveal her true self on a public scale. She no longer had to help those in need to improve her reputation. Since she was already viewed by these slimes as a demon and as a villain, there was no need to hold back.
"Lowly slime! Does it not pain you that your new lords are forced to stand here waiting in the sweltering heat!? Fetch us some chairs and some cool drinks in order that we may await the decision in comfort."
Iotar quickly replied. "Of course! Forgive me!" and ran off, soon coming back with four chairs finely crafted from wood and a palate of cool orange drinks in his hand. He was a slime, and as such could mold his form, and because of this he currently had 5 total arms coming out of his body to hold all of this.
And so, the four antiheroes sat down and began to sip on their drinks.
"Mmm... this is pretty good.", Samantha stated.
"I won't kill you for now.", Ashley whispered with a hint of death in her voice.
The chill sent shivers down the spines of all the slimes and lizardmen who heard this.
----
The slimes all looked at each other nervously.
Rithargus was not currently present in the village, for he was sick with a fever and resting in bed, though the others dared not to stand up to the people in front of them who claimed to be the antiheroes.
These creatures were higher demons, along with a spirit and a high elf who seemed to speak with a voice of complete dominance.
Just from hearing the words of these beings the slimes understood that these demons were dimensions above them, and that they stood no chance at taking them on.
They could feel an aura of despair and terror flowing from the mouth of the elf with every word he spoke.
And these beings called themselves the antiheroes.
The legendary antiheroes, said to flip the balance of the monster realm, and potentially take on the human realm to defeat the legendary heroes in a great battle.
The slimes knew exactly what they had to do.
They all prostrated themselves onto the ground in submission, without a single word of protest.
"We submit to your rule, great antiheroes! Please have mercy on us!", the elder exclaimed.
Iotar smiled at this. His people had acted as he expected. They would live on as slaves, but they would indeed live on.
However, three people had not prostrated themselves.
The lizards, and the Determined.
The Determined of course had no reason to bow, for while she could not defeat anyone, she could also not be defeated.
However the lizardman Arlo seemed to be contemplating what to do in this situation.
The smaller lizard, Hopkin, seemed to be waiting to see what Arlo would do, frozen in fear.
"Ho? It seems you have all chosen life. Very well then. And what about you lizards? If you bow before us I will allow you to leave this place with your heads. Otherwise, we will have to eliminate you here and now."
----
Arlo was starting to become irritated.
It seemed like today was just not his day. Nothing was going right, and he was doing everything he could to fix everything, but it seemed like problems kept popping up one after another.
Arlo was excited to have met the Determined, and to witness firsthand that she was a brave warrior, not flinching in the face of his prowess. At this, he accepted his own defeat and was about to write up a contract with the slime kin for a more fair trade.
However, while Arlo may have been a bit too rowdy each time he came here, and while he may have made a few threats here and there, the reason he was unjustly taking the potions that the slimes had produced was because the village of the lizardmen was on the verge of war.
What type of war was about to happen?
The lizardmen village was to the East and slightly to the North of the slime village. The slime village was directly East of the wall that separated the monster realm from the human realm. And to the East, slightly to the South of the slime village was the tribe of the birdmen.
The birdmen- just as the lizardmen contained all types of lizards, ranging from alligator/crocodile types to chameleons and jungle lizards- contained all types of birds.
The current leader of the birdmen tribe was none other than a hawk named Erasalis. Arlo, an alligator type lizardman, was the strongest warrior among the lizardmen, and the second in command to Rocko, a Komodo Dragon.
Needless to say. the birdmen had sent a declaration to Rocko, claiming that if the lizardmen did not submit their land to them that they would start a war to take the land by force.
Arlo had taken the personal liberty as the strongest warrior to obtain potions from the slimes in order to prepare for the war, which had worked out quite nicely over the past few weeks, until the Determined showed up.
However even this, Arlo could come to terms with.
What Arlo couldn't come to terms with was the beings who sat in chairs as if they were some sort of kings in front of him.
His only king would ever be Rocko. Even if he had respect for another as a warrior, Rocko had shown Arlo his way of living, and he owed him his life and his loyalty.
Therefore, kneeling down to these people was not an option.
Was Arlo scared of them?
Arlo felt extremely mixed feelings towards the group.
The first thing was their appearance. They all seemed to be either highly powerful monsters or similarly strong humanoids- particularly the elf.
This posed a number of questions such as why a humanoid was working with monsters, but that was not that important right now.
By appearance alone, they were a fearsome bunch.
But, Arlo was a trained warrior. He could sense whether one was skilled in battle based on the way they moved.
And not a single one of them moved like a warrior.
Well, scratch that.
None of them moved like a veteran warrior.
He could tell by the way they stared at him that their lives had been in danger a number of times in their lives, and that they had escaped that danger through fighting. He also knew that they had no fear of him. Did this mean that he was reading them wrong, and they were much stronger than him, or did this mean that they were overconfident in their own abilities?
However, Arlo scratched that option off. There was no way someone who had the eyes of hatred and the will to survive would do something as stupid as have overconfidence in their abilities.
There was a third factor however that truly convinced Arlo that their unrefined movements were merely a facade to get him to underestimate them.
The aura of leadership and control that displayed itself with every word spoken by the elf.
The elf was dressed extremely oddly, even for humans. Arlo had fought humans a few times in his life, but he had never seen such odd garments as the ones this man was wearing. He had even fought elves two or three times, but nothing like this one.
And the fact that this man alone was dressed well, while the other 3 monsters wore rags begged the question to Arlo as to whether they were his slaves.
"He may be sitting with them right now, as if they are equals, but I can tell... there is a clear difference in their class... in the power commended by the voice of each of them..."
The elf was to be feared.
What humanoid could subjugate higher demons and spirits as his pets or playthings?
This was not someone that Arlo wished to tango with.
As a warrior, Arlo fought back and forth with himself as to whether his pride would allow him to kneel, but he ended up doing so.
The final thing that irked Arlo was that these beings claimed to be the antiheroes.
There was no way that could be true. The antiheroes of legend were supposed to be four monsters, no? Why would a humanoid be the most fear inducing member of them?
Even if they were lying though, it was a lie that boasted their own confidence.
Nobody in their right mind would claim to be the antiheroes unless they wanted to be persecuted by the Monster Kings, who wished to hold onto their own positions of power. Surely these four understood this, and would not carelessly call themselves that while understanding the risk of being persecuted for such a reason...
"Forgive my delayed reaction. I do not wish to aggravate you, and if you were to allow me to go with my life so that I may return to my village, that alone would be worthy of my greatest thanks."
Even Hopkin, who could not understand why Arlo would bow his knee to this group, read the air that came from Arlo.
Hopkin too knelt beside Arlo, with a sour face.
'Why do we have to kneel to these monsters who just stomp their way in here loudly and claim the village is theirs? What if they decided to take the lizardmen village next!? What will you do then, Arlo!? Will you simply bend the knee once more? Will you betray our leader!?'
These thoughts filled Hopkin, but he stayed quiet.
He trusted Arlo's judgement as a warrior. The opponents were demons. They could not be underestimated.
-----
[Performing inverse Charisma role due to forceful subjugation of Slime kin and Lizardmen]
[Roll chance of success: 96%]
[Roll successful on 12 slimes]
[Roll chance of success: 93%]
[Roll successful on 2 Lizardmen]
[Roll ineffective on the Determined, as her response is already determined]
Using anti charismatic methods in order to deceive these slimes was the right call. What would have happened if the roll had been a regular charisma roll on this nightmare mode?
The fact that the party had found such a cheat was amazing.
The cheat went like this.
With such a low chance of success for any skill that depended on the statistics such as strength, dexterity, perception, charisma, or intelligence, the only actions that the party was allowed to perform with any chance of success were actions that were the exact opposite of this.
Instead of trying to do something that required one to be strong, they should try to do things that required one to be weak. Instead of doing things that required a high dexterity, they should try to do things like a klutz would do them. Instead of being perceptive, they should ignore their surroundings and jump in head first. Instead of being sociable and charismatic, they should act hateful and arrogant, to displease others. Instead of acting intelligent, they should do things only an idiot would do.
Only then would their actions have a chance at success.
However, this highly limited the actions they could perform. Who would need someone to be weak? When would someone need to do something stupid, or act like a klutz?
The only way they could really benefit from this was by acting in a way that was non-charismatic. By doing things that would get people to hate them.
Garett had been analyzing every monster that was in the vicinity while the lizardmen seemed to be making their decision.
He needed all the information he could get.
He was holding his breath, as was Trevor and the other party members while the lizardmen thought of what to do, but when they eventually bent the knee Garett let out a huge sigh of relief on the inside.
Their bluff had worked.
What would have happened if it didn't?
[Analysis completed. 100%]
[Arlo, Lizardman: Alligator type] (Lvl 18)
Attack: 25-30 (Melee or Ranged)
Physical Defense: 8
Magical Defense: 2
HP: 45/45
MP: 0/10
Special skills: Earth Spike, 5-10 Magic Damage, Costs 10 MP
[Hopkin, Lizardman: Water Newt type] (Lvl 5)
Attack: 5-7 (Melee or Ranged)
Physical Defense: 1
Magical Defense: 1
HP: 20/20
MP: 0/0
Special skills: None
[12 Slime kin, varying types] (Lvl 1)
Attack: 1-2 (Melee)
Physical Defense: 0
Magical Defense: 1
HP: 5/5
MP: 0/0
Special skills: Varying based on type, healing gel, posion gel, nitroglycering gel, etc...
Garett took a look at the analysis, which showed for all four of his party members as the screens hovered above the head of each slime and lizardman.
Above the white girl however...
???
Simply three question marks were above her.
The lizardman who seemed to be extremely strong compared to the other had a much higher level and stats.
To the point where he would likely be able to put up quite a fight, if not kill all four party members on the spot, should he have made such a decision.
No, he would have killed them all on the spot, without a doubt.
Good thing the bluff worked!
But who was the girl standing over there?
"You, woman with the white hair. Yes, you. Who are you? Do you come from this world?"
Garett asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
The monsters around all began to whisper to themselves, wide eyed at what the demon was saying.
How could he speak so rudely to the Determinant? Was he aware of the authority of who he was speaking to? It was true, that to the slimes and lizardmen that these demons were likely high above them in strength, but there should not exist one who can go against the Determinant, save for the Indeterminant himself- not even the antiheroes. Of course, it was not like she would be able to harm them either, but still. Learn some respect!
The woman walked forward, seemingly very nervous.
"I've been looking for you all! But what the heck do you think you're doing, barging in here and declaring that you're now the leaders of this village! I wanted to take your side because you all didn't seem to be very evil but what do I find you all doing the second I take my eyes off you! I guess once a monster always a monster... sigh..."
The monsters all froze. The Determinant was saying these words to protect them, but would it not simply shift the anger of the demons onto them?
Trevor and the rest stared at the woman who seemed to be going off on them. Who could she be and what did she want? Could she really be from Earth?
"Fine. I will introduce myself, since we should likely try to come to some sort of agreement. I am the Determined. I will not say my name for reasons that I will explain to you, but I think we have quite a bit of talking to do."
Weekly Power Status
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