The Conquistador lost a good amount of troops, far more than he would have preferred. A total loss of ten soldiers, some of them being the converted. That left him with four of the regular armored variants and six of the newly converted ones.
The end result was definitely not worth the trade. For twelve deaths, he got a total of six. Not only that, but he had exhausted so much of his divine blessing that he was feeling the strain. He certainly didn’t feel bad enough to keel over and faint, but his stomach was growling far more, and he was doused in sweat.
Great. There better be some blacksmiths in this building, else he’d be really mad about all this wasted effort. With that thought, he focused first on the boarded up door. He snapped his finger and with that, his soldiers started moving. They all got their hands onto the wooden boards, before ripping them all off with some effort. With that, one of his monsters yanked the door open and with that, the insides were revealed.
What he found was utterly disappointing. A lone man with his wife and child, a spear aimed towards the door. The three of them looked absolutely terrified as they whimpered, looking upon him and his soldiers. Understandable, but annoying all at the same time.
In any case, he couldn’t help but groan as they shook in their boots, before the man shouted.
“Back, you beasts! Back! Get away!”
He couldn’t help but groan at the melodramatic act. The poor soul certainly wasn’t impressing anyone, so this was all for naught. However, he did have one thing that was more important than anything: if the man was a blacksmith or not.
“You. Do you work well with metal?”
“What?!” The man shouted out in pure shock and surprise as he turned towards the Conquistador in surprise, “Who are you? What are you doing with these beasts?”
“Just answer the question.”
“No! Explain what’s going on! I refuse to do anything with you, unless you explain what in the world is going on!”
He couldn’t help but roll his eyes, before giving the man a big smile.
“Rejoice, I have come here to save you and your small family. However, if you wish to be safe, then I must truly know whether you are a blacksmith or not.”
“What?” The spear lowered a good bit as the father looked on in confusion, “What would it matter if I am a blacksmith or not? How would that matter on whether I am to be saved or not?”
He chuckled at that, before looking dead on.
“I am in need of some expert metalworkers to help ensure the safety of this settlement. I plan to equip my people with weapons and armor, which I will need people who are capable of smithing. Understand now? Depending on how good you are with the hammer, you may either be granted some preferential treatment, possibly be given a nice room and place to stay. However, if you aren’t, then I’m afraid you’ll be stuck in the barracks.”
“Er…” The man lowered his spear all the way, before looking back at his family. His eyes were full of confusion as he scratched his head, trying to figure out what to say.
“I’m not a metalworker. I am a woodworker, though. Used to make furniture and whatnot. My friend is a blacksmith, he used to be my business partner. He might be in the building still, but I’m not entirely sure.”
“Oh? Why not?”
“Well, he was the one to close us in with some food and water.” The man gestured towards a pile of empty vessels in the corner, “But I don’t know where he went. If anything, I’m not too sure if he’s even in the settlement anymore. He could have run away.”
“Hm.” The Conquistador closed his eyes as he took in all that information, before opening them up, “By chance, how long have you been stuck in that room?”
The man scratched his head. “Truth be told, maybe… three days?”
So these people had chosen to be willingly boarded in a room. Either they had a lot of trust in their friend, or they were put in because they were prisoners. Though, there was one easy way to determine if they were telling the truth: by finding this supposed friend.
“Tell me. What does your friend look like?”
“Well, for starters…” The man spoke up, at least until his wife put a hand on his shoulder and shook her head. He grimaced at that, the two of them having some kind of silent and hidden communication. That was when he nodded, before turning back and shaking his head.
“I’m sorry. I don’t feel as if it is a good idea to share you that information.”
“Hm? Why would you say that?”
“It’s… Well, I mean no offense my good sir, it’s just…” He waved towards the monsters that were near him, “You have some rather terrifying soldiers there. If I were to say, you are the master of the monstrosities that have taken over the lands. Correct?”
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“What? Me, the master of all the monsters? That’s truly a tall tale, even for me.” The Conquistador chuckled as he shook his head, “No, I am not the master of all these monsters. I have certainly not come to deliver doom and gloom to your group and everyone you love.”
“Then who are you and what are you doing here?” The woman hissed as she hid behind her husband.
“I am salvation.” He responded with pure confidence as he put a hand to his chest, “I have been called upon to bring you peace and save the world. There is no reason to fear or have any sort of fear. After all, I am giving these monsters the joy of civilization.”
“C-civilization?” The woman shrunk back away from him, “You are mad! What kind of fool believes he can tame these depraved, sadistic beasts? What are you thinking? Are you touched in the head?!”
He frowned at those words. He may be a patient and kind man, but there was only so much abuse he would take. With that, he shot a glare at the woman, who let out an ‘eep’ as she hid even more behind her husband, who had lifted his spear once more.
The Conquistador kept his glare up for a good while, before sighing and letting up. With that, he looked at the man, who flinched and jerked the spear. This time, he took the time to inspect the weapon that was being hefted towards him. He truly did hope that the family in front of him had been lying, all so he could deliver righteous punishment for their disrespectful words.
The results were a mixed bag. He didn’t find any flaws with the spearhead at all. The heft of the weapon was sanded down well, to the point where he could not see any splinters popping out at all. The metal spearhead was well forged, as the entire thing had been hammered down well. There were zero signs of constant work and the surface was absolutely smooth. While there weren’t any elegant engravings on the metal itself, the rest of the silver surface was clean of any dirt and scratches. It was obvious: the person who forged this piece of equipment had put in a lot of effort and skill.
That meant the man had to be telling the truth then. There was a blacksmith present in this building, or he was at least an ally. That was it then, there would have to be a search then.
Which meant he couldn’t really kill the family here, he’d have to keep them alive. However, what he needed more than ever was a description of the blacksmith. That way, he could identify the man when they… explored the building…
Hold on a second. Was he an idiot?
He looked at each of his monsters and mused on a thought he had. These soldiers of his were capable of understanding his orders, no? They understood which of the people were his subjects, which meant they were capable of identifying people with a single look. If that was the case, why was he bothering trying to find this blacksmith? He could have his monsters go out and search with this woodworker.
And to be honest, as much as he wanted to use his divine blessing and change these rambunctious family to one more submissive, he needed the wood working expertise. How else would he get the better wagons, the improved wheels, everything? No, he’d have to put in some effort to getting all of this done. To that end, he’d need to ensure the man would work… one way or another.
The Conquistador looked over the man that was still defending his family. He had a good tool for forcing the man’s hand to working with him: his wife and child. If he could leverage those over the man, then there’d be nothing he could do. He’d have to work and do his bidding, making sure everything was in order.
But that wasn’t the best way to go through things. No, that would only build hostility and invite sabotage amongst his subjects. The better way was to use this leverage as a way to convince him that doing his bidding was for the good of the world. Well, that was true, but the man had to believe that exact thought.
For now, he’d have to calm down his nerves and work with what he had. So, he smiled, letting the tense air stall away as he looked over the group.
“Alright, let’s do this then. We’ll escort you outside the building and in the streets. Once we clear the entire structure, we’ll head back to our base, and we can figure out what to do from there. Understand?”
“Better question: Why should we go with you?” The woman spat, “You’ve given us no reason to trust you, none at all!”
“What, was saving your life and rescuing you from this awful cramped little room not good enough?” Seeing the woman shake her head made him far more annoyed, but he needed to be calm. He had to indulge this pathetic wretch with their little rebellious act, at least until he had the chance to use their lives for his benefit. Though, he needed to find a way to convince the group.
That was when he sighed and lifted his helmet, scratching the back of his head. Seriously, what could he offer to get their trust? If saving their lives and getting them out of this death trap of a room wasn’t enough, then what would?
The Conquistador thought about it, before sighing. Ah, what was the obvious choice? Why, that would be the monsters that still plagued this building, of course!
“Ah, fine. If you don’t trust me, then I will be on my way.” He sighed.
“Good. Get out, we don’t–”
“I sure hope your single spear is enough to fight off the rest of the monsters that lurk in the building, though,” he started, taking pleasure in seeing the woman’s face go white at the idea, “Why, these monsters I have tamed killed quite a few of my men. Their energy blasts were strong enough to turn one inside out. A… rather nauseating display, surely you understand. Why, I don’t know how I’d react upon seeing such a sight.”
“Th-that–”
“But truly, you know best!” He opened his arms and gave them a sinister grin, “Why, I can trust a man with a flimsy spear against monstrosities that can shrug off attacks of any type! There is no better defender than a single man with a wife and child to defend! Nothing could stop him, not even a hulking beast that could rip a man’s head off with a single swipe! No, there is nothing to fear from the sadistic mutants that roam these floors, eager to rip their claws into anyone and anything. In fact, I wonder, what would happen to your child if–”
“Enough!”
His harsh words finally gave the husband the spine to stand up to his witch of a wife. He glared right at the Conquistador, before moving forward.
“Fine. We’ll follow you outside, understand?”
“Good! Good!” With that, he smiled as the trio left, before turning towards the monsters with an even bigger grin. He waited until they were outside, and then gave his command.
“Slaughter all the monsters, bring out the humans.”
With that, his monsters all dashed out, ready to do his bidding. He sighed, before moving forward, picking up the fallen weapons and armor from before. He was too tired to help, yes, but his soldiers should deal with the rest.
All he could hope was that the newly converted beasts would understand his command. If not, oh well. There were still plenty of people in this settlement he could make use of.