Az bowed to me as his siblings walked behind me while he walked in front. We walked for a couple hours until we had exited the valley. We entered a large plains filled to the brim with goblins. They didn’t seem the same as the ones I had met before. They looked dazed and confused. I asked Az about it and he excitedly explained it.
“The ones in the tribe were carefully selected to be the smartest and most active goblins. These are what goblins are normally like. We don’t know how they’ve survived this long but we’re grateful for it. They make up around ninety percent of our nation's food supply. Most of our territory is used for them. We even export a good amount of them to the nearby regions.”
Hmm, I might be able to make use of that in the future. Trading with other nations is essential to a good economy. I smiled as I realized this was the first time I had gotten to think about my effect on the economy since I had arrived in this world.
My kids were bored for the most part so they amused themselves by seeing who could stay on their feet while I walked. It was a bumpy ride so the end result was almost always them falling on their face. The exception was Tom. He strangely managed to stay on his feet no matter what. Even when James had lunged at him he had managed to dodge and land on top of James.
I smiled at how agile he was but I grew serious as I started to think about what I was going to do. I’m about to enter an entire city of things just like me. I might get instantly swarmed and killed, or just flat out rejected. At least if anything like that happens I can probably fight my way out.
I turned towards Az and asked. “Do you know what evolution the queens are?” He nodded and said. “Most of them are simply high queens, only one is still at her first evolution. However none of them have reached their third evolution yet as it isn’t safe enough. There are a few broodmothers. They’ve pretty much lost their mental facilities so we don’t count them as queens. My siblings and I are actually one of the broodmothers' kids. That's what most of the unclaimed are.”
I shuddered as I thought back to the horrifying bloated creature I had almost chosen. Although it did sound like I could make use of them if I needed to kill all the other queens. I smiled as I thought of ruling a vast nation, thousands of skinks at my beck and call. Oh god it’s gonna be so nice to be rich again. Not that I was ever poor. But now I get to be even more rich!
I smiled and said. “Az, are any of them my evolution?” This was important as if they were all the not combat evolutions then I could basically just power through them. Az shook his head and said. “Most do not wish to risk their lives, my Queen.”
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I shook my head and said. “Shameful. But it works to our benefit. Az, do I have to personally claim mud skinks or can you do it for me?” Az looked a bit uncertain and said. “I am capable of claiming skinks on your behalf. However I do know why you wouldn’t do it yourself.”
I smiled even wider and said. “Because while I’m in the city I want you to start claiming all of them.” Scratch that idea of learning about the city first. I want power! “I’ll be in the city, and they won’t suspect a thing until it’s too late.”
Az nodded and asked. “But what if they kill you? A dead Queen can’t claim anything.” I shrugged and said. “I’ll make sure not to die then.” Nothing like a good set of confidence! And I’m sure they’d love to have another queen!”
They probably won’t but I need Az to do his job. We walked for another four hours until finally as we were about to crest a hill Az said. “My Queen, it is an honor to present to you, the city of eight rivers, home of the Tuo Dynasty. Welcome to the city of Tiat!”
I walked over the hill and was instantly amazed. I stared down at a river delta filled to the brim with skinks. Small burrows in the ground and large mud mounds were everywhere. There was a large dirt wall around the entire city. The water was crystal clear and small canals and pools were dug out everywhere.
I couldn’t stop smiling as my kids jumped up and down on my back and yelled. “Is that our new home? There's so many people!” I nodded and turned towards Az. “I can’t thank you enough. But I need one of you to go out and claim as many unclaimed as possible. Once you claim them, if they aren't doing anything, have them go claim more unclaimed. I need to have control of at least the majority of the food production as fast as possible.”
Az nodded and said. “I can spare my brothers for a few weeks. But please don’t forget us, my Queen. We are all depending on you.” I nodded and said. “I’m also depending on you, so it works out in the end.”
He smiled and walked away as I walked into the settlement. I had expected beautiful marble structures and large stone walls, but honestly this made more sense. It was also quite nice in its own way.
As I walked towards the small entrance into the city two bruisers walked up to me and said. “Who are you? Why do you want to enter the city?” I smiled and stood up to my full height. My kids cheered me on as I said. “I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. Most importantly I am the mother of Marlow, Chester, Tom, Tim, James and Chester!”
The bruisers looked a bit uncertain so I just smiled and said. “I’ve come to join this nation.” They relaxed when I said that and said. “Very well, please follow us. We’ll bring you to the council.”
Alright Aya, that your name now, accept it. It’s time to take your rightful place as king of the world! We walked through the settlement towards a gigantic dirt structure in the center of the city. As I walked in I realized it was an amphitheater, filled with Queens.
I had never seen so many in one place before, as it had been only me and Diana before. My mind was boggled by the sheer amount of skinks in this settlement. As I walked in, one of the largest high queens yelled. “Guards! Who have you brought before us?” Her voice was nasally and reminded me of a weasel.
The guard was about to introduce me but I just smiled and said. “I am Aya! Queen of the mud flats and the destroyer of rats! Richest person in the world! Mud dragon of the east! I am the harbinger of change within the seven tribes region. Most importantly I am the mother of Marlow, Chester, Tom, Tim, James, Charlie and Chester and I’m rich!”