Quest: Village Defense
Description: Your village is being threatened by an enemy force. You can resolve this threat through diplomacy or force. Quest rewards varies based on your performance.
Rewards: Variable
Penalty: Loss of 15 Chief levels.
Immediately after Elijah spoke to the goblins, he received a quest. It didn’t take him long to read through the short description and he was satisfied by what he saw. From what he read; it was clear that peace was an option. Now, it was time to put his diplomatic skills to the test.
“Surrender humans!”
One of the goblins shouted and the rest of the goblins roared in agreement. Elijah didn’t rush to respond. Instead, he took another look at the goblins on the ground.
What he saw wasn’t a vicious army, but a bedraggled mob. The primary emotion the mob held was fear. It could be easily seen on the faces of the females and children which made up the majority of the group. Raising his sword against this group would result in slaughter. Taking a deep breath, Elijah made sure his Supreme Speech skill was active and continued speaking to the goblins.
Skill: Supreme Speech
Tier: 0
Stage: Late
Effect: Your words are supreme. People are more likely to listen to you and believe you when you speak. This skill can become more or less effective depending on your willpower and the willpower of the person or people you are speaking to.
Cost: None
“I know you came here in search of power, but the only thing you will find is death.” Elijah addressed the goblins in their native tongue. “We have already killed hundreds of goblins and make no mistake, if you attack, we will kill hundreds more.”
Elijah could see that his words had an effect on the goblins. Fear began to spread amongst the goblins, and he could see they were losing their will to fight. “Look at the goblins beside you. Do you see how terrified they are? Can you see the fear in their eyes?”
The goblins followed Elijah’s words and turned to look at their companions. All of them could see the fear in each other’s eyes and Elijah knew he had them in his grasp. “If you aren’t willing to stop for yourselves then stop for the sake of your companions. Don’t let them die unnecessarily. Put down your weapons and surrender. We don’t need to fight. Instead of choosing violence, we can choose peace. Let’s peacefully end this conflict between us by becoming friends and working together. I promise that we will treat you with kindness and respect.”
Once Elijah finished speaking, he gave the goblins a warm smile that they probably couldn’t see. Elijah smiled as he watched the confusion and uncertainty on the goblins faces. He was confident that they would be moved by his words.
“Well done Chief!” Elder Jeb excitedly complimented Elijah. “If we can get them to admit defeat then we can win without even having to throw a single punch.”
“All of us were moved by the Chiefs words,” Elder Jamal said. “I’m sure those dumb goblins will definitely be won over and immediately surrender. There’s no way they’ll continue fighting.”
“I get it!” One of the goblins shouted out. “The humans are actually scared of us. Although they look strong, they are actually weak.”
“That make sense,” Another goblin agreed. “If they were actually able to defeat us then they would kill us or make us slaves. That’s why they asked for peace. That’s why they want to be our friends.”
“They tried to scare us, but they’re the ones who are scared!”
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
“Stupid humans did they think we will fall for such a stupid trick.”
“Well definitely win this battle!”
“Let’s kill the humans!”
“Let’s kill them!”
Disbelief, confusion, shock, all these emotions could be seen on Elijah’s face. However, those emotions rapidly disappeared and were replaced with anger. And how could he not be angry. Elijah tried to give the goblins mercy and the goblins decided to spit in his face.
“It seems like peace was never an option,” Elder Jeb said while Elijah glared at the cheering goblins. Elijah could see that his words had boost the goblins morale, so he decide to say a few words to boost the morale of his own people.
“As you all can see I try to show the goblins mercy, but they’re too stupid to appreciate our kindness. Since they’re so eager to march to their deaths, the only proper thing for us to do is help them on their way. Let’s show them how ‘merciful’ we truly are.”
Your words have increased the morale of your people.
10% increase to attack and defense for the next ten minutes.
You are fighting against an enemy from a defensive structure.
10% increase to attack and defense for the duration of the battle.
Elijah speech was brief, but it was enough to boost the morale of his people and trigger the beginning of the battle. Elijah was pleasantly surprised to receive the defensive structure buff since he didn’t think he met the basic requirements needed for it. Naturally Elijah wouldn’t complain, and happily accepted the buff with open arms.
The short burst of happiness brought clarity to Elijah’s mind, and he realized why his speech failed. He forgot that he wasn’t in the real world. He was in Fallen Heaven on the martial continent.
Peace, kindness, compassion, were nothing but nonsensical words. Talking and peacefully working together wasn’t the preferred method to resolve conflicts on the martial continent. It was more likely for people to use their fist first and think about talking after the enemy was defeated. When it came to conflict between different races, fighting was almost certain.
Of course, this was a rule that people followed, but didn’t absolutely have to obey. Many individuals were more than willing to engage in peaceful interactions and talk things out. However, once weapons were drawn, any attempts to talk things out would be seen as a sign of weakness. Understanding his mistake Elijah prepared himself to fight.
Next, Elijah used his Call to Arms skill. Instantly ten thousand astral energy was taken from Elijah, but it didn’t cause his cultivation level to drop. In return, Elijah and his people receive an increase of ten points to their attack and defense. This paired well with another one of Elijah’s skills, Battle Command.
Skill: Battle Command
Tier: 0
Stage: Early
Description: Increases your followers attack and defense by +10. Increases the chance that your words will provide your followers with a boost to their abilities in battle.
Cost: None
Returning his attention to the goblins, Elijah saw that they calmed down and continued to march toward him. Their approach was slow, and their defense was poor. The shields they carried looked like they were created by carving up the trunk of a tree into large misshapen disk. Clearly, they lacked the touch of a true craftsmen and Elijah doubted if the ‘shields’ they carried would grant them any points toward their defense.
Goblins walked forward with a shield in one hand and another weapon in the other. As they walked forward, they would occasionally reveal openings in their defenses. This happened when the goblins tried to adjust the way they held their shields or when the goblin’s shields bumped into each other.
Seeing their terrible defense, Elijah couldn’t help but think that the goblins would have an easier time if they simply held their shields with both hands and ran forward. Of course, Elijah wouldn’t say anything to the goblins. The time for talking was over.
“The goblins are in range,” Elder Jeb said. “Give the command to attack.”
Elijah gave Elder Jeb a nod to show he understood. Elder Jeb wanted Elijah to give the command because Elijah told him about the effect of his Battle Command skill. Elijah also explained the effects of some of his other skill.
Sharing the details of his skills wasn’t something Elijah was worried about due to three important reasons. One reason was that he knew his people would gain more respect and trust for him after they learned about his power. The second reason was that his current skills would improve overtime. Finally, the third and most important reason was that he was arrogant.
Looking at his people that were ready for battle, Elijah thought about what words he should say to give them the best buff. Should he talk about how weak the goblins were or praise his people for their bravery. Maybe he could point out the disparity in the weapons they were using. In the end Elijah decided to give a simple command.
“Warriors! Kill!
KILL!
Your words have roused your warriors fighting spirit.
50% increase to attack for the next two minutes.
Listening to the war cry of his people Elijah couldn’t stop a smile from spreading across his face. A deep sense of satisfaction and pride swept through him when the warriors yelled out this order in unison. His only regret was that he didn’t have a throne to sit on. Sitting on his throne, while waving his sword and giving out commands. He would definitely look like a total badass.