Mundus and his brothers floated above the jungle canopy, while an assortment of boulders floated next to them.

Mundus carried all the big ones, while his brothers took care of the fist-sized to head-sized ones.

Screams and screeches rang out from below, but Mundus remained dispassionate.

"Drop the rocks on my command. I will drop the boulders on the main tree trunks, while you take care of the stragglers."

Saying so, he started launching the boulders at the tree tops, while aiming for the tree trunks.

The treemen, who called these trees their home screeched and flailed their arms wildly.

Some tried to throw rocks, sticks, or certain hard fruits at the floating trio, but none had the strength to reach them.

The boulders crashed into the trunks, snapping the trees in half.

Soon the canopy started to topple, dropping treemen onto the ground.

Their screams came to an end with an audible crunch.

The treemen tried to resist, but some began to scatter after realizing their efforts were futile.

That's when Mundus's siblings stepped in, launching small rocks with great precision, hitting those trying to escape.

After a few hundred heartbeats, the battle came to a close.

When the last of the treemen fell to their demise, the siblings quickly landed and collapsed to the ground.

The brothers leaned against a nearby tree, their breathing ragged.

Mundus slowly floated down, landing before the two brothers.

"That should be the last tribe within this region. Good job keeping up. Make sure to rest up, and afterward, we can get the hunters, to collect the carcasses."

The two brothers didn't reply and instead concentrated on breathing, trying to regain their energy.

Later that day, back at the camp, the place was starting to resemble a city.

The foundations for farms had been done and the first crops have been planted.

First buildings were being constructed and the infrastructure for a city had already been prepared.

Mundus walked through the dirt streets and walked towards a half-finished stone palace.

Outside the palace, he found Apernora taking care of the flightless birds that they had seen in the jungle.

These birds walked on their legs and rarely used their wings.

They came in different colors, though mostly in shades of brown or white.

The males had red combs on their heads, making it easy for people to distinguish the two.

A special aspect of these birds is that if they are fed enough, then they will lay eggs incredibly fast.

The idea of keeping animals was entirely foreign, yet Apernora insisted on giving it a try when she stumbled upon this bird species during one of her hunts.

Apernora was currently scattering seeds within the enclosed pen.

The birds clucked and dipped their heads jerkingly, picking up the seeds individually.

Apernora spoke without looking up.

"Did you take care of the treemen?"

Mundus nodded his head, before giving a light cough and speaking.

"Yes. The nearby forest should be mostly safe now. Our hunters can now scavenge and hunt without getting harassed by these treemen groups."

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Apernora nodded her head while continuing to scatter the seeds.

Mundus waited patiently while she threw the last of the seeds.

"One of my scouts sent me a message."

She glanced up and gave Mundus a meaningful gaze.

Mundus gave a court nod.

"Let's go talk about this in the palace."

Saying so, he turned and walked around the bird coop, entering the half-finished stone palace.

Mundus had been working on completing his and Apernora's residences whenever he had time, but his various duties prevented him from finishing the structure yet.

Mundus entered the main hall, which resembled the temple in the holy city.

The structure was made using huge pillars, that would then support a roof on top.

At the moment, only the pillars were in place, and the roof hadn't been placed yet.

The open sky greeted them when they entered the hall, but it would have to do, in terms of secrecy.

He looked around and seeing that no one else was present turned to Apernora.

"This area should be secure. Tell me Apo, what did your scout tell you?"

From the slight furrow in her brow, Mundus could tell that whatever news she had, it would be something of grave importance.

"This message came with the last caravan coming from the holy city. My scout told me about Inpar getting injured, and of a conversation between Minsol and Stella."

It's been a few months since the competition between Mundus and Stella had started.

Since they established their city, a caravan had been moving to and from the holy city, connecting the two.

The caravan brings back more people, willing to join the growing city while delivering exotic materials to the holy city.

Mundus was taken aback.

He furrowed his brows while questioning Apernora.

"Inpar was injured? How did that happen? There shouldn't be many things in this world that could injure one of my siblings, even if he is the weakest."

Apernora chuckled lightly.

"I think you overestimate your siblings. Plenty of dangers can harm them in this world. From what I heard, they fought a large lizard called a drake. This drake could breathe fire and had near impenetrable scales."

Mundus listened intently, while continuously gripping and releasing his fist.

"Did you hear how tall this drake was?"

Apernora sighed while shaking her head.

"I haven't heard much, but it is said to be larger than a person. But that's not the important thing. The important thing is what followed after Inpar was wounded."

Apernora made a dramatic pause.

Mundus impatiently gestured for her to continue.

"Minsol flew over to the northern city and spoke with Stella. He told her, that were she to deliver him the drake's head, then he would 'consider' that when deciding his next successor."

Mundus narrowed his eyes and furrowed his brows.

"What does this mean for us?"

Mundus scratched his beard, while Apernora let out a thoughtful hum.

Finally, Apernora imparted her opinion.

"It means that there is a ploy against us. Minosl never considered making you king. He was just looking for an excuse to make Stella Queen."

Mundus furrowed his brows once more, this time deeper than before.

"You think father would do that? I know he disapproves of our nonbeliever status, but I thought that if we were to prove to him, that humanity would be well taken care of in our hands, then he would crown me king."

Apernora chuckled lightly while shaking her head.

A sad expression briefly flitted across her face.

"You are too naive. Minsol would never allow a nonbeliever to become king. Honestly, I don't even know why he chose to hold a competition in the first place, seeing as he could have simply decided to name Stella as his successor and be done with it. Who knows, maybe he wants to have the appearance of being impartial, or maybe he wants us to help in establishing new territory for humanity."

A bitter tone had crept into her voice.

Mundus covered his face with his hands while letting out a long sigh.

He let his hands drop, and a determined and hardened gaze met Apernora's.

"We can't let that stand. Something must be done."

Apernora let out a bitter laugh while spreading out her arms.

"What can be done? So long as Minsol is alive, nothing can be done. He has the strength to crush anyone. If you and all your siblings were to fight Minsol, he would still come out on top. And even if you could somehow hurt him, God would not stand for it. There is nothing we can do while he is around."

Apernora suddenly halted.

Mundus, who was about to interject, remained silent, allowing her to contemplate.

Slowly, Apernora began pacing while mumbling to herself.

"So long as Minsol's alive, nothing can be done, but we know that the reason Minsol is thinking about a successor is because he knows that his time on this earth is limited. Meaning, that there will come a time, relatively soon, when Minsol will no longer be with us."

She suddenly halted her pacing and glanced up at Mundus.

"I've got it. While the king is alive, nothing can be done, but soon, there will come a day when the king will fall. That will be our window of opportunity."

Mundus, who had remained silent until now, nodded his head while giving an affirmative grunt.

"So we just wait until that day comes? Twiddling our thumbs?"

Apernora let out a narrow and wide smile, a dangerous glint buried within her eyes.

She leaned in close and whispered sickly sweet words into his ears.

"No, that means that we have a few years to prepare ourselves. There are those within the people, who would support our cause. People who agree with our idea that worshipping a God who doesn't answer is an effort in futility. We can gather those beneath us, by leaking information reserved solely for royalty. God does not care for our worship and gains nothing from it. If we were to spread this information amongst the people, the number of supporters we'll have will swell dramatically. At the same time, we can prepare ourselves for the coming conflict. The most important aspect is to make sure that the battle between you and your siblings is won. For that, we need to begin preparations."

Mundus tilted his head.

"What kind of preparations?"

Apernora revealed another thin smile, her eyes forming two crescents. "

For you, that means hunting a bunch of those poisonous frogs you told me about. For me, that means being in touch with a certain someone and convincing him of our cause. There is much to be done."

She patted Mundus on the shoulder.