"Quit it with the drama. We have a meeting to start."
Ashley glared at them with a face that was completely indifferent to their troubles.
Who was this girl that she thought she could just interrupt the staring match of two leaders of tribes like that? And to act so indifferent... as if it was an insignificant squabble... as if the fight between the tribes was a mere annoyance that needed to be squashed.
This angered both Rocko and Erasalis, and they turned their glares to the spirit girl, however when Samantha smiled at them and asked them to both calm down, they felt the urge to listen and do as she said.
The lizardmen sat down at a second round table and the antiheroes moved to the front of the room where Trevor and Samantha stood forward to begin putting on a show.
Trevor pushed up his glasses and smirked. He seemed ready to give a presentation.
"To begin, I would like to once more welcome and thank both parties for attending this meeting. After these initial formalities we will move to the second floor of this building where a meeting room has been prepared, however first I would like to introduce some of the topics of today's discussions."
Both members of the lizardmen and the birdmen were glaring suspiciously at Trevor as he took the attention of the entire room with such ease. The lizardmen and the birdmen both had their doubts as to whether the people in front of them were stronger than them- and if they were not, they had no right to be acting so boldly towards the other leaders. As a matter of fact, if the antiheroes were not stronger than the birdmen and the lizardmen tribe leaders, there would be no reason not to begin the war right here and now.
They did not feel as if there was any intimidating aura coming from him right now as Arlo had previously described. Yerth looked over to Arlo with disappointment, and began to think that Arlo was either brainwashed by these people or perhaps simply overexaggerating their strength because he lost to their leader.
However, this was because Trevor had not yet put on his businessman face.
As of right now, he was doing the equivalent of hiding ones presence- and Arlo recognized this since he had been at the negotiation table before with this man.
'As soon as these people are negotiating with this man they will realize how terrifying he can be...'
"There are a few topics. The first and most important topic of discussion, which I would like to hear the feedback of the nearby leaders on, is the establishment of new leadership here in the slime village. We, the antiheroes, have been elected as the absolute rulers of this village, As the new rulers, we now hold the ability to decide what happens with the exports of this village, and I would like to open the discussions for trade. Of course... that is assuming that you all accept us as the leaders of this village. If there are any objections to our leadership here, I would like to open any discussion on that first before we do anything here. I would like to keep this discussion a civil one. If you all resort to any form of violence then I will not guarantee the safety of anyone here."
"As if we could have a civil discussion with those uncultured swine-riders.", Tora commented.
"What was that!? At least we have tradition and honor unlike you flip flopping winged freaks!", Yerth shouted in response.
The two stood up from their seats.
Tension filled the room, and Trevor seemed to be face palming with a disgusted look on his face. The other three were looking to Trevor for advice, to see what they should do next.
However, the two who had stood up began approaching one another.
"You filthy lizard! Do you think I will sit down quietly as you insult my people?!"
"The same to you, you arrogant prick! I wont sit back as you say what you wish!"
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The two began walking towards each other.
The leaders didn't seem to stop their men. Rocko and Erasalis seemed to be having a staring contest of their own as the two closed the distance.
"Are you trying to start this war here and now? If so, I will end it here and now.", Tora said.
"Exactly my line.", Yerth said as he whipped out his bow.
"Should I do something about these guys?", Ashley asked Trevor- still with an indifferent look on her face. Claire was on the side fidgeting and freaking out, wondering if she should do something about it.
However, there were flames in Trevor's eyes.
The eagle began stretching his calves, preparing to attack the lizardman, while the lizardmen grabbed for an arrow to shoot.
SMASH!!!!
Before either one had moved, the sound of the splitting of wood echoed throughout the hall.
The tension between the two sides was dispersed, and replaced with a dominating aura.
Trevor had smashed a table in two with his bare fists, and the hatred and anger in his eyes could not be described in mere words.
A terrifying aura filled the room. It was not one that could be described as a physical or magical presence- but that of a complete psychological dominance.
"I see. So this is how it is. You all seem to believe that you can enter the home of another and disrespect the owners of that home as you please, doing as you wish."
Trevor was filled with rage beyond comprehension, but he kept his cool as he coldly began a speech.
"Did you all perhaps not hear me the first time? I said that I would like to avoid violence in order to conduct a CIVIL discussion among the leaders of the villages nearby. What part of CIVIL did you not understand? Could it be perhaps that you all have brains smaller than that of a pea, and cannot possibly comprehend the idea of speaking and negotiating with another?! OR PERHAPS YOU ALL DO NOT VIEW US AS EVEN WORTHY OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENT??? Perhaps you are under the impression that we are simply some ragtag group who threw the people of this village together and are now calling ourselves leaders, but in reality have no power to back that assertion. Is that it?"
Fear, terror, and malice spread through the room.
This man was no ordinary elf.
No, he was far beyond that.
The aura he was currently radiating was enough to dominate ones very thoughts.
Was this what Arlo had spoke of when he came back from this village?!
Yerth could not even utter a word from his mouth at the complete dominance that Trevor exerted over him.
"What's wrong? Why don't you let loose that arrow right now? Do it. I dare you. Let that arrow go on my territory and I will ensure that an example is made out of the one who performs the first attack while in our home. This entire village is our home- the home of the antiheroes, and every subject, slave, and being who resides here is a member of our family. If you lay even so much as a single finger on any member of our family who we have offered our protection to.... then we will not allow you to leave here without first undergoing suffering worse than death."
Tora could not move.
This man was completely serious with every word he said. He instinctively knew this.
If he were to attack here, then he would encounter something worse than death.
Tora released his fighting stance and sat back down slowly.
It took everything he had to be able to even do that, and slowly the lizardmen who had an arrow knocked put the arrow back into his quiver, and sat down as well.
"I see... that's more like it. It seems that you all have at least enough intelligence to respond to danger, and to know when you should back down. That is a good trait to have. Idiots who like to prove themselves regardless of their position and the situation have no place in this world. I will forgive you all for the previous matter for now, however consider this a warning. There will be no disturbances while you are in our house... and there will be no second chances. You will either play by our rules, or you leave the house."
Claire was amazed by this. While his words were bold and took a harsh tone, the elf was able to so easily make these groups who were on the brink of starting a war here and now to sit back down and think calmly about their actions.
Arlo was giving Yerth a horrible glare, as if saying 'I told you so'.
Yerth and Tora were completely shook, however the malice was aimed directly at them, and so the others were not as aware of what had just happened.
Even so, they could still feel the tension produced by the elf. He was someone to be wary of for certain.
'Why did Yerth back down? While it is true that that elf seemed very angry, is he not powerless? How can he speak such bold words in the presence of all these warriors?', Pilir wondered.
'Perhaps I will need to stand up for our people on my own... it seems our warriors are not as stable-minded as I originally thought they were... they are easily intimidated by these powerless fools... I will keep quiet while we are here, however as soon as we are out of this territory...'
"Now then... where was I before I was so rudely interrupted by your outbursts... ah yes! The last, and most unimportant item on the agenda is the petty squabble between your tribes. This is a trivial matter, and should be settled quickly if you all are intelligent enough to see things our way, however I doubt that you all will do so. Regardless, I have no interest in whether or not you all decide to continue your squabble, so long as it is done outside of our territory. And so long as none of our subjects are harmed by it."
Trevor finished his introduction, and the antiheroes then headed up the stairs.
"Please follow us up here where we will begin the meeting.", Samantha said with a sweet expression.
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