"Explain further. What ideas in particular do you have in mind?", Trevor asked with his hand stroking on his chin and his elven ears flinching, while he considered the possibilities, and trying to understand the specifics of what Ashley was going to propose.
"We now have a few people among us who are at least undergoing training to become strong.... if we allowed these talents to go to waste, it would be a shame. Coran, Arlo, Oraguth, and you- Hiru. I want you four to make up this punishment force. Not all of the people in the village are undergoing combat training, so it would be most beneficial to allow a few people to specialize in it."
"I would be happy to be of service.", Coran replied immediately. He was delighted to hear that he would be able to assist these heroes who had held out their hand to him and his sister and provided everything for them when they were on the brink of death.
Without the antiheroes, he would not have been able to live this carefree life with his sister. Even if they had become corrupted and had to kill in order to keep such a life and live in 'peace' under the antiheroes, he considered it to be a minimal sacrifice for such a thing.
After all, it was a kill or be killed world. The antiheroes had managed to turn both him and his innocent sister into heartless killing machines- monsters... however, they managed to do so in a way where his humanity remained. He was not disheartened by this, but rather encouraged that his killing was for what he considered to be a just cause as opposed to useless violence without reason.
For the cause represented by the antiheroes- figures of greatness in the eyes of the two spiderlings.
"Of course, I have no issues. I only ask that before enlisting my children that they are allowed more time to train and grow up before they are put into any fighting. Of course, if you wish to immediately employ their abilities, I have no qualms. This is merely a request out of concern for them, and maximizing their use as assets for you.", Hiru uttered.
Hiru was happy to be of service to the ones who had spared him and his family not just once, but twice now. He understood well the disparity in power between the antiheroes and the Determined, and himself and his family. In the world of monsters, everyone knew inherently that the strong could do anything they wished with the weak, and so this is why Hiru and his family had such respect and loyalty for the antiheroes.
Despite the fact that they were strong, they did not simply take command over the weak and kill them for sport. They only seemed to bring harm to those who were truly evil, or were arrogant enough to stand against them.
They were able to use the abilities of those weaker than them, and draw them out to the maximum- under the pretext of slavery all while allowing them to live their own lives with minimal restrictions. Just look at the goblins and slime people around the village. Even though they were clearly being put to work- the labor was not excessive or dangerous. Most importantly- they all looked happy to be doing work for the antiheroes.
These people also took such care and consideration towards the future, which was astounding. Never had he met a ruler or a group of rulers who were so logical. Rocko, who was considered a genius in strategy among the lizardmen, did not even hold a candle to the seemingly endless intelligence that was possessed by each of these antiheroes. Particularly the scheming potential of the elf.
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Arlo was somewhat unsure about this position, however he had come here in order to boost the reputation of the lizardmen with the antiheroes. He feared their power and understood it better than anyone, and had come here as a result to ensure that that power would never be pointed towards his people. He had even allowed himself to be framed as a criminal to that end- so that the hatred of the people would be aimed at himself, and so they would not retaliate against the antiheroes.
"Will our only responsibilities be rooting out rebellion?", Arlo asked.
"No.", Garett responded with a serious tone. "As a matter of fact... I doubt that there will be many cases where you will have to root out rebellion. There are not many here who would dare rebel- and even if there were, there are not many who would even wish to rebel. There is no reason to rebel against a dictator if there are no issues with their rule in the first place. We will do as we please, however that does not mean that we will allow our citizens to go without. We may be demons, but we are not idiots who wish to uselessly witness others suffering... most of the time."
"I see.", Arlo stated, thinking.
"Of course I will do it! If even a single one of my people plan on spitting on the kindness that you have offered to them with ungratefulness, then I will be the one to ensure that such ungratefulness is punished! I will make it so that they endure greater horrors than the ones which my father showed them!", Oraguth shouted.
What a personality change he had undergone.
He went from a traumatized and fearful goblin to one who would spout such things with delight. It made even Garett somewhat concerned for his mental well being, and Garett was half nuts himself.
"Hm... alright. That's... good... I think... yes... that is good. We should punish anyone who rebels against our rule.... make an example out of anyone who dares to make the claim that we are ungracious rulers... don't you agree, ghost girl?"
"Hehehe... of course, Red."
"That settles things. Coran. I think you should be the leader of the punishment force.", Trevor then stated.
"Me? I would be honored, however why would you pick me? Surely, there are others stronger than I among the four here."
"Simple. You are the one here who I trust the most. I believe there are no objections?"
"None"
"Nope."
"No"
"That settles it. I have high hopes for you, my slave."
Coran smiled upon being called a slave.
As for why he felt happy when he was called this- he was not quite sure himself. The term in of itself was derogatory, however, when Trevor said it he almost felt... love. It was something that he never felt from his mother before. The love that a parent would give their child- that type of love where they would give their children a task to complete and watch them with hopeful expectations.
It was a unique and new feeling for Coran, and he was proud to be the leader of this force.
"Now then... I think we should go and have a discussion with the Determined. We need to inform her on our plans for the village so that she can properly carry them out in locations that we are not able to be at.", Trevor suggested.
"As for you four- I want you all to train yourselves hard. Arlo, you are a veteran warrior, no? Show the rest the ropes of combat. Get them to a point where they will be able to win a one on one fight against the average lizardman. Talk to me after you have trained these three to that point. Coran is still your superior officer, however for now he will undergo your training- whatever you decide that to be."
"I understand. Thank you for this opportunity.", Arlo said with a bow.
"Thank you for this opportunity, YOUR EXCELLENCY."
"I beg your pardon! Your excellency!"
The antiheroes then left the tailor shop after waving to Berith, and the four members of the punishment force then headed to the outskirts of the village to do some training.
They headed for the construction district where Claire was currently managing some of the goblins and slime people.
Trevor sighed.
"Things certainly are becoming busy... and I'm certain that the chaos of ruling as dictators has only just begun..."
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