"Let us begin."
Void and Kriti said in chorus,
"As you wish."
The plan that would determine the future was being cooked. This is where Void proved his ability as the strategic master.
"Now, Void, What have you planned? Let's hear it."
Achut asked with great curiosity. All of the Rulers thought of Achut as a being with incomparable intellect however, only Achut knew the truth. That's why he came up with his idea of hearing Void's plan then making some changes to it.
With this his reputation as an absolute overlord remained intact and other's beliefs didn't crumbled as well.
'I must be very intelligent.'
Were the thoughts going through his head right now.
"Thank you very much for providing me such an opportunity, My Lord. I recalled all of the details Lord Achut bestowed upon us before the dimensional travel. The details about the Status System that even rivals our Demon system. The details of the most dominant and intelligent creatures known as humans, was very helpful. Thanks to all of these information, I was able to come up with 167 different strategies according to our situation. Lord Achut must have already thought of the same plans as me, I just know it!
So please let this fool speak first."
These last words struck Achut like lightening.
'I haven't even started thinking about a plan and you planned out 167!!! Are you some kind of Strategy God?! Even though I created you, I didn't create some strategic maniac! Are you some kind of prodigy?!'
Achut thought so just when—
"My Lord, I have returned."
Mr.One returned from his errand.
"Oh! Lord Void and Lady Kriti are here as well. I humbly apologize for the rudeness."
Mr.One bowed down and showed some respect to both of the Rulers.
Out of curiosity, Void asked.
"Lord Achut, May I ask where is Mr.One coming from?"
Achut was still in deep thoughts about what mistake did he make while creating Void. Looking at their master in so deep thoughts, Mr.One replied,
"I went to recon the valley as ordered by Lord Achut. If you wish I can provide with all of the information I found, Lord Void."
Void just couldn't help but admire his master even more.
'He took the measures and recon the area immediately!! How far does he think? Maybe my plans are also known to him. A-As expected of Lord Achut!'
Void's admiration for his master went up by leaps and bounds.
"I-Is that so? As expected of Lord Achut."
While everyone was discussing, Achut still hadn't snapped out of his thoughts,
' I should control my emotions! I can't let them admire me more! What if their expectations about me went up with no limits?! Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps!'
The consequences he faced due to his negligence could not be reverted now. It was his fault for being so high and mighty in front of his subordinates. And now he was afraid, that they would start asking for something ridiculous.
'Huh? Oh! Mr.One is here.'
Achut maintained his posture and asked,
"Then, Mr.One. What information have you brought?"
"Just as My Lord had ordered, I went through the whole valley and brought some information. As expected by you, this valley is enormous. It can fit in two large cities side by side!"
Void was shocked. How big of a valley is this? He thought.
"This valley is almost a perfect circle, My Lord. I believe the river that flows around the circumference is the reason. The river is strange as well. It starts from the northeast and ends in a cave below the source."
The pattern of the river was very weird. Before Achut could ask,
"—the cave is full of valuable resources, My Lord. We should begin harvesting the cave as soon as possible."
"I agree with Mr.One but we can't afford to be hasty in this situation. We still don't know anything about this world."
Achut showed correspondence upon Void's decision. Being precipitant would just be like digging their own grave.
"So Mr.One, what about the inhabiting creatures?"
"Lord Void, I counted 367 species potentially harmful to us—intelligent and unintelligent combined. The total population is 17,181 and number of tribes is 12. The Dwarves Tribe is the executive village which governs this valley."
Achut couldn't believe his ears and eyes. He was aware of the orders he gave but to obey it to such lengths. This time, instead of arguing with them, he vowed to live up to their expectations and become the greatest Lord.
'If they could do it so could I.'
"Lord Achut and Lord Void, I believe that these species, with or without intellect—are of no harm to us. Just 5 two-star Death Knights would be enough to Obviate them, I believe."
"That's right. These creatures would hardly affect my plan. However, we cannot decimate them yet. They are an important pawn in my plan."
Achut couldn't think of a use of those creatures. So he shamelessly asked Void to continue explaining.
"Lord Achut, your presence itself is very threatening for weaker species. Even though My Lord has limited himself to his 1% power only, the dense mana you release can give nightmares to creatures—100s' of kilometres from here."
Everyone shook their heads in accordance to Void's answer. They couldn't help but adore Achut's strength.
"But Void, How would it affect your plan?"
"No Kriti, in fact, it is a part of my plan."
The more they heard, the more curious they got.
"Mr.One, Did you find something weird about those moronic creatures?"
"It is as you say, Lord Void. It seems Lord Achut's presence is triggering their natural instincts. But what does it have to do with your plan?"
"Now please let me finish explaining my plan first, My Lord."
"Continue."
"Like I said, Lord Achut's presence can be felt from thousands of kilometres away from here. There is no way someone with enough magical power didn't notice it. If the Emperor of this country has the status of Emperor—given by Gods, then he will most probably feel it immediately."
Achut couldn't completely comprehend what void just said. So he acted as if he knew everything.
"Lord Void, forgive my rudeness but what is this status thing?"
"Just like in the Demon Realm, the Gods have provided the creatures in the physical realm a great power—Status. Each and every creature is born with a status—Peasant, Nobility, King and Emperor. Most people get the Peasant status whereas only a few in many thousands get Nobility. The rarity keeps increasing. It is said that only one person with Emperor status is born every few decades.
The status they receive decides their standing in the society. The peasants follow the Nobility and the Nobility follows either a King or an Emperor."
Mr.One began crying all of a sudden.
"But isn't that very cruel, Lord Void? How can the God do such a thing to their creations?"
"Everyone thinks the same but ever since the demise of the Primordial Gods, everything has been a way of entertainment for their descendants. This system gave endless possibilities for the King and Emperor to grow in strength. In return, the Gods got what they wished for—Entertainment. The power higher status holders—King and Emperor— held was too much to control as such thousands of countries were ruined. Billions of people died and hundreds of worlds were destroyed."
Yes, this is the truth of this world. After an unavoidable status awakening, a person's life is determined. If the status was a peasant, there is no other choice but to follow Nobility. The more peasants a Nobility status has the more stronger it gets. This applies to the King and Emperor as well. The more Nobility that follows them the stronger they get.
"This is all the information I have in hand right now. I made these speculations based on Lord Achut's explaination."
Achut wanted to stay quiet and listen to Void's plan but the luck is not on his side.
"We can gather the information later. First continue your plan."
"As you wish. Like I was saying, many strong individuals might have already noticed Lord Achut's presence. Since we are located inside the Valley that belongs to the Empire, there is only one possibility that I could think of. It is most likely that the Emperor would send a scout team to scout the valley."
Kriti was very intrigued by this statement.
"Why do you think so? There may be other possibilities as well."
"Your doubts were within my expectations, Kriti. If you put yourself into the shoes of the ruler, then what would you do in this situation?"
"I would send an army to eliminate the threat as soon as possible."
Achut was shocked to hear that answer from Kriti. Even he, himself, wouldn't do something so dumb.
"Kriti, you are being illogical. Just sending out troops won't solve the problems. You have to consider everything in order to launch an attack."
"What do you mean, Void?"
"Considering the potential of the enemy, the environment where the battle would take place are important steps to ensure the troops' safety."
"W-Who cares about a mere soldier life?"
Void sighed in skepticism.
"I just can't debate with you, can I? Let us continue before she makes me insane."
"Wha-What did you say?!"
Achut signaled Void to continue by raising his left hand.
"In the most likely scenario, there should be around 1000 scouts. This could be a great opportunity for us but it is dangerous as well. I believe we shouldn't reveal ourselves to the world yet. Lord Achut, we should think of a way to hide our presence and capture some of the scouts to gather information. Two birds with one stone."
The idea was simple but to achieve it— Achut started sweating. The plan was to capture some of the scouts to gather information about the outside world whilst hiding their presence.
"Then, what have you planned, Void?"
"I believe that we should capture those creatures that are running away from your presence, My Lord."
"But Void, how can we do that?! We can't tame all of them."
"Your reasoning is only natural. However, the only thing that is keeping the humans from invading this valley are those foolish creatures."
Kriti was dumbstruck. She couldn't imagine how Void came up with such ideas based on just possibilities. Her IQ is very low to be honest.
"Kriti, go ahead and pass my order to Kanxi. Tell him to stop the Monsters from escaping the valley."
"As you wish, My Lord."
Kriti bowed once again and teleported back to pass the order.
"So Void, Did you consider the possibility that the Emperor can be an illogical and dumb ruler?"
Void gave an 'as expected' smile and said,
"Yes, My Lord. Even if the Emperor sends battalion of soldiers, we must think of a way that is considerate for both situations. But still, it is very unlikely that the high ranking officials and Nobles would allow that to happen."
Achut and Void wondered, what could be done? Just then Achut tried asking Mr.One.
"Mr.One, tell me, what do you think we should do about it?"
Mr.One's eyes shone brightly being given a chance to speak. He kneeled down first and answered,
"I believe we should use invisibility on the Ruins."
The idea itself was great but there was one problem.
"Your idea is very logical however there is another problem to consider, Mr.One."
"Then what is the problem here, Lord Void?"
"We can only hide us with the invisibility not our presence. We have to show them something that will satisfy them. But we have to hide us as well. We need something that has a strong presence like us Rulers."
Mr.One immediately answered the most likely candidate for it.
"Forgive my rudeness, Lord Achut. But I believe we can make use of Lord Gedes's presence."
Void was intrigued by that idea.
"Lord Achut, he is right. Not only Gedes is as strong as me, he also has a Dragon's presence. Since a dragon is considered a deity in human world, I don't think they will think of attacking the valley once again."
Achut wasn't annoyed but in fact, he was happy that his pet will at least have something to do.
"I allow it."
"Thank you very much, Lord Achut. If we use Bone Dragons, we can show the Empire that Gedes has subordinates as well."
Gedes, a blue Azure dragon, was Achut's pet. Achut raised Gedes since he was only an egg. He is very big and strong.
"Summon: Bond"
Achut used the summoning skill to summon his bond. On Achut's shoulder, a bright light source formed and a small Azure dragon—size of a palm—appeared.
He was so small because Gedes can control his size. Achut forced him to learn this skill because he destroyed his house—the octahedron frequently.
"Lord Gedes, you seem to be doing fine."
Gedes was still in shock so he completely ignored Mr One's greetings. He was just about to bathe but got summoned randomly.(Mr one must have been hurt.)
"What is the meaning of this, master?! Can't you see I was about to bath?! How many times do I have to tell you?!!!"
Void got angry.
"Gedes, show some respect!! He is our master, you know! A dragon bathing? How ridiculous?!!!"
Achut was trying to control his laugh. Void said exactly what Achut was thinking.
"Why are you trying to control your laugh, Master?! Say Void, Why can't Dragon bathe? Tell me an appropriate answer."
The strategic master of the Ruins had no answer to that question. He was speechless. Just then, Mr.One added fuel to the fire.
"But Lord Gedes, you don't smell because your skin is covered in thick scales. You don't even sweat. Bathing is meaningless for dragons."
Achut and Void couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.
"Damn you, One!!!!"
"I-I am s-sorry, Lord Gedes. P-Pl-Please forgive me."
Gedes got angry and wrapped up around Achut's neck. But Achut wasn't bothered by it even a bit. He is so strong even he doesn't know about it. The number of spells he had had bothered him so he limited himself to his 1% power. If he releases his limiters—an explosion that can blow up an entire world to smithereens can occur.
He, himself is scared of himself. He grows stronger every single second. Even now he is getting stronger. He has been researching ways to control his growth but he hasn't found one yet.
Achut and Void were grabbing their stomach while laughing as the laugh went out of control. But somehow they managed to snap. Then Void explained everything to Gedes.
"So you want me to be a bait to stop the humans from discovering Master?"
"You are not a bait. Humans consider you a deity. If they see you in the valley, they will go away without complaining."
"You are not making sense here. If I am considered a deity then won't they come here to worship me everyday?"
"That is logical as well, that's why you will receive Bone Dragons to show that you can control undead. Then they will not disturb you again."
Gedes was trying his best to not accept this quest but the mastermind didn't give up as well. So he decided to anger Achut.(not really, he unwillingly angered him)
"So what if I say no?"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
Achut gazed at Gedes like a hungry hunter looking at their struggling prey.
Gedes started shivering in fear,
"Ehhhh....?! Noooo...!!! Help me.....!!!"
" YOU WILL DO IT, WON'T YOU?"
Achut tilted his head while saying that.
"Ahhh...why do you look so scary....?!"
"WHAT?!"
"Yes! Yes! I! Will! Do! It!"
Achut changed his expression. His laugh was beaming now.
"Good, why didn't you say so earlier?"
"Gedes, all you have to do is show the humans your beautiful form. We will give you subordinates that will do the fighting for you. The only thing you have to do is move around and use your Roar."
Gedes's looked at Void with narrowed eyes.
"You know what, you are adding more and more things that I have to do. Stop saying 'the only thing'!!!"
"But you do understand what you have to do, right?"
"Of course, but I have my own conditions."
Achut was getting annoyed at Gedes behaviour getting more and more rude every day.
"YOU HAVE A CONDITION?!"
"AHHHH....! Don't look at me like that!!!"
"Lord Achut, please calm down."
Achut looked at Void with doubtful eyes and asked him why he was siding with Gedes.
"Don't you think Gedes is getting more and more spoiled!"
"It is as you say, Lord Achut. But it is not his fault. You see, the Dragons are one of the mythical species who are driven by pride. Gedes is also from the same species. Even though he is Lord Achut's bond, he still has his pride as a Dragon. In fact, we Demons are an inferior species compared to Dragons."
Achut was still not satisfied with Void's explaination.
"DON'T LET YOUR PRIDE GO WILD, OKAY?. I MIGHT HAVE TO KILL YOU SOMEDAY... BECAUSE OF YOUR PRIDE."
Achut released a lot of mana and pressurised Gedes. The mighty dragon couldn't handle it at all. Gedes fainted immediately from the pressure.
"We might have to wait for him to wake up. What have you done, Lord Achut?"
Void let out a sigh. The meeting will have to continue in a few hours.
To be continued.