After painstakingly hunting for the goshawk, the air force Adrian has been dreaming about has become a reality.
A total of twenty-five goshawks lined up majestically, fully equipped with his own saddle design. At present, they only lack standardized uniforms and weapons.
Anyway, that can be solved later. In the first place, he wasn't planning for an all-out war.
In front of the west gate of Adrianopolis, dunirrs stood there in awe. Never before did they imagine themselves taming a bird, let alone riding them as a vehicle.
Although they're a bit bummed out for not passing the rider selection, they feel proud of their fellow dunirrs. Due to its dangerosity, each rider has to excel in circulating mana in and out of their body. Another requirement is to be able to manipulate earth magic to a certain extent.
Adrian decided to call this group of twenty-five goshawks a 'first air fleet'. One air fleet consists of five 'air squads'. In one air squad, there are five air riders.
"Chief~ Be careful and come home safely. I'll be waiting." Anna waved her hand.
'Urgh!! Why does she act like my wife?' Adrian had to admit, an excessive affection did feel uncomfortable. Though he knows Anna's obsession with him is still on a healthy level, nothing to lose if he's careful.
[Exactly! You should never let your guard down or else she might be your wife for real.]
'Oh, please! That joke isn't funny at all, Aries. She's ninety-something years old, remembers?'
[....]
Since Aries keeps quiet, he has no reason to continue this conversation. Instead, he needs to focus on the objective of the mission.
Like humans, the first thing he decided to do after stabilizing the internal situation is to exert his power and influence over his neighbour.
This would be the first in Adrian's life to commit aggression toward the innocent.
He does feel a bit guilty but he shoves it aside.
"Chief, we're ready to depart," said Yansa. The head department of the military is hellbent on going together with him.
"Alright then, let's depart now," said Adrian. He hopped on his own goshawk which he named Helia.
Seemingly understanding his words, the birds spread their wings and flipped them up and down.
Slowly, they begin to take off.
....
With their flight speed, the air fleet arrived near the said village in just 18 minutes.
"Is this the village you said, chief? It's pretty crude, isn't it?" Yansa asked. They are currently on top of the tree branches, watching the village from a safe distance.
"Well, it's not like they have a necessity to build a large city like us. More importantly, are they not going to the forest, scavenging resources? Why would they gather at the entrance of the village?"
"Now that you mention...Shouldn't they be tending farms or something? Perhaps they hold some sort of celebration?" Yansa made his guess.
"Does that really matter though?" Adrian readied himself. "Let's go and meet them, everyone!"
"Yes, chief!!"
Twenty-five birds start to fly again, approaching the village fast. Panic surfaced on their face when the poor villagers saw them. They split up and try to save themselves from being attacked by birds.
Some brave dunirrs are coming at them with spears and arrows. But, it doesn't hit them in the slightest.
To show his dominance and authority, Adrian steers Helia to land on one of the houses. The house ends up being crushed by Helia's weight. Whether there was someone inside the house or not, Adrian wasn't completely sure.
He takes a peek at the ground
No blood splattered.
Sigh—
Gazes fixated on him. Apparently, his entry is too flashy for them.
He cleared out his throat.
To make his words heard throughout the area, Adrian uses mana to enhance his voice.
"Ehem...People of this village, my name is Adrian Brine, chief of the Adrian Tribe who rules over 18,000 dunirrs. I'm here to take your pitiful tribe into my fold!! Submit before me!"
A few minutes passed in silence. Dunirrs beneath him stay static, trying to let Adrian's words sink into their mind.
On the other hand, Adrian who sees no response is inwardly panicking.
'Did they not feel intimidated?'
[Maybe they are baffled at your cringe words.]
'I had no excuse for that.' Adrian sheepishly admits it.
"O ruler of Adrianopolis, what mistake we have made that irked you so much, to the point of invading our peaceful village." The village chief braved himself to step forward.
He asked albeit quivering in fear.
If it was just a mindless bird, he had no reason to not attack it. But, a dunirr riding a bird... That's something new.
'Are they misunderstanding me?'
[Some stranger came to their village and asked them to submit. What do you expect?]
"Village chief, I don't have any hatred toward you. As your population is low, I want you to permanently move close to our city."
"Why?"
"Isn't merging with us would increase your safety and survival? You may not know this, but the area around our city is far safer, fertile and abundant with resources. Dunirrs there had complete control over the region. Are you not tempted by it?"
"C-Certainly." The village chief replied but at the same time had a contemplating look.
Is it because he doesn't want to let go of his power as a chief? A chief in a small village is still chief. He had an influence over nearly three thousand dunirrs after all.
"Ruler of Adrianopolis, let me consult this with my people first."
"Sure! But, I don't have much patience to wait."
"I-It will only take a moment."
The village chief hurriedly met with his people. Looking at the chief behaviour, Adrian's mind already orchestrated several schemes to reduce the villagers' loyalty towards their chief.
That if they accept his offer. He had to choose the 'hard' way in case they refused though.
Never did he intend to let them escape him.
Shortly after, the village chief returned.
"What's your answer?" Adrian asked.
He said with a heavy heart, "W-We're are willing to relocate to your city."
Adrian grinned from ear to ear, "You made the right decision. I'm sure you won't regret it. Make preparations, we're going to transport you by air."
"Wait!!" A sudden voice called for Adrian.
"Hm?" Adrian's gaze moves in the direction of a young dunirrs, possibly around his age. "Who are you? Do you have something to say?"
"My name is Elki. I'm the chief of the Elid Tribe."
"Elid Tribe? Are you not the same as them." Adrian pointed his finger at the village chief.
Elki shook his head. "No. We are from a settlement called Elid, located further south. We're travelling north to find a new place to live. If it's okay with you, may we reside in your city as well?"
"Why did you move? What happens to your tribe?"
"We were attacked by humans."