(~˘▾˘)~~(˘▾˘~)
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In the coercion of David's deep and majestic eyes, the Amazons chose to submit in accordance with the promise, acknowledging him as their new king, and kneeling before him.
"The Amazons never lie, never break their word!"
Hippolyta and the others acted in accordance with this statement, even if they were reluctant. They chose not to break their word, despite their shock, and reluctantly bowed their heads to the new king.
For thousands of years, the island paradise, which had been exclusively inhabited by women, now had a man among them, and he was now the King of the Amazons.
"I know that even though I have achieved a feat surpassing that of Heracles, you still do not willingly submit to me," David chuckled, saying from his throne.
"Those of you who almost became slaves have always yearned for freedom...," he continued, his face showing a thoughtful expression.
As he gave his coronation speech, there was a glimmer of hope in the eyes of the Amazons, thinking that David might set a time limit for his rule or leave them a slight hope, such as allowing the Amazon tribe to leave the island if they could produce a stronger warrior to defeat him.
However, they didn't expect David to follow these words with a nasty smile, "But it doesn't matter; it's useless for me to want your hearts anyway. As long as your bodies obey my commands."
The Amazons were almost left speechless, looking at him with anger, suspecting that he was doing this on purpose.
"Now, I issue my first command as king—you will begin practicing dancing from today onwards. Each of you Amazons is tall and well-proportioned, with long legs that are a waste not to use for dancing."
David spoke with the air of a lazy king from his throne.
"Dancing?"
When the Amazons heard this, they found it so outrageous that some even wondered if they were hearing things and voiced their objections.
The Amazons are born warriors, each surpassing the fiercest beasts in the world. Even as seven or eight-year-old children, they could wrestle with lions and tigers, and as adults, they could tear steel apart with their bare hands. They were known for their fierceness, and even telling a lie was a matter of shame.
But now, David was asking them to discard their bows and swords tomorrow and instead practice dancing.
"I protest. The Amazons were endowed by the gods with strong bodies not to become court dancers and please others!" one of them exclaimed.
When the order was issued, even Diana in the audience was stunned.
"Dance... dancing?" She hadn't expected David's first command to be this, and not only her Hippolyta, the female general Antiope, and others also didn't expect it.
A man who had defeated them through great effort, conquered the island by slaying gods, and his first decree was for the Amazons to learn to dance?
"It seems that you Amazonians don't uphold their promises as you claim," David sighed, watching the group opposing below.
"Who said that?"
"It's the truth.
I have neither promulgated the Right of the First Night like the Roman tyrant Caligula nor have I led you into wars and risked your lives to conquer the world like Ares.
My first royal decree is simply for you to learn how to dance, and yet you all disobey."
With their character questioned, the Amazons were somewhat angry but also hesitant, thinking that their treatment of the new king was excessive.
They had just declared him their king, and now they were defying his simple command.
If David had launched a massacre against them or treated them as slaves, their defiance and even trying to overthrow David would be understandable.
But for something as trivial as dancing...
"Our king, did you conquer the Amazons created by the gods just to make us dance?"
Hippolyta couldn't understand it, saying with a stiff expression.
The strange nature of what was happening made her suspect that there might be some conspiracy in it.
"And what if I did?" David countered in response to her skepticism.
"After all, I've defeated the Amazons with great effort, battled the God of War, and slain him to become king. Can't I enjoy it?"
"..."
It seems somewhat reasonable, but it always feels that something is not right.
It was like conquering Rome with a million-strong army just to have Rome send grapes as tribute.
For the naturally fierce Amazons, who are born warriors, being forced to practice dance like some court dancer to please their new king was a source of resistance and humiliation.
But it hadn't reached the point where they felt they would rather die than resist.
So, they reluctantly followed the king's command, having no choice but to stay away from their war horses, putting aside their bows and arrows, and donning thin translucent skirts, silky stockings, and dancing shoes to begin their training.
Everything one needed to learn how to dance and practice it was available, David had ordered all the necessary equipment well in advance on the way back to the island.
"Not bad," David nodded as the music played through once again, clapping his hands. "In a few more years, maybe I could barely watch it."
Inside the palace, the Amazonian warriors' movements were awkward and far from graceful. The Swan Lake ballet, which was originally soothing, elegant, sad, and affectionate had transformed into a tense, rapid, and aggressive war dance.
The scene was no different outside in the square.
"I feel like the swans played by you could easily peck a lion to death one by one," David remarked, causing the others to turn red with anger and embarrassment, filled with resentment towards him.
"Except for you, Diana, who is barely acceptable,"
David pointed at Diana, giving his honest evaluation.
Diana learned to dance quickly, unlike the other Amazons who seemed completely insulated to dancing by nature. She approached the task with a diligent and serious attitude, earnestly following his royal command, and her dance movements already held a hint of elegance and pride, resembling that of a swan.
"Whether you like Zeus or not, at least the bloodline is exceptional and has given birth to a beautiful and intelligent offspring," he sighed.
Despite the praise in front of everyone and the attention she was receiving, Diana's smile was bitter, and she couldn't find any joy in it.
At this point, she even wished that David would quickly reveal some ambition or evil intentions that the Amazons couldn't accept, so she could escape her current life.
David knew very well that making the Amazon tribe learn to dance, especially learning ballet, was almost as bad as killing them.
But that was precisely what he wanted.
The Amazon tribe was full of resentment now, and if looks could kill, he, the new king, would have been crucified on his throne long ago.
However, dancing was a small thing, far from being the debauchery, cruelty, and inhumanity of a tyrant. The Amazons had no reason to resist, let alone rebel, so had no choice but to continue to obey.
Over the next month, the Amazon tribe's dance skills improved very little, and their performances still remained horrible.
Sometimes David couldn't help but wonder if the gods led by Zeus had maxed out the warrior talents of the Amazons when creating them and completely ignored their other talents.
But in contrast, his own template fusion progress was advancing by leaps and bounds!
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(~˘▾˘)~Don't forget to send your power-stones!~(˘▾˘~)