Before going hunting, he had some time to rest in his room.
He said to his servant to call every advisor to his room.
In his call came the master of ships , master of coin, and the commander of his kingsguard.
"What did you do? How can you give a price like that without speaking with me?" said Lady Yasmin.
"I know, I am sorry. I didn't mean to undervalue you, but I know something now."
"What?" said her while every advisor listened.
"The country of Ra has a lifespan less than three months, if I am guessing."
"How would you know?"
"Lord Kieran, what do you think? Have other countries updated the ships in their system?"
"No, they haven't."
"So, I am guessing correctly.
A big battle is going to happen here to remove her. The Sunny Island is a hub where every ship has to pass through, and even more so when winter comes.
But they have a bad culture of pacifism, so our mercenaries are their main force. As long as we support them, the kingdoms will be in doubt if they would join in for an attack. This is why we will be attacking the King of Ra this winter."
"Oh, I see."
"But why make a deal if we are attacking?"
"I want to gather as much good talent before we attack. And we aren't going to pay the full amount; we are going to pay with credit monthly. But you are going to have to stay behind to overlook this process until I send word."
"A whole deal of people will lose their lives."
"They won't need to if we accumulate enough good talent. We're also going to use the master of whispers here.
We should keep this meeting short as to act as though we only disclosed here how we were going to pay for the port."
"Okay, Your Majesty."
*****
Now reunited with King Cora at the port, arriving in separate carriages, both were in more comfortable clothes. They would be sharing a boat to go to the Red Island.
'I wonder what insane bullshit she is going to spew next.'
"So, what animal are we hunting here?"
"The royal hog," said King Cora. "Sailor, tell King Kratosus about it."
Sailor:
"It is a wild animal with a thin body covered in light fur, which can range in color from dark brown to bright red. Its head is large, with a pronounced nose, like a short trunk, which it uses to root around in the ground. The royal hog has small, sharp eyes and large, pointed ears that stand up.
One of its most distinctive features is its mouth: long, curved, sharp teeth that protrude from the lower jaw, especially in males. These mouths can be very prominent and give the boar a fierce, intimidating appearance.
Its legs are thin, built for running through dense forests or underbrush. The tail is short, and it is very curled. While royal hogs are solitary, they can be aggressive, especially when threatened.
In size, they are typically about 3 to 5 feet long, making them quite powerful animals.
These are native, but their numbers grow when winter comes because their predators go to sleep during the winter."
King Cora:
"Even though these are our national animal, we have to keep their numbers in check now that he has gone to sleep. Wouldn't you agree, King Kratosus?"
Kratosus:
"---"
'She wants me to speak about my cousin, but I won't.'
"You can always hire hunters for this if it's too heavy for you."
"Ah yes, hunters—a very good idea, very efficient."
They arrived on the island.
The island was full of red-colored trees, red trunks, and red leaves.
It gave an eerie feeling to Kratosus, maybe because it was afternoon, making the sky also red, giving the island the look that it was bigger than it was—perhaps even infinite.
Guard 1:
"We have sighted a royal hog, ma'am, on the eastern side of the forest."
"Very well. Give me and King Kratosus the crossbows."
"Shall we?"
"Please."
They saw the royal hog around 30 meters away.
"Should I scare it so it comes toward you? It will be easier to shoot it."
"Oh, but I had a different plan. I was thinking, why don't you kill it from here? I want to see you do it. You can do it, can't you?"
"Well, of course."
Kratosus lined up. He aimed the crossbow at the royal hog and then pressed the trigger.
Nothing.
He pressed it again.
Nothing.
He rapidly pressed it now, feeling ashamed and mad.
"Don't worry, I can kill this one," said King Cora.
She aimed for the royal hog and shot. It hit its leg.
It fell down and started screaming with a painful voice.
They approached the royal hog.
"I hope finishing him with a knife would not show problems like before."
"Of course not. I can take it from here," said Kratosus.
Kratosus pulled out a knife that was given by the guard and went down to the hog.
"i sorry budy I will make it quick."
In a clean scoop, he took the royal hog's life.
King Cora:
"Guard, please do the honor and bury it in the forest."
Guard:
"---"
King Cora:
"Guard, can't you listen?"
Aghhhhhhhh—it was the scream of a beast.
They turned their heads.
The beast was as large as two grown men tall, an eerie creature with glowing dark eyes and a thick coat of reddish-brown fur. Its face was marked with white "mask" patterns, giving it a haunting appearance. With a long, bushy, ringed tail and sharp claws.
It had raised both its hands and was screaming.
It was preparing to strike Cora.
It struck, but Kratosus was too quick and pushed Cora away.
Kratosus:
"Run!"
Aghhhhh—"Look at me, you stupid beast!"
Kratosus had won the beast's attention.
The only thing he could think was to run, so he ran.
But he didn't make it far.
The beast sliced his foot, and so he tripped.
Now the beast was standing above Kratosus, just waiting to devour him.
Just as the beast was going to bite Kratosus's neck, a crossbow noise was heard, and the beast screamed a painful cry.
The only weapon he had on himself was the crossbow.
He pointed his crossbow right at the beast's eyes and pressed the trigger.
The shot wasn't very powerful, but it did a lot of damage to the beast's eye, allowing Kratosus to escape with Cora.
Now they had found themselves on the opposite side of the boat to leave.
'How will we will get out of this situation?'