Aarav picked up the spoon and first drank a small sip of the soup. His eyes were closed, as if he was sensing the taste. Then suddenly his eyes lit up. He quickly started tasting a little of the other dishes as well.
The goblin was looking at him with surprise.
Aarav said while stuffing the food in his mouth, "This is amazing, It is very tasty. You did a great job, Goblin!"
Tears of joy welled up in the Goblin's eyes. Controlling herself, he said, "Finally, for the first time, someone ate food from my hands and praised it. I feel very good to hear that you liked it."
Aarav asked with surprise, "But why are you crying?"
The Goblin laughed and said, "These are tears of joy, you fool! You wouldn't understand."
After some time
All the monsters and Aarav gather once again outside the Goblin's house. Aarav was sitting on a simple but sturdy looking wooden chair, while the other monsters were on the ground, looking at him seriously.
Aarav straightened the back of his chair and said in a serious voice, "Now, the first and biggest meeting of this jungle is starting. Listen carefully to whatever I am going to say. If you have any questions, Just raise your hands."
He stood up from the chair and started speaking.
"How you all still live in this forest, I don't know. But from now on you will have to live as I say."
He looked around, a new confidence was visible in his voice.
"I have enslaved you all so that you can fix the system of this jungle again, A system that is completely ruined."
He paused a bit, as if considering the effect of his words.
"The first rule: You will only hunt creatures that are part of your food chain. I've talked to the goblins to find out what is and isn't part of your food chain, If anyone breaks this rule, he will be punished."
The monsters nodded seriously.
Aarav further said, "Second rule: Monsters who are powerful will only hunt those stronger than them or equal to them, The weak victims will be left to the monsters who are themselves weak, so that everyone can be fed and everyone can live well.
Now there was a slight softness in his voice.
"Third Rule: You can exchange food. This means, if you like to eat a weaker monster's prey, but it is not part of your food chain, you can exchange its prey for your prey instead of fighting it. Can be changed with, It will be beneficial for everyone."
He clarified his point further by saying, "If someone has taken a big kill and he does not like it, and someone else has taken a small kill but it is not to his liking, then both of you can change your kills by mutual consent." yes. It's a new system, but it can make life better for all of you."
Hearing Aarav's words, the attention of every monster present there was towards him. This was the first time someone had made such a suggestion in the forest.
Aarav turned his voice a little serious and said, "But remember, if you want to exchange your prey with a monster and he refuses, you will not force or bully him. If he refuses, You will have to find someone else or make do with your own prey, This rule will be implemented very strictly."
He looked around and clarified his point by saying, "And yes, this change of prey will not happen every day. If this becomes a habit, the forest system will break down again.You can only do this if you want to change the taste of your prey, or are never happy with your prey.
Aarav paused a bit, then steadied his voice to explain the second rule.
"Second Rule: None of you shall hunt monsters or creatures that can think, understand, and have emotions like you. Hunting such monsters is strictly prohibited in this forest."
He looked at the orcs and said, "Like the orcs are powerful and can hunt whoever they want, be it goblins, homo sapiens or any other intelligent monsters. But from today it all ends, Now you will only hunt monsters that pose a threat to you or other monsters, or that are rapidly increasing their population. Like the spiders you hunted today are a perfect example."
Aarav said, placing his hand on his nose, "And one more thing, hunt only as much as you need to eat. Today the orcas hunted a whole bunch of spiders, but that was too much for them. I still They stink. So hunting more than necessary is prohibited now?"
Aarav finished his speech and looked around. "Now I'm going to explain to you what else needs to be done to keep this forest and each other safe. But before that, if anyone has anything to say or a question, they can raise their hand. "
Aarav saw that the Orc Chieftain, the Skeleton Chieftain and a few other Orcs and Skeletons had their hands raised.
Aarav pointed towards the Orc Chieftain and the Skeleton Chieftain and said, "Orc Chieftain and Skeleton Chieftain, first you both ask your questions."
The Orc leader bowed his head and said, "Thank you, Master"What I want to say, I'm sure the Skeleton Chief and the other monsters would also want to tell you the same.
Aarav raised his eyebrows and said, "If it is so, then it must be something special. Start telling."
The Orc leader took a deep breath and began to speak in his heavy voice, "Master, the new rules you are talking about… To be honest, everything in this forest used to be like this, This forest was orderly, every monster lived within its limits. And the responsibility of taking care of all this was on our Demon King."
Aarav listened with surprise, and the Orc Chieftain continued his story, "But one day, the Demon King went out of this forest on some urgent business, In their absence, a terrifying S-Rank monster attacks the forest. There was a large clan of demons in this forest, and the Demon King's family also lived there. But…that monster killed every single member of the clan."
Aarav's face became serious. The Orc leader looked at him with deep eyes and said, "By the time the Demon King returned, it was too late. Not only was his family destroyed, but that monster had destroyed the entire system of this forest and every single rule." "The law was changed. Even the nature of this forest was changed."
The Sardar (chief ) remained silent for a while. Then, he said with a pained laugh, "In this world, those who are more powerful than you do only two things. They either make you like them, or they destroy you. And we... We didn't want to end, So we accepted the rules made by him and agreed to become like him."
Aarav opened his mouth to say something, but the Orc leader continued, "There was only one species that was against him—Homo sapiens. They never bowed before him. But the real victims of that monster were also Homo sapiens." However, their magical powers and their sacred land kept them safe. No monster could set foot on that land, not even an S-Rank monster. But as soon as those Homo Sapiens came out of their sacred lands, he would hunt them.
Anger started appearing in Aarav's eyes. He raised his hand to say something, but the Orc Chief continued, "When the Demon King returned, he lost his entire family. His anger was like a volcano. He swore that he would destroy that monster. Will keep doing, But for that he had to change himself. Breaking the rules made by himself, he started hunting Homo Sapiens like other demons. To become powerful, he did everything that he had once refused."
"Finally, the Demon King defeated the monster. But..."The Orc leader raised his voice, "That monster is not completely destroyed. He is hidden in a part of the forest where even demons cannot go. He is still alive. And one thing is clear, Master. As soon as he comes to know that the Demon King has now left this forest, and you, being a Homo Sapien, are so powerful, and the rules made by him are changing, then he will definitely come out. And…he will definitely come to destroy you."
Aarav started thinking in his mind, "An S rank monster, that too like a beast, because of which this entire forest has changed. In which such powerful monsters live. I don't have that many powers. How can I face him? Now what can I do?" Will I do?"
Thank You.
Chapter 11 Ends.....