37 Fairies and Goblins

In the middle of the Forbidden Forest, a kingdom of fairies resides. They were a physically weak species, whom had grown to reign over much of the forest with their magical prowess. They had tiny frames, colorful hair and wings based on their magic affinity, their irises were also the color of their magical antithesis.

This very kingdom, whom had reigned supreme for nearly two centuries, was soon to be under assault by an army of goblins.

In the meeting hall of the castle, King Rainok and Queen Elena were impatiently listening to the reports on the coming assault.

"My lieges, there are currently almost two hundred thousand goblins. They have completely wiped out majority of the villages and towns in the southern quarter of the Forbidden Forest." The fairy that made the report could feel a heavy bloodlust leaking out of the royalties in front of him. These two were the ones that ran the entire country, and also the strongest beings within it.

"Do we know the number in each tier?" The king slowly spoke, resting his head on his hand.

"About three quarters of them are tier zero, twenty percent at tier one and five percent at tier two. We have reports that the runaway calling itself a king is at tier three now." A hint of fury showed in the eyes of the fairy reporting the information.

Because of a simple mistake in the slave branding this whole incident happened. They had tortured and imprisoned the one that caused the mistake, but that wouldn't save all of the innocent lives that will be lost or have already been.

"Hah... I can't deny that it has talent. To be able to reach tier three in such a short amount of time..." The queen slowly spoke as she closed her eyes to think.

"It should have some kind of card up its sleeve, to have the courage to attack our kingdom with a single tier three and a measly two hundred thousand." The queen continued, now rubbing her forehead.

"Maybe it could have something to do with his trait skill? He must be a goblin king to be able to control that many goblins." One of the attendants suggested, continuing his line of thought after the focus was moved to him.

"It might be a buff skill that allows his troops to gain power temporarily. It would have been nice if the records showed information on the trait skills of the goblin king line, but it is such a rare sub-species..." At this the whole room sighed in unison.

"It's true that we can't find what the trump card might be exactly, but let us plan for multiple scenarios. We need to be fully prepared to ensure the lives of the citizens." The king spoke to the room and the meeting slowly moved into strategies.

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"My king!"

*Boom!*

Slamming their fists on their chests, all of the commanders of the king's army knelt down on one knee.

"At ease." King Aslan said, smiling at his subordinate's actions.

"We are nearing the kingdom of the fairies now. Prepare the troops to receive their power boost and get into position. Make sure they understand not to freak out at the feeling, and to accept it all. There will be pain, but it will enhance their strength greatly." Aslan slowly explained what he wanted his commanders to disseminate to the troops as he turned his head to look toward the center of the Forbidden Forest.

'This will be my retribution, my new kingdom. Don't hate me, for you will only feel exactly what you have made me feel.' Aslan's eyes steeled as he turned around and entered his tent again.

He was currently enjoying his time with the company of some lizardwomen. He had 'persuaded' them to come along as he would have been bored without something to entertain him.

...

"...My king, the troops are ready, they are just waiting for your orders." A jealous goblin came up to the tent and spoke to his king quickly, before walking away. The king always got first go at the women, causing jealousy among the ranks. Though, they never thought about usurpation, as the king was far too powerful.

"Good..." Aslan said, as he released the limp body of one of the lizardwomen. He quickly put his armor on and left the tent.

"MY PEOPLE!" King Aslan roared out, gathering the attention of the restless army. "I'm sure your commanders have informed you of what is about to happen, so I will not repeat myself. Prepare, for it is starting!"

After his speech, Aslan quickly activated his [Hoard Strength] trait skill. This skill strengthened him and his troops relative to the number of troops present. With two hundred thousand, the boost was immense. He knew the pain of increasing strength that much in an instant would be great, so he had his commanders prepare beforehand.

"AAAAHHHH!!" Screams came out constantly throughout the entire army. Their strength rising exponentially as they were now ready for a full on war.

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"...And that is how I did it." Roy slowly explained the process of making the Mana Core, the prerequisite to a Mana Heart.

"That sounds incredibly difficult, is it really the only way to make a Mana Heart?!" Terren asked, worried that she would never be able to form one.

"Well technically no, you can just let it form naturally, but that could take years or even longer depending on talent... Also I don't know of any other active method of forming it." Roy said as he apologetically looked at Terren, who was a bit downcast now.

"Well you never know until you try, but I will say, if you don't get the [Mana Manipulation] skill it might as well be impossible." Roy said some more bad news, as he knew full well how difficult acquiring that skill was.

"That too is something you have to do on your own, so I can only wish you all good luck." After saying his piece, Roy stood up and went over to his spot to train once again. He needed to continue adding mana to his core until he can begin the next step of hollowing.