Stillwater says “Your Majesty, may I present Grimold of the Bear Tribe, Agatel of the Wolf Tribe, and Celwin of the Coyote Tribe.”

  “It is a pleasure to meet the three of you. What can I do for you?”

  Grimold says “We have come to confirm a few rumors and if they turn out to be true, we will swear our loyalty to you.”

  “Alright. I have nothing to hide, ask anything you want.”

  Agatel says “Is this your true form? We had heard that you were a beastman and then became something else, but you don’t match the descriptions.”

  “This is what I look like currently. I am still evolving, but I will show you what I used to look like.”

  I shapeshift through the various forms I have had since I was summoned into this world. When I am done, I return to my beastman form and sit down on my throne with Lin and Brightfire on either side of me.

  “I trust that answered your question?”

  Agatel says “Yes, it did, thank you.”

  Celwin says “My turn. Is it true that the Ogre tribe has sworn loyalty to you? If so, how did you get them to submit?”

  “Yes, they did. I defeated their five strongest warriors at once to get them to submit. Their entire tribe has joined the military and is currently going through training.”

  “No, joining the military is just one of the options that will be available to you. There are several options that will be available to your people. Although, I feel the need to point out that fighting amongst each other is not allowed. I have heard that the wolf and coyote tribes do not get along.”

  Celwin says “That is an understatement!”

  Agatel shrugs and says “We do not get along with anyone. We are a raiding culture and we raid everyone.”

  Grimold says “That is true, they even raid us and we have nothing they want!”

  “That is going to have to stop. I will not allow my people to fight amongst themselves.”

  Agatel says “That is going to be a problem. My people are used to raiding and won’t accept doing nothing.”

  “Surely, not all of your people are raiders?”

  Agatel says “No, not all of them, but over half are. That is why we are the second strongest tribe. We have a lot of warriors and they are all veterans.”

  “Then they would be best off joining the military. Hopefully, by the time we run out of enemies to fight, they will have adapted to the discipline of the military.”

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  Agatel says “It may be possible. Although, there are likely to be a lot of hard feelings from the other tribes.”

  Celwin says “There are definitely hard feelings!”

  “That doesn’t matter. Everyone will be treated the same. Whoever starts trouble will be punished according to the rules.”

  Grimold says “Wait, you mean that the tribes that joined you first aren’t going to get special treatment?! What about the bunnies? I heard you have a wife from their tribe?”

  “Myria is the current chief of the bunny tribe, but they are treated the same as everyone else. All are beastmen and all will be treated equally.”

  Celwin says “What about the humans?”

  “Those that have joined the nation will be treated as equals. The same goes for the elves and the beast clans. Everyone in my empire will be equal and will follow the same laws.”

  Celwin says “I have heard that the cat clans have banded together and are demanding that you take one of them as a wife? I also hear that the commander of your army is lion clan. Are you telling me that they aren’t going to get special treatment?”

  “Well, if the three of you join us, then they will be the only ones who haven’t. They will be isolated and will quickly regret their decisions. As for Leonarr, he was a slave that I freed. He is completely loyal to me and has nothing to do with his tribe.”

  Grimold says “That is reassuring. Do you plan to punish the cats when they join?”

  “I may make the leaders who tried to force me into a marriage suffer a bit, but their people will be treated the same as everyone else.”

  Celwin says “Unlike the wolves, most of my people are not warriors. I would like to hear about what options my people are going to have.”

  I spend the next few minutes telling them about everything I have done so far and the jobs available. I then start talking about my plans for the empire in general and the beast lands specifically. After that, I spend another ten minutes answering their questions about my plans.

  Celwin says “I have heard enough, I am willing to swear fealty.”

  Grimold says “I am also willing.”

  Agatel says “I am not. Before I make a decision, I need to see the military camp. I want to see what this training is like and I also want to see the Ogre clan with my own eyes.”

  Stillwater says “I can take him out to the military base.”

  Brightfire says “Since Celwin and Grimold are joining us, I can give them the tour and introduce them to the other chiefs.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lin says “You should go back to preparing for your trip. I will call you when Agatel has made his decision.”

  “Alright, but how about some breakfast first?”

  Lin smiles and says “Sure.”

  So, we sit and eat breakfast together and then I return to the castle to get back to work. I manage to make several more platforms before Lin calls me back to accept Agatel’s oath. With that, I have all of the tribes except for the five cat tribes on my side.

  To be honest, I am surprised that I still haven’t heard anything from the cat tribes. I thought that they would be getting nervous by now and at least try to make a new demand or something. If nothing else, I thought they would have sent my supposed wife to see me by now.

  Oh well, I guess I will wait until after this trip and then see what they have decided to do. I am not going to just sit here waiting around for them to figure out their next move. If they haven’t made contact by the time I get back I will send someone to speak with them.

  I will give them the terms to join the empire and see what they have to say at that point. I still want to avoid using force to bring them into the empire, but I am okay with applying some pressure. If need be I can send Leonarr to speak with them, or maybe even take over the lion tribe.

  By this point he should be quite a high level, I doubt any of the lion tribe would be his match. Losing one of the five tribes should put a lot of pressure on the other four. To be honest, if that doesn’t work I am not sure what to try next, but I will worry about that later.