It was night, slightly breezy, slightly cold, and Oregan, a [Guardian Lieutenant] was unable to sleep. Yes, the battle earlier had been a resounding success. The enemy was so mismanaged that he had merely stood at the front of the [Soldiers], watching the massacre without needing to do anything else. He had been prepared to use any number of skills to stop their charge or at least slow them down.

But his services were not needed, and the [Tactician Captain] had told most of the [Soldiers] to rest.

And that's where the problem came in. He is too wound up to rest. Without any way to vent his pent up anxiety, one of the only things he could do was sit and stare at a wall until morning came.

So instead he chose to walk around the city, thinking about the letter he had received. Well, the letter most if not all [Captains] and many others had received. Dragkenoss requests their aid and they had come. because it was him. Because he asked.

But Oregan wouldn't have come only because Dragkenoss asked. Yes, the [Heavy Halberdier] is respected, but mostly by the [Captains] whom many of the [Soldiers] are following. Oregan is here because of the second part of the message. The part about the kitsune patriarch.

Taking a deep breath of chilled air, Oregan turns his head and looks at his back. An old wound, a large scar, missing hair...

“Over fifty years.”

That is how long he had been a complete cripple. A lucky strike had severed the lower part of his spine and it had never healed correctly. As a result everything behind his forelegs had been unusable. And during that entire time his wife and daughter had taken care of him. Feeding him, cleaning him every day. Bathing him when necessary. It only took a year for his wife to leave him for another, but his daughter had stayed.

And then one day she had come. She had cut open his wound again, cast some form of healing spell and like that, in less than five minutes he had regained the ability to use his legs. He was whole again.

If this patriarch is actually the one that that woman spoke of, then…

*Rumble Rumble*

Oregan stops, feeling the ground shake. He looks around quickly, focusing on the origin of the vibrations.

*Rumble, Rumble*

He turns, looking towards the huge cave opening that leads to the second floor. Something doesn't feel right.

“Sound the Alarm! Wake everyone up!” he yells as he quickly runs towards a large home. He shoves into the door violently and breaks the lock in the process.

“Doreson, something is coming, something big.”

Doreson is dazed for a moment, before shaking his head to clear it before realizing What he had just been told.

“Damn. Arm up, I will be there shortly,” he says quickly before moving to put on his armor.

Oregan nods and runs out of the home, heading directly to his own place of residence, cursing himself for not already wearing his armor.

 

_____________________________________________

 

It doesn't take long before the [Soldiers] are dressed, armed, and positioned in a semicircle around the cave, the place where the vibrations are getting stronger.

“Greta, can you see what is coming?” Doreson asks, staring into the darkness of the cave.

“A little. I do have night vision, but the torches are making it difficult for the skill to activate. I can only tell that something is coming, something big.”

Doreson curses under his breath, unsure of what to do. Today is the day on which Dragkenoss had stated he would be coming back to the third floor, but even so, it is not normal for the ground to be trembling like it is.

“Maybe… the patriarch is really big?”

Doreson starts to turn towards Oregan, to tell him that that doesn't make sense, but stops as he realizes that, despite how weird it sounds, it is an actual possibility. Nobody knows what the patriarch looks like, assuming he does actually exist.

Best to be safe.

“Do not engage unless I give the order” he yells.

After making sure that everyone understands his instructions, especially the [Archers], he turns and once again stares into the complete blackness of the cave. He focuses on the vibrations as they increase in strength.

“Rumble, Rumble, Rumble”

The tempo of the tremblings continues steadily, as if something is moving, something heavy. The pebbles lying on the ground start to bounce up, causing nervous looks to be exchanged between those present.

And then, the rumbling stops. There is a pause. Everyone gazes into the darkness where a massive figure can just barely be seen.

“Well well well, what do we have here. I was indeed expecting a welcoming party, though not one so well armed.”

Everyone had missed it. The [Soldiers], [Lieutenants], [Captains], [Archers], even the [Watch Captain]. They had been focused on the lower part of the cave. But at the ceiling a spider stands upside down. It is a massive spider whose size is equivalent to that of a house. It stands still, sticking to the ceiling while a humanoid figure stands on top of its back, gazing at everyone below with glowing purple eyes.

______________________________________________

One of the most important aspects of leadership is how you present yourself, especially the first time. What you wear, how you introduce yourself, where you are. All of those factors are important in making a good first impression.

For that reason most leaders would send someone to notify the opposing party of their arrival before revealing themselves in a way that makes them seem powerful or great.

But there is a big problem with that practice: it makes it so the other party already expects your arrival to be grandiose. And when it is expected, the effect you are trying to produce is diminished. Therefore, to truly make a lasting impression you have to get creative.

Advanced Analyze

I activate my skill several times in quick succession. Without needing to verbally activate my skills, I can use Advanced Analyze several dozen times a second. It takes me about thirty activations and three seconds before I find what I believe to be the leader of this group, though it seems he has some level of aura control.

Unfortunately, it seems that my Advanced Analyse skill tends to give varying levels of information depending on the target. At least the guy next to him is much easier to read.

 

See that. So much more useful. And considering who healed him, I can only guess he plans on swearing fealty to me. Which is good, I need more overpowered people under my command. And no, Zorren doesn't count. The guy barely follows my orders anyhow. He is more of a guide with anger issues. A very overpowered angry guide. Hard to deal with people like that when their emotions tend to throw logic out the window.

Welp, I paused long enough. Better continue or I will ruin the ‘I’m fucking awesome’ skit that I am trying to pull off.

“Doreson… Tell me. Are you an ally… Or an enemy?”

Now, wait for a second, let my words settle… and Light.

With a mental command, Berosus’s undead head lights up. The crystal dome increasing the intensity of the purple light source inside several times over. As a result, the whole cave system is basked in a bright purple light, revealing my massive undead minion in all its overly huge obnoxious glory.

Gasps, screams, yells. and other various emotions can be heard from the crowd below. So much happens at that moment. The people stare up in horror, unable to fathom the massive monstrosity standing practically a step away from them inside the cave while its tentacles waving slowly through the air, seemingly in anticipation.

I smile, circulating my mana to make my eyes glow with a darker, brighter purple.

Welp, I better do this right. I’ve been practicing. Focus your emotions, strengthen them. Imagine your emotions streaming from you. Get confident, slightly angry. Breath in and…

“DECIDE!”

My aura finally comes through, reacting to my words, traveling with them. It creates a mental pressure on those who hear me speak.. Because that is what aura is: your emotions manifested into a mental force that affects others. This is the most basic usage of aura. Transmitting your feelings to others. To make them feel what you want them to.

Now then, how will they reac- shit, I'm starting to feel dizzy. Too much blood going to my brain. Not good. Not good. Ughhh, why do I do stupid shit like this? Godammit.

__________________________________________________________________

“DECIDE!”

The wave of aura hit Doreson like a herd of wild Guardhogs. His own aura was smashed, annihilated by the sheer strength of this attack. This was no attempt to weasel through his aura defense or an attempt to slowly overcome it. His defense was utterly obliterated by sheer force. The backlash forced him to take a step back and caused a shiver of fear to travel down his spine.

Whoever or whatever this person is, Doreson can only equate them to an existence similar to the kitsune.

“That… that thing is the boss of the second floor. It is under his full control!” his wife Greta voices beside him, her eyes on the glowing purple monstrosity. Sweat and fear is radiating off her. She had been more affected by the aura than him.

Doreson can only gulp in response. He had already guessed that the monster was being controlled considering its glowing green eyes which do not look normal. How this is being achieved though, he cannot say. All he wholeheartedly knows right know is that fighting someone who could control this monstrosity with his current strength is too risky.

Thus Doreson takes a breath, steps forward, and starts to open his mouth, but to his surprise Oregan speaks first.

“Are you the patriarch of the Kitsune?”

It takes a moment before Doreson realizes how stupid he had been. He had completely forgotten about Dragkenoss’s letter about the Patriarch. So if this is him… then…

The individual hanging from the ceiling smiles, now gazing at Oregan.

“That is what Dragkenoss calls me.”

An answer but at the same time not an answer. He did neither refute nor affirm him being the patriarch.

“I see,” Oregan says before taking several steps forward towards the individual. And then, to Doreson’s surprise, he bends his front forelegs, lowering his head.

“Then, if you are indeed the Patriarch, I Oregan, swear eternal fealty to you.”

Gasps are heard from all around the half circle. Confusion, surprise, anger, many people have strong emotions about what just happened. To swear fealty to someone is extremely rare. It is the equivalent of giving up your herd, and it is therefore rarely ever done.

A moment passes before suddenly the spider jumps off the ceiling, flipping through the air and landing upright, right in front of Oregan who raises his head in response.

“I accept your loyalty,” the man says, looking down at Oregan while smiling.

“You may rise,” he adds quickly.

Oregan stands back up, his eyes focused, ready to react. He turns, gazing at us.

It is here that Doreson realizes that Oregan is prepared to protect the man now in case it becomes necessary. He has fully changed sides. The strongest person under his command has been lost.

“Now,” The figure speaks, his eyes move back to Doreson, now focusing on him. All Doreson manages to do in response is stare back wide eyed and gulp in fear from the look in the man’s eyes.

“Quasi, stop scaring my friend and the [Soldiers], at this rate they’re going to shit themselves.”

From under the monstrosity, appearing from behind its massive legs as though it's the most natural thing ever, comes Dragkenoss. His pitch-black fur can barely be seen beneath his impressively detailed set of bone armor. He is smiling, a look which Doreson hasn't seen on him in a very long time.

“Damn it Dragkenoss, you're ruining my fun,” the man named Quasi frowns, hands crossed on his chest.

But Dragkenoss ignores him. Instead, he looks to Doreson and waves.

“Hey Doreson, don't mind him. He likes to make an entrance.” The old centaur exclaims relaxed, walking past the giant spider and the glaring Quasi to stop in front of him, smiling.

At this point, Doreson can't comprehend what's happening anymore. The whole situation keeps changing drastically every moment.

He opens his mouth reply, to ask what is going on, but stops as his eyes land on the cave and the large number of people streaming through.

The people newly arriving are smiling and waving. Many of the [Captains] sheath their weapons, the confused [Soldiers] copying them a moment later. And slowly he realizes that these people are not his enemies.

Doreson shakes his head, “This is too much Dragkenoss. Way too much.”

Dragkenoss laughs, “Indeed. I probably shouldn't have let Quasi make the initial greeting. He said it was going to be amazing. I wasn't expecting he would scare you all like that.”

Doreson can only shake his head before looking towards Quasi, finding the man struggling with something.

“Fucking stupid shit. Peter, what the fuck is this web made out of. My boots are goddamn stuck. Holy crap it's like super glue mixed with cement. How long does it last? Dammit, why didn’t I just use rope? Gahhhh, I'm such an idiot,” Quasi yells as he attempts to remove his feet from the spiders back.

Only a moment passes before Doreson joins in on the laughter. The person that had caused them so much fear is now struggling to get off the spider.

“So this is him,” he voices mid laughter. Dragkenoss nods and laughs along.

“Indeed. He is quite the individual. Smart, powerful, a genius, but also obscenely cocky.” Dragkenoss states before frowning momentarily as his eyes look at something behind Doreson.

Doreson looks back, finding a centaur [Soldier] running towards him quickly, fear evident on his face. When he reaches them the centaur pauses. He looks around confused at what is happening before he shakes his head and looks towards Doreson.

“The enemy is grouping up. [Captain] Silas believes they are planning to attack,” the [Soldier] blurts out quickly.

“Attack?” Dragkenoss asks, confused.

Doreson grunts, his eyes narrowing, “Yes, there is an army led by several [Herdmasters] right outside this city. They are after your head.”

“I see. What are our forces? What is the size of their army? How good is their leadership? And why are they attacking during the night?”

Several questions, all valid ones. But Doreson doesn't get time to answer them.

“Doesn't goddam matter. They have an army, I have a giant boss monster. Let's go fuck shit up.”

Quasi strolls past them, eyes glowing, his bare feet striking the ground with purpose.

A moment passes, and then the ground starts to rumble once again.