CEO in a Fantasy World 4 Page 2

  Caesar squinted his eyes, "midgets?" he muttered in confusion after he saw the group traveling with Falthor. If Tiberius's race was considered giants, this race was the exact opposite.

  CHAPTER THREE

  As both groups approached the outer walls, their appearance became more vivid. The small people, presumably the gnomes, were very short, standing at about two feet tall, they had large rounded ears and a small head proportioned to their body. Most of the men had a little facial hair, such as a mustache or a goatee. However, some of them were cleanly shaven. The women were a tad bit shorter with longer hair and more pointed ears.

  Seeing them approach from the east, Caesar stroked his chin in contemplation, 'If I remember correctly, Falthor departed from the southern gate, how did he end up eastward?' he thought inwardly while jumping off the high walls.

  Caesar approached Falthor with long strides, his group, along with the gnomes seemed to be on friendly terms, as they all carried smiles on their faces. This anomaly piqued Caesar's interest, why would the gnomes so readily agree to an invitation from the fox-kin? Such thoughts nagged Caesar.

  Soon, Caesar's figure was also seen by both the gnomes and Falthor, they raised their hands and waved at him, "Hey, that's the man I was referring too, you know, the genius" Falthor covered his mouth while whispered to the decrepit gnome on his right.

  The gnome on his right had light green with hair with streaks of white, which greasily draped over his eyes, he had a large, pointed beard that extended to his chest. It was clear that this gnome, in particular, held high status amongst their clan, while also being relatively aged.

  Hearing Falthor's words, the gnome nodded his head with a broad smile, "if he is as you said, then the gnomes will once again bring fear to the world!" the old and senile gnome laughed maniacally after a train of coughs.

  Although Caesar couldn't read Falthor's lips, as he covered them with his hand, Caesar's keen sight indeed captured this strange exchange. This abnormal behavior made Caesar even more interested, while also making him praise Falthor in his head. 'To be on friendly terms with another race so quickly, a grand achievement.'

  Thinking to here, Caesar analyzed their numbers. He roughly estimated their entire force to be about 250, which was not immense; however, 250 troops were not a force to be trifled with.

  As both sides were examining each other, the distance between them closed, and soon, they were only a few feet away from each other. Both Caesar and the old dwarf stared at one another in silence before the gnome broke the ice and took a step forward.

  "Ahem, I am the leader of the gnomish tribe, although we're small, our tinkering skills are unrivaled!" he greeted while finding it hard to contain his excitement, a playful smile appeared on his lips as he put his hand forward.

  Caesar didn't sense anything abnormal about the small gnome, besides his strange amount of excitement. Thus, he also put his hand forward and shook the gnome's hand. "Welcome to the fox-kin tribe, here we have strong soldiers, idiots, and traitors… enjoy your stay," Caesar replied jokingly to which the gnome burst out in laughter.

  The gnome laughed until he abruptly coughed, after a train of coughs, he wiped the drool on his lips. The surroundings were silent following his coughing spree causing the gnome to smile abashedly.

  "Ah, right, my name is Magni Locorin. Just call me Magni" Magni expertly changed the awkward atmosphere and flashed a bright smile towards Caesar.

  Caesar nodded his head and right as was about to open his mouth and reply… "ah, don't worry, I already know your name… Caesar, right?" Magni said without giving Caesar a chance to reply.

  Caesar massaged his forehead and nodded. He raised his eyes and could see all of the other gnomes looked at him with their eyes gleaming in curiosity as if they had found a new toy. Seeing this, Caesar knew that he was going to acquire a few headaches.

  After another short moment of awkward silence, it was Caesar who broke the taciturnity, "why have you decided to join the fox-kin on this quest, besides the obvious hatred for the trolls" Caesar asked.

  Magni stroked his long beard and looked over his shoulders, he inspected each and every one of his fellow clansmen before turning back to face Caesar, "it's a long story" he said after a moment of hesitation.

  Caesar nodded his head and turned his body around, "it's poor manners to leave guests outside for too long, come, let me show you around," Caesar said thoughtfully, to which the gnomes expression brightened. They once again started energetically walking toward the stronghold.

  Falthor and the other fox-kin just followed in relative silence, and they hadn't spoken since Caesar came into their view. Caesar had a few questions he wanted to ask Falthor, alas. He would wait until they were alone.

  Magni sparked up tasteless banter with Caesar every now and then while they walked, talking about things such as pets, hobbies, and even his favorite color. All of which, Caesar couldn't care less about.

  The more Magni opened up his lips. The more Caesar felt, his surplus of brain cells kill themselves one by one. Thankfully, they soon reached the fox-kin stronghold and entered the already opened gates. Presumably, Musashi's doing.

  "Whoa!" Magni opened his eyes wide in surprise as he admired the insides of the stronghold, he wasn't alone, the entire gnomish race had stars in their eyes as they looked at the walls and the mansion in the middle.

  "Wow, look at the architectural design of this wall!" one middle-aged gnome said toward his friend.

  "It looks spectacular, but isn't it primitive compared to the walls our ancestors designed?" another gnome butted in.

  This exchange, of course, did not fall on deaf ears, causing Caesar to furrow his brows, although the wooden walls could be considered primitive to humans, who had stone walls. But, compared to the furbolg's who live in a tree and the kobolds who merely had wooden fencing, it was pretty advanced.

  Thinking to here, Caesar inspected the gnomes once more. They wore simple clothes such as shirts and pants made from animal hide, while the women wore dresses or long skirts. However, what was more eye-catching, was that a few of the men had monocles or glasses covering their eyes.

  If Caesar remembered correctly, back in Rahvin kingdom, things such as glasses and monocles were very expensive, as they were tough to make. Not to mention, creating them in a backwater place such as the dark continent. This made Caesar look at Magni in a new light.

  "Are you perhaps a race of engineers?" he asked bluntly.

  "I don't know what sold us out, but you're absolutely correct! Alas, most of our schematics and knowledge disappeared with our ancestors. Our once great race devolved into a mere 250 strong, small tribe. Even the dwarves weren't capable of making contraptions as great as we used to," Magni said with a lost look in his eyes as he gazed toward the sky.

  "At least that's what my Father told me," Magni added after a few coughs of embarrassment.

  Caesar nodded his head and led the gnomes further into the stronghold. Their loud noises awoke a few fox-kin and kobolds; however, they just simply went back to bed once they saw that Caesar led them.

  "Ah, that strategist brought gnomes in this time... I wonder if they brought a lot of food like the kobolds," one little fox girl asked her mom while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

  The gnomes put their head down in a flustered manner once they heard the whispers of the many people surrounding them. They were quite the shy race, Magni was, of course, an exception.

  in the midst of their walk, Magni started to slowly open more and more up to Caesar, "that's why I didn't hesitate to join your coalition once I heard Falthor say you weren't from the dark continent… with the limited materials and the constant war, us gnomes don't have the strength to survive. We are a race of tinkerers, but there is nothing to tinker!" he said exasperatedly.

  "I take that as you want me to bring you, and the others out of the dark continent once we defeat the trolls?" Caesar asked to which Magni nodded solemnly.

  "Many of us, including some o
f your gnomes, may die in this war… are you sure you still want to join us?" Caesar replied after seeing Magni's solemn look. Although he wanted more troops, he didn't want soldiers that did not understand the magnitude of war.

  "I understand! Us gnomes, albeit small, are good marksmen, whether it's a bow or a slingshot, leave it up to us," Magni responded with a stern expression.

  Seeing this, Caesar smiled in relief, "Falthor, bring them to their living quarters. I'm going to go back and wait for Soka's emergence" Caesar abruptly called out to Falthor, and before anyone could even react, he disappeared from everyone's sight.

  Falthor smiled wryly and took Caesar's position, after Caesar's departure, the rest of the gnomes clearly felt more downcast. Even Falthor didn't understand why the gnomes liked Caesar so much.

  Once Caesar departed from the rowdy gnomes, he quickly made his way back to outer walls while carrying an expression of worry.

  "Soka is late…" he whispered.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Caesar soon made it to the west wall and patiently waited for Soka's arrival. Although he thought about heading to the ghoul clan, if a battle did indeed take place, with Soka's pitifully small number of troops, it would have long ended by the time he reached the clan's location.

  Whether or not Soka won the battle, however, was an entirely different matter. Even with the meager number of about 50, with Soka's expertise alongside the powerful elites, winning would not have been difficult.

  The main concern Caesar had was the possibility of the trolls somehow intercepting them, alas, even the elites Soka led didn't know of their destination. If the trolls did, in fact, ambush Soka, then either he or one of the others in that secret meeting were spies.

  Although Caesar could speculate who was responsible if that was indeed the case, he didn't want to count his chickens before they hatched. And as Caesar thought about this, a few shadowy figures appeared at the edge of the forest.

  They were too far for Caesar to actually gauge their numbers or appearance, so he didn't hesitate to leap off the walls and approach the figures he could vaguely see. Although they were in a forest, with Caesar's eyes and his strong sensory capabilities, it wasn't difficult for him to perceive movement a few kilometers away.

  Right as Caesar landed on the ground, he blasted forward and created a gust of wind, traveling at a speed nearly impossible to detect with the human eye, and within the time for a stick of incense to burn, their vivid image soon came into his view.

  He could see them dragging their weary bodies across the ground, and the blood splattered over their clothes and armor. Their expressions were cold as they heaved large sacks over their shoulders.

  Their numbers were relatively equal to how they were when they left, causing Caesar to breathe out a sigh of relief, and without hesitation, he jumped downward.

  "Halt!" a slightly high pitched but also mesmerizing voice echoed out, and the soldiers paused their footsteps. The fox-kin men looked at Soka with confusion apparent in their eyes, "why are we stopping?" one of them asked.

  As if answering the curious men, Caesar jumped down from the tree he was resting on and presented himself, causing those around him to open their mouths agape. "W-when did the strategist get here?" one of the men whispered to a middle-aged man just adjacent from him, to which the man in question replied with shrugged shoulders.

  Soka, who was at the forefront bowed with a twisted smile, "to be visited by the top brass is a dream come true," he said sarcastically.

  Caesar furrowed his brows and squinted his eyes, "why are you so late?" his words paused as he examined the blood on many of the men's clothes and armor… "did you encounter a problem?" he asked.

  "Didn't you say it yourself, boss? If the clan resisted and they were too weak, take their food and supplies with force," Soka replied with a sinister chuckle.

  Hearing his reply, Caesar clicked his tongue in distaste, "I'm not too keen on massacring the weak and plundering all of their supplies, it makes us look like savages" Caesar spoke with a disdainful tone.

  His words paused, "although I said to take their food by force, I didn't mean for you to take all of it and leave them nothing," he continued after seeing the massive amount of food in the fox-kin men's hand.

  "It's fine, the dead don't need to eat, after all," Soka replied while licking his lips.

  His reply made a vein pop out on Caesar's forehead, and in a split second, Caesar's slender fingers gently wrapped around Soka's neck.

  "I understand your personality well, I was once a reckless child as well, thinking I was better than others and playing as the judge, jury, and executioner. However, I soon learned that there were many people similar to me, those that thought and acted like me, those that had the same ideals, alas, none of them were capable of contesting with me, do you know why?" Caesar asked.

  Soka, who had his neck grasped, shook his head with a curious expression.

  "Because those men thought they were god’s gift, they believed that with no effort put forward, they could easily topple over others. They didn't understand why people resisted them, and they would get angry and treat people like mere objects. Do you understand? To rule over people, you need people that are willingly ruled over. You cannot be a king without citizens."

  Caesar paused and gripped his hand tighter while moving his face closer to Soka's "let me take a gander, when you reached their clan and saw that your force contained superior power, you got arrogant, a warranted arrogance. You thought that there was no possible way they were going to deny you. Thus, when they declined your offer, an immense amount of rage overtook you. 'Why would they deny us? We are stronger,' and with those thoughts, you ordered a massacre."

  Seeing the ripples within Soka's eyes, he knew that his assumption had been dead on... "you, who consider yourself a genius don't believe others have the right to decline you… all species have pride, even if it's unwarranted, understand that, and work around it…" he said calmly "I want you to clean up your mess, make it appear as though the trolls massacred the ghouls, I don't want your mishap to create problems for any potential allies… do you understand?" Caesar said as he removed his hand from Soka's neck.

  Seeing that Soka was in the midst of thought, he brought his face close to his ear, "remember, I don't care how capable you are… I need soldiers that follow orders, not those that massacre villages without consulting me first," he said while tapping Soka on the cheek and turning away.

  Although Caesar knew that Soka was no fool and that the ghouls had a high chance of being aligned with the trolls, massacring a village at a time when they were looking for allies was idiotic, alas, it was likely that Soka wasn't thinking about the consequences. At the very least, it would appear they didn't suffer any casualties.

  As Caesar was walking away, a voice sounded out from behind and caused him to halt his footsteps, "how do you suppose I clean up this mess?" Soka asked, hesitantly. His past arrogant and sinister behavior dissipated and was, instead, replaced by one with curiosity. In Soka's mind, he had thought that Caesar was going to praise him, yet he couldn't have been further from the truth. It was due to this fact that Soka questioned himself and could perhaps grow from this experience.

  Caesar turned around, "I'm sure you can figure out a way… I'm not too keen on personally fixing your foolish mistakes" Caesar dismissed Soka's question and left his and the fox-kin men’s' line of sight.

  After Caesar gained a decent distance from Soka and the rest, he stopped. His eyes were squinted dangerously, 'I am partly to blame for informing Soka and the rest that food could be taken by force, I was being influenced by my emotions during that meeting…' thinking to here, Caesar once again picked up his pace and approached the fox-kin stronghold.

  Caesar, himself, knew that Soka's morals, albeit questionable, were still present and that massacring a village for no reason was by no means what had transpired. Alas, how would the other small communities treat such information. It wasn't that Caesar didn't wan
t some of his aids to have a mind of their own. He mainly condemned Soka because he wanted him to think more about the consequences of his actions.

  Thinking to here, Caesar once again reminded himself to ask Falthor why he approached from the east and not the south.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Caesar traveled atop the vigorous trees and soon made it back to the stronghold. He approached the walls, and once he was within a few feet of them, he crouched down and propelled off the ground, causing him to practically soar through the air and easily land on top of the walls.

  Once he reached the walls, he didn't waste any more time and immediately headed towards the mansion, located in the middle of the stronghold. He had wanted to advance his plans so they could start pressuring the trolls, alas, he figured it would better to wait until Soka fixed his mistake.