Of course, while Rick thought way, he wasn’t an idiot, and after talking to Velora he knew he had no choice but to take a different path, especially since he now knew that there was a good chance he wouldn’t be bothered for a significant amount of time.

  Maybe Mir would try to fight him at some point, but he doubted that fight would happen before he was strong enough to truly face the creature, which meant he didn’t just have time, he had years.

  Because not only would the punishment delay things significantly, but the actual Essence points that were required were significant even without taking the punishment into account, so he had to put all his anger into more constructive things, and it meant a complete shift of plans.

  After the last meeting he had with all his Chiefs, they were still under the rough understanding that the war could return at any moment. It didn’t seem like it would, seeing as the people completely retreated from their camp, and there were no signs of them coming back, but there was also no guarantee that it wouldn’t.

  It wasn’t until now, when he met with that old man clearly respectful of Mir, that he learned he likely would have far more time than he thought he would. So it was time for another meeting. They could get out of scramble mode and preparing to fight another war in the short term and actually settle and make far more long term plans come to fruition.

  But since all the members of his Royal Guard were still unconscious, he quite literally had to stroll to the nearest clan himself, which was the Central Clan, and let them know that he would like a meeting, not that he minded.

  Of course, Rick did not mind but that didn’t mean his Goblins wouldn’t have different opinions. The second he began to approach the Central Clan, and other Goblins could be seen walking about, he was spotted. Everything became frantic.

  The King showing up without his Royal Guards was more than enough reason to raise every single alarm in the Clan. He barely even got a chance to quiet them down, before everyone began jumping around and gathering around him, making sure he was okay.

  It took a couple of minutes, but eventually things reached a point of calmness, and Rick got his message across. He would like another meeting. Goblins then ran all over the place as Rick walked back home after making sure that no one would follow him to protect him, which took a couple of minutes in itself.

  Before long, Rick was once again in a conference room with all of his Chiefs.

  “All right, things have changed and don’t worry about the absence of the Royal Guard. They’re just resting. But as I said earlier, things have changed. We can stop the war preparations. I think it’ll be quite some time before we have to fight another war.

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  “That does not mean that we should rest on our laurels, but that pressure of having to worry about when an army could show up at our doorsteps is no longer needed, so we will direct a bit more focus to rest, rejuvenation, and most of all growth.

  “But that will not go for most of the Goblins here. You all are the backbone of the Goblin Clans that dwell within Mir. It is on your shoulders and mine as well that our people will grow and reach the heights that they are destined to reach.

  “So while everyone else will get to focus on rest, rejuvenation, and growth, you all will need to keep working. All three fronts will hereby only be manned by Chiefs. You will rotate so that you are not fighting every second of every day, but no other Goblin needs to die or come close to dying right now.

  “They need to rest, rejuvenate, and grow. Don’t worry. I and the Royal Guards will be among you, but no one else below you, not for some time, and by time I mean months.

  “With that being said, no Goblin is allowed to leave the Dark Lands of Mir for the foreseeable future. I don’t expect problems to come to our doorsteps, but it is not the time to go seek them out. Once again…rest, rejuvenation, and growth. Once the rest of our people has reached a point where we are fully recovered from the effects of this war, then we will allow them to go back to the front, but properly this time.

  “It will be purely for training. I want to organize fighting with a proper system in place where Goblins will still get that real life fighting experience, but these aren’t true life or death battles, not now.

  “Though I also think my Royal Guards cannot be the only elite force that we have, I would like a new one formed in the future, one where I can be confident enough to send them on missions that will put their lives in danger. Not assassins, not people of the dark, but a true force that could walk into any battle with their heads held high and dominate.

  “Nothing below the Sixth Tier will be allowed in this special force, and I would like it to be the best of the best. These will not be diplomats. These will be Goblins that get sent to do one thing…Kill.

  “This is a long term goal and not something that should be rushed…in fact I expect it to take a while. I want the upmost level of scrutiny here.

  “Now, something else I’ve been thinking about, there is no concept of currency within the Dark Lands of Mir. I want you all to think about introducing currency to our clans. How will we do it? Is it a good idea? Is it a bad idea?

  “And don’t just think about the Dark Lands of Mir. We will eventually leave this place, and instead of a few thousand Goblins there would be hundreds of thousands of Goblins, perhaps millions living in one nation together. Currency would have more value then, especially if we are to potentially trade with other nations and forces.”

  Eventually the meeting was over and the Chiefs moved to carry out the tasks that had been assigned to them. Leaving Rick alone in his abode once more.

  [Not a bad meeting, but you didn’t introduce the one thing you were actually excited about.]

  ‘Well, I think I need to give it a bit more thought, but I love the idea of bringing sports to the Goblins. All we have known is strife, heartache and pain for a long time. Sports have a way of bringing people together and creating joy even in troubling times.

  ‘And the fact we are already clan separated makes it easier to create teams and what not. This will not only help to build more love and belonging within clans but I could finally have a place to spread my Gang Green slogan far and wide.’

  […Never mind.]