The Black Necromancer

"...and that is what we are dealing with."

After Leonidas had finished explaining all that he needed to, the meeting room was so silent that if a pin dropped, it would definitely shatter the eardrums of the Beastkin gathered there. A heavy tension settled in the air and everyone's faces had grim looks.

"We must confront the Undead and demand he hands us the dungeon core!" To the right of Leonidas, a middle aged woman spoke. Her face was ferocious and her features resembled that of a lion. She was in charge of the matters pertaining to trade and commerce in the empire.

"Forget the dungeon for a moment. We need to do something about the impending invasion!" Another woman spoke up. This woman handled trade and commerce that was conducted within various other nations. She worked hand in hand with the earlier woman.

"What about our spies? Why have we not received word from them?" A young man that was in his late twenties spoke. The man was the chief spymaster who answered directly to the emperor.

The council members began to argue between themselves as they tried to decide on what was the most important issue that they should focus on. Some insisted that they retake the dungeon, which was a vital part of their income. Every year, other kingdoms paid large sums of money and resources in order to gain slots to send their people to the dungeon. Losing it would mean losing this lucrative source of income.

On the other hand, some council members wanted to prioritize sending troops to the Desolate Lands in order to prepare for the impending invasion. Who would bother with raiding a dungeon when the Demons threatened to conquer everything!

Leonidas silently watched his council members argue, also engaged in his own internal argument. Eventually, he came to a decision and rapped his knuckles against the solid table in front of him.

"I have come to a decision." He announced when everyone had kept quiet.

All eyes were focused on Leonidas as he paused. He met the eyes of all twelve council members before speaking.

"We will be sending troops to support Leon in the Desolate Lands."

"..."

"What? Why?!"

"We should focus more on strengthening our defenses and retaking the Despair Dungeon!"

Immediately, a chorus of disagreements came from a portion of the council members.

"Silence!" Leonidas boomed and silence immediately descended. "I have made my decision. I expect you to support my decision instead of standing against it." He looked around. "While it will be good for us to retain the ownership of the dungeon, we must think ahead. We need to deal with the Demons, while also forging a friendship with Leon. That way, we will clash less when we approach him to hand over the dungeon core."

Everyone listened to him as he spoke, while also immersing themselves in their own thoughts.

"I shall ready our men for the move. They will be ready to move in a day." At the end of the table to Leonidas' left, a small statured man stood and spoke. His eyes were sharp, and two furry ears stuck out of the top of his brown hair. A vertical scar ran from his right cheek down to his neck, and disappeared beneath his shirt collar.

"Do that." Leonidas nodded his head.

The details were smoothened out as everyone began to pitch in. While some were sour that their suggestions had been turned down, there was nothing they could do about it. They could only swallow down their dissatisfaction and do as Leonidas said.

.

.

Several hours later, the council members left the meeting room one by one. After they were all gone, Leonidas dismissed Kai, as he wanted to discuss with Richard alone. After his son left, Richard was the first to speak.

"It seems like not all of your council members like you." He chuckled.

"You are right, but there is nothing they can do about it. I am the strongest warrior if the Gublin Empire, a Peak A rank powerhouse. They can come and try to overthrow me if they want." Leonidas' tone was cold. He knew very well that there were more than a few people that did not want him on the throne.

As the Emperor, he was not a dictator, but his voice was above all others. The council was there to guide his actions and make sure that he did not do anything that would lead to the collapse of the empire. If everyone had been against his intention to send troops to the Desolate Lands, then there was no way that the troops would be sent out. But because his words had gained support, there was no need for him to worry and mince words with the rest who did not support his decision.

Richard kept quiet for a moment as he thought. Leonidas saw this as his opportunity to ask a question.

"You came all this way to convince me to send troops to the Desolate lands, huh? Why did you decide to side with an Undead?"

"Leon is not just an Undead. There is something special about him. He does not behave like an Undead. He is too lively and good natured to be considered a normal Undead." Richard had a complicated expression on his face as he spoke.

As a mercenary and someone who sought out adventure on a regular basis, he had seen many things across the continent. He had also naturally come across many Undeads, and had the chance to meet a couple of Necromancers that were under the umbrellas of some nations.

Most of the Undead that he had come across were mindless monsters, while a few of them were actually sentient and intelligent beings. These sentient Undead were rather bland and had little to no emotion. Those that had emotions usually displayed only rage, despair, or sadness. The same thing went for the Necromancers that he had come across. They were all dark individuals with twisted and negative personalities.

But Leon was very much different from that.