My (Monster?) Hero Life

Chapter 219: Best Candidate

The room exploded into chaos! Suddenly, the whole atmosphere had changed as the different leaders quickly tried to make amends with Kace. He smirked at their behaviour with only served to infuriate them. However, they kept their anger in check to try and placate him. They worried that he would just seek out a new monster tribe to work with if they offended him. 

He had succeeded in helping to lay the groundworks for this city, so who was to say that he could not do it again? If he did that, then there was a good chance they would lose a lot of the rights to claim territories once the war was over! Sucking up to him, for now, was obviously the best choice! They only really disapproved of the vampires joining the council because it would mean another split in the potential rewards. Why would they give so much land and riches to only two vampires?

The absence of a vampire army had made the other leaders believe that these were potentially the only remaining vampires in existence. They all knew the details of Kace's quest since it had been shared with them. So each one knew that only one vampire was needed for it to succeed. They were little more than two solitary mercenaries in this war in their eyes. However, the cost would be worth it as long as they were the power behind Kace's success!

"Hm, I'm glad to see you all understand their value after considering the matter," Kace smirked towards them, fully aware that he had manipulated them into giving him the result he wished for.

[System: Title Granted: Politician, Description: Permanent 10% increase to base Charm stat.]

Kace's eyes narrowed at the unexpected interruption from the system. Charm had never been an area that he focused on. However, more stat points could not hurt, right? 'It should help more in situations like this where I have to negotiate for better deals or things that I want.' Kace pondered over it briefly as he sat back down at the table. He began to see some sense in pursuing that neglected stat a bit more. 

The room quickly quieted down while the goblin servant exited the room to fetch the Sophia and Dao. Nobody dared to try and properly start the meeting without their presence. Especially now that they had been officially recognised as one of the leading powers. While they waited, Kace began to wonder how many other different races would eventually join them. There would eventually be the remaining pillar races at least. 

However, he could not believe that it would stop there. The races around the table just happened to be the ones in the immediate vicinity of their borders. He was already aware that this country had been considered one that was suitable for low-level heroes to learn the ropes. Which meant that the monsters that inhabited it and the surrounding areas would be considered low-level threats.

Kace then began to wonder how far they would have to spread their influence to rid the world of the heroes' means to send reinforcements. He still had no clue how big this world actually was. Which meant there would always be a lot left for him to discover for quite a while. 

Zornok had been an eye-opener in this regard. He was so powerful that Kace could not begin to imagine challenging him. He was now certain that there would be plenty more on his level amongst the heroes' ranks spread throughout the different worlds. 'I wonder if we'll have to explore the worlds on the other side of the remaining gates a bit as well?'

His thoughts were interrupted as the double doors were pushed open, Sophia entered first. She was still wearing her armour that displayed the attractiveness of her curves and her graceful legs. She gave Kace a look full of confusion as she entered, with Dao following closely behind.

"You wanted a seat at the adults' table, right?" Kace chuckled softly as he returned her gaze. "Well, there they are."

Sophia's expression turned to one of incredulity as her eyes darted to the two empty seats by Kace's side. She had expected that if he were to succeed in her request, it would take quite a bit of time. Sophia never expected him to succeed so soon after his first interaction with the leaders! She flashed a grateful smile towards him as she quickly took the seat directly next to him. Leaving Dao to take the seat beside one of the orc representatives.

"Now that we are all here, there are a few things for us to discuss," Shagrat announced to those gathered after loudly clearing his throat. It was obvious that he still felt some discomfort after what had just happened. "We'll go through each item in order depending on how important it is. Starting with the least important issues as I'm sure we can settle those quickly."

As the others nodded their heads, Kace could not help but evaluate the other ways in which his friend had changed. The most obvious one being his manner of speech! He did not have to struggle to decipher what Shagrat meant when whenever he spoke now. Only the strange, Scottish sounding accent was left as a reminder of who he used to be.

"First off, with the Eastern territories now conquered. We're left with only three battlefronts. As you know, Shar, who commanded the northern armies, was killed during the defence of Ishkal. We have to decide on a new commander for the army to make the final push to seize the last remaining territories that complete this country. Does anyone have any recommendations?"

All eyes were glued to Shagrat as he made this little speech. Once he was finished, their attention turned to the eljein representatives. Shar, of course, had been one of them. So it was natural to let them put their candidate forward first. Obviously, each one of them wanted a member of their own race to take the rank of commander. Since it would increase their standing even further as they gained achievements.

Letting the eljein go first would allow them to consider who amongst their own could match them. The representative closed his eyes for a while as he contemplated who amongst them had the best chance of taking Shar's place. She had been one of their strongest after all. However, it did not take him long to realise something. Then, a wide smile crept across his face before he declared their candidate.