"You must surely be powerful, Boss…" said Avudar, his deep voice resonating through the room. "But here… we're talking about a king."
Alex raised an eyebrow, a mix of amusement and curiosity in his gaze. "Yeah… and so what?"
Suddenly, a small dwarf jumped up to the board: he was a teenager of about fifteen, stocky, but whose muscles were still not very developed. His thin cheeks and messy dark brown hair gave him a mischievous and determined look. His eyes shone with a mix of mischief and curiosity.
"My name is Andris, Boss!" he declared with a confident smile.
Alex, a little confused, replied: "Uh… yeah… okay… and so what?"
Andris quickly ran a hand through his hair, as if to assert his importance, and continued: "Boss, I'm the one who will be the most useful to you right now. I know all the rumors in this forest. And my superpower…" He made a theatrical pause. "…is to create a rumor that spreads extremely fast anywhere!"
Alex felt a shiver when his eyes met his. There was something special in them, a spark he could not ignore. Slowly, he sat down, his eyes fixed on Andris. "Very well… I'm listening."
Andris took a deep breath before speaking:
"So, to begin with… you all know the power of the kings. Well, recently, the ten kings have become only nine. That, you already know. But do you know that they have become even stronger? Much stronger…"
He paused, the suspense palpable. "Why? According to the spreading rumors… they received weapons from a shady, mysterious man."
At that moment, an unimaginable pressure fell upon the room. All the dwarves and even the slimes were crushed to the ground, unable to breathe. Even Andris was forced to flatten himself.
But Alex remained seated, his red eyes shining with fervor. A demonic smile spread across his face, his canines slightly showing. The pressure seemed to come from him, from his excitement, crushing everything around.
"Please, Boss…" murmured Avudar, worried.
Alex burst into a small laugh and said: "Oh, sorry… I got too excited."
He leapt to his feet and announced with determination: "New plan: we're going to demolish the kings and their weapons, then I'll subdue them and forge them an even more powerful weapon!"
The dwarves, in unison, let out a resounding cry:
"Hynnnnnn!"
Andris, smiling broadly, added: "Truly, you are the best Boss!"
Alex raised his hand to calm the general enthusiasm. "Stop panicking. I'll face them alone. You'd only get in my way anyway."
A slight relief spread among the dwarves, but the worry remained.
Alex continued, serious: "But using the Fulgurant Sword won't be enough. We need other materials to forge a sufficiently powerful weapon. Any ideas?"
Andris smiled mischievously: "I know. The best materials nearby are the obsidian from the obsidian ants."
Alex's eyes shone even brighter, his face taking on an almost monstrous expression. "The ants? Perfect! We're going to raid them… their queen owes me a debt."