15 Gazel Dwargo, and the strongest weapon.

Managing a country was quite stressful. Keeping everyone fed and happy was a big task with around 192,000 people to manage. Thankfully with the dryad's and the ent's help, we were able to manage. I had used mimicry on all the races that were currently in the city and was now using my newly acquired Kijin form. I quite liked the look of the horns and had even added a bit of an elven touch by making the ears a bit sharper.

(Image here)

I was taken out of my train of thought when I saw flying horses approaching. I guess enough time has finally passed that Gazel has decided to visit. Time to put on my business face. I called Hakuro, Trya, and a few of the kijin to follow me to meet with the approaching visitors. Kaijin met us on the way there. Once we were a good distance from the center of the city we could see the horses getting nearer to us.

"It can't be… the pegasus knights" Kaijin muttered.

Once they had landed Gazel approached me.

"It is nice to meet you again King of Dwargon. My name is Rimuru Tempest, the ruler of this forest. May I know why you have decided to visit us?"

"Spare the formalities, I have come here not as a king but as an individual. Kaijin, it is good to see you once again. As for you, it seems you look a bit different than from when we last met."

The atmosphere was a bit tense, the ones who were standing behind Gazel were analyzing all of the ones present. And in return, all of the people on my side looked ready to launch an attack at any moment.

<< Calm down guys, I don't think this will end in a fight… Well maybe it will but more of a friendly spar at best. Lower your weapons and look calmer. You'll end up giving the ones behind the king a heart attack>> I said to them, using the skill shared mind.

They immediately relaxed their postures and judging by the small smile that had escaped Gazel he must have somehow listened in on it.

"Yes, I do look a bit different now, trying out a new style and all. I could return to my slime form but I believe it would be more comfortable for us to speak in this form. Since you have come here how about staying for a cup of tea maybe you can catch up with Kaijin along the way."

"What an appealing offer, however, I am not sure if I can trust you yet. I see that you are carrying a sword with you. How about this, block one single string of attacks from me and then I will decide if I can trust you. Of course, you are free to attack me along the way. Do you accept?"

"I do not see why not, it would always help to compare my skill with someone who has a lot of experience with the sword."

At this Trya stepped in.

"Then please allow me to watch over the match." her sneaky thumbs up toward me was missed by most of the crowd due to the commotion of seeing a dryad.

"Hahaha, I guess ruler of this forest was not a lie. In that case, let us fight"

"Begin!" Trya said.

Using Thought acceleration and Universal sense I could follow the movements of Gazel. We both jumped towards each other and I decided to go on the offensive. I swung my sword towards him. The moment it was reflected Gazel attempted to use his heroic aura on me. But with simultaneous activation of my commander's aura, I was able to counter him and catch him off guard for a split second. A split second I took advantage of to attempt the same move he would have used on me. I disappeared from sight.

The surprised expression on the king's face didn't last long, only to be replaced with a wide grin. Without a moment of pause, he raised his sword and parried my blade. His movements began to speed up and without the use of any other skills I was starting to fall behind on strength. I had Hakuro's knowledge of the sword but there was only so much that could do since the person that was pushing me back also had that knowledge and even more.

[Notice. Analysis of King Gazel's sword style in progress.

Using Hakuro's sword skills as reference.

Learning in progress…

Analyzing skill Heroic Aura

Cross referring with the skill Commanders Aura

Learning in progress...]

Now that I could feel Sage analyzing his every move following his blade became easier. Technically speaking I had already blocked multiple strikes after my failed attack but I guess the king had gotten a bit carried away after seeing me use his old Master's sword move.

Instead of being pushed back, I was able to stand my place. Without realizing it my Commander's aura which was still active was starting to grow and was trying to push back against Gazel's. This, unfortunately, only made Gazel's smile grow and the strength he was using against me increase.

He must have sensed the growing unease of my people as he stopped for a moment and looked all around him.

"This is my final attack, make sure to block it!"

He disappeared from my sight and I prepared to block up. However, something was wrong. This wasn't quite how you used Hakuro's attack.

'Wait, Oh shit'

I twisted my body to look behind me and sure enough there he was about to thrust his sword. As fast as I could I tried to place my sword to block but once his blade made contact with mine my sword shattered and exploded. I could see the 'Oh shit' expression in his eyes once it happened but he was a bit too late and in a bad position to stop his attack.

The blade kept traveling in my direction and I was barely able to twist my stomach enough that it barely missed.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Bwuahahahaha I apologize for my mistake. I should have stopped a moment before. I got a bit too carried away since you reminded me of my old master so much. I have confirmed You are not an enemy to my nation. I do have to ask, from who did you learn to fight so well."

"That would be from me, it has been a long time Gazel. You look well" Hakuro stepped in.

…

From there a friendly conversation ensued. The reuniting of master and student brought even more joy to Gazel. Seeing how much catching up they had I invited the Pegasus knights and the king to join us for a banquet. I guess I had earned a bit of a brotherly bond from Gazel due to being the "student" from the same teacher. Thankfully Hakuro kept his mouth shut in regards to how I had actually learned the blade. All's well that ends well I guess. Both my people and his got along quite well during the banquet. Of course, Gazel's people were still on guard even after he had told them to relax but old habits die hard.

Talks followed a similar path as to the original. I ended up with an alliance treaty that followed these terms.

1. A nonaggression treaty with each other.

2. Assistance whenever one nation is endangered.

3. The building of a road to Dwargon, in exchange for their backing.

4. Guaranteed safety for dwarves in the Forest of Jura.

5. Promises of technology sharing between us.

Another thing that Gazel wanted to do was to be able to come every once in a while to spar with both me and Hakuro every once in a while. I agreed to this as Great sage was not able to fully analyze both his Heroic Aura and his fighting style. The more time I speed fighting him the more I will be able to analyze and learn them. It turns out that Gazel spends a lot of time working and almost never had time off to do anything fun so allowing him to train with us was a win-win scenario.

We finished making the proper papers for the alliance and after some days Gazel dropped off Vester to me to help with research.

…

Once they left I asked Shuna to make a lot of sweets and snacks which she gladly did. And I left toward the bee colony lead by Apito. After all, she would give me the strongest and most important weapon that any mortal could acquire. Capable of defeating even the strongest of demon lords.

Honey.

….

If you see I edited the past chapters you don't have to worry you missed anything, I am just fixing some grammar errors and changing the name of the Skill from Lust to Eros. It still will do the same thing since… well… just because a skill is unique it doesn't mean that there can't be another one that does basically the same thing with a different name… Right? Oh well.. Fanfic magic it is. See ya.