CHAPTER 5 - THE BARBARIAN LEADER, KRATOS

"I, Kratos greet the chief. "

"I, Birfer greet the chief. "

"I, Bjorn greet the chief. "

"I, Arne greet the chief. "

"I, Astrid greet the chief. "

"I, Dagne greet the chief."

"I, Gorm greet the chief. "

The barbarian's thunderous voice rang out across the air. Olivier, bruised and battered, gazed blankly at the barbarian's showy greeting to their new chief, him. They had been stubborn and haughty only moments before, but now they were hailing him. Although he could see in their eyes that they were not completely convinced, this was enough for him for the time being. For now, their recognition was adequate. He could earn their trust their trust slowly and gradually, so he resolved his mind to let nature take its course. He smiled. His earlier arrogance had vanished like the wind, and he was now back to normal.

He nodded to the barbarians and turned to face the barbarian leader, who had just introduced himself as Kratos. He couldn't recall all of their names, but he couldn't forget the name of this barbarian, whose figure towered like a giant. "Hello, my name is Olivier Martin. I have been appointed as the new chief of the legacy village. I know we just met, and having to recognize me as your chief may be difficult for you. You are stronger and more experinced than me, so we will skip all the formalities. The fact that I'm the chief and you're the army was beyond our control, but now we are all members of this village. We are now directly tied to this village, whether by chance or pure luck. So, let us put our differences aside and work together to develop our village and ourselves. There is strength in unity. United we rise, divided we fall".

Some of the barbarians nodded their heads in agreement with Olivier, while others remained expressionless.

Olivier ignored the others and moved his wounded body. He was now chest to face with Kratos. He was again mercilessly reminded that he was a dwarf to these barbarians, just as a dwarf is to humans. He stopped his twitching mouth and smiled brightly as he glanced up to meet Kratos' gaze. "Uncle Kratos, may I call you that from now on?" he added, reaching out his hand for a handshake. Kratos stayed deafeningly quiet. "I'll take the silence as a yes." You can address me as Olivier or Oliv. I notice that you are the camp's leader, and they all look to you for guidance. Although I am the chief-in-name of this village, I have no authority or power to issue orders to you as the chief of the village. But I would like your assistance. This village is magical. As you may have noticed, we are sitting above a mountain of resources. This ground underneath us is abundant in two kinds of resources: gold and elixir. Gold possesses the magical ability to construct things. Our builders, Bryan and Erwin, built all of these structures using gold. The Elixir has the ability to provide life and strengthen them. I used those elixirs to awaken you all, and they can make you stronger. As a result, I'll need your assistance to gather more resources. We will use them to construct more gold mines and elixir collectors, allowing us to mine more resources. That will allow me to construct more structure and awaken those who are in slumber. Are we all on the same page?"

Kratos remained silent, but some of the barbarian's expression changed slightly. After a time, a booming voice could be heard once more. "We will assist you in gathering those resources, and you will help us in growing stronger. We have an agreement ".. Then there was an awkward handshake between a little and a large hand.

While outside Kratos remained impassive, inside he was bit surprised. 'Clever kid'.

While Olivier spoke politely, everything he said from the start was on point. First, he presented himself as the village chief. Then he empathized with them on their hardship in having to recognize him as the leader, despite the fact that he was weaker than them. H e admitted his weaknesses and acknowledged his inferiority to the barbarians. He then welcomed them into the village, even referring to them as family members and addressing this village as their new home. This was done to prevent them from utilizing their strength to completely seize control of the village. After all, he's just accepted defeat and announced this place to be their new home. How could the proud and arrogant barbarians make their move against a weak youngster who was courteous and regarded them as family members? They were far too proud to do so. He had just spoken about unity and even a catchy slogan that they couldn't get out of their heads. 'Together we rise, divided we fall,' like the phrase goes.

The first move was to calm the situation and put an end to internal turmoil. He just proved his ability by completing their test. So, everything he said later, he just proved his ability by completing their test. So, everything he said later, It came across as a request to the barbarians. After all he had just passed their trial, and the words had more meaning when he stated to the barbarians, 'being covered in blood like an injured warrior'. He then informed Kratos, the leader, about his condition. He began by explaining the situation with the gold and elixir. He then stated that he was the one who had awakened them from their slumber. That implies he was their benefactor. Then he claimed he could make them stronger. The bait was that he had the ability to awaken and enhance their strength.

That could imply a number of different things. If he can awaken them, he might even be able to put them back to slumber. That was a concealed warning, like a knife in the dark. Then he triggered the bomb by saying t hat there are others, and that he has the power to awaken them. That implies he had other options as well. He avoided revealing that he needed to first upgrade the townhall in order to awaken other troops other than Archer. In the game, the giants could be unlocked at townhall level 1 but this was different for the legacy village. He skipped that. He figured they'd realize it later, but they were in the dark right now. It was beneficial to him to not reveal any information they didn't have or know. He then mentioned how they were on the same side. That implies there's no need to go toe-to-toe with anyone. We are on the same team.

Simple words could mean a variety of things. People who are smart could easily read between the lines and act appropriately. People never speak their feelings in politics and scheming. Each word had a multiple meanings. Kratos had spent the most of his life on the battlefield as a barbarian leader and warrior. He was skilled in fighting and believed that fists could express more than words. They were more direct and expressive, but that didn't mean he was a fool. He had survived the battlefield and was a master in strategy and politics. So, he easily understood Olivier.

Olivier wished for them to cooperate in order to develop this village. He was weak, but he wasn't helpless against them. As the chief of this village, he was strong-willed, intelligent, and possessed mysterious abilities. As a result, he expected them to work together sincerely as family members. Despite being the chief, the rightful leader of the village, he showed his sincerity by calling him as uncle Kratos. As a result, he agreed. He was interested to see what this young man could do, and what his goal was that he was not afraid of death and was prepared to defy it to achieve it. He was curious, genuinely curious.

Barbarians were a warlike race, yet they were extremely intelligent. As a result, several other barbarians realized this as well.

...

Next day.

The legacy village was deafeningly silent. The insect's cricking and the noises of a flowing river could be heard. In the clear sky, a bright and lonely moon shined. The moon's illimunation illuminated the village making everything clearly visible even at night.

Inside the townhall, in one of the rooms, Olivier lay on a bed, gazing out the open window at the moon. His wounds were almost healed, but he was still not in the shape to move.

A whoosh sound was heard, and vision was blocked. A tall figure stood in front of the window, obscuring the moon's radiance. Kratos had come to see him at night. But Olivier was not surprised; he seemed to be expecting a visit all along. "You're here, uncle Kratos".

"Mmmm". Kratos did not speak in his thunderous voice, but rather gently and quietly, which astonished Olivier. "You are indeed intelligent. Being intelligent without strength, on the other hand, is a sin. The weak and intelligent will be the first to perish on the battlefield. So, speak what is it that you want from us?"

"Uncle Kratos understands me the best. So, I will speak frankly. What I seek is cooperation, genuine cooperation. Every thing I spoke before is true, and while I left out certain details, it is still the truth I speak. To be honest, I am not from this village. While I do have some connection with village that does not change the fact that I was not originally from this village. But I might be able to return eventually, and perhaps I'll be able to bring some of you with me to the outside world. As you can see, I am weak and frail, incapable of even protecting myself, and the outside world is dangerous. As a result, I want your support. Protect me while I'm weak, and I'll help you become stronger. In this village, we are not alone. There are legendary creatures in slumber, and we can awaken them. All I want is for us to be united. I want us to stand together while we battle against others. I do not want anyone in our village to use their sword against another member of the village."

Kratos was silent. Olivier then recounted how he arrived there and the laws of the legacy village to him. He talked about different troops and how to awsken them. He explained everything except the fact that he was originally from Earth and that this village was developed based on a game he used to play on Earth. Why? Trust. To build trust. Like Kratos, the only way to gain a smart person's trust was to speak the truth. Only the truth could convince them. At the very least, he would be moved by truth rather than some benefit and profit.

Kratos was silent for a long while. Olivier just stopped talking and gave him the time to process the information. Kratos eventually spoke after a while, but this time his voice was full of emotion. "Okay right, what's next?" A simple approval.

"We upgrade the townhall to the next level and awaken the archers. But, first we will have to visit those goblin dens and kick some green butts".