14 Gifts and motives.

As soon as Cyrus spotted them he clenched his cane and yelled, "Who do you kids think you are to enter this place? This is a private meeting where only the most powerful families in Kyus can be! Get out immediately!" he lifted his hand in protest, rambling about how they were nobodies and they didn't belong here.

Leon was unfazed in front of him, instead he asked something that no one expected to hear. Their pride didn't allow them to answer honestly either. With his usual smile he said, "What do you big families have that we don't?"

This question struck right at the core of the issue. What did they have that this kids didn't? Even if they didn't have 'that' they could obtain it. They had shown proof of their capabilities over and over again, and whatever it was that they had they could get it too. In fact, they didn't have what these newcomers had.

While Kyus city was a buffet of resources, they were of low quality. Food, minerals, ores, any resource that a human would need to advance in the city was present in Kyus. But when it came to the forest, they were nothing but ants. All the good ores and minerals were always used to either reinforce the wall or repair it. Even if they could bring things from the forest, the losses were too high and man-power was always lacking.

All of them knew this was true and even if they wanted to reject the help they had no choice but to allow them to stay. They couldn't force them to leave either, they were stronger. They were better than all of them together, and that was an undeniable fact. They allowed them to take a seat, Leon was sitting with his rod on his hand, while Lufti, Leroux and Lina we standing behind him. Lina was that 14 years old girl that defected the Kriger family and joined her brothers in the creation of a new family.

"Kid, I have to recognize that I like how you act, swift and decisive. But what is your real purpose here? There are no common people in this room, we all share our thoughts here, so we expect you to do the same. Sincerity is paid with sincerity. You can't use another currency and expect people to respect you out of no-where" said the Boer family head.

"That is true ma'am, we have two goals currently in sight. The first one has already been announced, the second one wasn't, and the reason is that if we said that in public it would generate mass-fear and that is something no one wants, but we will reach that point. Let's talk about other matters first, and I think you're all hungry. Lufti, can you please show them our appreciation with the food we've brought?"

Lufti sprung into action immediately, he took out different jars and gave one of each kind to every family except the Krigers. The same with the fruits and the tools they brought. They were gifts to buy their trust. While these gifts were things they merely picked up while walking on their way to Kyus, in the eyes of those who didn't live in the forest they were precious treasures. Leon also handpicked a few things putting into consideration each family.

"These are mammoth apples and there are a lot of different ores and fine woods in those sacks. These jars also have water from different places, some have healing properties while others revitalizing ones. There is also wine, made by our Master as a gift and proof that we do have the knowledge to do what we claimed we were capable of" said Lufti as he gave the gifts away. Once he was done, he stood behind Leon once more with a calm face.

Cesar stood up and looked with envy at all the other families and said in anger "Why do they receive gifts yet our Kriger family doesn't?! We are family! Closer to you than anyone else! You even dared to brainwash my daughter into leaving the family and now you disrespect us this way?!"

This was an obvious insult in front of the other families. To this Leon replied, "Yes, we have skipped the Kriger family, because as we've said before. There can't be a Lea and Kriger family inside Kyus city. We could take you all down by force, but we need the man power and can't afford to eliminate you all. Plus, it'd be a waste of resources and time. As for the reason we hate you so much, well, you were going to marry your daughter to someone who was 60 years old only because that person promised to betray the Smid family and sell you all your secrets if you gave him your daughter. Shamlessly, you accepted without delay, and you still dare ask me why she left the Kriger family?" said Leon with repulsion on his face. Lina, behind him held Lufti tight and hugged him from behind. It was a really adorable scene to see despite the horrors of what Leon was saying.

"Not only that, you don't even remember our mother. She was a promising warrior, but because of her beauty you and your father used wretched means to get her to marry you. My grandfather was a stone mason, one of the few people allowed by the Smid to learn the art of stone cutting and that was proof of his talent. My grandmother was an old lady that never harmed anyone, and despite being a bit old she was still strong to give birth to my mother. By the time my mother was a beautiful young lady, my grandparents were both old. Still, with the money they had saved, they decided to allow my mom choose her own path in life. Her talent as a warrior was outstanding, and she was the disciple of one of the Kriger generals. Still, you and your father decided to push her to her limits. You made my grandfather's death look like an accident and after that you poisoned my grandmother. Only to present yourself as the 'saviour' my mother needed. If she married you, you would seek the best doctors in order to heal my grandmother. Too bad that when my grandmother could muster the strenght to speak, she revealed that the doctor the Kriger family had hired was the same person that had poisoned her. Life has twists and turns, and after that last message she died. Still, Lea was not a person to be pushed down like an animal. She brought her sword and took that doctors life, only to try and take your own. You won, only because you used the strenght of your guards to pin her down. Otherwise, she would have killed you. Why don't you show everyone the scar she left in your chest? The one that almost takes your life? But no, Cyrus exiled her and on the way out she told you she was pregnant. Despite all that, she made it by herself only to be sheltered by my Master. Now tell me Cesar, do you think I have a reason to kill you and your father or not?"