Chapter 18- The Businessman's Ploy

"B-base of operations, you said?"

Iotar was slowly guiding the demons to his own village when the elven figure made a statement.

"Yes. If your slime kin are worthy to serve us, and will prostrate themselves in loyalty, we will likely not kill them. We are in need of a base of operations, and you said yourself that your people are in need of protection against the lizardmen, did you not? Of course, if you refuse our protection we will simply raze the village, murder all the villagers, and loot anything valuable."

For Iotar, this was horrifying news. If these demons simply looted and left, the slimes would be able to live another day and rebuild. Of course, there would be the issue of the lizardmen after all the loot is gone... bad things would certainly happen if they were looted and had nothing left to present those lizardmen.

But even so, this was far worse. Would the slimes have to live the rest of their lives with demons breathing down their backs, living as slaves?

Iotar began for a moment to consider fleeing.

If he ran, he would likely not survive. The elf had a bow on his back, and was likely to shoot him the second he took off.

But even so, could he really live with allowing these demons to make eternal slaves of his people?

In the end however, Iotar gave in to fear.

He was not a hero, and as guilty as he felt about what he was about to do, he knew that no other slime in his village would do any different.

Well, maybe that naive kid Rithargus would try something funny. But he would only end up dying! There was no point in death as a hero if you weren't even able to protect those around you.

If Iotar was not the one to lead them to the slime village, surely they would find another way.

Yes! That had to be true. Even if Iotar didn't lead these demons to his village, they would find it on their own!

The only thing running would do would be speeding up his own death!

Convinced that the demons before him were the epitome of intelligence and terror, he was certain that he wasn't doing anything wrong.

If ones actions have no effects on the results, then it would be better to live another day, right?

Right.

Absolutely.

Iotar, now convinced that he was not going to be the cause of the downfall of his kin, had a burden relieved from his chest.

"You said something about your village being a center of alchemy? To be honest, I myself would like to learn. Do you think you could teach me the basics?"

What was this?

The red high demon was asking Iotar to teach him alchemy?

Of course, there was no reason why a highly powerful fighter would need to know alchemy, but perhaps he was merely curious.

"I am the head alchemist, so I suppose I could show you a thing or two..."

The high demons eyes lit up with excitement.

Iotar hoped that this demon wasn't trying to learn how to create evil concoctions and poisons, but... looking at things objectively, that was likely the case.

Even so, if Iotar was able to please these demons, he might be able to survive. Who knows? Perhaps these demons would actually offer protection for the village.

"For example, I am aware that various types of herbs can be used to make potions. I assume you would know which herbs are valuable, no? If we take a look around here, what do you immediately notice?"

"Ah, well right around here..."

Iotar bent over and scoured the ground.

"There is plenty of razorpin grass and wild ferns. They can be used for health potions and strength potions respectively, but here's the deal- herbs can only be used to make lesser potions. If you want stronger potions, there are 2 ways to do it. The first way is to practice your skills as an alchemist, and as you do so eventually you will get better at the process, and your potions will turn out better. Even the lesser potions of a skilled alchemist could be better than the greater potions of a beginner."

Garett paid attention to Iotar, very interested. Why was this demon so interested in alchemy!? This was getting creepy!

"Go on"

"Yes, well in order to make regular potions, one must use the gel from slimes. As I told you earlier, each type of slime produces a different gel. On top of this, the gels can be combined in different ratios in order to create effects completely different from the gels used. The combinations in alchemy are infinite! The benefit for us slimes is that we can produce potions without having to produce concentrated liquid mana, since our gel is enough to produce potions from in the first place. However, in order to make greater potions, the base must be the gel, and concentrated liquid mana must be acquired as well. We do not have a compressor, nor any mages in our village to extract their blood, in which their mana is contained, and as such we do not produce greater potions."

"Very interesting.... then, let me pick a few of these herbs to practice on later perhaps... I have a couple mages here with me and I'm sure I can figure something out about the compressor."

Garett looked at Samantha and Ashley with a slightly evil grin. Ashley did not so much as flinch. She was perfectly willing to get some of her blood taken if it were for Garett.... however Samantha let out a squeal.

"Eek! You won't be taking any blood from me!"

"It can't be helped then... sorry Ashley. Will you do this for me later?"

Ashley nodded, and hung on to Garett's back.

"Anything for you", she whispered into his ear.

Her voice was becoming more and more spirit like as the days passed. She was talking with the blowing of the wind, and it was starting to sound kinda creepy, but Garett didn't mind it at all.

It was... cute in a very weird sense.

Garett bend down and picked a few of the herbs.

[5 Wild Ferns added to inventory]

[7 Razorpin grass added to inventory]

While Garett was doing that, Trevor continued his talk with Iotar.

"Where was I? Ah yes... I was talking about a base of operations. I believe that setting up a base of operations with the slime kin will be beneficial to both of us for a number of reasons. The first is that we will be able to monopolize and protect your alchemy trade. We will be able to prevent other stronger parties from using you all, and at the same time we will be able to boost your production. My friend here is a craftsman, you see, and when he learns alchemy he will be able to assist you all. The second thing is that we will be able to keep an eye on the humans from this village that is so close to the human controlled areas. And finally, because the slimes are weak, we will be able to slowly branch out from there in order to expand our influence."

Iotar was filled with conflicted feelings as he heard these words, but he sensed that he wasn't allowed to say no.

It was true that IF these demons did actually do their part in defending the slimes, their lives MIGHT improve. But that was only assuming these demons did not replace them as new abusers, which seemed likely.

However, that red demon was a craftsman!? Why would a high demon choose to be a craftsman as opposed to a warrior or a magician? That made no sense at all to Iotar. He had heard that in the realm of the demons to the far east that strength was everything- whether it be magical or physical strength. The Monster king who ruled the demons was decided not through lineage or succession, but simply by whoever was strongest. If a demon showed up claiming to be stronger than the current monster king, he could challenge him and they would fight over the position. This left only the strongest on the throne.

However, despite this potentially groundbreaking system where power could shift in a second, the current demon king had stayed in power for 10 years. Terasameus- the monster king who ruled the demons. He was 204 years old, and had trained for the first 194 years of his life before attempting to challenge the king- and winning. The king who had ruled before him had ruled for over 250 years, and gone to many wars with humans, but the current king had been peaceful for the short time he had reigned.

At any rate, almost all demons- especially the high demons- would never even consider becoming a craftsman. Being a craftsman was considered no more than slave labor in the demon realm. Yet this demon in front of him was among one of them!?

It was strange.

It was very strange.

As a matter of fact, the very existence of this group of demons was strange.

Why did they want to set up a base here in the slime village? Were they exiles from their own lands?

Yes, that had to be it.

There was no way this ragtag group could have met each other and worked together so nicely.

The high demons were likely lovers... perhaps some sort of noble daughter and maybe a different noble who wanted to become a craftsman, but was banished by his disappointed father as a result... perhaps the high demon woman was in love with the banished demon, and so she followed him, and they traveled through the realm of the haunted, where they met the spirit woman... maybe she was the concubine of the high demon? Anyways, they likely traveled through the lands until they eventually met the elven figure.

Iotar had no idea why this elven figure was here. Perhaps he was an outcast or a criminal of some sort? Maybe he met up with the demons, and formed some sort of pact with them for one reason or another.

All this was merely speculation in Iotar's own mind, but he decided not to think any further.

"I... I see. I'm sure my people will be delighted to welcome your esteemed presences within our village..."

Trevor smiled at this.

He had struck a deal.

As expected of a businessman, he was able to put pressure on a client by offering benefits and reasons to purchase, and by using a little threat of how the alternative would be an unsuccessful gamble.

"May I ask a question to you all?", Iotar asked humbly.

"What do you want?", Ashley responded in a raspy voice which chilled Iotar to the bone.

"Um... its just... who exactly should I refer to you all as?"

Upon this question, tension filled the air.

The four seemed to all freeze, as if this question had hit them hard.

Had he said something bad?! Had he been too disrespectful!?

Were they going to kill him here and now!?

Garett then spoke up.

"You may refer to us as the antiheroes."

The tension left the air.

Of course, the tension was present because Garett and his party knew that they were not supposed to utter their own names.

"I... I see. Then, antiheroes, what do you suggest I do when we arrive at the village?", Iotar stuttered.

He was filled with fear. He hoped that he did not anger the antiheroes, and he tried to change the topic rapidly.

The elves eyes gleamed with pleasure, as if he had been waiting for this question.

"I'm glad you asked. I have a presentation prepared for when we arrive"

As a businessman, Trevor was always planning his next move, and what better thing to do when he needed to get people on his side than to plan a presentation to win them over?

"When we arrive, I wish for us to perform a procession of might. This will show anyone present that we are not to be messed with. I wish for you to announce our arrival as the antiheroes, so that the other slimes will not run or hide from us. If one of their kind shows that approval is given, we can then captivate their attention and present ourselves as the new rulers of the village. If the lizardmen happen to see, all the better so that they can witness our might."

Trevor knew now that the monsters could not see levels or statistics, and judged strength based on appearances. To top this off, two of their party members were high demons, the highest monsters in this world. This was the perfect situation to set up their bluff of power and not only prevent resistance, but perhaps even subjugate those who are actually stronger than them.

Not only this, but if their name as antiheroes spread, perhaps they would grow in infamy.

Why did Trevor want this to happen?

Well, the alternative was to arrive at the slime village in secret.

Say they were to admit their true strength and it were to become known that they were weak. The lizardmen who came to attack the village would not fear them, and perhaps attack and threaten them to leave- or even kill them.

By using a bluff to flaunt their power, they could temporarily prevent retaliation by creating hesitation in any who wished to attack. This would give them time to prepare and level up, which in the long run was a better gamble than the alternative.

With this being the case, Trevor had planned the strategy accordingly.

If word got out to the higher level demons, things could become troublesome, but they would also be suspicious and try to gather a strong force. This would take time... time in which they could use to prepare. Not only that, but they could also flee if needed, but they would need to form an intelligence network if they were to know to flee.

Either this, or the higher level demons would not care, and simply ignore the existence of the antiheroes.

Either way, stunting enemies into hesitation for even a moment was better than allowing the enemy to crush them without any hesitation, which was the proposed risk of staying hidden. If they were actually strong, Trevor wouldn't need to take such a risk and would have stayed hidden, but that was not the case.

And so, the party continued forward, marching on towards the village while Trevor explained his plan and reasoning to the other four.

He explained the plan in front of Iotar, but secretly took each member of the party back to explain his reasoning for this when he was done explaining.

It would be bad if Iotar found out that they were weak after all.

First taking Garett back, Garett seemed to agree without an issue.

Then with Ashley.

She seemed to not want to flaunt themselves into the spotlight, but understood the reasoning behind it and reluctantly agreed.

Samantha on the other hand...

"Why do we have to make ourselves known as evil entities who rule through fear!? Why can't we just act like heroes and earn the respect of everyone? We could save the slimes from those lizardmen and they would love us!"

"No, there are 2 flaws with what you just stated. The first is that we can likely not beat the lizardmen. Our only option is for the lizardmen to be scared away from us on appearance alone. In order to do that, we have to become the villainous characters, ruling the slimes through fear and terror. The second thing is that the slime kin would likely view us as demons and untrustworthy beings due to our appearances. You should know this! People judge based on appearances, and intelligent monsters are likely no different. Do you think the slimes will so easily accept that characters who look so evil are heroes? Of course not. They would probably flee to the lizardmen before they bent their knee to us unless it was out of fear of us, who they would fear more than the lizardmen."

Samantha's mouth twisted in disagreement as if she wanted to rebuke him, but she couldn't. He was right.

She knew this better than anyone that people judged on appearance. That was how she built up such a good reputation despite hating those people she helped.

"Alright..."

Something then twisted in Samantha's heart.

She had always put up a front in the public image. She had never revealed her true self to others. She had always locked it away, and hidden it.

Perhaps this was the time to act on her own desires in front of others- to let others see her true self in this new world.

She smiled.

It was a twisted, wicked smile.

"Let's fill the hearts of the slime kin with terror"

"Indeed. Now, lets get this party started"

The antiheroes had arrived at the village.