“Have a seat.”

  Rick, who was already seated at the head of a large table inside a conference room, gave the order that the rest of the room needed to take their seats.

  The only person who hadn’t taken a seat was Commander Meegra, who stood solemnly behind Rick’s chair. She was in no place to defend Rick if the 14 Chiefs actually decided to rebel against their King, nor was anyone expecting that to be the case, but it was good practice to have her stand there.

  There could be a time in the future when Rick wasn’t having this type of meeting with his fellow Goblins, but instead with high ranking members of a different race, and the presence of Rick’s Royal Guard would be a necessity and not a practiced action at that point..

  It was best she started from now.

  So, with the exception of Commander Meegra, all 14 Chiefs took their seats.

  14 Chiefs who no longer looked as aged as they were previously. Even Chiefess Hugala, who was one of the oldest Goblins in the Clans, now looked like a Goblin in their prime of their adult life. Not quite the fresh face of newly matured Goblin, but not that possessed the type of wisdom and years she had.

  “Congratulations on successfully evolving to the Seventh Tier. I heard it was painful.”

  All 14 Chiefs bowed their heads slightly and gave their thanks all at once.

  Even though they had reached Tier Seven finally, the deference they showed to Rick was probably even greater than it was before they evolved. All of them had to drink of blood to reach this point and knowing that definitely added to the pressure they felt in his presence.

  “Well then, there is a lot to discuss. Hold all questions until I’m finished.”

  Rick then took a pause to organize his thoughts, and then began his speech.

  “A lot has happened over the past year and a half. I finally made my way to the Dark Lands of Mir, became the Goblin King in an official capacity…I know I keep putting off the official ceremony to celebrate it but it just doesn’t feel like the time to do so.

  “Instead, I want us to focus on our growth. All of you are Tier Seven now, and with that comes new responsibilities. First of all, we will not be focused on pushing the fronts back, at least not for right now.

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  “I believe the hordes we face are the perfect grinders for our people. There is no use in getting rid of that. I’m not sure of the state of things in other factions on this continent, but 14 Tier Sevens is significant in my eyes…but it makes us top heavy. It would be best if I didn’t have to send one of you to handle something that a Goblin of the Fifth Tier could handle.

  “I don’t need every single Goblin in the Clans to ascend the Tiers, but at the very minimum, I need more Tier Fours, Fives, and Sixes. The latter two are the most important. I’m aware there is also the factor of time involved, but spending a lot more time fighting should help with that.

  “Your role as Chiefs in this, is to keep our losses either remarkably low, or none at all. Allow our Goblins to fight and continue to gain real world experience, and advancing through the Tiers, but we do not need to allow them to die as well.

  “Next. Our technology needs to improve. I would like more time to be dedicated to making more of those communication disk things. As much Goblins as possible need to be working to figure out the tech there. If not, then we need to figure out how to acquire it.

  “Which goes to my next order of business. The Dark Lands of Mir will not be our permanent home, nor do I think we are equipped to make it our permanent home. If Tier Sevens can attack us, then it is reasonably to think that Tier Eights will be present deeper in.

  “That’s one part of it. The other part is…we are green. We belong among lush and green forests, not here in the darkness. With that being said, I want the area around us scouted. I need to know exactly who else is around us and how close they are.

  “The 14 Clans aren’t leaving the Dark Lands of Mir just yet, but we finally have enough strength to begin looking around us without fear. This task will fall to you, as I don’t want anyone below the 6th Tier on missions outside the Clan grounds.

  “At least not until we have more of a presence in other places.

  “Something that needs to happen, once we have more bandwidth to send more people out, then I would like to set up small and hidden outposts in key positions, to spread our information and support network.

  “Finally. There is also a need for more resources, so that should be a focus on the scouting missions.

  “Alright, if you have questions, now’s the time to ask.”

  Once Rick gave the go ahead, a flurry of questions that spawned much bigger discussions then took place. Of course Rick was more than patient with them as he understood this would call for a lot of changes and a lot of risk as well.

  He wasn’t a tyrant.

  While he held the right to make any call he wanted to make, there was a reason for the existence of the Chiefs Council.

  His orders and wishes were made known, and it was the responsibility of the Chiefs to provide council. From there Rick would take suggestions if he chose to and make changes and updates to any relevant plans as needed.

  Two full days passed before the discussion was over in it’s entirety.

  “I know it was a long meeting, but it was an important one. We had to get this right the first time, and I don’t plan on ordering Goblins into dangerous situations that weren’t thought our in detail.

  “Which is what we accomplished here over the past two days.

  “With that being said, all of you now have tasks to go handle, let’s get things moving quickly, but efficiently. Dismissed.”

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