Epic of Caterpillar Chapter 38: Kingdom Alliance

When we finished our dinner most members of the royal family decided to go to their houses, while some stayed and asked more things to Belle.

The majority of the royals that stayed were young mermen, they wanted Belle to tell them stories of the past.

A little mermaid with a long blue hair and green eyes asked Belle with an innocent face.

"Grandmother Belle, how was the old Aquaria? Were people as nice?"

Belle grabbed the small mermaid and sat her on her lap.

"Well, the old Aquaria was more rustic… There used to be much more discrimination, and it was actually split in three factions… The Mermen, the Mershark and the Eelmen"

"I-I see… It must have been rough for you, grandmother Belle"

"Indeed, but things have changed to the better now. Hehe, there is no need to call me grandmother, just call me big sister"

"Okay! Big sister Belle!"

While Belle entertained the young royals, her brother invited us to his room to have some alcohol and speak important things.

By the way, the name of this old man was Caspian, and was the current King of the United Kingdom of Aquaria. Why United Kingdom? Because in the past Aquaria was divided in three different kingdoms, but was unified by his own actions alone, going through countless hardships and struggles, and even the backstabbing of his own family.

Despite his innocent and sometimes dumb appearance, this old man was extremely sharp.

When we reached his room, two guards and one maid welcomed us.

Caspian invited us to sit whenever we found fit, while he sat on a small chair in the middle of the room, taking a small alcohol bottle from below his desk.

"This beverage is the specialty of us mermen, its named Star Fish Dew; and it's the pride of our royal family, invented hundreds of years ago by our old ancestor Cephas, who came from the vast seas"

The alcohol was like nothing I've ever seen, having a strong sea fragrance, with a beautiful clear blue color. Inside the bottle, there were countless small starfish, giving this beverage its smell and flavor.

A maid quickly served us a cup of this drink.

"Ooh! Thank you very much"

Even before tasting this drink, when I put my lips over the cup, an incredible sea fragrance filled my nostrils, going straight to my brain, making me feel as if I floated on an endless sea.

"Ah! T-This!"

When I give it a try, a delicious sour and sweet flavor filled my mouth and throat, it had extremely deep seafood flavors, accompanied with a sweet hint of honey. From the myriad of flavors that I could catch, there were sea urchin, armored crab, sweet eel, flaming eel, starfish of various types and even sea cucumber.

After taking a sip, I could not stop drinking it until I finished the entire cup. When I glanced at my servants, they all did the same, including Wagyu and Kekensha, who usually don't like sweet drinks.

Zehe was the first to praise.

"I can't believe how many flavors are concentrated in this drink; this is incredibly amusing. I have been completely caught off guard with this drink. I feel like I was floating in the sea while drinking it"

Such a detailed explanation! I couldn't expect less from my Zehe!

"You are right, this drink is incredible, there were so many flavors that I couldn't identify all of them, even after drinking the whole cup"

Caspian laughed soundly.

"Hohoho! I'm glad you guys liked it! It is an honor!"

"I must say, Caspian, that this mermen legacy is indeed amazing, however, I don't think you just invited us to drink alcohol, right?"

Caspian stopped serving us more alcohol and looked right into my eyes.

"Oh? I guess Gladion was right, you are an impressive woman, Kireina. That's right, I have invited you and your group to talk about more serious business"

I glanced at Caspian with a sharp look.

"I see, let me guess first, is it about our strange aura? Or you already appraised our status and saw our skill list?"

Caspian raised his eyebrows, laughing in amusement.

"Hohoho! To think that you could see through me so easily… I have gotten old. But yes, it is about your abnormal aura, and status, including your skill window. In my long 349 years of life, I have never seen such an impressive skill window, even more, most of your skills seem to come from other beings… Perhaps, you have such power? To obtain the skills from the creatures that you devour?"

"I see that you are quite familiar with the concept"

"Yes, I met someone like that in the past, around 160 years ago, when I was still a young king. It was a pure human boy, he didn't knew how he ended up on our lake, but he always kept babbling about coming from another world and that he wanted to go back no matter what, because her wife and children were awaiting for him"

"A human?! With my same gift?"

"Yes… His name was… Kai? I might be wrong; my memory is not as good as before. Anyways, he was gifted with a tremendous potential and lived here for 4 years, when he found himself strong enough, he went outside the lake to explore the rest of the world and find a way home"

"(This pretty much confirms that there are other reincarnated humans in this world?! And he had a similar power than mine? I always thought that I was unique… Sigh) I see…"

Caspian took another sip of his cup.

"Haah… Well, I think I went too off topic here, forgive me. What I wanted to know is your origin, from where are you exactly, Kireina? And is it true that you are the Empress of this Dark Moon Kingdom?"

"(Ugh he already checked my Kingdom status too?) It is true, I and my servants formed this Kingdom not too long ago, we are on a constant increase in population, and we already have our first streets done. Our castle is inside the biggest mountain in the East Rocky Mountains"

"Impressive, to think that such a diverse group of monsters could create a Kingdom so fast, it almost reminded me of the Wyvern Overlord tale of unifying the Grand Forest"

"The Wyvern Overlord? He's still alive"

After saying these words, Caspian stopped drinking.

"Eh?"

"Its true, didn't you see my Wyvern Overlord Blessing?"

"I… I thought it came from a normal wyvern or something, I would had never thought that it really came from the real deal! The Wyvern Overlord is alive?! My father once told me that he met him in person, before being sealed by the humans! But I never believed such stupid tale!"

"Your father met him in person?"

"Yes… He told me that the Wyvern Overlord went in person around the forest, with his trusty followers, while recruiting the different Emperors. Whoever didn't accept, would have to battle him, if they lost, they would be forced to join, so there wasn't much option for my father"

"But he told me even after forcing him and his people to join the Grand Forest Alliance, that the Wyvern Overlord was a gentle being, with a heart of gold. An incredible individual that wanted the best for everyone, and protected anyone on his Alliance with care. He forged new relationships and forms of communication, and managed to create an impressive Kingdom in very few years. The kingdom had a stable economy and the people did not discriminate between races, were they Hairy Spiders or Mermen, they lived in harmony"

"So that old man really was amazing, huh?"

"Yes, too amazing, that's why I never believed such tale… To think that it's really true…"

"Yes, the old man is still barely hanging on his life on the underground dungeon of the Lava Hot Springs"

"The Lava Hot Springs? So, there he is! Its unfortunate that he's sealed in such a dangerous area were us mermen cannot enter; the hot temperatures would easily dry out our bodies. But, lady Kireina, how did the Wyvern Overlord contact you? And why? Is there a way to unseal him?"

I took a small sip of the Star Fish Dew and continued talking.

"There isn't, even with my current strength, its still impossible. The seal the humans used is incredibly powerful and uses the Wyvern Overlord own life to keep on existing, the only way for him to be freed is by… dying"

"I-I see… So that's how it is… We… We never had a chance form the beginning, huh?"

"However, he called me for another thing, it was to protect this whole forest! That old man really gave me a difficult task!"

Caspian looked at me intensively.

"Protect it? You mean…"

"You know? Yes, from Redgaria Bitefrost, the Arch Wizard Necromancer. The one who killed his whole Kingdom in one night and changed it to the Dark Nation"

"To tell you the truth, lady Kireina. We have known about the threat from the Necromancer from long ago, but we have barely done anything about it… Our people have grown too spoiled inside this secret city, given to us by our oldest ancestor who came from the vast seas, bringing his whole city with him. He was an incredible Wizard, if our old ancestor were still alive, he would completely crush this damned Necromancer!"

"Talking about the dead won't help, we must face the current problem with what we have at our disposal"

Caspian laughed.

"Haha… There is wisdom in your words, lady Kireina. To be honest, we knew about the Troll and Goblin invasions, but we decided to stay neutral… I apologize in behalf of my Kingdom cowardly! Our old ancestor would be ashamed of what has become of their children!"

Caspian tried to kneel down but I stopped him in time.

"Hey, hey. Aren't you the King? A King should never kneel to anyone! Stand up, Caspian!"

Caspian raised his bald head at me, and I was able to glance at a small hint of determination on his eyes.

"Y-You are right, lady Kireina! I mustn't give in…! However, you have done too much for us, so I must apologize once again! And thank you in behalf of my people, for saving my dear sister, and defeating the horrible monster that tormented my father in the past"

"That monster, I would really like to know more about its origins, from where did such a being came from?"

"That being, has been sealed inside that temple as long as my people remember… It was the Wyvern Overlord who freed him from his seal and recruited him to the Grand Forest alliance"

"That old mand did what?! Why?!"

"He had hopes on his strength, and this being did his job well, being a strong servant in service of the Wyvern Overlord, until his master was sealed… He then became corrupt and started to ask for sacrifices, mostly targeting our people… He was able to put curses on my people souls that would never go away, my father was forced to do countless sacrifices on behalf of the greater good! However, I still think that what was done is atrocious, and should never be done again… When my sister maturated, the monster found out about her blessing and asked for her sacrifice, saying that unless we offered her, he would never let go off my people, and would curse us for generations to come"

"So you did… The ultimate sacrifice? The only princess of the Aquaria Kingdom"

"Yes… However, my father would had never given my sister to the monster… She was the one who choose to accept the monster offer, and even bargained with him to promise to never curse our kind and leave us alone forever. My sister is indeed an outstanding woman"

"The monster used my sister blessing in order to have a long-lasting life, waiting for his evolution to come, while making its Blood Monster servants passively kill the fauna around the forest and gaining the EXP, slowly creating the Blood Forest as we know it"

"If you have not slayed him, the Grand Forest would had become completely red in the next 100 years. Expanding its Blood Forest everywhere, and probably painting our precious lake with his cursed blood"

When I finished drinking my second cup, the maid at my side quickly filled it with more Star Fish Dew.

"So that's how it is, to think that the Wyvern Overlord passively caused this whole mess…"

Caspian drank the whole cup of Star Fish Dew in one shot.

"Haahh… Well, just as you said, that's on the past, and this problem has already been solved, thanks to lady Kireina. Now… Lady Kireina, I know this will sound selfish, but I have an important request for you"

Caspian looked me directly at my eyes.

"Let's make an alliance! A Kingdom alliance!"

"Hahaha, I was about to ask you that"

"Intelligent minds think alike. Hohoho!"

Caspian and I agreed on making an alliance, but first we decided on the benefits that each party would obtain. Caspian assured his monetary support, offering powerful magic technology, valuable resources and food, but could not offer much help on the fighting alone, as they lack strong soldiers and champions. This is were our part comes, using our strong soldiers, we would offer total protection to the Aquaria Kingdom, while at the same time protecting the whole forest and our Kingdom, it is a hard task, but the rewards are very good.

To make things better, we will also exchange populations, increasing our variety, most of the people from my Kingdom will be strong soldiers, that will come to protect and train the mermen on the arts of war and weapon techniques.

While my Kingdom will obtain some merfolk families, that will settle on my kingdom, and form a strong alliance with the Aquaria Kingdom.

Of course, Caspian would not force anyone, but he has noticed that there are certain families that are bored of this city and want to explore the outside world and met new people, these adventuring minds are the perfect ones for my Kingdom.

After filming some papers made of coral, Caspian sent me the Kingdom Alliance request through the System.

Ding!

| HIGH MERMAN CASPIAN FLORIA AQUARIA XI; KING OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF AQUARIA, HAS OFFERED AN ALLIANCE WITH YOUR KINGDOM: DARK MOON KINGDOM |

| DO YOU ACCEPT? |

| >YES NO |

"Yes!"

Ding!

| YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY CREATED AN ALLIANCE BETWEEN THE DARK MOON KINGDOM AND THE UNITED KINGDOM OF AQUARIA |

Ding!

| YOU HAVE UNLOCKED A SECTION OF THE SPECIAL SKILL: EPIC OF CATERPILLAR |

| THE UNITED KINGDOM OF AQUARIA ALLIANCE |

"…! (T-This thing again!)"

| EPIC OF CATERPILLAR; CHAPTER 2: THE UNITED KINGDOM OF AQUARIA ALLIANCE |

| Kireina's epic tale continues, creating its first Kingdom alliance with the ancient merfolk Kingdom of Aquaria, your control over your own destiny increases by 3% |

"(More control over my own destiny? This means that I already have 7% control over it if I add the first chapter bonus… That's still pretty low… And what does it mean to have control over my own destiny? Is my life a predestined thing in this world?)"

My split minds decided to speak their concern.

"Master, you must be careful, this skill seems way more complex than we think"

"Indeed… Something feels strange about all of this, as if we were the protagonist of some kind of game between gods…"

"Between gods? I WILL JUST HAVE TO CRUSH THOSE GODS THEN!"

"Calm down Angry Mind… We can only accept the bonus of the skill for now, we are too weak to even be able to figure anything out yet… And asking to others might be too risky, we must keep this skill a secret, even to my wives"

"You are right, Master"

"Yes, there isn't anything we can do for now, although, I wonder if we can check the skill now?"

I tried to check the skill details but it again did not let me.

| YOU CANNOT CHECK THE SPECIAL SKILL: EPIC OF CATERPILLAR DETAILS |

| YOU MUST FIRST FULLFILL THE FOLLOWING CONDITIONS |

| HAVE 100000 SERVANTS |

| BECOME A GOD CLASS BEING |

| BY THESE SAME CONDITIONS, SOME SKILLS HAVE BEEN SEALED |

| BASIC THREAD OF DESTINY MANIPULATION |

"Once again with the God Class bullshit! Like in hell I would be able to become a God! How do you even do that?"

"No clue"

"I assume that you must keep evolving, the answer will appear someday"

"Just beat the crap outta some fuckers till we get strong enough! Easy! Hahaha!"

While I discussed with my split minds, Caspian looked me with concern.

"L-Lady Kireina? Are you okay? Why are you standing there motionless?"

"Ah! N-Nothing! I was just browsing through my skills… I got a lot hahaha!"

"A-Ah… I see, anyways, now that we have finally settled things, I want your group to come with me, I have great rewards for you heroes, please follow me"

We followed Caspian through the immense castle to the underground. In the underground there was a massive room were countless treasures were stored. From incredibly big piles of gold, gems and magic stones, to precious magical metals and even legendary-looking golden armors and weapons.

Caspian took a small chest that was in the corner of the room, inside this plain looking chest, there were several silver bracelets.

"You see, we mermen are not born with the Appraisal skill. We instead, obtain it through this special bracelet made by our old ancestor, only the royalty and the most seasoned of heroes would obtain one has a gift. Please, take one for each of you"

"Appraisal! Finally! Thank you very much, Caspian!"

"Hohoho! Its nothing! Its nothing! Please take one, even lord Wagyu and Kekensha can take one"

After everyone took their own Appraisal Bracelet, we all started to digest them using the Bloody Lotus Digesting Juices.

Caspian got a little bit shocked by this.

"E-Eh? What are you doing?!"

"Ah! You see… we can obtain skills from the magical items we consume, so we will get appraisal immediately… Oh there it is!"

Ding!

| YOU LEARNED THE SKILL: APPRAISAL BRACELET |

"Activate skill: Appraisal Bracelet!"

Fluosh!

Suddenly, a small silver bracelet appeared out of thin air in my right hand.

"Oooh! Impressive! Your power is so versatile, lady Kireina!"

"Hahaha, its nothing! Now that I finally got this, its time to use it. How about you, Caspian? You already appraised us all so it's fair!"

"A-Ah! Hohoho! Feel free! But please don't make fun of my weak stats, I was never fitted for combat! Hohoho!"

"Activate skill: Appraisal!"

Fluosh!

| NAME: CASPIAN FLORIA AQUARIA XI

| CLASS: MERMEN MERCHANT

| RACE: HIGH MERMEN

| LEVEL 72/150 EXP 022541/72000 STATUS: FINE

| ITEM BOX 78/250

|