Rise of the Legendary Emperor

"Your majesty, how did you pull this off? I mean if the others knew there's a kingdom with this much Astrels, they'd do all kinds of things to capture them"

Ukita was walking with Don through the roads of Everlight and looking at the houses, structures, and gardens with wonder.

"They won't find about this, its a separate realm and the problem is not safety but the population, I want more people"

According to Lord Clemo and Warren, Agoira had 1200 citizens who were born there and 800 refugees who migrated to Agoria while Emir had more population than Agoira as 2500 citizens. Everlight however, had 2700 citizens including a thousand soldiers.

With the thousand soldiers of Everlight, Don had almost two thousand soldiers including the 700 hundred from Emir and three hundred barely trained militia.

"What's the average population of a rank four kingdom, Ukita?"

Ukita seemed like an upgraded version of Uncle Dior and since Uncle Dior was busy with managing the treasury, day-to-day finances of his three kingdoms and Ukita was a scholar with lots of knowledge, Don asked him.

"Hmm"

The old man stroked his long white beard for a moment

"Twelve thousand, your majesty, a typical rank three kingdoms would have twenty to twenty-five thousand, rank two, thirty to thirty-five, forty thousand"

"Tell me, how can we increase the population?"

"That depends on how you want or like to get things done, your majesty. If you like a direct offensive approach, you can wage war on weak kingdoms and merge them with yours, it will boost your population by a leap but"

"But I will lose some soldiers, the people will look at us as invaders, if we wage war without a valid reason, the other kingdoms might ally to destroy us"

Ukita nodded with a smile and he was glad to finally talk with a powerful king as well as a youth who had some sense as most of the prodigies and kings he met to this day were either too arrogant or dumb as a box of rocks.

"Then if you prefer a more subtle and diplomatic approach, you can lower the taxes and provide opportunities to attract peasants from other kingdoms, it has to main concerns though, you won't get much of an income to your treasury from your citizens and the population will only grow slow"

Uncle Dior would have never suggested this since he was the treasurer and would hate to lose an income to his department.

"What about the Astrels, Ukita?"

Ukita has crossed the phase where he was surprised when he entered Everlight and witnessed the amount of Astrels in the kingdom. He realized what Don was trying to accomplish and even though it seems like a distant dream, he clearly understood how powerful the kingdom would be if he accomplished his dream as his sect was an example of this.

"That's tricky, your majesty, you said you are planning to abolish slavery in your kingdoms?"

"Yes"

"Hmm"

Ukita stroked his beard as Don knew the old man had something else in his mind.

"Your majesty, I understand what you're trying to do by abolishing slavery, it might be a shock to you, but I'd suggest you abolish slavery and strike a backdoor deal with slave traders"

It was indeed a shock to Don as he stopped walking for a moment and turned back to look at him. 

"Why do you suggest that?"

Even though he hated the slave traders to the core, he wanted to hear more from Ukita about why he suggested that.

"If you just abolish the slavery, your majesty, the slave traders will simply go to another kingdom and continue their business as usual but if you strike some deal with them, you can free their slaves and give them a permanent home, hence increasing your population with loyal citizens, at least with this, they will end up here rather than other kingdoms where they treat slaves like dirt "

"Can't I just send a team to follow the hunters and nab the people before they could capture them?"

"It will only be a little use, your majesty, because anyone can be a hunter, mercenaries, adventurers, soldiers, mages, practically anyone can be a hunter, if they need to make a quick coin, they would just need to venture into the safer parts of the outerlands and capture the Astrels and sell them to the slave traders. Some daring ones will go into the deeper parts and capture rare Astrels and some just capture one on their way back to home, what I am trying to say is, it's impossible to send your men after the hunters who might be practically anyone"

Don sighed and nodded as Ukita made some valid points. He realized that until his kingdom could become a superpower, it'll be hard to completely eradicate slavery but for now, he needed to swallow his anger and deal with those maggots of slave traders.

"You're right, for now, I'll let those hunters and slave traders live a little longer"

Ukita could see the cold murderous aura in his eyes as he nodded.

"Have you heard about this Unicorn Hair?"

"Unicorn hair, hmm, is that some kind of ingredient to a potion?"

'Well, one cant know everything'

Don thought to himself after hearing Ukita's question

"There you are"

Just when they were talking, Ukita heard a voice and looked up to see a woman in golden robes descending with a powerful aura radiating from her.

"Don, it's time for your workout"

Ukita was shocked to hear the woman calling him by name but looking at Don and her, he realized that it must be normal for her to call him by name.

"You must be Ukita"

After Don nodded, she turned her gaze towards him

"Ukita, meet Reghys"

"Lady Reghys"

Something about this woman before him said that she was not a typical human as she looks like but a powerful being considering the thin layer of golden energy around her.

Ukita gave a deep bow as Reghys nodded

"Your friends are waiting for you in the castle, you better have some space left in your stomach"

Ukita didn't understand what she meant by that but before he could ask her, white light surrounded him as he closed his eyes and when he opened them again, he was already at the castle.

******************************

"Your majesty, what's today? Heavy lifting, running, or three thousand push-ups hanging from the trees"

When Hagu and his group of orcs saw Don coming to the training ground with Reghys, they laughed as they asked.

Don liked that cheerful orc called Wrug in Hagu's group. He was a little shorter compared to the other orcs but his mouth made up for his height.

He came grinning towards Don while Hagu tried to restrain him. They became even closer to Reghys as they would beg and annoy her to take them to see their families in the mine and because of their nagging, Reghys would take one of them a day in a month to the mine and let them see their families from far away.

Since their families were fine and Don promised that he would rescue them one day, they had nothing to worry about.

"You're still at peak master level, it seems I have to ask Knight to increase your training"

"Oh come one, your majesty, we'll be dead if General Knight increased the training regime anymore, he's already threatening us to let those kittens beat us"

Hagu and his group looked ashamed

"Then you better breakthrough to the great master"

Reghys appeared before them with a hand made of blue energy holding a huge stone beside her as Wrug jumped back startled.

"Now go and bring that stone here"

Reghys pointed at the stone that she put a few meters away from the orcs and ordered them.

Wrug rolled his eyes and turned back

"You should have put it near the first place"

The orc mumbled under his breath and walked towards the stone

"I heard that you short bastard"

Reghys shouted as the other orcs laughed.

Eventually, the orcs went to train in the training hall as Don was squatting with that huge stone in his hands above his head. It took three orcs to move the stone and place it above Don's head and while squatting, his muscles were bulging out, and crying for rest as he was drenched in sweat.

"Good, you reached four hundred, hundred more to go"

Reghys was leisurely sitting on a chair and sipping the flavored tea that Amaryll made her.

For a moment he was sure that he saw Arrora hiding behind one tree and watching them but when he looked more closely, he didn't see anyone as he just ignored and concentrated on finishing the task on hand.

And just when he had fifty more squats to finish the workout, he saw Vivian walking towards them.

"What are you doing here?"

Reghys frowned and asked Vivian as she was always around Nikalas and at night, she would be dragged to the steel chick by Amaryll to have a girls night.

"I was looking for him"

"Well, then you have to wait for him till he reaches five hundred"

Vivian could only imagine what he was going through now because of her.

"How many more?"

"Just Forty"

It took a few minutes for him to complete five hundred squats and when he was done, he could barely stand. Reghys waved her hand as two more chairs appeared as Don collapsed onto the chair and gestured at Vivian to take a seat as he took a long sip of water that Reghys gave him.

"Your majesty, I need a job"

He coughed when he heard the weird request as he put the water glass back and looked at her.

"What do you mean, you need a job?"