“That is a possibility, yes. However, the tribes who join will be under the empire's rule and will not be allowed to make war on the other tribes. Only if a tribe were to attack the empire would we use force.”

  Haab says “That is reassuring. It really sounds like you have the best of intentions, but do you have any proof that it isn’t just talk?”

  “If you want proof, the best I can do is let you meet with the chiefs of the tribes that have already joined.”

  Haab says “My instincts are telling me to trust you and how easily you jumped to letting me meet the other chiefs is also very convincing. So, yes, we would like to meet with the other chiefs that have joined you. If they back up what you have said, then both our tribes will swear allegiance to you and your new empire.”

  “Alright. I can either take you to the trade city to meet them, or if you don’t feel safe doing that, I can arrange for them to come here.”

  Haab says “From the look of you before you took this form I am guessing that if you wanted to use force you could do it alone. I don’t feel like you would need to lure us into some kind of trap if you meant us harm. What do you think, Gruu?”

  Gruu says “He is a warrior, he doesn’t need lies or little tricks.”

  Haab says “Then we are in agreement, we will visit your new city and see things for ourselves.”

  “Alright, then you should let your people know that you will be leaving for a while. I will use a gate to get you to the city, but I have other matters to attend to. My governor will meet you and show you around. She is a human, but she was also summoned from my world so she isn’t like the humans you are used to.”

  Haab says “In that case, give us a few minutes if you would.”

  “Sure, no problem.”

  The two of them return to their tribes and I use this time to contact Sarah using the medallion. I could have used the messenger function of the system, but I am used to using the medallion. Sarah responds immediately and is more than happy to play host to the new chiefs.

  When Haab and Gruu return, I open a gate to the trade city palace for them and wait as they go through. I am impressed that neither one shows any sign of nerves when going through the gate. Once they are through, I close the gate, drop shapeshift, and start flying south again.

  According to the map, the only remaining tribe between me and the land bridge is the ogre tribe. Even flying, it is going to take me until tomorrow to reach the tribe, but I don’t really mind. Although, I do need to find a place down here to place a relay for the gate network.

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  Considering the land bridge is where I want the war to happen, I should probably place a couple. Being able to move troops around quickly will be a huge advantage during the war. I can also probably find some more stone to make obelisks out of while I am doing that.

  Eventually, I will need to extend the network to cover most of the peninsula, which will take a lot of obelisks. While I can raise stones up from underground, that only works if I am placing them personally. I don't want to have to spend the amount of time that would require when I could be doing other things.

  It seems that even though I am finally on my hunting trip, I still have a to-do list. I will just have to get used to it I guess, I will probably always have one from now on. As long as it will help my wives and kids after I am gone, I can live with that.

  I fly until late into the night before finding a hill to land on and take a nap until sunrise. I only know the general area the tribe should be in, so having light will make it easier to find. Once the sun is up, I have some breakfast from the pouch and then resume my search.

  The tribe ends up being easy to find because it is a lot larger than I was expecting it to be. As I fly over it I can see that there are almost a thousand huts in the tribe’s camp. At least, I guess they are huts, or maybe they are more like yurts since they look like they can be moved.

  Although, from the looks of the huts and the well trodden paths around them, I don’t think they have moved in a while. The ogres themselves look mostly human, just bigger, with an extra set of arms, and occasionally odd skin tones. From what I can see, their average height is between seven and eight feet, they look quite impressive.

  Just like with the monkey and ape tribes, I circle a few times to be seen and then land. I assume my beastman form and then stand in plain view while I wait to be greeted. There is a lot of movement within the tribe, it seems that everyone wants to get a look at me.

  There are females among them, but it is really hard to tell the males and females apart. The only real difference is that the females don’t have any facial hair and slightly more delicate faces. There is nothing that I would consider soft or feminine about them, they don’t have the curves I am used to.

  After a minute, one of the ogres leaves the village and walks towards where I am waiting. He is a little over eight feet tall and his body bears a remarkable number of scars. It is to the point that on the skin I can see there are less areas without scars than with.

  Surprisingly, he doesn’t have any weapons on him, all the others I can see are armed. However, from the way the others make way for him, it is obvious that he is the leader here. He is obviously inspecting me as he approaches just as I am inspecting him.

  ??? says “So, you are the new king I have heard about? It is true that you look very strong! Although, not as strong as you looked before taking on this form. Tell me, is this to make me more comfortable?”

  “Partially. This was my form before I evolved into the bigger one you saw. I still find it comfortable and it makes it easier for people to talk to me.”

  ??? says “Your people have already been here. I will tell you what I told them, we only submit to the strong. If you can defeat our champion, then we will follow you.”

  “It won’t really be a fair fight, but go ahead and bring out your champion. No, actually, bring out your five strongest warriors. I will take on all five just so that there is no doubt as to how strong I am.”

  ??? says “Ha! You are either really cocky or really confident! So be it! Give me a few minutes to gather them.”

  “Sure.”

  He walks back into the tribe and I remain standing there while I wait for him to return. Word spreads quickly and soon the entire tribe is gathered in a large circle around me. I don’t let it bother me and just wait patiently for the five warriors to get ready.