Bad blood

"Looks like you made a breakthrough during your campaign." Varioneru noticed the aura emitted by Amulius. There are three types of breakthrough in cultivation, it is either they gain a new skill or their mana power increased, and may also be both. As for which Amulius achieved is unknown for Varioneru.

" Oh really? Then that explains why I had a smooth conversation with the orcs earlier." Amulius was a little bit surprised that he made a breakthrough during the battle. He didn't have trouble understanding Varioneru when speaking in Nescarian language and even the orcish language. After a few chat with Varioneru, he went to Curia to report to the council.

"Governor! or should I say Emperor Amulius, while you are away the Senate had a consensus that you shall be the crowned as Emperor of Romavena, the embodiment of Rome itself in this outland!" Justus said to Amulius as he enters the Curia. The Senators applaud Amulius with a standing ovation.

While Amulius was away, the Senate conducted a survey in the town. Everyone approves Amulius to be Emperor of Romavena. Justus made a few tricks in the Senate and in town to make up their mind that Amulius should be made Emperor. If Amulius became Emperor, their position will be secured in case that a legitimate Roman legion appears before them. Justus and the Senate arranged the coronation of Amulius two days after his arrival. They prepared a golden olive wreath crown as the symbol of Romavena.

"What is the meaning of this?" Amulius was taken aback since he did not consider becoming an Emperor yet. Before, his goal was just to make a name for himself so that when the time comes that they return to Rome, he will have a chance to seize power and become the Emperor of Rome itself.

"Follow me." The Senators brought Amulius to Rostra. Thousands of people are present in the plaza cheering Amulius. The public approval soared higher when they learn that he won against the Orcs.

"Long live the Emperor Amulius!"

"Long live!"

"Emperor Amulius!"

"Roma! Roma! Roma!"

These people are proud to have a leader who can fearlessly defeat any monsters and evil. Roma is far from here, but they will definitely follow Amulius wherever he goes as he is the embodiment of Rome itself. These people have witnessed many Roman emperors before to the point that an Emperor title can just be granted to anyone by popularity or violence. However with a little tweak from Justus, the public and the Senate overwhelmingly agreed to crown Amulius as Emperor of Romavena.

"I thank you everyone for overwhelmingly supporting me. I couldn't have done it without your help. I would like to commend the bravery of our Roman legionnaires and Ballistae operators, I could not win without them. Then, I will use this moment to award our brave Roman soldiers. " Amulius awarded the Roman soldiers with lands and a few denarius depending on their performance in the recent battle. Amulius never forgot to honor the dead Roman soldiers by giving them a proper burial and giving denarius to the family of the deceased soldiers. The simple coronation ended just like that.

As for the dead Orcs bodies, he turned them over to the Ministry of medicinal arts and science innovation, there might be compounds within the Orcs that may prove beneficial for humans. The other dead Orcs became fertiliser in the field. While a few number of orc's bodies were hunged at the plaza for everyone to see. Because of this, the Romans became accustomed to the appearance of the Orcs. The next time they see an orc, they won't be frightened or shiver in fear.

"Emperor, there are people who wants to build rafts or boats so that they can fish in deep waters. They were asking for my approval, but I want to ask for your blessing." Felix is the Head of ministry of agriculture which covers every source of food, from crops to domestic animals and fisheries. It is good that Felix is asking for Amulius' blessing in this case.

"It is good that they asked you first. They are allowed to fish but there should be a rope that is connected to the shore in case of something happens. Remember that this place is full of mystery and it's not surprising if a sea monster surfaced there." Amulius grown accustomed to surprises of this place. The recent battle became an eye-opener for him that they might just be an ant compared to their other neighbours. That is why he asked Gaguka for a trade agreement instead of triggering an all-out war, for which they will probably lose.

A few days later, a news came from the frontier. The Orcs sent their reply regarding the trade agreement and safe passage. It is funny that the Orcs sent Gaguka with just 2 guards this time.

"You're late." Gaguka is in a bad mood all this time, the people that are talking to them are the diplomatic agents of Romavena. It's already 2 hours since their arrival, yet Amulius hasn't arrived.

"Sorry friend. Were my agents boring?" Amulius just want to humour Gaguka since he really did make them wait.

"Whatever. I know your agents are just trying to learn orcish language. Not like you, who became fluent overnight." Gaguka knows the intent of the agents while they were talking earlier. He is not that dumb not to notice that the agents were just trying to learn rather than engage in a proper conversation with them.

"Okay, enough with nonsense. Did your boss agreed with my proposition?"

"Yes. I brought here a signed letter of agreement which contains the terms of trade and the safe passage of your people. Your sign should be here. " Gaguka handed a boar's skin with some characters that couldn't be understood by any Roman. Amulius received the letter which he viewed to be a garbage. The agreement that they want is written in a boar's skin, which can be considered to be better than a garbage.

However, at a first glance, Amulius understood every written character. It says, "Humans are allowed to give Orcs tributes and we give them garbage in exchange. They should be thankful that we pity them." Amulius didn't show any reaction when read this. The orcs are probably thinking that they are dumb.

"Tie them." Amulius spoke in Latin. The diplomatic agents hurriedly tied them numerous times. Gaguka and the 2 brutes was caught in surprise.

"You don't want to mess with the Romans. Tell that to your boss." Amulius then wrote in another parchment a translated version of their trade agreement proposal. Amulius cut-off the ears the 2 Orc brutes and buried a knife with the parchment to Gaguka's chest. "Ditch them back to their fortress."

Amulius went back to the town and checked the infrastructure projects that are still ongoing. Most of the houses and buildings are still made up of wood, but the constructions inside the town are on full-speed ever since the completion of the stone wall. There was no issues on the hul'juk cave that was renamed as hul'juk mine. They have been here for almost a year, and their development speed is faster than a city back in Roman empire. This is probably due to non-existence of corruption in the town, for now.

"Emperor, we have enough grain to last for two months. The former refugees have introduced Rice in our food source which makes our plate full of option. As for the meat, we are lucky to find wild boars near the mountains which we domesticated along with the chickens and sheeps. Our plantation of herbs is also flourishing which I think is good news for the Ministry of Medicine. All of the seeds that we brought are now available for harvest and are ready for cooking such as olives and other plants. However, the wine will probably take a few more weeks to be available since it was just fermented in oak barrels a week ago. Like the saying 'the older the wine, the delicious it will be.' Aside from that, our new source of food, which is the fisheries, has higher yield. The sea along our coast proves to be untouched and rich in sea foods." Felix reported enthusiastically before Amulius. Amulius know that the if they want to engage in trade with other factions, they should have products to trade.

Amulius is quite satisfied to the development of the town. He went to check the mint where money is created. "How is the Denarius production and circulation?" The term for money in Roman empire is Denarius, Amulius used the same term to avoid misunderstanding in the town. The denarius in an economy is important since it is the drive for internal economy. Amulius also plans to expand the use of denarius outside of Romavena, and his first target is the Orc fortress.

"Senator Aulus is not here my Emperor, but the production of denarius is unhampered. We are expecting around 200,000 denarius in circulation by next month. Our denarius mixture is of gold at the center and bronze in its side. The design is the olive wreath crown with 'Romavena' engraved below and the value at the other side, as per your instruction." The worker at the mint are strictly under supervision of Senator Aulus and Senator Titus, for which they cannot allow forgery of denarius and theft inside the town. The workers are forbidden to identify themselves as workers at the mint since this might compromise the privacy and security of the treasury and the town itself.

"That's good. So, I shall take my leave." Amulius left, he went back to Regia to cultivate since he noticed that he can understand and learn the orcish language quick. This should have something to do with his breakthrough. Before his cultivation, the size of his mana core is just like a squash ball or 1.56 inches in diameter. However lately, his mana core's size increased to little bit to 1.65 inches in diameter. He does not understand the levels or what stages are in these mana cores, he did not bothered to ask Varioneru yet since that old man is busy tending his little garden.

The more his mana core gets bigger, the stronger he will become. But that's not all, in the process he may gain additional skills and abilities which may be passive or casted. For now, his strength is 2x of a normal orc and his speed is as fast as a horse. His instincts has also become more sensitive, he also feel that he gained the ability to quickly learn a language. His daily cultivation is 2 hours in the morning and 4 hours in the night, he set a routine for himself. However, in his daily cultivation, he feel that the energy around him is becoming sparse. With all the things that should be done in the town daily, he couldn't afford to leave the town for long or else a chaos in management may arise. The Senators of the town are not yet used of being a senator, so just in case that there is an emergency, they wouldn't know what to do and how to function decisively.

"Emeperor, an orc has arrived to the G-spot." The next few days, the orcs gave a reply. The diplomatic zone where the battle took place was named as the G-spot permanently. A wooden bridge was also constructed in the wide deep river. The diplomatic agents were the ones assigned in this area while the surrounding became the expanded area of training of the Legionnaires. And so, Amulius hurriedly travelled to the G-spot.

"My brother has agreed. You know that I will be humiliated again! I thought you are going to help me once I sealed a deal between the fortress and your town!" Gaguka was sent here alone, his face was in bad shape probably because of punches or whatever mockery the Orcs has done to him.

"Very good. Now, we can talk about on how I can help you. What do you want? " Amulius took the signed letter of agreement from Gaguka. Along with the letter of agreement are wolfskins, ivories and Orc accessories which is carried by Gaguka from the fortress.

"Make me the Chief of the Orc fortress."