Nick's Plan

Once Amber was away from the Castle, the other mates' demeanor became more serious. They were happy to see Amber again and wanted her to be happy. They took their job of keeping her safe extremely seriously.

That was the main reason the Beast World had a reverse harem system. Females were weaker and needed many beastmen to protect them. Amber was an extraordinary female and naturally attracted many dangers. She also attracted many beastmen.

Nick was her first mate and the highest-ranked beastmen among them. He was the leader of her security detail. Nick began, "How has it been since we were away? Has Gennita made any more attacks on Beast City?"

Tom and Tyler were part of the flying beastmen patrol of Beast City and had the most knowledge of the city attacks. Tom reported, "After Amber left, Blue Tang told the mermen that they would not reappear for a year. Gennita sends a group of mermen to patrol every month to look for Amber. They have not attacked the city since the last time. They seem to have endless numbers."

Nick had traveled to the sea many times to trade for salt before Amber told them the secrets of making salt from seawater. He knew a little of how fast mermen could reproduce. The Mermaid Queen could birth a new batch of around 100 mermen eggs every 6-8 weeks and it was only a few months for the mermen to hatch and they would be fully grown in a year. 

It was no wonder the number of mermen were in the 10,000's. Female mermaids were only born once at the end of the Mermaid Queen's life. At that time, the new Mermaid Queen would have an entire mermen army to protect her and raise her until she was old enough to reproduce. 

The beastmen did not reproduce as quickly, but their diversity helped them in other ways. The flying beastmen could patrol from the sky. The land beastmen all had different skills they were best at. Nick decided to train an army of beastmen with ranged weapons he learned about from Amber's world.

He thought of Oliver and other beastmen who were good at climbing, and not good at hand-to-hand combat. The flying beastmen could use the ranged weapons from above the enemies. He started to draw a bow and arrows on the dirt floor. 

He explained, "We will be ready when the mermen attack again. When I went to Amber's world, she showed me a new weapon that can be used at a distance. This will be our advantage over their endless numbers. The flying beastmen can attack from the air and the climbing beastmen can attack from the city walls."

He showed them a rough schematic of the weapon design. Barry brought over some sticks. Tom and Tyler plucked a few feathers for the arrows. They all helped to make the bow and arrows. He took them out to practice until Amber returned with Oliver. He would explain the plan to Oliver later.

As they practiced with the new weapons, Nick explained that Blue Tang volunteered to stay behind so Gennita would not be threatened by the possibility of Amber giving birth to a new Mermaid Queen. Blue Tang planned to rebuild the Merfolk tribe in Amber's world. 

The others were excited to hear more about the world their beloved mate came from, and couldn't wait to level up to five stripes so she could take them over next time she traveled between worlds.

They took turns shooting the bow and arrows and retrieving the arrows. Barry focused on a long spear. He was not as good with the delicate bowstring. After accidentally snapping the bowstring 2 times, he decided it was not for him. 

His size and bulk were best as a tank in battle. He would leave the long-range to the smaller and weaker beastmen. Tom and Tyler picked up shooting the bow and arrows the quickest, but Nick thought Oliver might learn even faster. He was the most intelligent of Amber's mates. 

Other beastmen passed by and noticed the Cheetah King and his family playing with pointy sticks. A brave flying beastman came down from patrol and bowed to Tom and Tyler. As 4 striped flying beastmen, they were both considered Kings. 

He asked, "Forgive me for asking, but why are you playing with these sharp sticks? Are they fun, or for hunting?" The other beastmen were curious to hear the answer. Tom was the more outgoing one between the 2 of them. He explained, "This is a new weapon we just invented. We plan to teach all the flying beastmen and any who are not good at combat. This will be good for the next attack on the city."

Tyler took the opportunity to show off his new skills and shot a fruit in a faraway tree. The other beastmen were surprised at the range of the weapon and immediately understood the benefits of the long-distance attacks. They remembered the last battle with the mermen and knew there would be another battle now that Amber was back.

They would defend their city against all attacks and were happy to have a new advantage over the endless number of mermen. Nick showed them how to make the bows and arrows. Tom ordered the flying beastman to share the knowledge with the other flying beastmen. 

Barry showed off his long spear to the other beastmen who were not delicate with the strings. He was a good teacher and had patience from raising Eli and the cubs. The new weapons spread throughout the city quickly. Nick went to the kings to inform them to help the news spread quickly. He didn't know when the mermen would return and attack, but he wanted the city to be as prepared as possible. 

First, he visited the Lion King and Queen since they were the ones who helped him when he first came to the Beast City. Amber also liked the Lion Queen. Nick would save the Wolf King for last since Ray decided to betray them and sided with Gennita. He might not even tell them about the new weapons.

He knew the weapons would not stay a secret for long, but he was unhappy with the Wolf Queen. He knew she was the main one who instigated Ray to find a Queen as a mate. If Ray hadn't tried to force Amber to mate when she was on her cycle, he may have been her mate by now. 

He was glad not to have another love rival but was angry at Ray for siding with Amber's enemy. He would kill anyone who endangered his mate's safety. He didn't have to worry about Fred, but just in case he would not hold back if anyone had ill intentions.

Nick knew how soft-hearted his mate was. He didn't care about how many beastmen died as long as Amber was safe, but he knew she would care if other beastmen died because of her. These new weapons would ensure fewer beastmen would die in Beast City. 

If they could kill enough mermen before they reached the city walls, they may be able to discuss a treaty with them. Gennita would not want to lose too many of her mermen army. Even if she could rebuild the army quickly, it would take time for them to level up. The main reason Gennita was upset about losing Blue Tang was because he was the highest level 4 striped merman. Now, he was 5 striped, she was even more enraged!

She had been raised to be pampered since birth. Everything she wanted, she received without question. This was the first time she wanted something she could not have. It angered her, but she was also worried about losing her other mermen if there was a new Mermaid Queen.

Little did she know, Amber had no intention of giving birth to a female mermaid any time soon. She didn't want any more mermen mates, or any new mates for that matter. She was happy with her beastmen family. She had finally come to terms with the 6 mates she had and the 3 children. She wasn't ready to expand her family.

She didn't want to live under the sea. It was too cold. She was not cold-blooded like the merfolk. She needed a warm place to live and loved the castle Nick and the others built for her. She also loved the freedom to fly and visit other places in the Beast World. She would hate to be trapped in an underwater cave.

That one time underwater was enough for her to know she did not want to live underwater. It was too hard to keep a fire going underwater and would get cold quickly. The glowing lights were pretty, but she needed sunshine. She loved to be outside on a warm sunny day. Not to mention the fishy smell. Lol! She preferred the flowers on land.