Dozens of eyes inside and outside the hall turned to Annan at once.
Little Spider contributed eight of them.
"City Lord, I must remind you..." Ingrid chose her words carefully. "Love is free, but your body is fragile..."
"I didn't say anything!" Annan's face flushed. "What are you all thinking? I'm just trying to win the Elemental's favor."
"You'd better be."
Annan's gaze snapped to Faster, who had spoken, with unmistakable malice.
"Now, let's get back to dealing with the Mad Dog Duke's attack." Idelia's gentle voice brought the discussion back on track.
"Are they enemies?" the Old Orc asked.
"Without a doubt."
The vicious scars on the Old Orc's face twisted with his savage expression. "We kill a group of Militia with brutal methods, turn them into skeletons in front of everyone, and use fear to control the rest!"
The hall of the City Lord's Mansion fell silent again.
"I think that's a bit extreme..." Annan looked out the window. "Your Highness, do you have any ideas?"
"Make the humans submit to the Blue Dragon's majesty!" Illymoyas spread her vast wings, darkening the hall.
The Blue Dragon's intimidation was a decent idea, but Annan worried that an Archmage might be hiding among the Militia.
Besides, a Blue Dragon that had only just reached adulthood would struggle to intimidate that many people, if there really were tens of thousands of Militia.
"I have an idea."
Everyone turned back to Annan. Illymoyas folded her wings, and sunlight poured into the hall again.
"The Mad Dog Duke is driving tens of thousands of Militia here, and Free City's growth has always been limited by its small population..."
"You want to capture the Militia?" Ingrid asked from the doorway.
"I'd call it persuading them to surrender."
No one objected. Idelia thought it was