The First Legendary Beast Master

Karl's procession blended in well with the crowd today.

Many of the Guilds were out in large groups, shopping, dining, or gathering around the castle in preparation for the Lord's Speech.

They had ten minutes until it was scheduled to start, but already many of the ranking city officials were gathered on a large balcony facing the main south gate to the castle.

Why they had chosen to have the main gates facing the ocean, the most likely invasion point, was a mystery to Karl. But it did make things convenient, was there was a large square with a statue of the founder of the city, a grizzled Orcish Shaman whose name had long since been erased from the placard by time.

Karl felt the flood of power as the Lord joined the others on the balcony, and he realized that he had greatly underestimated the true might of that Demon when he was fighting above the city.

Now that he was standing next to the Totem Ranked Governor and District Officials, it was clear that he was more than one Rank above them.

However, trying to gauge his power was a bit like staring at the sun. Blinding to the point that details were impossible to discern from the lowly viewpoint of an Overlord.

The Lord cleared his throat and began his speech.

"Thank you all for gathering to celebrate the four hundred and seventh anniversary of my wedding.

It has been quite the eventful year, with the birth of triplets to my family, and the resultant baby boom that has left the midwives of the city scrambling. But it has also been a year of innovation, of growth, and of valiant battles.

I recognize many faces here from the defence of the city against the Bomgon fleet. A battle that saw the least damage done by any full invasion in the last century.

There were heroes made that day, and many managed to break through their limits and raise to a new Rank.

Unfortunately, not all has been positive. For the first time in three years, we had a Guild War that spread to the city. I have been informed that the aftermath of the battle of the two Hosts has already been repaired, but I do expect everyone in the city to be better behaved in the future."

He paused, and Karl felt the Lord's eyes on him. He bowed slightly, and the Lord relented, then continued his speech.

"Our most glorious Drodh Nation has celebrated ten percent more weddings this year than last year, a noteworthy accomplishment not only in the Capital, but through the entire land.
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Now, I will return to my blushing bride, and let the City Ministers speak."

Karl got the feeling that it was an exceptionally short speech for the Lord. The Governor looked shocked, and then annoyed, as someone passed him a whole stack of prepared notes as the Lord sat down to bounce a small black demon baby on his knee.

The child was tiny, like a human newborn, despite the size of the parents. It was also winged, though they flapped feebly, not yet strong enough to take flight. Childproofing a house had to be a whole other type of challenge when your toddler could fly.

The crowd was doing their best not to laugh as the Governor went through the Lord's heartfelt speech, while Madam Shin, the Governor's wife, tried not to laugh at the saccharin sweet gushing love expressed in the speech that was intended for someone else entirely.

But that woman loved to see her husband squirm in his new armour, and she was enjoying all the praise as if he had intended to say that all to her.

The Governor switched speeches and began his own address, going over a number of things about the city, along with a few more sweet words for his wife, and thanks for the new armour that he was wearing.

Most of the city already seemed to know that Karl had made it, as the crowd turned to look at his group when the mention of having received a newly commissioned armour set was made.

Karl's sensitive ears picked up a lot of speculation about just what that would have cost, and then a few more were wondering if it was now possible to commission something similar in Overlord Rank, as Karl had advanced.

The thought was ridiculous to them. Custom ordered Epic Grade, Overlord Rank armour was worth more than most minor Noble families' generational wealth. You either inherited it or you never got it. Simply buying a set was preposterous unless your family had a Totem or many Overlords.

There were vendors moving through the crowd selling sweets, and the ladies were openly feeding chocolates to their partners.

Karl couldn't help but laugh when Ophelia started feeding chocolates to Lotus and Mick. It was the exact opposite of the other situations in the crowd, with physically larger, embarrassed demons reluctantly taking bites.

Lotus had no shame about her love of sweets. She was even happily licking the chocolate off Ophelia's furred fingers, which was making the demons around them blush and giggle.

Mick was a bit more restrained, and blushing furiously as Ophelia fed her chocolates.

But they hadn't bought too many, as they had more plans, and they were off to the boardwalk to watch the debutante shows.

If the flamboyant and festive air at the castle was anything to go by, then they were in for a treat. The Demons were going all out for the event, and the streets looked like a fashion show.

Making their way across the business district was no easy feat, so Karl led them south to the docks instead. They had a barbecue going, and his group could stop in there and visit some of the sailors before he took the ladies to check out their fresh new demonic eye candy at the boardwalk.

But as it turned out, they didn't need to go that far. The sailors had their own version, and all the young Dock hands were in their very best, with skin oiled and scales polished as they strutted around the docks to whistles and cheers of appreciation from what Karl strongly suspected were the working girls of the sprawl.