(Five days later, Dumpy's POV)
Five days passed in a flash, and finally the fateful day where Leo was to meet with the Demon King, arrived.
The Uprising had already prepared the meeting venue thoroughly on the edges of the Eastern Boundary and the whole area was safeguarded heavily ahead of the event.
Locals were evacuated far away and the guild was on constant lookout for spies, as there could be no outside witnesses to what was about to unfold.
Since Leo had decided to take Dumpy with him to the meeting, the frog was being prepared for the meet as well, as he was fitted with his newly custom designed armor and war paint.
"Touch me and you die human. The toxin that covers my skin is worse than the strongest acid you can imagine. So be careful when you dress me and make sure that your filthy hands don't touch my skin–" Dumpy warned, as he felt absolutely repulsed by the thought of filthy humans touching him.
However, the second Leo walked into the courtyard, he changed his tune immediately, fearing punishment from his Lord Father.
"Are you behaving well?" Leo asked as he rubbed Dumpy's head lovingly, as the same frog who warned the other humans to not touch his skin, now lifted his legs feet by feet in joy as Leo rubbed his head.
"Ofcourse I am Lord Father, Dumpy is a good frog" Dumpy said, as Leo gave him a happy nod.
Leo himself looked impeccable today, as instead of the usual black robes that he wore, he brought out the newer robes that he had purchased at the system auction, alongside every accessory that he had in his arsenal.
"You look especially handsome today Lord Father, what is the occasion? Are we finally going to a breeding contest?" Dumpy asked, as Leo chuckled and shook his head.
"No, silly boy, we are going to meet our biggest enemies. But today we won't fight them.
Today we just show them our strength, so don't you dare embarrass me today!" Leo said, as Dumpy nodded seriously.
'Their biggest enemy', it was all Dumpy heard before his over imaginative mind began to cook stories.
Naturally, it made him even more psyched up for the event, as he brought out his focused face.
"I will not embarrass Lord Father!" he said with conviction, as Leo nodded in acknowledgement.
"The shiny blades on your belt, Lord Father, they are not your usual daggers…. What are they?" Dumpy asked curiously, as Leo unsheathed just one of the daggers hanging on his belt and slowly ran his fingers across the edge.
"These…. These are the sharpest daggers in this world. Sharp enough to slice through dragon-scales like it's paper.
Your Lord Father had to fight against 1500 of the strongest warriors on this planet alone to get his hands on this blade" Leo said, as he recalled his adventure at the second rankers event, where at the end he purchased this set, for the sole purpose of someday using it to kill the demon king.
"But Lord Father, if you have something so powerful, wouldn't it be better to keep it hidden?
Why display it in the open?" Dumpy asked, feeling confused, as he did not understand the logic behind revealing one's trump card to their enemies, especially when they did not intend to fight today.
"This question is why I still consider you to be a child…. Child.
You lack the maturity of a seasoned warrior.
The fight inside the mind starts before the fight starts on the battlefield, and although we won't clash until months from now, the fight officially starts today" Leo said, poking his brain, as his wise words made Dumpy's mind short circuit.
"Ribbit–" Dumpy said, blinking in confusion, as he could not understand a word that his Lord Father said, but it felt incredibly profound nonetheless.
"When we meet the Demon King, pay special attention to his pet. The Black Dragon, that beast is your arch rival" Leo said, as Dumpy blinked in excitement.
"I have an arch rival?" He asked, as Leo gave him a thumbs up.
"You're too weak to be considered his rival, but today you'll get to see just how strong you really need to become in the future" Leo said, as Dumpy gulped in anticipation.
It seemed like the meeting they were setting off for was extremely important, and it made him very excited for it as a result.
"Why is Lord Grandfather not coming?" Dumpy asked, as in his mind, if the meeting was so important, leaving Lord Grandfather behind made no sense.
"Ofcourse he is, however, he will be protecting us from the shadows.
I don't expect the meeting to go south, but in-case it does, your Lord Grandfather will be the one to get us out of the mess alive.
You always need to have a plan B and he is our plan B" Leo said, lying through his teeth, as Ben wasn't really coming to the meet.
Ben was a man who strongly hated the demons and had an inbred racial bias against them.
He was never going to approve of Leo colluding with the demons to achieve his means and hence Leo decided to conveniently lie about this meeting to him.
Of-course, since the old man was now training Dumpy in his free time, he could not tell Dumpy the truth, as Leo feared the dumb frog blabbering the details of the meeting if he did.
"I see, so Lord Grandfather is our plan B. Lord Father is indeed so wise" Dumpy said in awe, as whatever Leo did, seemed perfectly logical in his eyes, even if he could not grasp the true meaning behind such actions.
"Alright, looks like your paint is done, we are ready to move" Leo said, once Dumpy was fully dressed, as together, the two of them set off for the meeting.
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/// A/N- I'm currently traveling and do not have a stable internet connection, so the updates might come at abrupt times for the next two days, as I will update chapters anytime I get the chance. ///