Pausing, I looked at them each in turn. "I don't want to see even a single one of you get hurt out there. That means we have to be ready for anything and be really careful with this." I said. There was a pause as they all looked at me. "You're being really soft right now, Wraxix! Of course we're going to win." Grulilan scoffed. The other began to pipe up about how I did not believe in them. "You always hold us all back!" Vohrear growled at me angrily. It was a long standing issue that he had. Some of them even accused me of thinking humans could beat them in a fair fight. I sighed deeply. None of them had the capacity for true sympathy or empathy. That was why they were always caught off guard when I was genuinely affectionate or nice to them. It was inconceivable to them. There had to be an angle somewhere. I held my hands up and said "I am the leader and we have always played smart and conservative. Look at the power and prestige we have gained. In both the demon and devil circles, they come to us to have events. We feast on their excesses. Look how many humans flock to us."
All of them saw how we were treated in Hell by those strong devils. That was true power and respect. It was what every lawful aligned fiend sought after in their life. We all came from Hell. Only the clerics were more chaotic oriented. That was because they were from the Abyss. Every single one of them had been feeding and gaining all this power for little to no personal sacrifice. All I asked was that they show some restraint in the form of not using their true forms and simply slitting throats with their claws. Thinking on it further, I got actually upset. During the last time, only 5 of them actually killed their opponents. Why were they whining now? "Stop whining! You are all acting like whelps now! Everyone who actually got through the Bronze Adventurer confirmations had to fight for it! It will be harder this time, yes. You got stronger too since then. You'll manage. Shut up!" I snapped at them. That made them quiet down. None of them had every seen me this upset. I then looked at the new members. "It will all be fine. Just practice these self defense techniques if they get too close to you." I said.
It was all that I could do. I would not be on the field with them. Sighing, I left them to get back to their training. It was time for them to get to stuff under their belts. It would be a tough week. They trained and danced at both the clubs. We stopped going on missions for the guild. It was to give them as much time as possible. My concubines especially would be missed. I did not even get the chance to claim them with an ownership mark yet. It would be the first step to getting kids of my own. Ororin and Larry claimed the one I sired with her. Bertie, Fulko, Jillisa, Helera, Kyleth, Ryrrahne, Sartila, Voxex and Wesez needed everything they could get. I stood by for the week. It was eventually time to make it over to Robal City. The newbies liked taking the train. We kept them in line. People were already outside the guild hall. They were waiting for our arrival. "Right this way, sir." one of them said. We were then escorted in and moved to the lobby where we were all signed in there. The receptionist was already busy with everyone else coming in. People wanted to watch all these fights. I could only sigh.
