"It doesn't matter, you will eventually learn" Nexus replied before he continued. "As of the moment, while the tribe's population is a weakness, it is not without advantages."
Rezar knitted his brows. In his and the nymphs' simple minds, numbers are equal to power.
The lower the number is, the weaker they are. How could it become an advantage?
Nexus ignored the puzzled look on Rezar and continued his explanation. "Our tribe currently only has around thirty members. Even if we cannot change their nature, it actually doesn't matter."
"Sooner or later, more newborn nymphs will appear, and their number will eventually surpass all the current nymphs in the tribe."
"If a day comes where the newborn outnumber the old nymphs and all of the newborn or even just a majority of them listen to you, what do you think will happen?"
Nexus didn't lay everything, letting Rezar use his mind to think. This is also a way to train Rezar's critical thinking. Fortunately, he was not disappointed.
The nymphs aren't dumb; they are just not exposed to many different things and ideas that Nexus, an earthling, has.
"If the majority of the tribe listens to me, then things would be different. The voice of the kinder nymphs would be drowned by the voice of the more decisive nymphs. If more nymphs listened to me today, my plans might have been approved. The situation would be completely reversed!"
Rezar was enlightened, once again admiring the Guardian Totem for his wisdom.
Today, Rezar's plan was rejected, and Wyden only compromised with the traps. But with the next generation nymphs on his side, it might be him who would need to compromise to Wyden and not the other way around.
"Correct" Nexus simply replied, and after giving some more instructions to Rezar, the latter immediately headed out to start his work.
After Rezar was gone, Nexus called for Wyden, who had a complicated look in his eyes.
The tribe witnessed the duration in which Rezar conversed with their Guardian Totem. That was a subtle way to show the nymphs that their totem agrees with Rezar.
Little by little, Wyden's authority will slowly be usurped, although he doesn't really care about something like that.
It was his decision that led Nexus to become the tribe's Guardian Totem. While that indeed helped the tribe greatly, Wyden also noticed how different the totem's perspective was compared to the nymphs.
He can only hope that their Guardian Totem wouldn't lead the tribe astray.
"Wyden, I want you to focus on catching water stone fish. I will fully support you and recharge your Morningstar Mushroom. The tribe is currently in dire need of more water stones."
Nexus needed ten more water stones to increase his water affinity and evolve. Not to mention, the water stones can also be used by his mushrooms to unleash devastating attacks.
Since the tribe is currently focused on defense and self-development, such resources must be obtained immediately.
"I will ensure an abundant supply of the water stones, Your Highness" Wyden promised, and Nexus also gave out some more instructions to him.
While Nexus supported Rezar more compared to Wyden, it doesn't mean that he would discard Wyden.
No, he wouldn't do that, especially since Wyden is indeed a qualified chief. Besides, there must be a balance to everything.
While Nexus prefers using the evilest method to deal with the enemies as long as it could achieve the best result, he also doesn't want the tribe to be blindly aggressive.
They must ensure their enemies pay, but that is on the premise that they have the ability to do that. Nexus wouldn't recklessly send his worshippers to death since his development also relies on them.
With Nexus giving instructions to the two opposites of the tribe, the Butterfly Nymphs entered a battle-ready combat state.
—-
"Your Highness, I have prepared the weapons you designed."
Rezar, along with two other nymphs that he recruited, presented sets of weapons to their Guardian Totem.
One weapon is similar to the lizardmen's spear, which was made from wood with a sharp beast tooth at the tip.
Another set of weapons was the sharp wooden sticks coated with poison that Rezar used.
The third one was a set of bows and arrows, all made from wood since wood is the most abundant material nearby.
Fortunately, this is a world of magic. There are trees inside the forest that are far harder than normal wood. Perfect to be used as arrows.
Next to the bow and arrows were small pouches that contained powdered poison. The pouches were to be thrown at the enemies before the nymphs would shoot them with an arrow to release the poison.
"Good, good. Make a few more sets of these and have some nymphs practice archery. Even if they don't want to use the poison pouch, learning archery should still be acceptable" Nexus ordered, and the nymphs naturally would comply with him.
"How about the traps around our tribe? What's the progress?" The totem inquired.
"There are currently ten traps set on the periphery of our territory. After a few more days, we should be able to create more" Rezar relayed and Nexus nodded his head
Due to the many things that the nymphs have to prepare and also the fact that they are not industrialized, the production rate is low. Making this much progress is already quite commendable, and a proof of how hard-working the nymphs are.
"Make sure to use rocks or tree bark to make a map and mark the areas where the traps are placed. We don't want our own people getting hurt" Nexus reminded, and the three nymphs nodded their heads.
They were already preparing the maps, and the numbers would soon be enough for all the nymphs.
After the report of Rezar's group, next was Wyden's group, which was more focused on catching water stones and creating the elixir paste.
Wyden, along with the other two mid-level Transcendents of the tribe, presented five more water stones, and Nexus accepted all of them.
Just like before, he controlled his mycelium and connected them to the Morningstars Mushroom of the three nymphs to recharge their [Energy Sac].
"I will need five more water stones. After that, the next batches of water stones can be divided. Half can be equipped on the Morningstar Mushrooms, and the nymphs can take them outside in case you encounter the lizardmen, while the other half can be used to make the elixir paste"
These five water stones were the fifteenth water stones that Nexus absorbed. He only lacks five more stones for his water affinity to reach the critical point.
He doesn't yet know what changes will happen after, but he was looking forward to it.
"Yes, Your Highness!"
Due to the threat of the lizardmen, it has become more dangerous for the nymphs to go outside of the tribe. However, if they were to be equipped with a Morningstar Mushroom that can use a water stone, their security could be further enhanced.
Just one attack of a water stone-equipped Morningstar Mushroom alone can kill three lizardmen if they are unprepared. Not to mention, the mushroom can release three attacks at once!
This would indeed help the nymphs be safer when going outside.
However, before the three can gloat, Nexus spoke again. "Make sure to allocate more elixir paste to Rezar. With his innate magic, once he reached the mid-level Transcendent and entered the blood boil state, his speed should be no slower than a high-cycle Transcendent. It would be more effective for him to be the one to catch the water stone fish."
This decision was clearly a display of Nexus' dissatisfaction with Wyden and his preference for Rezar. As such, the other two nymphs unconsciously looked at Wyden, unsure of how he would take this.
Fortunately, Wyden is more open-minded. It doesn't matter if another nymph will become stronger than him, as it simply means that the tribe would have another strong protector. This matter is not something that would earn a negative reaction from him.
"Yes, Your Highness" Wyden agreed. Both he and Nexus knew that while this move was subtly targeting Wyden, it was still a logical move.
In the short term, it was indeed better if Rezar's breakthrough were more prioritized than Wyden's.
It would still take roughly a month for Wyden to reach the high-level Transcendent, while Rezar would take way less than that to reach the mid-level.
A mid-level Rezar in blood boil state can reach the speed of a peak-level Transcendent, which would enable him to catch water stone fish faster than Wyden and his group.
Recharging the Morningstar Mushroom of one Rezar compared to three nymphs was more economical.
Not to mention, if less than a month's time passes and the lizardmen have already discovered their tribe, Rezar, with his speed, can explode with a power close to a peak Transcendent, which means a higher combat ceiling for the tribe.
There is no logical reason why Wyden would reject this even if he were to have a different reaction.