There was no concept of jail here. I couldn't exactly put them away somewhere, to make sure they didn't attack me again.

After the fight, there were twelve heavily injured, exhausted nestlings, and one unconscious one.

That was the first snake I hit.

Its wounds had already closed but it showed no sign of regaining consciousness. I checked for a pulse and found it was still alive, so that was a relief.

To conclude, it was a one sided victory!

Take that! You colluding snakes!

I would've felt more at ease if they were no longer there, but throwing them out of the nest would be too cruel.

They were too weak to survive even a day out there and when you add the wounds on their bodies, their chances of survival were reduced even more.

The wolves would smell their blood from a mile away, and worse, those unsightly bottom feeders would find them much quicker.

At that point, they were weak enough to be overpowered by anything, even bugs.

Still, it was dangerous having them around.

'Should I just kill them?'

I could get their experience points and end the threat. That would be a double win!

Hm... but doing that would only prove Sensei right. I didn't want to hear his smug voice telling me 'I told you so.'

Besides, it was their first offence, and they were basically still infants. Ending their lives now would be too extreme. It would also inhibit my plans.

With less snakes, how could I put together enough forces to hunt?

I need enough nestlings to be able form hunting teams, which meant every member was essential.

I should not be so hasty.

The nestlings kept the wounded ones on guard, constantly watching them so they didn't try to make any moves.

Their wounds had stopped bleeding, but their HP and SP levels were recovering at a sluggish pace. At this rate, It could take hours or maybe a full day for them to recover their vitality.

I slithered around the cave, deep in thought.

What I needed was something that could compel them, to make them willingly listen to me.

Brainwashing with a skill was out of the question. At present the store only had two skills with neither of the intended effects.

[Dragon Scales: 250XP] and [Poison Resistance: 100XP]

'So should I just break them?'

I could always condition them by beating them so badly they never again think of rebelling again.

Huh... what was I thinking? That would be too cruel for babies!

Killing them here would also have a negative impact on the other nestlings that had chosen to follow me. It would paint me in a bad light.

Like an unmerciful tyrant who lorded their strength over the weak.

Hm... what to do? But first things first.

"What are the effects of [Commander]?"

«It grants the wilder authority as a leader. Your words can now convey instructions they understand.»

That wasn't too bad. I could now essentially speak the snake tongue. It made my job so much easier.

But from the sound of it, they had to be willing.

I could not enforce my will over theirs or coerce them to follow me if they didn't want to.

If I thought of it like a pack, any member was free to leave if the conditions did not suit them.

What I needed in this situation was something that could override that choice, like the reverence a subject had towards their queen.

But to have something like that, they would have to be indoctrinated from birth like a queen bee did to the hive of worker bees.

Would I have to be their mother then? I shuddered at the thought.

Did I really want mindless followers like that? Hm...

The nestlings were adorable because of their little personality quirks. They weren't an intelligent species in the first place, but to reduce them to mindless drones would be terrible.

I would rather have loyal subjects.

But, what does one do when faced with a betrayal? What would be the more impactful decision here as a leader?

Was it to show benevolence?

I didn't want to, but thinking it through logically, this was the only right way.

As annoying as it was to spare them. The ones who stayed with me would remain loyal when they see they made the right choice by defending me.

If the nestlings saw how mercifully I acted, they would be reluctant to betray me again.

In the fight earlier, they could have easily taken the side of the wounded nestlings to overpower me, yet they didn't. And now, I have to prove that their choice was right.

Rather than act like a tyrant, I would like to be a noble leader.

So, without wasting any time, I used my new title and instructed the nestlings to resume their training.

Previously, when I tried to speak, my words came out as hisses. Now, It was still a hiss, but this time it conveyed a meaning that the nestlings could understand.

After receiving my command, they left to resume climbing the walls, all except two nestlings who remained to watch the wounded rebels.

This [Commander] title sure was great!

It felt awesome that they could finally understand me. Although, it felt a little lonely because they could not respond, it was still progress.

Sigh. I wish there was a way to help them communicate.

There had to be a snake language or something! Or maybe something like telepathy or mind reading would be fine too!

I decided to practice more with [Commander].

I instructed the two nestlings beside me to bring over the wolf corpse.

To my surprise, they did not move and just stared at me. Then one of the snakes turned to me and then at the wounded nestlings, its small eyes filled with worry and reluctance.

Ah, It seemed they didn't want to leave me alone.

I wanted to laugh. I was the strongest of them all and yet they were acting so protectively of me. How adorable!

I shake my snake head and repeat my instruction. After what felt a bit like a standoff, only one of the two snakes went off while the other remained by my side like a stern guard.

What was going on here? It seemed I didn't have to do as much to inspire loyalty in them. These two snakes were already treating me like I was their leader.

"Does [Commander] have a hidden effect I don't know about?" I tentatively asked Sensei.

«Influencing people solely depends on your decisions as a leader. They must see you as kind and just.»

Was this because I didn't kill the nestlings?

This only confirmed I made the right choice and gave me some confidence, especially with what I was about to do next.

With the wolf corpse brought over. I instructed the training nestlings to stop.

As soon as I hiss out the command, all the nestlings paused climbing the walls and gathered in front of me like soldiers. It was a cool yet strange scene to witness.

The two previous snakes stayed by my side, following me around like they were my personal guards. I was grinning from ear to ear at how precious they were.

As I slithered my way towards the wounded nestlings, they shrunk away in fear when they saw me approaching them.

My grin must've looked extremely menacing because the closer I moved towards them, the more they trembled like broken leaves amidst a wild gale.

I really should work on my smile.

It wasn't entirely the fault of my scary smile though, you know. I blamed the two overprotective snakes by my side with their fierce gaze directed at the rebels.

It seemed the strong presence of the three snakes approaching them together was too much for them to handle in their weakened state. Oh, I'd hate to look like a bully.

I'd shown them too much of the stick, and the poor injured nestlings were sorely due for some carrots.

Their states were too pitiful to leave them alone.

With all the nestlings gathered before me, I gestured to the wolf corpse and instructed them all to eat.

The wounded nestlings were hesitant at first but after I repeated myself again, more strongly, they eventually slithered out of their group and huddled around the corpse with the others to eat.

They would however, occasionally peer over towards me as if they were afraid I would attack them once they took their eyes off me.

I let out a helpless sigh. Just eat, you idiots!

I approached the last one who was still lying unconscious. I'd hate to see it miss out on all the food as this one was in a more desperate state. It needed to eat immediately to regain its stats.

Although it had attacked me first, I couldn't fault it since it was starving. With a sharp prod from my horns, it woke up with a start.

Seeing me still alive and well, the snake does something odd. Rather than attacking me, it bent it head, to what I think resembles a bow.

It seems the nestlings weren't entirely stupid. They do know when to bow down to the strong.

I appraised its stats out of curiosity.

___________________

Nameless LV1 [Small Hatchling Snake]

Specie: Ailith Cerastes

HP: 02/30 Defence: 15

MP: 02/08 Intellect: 10

SP: 00/26 Magic: 8

Attack: 20 Agility: 25

Skills: [Bite: LV1] [Poison Fang: LV1]

[Scent: LV1] [Heat Sense: LV1]

Title: [Pit Member]

Resistances: [Pain Resistance: LV2]

[Impact Resistance: LV1]

[Faint Resistance: LV1]

___________________

I noticed it now had the title [Pit Member]

I appraised all the nestlings around me and noticed they all had the same title, even the wounded ones. Was this due to [Commander]?

I was surprised the nestlings that attacked me also got the title. I didn't believe they truly saw me as their leader. At least not yet.

The fight had shown just how easy it was to overpower them, even when they attacked in groups. They must have realised I wasn't fighting seriously with my full strength.

Did they decide to join the pit out of their fear of me?

I watched the group carefully come together, along with all the other nestlings. As they ate the wolf corpse, their HP bars slowly increased to full.

If they were smart, they would not repeat their insurrection again.

Because, the next time I would not be so merciful.

I hoped that with this gesture they would eventually come to see me as their true leader and not obey me simply out of fear.

There was still a long way to go before I could inspire true loyalty, but at least I was certain I'd managed to charm at least two of the nestlings. My own personal guards! They were just too adorable!

After the nestlings finished their food, I instructed them to resume their training. This time, they went at it without any complaints.