"Arav, close the door." After ordering Arav to close the door, Alex raised his hand. Instantly twenty glowing lights materialised behind him, spinning in a circular formation.
Each light point was a fire spell which contained one per cent of Alex's mana. It was a modified fireball spell that Alex concocted to enhance its power.
Fireball spell was a basic spell that any apprentice mage could use. It was a weak spell that would use about ten per cent of an apprentice mage's mana reserve. However, for Alex who was comparable to a master mage, it only took one per cent of his mana to form it.
To enhance the spell's effectiveness, Alex compressed the fireball, which was as big as a football to the size of a paintball. It shone brightly from behind him, threatening to destroy anything that stood in his path.
Not realising this, the lackeys of the burly man ran towards Alex.
Alex whispered the word "Fireball," his voice barely audible over the chaotic scene unfolding before him. With a swift motion, he summoned the points of light, one by one, into his outstretched hand, gathering their power. In a breathtaking display of precision, he hurled them towards the approaching attackers. Though they appeared harmless, these seemingly feeble fire spells accelerated through the air with the velocity of bullets.
The soft sound of impact, "Thuk," echoed through the air as the fireballs crashed upon their intended targets. To the surprise of onlookers, the twenty drunk tier-2 warriors charging at Alex seemed hardly affected by the spell's initial strike. To them, it felt like a small tickle.
Yet, the true danger of the fireball spell lay not in its impact strength but in its insidious nature. Upon contact with an unsuspecting foe's body, the spell transformed, spreading like a volatile liquid, covering the entire body. Then, after a slight delay, it ignited with an intense fury, engulfing the entire body in an inferno of blazing flames. The searing heat devoured the protective energy coating that encased the warrior and burned their body.
Witnessing this phenomenon was a sight too shocking to comprehend.
It was an instantaneous combustion of a human being, consumed by vivid red flames that danced and flickered mercilessly. The sheer horror of such a spectacle defied explanation.
"AAhhhh…." The agonising scream of the lackeys being burnt alive spread to the surroundings.
Finally, the burly man who was thrown away like a garbage bag, that he was, realised his situation. His initial bravado turned into pure terror when he looked at Alex.
The feeble-looking man, the boss of Arav is the real deal. A chill went down his spine witnessing the screaming lackeys fall to the ground one by one. He didn't know if they were alive or dead.
Time stretched out, and as the chaos subsided, only Alex and the burly man remained standing. An eerie silence descended onto the world.
On his palm, Alex had one more fireball spell. It rotated steadily threatening to reduce the burly man to ashes.
And the burly man who stood in front of him trembled in his boot not knowing how to escape from this situation. To threaten and make the kids residing here leave was supposed to be an easy job. How could it turn out like this? He thought.
The burly man's mind raced, frantically seeking an escape route. But he couldn't find any.
Death seemed inevitable any moment now. His grim fate was upon him.
"Please spare…me." Tears flooded in his eyes as he asked Alex to spare him. It was a plea borne out of sheer desperation, a last-ditch effort to preserve his own life. In this moment, the burly man shed the facade of his imposing stature, revealing a vulnerable soul fighting to survive.
It was a sight that defied expectations, for one would never have imagined a man of his brutish nature would be reduced to tears. Yet, shame and dignity were cast aside as he threw himself at the mercy of his adversary, clutching onto the slimmest thread of hope.
"Why should I? You did think twice before ordering your lackeys to break our bones. Why should I spare you?" Not one ounce of sympathy was evoked by the pitiful acting of the burly man. Alex was determined to eradicate the trash. The burly man was not exactly a good person. He was sure that the burly man and his group of thugs had done many irredeemable deeds. They were even willing to go to any extent to procure some land, even murder. They didn't deserve sympathy.
The burly man was stumped. He didn't dare answer it. If he made one more mistake, his head would fly. He did not doubt that. Alex was willing to do anything. If not, how could dispose of his men so calmly? But before he could complete his thought process he saw something shiny blazing towards him.
With a swipe of his hand, Alex had sent the fireball in his hand flying towards the burly. He decided to take care of the enemy quickly and deal with Noble Trader Association. He didn't like waiting for the enemy to make the first move.
"STOP! I surrender." The burly man's desperate plea pierced through the tension-laden air. The sheer weight of fear forced the words out of his trembling lips. "I can give you the information. I know why the Noble Trader Association wants this land. I can also prove that this land rightfully belongs to you."
The sudden revelation caught Alex's attention, causing a flicker of curiosity to dance in his eyes. The entire incident had stemmed from a land dispute, and gaining more insight into the matter could prove advantageous. He decided to momentarily spare the burly man.
'Hmm… The slimy bastard that even willing to betray his people.' Alex scoffed when he heard the man scream.
The fireball that was just inches away from colliding with the burly man disappeared into thin air, leaving behind a gust of warm air near his face.
"You could have said that earlier. Now I have to clean up twenty charred corpses from my yard."
"So, what information do you have about the land?" Alex asked the burly man.
"Hm…" The burly man paused. In his panic, he accidentally spilt the beans. If his boss finds out about this, he was dead for sure. But if he dares to not speak about it, the man before him will burn him alive. Death was a certainty.
His confusion only lasted for a second. His instinct to survive kicked in and he decided to betray his master. The warrior before him was a way worse threat than his master that was not present.
He decided to take a gamble.
"Say a word of a lie, your fate would turn out much worse than your lackeys," Alex warned.
Alex, who lost his repulsion towards murder was the worst enemy a person could have. So, the burly man nodded in reply.
"First, the documents we have are fake. We faked it by bribing the administrative members of the thousand-headed serpent tribe." The burly man stated.
"Continue…" Alex said. Although he couldn't judge if they are true without corroborating other people's statements and pieces of evidence. He decided to hear him out. If the burly man had decided to lie blatantly from the start, he would have died a pitiful death.
"Secondly, some of the lands that are being acquired by us are being gifted to the members of the Thousand-headed Serpent tribe," the burly man revealed, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
Alex, sensing a hint of dubiousness in the statement, was not quick to accept it at face value. With a calculated tone, he posed a question to validate the information. "They own all the land, why would they want more from you? After all, they are one of the nine great tribes. If they want, they could get it without going through you."
The question Alex posed threw off the burly man. Nonetheless, he decided to explain.
"The thousand-headed serpent tribe was not the tribe it was from the past. Their former days of glory are already over. The powerful and courageous warriors that Thira loved had already died." He stated calmly.
This forced Alex to think. He never thought of it from this angle. In the past, he always assumed the thousand-headed serpent tribe to be friendly or at the very least neutral. Their action when the evil organisation attacked Thira spoke volumes about them.
The courageous warriors of the Thousand-headed Serpent tribe fought to protect the city and its people. Hundreds of them sacrifice their life to protect the city. The reason they dragged the fight towards the sea was to protect the city from the aftermath of the battle between the tier 5 warrior of their tribe and the Archmage of the evil organisation.
They were the true heroes of the city.
So, it was natural for Alex to assume they were a friendly tribe. But he forgot to think about something important.
When all the brave, strong, honest warriors of the tribe died. What do you call the remaining?
Cowardly, weak and dishonest! Were they the ones that were leading the thousand-headed tribe right now?
Alex was not sure. Other than the people who were outside the city, what explanation did the strong warriors inside the city have about not participating in the fight against the evil organisation? Alex decided to look into it. He seemed to have found his first clue towards finding the trail of the evil organisation.
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