Chapter 195: Why stopping
The next morning, and just as instructed, Blac gathered the warriors in front of the Village Head’s house. It was early morning, but they came there with their polished armor and weapons.
They didn’t know why they were there or what they were meant to do, but still they faced the building and waited for their new masters to show up.
It wasn’t only the warriors who were gathered; even some villagers were there of their own accord, murmuring and mumbling to each other. Unlike other villages, they hadn’t seen something like a hostile takeover of a Village Head before.
Some of them had seen the teens before, but for most of them, they’d only heard of them, and the curiosity was driving them insane.
It was something unheard of, but even Blac was serving them!
Blac was like a legend, and he was known far and wide.
Finally, the door opened, and Azaroth and the others came out in their black robes. The silence and disbelief that followed were as thick as anything. These kids? These teens actually killed the Village Head and took over their village? Was this some kind of joke?
Unlike the other villages, the Initiates here were taken care of quickly, and not all the warriors saw them. So they still hadn’t believed that these teens were the real deal! They thought it must be Blac who was using them to further his ambitions, and it made perfect sense.
So, almost unconsciously, the warriors turned toward Blac and ignored the teens, who looked ordinary except that their faces were cold and hardened. And that one with the red eyes and white hair.
Alex made his voice low, and he bristled. "These bastards! They are ignoring us. Should I just kill them all?"
Stallus narrowed her eyes, and she was quite annoyed as well, but her lips still twisted into a small smile. "You are impatient, Alex. And why kill them? If you do so, then we won’t have any warriors left. But this is also unacceptable, Azaroth?"
Azaroth stepped forward and gestured for Blac to start.
There was a small gleam in Blac’s eyes as he looked at the gathered warriors. He knew something like this would happen, and he wondered how they would react. "Warriors! These are your Masters and their leader, Sir Azaroth!"
"Come on, Brask! You don’t have to pretend to be doing this shit when we all know you are the one behind it all. Just give up the pretense! You mean these kids are the ones giving you orders? Come off it!" Brask, the biggest and loudest of the warriors, shouted. He wasn’t the most powerful, but he was big and loud.
Blac smiled politely. "I’m glad you think so highly of me, but you are mistaken, as they are the true masters and have already taken three villages. They...."
Brask interrupted him, and the mumbling from the warriors finally grew louder. He laughed and pointed a thick finger at the teens. "That’s a funny joke! Putting children in front of yourself. Is this your sort of funny revenge on Greytown?"
Blac stiffened slightly. "You’re going too far. Don’t disrespect the Masters or..."
Woosh!
Brask removed his big sword and, with a push of his bulk, sent the warriors around him falling. He laughed. "Ah! You think you can fool me? Here, I’ll give them just a swing, and if they can take just one hit, then I’ll believe you!"
The warriors were silent now as they watched Brask climb the short steps that led up to the Village Head’s house. He loomed above Azaroth and looked down at him. He bent a little. "You should still be sucking from your mother, boy. What are you doing on a man’s field?"
Alex bristled and wanted to rush forward, but Stallus held him back with a glare. You want to interrupt Azaroth?
"Well? What do you have to say for yourself, boy playing man?" Brask roared again.
Azaroth finally looked at him, his face a mask of coldness. "Your breath smells," he said truthfully.
Brask flinched, and the warriors and villagers were surprised to hear something like that. They began to laugh, and the big guy didn’t like this. His hand tightened on his sword. "You little shitty thing!"
He swung down with all the strength in his body and meant to cut Azaroth in two, but suddenly he stumbled and staggered forward. His face paled, and sweat began to gather.
"What’s happening?"
"Did the boy do anything?"
"Why’s Brask stopping?"
Stallus and the others understood what was going on, and yes, Azaroth didn’t do anything except let loose his bloodlust. His intent to kill mixed with his essence pressure, and it hit the man like a physical force.
Blac flinched, and his eyes widened in pure surprise. Bloodlust? Essence pressure? That’s the thickest and strongest he’s ever felt! He had only felt this around the Leaders. What’s going on? Are these teens that powerful?
Blac took a deep breath and began to counter the bloodlust with essence pressure of his own, but it was like trying to walk through a storm with a paper umbrella. He gasped as it became difficult to breathe.
But to Stallus, Alex, and Catena, this was normal, and even some monsters threw their bloodlust around like that. It was no big deal to them, but it was amusing to see the way others reacted, and Azaroth wasn’t even using Acolyte-level essence pressure.
Brask fell to his knees, and his weapon dropped to the floor with a clang. He gripped his throat as the air became too heavy to breathe.
Azaroth looked at him as if Brask were something he was experimenting on, and he said, "I am just emitting my bloodlust. What if I focus it on you? Like this?"
Immediately, the bloodlust vanished, and then all of it slammed into Brask. The man let out a single pained yelp and collapsed, foam and blood in his mouth.
Azaroth looked down at him, and then he raised his right leg and brought it down sharply, crushing the man’s head and crunching it like a nut. Blood sprayed, and his leg was coated with thick, warm brain matter.
"Pathetic," he said with disgust.
