Chapter 313 Chapter 313 Count Down
"You have tried to kill me and my people using borrowed help. You kidnapped my wife and tried to destroy my home and kill my family, but I have decided to break the chain of hatred. So, I won't respond in kind. I am willing to offer you a chance for survival; both for yourself and for your family, only if you are man enough to take it."
Hogan was surprised at Zach's sudden offer. The salvation he had been hoping for was suddenly within reach, but he was too proud to consider it as a possible way out. It didn't help that he had already been humiliated in front of his underlings before. Therefore, he didn't intend to show weakness in front of them any longer.
Still, he got curious and wanted to know what Zach's offer entailed.
"Don't take me for a fool. After what I have done, there is no way you would actually let me go. You just want to take the last shred of dignity away from me, don't you? You just want to see me beg."
"I am willing to let the Hunter family go. I promise not to hold you responsible for anything you have done up to now if you take your entire family and leave Byzantium city forever within the day. If you fail to appreciate my kindness, death would be the least of your worries. I will make sure that there won't be a trace of the Hunter family left in the city once I am done with you all."
Zach was extremely domineering as he uttered the last part.
Hogan laughed soundlessly as he contemplated the hidden meaning behind the chance that Zach had offered him. Intimidation was what it should have been called instead of a choice. In fact, there was no choice. There was either death or exile. For a family like the Hunters who were used to being at the top of the food chain, exile was even worse than death.
"Is that what you call a choice? The mercy of a dark mage; I guess I was expecting too much from the scum of human society." Hogan sneered with derision at Zach's attempt to undermine Hogan's authority in front of his people.
"It's up to you to make it what you want. I call it advice; you are free to consider it in whatever way you want. It's your life and death; nothing to do with me. I couldn't care less about it." Zach acted nonchalant as he dismissed the fact that Hogan had failed to grasp the last bit of kindness that he was willing to show the Hunter family.
Alas, Hogan was too proud to bow his head in the end. His position didn't let him seriously consider the threat in the clothing of advice.
Moreover, Hogan believed that the two families were beyond the point of reconciliation. They were already mortal enemies. Just as he would never let go of a chance to deal a fatal strike to Zach, he believed that the letter would never spare him as well when the time came. So, there was no point in begging for mercy from Zach because the enmity that started with small squabbles could only end once any of the two parties succumbed to their fate and permanently met their maker.
Until then, the war would continue to be waged between the two families.
Haaaah~
Zach sighed as he closed his eyes in helplessness. Although he was unable to stop the unnecessary loss of life, he was content, and his heart was at peace. He had tried his best to stop the bloodshed, but the enemy was too prideful to acknowledge his efforts and his goodwill. Therefore, the rain of blood that would soon ensue would be their own doing; a product of their stupidity and vanity.
This was the first time Zach was going to slaughter so many people, many of which were probably irrelevant to his grudge against the Hunter family. Unfortunately, they were all blinded by greed and had followed Hogan to attack his family. They naturally had to share in the misery that was reserved for their leader.
For the first time since he came into this world, he felt like praying to the unknown deity responsible for his awakening here. Even though he didn't regret what he was about to do to the people on the screen, he still prayed for them so they would find rest in the embrace of death and not be plagued by the sins they had committed in their lifetimes.
The moment he opened his eyes after his silent prayer concluded, there was no trace of remorse in his eyes. They were completely devoid of any emotion as if he was some kind of robot designed to bring about the end of the world.
Raising his arm in front of him, he took a look at his ancient-looking watch that was currently counting down instead of showing the regular time.
The countdown showed the figure two hundred which decreased by one with each passing second.
"200...199...198...197...196..."
Zach silently stared at his watch as the time continued to tick away bringing the all-engulfing destruction closer and closer to Greenland and in turn Hogan's forces.
Hogan peered at Zach through the screen. His behavior struck him as very unusual. There was no trace of joy on Zach's face. Instead, it displayed a pallid and morbid expression that revealed nothing.
Before Hogan could ask him anything, Zach began to count out loud as his eyes never left the display dial of his watch.
"...176...175...174...173..."
"What are you doing?" Puzzled by the string of numbers that came out of Zach's mouth, Hogan couldn't help but ask.
"It's a countdown..." replied Zach unenthusiastically before his focus reverted back to the countdown on his watch. "...140...139...138...137..."
"What do you mean...countdown to what exactly?"
Hogan was getting a bad feeling. It was as if a deadly monster had gripped his heart within its frighteningly sharp talons and was about to crush it to bits. The tightening feeling in his chest was the biggest proof of the ominous feeling that was weighing down his shoulders.
Zach didn't bother saying anything as he continued counting, "...132...131...130..."
The more Zach tried to ignore him, the more the danger sensor in Hogan's mind fluctuated. The readings were going off the charts in his mind as he had no choice but to listen to Zach's ominous countdown.
Before Hogan could go mad with anxiety, Zach finally spoke up.
"That's the time until the forbidden magic strikes. Since you failed to hail my sincere advice, I had no choice but to unleash a forbidden dark magic that would terrify all the dark mages in the world if they laid their eyes on it. Unfortunately, no one has survived witnessing my magic up close like you and your people soon will."
Hogan's heart fell completely, and his knees almost buckled in fear of what was approaching him very soon. He didn't take Zach's threat for granted this time since the latter was far too serious to be joking around like that.
Before Hogan could ask what kind of treacherous magic the dark mage had unleashed, his inadvertent trembling caused him to bite his lip. Fortunately, Zach had no intention to let Hogan go without knowing how he died. He wanted Hogan to experience the fear that came with the knowledge of one's impending death.
"Fiery rocks the size of an island will fall from the sky once the countdown ends. The shower of meteorites, the embodiment of my wrath, will descend the heavens. Its sole target will be the island you so much wanted to occupy."
Hogan went into shock the moment he heard that he was going to be crushed by a falling island on fire. It was too much to take in at once. Logic stated that it was impossible for Zach to be that powerful, but he couldn't rule out the possibility of an ancient scroll. And who could exactly measure the extent of destruction a dark mage could cause when pushed into a corner.
But Zach didn't seem to be done just yet.
"Since you wanted my island so much, I will let it accompany you on your final journey to the underworld. It is the least I can do for you. Not just the island, all your people, every living thing in your vicinity, every tree, every fish in the ocean; all of them will go with you so you won't feel lonely. It's the least I can do for someone like you who is going to bear witness to the destructive capability of my ultimate spell. It makes me sad to see you go like this, to be honest. But you left me with no choice other than to take drastic measures when you rejected my kind advice earlier."
While Hogan was about to pee himself in fright, he somehow managed to gain control over his faculties by taking a few deep breaths. At the same time, he remembered that he still had a trump card capable of saving him if all else failed; a failsafe in other words.
Emboldened by the fact, Hogan began to laugh albeit a bit nervously.
Somehow Hogan got a hold of the notion that Zach was trying to scare him in an attempt to humiliate him in front of his forces. Therefore, he ended up hypnotizing himself into believing that the skill Zach had just described was nothing more than a figment of the latter's imagination.
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