But in a flash of movement, the sword merely disappeared past his shoulder, as though the boy was made of mist and the blade had passed straight through him. The soldier was stood with his arms lowered after a completed strike, yet he felt no resistance to his blade.
It was clear to all that had watched it – that Beam had dodged the blow, and comfortably too, without even taking a step back.
Of course, those who knew Beam would expect that much from him. Dominus might have even pointed holes in his movement, for it wasn't as swift as it should have been, given his training. But to the untrained masses, it was like a magic trick. To dodge impending doom like that so calmly, and with such precision, it was a feat worthy of more praise than the Gods had to offer.
The lead soldier's face began to redden as he realized what had happened. Jeers came from the crowd now, as some of the villagers dared to use the opportunity to get in some of the insults that they'd been saving up a while.
Something about a crowd of people like that gave them the confidence in their own anonymity. And especially since Beam was taking the brunt of their aggression.
Not only that, despite the way that Beam had carried himself – with a level of disrespect that was indeed worthy of attacking – the villagers merely saw it as justice. As a man finally standing up for the villagers who the soldiers had walked all over for so long. They hardly saw his disrespect as disrespect, for they would have gone much further than he did, given half an opportunity.
"Bastard," the man growled. "I suppose you're intent on mocking us to the end, eh? No matter. When you're choking on your own blood, you'll see there are certain lines you shouldn't cross."
The raised his sword again, preparing for another strike. He then motioned with his head to the two men beside him. They immediately surrounded Beam. They were trained soldiers, after all. Group fighting tactics were second nature to them – especially lately, where It was basically a necessity that a few of them teamed up to take down a single opponent, in the form of monsters.
"Cowards!" Came a cry from the crowd. A few more villagers picked it up, emboldened by the display.
"Ah..." he noted blood dripping from his sleeve. One of the attacks had managed to get their way through. A shallow cut, but a cut nonetheless. It went the length of his forearm, having cut the sleeve of his shirt.
His blood dripped to the ground from it.
That only increased the roars of the crowd. What had started out as a mere collection of angry shouts now spread to the entire crowd as a whole, as people were swept up in the outrage.
"COWARDS!" Was bellowed as a group now, with force and rage behind it, and the soldiers shamelessly made enemies of those that they were meant to be protecting.
The soldiers looked nervous now, perhaps finally sensing the mounting tension of the crowd. Even lacking in true understanding of it as they were, they seemed to understand that if left as it was, there would be something closer to a full-on rebellion.
"Shit, we need to finish this quickly," the thin man said in alarm, sweat on his forehead. Fear was beginning to show on his lips as the crowd's resentment continued to grow. He understood that if they finally snapped into madness, then it would be he and his party who would be killed first.
No matter how well-trained or armed they were, they could do nothing against such a sea of people.
"Withdraw," Beam told them, letting just a little bit of his true might seep into his voice. His words came with an authority that his rank should not possess, shaking their spirits.
But they bit their lips and fought against it anyway. "Gah!" The main man said, quickly stepping in to unleash his next attack. His comrades quickly moved to mirror him, attempting to box Beam in.