'Oh shit!' Wae's heart thumped loudly as he took several steps back and dropped to his knees.
Shaking his head with a sigh of disappointment, he looked over to the advisors.
Their long black robes couldn't conceal the sunken sockets and lean faces and necks.
If he didn't have an idea of what Wae was trying to do, he wouldn't have understood the dire situation.
"Do you all receive the monthly allocation of funds from my citadel?!" He thundered, startling the advisors.
"Don't even think about it!" Hisha cut short their lingering eyes drifting towards Wae for confirmation.
Left with no choice but to respond truthfully, they could only nod their heads to verify.
Vanas was the first to burst out laughing, playfully slapping Mich's shoulder.
Avoiding yet another hit, Mich took four steps back and rubbed his arm, his face laced with disgust.
"Wae, you never seem to amaze us and Lord Hisha." Vanas laughed while pointing a mocking finger in his direction.
Wae winced at the mockery but was unable to speak much due to the presence of Hisha, he could only mutter incoherent curses at Vanas.
Pretending as though he didn't hear a word, Hisha proceeded to walk ahead into the fortress.
The advisors lowered their heads even further, "long live the overlord."
'Disgusting!' Hisha thought with a sigh, stopping in front of the stone wall leading down the corridor.
Gggrrrnn!
The doors were pushed open by two buffed-up Lycans.
Taking a glance at them, Hisha could almost mistake them as bodybuilders on steroids.
Looking over his shoulder, "If I'm not satisfied with the feast, you will reap the consequences."
Getting to his feet in a rush, Wae hurriedly sprinted to Hisha's side, gesturing towards the left that leads to the dining hall.
"Finally some food of barbaric Lycans," Vanas commented with a grin, putting both hands behind his head as he walked on with the others.
*****
Crash!
Clank!
Crrk!
They all watched with horror as a maid slipped on the wooden floor, and had a jar of wine spill on Hisha.
A barrier prevents it from splashing on the rest present at the table, before disintegrating.
Kritz got to his feet, his red eyes burning with rage, his claws barred, and on the verge of attacking the maid if Hisha had not stopped him with the wave of his hand.
'What in the actual fuck?!' Hisha sat frozen on his chair, staring at the floor littered with glass shards of the jug, red wine dripping from his hair and causing ripples to form on the floor.
[That wasn't accidental!]
"My lord!" Wae got to his feet, slamming his palms on the table.
Glaring at the maid who trembled in fear of what she had done, clutching onto the silver tray as if her life depended on it, she shook her head in disbelief and mortification.
Calling on his guards, Wae pointed an accusing finger at the maid, ordering them to behead her as a punishment. If he could silence her before she would let out a much sinister secret that had been ruined.
"Lychief Wae... I did this because of–" her words were muffled by a gag forced into her mouth by one of the guards.
Hisha raised his hand, freezing the guards in place which allowed the maid to break free but fall on her back.
Coughing out the gag, she pushed back at the sight of the guards immobile.
All tribal chiefs stared with fear at the dangerous ability displayed by their lord. The very one which could negate any of their attempts at getting to him if he was aware.
"You–" he pointed in the direction of the maid even though his attention was still on the floor.
Getting to her feet, the maid continually bowed her head while crying out apologies for how it was nothing but a stupid mistake.
"Mistake?" Hisha cackled with a mischievous glint, wiping at his face.
The moment it touched his lips a bit, he felt a sting.
[Toxins detected]
'As I thought.' Hisha chuckled, wiping at his lips.
[Detoxification in process]
[Loading... 1%... 23%...]
[Sux depletion: 660]
Ding!
[Detoxification complete]
Hisha's eyes were in a rage, unintentionally punching a hole right through the stone dining table.
Mich, who had been sitting beside Hisha, jumped to his feet to avoid some form of transfer of aggression.
'My fucking Sux drastically depleted because of a lethal poison?!' Hisha's yelled in his thoughts as his brows twitched in frustration.
[It was either that or your points–the latter would be equally devastating]
Hisha stared into nothingness, deep in thought on his next action.
'Should I just kill him here and now? What is the best way to deal with this and still benefit?' Hisha let out a low hum, narrowing his eyes.
No one dared move an inch as they awaited Hisha's reaction.
Wae's hidden grin was slowly getting demoralized and unsure if the poison had any effect on Hisha.
Even though Hisha is immortal, it was still meant to leave him bedridden for at least a month of rest to slow down the selection process of the harem members and ultimately leave him vulnerable to an attack.
'This doesn't look good.' Wae internally facepalmed as he watched Hisha's silent demeanor as he stared at the floor.
"Hahaha!" Hisha broke out in maniacal laughter, clapping his hands. "When I wanted a feast, I had not imagined being doused in merriment."
Several tribal chiefs tilted their heads or furrowed their brows in confusion. As did some of the guests present for the feast.
Kritz frowned, knowing his lord was on the verge of going ballistic.
Wae gave a nervous laugh to ease his troubled soul on the reason for the laughter by Hisha.
"The maid needs to be punished for her transgressions!" Wae snarled at the maid, causing her to shrink back in fear.
"Punished? Why do that in hiding, when I can do so now?" Hisha had a wicked smirk.
Making a grabbing gesture, he utilized his telekinetic grip on the maid's neck.
[What are you thinking, host? You can't!]
'Shut the hell up and trust me!' Hisha snapped in rage at the distraction to the elevated mood he was experiencing.
[...]
Gasp!
Gasp!
Raised above floor level, the maid had her legs dangling as she felt her neck squeezed, choking out the air from her lungs.
"Now, do I have your attention?" He glared at the maid, "nod if yes, struggle if no."
Mich pulled on his chair so he could at least watch the scenes unfold as he created enough distance between Hisha and his current sitting location.
Trying her best to be still, she nodded her head.
"Would you do the honors and be audible enough so others can hear you?"
Left with no choice, she nodded her head while grabbing a hold of the invisible aura that grabbed her neck.
Letting go of her neck, Hisha had his elbows on the table, steepling his fingers and resting his chin on them.
"I need nothing but the truth, anything less than that, you will die!" He warned.
Gulp!
There was a collective reaction from everyone as they felt the words directed at them if in the same situation.
"Why did you spill it on me? I know it wasn't a slip!" He hissed, narrowing his eyes at the maid.
Pushing back her blonde hair, her blue eyes trembled in fear at being caught red-handed, and had no other choice than reveal it gradually.
"I had second thoughts about dispensing it in your cup." She whimpered, looking down in dejection.
Wae slammed his palm on the table, "my lord, she has no reason to justify her action and should be–"
Raising his hand, Hisha didn't bother switching his gaze to Wae who felt his body weight lighten as he was lifted in the air.
Brushing his hand to the side, Wae was thrown across the windows and the wall before making a final crash into one of the windows, his head out the window and the rest still inside the dining hall.
Blood trailed down his forehead before he felt his body being pulled and forced to take a seat.
The crash made Wae stiffened on his seat with a bloodied face.
Unable to turn his attention to Hisha, Wae bit down on his bottom lip.
Everyone had wide eyes at what had transpired in the blink of an eye, but the very person who had this disturbing revelation was the maid with quivering lips.
"If anyone doesn't want that brief preview happening to them, I would suggest that you all watch as I unveil this truth." Hisha hissed in caution.
Folding his arms, Kritz glared at the maid with murderous intent, sensing there was more to just what she let on.
"You have one chance to redeem yourself, use it wisely." Hisha threatened with a devilish grin focused on the maid.
*****
A/N
A pictorial illustration of the maid is shown in my discord server.
Discord server
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