Chapter 24: Power (2)

The battle between the king and Raen was still ongoing while it happened.

The black light that seems to consume everything on its path had subsided and it formed a tattoo on the king's body. The king was confused about what happened.

---This is my power?

He didn't understand where it came from. He only knew what he had to do with it.

Even though it was his first time coming in contact with this strange power that enveloped his entire body, he knew how to use it as if he was born with it.

He clenched his fist and stared at Raen.

---I lost my cool. I would have lost if not for this.

Indeed, if the battle continued as it was, the King would have died if not for the time bought by the sudden appearance of the ominous black light.

It happened when he was reflecting on his earlier actions. Something talked to him in his mind.

[Blessings of the battlefield have recognized you.]

[Special Achievements has been listed.]

-Kill over a hundred goblins under the rule of the five great clans.

-Injure a black goblin.

-Enlightenment.

[You have awoken a portion of the power of Nihility.]

[The latent power of Nihility sleeps within you.]

---The blessings of the battlefield? It could grant something like this...?

He thought that the one who created the blessings of the battlefield must be a strong person. The strength that he was feeling right now was as high as his pride.

He felt like he could laugh at his worries about the battle right now.

As soon as the voice stopped talking, the tattoos all over his body had started to go back to the source; the black circle.

With the tattoo fading over in time, the king felt himself weakening.

Thinking that it would be bad if he lost his extraordinary power right now, he ran forward to continue his battle with Raen.

du. du. du. du.

Each step he took, the ground shook.

The birds sleeping within the forest have all flew in the sky to escape from the tremors.

The king, who made the earth quake with his steps, has appeared before Raen.

He prepared himself, not the usual stance that he used for defense but this time it was a stance indicating that he will attack.

The tattoos have already receded back to half their original size and the presence of the darkness have dimmed.

The power of the king is becoming lost at a faster rate than before.

The king pulled his fist and stepped in forward with all his strength to assist his punch.

Raen who was the target of the king couldn't move. He knew what the tattoos meant. He knew what the darkness was. As a result, he was shaken the most. He couldn't believe it. He didn't want to believe it.

The power emanating from the king's body was so huge that he couldn't tell that it was disappearing over time; he took it as a joke. After all, what was happening right now was stated in the same saying that he ridiculed before.

"The king's symbol: the markings of the Datu!!"

Raen shouted as he saw the king's fist swinging in front of him.

As the strike was nearing, he remembered a scene where he was being taught by Vorg...The one who took him in and the phrase that he used to say.

"The Tabak clan is the King's sword. As such, we are the strongest among all five great clans!"

Sword. That was the Tabak clan's purpose, to be the sword that slashes apart the opponents of the king who dared to stand in his path.

And yet, Raen, a former member of that clan was standing in front of the king with his sword raised.

Whether to ridicule his own thoughts or not, he remembered Vorg's words when he was exiled. The words stabbed at his heart as the reality was exactly the same as the words that came out of Vorg's mouth.

"The king is not you, Raen!"

Thud.

Raen's head was crushed and his neck was severed from his body with the impact of the strike.

As Raen felt his consciousness fading, he felt regret for the first time.

'I was...a fool, am I not? Vo...rg?

Raen's head fell to the ground with a loud thud, as sadness and regret took over him.

The king looked at the headless Raen and soon he felt that the tattoos covering his entire body has now solidified on his stomach.

He checked the mark and soon he felt sleepy. It was the same sensation when he killed an orc and the wolf.

He fell down on the ground, face flat.

Within his mind, he didn't even care about his potential evolution as he was only concerned about the power of Nihility that the blessings of the battlefield mentioned.

---It said that this power was sleeping deep within me...?

He couldn't think much about it however as he started to lose consciousness...

****

Within the former base of the southern army located with the landmark of Big Tree, a different group was occupying it. The tents that were properly organized were now a mess. They were all over the place and the clothes that make up the tent were in pieces.

The ones who made this base look like this was the threat that Guy was concerned about. They were wearing armors suited for mercenary brigades and their clothes were dirty, their skin was full of mud.

On the tent that was used as the strategy meeting room, there was a man sitting in the commander's chair. He had a young face that tells that he's around in his early twenties.

The man had a red hair on his head and with his eyes that had the intensity of the sun, he looked like a fearsome pretty boy. His body was slim but that was because his body was packed with muscles.

Those muscles hidden by the clothes that didn't even have single dirt on it pack a large amount of strength.

Despite the men surrounding him were dirty, the man didn't even have a single speck of dirt on him.

The man spoke.

"They escaped... looks like there's a guy with a good head on his shoulders."

The old man who had a face full of wrinkles had responded with his butler-like presence.

"Yes... I also believe that he was the one who noticed the spy sent in advance."

The one that they were talking about is the one who died in Guy's hand.

"It doesn't matter. That one was a criminal, was he not?"

"Yes. As instructed, he was promised freedom after this endeavor but it looks like he died before that."

The man nodded with a face full of satisfaction.

"Have they responded yet?"

"Yes. Duke Zembo and two others have promised their cooperation."

At those words, the man smiled. It was unbefitting of his pretty face. It was the smile of a predator.

"As expected, fools that prioritized their own profit are easy to use."

"Your majesty, if I may ask...When will we attack?"

The man who asked that had a large build and a sword hung at his waist. The man who responded to his question wasn't the one called Your Majesty but from another mouth.

"We already have a general gist of the villages around here...Lure, Jihto, Ozas, the territory of Duke Zembo and the home base of that Demon Prawler, we have a route prepared for us 'bandits' to go through."

The man wore light armor suited for fast movements as he was the leader of the scouting units, See replied with a vicious expression.

Hearing that, the other men gathered had various thoughts about the words used.

'Bandits...'

'Kuhaha! The prince is great!'

'I thought he was just a useless boy but...what a terrifying man.'

The one that they directed their thoughts was the man sitting on the chair of the commander and the one who created this plan, the crown prince of the Forpor Kingdom, Narkus Von Forpor!

Narkus Von Forpor nodded his head again with the same face.

The old man who was acting as his butler was a famous general of the Forpor Kingdom, General Mints, said with a firm voice.

"Let's prepare then...For the war that will happen under the table!"

As such, the vicious army of the 'bandit's have prepared to set out for the poor villages that didn't know a single thing.

And it seems they didn't feel the tremors for they were too far away...

****

The sun was still up and the people in the city were lively. The city's location was far from Rosas Kingdom. One could say that they were worlds apart.

On a room of simplicity, there was a man reading a report submitted to him by his subordinate.

He had a stiff expression as he looked on the records.

The records were about the story of a man living in a far away village.

...

The village was poor and it was located in a place where the nation couldn't help them let alone their ruling lord.

They relied on each other. The village head was a reliable man who you could count on and his wife was capable of using healing magic.

A person capable of healing magic is a treasure to anyone, so the villagers' life was quite a good one despite being poor.

They relied on the village head for matters concerning the whole and the wife for injuries that the hunters got while away from the village.

They plot the land and the village was steadily growing but everything changed when a child was born with extraordinary physical prowess.

The state of the village didn't change so fast and the villagers were happy at the prospect of a child being capable enough to be an adventurer.

Then it happened when the child was in his teenage years, something changed in him.

The villagers noticed this too but they decided to have none of it. After a week of his change, his parents died.

On the funeral of his parents, he didn't even cry. He acted as he always did and that even made him creepier.

After his parents died, soon his neighbors died too until the casualties exceeded the number of ten.

The villagers noticed that the people around the child were dying one after another and decided to kick him out of the village.

And so was the plan but...They got massacred! The child, when asked about it, killed the questioner without question.

He didn't even bat an eye! Luckily for the villagers, there was an adventurer who retired that stayed in the village. What's more, when he was active he was hailed as a B Class!

Expectantly, they watched the fight between the two.

It ended in a flash and the loser was...

The adventurer.

Seeing that, the people lost hope and was mercilessly destroyed.

That was the end of the records.

"Are you sure about this information?"

"No, if I may be so frank. It is according to a witness that survived in the village."

"I see. It may be a grudge about him or he could be pretending to be the 'victim'."

The man reading the report nodded his head and asked about him for more.

"Come to think of it, he also said the words that the child used to say from the time that he had changed."

"What is it?"

The subordinate gulped his saliva at the intense pressure coming from his superior.

"Lakan. I am the Lakan."