In the control room, Bastien and Leon sat on the same couch, watching the exciting scene on the screen.
"Bastien, are you interested in making another bet with me?" Leon said. He spun the wineglass and turned his head to the left.
Bastien had a blank look as he stared at Leon's face without saying anything for a long time. "I'll take it if it will bring good luck. And also, where is his maid? Where did she go off, too? Why didn't she help him?" Bastien asked.
Leon sighed. "Who cares about her?"
Bastien chuckled quietly. His eyes were filled with greed.
The video of Nathan fighting over 20 people appeared before them.
"The bastard sure got pressed this time." Bastien muttered under his breath.
Leon glanced at Bastien but quickly looked back at the big screen. "How many of your people can my beloved brother kill?"
Bastien smiled mischievously.
Nathan was surrounded by enemies, all level 60 or above. They threw slashes at him from every direction. Their spears were aimed right at his body, while some even held up shields, trying to block his sword attacks.
He couldn't move freely because the guards had closed around him, pinning him down so he could not run away. If he attacked one guard, others would come closer from his rear to attack him.
A woman screamed shrilly in agony again.
"I say he will kill at least 30 of your people." Leon said.
Bastien shrugged.
The screams stopped suddenly. The sounds of metal clanging against each other rang loudly throughout the place. A loud roar shook through the air. It sounded like an explosion.
The sound grew louder and louder, and the screen showed black smoke rising from the basement stairs and spreading across the corridor.
Leon clapped lightly. "Five, my beloved brother has already killed five people. Is 30 too few? Don't you want to make a bet, Bastien?"
Nathan continued to fight with no hesitation. He diverted a spear thrust easily with his left hand and stabbed another man who came toward him. He pushed the third person off nearby using his left foot, throwing them toward another enemy.
There were a couple of copies of him fighting together. He fought like someone who had lost his mind. He didn't seem the least tired. Such power was not that of someone below level 50.
Bastien swallowed hard, his hands shaking and sweating. But he forced himself to keep his cool and remained sure of the bet he made. The people Nathan was dealing with were just ordinary guards. They were just weaklings who weren't the least bit worth it to him.
Bastien smiled faintly and turned to Leon. "Young Master Leon, I'm afraid I don't have anything of value left to bet on this," Bastien said slowly, keeping his voice low. His heart beat fast as if trying to escape from his body. "I... I will be glad to lose everything to you."
Leon smirked quietly. "How about.... The girl you mentioned before?"
Bastien stared at Leon for some time, thinking carefully about whether to say yes or no. Finally, he nodded reluctantly.
"Good choice." Leon said calmly, but there seemed to be a hint of anger in his eyes.
"So, what are your conditions? Tell me first and then let's bet on it," Bastien said while holding the glass and looking into its contents.
"Don't worry. My brother won't die easily. In fact, we haven't started the real battle yet. We're just watching the game right now. So I bet he will kill at least 30 people. In the condition you have enough people to do it."
Bastien snorted coldly and tossed his wine back, quickly gulping half of it. "If You win, I'll let the girl go free." He said.
Leon cracked his mouth, almost like a smile appeared on his face, showing only his teeth. "Okay! That seems fine to me!"
The sound of clanging swords continued for quite some time until, finally, one guard was lying dead on the ground. Nathan stood over him, sword raised high above him.
The other guards had retreated after their comrades fell. The guards didn't want to get close to him anymore and tried to fight with ranged attacks instead. Nathan swung his sword around again and cut through an incoming spear toward him.
After some time, the fight occurred, and Nathan was pushed.
"I'm sorry to have witnessed such an incident, young master. But is it over?"
***
Nathan felt his strength getting weaker. It seemed like there was no end to the enemies attacking him all at once. He still couldn't feel tired, but he couldn't move anymore. If he took another hit, then he might die soon.
Nathan fell to the floor, exhausted, his body covered in wounds.
He had killed eight people so far. But there were still many who were cornering him.
"Nathan, with your escape skill, you can easily get away from that place. As we talked about before. Your safety is the priority." Marco said.
"Where did your confidence go, Marco? And how come you can guess so precisely every skill I have? Why don't you use your intelligence to help me and your sister escape from this place?" Nathan said.
Marco shook his head. "You're really stubborn. But that's what a main character needs."
[Name: Nathan Gardner]
[Level: Unranked Lv. 49]
[Exp: 275/10,144]
[Nathan Gardner]
[Greed Meter: 73%]
[Greed Aura activated]
[The user can generate an aura of greed that can amplify/induce avarice on beings inside their aura and gain an increase in attack speed from their emotions.]
Nathan sat down on the floor, looking at the remaining people surrounding him.
"Do you know, guys? I have a lot of gold in my personal inventory space. Whoever kills me will inherit that inventory. See!" Nathan threw gold coins continuously on the floor.
"I have enough gold coins to fill this mansion to the brim. If you don't believe it, please allow your comrades to kill me. Oh, of course they won't admit it, because the inventory space would be soul bound to them." He continued.
The guards stepped back for a moment, thinking for some time about what he said. Some even took the gold coins and examined them while standing there silently.
"It's genuine gold." One man finally said and stared at his friends with wide-open eyes as if he had suddenly awakened from a nightmare. His hands stopped moving toward his weapon and lowered slowly.
Nathan grinned widely with satisfaction. "See? So easy."
The guards exchanged glances with one another before staring hard at Nathan. Then, after making eye contact with each other again, several guards moved away from him.
Suddenly in an explosive turn of events, the guards started to stab at each other. They started to fight and kill each other.
Nathan smiled slightly.
"See, Master. I believe you have that spirit in you." he said.
"Shut up Marco."
"So, you have skills like this too? Did your intelligence increase after recruiting me to be your servant, my master, my greatest of all time?" Marco said.
Fang dashed between the fights, delivering the final blows to finish the remaining guards.
[You've killed Bruce Chen Beginner Lv. 71]
[You received 2,433 experience]
[You've killed Jason Stagnant Beginner Lv. 69]
[You received 2,337 experience]
[Level: Unranked Lv. 49]
[Exp: 5,045/10,144]
Nathan couldn't see how exactly the fight ended. But when the battle was over, corpses were strewn across the floor.
He lay on the floor.
Linda ran up to him, "My Prince...."
She touched the wound on Nathan's body, and her hand was immediately filled with blood.
"Are you okay? Your wounds are really deep!"
Nathan chuckled weakly and nodded his head.
He looked at the men who had just died right in front of him.
He said nothing and simply stared at them.
He didn't seem happy about what he saw. The only emotion he could feel towards those who he had killed was bland? Or perhaps this emotion wasn't directed at them but at himself instead.
It seemed as though he had already forgotten that they were also human beings like himself.
"Am I becoming a killer maniac?"
He sat up slowly and leaned his back against the wall.
"That girl..." Nathan murmured quietly under his breath, gazing at one point. "Who released that girl?"
Linda turned to where Nathan was pointing, and they saw a barefoot girl in a black dress and green hair standing facing them. Her eyes met theirs for some time.
"My friend, why did you choose such a violent path when you can release me and we could have finished all of them together? You don't believe in me? Now, I'm angry. I feel betrayed." Polly said. She walked slowly toward Nathan.
Fang stood in her way, crouching and growling at her.
Polly ignored Fang completely and continued walking forward until she was close enough to Nathan.
Nathan swallowed hard; he was unable to look away from her green eyes.
"My prince, please tell me, what should I do? Can I kill this little bitch?" Linda said softly while still holding Nathan's body. "You are exhausted right now. Let me handle it."
There was a sudden drop in temperature.
A puff of smoke shot out from the floor, instantly enlarged, and from behind the smoke, a monstrous figure emerged.
The large man appeared in front of them. His face was covered in scars, and he had no expression either. He wore dark brown leather armor that fit him perfectly. He held an ax that was longer than he was tall, and its sharp edge glittered like sunlight reflecting off the water.
He looked down at Nathan with a stern glare, looking as though his patience had reached its limit.
***
In the control room, Bastien and Leon sat on the same couch and smiled faintly at the same time.