Taking a few, arduously torturous seconds to ponder, Don eventually gave in. He waved his hand downwards, signaling his men to follow his suit and stand down, lower their guards.

"At ease guys! There is no nee-"

​​

"F*ck that captain! I refuse to believe that this little brat can threaten us!" Before Don, could even finish his sigh and calm the situation before it escalated to a disastrous extent, the men that were pushed ashore and whose curved saber had been demolished, exclaimed as he jumped to his feet and charged at the boy.

His face contorted into a maddened howling rage, he got at the boy's side in an instant. His right arm was already mid-air, a heavy swing sailing the air closing at the seemingly unaware boy's temple.

"No! Krone! Stop!" Their captain tried calling, reaching out, his face revealing a horrified, scared expression instantly. Unfortunately, with his pride poked too deep, Krone, the man in question, was lost in his fit of anger. His mind ignored all the clutter, laser-focused on the target, already making up follow-up actions in case the boy wouldn't just fall unconsciously on the ground.

He was already gloating inwardly at his victory, his twisted face slowly revealing a curving grin. However, the curve came to an abrupt halt, only to recede back into its lair, leaving its owner's face in the next moment.

Just as the man's fist was about to connect with its intended target, the same right palm appeared out of nowhere, blocking its path forward, and clasping its grip on the menacing ball of a manly hand. The boy's hold was like a vice as it bore beneath the man's skin, causing his nervous receptors to instantly flare up, sending massive jolts of pain signals to Krone's clouded brain, clearing it from all the chaos almost instantly.

In the next moment, under the wailing, pain-filled cries of their teammate a loud cracking sound could be heard followed by an even louder cry. In the next moment, before the rest of the group could even process, the tall, brawny body of Krone was flung away crashing violently into the side of the wall causing a small cave in the process.

Though the events took a shocking and unplanned turn, Don's group had much more experience under their belt than most others. They instantly jumped into action and reached for their weapons, jumping back into their battle stances.

Yet, before any of them could take any actions, or any commands could be shouted, suddenly the boy's eyes flared up again, glowering with a menacing, golden light. At the same time, a heavy veil of an unknown aura descended on everyone in the dimly lit room. The pressure was unbearable, even for the likes of Don, forcing the group of warriors closer and closer towards the floor. Some, like Don, managed to remain standing albeit with great difficulty, whilst most were already on their knees or even worse, forced down lying on the floor.

A deep, heavy growl resounded in the dark room. Though its source was obvious, it was actually felt as if it came not from the boy in question, but from all over the room. The walls were shaking under its thunderous rage as he roared but a single word. A judgment.

"Pathetic."

Still, Aiden didn't dish out the complete punishment, looking at the grief-filled, sorrowful look on the elderly man's expression as one of his men was flung back in the air like a broken kite, Aiden decided to hold back.

Just from a quick, fleeting look, Aiden could feel a deep-seated sadness, a sorrow that he was all-too-familiar with. The wrecking, torturing pain of loss. The despair that engulfed one's heart forever twisting it in perpetual misery, never allowing it any relief.

Though he himself managed to overcome the worst of it, this old man, this strong-looking warrior clearly wasn't.

Unsure what the exact depth of this man's pain was, or if what relation did he share with this arrogant and wild person, Aiden in the end decided to give them one last chance.

"P-please…" Just as he turned his cold, glowing gaze over the struggling elder, he pushed a single word out of his lips. His voice was weak, faltering, yet he kept on. "P-please… no… more…"

Feeling the honesty, the sadness, and all the complex emotions behind his tone, Lily couldn't keep herself quiet anymore. Looking at the back of her brother she called out with a begging tone.

"Brother, it's enough. Let them go. They didn't mean any harm and have learned from their mistakes. I'm sure they are now ready to apologize for their actions!"

Though due to the heavy weight pushing them down, neither of the ambushing party could utter a word or nod, their captain managed to force a response out of himself.

"Y-yes…"

"Fine." Aiden snorted, pulling back the aura he unleashed. As his eyes lost its otherworldly light and his voice returned to its normal, serene state, the group of mercenaries felt as if the mountains were lifted from them.

Slowly, they stood back up one by one, looking at the young, black-haired boy with eyes full of fear and dread. Neither of them had any haughty, arrogant expressions any more, their looks of disdain and contempt have been washed away.

Even the man that was the reason for the unwanted escalation of what merely meant to be an exercise to measure up the rest of the team and get a read on them for the upcoming War Games, Krone whispered some weak groans from the side.

Still, his signal of consciousness only earned the ire and angered looks of his teammates, none stepped over to him to offer a helping hand. Hah, if they would have the opportunity they would even offer a kick, a hit of their own to teach this wild beast a lesson!

A weak, much less powerful cough filled the empty barracks, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. The elderly man with the braided silver beard took a wary step towards the already calm and aloof boy, only to take a deep 90-degree bow.

"Kid… No, Young Master, please accept my honest apologies in the name of mine and my friends' name!"

His words were like a lightning bolt, shocking every one of his men and women in the room. Looks of shock settled on their faces, they were stunned for a moment before they slowly began to wake up from their stupor one after another and following along with their respected captain's actions and bowed towards the youngsters as well.

"We apologize as well! Please, forgive us!"

One by one, each and every one of those that previously stood against them took a 180 after seeing their captain's action and bowed as sought forgiveness for their behavior.

Aiden's team was confused, baffled at the shocking turn of events. From the moment they stepped into the barracks, barely ten minutes have passed, yet, so many things have happened that they were feeling overwhelmed, having troubles processing everything that was going on.

In the end, they turned towards their leader, Aiden, seeing what his response would be.

---

AN: Hey there Readers!

Just a friendly reminder, that from wherever you are reading (although I wholeheartedly thank you if you are reading and enjoying the story through Webnovel), you can reach out to me using any of the below methods!

For you, sailors of the seventh sea (non-WN readers), be a bro/gal and throw me a cup of joe, show your appreciation!

Links:

http://discord.link/TheLastPrimal

Ko-Fi:

https://ko-fi.com/shaele