Chapter 48: Prince and the day of reckoning (4)

Back when the world of Escana was just a fictional land, a game, there were four morale states of an army: low, normal, high, and maximum.

At low morale, the attack rating and movement speed of the troops would receive a penalty, a minus 15% in both attributes. At normal morale, normal, no penalty or buffs. At high morale, the troops would receive a bonus 15% in attack rating and movement speed and another 5% in maximum health. Finally, at Maximum morale, troops would receive the same 15% buffs in attack rating and movement speed, and 5% maximum health with a one minute buff of “Dauntless Ones,” which prevent their morale from being lower during that one minute.

Many variables controlled the morale of an army, for instance, victories and losses, the number of provisions provided, skill and perk effects of your own and the opposing generals. However, those variables were not consistent enough to be relied on during the entire length of a game.

You would win some battles and lose some, normal things. Sometimes, you just have to fight battles without provisions because your Supporters screwed up their jobs, which most likely would happen at any moment. Your generals and warlord might provide you a skill to manipulate your troops’ morale but if you face off against an enemy like Ekar, your skill would be negated, situational but this would happen more than often.

In the end, the most reliable variables to control the morale of an army were a general’s Charisma and Leadership attributes. The higher those two attributes, the higher the morale and morale recovery bonus that an army had.

In the single mode campaign, players had an option to give a speech to his or her troops via the command, which was unfortunately unavailable in the multiplayer mode. The command would allow a general to give his troops some pep talks before battles, giving a momentary buff to their morale. The higher the Charisma attribute of the general, the more the morale that the troops would gain.

The command has been through a cycle of nerfing, removed and put back to nerfing again. But ultimately, it was removed from the multiplayer mode for a good reason. Players can exploit this command through characters with both high Charisma and Leadership attributes, making their troops forever staying in the Maximum Morale state despite suffering losses after losses even when they were deprived of provisions for months. Characters possessed both high Charisma and Leadership like the Zombie Dragon of White Winter was notorious for allowing this kind of exploit to happen.

Observing Bloodbeard’s worms, Fearless believed that he, at least, had induced them into a High Morale state. If only he had the perks or with him, he could possibly get them into Maximum Morale, if and only if this was a game.

Fearless scrolled the invisible window within his mind:

Fearless/Human/Male/ Warlord

Status: Married

Wife: Ilivardary Kront'tarr Queen of Spiders.

MIGHT

21 (+20)

LEADERSHIP

94

POLITIC

86

CHARISMA

116 (+10)

INTELLIGENT

97

WISDOM

118

Perks:

-Champion of champions: Eligible for any military or civil position to gain EXP

-Philanderer: Can engage with multiple opposite-sex characters at the same time. Can reverse the status of any opposite sex character to to form marriage pact.

-Harem Prince: Can form marriage pact with multiple warlords of opposite sex regardless of races.

-Orb of Universal Wisdom: Suffer no language barrier

Fearless’ attributes have increased as he leveled up. Though, Fearless can’t say that he felt different in any way. He still had no idea how the numerical value of his attributes would affect him and the world around him, in what form and to what extent.

His MIGHT stated that Fearless could never win against Ekar, Well, Ekar died like a scrub of a worm that he was. Ekar was not even a challenge. Fearless’ WISDOM attribute said that he has grown a lot wiser as a person. However, Fearless really doubted that since he did not feel wiser at all.

If he did, Bloodbeard would have been a pile of ashes by now, alongside his worms. Yet, the bandit lord still lived, his worms still defiled the air with their sickening presence. The longer they lived, the bigger the chance that Fearless’ schemes might be undone.

How the fuck am I wiser? If I was wiser, I would have gone with a more simple plan.

Does that also mean that if I removed Iliva’s Orb of universal wisdom, I will be less charismatic? How the fuck is this shit even work?

The Orb of Universal Wisdom, despite its name, would grant a bonus of 10 points into the CHARISMA attribute instead of WISDOM.

This happened due to a minor bug related to the coding of the Goddess of Wisdom Eogaill, which dated back to the release of the Rise of the Dragon Slayer. That bug created some unintentional effects to some blessings, artifacts, magic spells and more, most things that related to Eogaill.

Since the production of RTDS was rushed to meet the deadline. This minor bug was never fixed when RTDS was released to the market.

Then, someone pointed out this bug and made a Reddit page about that instead of emailing the developers.

Many of the unintended mistakes related to this bug, which that person pointed out, achieved Meme status among the fans of RTDS because the way he wrote that Reddit page. The Orb of Universal Wisdom, however, did not. Nevertheless, Eogaill its creator did.

Fans joked that Eogaill would have an anxiety attack whenever she’s around people outside of her family. She would freak out inwardly and became godly clumsy, thus, messing up her blessings over and over again.

The developers of RTDS released patches to fix the bug sometime later. However, it was already too late. The damage has been done. Eogaill has already solidified her status among the fans as a legendary shut- in and clumsy goddess. Eogaill’s presence is the synonym of an anxiety attack and misunderstanding among the fans.

Fans bombarded the developers with troll emails, begging them to return that bug to the game.

At one point, the developers of RTDS said “Fuck that” due to constant pressures from their fans and thus allowed the fans to take part in shaping the lore of Escana. They released a patch to put that minor bug back to their game, making Eogaill’ clumsiness canon in the lore.

I don’t want to live in this world…

The thought that Eogaill was really such a pitiful woman made Fearless depressed about his prospect in Escana.

The God of Justice and Strength was blind, deaf and mute.

The Goddess of Nature was biased and emotionally scarred.

The Goddess of Wisdom and Truth could barely do anything right despite her Wisdom and Intelligent.

And the only God who lived up to his image is a warmonger, a God of War, an asshole who believed that the core of perfection and civilization was war.

I don’t want to live in this world… Earth is already shitty enough….this one…

Fearless sighed, fidgeting out of depression, scrolling the invisible pages inside his head back and forth for no particular reason.

While Fearless’ attributes and perks still made no sense to him, at least his skill did.

He can use his skills at will. However, he still had no idea how his perks would affect him. They were passive perks, both the and perks. And it was not like Fearless needed these perks to achieve the results that they provided him.

Do people really need these perks to do things like these? It is not like I need an Orator perk to deliver a rousing speech.

Fearless absentmindedly observed Bloodbeard’s worms as dusk set in and completely painted Escana with its depressing dark strokes. Then he noticed that Erinys was getting drowsy. Her eyelids started drooping.

Really? It’s still 7 pm.

Fearless peeked at his golden Rolex, the one he gave to Bloodbeard and amazed. He gave Bloodbeard’s worms his last command of the day to focus on their ambition and dream, to be discipline until he gave them the permission to relax otherwise.

That meant no pleasure and no wine.

Fearless made sure the worms understood his will and the repercussion of going against that. Fearless then cut his unfinished businesses with Bloodbeard’s worms short, allowing their leaders to take over.

After that, Fearless spoke to Bloodbeard, pretending to be obvious to the bandit lord’s idolization for him. He asked the bandit lord’s impression about the speech, which Bloodbeard admittedly replied that he was far from reaching Fearless’ level. Fearless sighed and told Bloodbeard that if that was the case, the bandit lord had a lot to learn, further damaging Bloodbeard’s pride as a leader with his words.

Fearless then asked Bloodbeard regarding the progression of the homework he was given. Bloodbeard’s reply told Fearless something he has already known, he was an absolute genius and Bloodbeard was a scrub.

The bandit lord was trapped in the illusion that Fearless conjured, unable to see what’s really going on. He can only see what Fearless intended for him to see.

Fearless shortly escorted Erinys to the watchtower. He saw One-eye and his men were preparing to deliver dinner to him. Fearless told Erinys to bring dinner to Narik and the other women, a simple command which even for a mentally broken person like Erinys could do quite well. The real test for Erinys was when Fearless told her to communicate to the other women and Narik to have dinner first without waiting for him.

“No barking. If you do I would know,” Fearless quietly whispered into Erinys’ ears. His lips wore an amorous smile, his arms wrapping around her thin waist to mask his true intention from Bloodbeard’s staring eyes. He playfully kissed Erinys on her cheek and lightly pushed her up the stairs.

“If you need women to serve you, I can pick someone better than her,” Bloodbeard commented as he watched Erinys emotionlessly aligned the stairs, showing no response to Fearless’ advance.

“She’s fine the way she is.” Fearless scoffed, waving his hand, “What I seek from her is not a lover. I want to make an apprentice out of her, someone to inherit my talents and miracles, someone who would aid you better than One-eye and Ekar in the future. I am teaching her to be indifferent to my charm and a man’s approach. Once she masters this, she would be a lethal weapon.” Fearless told Bloodbeard in an indifferent voice. The amorous air around him faded as if a mirage. “If she can resist my charm, then she can humiliate Sinintee himself if Sinintee was to descend to this place to woo her.” His eyes became cold and sharp like a blade. “Or she can pretend to react to Sinintee’s charm and wait for a chance.” Fearless used his index finger to slit his own throat as his lips curved into a childlike smile.

Bloodbeard could not hide his shiver. He stood and stared at Fearless, his eyes reflected a mix of complex emotions.

“Was it always like this to you, uncle?” Bloodbeard asked a strange question. His scars twisted, making Bloodbeard became even more terrifying than he looked. Only his eyes betrayed his thought. That alone told Fearless of Bloodbeard’s true emotion.

Finally, finally, finally!!!

Fearless betrayed not a sliver of his excitement to Bloodbeard. He was ecstatic. His effort to stay in character has finally come into fruition. His lips twisted into a scornful smile, neither sorrow or happy, and he turned his back on Bloodbeard, heading toward the direction of the keep where Bloodbeard’s room and the war room located.

“Have you not questioned why I have escaped my captors for all these years while publicly searching for you and yet, my elven people did not catch me? Don’t you find that part of my background conflicting?” Fearless darkly asked. His back still turned to Bloodbeard.

Bloodbeard’s footsteps followed Fearless closely from behind. The sound of the bandit lord’s footsteps reflected his uneasiness.

“You did not even realize that part of my background was conflicting. That’s why I have told you that a child like you does not belong to this stage, at least not yet. If I was an enemy spy or an assassin, you would have been killed by now.” Fearless coldly said.

Fearless told Bloodbeard such bullshit background and Bloodbeard believed it, Fearless was sure Bloodbeard was not a match for him. That backstory of his was full of holes waiting to be asked and poked, full of contradiction, and yet Bloodbeard believed it without raising a question.

Despite the tone Fearless adopted, he pirouetted playfully to gaze at Bloodbeard. Bloodbeard’s expression remained unchanged, showing no response to Fearless’ empty threat. His expression showed that he fully believed that Fearless would never do anything to hurt him.

Fearless shrugged his shoulders, playing along with Bloodbeard’s belief, “But then, if there were a spy or an assassin who possessed half of my talent and charm, that person would not approach you in person. At this moment, you are not worth it.”

Bloodbeard again showed no reaction to Fearless’ obvious attempt at upsetting him.

Great

“My heart is cold,” Fearless removed the frivolous air around him and adopted a sober expression. He lightly punched Bloodbeard’s chest, “But that is not a disadvantage. Because my heart is cold that my eyes can see the world better than most people. My ears can discern lies. My head can out-scheme people by a hundred steps. My father, Eri and you are the only families that I have ever had. I don’t need someone else in my life.”

Fearless smiled. His bullshit backstory, his mannerism, his acting, Erinys’ exercise, they were meant for this moment. They were meant for Fearless to have this conversation with Bloodbeard.

Thank god that you are not so stupid to not see my hints.

Bloodbeard was an emotional person, impulsive and brash. He listened to his feelings more so than his cunnings, the completely different from the image of the person who Fearless was trying to portray. This difference allowed Fearless to have an opportunity like this, a chance to deepen his emotional connection with Bloodbeard.

Bloodbeard looked at Fearless as if he pitied him as if he tried to imagine the pain and suffering that Fearless has gone through from the bullshit sob story that Fearless gave him.

Perfect. Someone just gives me an Oscar award already.

Fearless sneered as if he could detect Bloodbeard’s pity and became disgusted by it. “Instead of giving me that worthless pity, do your best to not to die in the incoming battle.” He quickly turned around, walking, “Now that I have pointed out the confliction in my background. Don’t you have any question?” He asked with a light playful tone as if he desperately tried to change the topic.

“I’m sure that you would tell me that you had already killed them because you are great and they are not.” Bloodbeard’s reply showed to Fearless that he would do well at a social gathering. His voice hinted a bit of playfulness, just a bit.

Perfect

Fearless pretended to play along. Pity is a multipurpose tool. It can be a shield, a sword, a flower to woo a woman’s heart or a lock-picking tool to a person’s soul or anything as long as the person wielding it knew what he was doing with it.

Fearless has already mastered this tool since he was thirteen. He would drag out this emotional connection and pity that Bloodbeard had for him just a little bit longer, waiting for the perfect moment.

Here lies Ashtorá,

He, who knows no pain,

Dies in agony.

Fearless has already prepared the perfect lines to write on Bloodbeard’s grave when he was sitting on the bank of the reservoir. He thought about carving a tablet to put on Bloodbeard’s grave as soon as he returned to his room.

As for Bloodbeard’s worms:

Born humans,

Chose to live as worms,

Thus, died a worm’s death.

A reminder to all.

Born humans,

Live a human’s life

Die a human’s death

That would be the perfect lines to put on the common grave of Bloodbeard’s worms.

The only problem with those lines would be that nobody other than Fearless could read them. But that’s fine.

Fearless walked Bloodbeard to the war room, asking the bandit lord of his knowledge about Hyrios on while walking. The vast of Bloodbeard’s knowledge about Hyrios came from rumors, mostly exaggerated nothing solid, and nothing helpful. His information came from various sources, traveling merchants, slavers and bandits.

Within the last five years, Hyrios and several border noble houses of White Winter were caught in a constant flow of conflicts regarding territory disputes and bandits. According to Fearless’ knowledge, these disputes and skirmishes only served as a ruler for White Winter to measure Hyrios’ ability as well as a feint to prepare for the real invasion.

“If you were able to capture Hyrios, where would you keep him? In that village down the hill?” Fearless then asked a strange question,

Bloodbeard did not suspect a thing and carelessly replied with all the honesty in the world. Fearless then told Bloodbeard to don his armor before arrived at the war room, parting the bandit lord shorty.

Fearless arrived at the war room first, leisurely lighting all the braziers in the dark room. He used his free time to simulate his conversation with Bloodbeard on the topic of Hyrios ahead.

Bloodbeard did not know Hyrios, not his strength, not his character, not his weakness either.

No wonder you got crushed by Hyrios despite your cunnings.

Hyrios was designed to squash Bloodbeard and his horde, his arch nemesis. In the game, their relationship was like that of a cat and a mouse. Hyrios had all the right tools to kill Bloodbeard. Of course, Bloodbeard had no way of knowing that. And, that’s why he was crushed so one-sidedly in the canon history.

From all the information Fearless gathered thus far about Bloodbeard, from comic pages, from the campaign, from Narik, from Ice, he could paint the complete painting of Bloodbeard’s modus operandi.

During the attack on the Bundor Bastion and Ice’s village, Bloodbeard first silenced the guards inside the Bastion before he conducted a night raid on Ice’s village and the other villages underneath the Bundor Bastion. It was a quick and clean attack that did not trigger an alarm to the Teddy Bear’s faction. No one escaped Bloodbeard’s horde in that attack.

After that, Bloodbeard simultaneously attacked unfortified targets like small villages and towns around the region with small bands of a few hundred, prompting the Teddy Bear to react by splitting his army to deal with Bloodbeard.

It was simple yet effective.

It was a disaster for the Teddy Bear’s faction since they had no idea just how many worms Bloodbeard brought with him. They had not even realized that their post on the Bundor Bastion has already fallen. They were ambushed and overwhelmed by Bloodbeard’s horde many times, on their own land.

It was disastrous to the point that they had to give up on several smaller fortifications to consolidate their forces in Madukat to dissuade Bloodbeard from attempting to attack the city. Yet, they believed that they had the situation under the control, waiting until Bloodbeard siege their city to send out eagles asking for help.

It was one terrible military decision after another for the Teddy Bear’s faction. But then it was understandable, the strategist of the Teddy Bear’s faction was more of a politician than a strategist. He did well with politics and schemes but ultimately did not understand war.

Bloodbeard got cocky from winning against the Teddy Bear, as thus met his just end. Perhaps, if the Teddy Bear’s faction put up a better fight, Bloodbeard would not dare to venture deep into the Great Plain and met his end there.

“How good are you with the bow?” Fearless asked Bloodbeard when the bandit lord arrived.

“I can hunt animals with it…” Bloodbeard replied.

“Hyrios can strike a target beyond the range of two hundred steps with his bow. And he won’t miss,” said Fearless, examining the sturdiness of Bloodbeard’s mails with his fingers. He made Bloodbeard twirled around and around like a complete moron until he was satisfied. “Better put some boiled hides on top of these chains for better protection.”

“…so?” Bloodbeard furrowed his brows, asking his chance against Hyrios. His eyes brimming with hope. He was smart enough to understand that Fearless was preparing him for the battle against Hyrios.

Fearless shook his head and clicked his tongue, “When your army is clashing against his, you must never let him out of your sight. The moment you do, his arrow would find you.”

Bloodbeard pondered for a while, “…I have asked it before but you speak of Hyrios as if you knew him.”

“Naturally, he’s my sixth-highest pick warlord. Of course, I knew him.” Fearless proudly replied. He then scratched his chin, realizing just how confusing he has made the case for Bloodbeard.

“…I don’t understand.” Bloodbeard stared at Fearless, unblinking.

“Never mind. Think of that as a rambling of an old man. Hyrios, that boy, I was able to see him in battle once… he’s great. However, if I fought him, I would win ten out of ten.” Fearless scoffed, “But that is not because he is incompetent. His compatibility with me is the worst. His mind works like a launched arrow. He flies true to his target. He’s honorable, prideful and protective. If you had just one of these three traits, you are already a prey of mine. Hyrios possessed all three of them. He can’t win against me even if I gave him a handicap or two.”

Fearless turned his attention at a great shield lying at a corner of the war room. He pointed his index finger at it, “Try lifting that and give it a few swings,” which Bloodbeard did easily with one hand.

Looking at how easy Bloodbeard lifted the great shield, Fearless thought that if he signed up Bloodbeard’s name into the World’s Strongest Man contest, the bandit lord would be instantly a favorite among the fans.

Fearless had three hundred of Bloodbeard’s worms prepared the shield since morning, a two-meter in length and one meter in width of hardwood, five centimeters thick of wood, reinforced with a layer of bronze plate hammered into the wood and two layers of boiled bison hide. Its sheer size and weight made the thing more of an exotic gate styled for some nobles with no appreciation for beauty and art than an instrument of war. Yet, that triple layered great shield that easily weighted over two or three hundred kilograms felt like a feather within the strong and muscular arm of Bloodbeard.

The skill which Bloodbeard possessed was no joke. Fearless suspected that the bandit lord was probably strong enough to wield a battery ram as a weapon.

It seemed that the last time the bandit lord tried to choke Fearless within his palms, he did not actually mean to do that. Bloodbeard must have held back, otherwise, Fearless’ neck would be snapped within a second.

Bloodbeard’s strength was herculean, something beyond the realm of physics and Fearless’ understanding. Fearless imagined that even if he stabbed Bloodbeard with Enfermé to seal his the bandit lord would still enough strength with him to wield this great shield properly.

Bloodbeard strapped his forearm to the great shield, holding its thick knot firmly. He swung the great shield with different postures, trying to get a good feel about it. Fearless could hear the wind wailed in agony every time Bloodbeard swung his shield.

“Try to move around, let’s see how agile you are with it,” Fearless said.

Bloodbeard’s footwork was deceptively nimble for someone of his size. Bloodbeard moved the bulk of his body with his new massive great shield with a physics-defying explosiveness. His agility was baffling for someone of his size. Bloodbeard’s movement made Ekar looked like a snail.

And Fearless has thought that Merleon’s father was already ridiculous. That old man belonged to the same weight class as Bloodbeard, Super Heavyweight. However, his footwork was as nimble as a fighter in the Middleweight was. Due to that reason alone, Merleon’s old man reigned supreme in his weight class and the Heavyweight class, uncontested for years. It was until he was forced to fight in the Cruiserweight that the old man suffered his first loss in his entire career.

Bloodbeard was even more ridiculous. Fearless made a quick estimation of Bloodbeard’s weight with the addition of the great shield’s weight within his mind, Probably 550 kg, fuck, what I am looking at.

The bandit lord somehow was able to move with the blinding agility and speed similar to that of Alice, someone in the Flyweight class, probably. Bloodbeard’s existence alone was a middle finger to the law of physics. Fearless imagined that those friends of Merleon whose major was in Sport Science would love to have Bloodbeard as a sample for their study.

The only way for me to kill someone like this is by running a dagger to the back, through his skull.

“Even the strongest fighter could not defend against an attack he could not see,” Thùy Dương’s words echoed within Fearless’ head. She was the Empress of dirty fights. That’s why she won all of her battles.

Fearless observed Bloodbeard’s movement and planned the bandit lord’s execution within his mind. “Great, but you will need more than that to survive a battle with Hyrios.”

“Is he as scary as they said?” Bloodbeard asked, resting his great shield on the ground. The entire floor shook the moment he did that, reminding Fearless jsut how heavy the shield was again. Yey, Bllodbeard did not even have a drop of sweat on his face.

“I don’t have the habit of giving people credits that they don’t deserve.” Fearless replied curtly. He made it clear that a confrontation with Hyrios was a grave situation for Bloodbeard.

“Anyone could tell that…” Bloodbeard mumbled quietly, trying to cope with Fearless’ arrogance in his own way.

Fearless did not miss that. However, he chose to ignore. “I will equip your bodyguards with great shields as well. Stay behinds the shields at all time when you fight Hyrios. Do that and perhaps you may live through this battle,” Fearless sighed darkly to clearly express the threat that Hyrios posed.

Then his brows furrowed, “By morrow dusk, if you still have not completed my homework, you stay back and watch. I will fight Hyrios.” He spoke to Bloodbeard with a stern voice.

“Wait, WHAT? No, FUCK NO. Is that why your hints are so cryptic? YOU planned this from the beginning!!! You are not playing fair uncle.” Bloodbeard thundered, loudly butting the shield against the floor. He thrust his face against Fearless, shouting. His rank breath killed Fearless’ nose. His saliva flew in the air like a drizzle.

The bandit lord has finally seen another part of Fearless’ grand illusion, a little bit late. Bloodbeard now saw Fearless’ harshness and criticism for him was an attempt to keep him away from the battle, a pampering love of a father to his child. This love meant that Fearless had no trust in Bloodbeard’s ability from the very beginning. It proved that if the situations arose, Fearless would tuck Bloodbeard away to keep him safe from the battle rather than allowing Bloodbeard to prove himself.

Fearless did not imagine that. He could feel the entire keep made a cricking echo, a noise as if it was about to collapse into rubbles.

Fearless impassively rubbed off Bloodbeard’s saliva on his face, showing no concern to the bandit lord’s pressure.

Bloodbeard was a confrontation speaker, so, was Fearless. Bloodbeard had his towering size and scary looking face to empower his speech, his voice too, was naturally loud, a natural advantage. He only needed to get in front of the person he was talking with to make his point. But that made you raw and unpolished as a speaker compares to me, Fearless thought. A person like Bloodbeard rarely found the need to polish his speaking technique.

Compared to Bloodbeard’s natural advantages, Fearless’ weapons were crafted, manmade and far from natural. He pasted an indifferent smile on his lips, knowing well that this smile would confirm the bandit lord’s thought and drove him madder. “I have told you that was a qualification. You have to earn it. If you can’t do that, you have no place in this war. It’s beyond you and your capacity. Take part in a war like this would only have you killed.” Fearless matched Bloodbeard’s heated outrage with his icily cold voice, devoid of warmth and emotion. “If you insisted on continuing on such foolishness, I will cut you down.” He made it clear to Bloodbeard that his word was not a threat. It was a statement. His hand already rested on the handle of Enfermé.

Bloodbeard stared wordlessly at Fearless for a long time. “… you won’t.” He muttered surely.

“Oh, I will, child. I will chop your arms and legs if I must. You won’t die from that. I will assure you that. My magic will prevent that from happening. After that, I will bring you back to Whitestone. Then, I will regrow your lost limbs in front of Eri’s grave as I apologized to her.” Fearless told Bloodbeard with the same conviction that he had when he made his promises to Erinys, hinted a cracking of anger from within. “I don’t care if you hate me for the rest of your life. I have the conviction to go through that. My heart is cold, boy. My love is cold as well. I have already told you that just now. My love for you would not cloud my judgment. If you want to test me, we can do it right now.” Fearless dared Bloodbeard.

This drama has advanced one day further than Fearless has predicted, thanks to Bloodbeard’s ability to pick up the hints that Fearless gave him.

“…You have told me that I am the last person whom you love that is still alive. And you would go so far to keep me alive even if it means to make me hate you forever?” Bloodbeard asked with a rattled voice. He stared hard at Fearless in disbelief.

“I have failed Eri once, never again.” Fearless replied curtly. His words were short and unapologetic as if daring Bloodbeard to test his resolve.

All the hints that Fearless has given Bloodbeard ultimately led to this destination. His mannerism, his cold decisiveness, his arrogance, his lecturing voice, they were prepared for this moment.

With that line, Fearless knew that he has cemented within Bloodbeard’s consciousness that his love for Bloodbeard was an unconditional one. He did not care if Bloodbeard truly hated him. Regardless of Bloodbeard’s thought, he would do what he needed to do.

In the world, there is no greater love than this one, an all-giving, an unconditional love. There is no greater love than this one.

Bloodbeard still stared hard at Fearless. His facial scars sharply twitched, his brows collapsed, his eyes betrayed his rattled soul at the realization.

This was love, this was something he has missed from his entire life.

This was the theme of Bloodbeard’s Good Ending in the campaign. Nearing the end of his conquest, Bloodbeard had all the power and wealth within his reach, still, his life felt like it was missing something. Thus, he put a stop to his world-domination conquest, soul-searching instead. He would only discover his answer while breathing his last as his children held his fingers, crying. However, this time, the only ending await Bloodbeard is a Bad Ending, a most traumatic one. That, Fearless can already predict within his cold and calculating mind.

Bloodbeard made a conscious attempt to hold his tears back. If Bloodbeard were a woman, this would be the moment he launched himself into Fearless’ chest, crying. But he was a man, a totally different creature from woman. Man had his stubborn pride, a stupid and worthless pride in Fearless’ opinion. It needed more than this to make Bloodbeard do that, but, that was unnecessary.

A bottled emotion had more weight than an emotion that was all but already erupted. The longer Bloodbeard kept this emotion in his chest, the more weight it carried, the more painful it would be when Bloodbeard realized that he was betrayed.

Bloodbeard cleared his voice, feigning a fake calmness, “Whatever you said, uncle. You win,” He raised his two hands, conceding.

“Good, now pack your stuff. We are going back to Whitestone.” Fearless nodded his head, removing his hand from Enfermé.

“NO, fuck no, that was not what I meant. I still have until morrow dusk to give you an answer, am I correct?”

“Technically,” Fearless relied coldly.

“What do you mean by technically?” Bloodbeard furrows his scarred face and retorted.

“If you could find the answer, you would have found it by now. The fact that you don’t have an answer at the moment showed that you lack the qualification.” Fearless sarcastically told Bloodbeard.

Bloodbeard stared at Fearless in disbelief again, a different facet of disbelief. He then took a deep breath and sighed, “You gave me your words. I still have until tomorrow to give you the answer.” He decided to put all the fighting with Fearless to a stop, knowing that he could never win against Fearless on this argument.

“Technically,” Fearless repeated, shrugging his shoulders.

“… I can already see how you killed those elven folks who captured you. You must have pissed them all to death.”

“Not all, just one.” Fearless replied bluntly.

“I’m not getting caught in your traps. So can we go back to Hyrios now?” Bloodbeard exasperatedly resigned, refilling the braziers with firewood instead of continuing the meaningless war of words with Fearless.

Fearless nodded his head as if he approved Bloodbeard’s decision, “Most people have heard of Hyrios’ legend with his bow, what they don’t know is how Hyrios created his legend. What is his skillset? What is his weapon? Hyrios goes to battle with two bows at his side, a normal recurve bow and a metal-stringed elven great bow.” Fearless switched back his usual lecturing voice as if the previous drama did not happen.

Bloodbeard listened intently, completely caught in the illusion Fearless has conjured.

“If Hyrios decided to fight you seriously, he would use his great bow. When that happens, keep your distance at least seventy steps away from him. You can at least avoid or block those black bolts that Hyrios shot at that distance. Know that they are as strong as ballista’s shots. Don’t even try to block those bolts with your shield within seventy steps or lesser, Hyrios would tear you and your shield apart.”

“Wait, how can I fight Hyrios when we are seventy steps apart?”

“When did I tell you to fight Hyrios in person?” Fearless wore a confused look on his face to mirror the look on Bloodbeard’s face.

“What? But aren’t you preparing me to fight against him?”

“Technically.” If there was one word could be used to infuriate Bloodbeard, it would be this one and Fearless knowingly used it.

“…”

Fearless could take a picture of Bloodbeard’s face and made a meme out if it if he had his phone with him at the moment.

“If you want to know the complete plan, earn your qualification first.” Fearless parted with Bloodbeard, rubbing more salt to the wounded pride of the bandit lord with his final words, proving to Bloodbeard that his love for him was indeed a cold one.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Despite Erinys has returned to the room hours earlier than Fearless, no one has touched the dinner. Fearless almost concluded that Erinys has failed her task until he checked it with Narik.

Narik confirmed to Fearless that Erinys has indeed told him such. However, Narik and the rest of the women made the choice to wait for Fearless to return. Fearless rewarded Erinys by pulling her into his chest, kissing her with affection. “Good girl,” he whispered.

“Next time, don’t wait for me.” Fearless then addressed his group, “The food is cold now. Eat when it’s still hot,” he lit the hearth to reheat the food. After that, Fearless and his group had their dinner around the hearth.

Fearless did not bother to check Narik regarding his promise. The man’s eyes betrayed a clear conscience, unashamed.

On the side note, One-eye provided Fearless and his group a sack of strong wine, which Fearless fought very hard to pretend that devil sack did not exist. It was one of those rare occasions in Fearless’ life, which somehow or some way he managed to stop himself from drowning himself in the intoxicating odor of alcohol.

As soon as they finished their dinner, Fearless gathered the women to check on their progression. Two of them managed to say their name despite the difficulties, which Fearless congratulate them and gave them his promises, verbally.

They gave him a look, a look of wanting. A look of desire, not sexually. It was a desire to be loved tenderly, to be cherished and consoled like Erinys. Their eyes flickered between Erinys and Fearless, shifting between envy and desire.

“That’s good. I hope the rest of you can follow the example of these two by the deadline. Now, go to sleep. You must be very sleepy by now.” Fearless nonchalantly pretended to not notice the two women’s desire and told them and their group to go to sleep, prompting them to look at Erinys with the red of hatred.

If that would fuel you to be human again, so be it.

In his mind, Fearless sighed, telling Erinys that she had no luck, like at all. Of all the people in this world that Erinys had to rely on to live, it was Fearless. She could rely on people with more decency, someone who was upright by nature, kind and … being the complete opposite of Fearless.

You, of all the people in this world, have to be stronger in a hurry. Or else, you won’t be able to know what normality is anymore.

He looked into Erinys’ clear eyes, hoping that one day she would understand this thought of his. If she doesn’t, he would tell her, making her understand that at all cost. If only she had half the strength that Ice possessed, Erinys would be better off.

The only woman who was able to stick around Fearless for a long time and be normal and upright thus far was Alice. No one else was able to do that. She had the patience and selfless personality to stick with him for over a decade. She has seen him at his worst and lowest moment. And still, she was able to shine like a morning sun within his twisted life. She too was an unfortunate woman. She deserved someone much better than him, always.

Fearless hid his thought by tightly wrapping his arms around Erinys’ delicate frame. He affectionately kissed her on her hair, forehead, eyelids, and lips. He brushed her bang with his long fingers, amorously planting his lips on her ashen cheek, masking his attempt to whisper into her ears, “I will leave you in this room with these women. I have some business to do with Narik now. Make a bed and wait for me. Also, these women will probably attack you the moment I go out of this room. They are probably that stupid…” Fearless can feel Erinys’ desperation through her quaking body. She unconsciously held his hand, clutching, desperately searching for miracles. “You still have my coin so it’s fine.”

“I don’t know if they were smart enough to go for the low blows, to not leave a mark on your pretty face or not cause damage to your dress. But, I hope they do, because my punishment for them will be very harsh. Regardless of their intention and stupidity, there is one thing you can do if you are my girl, dearest Erinys. Give them that look, stare into their brows. Wait for your moment and punch as hard as you can to one of them. It’s up to you to decide your target. Just make sure that your punch land on the face. Scream at them, roar at them, shout at them. Teach them that you are my girl. The moment I return, I will drill that into their head.”

Fearless kissed Erinys on her forehead again and left, Narik followed him by his order. He closed the termite-eaten door behind him, leaving Erinys to fend herself.

Whether Erinys passed or failed this test, it made little difference to Fearless. It was both a test and a lesson, an important experience for Erinys.

Fearless inwardly cursed himself, telling himself that because his character was like this, the only people can stay around him for a long time was his family.

But they were already lost to him…

Narik followed Fearless, down the stair until Fearless stopped him. “Here’s good. I can see that you have questions.”

“Master, I really don’t understand…” Narik finally came out with a question. It took him a while to gather his courage to tell that to Fearless’ face.

“Ask away.”

“You have told me that you intended to filter these scoundrels today but… I don’t see that.”

“I did,” Fearless nodded his head. He commandingly demanded, “Tell me, what did you see?”

“It appears to me that you are rousing them for a battle against the Western Warden…”

Fearless nodded his head again, “Before I answer your question, let’s try an exercise.” Fearless extended his arm, showing Narik his open left palm, “Try to steal from me.”

Narik looked at Fearless and his open palm, confused.

“Do you not understand my order? I say, steal from me.” Fearless repeated his order.

“But… there is nothing…”

“Precisely!!!” Fearless nodded his head, putting a coin on his palm, “How about now?”

Narik gingerly picked up the coin, still unsure.

“Now do you understand?” Fearless asked.

“Forgive me…” Narik shook his head.

“These worms had nothing on them, not hope, not ambition, not love, not wealth, nothing. That’s why I gave them hope. I gave them an ambition. I showed them a future, a better future where they might be better men, a dream where they can be kings and nobles.

Tomorrow, I will reinforce this dream and this ambition of theirs. I will show them the most vivid painting and the most perfect illusion that I can conjure.” Fearless found himself hissing more than he has intended. He then snapped his finger in a loud crisp, “And then just like this, I will turn that beautiful dream into ashes. Taking their lives is easy, but that is too merciful of a judgment for these worms. I would kill them twice if I could. What they took from Erinys, what they took from people was not just wealth. These worms took away their dream and future. They took away their lives. They took away their loved ones. They took away many things that meant more than life itself to these people. The wounds they inflicted on these people will become scars if these wounds ever healed. But even if these wounds became scars, these scars would never fade. They will remain, forever.

Therefore, it is only right that they understood the pain and the suffering of their victims as I gave them the most agonizing deaths within my capability.

They would arrive at Death’s door betrayed, crushed, knowing what deprived meant, deprived of hope and dream, hollow.

I’m merciful enough to give them a chance to show that they are human deep inside, even if they never give their victims a chance.

But now that they have made their choice, a choice to live a fucking worm life, I must give them the harshest punishment possible.” Fearless said his pieces and smiled.

Narik was speechless, dead in a ghostly silence. Anyone would if that person were sane. Otherwise, he would laugh, prompting Fearless to laugh as well. What else but to laugh?

The fact that Narik did not laugh proved that he was still sane.

Since Narik’s mouth was literally glued, Fearless knew that it was on him to dispel the silence. “Bloodbeard is cruel, Ekar crueler. But even the two of them combined and multiply by a thousand, adding all the cruelest Demon Lords to that list, that level of cruelty is still below my level. That’s whom you have sworn an oath of servitude to. Having a second thought yet?” He mocked.

Narik made a fist, pumping his chest, “Master, I have sworn my loyalty to you. My life is yours to wield. Please don’t look down on my resolution.”

“Well then, if that’s the case, let’s go and meet your brother. I think I know where he is being kept.”