Chapter 133 - Small Negotiations

"You know. For a bunch of mercenaries, you ought to be more discreet sometimes."

Rynold was mocking the obviously unimpressed mercenaries.

They weren't having any much fun the same way Rynold was right now. In Rynold's case, he was glad that the mercenaries didn't put up a fight, and the timing of X appearing was perfect.

As for the mercenaries, however, they were clearly upset. They had just surrendered to a teenager half their age. All of them, however, weren't up to risk their lives. Thus, making the only logical option for them is to surrender.

"So, what is it you want us to do?"

The commander was still looking up at Rynold, his voice holding hostility.

Rynold descended while he sat on the Miniature Floating Platform. He acted in such a way where he thought he was expressing hospitality. However, it was ill-received. The mercenaries thought that they were being mocked.

"Tell me who hired you and what their plans are."

As soon as Rynold met the commander's eye, his expression immediately changed. Rynold wanted to appear approachable to these mercenaries beforehand, but, as it appeared, the mercenaries were clearly holding resentment.

From there, Rynold knew what he had to do. He had to take command of the situation and, at the very least, get some information out of them.

"Alright. I will answer your questions if you promise to leave us alone."

"A leader who knows what their priorities are. I respect that," Rynold said, impressed. "So be it then. Just stay out of our way."

The commander nodded in confirmation before continuing.

"The person who hired us is supposedly the Duke of this kingdom. As far as I can tell, the Duke is determined to kill every person in the town. Even we were skeptical of his plans."

"Then, why accept it?" Rynold interrupted.

"The Duke promised to pay us well. He had already given us over half of the payments. The job had good money and little to no risk. Well, that was until we crossed paths with you."

Rynold stayed silent as he nodded to let the commander continue.

"When we got here, the Duke seemed determined. I've never seen someone so focused on achieving his goals, even if it meant the deaths of many. The Duke seemed... mad."

Rynold's ears were piqued at the commander's interpretation of the situation. As a mercenary, they didn't have to take an interest with the reasons for the job. But, despite that, there were still some obvious notes that one can notice with a simple observation.

"You're saying that he's not in the right mind?" Rynold asked to confirm.

"Essentially, yes," the commander nodded as he stroked his chin. "We often catch glimpses of him talking to himself. He even willingly paid us when we kept jacking up the price. He kept saying that it doesn't matter what he had to sacrifice to achieve his goals."

'There's some deep shit going on over there,' Rynold thought as his eyes widened.

It was safe to assume that the Duke had been after a much bigger fish all this time. Rynold was racking had been racking his brain for a significant amount of time figuring out what, even before he had met these mercenaries. Rynold instinctively knew that there was a bigger plot all along. He just didn't know what it was.

"Is there anything else?" Rynold asked with an even more serious look on his face.

"There are some soldiers that appear to be stronger than the others. They don't use modern weapons, but I can tell that there is unfathomable power behind them."

Rynold knew what that meant. He had hoped that there weren't any other Magic Users out there apart from Wilfred and the Duke.

"I see...," Rynold nodded as he entered into deep thought. The implications of having other people who can use Mana are troubling as it is. For him to fight against a number of them alone would only be suicide.

"If you don't mind my asking," the commander interrupted Rynold's deep trance, "What is it that you are after?"

Rynold had a troubling expression as he looked at the commander dead in the eye.

"What do you think I'm after?" he answered with a question of his own. "I'm here to save people. I guess that's the easiest way for me to put it."

The commander hesitated at Rynold's answer and laughed right after.

"Kid, you're either really stupid or really brave. You're going to try to save people when there is an entire army up against you? What's in for you? Money? Power? You can't just risk your life for people without any proper rewards."

The other mercenaries laughed along with him, causing Rynold's expression to sink.

Rynold audibly clicked his tongue.

If this were an attempt to rile him up, the mercenaries had failed. He wasn't pissed at the way they valued everything with money. It was even a lot more normal to do things for a reward. Rather, Rynold was upset at the fact that the mercenaries were so ignorant.

Rynold raised his hand and pointed his hand at the commander, ending his laughter prematurely. With a cold expression on his face, Rynold extended the drill attachment, just stopping half an inch away from the commander's neck.

The mercenaries saw what happened and immediately grabbed their weapons off the ground. They aimed their rifles at Rynold and were about to shoot.

"There is no denying the fact that what I'm doing is near impossible. And, I'm no hero either. But, whenever I see someone getting hurt by the most damn tiniest thing. I need to do something about it. If you want to stand in my way, then so be it."

Knowing what his Master was up to, X stomped on the ground and started walking towards the mercenaries nearest to him. The Mech Knight was menacing to the core.

"STAND DOWN!" the commander shouted, causing even X to stop moving.

However, the mercenaries were still hesitant to follow the command. Their hands were still on the trigger, ready to shoot at any moment.

"I said. STAND. DOWN."

The commander was adamant about not inching towards a fight against the young man threatening him.

"Alright, kid," the commander raised his hands in complete surrender. "I'll give you a warning. I don't want to kill you, but it seems like my friends would. Even if you do kill everyone here, you're gonna have a hard time after. You're a kid with a lot of ambition. I get that. I used to be the same. But, there comes a time when you have to face reality. I suggest you face it now than later."

Rynold let out a sigh before retracting his drill. He calmly shook his head and relaxed his steeled expression.

"I'm not some kid that dreams big," Rynold said, as the commander lowered his guard, "I know what the hell I'm trying to do. I admit that it's crazy. But, if I don't do something about all this shit... I don't think I can live with myself after."

The other mercenaries lowered their arms in agreement. At the same time, X also stopped marching and stood still, waiting for what his Master would do next.

"Anyway," Rynold continued, "Down to the real reason why I didn't kill all of you."

Caught by surprise, the mercenaries were confused as to what Rynold had meant. They thought that their enemy stopped attacking because they had openly surrendered. What possible reason could the guy have?

"There are kids inside the building right there. Orphans. I can't take them with me, so I'm hoping that you guys would be so kind as to take care of them for me."

The commander, surprised, didn't know what to say.

"You mercenaries have a bottom line, right? When the pay isn't high enough, you don't do jobs that risk your life. But, at the same time, I can tell that your Black Ants Mercenary Group has 'some' human decency. Otherwise, you wouldn't hesitate to have blown me to bits when I hid in the building right there. So, I'm willing to bet that you guys don't go around murdering children either."

Rynold could tell the situation beforehand.

He knew that these mercenaries were blinded by greed. It was normal for people in this day and age to focus on money.

However, there was often a bottom line for these people. There was always a part where they won't do because it would go against their personal moral code.

Through interactions with the mercenaries, Rynold managed to estimate this by reading their responses, how they acted to what he said.

"Just for a few hours," Rynold added as he saw how reluctant the mercenaries were, "I'll be back once I finish dealing with whatever the madman is trying to do."

Without waiting for a proper response, Rynold controlled the Miniature Floating Platform back to the second floor. From there, he opened the door where the children were staying and guided them down the stairs.

Along the way, Rynold thought to himself.

'Man, Leo better be doing the job I told him to do.'

A blade covered in light swung with great speed as it passed through one person to another, leaving blood in his wake.

'This is getting tough.'

Leo had been killing a lot of the Duke's soldiers without mercy. It was alright, considering the fact that they had ransacked and killed innocent lives.

But, Leo was getting anxious.

Apart from his worsening Stamina and overall Mana, Leo felt something indescribable. He thought that it was odd that his hands had grown cold from all the blood he's shed. Leo had never imagined that he would be killing people endlessly before all this happened.

So, why the hell was he feeling nothing?

Along the way, Leo had killed soldiers that amounted to that of a small town. However, Leo didn't feel anything when he did it.

Was it because he was too fast to see the blood land? Or, maybe, it was because he has grown used to killing by now.

Either way, Leo didn't like it.

He didn't want to be some unstoppable force that could end one's life so long as he willed it. Leo didn't want to become a person that is the judge, the jury, and the executioner.

Regardless, he pushed on.

As his thoughts started to wander, Leo began losing momentum. His attacks gradually became sloppier, but he was still doing his job. Until...

Just when he was about to swing his blade at some nondescript soldier, the guy suddenly stopped the attack by grabbing the blade. Three fingers were all he needed to stop Leo's Thunder Augmented blade.

'Shit.'

The soldier was lightning quick to react and threw a punch at Leo's chest. To which, Leo simply let go of his sword and dodged.

"Ah, Prince Leo. It's been quite some time since we last saw each other. You've made quite a mess on your way here. Perhaps, it might be best that we negotiate the terms of your execution."

Whoever the soldier was, Leo knew he was in trouble. He couldn't quite remember who the guy was, but Leo was sure that the guy was trouble.

Now barehanded, Leo stared as he took a fighting stance.

"This is a nice toy, you've got here," the soldier studied the sword that Leo once held, "However, it is a toy nonetheless."

The soldier threw the weapon back at Leo, confident that he would win even if Leo had every advantage.

Leo caught the sword by the handle and focused on his opponent.

"Who are you?"

"Oh my, you don't remember me? I took care of you once many years ago. Well, you were still a child then. With your no-good parents, it doesn't come as a shock to see you turned out like this."

The soldier then laughed eerily which caused Leo to receive chills down his spine.

Steadying his stance, Leo prepared for the fight.