Growing Influence

Elion chased after the retreating crowd and started sending his wind attributed spells in their direction. His hand-eye coordination was at its peak as he sent spell after spell at the villagers' back with pinpoint accuracy, taking out a person with every attack.

"That's it! You peasants should accept your fate and die. You're only stalling the inevitable by running away! No one is coming to save you!" Elion cackled in triumphant glee as a few villagers stopped dead in their tracks and subsequently kneeled on the ground.

"Lord Barhawk! Please have mercy. We didn't know Miss Vivian was your wife. We were wrong! We won't badmouth her again! Have mercy!"

Elion looked down on them smugly, feeling an immense sense of superiority and satisfaction filling his entire body when they grovelled before him and pleaded for their life.

"Hmph. If you're so afraid of your lives then you should've never dared to talk in front of me!" Elion harrumphed. "Your mere presence grates on my nerves! Yet you have the audacity to complain about my wife and demand that I punish her!"

"How impudent!"

"We were wrong, My Lord! Please forgive us!" The villagers shuddered in fear. This was not the Elion they remembered. It was as if a different soul had taken over his body.

However, Elion was not at all bothered about their worries and unleashed a wide scale attack on them.

***

"My fellow merchant brothers and esteemed villagers!" Arlo's voice rang out, commanding attention as he stood in the centre of the spacious hall of his house in the Mist Village, addressing those gathered around him.

The audience comprised primarily of his business associates, and fellow merchants who operated within the vicinity of Timber Town and the outskirts of the Elven domain.

In addition, a handful of inhabitants from nearby villages, all of them human, who shared a close bond with Arlo, were specially invited to this significant occasion.

"It is with great pleasure that I am announcing we have complete control over Timber Town!" Arlo practically swelled with pride. "As of this evening, Lord Lucas has left the town and the mayor has fully withdrawn himself from governing and has locked himself and his family in his house!"

-Clap! -Clap! -Clap!

The resounding claps spread across the room boosting Arlo's confidence.

"It also means that we have unobstructed control over the Great Thomas Route graciously gifted to us by our Lord!" The people gathered quickly stopped clapping as they heard Arlo mention the Merchant God.

"What we now have is a calm before the storm. Lord Lucas may be away, but I cannot guarantee that he will not return. For all we know, he might have gone to the Emperor to seek his help!"

"What? How are we going to contend with their army if the Emperor involves himself with this matter?" One of the gathered villagers from the nearby Cloud village asked worriedly.

They were fully aware of the fearsomeness of the Imperial Guards in their glistening golden armour and their capabilities on the battlefield.

"Haha, don't worry, my friend! We have someone on our side who can send them back running with their tails between their legs." Arlo reassured him.

After seeing the Lord destroy a mountain with his bare fist, Arlo started doing his investigation. It was only after he was rescued from the bandits that he received a report from the merchant guild in the Capital about a mercenary named Ray.

To say that he was dumbfounded after learning about the events that happened on the night of the Phoenix festival would be an understatement.

He was dealing with someone who had challenged the Emperor and his Imperial Guards in their home ground and came out unscathed.

And the fact that Ray had done that to protect his wife was something that struck a chord with Arlo.

Arlo loved his wife dearly, even though she was a spendthrift, and would do anything to protect his family. He really felt that following someone like Ray, who was the same as him but far more powerful, wouldn't be a matter of shame for him in the future.

Arlo had harboured a long-standing aspiration: to forge an organisation of monumental proportions that could eventually ascend to the position of ruling over the entire Continent and he had just recently found the person to be the leader of that organisation.

"And who might that be? Is it your 'Merchant God' whom you're trying to endorse?" The man asked sceptically.

"Haha, you're right!" Arlo chuckled.

"Oh! Come one, Arlo! You expect us to believe that there is a God among us and he will protect us from the empire?" The man snorted. "We may not be powerful cultivators but we have our fair share of knowledge about how the world works."

"There cannot be any God in this world! The elves have been saying this for ages and the people from Varn weren't willing to believe it and tried to summon Gods!

"But they never succeeded even after years of failed attempts!"

"Indeed, My friend! They have never succeeded to 'summon' the Gods but what if one of the Gods decided to descend into this world?" Arlo asked with a twinkle in his eyes.

He was trying to tell the same story that Ray had told him when they had first met.

"What do you mean? Why would they descend here? There is nothing here that is of importance to them."

"That may be true for other Gods but ours is different. He specifically came down to guide us towards a better future!" Arlo said solemnly. "Tell me honestly, do you really think a human could destroy a mountain from the Moonhawk Ridge that has been standing proud since time immemorial with nothing but a simple punch?"

"Uh… no?" The man uttered with uncertainty.

"See? That alone should be enough to prove his strength as a God! That aside, what about the trade between your village and the FireBorn empire after the mountain was destroyed? Has it declined or flourished?"

"We… we have actually experienced a surge in our profits and are hoping to increase the production of our woodworks…" The man admitted somewhat happily.

"Then, isn't it because of our Lord? You would still be paying that exorbitant toll to Timber Town if it weren't for him!"

-Boom!

The attack came so quickly that one side of the room was destroyed before they even knew what happened.

"You vermin! How long can you run? You think you can outrun this mighty Celestial Lord?"

"In your dreams!" Elion shouted at the man who was thrown across the floor and was buried under the dust and debris of the collapsed wall.

"What is happening?"

"Lord Barhawk, is that you?" Arlo, even though disoriented from the sudden interruption, was able to identify the blood-soaked form of Elion.

"Hmph! Who else could it be other than me?" Elion scoffed and dragged the villager out of the debris and broke his neck in front of the gathered crowd.

The group of merchants and villagers took a step back, clearly repulsed by the savagery displayed by the man who was supposed to be their Village Protector.

"My Lord, what happened? Was that man a criminal?" asked Arlo while slowly retreating. "There is no way Lord Barhawk would attack innocent villagers like us, right?"

Arlo could sense an unsettling change in Elion. This unhinged and barbaric aspect was something that didn't match with the man he was acquainted with. The Elion he knew was always graceful and exemplary.

"Of course, I wouldn't! Who do you think I am?" Elion puffed up his chest. "I am the Celestial Lord, the one who rules above all. I am a benevolent being!"

'Did he fall on his head?' Arlo decided to not ask that question out loud and subtly signalled for his friends to remain quiet.

He wanted to escape this situation alive.

"My Lord, i-is there something we can do for you?" Arlo asked tentatively.

"Do you know where Rafe's rented homes are located?" Elion asked.

"I know, My Lord!" Arlo replied.

"Then lead the way!"

This was how Arlo and his company ended up leading Elion to his destination.

***

Raymond was having a hard time sleeping— not because he was worried about something. It had a lot to do with the fact that he was flanked on each side by drop-dead beauties.

Jasmine was snuggled in his right using his hand as a pillow and Vivian was pressing her body to his left side. As for Lyla, she was sleeping on top of his chest, curled up like a kitten.

Raymond thought it would be pretty easy to sleep when he was enveloped by bliss like this, but he was proven completely wrong. It was becoming frustrating to quell his raging hard-on.

He needed to distract himself but whenever he tried, he would be assaulted by the fragrance of three women in his embrace.

Raymond was just about to start his bizarre training of imagining people as potato sacks when he heard a commotion outside.

Judging by the sound, it was coming from the end of the streets and felt familiar.

It was Arlo's voice.

Raymond gently lifted Lyla from her armpits and got off the bed. He slowly placed her in the middle where he was sleeping before and quickly put on his clothes.

He exited the room and locked the door from the outside before looking to where the horde of people led by a blond elf was coming his way.

"Hmm? What are you doing here, Arlo?" Raymond asked as they arrived before him.

"Where is Vivian?" Elion butted in and cut off Arlo before he could say anything.

"Inside," Raymond answered.

"What is she doing inside?" Elion asked.

"Sleeping,"

"Why is she sleeping inside your room?" Elion growled.

"Because she is tired?" Raymond shrugged. Vivian was the least tired compared to Lyla and Jasmine.

"Why. Is. She. Tired?" Elion uttered each word with hatred. He had a sinking feeling that something was wrong.

"Man, do you want me to spell it out for you?" Raymond asked, looking at Elion as if he had grown a second head.

Wasn't it obvious?

———

A/N :

Please answer:

What do you prefer?

1. A chapter with 1000-1200 words (I might be able to upload daily this way and even release extra chapters sometimes.)

2. A chapter with 1600+ words ( As I am doing currently. But it would be difficult to write long chapters and update daily between my work. I recently got a promotion and my workload has increased because of that.)

P.s. I won't drop this book. It might take a while to finish because of my schedule but I will continue this story.

Thanks for all the support :)