Mercenary X

“Village Chief! Village Chief!” Gasp! Gasp! Gasp! “Bad news!” Barging in frantically to a certain wooden house, a man, more or less a young man, had his expression all pale and breathing all heavy. Anyone could immediately tell how terrified he had become just hearing his tone of voice alone. So, now that he was facing the Village Chief, and his pale expression was all revealed, the Village Chief couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva as he clasped his hands and put his elbows on the table before him. He then covered his mouth with his hands and narrowed his eyes, trying his best to act calm. “What's the matter?” The Village Chief asked with a voice that appeared so calm. But in fact, he already had this feeling of bad premonition. He guessed that those bastards couldn't wait any longer as they were trying to suppress them already and rob their land and freedom. How unfortunate. To think that there would be a time that an impending doom would befall them. Even worse, it just had to come in his time of leadership where poverty reigned supreme. If only he had enough money, no, even if it was in the exchange for his life, if only he could, then he was willing to pay any price to hire capable Mercenaries to protect his land and people. Unfortunately though, such a thing could only be an empty dream now. Perhaps, he should just give up and surrender to avoid shedding the blood of his people unnecessarily? “It's the Buwaya Tribe! They're really here to ask for our territory! They brought a lot of warriors with them! They are asking for your audience.” The young man responded with the same frantic voice. As expected, those bastards were really here. The Village Chief ground his teeth in sheer anger. He clasped his hands even more tightly, his flesh was still shuddering. At the moment when he felt that he could sit idly no longer, he stood up from his chair and walked past the young man who reported the bad news. “Don't make any move. I'll handle this myself,” The Village Chief muttered coldly as he finally left the house. On the other hand, the young man stood stupidly and followed his gaze to the Village Chief for a moment before he finally came back to his senses. And upon realizing the situation, he scurried his way to follow behind the Village Chief and shouted, “Wait for me Village Chief! I'll follow you whatever your decision might be!” “Do whatever you want,” Is what the Village Chief thought but didn't bother to say it out loud. He was too tired to even look back and talk with his subordinate as he walked towards the village gate within his sight. He could see not too far away out of the village a group of men mounted on a horse. Each was without clothes on their top, revealing their bulky muscles and black iron maces they held over their shoulders. Their gazes were ferociously sharp, exuding a bloodthirsty aura in their wake. Anyone could immediately feel the desire to kill from each of them. Somewhere in the village near the entrance, there were also his people gathered around like ants. Each with the determination to protect their own, wielding whatever weapon they could have. Like bolo, knife, rod, stick, sweeper... But in the eyes of the Buwaya Tribe, they appeared like children playing around. They didn't take them seriously at all. They even made fun of them and gave them gazes filled with ridicule and disgust. “Make way!” The young man from before shouted like he was the actual boss as he followed behind the Village Chief. Immediately, of course, those villagers who heard him shout did as they were told as they paid no heed to his impudence. Instead, while they were making a way, they turned to look at the Village Chief who was coming through. Their gazes filled with hope. “Chief, please lead us to victory,” “Let's punish those wicked bastards who are trying to rob our land.” “Even if it means that we are going to die, we are willing to sacrifice ourselves!” “Yes, Chief! It's much better to die than live a dog life!” Voicing out their unrestrained feelings, the villagers stared at their Village Chief. They grabbed their weapons ever so strongly, all of whom refused to give in. Shudder. The Village Chief felt his body shuddering uncontrollably. He subconsciously halted his steps as his expression suddenly went dark. This heavy feeling in his heart... Why could he feel that he wanted to move forward no longer? He wished to surrender and avoid meaningless casualties. But then, his people wished to fight? What should he do now? Just what was the right thing he needed to do? Fight? Surrender? Or should he just kill himself to save himself from all the trouble? He knew full well, that in the face of those bloodthirsty maniacs, only annihilation could be their fate. Just what better choice could he have to avoid losing something so precious? What a pity. He could think of nothing else. “Enough chitchat!” Amidst his perturbed thoughts, a voice so cold and hostile echoed like thunder. The Village Chief, and all the villagers, turned to look at the source of that thunderous voice only to see a few members of the Buwaya Tribe who had already closed their distance towards them. They exuded a murderous aura like they were ready to claim life at any moment. “I'll get straight to the point and make it plain and simple, you shitheads.” The one who had spoken continued, “You must have learned that we have already defeated the Mabaya Tribe weaklings. As their vassal, you shitheads are basically ours now.” “However, since we are so merciful, we will let you have your free will. So, I'll ask, will you submit to us or die like a dog, Village Chief?!” After saying those words, the Buwaya Tribe member made sure to unleash a murderous aura even greater. It made the villagers terrified, rendering them helpless where they were even incapable of thinking of any kind of retaliation. And now that the villagers saw the Buwaya Tribe members that close, the terror they already felt became noticeably stronger. Every one of them turned pale and broke cold sweat, couldn't even wield their so-called weapons in the proper way. In fact, they couldn't even raise their weapons, afraid that the moment they moved an inch, it would piss the other party off and cause them their doom. “We...” The Village Chief wanted to say something but ended up swallowing his words instead. Now that he looked at it, the temporary courage his people had displayed a moment ago had immediately gone out like fleeting clouds. He could tell that none of them really had the ability to fight nor the courage. All of whom could only shudder in fear in the face of real threat. There was really no hope... Perhaps they should just accept the fact that they would now become slaves for the entirety of their lifetime...? Sigh. Thinking about surrendering, the Village Chief took a deep sigh and shook his head slowly. He then raised his head to face the Buwaya Tribe members and was about to say something when suddenly... “Hey, old man! Why are you all gathering around here? And who are those ugly bastards? Why do they stink like shits? Are they visitors passing by just like me?” The Village Chief, upon hearing such audacious words, almost fell to his knees and choke to death. Not only he, but all the other villagers felt the same. They hurriedly turned around to look at the person who had just shouted, only to see a man in his late twenties. And then again, they almost fell backward and pass out due to the sheer headache. This bastard... Couldn't he read the room here? Did he drink too much last night as he couldn't tell right from wrong? Or was he just that tired of living? How could he live this long in this world when he was this careless and stupid? And also, if he really was that tired of living, couldn't he just die himself? Why would he drag them with him? This was really frustrating! Meanwhile, contrary to the villagers, the members of the Buwaya Tribe found their eyebrows twitching violently. Even their flesh shuddered in sheer frustration and rage. How dare someone in this lowly village try to disrespect and irritate them that much? Annihilation. This village was seeking complete annihilation! There was no forgiveness for this audacity! “Fuck... This is really the end...” The Village Chief muttered within his heart. He knew it. He didn't need to have another glance just to tell that the Buwaya Tribe were pissed beyond patience as they would certainly exact their doom.