222 Domineering (Part 1)
Exile heaved a sigh as he landed in front of the temple. He had flown around Valheim for the past hour exterminating all the Stalkers left inside the walls. He was sure his brother had already started formulating a plan with the information he had given to Clay.
A frown crossed his face when he sensed many Tier 1 auras inside the building. ‘Hm, what’s this all about?’ He wore a confident expression as he crossed the threshold of the building to see roughly twenty Pantheon leaders gathered around a table with Mikari at the head.
Exile shot a curious glance at his brother, but the latter sighed and shrugged. He studied the other leaders with mild curiosity as he passed them by. Some of them revealed unsightly expressions at his aura, while others showed only surprise.
‘This has nothing to do with defending Valheim. Otherwise, every leader would be here. So, what’s their angle?’ Exile nodded to Mikari, who stood up to give Exile his seat. As soon as he sat down, Noslin gave a gentle cough before glancing at the others. Exile returned her gaze with an aloof expression as he waited to hear what the meeting was about.
“Exile, our Pantheons have been friends for some time now. We’ve fought side by side through some difficult situations.” Noslin began with a friendly expression on her face. “On behalf of my Pantheon, I hope to purchase some information from you.”
‘Oh, they probably want to know what Tier 2 entails so they can prepare for it.’ Exile heaved a sigh of relief in his mind as he nodded slowly. “The price will depend on the information.”
Noslin smiled when she heard that. “Then I would like the information regarding the skill your Pantheon seems to have learned. Such as what it’s capable of, and where my players can learn it.”
Exile revealed a surprised expression as he glanced at Mikari. His brother showed an apologetic expression as he leaned in to whisper to his brother about the leaders witnessing the Domain technique. Exile cursed as a deep frown wrinkled his forehead as he returned his gaze to a worried-looking Noslin.
“Sorry, it seems there has been a misunderstanding. I expected you to ask about Tier 2.” Exile held up his hands helplessly. “I’m afraid the information you are asking for is not for sale. It’s a core secret of my Pantheon. I hope you can understand.”
Noslin revealed a complicated expression as she leaned back in her chair. She remained quiet in that situation as she pondered Exile’s reply for a way to convince him. However, the other leaders refused to remain silent.
“Exile, don’t be so arrogant!” Bynder, the leader of the Sunset Pantheon bellowed as he slammed a fist on the table. “Do you think your Pantheon can take us all on? If you’re unwilling to part with it, then we’ll just have to suppress you!”
Several leaders agreed with the outburst before fearful expressions appeared on their faces. Crackling runes had flown out of Exile’s body to fill the temple as his gaze turned cold. Bynder scoffed at the display before shaking his head.
“What are you going to do? Valheim is a safe space! You can’t threaten us here! You can’t even attack us in the field since we can’t leave the city with those creatures out there!” Bynder revealed a triumphant expression as the other leaders slowly regained their confidence.
However, Exile was in no mood to argue. The meeting was taking a dangerous turn. He could threaten to wipe out their believers, but that would be the start of another long campaign in the mortal realms that would cost an uncountable number of NPC lives. ‘I have to nip this in the bud before it gets out of control.’ A cruel grin spread on Exile’s face as he disappeared from everyone’s vision.
BANG!
The noise startled the leaders as they turned toward Bynder. His face was planted firmly on the table with Exile’s palm on the back of his head. The attack dealt no damage to Bynder, but it was a clear display of Exile’s superiority. A chill ran down the spines of those gathered there when Exile next spoke.
“I may not be able to harm you inside the city. But shall we put it to the test as to whether I can drag you outside of it?” Exile growled as the runes crackled furiously.
“You can’t do this to me!” Bynder replied furiously, as he struggled against the pressure applied to his head. “I’m a Pantheon leader! You have to show me some respect!”
“Wrong answer…”
The leaders gasped as Exile dragged Bynder from the temple by his neck. The infuriated leader screamed for his Pantheon members to help him. However, they did not have the strength to pry him from Exile’s grasp!
“You’ll regret this! As soon as you step outside, my entire Pantheon will crush you! Do you really think the others will let this happen?” Bynder screamed as Exile paraded him through the main road, attracting the gazes of many bystanders.
“Do I look like I give a shit?” Exile growled as the main gate came into view.
Bynder struggled furiously when he realised Exile was not bluffing. His fear-filled eyes caught the gazes of the other leaders as they followed behind them. A spark of hope appeared in his mind when he saw the anger on their faces. Bynder could tell that Exile’s action was infuriating them. It showed blatant disrespect for their positions, and if they allowed it to happen, then they could be next!
“That’s enough, Exile,” Aeri said as she gloated at the position he had put himself in. “Release him now, or it won’t just be his Pantheon you face outside.”
Bynder showed a triumphant grin when Exile paused his advance to glance around him. Three hundred players from a mix of Panthoens eyed him coldly. Exile swiftly made some calculations before an uncaring expression appeared on his face.
“Let me tell you how this is going to go,” Exile stated loud enough for all those players to hear. “First, I’m going to kill this guy here.”
Exile raised Bynder into the air for everyone to see by his throat. “Then, I’m going to seize his orb. After I’ve finished this little chore, we’ll all return to the temple and have a nice chat.”
Although Exile’s words sounded friendly, everyone present could sense the threat behind those words. The leaders glared at him as they formed a wall between him and the gate.
“That’s not going to happen. You’re going to release Bynder, then give us what we want.” Aeri frowned as she glanced at the other players surrounding Exile. “Even if you are Tier 2, you can’t beat all of us. You’ve only advanced recently, and all of us know what that means.”
Aeri was confident in her reasoning. She figured he had to be at level 1 where a single death could have devastating consequences for her opponent. However, her confidence turned to doubt when Exile burst out laughing.
“You seem to have forgotten something.” Exile grinned as a rune appeared in front of him, and he stepped onto it. “I don’t have to put myself in danger to kill him.”
Bynder let out a scream as the rune accelerated into the sky above Valheim before heading toward the walls. Exile ignored him as he gazed at the players chasing after them. ‘They’re idiots. They don’t have spells that can reach me up here.’
The rune came to a halt just outside the vicinity of the city. The leaders who had tried to threaten him could only glare at him with unsightly expressions from far below.
“Remember, you brought this on yourself.” Exile snarled as he held Bynder at arm’s length.
The leader cursed Exile as flaming runes appeared in the air around him. However, his voice disappeared as those spells unleashed their flames. Exile felt the weight in his hand disappear as his other shot forward to catch the divine orb before it could fall to the ground.
He quickly stored that item and the boots that Bynder dropped before studying the landscape beneath him. ‘They’re smarter than they look.’ Exile chuckled when he noticed that not one of those players had set foot outside of the city. They remembered him raining death down from above on the Stalkers. Exile shook his head as he controlled the rune to return back to the temple. ｂｏ𝚟𝚕.
As he landed Clay slapped on the back with a wide grin on his face. “That was something! They’ll think twice before threatening Ragnarok again!”
The other officers had gathered when they heard the news of what was happening. They had been expecting a fight, but Exile had blown away their expectations with how he handled the matter. Exile soon noticed that Mikari was rubbing his temples with an annoyed expression while Midas shook his head.
“What’s wrong?” Exile asked with an innocent expression.
“You! That’s what is wrong!” Mikari groaned as he thought about the mess he would have to clean up. “We need their cooperation to defend Valheim! What will we do if they don’t come back?”
“Oh, they’ll come back.” Exile chuckled. “They have nowhere else to go. Right now, they need us more than we need them. If Valheim falls we have our own place to retreat to. They don’t.”
Exile shrugged at Mikari’s incredulous expression. “What about you Midas?”
Midas sighed as he looked Exile in the eyes. “I was hoping we could gain some trades from the meeting. We need to build up a stock of armour, weapons, gold and other items for the future. But you literally just burned that bridge!”
Exile stroked his beard as he looked up at the sky with a pensive expression. “Don’t worry about that. I have something that can convince them to trade with us.”
Whoops! Sorry for dropping a second chapter today!
Antihero