Side Stories: Chapter 25
It was the same threat Piros made but in reverse positions. Yet, Zich’s blackmail sounded ridiculous considering the current situation. The Bellids were drawing out their swords right on the masses’ necks, but Zich was standing quite far away from these Bellids. It looked as if the Bellids would kill the masses much quicker than Zich could kill them. Yet, none of the Bellids dared to move after what they had just seen. They glanced toward the area where one of their comrades had just fallen. Their comrade was still unmoving, and those with high physical abilities realized that the comrade was not even breathing. He was dead.
Yet, their comrade’s death wasn’t the shocking part. They had always trodden a thin line between life and death, and the death of a comrade was a familiar happening. Yet, what happened before the death stunned them. There was no warning beforehand, and their comrade suddenly collapsed and died after moving according to Piros’ order. Only a handful of people with a certain level of skills sensed that an enormous amount of mana had moved instantly. The mana originated from Zich’s location. Windur was hanging over Zich’s shoulder. Unbefitting the situation, he looked disinterestedly at the situation in front of him.
“Hans.”
“Yes!”
“Evacuate the masses…” Zich glanced at the Bellids, the undead monsters, the undead dragon, and Piros. Then he scratched the back of his head.
“I don’t think it’s necessary, but let the people who want to go home leave.”
“I understand!” There was no need to question or ponder more. Hans immediately carried out Zich’s command and began to request support from his allies. However, very few figures including Snoc moved instantly. Others warily glanced at the situation. They were still worried about the Bellids standing among the masses, and above all, they failed to grasp the current situation. It was the same for Piros. He didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like things weren’t progressing in his favor. He thought he needed to quickly take control of the situation again and find out what happened just now.
“I told you not to move!” Piros then gave an order to three of his subordinates. Even after seeing one of their comrades suddenly die, these subordinates moved without any hesitation to kill the surrounding citizens. Thud! Yet, the same thing happened again. Without any warning, those three rolled on the ground. They were dead without any exterior or visible injuries.
“What…?” Piros gasped. His head became blank in front of a situation that he couldn’t understand at all. Soon, he heard Zich’s voice.
“I already said that I will kill any Bellid bastards who moves,” Zich said in a tone as if that was the only order governing this place. Among the wary citizens, some brave souls began to move slowly. Naturally, the Bellids tried to block them.
“I told you not to move…!”
Thump! The Bellid swinging his sword threateningly instantly stopped moving like those before him. His head slammed into the ground and his body became still. The same instance occurred three more times. The rest of the masses were slowly edging away, yet the Bellids couldn’t dare to move. Even the citizens with swords right up against their necks began to back away. The Bellids’ swords looked sharp and menacing like they could deeply pierce their necks instantly, but right now, they were unable to do anything and hovered in the air. Some Bellids didn’t give up. They tried to take control of the masses again, but before they could attempt to make a threat or swing their swords, they met the same fates as those who collapsed before them. Meanwhile, no citizen was hurt or dead.
“A-Are you…doing this…?” Even Piros was disgusted by his own voice, but he couldn’t help blurting out a question.
“What else could it be?”
‘Damn it, did this bastard really have a special trick up his sleeves!’ That was the only explanation Piros could come up with seeing the current situation. Piros glared at Chelsea and Pina with glaring eyes.
“You idiots! Didn’t you say that he hadn’t prepared anything special?!” Piros didn’t know what this trick was, but he was sure it was something prepared with great effort. How could these women not find this out after claiming to have extracted information while lingering for a long time beside Zich? Yet, Zich answered the question.
“The idiot is you. Why in the world would you think those guys were on your side?”
“What?”
Zich spoke as if Pina and Chelsea weren’t betrayers. Unlike before, the ladies’ eyes were filled with ridicule and jeering, and their chests stretched out more confidently than before. Finally, Piros understood.
“They were acting as double agents.” Piros quickly turned his head and stared at Wesker and Fejiadiru. Their astonished and dumbfounded faces proved that they had been tricked. Piros’ rage boiled.
“You were so slow to realize it. No wonder the Bellids fell when the one in charge of the western branch is like this. No, is it too much to put all the blame on you when the Bellid Pope was a complete fool in the first place? If you consider that, worshiping a fish head already shows a lack of intelligence. So, I suppose it was a problem with all the Bellids.” Zich’s statement turned into self-murmurings in the end. His voice rang loudly and shook up the whole area. His intent to ridicule Piros was clear, and his plan worked perfectly.
“T-Those opportunists…!”
“Why are you getting so angry? You’re the one who said I shouldn’t believe in opportunists easily. How could you get angry after saying that? If you were tricked even after knowing that those two trick others easily, you are the fool. You would’ve said the same thing as me a moment ago, but now that you are the one who was tricked, are you trying to change your words? I knew the Bellid bastards had small hearts, but this is too much.”
Zich continued, “As you said, they are opportunists. However, it is also what you make out of it. After Glen Zenard severely scathed them, they’ve improved their standards. They now have a good eye to judge which side will win and which side they should support. Of course, they chose me. If you have an overwhelming difference in skills, there’s no one more reliable than an opportunist with a good eye. In other words, no matter how you think about it, you’re just an idiot who trusted them blindly.”
“You, you…!”
“This might sound absurd to you, but they’ve never tricked you.”
“How far are you going to mock me…!”
“No, this is the truth. This is what I ordered them to do—to tell Grashane and Browning exactly what they see without filtering any information.”
“What?”
“The information you received was a complete truth.” Zich spread his arms wide as if to show that he had nothing to hide. “I didn’t plan a countermeasure, plot, or scheme. No wonder you didn’t doubt those two since the information they gave you was accurate, and the circumstances supported their information.”
“Stop saying nonsense when I just saw my subordinates die…!”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m telling you. I didn’t use any particular trick to kill them.” Zich lifted Windur for him to see. “The only thing I did was just swing my sword and slice them with mana.”
Then, Zich carelessly swung Windur as if to reproduce the way he attacked the Bellids.
However, Piros couldn’t accept his words; no, it wasn’t just Piros. Most of the people, regardless if they were an enemy or ally, shared Piros’ thoughts.
“That’s ridiculous!” Piros cried out as a representative. “I didn’t see you swing your sword!”
“It’s because I swung it too fast for you to see.”
“I could hardly feel any mana either!”
“It’s because I did an unbelievably good job of controlling my mana.”
“How could you have sliced them when they don’t even have any injuries!”
“I was being considerate in case ordinary people around me get shocked if they see blood.”
“How could I have not noticed something like that?!”
“Well, your skills are utterly insignificant compared to mine, to the point that it's squirming on the floor.” Zich replied extremely cheekily and continued, “What did you say? You have no intentions to belittle my strength? The fact that you could crawl out in front of me just because you revived a dragon, dragged out some undead monsters, and got some hostages is already looking down on me beyond what I can put into words. I can’t believe you thought you had a little edge over me with just those things. There’s a limit to how pathetic you can be.”
It even hurt his pride a little. “You know why I didn’t make any countermeasures? It’s because I don’t need to.”
Mana exploded from Zich. “No matter what you do, it won’t work as long as I’m here. The whole city is within my range of detection, and nowhere in this city is beyond my reach.” Zich slightly waved his hand.
Baaaaam! The undead monsters blocking the masses’ escape routes were obliterated. Considering their shocking appearance and performance so far, it was an extremely pitiful end.
“I can crush your insignificant power at any time and make sure that not a single innocent victim dies. Then, the only thing left for me to do is wait for all your cockroaches to come up to the surface.” The stage was all set. “Piros Bulington, desperately try to resist with all your might. You should at least do everything you want before you go. Try to use the pet you revived as much as you please.”
“Y-you, you bastaaaaaaaard!” Piros felt intense wrath from being played by Zich from start to finish, adding to the clear sense of crisis forming in his heart. Piros gave an order to the undead dragon.
Rawr! The dragon opened its enormous mouth at Zich. Black flames blazed inside its mouth.
“Diiiiiiie!” Piros shouted.
Whooosh! The undead dragon’s breath shot out. It was a tremendous force that seemed strong enough to be able to blow away not only Zich, but also the Pope and Yuras all at once. Zich fixed his grip on Windur and faced it head on.
“Die, what bullshit.” Then he swung Windur. His movement looked extremely insignificant compared to the dragon’s mighty breath, but it was perfect.
Cracck! The sight of a huge irregular mass of mana getting crushed was a sight that even the most experienced knights or mages had never seen.
Flashh! In an instant, the dragon’s breath, which seemed as if it would sweep everything away, disappeared without a trace. All that remained was a slightly strong wind that was created in the aftermath and swept across their surroundings.
Piros gaped in shock. He couldn’t even make a sound. Only his violently trembling eyes reflected his true feelings.
“…That’s astounding,” Walwiss said incredulously. When he saw Zich fight against Glen Zenard in the past, he realized the monstrosity of Zich’s power—no, he thought he knew. However, the sight in front of him made him realize that his assessment of Zich’s powers had been way too low.
“You must have already known,” Walwiss said to Lyla. Unlike the others, Lyla was strangely calm from the very beginning. Come to think of it, she must have already known how the situation would unfold.
She smiled at Walwiss and said, “You don’t have to think so hard. Just think about Zich’s nickname.”
“I see. Who would dare to complain about his title after seeing this now?”
Zich’s current title was the Strength Hero.
‘That’s exactly what Zich Moore was like before he regressed.’ And Zich’s title before his regression was the Demon Lord of Strength.