_ _ _ _ _ _ _
Meanwhile, Dave who was in his office was jolted by the commotion,
"Intruders?"
He rushed out and asked one of his deputies who was nearby, about the situation.
"Commander, not good! An intruder has broken in and he has already killed many men!"
"What!?"
Dave was furious. Who had grown the gall to attack his people so openly in broad daylight!? He immediately drew his large bastard sword, surging to kill. He gathered many of his deputies and rushed towards the troop quarters where the fighting was going on. Add was like a death god, with his gun in one hand and his knife in the other, he was reaping lives one after another. A few soldiers, who recognised him, could not help but tremble in fear.
The news that he had killed a group of soldiers was fresh among the soldier, but most did not believe it. However, now that they were witnessing it firsthand they realised how terrifying this boy was. He was killing them easily using a strange weapon, and they could not even get close. Add was utilising the buildings as cover, and continuously changing his position, making it difficult for the soldiers to encircle him. By the time Dave and the other deputies arrived at the spot, he had killed over a hundred of soldiers. They saw dozens of dead bodies strewn around; it was a one sided slaughter.
"Who are you!? Show yourself!"
A deputy shouted in raging voice, but the next moment, he fell down dead; a bullet had pierced his chest killing him instantly. His eyes, still wide open.
"You are finally here commander… As you should already know, I am here for you..."
A cold voice resounded as Add walked out from behind a building.
"You…"
Looking at the dead soldiers, his rage reached the extremes.
"Good good good…You dare kill my men! Very good! I don't know who you are, but you must be an accomplice of the Weismann brat right ?! Since you have come here, you won't leave here alive!"
He was worried about the strange appearance of the man before him, but the rage and his ego had muddled his not so high intelligence. He drew his sword and ordered his men,
"Men! Surround him! Today I will hack him to pieces, and then go chop the head of that brat!"
The morale of the soldiers increased when they saw Dave personally take action. He was a Rank 3 warrior, and the strongest person. Surely, he would be enough to deal with this murderer, not to mention, the many Rank 2 warriors that had also gathered. Dozens of soldiers began surrounding him, their swords and spears drawn, however, Add's face was calm as usual.
"Let's finish this then…"
_ _ _ _ _
Ever since the commotion began, people had been gathering outside the barracks area. A few soldiers stationed at the gate were preventing them from getting too close. Suddenly, a body flew out of the barracks, breaking through the gates that were closed. When people looked closely, they were shocked to see that it was none other than Commander Dave. He was in a very sorry state. His body had a long and deep wound across the chest, and blood was constantly oozing from it. He couldn't even lift himself up; in his eyes confusion and fear were clearly visible.
The few soldiers who were around, quickly gathered by his side. They were completely stumped, watching his condition. Just how did the commander end up in such a way, they wondered. He was the strongest man in Rigel, and still he was wounded so badly. It was then that a lone figure walked out of the barracks. It was man covered from head to toe in, strange clothes and some sort of armour. There on numerous blood stains on those clothes, and it almost looked like he had taken a shower in blood. In one of his hands there was a slender sword which was covered in blood. His other hand was clasping the throat of a soldier who was desperately trying to free himself.
*SNAP*
With a crisp and clear sound of breaking of bones, the soldier's neck was snapped and his body went limp. Throwing the corpse aside the man began moving towards Dave. The other soldiers immediately rushed to attack him, but his movements were too fast for them to follow and in a flash, they were cut by his sword, some dying immediately, while others were left writhing in pain on the ground. The blood on his clothes and armour gave him a very intimidating appearance, but it was not his own blood, rather the blood of the many soldiers that he had killed. The people, who were watching in horror, quickly retreated. A person broke in the militia barracks and was committing wanton murder; even the commander was unable to stop him just what was this? Ignoring all the commotion, the man approached Dave who was trying to stand and placed his sword beside his neck.
"Commander Dave, you have misused your authority which was given to you by my family. You have neglected your duties and tried to rebel against me. You bite the same hand which fed you and made you what you are… All these crimes and the treason you have committed, grounds to your execution, do you have anything else to say?"
Add mentioned all of Dave's crime calmly. His eyes never left the man, but his perception was keeping track of any movements around him. It was possible that someone would try to attack him from behind. The surrounding crowd was surprised once again. According to the man, this commander Dave wanted to rebel? This was indeed a very serious crime. Dave looked at him with malice filled eyes, but on the inside, he was despairing. This man was a monster. All of his men were not able to put a single scratch on him, as he chopped and slashed them up like a butcher. Even he himself had tried to attack many times, yet not a single hit was able to land on its target, while he had been grievously wounded by Add and then thrown around like a ragdoll. Just how strong was he?
"Who the hell are you…...?" He asked gritting his teeth.
���I am just the Lord of this territory."
"impossible----"
Add responded flatly and swung his blade. A head rolled on the ground, and the body slumped down, the face still had the expression of disbelief and rage on it. By now, the surviving soldiers were coming out of the barracks, and when they saw that Dave was dead, they looked at the man in fear, not daring to take a step forward. Add slowly took off the gas mask, revealing his face to the public for the first time. As the people were shocked knowing that it was the young lord, who had murdered his own soldiers, he started speaking in deadpan tone,
"Anyone else wants to fight?" His cold voice echoed in the area.
The soldiers looked at each other. Almost half of the garrison in Rigel had died, and even the commander himself was dead. And all of it was done by this boy before them. They no longer dared go against him; one by one they all dropped their weapons and surrendered. The few surviving Rank 2 warriors also surrendered. They had all seen the slaughter that had happened inside, and they knew that they had no way of resisting this Young Lord.
"Clean all these bodies. I want to see the entire place clean by tomorrow morning. I will return tomorrow, and I want everything done by then, otherwise…."
He didn't complete his words and left, the crowds quickly made way for him, no one daring to look at him directly. It was not that Add was merciful and pitied the remaining soldiers. In fact he wanted to kill them all, but he knew that he was short on hands and needed them to maintain order in his territory, at least temporarily. Once the cadets were ready, he would decide what to do with them.
[Ding! You have killed Rank 1 warrior (Human) x 167]
[Received 167,000 CP]
[Ding! You have killed Rank 2 warrior (Human) x 26]
[Received 78,000 CP]
[Ding! You have killed a Rank 3 warrior]
[Received 8,000 CP]
_ _ _ _ _
When he returned to the Estate, the servants and maids were equally shocked at his blood covered appearance. Martha almost lost it when she saw Add's condition, and it took a lot of effort to calm her down. The people at the Estate had realised that something was wrong when all the soldiers guarding the Estate suddenly left. It was only a little while ago that a few servants were sent out to check the situation, but Add had returned before they could return to the estate. Once he had cleaned himself, he explained what he had done, shocking Martha even more. At first she could not believe his words, but when the servants returned and said the same thing, she had to believe it. Walter also rushed to the estate as soon as he heard about this. the husband and wife were unable to fathom, when their young master had become so strong. Walter knew from a long time that Dave was a serious threat to the Weismann family, but he never imagined that he would be killed so easily today. However, his expression was pale as he heard what Add told him next.
"I want you to pull out all those people who were supporting Dave. I know that there must be some among the officials and don't tell me you do not know…"
"What do you intend to do with them young master ?" He asked slowly, but only got silence in response. A bad feeling emerged in him,
"Young Lord, please think wisely, you have already killed so many people today, I am afraid your image would be further tarnished before the populace, if you made any other moves…."
Add looked Walter with a small smile unbefitting of his usual expressionless face, his eyes were calm as he coldly said,
"Mr. Walter need not worry. It's alright if the people fear me, as for killing those people, as long as they dare plot against me, or stand in my way, I will show them no mercy and kill them all the same…"
His words were filled with undisguised killing intent which scared Walter.
"But Young master!"
He wanted to say something but had raised his hand and stopped him.
"Kill one man, and you are a murderer. Kill millions of men, and you are a conqueror. Kill them all, and you are a god"
Walter froze when he heard those words. These lines seemed cruel, but they were very true. Which king had not kept his throne by killing thousands? Which empire had risen without killing millions? But when Add said those words, he could not help but feel cold. Just what did the young lord intend to do, he had no idea. But in his mind, he had a feeling, that the future might not be a peaceful one.
_ _ _ _ _
The news that the young lord massacred the militia soon spread throughout the small town. Most people could never have imagined that the scoundrel young lord would be such a powerful and ruthless person. the wiser people realized that big changes were due to happen in the coming days, and they could only hope that those changes would be for the better. The next morning, Add paid a visit to the barracks as promised, accompanied by Walter. The soldiers had removed all the dead bodies and cleaned the area. They had worked very hard through the night, as no one wanted to irritate the lord and lose their little lives.
After he made a few rounds of the Barracks to check if everything was cleaned and tidied properly, he ordered all the soldiers to gather in the training field of the barracks. The militia which numbered more than 500 at its peak, was now reduced to almost half that size. Around 200 soldiers were left, and their combined strength was much lower than before, especially since many rank 2 warriors and Dave the sole rank 3 warrior were now dead. The men stood with their heads hung low, not daring to look at the young lord who was glaring at them with indifferent eyes filled with disdain.
(Really, it's insulting calling these things soldiers. Calling them hooligans would be stretching it as well…)
Add was thoroughly disappointed with these people. Almost all of them were out of shape with flabby bodies and callous appearances. To him who had worked and trained with the best soldiers of Earth, these people really looked revolting. Still, he had to make do with what he had. Thinking of the many works ahead of him, he managed to hold back his urge to kick these useless slobs out of the militia. After some tense moments of silence, he finally spoke.
"I need two volunteers, somebody step out!"
But not a soul dared to move. Everyone of them knew the terror of this boy very well, the scenes of the previous day were still fresh in their minds. He killed without batting an eye and they feared that he may start killing again if he was irritated. No one wanted to do get near him. Seeing that no one stepped forward, Add's expression became even more frigid,
"Did you retarded buffoons not understand what I said? I want two people to step out now, or else, I will pick somebody myself and that somebody will not be lucky. "
He stressed each word, and the faces of the soldiers fell. They all began looking at one another urging each other to move, while not moving themselves. The young lord's expression became more and more rigid, and even Walter standing behind him was sweating, afraid that he would begin another bloodbath here. Finally, as if coming to a common agreement, the bulk of the soldiers suddenly but silently stepped back. Only two men who were busy discussing in hushed voices among themselves, were unable to notice that their group had moved back, did not move and as a result they were now ahead of the other soldiers, relatively. When the two suddenly felt that something wrong, they looked around and realised to their dismay that the other soldiers were many steps behind them and it appeared that they themselves had stepped out!
"F***!!!"
"S***!!"
The men, cursed and looked at their 'brothers' with a gaze as if wanting to kill. Both of them were internally cursing their nine generations. 'F*** you pieces of s***. How shameless! You all left me standing and retreated! At least somebody should have told me damn it! Ah!! I want to feed all you to dogs!' the both of them had similar thoughts in their minds. The others just turned their eyes not daring to match the two's, their expressions saying, 'don't blame us, it is your fault that you were careless and did not move. Thank you for your sacrifice good brothers!'. The men's faces were raging in anger but soon became pale as they looked towards the young lord, and could not help but shiver.
"Finally, someone stepped out. You both, what are your names?"
Add asked indifferently. He did not care the actions of the other soldiers, he just needed a temporary leader to take charge. Having his emotionless eyes lock onto him, the man felt even more scared, but he knew that if he stayed silent then it won't end well for him.
"Reporting to young lord, I am called Hick"
"Reporting to young lord, I am Elmo"
"Alright then Hick, take out 20 people and stand separately on the right"
The man who was shivering till now smiled cruelly as he turned to look at his 'brothers'. The others were now pale, afraid that Hick would call their names. The man in question laughed in his mind, 'you shameless f***s dare set me up ? Then I will f**k your lives as well!'. He called twenty of his well known 'brothers' whose faces turned ugly like their fathers had just died. Still they dared not ignore the lord who was standing before them and went to stand beside Hick, cursing him profoundly in their minds.
"Elmo, you will manage the remaining soldiers and continue with your everyday duties. I want no one skipping their work, do you understand ?"
"Yes young lord !" Elmo hurriedly bowed and replied.
Add then turned towards Walter and asked,
"Is it done ?"
Walter nodded his head.
"Very well then. Hick!"
"Yes milord !"
Hick's tone had become very respectful. Now that Dave was dead, and the lord was clearly the undisputed ruler of the region, it was best to follow him. If he could impress the lord enough, perhaps his life would become better!
"Take those men and follow Mr. Walter. There are some scheming rats hiding around, go and drag all of them here, you have till noon! Now go! Mr. Walter please.."
"Yes milord!!"
Walter sighed. His eyes had dark circles under them, suggesting that he had not slept properly yesterday. Add had entrusted him to make a list of people who were supporting Dave, and Walter who knew very well about who those people were, immediately got to work. Within the night, he had the list prepared and he also knew what Add was going to do with them. He began walking and Hick and his group of soldiers quickly followed. After they had left, Add dismissed the rest and went into the office which was previously occupied by Dave. He had the room cleaned by some soldiers. The only things left there were a table with three chairs, a cupboard and some weapon and armour hanging from the walls. He had some spare time now, before Walter returned with those 'rats'. He quietly waited while making plans for the coming days.
"This territory is too underdeveloped. I will have to start work as soon as possible. Let's see, the cadets should be done in a month, after that…"
He was not going to teach them to use guns right now. Before he had a stable level of infrastructure ready, and the region had industrialised, there was no meaning in introducing guns as he would have to purchase everything from the system. For now the basic sword, spear and bow would have to work. He also wouldn't begin the special training which was meant for officers. This would be done later. His primary focus would be to improve the standard of the people. After all, these people who did not even know what gravity was, had to be educated first. Or else using the system to bring out modern weapons and technology would be no better than giving a computer to a caveman. Development was a step by step process, it had to be started at the basics, and then one could move gradually upwards. Luckily he did not have any pressing crisis on his head, and could take things slowly.
"All of this is such a pain…"
He felt a headache coming. Add was a soldier and the work of social development was not his job. But now that he had such an identity, this was something he must do. His reasons were simple, he wanted to live a free life, but to do that in this world he would need power, and to get that power, he could only depend on himself. Add knew that this world was reality and not a novel, where one man could go against the world and still win. No matter how strong he was, he would never make the mistake of assuming that he could become undefeatable in the world. As such having the power of a nation behind him was very assuring, and if he did not have a nation? It was simple, he would build one for himself! The Soviet Union became a superpower within a few decades, rising from a rural and agricultural country to a massive industrial power, and it would be as shame on him if he could not do the same in such a small region and with the aid of the System supporting him.
Finally, late in the afternoon, Walter returned along with the soldiers who were dragging some other people with them. When the group reached the barracks, Walter quickly went and fetched Add. The young lord calmly looked at the few people whom the soldiers had brought back. There were 16 men of varying ages, some were very old, some were middle aged. These people were actually officials working under Walter, and were among the few officials who managed the workings of the territory. With the help of the soldiers, Walter had quickly captured all of them and brought them before Add. Only a few had managed to escape after hearing the news of Dave being killed. Till now, he had no means of acting against these people since they had Dave on their side. But now that he was gone, these people could easily be dealt with. As Add looked at the officials one by one, they trembled in fear. They knew what had happened yesterday and all of them had connections with Dave and were supporting him from behind the scenes. It was clear that whatever was ahead of them was not anything nice. Add smiled coldly and did not spare them another glance.
"Hick."
"Yes Milord!"
"Bring these people to the town square"
"As you wish!"
The town square was just a street across from the barracks, the soldiers dragged the men there, while Add and and Walter followed. When they were at the town square, the gazes of the various people fell on them. Many of them had witnessed the killings at the barracks yesterday and felt fear when Add passed by them. However, most people still looked over in curiosity, as to what the lord was up to today. They recognised the officials whom the soldiers were dragging along, and wondered why these people who were normally quite powerful, in this condition today. And their questions were soon answered, when Add began speaking.
"All people who are gathered here, today I your lord have something to say to everyone! As you all know, yesterday I executed Dave and his followers who wanted to rebel against me! However, it turns out that he was not alone in this plan, rather he also had the support of these officials! They who were entrusted to work for the territory and given these positions by my family, betrayed me! I feel that I have been too soft lately, and everyone is trying to get over my head! So today I am going to show what happens if anyone dares to scheme behind my back!"
The people looked in anticipation as they waited for what the young lord was about to do.
"Men! Make them kneel"
At his shout, the soldiers holding the officials dragged them to the front and made them kneel in a line. Their hands were tied behind their backs which made it difficult for them to move. The officials realised that something terrible was about to happen and began screaming and begging for help. Some were crying and asking for mercy, asking for forgiveness but Add was indifferent to their pleas. He drew his sword and stood in front of an official. The soldier holding him immediately stepped back. The official was still asking for help and mercy, when in a flash, Add lifted his sword and beheaded the man. His head rolled on the ground, fear and despair still eminent on his face. The body slumped down and lay motionless. Not wasting tie, Add moved on and chopped the heads of the other fifteen officials. Sadly, they gave no Exp, the system judged them to be too weak for that. The entire town square was silent, not a person dared move. They watched in shock and horror as Add killed all the men, their blood making pools on the ground.
"Today I want everyone to know that there is only one punishment for those who dare scheme against me and try to betray me. Death! In the future, everyone should remember this! If anyone feels that they have enough strength to go against me then they are welcome to try, but they can only blame themselves when they die!"
His cold voice made everyone shiver. Having spoken what he intended to, he left the place with Walter in tow, who signalled the soldiers to clean up the mess. If yesterday Add had shocked the masses, then today, he had instilled fear in them. Everyone now knew what would happen if you went against the lord. Many people sighed, they felt as if they had jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire! The previous wastrel young lord was still much better than this tyrant young lord. They cursed their fates as they could only fear of what was to come in the following days. However one thing was certain, today the young Lord Weismann had established his prestige by spilling the blood of his enemies, and few if any in this territory would want to challenge his rule from now on.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _