It had been over eight hours since Mac arrived at the Sun Grow Tribe. When he arrived, he was just of passage. He was going to visit the Crimson Coast and leave without causing trouble. But who could have expected that Mac would accidentally provoke an attack on the tribe? Much of his friends, actually. "But the important thing is that I am trying to fix it, right?" Mac tried to excuse his faults.
And he indeed was succeeding in saving the tribals (Or at least avenging them, as every one of them had their chest perforated and were on the brink of death). At that moment, Mac was calmly walking towards eight of the invaders while they were kneeling and trembling.
Previously, Mac was severely outnumbered, and his enemies had hostages to spare. But in just a few moves, causing the instant death of two of the invaders, Mac not only managed to decrease their numbers but also broke their spirit. And without missing his chance, he immediately used Hidden Will to affect their actions.
The invaders still had the power and weapons to threaten their hostages. But they didn't have the mental fortitude to break Mac's "speel" so simply.
But Mac knew that he hadn't won yet. He was still highly outnumbered, and his enemies still had the hostages. If the invaders broke free from the effects of his Hidden Will, he would be in way more trouble than before.
For starters, Mac was weaponless. He had to let go of his trusty war hammer as he needed to inflict damage quickly and from afar. Another problem was that he could not use Hidden Will to this effect again. This "power" of his, once used multiple times on the same target, would gradually lose its influence.
Mac knew his situation very well. He needed to thread his path cautiously and calmly as the lives of the tribals were at stake. He ought to reach his enemies and incapacitate them.
"I will need to keep this act just a little longer." He thought as he walked. "Just enough for me to get closer to them."
In the eyes of the invaders, with their minds clouded by the effect of the Hidden Will, Mac was a supreme existence that put more fear in their hearts than any cultivator could. If Mac didn't maintain that image, they would not obey his commands anymore. That was why he didn't rush as soon as they kneeled to him.
With every step Mac took, the chance of Hidden Will failing increased. The fact that the eight invaders were facing a fifteen-year-old would slowly clear their minds. Their reasoning would then return, and Mac's plan would fail.
He was getting closer. Mac could feel Hai's stare on his back. "Just a little more... I just need to grab the shaft." But then some invaders finally woke from their trance with a gasp.
"Oh well! Arani!" Mac didn't get as far as he wanted, so he needed to improvise. A white line of silk shot from his hair and wrapped around the shaft of his war hammer while Mac dashed. He swiftly pulled the string and reached for his weapon.
What Mac grabbed wasn't his war hammer, as the maul was missing. But in its place, a spearhead shone in glory. Since the head was detachable, Mac's weapon was designed to be a war hammer and a spear. This weird weapon was specially built by one of his friends, Blake.
With a spearhead sharper and brighter than his enemies, Mac stabbed at the head of one of the invaders. Poor soul barely recovered from Hidden Will and already died.
"Seven more to go!"
That was a depressive thought for him as every other invader had awoken from their trance. And that was why Mac did not waste time and attacked again.
Mac was in an awkward position for a second stab. He had his weapon jabbed, and the time for him to pull it back could cost him his life. So Mac went for another tactic. He swung his spear as he took a step back and slashed the face of another invader.
The spearhead lacerated his face like butter. The cut was not deep enough to take his life instantly, but his right eye was destroyed. Mac was sure he would not pose a threat to him anymore.
"Six more to go!"
But that thought was somehow more depressing than the last one. The rest of the invaders had fully recovered from Hidden Will and were ready to attack. They had abandoned their plan to use the hostages and jumped at Mac. They were enraged by the death of their friends, and they would not miss the chance now that Mac was so close.
Unfortunately for them, Mac was already retreating before his last move. He had to hastily step back as multiple spearheads inched for his life. He could go for an attack in the middle of this chaos, but even if he took a life with one move, the other five would take his with theirs.
But it was at that moment that Hai came to the rescue. She unloaded three balls of fire on top of the invaders. Her attacks were surprisingly harmless but far from useless. The damage was minimal, as those enraged soldiers would promptly break a boulder with their heads, but they were caught off guard. They would never expect a random girl in a faraway tribe to be able to summon fire from nowhere. And they also would not know that her fire did not burn.
While the invaders foolishly waste their attention trying to quench the benign fire, Mac found a good spot for his third attack. This time he used the chaos in his favor, and he thrust his spear with his whole might. This time Mac was not aiming for one head, but two. He had to hold his spear at its end to have enough range. Fortunately, his gamble paid off.
The spear traveled swiftly, piercing ahead just as quickly. It looked like just one life and one skull were not enough for the bloodbath because the spear only found its end when connected with another head. The weapon did not come out of the other side, but Mac knew he was scratching the brain.
"I mean, it will probably only leave a scar on his brain. He will probably live." Mac tried to make a stupid joke as he watched his second kill that still had a head connected to its body. Even if only half of the head lasted.
"Four more to go!"
This thought was only depressing because Mac's actions were starting to catch up to his morals. Even his crazy smile was gone. Killing in one move was never to his liking, but he did not have much choice in this situation. Mac needed to be as effective as possible to avoid this conflict from prolonging.
The invaders were not enraged anymore, but they were far from calm. The shock of seeing two of theirs dying in one move made them realize that they had already lost more than half of their ten. This time genuine fear nearly overwhelmed them. Even the lingering fire around their clothes did not bother them anymore.
Mac quickly understood the situation when he observed the invaders hesitate. They did not run nor try to beg. They just stood frozen in space with their spear pointed at Mac. They did not dare to attack first, but if Mac made the first move, they would all attack in unison. The four had found themselves in an impasse.
"I can deal with this," Mac thought. "They are too tense and afraid right now, so even a little push might trigger them." Mac's smile returned for a brief moment.
Mac took a deep breath and acted like he was about to dash at them, but that was a bluff. The poor invaders, scared for their lives, moved out of impulse and stabbed at nothing. Mac had successfully fooled them into giving him an opening.
Swiftly as ever, Mac threw his whole body to the sides, carrying his spear with a swing. He managed to cut the face of another invader. This time the cut was deadly, and that invader fell instantly.
"Three more to go... Or maybe not?"
The last three invaders let their weapons fall from their hands as their whole bodies trembled. They were ten at the start, but now only three lasted, and Mac wasn't even harmed! What were they supposed to do? This monster in front of them had already dealt with the other three of them before they even arrived! It was over for them!
Mac quickly caught on to the trio's despair and smiled satisfied. He had won this little battle of his. To finish them, he said with Hidden Will. "Go to sleep!" And the invaders instantly fell. Their will was broken to such an extent that they couldn't resist a heavy request that went beyond their control.
Ten full-grown adults had challenged a single fifteen-year-old, and only three survived. The only reason why Mac did not kill them was that he was getting bored.
Mac liked to think that he was some kind of shounen protagonist, where he would only fight flashy and dramatic battles. Yet, there he was, looking down on his headless victims that could fill a whole hand. He wasn't even touched by their blood. This was not a fight! This was a slaughter!
"This is what I am in this life, huh?" He said as he looked up at the sky. He could barely see the tiny moon amidst the smoke.
"It has only been one minute." He heard Hai saying.
When Mac turned to look at her, Hai jumped. She was frightened of him. How could she not be? He had brutally murdered more than five people practically by himself. His moves were so precise and direct that anyone would feel cold down their spine.
"One minute? What?" Mac said in confusion.
"Since the battle started," Hai managed to say while Mac briefly spared her a look. "It only took a minute for you to..." She looked at his victims. "Win!"
"Ah, yes. I guess that is the case." Mac did not care. He was trying to make himself forget about his actions. "Thanks for that save with the three balls of fire, by the way. I would have been in some trouble without your help." Mac turned to look away from Hai. He did not like to see her expression of fear.
"You saved them..." It was like Hai was forcing herself to say. "You saved my people from them. Than-"
"Nope! Stop! Don't thank me!" Mac said agitatedly. "You will definitely feel sick in the stomach if you say that!"
"But... You helped them!" Hai tried to say again, still sounding like she was forcing herself. "I know that you are partially to blame, but you have been doing your best to help. The least I can say is..."
"I am not talking about that!" Mac turned to look at her. He saw how she almost fell back in fear. Mac could tell she despised him for his actions. "If you thank me for doing something that disgusts you, you will regret that possibly for the rest of your life!"
"N-No... I... Huh?!" Hai tried to form a sentence as her mind was full of fear and confusion. "They... they are evil, right?! They tried to kill the people of my village! There is no problem in... in killing them!" Hai was desperately trying to convince herself that Mac was not a monster that disgusted her to her core.
Mac glimpsed at Hai's conflicted demeanor. He could not lie that seeing her looking at him like that hurt him. But things were how they were.
"Oh well, I apologize for showing you such an ugly side of mine!" Mac said, trying to sound confident. He was about to come up with a joke when he felt something coming behind him.
He jumped to the sides and turned midair to see a spear flying in Hai's direction. This attack could probably kill her on the spot, just like he did so many times already. But he was not gonna let that happen.
The moment Mac's right foot touched the ground, he immediately put pressure on it and launched himself. He was not gonna sacrifice himself for Hai. That was not his style. Instead, he thrust his spear with his whole body behind it. The mysterious flying spear was too fast and strong for him to catch, so he went with the second-best option (for him). Mac managed to pierce the spear in midair and shatter it with his own weapon.
His move was overly reckless and likely to fail, but he somehow succeeded. There were probably other ways to save Hai, but his chaotic side only gave him time to think about the gaudiest one.
The remains from the destroyed flying spear didn't even hit Hai, but she still fell on her ass. Her whole life flashed before her eyes. She could have died just there.
"Who comes there!?" Mac ignored Hai's state for now. He was so excited that someone had come to distract him that he pulled out a cliche line. "Show yourself!"
From the flames and wreckages, Mac saw another one of the invaders. He also had a spear in his hands, but his spearhead was almost as shiny as Mac's. The man had long dark hair and seemed more muscular than the other invaders. It was hard to tell how he looked as his face was entirely distorted in rage. "Mac Key Kast!" He said, at last.
"That voice..." Mac said as he prepared for another confrontation. "Don't tell you are that guy, Luterio?"
It seemed like Mac was gonna have his flashy fight after all.