The flaming phoenix mercenaries were too busy beating the crap out of people. They didn't notice Draven staring at them from the sky above them. But that soon changed as Draven closed his wings and landed right in the middle of the street. The mercenaries were startled.
"Hey look!"
"Where the fuck he came from?"
"Who is this clown?"
"Look, fresh meat,"
The mercenaries finally noticed Draven. Those who were beating up a man beside a woman and child turned their gaze toward Draven.
"Where were you hiding?" a mercenary strolled toward Draven with a wooden club in his hand. He licked the wooden bat with an evil smirk.
"You look fresh. Let me rough you up a little," The mercenary snickered. Without a second thought, he swung the bat aiming for Draven's head. Draven did not move a muscle until the bat was a few inches away from his head. Finally, Draven grabbed the bat at lightning-quick speed. His reflex surprised the mercenary.
Under everyone's gaze, Draven snatched the bat from the mercenary's hand.
"Hey," The mercenary growled. But before he could react, Draven swung the bat. Unlike Draven, the mercenary couldn't stop the bat on time. Blood splattered with a sickening cracking sound when the bat hit the mercenary's head. The fellow mercenaries were stunned. The mercenary hit the ground with a thud. Blood oozed out of his cracked skull. His body twitched until Draven stomped his head, crushing it into a paste.
"AH!" The few ladies who noticed the puppy mess screamed in terror. Draven ignored the screams. He focused on the mercenaries who were banging on Tanisha's door. What happened to their college drew their attention immediately. The mercenaries clenched their fists. Immediately two others dashed at Draven with their swords raised.
Draven remained still.
"Kill them all," Margoth snickered inside his head.
When they got closer, the swords in their hands flew out of their hands as though an invisible hand snatched the swords from them. The swords flew straight into Draven's hands. The mercenaries were caught off guard. They gawked at each other with utterly confused faces.
Draven swung the swords before throwing them back toward the soldiers. Draven used his metal manipulation to control the swords. He sent each sword through a mercenary's chest. They growled in pain as they looked won to see their sword sticking into their chest.
Blood oozed out of their chest. They tried to pull out the swords, yet their legs gave up. As a result, they collapsed. Everything around them became dark. Just like that, Draven killed three mercenaries. The remaining six trembled.
"You have no idea what you've done,"
"We are gonna kill you, bastard!"
"Take him out!"
Some of the mercenaries shouted in rage. Draven didn't react at all. His face was a blank slate. To Draven, these mercenaries were nothing but dead pigs. He didn't bother to waste his breath talking to them. Knowing nothing about Draven's metal manipulation power, three other mercenaries came running toward him from all directions.
The people were staring at Draven with both fear and delight. After a long time, they saw someone fighting against these unruly mercenaries. Everyone in Sinith feared these mercenaries. They made King Azim look like a benevolent merciful ruler. Finally, Tanisha slightly opened the door to see what was happening outside. Through the crack, she saw dead mercenaries on the ground, drowning in their own pool of blood. Another three moved toward Michele's son, having no idea he was a gifted one.
Mirian looked at Draven with sparkling eyes. The messed up, gross dead bodies didn't seem to affect his mind. He couldn't take his eyes off Draven. The mercenaries swung their swords left and right. Their eyes were predatory. Draven simply swayed his body to the side, evading the swords.
Mirian's heart beat with excitement. He saw Draven grab one of the mercenaries, snatch his sword and stab him with it. The other two were stunned. Draven pushed the mercenary onto the two before him. The mercenary, with a sword sticking into his gut, collided with the other two. As a result, they lost their balance. Draven used this as he dashed at the two. The two mercenaries didn't react until Draven plunged his sword into their hearts. His speed caught everyone off guard. He stabbed them repeatedly until the light of life completely disappeared from their eyes.
Draven was brutal as he showed no mercy to the mercenaries.
"He is definitely not a hero," Tanish mumbled under her breath. Although she had never left SInit or ever met a hero, she knew heroes don't kill people. He obviously didn't look like a supervillain, either. Hence when he killed the mercenaries ruthlessly, she was stunned. There was no remorse or any regret in his eyes. His face looked cold. He didn't even flinch when the blood splattered on his face.
"Call for backup,"
"RUN!"
The remaining mercenaries lost their will to fight after seeing Draven killing their colleagues. Unfortunately for them, Draven was not in the mood to spare them.
"What's he gonna do?" Mirian asked Tanisha, looking at the mercenaries running away. To his shock, Draven vanished from his sight and appeared in front of the mercenaries in a blink of an eye.
"He can fly and teleport. Cool," Mirian's eyes sparkled. Tanisha immediately closed his eyes before Mirian could see Draven behead the mercenaries who tried to run away.
"It's time for some tasty souls," Margoth chuckled.
"Don't do it now," Draven quickly stopped Margoth.
"Why?'
"The people are watching us. I promise you, you will get more souls than you can absorb. Just wait for a little bit,"
Draven didn't alienate the Sinith people completely. Not because he wanted to be on their good side but because he didn't want to attract UFH to Sinith. Unlike in Veland, there was no king in Sinith to stop the UFH from coming here. Draven was strong but not strong enough to take on the UFH.
"You promise?" asked Margoth. He was certainly not happy with Draven's orders, yet he reluctantly agreed with him.
"Yes,"
"You better keep your word," Margoth growled.
After killing all the mercenaries, Draven swung his wrist as blood splattered across the ground. The people stared at him with terrified faces. They were afraid of what he would do to them.
"You don't have to fear me," Draven's words echoed through the silent streets.
"The ones who have to fear are them," Draven stepped on a dead body and strolled forward toward the people.
"Recently, I learned my mother fought in the rebellion against King Azim. For whatever reason, she wasn't able to pull it off. That's why I am here. To finish what she started," said Draven. For a few moments, none of the people dared to utter a word.
"And I am not going to ask for your help. In fact, I am here to tell you not to get in my way. But if you need my help, create a smoke signal. I will be there for you," Draven did not linger around. He just used short distance teleportation to vanish from their sight.
"Wait!" Tanisha shouted. However, she was too late, as Draven had already disappeared from their sight. The people were terrified. Once the other mercenaries come looking for their missing patrol, they would make the villagers pay for what Draven had done.
Draven counted on it. That was why he headed toward the nearby inn. He wanted to be in close proximity to Tanisha's place. After flying for a few minutes, Draven finally located a tavern. He looked down to see a few guards patrolling the streets. He slowly descended to the ground, avoiding the patrol. From the outside, the tavern before him looked unwelcoming, disturbing, and depressing. Clay bricks and marble stones made up most of the building's outer structure.
It was near impossible to see through the dusty windows, but the depressing vibes from within could be felt outside.
As Draven entered the tavern through the heavily used metal door, he was welcomed by silence and a few groans.
The bartender was a bald man who was rubbing a glass with a cloth. Though it was not getting cleaner, he made no effort to acknowledge Draven's presence. It was as dull inside as it was on the outside. Stone beams supported the upper floor and the huge, dusty lamps attached to them. The walls were decorated with mining tools. Anyone with a pair of eyes could tell this place hasn't been maintained or cleaned for years.
The tavern itself was almost completely abandoned, as Draven expected. The few people inside were eerily silent. Draven glanced at the mercenaries as they glanced at him back with bewildered faces. His armor raised a few eyebrows.
"Drinks are five, dinner is fifteen," The bartender said in a thick voice. He didn't even bother to look Draven in the eyes.
"I need a room," said Draven. The bartender finally turned his gaze toward him. He looked shocked. Why would anyone want to stay in this dump? Even the bartender wouldn't spend a night in one of his rooms.
"That's thirty per day," Draven took out a bunch of etherials and placed them on the table. The mercenaries and the others almost spat out blood when they heard the outrageous price. However, Draven didn't mind. He thought the thirty etherials as remuneration for what was about to happen once the mercenaries got word of what he did.
The bartender counted the etherials a few times. He even took a closer look at each coin. Finally, he put the coins in his pocket and took a key from under the shelf.
"Upstairs, second door to the right," said the bartender. This time with a more gentle tone.
"Thank you," Draven nodded before heading for his room.