The cunning "leader" could only swallow all the flowery words he was about to say. It was like something was stuck in his throat for a moment, making him unable to speak. But he resolved that problem quickly and said, "Young master, we heard that the young master is allowing the nobles to leave through a secret tunnel."
Collum clenched his fist when he heard that. He really wanted to bash the skulls of those nobles in. How was it a secret tunnel if everyone knew about it?
'I've wronged you, general Kendrick and master Erik.'
He could only apologize internally, and would do so externally when Kendrick came out of his study room. Until then, he could only ask for forgiveness from Erik, not now, later.
Erik was not paying him any mind as he looked at the shifty "leader" who shrank his head back a little when he saw Erik's eyes on him.
"Yes, and?" Erik asked.
His words stunned everyone. He wasn't denying that? This made everyone look at him with astonishment. What kind of joke was this?
"Here we were living our lives in hiding, thinking that there was no way out." One of the leaders, who was quick enough, took advantage of this and continued, "But young master, why did you not tell us about this?"
"Yes, young master. How can you do this to us?"
"Yes…"
.
.
Many followed the "leader" and voiced out, clearly furious. Even those who believed in Erik, or more specifically, in Kendrick, started having doubts. They felt like they were betrayed and were taken advantage of. Why would they do this to them? Was the question that occupied their minds now.
"Are you going to use us as cannon fodder when the Alliance army invades us so you can run away?"
Someone said it out loud, he was clearly furious with him. And his words made many follow his step, their expression changed as they felt the person was saying something very significant and turned toward Erik, but his face stayed frozen as he stared back at them.
One by one, voices started to rise and people pushed. Soldiers did their best and kept the people at bay.
"Tell us!"
"We demand you…"
"Damn you!"
"Bastard…"
Different voices registered in Erik's ears, but he stood there, his back straight and face relaxed, like they were talking about someone else. Collum, meanwhile, was gritting his teeth as he looked at the people. He knew how much trouble Erik was going through, planning and protecting these people. The same people who were cursing him at that moment.
"Ungrateful bastards." He said under his breath.
Just then a voice sounded from next to Erik, curious, "What's happening, young master?"
Collum looked at Valcroy, who was looking at the crowd curiously. First, where did he come from? The Crucible still had time to open and second, how was he able to stay this vigorous, he remembered his first time in the Crucible, he could barely stand when he was done and was taken to infirmary on a stretcher.
Erik's attention was also grabbed by Valcroy, but he was thinking about something else entirely. He could feel that he was stronger than before, but he still hasn't reached his limit yet.
Instead of answering his question, he asked, "Why are you here?"
"The room opened, and the magic in the chamber fizzed out." He replied, still looking at the sea of people, and once again asked, "What is going on here?"
Erik was silent, but Collum was not, as he said, "It's not possible, the chamber has enough mana for it to last an entire week."
Valcroy turned his head toward Collum and replied, "I don't know sir, maybe the guards haven't refilled the tank. It's okay, I forget about things from time to time, I think."
Collum was speechless. He looked at Valcroy's innocent expression and his eyebrows twitched. He refrained from saying anything, but still sent a soldier to check up on the chamber.
"Answer us!"
"We demand…"
Valcroy's attention was brought back to the people, and could tell from their words that they were asking for something. He turned to Erik, who just shook his head. Now was not the time to explain anything, and said, "We'll talk later."
Valcroy, although curious, still obliged and took a step back, staying beside him. He was his squire, after all.
The cunning "leader" was having trouble hiding his grin. This was going way too smoothly. He was hired by the nobles to create chaos and change public opinion about the Frostbornes, and he felt he overachieved that. Just as he was living his dream, he heard colonel Collum's thunderous voice, "SILENCE!!"
And there was silence. These were ordinary people, non-practitioners, who couldn't wield mana and would live their entire life without doing so. Colonel Collum had amplified his voice with mana, which made everyone's ears tingle and the pressure pushed them down, like they were carrying a boulder on their shoulders. Many's expressions turned pale, same for the leaders who had their eyes opened wide.
They didn't expect Erik to choose such methods to deal with him and felt fear. Some had unwillingness, but fear was still more dominant.
Erik was looking at everyone's nervous and pale expression and felt like something inside him broke. He felt a little sad but didn't show it on his face, he asked, "Do you really think I would choose something bad for you?"
His words silenced many, those who believed in him became a little guilty. They felt they had disappointed him, which made them lower their heads, not daring to meet his gaze. While those who were furious with him just turned more angry and indignant.
"Speak!" Erik said out loud, his voice reverberating along with the anger in it.
One of them said, "Young master, if you want the best for us, then let us use the tunnel."
"Yes."
"Yeah."
"Agreed."
.
.
His words gained the favor of many. The entire sea of people agreed to his statement.
Erik took a deep breath and the sadness in his eyes vanished as something else replaced it. Collum didn't feel it, but Valcroy could see it, clear as day. Fortunately, no one was looking at him as his eyes changed and he observed the red glow around him. Surprisingly, no one else could see that glow.
He stayed silent, now was not the time to interrupt him. Erik just stared at the sea of people, his mind filled with thoughts, but one was consuming him the most. What should he do now?
Letting them use the tunnel was the same as sending them to their death. Just as he was thinking, the situation took a turn, the worst kind, and something flew toward him.
Valcroy, next to him, extended his hand hurriedly to intercept it. Erik was too lost in thoughts to even see that or maybe that the person who threw it was a professional.
Drip* Drip*
Erik's eyes gained clarity and narrowed as he looked at the blade embedded into Valcroy's hand and heard him grunt in pain.
Silence*
Someone had attacked Erik Frostborne. This move made everyone stay rooted in the position. Even the furious ones stopped. What happened? Everyone was confused. Sure, they were angry, but this was going too far. What they didn't know was that they had made things worse for themselves.
Erik's eyes stayed on Valcroy's hand. He clenched his hand as he looked toward the crowd. Everyone shivered when they saw that and unconsciously took a step back.
"Those who want to leave the city, to the left. Others to the right."
Everyone shivered when they heard that. Erik didn't use any mana to amplify his voice, but everyone could hear it. Like he was standing next to him. They gulped, but those strong-willed ones steeled their minds and contemplated their choices.
Many felt that Erik might execute those on the left and wanted to choose the right, but then they heard him say, "I promise on the name of Frostborne I won't harm anyone in Iron'Heits, so choose without considering my anger."
After which he turned to Valcroy, who was still energetic.
"Ow, ow…careful."
"Shut up. You are not a child." Collum berated him, which shut Valcroy's mouth.
Mallory took the blade out and used a talisman to close the wound. Erik looked at his hand, which was almost as good as new. This was the second time he saved him. The attempt on him almost took his life. 'I had my guard down again. Maybe I am being too carefree,' he thought
"Young master, the red glow." Valcroy said, which confused Mallory and Collum, but Erik understood what he meant. He turned to Collum and Mallory, saw their confused faces, and concluded that they couldn't see the red aura around him. Valcroy didn't have those weird eyes, so they couldn't and shouldn't experiment with that.
Tap* Tap*
The footsteps grabbed everyone's attention, and they saw the sea of people parting, people choosing a side. Valcroy also saw this. He was curious about this tunnel and the whole situation. He was also angry at the person who threw it. He had just healed and now he was gifted a new hole in his body. Luckily, he had strengthened his body.
After some time, the people had selected, which made Erik release a deep breath internally. He really didn't know what to say. The greater part of the population had opted to move out of the city.
"The children cannot leave." He said, making many parents' expressions turn pale.
"That is final." He said. Many protested and cursed him, but he didn't care and continued, "You have one hour to prepare. If you care about your children and loved ones, then stay. If not, then leave. But remember, after leaving the city. You will no longer be part of the Dominion."
"You can't do this to us."
.
.
People protested, but this time Erik didn't let it escalate and turned to Collum, who understood his assignment and said once more, "SILENCE!"
Which did the magic and then he continued, "YOU HAVE 59 MINUTES TO GET BACK HERE, NOW GO!"
Everyone scrambled, while the parents gritted their teeth, torn between the choices. Most had it easy for them. They didn't leave and stayed with their kids, but there were a couple of people who held dearly to their lives and abandoned their children. Erik let Mallory handle this (the children, of course)
The chaos ensued as everyone ran to their homes and packed their belongings, taking everything that they could and leaving the useless things behind. If not for the soldiers, they would've robbed and stolen but couldn't, so the chaos remained within its confines.
The nobles, when they heard the news, snickered. They wanted to see Erik's frozen face turn bad when he sent this much work force with them. They could use these people and make their own little town or something and would be the sole ruler of it. With their wealth, they can have the Alliance give them asylum and then they would slowly rank up in there and become an important figure in the Alliance. These nobles were pretty ambitious. Soon, their departure time had arrived.
They left their house, which was the only thing they couldn't take, making them sigh. And arrived where the tunnel was. This tunnel was next to an isolated villa, which was left there by a noble unknown to even them. Many called it a haunted villa and ended up burning it to the ground. Now there was nothing but its ruins.
The nobles stopped, regrouped as they advanced, but couldn't move any further than the gates as the infantry of the soldiers were guarding it, Erik was sitting on a chair, with Valcroy standing next to him, his hand bandaged and looking at the nobles with curious eyes. Meanwhile, Erik was calm and collected, as usual.
Soon, the villa became crowded, which made many nobles grin. They looked at Erik with a smirk, who remained indifferent. He walked to one side, and the infantry opened the path.
"You have thirty minutes to leave the city. If not, then'll you be considered aliens and will be given punishment accordingly."
After which he just stood there, staring at the people who pushed and pulled each other, trying to be the first one to enter the tunnel. There was chaos, but no soldier moved forward to contain it. They let it be and watched everyone with different expressions. Some wanted to curse them for being traitors, while some had the desire in their eyes. They wanted to follow them out but couldn't.
In less than twenty minutes, the last person entered the tunnel, and the entrance was closed. A magic circle on it glowed and a flower with many petals on it appeared, which was wilting one at a time like some sort of timer.
They were gone. Erik and Valcroy looked at the desolate villa. The infantry also left the area. Only Collum and Mallory stayed. The dust fell back as the people who left the city disturbed it.
Erik stared at the sky, the red aura around strengthened. He kept staring at it for long before saying, "And the tragedy of Iron'Heits begins."