Requiem stood calmly and watched as the guards were stripped down and plundered. After a while, his grin collapsed and he turned to his side. A few guards were rushing here and they were not from within the castle.
This was pathetic. Did he really need to dirty his hands this early into the game? The guards in that group were different from the castle's, armoured heavier and carrying better weapons. There was no reaction from Requiem as he watched them charge in his direction, his face plain as a rock.
"Guards!" the slaves shouted, their faces twisting as they scurried away, crawling behind their leader Requiem given that he was the only one armed here. As the guards came close enough, the gleam in their eyes grew and three out of the two dozen charged forth.
"Oh?" his eyes gleamed as he turned to stare at the charging slaves. They had a strong sense of defence for a little boy they just met. Nevertheless, he could let his precious pawns die so early in a battle. He clapped his hands, attracting attention to himself, "Can the guards, please kill themselves."
⦗Blessing Active!⦘
"Yes, Lord." One of the guards spoke, swinging his blade and severing another guard in halves. A vicious light flashed behind him and he himself collapsed to the ground, and all that was left was the last of seven. The guard struggled fiercely, but he took his blade and impaled himself.
Requiem stared at them as the bodies collapsed to the ground, then he shifted his gaze back to a developing battle. He felt strange watching the battle unfold, so he lowered his gaze to the slave that led the charge earlier. It was a young man who looked barely an adult, "Why had you done that?"
"No matter what, servants must defend their masters." He spoke with his head pressed hard on the ground, his short black hair gathered dust. He had acted on impulse and ignored his weaknesses as situations like that were best handled by those with fighting ability.
"That is an interesting mindset." The cold light in Requiem's eyes sharpened.
"Thank you, master!" the boy shouted and Requiem scoffed internally, 'This idiot could have died in an instant if not for my 'Blessing'. I should have waited to see how far this bravado carries him. Yet alas, good pawns could not be discarded.'
"The gates have been claimed!" a golden haired slave roared, donning the armour of a guard. His cry reached Requiem, capturing the boy's attention. After that they turned to the door, but before the slaves could make a move, the doors burst open and guards charged out stylishly.
Only for them to stylishly discover that they were heavily outnumbered by the slaves. They tried to enter a formation but the slaves rushed forward and swung their weapons. Gore was scattered in the air, and the decapitated guards fell to the ground in an instant.
"Oh…" Requiem blinked. The guards died too easily. He guessed this castle was not that great of a fighting force. He reached out his hand, "Halt, my servants! That was the most brilliant trap for fools like you. Return to my position at once, and assume a charging formation."
The guards were not stupid. They had led a few fools outside as a sacrifice to draw in the slaves to the castle where they would gain the element of surprise. If the number of guards inside reached a multiple of the guards slaughtered outside, then it would be very effective.
"How can a big castle like this not have any archers?" he pinched his chin as the slaves retreated to his side. Had the lords here spent so much on fortifying the building to disregard their fight force? That would be greatest joke he could tell himself, "Those with shields, defend us from ahead."
"Us?" one of the slaves wondered out loud, then he instantly covered his mouth. Requiem turned to the slave, then after a moment of silence, sighed. Requiem held his arms behind his back, stepping forward and standing behind the shields at the frontier as the slaves watched.
"Everyone is going to charge in." He assumed a serious expression. His memory was blank, but a sense of self remained: gaining a better grasp at who he was the longer he spent. As all the slaves he ordered gathered around him in defence, he pointed to the open door.
If the enemy had an ounce of intelligence then they would easily predict this stance. What they'd never predict was the leader to charge in with these worthless slaves at the middle and his owning a skill that would allow him to bend their will to his wishes.
He had his hand wrapped tight around Fay's neck, "Worse comes to worse, I will use her body as a meat shield to defend my frail body and have the castle guards slaughter themselves. All I need is a chance and I will exploit that to the best of my capabilities!"
The earth trembled as the slaves charged forward like a mad stampede, trampling over stripped guards and bloodied plants. A volley of arrows were fired from within the castle, and Requiem wore a cold smirk. They were prepared to slaughter them with this trap.
He charged ahead with the slaves, ordering them to be careful not to trample over each other in the confusion. The arrows bounced off the shields ahead and they were allowed easy access into the castle, where a massive group of archers waited for them.
"Oh… what was the cuss word I need to us again?" he turned to one of the slaves and then back to the archers as they drew their arrows, and released a volley upon them. In an instant, bodies of a few slaves collapsed to the ground, arrows through the skull, "Oh, fucking bastards."
As the enemy archers reloaded, a cold gleam flashed in his eyes and he stood to his feet. They all shifted their arrows in his direction and at that moment he shouted, "Fire!" the slave archers stood, a cold gleam in their eyes as they drew their arrows on the other archers.
"Oh…" he chuckled, "Who would die first?"