The silence in the grand hall was no longer empty; it was heavy, pregnant with a terrifying pressure that seemed to distort the very air. To Freddy, Victus, and the gathered captains, the figures of Rayn and Vespera sitting atop the dais didn't look like mere cultivators. For a fleeting, heart-stopping second, they appeared as ancient deities carved from blood and starlight, looking down upon the mortal world with absolute indifference.
It was an illusion born of pure, unadulterated fear, a mental fracture caused by Rayn's overwhelming presence.
"Wake the fuck up!" Rayn's voice boomed, shattering the mental haze like a hammer through glass. He shouted a second time, his voice laced with a sliver of Gnosis that forced their souls back into their bodies.
The room snapped back into focus. The "gods" were gone, replaced by the two alphas of the pack: a white-haired monster and his demonic shadow. Freddy wiped the cold sweat from his brow, his legs still trembling. He realized then that Rayn didn't just want their service; he owned their very perception of reality.
Rayn leaned forward, his eyes locking onto Matthew. "The location, Matthew. Give me the exact coordinate of these bandit cunts. If I'm going to have a massacre, I want to know where to start the fire".
Matthew straightened his robes, his expression grim. "They are entrenched in the Dead Man's Forest, right in the throat between the Sterling borders and Ashburg. It is a thick, cursed terrain. As I told you before, there are at least ten thousand of them, perhaps more".
Ten thousand. The number hung in the air like a death sentence. Rayn's team was powerful, but ten thousand coordinated killers in their own territory was a suicidal gamble. Rayn's gaze flickered to Vespera. He saw the hesitation in his own mind reflected in her golden eyes for a split second before it was replaced by a predatory hunger. She wasn't at full strength—not even close—but she was a remnant of a power that had once wiped kingdoms off the map.
The hesitation vanished. Rayn smirked, and Vespera mirrored the expression, an unspoken understanding passing between them that made the others in the room feel like prey. Chandler, Victus, and Freddy watched the two of them smile at each other in utter confusion and mounting dread.
"Ten thousand," Rayn repeated, his voice mockingly thoughtful. "And you say the forest is so thick we'd have to hunt them? That's a fucking waste of time. If we go looking for them, it's a suicide mission".
"Then what do you propose?" Vespera asked, her voice like silk over a razor blade.
"If we can't find them, we make them find us," Rayn replied, his grin widening. "We're going to disguise ourselves as a high-value Merchant Caravan coming from the neighboring territories into Ashburg. These bandits exist for one reason: greed. They want to starve Ashburg? Fine. We'll show them a prize so fat they won't be able to resist coming out of their holes to bite it. And when they do... we kill every single one of them. No survivors. Not one fucking soul".
The room went cold. Victus stepped forward, his voice shaking. "Are you insane? Even if they take the bait, what if we aren't enough for ten thousand? What if they have masters among them? We'll be swarmed!"
Rayn's eyes snapped to Victus, turning into slits of crimson ice. "That's why I called you all here. If you think your balls are too small for this fight, go the fuck back to your prison cell and wait for the Sterling King to execute you".
No one moved. No one dared to say no. They didn't know what Rayn would do to a "no," but the violet gore staining the floor upstairs was a vivid enough deterrent. They were trapped between a forest of ten thousand bandits and a single white-haired demon. They chose the bandits.
"The participants for tomorrow's harvest: Me, Vespera, Matthew, Victus, Freddy, Chandler, and the First Division members," Rayn commanded.
Freddy frowned, looking at the old man. "Why does Matthew have to go? He's old enough as it is. I don't think he's good enough for a front-line slaughter".
Matthew didn't bother with words. He simply released his Vortex. A wave of emerald-green pressure slammed into the room, heavy and suffocating. Freddy's jaw shut so hard his teeth clicked. Rayn smirked, watching the veterans realize that the "old man" was still a monster in his own right.
"I think you understand why he's important now," Rayn dryly noted.
Rayn turned back to Victus. "Tell me, 'Prince.' If you had become the leader of Ashburg, what was the Sterlings' plan for these bandits?"
Victus looked at the floor, his voice hollow. "I was to allow the new bandits and Sterling infiltrators to enter the city freely. The goal was to destroy Ashburg from the inside—make the people hate each other, kill each other, and burn the town until they begged for the Sterling King to 'save' them".
Matthew's face contorted with pure, unadulterated rage. "You are a disgrace to your father's memory! Dawinton spent decades protecting this town, helping people who weren't even his kin! And you... you were going to sell it all for a puppet's crown?"
Rayn raised a hand, stopping Matthew's outburst. "What happened is in the past. I care about today. And today, I want something from you, Matthew".
"What the fuck do you want now?" Matthew snapped, his nerves frayed. "I've given you the location, I've given you my vortex—what else is there?"
Rayn didn't answer with words. In a blur of motion, a blade of pure, jagged ice manifested in his hand. Before anyone could react, the freezing edge was pressed against Matthew's throat.
"Sir Rayn!" Matthew's assistants shouted from the corner, drawing their weapons. "If you hurt him, we won't hesitate to kill you!"
Rayn didn't even look at them. He gripped the sword tighter, the ice drawing a thin line of frozen blood on Matthew's neck. "Where is the Treasure of Ashburg?"
Matthew's eyes widened. He hesitated for a heartbeat too long.
"Don't lie to me, old man," Rayn hissed. "You think I didn't notice? The Sterling family isn't just attacking for a piece of land. They want the treasure that you and Dawinton 'liberated' from them years ago".
Matthew sighed, the fight leaving his body. "It exists. But it's not gold or jewels. It is a collection of artifacts designed to make the users' souls stronger. We hid them where no one would dare look".
"Where?"
"Under Dawinton's grave," Matthew whispered. "The Glacier".
Victus gasped. "The Glacier? Father, Matthew, and I were the only ones who could enter... my mother's body is buried there. I never knew it was a vault".
Rayn dispelled the ice sword, the shards evaporating into mist. He turned to the assistants who were still trembling in the corner. "Hey, you cunts. Go clean up the dead body in the top room. Make it spotless".
The assistants scrambled upstairs. Moments later, a horrified wail echoed through the palace. One of the assistants stumbled back, vomiting onto the carpet at the sight of Alurus's brutalized, purple remains. This Rayn is not a man who can just control a town, the assistant thought through his bile. He is a man who will lead the world, and anyone who stands in his way will be ground into meat.
Rayn ignored the sounds of retching. He looked at his motley crew—a demon, a merchant, a traitor, a captain, and a veteran.
"Let's go," Rayn commanded. "We're going to the Glacier. I want to see what kind of toys the 'King' left behind for me".
The team moved out,
their shadows lengthening against the obsidian walls of the palace as they marched toward the resting place of the dead, ready to unearth the power needed for a massacre.