"That is some dangerous gaze you have there," said Goro, the leader of the party. He rested his massive greatsword on his shoulder. "I take it you're the husband the blacksmith mentioned?"
"This doesn't concern you," Lexel said, softly releasing his embrace on Anthierin. He stepped forward, his eyes fixed on the Chief. "My business is with him alone."
"Such cold intent," the shielder muttered, shifting his stance uneasily.
"Begin Guild! Protect me!" Teddy shouted, scrambling behind the adventurers. "I offer you Gs! Anything you want! 10,000 Gs! Just kill him!"
As the Chief of the village, Teddy was loaded with funds skimmed from taxes and corrupt projects. To a mercenary guild, that kind of money was hard to ignore.
The surviving villagers gasped. Everything was calm two days ago. Now, the village was in ruins, monsters were dead, and their Chief was ordering a hit on a villager.
Goro let out a low whistle. "10,000? That is... really hard to pass on."
Lexel smirked. He didn't break stride. "It won't make a difference."
"Oh?" Goro raised an eyebrow.
"Whether you hide behind walls, bushes, or a bunch of iron scraps," Lexel said, looking at their armor. "The result is the same."
The shielder and Goro stepped in front of Teddy, walling him off completely.
"Lexel..." Anthierin whispered, reaching out.
"It's alright," Lexel said softly, not looking back.
"On behalf of the Begin Guild, I, Goro, accept that offer," the leader grinned, hoisting his greatsword. "Now, Lexel, was it? You can either scram, or—"
Lexel moved.
He didn't run. He walked with the stride of a grandmaster—footsteps clean, rhythm perfect, distance closed in a heartbeat.
"I have an ugly experience with greatswords," Lexel murmured, remembering his past life. "But you... you lack the weight."
He swooped in.
"Die!" Goro hacked down with a vertical slash.
Lexel didn't dodge. He slapped the flat of the blade with his gauntlet, deflecting the heavy strike to the side with terrifying precision. Goro stumbled, his balance broken.
The shielder reacted instantly, stepping in to cover his leader. He slammed his tower shield down, bracing for impact. "Iron Wall!"
Lexel cocked his right fist back. The leather of his gauntlet creaked under the strain of his overflowing Strength.
BANG!
The sound was like a cannon firing.
"Guha!"
The shielder spat blood through his helmet. His eyes bulged in shock.
Lexel's fist hadn't just hit the shield; it had punched through the shock absorption. A massive, fist-shaped dent caved the metal inward, striking the shielder's face on the other side.
Lexel didn't stop.
Left. Right. Left.
A blur of combos rained down on the metal.
CLANG! CRUNCH! SNAP!
The tower shield—a fortress of steel—was folded like a piece of wet cardboard.
"You're expired," Lexel said coldly.
He threw one final punch. The shielder's knees buckled. He slammed into the ground, unconscious, his prized defense ruined.
Anthierin covered her mouth in disbelief. She knew that shield. She had forged it herself using reinforced steel plates. It was meant to withstand ogres. Yet, under Lexel's fists, it looked like paper.
And his gauntlets... Anthierin stared at Lexel's hands. They are just standard leather and iron. How?! How did they withstand that impact without shattering? Is he coating them in Aether? Or is his technique just that perfect?
Lexel stepped over the unconscious shielder and walked toward the gobsmacked Goro.
"Wait..." Yara, the mage, spoke up, his voice trembling. "The torn limbs... the crushed carapace... Were you the one who killed the Dark Mantis?"
The question hung in the air. The villagers went silent.
"You..." Goro looked at the shielder, then at Lexel. The realization hit him.
He knew he couldn't kill a Dark Mantis. At best, his party could drive one off. But to tear one apart? To crush a shield with bare fists?
"Monster..." Goro whispered, raising his sword defensively.
"Tch. How boring."
Lexel kicked the tip of the greatsword upward. As the blade rose, he reached out and grabbed the steel edge with his gauntleted hand.
He squeezed.
PING!
With a casual pinch of his fingers, he snapped the tip of the heavy blade off as if it were a biscuit.
Goro dropped the sword, his battle spirit instantly extinguished. He fell to his knees, trembling. It wasn't a fight. It was an execution.
Lexel walked past him.
"Don't come closer! Go AWAY!"
Teddy stumbled backward, tripping over his own robes. He crawled through the dirt, his eyes wide with terror as the shadow of the War God fell over him.
"I will offer you Gs! You want Gs, right?! I have thousands! I can give you the village!" Teddy shrieked.
Lexel stood over him, looking down with eyes like molten lava.
"How loathsome."
Lexel reached down and grabbed Teddy by the ankle.
"No! Wait—!"
SLAM!
Lexel swung the old man like a wet rag, smashing him into the cobblestones on the right.
SLAM!
He swung him left, cracking the pavement.
He lifted the dazed, bloodied Chief into the air. Teddy gurgled, his face a mask of broken bone and regret.
Lexel's hand formed a claw.
"Die," Lexel whispered.
SLASH.
His fingers tore through the soft flesh of the Chief's throat.
Teddy dropped to the ground, choking on his own blood. The reign of the corrupt Chief ended not with a war, but with a gurgle.
The square was silent. The only sound was the wet rasp of the dying man.
Goro, the Guild Leader, was still on his knees. His greatsword lay broken beside him. He stared at the Chief's corpse, his face pale, sweat beading on his forehead. He had lost his weapon, his employer, and his pride in less than a minute.
"I..." Goro stammered, his voice trembling. "I withdraw. The contract is void. We... we didn't know—"
Lexel didn't even look at him. He stepped over Teddy's body, his boots crunching on the loose cobblestones. He walked past the kneeling adventurer, moving behind him.
To the villagers, it looked like mercy. It looked like he was walking away.
"You accepted the offer," Lexel said softly. His voice was calm, devoid of anger, stating a fact like one states the weather.
Goro stiffened. He felt the shadow of the War God loom over his back. "Wait. I'm a registered adventurer! If you kill me, the Guild will—"
Lexel didn't wait for the excuse.
He raised his hand, fingers straightened into a spear-hand strike.
"No mercy for those who bare their fangs."
THWACK.
Lexel thrust his hand forward.
Metal screamed.
His hand punched straight through the back of Goro's heavy plate armor. The steel cuirass, designed to stop arrows and sword strikes, crumpled like tin foil under the concentrated force of Lexel's STR.
"Gu... ha..."
Goro's eyes bulged. He looked down.
He saw Lexel's bloodied fingertips protruding from the center of his chest, piercing his heart.
"You..." Goro gasped, blood pouring from his mouth.
Lexel ripped his hand back out.
SQUELCH.
Goro slumped forward, face-planting into the dirt next to his broken sword. He didn't twitch.
Lexel flicked his wrist, shaking the blood and bits of heart tissue off his gauntlet. He looked around the square, his golden eyes finally landing on the last conscious member of the party—Yara, the skinny mage.
Yara stood frozen, clutching his staff. His knuckles were white. He looked at the shielder (unconscious), the leader (dead), and the employer (dead).
Lexel took a step toward him.
"And you?" Lexel asked. "Do you want the money too?"
Yara dropped his staff. It clattered loudly on the stones. He fell to his knees, pressing his forehead against the ground in a desperate kowtow.
"I surrender! I saw nothing! I did nothing! Please!"
Lexel stared at the mage for a heartbeat. The killing intent slowly receded, leaving behind a cold, heavy pressure.
"Good," Lexel said. He turned back to Anthierin, extending a gore-stained hand to help her up. "Because I'm tired of cleaning up trash."