He punched me in the stomach. I felt it, but it was a weak punch. He had no training and little muscle behind it, and I took it easily enough, hiding the small amount of pain it gave me as I grinned at him. “That’s strike two…want to go for the third and final one?” I growled at him; my tight smile fearful to behold.
He took a step back, Pissy Pants reaching out to his former lord and trying to reason with him.
“Get off me! Remember your place, fool!” he snarled, glimpsing the sheathed knife held by his other companion.
He shoved Pissy Pants aside and grabbed the knife free, twisting around to stab at my face left-handed in what he probably thought was a lethal strike. It wasn’t.
After fighting my trainers and then the battles of the last few days, it was just pathetic on every level.
I used a Tan-Sau block, as I’d been taught seemingly so long ago, deflecting the strike to the side before twisting my hand around in a fluid motion. I grabbed his wrist and pulled, extending his arm out into a full lock, overextending the elbow, and forcing the little bastard into immobility as I grabbed his throat with my other hand in a vise-like grip and squeezed.
“Let me make this very clear…” I whispered into his ear, pulling him in close. “I could have killed all of you at any time, and I really, really fucking wanted to."
"I wanted to show the rest of your villagers what a whining little bitch you are. I wanted to make you piss yourself and beg for mercy in front of them, but I couldn’t. I’m trying to be a better man. I’m going to be the Lord they deserve, not the man I could be but you?” I grinned at him, even while knowing he couldn’t see me, close as I was. “You just gave me a perfect excuse to give you a little present to remember me by. Enjoy your walk, dickbag.” With that, I released his throat and moved back, putting my left hand on his shoulder, and stamping my left foot into the back of his left leg, driving him down onto his knees in the dirt. I maintained my grip on his wrist, keeping his elbow extended. As I planted my foot firmly, I drew back my right knee and brought it up as hard and fast as I could, driving it into the outside of his locked elbow while yanking back at the same time and breaking the joint. It was a cruel move; one I’d been warned about when I’d been trained. It’d get you jail time back in the UK, as it counted as ‘Grievous Bodily Harm’. After all, if you could put someone in the position to do that, you clearly had them restrained already… but I’d trained with some people who believed in the American tactic of ‘Shock and Awe’. Do that to someone in a fight, and nobody else wanted to mess with you again. Ever.
It proved its efficacy now, as Reeve Lorek screamed in pain, the brightly colored elbow of his tunic spattered with blood from the bone shards that had punched through his skin. It was clear that the way his arm now bent was unnatural as hell, and Pissy Pants went green, backing up and covering his mouth with one hand.
The other man looked terrified but was clutching the bag to his chest and looking around from me to Oracle, to Bob, to the forest.
“I suggest you grab your friend and get him off my property…” I snarled at the pair, giving them a tight grin.
“Once he’s off my land, I think the scent of blood is going to draw some…unwanted…attention, don’t you? I’d be reconsidering my options if I were stuck with him as a traveling companion. Now, fuck off; twenty-eight minutes and counting until Bob and Oracle come to play.”
I shoved Lorek backward to fall sprawling before the pair and turned around to walk back into the Tower, ignoring their panicked attempts to get their little lord up and running.
I brought up the notifications I’d been ignoring on my way back to my Command Center, trying to bring my heart rate down and forcing myself to remember I was trying to be a better man these days.
Congratulations! You have killed a level 11 Guard, gaining 220xp. Progress to level 13 stands …
I concentrated, and with a mental command, the kill notifications blurred and resolved into one, as I really didn’t need to read all the notifications separately.
Congratulations! You have killed the following:
7x Inexperienced Soldier for a total of 940xp
2x Elite Guard for a total of 1200xp
1x Elite Mage for a total of 750xp
As leader, you receive a portion of the experience earned by troops when they fight under your command:
5x Inexperienced Soldier for a total of 720xp
6x Warship Sailors for a total of 840xp
1x Warship Captain for a total of 400xp
2x Warship Elite Guards for a total of 840xp
Progress to level 14 stands at 107,890/120,000
I also dismissed a significant number that mentioned my crippling injuries, broken bones, and status debuffs, grimacing as I saw the amount of damage I’d managed to accumulate over the course of the battle.
Congratulations! You have led your citizens to battle for the first time, overcoming a more numerous, more skilled, and more highly-trained opposing force. As such, you have earned a Title!
Strategos: Level I
You may choose a bonus for your forces. This bonus will stack with others and will grow as you grow in experience.
Attack: All troops lead by a Level 1 Strategos gain a 5% boost to attack damage; this boost extends to all troops within a 20ft radius of the Strategos.
Defense: All troops lead by a Level 1 Strategos gain a 5% boost to damage resistance; this boost extends to all troops within a 20ft radius of the Strategos, and must be assigned as
