Book 6 Chapter 9.3 - Only Darkness is Eternal
"That damn Kebile, did he go crazy? Actually daring to give me this kind of order! Did the idiot go blind?!" In a lavishly decorated living room, Marduk, Tubian City's suzerain was like an angry lion as he paced back and forth, his furious roars spreading through the eight story suzerain residence.
Marduk was tall and thin, a thick beard that matched the local style resting above his upper lip, the dark and shiny hair giving him quite the profound aura. The muscles on his body weren't all that developed, but every single fiber was tough like steel wiring. He wore thick armor that carried an older feel, two dueling swords carrying a similar medieval flavor leaning against the sword rack next to the wall. The armor and dueling swords weren't there purely for decorative purposes.
Five other men in military uniforms stood in the living room. Tubian's military uniform was completely different from Vibimore's. Vibimore's uniform was practical and unadorned, only consisting of cloth materials without any excessive decorations or designs, its only advantage likely its cheap cost. Meanwhile, Tubian's military uniform was striking red, the officers using even more eye-grabbing golden lines to display complex and exaggerated military ranks. The five individuals present were all of Tubian's officers, the number of soldiers under them not exceeding seven hundred, yet the military emblems on their shoulders not only shone with dazzling brilliance, there were even tassels hanging down, these epaulettes as gorgeous as those of olden era marshals.
Ignoring these military uniforms that were like mating peacocks, the five officers' abilities were quite shocking, every one of them unexpectedly having six levels! When faced with this raging Marduk, the five of them looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what they should say. Vibimore's Kebile was quite famous, but in their eyes, this fame only came from his brutality. His individual strength wasn't overwhelmingly great, while his subordinates were far weaker than even that, only having a sixth level assistant Ross. They all knew that Kebile was quite crazy, but they never expected this tyrant to be this far gone, actually sending someone here to demand for both Marduk and Tubian City's surrender, as well as to swear loyalty and devotion to a fella no one had heard of before, all this declared with a commanding tone.
And who was this Su?
Putting aside the issue of where this great figure Su came from, it had to be made clear that not even the infamously arrogant and domineering Imperial Viceroy Murray stationed in Maca City would speak to the suzerains in this type of tone.
That was why they all understood Marduk's anger. Every suzerain, regardless of how they normally behaved, when they became furious, their methods were about the same. The result of angering Marduk, was that the five soldiers who came to deliver Kebile's orders were already impaled on thick, sharpened stakes, their bodies displayed outside Tubian City.
"Don't tell me Kebile wants to start a war?" An officer said. It was obvious that he felt some doubt towards this suspicion of his, because Vibimore's overall strength was weaker than Tubian's.
The reason why the two neighboring territories coexisted in harmony was because Marduk and Kebile were both seventh level ability users, and Marduk's individual strength was slightly inferior to Kebile's. Even if Tubian won the war against Vibimore, their power would still be greatly weakened, and Marduk couldn't guarantee that he would come out unharmed. That type of victory didn't have much meaning, only bringing an opportunity to the other suzerains nearby.
"Maybe Kebile already has eight levels of ability? I heard that he had recently exchanged for an eighth level formulation." Another officer speculated.
However, his speculation was immediately met with criticism. "There's no way! That drug was only delivered two days ago! Even if his luck was good and he successfully absorbed it, he would still need at least a month to stabilize the ability right? Two days, that's impossible!"
This was an extremely powerful argument. In reality, to stabilize an eighth level ability, a month of time was definitely still cutting it short.
When he saw that none of his subordinates came to any reasonable conclusions either, Marduk brandished his hands in anger, saying, "That dog fart ultimatum time is about to arrive. Who cares if it's real or not, add three times the sentry tonight! If that Kebile doesn't dare come, I'll get Rakiel and Klotz to come with me to Vibimore to see what kind of shit that dumb swine is trying to pull! Motherfucking… and what kind of thing is this Su?"
When the five officers withdrew from the living room, Marduk's rage didn't lessen much. He grabbed a dual-handed dueling sword, displaying several dozen slicing motions, stirring up wind sounds, and only then did he sit down on the couch, placing the sword by his knees, releasing a heavy snort. Right now, his entire army was mobilized, hiding within were various defensive structures, several hundred muzzles aimed at the boundless darkness. Marduk stared at the wall clock hanging from the wall. He really wanted to see if Kebile actually dared to come.
As soon as he sat down, he suddenly heard two clear gunshots sound outside. Then, shouts, cries of fear, and gunshots sounded chaotically.
Marduk immediately stood up, unable to hide the shock on his face. He never expected to really encounter an attack!
On the crushed stone road outside Tubian City, Su was currently walking over under the darkness. A hundred meters in front of him, more than ten soldiers were currently hiding behind their bunkers, the automatic rifles in their hands jumping, frantically sending firepower in Su's direction. Su's movements were relaxed and leisurely, as if he was idly strolling about in an olden era noble family's rear garden. However, in the soldiers' field of view, his figure suddenly faded in and out of existence under the darkness, the concentrated barrage of bullets completely missing. Even though they carried the cheapest AK series automatic rifles, the firing precision of these soldiers equipped with abilities was comparable to the olden era's elite troops. Only, their every movement was clearly displayed in the Panoramic View, so before they pulled the trigger, Su already moved out of their trajectory of fire.
Following a tss sound, a rocket-propelled grenade dragged out a long tail flame behind it, flying over. Su raised his right hand. A streak of light flashed past the black crystal at the center of his hand, and then the rocket suddenly turned around in midair, now flying instead towards Tubian City's gates.
Tubian's size was a bit larger than Vibimore's, but because of the entire empire's level of science and industry, the so-called fortifications around the city was just a ring of wooden walls. The two city gates that could still be considered sturdy couldn't withstand the explosion of a rocket-propelled grenade at all. Under the violent explosion sound, Tubian's city walls immediately broke apart. The bunkers at the two sides were dug up, four or five soldiers sent flying by the blast wave. Under the chaos, Su silently appeared in a bunker that was a bit further away and not caught in the explosion. He conveniently seized an AK rifle, adjusted it to single firing mode, and then fired four times, shooting down the four soldiers in the bunker. Every one of them had a bullet hole between their brows, the location the exact same.