1 Mercenary

"Brother you don't have to worry. I'll be fine in the afterlife." A man said as he collapsed on the grassy field. Soft cool winds blew, caressing his mortal wounds. The light in his eyes was already gone. His blood covered face still exuded the vibe of a warrior. Beside him, another man knelt down. He seemed to be trembling. His long messy black hair covered his face as he glanced down at the dying man.

"H-hold on Anek. Don't give up. There is a city in sight already. I still have enough strength to carry you there." This long-haired man spoke.

"It's alright Deodomus. Ohok!" Anek coughed out blood and smiled. "My time has come. I am…glad you're near me during my last breaths." Anek stared into the cloudy sky which was merely a blur to him.

"You're like a brother to me. But don't go running around for revenge. I knew my end will be like this when I chose to become a mercenary." Anek spoke weakly.

"You know I won't listen to you, right? That bastard King MUST die for you!" Deodomus exclaimed. He furiously scowled while his eyes remained teary. A gust of wind blew past him, making his hair wave, revealing his handsome square-jawed face.

"You will listen…ohok." Anek coughed again and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

"….." Deodomus stared at his sworn brother and gritted his teeth. He knew he cannot save Anek. The following would be his last words.

"We've been wandering our whole lives. We are we are drifters, we are fighters, we are lawless mercenaries, we are brothers… but remember, we were once righteous too! We once seek to bring justice for those who were weak & innocent. But in the long run we forgot all about it. We ran for our lives, we committed crimes. We even begged and swindled. We became our worst versions. Life is a strange thing. We have wielded swords and played zither too. We have saved lives and taken them too. We are…humans; capable of everything good and everything evil. But we are not immortal & omnipotent. We have our flaws and weaknesses. We cannot undo our sins. Past cannot be changed. We must own our mistakes and move on but not without guilt." Anek lifted his hand slowly and Deodomus clasped it with his own.

"From today onwards, try to live a better life, brother. Do not seek vengeance. Try to have fun for a change. Find a woman or more if you feel like it. Enjoy your youth on my behalf too. Steal if you want, but not from the poor. Kill you have to, but never the innocent. Give and let go. Don't be conceited, don't be greedy. Remember, you're free, you're a drifter. Make good memories and smile on as you embark on your next adventure. Or settle down if you feel like. Do whatever you want as long as it doesn't go against your own soul. Live on my behalf too. I will wait for you in hell still. For our good deeds do not cancel out the bad ones. I hope you'll have a long tale to tell when we meet again hehe."

Saying so Anek smiled and breathed one last time before dying. Silent tears rolled down Deodomus' cheeks as he cried silently and put Anek's hand down before caressing his head.

"Rest in peace brother. I'll tell you a good story when we meet again." Deodomus forced a smile while crying.

The clouds in the sky grew darker and rumbled before drizzling rain down.

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That evening Deodomus reached the gates of an unknown city. It was inside a large fortress.

"Halt! Who are you? What are you carrying on your shoulders?" A guard asked as he stopped Deodomus who in turn was looking quite suspicious with his battered armor, torn clothes, numerous bandages & he was carrying Anek's corpse on his shoulder, wrapped up in a sheet.

"I am Deodomus. I've come to bury my brother and stay a night in the city. I'm a drifter." Deodomus replied wearily.

"You've brought a corpse? How did that person die? You'd better not be bringing plague into our city!" The guard shouted.

"Plague?! Is it the enemy's scheme? Shameless scoundrels!" Another guard shouted as he overheard.

"Kill that man! Take no chances!"

"….." Deodomus was so emotionally exhausted that he couldn't even roll his eyes on these dramatic idiots.

"Small-minded people become arrogant when they gain even slightest bit of authority. I'm so sick of people like you." Deodomus muttered before unleashing his chi imposingly.

Whoom! Chi rippled out from his entire body like a shockwave, pushing the unsuspecting guards a few steps back.

"Level 10 Advanced realm!" A guard shouted as he gauged Deodomu's cultivation level.

"Attack! He's definitely an enemy!"

Boom! A light explosive sound echoed.

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Deodomus was soon walking towards the city's cemetery. He had asked a few residents for directions.

Ting-ting-ting! Ting-ting-ting! Behind him a bell rang 3 times in succession repeatedly. This was a signal for city guards. At the gates, badly beaten-up guards were lying unconscious. Only one was conscious and barely managed to ring the bell to inform the city guards about Deodomus' forced entry into the city.

Ignoring it all, Deodomus walked into the cemetery and chose a high ground. He easily dug up a grave and buried Anek there properly. By the time he was done, city guards had surrounded him. There were about 4 dozen city guards, all at Advanced realm themselves but in the initial levels. Still, their numbers were large for a lone cultivator to handle.

"Surrender yourself intruder and tell us who has sent you & for what purpose. Or you'll die here today." The city guards' captain commanded.

Shing! Deodomus unsheathed his sword without hesitation or fear.

"Stop your bullshit. Men should fight with fists and swords, not with mere words." Saying so Deodomus charged straight ahead revolving his chi to the maximum.

"Kill!" The captain was also incensed and attacked. The two men exchanged blows almost immediately.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Their swords clashed while all the guards lunged towards Deodomus too.

Shing! Swish! Clang! Deodomus parried, swirled, swept and cleaved. He was an experienced swordsman. He had fought countless battles in his 30 years of life. His numerous scars held battle stories about them. At once even 4 dozen guards were stumped as none of them managed to harm Deodomus even after several minutes of fighting. They had already been using their techniques but to no avail. Deodomus had many techniques up his sleeves himself.

"Sword dash! Hundred swirls!" Deodomus shouted and lunged, swirled and cleaved. He was a menace!

"Fuck! Everyone, retreat! I'll use 'that' technique." The guards' captain shouted and all the men retreated immediately.

Deodomus stopped moving and looked at the captain with narrowed eyes. Internally he was ready to cast his defensive technique.

"Yeti power!" The captain shouted and his muscles bulged up immediately, ripping his uniform from places. He became very muscular and strong. Then he threw his sword at Deodomus at lightning speed which Deodomus also dodged speedily while keeping his eyes on the captain.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The captain stomped loudly as he charged towards Deodomus. His eyes were red and his mouth was salivating. Apparently, this brute force technique carried risks of losing mental control.

Deodomus exhaled from his mouth and then grunted before leaping towards the captain. He was going to meet the attack head on!

Swoosh! Swoosh! The two men leapt speedily.

Bam!! They collided!

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Late into the night, rainfall finally stopped. In the city jail a man was locked up in a dark cell. He was Deodomus. Obviously, he had been defeated by the guards' captain. Deodomus was not at his peak state when they fought and the captain's brute force technique was a bit too powerful. Deodomus was to await interrogation and trial now. He however didn't care.

There was a metal ball chained to his right leg. It was made of a unique metal which would keep absorbing chi. Thus, even a cultivator would be helpless once they were tied to one such ball. The chain luckily was long enough to allow Deodomus to move around a bit. He however sat down in a corner and began to meditate. He focused on his dantian which was located inside his body, behind his naval. This was the source of chi in cultivators. This was a world of cultivation where those who could cultivate their chi, reigned supreme. In cultivation there were several realms divided into 10 levels each.

These realms were: Basic, Novice, Advanced, Master, Sage, Emperor, God. Basic was the weakest and Emperor was the strongest realm. As for God realm, it was considered merely a myth as there had been no God realm cultivators in the entire known history. Even the Emperor realm cultivators were extremely rare. Only large empires or kingdoms had one each ruling them. They were numbered merely 6. The rest of the world was divided into small kingdoms and states.

Deodomus focused. His chi emerged in his dantian and flowed throughout his meridians before getting channeled towards his leg and leaked out through the chain before the metal ball absorbed it. In his current situation, cultivation was futile as all his chi will keep getting absorbed by the metal ball. But Deodomus didn't stop. He wasn't bothered at all and kept cultivating. All his efforts were wasted but he didn't fluster.

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Days passed. Deodomus spent his time cultivating fruitlessly. He was calm like a rock. Being a cultivator, he didn't need to rely on food or even water for survival. He was not bothered by any guards either, since they all held respect for the prowess he had shown during the fight in the cemetery. Eventually he was brought out for a trial.

Along the way, Deodomus watched everyone scurrying around. There was a nervous atmosphere in the fortress. The guards were uneasy, the civilians seemed afraid. The jail was a distance away from the courtroom. It took 10 minutes to reached the courtroom. By then Deodomus was smirking to himself. He was an experienced warrior and hence could tell easily that a war was near. Thus, everyone was either on their toes, or in a daze.

As Deodomus was led into the large courtroom he noticed several other prisoners there along with many guards and soldiers mixed in. Their uniforms varied. Deodomus narrowed his eyes, realizing the city must have gained reinforcements already but it wasn't enough to relieve their worries.

"Next, Deodomus!" The judge called out as Deodomus walked forth and stood at the center. All eyes were upon him. His leg was still chained to the metal ball.

"You're convicted of intruding into the Vrime city of Carny state. Your other crimes include attacking the city guards, resisting arrest, attacking the guards' captain, intimidating the civilians & bringing a suspicious corpse into the city, thereby bringing the threat of plague and hence spreading fear in the masses. You're hereby sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment unless you volunteer to being a forefront fighter in the upcoming war. If you survive it, your punishment shall be reduced by half." The judge spoke from atop a high desk.

"What is this mockery?" Deodomus scoffed. "You call this a trial?"

The judge frowned. He didn't like Deodomus' response.

"50 years imprisonment with hard labor!" Judge announced.

"Wait!" Deodomus suddenly shouted. "I'll fight in the upcoming battle." He said.

"Humph!" The judge snorted with disgust. "Should have accepted that from the start. Now you'll serve 25 years instead of 20 if you survive the battle."

"Oh, I won't have to serve in jail." Deodomus spoke casually. "The upcoming battle I spoke of is going to happen right now and I'll walk out of it victoriously with all of you either dead or crippled."

"….." At once the courtroom became silent before bursting in outrage.

"What insolence!"

"Such guts!"

"Let's see who kills who!"

"I sentence this man to be put down right now!" Judge was furious. "Set an example for others. Guards, kill this man!" He shouted.

"Hahahaha!" Deodomus laughed loudly. This wasn't the first time he was facing shameless people like these. Unfair trial, injustice, attacking a supposedly weakened prisoner…Deodomus shook his head before lifting his right leg up, bent from the knee. The metal ball attached to his leg via metal chain also got lifted up.

By now the guards had already approached him with their weapons unsheathed.

Shing! Shing! Shing! Many swords were jabbed towards Deodomus.

Swoosh! He swung his leg and pulled the metal ball along.

Clang! Clang! Clang! The swords were struck away by the hard metal ball. Deodomus continued on and swirled before jumping. His leg swung again and many guards were struck away by the metal ball. It was oozing with powerful chi. Not only it, even Deodomus seemed brimming with chi! The metal ball had an upper limit to how much chi or energy it could absorb. Deodomus had filled it to the maximum already. Afterwards no more chi was absorbed by the ball and he was able to cultivate normally. Not only that, now the metal ball had been turned into an extension of his body or rather a weapon!

Swoosh! Swoosh! Bam! Clang!

Chaos ensued as Deodomus bashed the ghost out of city guards. He moved unhindered. He was fast, strong, witty & experienced. Once again, everyone witnessed his prowess. They were unable to defeat him while he rampaged in the courtroom. Judge fled and the guards captain rushed in, hearing the commotion.

"Yeti power!" The captain roared and his body became muscular!

Boom! Boom! Boom! He stampeded towards Deodomus.

Bam! The metal ball broke the captain's teeth as he was flung away!

Deodomus' level 10 Advanced realm cultivation base established its dominance! In the previous fight, he was simply not at his best. But now he had had many days to recover his chi, heal his injuries and he even gained a tough chi infused metal ball as a weapon.

"Grrr…!" The captain growled as got up and leapt at Deodomus again. He jumped and punched, kicked and screeched. He was going on a rampage. Deodomus fought him expertly head on. They seemed to be in a stalemate this time but before long, Deodoms managed to tilt the fight in his favor. The captain was now getting bashed and beaten back.

At this moment, a person walked into the courtroom & frowned, staring at the fight at the center.

Bam! The captain was struck down and defeated. He fell unconscious. Deodomus was panting. This fight wasn't all too easy. But he still won and stared around the courtroom.

"Is that all you folks have to offer?" Deodomus scoffed.

"Now, what is this commotion about? Is this a courtroom or a wrestling ground?" A crisp female voice echoed as a girl walk to the center and stood before Deodomus. At once the hall fell silent. Even the groaning men paused to look at this girl. Deodomus' eyes also fell upon her and lit up.

This girl was in her mid-twenties. She was tall and beautiful. She had black hair, black eyes, white skin, narrow nose, full lips, a slander neck, an hourglass shaped figure & most importantly, she was sporting a big pair of dense breasts!

Deodomus puckered his lips and breathed in sharply as he checked out this gorgeous beauty in front of her. He walked around her in a circle, observing her brazenly. To his content, this girl had big perky hips! She was wearing a skin tight uniform too which accentuated her curves perfectly.

"Damn, now those are some good assets." Deodomus uttered, forgetting his disposition as a cultivator.

The girl's eyebrows twitched as her face flushed.

"This…crass caveman!!" She growled before turning around swiftly, unsheathing her long sword and leapt at Deodomus at great speed.

Swoosh! Clang! Clang! Swish!

Deodomus leapt backwards and dodged her attacks while often using the metal ball and chain to deflect her attacks.

"This madman has offended Princess Xiao! He's done for!" A guard exclaimed.

"Serves him right! He was going rampant just earlier and now look how he's just dodging and barely surviving."

"Kill this man, princess Xiao! He's a heinous criminal!"

Men shouted one after another while Xiao chased Deodomus.

"Oh, so you're a princess? How nice! No wonder you're so beautiful, bountiful and talented. Your swordsmanship seems elegant as well." Deodomus praised. "But your big breasts & hips are disrupting your movements tsk-tsk…"

"S-shut up and die!" Xiao roared.

"Cleaving the mountain!" She shouted and swung her sword in an arc. Pure yin chi was hurled out and attacked Deodomus.

Clang! A metal ball flew in air as the chain stuck to it was cut off by Xiao's attack. The metal ball came down in a parabolic manner and struck the judge on his back.

Crack!

He was retired then and there as his back bone cracked from the impact. His screams were ignored by princess Xiao and Deodomus who were now fighting even more speedily. Without the metal ball's weight, Deodomus moved even faster while Xiao was having a hard time keeping up. Her cultivation was at level 8 Advanced realm. It was already weaker than Deodomus' & apparently her fighting experience also paled in comparison. Plus, Deodomus was correct when he pointed out that Xiao's big assets were a problem in her fighting.

"You should wield a long-range type weapon. It'd suit you better. It isn't very royal for a princess to run around, bouncing her breasts at her opponents." Deodomus mocked with a smile.

"You bastard! Stop running and take my attack!" Xiao was exasperated!

"Haha! If I take your best attack head on and survive, will you let me fondle your breasts and grab your hips?" Deodomus joked. He was no good man. He was a drifter and a mercenary. Manners were not in his skillset.

"Humph!" Xiao scowled. "If you can remain unhurt after taking my attack, then I'll let you do that. Do you dare accept?" Xiao was confident in her own prowess. She knew she could kill this bastard if he took the hit.

"….." At once, silence prevailed in the courtroom again. Deodomus had stopped abruptly. Everyone was staring silently at him and Xiao. Everyone had heard the bet Xiao and Deodomus had made. Anger was building up in many soldiers' hearts. How dare a criminal speak brazenly and put up such shameless bet to the princess? At the same time, some people's hearts were stirred. Xiao was an absolute gorgeous beauty! There wasn't a man who would not develop some desire towards such a girl. They would not admit but they wanted to see such a scene of Xiao getting her breasts fondled and her hips squeezed. They were already shamelessly imagining it!

"Make your move princess." Deodomus challenged with a smirk.

"Humph!" Xiao snorted coldly. She had come to aid this city for the upcoming battle but not only was she insulted by a criminal right away but also challenged. The bet was also shameless. Xiao wanted to cut Deodomus in two halves!

Her chi revved up and rushed through her meridians speedily!

Whoom! A shockwave rippled out from her body intimidatingly.

Swoosh! Her body became a blur as she speedily leapt at Deodomus.

"Blazing yin stab!" Xiao shouted. Her entire body was clad in a visible layer of dense yin chi. Her sword was the same but its tip was actually burning! Yin was cold in nature but the very speed of Xiao's leap caused blazing flame to appear on tip of the sword.

Blazing yin stab directly stabbed towards Deodomus' chest.

Boom! Skrrrrrrt! Deodomus clapped his palms, blocking the sword's blade and was pushed back by Xiao's momentum. His feet skidded on the floor, causing sparks to emerge as he was pushed several feet back while Xiao kept charging forward, trying to stab the sword in his chest.

Boom! They broke through a wall and exited the courtroom.

Boom! Another wall was broken through.

Boom! Boom! Skkrrt….!

"Huff! Huff!" Deodomus & Xiao panted heavily as they stopped. They had expended all their chi in this exchange. Deodomus was still clasping Xiao's sword in between his palms. He had successfully blocked Xiao's most powerful attack!

"Heh-heh! I won." Deodomus smirked while Xiao's face paled.

This man…this shameless man, a crass criminal had just survived Xiao's best attack! & according to the bet…

Xiao's mouth dried up as her face flushed. But Deodomus's vile smirk changed into a mild smile.

"You're very powerful, princess Xiao. I'm glad I got to fight you. It was thrilling! Let's do it again sometime." Deodomus said before retreating speedily. He was a mercenary trained on battlefields. Even after exhausting all his chi, he still had plenty stamina to run.

"I'll hold you to your part of the bet when we meet next time hahaha!" Deodomus' laughter echoed in the hallways as Xiao stood on her spot blinking as she stared at his back.