Mercy to Mercenaries

"Sweet, sweet city!!" I yell as I finally enter the walls of the Valshade City. "C'mon, guys! Stop dilly-dallying and check those awesome soldiers! Marching like buffoon in those overly-cheap scale armors!! Haha! They look so funny!!"

"M-Master, please don't curse at the soldiers. It will bring unnecessary attention towards us." Says Jia, pulling my long white sleeve a little, scared.

"Yes, yes! Ah! My manners!" I nod my head in acknowledgement. "Ahem!" I cough a little and straighten my collars and sleeve to perfectly hide the bloody shirt under the robe and also nudged my mask lightly to hide my new face. Before entering the City, I lightly changed the color of my hair and a little makeup of sorts to hide both my real face and the scar.

"C'mon, boys! Let's find ourselves a good nice place and call it a day!" I say and start walking towards the inns with Moose on my shoulder and Pef on my arms, resting.

…

So, you must be thinking what I'm doing here, in the City. Wasn't I with the merchant caravan last time? Of course, yes. I was and frankly, it didn't go so well.

The short version of the story is that those merchants were actually spies sent by the local mercenaries/marauder gang and we were unfortunate enough to hitch a ride to their base. Directly.

The rest is …

…

"Hey! You pretty boy! Open that damn mask of yours!" yelled the biggest man among a score of men, apparently their leader. These men, marauders, all wore over-exposing leather armor and wielded heavy weapons like greatswords and double-headed axes. But even those weapons were crude and very ugly to look, just like them.

"Come over here, you son of a b*tch!" cried a few soldiers as they throw my boys towards me. I frown inside my mask and shouted at them, "Watch it, buffoons! Those are my boys!!"

"Ha! Your boys!? You are barely a man yourself, kid! Hmph! Stop stalling for time and start stripping!!"

"What??!!!" I yell, baffled. "Y-you want me to strip?!"

'He's asking you to remove your clothes.' Whispered Moose near my ears. 'I know that, a*shole!!!' I curse under my breath.

"Hurry up, kiddo! Let's have a taste of your flawless skin!!!"

Ewwww!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!Ew!!

My insides swiveled in disgust and I had an urge to vomit but I resisted. Misunderstanding is common in human language!

"Y-you're kidding, right, dear Sir?!" I asked, but they only shook their heads.

"It's been a whole two months since we tasted flesh! Even a boy like you is good for us! Don't worry, we will do it slowly before going rough! You will like it, I swear, pretty boy!" giggled the man beside the leader.

'Or not… these guys aren't even speaking the human language…' I defended the pride of human language by thinking that these guys weren't human anymore.

If having not masturbate for two months, it kinda makes me wonder what will happen if all women disappear one day? Will all guys turn apes? Maybe women do earn more respect than we currently give them. Anyhoo.

I shook my head vehemently and reply, "Sorry, brothers. I can't become your playtoy. I've different preference and in bed, I like to be the dominant one rather than one being dominated. So, please. If you will excuse me and my boys, for I have important matters in the City."

I puff my chest up and turn majestically back but it seemed like my answer was expected. The mercenaries' leader grinned evilly, heaved his Greatsword and dashed toward me at full speed.

"Master, look out!!!" Jia and a few other cried out in alarm but I simply smiled on. An evil smile spread on my face.

"YAAAAA!! DIE, YOU BRAT!!!" yelled the mercenaries' leader as he closed in for a strike. His body seemed to expand a few times and his already muscled body became even more muscled, like a muscle monster. His Greatsword glowed with an orange, flame-like glow and trembled lightly. But to me it all felt … weak. I 'felt' all of his moves and intentions preemptively, as if I had eyes behind my back all the time.

"Too slow!" I comment and tilt my body diagonally to my left to dodge the attack.

Fwoooooshh!!!

The blow swept past me by a full hand without harming me even a little bit. I jump to my left, away from my boys and him and getting a little gap between me and the hulk.

The mercenaries leader looked a bit shocked at my evasion but it soon was replaced by a sneer.

"Just a fluke, heh! You're one lucky bastard!"

I look uninterested at him, instead I turned to my boys and command them, "Move back, boys. Let me handle it!"

"Ye-yes, yes, Master!" they replied and fell back.

"Intelligent! But after breaking your bones, I will feast on theirs'! Haha!" he barked at me but I only sneered at him.

"Moose, get down. Let me handle this guy!"

"I was waiting for you to say that, man." His answer came from my back. Apparently, he thought that I would finish the hulk in one shot, like I usually do, but instead I dodged 'nearly,' which forced him to change his position from over my shoulder to my back.

"I will deal with the minions!" he said and sprung towards the minor hulks. "Babies, come let play with big daddy!!" he exclaimed. 'Eww! Can you not say such misleading phrases!' I thought to myself.

"I will take care of the second-in-commands." Pef replied majestically and passed between me and the big hulk, with his chest puffed up like a peacock. Anyway!

I turned towards the big hulk and found him fuming angrily at me. 'Is he genuinely angry at me or is this a side-effect of his technique?' I thought to myself.

"DIE!!" he yelled and dashed towards me with his Greatsword swinging with great force.

Fwooosh!!

I dodged his sword and jumped to my left again, putting some space between us.

"Not again!" he cried and again dashed at me and this went on for a good 5 minutes. Only dodging and dodging. The reason why I dodged his attacks was to because I didn't necessarily want to kill. I wanted to interrogate him.

'6th level of Elementary Qi Stage! Bah!!!" I cried to myself with a disgusting face. The moment I learned about his cultivation step, my body filled with disgust and lost all of its will to interrogate the bastard.

"Hey, hulk, you want to play along, right? Let's play after you take this awesome strike from me!" I yell at him.

A cold blue light flashed across my eyes and right when the next strike was going to come, I again dodged, like always, but this time I flashed my hand at him and didn't step back.

"Ice Serpent Poison Needles!"

A blast of cold air blasted towards the mercenaries leader and momentarily stunned him but it didn't do any physical damage, instantly.

"Woah! What was that?!" he asked, surprised. "You call that lousy technique as awesome—" he suddenly stopped dead in his curse and I knew instantly that the poison had taken effect.

The Ice Serpent Poison Needles is a disguised technique. Unlike all other Elementary skills where the skill is often visible to the eyes, the Ice Serpent Poison Needles is cloaked behind a mist of cold air. Additionally, the needles used is made directly by condensing the air water molecules and are at the breadth of hair, too difficult to spot. And thus, deadly.

I smiled deviously and relaxed myself. I knew his game was over for once the Ice Serpent Poison invades the body of a cultivator or Mortal man, the outcome is death in the most painful way. The poison slowly degrades the skin and the internal organs of the enemies, clot blood, sever the neural messaging system and triggers the heating mechanism of the body, making them suffer a great deal before finally dying. I tested the poison on a few snow rabbits who fell on my path during the journey and frankly, I liked to see them scutter in pain. But seeing a live human … the feeling is completely different.

… maybe I'm becoming more and more sadist….

"W-what did you do to me, demon!" the hulk barked at me but I kept on smiling at him.

"C'mon, don't call every single one of your enemies as demons! You will embarrass them." I joked. "Anyway, big fella, why don't you start by telling me your name, then the name of your little gang here and then … your everything. I want get a good description of the Valshade City before I visit them, 'kay!"

"Go. To. Hell!" he said, biting his teeth but the reply only made me sneer. "You'll regret your answer but I like it anyways." I said and pinched my forefinger and thumb. A small ice needle condensed between them and a considerably, large drop of blue liquid formed at its tip.

"Hey, hulk, do you know how to cure that poison," I asked him. "No… and I don't want to be cured! I know torture like the back of my palm! I won't break kid, even if you torture me." he grinned madly at me.

"Well, I didn't want to know whether you want to be cured or not, because I'm not going to cure you." I assure him, "Instead, do you KNOW what is the antidote of the poison?" I smile devilishly.

"The poison going through your veins is the Ice Serpent Poison and the only antidote of this poison is … the poison itself." I said as I dipped the needle deep into his throat.

"No! no!!!!!!" he screamed but his body had already gone limp. "Noooo!! Please!! Aaaaahh!! It's burning! I'm burning!!!"

He screamed madly on the ground, his body twitching madly for a good 5 minute before finally calming down. White froth formed at his mouths and his eyes started going white. I knew that my time of interrogation has come. Pulling his by the hair, I slap him twice before yelling in his eyes.

"Oi! Oi!! Wake up, hulk! Tell me everything you know about Theo Aldric Merci! I said, tell me everything! If you do, I will make your death a little less painful, got that!"

"Yes…."

"Tell. Me. Everything. About. Theo." I said, each word clearly.

"Theo… Aldric Merci is the … third eldest son … of the Matriarch of … the Merci family…. Son of … Sapphire Aldric Merci and Feng Zhan. A prodigy—ugghh-gahh!!" the hulk started to suffocate and retch and I loosened my grasp on him, letting him fall on the ground.

"A prodigy… huh…" I frowned as I knew that my options got limited considerably. Initially, I thought that the title of the Young Master meant that I would be playboy, vicious, ruthless boy who would go around stealing other men's women. Someone whose death wouldn't concern a lot too many people. That was what I wanted but now …

Well, being a pampered Young Master can also have its benefits. Given, that I'm able to play my cards perfectly.

Anyhoo!

I looked around and found the place to be littered with fainted mercenaries, a few of them even hanging by ropes onto a rotating wheel on a pole. This must be the handiwork of Moose. As for Pef, his preys have vanished, literally vanished. Strange, but expected of an angelic being.

I turn towards the hulk and smile ruefully, "Sorry, mate. Our time is over here."

I neared him, clutched his neck and –

Crack! Crack!

I twisted his neck mercilessly a full 180 degrees in a split second and threw him away on the ground. Walking towards the rotating pole in the middle of the space, I find Moose and Pef siting silently while gazing at the hanged men.

"Guys, I think we have a problem." I said, approaching.

"And what would that be?" asked Pef, calmly.

"You seem calm considering that you vanished half-a-dozen mercenaries." I replied.

"I've vanished more, kid." He replied, nonchalantly, "C'mon, what's the deal? What did that guy say about Theo?"

"He's a prodigy. Will make things hard for us, I guess."

"Hmmm… perhaps, it will. C'mon, lets get this place cleaned up. Oh! And don't forget to sweep clean their drawers and places where they could've hidden money. Also, we're taking those caravans, right?"

"Of course, we will. Those caravans are ours. We just need to change the cover and remove any mark of its previous owners."

"Nice, lets get going. Moose!"

"Coming! Just one second! Let me enjoy this masterpiece of mine! Just look! Just look! Can you believe these small and petty hands of mine did THAT!!"

"If you don't get a move on, I swear I will skin you alive and use your skin as tissue to rub my nose!!"

"Dude!" he protested but then he turned to me and said, "And you, Jed! What the hell! You took a whole 10 minutes to get that simple 'I'm a prodigy' from him! SHAME ON YOU!!! You need to better your torture skill or you will get nowhere in this world, kiddo!!!"

"…"

And here I thought that I was becoming sadist, pity me.

…