Gan-Fall.(6)

The next morning, Nero sent Raki away, covered his body with psionic energy, and went to find Elder Yushan. Along the way, he took the time to really take in his surroundings and observe how the Shandians went about their daily lives. Of course, he started doing this with the humanoid when he was unconscious but he couldn't completely explore it.

The village was too large.

He saw the constant use of dials in the everyday life of the citizens and even though he had seen this countless times, the technology still impressed him.

There were many types of dials; some were suited to combat, some were suited to domestic life while most of them could be used for both.

From the powerful impact dial that could be used to rupture someone's internal organs to the beautiful lamp dial that steadily released light in a certain radius, which was used to provide light in homes. The range of their utility was truly impressive.

As he looked at the villagers applying dials to almost every mundane chore, Nero couldn't help but sigh. Using some of the dials in combat would be undoubtedly helpful but, he just couldn't get behind it.

'I wasn't much of a brawler in my past life so my line of thinking might not make much sense, but it's what feels right for me. Dials, helpful but easy to become dependant on. If I'm going to fight...'

Nero looked down and clenched his fists with a serious expression on his face before continuing, 'I'm going to use these fists and my mind. These are the most dependable weapons in my arsenal. Anything other than that will be only the things I craft. Tools made by someone else aren't trustworthy.'

Nero continued walking until he got to the middle of the village, where the chief's hut was located. Of course, his trip through the village didn't go unnoticed.

Most of the villagers didn't pick up on who he was at first, but when they thought about the noise Elder Yushan was making earlier about his grandson waking up, they quickly connected the dots.

Some came to officially welcome him to the village while others just waved him off with a smile and went back to their duties. Although the flames of war burned brightly in the atmosphere, the villagers still retained their warm attitudes towards Nero.

Just as he arrived at the chief's hut, two figures exited it. One of them was Elder Yushan while the other was an old man who made Yushan look like a dwarf. This was the Shandia Chief.

The Shandia chief was an elderly man with a gray beard and mustache with long hair of the same color. He wore the standard Shandia attire, covered by a long robe, carried a staff with a tribal mask on the top and white fur underneath it. On his head, the Shandia chief wore a canine head as a helmet decorated with feathers, a symbol of his status.

This old man sure knew how to dress...uniquely.

When Elder Yushan saw Nero, he smiled and shouted, "Nero, come and greet the chief! He's been wanting to meet you since I told him you had awoken!"

Nero slightly bowed to the chief and quickly walked towards him. Elder Yushan was about to say something but the chief put his hand on Yushan's shoulder, causing him to swallow his words.

The chief then said with a warm smile, "Welcome to our humble village, little Nero. Haha well, I probably shouldn't call you little...you're already much taller than I am! It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Nero laughed and responded, "It is a pleasure to meet you too, Chief. Since we're all here, may I ask you something?"

The chief raised an eyebrow and nodded.

Nero then said calmly, "Can I participate in the war?"

"NERO!"

Yushan almost lost his mind when he heard what Nero said. He had only been awake for a day and he wanted to participate in war? He barely even knew anything about the world!

The chief also looked at Nero with a lost expression on his face. He would never believe that this was what Nero asking them.

Nero, seeing this, didn't even have a change in expression. He just continued saying, "Of course, I'll train before I enter. When I can defeat the best warrior in the village, even if it is you chief, then I'll go."

Elder Yushan and the chief looked at each other before laughing loudly. This wasn't an underestimation of Nero's abilities but a logical conclusion. There was no way Nero could defeat them within a decade. He would need at least double that to put up a fight.

Even though they laughed, the chief still took Nero's request a bit seriously. After all, with his ability to fly naturally, if he can be turned into a warrior, then this advantage would be tremendous.

As Elder Yushan was about to reprimand Nero, the chief interjected and said, "Alright Nero, I'll take you up on your challenge. After we finish worshipping our ancestral gods this morning, I'll train you myself. If you can defeat me within two years, I'll let you go. By the way, I'll introduce you to another young one named Wyper who will train alongside you. Hehe, I'm sure you two will get along."

Elder Yushan laughed again and looked at Nero with a strange glint in his eyes, waiting for his response.

"That makes sense. I'll wait here until you get back and we can begin training."

Nero stood to the side and closed his eyes with his arms folded, waiting for the two men to go about their business.

Seeing how carefree Nero was, the chief looked forward to training him even more so he could knock him down a few pegs. The two men then left, along with most of the villagers to go to a certain hidden spot not too far away from the village to worship.

About an hour later, the two men returned to the hut with a third figure beside them. It was a tall bare-chested young man wearing a brown covering on his lower regions, a red bead chain around his neck, tribal tattoos on his left shoulder, and a red bandanna wrapped around his spiky hair. If Nero had to guess, this young man was around 16 years old.

He also carried a small toothpick in his mouth.

Seeing the serious expression that Wyper looked at Nero with, the chief snickered with a mischievous expression on his face. Just as he expected, the aggressive Wyper would pick trouble with Nero on sight because he still thought of Nero as an "outsider." Wyper was famous for his vicious treatment of those not from the village.

If Wyper attacked, the chief could get an accurate gauge of Nero's current strength and Wyper would humble him. If the former went too far, he would easily stop him. The plan was perfect.

Nero saw this scene and there wasn't even a ripple in his usually calm demeanor. So what if Wyper wanted trouble? He wasn't worried. Plus even in a contest of looks, Nero was much more imposing even though he was 10.

He was much taller than Wyper and he looked as if he was a dead man walking. Who wouldn't be scared of that?

Just as Wyper was about to say something, a few soldiers came rushing towards the chief with grave expressions on their faces.

"Chief, the current god of skypeia, Gan-Fall is here! He claims that he wants a truce! What should we do?"