Chapter 81 - Takeover

Blood stained the walls, the floor, and even the ceiling. Pained groans echoed through the air, and only three bandits were still alive, two of whom were groaning and clutching their sides as they sat against the wall. 

The only one left standing was the beastling with strawberry-blond hair and blue eyes who carried a headlamp. Her cores were all at the fourth rank, except for the soul core, which was at the fifth, and likely what had allowed her to remain standing. 

Thus, of the original ten bandits, only two were still in fighting shape, and one of them was currently at Kane's mercy. 

The other six now lay dead. First there were Ian and the leader, then one who had his chest blown apart by the Elemental Blast Kane launched during his charge at Aelia, and the final two were killed by Luna immediately after the confusion. 

From her new technique, the Sanguine Spark, Luna had gained a skill that gave her a burst of speed. That burst allowed her to easily close the distance to her two targets before they recovered from the confusion, where she quickly lopped of their heads. 

After she finished her part, Luna had retreated back to Kane's side, and was now casually leaning against the wall next to the pinned Aelia. 

Just like that, they had won what should have been their toughest fight to date, in the span of no more than five seconds. 

Of course, this result was mostly due to their thorough preparations. Back in Riftshade, Kane and Luna always ensured they had a wide array of supplies in the tactical backpack, now stored in Luna's storage ring. 

They had made a supply run just before ending up on Alfheim, certainly not anticipating this specific situation, but always prepared for anything. 

Among their supplies were a small number of tactical sonic bombs, each the size of a marble. These could be triggered remotely to create a massive concussive force with no shrapnel. 

The downside was that these couldn't create enough force to affect the Core Formation stage or above, but they were perfect for this situation. As for the corridor, it remained unaffected. They'd already realized earlier that this place was clearly built to resist formidable force. 

Regardless, despite their victory, it wasn't time to celebrate yet. They still had the aftermath to deal with. 

As Aelia took in the devastation around her, she slowly stopped struggling against the large, transformed, beast form hand that was clutching her neck. 

Although she'd stopped struggling, her hands remained clutched around Kane's fingers, in the hope of easing his grip. Meanwhile, she turned a sombre gaze towards her captor. "Fine, you've won," she wheezed through her narrowed throat. "Can you put me down now?" 

Aelia wasn't an idiot, she'd already figured out Kane wanted something from her and the other survivors, so she was confident in her temporary survival. 

Kane smiled slightly, "It's nice dealing with intelligent people. I hope you'll keep that cooperative attitude." Then he let her go, causing Aelia to fall back on her feet. She coughed and clutched her throat as she glared at him. 

At the same time, he reverted back to human form, and used the storage ring to put his clothes back on. 

She and the other survivors weren't a threat to him anymore, and he was confident in preventing Aelia from getting to Luna, so he didn't see an issue with letting her go. 

Now that things had calmed down a little, Kane decided to take a good look at Aelia, the strongest survivor. She wore a stylish, if somewhat ragged, blue tunic, with a belt that accentuated her hips. The tunic had a v-cut that showed some cleavage, and ran down to just below her thighs. 

From there, some dark trousers continued down to a pair of light, yet sturdy combat boots. Surprisingly, the tunic and belt combination made Kane think of a particular ancient Earth empire, something he'd noticed before with the clothes people wore here. 

But that was a matter for another time. 

Aelia had medium-length, light blue hair that matched her tunic, and framed her diamond shaped face. She was pretty, with deep, midnight coloured eyes, and looked to be in her late twenties. 

Her build was slender, athletic, and only slightly shorter compared to Kane. Although the tunic wasn't exactly tight, the cleavage it provided still showed off her C-cup breasts. 

While he observed her, Aelia was stabilizing herself and observing him in return. On their left side, Luna was waiting patiently, while on the right, three surviving bandits—all women—looked at them with trepidation, wondering what would happen now. 

"So, what now?" she scowled angrily. She didn't care how they created the sonic boom that caused all this, as she could think of several ways they might have done that, and it simply didn't matter right now. She was in survival mode. 

"You left only women alive…" Aelia continued, when Kane didn't answer immediately. "Can I assume your intentions are dishonourable?" she spat with disgust and defiance. 

She refused to take the cowards way out by seeking death to avoid what she assumed would be rape, but she definitely wouldn't make it easy for him. And she'd plot every moment for the rest of her life to take revenge. 

Kane raised an eyebrow, and smirked a little as he looked at this clearly strong-willed woman. Then, he panned his gaze towards the other three women, who all looked at him with gazes that more or less matched Aelia's, although two of them trembled a little when they did. 

Clearly, they were all used to dealing with rough men eyeing them all day, and they'd learned it was best not to give an inch, lest they take a mile. 

Now, with Kane's panning gaze, they immediately assumed he was judging the goods, and their eyes flared with even more anger and defiance. Only the strawberry-blond hareling with blue eyes seemed a little more timid, but still defiant. Her long, bunny-like ears twitched as nervously as her puffy white tail did. 

But then, Kane's smirk turned into a playful grin, and he shook his head. "I have no intention of forcing myself on you girls. I'd kill you before I do that." 

His tone was casual, even when mentioning their deaths, but they still couldn't help but feel a little relieved. For some reason, they found themselves instinctively believing him. They even started having subtle, positive thoughts about him. 

Such was the influence of his lust shard. It was like a an aura that surrounded him, making him more likeable and trustworthy to people he was attracted to. Which, in his case, were women. 

It wasn't actually any kind of brainwashing. If he mistreated them in any way they wouldn't simply forgive and move on, but so long as he didn't do anything to significantly averse himself to them, the lust shard would ensure they viewed him in a positive light. 

Of course, some of them may have lost people they cared about among the male bandits, and those might never follow him willingly. But that was what the Mark of Loyalty was for, so that, at the very least, they wouldn't betray him. 

And that was exactly why he kept only women alive. With a little bit of time, he was sure he could convince them to follow him willingly. Especially combined with the rewards he could offer. 

Thus, when Aelia frowned, and asked, "So why did you keep us alive then?" 

Kane's answer, accompanied by a grin, was this: "Because I'll be taking over, and you'll all serve me from now on."