Surrender and Vengeance

Hattori Hanzo had been fighting for as long as he could remember. Born in a prestigious martial clan, he had constantly fought his way to the point he was now.

Will was unsure of this but before the system had come to earth there were indeed cultivators. Clans, families, and sects hid in the underbelly of a society that was dominated by science. Earth's cultivators were not very strong due to the low concentration of energy in the atmosphere.

Once the system arrived these cultivator groups thrived, they immediately took action. Most of the elite users from Europe and Asia were from such groups. The Nine Rings Clan was a combination of eight ancient clans and one modern group formed by Musashi himself.

Thus most of its members were warriors through and through, unlike Will and co who were nothing before the system. Their experience in cultivation and in battle gave them a large advantage over others, allowing them to rise to the top of the food chain.

Many users died at the beginning due to the lack of experience, the cultivators, however, were now like fish in water, they thrived in this new environment. Abilities that were previously myth to their current members now became a reality.

The strong became the mighty. The smart became the wise. The unrestrained became sages, the heroes became saints. Those from the world of cultivators, or Jianghu as it was referred to, felt superior to those who knew nothing before the system arrived. Hanzo was one of these egoists, and he believed that those who were not of Jianghu were merely born to serve those who were.

He had been involved in many a battle and had seen plenty of people who did not fear death. It was not uncommon in the martial world to take your own life to preserve one's honor. Letty was in such a position. She was willing to give up her life for the honor of her master. As a vassal, she would be a failure if she lived while her master perished.

The look in Will's eyes, on the other hand, was different. It was not one Hanzo was unfamiliar with.

'Those eyes, Just like his. This crazy bastard is just like him.'

The eyes of someone who treats life as if it were a game, the eyes of someone who feared nothing. The eyes of the naive, the oblivious, the eyes of a child. The exact same eyes as his mortal enemy!

Hanzo realized that killing Will was not worth it. He would benefit nothing from it. Thus he let go of Will's throat and sighed. "You have made the wrong enemy."

"Perhaps, but at least I'm alive." Said Will with a smug grin. Hanzo's ire had reached a new height once again.

'I knew it. They are exactly the same. No doubt about it.'

Hanzo made a decision in his heart and decided to follow through with it. Unless he made Will suffer some sort of blow today he would not sleep soundly.

"Boy, there are punishments far worse than death, especially for those who command others." Before anyone could react, Hanzo had arrived by Alice's side. "She has the smell of a maiden. Its a shame really, but i have to mete out a lesson

Hanzo placed a hand on Alice's forehead. Within that instant a spell activated, one that unleashed a plethora of illusions in her mind. The illusions were horrifying, to the point that Alice was only able to retain consciousness for a fraction of a second. The moment he launched the illusion, Musashi took his leave. Will ran toward Alice and caught her just in time as she fell. He placed his hand on her forehead and threw his intent inside. It only took a moment for him to understand what had happened.

"Hanzo!"

Will bellowed out the man's name in frustration, alas it came to nothing.

...

When Alice came to, she was in a lavish room. She had an extreme headache and a bout of amnesia. She sat up and massaged her temples. The last thing she remembered was an unfamiliar hand covering her head.

To her side were Will and an unfamiliar face. A woman so beautiful Alice could not help but blush. Alice was sure this was the guildmate Will was referring to, but she was afraid to ask. For the entire room was downcast. Both Will and Letty had ugly expressions. To the point where it made Alice feel gloomy as well. The last time she had seen such an atmosphere was at a funeral.

After a few moments, Alice gained the courage to speak and looked up. "H-hello. I am Alice, nice to meet you." Alice tried to be polite and put on the best smile she could. Little did she know that her bright and innocent smile only made Letty feel even worse.

"I…I am sorry." Without saying anything further tears came from Letty's eyes and she stormed out of the room. Leaving a depressed Will and a confused Alice behind.

Alice looked toward Will for an explanation. "Will?"

Will sighed in resignation. He walked toward Alice and put his hand on her shoulder, "Alice I want you to emotionally prepare yourself for what I am about to tell you."

...

The art of illusions had many applications, and one of the most horrible ones was planting a terror seed, simply put, it was a worm that attached itself to the hosts brain and unleashed a bout of horrible illusions from time to time, or at least that's what Letty had told will.

With each illusion, the host would lose some amnesia, and the worm would use that opportunity to consume more of the hosts brain. This would continue, until the worm completely took over the brain, turning the host into a fool. Once in the state of a fool. the host would be subject to torture by illusion for as long as they lived.

There was only one way to stop the worm, and that was by killing its master.

…

Miami was essentially a derelict area, with only a few buildings intact. As a Lord one has many abilities, and one of them is to use points to upgrade or modify your city.

It's both simple and complex at the same time. The simplicity lies in the process itself. All one has to do is click with a finger and what they want to do will be done. The larger and more complex the job the longer. Letty had been given a lot of points by Will and had put them to good use. Repairing a lot of the infrastructure of the city.

All around one could see the city magically repairing itself as if time was turning backward. However, due to the sheer size of the city, it was happening slowly, barely visible to the naked eye.

Will was crouching by the beach, with his right hand dipped in the water. His face was downcast and he sighed from time to time.

"What did you think would happen?"

Modus spoke from behind Will, but the latter did not even bother to turn around. He just ignored him and kept his hand dipped in the water, concentrating on what he was doing.

"Did you think that it would be one big happy adventure?" Modus took a few steps forward and stood beside Will, staring into the distance. "Did you think that there would be no consequences for your childish behavior? Did you think the universe would mystically prevent bad things from happening to those around you?"

Modus turned to look at Will with a stern face. "There will be more to come in the future. Those around you will suffer. Countless will be affected by the consequences of your actions and the stronger you become the worse it will be. There are no shortcuts, no easy ways out. Do you still want to tread in the path of ascension?"

Will stood up and looked at Modus. Modus narrowed his eyes, curious as to what the young mortal would say.

"Hanzo…is a dead man walking."

"You sound confident."

"My sword is still sharp. You don't have to worry, my plans haven't changed. I will traverse the path of an immortal."

Will started walking away slowly back to the city, "It's just that my path will have a bit more human blood than I thought."

Modus stayed silent as Will disappeared into the city. Adelda's form materialized right beside him, a worried look maiming the beauty that was her face. "I am worried, perhaps his heart is now burdened with guilt. That could affect his abilities."

Modus grinned devilishly and said, "There is no guilt there I assure you. Only more resolve."

"Forgive my tone, but how can you be so sure?" Adelda looked toward him confused. Modus grinned even wider. "A sharp sword does not mend what it has cut, there is no room for regret in that young man's heart, there is only desire."

…

Part of the reason why Will was so downcast was the way Alice reacted, at first she was at a loss for words, but after some time she smiled and said she didn't mind and was just happy she was alive. Will could tell that she was lying, trying not to depress him, but he had no intention of calling her a liar, so he simply apologized and consoled her as best as he could. After some time he left the room. Despite her best efforts, Alice could not prevent Will from hearing her cries, even when he left the building.

Every tear that dropped from her eyes had a connection to Will. This was the first time that Will felt an emotion from water before. He was not someone who was empathetic, but he had no doubt in his mind that he could feel her pain.

…

Will had placed Alice in the suite of an abandoned hotel on one of the upper floors. After his brief discussion with Modus, he headed back there, only to receive dire news from Alice. Letty was still distraught from earlier events, however, the news was too great for her to ignore. Thus she sucked it up and did her duty.

For a while, the room was filled with silence until Will finally spoke. "Do you have any idea where they will attack from?"

"Since they plan on conquering an entire continent its safe to assume nowhere is safe. However, as we are on the east coast we will be among the first to be hit. The areas of South America they control are far to the south, thus a land attack is highly unlikely. Their South American forces are also too weak to mount an attack and will most likely not be involved as they will be expanding the territory on that side. Factoring this and the time frame given I suspect they are preparing for an aerial invasion and naval warfare." Said Letty.

"Timeframe?" Asked Will

Alice wanted to be of use so she picked it up from there, "Invading a place that is an ocean away from you means you will need to find a way to traverse that distance and the time to do so. One month is how long it will take for them to prepare what they need and get here in full force."

Letty nodded in approval, "It is also there to give others time to surrender. The claim that they will not accept surrender after a month is to pressurize the more cowardly Lords into submission. Not to mention it would make the invasion much easier for them if we were to give in. Even if only a handful of Lords agree it would be an advantage because it would give them a base to invade from. The Dragonheart Empire is no easy foe."

"Well, that settles it. Letty, I have an ingenious plan, but it must be executed perfectly, otherwise, it won't work." Said Will with a grin.

Alice and Letty looked at Will, eager to know what his plan was.

"Yes, Master!"

"Um, what's the plan?"

Will snickered and praised himself in his mind for being so devious. "Letty, get into contact with the Empire and tell them that we surrender!"