BXBX NOVEL Chapter 56: Morning Domination
Chapter 56: Morning Domination
The underworld was in shambles. Multiple deals tied with the Bramblevale Bandits fell through, disrupting low-level scoundrels and major power players who were connected. Smaller gangs were already fighting each other to take over, but their bloody cloak-and-dagger battles hurt everyone involved.
The night before was mostly quiet on the surface except for the occasional siege weapon blasting against the unyielding barrier guarding the Wicked Villains of the East. None of the average well-to-do nobles of Central Bramblevale were bothered unless they had shady deals in the dark.
Under the new morning, young ladies working as news sellers patrolled the streets, spreading the word of the Bramblevale Lord while offering reading material for coin:
“Conduct your business in a hurry and inform the nearest guard or soldier if you see anything suspicious! Read more about it here!”
“Remember to start your mornings praying to the Good Gods and turn away from the temptation of evil! If you’re truly a good believer, purchase this paper!”
“The Eternal Capital is aware of the Wicked Villains of the East! Do not worry! The White Roses are on their way to end them once and for all! Get the exciting news here first!”
Some of the townsfolk listened and bought their papers. Others went about their day as the market squares came to life. Vendors put out their wares and hawked about their sales like their lives depended on it.
Once again, they’d slashed their prices. Once again, they faced fierce economic downturns and the lack of buyers.Potential customers shook their heads and hurried by the desperate vendors. It was getting closer to the time the Bramblevale Lord expected his taxes. The enforcers of those taxes were a few degrees better than bandits.
“Wait, wait, I don’t have to pay until next week!” shouted an old cabbage merchant with a bum leg.
He was one of the rare few males who wasn’t a noble but could hold a merchant license. That came with expectations.
“You haven’t paid what you owed last time. So we’ve come to collect early.” A man with a reedy voice twirled the end of his pencil-thin mustache. “And the Bramblevale Lord wants it with interest!”
The Tax Collector Probationer had twenty men in the level 30s with him, all Tax Enforcer Starters. It was a powerful show of force in Central Bramblevale.
The tax collector and tax enforcers were all good aligned. Their classes were closely tied with Good God Lawkeep. For there were few rules in all of existence that were more true than these:
Everyone had a death waiting for them.
And taxes must be paid.
“But, but, it’s too high! I can barely make enough, good sir. And times have grown harsh lately. They say the gnolls might attack at any time!” The old cabbage seller had tears in his eyes as he tried to plead his case.
His corner of a local market wasn’t a lonely one. But every man and woman quickly looked away while passing near the commotion. Some children stopped to watch. A concerned gaggle of well-dressed women shooed the children away.
There was nobody willing to help him.
Well, except for one person.
“I don’t mind paying taxes,” said a dark voice from the nearest alley. “It’s like a contract between the people and the government. We work hard. You tax us and use that money to provide benefits. We make use of those benefits. But … I don’t like it when the government abuses the people and calls it good.”
There was a sinister chill in that voice. It had an unnerving effect that crawled down everyone’s spines.
The old cabbage seller, the tax collector, the tax enforcers, and everyone else in the vicinity stared into the unusually dark alley. They were like deers searching for the wolf prowling in their midst.
Then, slowly, they all saw a person fade into existence with a casual stride.
He was unlike any humanoid creature they’d ever seen. He stood like a man. He walked like a man. He even dressed like a noble man, wearing a dapper suit, tie, proper pants, and polished shoes.
His face was clean and without a mustache, appearing handsome and youthful. His hair was strange and very coiled, yes, but it could be a wig and part of a performance.
Outside of that, he was something abnormally alien.
His skin was dark.
His eyes were two voids. Like the lightless bottom of a pit. His smile was white and sharp. And hanging from his back was a cloak that didn’t match his dark and dapper suit.
The cloak was leathery, patchy, and filled with odd and horrific designs. There were teeth sticking out from one side. Slivers of bone quills quivered from another side.
The cloak moved on its own with no wind to stir it. Sometimes it would split and unravel, turning into thin threads, then splitting even further into near invisible hairs that reached out everywhere.
The cloak quivered in a lively way that was beyond uncanny for an article of clothing. Every person serving as a witness would feel less like a person and more like a prey animal once they sighted the nightmarish cloak.
“Hello, my name is Zarian Darkrun, and I’m a little lost. I’m looking for the Central Bramblevale Keep.” The horrific man slid his hands into his pants pocket, a rude gesture, but it was fitting for someone as horrific as him.
His smile turned sharper as he spoke further. “Hey, old man. Can you lend me some directions? I’ll even pay you for the trouble. You can keep the cabbages. They’re … uh … moldy.”
“Kill him!” The tax collector shrilled.
The tax enforcers rushed the nightmarish Zarian Darkrun. They used skills that empowered themselves overall, increased their speed, and even manipulated metal.
Five ran to the left. Five ran to the right.
Ten formed a line and hurled forward metal balls the size of marbles with air-cracking speed. That would’ve been more than enough to tear apart a single foe.
The metal balls passed straight through the evil-doer with no effect. The enforcers stumbled in surprise as the illusion faded away.
Then a feminine figure jumped down from the nearest stone roof and landed behind five of the enforcers on the right.
The new arrival was a stunning but alien woman of stellar physique and dark skin. She wore an even darker dress that was skin-tight and stood with an impeccable balance on high-heeled shoes.
She moved like a whirlwind. Before anyone could stop her, all five enforcers on the right crumpled to the ground or flew off their feet.
The remaining enforcers were preparing to fight her when another woman appeared in a flash of brilliant light.
She was an astonishing vision of beauty adorned in a glimmering, colorful, enchanting dress that reminded viewers of elven princesses of past eras. She smiled radiantly, almost blinding everyone with her joyous expression, and drew attention to herself that forced the enforcers to hesitate.
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The dark-skinned woman with the dynamic physic took advantage. She flipped through the air rapidly and landed with a stone-cracking thump behind the enforcers on the left.
With fast and blurring movements that made her look like a dark gale force wind, she deftly brutalized them like the last five. The enforcers crashed down after getting swept off their feet or sent into a tumble, laying them flat.
For most people watching, the action happened so fast, so violently, it was hardly believable. They’d never seen anyone capable of fighting the enforcers and winning.
“Why are you staring?” the tax collector shouted at the remaining ten enforcers. “Throw everything you have at them! Everything!”
The enforcers prepared to launch another destructive metal volley. Before they did, their own shadows darkened.
The shadows became akin to lightless pits before shooting up ten blunt poles from between the enforcers’ feet. The poles all struck directly into the groins of the enforcers and launched them into the air for a short but hard flight.
The tax collector looked about as all twenty men lay defeated around him. He wasn’t the only one gawking. All around the courtyard, vendors, nobles, groups of women, and beggars were all watching. Additionally, a patrol of soldiers had just arrived and caught the tail end of the commotion.
“Heh heh heh. Ha ha ha.”
A creepy and daunting voice resonated from the incredibly dark alley with a laugh so sinister it made everyone in the courtyard shiver except for the two beautiful but dangerous women. For the second time, the monstrous villain named Zarian Darkrun walked out of the alley.
It wasn’t an illusion this time. This one was the authentic version.
He stopped next to the old cabbage seller and the tax collector.
“So, where’s the Bramblevale Keep? I want to pay Lord Cassian a visit.” His void for eyes turned from the tax collector to the cabbage seller.
“He’s down this very road, milord.” The cabbage seller pointed behind him.
There was indeed a road that looked big and wide. It was the central street of Central Bramblevale.
It wouldn’t be hard to believe that going down that road would take someone straight to the center. Then they would find the Bramblevale Keep, which held the office of the town’s lord.
“You will be hanged for aiding a villain, you old fool!” snapped the tax collector.
Lord Zarian Darkrun moved with blurring speed, and the tax collector flew off his feet and slammed down on the stone street like a sack of potatoes. Bloody teeth clattered across the street with some spittle.
“Aw, dang, I got his slobber on my new shoes.” The villainous lord frowned.
“Allow me, milord!” The cabbage seller hobbled as fast as he could to clean off the shoe, which must’ve kicked the tax collector faster than anyone could clearly see.
His life, as well as everyone’s in the courtyard, could depend on satisfying the villain.
“No, don’t. I’ll live. Why don’t you leave this place? It’s going to be quite an active morning.” Lord Zarian Darkrun caught the cabbage seller gently by the crook of his arm and guided him to the side.
He was surprisingly helpful, despite looking like an incarnation of evil. The Darkrun Lord even slid whole gold coins into the cabbage seller’s hands, which the old man deftly and wisely hid into a secret pocket in his clothing.
“It’s so nice to help someone in need. I hope someone buys all your cabbages and you’ll be well taken care of, senor!” The radiant woman in the colorful dress patted him on the head and left him with a sense of comfort and security.
It was like being graced by an angel.
“Can we stop playing around and get on with Operation Domination?” asked the fierce and dynamic black woman.
She was both a thrilling and frightening sight. Almost like a she-devil. Only the strongest or craziest of men could ever get near such a tempting but dangerous beauty and survive to tell the tale.
“Sure thing, sure thing. Just do your best. I know your part in this operation is very difficult,” said Lord Darkrun with the casual flair only the rich and powerful could have.
Was the villain born from royalty in some wicked and evil kingdom to the east? Not only was the cabbage seller paid enough to survive for quite a number of months, but he had the best gossip in his friend group. He couldn’t wait for the next meeting. Everyone was going to be envious.
“All we’re doing is walking and escorting,” grouched the dark one.
“While making Senor Zarian look good! Piece of cake, really,” said the radiant one.
“Oh, look, the soldiers are charging at us. Onward, we go, ladies.” Lord Darkrun stepped ahead, his hands still in his pockets.
Perhaps the evil royalty of the east preferred their hands in their pockets. It was strange to think about, especially since the cabbage seller had never heard of any evil kingdom to the east, only the infamous castle mountains of Castle Grimrock.
Perhaps Lord Darkrun and his escorts came from further east. Nonetheless, their activities here were stirring up an even bigger commotion now.
The square turned into a riot of panic. People screamed as they hurried to get aside the ensuing conflict. Market stalls came crashing down when humans with more levels and stats ran through them, uncaring of the destruction and damage to vendors’ common quality wares.
“Move in a hurried and orderly manner or suffer my wrath,” Lord Zarian Darkrun threatened.
Somehow, despite the shining light of the morning, the power of his evil alignment reached every soul who heard him. Even the soldiers lost their nerve, stumbling from a fast charge into a moderate approach. That was the touch of palpable, bone chilling, heart-seizing evil, the likes of which most have never faced in the kingdom.
The Wicked Villains of the (Far) East were possibly worse than a gnoll invasion. And they were on their way to see the Bramblevale Lord at his keep. While the cabbage seller was thankful for their aid, most others would see them as complete and utter threats, such as the Garden Officer at the front of the approaching soldiers.
“We must stop them! Don’t be afraid of his evil!” shouted the lone officer in charge. He had a sworn duty to defend the township and kingdom against any major threat. “If we slow them down here, reinforcements will be on the way!”
They had fifty men with them now. The Garden Officer was Level 41, which was powerful here. Behind him were Foot Soldier Grunts in the Level 30s. They held poleaxes with expertise borne from years of training, so they knew very well how to use them.
The soldiers renewed their courage and closed the distance with a thunderous charge, shaking off the evil threat from earlier.
The evil-doer himself looked up at the morning sun beaming down. He did nothing overt while the women flanking him to his right and left stood like seductresses of thrilling danger and radiant glamor.
“It’s a nice day,” the Darkrun Lord said, hands still in his pockets, “for domination.”
The shadows under the three villains darkened. Then volleys of rapid fire bolts flew from under their feet.
The Garden Officer shifted to the side and swung his poleaxe. Heavy bark and sharp thorns covered the weapon.
The officer’s alpha skill had smashed and torn apart many opponents and powers, and he saw no reason it couldn’t do so now.
One dark bolt obliterated the skill’s conjuring and the pole axe at once. The force of the impact was nearly too much for any man to endure.
The Garden Officer ended up jerked around, barely avoiding a direct hit himself. His men didn’t share in his fortune as the bolts struck almost all of them directly.
The Garden Officer tumbled and rolled as nearly fifty men sailed backward, crashing, rolling, falling into a crushed heap with their breastplates dented and bones broken.
Most, if not all, of them remained alive. But most stayed down, either unconscious, or in too much pain to do anything.
When the officer rose, he only had four remaining men still capable of fighting. When he looked at the villains, they were calmly strolling past them.
The women walked with a refined grace that could steal a man’s breath. The monster with the frayed and nightmarish leather cloak strolled while between his stunning female escorts, his hands still in his pockets, a small and uncaring smile on his face.
The officer drew his sword. He covered it in his skill of heavy bark and sharp thorns. Then the officer shouted with noble gallantry: “Purgehunt, see me vanquish this monster!”
He lunged at the back of the greatest human villain Bramblevale had ever witnessed.
As he attacked, the officer carried in his heart the glorious stories he’d heard from childhood. Stories of how good men vanquished heinous evil. He envisioned Good God Purgehunt filling him with a mighty monster-slaying boon to defeat a major threat to Central Bramblevale and perhaps the rest of the Eternal Garden Kingdom.
The ragged nightmare cloak caught the officer’s arms with its leathery tendrils.
Before the officer could pull away, the cloak lifted him and slammed him down onto the stone pavement. Then it lifted him and slammed him down again and again, leaving cracks and divots.
When death seemed assured, the cloak stopped. It left the officer in a bloody, smashed up heap.
He remained alive, which was strangely unfortunate.
Outside of his bodily pain, his pride was deeply wounded. It would’ve been better if the villains had killed him outright.
Instead, the officer was left to live with his broken men, as if they were nothing but mere nuisances to be swatted down and ignored. They continued their existence as examples to be made to anyone who thought they could resist outright domination of Central Bramblevale.
“Someone … please … stop that horrible man,” prayed the officer before he fell unconscious.
He dreamed of having many wives he carefully picked like a bouquet of flowers. He dreamed of a large home and the luxuries of being a High Rose one day, recognized by all the good gods with many boons raining down on him. He dreamed of all the happiness the Eternal Garden provided.
As for the old cabbage seller watching from the side lines, the event had left a grand impression on him and the others nearby. Someone asked, “I wonder if they would get Lord Cassian to lower taxes.”
The old cabbage seller wondered the same thing before he secretly prayed to Evil God Goldhound.
That was the nice thing about being neutral. It felt okay to pray to both as long as nobody said it aloud.
Though, he wouldn’t know if it was also possible to pray to both sides regardless of being good or evil. He was a mere cabbage seller trying to live the rest of his limited life without much of a fuss. Let the bold and brash figure out the rest.