“Thank you.”
Mash approached Luke and the paladin with a smile. He tried to make it genuine but failed. He only heard a little of Luke’s conversation with the paladin. Luke was thanking her for something. He hoped that was a good thing. The paladin responded as she stood and bowed.
“It is an honor to work with you, regardless of the circumstances. I will inform the others and make preparations to move.”
She turned and walked away from Luke while continuing to ignore Mash’s existence. Even with a helmet on, he felt like she had glared at him as she passed. Mash wondered what her god had told them about him. Her entire entourage clearly didn’t like him. They all wore the same armor, and all of them were focused on him. Their weapons were always in hand, ready to strike incase anything happened. He wasn’t particularly worried about them, but he watched Serena as she walked toward the others. Once she appeared out of earshot, Mash asked Luke.
“I’m guessing the god’s hate me. And what is she helping with?”
Mash didn’t quite approach Luke before speaking. He wanted to trust Luke, but his friend was unstable. Mash couldn’t recognize the look in his eyes and decided to stand a respectful distance apart. Mash glanced at the Paladin as he mentioned her, but Luke’s gaze never left him.
“Most god’s do not hate you. Their followers likely will. You temporarily severed their connection with their god. Most will fear and hate you. To them, you are some kind of monster that can strip them of their purpose.”
Mash shuddered at Luke’s explanation. He didn’t actually care much about severing a god’s chains, but the way Luke spoke bothered him. It was so different that it made his smile grow strained. Mash moved on quickly.
“Okay, what about Serena? What did she want?”
“She will aid me for the forceable future.”
Luke didn’t say anything more as if that was enough. Mash bit back a more annoyed response and just asked for clarification.
“In what?”
Mash was a little annoyed by the look of confusion that crossed Luke’s face. What did expect with such an incomplete answer? Mash hadn’t gained much knowledge when advancing, but Luke treated him and everyone like they should already know.
“In anything I ask. Their god is one who shares much with myself and they will follow my instructions so long as their god permits it. For now, that will be protecting the beastmen and helping me establish a temple.”
There was no doubt in Luke’s words, and Mash decided to accept them at face value. It didn’t really matter if the paladins stuck around. They weren’t strong enough to threaten him or the others. Based on his estimations only Serena was above level 150, and he doubted that she could do anything suspicious with him and Jill around. Between Jill, Luke, and himself, their group had quite the range of vision and insight skills. Someone with a class focused in deception might get past some of their skills but that wasn’t a concern with a Paladin.
“Great, that sounds great. Well, lets get around to doing that. Jill said she could probably teleport there and then comeback for the rest of us.”
Luke nodded. That was all he did, and Mash fumed internally at the awkward exchange. Ultimately they hadn’t decided to part ways, but they would work more independently soon. Luke for example will remain with his people while the rest of them try and figure out how to kill a god. Red’s family will probably come up soon, and Mash just needed to wait for the Empress of Colors to set up the meeting.
They stood in silence for a moment longer, before Mash left to tell Jill that she could go. It didn’t take long for her to go and comeback. After making a few final preparations, Jill teleported them all there. After her recent advancement, she actually had enough mana to teleport all of them including the paladins. It took a lot out of her but she managed.
The world shifted around Mash, and he stumbled when they arrived. His balance was fine, but his senses were overwhelmed as his domain suddenly flooded him with too much information. It had been far easier to adjust within his own world and skills. Another person moving him caused more problems. He dug his feet into the grass and dirt. It left an impression as his feet practically plunged into the ground. The gesture made the paladins draw their respective weapons. Most of them used swords except for one whose hands simply glowed.
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Lisa tapped his shoulder, and he felt a pulse of mana enter his body. It instantly eased his dizziness and helped him stabilize his body.
“What was that? And thanks!”
Mash nodded at her gratefully as his mind instantly cleared.
“I just helped you focus. You did the rest, or Priscilla.”
Her voice was soft and quiet as always, but it didn’t feel as subdued as it had. He hoped that she would treat him more normally, and this was a good sign for that.
Now that his mind was clear, he took in his surroundings. His domain let his eyes sneak into everything. He also realized that they weren’t that far from the capital. Mash glanced around as he felt several different presences collide with his domain.
“Jill, we said not to go that close. They know we’re here now!”
Mash shouted over to Jill. She rolled her eyes at him before responding.
“We are far out. Look we can barely see the city’s walls. We were going there anyways.”
Mash glared at her, as Red cut in.
“You are right, but now it seems like we are attacking. Either way, nothing will change with an argument. Let’s just meet whoever comes and deal with it. Luke, do you have any idea on what to do now?”
Red turned toward Luke, who was already walking toward the city. They all stared at him for a moment, before following. For a second it seemed like Luke hadn’t heard her, but then he responded slowly.
“Yes. I feel my people, they are calling to me even if they do not know it yet.”
The words sounded like they came from a different man, and Mash hated the sound of them. It sounded too arrogant. The kind of statement only a god could make. Despite the way the words made his skin crawl, he didn’t doubt them. Plus, he wanted to help the beastmen too. They followed Luke as he led them around the city. Not toward the main entrance, but too a village on the side of the city. It was ironically placed to be in the city’s shadow in the afternoon. Thus the City of the Setting Sun, as it was named, never showed its sunset to this village.
Mash could see the people in the village and recognized the many animal ears and tails on the people. Beastmen, and a lot of them, were placed behind the city, hidden from the entrance and its namesake. It was a bad sign, but he also noticed that they weren’t particularly hurt or angry. Most of the people in the city seemed fine. Children played, and parents worked mundane jobs. Few beastmen entered and exited the city along with the general mill of people. Mash was surprised. He expected worse of his people.
“The beastmen seem fine. It looks like they are well protected.”
Mash spoke for the others. They couldn’t see what he did. Luke shook his head almost immediately.
“No, you are missing their classes. Look at their power and you will understand.”
There was no way Luke could see them from here, but Mash examined the people more carefully. He noticed it almost immediately.
“None of them are strong.”
Mash said the words carefully, watching Luke for some confirmation. Mash could feel their relative abilities, both physical and magical, and was making his judgment based on that. None of the people felt even remotely dangerous.
“Yes. They are restricted. I would bet the king has done something to those who possess powerful classes. Their classes are almost all civilian related jobs.”
Luke’s response confirmed Mash’s guesses. It did make him wonder how the king was controlling or monitoring them, but he guessed there was a class for that. Skills had such variety that he would assume that there was a skill for everything. Mash considered the king and saw the man too. His domain had fully encompassed the city at this point. He was strong enough now to peer into the temples too, well most of them. Two temples remained hidden, and he guessed they had skills to block intrusion. One of them was the moon goddess, Elise. He wondered if she would be open to talking again. Last time, she had hinted about having knowledge on the world owner, and he was hoping to ask her more this time.
Mash wasn’t focusing on any individual in the city, but he knew where the king was. The man was speaking to general Irkish and preparing to meet him. Knights, and the army itself, was preparing for a fight. Mash hoped it wouldn’t come to that. The general seemed to notice his gaze and glanced in his direction. She did not look pleased. The king on the other hand looked furious. His head darted back and forth as he gave commands out. Mash saw his own brother there, but Luna was still hidden. She was probably in the temple.
Jill could’ve teleported them to the village. In fact, they could’ve run there in a few seconds if they wanted too. Red had suggested that they don’t do either. Approaching a city in haste wouldn’t seem like a peaceful action, and everyone was afraid of him at the moment. They were overreacting in his opinion. He wouldn’t do anything crazy or destructive. At least, not without good reason. They gave the king ample time to respond, and eventually, he did.
“Oh, they're coming.”
Mash called out, and he turned toward Red who nodded. She had expected this reaction and claimed that her family would likely be around too. Not anyone important, but someone would be there to observe what happened. He observed the king, the general, and his brother's approach. There was an escort of knights and the like too, but he didn’t care as much for them. Although some of them were around level 150. It took him a second to comprehend what he saw.
“They're matching us. Our levels I mean.”
“Then they aren’t looking for a fight. This is the general practice when engaging peacefully with another nation.”
Red explained the situation that he saw.
“I’m not that big.”
Mash meant it as a joke, but nobody seemed amused. Jill even disagreed with him.
“You’re way bigger than that. Also, you literally changed the entire world already.”
Jill smiled as if she had intended to play along. In light of recent events, the joke turned out far more literal. Luke, Red, and even Lisa nodded to the statement like it was a fact. Their jokes were less ridiculous than reality at this point. That fact disturbed him a little, and it must’ve bothered the others too because an awkward silence hung over them after that. It was almost a relief to see the angry face of the king.