"If you speak too loudly, shout, yell or scream, I am going to cut you to pieces. Be aware of that."
Shaula stares directly at Tom Muscad's face for a couple seconds before looking elsewhere. She has him cornered against a wall of this secluded alleyway. There are maybe five or ten minutes before someone comes to see what's going on here; there are four bodies filling the alleyway with the pungent smell of burnt flesh.
Shaula is also somewhat unsure of how the Captain and his men would respond to her presence in this alleyway when their men are so far away, far outside shouting range. The only thing she can think of is that the guards have some way to communicate without using voice calls.
The moment she entered the alleyway, the Captain's men would likely be notified that she is here attacking. She just doesn’t know what tools they would use to do that.
Shaula had discovered him and his group through just a bit of cleverness. She had left Barden, Prisca and Angelidis discreetly and listened to conversations between the nearby guards wearing armor, as opposed to the more silent undercovers. Her enhanced hearing allowed her to listen in with no suspicion from any of them.
She had heard a couple of them talk about their superiors being called away to lead the operation in an alleyway near a specific intersection, one that they had explicitly named. They had no reason to think that this group of protesters, mere demihumans and their bleeding heart human sympathizers, would be capable of eavesdropping, let alone launching a counterattack.
Well, one of those bleeding hearts was not to be trifled with. Ah, but first…
Shaula spends a minute or so trying to figure out how many people are in their surroundings and if any of them are actually trying to get closer to the two of them right this minute. It takes her only a few seconds to comb the nearby area for any rapid heartbeats or any clattering metal armor.
Unfortunately for Tom, he had placed enough faith in his sergeants to guard his life that he had pointed every single other guard to the area around Barden and his people. He had told them to prioritize the old draconid’s capture and the suppression of the crowd..
Shaula is right about the guards having a method of silent communication as Tom had activated his "panic button" when only Yin and he were left alive. He used his command node to notify his men that there was a "large unknown group of assailants" attacking him and his men.
He ordered all of them to immediately cancel the operation concerning the old draconid man to provide backup for him. Unwittingly, he has done exactly what Shaula had wanted.
Yet he doesn't have much faith that his men will get here in time to save his life. He has even less faith that they would actually challenge this enemy after realizing that she's none other than the noblewoman from earlier who they all knew they could not defeat.
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Tom's eyes are tightly closed; he mutters to himself about how this was not supposed to happen. Shaula hears a prayer to Osva being repeated over and over again. Sweat pours down his face.
She looks down at him while he sits against the wall, his head in his knees not meeting her gaze.
Yet, he can feel her eyes on him, past his physical form that she could easily destroy, and into his very soul. He feels angry, anxious, afraid, and for good reason. He has made it a point to never wind up in this situation. Being gazed at by a noble with murderous intent… It is an outcome that every single commoner must genetically fear.
The heroic nobles are a class of humans directly acknowledged by Osva. The progenitor nobles, the True Heroes, are those commoners granted pure nobility through the divine Blessing of the Hero which Osva and Osva alone personally grants.
The Blessing allows them to reach their level of transcendental power while also being able to pass on a piece of their strength to their children. They and their children have essentially been given access to divinity, just a piece of it. It is enough to allow them to maintain a special class above all others within the Federation.
The nobles are powerful, stern, wise… they are parents to all commoners. Their efforts, strength and knowledge allow humanity to flourish. One way to know immediately whether one is a noble or not is simply by eye color. Those with the eye colors of normal humans cannot be of the nobility.
Yet… the eyes of the woman in front of him are the color of a commoner's. A noble would not have colors like brown, blue, gray, green, or hazel.
Why is she… is she trying to stay hid–
"What's your name?" She asks, rather, demands he speak.
"Wh–"
"Your name, 'Captain', what's your actual name?" She repeats.
"Tom! Tom Muscad, that's my name."
Shaula smirks. He is truly afraid of her. Even he realizes the mistake he's made by showing his fear so clearly. So he compensates. His face turns from panic to a stoic expression. His breathing calms down and slows. She's surprised he has such self control.
"Heroine…" He begins, maintaining a steady affect. "Do you know what you are doing right now? I am a vassal to Baron Liri Tritol."
"..." Shaula decides to hear him out, to see what he can say for himself at this moment.
"I am a Captain of the Tritol guards. I was appointed and sanctified in my position by the Baron himself. Lord Liri views me favorably, a useful, quite indispensable servant, his property… Why else do you think he would entrust me with the honor of carrying out today's work!?"
He speaks his last sentence in anger but composes himself once again. The last thing he needs is to act out in front of this strange powerful woman.
Shaula is interested in how easily he admitted to being the property of his noble. He realizes that he has no power to negotiate by himself so he brings up a higher name. He continues.
"Forgive me for my lack of manners, heroine. But, I assure you. If you try to harm me, you would force a war between the Barony and whatever family you represent. Even if you are part of a Count family, or even a dukedom, my Lord is capable of anything when he is dishonored. Please, reconsider this. I'm sure the Baron would let things off if you just stop your violence before harming me, a Captain of his city's guards."