Those who rule by power cannot tolerate strength. How many times have someone completely devoid of malice or bloodlust been driven to commit atrocities in the name of self-defense just because they were marked for elimination for being potential future threats? Sometimes there’s envy involved but Occam’s Razor allows us to discard that as noise. Utter domination demands subjugation. To them, the blade of Damocles cannot be pulled down by more than mere gravity and each of these threats, more often perceived than concrete, is another weight added on the blade’s hilt.
It happened to me. The Master couldn’t suffer another [Assassin] working in his turf. I was an unknown and forced to commit the most heinous of sins to survive. It happens in Windemere for the same reasons but Kazuyran’s men have the support of the law. The Master’s guild was an outlaw organization. And so we reach the case in point, Leondirac. I was curious as to where they got so much cash in the few years since my last visit to their treasury, but I had a hunch. I had a lot of enemies in the region that had deep pockets and a vested interest in taking me down a peg.
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I entered the Royal Castle and crossed their childish wards. The [Master of Magic] wasn’t just for show. Add that to the skills learned over hundreds of years skulking around and about nothing short of the containment ritual Kel’Caldor used could keep me away. With more than a hundred points of Proficiency more than the past life, I hoped not even that could trap me anymore.
My first stop was the dungeons underneath the palace. They had only a few prisoners but no Euric or Helger. Lots of Kin but I didn’t release them. Yet. Up. Using my undead powers, I climbed through the stone floors and reached the [King] in his war room. A map of the region was on the table, with wooden pieces representing Windemere. Their invasion plans were irrelevant. I moved around until I found the perfect angle to attack with a cone of magic. I didn’t forget my promise to Mirina.
I closed my eyes and start humming. None of them could hear my ultrasonic voice, not even dogs if they had any in the room. They didn’t. As usual, I charged {Grand Fermata} until the spell was strong enough to one-shot a deity. Then I let an {Overcharged Grand Fermata M.I.T.H. Prismatic Spray} loose.
The whole room was bathed in kaleidoscopic light. Then the next rooms adjacent to this and the one underneath. Then the next. The walls crumbled, unable to withstand my power.
Nothing remained. Not rubble, not debris, not corpses. The {Item Box} devoured everything my magic touched as “loot”. I pinged {Detect Royalty}. Such a wondrous gift Euric gave me. I found several Royals and went on my search. Most were to one side with a lonely ping on the other wing. The ones on the side of the inner apartments must be the residents and the other side the guest. Euric knew I had this ability and he probably left his {Hidden Royalty} Perk deactivated. I went to the former first. Whoever wasn’t Euric died. Fortunately, the moral conundrum I faced in the tunnels underneath Perenneth a thousand years ago didn’t repeat. Isengar confirmed he had no infant siblings. My educated guess was correct. My target was in one of the guest rooms.
“Euric,” I called him after materializing inside the locked room.
The prince jumped with surprise and tossed an ice dart my way. I took it in my open hand. 10% of all cold damage before reductions healed me.
“Haru,” he sighed with relief, then trembled with just a whiff of fear. “I attacked you.”
“Don’t worry,” I flicked my hair and quipped as I sang, “The cold never bothered me anyway.”
He fluttered his eyelashes comically, “Are you the knight in shining armor that’s going to rescue me?”
I deadpanned. I was one, three lives ago. “How the fuck were you captured in the first place.”
“They caught my younger sister. I offered myself in exchange since I was closer to you.”
Probably there was more in their exchange but that was inconsequential to me. Ekar could stand on their own now that Sadian wasn’t actively doing fast raids on their territory.
“Fine. Where is Helger?”
“Your… Oh. No. I believe your foster father is still in Windemere.”
My heart sank. “Come with me, we’re going to the Dungeons.”
I tossed a {Force Ram} at the door and we walked out of his room. Outside the warded room, the castle was in utter chaos. My murder spree was already discovered and the guards were running like headless chickens everywhere.
“Stay behind me and defend yourself. I’m going to neutralize anyone in our way,” I ordered the [Prince]. It also made the System consider him under my command, granting him the bonus from my abilities. Plus seven to all Attributes was not something to ignore. I drew the Unicorn spear. The guards that came to attack us lost a limb or two to the Dragonfire enchantment in my heirloom spear. They wouldn’t die as the wound cauterized immediately and I didn’t have to worry about them coming back to their senses if I’d just knocked them unconscious.
We made our way back to the Dungeon. I called Isengar’s ghost from the host floating next to me and did a head… specter count with his help. We didn’t have a full set yet. His elder brother, the crown prince, was still at large. I mean, he was now [King]. First and last of his name. Leaving a throng of moaning and crippled guards behind us, we found our targets in the guard room before the cell corridors.
The brutish [King] held a handsome kitsune man with a dagger to the throat. “Don’t come any closer.”
It was in times like this that I wished I had learned some mind-bending magic. But no, I was so disgusted that even one life away, I still couldn’t bear to read their grimoires. But I knew how to defuse this situation without anyone getting hurt. Except for Isengar’s brother, of course.
My alleged biological father was basically a humanoid vulpine. He had a long muzzle with a black button nose and fur all along his body even on the back of his hands. Hands, not paws. His legs were digitigrade. That explained why I was half-kitsune and not half-fox-kin. If you put the base animal on one side and a pure human on the other, the Kin species in the middle was a gradient. The mix of animal features was diverse and some had a stronger animal heritage than others. The [Bard] that seduced my mother was closer to the animal side than most.
I wouldn’t miss it if I never got to meet him but I already knew how he got in this situation. Half-dwarf Kitsune are very rare and after the coup in Vugh Tarim, it was obvious I was related by blood to Patriarch Axejaw. He learned this and used my name to help himself into high society until it backfired. Isengar’s father learned of him and invited him for a performance in the palace. It ended with imprisonment.
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“My little girl has gro--”
“Shut up!” The [King] and I said at the same time. The kitsune [Bard] closed his muzzle for just a few moments.
“You’re Nozmizla’s mirror image,” he cooed. “Improved, I might say. Look how many tails my daughter has!”
* Critical Mind activated. 20 positive reaction modifiers ignored. Detached Analysis activated. 50 points of positive Charisma bonus ignored. Contested Charisma test won.
The [King] pressed the dagger against the [Bard]’s throat, drawing a bead of blood on his fur.
“Wait, wait. You know he means very little to me. If you kill him, you’re dead, [King]. Then Leondirac will be mine by conquest.” The moron made a face that showed he hadn’t thought that far. Did he believe I’d be cowed? “And even if you kill him, that’s just a minor setback. Watch.”
I took a large cloak and a set of clothes from my item box. “Euric, would you please hold this for our classmate?”
The [Prince] took the cloak. “As you wish, Your Majesty,” his pronouns were meant to annoy his tormentor.
I retrieved Isengar’s head next and made it float to my side. Pouring my Energy on him, I paid the price to raise him. The flesh grew from the neck stump and in a few minutes, the body was fully restored but naked. I merged it with the soul and Euric threw the cloak over the naked werebear.
“Stay where you are, Isengar,” I ordered. “Let me handle this.”
The [King] glared at me. He understood what I meant with ‘minor setback’ and that made him afraid. “I-I’m still killing him.”
“Praise the matriarch,” the [Bard] cajoled with his well-modulated voice.
* Contested Charisma test won.
And failed his check to win me over.
“Wait. We can negotiate, can’t we?” I downplayed my hand and dialed down the aggression. At the same time, I marked the two [Princes] and the [Bard] as my {Diplomatic Entourage}.
“Yes. Sign a non-aggression treaty with us, valid for at least two hundred years,” the [King] offered.
I chuckled, “No. Absolutely not. Instead, Windemere declares war on Leondirac. {Champion’s Challenge}”
* Contested Charisma test won. Challenge accepted.
* Contested Ego test won. Target cannot attack other creatures.
* WARNING: Negotiations failed.
* Failed Treaty active. Granting Diplomatic immunities.
* Diplomatic Immunity VI active. You are immune to attacks from Leondirac for 50 seconds or until you attack.
* Diplomatic Retreat active. You have 50% bonus evasion against Leondirac
* Retaliatory Strike ready. Attacks from Leondirac will give you 16 points of Dexterity and Endurance for the duration of the encounter.
* Diplomatic Entourage active. Your party shares your protections.
He sliced the kitsune [Bard]’s throat and made a confused look once he saw the notification for zero damage.
I jumped on the [King], using {Blink Step} to teleport behind him. Acapella, Mana Strike, Arcane Smite, Death Blow, Deathberry Sap, Deep Wounds, Vital Strike, Stun Strike, Avenger’s Strike, Blink Step, Champion Strike, Arcane Rend, Blink Slash, Backstab, Triple Stab, Combination Strike, Impale [1].
Three copies of my spear appeared, forming a diamond pattern as I viciously drove them in the unarmored back of the [King]. The flesh around the holes vanished, shunted into the Ethereal instead of being pierced. It was like four drills boring enormous holes in his body. Then they followed the real spear as I slashed down, opening four gashes from the shoulder blades all the way to the buttocks where they exited the body. Eight of his organs stopped. Both lungs, stomach, liver, intestines, and more. If the damage didn't kill him, he'd either asphyxiate or die of massive organ failure. Despite being shredded to ribbons, I didn't pierce his front. The damage and the Herculean strength driving the Unicorn spear notwithstanding, the attack was one of precision, causing maximum damage.
> You ambushed (multiple attacks) [King] of Leondirac for 16,1 billion [2] HP and MP of Arcane damage. (Base 226 x7.92 Skill x11.24 Attributes x2 Favored Enemy x401,158.5 modifiers [1] x1 defenses ignored).
>
> Target is poisoned for 15,950 HP/second for 25 seconds.
>
> Target is stunned for 8.5 seconds.
>
> Target is wreathed in Dragonfire.
>
> For killing level 165 [King] you gained... (too damn little Exp)
There was no kill like overkill.
The man’s corpse vanished, leaving only a few pools of blood behind. With a whiff of brownie magic, I cleaned myself up. A quick {Appraise} told me that Isengar became the new [King]. His moronic brother forgot to banish him from the dynasty.
“Leondirac surrenders,” he quickly declared. “We wish to become Windemere’s vassals.”
> WARNING: You have conquered Leondirac. Their Dynasty is dissolved. Leondirac is officially annexed by Windemere. Your rule is contested. An enemy army is camped near your new territory capital.
{Prescience V} warned me one second before it happened. I dodged the hug from the kitsune [Bard].
“Daughter, I--”
“Don’t,” I glared at him. “You shall never again call me daughter or mention Nozmizla’s name!” In my anger, I forced a {Royal Geas} on him.
He looked hurt. The damn capricious and thoughtless idiot didn’t understand or was just ignoring everyone else around him. He seemed to be extremely egotistical and vain.
“What are you going to do with me?” He sheepishly asked.
“Nothing,” I hissed. “If possible, you’d be gone to never appear again in front of me.”
The damn vulpine bastard gave me the puppy eyes, complete with droopy ears. “You’re not killing me?”
“No, what the hell?” I jumped away. “I’ll never commit parricide again,” I regretted the words as they left my mouth.
“Did you kill Fangor Battlehaven?”
I stomped the ground, cracking the stone. “No, damn it! The foolish drunkard was wrung dry by the Tabard.”
He groomed his muzzle and whiskers. “I’m sorry for not being there for you, Haru. I didn’t know Noz.. ugh. Your mom was pregnant.” He took one damage tick from the geas.
“And yet when you learned about me, you went around bragging and using my name to gain favors. Please spare me!”
Staring at the ground, he Prayed with a sorrowful tone, “I wish to redeem myself. I vow before the Matriarch that I will atone for my misdeeds.”
* Rydel Lilac the kitsune [Bard]’s Faith score went up by one point.
I didn’t want to learn his name but the System was cruel. Worse, he gained a point of Faith from his vow. It meant it was a sincere one. Great. Another deadbeat father.
“I’m taking you back to Windemere with me,” I ruefully admitted. “But please stay out of trouble.”
Which meant he would do anything but.
After this little family drama was over, a proper attired retired [King] approached. Dying changes a person. Usually into a new person once they're reincarnated, but getting revived changes them even further. Isengar was calm and collected.
"Haru, we have a little problem in our hands."
"What is it?"
"The mercenaries my father hired. They weren't paid yet, and will probably rampage through the countryside or attempt to invade Windemere."
"And probably spill into Pruinvel, Lonid, and Ekar," Euric added.
My business in Leondirac weren't over yet.
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[1]: In order: Doubles Strength and Dexterity, 2x damage, 3x Arcane-typed damage, 12x ambush damage for 6,500 MP, Poison for 550 DPS for 27 seconds, Each attack causes one organ (total 10, except brain or heart) to shut down for 27 minutes, +27 base damage, 13 seconds base stun (reduced by Endurance), 3x damage, 3x charge damage, 2x damage, Attacks deal HP and MP damage, 2x damage and shift flesh to the Ethereal, x7,7 damage, summon 3 extra spears (4x attacks), Stab & slash (x2 attacks slash suffers 31% damage penalty), x4.46 damage.
[2]: 16,141,575,669.7536 damage