Book 2. The Grand Gathering. Chapter 8. Rendezvous. (Part II)

“I advise you to take your young master and his friend away,” Anna said with a mix of anger and amusement. She had talked with Siana long enough to realize what kind of temper this girl had and she could already imagine what was going to happen to this poor, clueless kid unless he quickly came to his senses. As for the brat’s friend’s fate… given that he was trying to hit on Lara and Nila, she wouldn’t say a much brighter future laid in front of him.

“Take us away?” Rishard asked in disbelief. “Eh, I didn’t want to reveal it, but it looks like you are pointlessly stressed over my identity. I understand your anxiety though, there are many fraudulent people in the world who would claim to be a person of importance while in fact, they weren’t,” he spoke magnanimously, thoroughly convinced everyone couldn’t be concerned about anything else but that.

“I’m the only son of the Grand Viscar Darthon, so as you can see, you don’t need to worry whether I am worthy of your company,” he clarified with a bright smile, totally confident that this revelation would solve all the troubles the party seemed to have for some incomprehensible reason.

“Now, let’s relax, drink and have fun!” he added cheerfully and did possibly the stupidest thing he could; pretended to stretch and attempted to hug Siana with his arm.

Obviously enough, before Rishard could comprehend what was going on, both his vision and mind had gone blank. His consciousness returned only after a few seconds, accompanied by a great deal of pain, a metallic taste in his mouth and the sensation of blood pouring out of his broken nose.

“It’s over. I’m screwed, we’re all screwed,” the young man groaned, at the same time gesturing his three subordinates to stay their hands.

“Kanan…!” one of his subordinates hissed at him, obviously concerned with what Rishard’s father would do to them once he learned they watched how his son was beaten up and they did nothing… but Kanan frowned and glared at him angrily, effectively shutting him up.

Kanan was as young as his men, but he had always displayed a remarkable ability to remain calm in every situation. That was why his captain went through the trouble of making his military career easier as long as he was willing to suffer through three years of this ‘torture’. Kanan would always think before acting and just now, he came to the conclusion that he shouldn’t offend those people more than Rishard and his friend already have.

His reasoning was pretty simple; Rishard had clearly said who his father was, but none of those people seemed impressed by the Grand Viscar Darthon’s name in the slightest. Were it some other place and time, Kanan might have considered bouting with them, but not during the Grand Gathering, not in the Two Weeks City. The chances that those women had a status above Darthon’s were simply too high. After all, that failure of a man was the least influential, weakest… though the richest of the three Grand Viscars.

“W-what do you think you just did?” Andar cried out in shock, getting up on his knees and trying to reach out to his friend over the table pretty much in vain, having done nothing but spilled a few drink in the clumsy process.

“You, you hit me!” Rishard said through his nose, crawling away from Siana and trying to get on his feet. “Didn’t you hear who my father is? There will be consequences! You will face consequences!” he began shouting, the sensation of pain robbing him of any shreds of common sense he might have had.

“Just screw off, will you?” Laien barked, not intending to waste his time on some unreasonable young master.

“Who do you think you are talking to?!” Rishard yelled, spilling drops blood all over the place. “I will have father punish you! I will have this crazy girl locked up! I will-…”

The continuous chain of threats of Rishard’s ended abruptly when Laien stood up, stepped past Siana and kicked him in the chest with enough force to send him flying out of the bar and onto the street, where Rishard crashed against the ground and remained in place, most likely unconscious.

Seeing what happened to his friend, Andar was so terrified that his whole body went limp. He fell backward, unluckily enough about to sit on top of Nila, who sure enough didn’t intend to have any of it. She swiftly raised her leg and kicked the boy in the ass, making Andar follow his friend in a beautiful arc and land a few meters away from him.

“So what now, Kanan?” the same young man who tried to argue previously asked helplessly. No matter what explanation they provided, Darthon would be unlikely to listen and would have them all punished for letting his son get hurt. They really should have acted sooner, now it was too late…!

“For now we tend to this brat and bring him to the medic, or would you rather fight against multiple martial masters on your own?” Kanan asked and laughed resignedly. Those three might have been unable to tell, but he sensed the subtle aura emanating from quite a few of those young women.

He himself was relatively strong, he was at the eighth mortal realm, but any of those women would be able to squash him like an ant. There was no way he was getting into a real fight with them over Rishard’s few broken bones; his life was still too dear to him to be thrown away just like that.

“Martial masters?” the young man’s eyes bulged as everything started to make sense to him. No wonder those people were so calm about offending Darthon…! That man was a Grand Viscar, but he certainly enough had no jurisdiction over powerful martial schools! Given that it was Rishard who behaved inappropriately in the first place, the whole matter would almost certainly be hushed up without becoming a major affair.

“Thank all Gods and Deities that Kanan stopped us,” the young man thought to himself. Since their potential opponents would have been far beyond what they could handle, then perhaps Darthon would listen to their explanation after all and maybe, just maybe they would all get off scot-free.

“Enough praying. Get moving,” Kanan gestured at the three and headed towards Rishard who appeared to have regained consciousness and the friend of his, who judging by the way he was acting, would most likely be unable to sit for a good month due to the broken tailbone.

“The kid held back properly, good for us. Looks like he only broke some of his ribs,” Kanan judged accurately as he crouched beside Rishard. Paying no mind to the brat’s protests, he raised him up and proceeded to carry him back to his father’s mansion, while one of his subordinates did the same with Rishard’s friend.

One would have expected the whole scene to have caused quite a commotion in the area… but as it seemed, barely anyone paid the incident any attention. Apparently, such occurrences were fairly standard in the crimson districts of various cities. Even the sight of two boys being very literally kicked out of the bar didn’t do much besides attracting some curious gazes.

“Wasn’t that a little over the top?” Anna asked, contrary to her words revealing another rare, full smile of hers.

“People like him don’t know how to listen to words.” Laien shrugged his shoulders and sat back down at Siana’s side. “After the fact, some are too ashamed to tell anyone. Some gather up their friends and try ambushing me, while others ask their parents or protectors to teach me a lesson,” he mentioned carefreely, then glanced at Anna and smirked.

“That being said, quite a few come to apologize later, so it’s not like they can’t become better people after a solid beating or two,” Laien said with a laugh and stuck out his tongue. Since he could afford to do as he liked and he was always right about picking a fight, then why would he need to restrain himself and hold it in? He saw no point in doing such a pointless thing.

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“Oh come on, big brother,” Siana chuckled, recalling all the trouble Laien caused for Rudford by acting in this way. Rudford would always complain a bit, but he hadn’t truly scolded Laien for acting in such a way even once.

“What, weren’t you the one who squashed his nose first?” Laien asked wryly, mimicking the backhand blow of Siana’s and the grim expression on her face as she was delivering it.

“I guess you have a point,” Siana admitted with a laugh. “You are having a bad influence on me, big brother,” she said teasingly, then burst out laughing along with Laien.

“So carefree,” Anna shook her head, smiling helplessly. Were those kids not the precious disciples of Great Martial Schools, she might have been worried about them a bit, but as the circumstances were, she really didn’t have it in her to lecture them.

Additionally, although she wouldn’t admit it openly, she herself found it rather satisfying to see that impolite brat being taught a lesson, so there was no way she could be truly angry because of what happened.

Meanwhile, Alex sipped some more wine from her glass, wondering if anything more that could happen this night would be able to surprise her. She had always thought of herself as somewhat special, but when associating with those siblings and their golden-haired friends, she for once felt like a side-character who was only a part of a grander scheme of things. It was a weird feeling, one with which she couldn’t quite come to terms yet.

She felt attracted to Laien… she liked both his looks and character quite a lot, but he and his friends felt so distant to her, almost unreachable and unapproachable. They could sweep you in their own pace, in their own story, but it was almost as if one couldn’t truly walk the same path as them. It really was a strange feeling.

About half an hour later.

“Looks like it’s the third option this time,” Laien said and laughed, glancing at the street and the unit of about forty guards led by a surprisingly chubby man.

“The Grand Viscar came in person,” Anna commented with a slight smile. The man probably thought he was dealing with ‘just’ an above-average martial school, but how could he imagine that the actual offenders had two Great Martial Schools behind them? His son had already kicked a steel plate, but the father seemed to be about to try kicking it again, unaware of how hard the plate exactly was.

“How in the world does one manage to get fat as a martial practitioner?” Lara wondered aloud, somewhat frightened and disgusted by the man’s appearance.

“Who knows?” Laien smirked, eyeing the group of forty guards carefully. “Doesn’t seem like there are any martial masters with him,” he said and glanced at Anatis, asking wordlessly if he was up for having some fun with those people.

“You really think it’s a good idea?” Anatis argued, a bit reluctant to go with the flow of Laien’s ideas. “Wouldn’t it be better to talk it out…?” he suggested, but he only did so by the force of a habit rather than anything else.

“The bastards who attacked my son, come out right now!” Darthon yelled furiously, enhancing his voice with Qi and startling all the people in the close vicinity.

“See? He’s calling for us,” Laien chuckled in amusement. “Or do you want Nila to go instead?” he asked with a wide smile and raised his eyebrows. Technically, it was Nila who kicked that other boy, but…?

“Damn, you always need to have it your way, don’t you?” Anatis complained, but got up and followed Laien nevertheless.

“Don’t tell me you aren’t looking forward to it just a little bit,” Laien said with a laugh and glanced at Anatis, who sighed a little and laughed helplessly.

“Eh, why do boys always want to show-off so much?” Lara asked the question all the young girls at the table had in mind.

“They want to impress everyone around them, it’s only natural,” Anna replied casually. This trait was stronger some boys and weaker in the other, but generally, they all wanted to be looked at positively and with awe; they wanted to affect others by their behavior. It wasn’t something to be discouraged as long as it was done within reasonable limits.

“Big brother likes getting into trouble and creating them himself,” Siana said with a laugh, seating herself in a position to spectate the unfolding events. She needed to agree with Anna; she definitely would enjoy watching her big brother wipe the floor with those arrogant people.

“And it’s rubbing-off on Anatis,” Nila added with a resigned smile and moved over to the other side of the table, joining Siana at the front seats to the event.

“You look like you are looking forward to it as much as I am, though,” Siana commented wryly, to what Nila could only laugh and shrug her shoulders. She couldn’t not look forward to seeing her boyfriend act in a cool way, could she?

“You think they are going to be fine?” Alex asked, a bit worried about Laien and Anatis. “There might be no martial masters, but if a fight breaks out…” she said and pursed her lips. Those men certainly enough weren’t elites, but none of them should have the strength less than seventh mortal realm. Could two twelve-year-olds really stand up to them…?

“It will be fine, just look,” Siana said confidently. Her big brother was powerful enough to compete with top disciples of the Red Dragon School, so how could a group of random guards be any danger to him?

“I must agree. Those guys don’t stand a chance,” Nila added from herself, knowing how big of a difference there was between a true martial practitioner and those who only got to the late mortal realms with age and time. She wasn’t worried about those two at all.

Alex blinked a few times in quick succession and shook her head a little. “If you say so,” she said quietly, impressed by how much of a faith the two were putting into their boyfriends… or a boyfriend and a big brother, or whatever the relationship between Laien and Siana was.

“Kanan, are those the brats?” Darthon asked angrily, seeking a confirmation before speaking as to avoid compromising himself by throwing a fit at two unrelated kids.

Before answering, Kanan glanced at the two boys. He swallowed, for some reason the look in the black-haired boy’s eyes making him reconsider his answer.

“Yes,” he said quickly, choosing not to mention the two girls. What influenced this decision of his was on one side the meaningful, scary look the black-haired boy gave him, but also his own principles.

Since the boys wanted to take the responsibility and leave the girls out of it, he wouldn’t make it hard for them. In his opinion it was the honorable thing to do, so he respected and admired it from the bottom of his heart.

“Your names?” Darthon growled at the two, the images of his son being brought to him and gasping painfully for each breath flashing past his eyes.

“Laien,” Laien said with a slight smile on his face. Usually, he would have told the man to introduce himself first… but this time, he felt it would turn out more interesting if he allowed Darthon to ramble on before challenging his words and opinions.

“Anatis,” Anatis introduced himself simply and glanced at Laien. Was he planning something else since he didn’t start an argument with Darthon straight away?

“Do you realize what the consequences for attacking my son you are going to face?” Darthon asked, keeping more of a calm attitude than Laien would have given him credit as a parent of a spoiled-rotten child.

“It doesn’t matter if you are from some powerful martial school, such things can’t and won’t be overlooked!” he empathized, growing angrier due to the relaxed smirk and the light, composed smile the two boys were facing him with.

“Right, status doesn’t excuse one from behaving improperly,” Laien agreed casually. “That’s why your son and his friend got what they deserved,” he elaborated,

“What…?!” Darthon growled, just barely restraining his fury. “You think I don’t know what happened? Andar told me all of it, so stop lying through your teeth!”

“Oh?” Laien mused curiously. “And what exactly did he tell you?” he asked with a cheeky smirk, wondering what ridiculous version of what happened had that kid delivered to Darthon.

“You want me to tell you? I will tell you!” Darthon roared, his whole body trembling from anger. “You didn’t like how all the girls’ attention shifted from you to my son, so you ganged up on him and beat him up! Then, even though Andar was asking you to stop, you attacked him too!” he shouted the words out, his patience just a hair’s width away from snapping.

Hearing the ridiculous version of Darthon’s, Laien couldn’t help but chortle with laughter. What that kid claimed to have happened to Darthon was so absurd and bizarre that it actually became rather funny to imagine, especially when confronted with reality.

Even Anatis, who was better mannered than Laien, couldn’t resist smirking. Was this man really so deluded that he would give faith to this version of the story?

“You… disrespectful… shameless bastards…!” Darthon bellowed, the reactions of the two boys throwing him into a state of complete furry.

“Capture them! They will explain themselves in court!” he roared, no longer caring about maintaining any kind of pretense. If the people behind those brats wanted to have them pardoned and released, they would need to come to him, apologize for their behavior and promise anything like that would never happen again!

Laien laughed, seeing how hesitant the forty guards were to act upon Darthon’s order. By the looks of it, those men had a better understanding of what kind of troubles they could get themselves into by attacking them, even though they weren’t quite sure of their identities.

“Well, why not give them a little excuse?” Laien wondered with a smile and exchanged a glance with Anatis, who smiled back at him, albeit resignedly. The two of them raised their hands slightly, sending spiritual energy and Qi into their respective interspatial rings.

Some would say that the two boys were being too hasty in their decisions, others would say they were being unreasonable. Perhaps they acted this way because they wanted to show-off before girls, or perhaps because of all the alcohol they have had this evening; regardless of the reason, however, Laien and Anatis were about to do something incredibly stupid and yet, undeniably fabulously awesome.