It was the most expensive and most excellent restaurant in the town. That was why Armad chose to come there and celebrate.
The man that had welcomed them was merely a manager and a native, appointed by the Legion. And now, the true owners had come and were asking him to send them away.
The manager bowed before the hefty man and said, "Sir, this is Prince Armad, the king of this town. I am a nonentity that can't possibly send him away. I ask you to please consider this and forgive me."
Another slap from the hefty man descended upon his other cheek even before he was finished. The teeth from that jaw flew unceremoniously out of his mouth in the manner of stones on a catapult.
Again, he was sent flying and came down with a thud, but his assailant didn't stop there. He kicked him and sent him flying again, but this time, the manager found himself on one of the tables occupied by the prince's men.
The table crashed, and everything on it toppled down, splashing and spattering the men surrounding it with soup.
Armad was still yet to react, even as this happened. He merely watched on with a deadpan expression. The man waited to see if Armad would comment, but Armad didn't. As he still felt belligerent, he walked inside.
"You can walk yourselves out of here now," he said. "This place belongs to the King's Legion. As per the law of the land and the one signed by the High King Arion, no one could enter here freely without our permission."
He paused. "So, Prince Armad, do you want to show us that you are above the king's law? Or do you want to go against his law and show us all that you have now come of age?"
"If not because you undermine his might, why would you willingly break the law?"
Still, Armad didn't reply, and his emotions were carefully tucked away as if he didn't care. But the captains by his side were incensed more than ever. They were ready to eat the man alive. Surprisingly enough, this hefty man with all his weight and potbelly was already a Deva. His stocky figure mostly belied that fact, and it was more than what they were bargaining for.
Most people were ignorant of the real strength of the King's Legion until they witnessed the men who worked for them. They possessed an impressive cultivation of their rights, let alone their masters.
As the man stood there, everyone wondered if Armad would take any action.
On his part, Armad smiled at the audacity of the man. It was the smile of a lion toying with its prey.
This didn't escape the notice of the man who felt a sudden chill at the Prince's reaction. He knew when he started this that he was no match for the group. Armad had more Deva among his men than he could tackle alone. It wasn't one or two but nineteen Deva, the highest power in the town, and all of them captains.
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He knew he wasn't a match for them but he had the backing of the King's Legion, the big and mighty Legion.
That was what fuelled him to say whatever he wanted. He believed that he could say even worse than he had already said since he had backing.
Armad stood up and walked toward him. The two men stood staring at each other before Armad spoke, "So what if I break the rule of the emperor?" The man didn't reply and Armad didn't wait for him to do so.
"Do you think that the King's Legion can do whatever you want in my town?" Armad asked again. "Go and tell them that I broke the rule of the emperor or whatever it is. Oh, I wish you could go and deliver my message, but a pity you aren't leaving here alive."
As if it was all pre-staged, ten men stood up and made a ring around the man as soon as Armad said this. They had been waiting for the red light from their master all along.
They surrounded the man without any hint of letting him go alive. Their anger was a righteous one that stemmed from the insults heaped upon their master earlier.
The man looked to his back and flanks and saw that he was surrounded while the second prince stood before him. He was essentially caged in and it made him realize that he couldn't raise his hand on the prince, King's Legion notwithstanding.
If he dared to raise his hands on the prince, these ten surrounding him wouldn't allow him to take the next breath.
"Well, we can easily tell apart the kids who are respectful to their parents and those who are not. They always go against the rules of their parents. Go on, continue eating but know that this is a blatant disrespect towards the emperor's rule."
The man tried to blabber his way outside and kept backing out as he spoke.
It was a rather feeble move for someone who started as he did. It was plain to see that he was starting to get scared from the anger and hatred coming off of the men.
But even before he could blink, he felt something hit him from the back. He turned back to see that one of the Deva had stabbed him with a dagger that went through his chest.
"You dared to attack a King's Legion soldier?" This was his last statement before he hit the ground. He couldn't believe that this would happen and one could see the panic and surprise etched on his face as the life seeped out of him.
Two remarkable things happened that day: First, the execution of the renegade captain which Armad carried out earlier in secret. And the following resignation of the entire King's Legion.
These events would surely attract attention but Armad could very well disavow himself from the former if the case was ever taken before the Emperor. The crimes committed by the man for instance and the men he killed before he was executed. With that, the Legion would be forced to let the matter rest.
The second thing, however, was the man who was just killed. If the matter was taken before the emperor, there was no way to get the blame off of him.
To say that Armad killed him because he dared ask him to leave an eatery that belonged to the Legion wasn't very much of a reason for killing. And in that case, the King's Legion would have the upper hand.
This had been why the man kept bluffing, thinking that Armad couldn't raise a hand on him.
But he was wrong. Unbeknownst to him, this was a completely different Armad to the one he knew. He would have gone untouched if it were the prince, for that has happened before and they went scot-free.
The man had thought he could go away with it as usual.
And now that he died, the news of his death would make the rounds until it was known by the Legion and everyone else. They would say the prince has changed. He has transformed from how they knew him and is now fearless.
A crowd had already formed from a distance and many faces could be seen peering to have a better view. Some of them were townspeople but quite a lot of them were spies who were only eager to deliver bad news.