The inside of the building appeared almost empty as I stepped in. Sunlight streamed through the numerous holes in the ceiling, casting uneven patches of light on the ground. The wooden pillars supporting the structure looked so weathered and damaged that they seemed on the verge of collapsing at any moment.

An abandoned warehouse, I guessed.

Shutting the door Finnan guided me to the opposite end of the structure. As we drew closer, the sound of faint groans became more pronounced. Soon, I was greeted by the sight of a dozen men lying on their backs, half-naked, their hands and feet tied. They bore the marks of a severe beating, with swollen faces and bruised bodies. Some moaned, some just laid there, motionless.

In front of them, a man sat on a chair. Sensing my presence, he left the seat and bowed.

"Lord! We have been waiting for you," he said with a pleasant smile, his gaze shifting from me to Finnan.

The man was tall with sharp features, giving him the appearance of a soldier, but he wasn't wearing a uniform that would identify his role. I turned to Finnan, silently gesturing for information with my eyes.

"Wilhelm," Finnan informed, nodding toward the man. "His squad and I rounded up these fellows last night."

“Oh.” I gave a nod of understanding.

Wilhelm's presence indicated a couple of things. First, he must have held a significant rank within the Count's forces to have a squad at his disposal for this task, which could prove useful in the future. Second, it further solidified my doubts about Finnan. He somehow used Arwan’s level of authority and ordered people around. On top of being a martial-arts practitioner. I needed to figure him out, but these morons first.

"Nice to meet you, Wilhelm," I greeted with a friendly smile. He stepped away from the chair, allowing me to take the seat.

After a moment, I steered my eyes forward, and Finnan and Wilhelm began to rouse the men. With slaps and kicks, they brought them back to their senses. The captives were made to sit in a straight line, their hands bound behind their backs, squinting to get a better look at me.

"Why did you assist Finnan?" I inquired of Wilhelm first, gauging whether he could be trusted.

"Because I wished to be a part of this necessary evil you intend to carry out," he replied promptly, his voice resolute.

"Hmm..." I folded my legs, narrowing my gaze on the man. "Elaborate on this 'necessary evil,'"

"Finnan tipped me off about your efforts to control the underworld. And honestly, Lord, I thought it was my chance to finally distinguish myself," Wilhelm explained his simple reasoning.

I wasn't sure what he meant by distinguishing himself, but it seemed he had his own reasons. Otherwise, he wouldn't agree to an unverified order, that too from a butler.

Speaking of butler, Finnan was proving himself to be the perfect henchman I had envisioned him to be. It was very thoughtful of him to select a fitting man with direct authority that could be of use. Good to have reasonable help without directly involving myself.

“You did well. Both of you,” I acknowledged their efforts, exchanging glances with the duo, now beside me.

They lowered their heads in acceptance, and I turned my attention to the line of guests. “You all seem to be quite disciplined,” I remarked with a smirk. “It shouldn’t take us long to understand each other, right?”

Out of the dozen, some nodded, indicating their understanding and willingness to cooperate, while others lowered their heads, showing understanding but not necessarily agreement. A few still just stared, unsure of what they had just heard. But I pressed on regardless.

"So, how many of you are with me?" I asked, leaning back in the chair.

I had hoped at least one would raise their hand, but instead, complete silence met my question. None uttered a word; they all maintained their chosen positions. Watching them, annoyance crept over me.

"That's a no, then," I deduced with a sigh. "Give me a reason."

"Is our faces… not reason enough?" a moderately obese man to my left responded through heavy breaths, and it was evident that his face had suffered the most swelling. "You... You can't just have your men barge into our… homes, beat us, and then expect us to… work for you."

“No…No…No…” I shook my head in denial. “I expect you to work for me, precisely because of that.”

The man appeared speechless for a moment, then collecting his breaths spoke again. “Why… why would we do that?”

"Because I said so," I retorted firmly. "From now on, you do things the exact way I need them to be done. No rapes, no fighting, and no murders. If you have issues, you come to me. That way, we have no opposition, and I eliminate anyone who is not with us."

To my sharp words, the men flinched back, unsure of how to respond or what to make of it.

"Homage will be 30 percent," I added firmly. "Don't think I am being too generous; you will get so much that you won't even notice it. However, understand that if you break my rules – you're done."

In this medieval world, exerting the authority this body had given me was the only choice I had for survival. If I didn't fully utilize that power, I would never find my attackers. I couldn't let them get away with it, while I had the chance and way to catch them.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"So, what do you say?" I queried further, but there was only silence. They kept looking at each other, clearly unsure. Thinking they needed some time alone to piece the whole picture together, I rose to my feet.

"Ten minutes. Think it through," I ordered, slowly walking away from the area, heading towards the door, with Finnan and Spike following me. But Wilhelm stayed to keep watch.

As I moved away, the obese man said something inaudible to me. Then someone else chimed in, and following the same pattern, the whole group started bickering. It seemed like they couldn't agree with each other, at least from where I stood.

Their voices grew louder and more heated with each passing second. Unable to bear the cacophony, Wilhelm grabbed the man who was shouting the most and drove his fist into his face, slamming the guy's head onto the hard floor. The whole group fell silent immediately. Wilhelm said something, and their discussion resumed, this time more calmly.

Observing the entire exchange and Wilhelm's dedication to my cause, I turned to Finnan. "What's his deal? Why did you choose him?"

“He has great ambitions, lord.” Finnan replied. “Wants to be a knight and have his land to rule. Thinks you might vouch for him, or appoint him as your knight, someday.”

"Knights need land, eh," I mused, gaining a clear understanding of Wilhelm's motivations and a piece of medieval knowledge. It seemed Arwan was Wilhelm's weakness, and he wouldn't betray that trust for the sake of that sweet authority, making him a perfect pawn for me to manipulate as needed.

Soon, their chatter ceased, and as Wilhelm called us back, we returned. I carefully examined each of their faces, attempting to discern who might be interested in joining my cause. However, they all looked angry, making it seemingly fruitless.

"Finished discussing?" I mocked, a wide grin on my lips. "So, what's the verdict? How many of you are in?"

Instead of my much-awaited response, silence once again filled the room, broken only by the sound of someone spitting onto the floor to my right. Wiping the smile from my face, I turned my attention to the culprit.

He was a tall, well-built man with clear features that allowed me to distinguish his brown eyes, brown hair, with wisps of white threaded through, and a pointed nose. Beside him sat another man who bore an uncanny resemblance, likely his twin brother.

"You are a funny guy,” he said, a wide grin tugging along his lips. “A clown who knew nothing till yesterday, now acting like a boss. What are you on, kid? Fairy dust? Hashish? Or your own, noble fart?”

The man beside him couldn’t help but chuckle, so did I. It was actually funny. And I put a hand up to stop Wilhelm from attempting to stop the man.

“Anyways, you want a verdict, right?” he continued, his grin widening. “Let’s say, you pay me ten million Niril, right here and now, and I forget all your insolence. If not, none of you will survive by evening. I assure you.”

“I take your assurance but how will you do that?” I countered with an equal smile. “You are locked up here. Your family is probably busy suspecting your rival, who is also busy doing the same. And I am sure, my men weren’t in their uniforms when they got to you, right?” I turned to Finnan for confirmation and he gave a positive nod. “So, how will they know it was us, when we have maintained a pretty good relationship with you all, till yesterday?”

The man’s smile faded, and was replaced with a scowl.

“How? God will send a message?” I mocked. “Telling your mommy how you are getting hurt by evil men? Then angels will come down to hunt our families, while you cry yourself to sleep.”

Finnan and Wilhelm let out a chuckle at my remark, while the man glared. “Fuck you!” he cried.

“Sorry man,” I put forward a hand immediately, though grinning. “I can't do that, for obvious reasons. Still, looking at you, so lovely dovely, I can think of a thing or two to make it worthwhile.”

“What?” he shouted, sweat glistening on his forehead. Finally, we were onto something.

“Bring in our guest, gentlemen.” I ordered, settling myself properly for the impending feast.

Wilhelm obeyed immediately, but Finnan took a moment, first tying Spike to a nearby pillar.

"Hey! What the fuck are you doing? What the—" The man protested fiercely, but his efforts proved futile.

They dragged him down to me regardless and held him firmly in place. I extended my hand toward Finnan, who, after a brief delay, realized my intentions and handed me Malcolm's dagger.

“It’s a sentimental item, you see.” I dangled it before the man’s eyes before making a small cut on my disabled finger which was achieved by just a tap from the edge of the blade. I clicked my tongue as the blood trickled down and the stinging sensation emerged. “I wonder how well it performs if I…”

Watching me the man was about to yell again, but I forcefully thrust it into his mouth. He fell silent immediately, and I traced the blade along his teeth before reaching the soft skin of his cheek. There, I paused, locking eyes with him.

I adjusted the blade slightly, causing the man to flinch and shudder. Beads of sweat trickled down his nose, landing in my hand.

"Can you feel it?" I inquired, addressing not only him but the entire group behind him. "How frivolous your life has become? I can end it, right here and now, without any of you even putting up a fight. But, I won't. Because I want to give you all a chance."

The men exchanged nervous glances, their faces drenched in sweat, and they swallowed hard, unable to voice their acceptance or denial.

"Which you won’t take!" I groaned in annoyance. "But well, why do I care? What do I have to lose? I am the artisan; you are my marbles. I can carve you all day. And this..." I nudged the blade at the soft flesh, and the man quivered, his breathing even quicker. "... is just the beginning."

With calculated precision, I pressed the blade, and as it started to penetrate his flesh, the man tried to pull back his head. However, Finnan reacted faster and, releasing the shoulder, firmly held the man's neck and head in place, allowing me to continue.

Yet the man didn’t cease struggling. Mustering every ounce of strength, he fought back. With teary eyes and echoing muffled screams, he pushed, pulled, flailed his bound arms and legs, all in an effort to get away. But Finnan and Wilhelm were tough opponents. No matter what, they held him in place, though not without difficulty.

“This is your fate.” I announced, sweeping my gaze through the frightened crowd. “And I swear, I will make you accept it.”

Just as I returned my attention to the man and pressed the blade again, he let out a muffled scream, followed by a small yet visible nod of his head. I raised a brow. “You want me to finish it quickly?” I asked, obviously playing with him.

Slowly but surely, he shook his head in denial as the muffled begging continued, tears streaming from his eyes. The once proud man demanding ten million reduced to nothing but a pathetic beggar.

I snickered, pulling out the blade, and the duo let the man go. He fell to the side, breathing as fast as he could, unable to hold back tears anymore. And to my surprise, he started crying.

“I will… I will do it.” he said through tears and gasps. “Just let me go...”

"One done, eleven to go." A subtle smile tugged at my lips. “Who’s next?”

Finnan and Wilhelm turned to the group, and the men scrambled back, like fearful children. With every step the duo took, the crowd struggled to get away further, demonstrating their cowardice.

“I… I will do it,” shouted someone in the middle, presumably realizing their inability to crawl to safety when it didn’t exist. And within moments, another screamed the same, then another, and another, until everyone had repeated the phrase of acceptance.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” I grinned, satisfied with the results the fear of life had entailed.