Both men looked at the spot where their opponent had disappeared, their eyes widening. To Akhratan, who had never seen many displays of magic, this was truly wondrous and somewhat frightening. His mind immediately started thinking of possible ways that he could counter such a thing; however, the best he could think of was just throwing a knife very quickly and hoping that it hit.

"You there!"

The mercenary's attention was caught by the blue-haired duke who was marching in his direction. Understanding his role in the pecking order, Akhratan bowed and lowered his head.

"You may rise," said the noble.

Akhratan did just that and was surprised to see that the man was actually smiling.

"Those were some outstanding moves! What would you say about becoming the new commander of the city's guard troop?"

Akhratan widened his eyes. Was this his moment? After months of just barely scraping by and making compromises, was this the reward for all of it? Akhratan's lips almost turned into a barely seen grin, and he wanted to say that he agrees and that it would be his honor.

"That would be what I would say if you had followed my orders," the duke said, with his smile disappearing into an annoyed scowl.

That was it. Akhratan was now completely sure that even if he had abandoned the land of his Gods, their punishment still followed him to the ends of the earth in the form of a constant stream of bad luck. That, or there was just no fortune to be found in this green, lush hellscape inhabited by pale-skinned, lazy idiots.

"Your order was bad," he said, and then turned to pull the commander's sword out of the creature's eye.

Duke Merovech looked at him in disbelief, not believing how some common peasant dared to speak to him in such a manner. He felt anger rising, but since he was a well-mannered individual, the young man kept it hidden.

"You know that I could execute you for speaking to me like this?" he asked.

"I know," responded Akhratan as he pulled the gore-covered sword out of the monster's head. It eventually came out with a sickening plop, causing blood to now leak from the newly opened hole.

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"And then why aren't you on the ground begging for my forgiveness?" Merovech asked, his face gaining an angered expression.

The mercenary inspected the blade for possible damage before he gave the duke the side-eye.

"Because I don't see you as a threat."

Two things happened in that instant. The young duke created a water bolt and shot it towards the former gladiator's head. However, unlike the assassin before, Akhratan only moved his head ever so slightly, thus avoiding the attack and retaliated by swinging his sword.Before Duke Merovech even realized it, there was a blade resting against the side of his neck.

Merovech hadn't thought about activating his protective sphere before launching this quick attack. This was supposed to be some unimportant peasant after all. Now feeling the dirty metal against his neck and actually being able to get a closer look at the other man's face, Merovech realized what a poor decision that had been.

The man's expression was impassive without even a hint of emotion in it. His eyes, on the other hand, were as hard as steel and held a glint of intelligence underneath. This wasn't some know-nothing peasant the Duke of Rinaz was dealing with.

Now knowing that, he raised his arms to shoulder length to not seem threatening.

"Alright. I understand that I disrespected you. My bad. How about you lower that sword, and I'll reward you for helping me handle that creature."

Unfortunately, that didn't make the mercenary lower his sword. Instead, he kept it pressed against the young duke's neck while his eyes seemed to be asking for something more.

Merovech rolled his eyes.

"And I swear by my name as Merovech, Duke of Rinaz and the 13th duke of my lineage, that all transgressions that you've caused against me shall be forgiven, and I'll never betray you in any way. May my powers vanish, my riches be squandered, and my lands be taken if I ever dare to break this vow."

Akhratan looked at the blue-haired noble before shrugging and taking his sword away from the noble's neck.

"And I promise to behave while in your territory, my lord," the mercenary replied.

"So when will I be able to collect my gold?"

Merovech eyed him, wishing for nothing more than to crush the bastard's skull with a water ball, but he swore an oath not to. And the future Duke of Rinaz didn't want to test his fate by breaking such oaths.

"Tomorrow," he replied, "you can understand that after such 'events,' a right amount of cleanup is necessary." He then gestured at the carnage around them.

Akhratan also took note of the destruction.

"Fair," he replied.

"I'll send someone to pay you tomorrow. And no, you don't have to specify a location; believe me, they'll find you."

The former gladiator nodded, satisfied that this venture had become more profitable than expected. He turned around, and placed the sword against his shoulder.

"I wish you a good day then, my lord," Akhratan said before heading off.

Duke Merovech, meanwhile, watched the scumbag leave with deep annoyance before making an exasperated sigh. Not only did he have to endure an assassination attempt, but he was insulted and then robbed by some vagabond.

Tired, he headed to find someone whom he could order to clean up this mess and then head back to the castle. Hopefully, some time in his quarters would help the young duke to calm down. Unfortunately, by the time Merovech reached his dwellings, he discovered that they, and to a larger extent, the castle had been "relieved" of its material possessions.