NOVPUBThe city wasn't being ruined further by the flames anymore, but that didn't mean that there wasn't a need to rush.
Because of the fight that had erupted between the slaves and slave traders, countless corpses littered the streets.
These corpses could be the cause of disease outbreak, and as such, they needed to be gathered and burned thoroughly, not leaving even bones behind. Otherwise, they posed risk of infecting many people.
The former slaves were malnourished and badly beaten; it will not take a lot for them to die. Even the mildest pandemic could make the city soon uninhabitable, and Zaroth wasn't going to allow that!
It was sort of a blessing that he had recently managed to learn fire control. This was surely going to make disposing of the bodies easier.
*****
There was a deadly silence that lasted a few minutes. The process of moving the bodies wasn't for the faint of heart. It wasn't hard to move a person that had died in one strike, but those that had their guts out or limbs scattered around the vicinity was another matter.
Only now did the people understand just how fragile the human's life was.
As Zaroth gazed at the green flames that were devouring the corpses, not caring if they belonged to a member of the slave traders or slaves, he found himself surprised. For he didn't feel any kind of sadness or guilt.
"Have I become indifferent to the suffering of others?" he asked himself. It didn't matter if he gazed at the dead or their friends and family members that were grieving over their bodies—he didn't feel a thing. It was strangely… peaceful. Not being affected by the widespread tragedy.
"Are we going to rebuild the city now?" Eldros called out. Ever since Zaroth had extinguished the flames, he always stood by his side.
In turn, Zaroth gazed at him briefly. "Yes, we are going to. Too many of the buildings are destroyed to establish strong outposts. We need sturdy fortifications," his voice didn't carry any particle of emotion as if he was indeed indifferent to the whole thing.
Eldros nodded, agreeing with his owner's words. After a bit of hesitation, he parted his lips,
"However, we have a problem. It is pretty much certain that the council or whatever is leading this damned empire has already been notified about what has happened. They will not leave us alone." 𝒏𝙤𝙫𝒑𝙪𝙗.𝙘𝒐𝙢
Unshaken, Zaroth raised his hand dismissively. "I know. This was a large city, and they will not just let us have it. But don't concern yourself with such matters, for I am going to deal with any enemy that comes our way." His voice was calm, commanding. "Your role is vital as well. Even if the people here follow me, they see you in better light than me. They did call you their savior. As such, I want you to deal with logistics of the city while I am gone."
With an arched eyebrow, Eldros questioned, "What are you going to do?"
A sigh escaped Zaroth's lips as he gazed at the far horizon. "They will attack us sooner or later… so I thought, why don't I just bring the fight to them?"
Being true to his word, Zaroth left the city in Eldros's hands temporarily and headed out of the town.
He wasn't planning to walk endlessly, of course, as he had picked up a map and stored it in Nightshade's shadow.
"According to the map, the closest town is in this direction." Zaroth muttered as he began to walk.
The breeze brushed his hair to the side, calm and steady. After a few minutes of silence, he finally spoke.
"Luna," he decided to summon her outright. He wanted to see her beautiful figure.
"What's up?" she asked. There was not really a need to do such a thing, as she was able to somewhat guess what her master thought and felt, but did so anyway.
"If you have to describe me in a single word, how will you do it?" He was certain that he wasn't a hero, but he also couldn't really be categorized as a villain… at least not yet.
The question visibly took Luna by surprise. Why was he asking such a thing? After a bit of considering, she answered honestly, "Selfish.".
"Ah…" a menacing smile curled upon Zaroth's face, though it was hidden by the demonic mask.
"You are right. This word does indeed suit me. Looking back, pretty much all the things I did was because I was being selfish one way or the other."
His steps halted as he gazed at his two hands. Closing his eyes, he checked the current condition of his mana core—it was full.
"Looking back, these last few days… weeks… maybe even months, I had been pushed around by a lot of people doing their bidding. Sure, I did it because I benefited from it as well. But it is also true that I wasn't ever truly in control."
Luna's lips began to curl as she was able to guess what her master was thinking. "So you want to change that?"
There was no need for reply on Zaroth's side. He was strong enough. The divine mission that was given to him by the system was proof enough.
He was no longer weak.
No longer a pawn.
From now on, he wouldn't change his plans to suit the world.
The world would change to suit him.
And right now, he had conquered one city. However, that society needed resources to grow strong—and he needed to get them from somewhere.
Luna's body began to enlarge as her beautiful figure disappeared. Slowly, a menacing skeleton dragon, looking like it had come out of a nightmare, appeared.
With silent steps, Zaroth climbed upon his dragon's back. It wasn't really that comfortable sitting on said bones, so he remained standing.
"Let's go," he spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion. "Let's change the world."
*****
The word spread fast that the slave city had fallen, a truly disastrous news! The closest towns, cities, and outposts hadn't yet received word on how they should proceed, and as such, fearing the worst, all of them began to prepare for battle. Even if an enemy came knocking on their door, they would be ready!
This town was no different. A few thousand men and women were all geared up and ready for combat.
Their eyes alone spoke of their determination. To think that one of their main cities had fallen was a hard pill to swallow. They were going to do everything in their power to take it back and punish the responsible ones!
"ENEMY AHEAD!" Just as they were about to go on their expedition, one of the watchers on the tower called out.
Smirks appeared on their faces. They were being attacked at the best possible time—when they were ready to go into battle anyway. They assumed that the enemy forces were simply that stupid.
"How many?" the sergeant that had the role of leading the army asked.
However, no answer came.
A frown appeared on the sergeant's face. "How many?" he asked again with more force behind his words.
"… One. One man, sir," the watcher eventually replied.
This left the sergeant as well as the nearby soldiers puzzled, leading them to think that they had misheard.
However, the watcher wasn't done as he continued. "… But that man was riding on top of a dragon."
Zaroth had arrived at his destination.
