Chapter 6: Leon's conditions
'I need to make this fight as quick and decisive as possible,' Leon thought. He then slightly lowered the center of his mass, preparing to intercept the incoming attacks.
The leader of the raiders ordered his men to attack at the same time. But how great this strategy should work against a single opponent, untrained warriors would always hesitate before attacking at once. With a friend blocking some of their movement they would struggle to properly coordinate. Only a trained soldier could overcome this mental blockade and truly bring forth the danger of attacking an enemy at once.
But Leon couldn't see a single person worthy of the name of a soldier.
"Come at me!" Leon shouted, provoking his opponents... Only to take a step forward himself.
He swung his to the side, using the momentum of the step to add strength to his strike. Yet, rather than aiming at his opponents, Leon simply knocked one of the spears away. He then dashed into the opening that was created, following the path his sword took only to end up pressing the blade against his chest.
"No mercy!" Leon shouted, slashing from his elbow down, cutting open the throat of the nearest raider.
The man stumbled on his feet, dragging his nearest companion along as he fell to the side.
'Next,' Leon moved his attention to the rest of the attackers.
He then lifted his eyes and glared at the man who tried to sneak up on him from behind. "You really thought that would work?" he asked, swatting the man away with a single strike of his blade.
The raider tumbled through the air and landed several feet away.
The leader of the raiders moved forth, forcing Leon to redirect his attention yet again. "Die!" he shouted, hacking at Leon with his massive axe.
Leon parried the blow easily enough. Yet, rather than retreating, he stepped forth and used his newfound momentum to deliver a powerful uppercut with his free hand.
The hit caught the man right under his chin and snapped his head back. He then stumbled on his feet, barely managing to stay upright as he struggled to regain both his breath and balance.
'Now,' Leon thought as he lifted both of his arms in front of him. He then crossed them in an 'X' shape right before uncrossing them with a quick jerk, using the sudden movement to add strength to the slash that followed.
The strike was so fast that neither the leader nor any of those around him had time to react before it was all over. The blade cut through flesh and bone alike as it carved its way through four men at once; two standing in front of Leon and two more behind him!
"AAARRRGGGHHH!" one of those who survived cried out in agony as he dropped down on one knee, clutching at the deep gash across his stomach. "Help me!" he begged for mercy but found none coming from either Leon or any of those still standing around him; their attention fully focused on the young swordsman in front of them.
'A spearman, assassin, leader, and two cannon fodders,' Leon counted up all the bodies he slashed to the death. 'Meaning, only four left,' he thought, raising his eyes in search of his next opponent.
Duck!
Leon followed his instincts, pushing his body down right in the nick of time to avoid a potentially dangerous projectile.
"Kill the bastard!" One of the few surviving raiders shouted over his bow while settling the next arrow on his bowstring.
But before he could fully draw, Leon was already on him. The young man moved with inhuman speed as he dashed forward and closed the distance between them in a blink of an eye.
"Die!" He shouted, slashing at the bowman with all his might.
The strike was so powerful that it not only cut through both the bow and the man holding it but also cleaved his torso in half; leaving nothing more than two halves of a corpse falling to opposite sides.
'Three more,' Leon thought, sweeping his eyes around the village.
For how packed his fight was, it lasted only for a few moments. And yet, using the distraction that it caused, the villagers already rushed to quell the fires consuming their homes. At the same time, all the girls that the raiders forced out with obvious intentions have now hid away from view.
Yet, despite seeing all that, Leon couldn't spot a single one of the remaining enemies!
"Excuse me..." suddenly, a voice reached Leon from his side.
'Huh?' the young man shook his shock, baffled by how someone managed to approach him without his instincts warning him beforehand.
Leon rapidly turned around, raising his sword in the direction the voice came from.
"Ah!" an old man yelped, raising his hands with a terrified expression on his face as the blade rushed for his throat.
Leon quickly retracted his weapon, barely managing to stop in time. "Sorry," he apologized with an empty smile on his face.
'This is getting dangerous,' he thought, realizing that if someone managed to sneak up on him like that, then it was only a matter of time before one of the raiders would do the same and bury a knife in his back.
"I'm sorry for startling you," the old man spoke again after calming down from the sudden scare. "But I just wanted to thank you for saving our village."
"It was nothing," Leon casually waved off the gratitude but kept his eyes open for any potential danger. "Do you know where the rest of those men went?" he asked while carefully examining every shadow around them; making sure none of them were hiding away an enemy ready to strike.
"They... They ran away," The old man said, still shaken from earlier. "As soon as they saw what happened to their mates, they turned tail and ran."
Leon lowered his sword and let out a long sigh of relief upon hearing those words. He wanted nothing more but to just relax and take some well-deserved rest... but it wasn't the time for that yet.
"Good," Leon commented, nodding his head. "Now then, as for my compensation..." he trailed off, hoping that the old man would understand what he meant.
"Of course, of course," the elder quickly agreed. "Just tell me what you need and I'll make sure you get it."
"I need food, booze, and a place to rest," Leon gave out his conditions. "That might sound cold-hearted, but by looking at the number of corpses," he muttered, taking a sweeping glance all over the village. "I do believe there should be some spare houses for me to use," he pointed out.
"There are some, indeed," the old man hurriedly nodded.
"Oh, before I forget," Leon spoke up only to throw the local village elder a petrifying glance. "I need someone to serve me as well."
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone