There was no blood, nor injury, only the lamb’s bleated indignity.
He released it with a quirk of his mouth, and the creature sprang toward the its mother, where wool, milk, and safety waited.
He glanced to the right and left, still crouched, his eyes pulsing as he made out the veiled shapes taking silent, unseen, calculated steps towards him.
With a huff, he let hisSsignakhtflare.
A high-pitched resonance swept the air, and in sync, the assailants let out screams of agony as their stealth suits faltered.
The pitch bounced around in their helmets.
Tearing the visors off, they clutched their ears as they halted their advance and bent over, gasping, sweating, and howling.
Their camouflage armor malfunctioned and was wiped out by a subsequent sonic blast.
‘Make it stop,’ one of the cried out. ‘Mercy.’
The resonant scream ended, replaced by a neural whisper that spoke into their minds.
Once,the man began. His timbre was clear, steady, and sonorous as it reverberated into their cognition.When I roamed these cliffs, I crossed paths with Shuaqagec, the most monstrous basilisk bull ever seen in this region.
The lead assailant straightened, still panting, and grasping for his weapon.
‘End this freakin’ nonsense, Idan, orwhateverthefokkelse they call you, mountain man! Turn over this land and quit playing god and savior of Lattaya. Lord Si’Rhix demands immediate compliance. You’re interfering with his mining operations.Fokk, you tore through thirty giant excavators and destroyed an entire quarry, and he demands you pay for it. Rightfokkin’ now!’
Idan continued his neural speech as though the command had been little more than a rush of wind brushing past his ear.
I fought that beast across day and night for two full weeks. Its claws tore into my flesh, even as I battled him, till our blood stained half the mountainside. Its breath froze my veins until a sheen of ice formed beneath my skin. Yet I struggled on until finally I wounded him with a shattering of his cannon bone. This put an end to his campaign, and I endured, mind you, after gaining his respect.
A muffled oath cut through the ring of soldiers, followed by a frustrated, grinding growl from their commander.
‘For the love of all of Rhesia. Enough! Why thefokkin’ sermon, hobo?’
The man they called Idan rose to his full height with the patience and certainty of a bedrock soul that had long weathered storms, wars, and insults for centuries.
A smirk curved the corner of his mouth, defining the strong contours of his jaw.
Consider it sustenance for whatever passes as thought among you. If I can break the knee of a raging basilisk twice my size with only my hands, imagine what I will do to a group of poorly-trained enforcers.
The golden glow in his eyes intensified, and an ancient and immense potency appeared behind it, as if a power older than Pegasi itself stirred awake.
He glanced up at the skies, into the heart of the hovering ship.
I sense your gaze, Lord Tiberius Si’Rhix. Even now, as you sit hidden inside that vessel, seething with rage at me. This is your last chance to fokkin’ get out of this land, your mining concession be damned.
A pause, then a pulse flickered from the ship overhead, subtle yet unmistakable, a silent signal.
The fighters, now revived, stepped toward Idan with menacing, mechanized unity, closing in without a second of hesitation.
Their weapons shimmered as laser blades ignited and their augmented systems spiked to full power.
Idan’s heightened awareness picked up on every tiny movement as their footfalls vibrated through the ground.
Their hearts slammed against their ribs.
He even scented their maggot breaths and the sour undertone of their sweat, curling his lips in distaste.
The first soldier rushed forward.
