Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1162: A Smile so S(weet/inister)
Before we begin the battle...
[So... we’re just going to ignore how the director just turned three full grow men into sobbing, panicked messes with just his aura?,] Razorstella asked. [I only ever seen him do that with our help...and with costumes.]
[I don’t know, I think the lack of the costume worked to his benefit this time around,] Screamira observed.
While these two former protokaijjn were shooting the shit and keeping watch of their lord on the monitor that Logos and Pathos managed to set up, the aformentioned curators and the rest of the kaijin were busy pouring over the details on who their Lord was...questioning.
=Okay, some good news. Based on the structure of their armor and the way they design their coat-of-arms, we can say with absolutely certainty that our lord has ended up somewhere significantly south of where we are and is located in the Dozing Salamander continent,= Logos detailed while pointing out the identifiers on a still image of the three soldiers that Zhen Liu gave month-long night terrors to.
<The bad news is that the images were getting are so godsdamn grainy, that we can’t get a clear picture on any of the finer details,> Pathos added while pulling up a zoomed-in image of a very blurry logo. <We know it’s Dozing Salamander, we just can’t identify the house or empire.>
Now that they had gotten this close, the kaijin were now getting antsier than before. So much so that they all essentially asked the exact same question.
[What would it take to get a clearer image?]
To which, the curators readily answered.
<=More environmental [Chaos]. Our lord needs to either to enter a environment with significantly more hostile conditions or make more Kaijin. Preferably both at the same time.=>
...Speaking of hostile conditions...
The three most prominent warriors of the Cortez Trading Company were more or less absolutely stunned at the message that they were just given.
Only two type of people would ever make a threat like that in the face of an army.
Crazy suicidal people.
Crazy powerful people.
And judging by the way that three Aether Acolytes were a rendered into sobbing messes with nary a scratch on them, the three leaders were more or less convinced it was the latter moreso than the former.
That stated, once the leaders got over their initial shock at such a blatant message of "fuck around and find out", they found themselves to be rather amused by it.
^So this mysterious warrior, has sent us a list of options instead of immediately surrender...are they insane?,^ the Security Head, Rama, asked his companions. ^This man clearly has an inflated ego.^
^I think I’m more intrigued by the fact that he presented an option meant for negotiations,^ Vice-Leader Leon mentioned. ^Maybe we can convince him to abandon the vagabond.^
^What do you think, Kendana?^
^Hmmm...^
As a businessman and a warrior, Kendana understood that for all intents and purposes, this mysterious Dealmaker has already set the tone of their meeting.
By taking the initiative to not injure, but intimidate the scouting soldiers, the Dealmaker had already set the precedence that he has merciful as opposed to bloodthirsty.
By having the aforementioned scouts deliver a message that had explicit offers of peace involved, made it obvious that he was a reasonable, as opposed to being blindly righteous.
However, that was only the case if one were to look at these choices in the surface.
By accepting the first option, it would be a declaration of defeat and forever be a stain on the honor of the Cortez Trading Company. Perhaps it could be recovered in time, but such a mark would forever haunt them.
The third option sounded the safest, but it was equally risky.
Even if this Dealmaker was only half as powerful as the scouts reported, it would still be enough to intimidate and possibly annihilate the forces they had mustered.
It took time and resources to establish an army, especially somewhere as remote as Papaya Town. One wrong move, one miscalculation, and the entire Company could go up in smoke.
Or at the very least, the army would be so weakened from the endeavour that the victory would be pyrrhic at best.
Plus, the soldiers were already getting jumpy due to the status of their companions. They were just as likely to be a liability as they were likely to be useful.
Which just left the last option: Champion Representation.
Out of the three choices, this was the one Kendana was certain he would have the most control over.
And in a situation like this, control over random factors was paramount.
Which is why Kendana decided to make the following order.
^Vice-Leader Leon. Security Chief Rama. We’re going with option two, and both of you will accompany me.^
^What?!^
^Are you sure?^
^I am,^ Kendana reassured them as he dismounted his steed.
^However, be sure to bring the ancestor’s insurance. It is better safe than sorry.^
^As you wish.^*2
^As for the rest of you, stand at the ready. If anything goes awry, be ready to strike.^
^Sir, yes sir!^
^Now then, let’s go see what kind of warrior this Dealmaker is...^
...Meanwhile...
’Wait a minute...did we remember to give them a timeframe as to when they were supposed to arrive?’
[I don’t think so, but where more on a timetable than we are.]
The 𝘮ost uptodat𝑒 novels are pub𝙡ished on freeweɓnovēl.coɱ.
’Fair enough...so I guess, we just wait then.’
[Indeed.]
’...’
[...]
’...this is incredibly boring.’
[I think it’s because it’s only the two of us right now, instead of the whole gang.]
’Most definitely.’
[So...how do we alleviate this boredom?]
’Well, I would say listen to music, but we don’t have access to a music player right now.’
[Wait, didn’t you sing that creepy lullaby back in Roaring Tide? Why not do that?]
’Huh...well, might as well. All this sunlight and the language is making me nostalgic anyways...’
[Nostalgic?]
...
^Phoenix ashes,^ Kendana cursed. ^They were right about that vagabond being close to a breakthrough.
The moment the three leaders of the Cortez Trading Company crossed the mirage barrier to meet this so-called Dealmaker, they were immediately assaulted by the combined light of four false suns. Surprisingly though, the heat wasn’t a massive issue to the three of them.
Shielding their eyes from the light though, the three leaders began to take in their surroundings to see if they could spot this so-called Dealmaker.
Before they could do that though, something odd began to tickle at their ears.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine...
^What the fuck?^
^Is that...singing?^
^I think so, but not in any language I’ve ever heard,^ Kendana answered his subordinates.
^I think it’s coming from over there...^
You make me happy, when skies are gray...
This song was strangely...haunting...to the Cortez Company warriors, because despite not being able to understand a single word, they were able to feel the emotions behind the lyrics.
You’ll never know dear, how much I loved you...
It was simultaneously romantic, sorrowful, sweet and yet...oh so, sinister.
Please don’t take, my sunshine away....
And needless to say, the Cortez Company warriors would find the singer to be just as unnerving.
^Wait...I think I see the singer,^ Rama informed the ithers. ^Well, I guess it would be more accurate to say, I think that’s Dealmaker.^
Only a couple of feet away from the group, the Grandmasters could finally see a young man, no older than any of their sons, sitting on a rock as the world around him wavered like an illusion and casting a long shadow that made him look gigantic.
^Seriously? That’s him? He looks like a pup,^ Leon commented as he and the others walked closer and closer to this man
^Don’t judge old friend, you and I both know that looks can be deceiving,^ Kendana chided.
As if to prove his point, the moment the trio stepped into the shadow of this young man, they felt their blood freeze over.
^What the fuck...^
^Why is it...so hard to breathe?!^
An inexplicable feeling of dread, of fear, began to build up in the Grandmasters stomaches as they walked along this elongated shadow.
It wasn’t a type of learned fear, the kind one gets when facing a superior.
It wasn’t primal fear, the kind one gets when facing a predator or a natural disaster.
The kind of fear that was messing with their minds at this moment, was the kind of fear one feels when they’re staring into an endless abyss and getting the distinct feeling that it was staring back at them.
And the source of this fear was none other than a young man with a wide, bright smile on his face that looked so incredibly (sweet/sinister).
^Ah, I see you lot went with option two,^ the young man said as he stood up from his stoney seat, retracting his shadow and easing the pressure he was laying down on the old men.
^As you can probably guess, I am Dealmaker,^ the young man introduced himself with a bow. ^Now, did you wish to parley or shed blood?^
