Kaijin Fighter: So I Have to Make Monsters, So What?-Chapter 1163: The Don and the Devil
An evil man will gloat before they kill you, while a good man will make it quick. Pray you never anger the latter.
-Advice shared between a father and his son.
________________________________________
"So you’re Don Kend-wait," Zhen Liu stopped himself when he realized he was speaking the wrong language.
^They call you, Boss Kendana, is that right?,^ Zhen Liu asked while staring at the guy who looked the most dressed up in elaborate clothes.
Prior to this moment of being face-to-face with the leaders of the Cortez Trading Company, Zhen Liu had made sure to ask the scouting soldiers to provide him detailed information about them.
Well, whatever they could tell him at least, which was mostly physical descriptors.
Those descriptors proved incredibly accurate though.
Boss Kendana was described as being a well-dressed, well-groomed old man with a manicured yet graying mustache, yet also looked as if he was able to punch a hole through an elephant’s torso.
Of the three Grandmasters present, he looked the most physically fit.
Flanking Kendana were a rotund man who gave off a cowardly feeling and a lithe man who gave off an oppressive feeling.
From what Zhen Liu was told, these two should’ve been the Vice-Leader, Leon, and the Head of Security, Rama.
All three of these warriors should’ve been Grandmasters of at least the first ring, but Kendala was at the peak of this stage.
Then again, the soldiers could’ve been lying to him about that point.
After all, they failed to mention that they also brought along some kind of weird treasure box that was radiating a lot of ominous feeling aether. Then again, it was probably nothing.
^You are correct, I am Boss Kendana of the Cortez Trading Company,^ the well-groomed man slightly bowed. ^And this is my vice, Leon, and my head of security, Rama.^
^Greetings.^
^Salutation.^
’Ha, got it in one,’ Zhen Liu quietly praised himself.
After this exchange of greetings was made, all three of the Cortez Grandmasters used their aether senses as subtly as possible in order to determine the cultivation of this strange young man.
As far as they could tell though, this young man was only an Aether Grandmaster like them.
So how the hell did he manage to intimidate those soldiers so badly?
And why the hell did his shadows make them so nervous?
They needed answers...answers that could only be gathered by talking.
^Dealmaker, as you can see, we have chosen the second option from your...message,^ Kendana opened. ^As such, we wish to convince you to leave the ba-Lythero’s fate to us, before things come to blows.^
^Oh ho, is that right?,^ Zhen Liu asked while maintaining his smile.
As Kaijin Lord, Zhen Liu was already pretty receptive to picking up the [Desires] that lingered in people’s hearts and compelled them to action, but with Blazejudicator in his head, he was now able to pick up the more... subtle nuances. That and the aforementioned Kaijin picked up some important information from when he and Zhen Liu possessed Lythero.
Regardless, while he could sense that Kendana definitely desired peace, he could sense the underlying ruthlessness that marred it. As well as the reluctant obedience that compelled it.
^That little slip of the tongue there suggests that you’re not gonna be very peaceful in regards to his treatment, are ya?,^ Zhen Liu pointed out. ^Lemme guess, some big ole benefactor behind your current status in life has ordered you to make sure that Lythero here never gets the chance to get revenge, right? Afraid of upsetting the current power dynamic?^
The moment Zhen Liu posed this question, Kendana and his cohorts couldn’t help but to immediately flinch.
The information Dealmaker just casually dropped was supposed to be a need-to-know basis, so how the hell did he know?
Perhaps this was part of the reason why those scouts were rendered into sobbing messes...
Needless to say, once these words left Zhen Liu’s mouth,Kendana’s companions immediately went on their guard.
Leon immediately took on a fighting stance, with his palms open and circulating aether, while Rama pulled out what appeared to be a pair of kukri.
As for Kendana himself, he didn’t make a move quite yet.
^Oh boy, it appears I may have touched a nerve or two,^ Zhen Liu laughed while making note of the two aggravated warriors. ^Does this mean that negotiations have failed? Pity, I always figured my tongue would be glib enough to avoid such situations.^
^Negotiations have not yet failed,^ Kendana assured Zhen Liu, despite the actions of his cohorts suggesting otherwise. ^It’s just that we’re not entirely sure why you’re getting involved with our business. Tell me, Dealmaker, do you have knowledge of Duke Diamoro Cortez Rosa of the House of the Golden Sabertooth?^
^Not really, but I get the feeling you’re gonna tell me all about him.^
^Duke Diamoro is an Aether King and was the father of Master Diamono Cortez, who was slain by the hands of the Seven Sword Devils, a notorious mercenary group that ruthlessly-^
Updat𝓮d fr𝙤m ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com.
^Wait, wait, wait,^ Zhen Liu interjected before Kendana could continue his appeal based on the concept of morality, ^I thought Diamono was a disowned son who became a bandit lord?^
^That…that may have been the case,^ Kendana readily admitted. ^But that doesn’t change the fact that it was not in their place to inflict such a punishment.^
^Oh? Does that mean it was in Diamono’s place to pillage those villages and murder those villagers? Noblesse Privilege?^
^How dare you speak ill of the ancestor?!,^ Leon roared indignantly. ^Peasants have no place to-^
Before the rotund man could run his mouth any further, Zhen Liu launched a bolt of rainbow colored flames right pass his ears and towards a spot that was dangerously close to where he was standing.
However, there wasn’t an explosion. The ground that was impacted by the fireball, simply melted into molten earth.
^Apologize, sirrah, but there was a mosquito buzzing by your ear,^ Zhen Liu said with an impish tone of voice. ^And I just hate bloodsuckers.^
This little action should’ve been enough to be considered a declaration of war.
It was one thing to respond to an insult, it was another thing entirely to purposely miss an attack while responding to said insult.
Leon, Kendana and Rama should’ve immediately begun their assault against Zhen Liu for threatening to injured the former.
Emphasis on the word, "should".
They were originally going to attack in the moment that Zhen Liu’s attack impacted the ground and subsequently explode, but they stopped themselves from doing so when they noticed that not only there was no explosion, but that Dealmaker didn’t seem to use any aether in his attack.
Whatever this Dealmaker guy did, it had melted the ground that the fire bolt had made contact with and turn the spot into a pool of molten lava.
This sight alone made it clear that whatever this guy did, he had complete control over the energy involved.
Otherwise, how else would someone be able to direct all of the energy downward without and subsequent explosions.
It was at this point, that Kendana began to realize that they may have bitten off more than they could chew.
^Now then,^ Zhen Liu continued as if he didn’t just subtlety threaten to blow off someone’s head. ^I’m just going to do a quick speedrun on how I think these negotiations are going to go, feel free to stop me whenever you want.^
Completely caught up in Zhen Liu’s rhythm, the Cortez Grandmasters were silent.
^I want to see what happens when Lythero over there breaks through, you don’t want that to happen because of your benefactor. I don’t know and don’t really care about who your benefacto is, nor do I really have a stake in whether or not that guy wants revenge on your benefactor and everyone involved. However, you guys aren’t going to simply turn around and let this happen, then I’ll have no choice but to defend him and myself from whatever machinations y’all have,^ Zhen Liu essentially rambled to the silent audience. ^And judging by your lack of wanting to interrupt me, means that at negotiations have finally failed and you’d prefer to fight it out instead...right?^
Instead of replying at this point of time, the three Grandmasters of the Cortez Company began to take on fighting stances.
Leon stood as if he was a sumo wrestling prepping to unleash a series of palm strikes, Rama took on a stance as if he was preparing to rush with his kukri at the ready, while Kendana himself pulled out a pair of brass knuckles and lifted his fists into a boxing pose.
In response to these actions, Zhen Liu took on a wide horse stance and opened his palms towards his opponents, slowly turning his head to address all of them.
^I hope you understand that I’ll respond to the intent when I fight back. So if you’re going to try and kill me, don’t blame for doing the same.^
Needless to say, this warning was going to be completely redundant.
