Then, the gravity field of Lith's ring spread through his foot to the blade and to the mercenary wielding it, making her fall to the ground in a symphony of broken bones as if a giant had just squashed her like a bug.
The blade was now stuck deeply in the wooden floor, yet Lith still rested on its edge with perfect composure until his wings folded into his back and he shapeshifted into his hybrid form.
"You misunderstand me. I didn't come down to talk, but to give you a chance of getting out of here alive." Another mercenary who resisted his killing intent lunged at Lith's heart, but failed to slow his advance or even to interrupt his words.
The ice blade in Lith's left hand struck the side of the incoming enchanted broadsword, cutting it in half while the one in his right hand opened a deep cut in the mercenary's armor from the left shoulder to the right hip.
Not a drop of blood was spilled due to ice instantly freezing the wound and spreading throughout the body. The mercenary fell to the ground, holding his c.h.e.s.t in agony. The cold numbed the pain, but it also widened the wound and sapped the heat.
Every single one of the man's movements made the cut grow deeper.
"Nice show. I'm almost convinced that you are who you claim to be." A bald man with a cold expression said. "Too bad that in such a confined space, high tiered spells and even dimensional magic are useless."
He needed but a nod of the head to instruct his men.
"On top of that, by taking down two of us you dispelled your little trick." All mercenaries now stood up and looked at Lith with a grudge.
"I really hope that you are an Archmage, because beating one makes wonders for a Guild's reputation and more than doubles its fares. Sometimes, even good mages go mad and it's up to good citizens to put them down. For the right price, of course."
All that talk had no purpose but to give the mercenaries the time to surround Lith from every side. The rivalry between the mercenary guilds had been replaced by camaraderie at the idea of a huge bounty.
The madman's equipment alone was big-time loot and the Kingdom would reward them in gold for their trouble. All they had to do was to give the same version of the story and claim to have acted solely to defend their clients. Two birds with one stone.
"Since my kids are here, I'll say this one last time. Get out of here now and you'll have to deal just with the Mage Association. If you stay, however, the only thing the Constables will find at their arrival will be fear and dead men."
A long moment of silence befell the restaurant room. Lith didn't emit killing intent nor aura, but the certainty in his words sent a shiver down the spine of those presents, making even those lined up against the wall be covered in a cold sweat.
'Do you need help?' Solus asked.
'Yes. Go and guard the children so that I can give these guys my undivided attention.' Lith raised his beer-sword and a stone hawk appeared out of his hand and flew up the stairs.
Most mercenaries thought it was some spell and put their guard up, some charged forward and others ran to the upper floor to take hostages.
"Kneel." All of them fell to the ground or tumbled down the stairs. The lucky ones broke their bones, the unlucky their necks.
A burst of Lith's violet-blue aura hidden under the armor's Full Guard carried his voice and spread his killing intent evenly. He wasn't far nor did he need to strike at those who weren't a threat anymore.
Lith was right in the middle of the mercenaries, exactly where he wanted to be.
The bald mercenary leader gritted his teeth and shrugged off the pressure blocking him with sheer willpower.
'This is no different from before. I just need to break his focus and then our numbers will do more than even the field.' He thought while performing a side slash with his battle ax.
He wanted Lith to move so that their strategy could actually matter.
Yet the madman stood still, crossing his ridiculous blades made of beer and chore magic while waiting for the impact. The bald mercenary's triumphant smirk disappeared when the swords met the ax in a cross-shaped slash that cut it into four pieces along with the man who wielded it.
Once again ice sealed the wounds, not letting a single drop of blood be spilled. Deep cleaning took time and Lith didn't want the children to notice odd spots during breakfast.
"I don't have all night. Stand up and fight." Lith took War out of his dimensional pocket and released the mercenaries from his grip.
The angry blade was still sheathed, standing vertically on its tip as if Lith's hands were on the hilt instead that raised against the nearest opponents. A few mercenaries stood up and attacked Lith at the same time, forcing him to create blind spots to defend himself.
Except there were none. Full Guard gave him perfect awareness of everything that happened around him and with two blades, their numbers gave them no advantages. Lith's enhanced physique made him so fast and strong that only a blade master could face his awkward left-handed swordsmanship.
To make matters worse, the moment anyone came too close to him, the magic imbued in their equipment would die out. Weapons and armor would suddenly turn into heavy scrap metal, slowing down the mercenaries and making their attacks harmless against the Scalewalker armor.
Free to focus solely on the offense, Lith cut off their heads while the clangs from their hits still broke the silence of the night.
"Next." Lith had infused the blades with darkness magic, making the corpses disappear in a puff of bone dust.
The mercenaries looked at each other and then at their useless weapons.
They knew that the moment they raised their heads they would be cut off. Kneeling of their own will to a single opponent in front of so many witnesses was humiliating, but it still beat dying a dog's death.
War emitted a slow hum of challenge despite all the blood seals. They blocked only its blade, not its will. Standard quality weapons couldn't resist the combined assault of War's World Mirror and Counterflow skills that sealed their pseudo cores.
Yet the mercenaries knew nothing of it and believed their weapons to be submitting to a superior opponent just like they were doing. In their mind, whoever Lith was, he made even blades afraid.
"I yield." A woman said while throwing her halberd in front of Lith's feet.
Soon a pile of enchanted metal formed in front of him as the mercenaries followed her lead, surrendering without making a single move that could be mistaken for a sign of aggression.
'This is troublesome.' Lith thought. 'On the one hand, I should kill them all since they disregarded my ultimatum. On the other hand, however, killing someone who has already surrendered would make my stay here unpleasant.
'The kids might hear rumors or notice how much the inn's staff is terrified of me.'
