"Get out of my way, weakling!" Blair whirled the daggers around and slashed towards Amour's unguarded neck.
"…" Amour held the axe with one hand and deflected the dagger with the side of its blade. However, Blair also had his second dagger ready to reap his life.
The second dagger flew over the axe and went straight to Amour's face.
Amour's left hand shredded across the air and appeared in front of the second dagger. Then, he clenched the left hand till it was a fist and struck the dagger with the base of his fist.
The second dagger got parried away.
However, Blair's face didn't show even a split change in emotions. Instead, he held the first dagger in a firmer grip and slashed diagonally at Amour's wrist.
Amour changed his grip and smashed the axe at the incoming dagger, deflecting it away. Blair's posture crumbled slightly, forcing him to jump back to gain some distance.
However, Amour followed him and hacked the axe down at him.
Blair frowned and jumped out of the way.
BOOM!
The axe cut through the ground like he was shredding paper. Then, Amour grabbed it with both hands and swung it around him before throwing it over to Blair.
Blair's eyes shook, and he lowered his center of gravity, barely ducked under the axe.
The axe continued cutting through the air before making a U-turn and returning to Amour's hand.
Amour lifted from the ground, soaring across the air like a majestic eagle. Then, he moved the axe over his head and hacked it towards Blair's ashen figure.
Blair hesitated for a moment and felt immense pressure engulfing him. As he witnessed the axe descending toward him, he felt like Amour outclassed him in every way. The shadow of Amour loomed over him, and the wind continued getting cut by the axe's blade.
"Enough!" Branton shouted from the direction of the gate. His eyes shook as he witnessed the axe's descent.
Amour coldly gazed at Blair's ashen face. He had totally given up the fight and prepared to die.
However, the axe's velocity dropped instantly, and the blade rested on Blair's neck, only an inch away from beheading him.
"…" Amour turned his head away and lifted the axe till it rested on his shoulder.
Blair slowly fell, his buttocks touching the cold snow. The wind calmed down, and all sound turned mute.
It felt like he was living alone in the cold world, void of any emotion. Blair continued blinking while watching the snow dropping and piling on the ground.
After arriving next to Arthur, Amour stopped walking and glanced at Blair, "Did I break him?"
Branton skipped over and glanced at Blair's ashen-colored face. No one knew what he was thinking.
"Now, why have you come here?" Branton asked Arthur. Now, he understood that perhaps they didn't come with ill intentions. The axe-wielding man could have killed Blair and taken out one of their strongest fighters.
However, he spared him.
Amour's strength sent a chill across everyone's spine, especially villagers. They just saw one of their leaders getting beaten up in seconds.
"To rest for a few days, and then we will leave," Arthur replied honestly.
Branton looked at him silently and sighed, "The decision doesn't lay on my shoulders. There is someone above us who makes the decisions."
"The Society Leader?" Arthur sent a guess with a tiny smile.
Branton glanced at Kornwell, who immediately averted his gaze. He sighed deeply because their existence had always stayed secret. Now, even their Society Leaders were exposed, but it wasn't the first time.
"Let's talk in the village," Branton said, and helped Blair up, who could barely stand; his legs were like jelly.
However, it wasn't difficult for Branton to carry him with his single arm.
Arthur and the rest followed after him. The guards allowed them to step inside the village while Alessia took Blair from Branton's arms and took him to the village doctor.
Kornwell and Hallwell walked to their mothers and got immediately shouted at. They only kept their heads lowered and counted the number of snowflakes on the ground till their mother had enough of yelling.
After the shouting, they got buried in their mother's hug and could feel her tears trailing down their shoulders.
Arthur and the rest walked to Village Hall. It was a three-story building with a banquet hall.
They entered the banquet hall decorated with animal hide and skulls.
A long table stretched across the banquet hall that could fit over a hundred villagers. They got seated around it, close enough to each other so that no one had to shout.
However, the main seat was left empty.
Branton and Alessia sat on the other side while Arthur and the rest were on another side.
The villagers gathered in the banquet hall, curiously listening.
The sunlight seeped through the frozen windows, lighting the place up.
Finally, the snow-white clouds started dispersing, revealing the yellow wheel of fire and ice-blue sky.
"Now, may I get your name." Branton looked at Arthur. In his heart, he already decided him as the leader of the group of men. He seemed to have the most presence around him, while others stayed relatively quiet.
''Arthur Welhenheim, at your service.'' Arthur revealed his name with a smiling expression.
''Arthur Welhenheim…'' Branton murmured and thought that it sounded familiar. While playing White Online, he was almost sure that he had heard that name on several occasions. However, wasn't exactly sure who he was.
Alessia's eyes shone brightly as she looked at Arthur. That name brought pleasant memories in her heart, and she wondered whether he was a descendant of that person…
"The reason for your visit is that you wish to rest here before continuing your journey. Am I correct?" Branton asked.
Arthur nodded, "Yes, as you must know, to cross the mountain is very demanding physically and mentally. We wish to rest and gather our energy before our final push."
"Why didn't you go around the mountain?"
"Well…" Arthur let out a strained chuckle, "Fate is a strange thing.''
Tap, tap, tap.
Branton rapped his index finger against the oak table. Everyone calmly waited for his following words while the sound of tapping entered and left their ears.
"As I said, the decision doesn't lay in my hands." Branton then motioned for one of the villagers with hand signals, "However, we can inform the one who makes the decisions. Once he arrives, he will decide."
"Fine by me," Arthur said with a smile.
