The Rules of Blood-Volume Two ; Chapter 45 (261) - Blanc's Gambit
“Let’s hurry up a bit, I have a plan,” Blanc said to Velakia, “If all goes well, we might just get rid of these pests.”
“That sounds wonderful, but what do you have in mind?” Velakia asked, curious.
Blanc remained silent, looking at the speed of the clouds in the distance as they slowly approached.
“Blanc?” Velakia said, drawing his attention back.
“Sorry,” he shook his head, bringing himself back to the road, “There should be a city about an hour away from here, we go towards it as fast as we can, hopefully before that rain hits us.”
Velakia frowned, her pink colored eye looking at the man on her left, “But we discussed we would walk past intentionally, in hopes of getting rid of them that way.”
“Just follow my lead, would you?” Blanc looked at her, meeting her eyes, “Start trusting me a bit, see if I fail or not.”
“... Fine,” Velakia replied, moving her eyes away back towards the road, “Only this time.”
“Perfect,” Blanc grinned, “Now we increase our speed a bit.”
“Migra sulpa,” Velakia said to Tahreni and Lendros as Blanc began walking faster.
With a sharp nod at the foreign words Blanc didn’t understand, the two adjusted their pace, falling in step beside him and Velakia without a word.
They advanced quickly, with Blanc refining his plan with every step he took closer to the city.
He prepared several, depending on the layout of the city. Now, he could only hope that this simple plan he came up with would actually work.
In essence, it wasn’t too complicated. Or rather, it was too simple. So simple in fact, that, even as they approached the closed gates of the city, he could only worry about the plan and the gaps in it.
But if he were to hope to put enough distance between them and the challengers, he needed at least two days of distance between them.
Distance and a good night’s rest, as now, on the morning of the thirty-fifth day of his journey, he could feel the lack of sleep affecting him slowly.
It affected his mind and the way his mind worked, as the Raw Vita inside him, the animal instincts that the beasts gave him so much until now, began affecting him.
It did not make him dumber or slower, but on the contrary, he was sharper, faster, and reckless in his thoughts. Especially during the night, when, instead of focusing on their surroundings, his mind ran towards his wives and his suppressed desires.
It was getting difficult to hold them down, even though he tried his hardest.
His mind whispered dangers in his ears, showing him scenarios, his thoughts a storm of lust, desire, panic, anger, longing, and the hopes of suppressing all once more.
He held on until now; he would manage from now on as well.
But for that to happen, for his mind to work properly, to be able to focus on what is really important, he had to rest, close his eyes for a few hours… and dream.
Dream like a Spirit Bear Metamorph somewhere, who, at this moment, surely slept soundly.
“I welcome you,” the guard said as he checked their tokens, letting the four enter the city, “To the city of Segetuza, the third city of the True Swords of the High Monarch, Crownbound to the Sedes Sanguinis, inside the Domain of Noble Blood Maiores.”
“Just like poetry,” Blanc chuckled quietly, placing a silver coin in the man’s hand, “Thank you, friend.”
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“Enjoy your stay,” the guard nodded, smiling.
“Oh, don’t worry, friend. That’s the plan,” Blanc replied, waving as they walked away.
“So? What now?” Velakia asked after they had put some distance between themselves and the guard.
Blanc looked towards the sky, which was beginning to darken slowly, the rain-filled clouds almost above them.
“Now, enjoy the spectacle,” he replied as he went towards the square, which was by now bustling with life, despite the early hours of the morning and the approaching rain.
Velakia had many questions she wanted to ask, but held her tongue, having no other choice but to trust Blanc, as she promised.
A group of youths stood at the edge of a fountain, enjoying the water droplets that were hitting their backs, cooling their sweaty bodies down, as they took a break from fighting.
It was normal for the squares inside cities to have duels daily, making them official and safe for both parties, with witnesses standing around, watching as they went about their days.
A young man approached the group, both men and women present watching him intently, though the women perhaps with more intent than the men were.
He was a man with gray hair and gray eyes, handsome, beautiful even, his features as if carved in stone. His developed muscles were visible even through the large clothes he wore, trying to hide them.
But the youths recognised him as he approached, each step reminding them of the rumours they’d heard in the last few days.
So they got up on their feet, happy to see him approach as they now, with renewed vigour, wanted to challenge him.
One of the guys in the group took a step forward, a grin on his face as he began, “I challenge you, good sir, to a du-”
The man approaching punched the guy in the jaw, lifting him off his feet.
As he crashed on the pavement in front of the feet of his friends, the man uttered only four words, which sent chills down the spines of all the people present, challengers and onlookers alike.
“Challenge accepted, now fight.”
As the youths rushed in one by one to fight Blanc, he got rid of them just as they came.
Punch in a man’s stomach. A slap over a woman’s face. A light kick in a man’s groin. Another below a woman’s knee.
It took Blanc less than a minute to put all eight of the youths to sleep.
When he was done with them, he walked carefully over their bodies, sitting at the edge of the fountain and watching the people in front of him.
Velakia, Tahreni, and Lendros watched, utterly shocked with their eyes wide, clearly confused at what in Vita’s name he was planning. Blanc only winked in their direction before he turned and looked at the people in front of him.
The crowd was large, full of curious onlookers and excited challengers, waiting to see what the man was preparing to do.
But his eyes only loomed over their faces, slowly moving across the crowd. When his eyes met another’s, either a grin, a seductive attempt at a bit of a lip, or a step back was the only reply that followed his stare.
He had their full attention.
Perfect.
“You know who I am,” he said to the crowd, each word heavy as he spoke, “None of you know my name, but you don’t need to know since the rumors told you all you needed to know. I AM strong. Stronger than any of you fuckers, as you can see for yourself.”
Some of the people in the crowd yelled, a few even taking a step forward, but most of them stood silent, watching.
Blanc did not mind any of them since, when he started speaking again, all voices stopped, all breaths held, and some of them even stopped blinking.
“But I know many of you are eager to try and see if I’m wrong or not, it’s in your blood after all, as it is in mine. And that’s why I will give all who want to try an opportunity,” he continued, his eyes stopping at every man and woman who met his.
Which gave him the confidence he needed to press on, “For you see, wherever I walk, I have people following me, and frankly, it pisses me off. I can’t even take a shit without someone challenging me.”
Laughter left the mouths of many, but soon ceased as he opened his mouth again.
“Spread the word. Let all who want to challenge me gather outside the city in the morning, three days from now, and let them test their might. If I best all, I wish for a single reward from our Lord. I wish for the hand of one of his daughters in marriage. And of course, she can join the fray as well. So, True Swords of the High Monarch, do we have a deal or not?”
The crowd erupted, and even the onlookers started yelling, their hands towards the sky in excitement.
Blanc grinned, seeing the crowd, happy in his mind that the first part of the plan worked.
“But now,” he said out loud, making the cheers go silent, just as a drop of rain managed to hit Blanc’s cheek, “Rain is coming.”
As if by magic, his words brought a drop of rain. Then another. Then two more.
Then it started pouring, sending the crowd running towards their homes.
“Wha-?” one of the women who Blanc had fought earlier jumped awake, brought back by the rain, only for her eyes to meet Blanc’s.
She froze, her neck upward, her eyes stuck on the figure of the man watching her.
“Take your friends,” he said to her as he got up, walking towards his companions, “And see you in three days.”
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Volume Two ; Chapter 45 (261) - Blanc's Gambit
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