1306 [Bonus chapter]A Monarch's Guarantee
Rudolf looked at William and the other Arcadinians with a confident gaze that suggested they would bever go against him.
But just when he thought William would break down and completely give in, a burst of loud laughter erupted, making him stunned.
"~Hahahahahahahahaha~~
William laughed heartily as though laughing at a clown.
"Funny... Very funny."
Very playfully, Willaim relaxed on his seat and grabbed a few apples.
Thap. Thap. Thap.
He threw them at the first 3 Arcadinians beside him. And of course, he saved the last for himself.
Crunch!
He chewed and smiled at Rudolf mysteriously.
Very juicy... Very juicy.
Bold!
Rudolf turned colder than he already was, squinting his 'abyss eyes' at William fiercely.
No matter how slow he was, he realized that William's previous act was fake!
The bastard didn't fear him at all! Even now, William treated his abyss eyes like nothing, calmly enjoying himself as though he were an actual guest up here.
What the hell was wrong with this guy? Did he think of himself as the late Alec Barn? What impetuous! What arrogance! Did he believe that he, alone, would be able to stop the T.O.E.P from secretly taking over Arcadina? NAIVE!
Rudolf shifted his position, moving from relaxed to fierce on his throne-like seat.
The muscles along his jaws seized. And at this moment, it took all his restraint not to slash William into half.
How dare he play with him, the great Marquees Rudolf?
'Boy! Your arrogance will be your downfall!'
.
-Silence-
A long silence followed. And all many could hear were the sound of apples being chewed, the calming waves below and several faint sounds from around the port.
The silence was pregnant with tension that seemed to freeze time for everyone!
Look left, look right.
Rudolf gave his men the sign.
And they in turn took out their swords and sacred, holding them as firmly as they could.
The ladies also stepped back, making themselves nonexistent too.
Everyone had their one little calculation at heart.
~Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
Rudolf tapped the armrest of his throne, keeping his eyes locked on William as though he were a wild beast hunting its prey.
"So... Is this your choice?"
~Crunch.
William bit into his apple, taking his sweet time to digest its nutrients. And when he was finally done, his relaxed mood changed.
Boom!
The beast was unleashed.
William's powerful aura exploded across the screen, making many give him a second look of vigilance.
Pretender. Pretender...
There was no doubt about it now. This guy was definitely playing with them earlier.
Good... Good... What a good Arcadina!
They seemed to have a knack at birthing rebellious bastards!
.
Everyone was inwardly cursing Arcadina and its rebellious nature. After all, a majority of those in Pyno's history to ever go against the T.O.E.P seemed to erupt from Arcadina. It was as though the people here were born with a certain level of stubbornness, trying to go against their fate.
That is, be it for good or bad purposes, there was no denying that Arcadina seemed to be the stubborn one in Pyno... Well, Arcadina and Deiferus.
As far as the T.O.E.P was concerned, throughout history, The 2 had always been the troublemakers in Pyno.
William's gaze was cold.
"You come to my territory, enter my gates and march in vibrantly, only to tell me this rubbish?"
Rubbish?
The faces of these foreigners quickly turned distorted. But they still remained silent.
"You come into my territory, telling me... No! Commanding me to abdicate my throne, as what? As my Deity? Are you my Omega? Are you my ancestors? Just who the hell are you all that I will have to give you face and listen to your nonsense?... Pff~... Bahahahahaha~... Aieyyy~...It's been a long time since I laughed like this. Hilarious. You all make good jesters... Say rather than doing all this, why don't I hire you all as my official court jesters instead?"
Bam!
"That's enough!!!!!"
Rudolf's thundering voice erupted across the scene, followed by the breaking sounds of the table, shattering before their very eyes.
Rudolf had slammed his fist onto the table with technique and pre-school, causing a zig-zag line for form on its surface.
And the next thing they knew, all the little bowls of food had slanted down the middle before falling onto the ground below. rays of foo
~Clang!
The golden bowls of fruit fell in one splatter
.
Rudolf's body was trembling with a fiery rage that could burn an entire forest to the ground.
"How dare you." His voice was low but powerful. "How dare you think of me as a common jester. Good... Good... Good... I hope you can still think all this a joke once you find yourself, your men and your families skinned and hung above the city walls for all to see!"
William squinted his eyes dangerously: "Is that a threat?"
"No. It's a guarantee!"
-silence-
William remained silent for a bit before applauding the big fool before him.
~Clap. Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Marvelous. Marvellous... Truly marvellous. Of course, I too love guarantees. But old man, whether your guarantee will happen or not, is something that's still far away in the future... For now, don't you think you should worry about my guarantee instead?"
Guarantee? Was he trying to...
Zoom!
Rudolf's eyes became laser-focused: "William Barn, do you dare?"
"Well, not only do I dare to do so, but I'm also 'guaranteeing' you of it too." William said, dawning a broadened smile on his face.
Offence Number 1: Disrespecting a monarch and summoning him out as though he were a mere subordinate.
Offence Number 2: Ordering him to abdicate the throne.
Offence Number 3: Threatening him with the lives of his family, his men and his people.
Offence Number 4: Belonging to the T.O.E.P.
And finally, Offense Number 4: Just being too unpleasant to see.
William stared at the offender before him coldly.
"Mr. Rudolf, your biggest mistake was underestimating your opponent. So here's my guarantee: I, William Barn, will promise that none of you will be able to leave Arcadina alive! Men!... Take them down!"
.
William's voice called out, and before anyone could react, a storm of Arcadian soldiers had jumped into the ships from all directions.
What?!!!
It was only now that Rudolf and the others realized just how crazy William was.
Even if they weren't from the T.O.E.P. the moment they mentioned their Morg status, he still dared to go against them like this? Was he tired of living?
~Sling!
Without wasting any time, Rudolf unsheathed his sabre. He had sailed into enemy territory, thinking that the enemy would have some common sense in that head of his.
Things always worked this way, no matter where he got sent to.
That was Morgany's reputation.
Plus, even without knowing Morgany, just seeing the level of wealth and the size of his vessels would make many not dare to touch him because they wouldn't want to invite troubles their way.
The situation could be seen as though he had a powerful father looking after him.
If one's father is the greatest being in Hertfilia, even if the son committed atrocities and misdeeds, everyone would be afraid to go against that son. Even if they hated him, they would have to put their claws away and smile pretentiously. They had no choice in the face of power.
And this was the standard order and logic here. So why in heaven's name was this bastard trying to go against that? Was he a fool? No one could bear the T.O.E.P's wrath.
Touch one strand on his head and the boy wouldn't be given an easy death.
They would find various ways of torturing and keeping him alive for decades and decades, living in complete despair, almost making mad.
As it stood now, his offences were just piling up one after the other.
First, he killed Alec. Then, he refused to surrender. And now, he dares to raise his swords against other T.O.E.P members too?
Great! Great! What a great William Barn!
.
Bang!
Rudolf kicked the already broken table fiercely while swinging his sabre as though trying to get a good grip of things.
Whoop. Whoop. Whoop.
His action looked confident and intimidating. But his no point didn't seem fazed at all.
William was no newbie to psychological pressure. So very calmly, he took out his sword and found his battle-stance.
One lean, one gigantic.
Anyone would definitely place their bets on Rudolf scoring a victory. His physique gave him the majority of battle advantages there were.
He looked like a towering beast when standing next to William.
However, it was too early to say who the real victor would be.
Rudolf licked his lips fiercely.
"Boy, remember... This is the path you chose. So don't blame me for being cruel."
"Big fella, I could say the same for you, too. Now... as my favourite cousin would say... Shall we dance?"
