The Immortal Player

"Anyway... Did you guys wait long?" Pedro interrupted, asking Mathew and Loren. 

"Not that long…" Mathew sneered. Then, he pointed his thumbs proudly to Loren, and said, "Just enough to raise her level to eleven."

"Hooo... Not bad." Pedro stole a glance at Loren and nodded in satisfaction. He rubbed his chin for a few seconds before he glanced back to Mathew and Loren, and said, "Why don't you guys focus in increasing your levels? You guys can just walk your way to the Tarala Kingdom instead. I'd be the one who would be handling most of the tasks in the Kingdom. The three of you can just follow behind."

"But Expert Bro... What about your safety?" Mathew's brows knitted. But deep inside, he wore a huge grin on his face as if he was a villain acting along with Pedro's play. "I-I mean... It's the Tarala Kingdom we are talking about. I am afraid that you might encounter a group of humans with ill intent. It's not that I don't trust your strength but… Won't it be better for us to handle such threats instead? On top of that… We know that the Tarala Kingdom is currently in crisis—"

"You think that they might take advantage of the chaos and use it against us?" Pedro interrupted which made Mathew nod in agreement.

Pedro simply smirked in response as his eyes went bloodshot and, at the same time, his body emanated a murderous aura that was strong enough to make Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers took a step back—away from Pedro.contemporary romance

"Let them come! I'll give them a taste of death!" Pedro said, coldly.

Then, he glanced towards Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers who were filled with dirt and were trembling slightly out of fear. This made him frown in response as he rubbed the back of his head and said, "It would be a tad bit of a problem if they become hostile the moment we arrive at the Kingdom's teleportation portal since we're all not in our best shapes. However, Our goal remains the same. Protect as many humans as we can." 

Pedro sighed and glanced back to Mathew, saying, "Anyway… The nobles would surely keep me busy most of the time I am in the Kingdom. I'll leave the rescue of the people in the slums, in your hands. Be sure to quietly relocate the people in the slums to the nearest village. It would be a little tricky since you need to travel during the day. I'll leave it in your hands on how you would execute this operation. But… Just a quick tip from me, make sure to travel from the Kingdom to the nearest village at day. The vision is limited at night. We might suffer some casualties, if that happens."

"I'll keep that in mind, Expert Bro!" Mathew said, "But… Why do we need to relocate the people living in the slum area of the Kingdom?"

Pedro smirked slightly and said, "I'll tell you at the right time! All I can say for now is that it has something to do with improving the life of the humans in this continent. I am sure that you can at least grasp the advantages it would bring to all of us?"

Mathew smirked in response and said, "It seems like we have a lot of work to do. Well… I think we can manage with the task you gave. But… Can you really handle those nobles by yourself? I mean… They are the troublesome ones, aren't they?"

Pedro patted Mathew's shoulder before he glanced back to Neerak Axutar and the three village soldiers, and said, "You don't need to worry about them. I have my ways. I'll make sure to personally give those people who want to make trouble a visit!"

"Hehe… It seemed like it's going to be fun. Too bad, I won't be with you this time around." Mathew chuckled. Then, he asked, "What about Baliu Village?" 

"We'll handle things in the Baliu Village. You guys can go ahead, since you'd be traveling on foot to the Tarala Kingdom."

"I see! I see!" Mathew nodded in response. Then, he said, "Oh, right! Before anything else, can I ask what to do with the thick skinned adventurers? Can we have permission to engage them? I mean... Forgive me, Expert bro, but... Majority of them had become 'wild' these past few days. We even saw some of them stab village soldiers in the back just for the lowly equipment."

Pedro frowned as his tone became cold. "Those bastards... Although they are humans... Don't hesitate to fight back. Show them no mercy! They act like monsters in the first place! So… We must treat them like one!"

"Hehe…" Mathew clenched his fist and was barely able to hold the excitement that he felt deep inside. Then, he glanced to Neerak Axutar with a smirk and said, "Young man, help Expert Bro as much as you can. And... Make sure that you don't die along the way! I want to know you more when we see each other again!" 

Neerak Axutar was at loss for words in response. Fortunately, he was able to gather himself after a few seconds and bowed towards Mathew, saying, "I would do my best, Sir Smile!" 

"Good! Good!" Mathew smiled while nodding in satisfaction. Then, he glanced to Loren as if he was saying 'Let's go!'. Afterward, he glanced to Pedro and said, "Then, we'll head out first Expert Bro!" 

Pedro simply nodded in response whilst retaining the calm cold demeanor. When Mathew and Loren's figure disappeared from the distant, Pedro stretched his head to the sides and said, "Let's go! We don't want the village chief of Baliu Village to wait that long."

The four NPCs could only nod to him in response. They quietly followed behind Pedro and headed straight to the Baliu Village regardless whether they were dirty, hungry, and exhausted. 

In fact, they did not dare to complain towards Pedro because they knew that Pedro was of the same case as them. They were in the same boat in the first place. 

On top of that, Pedro had a calm and cold demeanor, which set an eerie vibe or mood amongst their group. If anyone spoke something and Pedro somehow did not like it, they might get split into half without even being able to argue their side to Pedro. Thus, even Neerak Axutar did not dare utter a single word at this moment.

As for the three village soldiers, they were old enough and well experienced enough to read the atmosphere within their group. Since they had not much thing to say to Pedro, they chose to simply remain silent most of the time. 

In fact, the three village soldiers can't help but be anxious towards Neerak Axutar's actions instead. They knew he was still a young man who's still a bit naive despite his talent in observing people and efficiently manage them.

Fortunately, it only took them almost an hour to arrive at the western gate of the Baliu Village with their heads intact. Outside the wooden walls of the village, the rest of the Advance Force waited for them—together with a four feet tall old man that has a long white beard on his face. 

"Bro Faith, where are the representatives of Baliu Village that I requested?" Pedro asked as he glanced around looking for the five representatives coming from Baliu Village.

However, Aldo could not help but force out a smile in response and said, "Sorry, bro! The Village Chief did not believe me and Sire Aks. He wanted a concrete proof that we are from the organization."

"Hmm... Is that so?" Pedro frowned as he glanced towards the small old man. Then, he glanced back to Aldo and asked, "Perhaps, this respected elder is the village chief?"

"No, No! He's not the village chief bro!" Aldo can't help but rub the back of his head and point his arm to the short old man, while saying, "This is Nordan Karva. A former merchant in at the Tarala Kingdom. We met him at the village shop. He somehow heard us talk about the Kingdom and immediately run towards us, asking help to save someone in the slums of Tarala Kingdom. It was his relatives if I could recall correctly. Since he came from the Kingdom, I think that he would be of some help to you… rather than that shameless village chief!" 

"Hmm... Is that so?" Pedro glanced towards the short old man. Then, he bowed slightly and said, "Greetings respected elder! I am Aron Death, the Captain of Karakoa Fleet from the Bearth Human Organization. At this moment, I am on my way to the Tarala Kingdom. May I ask how would this young man could be of help?"

"T-The legendary organization..." The short old man rushed towards Pedro and knelt down as tears started to fall down from his face. Pedro could not help but frown even further as he closely watches the old man cry on his feet. 

"Y-Young Sire! P-Please! I beg of you! Please save my son and my granddaughter in the slums of the Tarala Kingdom! Things were not looking good for the Kingdom. The crops were damaged due to the sudden increase of monsters! S-So, there won't be any food for us for the next three months. The people in the slums are in chaos right now because of this. We tried to seek help from the nobles but it was for naught! So, I had no choice but to face the danger and travel to nearby villages and seek help to old acquaintances from nearby villages. Unfortunately, my friend—the shop keeper of this village, had seemingly perished just a few days ago. A-And the new shop keeper did not want to give any aid without a cost!"

"Hmm…" Pedro's eyebrows even furrowed as he glared towards the village.

But before he could say a word, the old man continued to grovel on his feet, saying, "I-I won't ask much and beg for money, y-young sire!... But please, please help me rescue my son and my granddaughter and bring them safely here in this village. The chaos in the Kingdom would soon reach its peak. Sooner or later, blood would be shed in that forsaken land. S-So relocating my family is the utmost priority. I-If you save my family... I-I would do whatever you say! Just, please! I beg of you, young sire! Please save my son and granddaughter!" 

Everyone can't help but stare towards the groveling old man. No one dared to speak a word as the final decision lies with Pedro. And whether they agree to his decision or not, they had no choice but to follow him. After all, they all believe that his decisions would always be for the benefit of the many, whether it is favorable to them or not. 

This made Pedro sigh in response. He shook his head a couple of times before glancing towards Aks and Aldo, and said, "Can you handle the rescue mission?" 

"This..." At first, the two were hesitant. But… Aks had experienced the pain of losing someone close to him, just recently. He can't help but force out a bitter smile in response as if saying he was leaving the final decision to Aldo.

Thus, Aldo can't help but bit his lips and flick his tongue. He anxiously rubbed the back of his head whilst saying, "I-I could only try my best!"

Pedro grinned in response and said, "That's more than enough!"

done.co