CHAPTER 52: AN ARRANGEMENT (1)

"I GIVE UP! PLEASE! FORGIVE ME! I BEG YOU! FORGIVE ME!"

Seeing the genuine act and hearing the desperation in his voice, Ash decided to relent.

The destruction hadn’t been too bad. It wasn’t unsalvageable yet.

There was only 1 confirmed death, the poor guy who had to eat steel melting acid straight to the face, but other than that, there were only some incapacitated individuals strewn across the ground.

The majority of people Eben brought with him were still standing tall, holding their weapons.

Some of them were mid charge, others were stuck frozen in place, but all of them stopped what they were doing when they saw and heard Eben’s scream.

It wasn’t too late for Ash to mend the situation.

Keen was already back on his spot, landing on Ash’s shoulder.

And a single command from Ash stopped the vine brothers from continuing their assault.

But for his tier 3 skill, Ash let it activate for a few more seconds, making sure the suffering from the skill was embedded deep inside the man’s bones.

Oblivious to the fact that Ash had stopped his assault on his subordinates, Eben kept his face, eating the dirt, screaming every few seconds, "I’M SORRY, PLEASE, STOP THIS. I BEG YOU. FORGIVE ME."

Over and over again, until the only sound remaining on the dark, empty sky was his pleading voice and the groans of his dying subordinates.

When Ash felt it was enough, he finally stopped his Mirage Bloom.

Setting Eben free from the hallucinations and the spores slowly eating through his body.

When it all ended, Eben finally stopped begging. Though his face was still facing the ground, not daring to raise his head.

He only managed to lift it up after he heard Ash’s voice, "It’s done. I heard you. You don’t need to keep your head down anymore."

Fear still gripped tightly on his heart.

Despite the pain and suffering finally stopped assaulting his body, Eben didn’t dare to see what had happened to his subordinates in the few seconds he was devoured by the spell.

Very slowly, Eben fought the fear overfilling his chest and finally managed to raise his head to see what had happened to his surroundings.

The image of what happened to his surroundings and his subordinates finally entered his vision.

Causing a sigh of relief to flow out of his chest.

The strength propped his hands ran out as he fell back once more.

But the dread of seeing all his precious subordinates that he nurtured over the years all dying in vain left him.

Other than the initial people who were helpless against the unknown humanoid creatures, the other men were fine.

No wounds could be found on their bodies.

Other than the fact that some of them were frozen in shock or looked at him with disbelief, the rest were fine.

The few people who had never seen Eben show any other emotions other than a fake smile or a look of disdain in his eyes were currently caught in bewilderment.

A few of them even lost their trust and respect for the man.

However, that didn’t last for long, as the adrenaline finally left their bodies, and they were able to see what had actually happened.

They only had their eyes fixed on Ash and Eben this whole time. Cutting off other sounds in their surroundings as their grip on their weapons tightened.

But now, they finally had the chance to see what had happened to their fellow men.

About 10 of their comrades, the people that they saw every day.

The same people who were even strong enough to defeat them were now lying on the floor.

Their groans could still be heard, but other than their vocal chords, the rest of their body were almost unmoving.

Bodies scattered on the ground, green vines latched onto their limbs and torso, trapping them in place.

A quick look made them realize the crimson liquid pooling below their bodies, under the green vines.

And when you get a closer look, their clothes, their armor, were torn apart.

The flesh under those torn clothes showed a blackish rot that kept spewing out blood, enlarging the crimson pool beneath them.

Their chest still moved up and down, but the blank look on their faces told them that they were barely alive anymore.

No intention of fighting back ever brewed in their heads, as their rotting bodies had lost all their strength.

When these people saw what happened to them, they finally understood Eben’s decision to beg for forgiveness and stopped the fight.

If Eben forced them to continue, then they themselves would end up the same as their comrades.

So when Ash walked up closer to the kneeling Eben, none of them dared to move.

Not even the second bodyguard, who managed to see what had happened to his friend.

"So, Eben, I do forgive you for your inappropriate behavior. But as you’ve said, actions have consequences, right?"

Ash then used his vines to prop Eben’s body up, forcing him to stand up and receive Ash’s stare.

"I wonder, what kind of compensation are you willing to give me to grant your wish of keeping your and your subordinates’ lives?"

Eben didn’t even dare to look at Ash’s eyes now.

Even with the ordinary vines holding up his body, Eben still managed to try to look back down to the ground.

Just half a minute of being inside Ash’s Mirage Bloom Field was enough for him.

He had been on the other end of mental attacks ever since awakening his power.

But now that he was on the receiving end, he finally tasted what all his enemies had felt.

The powerlessness, the blurring of your senses, the loss of identity you felt when someone invaded your mind.

It all became clear to him.

And when Ash asked his question, Eben didn’t even think anymore.

The answer instantly formed in his mind.

"EVERYTHING! I will give you everything... Just don’t make me go through that again..."

Ash kept his mouth shut, which made Eben’s whole body tremble.

"I mean it! Even the Gray Leash... And all gangs under our banner... I will give them all to you! You will be our new leader! I... I will be your servant!"