They t in the village hall late at night. Before that, they had a simple dinner, as the villagers had insisted on treating their guests with the utmost respect. It had been their tradition since ti immorial.
Back to the eting, the tribe chief was not a man. The chieftess was an old woman whose face was shrunken due to her advanced age. Her features bore nothing but sadness and pain. Despite that, she showed a warm smile to the guests.
"It is a pleasure to have you among us, travelers. I am the chieftess of the Blue Tide tribe: Marlene. If you feel any lack of hospitality, please let know. I will handle everything."
Zestia bowed slightly. "Thank you for having us, honorable chieftess. We apologize for dropping by so unannounced, but my friend here has an urgent issue he wants to discuss with you."
She indicated Neo, who sat by her side on the tatami mat.
The Chieftess, Marlene’s gaze fell onto Neo. At first glance, there was nothing extraordinary about the young man. However, years of experience told her that things were rarely as simple as they looked.
She turned on her Spirit Eyes, trying to see through Neo’s secrets.
However, a horrified expression soon crossed her face. Her pupils dilated, and her hands started trembling as if she were having a seizure.
In her vision, she didn’t see a shadow shrouding mysteries. Instead, she saw a manifestation of absolute death that grinned right back at her.
"D-devil!" she whispered, her voice shaking.
Zestia’s and Eros’ eyes widened in shock, while Neo remained completely undeterred.
After all, he knew what he was, and what he could be. And he was trying his best to not beco the very devil they were so scared of.
"Why have you co here... my Lord?" Marlene asked fearfully as she tried to pull her gaze away from his terrifying presence.
Neo spoke at last,
"I am not here to play the hero, Chieftess. Nor I ca to grant your people the freedom they are yearning. But I do have a proposal that will keep your tribe from starving to death."
He leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees.
"You have a talent I need: the ability to look into the deep and pinpoint mana cores. And I have the power you lack: the strength to slaughter anyone who stands in your way. Work for . Mine those energy stones from the ocean floor, and in return, I will provide your village with food, shelter, and absolute protection from the Red Tide tribe."
The temperature in the room dropped instantly as Neo let a fraction of [Vellsing] aura spread into the air.
"Your Spirit Eyes have already shown you what I am capable of. So tell , Chieftess... do we have a deal, or do I need to prove to you that the Red Tide tribe is the least of your worries?"
Marlene swallowed hard as she fought against the suffocating pressure of Neo’s Dominator aura. Every instinct developed over her long life scread at her to flee from this monster. The Red Tide tribe was cruel, but the entity sitting before her belonged to an entirely different echelon of terror.
She looked past Neo toward Eros, whose eyes were wide because of terror and desperate hope.
Finally, Marlene thought of the skeletal children outside, their scales drying up in the dirt. If she refused, the Red Tide would simply watch them wither away into extinction.
"A devil I can bargain with is better than a slow, agonizing death," she thought.
Still, so doubts need to cleared first.
"You speak of absolute protection, Lord Neo. But the Red Tide has hundreds of warriors, and they are backed by powerful Sea King. If we defy them to dig up the ocean floor for you, they will co at us with everything they have. Can one man truly stand against an entire army?"
Neo didn’t even bat an eye as he replied, "An army of ants is still just a hill to be crushed, Marlene. Still, if you’re worried so much I should tell I also have several hundreds n who are willing to go to hell with . All you need to worry about is finding the cores."
Marlene closed her eyes, thinking hard. But she knew there was no real choice to be made.
At last she opened her aged eyes, eting his dark gaze.
"Very well, My Lord. Our talent belongs to you. We will guide you to the richest mana veins beneath the seabed. In exchange, you will feed my people and keep the executioners away from our throats. May the heavens have rcy on us for the alliance we make tonight."
The deal was on, and the plan was set, but the actual execution began in the morning.
A group of seven Blue Tide rn headed to a nearby seashore, where they would begin detecting the mana cores by diving into the water.
However, as expected, tight security was set around the shore. Red Tide rn, ten to twelve in number, were scattered around a dozen miles of range, guarding the seashore.
Still, the Blue Tide rn continued walking, though their figures were trembling.
"Hey! Stop right there!" one Red Tide rman barked loudly upon seeing the group of Blue Tide rn.
The blue rn paused, their eyes glancing around in nervousness.
The guard ca near them, snickering with contempt. The spear in his hand sharpened with terrifying killing intent.
"Heh heh, what’s this? What are you lowlifes doing here? Did you forget the rules? Only Red rn are allowed to be here now."
"Do you all want to die?" the guard asked, pointing the spear at them.
The Blue Tide rn, being weak, were shaking in fear.
But suddenly, the barely audible sound of blades slicing through the air echoed.
"Swish, Swish, Swish..."
"Ah!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Ahhhh!"
"Noooo!"
"Blurgh!"
The lead guard’s eyes couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
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