The Innkeeper

Chapter 2325: My boss

Z stepped out in front of the swarm of Godrix Worms, his expression entirely plain, as if he was going about another day’s work. Godrix Worms, born from the rotting bodies of living Deities, who were imprisoned and deprived of their power, were a real, damn menace.

They were not easy to kill, not easy to defeat, but they bred faster than rabbits and could suck the spiritual energy from the air till a region was left completely barren. These worms were especially useful in war, and were often used by members of the Path of Chaos during realm wars.

Z had no idea why they were in the Geb realm, nor did he know who even brought them here. After all, from what he had seen, neither side in this ongoing war seemed too pleasant to him. Then again, his exposure was highly limited - being constrained to the Slave army and all.

"What weapon shall I use today?" Z asked out loud, as if talking to himself. The army of slaves that stood behind him knew that he was talking to them though.

"Why don’t you use a sword?" asked Nadia, one of the strongest members of the army and, coincidentally, a sword user. "It’s one of the most common weapons, is especially useful in war, and you have been avoiding it."

Z smirked, and looked back at her. Nadia was human, and not even a one of the human subraces, which is what most would have expected when they saw her height. Standing at 7 feet 2 inches (2.18 meters), she was taller than most humans Z had ever known.

Matched with her flawless ebony skin, dark braided hair, leather armor and longsword that was 5 feet (1.5 meters) long, she made for an impressive and intimidating sight.

"You just want a turn with the violin," Z said, seeing through her the true meaning behind her words. He did not reject her, though, as he handed her his violin, and grabbed her sword instead.

"Well, I didn’t lie. You really have been avoiding using a sword all these years. I wonder why," she said as she appreciated the violin in her hands. Though it was made of wood, it was tougher than most hammers, and could completely be used as a weapon to bash faces in. Of course, that was not what Z actually used it for.

"My boss uses swords," Z said as he spun the sword around in his hand, getting used to the weight. "I guess I just wanted to avoid embarrassing myself. I’m sure if he ever found out I fought with a sword, he’d add swordsmanship to my training regime lest I continue to embarrass him, and that just sounds like so much extra work."

Z sounded both like he was reminiscing, and complaining, which Nadia and the other slaves found interesting. Even now, even after all these years of fighting and torture, the Grand Conqueror had not been able to affect Z’s personality in the slightest, which was both amazing and unbelievable.

"Why does it almost sound like you’re more afraid of your boss than the Grand Conqueror?" she asked, though the question was meant as a joke. How could that even be possible? Yet it hit closer to the truth than she realized.

"Do you know who my boss is?" Z asked as he grabbed the sword with both hands. Its weight meant that using it singlehanded slowed his mobility. "Never mind. I couldn’t tell you even if I wanted to. What I can tell you is that if my boss ever found out what had happened to me..."

Z didn’t complete the sentence, and instead shook his head as if he didn’t want to think about it.

Nadia froze, and exchanged expressions with the other.

"You can’t possibly think that your boss could try to come save you?" she asked hesitantly.

The question caused Z to snort.

"Heck no. He’d tell me to think of this as training and figure out my own way to escape and get revenge," Z said. His boss was always finding new ways to give him work.

As if put off by the thought, Z no longer talked with Nadia and began to walk towards the Godrix Worms still practicing with the sword as he walked.

Normally, the entire army would follow him. After all, this was the mission of the whole army. Yet they did not move.

"Escape? On your own?" Nadia repeated in disbelief. "How can that even be possible? The Grand Conqueror’s collars can trap even Celestial Immortals, not to mention he’s received the legacy of one of the founding human kings. He’s been recruited by the Humanoid Alliance as one of the future leaders of humanity. How can someone even hope to seek revenge against someone like that?"

She knew Z could hear her words, but he did not answer and just kept walking. Humanoid Alliance? Human King? Future leader? Z didn’t care about any of that. It just sounded like so much unnecessary work to him.

Then his thoughts went to Lex, and the news of his disappearance. He was only half convinced. After thinking about it, he didn’t believe there existed anyone who could get one up on him. As far as he was concerned, this was just an elaborate ruse by Lex to get his enemy to lower his guard while Lex himself set up an elaborate plan to stage his comeback.

He knew... the moment Lex came back, he’d just give Z a whole lot more training if he ended up having to rescue Z. That thought... finally lit a certain fire in Z’s heart. He could not even imagine how many new anime he’d missed over the years. Someone would pay for that.

As he raised his sword, the sound of a lone violin began to resound across the battlefield. The tune was a slow, mournful one, as if the person playing had lost all hope... or as if there was no hope left for Z’s enemies.

The army of slaves stood atop the battlefield and watched in silence as Z alone fought the battle that should have required them all. They were used to it.

In the name of training, Z always fought alone. Though he had an odd habit. Whenever he fought, he required background music.

One of the slaves began to hum, and soon another joined him. One by one the army of slaves joined in a wordless chant, acting like Z’s personal choir as if to serenade his enemies with one final song before their demise.

In Z’s own mind, he was still the same, lazy old teenager who wanted nothing but to sit in the Gamer’s lounge, watch anime and play games. He was simply forced to do things he didn’t want to do. In everyone else’s, however, he was a walking calamity like no other.