Village Head's Debauchery

Chapter 1006: Benevolent Face, Lingering Fear

Witnessing the former emperor’s defeat and noting his unwillingness to take his own life like the cloaked figure, Seth raised his head, directing his gaze back toward the Trekking Flamingo Runaway City.

“Do you concede?” Seth asked, his tone indifferent.

This time, not only the Trekking Flamingo Runaway City but also the Wanderlust Travelling Tortoise Runaway City and the Sleeping Fox Runaway City felt their hair stand on end and their hearts lodged in their throats at the resonating sound of his voice.

…..

High above the battlefield, Aerialia shook her head in disappointment after witnessing Emperor Greroth’s pitiful display of strength. She had expected more from seeing his transformation art, but it fell short of her expectations.

“The Trekking Flamingo Runaway City no longer has any hidden cards to play nor the will to fight. Your plan has worked,” Aerialia remarked, shifting her gaze towards Orion.

While Orion’s tactics were not groundbreaking, it was noteworthy that this was his first encounter with such a situation. He had lived in a small village with traditions shaped by a dangerous manmade god who viewed them as failures.

Aerialia was confident he would surpass his current brilliance with a few more years. If a genius like him had emerged during the Great War, she would have had another formidable mind to bolster their efforts against enemies.

Unfortunately, the world was also far from peaceful, with many potential adversaries and challenges ahead. She resolved to guide him down the right path with her expertise.

“Of course, it did. However, we’re not yet finished,” Orion smiled. While all this unfolded, he harboured another brilliant plan to solidify Paradise’s unshakeable position in the hearts of the Runaway Cities’ inhabitants below and weaken any lingering resistance they still harboured.

“Oh! What is it then?” Aerialia responded, her voice filled with interest.

“Have you ever heard the saying, ‘To conquer the enemy’s heart, present a benevolent face while the shadow of fear lingers behind. Balance mercy and wrath; let the enemy see hope in surrender and dread in resistance,'” Orion replied, smiling.

Upon hearing his words, Aerialia was stunned. She repeated the saying a few times, then shifted her gaze towards Orion, narrowing her eyes at him, “That’s a clever saying. How am I only just hearing of it?”

“You only awakened almost a year ago and were unaware of what was happening in the world for many years, so it’s obvious there are many things you haven’t heard about. Besides, am I not smart enough to invent such a saying?” Orion responded, glancing at her. He had no intention of revealing the knowledge he had acquired in his previous life.

Once again stunned by Orion’s response, Aerialia swiftly regained her composure and snorted loudly. “Now that I look closely, your current demeanour does seem different,” Aerialia commented, her eyes scrutinizing Orion from head to toe.

She hadn’t thought much about it when Orion first informed her about his encounter with the Wanderlust Travelling Tortoise Runaway City and the Sleeping Fox Runaway City.

After all, coming from a small village protected against the tide of Vylkr vines in the middle of nowhere, they were bound to encounter many things that could harden their hearts and make them ruthless.

However, considering this was Orion’s first time handling such a situation, he had ruthlessly sent the two Grade One Runaway Cities to their deaths, causing them to lose a portion of their gods’ chosens and putting the inhabitants of each Runaway City in perilous danger.

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If the Trekking Flamingo Runaway City had been vile enough to sneak in and slaughter them one by one in pursuit of the Divine Artefact before the war began, it could have led to disastrous consequences.

Even during the issue with the Four-eared elves, he had only planned to punish them rather than condemning them to die in the ominous clutches of the Vylkr vines, so she was truly curious about what had brought about his sudden change. Survival may be a part of it, but not entirely.

“Have you already forgotten everything you said? True debauchery is about embracing the chaos and messiness of life and living fully within it. I will not hesitate or delay in taking the necessary actions to produce the best outcome for Paradise, regardless of who or what it might involve,” Orion responded, his voice filled with seriousness.

Once again, Aerialia was stunned by Orion’s response. She remembered her words clearly and quickly pieced together everything that had transpired.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes. I can’t present a face of benevolence while wielding my most dangerous weapon,” Orion added, nodding at Aerialia. He sent a message to Seth and stood upright, focusing his attention below.

Aerialia nodded silently, observing as Orion descended through the clouds.

As Orion descended, he swiftly activated his gift, causing countless fierce lightning streaks to emerge from his body and spread through the clouds. Lightning sparked in the distance, illuminating the sky far beyond the building where the immense crater housed the Vylkr alloy harvestation.

As time passed, the clouds darkened, rolling thunderclouds stirring in the firmament. Orion transformed into his lightning form, his mask and attire assimilating a bluish lightning hue, still visible amidst the storm. Then he utilized his flying technique, ‘One Winged Sky Art,’ pushing it to its hundred per cent threshold.

Bang!

A burst of light emerged from Orion’s back, transforming into ethereal wings resembling those of a One-winged race forged from pure celestial energy. After achieving fifty per cent of the Divine Art threshold, the wings could be disabled or manifested at will, but Orion opted to display them just for his grand entrance.

With his preparations complete, Orion descended fully, revealing Paradise’s benevolent face to the Runaway Cities.

….

Meanwhile, Seth received the Village Chief’s orders and frowned, pondering the reasons for Orion’s descent. Given the absence of further movement from the Trekking Flamingo Runaway City and their silence, Seth could be fairly sure they had exhausted all their hidden strategies.

Nevertheless, he couldn’t disobey the Village Chief’s commands, so he slowly dispersed the hallowed dome of molten magma, allowing it to retract to the ground gradually.