Alex and his group of miners charged at Siderius while Nadia and her group stood still, watching the scene from the side.
Siderius flexed his left arm, the silver bracer appeared again. He raised his fingers to draw the
"That's…"
"Magic?!"
"A witch!"
The miners broke into chaos. Some of them stopped dead in their tracks, hesitating to escalate this conflict further.
Everything was no longer that simple when a witch was involved. They yearned for the reward of Siderius' head. But a reward was pointless if you couldn't live and spend it.
The
Siderius used this chance to close the distance and thrust the sword at the traitor. Alex was hurt and Siderius' previous blows weren't that easy to recover from.
However, as Siderius' expectation, killing Alex had become difficult. A miner behind Alex pulled him back while another swung a pickaxe to block the attack.
Siderius was repulsed back a few steps. His balance stayed firm.
These miners might not be trained warriors but they were strong. The pickaxe came in quick and powerful, effective enough to interrupt Siderius' strike.
"Despicable! The murderer is trying to kill Alex!"
And with that, all hell broke loose. The miners stormed at Siderius like a pack of mindless hungry wolves.
If they were actually wolves, Siderius might have worried. Wolves were careful and strategic attackers. Their instinct helped them devise a battle plan to exhaust their prey and kill it slowly. Even big animals like lions and elephants could be dissected by a pack of wolves in time.
These miners were no wolves. They attacked with no plan.
And because of that, Siderius had no worry. He minimized his strength and focused on his speed. His feet moved in the night like a gust of wind.
Siderius hid himself amongst the darkness of the mining camp, where his eyes were the best and the vision of his enemies limited.
The hostile miners lost sight of him. And before they even knew it, a miner let out a wet grunt sound. Blood splashed out of his neck and he squealed like a dying bird.
They didn't even understand what was going on and a miner already dropped dead on the ground.
Reality set in and fear took hold of the group of hostile miners.
As for Nadia, she tried her best to protect the rest of the miners, those that did not take part in the attack.
"The old and sick get out of here! The rest stay with me!" Nadia shouted.
Between the two groups, Nadia had more elderly and young miners. While Alex had more men in their adulthood.
Even with Siderius' charisma, it wasn't enough to sway every miner his way. Young blood fueled their determination and greed blinded their ways. They couldn't see what the elderly saw clearly.
That Sideriu was not just a murderer. His eyes showed the sea of blood and the indifference toward it. Things that made the skin of the elderly crawl. The young miners were too naive to see it.
Siderius shouted toward Ashe. "Keep an eye on Carsten. Don't let him die!"
"On it, Master!"
With Ashe out of the way, Siderius was finally free to do what he wanted. He took a deep long breath.
Siderius hadn't had an all out battle for a very long time. This miniature battlefield was nostalgic.
A miner came to attack Siderius. He was fast. His feet were two great stumps of muscle binding into a mechanical walking machine. His biceps were two bulging fruits that might be the size of Siderius' head.
The miner was stronger and more well-built than him. After all, what they did every day was working. While Snow was an actor on the stage.
However, the stance of the miner was awful. He ran straight up without a good defence. His hands raised above his head with the pickaxe ready to strike down.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall.
Siderius stepped to the side and at the same time sliced over the belly of the miner. Blood gushed out and the miner crumbled in pain.
The hunter linked the strike with a low kick to the back of the miner's knee. He lost his balance and fell on his back.
Siderius swung his sword low, delivering the blade through the miner's neck. His head rolled on the ground a few times before stopping.
Two have died. And there would only be more deaths from now on.
"Harry!" A miner shouted in despair. This one must be an acquaintance of the man Siderius just killed.
The voice was coming from behind and Siderius could feel the miner coming. His left hand gestured the Parave sigil.
A thin white barrier covered Siderius. The tip of the pickaxe broke the barrier but it was slowed down significantly.
Without turning back, Siderius delivered a back kick to the man's stomach. His heel dug into his abdomen, causing the stomach to churn fiercely.
The man dropped down and threw up involuntarily, only to be faced with a strike from above.
Siderius sliced through the miner's face, cutting his jaw apart. The bloody miner fell on the ground.
"Such poor steelworks. If it's Strong Steel, I may even be able to cut that fool's face off." Siderius thought to himself.
The miners shook. In a matter of minutes, Siderius had just killed three of their friends. He was no different than a ghost in the night. Disapparing without traces and attacking from the darkness.
The miners didn't even have the chance to help their friends. They couldn't see him. Their primitive torches provided no safety in front of this dark demon.
Alex clenched his fist tightly. He couldn't believe that Siderius was so deadly. He felt his life dangled on a tight rope, ready to be cut at any moment.
"Don't pull back! If we pull back, he will kill all of us!" Alex shouted.
The other miners nodded in agreement and marched forward.
Siderius smiled. He revealed himself under the orange light of the torches. Blood soaked his black attire and his sword were red.
The hunter walked slowly toward the group of miners like a wolf let loose in a pack of white sheep. These people were no match for him and they would only die one by one.
"Stand down and you shall live." Siderius' voice echoed.
An older miner, one that stood beside Nadia and did not partake in the attack, whispered to her ear.
"Are we going to just watch? The way I see it, that boy is going to kill all of them!"
Nadia bit her lips. "What should I do now, Joseph? They do not listen to me anymore!"
"..." The miner stayed silent. He knew she was right. Nadia had lost her voice as the leader.
On the high branch of a tree, a black raven observed everything. It flapped its wings and flew to Mucktown. One could only wonder where it was going.