"What a warm reception, eh?"
I greeted one of the warriors with a warm smile but he only quivered in fear as a result, his eyes constantly darting between his fallen companions and myself.
Well, that's to be expected. When some random 'girl' shows up and starts knocking your friends out left and right, a bit of fear is appropriate. Still, it's not like I'm actually killing them or anything; just gifting them with gentle chin kicks for a good night's sleep. These Stone Cauldron guys should be thanking me, if anything.
With those thoughts, I moved deeper into the camp. My senses spread across the whole surrounding area, against my will might I add, so I instantly noticed a few guards rushing off towards the main tent.
Being hungry has its perks, I suppose?
Due to starving for so long, Voracity's started to act up; a little at first, but grew stronger as time passed.
And now, due to the hunger reaching its peak, my perception of things around me had spiked to the extreme. I could smell and hear the faintest changes of heart rate, muscle tension, and everything in between from hundreds of meters away.
Ah, but I really hate to admit how helpful this state is, even accounting for the drawbacks.
Normally, I would've chosen to settle things amicably… Probably… But since even the slightest mood shift made everyone around me freeze in fear, I simply leaned into the intimidation a little.
It didn't matter whether I suppressed the red eye glimmer when my presence itself signaled imminent danger to these weaklings.
That's great and all, but what bothers me is something else; why on earth are they rushing at me when they can clearly see the strength difference between us at a glance? Survival instinct and all that?
Yeah, Stone Cauldron's doomed if these are the kind they're hiring… And speaking of-
"-HAAARGHH!!"
*Thunk!*
*Plop*
"…Could ya stop sending waves of weaklings and summon the commander already? Tch. And you! Yes, you, the dumbass; who the hell shouts when performing a sneak attack?"
I complained under my breath, sparing a few insults to the random warrior that just attempted to jump me from behind only to receive an implacably graceful kick to the chin.
"Y-You! Why are you doing this?! Who s-sent you?"
The man met my bland stare - I learned this move from Master, by the way - with an angry scowl, which looked rather pathetic when he was clutching his jaw like that.
For some reason, though, he broke eye contact rather swiftly. Averted his eyes with a red face, as if embarrassed.
Well, of course he'd be embarrassed. Failing a sneak attack so spectacularly would have anyone burying their face in the sand.
However, upon further thought I couldn't help but notice that most of the men attacking me had weird expressions on their faces.
I swiftly ended that chain of thoughts:
Wait, no, that's none of my business. I'm meant to be causing a scene right now.
"Use your eyes, maybe? Might be helpful for a change."
"What are you saying?"
The slouched guy seemed confused.
"Haaaah, do I really have to lay everything out to you lot? Or what, do your brains also turn to stone when you learn these arts? Look around. I haven't killed a single person here - who, do you reckon, sends an assassin to start a petty dogfight?"
I spoke to the man in a condescending tone, making sure to emphasize just how shortsighted his thinking was.
Ah, and that's not part of my plan or some such, just a personal whim.
"…But still-!"
"Enough!"
The sorry excuse of a warrior readied a retaliation - a shitty one, no doubt - but his words were caught in his mouth.
The reason?
An authoritative voice - one I that recognized - shut him down on the spot. At that, my rapidly souring mood instantly went back up.
I was already struggling with hunger, and having to fight all of these fear stricken people without killing, much less devouring, was one hell of a struggle.
I turned my head towards Birdnose, making sure to smile as brightly as my custom modeled face allowed:
"Hey, there you are~ Good to see you again, commander. Or should I say Garran?"
He's finally here. Took him long enough, eh? Might've just knocked out every last person in his camp if he'd taken any longer.
Oh well.
Without a care in the world, as if I hadn't just beating his underlings senseless, I took a step towards Birdnose.
Finally, our chat will start in earnest.
Only issue is, Garran looked exhausted. On the verge of collapse, even.
No, but for real… What the hell happened while I was gone?