sjar Chapter 263 263
Chapter 263 263
He knew for a fact, that if this masked man were displeased in the very least, he could lay waste to the entire village and leave nothing but ash and bone behind.
He also knew that in the current political climate, Viscount McClain wouldn't find any fault with such a powerful ally; instead, the blame for any tragedy would be placed solely on the village for their "disobedience," leaving their deaths unmourned and unavenged.
The old man's life and the lives of his people hung by a thread, and he could only hope that the figure above him possessed a shred of the humanity right now.
The village square remained tense yet the terror began to soften slightly as Su Ping took a more moderate stance.
He looked down at the village chief, who was still trembling at his feet, and then at the handful of captives who were being held firmly by the lesser vampires.
The entire place quickly turned silent, as everyone held their breaths under his pressure inducing gaze.
After a long moment of deliberation that felt like an eternity to the onlookers, Su Ping gave a casual, dismissive wave of his hand, signaling the end of their immediate ordeal.
"Yu An, kindly release them and have them join the others," Su Ping said.
He didn't look at the captives as he spoke, his gaze already wandering toward the edges of the square as if he were losing interest in their lives.
"As you wish, Master," Yu An replied immediately.
"You heard his majesty! Release them at once and let them return to their kin!" She turned her head slightly to address the lesser vampires who were maintaining a vice-like grip on the shoulders and arms of the people they had dragged from their hidding places.
"Yes, ma'am!" the vampires responded in a unison.
They let go and pushed the captives forward with just enough force to send them stumbling into the center of the crowd.
The villagers who had just regained their freedom did not waste a single second; they scurried off toward the main group, where their families reached out to pull them into their protective embraces.
There were whispered sobs of relief and the frantic checking of limbs for injuries, but even these sounds were kept low, as if the villagers were afraid that any loud noise would shatter the fragile peace they had just been granted.
"Thank you, Sir. Truly, thank you for your immense mercy," the village chief stammered, offering his thanks with a series of deep, hurried bows now that he saw his people were once again safe.
He remained on his knees for a moment longer, his eyes wet with tears of relief, before slowly pushing himself up to stand amongst his fellow villagers.
Su Ping offered a brief, curt nod in response to the old man's gratitude, but his attention was already shifting.
He ordered for the villagers to stand in straight line.
The villagers were confused at first but did as asked, thinking that perhaps he was looking for some soldiers who managed to hide amongst them.
Su Ping then turned his head slowly, his purple-black eyes scanning the entirety of the assembled crowd.
He didn't just look at them; he seemed to pierce through them, his gaze lingering on each individual for a fraction of a second.
All those who meet his eyes felt an icy shiver travel down their spines, and they quickly looked away, staring at the ground or at their own shaking hands to avoid that predatory stare.
' Well, that takes care of that.' Su Ping thought to himself, a sense of satisfaction settling over his mind.
In that brief moment when he had glanced at the villagers, he had done far more than just intimidate them.
Utilizing his powers, he had singlehandedly warped the minds of every living person in the square without them even catching on.
It wasn't the total, soul-crushing mind control he usually employed when he wanted to create a permanent slave, but rather a subtle memory warp designed to protect his identity.
Now, a new reality had been woven into the fabric of their memories to be released later on.
No matter whether they were questioned by the McClain border scouts or even by Viscount McClain himself, they would all give the exact same account of the day's events.
They would testify with absolute conviction that a mysterious group of elite mercenaries had arrived in the nick of time to save them from the Montgomery invasion.
The lot of them would even go further to describe the battle in detail and not a single one of them would be able to recall the sight of a necromancer commanding an army of the undead.
What made the power truly terrifying was the secondary layer of the enchantment; when the time came for them to describe the appearances of these "mercenaries," they would find their tongues tied and their minds blank.
Even as Su Ping and his undead legions stood directly before them in this very moment, the villagers were already beginning to lose the ability to perceive his true form.
They saw him, yet the details of his face, his wings, and the black-flame mask were already starting to blur and dissolve in their subconscious.
They would remember being saved, but the savior would remain a nameless, faceless shadow in the corner of their minds.
It was a horrifying realization for anyone who understood the nature of such magic.
To be able to control another person's very perception of reality so thoroughly was a power that most would consider purely nefarious.
If he so desired, he could make them offer up their own children as sacrifices or walk into the flames of their burning homes without a single word of protest, and they would do so with smiles on their faces.
In the hands of a more sadistic individual, such a gift would be used for the most gruesome and depraved acts imaginable.
Luckily for the villagers, Su Ping had no immediate intentions of harming their small settlement; he merely required their silence and their cooperation to ensure his plans for the viscounty could proceed without the interference of the church or the kingdom's forces.