Chapter 531 Crimson G.o.d!!!
With the re-established cooperation between Alex and Delia, Marcus the Rookie Traveler could only stare as they shook hands.
Once this was done, Marcus tried to talk to clarify the things that had just happened.
But before he could do that, Delia waved Marcus off as she said,
"Marcus, seeing that you seem to be ill-informed about the situation in this world, let your Big Sis here explain it all to you." Delia said while she gave a stern glare at Marcus" guide. "Since you are about to be our underling, it"s better for you to know everything. Don"t you think so?"
"I am happy that you want to teach me a lot, Miss Delia, but I did not agree to be your underling…" Marcus said, with his head shaking rapidly from disagreement. "C-can I just leave with my companions? I promise to not rat you out…"
"Oh come on, little Marcus. This won"t be that long, I promise!" Before Marcus could even run away, Delia slung her arm over him, placing Marcus in a tight hold that prevented him to leave.
"Look at you. You"re still injured, so don"t move yet." Delia muttered, with her hot breath tickling Marcus" neck This hot sensation made Marcus s.h.i.+ver, which just gave Delia the opportunity to tighten her hold over him. "Just listen to me first and then pledge allegiance to us. Once we"re done with that, we can allow you to roam around safely…
With the way that Delia used her body stopped him from leaving, all that Marcus can only do now was to have a strained smile as Delia began chattering to him….
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FEW MINUTES LATER.
"So Marcus, this world is currently stuck in Medieval Age. All the weapons here are derivatives of swords and weapons seen on the middle ages. But don"t look down on this world just because of that. Since a lot of monsters exist here, the original residents of this world are powerful on their own. Adding the Travelers to that, and this world becomes a hotpot of different powers… Do you get that, little Marcus?"
"Yes, yes, I get it Miss Delia."
"Good. You will need to know this once you roam out later. I can"t afford to have you dying just because you are ignorant."
"Please don"t call me like that Miss Delia. I am smart on my own too."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, I am!"
Ever since Delia had started her lessons on Marcus, she and him have been going at it, with Delia giving info while also insulting Marcus. Marcus on the other hand could only complain in response, something which seemed to be amusing Delia.
"Marcus, there are 10 continents present in this world. Each continent had their own specific set of laws and rules, which makes the culture and economy on these continents vastly different from each other." As if she had forgotten her insult on Marcus already, Delia continued her info barrage.
"Out of all those 10 continents, 9 are under the control of the Returning Travelers, with them controlling one continent each." Delia added as he tiled her head. "As for the 10th continent, n.o.body is in control of it yet…."
"…"
"I am not really that sure, but from what my Guide had told me, this 10th continent is very special, and it was said that the Traveler who gets to control this will obtain the method to reach Transcendence quickly." Delia"s eyes glinted with greed as she said these words, a reaction that Marcus certainly did not miss
"That was the reason for the conflicts between the Returning Travelers. They want to get a piece of this 10th Continent, since getting control of that means an easier path to Trasncendence." Delia muttered as she stopped the squirming Marcus from running away. "But because of the presence of other Returning Travelers and the rules of this world, they are limited on their attempts to take over the 10th Continent…"
"H-hey Miss Delia, can you let go of me now? You"re scaring me already…" Delia"s current state was frightful enough to Marcus, who was still trying his best to get himself free.
After all, hearing a woman talk about territorial conquering while also keeping a tight hold on you is something that is not pleasant, especially when the said woman is interested on recruiting you…
But this was not the only thing that freaked Marcus out now.
Alex, who had been mostly quiet since Delia started to talk, also reacted to what Delia said. And his reaction… just made Marcus lose hope.
"O-oi Delia, how come your Guide told me that? My Guide did not tell me any about that s**t!" Alex, shouted out with his eyes wide open, as if what Delia just said was enough to shock him.
And this shock was more apparent with the way that Alex glared at his Guide.
"So there"s 10 Continens in this world, and the 10th one shall lead to an easy path towards Transcendence? Hmph, now I understand why these Returning Travelers do things like this. They must really want to take over the 10th continent that badly…" Alex began muttering to himself as he casted furtive looks at Delia and Marcus.
Upon seeing this look, Delia only smiled widely, while Marcus began to shrink in on himself, as if he had realized that his situation just got worse.
Earlier, Marcus still wanted to give more complaints regarding Delia"s treatment to him. But now that he was under Alex"s sudden fierce gaze, Marcus could only look down in fear, as he wished that the man himself will stop staring at him already.
But unfortunately for Marcus, Alex did not stop staring. Instead, his gaze seemed to intensify, and along with that, Alex"s intent to recruit Marcus seemed to have strengthened too!
"Hmph, if your claim about the 10th Continent is true, then my plan of making all the Rookie Travelers pledge allegiance to me is actually the best thing here!" Alex shouted out, with Delia helplessly nodding her head with him. "Hehehe, as long as we take many Rookie Travelers with us, then we might have a chance to take the 10th Continent too. Of course with the presence of the Returning Travelers, that will be really hard. But with my wits and Delia"s grit, we can surely-"
"H-hey, are you really going to talk about making me way? Don"t you even think about my feelings?" Marcus, whose body was now completely cold from what he had heard, found himself saying these words in face of Alex"s enthusiasm.
This effectively stopped Alex"s excited tirade, prompting this man and Delia to stare back at Marcus, with their greedy gazes almost stopping his heart entirely.
"Hii!!!"
The greed on their eyes was enough to make Marcus feel scared, but even with that, still could not help but try standing up for himself.
After all, that"s just what who Marcus is. In face of an obstacle, Marcus will push through it, no matter how strong his enemy is! Even if offending his possible allies will mean more pain for him, Marcus will accept this, as this was his principle in life!
But to the disappointment of Marcus, his steel-like determination did nothing to help him. Instead, it seemed to have even spurned his "captors" on, something that just made his situation escalate more.
"So little Marcus, you"re the kind of person that likes to stand up for yourself? Well that"s good for you, but right now, that won"t be helping you out a lot." Alex, who seemed to be mildly impressed with Marcus, said slyly as he shook his head. "I"m sorry, but you really have to pledge allegiance to us."
"What? But-"
"If you don"t pledge allegiance to us, then it will be those Returning Travelers that will recruit you. Do you want to be under those people? You saw what they did to you earlier. Their recruiters beat you up and treated you like an item! Is that how you want to be treated here?" Alex shouted out angrily, completely drowning Marcus" attempt to rebuke him.
"How much did you get sold for again, Little Marcus? 20, 000 Credits? B***h, that"s just as cheap as a continent! That"s how those people view you! Do you really want to be treated like that? And how about your Companions? With those erotic bodies of theirs, they might be just taken advantage there! Is that also something… that you want them to go through?"
"Of course not, Mr. Alex. But if I stay here, you will just treat me the same, right? After all, I am way weaker then you…" Marcus replied as he shook his head in panic.
Even if what Alex just said were all logical, Marcus still refused to believe in him. After all, even if Marcus stays here with Alex, Marcus will still be relegated to the role of an underling. That kind of status… is just no different if Marcus was under the Returning Travelers.
"…"
"What, Mr. Alex? You can"t dispute what I said, right? Tell me that I"m wrong! Tell me… that you don"t plan to treat me roughly in the future!"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
"So you really are that kind of guy Mr. Alex…"
At this point, Marcus" warm feelings for Delia had disappeared, as he realized that even if this woman was his savior, she still allied herself with a madman. Such feeling made Marcus sad, but he just accepted this as the reality.
For now, Marcus had just to focus on finding a way to escape.
But before his mind could formulate an escape plan, Alex suddenly talked again!
"Oi Little Alex. In face you had forgotten it, I will only be able to stay in this world for a year. Same goes of Delia too. Do you think in that span of time, I will have the time to abuse you? No! During that time, we will be doing a lot of work, but that doesn"t include making you my slave!" Alex blurted out as he gave Marcus an exasperated look.
Alex appeared to be both tired and fed up with Marcus, something that he did not hide in his words.
" Geez, I want to succeed in this world within a year! If I want to do that, then my underlings should be healthy, both physically and mentally!" Alex added. "Don"t think that I am a bad recruiter? h.e.l.l no! I want to make you my ally, and not my enemy! My goodness, you really thought that I will be a bad guy? Argh, this is making me angry!!!"
"Um, are you really saying the truth?"
"Hmph, it"s up to you to believe that, Little Marcus. Now, if you still don"t want to pledge allegiance to me, then fine. Go outside and let yourself be captured by the other recruiters. I can just look for more Rookie Travelers later…" Alex sniffed as he answered Marcus" latest query. "But if you want to get what you f***king deserve, then join me under my banner! It will only last for a year, so there"s not much that you will lose. You might even gain more than you actually could!"
"…"
"So what are you waiting for, Marcus? Come and kneel in front of me! Say the pledge of allegiance, and you will be the first member of my group!"
"I…"
At this point, even with all the misgivings that he had with Alex and Delia, Marcus found himself swaying to their offer. After all, these two seemed genuine to him.
Well, even when these two are dead-set on making Marcus an underling, Marcus found himself believing that they will treat him well. They just sounded and felt genuine with their promises…
This belief of his could of course just be a hunch, but for someone like Marcus that is trapped right now, this kind of hunch is something that he is willing to grab on…
"..Ok, I am willing to pledge my allegiance to you. Please treat us well in the future." With no options left for him now, Marcus could only sigh as he began kneeling in front of Alex. He then closed his eyes as he prepared to chant his pledge.
"Vita, Sonia, and Dys. I hope that you will forgive me for doing this without your input. I… just think that this will be the best for us." Marcus thought to himself sadly as he stared as his unconscious Companions. "I swear I will make it up to you three later…"
After staring at their faces one more time, Marcus closed his eyes again. This time, he let out a light cough as he began vocalizing his pledge.
"I, Marcus of the Planet Eaton, thereby pledges to serve-"
[WHO DARES POACH THE ROOKIE TRAVELRES IN MY TERRITORY? YOU HAVE GUTS TO DO THIS HERE? YOU… YOU ARE BLASPHEMERS THAT MUST BE DISCIPLINED!]
Before Marcus could state his pledge completely, this completely overbearing voice filled the whole area, rendering Marcus and the other Travelers wincing.
The power contained from this roar was powerful enough to make Marcus injured again, something that made him collapsed back to the ground with panic rising in his heart.
As for Alex and Delia, they only swayed from their spots as they were able to resist that roar.
But even with that success, Delia and Alex did not look happy at all.
Instead, both of their faces looked solemn now, with their eyes twitching as they stared at the one who just spoke.
Marcus saw the reaction of this two, which prompted him to stare at where they were looking.
"!!!"
Upon seeing where their gazes went, Marcus" eyes became solemn too.
Such kind of reaction was just apt, as these three realized who they were looking at right now!
"Hohoho, with my actions, I expected that someone from the Returning Travelers might try to attack me. But I never expected that before I could even recruit one Rookie, a Returning Traveler already visited me!" Alex said, with his amused voice cracking ever so slightly as he stared at the newcomer.
"Judging by your red attire and your clearly overbearing Half-Step Transcendent Power, you must be the Crimson G.o.d. Well, I am happy to have you here, but right now we are busy. Can you just come back later once we"re done?"