Chapter 159: Temptation
The Blessed Ones were very afraid that Noah would just kill them right then, since Noah had easily killed one of the strongest Blessed Ones in the older group. Since they were injured, it would have been very easy to kill each one of them with those little "red goblins".
But to the delight of the Blessed Ones standing at the base of the hill where Noah had just killed one of their companions, Noah said something completely contrary to what they were expecting. "Well, since you want to be healed, I think I can do that for you, right? Of course, like all good old work, I will need a payment, so I think it"s only fair that your part of the invasion earnings becomes mine. Besides, of course, you"d still be doing what you said, and handling all the hard work while protecting me, since I"m just a weak and unprotected healer." The smile on Noah"s face had come back again.
Upon hearing what Noah said, the group of Blessed Ones did not know how to feel. On the one hand they were happy to be able to survive, unlike the Blessed man who had just died in front of them, but on the other hand, this Fortress would earn at least $3,500 for each of them based on how much they would receive in compensation for the deaths of others, and what Noah was saying was that he wanted all of that... that is, at least $24,000, disregarding the three who came to help him, and his own part.
Fortunately, some Blessed Ones were already experienced and had been used to breaking into Fortresses for years, so paying $3,500 may have seemed like a lot for the moment, but if that were to buy their lives, they would be happy to do so.
There were already others who were Blessed who thought that Noah did not have the strength to base his words outside the Fortress, and harbored thoughts about the contrary. "Just wait boy. You might think that you"ll get some money from me, but I want to see what you will do after we leave the Fortress... I doubt the government agents will let you perform a genocide of Blessed Rank Ds like us." It was the thinking of most of the Blessed who did not even consider the idea of ??paying what Noah had demanded.
Watching the Blessed, Noah realized that some were just a little upset, others were clearly relieved to be able to buy their own lives for just $3,500, while others had a different expression on their faces, carrying the most forced smiles that Noah has ever seen in his life.
Watching how someone behaves in a stressful situation was a great way to know what the person was thinking, and among the group of Blessed he was extorting at the moment, there were two people with reactions that really caught Noah"s attention.
(Author Note: I saw that some readers don"t believe in reading body language, and as a student of that type of study, I can properly say that this is truly functional. If you don"t, YouTube is there to put an end to your doubts. I"m clearly not specialized so I can make small mistakes, but the general essence of what I"m going through tends to be correct, thanks.
Editor note: Look up mentalism for some crazy information on how reading body language can be applied.)
Firstly there was the fat woman, who, despite being practically intimidated by Noah with her life in his palm, had a small smile in the corner of her mouth, which was characterized according to the Facial Action Coding System by Zygomaticus Major, or AU-12. Her spine remained upright despite everything Noah said, while still holding the chin slightly upright, mentalis or AU-17.
While next to her there was the thin man, who despite being threatened at that moment, both of his eyebrows were raised slightly, Frontalis (Pars lateralis) AU-2, accompanied by an Incisivii labii superioris and Incisivii labii inferioris AU-18, which basically consisted of pursing the lips.
a.n.a.lyzing body language was not as simple as reading minds. After all, a specific context was necessary to determine what the person was saying through their body language. In two different situations a movement toward AU-17 could be considered two completely different things.
A child who did a job well done and expected parental praise would display an AU-17, just as a powerful person would always instinctively display an AU-17 to try to prove to others that he was superior, and that he would never submit.
And in the situation they were in now, Noah was sure that the woman didn"t want a compliment, but rather that she would probably do something at some point that would allow her not to submit.
It was these little characteristics that made Noah somewhat dangerous when it came to dealing with other people. If he wanted to, he might as well become a manipulative sociopath, just as he did the many times he forged his own body expressions to make other people think instinctively about what he wanted, and could practically control what others would think the way that he wanted.
"Since you two believe you have something so good that it can help you from outside the Fortress, maybe I should let an happen?" Noah thought as he looked at the thin man, who was now demonstrating an AU-44, which was basically the two eyes in a half-closed state staring at Noah, that maybe he didn"t even realize what it meant, but for Noah, who had already studied much about these sorts of details, he knew that in this situation it meant that the man was practically challenging him to see what he was going to do.
Pretending not to notice any of this, Noah waited to see if everyone agreed, and all 4 Blessed nodded positively.
Fortunately, the corpse of the Blessed man who has just been burned had regenerated enough energy for blah to be able to use [Healing Flames] on these Blessed Ones. Not to mention that because of the high strength that the man had, Noah received another bonus point in Strength, which was certainly welcome.
Waving his hand, powerful flames emerged between his fingers and flew at people, completely burning their wounds, forcing a quick recovery of the skin, which despite inciting a slight itch, was so fast that the people didn"t even have time to feel uncomfortable.
At that point, a group that had yet to do anything emerged as well.
Thomas, with an arrogant expression, said to Noah, "I will pay you $15,000 for my and my friends" medical treatment."
Noah looked at Thomas and realized that the young man thought he was doing it all for the money, as if he had no principles other than money, as if he was going to accept this deal to receive 5x what he would receive in an invasion of a Rank Fortress D normally, or 2x how much he would receive when he invaded a Rank E fortress alone, even if Thomas and him didn"t get along.
"Alright." And Thomas was right; Noah agreed with what he said as soon as the proposal was made. The young man was practically throwing money at his feet, so why refuse? It was not as if he were some kind of young master who would kill everyone who looked at him with an ugly expression.
Thomas raised an eyebrow in surprise. He decided to just make an attempt by offering money to Noah, but without expecting satisfactory results. The only question was would Noah actually accept his offer? But surprisingly, Noah instantly accepted with so much as trying to haggle. It just made Thomas look at Noah with even more contempt, thinking that Noah was so desperate to get money, probably to pay for his own car. "Your greed will be your downfall." Thomas thought with conviction as he looked at Noah.
But it wasn"t as if Noah cared what this man thought. Thomas had just a Blessed Rank D a little while longer than himself; probably a few weeks from now that money would be practically nothing to Noah, but currently he needed funds to invest in the business he was opening with Carlos for the imps.
And with how many people here were glancing over at the imps continuously, it was pretty obvious that they were very curious and interested in those "red goblins" he was controlling. After all, Noah was sure that each one there was sure that if it weren"t for this contract he had made to get these imps, they would certainly be able to deal with him if they all got together and forced him to do whatever they wanted.
Imagining that with an imp like that next to them, they themselves could be the ones who would ask for extra money in the Fortresses, just as Noah was doing at that time, made some even giddy from the possibility.
And that was exactly what Noah wanted.
"Fall into temptation," he thought.
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