89 Subjugation

"Commander Gruo… What… What the fuck is this?!"

The fat man's soldiers around him were petrified due to the violent scene, and some had even soiled their gear. Seeing their comrades' lives be extinguished so easily terrorized their very core. 

The leader broke the gaze between him and the titan and looked around him, enraged.

"Don't back away now, or you'll simply die while running away like cowards! MAN UP YOU FUCKERS OR I'LL BE THE ONE KILLING YOU LATER"

When they heard his chilling voice, some came back to themselves as their commander was someone they couldn't afford to offend, but facing an unknown entity that easily handled five of them was still heavily weighing on their minds. After all, they were serving Albanel out of necessity, not duty. Putting their lives on the line was something they hadn't done in a long time.

Gruo recognized the situation and knew that if he didn't act, the words he just said would be meaningless. He saw the fear in his troops' eyes, and if the fight were to erupt right now, they would be at a heavy disadvantage. The Lord had given him 50 soldiers, and five had already perished. He couldn't afford any more losses of this magnitude, or he would be the one in the holding cell getting whipped.

He turned his gaze back to the titan, who was still staring him down with a strong and heavy bloodlust. That massive thing really wanted to fight him.

"HOW DARE YOU HURT MY TROOPS?"

Gruo shouted at the top of his lungs, and unleashed his aura. However, his paled so much in front of the colossus that it was barely noticeable. That enraged the fat and ugly man further, and it prompted him to take out the spear he had behind his back.

"I might lose to you in sheer strength, but I'll have your head on top of this stick at the end of our fight…"

Gruo's aura changed, and while it was still insignificant compared to his opponent, its maliciousness was striking, with even the colossus growing a bit weary. This was clearly the aura of someone evil that had tortured countless beings without remorse...

With no way out and blinded by his rage, the commander jumped into the fray by rushing the monstrous opponent, which was surprised by the agility of the fat man. How could someone so big move that fast and fluidly?

The charge motivated the nearby soldiers, which followed in their commander's trail. Even though he was tyrannic scum, all that mattered right now was staying alive. It would also save them if they managed to get out of this alive.

When he saw the 46 people running at him, the titan roared to the heavens and smashed his fists into the ground, creating a shock wave that destabilized the attackers' momentum.

"Fuck, you're strong…"

Dozens of soldiers had just appeared from the forest's boundary, all wearing armor and assuming an offensive formation. From their position, they were clearly with the brute they were trying to slay. The soldiers who were following Gruo also stopped behind him, stunned and confused. Who were these people?

"ATTACK"

A feminine, but powerful voice resounded behind the military contingent, and the soldiers and colossus charged forward.

The whole thing only took a few seconds, forcing Gruo on his back foot and making him retreat. The tides had simply changed too fast.

"RETREAT! It's an ambush"

The soldiers didn't need to hear anything else before turning back as fast as they could in the direction of their village. These troops clearly weren't normal reinforcements.

The charge was led by the colossus, which was of course Thomas in his Berserker form. He wasn't using his skill, so he had no clue about his surroundings or about the situation he was currently in.

Meanwhile, the voice that announced the assault was, of course, Eloise, who was manning the entire thing from behind the front line.

The first phase of their plan had worked, with them baiting the enemies, and now they had to wipe them in one fell swoop.

Gruo was running away as fast as he could, trying to increase the distance between him and the pursuers. The initial distance between them had been 50 meters at most, which meant he needed to give it everything to even have a chance at not engaging combat.

The berserker felt the man's fear, and it exploded forth, closing the gap instantly.

Gruo's vision had narrowed and only focused on the village ahead, so when the titan suddenly appeared in front of him, he felt his heart tighten. Wasn't this fucker behind him a second ago?!

Still armed with his spear and not slowing down one bit, the fat man dove forward, and thrust the weapon at the Berserker's body, aiming for its vital organs. The attack was fast and sharp, surprising the colossus.

As a result, it darted backwards to avoid taking the brunt of the attack. Even though it could heal itself at tremendous speeds, it wasn't keen on taking unnecessary damage.

Gruo's face twisted in anger as he saw his strike tear across the air without landing, and his already malicious aura became even more vicious. Back in the Empire, nobody dared opposing him, so him being challenged like this caused his nasty temper to arise even more.

"What are you all doing around me?! COME HELP YOU COWARDS"

The commander started madly shouting and barking orders at the still fleeing soldiers, which threw him a glance before disregarding his orders. After witnessing the speed of the giant, they figured that their commander was doomed to fall here.

When Gruo realized he was being abandoned, the feminine voice sounded once again.

"Close their retreat"

The soldiers that had kept running tirelessly for the previous minute were all forced to stop simultaneously, and despair suddenly crept up their spines. In front of them appeared another line of soldiers, completely cutting their line of retreat. They were caught with no way out.

The only happy party about this development was Gruo. None of the dogs that tried to forsake him deserved any better.

"Ahahaha you thought you could leave me behind without suffering the same fate? Even if we get out of here alive, you'll die by my hands after this treachery"

This sentence sent the most mentally fragile soldiers into an uncontrollable spiral of despair… They knew his reputation, and they were sure that, no matter what, their futures were decided.

The berserker, which had kept its distance from Gruo, leaped forward again, ready to quickly dispose of his opponent.

The fat man's instincts all cried out and tried warning him of the immense danger, but it was too late. The commander faced a barrage of hits that he could barely defend against, and he felt his body slowly giving up on him. The fight lasted a minute before he was on his knees, bloody and in tatters.

The berserker stopped before killing him, and took a step back.

Gruo looked around, and scenes similar to his were happening everywhere. The 45 soldiers he had under him were all wounded and to the ground, seemingly unable to resist anymore. It was a horrific defeat…