Chapter 129 I Guess Being The Hero Does Pay Off

Every time Ryan thought about Aliza in this new world, he got a headache, and this time it was the worst of all.

Shaking his head, he forcefully stopped thinking about her and concentrated on flying toward the moving wagon he could see being pulled by four horses in the distance.

'I wish I could activate my aura right now,' Ryan thought, thinking it would be the perfect scouting tool since he could tell what was inside the wagon if it was inside his domain.

Ryan had been brainstorming different ways to use his bloodline since he still hadn't gotten Yoko from the Duchess, who skipped out on him the first time and left too early the second.

'For how much you want me, Duchess, you couldn't even wait a few minutes,' Ryan thought, shaking his head.

Gaining speed on his new blade [Darkness Calls], Ryan got within 30m (~98ft) before he felt an aura above him.

'Crap, she has guards.'

Looking above him, Ryan could see three figures floating above him riding on magic swords similar to his. They were huge women that seemed to have nothing else but muscles.

"Stop right there," one of them said, pointing their sword at Ryan's face as she descended upon him. The other two followed behind the first, ready if Ryan tried anything funny.

Below him, Ryan sensed the wagon come to a halt, so he decided it wasn't necessary to kill these low F-Ranked guards immediately.

"Lower yourself to the ground and remove your mask," the first one ordered, noticing Ryan wearing his new [Gender Neutral Mask].

Seeing no reason not to comply, Ryan lowered himself to the ground but waited for the wagon's occupants to exit before removing his mask.

As soon as he saw Sophia, Ryan took off his mask.

"It's you!" Sophia exclaimed, pointing at Ryan. "You're the one that ignored me this morning."

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?" Ryan asked, eliciting a "grrrr" from Sophia.

"Father! Order the guards to kill him!" Sophia hollered.

Ryan turned, raising his brow, as he saw a giant man with a big white beard and mustache step from the wagon. He wore purple robes and looked like a scholar or priest type.

"Good sir, what's the meaning of you following us? Might I get your name?" the man asked, trying to determine if Ryan was someone important.

"My name is Ryan Emerald," Ryan stated as he stared at the old man. "I came to take the boy you bought at the auction."

"You can't take Timmy! He's mine! He's always been mine, and he'll always be mine!" Sophia snarled.

p1ease visi(t) n0ve1b(in).ne)t

"Young man, I haven't heard of your family before. Can you please enlighten me as to what house you come from?" the old man asked, still trying to discern if he was a noble.

"I'm an orphan," Ryan said calmly. "And if you do not hand over the boy, I'll have to relieve you of him myself."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, the old man's attitude changed, and he grunted to the guards, "Kill him, then set his body on fire. But, feel free to have your way with him before you kill him. He looks like someone you girls would like."

The three muscular women looked at each other with lustful eyes before taking their positions in front of Ryan.

They dismounted and changed their swords into battle mode, beginning to circle Ryan.

"You're not going to escape!" Sophia yelled.

"Wasn't planning on it," Ryan said, turning toward her and meeting Sophia's glare head-on.

Swiveling back around, Ryan deflected a blade slashing at him from the first of his attackers.

Planting his foot, Ryan filled his legs with energy and shot toward the first guard, stabbing a hole straight through her neck.

Blood splattered everywhere as the woman died before her body plunged to the ground.

Flipping over and landing softly upon the grassy field, Ryan gripped his sword tighter and rolled away as the second guard's swing.

"How is he fighting cultivators?" Sophia gasped. "How is he so fast?!"

'You have no idea, lady,' Ryan thought, sidestepping another swing from the second guard and thrusting his blade forward as it squished home inside the guard's stomach.

Gasping for breath like a beached whale, the guard stumbled backward until she collapsed on the ground, clutching her throat as her crimson essence left her body until she was reclaimed by the cycle of reincarnation once more.

The third one stood watching but, seeing how easy it was to take down two guards quickly, decided that waiting wasn't going to help her cause.

Turning to leave, the third guard only made it two steps before Ryan made her a head shorter and a head lighter.

Looking over his shoulder at the trembling Sophia and the despondent old man, Ryan said, "Nice try. But you'd need a lot more of them to deal with me."

Seeing the old man reach for a treasure, Ryan stalked forward and unceremoniously decapitated him.

Moving forward, Ryan saw Sophia fall to the ground, pleading, "P-P-Please don't k-kill m-me! You can take him! He's yours!"

Ryan shook his head, but as he brought up his blade, he heard a soft voice say, "Wait, please," from inside the wagon.

Ignoring the girl, Ryan advanced toward the wagon and saw Timmy lying inside, naked and chained to a bed.

Swiftly cutting the bindings, Ryan pulled out a robe and clothed the man asking, "Why don't you want me to kill her?"

Shaking his head, Timmy said, "Death is too easy a punishment Lord. Please allow me to serve you.

Timmy weakly kneeled on the ground as Ryan gazed at him, intrigued. "And what do you want from me in return for your loyalty."

"Her."

"Why?" Ryan asked, even more, fascinated by this man.

"To torture her, as she did to me."

'An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,' Ryan thought, slowly nodding his head.

"Thank you, Master," Timmy said, kowtowing on the ground. "I won't disappoint you."

"Say these words, Timmy, to become my servant," Ryan said as he read him the required oaths to become his servant and for Ryan to see his loyalty.

[Timmy Marks]

[Loyalty: 122]

[Bonus: Resurrection of Faith]

Ryan's mouth opened and quickly shut as he tried to remain calm. 'What the fuck did I do to this kid?'

'Being the hero does pay off.'

Eager to see what the bonus meant with such an illustrious name, Ryan clicked, but he couldn't hide his awe this time.

[Bonus Resurrection of Faith]

[Ability: Resurrect this loyal follower as long as his faith in you remains true, for you have saved him once, and in his mind, you will save him again.]

"What's wrong, Master?" Timmy asked, seeing Ryan's open mouth. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, Timmy, my boy. How would you like to meet your new brothers and sisters? I'm sure you've got a lot to teach them about faith."

Timmy looked quizzically at Ryan, not knowing years later he would count this moment as the turning point in his life, giving interviews around the Multiverse about the mysterious man that came and saved him, changing his future forever.