RD 5 Ch 17

I stood with Simone outside her castle, technically halfway to the Citadel of Blood, speaking in a village as Simone tried to score new recruits. I did my best to look handsome, tall, and worth joining.

The ladies in the village gave me flirtatious eyes and swayed back and forth, as if I would somehow find them too tempting, and simply snatch them from this village, and no doubt a life of boredom. There were maybe fifty women gathered but only a handful were old enough for the system and without a class yet.

"All hail Lord Bran," Simone finished, and bowed in my direction. The Mul Branova that had traveled with us did as well, and even many of the townsfolk mimicked her out of humans constant mimicry of each other. 

"Wonderful. Now, if you would like to join the Mul Branova, please step forward and allow Lord Bran to bless you."

If I didn't know how much she detested me simply for being a fake Lord Bran, I would think Simone in front of me was a woman smitten, beyond her wildest dreams, as she looked at me. 

"I'd like an opportunity." A young rosy-cheeked woman stepped forward with a hand raised. She was a little plump and by the older woman with a flour covered apron pushing her forward, I hoped to be smelling fresh bread in the castle more often. "I pray to Lord Bran every day, and the system gave me the option for the devotee yesterday.” The woman spoke.

What was left unsaid was that taking the class without joining the Mul Branova would cause nothing but confusion. The class was a badge of the organization to Simone and I doubted she’d let someone run around with the class and potentially act as a representative.

“Please accept it, and show your devotion while Bran blesses you," Simone said softly, and gestured for the woman to come close to me, flashing me a dangerous look that no one else could see, as if to say, hands off. 

At this point, it was becoming a little insulting how much Simone seemed to think I would go feral on every new recruit.

The woman stepped up and bowed before me, and I put a hand atop her head. 

"Welcome to the Mul Branova, and please accept my joy at receiving the latest of my devotees."

She squealed like a little girl as I popped a bloodline into her. Her stats flaring to life. She curled down, accepting the bloodline, the blessing, and the pain that came with a sudden surge in stats. She gasped and several seconds later, checked her system screen. 

"A-ranked bloodline," she said loud enough for the crowd to hear. More than a few of them milled about excitedly, some of them stepping forward to get a better look, their eyes flashing with inspect as they tried to get a read on the girl. 

"It was within you the whole time," I said, following the script. "It is simply my blessing that pulled it to the surface.

 She became giddy, overwhelmed, and jumped to her feet before kissing me on the cheek.

Faster than I could react, Simone let out a jovial laugh and pulled her off of me. "Please restrain yourself. A single person and his ability to accept everyone's physical love is limited."

The girl looked like she barely heard Simone, staring up into my eyes dreamily, like a young maiden in love. Simone, the way she stepped behind the young woman, gave me a glare that only I could see, demanding that I get rid of her. 

"Please, there are others who need to be blessed," I said to her as calmly as I could before gently easing her to the side and into Simone's arms so the saintess could take her away, or at least direct her wherever she wanted. 

"Anymore?" Simone asked the crowd.

However, in that moment, there was a flash of blue as a cloaked figure shot from the crowd. The cloak that had recently been hiding their form came undone to reveal a woman in light blue martial robes and a scythe made of ice flashing into her hand as it came bearing down on me. 

Simone spun, a pink heart-shaped beam firing out from her with a negligent flick of her hand.

The woman from Winnie's sect cut through the ability but lost her forward momentum. She landed on the ground and spun gracefully, her scythe chasing after the small entourage of Mul Branova we had brought with us. She was strong, strong enough that blood followed the path of the scythe, splattering the crowd of Mul Branova with what felt like an egregious amount of blood. 

"Sisters together!" Simone shouted.

Each of the devotees linked hands, a red beam stretching between them in a formation I had not seen before. Though I instantly recognized what they were trying to do. Blood siphon was bouncing between each of them, essentially creating a total health pool that all of them shared.

The assassin from Winnie's sect would essentially have to deal enough damage to kill all of them before a single one would fall. This had the effect of linking their health pools, but each had their own individual regenerations making this far more difficult than cutting down one of them individually. 

"Foolish woman," Simone shouted, standing amongst the Mul Branova with linked hands. "You may be able to defeat us one on one, but as a group, the Mul Branova are unstoppable." 

Simone activated Wracking Pain and I watched as Winnie's woman with the scythe winced and clutched at her chest briefly before gritting her teeth and trying to fight through the pain.

The rest of the Mul Branova in the circle cast debuffs and simple spells in quick succession. I now realized that with keeping up multiple blood siphons, it cost them quite a bit of concentration. So, they were launching simple yet effective spells to wear Winnie's assassin down. 

However, that didn't stop the woman with the scythe. She slashed at the Mul Branova. Her weapon never stopping as she tried to carve through them.

Yet they held fast, each of them holding hands and channeling life to the one being hit. The one being hit had more time to fling spells right back in her face.

Frustration reared its ugly head before Winnie's assassin tried to jump free of the circle, only for a red barrier to shimmer to life around them. Even as she tried to hack her way out of her encirclement, it did little good. The red barrier connected to the circle of Mul Branova, feeding off their life, becoming just as much an immovable object as the women themselves. 

"In the name of Lord Bran, I sentence you to death of the highest order," Simone declared, pulling out several cuffs lined with inscriptions. "Once you are tired and unable to continue," she said, her eyes meeting the assassin's, "you will be shackled and brought before the blood pits of Bran, where the blood of our enemies shall bolster the strength of our forces once again." 

The assassin now began to fight tooth and nail, perhaps only now realizing how much danger surrounded her.

Yet Simone stood there holding the cuffs as the rest of the Mul Branova chipped away at her.

I smirked, realizing this might be an opportunity of mine to prove myself. Jumping through the barrier, it seemed enough of them believed I was Bran that they didn't try and keep me out.

However, Simone's eyes nearly turned into two balls of fire as her gaze fixed on me. It was filled with the demand that I remove myself and not try whatever it was I was about to attempt. 

I blew Simone a kiss and drew a sword at my hip, leveling it at Winnie's assassin. "Why don't we wrap this up quickly?" I said, challenging the woman.

Yet, perhaps I overestimated my abilities as Winnie's assassin disappeared before my eyes and appeared at my side in a flash of an icy scythe.

I managed to parry the attack just barely, taking a scratch on my shoulder for my effort, though I was able to push through, charging into the smaller woman with my bulk. I bodily checked her back, giving me enough room to come in low with a swing meant for her legs.

Yet, Winnie's sect were all immaculately trained. She managed to slam the scythe's head against the ground and use it as leverage to flip herself up and over my swing. More spells were coming from the Mul Branova.

Yet, I felt that I had already failed to show the strength of Bran Heroes. I should have mopped the floor with this woman. Instead, it appeared more like an even match while also having the support of the Mul Branova around me.

In a sense, I had over estimated myself. Of course, I knew the situation with my stats and abilities, but that didn’t do anything to diminish my sense of battle.

Taking a risk, I crashed into the woman again, biting my finger and making it bleed. 

Her scythe swung as I was within the range of her scythe. It was one of the most dangerous places to be, especially as she jerked it back towards her. The blade was coming at the nape of my neck like a guillotine.

But I was going to work faster than that. The blood coming off the tip of my thumb swirled easily before me. I drew an inscription on the woman's chest while she was already celebrating her victory against me. 

Just as her icy blade brushed the hair on the back of my neck, it stopped and she stopped completely. The inscription bit into her skin and formed a growing seal that locked down her stats and abilities.

I let out a deep breath and moved the scythe away as if it was my plan this entire time. "Sometimes taking them alive can be harder than simply killing them," I said to the crowd as well as the Mul Branova behind me. "Thank you, ladies, for reducing her ability to escape. Now she will be a perfect sacrifice once we return to Simone's castle."

Simone laughed, though it was clearly stiff and less than thrilled. "Bran, there was no need for you to intervene. It is so rare that we get an opportunity to show the strength of newly recruited Mul Branova before you." There was an undercurrent of anger that carried with those words.

I chuckled, joining her in play. "My sincerest apologies, Saintess. But you and I both know how much we need good sacrifices at present." I do what I want, you don’t control me.

It was an excuse, but perhaps the wrong one, especially the way Simone's nostrils flared. She tried to cover it by keeping a smile on her face. "Another sacrifice is another sacrifice. The Mul Branova are strong enough," she said.

I realized my mistake. Much of what she was trying to do was not only finding recruits, but also to posture for the general public. By saying we needed more sacrifices, I implied that we were running out of resources which only made Simone look weaker.

Though, I wasn’t sure if she was angry at me for risking myself or for blemishing the Mul Branova’s image.

"We are at war," I said to Simone, now understanding the assignment. "And every Mul Branova's life is precious to me. The more strength I can grant them, the more of them I can protect. I do not take my responsibility lightly. And thus continue my endeavor to collect enough resources that we may crush the other forces without losing a single of my precious Mul Branova." 

Simone put on a fake smile with the real one tugging at the edge of her lips. "Lord Bran, you are ever considerate," she said. "Now unless there's anyone else that would like to join our ranks, we will get going," Simone said, looking at the Mul Branova around us and gesturing with her head for us to leave. "Thank you." Simone then turned to me. “Do not risk yourself like that again.”

I had a complicated feeling in my chest. She was upset with me, but at least she was worried about my well being. That it trumped even her concern for the Mul Branova’s image was a step in the right direction.

Her feeling stronger emotions about me, regardless of what they were was a good thing.