Eclipse was astonished for an instant, but he immediately calmed himself down. Without replying or even looking up, he continued eating, completely ignoring the people in front of him.

  "Yo, we were actually looking for you. Where the fuck were you?"

  Eclipse continued ignoring him. He pinched a large chunk of his pasta with his chopsticks and shoved it into his mouth.

  The person waited for a moment, then coldly barked, "You bastard, how dare you ignore me!"

  Following that, he stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar, forcing Eclipse to look up at him.

  Two teenagers came into view, whom Eclipse recognised slowly. They had messy dark green hair and brown pupils. They were the sons of the Village Chief, Nite and Lern. Being twins at the age of sixteen with a scary demeanour and muscular stature, they had made many kids slaves for them.

  The Village Chief had three sons: Nite, Lern and Hans. Yesterday, Eclipse had beaten Hans to a pulp for trying to provoke him. Being the elder brother, Eclipse guessed that they were probably here to get revenge.

  "I'm sorry I didn't see you there. Were you talking to me?" Eclipse asked innocently, but his words were dripping with sarcasm and contempt.

  Nite's pupils smouldered with fury as he tightened his grip on Eclipse's collar, then he forced a smile before he burst into laughter, "Hey, this kid isn't bad. The fact that he beat up Hans and his group at such a young age is a merit. It'd be a waste to beat him to half an inch of his life."

  "Yeah, not to mention the balls he must have to speak to us that way. If you apologise and do whatever we tell you to do from now on, we'll forgive you for hitting our kid brother. What do you say?" Lern added with a cruel smirk.

  Eclipse looked calm on the outside, but fury pulsed through his veins. Reminiscing about Duozian's teaching from the night before, he forced himself to hold his ground, sighing. He got up then walked away without saying a word, causing indignation to burn in the hearts of the duo.

  "Haah, this bastard." Lern said as he caught up to Eclipse and obstructed his path, "Who the hell do you think you are?"

  Nite came from behind and then clutched Eclipse's shoulder. "A lot of people are arrogant, but this kid's on another level."

  Clenching his fists, Eclipse stood silently as two of them then circled him.

  "Eclipse, huh? The notorious orphan everyone's been talking about lately!"

  Eclipse's face scrunched up in hatred and disgust. These types of people were the ones he hated the most. Despite being in the weaker class, they throw around what little power they have to oppress those who are even weaker.

  "Go to hell!" Eclipse viciously remarked.

  But those who decide to submit to these kinds of people are even worse.

  These words struck like a thunderclap to the duo. Before Eclipse took a step to leave, Lern reacted instantly; stamping on his feet, he put an arm around Eclipse, then asked amiably, "I think I fucking misheard you… Can you please repeat that?"

  With a violent shadow masking his face, Nite stepped in front of him, cracking his knuckles, "Na, I heard him loud and clear. He wants to send us to hell, apparently."

  "Oh, is that so…" Lern said, a dangerous curve arcing across his lips. With his other hand, he balled a fist then knocked repeatedly on Eclipse's head like it was a door, "We only wanted to 'recruit' someone who might be helpful, but it seems we've accidentally run into the god of the underworld, huh?"

  "You still have a chance. Maybe if you kneel right here and beg for forgiveness, I'll just about consider letting you off with only three broken limbs or so." Nite laughed then grabbed his crescent pendant, "Seems like your granddaddy isn't completely broke either!"

  As soon as he touched his necklace, Eclipse's expression turned deathly hollow. His hand released the pasta box and, as if he was possessed by a demon, his hand lashed out and gripped Nite's wrists.

  Using their initial shock to his advantage, Eclipse used his heels and landed a powerful back kick on Lern's shin, causing him to instantly howl in pain. Before Nite had realised what was happening, Eclipse grabbed his head and, in a swift motion, smashed his forehead right into his face.

  Nite shrieked in agony, blood flowing profusely from his nose; however, Eclipse didn't let go of his head. Instead, he pulled his head down and followed up with a brutal knee to his face. A sickening squelch rang out as Nite's limb flailed desperately. Blood stained his trousers, but he did not care in the slightest.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  Eclipse was so consumed by rage that he didn't notice Lern's savage figure charging towards him. Just as Eclipse was about to smash another knee into Nite's face, his world shook as he was sent toppling to the floor. Lern had barged into him.

  He then ran up to Eclipse while he was on the floor and relentlessly knelt on his abdomen before maniacally shouting, "I'm going to kill you!"

  Pain flared through Eclipse's body as he felt fluids rise in his throat, but he kept his composure. Lern then swung a punch towards Eclipse's face, but at the last moment, Eclipse swiftly moved his head out of his path.

  Lern’s punch hit the ground, and he winced in pain, his entire arm feeling numb. Eclipse then grabbed his collar and pulled himself up, then, once again, smashed his head into Lern's face just like he had done to Nite.

  Eclipse glared at him coldly, "What the hell do you know about killing!"

  "Y-y-you...!" Lern gritted his teeth, tumbling back.

  Eclipse got to his feet, and just as he had done so, Nite charged towards him with a swing, his bloodied face making him look like a brute. As he closed in, Eclipse's eyes glinted, and he swept out his arm to guide Nite's blow away from him, and Eclipse threw out a punch for his face.

  However, to Eclipse's surprise, Nite also guided his blow away. Eclipse growled as Nite grinned wickedly and charged in for another blow. As Eclipse tried to evade, he felt his body go stiff. Lern had crept behind him and grabbed hold of him. Eclipse struggled against his grip but realised he was unable to shake Lern off.

  Grinning at the turn in the situation, Nite swung a powerful blow to Eclipse's face. Eclipse groaned in pain as his ears rang. He barely had any time to react before the next blow landed on him; this time, he tasted iron in his mouth.

  'Tch, I can't let it go on like this…'

  With wide eyes considering every move of his opponent, as Nite was charging the next blow, he swiftly timed a retaliation and kneed his abdomen. This one kick was powerful enough to send a grown adult speeding backwards, yet it had bombarded Nite's stomach at point-blank range.

  Nite howled, his eyes bloodshot. A smile traced across Eclipse's face. He used this chance to speed his body backwards towards the bench. When they finally hit the bench, Lern tripped along with Eclipse, whereupon Eclipse felt his grip loosen and using this chance, he got to his knees and straddled Lern and began pummelling him in the face with blow after blow. Lern's face contorted in pain but Eclipse didn't show the least bit of sympathy. After one last decisive and powerful punch, Eclipse reaped Lern's consciousness.

  He then got up, raw anger still thrumming through his veins. He then walked towards Nite, kneeling next to him, who was on the floor while clutching his abdomen. Eclipse then grabbed him by the hair and swung down a slap to his face.

  PA!

  The impact left a deep red imprint on Nite's face as he groaned in agony.

  "You still have a chance. Maybe if you kneel right here and beg for forgiveness, I'll just about consider letting you off with only three broken limbs or so." Eclipse's face grew cold as he returned Nite's words.

  Nite immediately felt a shiver electrocuting down his spine and regret bubbling up inside him. He and Lern had been in countless fights, some against much larger opponents, and they were absolutely confident in their skill. And yet they were beaten down coldly by a child six years younger than them. If they knew he was such a monster, they would never have messed with him in the first place.

  Nite gritted his teeth, showing no reaction. He was holding on to the last stand of dignity he had left.

  "Kneel!" Eclipse growled coldly.

  Nite flinched instantly. Slowly and painfully climbing to his knees, gritting his teeth in humiliation before slowly spitting the words, "I-I.. I'm so-"

  PA!

  Before he could say anything, Eclipse handed another slap on his face. "Speak up, you're too quiet."

  Tears formed in his eyes from the stinging pain on his cheeks, "I'm sorr-"

  PA!

  "Look at me when you're talking," Eclipse said indifferently.

  "Just you wait!" He finally snapped, half sobbing, "When my old man hears of this, you'll regret it then!"

  Eclipse smiled sadistically, raising his hand for another slap.

  "Enough!" Just as he was about to lash his hand down, a voice from behind caused him to hesitate. Without looking back, he got up, leaving his groaning victim on the ground.

  "Don’t you fuckin’ dare strike him again." A spine-chilling growl resounded from behind Eclipse.

  Eclipse quickly wiped the blood off his face with his sleeve and spun around to see a middle-aged man standing behind him. The man was around forty years old, and he had a rough-looking, scarred face, messy, unkempt black hair, and a composed demeanour. However, what really caught Eclipse's eye was the man's outfit. It was far from the usual clothing of a village person. He wore a long, black fur coat that hung just below his waist. His torso was exposed, and he was wearing a necklace with an unusual fang-shaped pendant. The man emanated the aura of someone from a powerful tribe.

  "Who are you?" Eclipse asked coldly.

  The man didn't answer; instead, he walked up to Nite, who was beaten up and kneeling.

  Nite's face was crimson from hand marks and swollen, with blood and saliva drooling out of his lips.

  "You… bastard. I'll kill you…" He slobbered as he painfully got up. Sensing a third party assisting him, he was no longer afraid.

  "You, shut it." The man snarled, his beady eyes squinting.

  Hearing the man's deep voice and his barbaric attire, Nite stagnated, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face, "S-sir?"

  His look of astonishment then turned into fear. "We… we were just…"

  The man let out a sigh, "Ganging up on a riff raff years younger than you and still getting beaten black and blue? You’re a fucking disappointment."

  "I…I…" Nite was lost for words as indignation appeared on his face. In the end, he could only keep his head down in humiliation and anger.

  The man grunted, "Well then, get lost. I'll take care of your useless brother."

  "Yes… Thank you, sir!" Nite bowed in respect before limping away, an incredibly dark shadow cast over his face.

  After he was gone, the man looked at Eclipse with a side eye, "Hmph. You're pretty notorious in this village for all the wrong reasons, am I correct?"

  Eclipse growled at him, "Who the hell are you?"

  The man walked over to Lern, spread a white cloth and placed Lern on top of it.

  "Name is Baki. I'm a tribesman from the mighty Dracoferus Tribe," He said, getting medical herbs ready from his bag, "and I'm a friend of the village chief."

  Eclipse stared at him doubtfully for a few moments before he turned around and walked away, not bothering to listen to the man any longer.

  As the man watched Eclipse's figure shrink into the distance, an eerie light cast over his calm and collected disposition.