(MC POV)
The guards looked at me with wide eyes before they burst out laughing.
"Hahahaha! That's rich!" The plumed helmet guy chuckled. "Hey, I've never seen your face here before, you're new aren't you? Zhu! Hey Zhu! Where the hell are you? Did you forget to initiate this guy or what?!"
There was a pause and no one responded.
The guard frowned, "Zhu! God damn it, Zhu! That lazy bastard… I swear he's gonna--"
"Zhu isn't in charge here anymore." I interrupted him. "I am."
He looked at me and sneered, "You? You're telling me you took over this place on your first day here?"
I shrugged, "Pretty much."
The guard stretched out his hand and one of his buddies handed him a metallic rod. He tested the weight of it with his palm before advancing towards me.
"So, think you're top dog now among this useless trash just because you managed to beat the biggest trash? Heh heh, if you crawl on all fours and lick my feet, I might give you the same benefits as the fatty."
I was about to rebut him when I felt a tug on my side.
"B… Boss… They're Martial Practitioners… And the inscription doesn't affect them…" The kid whispered desperately.
Huh.
Martial Practitioners are basically Practitioners who practice both their Cultivation and martial art. Their cultivation can never beat a pure Practitioner of the same level but they have their physical agility and strength to make up for it.
These guys are usually seen as a Jack of all trades and can fill any position in an Adventurer's party depending on their specialization. Of course, they would not be able to do as well as a specialized role when it comes down to it.
Putting that aside, of course I knew they were unaffected by the inscription. Did the kid think I was confronting them without suspecting it? If they weren't, there was no way these six guys can handle the few hundred prisoners should they revolt, weapons or no.
Anyway, I already accounted for that fact, so it's not like I'm not prepared or anything.
I tilted my head at the guards, "Let me guess, if I don't do what you told me to… You guys are going to start beating me up to let me know my place?"
"Heh heh… It's good that you are aware then, saves us the trouble of explaining it to you."
"Hmmm… Then in that case, I will have to decline."
Most likely not expecting my outright rejection, the guards stood there with a stunned expression on their faces for a good moment or two.
The guard with the plumed helmet furrowed his brows, "Hmph… You must be some high ranked member in your branch right? Guess you've never been beaten before. I'll enjoy my time breaking you then."
He raised the metal rod in the air in an attempt to strike me.
My fist punched through the air to strike his wrist, the impact causing him to let go of the rod from his grasp.
Snatching the weapon from the air with the same hand, I swung it in an arc in front of me, smashing straight across his head and knocking his helmet clean off and letting him stumble backwards.
"Hmm… Not sure why you would just hand me a weapon like that, you looking down on me?" I asked, tapping the rod on my shoulder.
"Bastard! You're dead!" He roared, snatching another of the rods from his colleague to swing at me.
I parried that attack with my own rod and used my free hand to punch him in the face.
While he was still reeling from that, I made a grab for the end of the stick and spun on my heel, jabbing my own rod into his abdomen before twisting his weapon out of his hand.
The guard stumbled backwards again, clutching at his stomach where a visible dent had formed on his armour.
I smirked at him while spinning the two stickies in my hand, "And now you gave me another one? How generous."
Enraged, he pulled out his sword at his waist, his own buddies doing the same.
The other prisoners had moved back, giving us a wide berth as they watched on with concerned expressions.
"Gut him! Cut off his limbs!" He screeched.
One of them immediately charged me with his sword tip pointed towards my chest.
I got to a low crouch and slid forward, deflecting his blade to the side with a rod before thrusting the other one in between his legs.
There was a soft 'crack' and I could sense every other man in the room wince and close their legs together from the sight.
I rose up to my feet and smacked the guard's chin with a stick, hard enough to knock a few of his teeth out and leaving him unconscious on the ground.
Another tried to charge at me while swinging his blade at my outstretched arm.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of his buddies charging up a bolt of electricity in his palm as well.
I blocked the first guy's sword with my other stick before flicking my wrist to throw the metal stick in between myself and the lightning guy.
Just as the lightning was discharged from the guard, I pushed the first guy's sword towards my airborne stick and hopped away.
The lightning bolt struck the metal rod before leaping towards the next nearest object, which just so happens to be the outstretched sword.
The guard screamed as the lightning coursed through his body, his entire body spasming before dropping down on the floor, black smoke emitting from the cracks in his armour.
Four more to go.
The lightning guy tried to materialize another lightning bolt again, somehow convinced that doing the same thing would work.
Kicking up the still smoking guard's sword, I tossed it at him with full strength.
He reacted quick enough by bringing up his own sword to deflect the projectile away, but he was definitely not prepared for me rushing in to close the distance, picking up my discarded stick on the way.
I jabbed one into his abdomen, caving in his armour and knocking the wind out of him.
The other one was swung in an arc to smack into his head, sending him crashing onto the ground with a bloody nose. Down, but still not out.
I spun around just in time to dodge another guard's slash, his sword shrouded in burning hot flames.
I did not miss the opportunity to jab my fingers into his unprotected eyes.
The man screamed bloody murder as he stumbled back away from me, giving me the time I needed to kick at the lightning guard's head while he was trying to push himself off the ground.
He collapsed again and this time remained down.
I turned back around to deliver a flurry of blows to the guard that was still screaming about his eyes being poked, denting his helmet in and smacking him away with enough force that he was sent airborne to crash at the plumed helmet guard's feet.
The last guard actually tried to make a run for the door, so all I needed to do was to pick up a sword to toss it at his back, impaling the blade through the back of his knee where it was unarmoured.
That quickly dropped him and he could do nothing but roll around while screaming on the ground.
The plumed helmet guy had his sword out as a barrier in between us, "Who… Who are you?!"
Ignoring his question, I stepped over his fallen comrades and picked up a piece of bread from the basket to bite into, making a show of chewing it slowly in front of him.
"My offer still stands," I said after swallowing. "Get me what I want and I won't stuff that sword of yours up your ass. Oh, and bring some tea as well."
The guy looked at his subordinates who were either unconscious or moaning on the ground before looking back at me.
"If you want to know how defecating sideways feels like for the next few weeks, feel free to come at me," I challenged.
He made the smart choice of dropping his weapon, "I… I'll get it… Please don't…. Please don't kill us…"
I pointed at the door and he got the message, running out at full speed to fulfill my order.
"B… Boss… Are we not going to run?" One of the prisoners asked.
I raised an eyebrow at him, "And what? Fight the rest of them on our way out? You guys strong enough for that?"
"N… No…"
"Thought so. Just eat the bread and stay out of trouble."
"Y… Yes, boss…"
Well, with this little event, that guard would most likely report to his superior about me. That would definitely get someone important to come find me to figure out who I am.
And when they take me away to interrogate me… Well, I'll just do a switcharoo and interrogate them instead.
Why bother sneaking out to find them when they can come and find me, right? Heh heh heh.