(MC POV)
We encountered another two more of those bandit groups before they finally ran out of people to throw at us.
That's almost a hundred different people we had to deal with, this guy must be really desperate to get us... Was he on the verge of bankruptcy or something? Otherwise I don't understand why he would send this many pests to disturb us.
When we reached the gates of the town, I thought our troubles with the bandits had ended but boy was I mistaken.
When we tried to enter the town, the guards at the gate demanded to do a thorough search of us if we wanted to gain entry. It was obvious they were specifically targeting us when they didn't even bother to check the other people moving in and out of the town and allowed them to pass through unmolested.
None of the passers-by even paid us any mind as though this was something they have seen one too many times, which may very well be what's going on here.
At first I thought they simply wanted to inconvenience us which wasn't really a big deal, just let them sift through our carriage and then we can move on. But then they got us to line up by the roadside and ordered a strip search of my girls.
Yeah, not going to happen buddy, not on my watch.
Obviously I tried the diplomatic approach first by asking the guards, "I'm going to pay you ten dollars to fuck off."
"Huh? Dollars? What the hell are you saying? Are you crazy?" The guard retorted.
"Oh, my bad, I meant ten silvers."
"Ha? You trying to bribe us? Dream on kid, we're telling the girls to strip and they have to strip!"
Well I tried.
I sighed, "Alright… You guys can go away now, we're not entering your stupid town anymore so you can stop the search. Let's go, everyone."
"Hold it," the guard called out, stepping in front of me to block my way. "You think this is some kind of roadside stall where you can come and go as you please?"
"No, I'm obviously at a circus because I'm clearly talking to a bunch of clowns right now."
Their expressions turned into one of anger which was made worse by the fact that my disciples started giggling behind me.
I waved my hand in a shooing motion, "Now can you please step aside? You're only checking people who are entering or leaving the town and since we are neither, there's no need for us to be searched."
The guard recovered his wits, "Hmph! The fact that you're trying to run makes you look suspicious! You must be carrying illegal goods so we must search you in the name of the king!"
"Oh really? What kind of illegal goods are you suspecting me of carrying might I ask? Last I checked, pretty much everything is legal here."
"That's exactly why we need to search you to find out, now step back in line."
I crossed my arms, "And what are you going to do if I don't do as you say?"
The guards pulled out their swords threateningly, "Then I guess we might need to break some things to get you to cooperate. You wouldn't want that now, do you?"
I feel like those standard villains saying this line but…
I cleared my throat, "Do you know who I am?"
He sneered at me, "Ha? We don't care how important you think you are back in your little country, but here you have to play by our rules. So shut up, get in line and we'll do a strip search on all of you."
"Are you sure you can bear the consequences of doing such a thing?"
"Why are you so noisy? Over here I'm the boss! Anyone who wants to come through this gate has to listen to what I say!"
Oho, so impressive, we have a big boy here! Let's clap for him! Clap, clap!
Ahem…
Fine, let's see how much gold I have to throw at them to get them to bend over backwards for us.
I was just about to materialise my coin pouch when one of the guards stepped forward and grabbed the collar of Lian Li's shirt, his hand pulling back in an attempt to tear the fabric off her body.
His hand only managed to travel a millimetre before a loud crunch reverberated through the air, the guard needing another second to register the pain and falling backwards while clutching his broken wrist.
"Arrghh!! My hand! My hand!! My haaaaand!!" He screamed.
So dramatic… It's just a snapped wrist, no need to scream so loud.
The alternative to that was my protection inscription activating and sending you directly into the Abyss to suffer for the next thousand years, so chill.
"My dear disciples…" I whispered, though loud enough for all of them to hear. "There will always be idiots in existence where talking to them has no use. Though you may possess powers above them, always remember to maintain your own dignity and never to sink to their level. Otherwise, you'll just be the same as them."
Manami tilted her head, "Ara? Are we not supposed to punish these people then, Master?"
I shook my head, "On the contrary actually. You punish them in a way befitting of yourself."
The guards finally recovered from their shock of seeing their co-worker's hand being broken right in front of them.
"How dare you?! I'll kill--"
I slapped him across the face with the back of my hand, "Silence you mutt, I did not allow you to speak."
I heard several gasps coming from behind me but I did not turn around to see who made those sounds since I'm not making a nice face right now.
The guard glared at me, "You… You slapped me?! You dare slap me?!"
I slapped him on his other cheek, "I dare and I did it again. What are you going to do about it?"
"You're finished! We'll kill--"
I slapped him again, this time hard enough to dislodge several of his teeth from his mouth.
"Wargh… Wargh argh yough waightin' forh? Kwill hwim!!" He shouted while pointing at me.
The other guards only managed to take a single step before all of them were smashed face first into the ground, the increase in gravity not allowing them to even lift a finger. The only one unaffected was the trash I slapped who was now backing away from me slowly.
"Waight.. Yough can't doh anyfing to meh! Aym teh 'ead guard ofgh dis citee!" He mumbled incoherently.
I materialised a handkerchief from my storage ring and wiped at the hand I used to slap this little trash with, making sure to maintain my posture of civility.
"You gave me an ultimatum of letting you search me or get hurt hmm? Well here's my ultimatum for you… You and your mates strip yourselves and run around the city twice, then I won't break your limbs and burn down every single material possession you own. Fair?"
"Yough… Yough can't!"
I raised an eyebrow, "You want to try me?"
He was now shivering in fear and it looked like he was even considering to do it when a voice shouted out from the gate.
"What the hell is going on here?!"