Rise of the Godking - Chapter 76

As the blood flowed from all the holes in Harrold's body, Daneel felt squeamish despite himself.

It wasn't a pleasant sight, by any means, and logic should usually have dictated that he should have felt nothing as he had been part of carnage many times gorier… but for some reason, the master's body made him uncomfortable.

'Is it because he was the father of the original owner of his body? Or is it simply because… the objective was to show me what is waiting if I mess up?'

Just because he had been at the peak of power for years from where he was from didn't mean that he was immune from detecting danger when it was present. In fact, it was this very caution that had saved his life multiple times, and because it was telling him now not to take these enemies seriously, he trusted it, and resolved to keep the threat that they represented in his mind firmly until he found a way to deal with them.

Being cautious was one thing, though, and being afraid was another. With everything he was capable of… fear was something that would require a threat much, much, much greater than what the kid and his guard represented.

After all, he had the system, he had his family whom he would find, he had the Will of the town at his fingertips, and he even had a few plans he had made before leaving his home that might mean that all of his prowess on that land might not go to waste even though he was so far away from it.

Raising his head, he saw the people shuffling their feet nervously, staring at the man who had commanded their lives for so long. At first, his instinct was to directly give a speech to wipe away the memory of what had just happened… but getting a hunch, he asked the system, "Are they still closed by?"

[Scanning. No signs found in host's senses. Performing deeper scan. Scanning light waves falling from above. Slight discrepancy found. The discrepancy matches the presence of two individuals in the sky.]



'Ah… those sneaky bastards.'

It was obvious now that they were waiting for him to probably say something negative about them, or perhaps even show signs of not sticking to the agreement. It was possible that they might have a method to record what he did, and show it as proof later after they had their share of 'fun'… so there was no way that Daneel would give them what they wanted.

Clearing his throat, he made the town fall silent. Raising his hands, he spoke again, and this time, even though his tone didn't contain the fervor from before, there was a calm assuredness that suffused the air and made many of the faces watching him go tranquil.

Daneel kicked the body, and many smiles erupted in the crowd.

"Go home, everyone. For now, all the slaves do not need to go back to the Pit: stay here, in many of the noble's houses which have become empty due to… well, 'unforeseen circumstances'. We can look to the future together, after we have recovered from these traumatic happenings. I shall speak to you soon, once again. But for now… farewell."

Daneel remained standing with his hands behind his back, an easy smile on his face that he hoped would build confidence in those looking at him. It worked in the case of many, with almost half the townspeople already beginning to turn around while muttering between themselves without the fear that had arisen in them due to the actions of the newcomers.

But in the other half… some did not seem content. Daneel watched them, waiting for one or more to give in to their feelings… and finally, it happened. 

"Why should we listen to you? Until a few hours ago, you were still a slave!" 

Heads turned. Eyes settled on to the speaker, who happened to be the old man whose house Daneel had gone to in the Courtyard.

Daneel didn't say anything. His smile merely broadened… and without using even an ounce of energy, he walked forward, his footsteps making a dull sound that echoed in the silent surroundings.

More and more people turned to the old man, who gulped and slowly began to lower the hand he had raised to point at Daneel. Not a smidgen of the aura that he had used to help him until then was employed… but just with his calm footsteps, his domineering smile, the undefeated set of his shoulders and the support of the people all around for whom liberty had been granted due to his work, he managed to cow the man who looked down, abashed, his wrinkled cheeks burning and his eyes darting desperately around, as if looking for an avenue to escape.

Daneel reached the spot right in front of him, making it so that his eyes fell upon his feet which had entered his vision. With no other option, the old man looked up, and the moment he met Daneel's gaze, he wilted like a plant that had not been watered in weeks.

He stammered, and seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Daneel could have left it there… but all around, he could feel a few gazes that still held an ounce of the same haughty defiance that the old man had given voice to.

So, he spoke, and his voice reverberated throughout the area and up into the sky, to be heard by those watching.

"I am Daniel Jerrock. That surname was a curse until now… but with me at its head, it shall be the blessing that will transform this hellhole into a heaven that people will one day flock to. My ambitions are in the sky, while my feet are firmly grounded in the earth. All of you are my people. My family. My brothers and sisters, fathers, and mothers, whom I will help… even if you don't want me to. For too long have you languished because there was no one with the firm, iron hand of a leader to give you what you deserve. I have come to take up that mantle. If anyone else has a problem with that… speak now, or forever hold your peace."

The seconds passed. Tick, tock, tick, tock… the ticking of the clock set in one of the houses near the clearing was the only thing that was heard as the people all looked around, daring anyone else to open their mouth. The sentiment was mostly shown by the slaves and those from the Refinery, and even the former, the most fervent ones were those whom Daneel remembered seeing before giving himself up to the fury of the Will.

"That's what I thought."

Saying so, he walked away, heading to his previous residence while the old man whose eyes he had held until now like the Reaper come to take him away promptly fainted, and was stepped around as the rest of the people left, too.

Daneel knew for a fact that all of these people didn't have any reason to be as loyal to him as the Lanthanorians whose hearts he had truly won on that fateful day on Angaria when he had been crowned king, but right now, he was certain that he had a modicum of trust that he had to nourish and grow with time. His thoughts mainly on the ominous warning of that kid, Daneel reached Harrold's residence… and found a man-sized hole in the metal doors.

Shaking his head, he stepped through it to find the entire place in tatters. Clearly, that guard that had been call 'Bongo' had gone on a smashing spree… but at the moment, Daneel didn't really care.

In the thrill of the situation so far, he hadn't really felt anything else… but now, he saw that a deep-seated exhaustion that had only been forced back a bit by his nap before was present throughout his body, calling to him, pulling to him like a lover separated for months. He wished that he could give in…but at the moment, he wanted to remain awake due to the dim chance that anyone who still wanted to resist might show up now, to target him when he might be vulnerable.

Deciding to wait for a few hours, he reached Harrold's study, which was the only place that had been untouched as it was at the very back of the mansion. It had a large table enough to seat ten in the middle with only one chair behind it, and on both sides of the small room, bookcases that reached the ceiling were present.

Daneel was looking forward to flipping through them and feeling their data to the system. But at the moment, he just wanted to sit, so he did.

Taking a deep breath, he saw that one saga of his journey in the Mainland had ended, and it was time for another to begin. His body wished otherwise… but still, every second was precious, and he had a lot to do.

His old friend seemed to sense his thoughts. As if to perk him up, it sent him a message… and hearing it, Daneel couldn't stop a grin from almost splitting his face in half.

[Situation analysis completed.

Kingdom Building Module has been reactivated for use.

Population: 3,452

'Satisfaction Level' criteria has been scrapped due to its current irrelevance. Host is requested to add new criteria for Kingdom Management.

Macro Mission of system has changed. Route to next system upgrade has also been established. 'Mission Mode' now available for use, if host wishes for incremental unlock in system's undiscovered abilities.]