Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

Gripping the odachi firmly with both hands, Zaroth twisted his body to the side, making use of the momentum and swung vertically, making use of gravity as well. He was aiming for the shoulder of the man in front of him that was too slow to react.

'If I manage to cut halfway through his shoulder, I'll be satisfied with the weapon's sharpness,' he thought, considering that his opponent was wearing leather armor. Zaroth knew realistically that he wouldn't be able to sever the man's arm entirely in one strike.

After all, he lacked both the raw power nor the technique for such a thing.

His odachi split the air upon its path and then collided with the man's shoulder. In the blink of an eye, the odachi passed cleanly through it and severed the man's arm.

Zaroth's eyes widened behind the mask as his smile got even wilder.

'I was not expecting for the weapon to be this effective!' he thought.

This wasn't everything, however, as the man that had just lost his arm couldn't even scream in pain as the veins under his skin changed color, going from bluish to green. Hellweaver's poison had taken hold as well.

Blood spilled not only from the severed arm but from the man's mouth and eyes as well. His muscles convulsed, unable to move, as his heart felt like it was about to stop—this was how powerful the poison was. His vision darkened, and his senses began to dull, as death was approaching him.

Wanting to make sure that he was dead, Zaroth did not hesitate and drove his odachi right through the man's heart, killing him on the spot.

Silence befell in the vicinity as the other bandits had trouble registering that one of their partners in crime had been killed this easily.

"It was so easy…" Zaroth exclaimed his eyes narrowing, glowing green as they shifted to the next target. "It was so easy that I might not even need to summon anyone!"

Driving his foot into the ground so hard that he cracked it, Zaroth was already upon his next enemy.

This time his enemy was able to react as he raised his great axe, trying to block the attack.

"Let's test this weapon's sharpness to the limit!" Zaroth, unfazed, shouted, trying to get past the weapon.

In a single flash, the axe—and the man's head—were both split in two.

With a heavy thud, the beheaded corpse fell upon the ground.

"...Torin," Zaroth muttered as he gazed at the weapon in his hands, "It's… it's… PERFECT!"

There was doubt in Zaroth's mind when he got the weapon. Sure, it was great, but how great could it be? Based on Torin's words, it was far from being the best one or being classified as a relic.

But this was the sharpest, most deadly blade Zaroth had ever wielded.

"This was money well spent!" he roared, jumping against the rest of the bandits.

The battle didn't even last a minute. All of the men tried to attack together, but before Zaroth and his new weapon, it was all useless. It was not only unbreakable, but it was able to sever past their weapons and armour in a single flash.

Some tried to flee in fear and desperation, but they were quickly ambushed by one of Zaroth's beasts.

At the end, all but a single one of the bandits remained. He had dropped his weapon and was bowing low with his head pressed to the ground.

"Please spare me! Whatever you want I will give it to you! Women, money, anything!" he pleaded.

Zaroth scoffed as he took a few steps closer. "From what I heard, there is a city nearby that is very famous with their slave market, and apparently there is an elf for sale as well."

Upon hearing Zaroth's words, a spark ignited in the bandit's eyes.

'I see! So he is that kind of man. That must mean that as long as I give him what he wants, he will let me go!' he thought.

"Yes, that is right. It's in this direction!" the bandit pointed with his finger. "It's quite close, about fifteen more kilometers. And about the elf you mentioned, she is indeed for sale, but no one can afford her, as she is simply too expensive."

The bandit made his voice a bit lower for the next part.

"But you see, our boss, the founder of the Outlaws, has recently made his way into the Crimson Sun Council. With that comes financial benefits, and he is rumoured to be soon going to buy her."

Zaroth scratched the back of his head.

'So that means I should hurry up,' he thought.

"Is there any kind of verification system for entering the city?" he asked.

The bandit scoffed. "Verification system for a city that bases its economy on slave trading? There is no such thing. The only thing you are required is to pay an entrance fee and prove that you have no criminal record. The procedure would take a few days, though."

Zaroth couldn't help but grimace behind the mask. "But I don't have the time to be waiting a few days. Is there no way to skip it?"

The bandit smiled, forgetting the fear he was feeling a few moments ago. "There is, actually. If you have a slave, then you are permitted to enter without paying a fee or being stopped. No questions asked."

Walking over to one of the corpses he had killed, Zaroth picked up a dagger. It was rusty and old, but it was going to do the job.

"That sounds good to me."

"I know, right?!" the bandit exclaimed. "And if you are in need of a slave, I know a place where they keep a few women locked up, and don't worry about the moral side of things—they are from the Draconian Empire. As such, they should be happy to be of ser—"

"No. I have one right here," Zaroth explained as he stopped just before the bandit.

He hit him in the stomach, which made the bandit open his mouth in pain. Not missing the chance, Zaroth reached out and grabbed his tongue, then using the rusty dagger he just picked up, he severed the tongue of the man.

The bandit's eyes widened due to the unexpected pain. He tried to break free, but Zaroth did not let him.

"Now, now, we don't want you to die of blood loss, do we?" Opening his palm, he used Fireball. He held back his strength, making it small enough to just stop the bleeding and not hurt his insides.

Letting go, the bandit collapsed on the ground, screaming in pain. He tried to form a few curses, but with his tongue missing, he wasn't able to speak.

"Good. Now you can't speak, meaning you can't annoy me or spill the beans. But from the way you spoke of the city, you must be regular, and I can't be taking the risk for you to be recognized."

With a kick, Zaroth flipped the man on his back and then stomped on his stomach, preventing him from turning over.

Holding his palm near the man's face, he warned, "Stop struggling. It'll hurt more if you don't."

The fireball hit the bandit's face, scorching his face,

"AAAAAA!" the man cried from the pain he was feeling.

"You are annoying," Zaroth complained as he hit him on the head so hard he passed out.

Then, after a few minutes of searching the corpses, Zaroth found what he was looking for.

"I knew these pigs would have slave chains," he muttered as he picked them up and used them on the unconscious man.

He brushed his hands off against each other as he gazed at his new slave. His tongue was missing, so he would not be able to spill the beans, and his face was badly damaged from the fireball, making him unrecognizable even to his own mother.

"But if there is a bounty for my head, then I have to change my attire," Zaroth scratched his chin.

Throwing a quick glance at the bodies, he smiled. "Well, I am sure they will not mind if I make use of their clothes. It is not like they will need them anyway."

Dressed now like a bandit and with a "slave" in tow, Zaroth was ready to visit the so-called slave city.