2025-09-04 04:54:22The two men dressed in suits stepped wearily into the room and glanced at the two security guards and then at David towering over the manager.
“Umm, sir… would you kindly let my manager up?”
David glared at the manager and slapped him hard again, for good measure, as he turned to greet the two newcomers.
The manager crumpled to the ground from the force of the blow and didn’t bother to try to get up.
“That was uncalled for, but, seeing that my security team is just standing there, perhaps it was justified? Care to share your side?” the bank president asked.
“Your branch manager accused me of theft and then broke my phone and tried to slap me. I have delt with him in kind. Bank president, I just want some cash from my account and to be on my way.”
“I see. And why did such a request cause such a fuss?” the bank president asked, looking at his manager.
The manager just flicked David’s black gold card at the bank president who caught it deftly.
“You presented this card?” the President asked David.
“I did.” David replied, before turning to the Mayor.
“Mayor, the Governor called you. He must think you can solve this. I believe I recognize you. Were you stationed at a military post about ten years ago?”
The City Mayor perked up, “Yes, I was. I was the logistics officer for the outpost at Mastings. Were you there as well?”
“Only briefly.” David replied. “Mayor, your name would be Lieutenant Hadley, wouldn’t it?”
“Mayor Hadley now, sir. I am sorry, you have the better of me. What is your name, soldier?”
“My name is one you should remember well in the future. David.”
“And your last name?” the Mayor asked, still not making the connection.
“The existence of my black gold card should be all you need to know.”
The President and Mayor both looked at each other confused.
Dead silence permeated the room. The guards just scratched their heads, clearly unsure if they should be impressed or not. The bank manager was also clearly unsure of what to do with the information.
However, the Mayor’s face drained of color. “Black gold… Imperial treasury issue! My Lord!” and he dropped to his knees, planting his face into the tile, completely prostate.
“Get up man, I am no Lord. You are embarrassing yourself. Just take care of things so I don’t have to be bothered.” David said.
The mayor slowly stood and looked at the men around him. They were all looking at his curious behavior and frowning.
“Quit staring! Do as the VIP requested!” the Mayor snapped.
“VIP? But he is a bum!” the Manager croaked.
The mayor slapped the man hard and shouted “A bum today, the Emperor’s guest tomorrow!”
David frowned at the commotion, “Enough. All I want is 100 dret, and to get some food. Can we make that happen? Preferably before the afternoon is gone.”
The mayor bowed, “Mr.- ah.. right. Mr. David, let me take you to lunch. Bank President, if this man needs anything, make it happen.”
David appreciated the Mayor’s attempt to conceal what he knew of David’s identity. While he would reveal himself in time, such revelations now could be counterproductive to his goals.
David snorted, “If I have things to do in this city, I doubt I will do business with them. There are other banks around.”
With that, David ignored the others and headed for the door. “Mayor, lunch sounds great.”
After David left the room the bank president looked at the Mayor, “Who was that?”
“A god of wealth. Should an opportunity ever come again, don’t be so short sighted to slap such a man. That one could buy the whole city with his pocket money. All he asked for was a 100 dret and your man there tried to slap him for it. Be glad he spared your life after such an insult.” The Mayor said before turning to hurry after David.
As David and the Mayor left, David shook his head subconsciously as the bank manager was tossed out of the building by security.
“Where would you like to eat, General?” the Mayor asked, ignoring the commotion.
“Out here, its just David. No one needs to know who I am and its likely better if they don’t. As for food, lets see what is down that street.” David said, pointing to a lower class district not far away.
The mayor followed David but frowned as the transition between the upper class district and the cheap side of town became more and more stark.
“You sure you want to eat… here?” Mayor Hadley asked. “I would be happy to take you to the Golden Palace or any of our finest clubs.
David shook his head and walked into a small noodle shop. “Here is fine.”
They sat and were soon served bowls of noodles and David quickly began enjoying the meal. While the shop was a bit run down and was only big enough for eight tables, the food was amazing. Even some of the food he had eaten in the Imperial capital couldn’t compare to the flavors this simple shop managed.
Mayor Hadley just stared dumbly at the bowl before him and didn’t eat. He kept glancing around, then pulled out a small bottle of sanitizer and cleaned his hands.
“So, what brings you to my city?”
“Change,” David said simply between bites.
“Change? Ordered from the above?” the Mayor asked with a gulp.
“I am the above, Hadley. In this, my word is law. Change is coming.”
“Right, of course. What kind of change exactly?”
“For one, you are going to invest more in this part of town. If even your sorry self, supposedly elected by these people, cannot bring yourself to visit, then things need to change. More investment, more attention given to these people.”
“I see. Umm, that is a noble cause, but… not so easy to do. The Lu family for one, might disagree, and then there are many other interests in the area. The crimson blades are ruthless and I have yet to even begin to deal with the other powers in town.”
“Mayor Hadley, how long have you been Mayor?”
“Five years,” Hadley said proudly.
“Then you have five months.”
“Five months? To do what exactly?”
“To establish order. Over the next five months, I expect you to have investigated and collected enough information on every underworld agent in the whole area. In five months, a thunder order will fall on this city and wipe the filth from the streets. You had best be ready, or I will see that you are wiped away with it.”
The check arrived and Hadley placed his own card on the tray. David grabbed it and added a tip before handing it to the waiter.
“Tips are not customary… you know this right?”
“When I eat, I will bless the people.”
The Mayor frowned, thinking that it was rather rich of David to pay a tip with HIS card.
The waiter returned and bowed to both men, “Thank you, good sirs. My family will eat well this month. Thank you.”
The Mayor had a confused look on his face until he saw the receipt, then he frowned at David.
“A 500 Dret tip on a 20 Dret meal? Really?”
“Consider it a contribution back to your constituents. Who knows, such kindness might actually get you reelected instead of swept under with the rest of the trash.”
Previous Chapter
Latest Chapter
Chapter 11
In one of the of the alcoves, David found a desk with a single sheet of ancient paper set out as if on display.“The way is closed. The brothers passed through, the way I will guard. The caves could not sustain us, so they made the ultimate sacrifice, to guard from within the forest of night. May the new fortress stand the test of time.”Damn. This ancient order must have abandoned this cave and opted to live within the fae lands, establishing a foothold there. If they could survive there, they would slowly become like the fae, bound by the same laws, but also subject to the harshest conditions.David quickly looked through the rest of the alcoves for anything useful. In one, he found a shelf with a thick well-preserved tome. He tucked it into his pack and then grabbed a few boards that made up what was left of a bed.He hurried back to the women and found Nyx hovering over Hailey.“You didn’t kill them?” he asked in s
Chapter 10
"That's not how this works and you know it." Having worked with Nyx for years, David was all too familiar with the tales of fae who were prone to lust, bearing a libido to rival the gods of old. Such a charming body had its dangers to those who dared to take the fae at face-value, and the gods could only set restrictions upon the fae so that they could not engage with mortals without bargaining first.That is, unless a mortal was foolish enough to follow them back to their home realm, where mortals were subject to fae law, instead of the other way around.Nyx paused in her movements, teasing David to a new level of desperate frustration. She waited until another growl escaped his throat before compromising with a smiling voice, "Fine, a soul of your choosing.""Hah, there will be no mortals left by the time you are sated. How about a favor instead? To be later determined." David felt that there was no reason to grant so many souls to this sly demon just for a night of pleasure. Certai
Chapter 9
“Look at this. You know what we suspected before that there was more to it. Now look at it and consider the angles.”Nyx looked down at the sheet, her chin resting on his shoulder. “Looks the same to me. Besides, mortal necks break easy enough with enough force. Why are you so obsessed over this one sheet? You have studied it for years. I am bored looking at it.”“Then, find me a new one and we can study that,” David retorted. In truth, the imperial scribes had speculated that there had once been twelve such sheets. However, they belonged to the fae realm and only after some mad men had stolen six from a fae lord had they come into the mortal world. The only one still known was now in his hands, passed down from the Imperial scribes to him when he claimed the title of God of War.While many of the Imperial army’s top fighters had studied this sheet, he had been the first to see and understand a second level of meaning. This was no simple punch, but one that had allowed him to shatter
Chapter 8
A few hours later, David sat alone next to a fire just outside the cave. He reached into his pack and pulled out a thin square of dark wood that was polished to perfection.Tiny hinges opened silently, revealing a single page of crinkled parchment with the look and feel of an age many centuries past.Upon the sheet were drawings of a punch, drawn six times on the front and six more times on the back, each a slow progression through the single move.As David studied this paper for the hundred thousandth time since he had first seen it many years past, the images seemed to come alive in his mind. However, today was different.Hailey and Kat had shown him something he had never fully considered before. The leverage and angles used in rock climbing had similar effects in martial fighting. Pressure applied to the right spot at the right angle could have devastating effects.By the age of 16, he had already mastered much of what this single sheet could offer. While his punch was already str
Chapter 7
David didn’t miss the not so subtle suggestive tone from Hailey and winked at her as he slipped on the harness and tightened the waist band.“Good?”“Ah, let me.” Hailey squatted down and ran her fingers under the thigh straps, checking the tightness and then began pulling on the strap to tighten each leg loop. The back of her hand gently brushed his sensitive parts and he subconsciously flinched.She tugged on his shorts playfully but David had to admit she had managed to unhunch the pants and make everything fit in the harness more comfortably.“There. Don’t want you falling out of the harness half way up.” She then passed him a pair of special climbing shoes with a curved sole made of a rubber that could mold to and grip even tiny ridges in the natural rock.“These are too tight.” David said, disappointed in Jack.“Do your feet fit?”“I mean sorta. Its super tight though. My toes are all squished up” David said.“Then they are just right,” said Kat as she strapped herself and the a
Chapter 6
As the sun lifted, David set about the task of his morning training routine. Here in the forest, he was able to take some of his practice to new levels by using dead or dying trees as punching targets.Most of the dead trunks would submit after three or four massive blows from his gloved hands. With each trunk, David continued to pound until he had a stack of half meter logs.While an ax would have worked fine, David relished the physical exertion and power he felt from smashing thought the trunks. He took some time to stack the wood along the entrance wall of the cave. Even after he left, there would likely be wood for the next camper to come through, or if he chose to stay here for a while, it would remain out of the rain or morning dew.As mid-morning approached, voices began drifting down from the summit of the water fall. People were arriving at the overlook and enjoying the view from the top. After another half hour, David heard voices coming down the trail.He was curious about
You may also like
Demons Battle
Princez15.2K viewsInto The Unknown World
Einvee14.7K viewsMultiverse Fighting Championship: I'm the President
Namazu12.5K viewsAn Important Villain
P. Artim25.8K viewsThe Healer’s Ascension
Pheel-Grip356 viewsEvolving Infinitely From An E-Class Hero
Tenzen273 viewsThe Return of Jason Hilton
Eg. Martina401 viewsJourney Of The Elemental Master
RnD838 views