Epic Of The Demonic Sage

Lucius knew that promises about the positive changes of the land of Etara were not enough to sway the minds of Gellor and his mercenary group.

At the end of the day, they were all still mercenaries and were doing things out of their personal gain too.

That was why he ended his speech with promises of what they could get, to tempt them to join… and it worked out perfectly.

Everyone from Albus all the way to Gellor, found their hearts pounding with what the young Lord Asher Inanis said to them.

Each one of them had their thoughts filled with what Lucius whispered almost devilishly into their minds and spirit.

'Lord Asher has incredible ambitions and goals, and more importantly, he's capable of doing them. Why shouldn't I join this opportunity?'

'Why shouldn't I follow someone who can lead with this fiery passion and solid goals? He's a true leader. It'd be stupid to back out from this when the future that he's describing is something I can almost see for myself?'

'Rise from our current station? Right now, we're good mercenaries, but maybe with Lord Asher's command, we'll find ourselves becoming into something as renowned as the Bergan's Band? Something better?'

'He's already done incredible things for the city of Inanis, and who knows what more he can do? Being able to contribute to that, and changing the future? I never thought that I'd be given such an opportunity to change things.'

'I thought that I'd be content just to finish missions with my team, get enough money and call it a day… but Lord Asher is promising us to be greater than what we are now. I… I want to be that person too.'

Lucius saw the expression on each of their faces and knew that they were immensely close to signing away their lives to him, and it only needed one final push.

"If you find yourself convinced of my goals and ambitions… will you not give your word that you will join me?" Lucius asked.

"I will serve you, Lord Asher!" Albus declared, and quickly fell onto one knee.

Once one of the members in Gellor's team did it, it didn't take too long for everyone to follow suit and copy him.

Soon everyone was on their knees and was swearing their fealty to Lucius, voicing out their loyalty to him.

"So will I!"

"Me too! I wish to accept this opportunity, Lord Asher!"

"We would like to be used as your hand in changing the land of Etara, my lord!"

"It would be our honor to serve and fulfill your wishes."

Lucius nodded and approached them one by one, he had a devilish smile on his face, a certain glint in his eyes as he grasped the hand of Albus and cast the Mark of Obedience on him.

"Thank you, Lord Asher!" Albus said and bowed his head.

Lucius noticed that there was almost practically no pain at all.

And this would happen for Ariana, Finch, Barty and even Gellor as well.

Lucius was actually mildly curious if Gellor would subtly react once he cast the spell, but unlike with Hell Energy, the Necklace of the Damned powered up the Mark of Obedience with a completely different source.

Once he was all done, Lucius cleared his throat one more time and addressed Gellor and his mercenary group, his newly found obedient servants.

"Now that I have your word, I would also like to share something about myself that not many know." Lucius said. "I am sure that all of you are aware that I am known to be someone who is giftless."

"But you have accomplished so many things even without it, my lord!" Albus said. "If anything, it's a sign of your brilliance. Isn't that right, everyone?"

"O-of course. Lord Asher is incredible. Everyone here already knows that." Finch blushed and glared at Albus for speaking out of turn while Lord Asher was still speaking, but not all of them had the proper court manners around nobility.

"Forgive us for interrupting, Lord Asher." Gellor winced. "Please feel free to continue with what you were about to say, we're listening attentively, my lord."

Lucius nodded and everyone in Gellor's mercenary group looked relieved.

Even though the Mark of Obedience made one subservient to Lucius, it didn't necessarily change their personality that much and it reflected in their attitudes still remaining more or less the same.

"What Albus said is quite true, all of these things that I've accomplished is something that can be done even without any gifts… but the truth is that I actually have a gift as well." Lucius revealed.

There was a look of shock that spread across the faces of all the members in Gellor's team, but this time, they held back their surprised reactions and waited for Lord Asher to continue and see if he was going to share his gift.

While waiting, these people actually had a couple of thoughts about this sudden revelation.

'The reason why Lord Asher is giftless is because he was unable to inherit the Epic rank gift that was passed down from the Inanis clan. Was that actually just a ruse?'

'Wait… what if the reason why Lord Asher decided to hide his gift from everyone is because it's something that's too common, unlike the Count's? We need to keep our reactions careful. We don't want to offend Lord Asher unknowingly if that is the case.'

'I heard that some people don't really reveal their gifts, but to think that Lord Asher has been hiding his gift this entire time?! Didn't he face some gossips from the noble circles because he didn't have one? How was he able to endure all of that treatment before… his gift must be something special if he was able to keep it to himself?'

Lucius watched their reactions and knew that all of them had different thoughts about his revelation, and they would only end up even more surprised.

"The reason why I've hidden it is simple, it is a great gift unlike any other."