Chapter 25 Devil
Before Alex gave a quick beatdown.
"Dhairya, are you really not helping the kid? He is being ganged up on by kids from our tribe." An elder from the woodland tribe's side said. He was the head of the caravan from the woodland tribe. His name was Thadi.
Like Dhairya, he brought the newly awakened kids to travel to the city to let them gain experience. His goal was to teach them how the world works.
But before he could do that, they were already making an enemy out of the kid of the stone head tribe. Yet he didn't move to prevent the kids from acting improperly.
"Don't worry about Meru. He can handle himself. I feel sorry for the other brats." Dhairya replied.
"What do mean? Do you really think he is stronger than the four of them?" Thadi inquired.
"Yes."
"If it really came to a fight between the kids. Can he really beat them?"
"Yes, of course."
Thadi didn't know where Dhairya's confidence was coming from. With a single glance, he knew that kid awakened just days ago. Alex or Meru as he knew was a chick that just hatched from an egg.
How strong can he be? Thadi doubted.
So, he too stood on the sidelines not interfering with the antics of the kids. He wanted to see for himself how strong Meru was.
"By the way, if you really want to, you can save your brats right now." Dhairya gave a friendly warning to Thadi.
"How can I if you are not interfering? Let the kids take care of themselves."
They both stood still nearby watching the kids.
"Ah! Sorry. I forgot to tell you. Do you know who killed the alpha wolf, the magic beast?" Dhairya said proudly.
"Who?"
"He." Dhairya grinned smugly before pointing at Meru.
"Thuck, thuck, thuck, thuck." Sound of something falling brought back Thadi from his astonishment. He was unwilling to believe that a kid killed a magic beast.
Any magic beast was generally stronger than humans who could do full body enhancement. And yet, Dhairya was saying that kid who just awakened killed a magic beast.
This meant that the kid was horrifyingly talented.
Thadi, looked towards the kids once he realised that. As he thought, the kids from the woodland tribe were neatly arranged like fish left to dry in sun. They were all unconscious. They stood no chance against Meru.
Now he knew where Dhairya's confidence came from. The kid was just too strong for his generation.
"Is he the strongest from the younger generation?" Thadi asked bewildered.
"No, he is not."
Watching Dhairya who wore a smug smile on his face, Thadi wanted to give a beating to him. However, he could not. That old man was older and even stronger than he was.
He stood no chance against him either.
"Are you saying there are more monsters like that in your tribe? This time around, you are really blessed by the stone giant. His talent might be comparable to the kids from nine major tribes."
"Haha, I know." That's exactly why Dhairya brought Alex along.
"Don't be too overjoyed. You need to train him properly to let him achieve his full potential. It would be a pity to not use his talent to its fullest. It has been so long since someone who can fully exhibit the strength of the spirit guardian was born. If you think you can't do that, just send him to our tribe. We will look after him." Thadi said playfully. He was mesmerised by Meru's strength.
"Sigh! That is the only problem. The kid was not blessed with the spirit guardian of our tribe. He has his father's bloodline. He is the son of Agni."
"Oh! It complicates the matter quite a bit. Does he emit red smoke like his father?"
"No, his ability is somehow different. And only he knows the full extent of his power. He has yet to share the details. Even if we are from the same tribe, we can't force him to reveal all his hidden cards. Keeping it a secret would be better. We don't want people to snoop. Agni had enough enemies as it is. We don't want them to go after the kid."
"Sure, it wouldn't do well for anyone. How about the strongest kid from your tribe? Is he in a similar situation?"
"No, he is the grandchild of the chief. We expect him to be strong. And yet, he went beyond all expectations by showing the ability to do full body enhancement the next day after awakening. He has tremendous talent."
"I am so jealous of your tribe's good luck. The young generation will soon surpass us. Sigh! You even have a talent that would most likely be able to fully summon the spirit guardian. Is this the rise of the Stone heads?"
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While Dhairya and Thadi conversed. Alex was looking at the unconscious kids.
'How should I wake them up? Should I use the traditional method or stuff some snow into their clothes? Ok, I will go with the traditional method.'
Stretching his fingers a little, he slapped the unconscious kids one by one.
Instantly, cupping their cheeks with their hand, the kids woke up one by one.
"Who! You! Who!" An angry scream of the leader resounded throughout the environment.
"You, What?" Seeing Alex standing before him nonchalantly. The kid was shocked. No one came to rescue him even when he was knocked out.
Did the tribe abandon him, he thought? He was the grandson of the chief. Do they dare to abandon him? With tears in his eyes, he looked around seemingly asking for help with his eyes. But no one came to help him.
They had a disappointed look in their eyes.
"Now, I am going to ask you some questions. Answer them properly. If you make a mistake, I will roast you over the bonfire and feed you to your tribesmen."
When they saw Alex smiling. They felt death looming over their head.
'He is a devil.' They thought simultaneously. Only devils could say something so cruel. Afraid of angering Alex, they stood still, sitting on bare snow. Their asses were already cold and it was uncomfortable. Yet, they didn't move an inch, afraid that the devil will smack them once more.
"Now that you are ready, let me ask." Grabbing something from his backpack, Alex said. And soon the first question was said.
"Who is the president of the United States of America?" He asked nonchalantly. It was an out-of-the-world question, literally and figuratively, that they had no hope of answering correctly. Yet he asked it with a straight face.
"Uh!" They were stumped.
"You don't know."
"How unfortunate. Does any of you know? Lackeys and all." But no reply came.
"Who is the leader amongst you?" This spread panic in the group.
As soon as Alex asked that, the lackeys pointed to a kid. He was the same chatterbox that hoot-hooted a couple of moments ago. Alex knew he was the leader, but he asked nonetheless.
He gave the red chillies he grabbed from his backpack to the leader.
"You, eat this." He said with no room for rejection.
The kid who never saw the spice ate it as soon as it was offered. The reaction was instantaneous. He felt like a fire was lit inside his mouth. Tears flowed from his eyes and he looked at his lackeys.
It was an utter betrayal. They said he was the leader. They made him eat fiery spice.
He cried out in his mind.
Alex ignored the kid. Eating something spicy won't kill you.
"Now, for the next question. Who is the hottest among the K-pop girl group Red velvet? You need to think hard before answering" After that Alex waited.
"What? You don't know that either." Grabbing something from his backpack, he gave it to the four kids.
"You can give this to anyone in the group. Whoever receives it, should eat it," Alex said. Remembering the pain the leader experienced, they all were spooked. They wanted to quickly get rid of the thing they were given.
So, they handed it to the leader. They once again betrayed him. Now, he had four unknown red fruits, he had to eat.
Nonetheless, he swallowed them and gritted his teeth.
But the spicy pain he imagined never came. It was just cherry tomatoes. Not red chillies.
Even though it was the case, the betrayal of his friends struck him hard. Even though he considered eating it for everyone's sake. He was betrayed without a moment of thought.
Were they really his friends?' He thought doubting his existence. His eyes teared more than when he ate the chillies.
Watching this, Alex smiled.
The brats were trying to act as a group. But now, they could see their real face.
'How about trying one more thing?' He thought.
Alex quickly picked nine cherry tomatoes and nine spicy red chillies. He gave three to each lackey.
"Finally the last question. Are you a friend of this guy?" Pointing at the leader, he asked.
"If you are, you should eat them all. Or else, you only need to choose one to eat."
Alex really wanted to see what choice the kids would make.