The Natives of This World Are Fierce

For Baru, who had long been eager to show his skills and bring glory to the Silent Knight Order, this was the perfect chance to warm up.

Although he felt this group of scumbags wasn’t qualified to become true Knights, they would suffice as the association’s conventional armed force.

As for Blaise, he was the first disciple, after all. His fate was his own to make.

Not only was Qin Xiaoxia satisfied with having Baru manage this group of delinquents, but Baru himself was as well.

The self-generating Demon Moss was essentially "dander" from Mumu’s body. It mostly occurred in Tree Shepherds who had been covered in mossy substances before gaining consciousness. After they became Elves, this symbiotic material was activated by years of exposure to Magic Power, eventually becoming part of their skin. This thin layer possessed extreme elasticity and cohesiveness.

The only thing that struck Qin Xiaoxia as strange was that, according to Mumu, Tree Shepherds generally disliked this layer of moss. They always scrubbed it clean whenever it grew out. This was likely one of the few peculiar "neat-freak" tendencies of these Elves.

Due to its intimate, symbiotic relationship with Tree Shepherds, Mumu could still sense the Demon Moss even after it was detached. Infusing it with a trace of Magic Power during cultivation could even produce other effects.

It wasn’t just the perfect material for weight training; it could also serve as a special monitoring device.

...

At a little past four in the morning on the second day, thirty-two men were sprawled out on the soft sofas in the dance hall’s seating area, sleeping like the dead.

With a cigarette dangling from his lips, Baru gazed at the dim sky outside the vent and then glanced at his watch.

’These guys may be scumbags, but I have to admit, their physical conditioning is a cut above the average person. Last night was just a little welcome party to put them in their place.’

Fighting fire with fire was the method Baru knew best.

The secret investigation Norton had approved was for two weeks. When the time was up, he could either report that he found nothing or just hand over some random tidbit from the association. For now, however, he had at least ten days to leave a lasting impression on these assholes.

The thirty-two "dead dogs" were snoring away. Some ground their teeth, others scratched at itches, each one occupying a sofa, fast asleep.

Last night’s two-hour Demon Moss adaptation training had thoroughly wrecked them. Their stamina had been completely depleted within the first thirty minutes; they had survived the remaining hour and a half purely on willpower and the whip of fear.

Once that moss entered their bodies, it would actually drain their stamina in time with the Devil Instructor’s commands. Toward the end, even the simplest movement required every ounce of their strength.

However, the small berry each of them ate afterward was also magical. It quickly eased their aching muscles, allowing them to fall into a peaceful sleep.

THUMP... THUMP... THUMP...

The rhythmic thumping of Baru’s heavy leather boots echoed. He carried two enormous stainless steel buckets, one on each shoulder, filled with crushed ice.

With a shrug of his shoulders and a flick of his wrists, he sent a cascade of ice and near-freezing water arcing through the air in a perfect fan, drenching everyone below.

SPLASH!

"Oh, Shit!" "What the hell!" "Who the hell was that?!" "Dammit!"

"So cold..."

...

A cacophony of confused complaints and curses instantly filled the area by the dance floor.

"QUIET!"

For an instant, the thirty-two men had the illusion of a furious lion roaring in their minds.

Baru stood on the nearby pole-dancing stage like a terrifying statue of a demon, the hideous scar on his face twitching.

"Morning training starts now! On the double! You’re going to the roof of the Central District Building to watch the sunrise!"

Blaise and the others were stunned. ’The Central District Building? Which Central District Building?’

"Heheheh. That’s right. The Central District Building, ten kilometers away. If any of you fall behind before sunrise, I’ll teach you the meaning of a hell on earth you can’t even imagine!"

Blaise glanced up at the high windows of the dance hall. A pale sliver was already visible on the horizon.

RUMBLE...

The thirty-two men charged toward the main entrance like a pack of madmen.

BANG! BANG! BANG!...

"Dammit, the door won’t open!"

"The instructor broke it when he kicked it last night!"

"FUCK! The back door! Go!"

...

Thundering footsteps rushed toward the back door. The smarter ones even grabbed a bottle or two of beer on their way out.

Beer, known as "liquid bread," would help them replenish some much-needed energy.

Watching the group disappear into the distance, Baru smiled from his perch on the stage.

The ones who knew to grab the beer had given him a pleasant little surprise.

He turned and glanced at the smooth steel pole.

He paused for a few seconds.

’Maybe next time.’

Meanwhile, the thirty-plus men were sprinting for their lives, desperately racing toward the east.

A glance at a watch told them it wasn’t even 4:30 AM yet. They had half an hour until sunrise, tops.

They weren’t marathon runners; they didn’t know how to pace themselves or control their breathing. After just a few minutes of frantic sprinting, their stamina began to give out, and the weights on their limbs felt like lead.

"Dammit, don’t fall behind! If you do, you’ll never catch up!"

someone yelled from within the pack. Those who were lagging gritted their teeth and pushed onward. No one dared face Baru’s wrath.

The few drivers on the road this early in the morning couldn’t help but stare at the two surprisingly orderly lines of men running.

"Are those Los Angeles marathoners? They’re so intense. What race are they training for? And why are they drinking beer while they run?"

The sight of some of them chugging beer mid-run was indeed a bit strange.

The roads were clear so early in the morning, and a truck was speeding along. Just as it was about to cross an intersection, the large group of men suddenly darted in front of it.

SCREEEEEECH!

The truck screeched to a halt, leaving over ten meters of skid marks, and barely avoided hitting them.

"Assholes! Don’t you watch where you’re going?! If you’ve got a death wish, do it somewhere else..."

The driver’s yelling trailed off. Being glared at by thirty-two burly men was not a pleasant feeling.

Luckily for him, no one stopped to teach him a lesson. The men just kept running as if a dog were nipping at their heels.

A professionally trained long-distance runner could reach speeds of nearly twenty kilometers per hour, but they wouldn’t be carrying weights, nor would they have to climb stairs.

The main doors of the Central District Building were wide open, as if someone had been notified in advance. Moreover, the elevators were out of service.

"It’s not that high! Come on, everyone, push! It’s only twenty-six floors!"

Blaise encouraged the others, his face a grimace. It would be a cruel joke to fail after coming all this way.

The rooftop door burst open with a BANG. Thirty-two men, looking as if they’d been fished out of a river, poured onto the roof and collapsed, gasping for air, without the strength to even twitch.

"Thirty-six minutes. A bit on the slow side."

Baru’s voice came from atop a water tank, causing the crowd of "dead dogs" to struggle to look up at him.

"And the sun is already peeking over the horizon."

"Heh. Morning training: failed."

"But, seeing as this is your first time, I’ll let you off easy. Two more round trips before lunch, and you’ll have passed the punishment."

The Devil Instructor said, his lips pulled back in a smirk that didn’t reach his eyes.

’Oh, god...’

Everyone lamented internally, but no one dared to even think of resisting. The souls of the few who had tried last night had howled in agony for half an hour. The sight of their ice-cold limbs was something they would never forget.

Besides, the instructor was a man of his word. When he said there were no second chances, he meant it.

After letting them rest for five minutes, Baru told them all to get up.

"I told you to come watch the sunrise, and I wasn’t joking. Get up, you maggots. Do you need me to come give you a hand?"

Hearing the Devil Instructor offer to "help," everyone scrambled to their feet.

They lined up by the edge of the roof. The sun was just peeking over the horizon, and as the beautiful sunrise unfolded, the light of the Dawn bathed them all.

The bits of Demon Moss on their hands and feet felt like a stretched film, instantly expanding to their limits and covering large portions of their limbs.

It felt warm, comfortable, and a nourishing energy seemed to seep into their bodies.

Once the sun had fully risen, the sensation, while still present, had weakened considerably.

"Dave, Hel, Edmund, Lu Ma, Neviz—step forward."

Baru called out the names of the five men. They were the ones who had grabbed beer earlier and, because they’d had that extra bit of energy, had finished closer to the front of the pack.

"First off, you’re smart. You knew to grab some beer to replenish your energy and fluids."

The five burly men, a mix of black and white, were inwardly delighted. But before the feeling could even register on their faces, a blurry black line flashed. An instant later, they felt a heavy impact in their stomachs, the powerful inertia seeming to tear at their limbs.

THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD! THUD!

With five impacts in rapid succession, each of the five men who had stepped forward took a kick from Baru and went flying into the guardrail.

The metal railing vibrated with a long, humming buzz.

Only then, as if it had arrived a second late, did the pain hit them. They clutched their stomachs, twitching, unable to move.

"First lesson: Your comrades in Dawn are a part of your life. Learn to share!"

His piercing gaze swept over the rest of the men, sending a chill through their hearts.

"Ten days. For now, I only have ten days of free time to kick-start the training for you pieces of trash. I hope you’ll cherish it! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

In the sunlight, Baru’s shadow seemed to sprout horns and wings in their eyes, wreathed in flame...

PS: Second Chapter for Thursday.