"Do you know why I didn't take your heart?" Soverick asked his incapacitated opponent, but he wasn't expecting an answer. Strung was in too much pain to cobble together an intelligent mental transmission.
"It is so that you can live to experience what's about to happen. I want you alive and well while I do what I'm about to do next. I assure you that it is not going to be pleasant."
He released Strung's figure to the ground and it fell with a thump. It will be too easy for Soverick to kill Strung but that will be letting him off easy.
Soverick looked at everyone else and said, "This is for everyone one of you as much as it is for Strung. Feel free to stop me if you want. Just know that I'll make you join in with him."
The entire hall was silent. The fight had taken less than 5 seconds. It looked like a mana entity had bullied a vitality core junior. It felt unreal that that kind of strength was displayed by another vitality core refiner like them. But Soverick wasn't done yet.
Victory in the fight was important. How the victory was earned was even more important. But what is most important is the impact of the fight on the others. What lesson has this fight taught them about him? He called himself their leader. But what kind of leader is he? There is only one thing that can control hundreds of thousands of entitled youths who believe in their superiority because of their bloodline. That is strength.
Strength can cause awe and worship. It can deter mutiny and acquire him the respect of his people. But he isn't their peer. Neither does he need their respect. He has to show them that he is beyond ordinary, beyond their level. He shouldn't ask for their respect, they should offer it. For that, he needs overwhelming strength.
Respect won't be enough for fools. They will see his strength and still fight back. They are fools that believe that effort and hard work are all that is needed to overcome challenges. They will take the risk to fight him as long as they believe they have a small chance of victory.
He has seen what a bloodline can cause in youths. Ghaster never admitted his inferiority even after the numerous feats that Soverick performed. When Ghaster was challenging someone out of his league and getting beat up, he didn't give up. He continued to challenge again and again. It's because he could take the consequences of failing. He just had to sleep and use the life force he gets from Hadrick and he will be good as new. He simply didn't fear defeat.
So Soverick will give these people the fear of defeat. He will show them the consequences of going against him and failing. He will display to them their future if they fail their revolt against him.
"I told you that if you don't agree with me being your leader. I will break your body and your spirit." He said to Strung as he grabbed one of Strung's legs. Strung was still conscious and aware of what was going on.
"I have broken your body. Now I will break your spirit." Then he broke his leg.
He made sure to let the bone pierce the flesh and break out through the skin. That will ensure it doesn't heal properly.
Strung convulsed and his chest heaved in an attempt to cry but only blood and flesh came out of his mouth. His lungs had been pierced by the bones from his shattered spine so he was suffering, but he was still alive.
Vitality can do a lot to a person especially if that person has an incomplete body of law due to a bloodline. Their healing ability will be enough to sustain them from dying to anything but the gravest of injuries.
Some youths winced and some puked. But most of them didn't shy away from the gore. They may be young, but they weren't innocent. Still, the sight impacted every one of them in one way or the other.
"Shout. It is bad for you, but go ahead and shout. Shouting will fill your lungs with more blood and move those bones deeper into them. It will make healing more difficult but it is what I want so go ahead and scream." He said as he walked leisurely to the other leg. Strung tried to scramble away but he was too weak to move.
His spine was broken so his legs were out. Only one arm wasn't broken. It was the one that had gone limp in their first exchange. The muscles in that arm had ruptured badly so it must hurt, yet Strung was trying to use it to move his battered and broken body.
Soverick grabbed the other leg.
"Prepare yourself." He said.
Strung tried to wave his somewhat functional arm in an attempt to plead but Soverick didn't listen. Neither did he listen to the many pleas with the divine sense. The fact that he could still beg with his mind meant that his spirit wasn't broken yet. So Soverick broke his other leg.
The youths watched as Strung cried. Tears fell down his eyes. They couldn't hear his mental transmissions but they could imagine the pain he was going through. Some couldn't take it anymore. They climbed over the dais and approached Soverick. They were the third set of people.
Some are smart and will be deterred by the strength he has shown. They are the first set of people. Some are headstrong and foolish, they will still challenge him even though they saw what he did. They are the second set of people. The fear of failure might deter these people. The next set of people are the proud and the principled. People that would rather break than bend. It is in their very bones to be prideful. It is their very nature not to give up. They have seen what he can do, they have seen what the consequences of going against him are, but it still will not deter them.
They have ideals or principles that they live their life by. It could be kindness, rebelliousness, arrogance, or pride. Whichever one it is will not allow them to watch Soverick perform his acts of cruelty to someone while they watch, or they simply will not bend their heads to another person. They will rather be broken than bend to him.
To these people, fear won't hold them back. Nothing can hold them back as long as they have that pillar that holds them up. That's why he will break that pillar. He will show them that there can only be one ruler in a pride of lions. All other adult males will be killed or chased away. They either bend to him or they break. These set of people will give him the opportunity to display his overwhelming strength. That's what matters at the end of the day.
He regarded these proud people. They were more than a hundred. A hundred and three to be exact. They came in numbers and they came bearing weapons. These people were smart. If a single person can't take Soverick down, then numbers will. If numbers won't take Soverick down, then their weapons will do the trick. They came doubly prepared.
They don't know Soverick's level of mastery but they know he cannot be above the first step. It is common sense. But they recognized that he had a superior physique that outclassed them in strength and speed. Numbers might not be able to take him down, but all of them using their weapons and exhibiting their mastery of them should be more than enough to overwhelm Soverick.
"You have come to join him in being broken. I will stop holding back now." Soverick said as he released his black spear from his spatial ring.
There was no room or margin for error. He had to win and he had to do it easily. He had made a promise that whoever stood up to question his authority will be dealt with severely and these people still questioned his authority. He must fulfill that promise.
Facing a hundred talented youths that have achieved the first step of weapon mastery will not be easy. So he wasn't going to hold back at all. If they lived, then they lived. They were ready to die when they joined this endeavor anyway. It doesn't matter if they die here or in the dungeon. Their challenge was welcomed anyway, Overwhelming strength needs Overwhelming Obstacles or in this case, overwhelming numbers for it to be displayed very well.
They could see his resolve and they didn't doubt it. They saw his bloody figure covered with the blood of his former opponent, but they didn't fear him. They understood that they could die but they still wouldn't back down. Their heart wouldn't let them. They couldn't live with themselves knowing that they didn't try everything in their power before giving up. So they will face death and overcome it.
Isn't that how heroes are made?