Arthur pointed to a lady with a bow and said, "You, come here."
She looked around and pointed to herself. This made him frown.
He urged her with a stern voice, "Come here now."
She walked over timidly. She didn't actually want to be anywhere near him. But she didn't think he had anything to gain by killing her, so she summoned her little courage and approached him.
Besides, she was hoping that he wanted them to work together. That would be good for her. This thought made her feel some anticipation as she walked to him.
When she reached him, he stretched out his hands and said, "Hand over your quiver?"
His request stunned her. She wanted to ask what he meant. But when she saw the stern look on his face, she quickly unlatched her quiver from her shoulder and handed it to him.
He grabbed the quiver from her and took out the arrows in it. Then he threw the empty quiver to her and said, "You may go."
Her eyes had widened when she saw him take her arrows. When he told her to leave, she opened her mouth to say something.
But she saw the fierce look on his face. From what she saw, she was certain that he was going to kill her if she dared to resist.
Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to deter her. There was too much at stake here for her to give up without a fight.
Besides, the worst thing that could happen is that she is eliminated by him for resisting. That is just slightly worse than her current situation.
So her eyes lit up with anger, and she shouted at him, "Give me back my arrows."
He punched her in the head. The protective runes around her flashed red, and she disappeared.
If not for the protection of the test, his fist would have smashed her head open, and she would have died there and then. It is clear that she had made the wrong choice in deciding to resist.
He took back his fist and grumbled. "Noisy. You could have let this happen quietly, but you had to make things difficult for yourself."
Then he turned to the rest of the people on the island and said, "If you're using a bow and have arrows, come over and hand them over to me now. I will not speak twice. I will give you ten seconds to make your decision. Then I will start killing."
No one liked what he just said. Not the people with arrows and not the people using other weapons. No one liked being ordered around. They also disliked having such a dangerous person near them.
The lady that had been trying to unite all of them spoke up against him. She pointed her finger at him and said, "There is just one of him and a thousand of us. Who does he think he is to order us around?"
Before she could continue, he said, "I am Arthur Red Mane. Is that good enough for you?"
Whatever she wanted to say got stuck in her throat. Her eyes widened as if she were choking. Then her voice squeaked as she whispered, "Impossible."
She stepped back in fright when she heard that name. She wasn't the only one who did so. They don't know what Arthur Red Mane is capable of, but they are sure that he would be terrifying.
Of course, many of them didn't want to believe that he was Arthur Red Mane. They didn't want to believe that they were that unlucky to encounter him, and they didn't want to be fooled by someone using that name to intimidate them.
She said, "How can we be sure that you're Arthur Red Mane?"
He replied, "Look at me. Do I have a red mane or not?"
Then he shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter if you believe me or not. I guess we will find out soon enough."
"Speaking of which. You have five seconds left to make your decision. If you want me to prove myself to you, then wait for five seconds more."
They began to waver when he said that. The people that were about to pick up their weapons to fight lost strength in their arms and looked at each other uncertainly.
They were looking at each other for direction and support. But all they saw in each other's faces was fear. This made them give up resistance.
An archer stepped forward to hand over her arrows to him. When the other archers saw this, they followed suit.
Maybe they would have fought if there was someone brave enough to take the lead. But no one wanted to take the lead and risk being eliminated.
They have already seen what would happen if they resist, and they also saw how quick Arthur was to eliminate them. No one wanted to be used as an example, so they chose to surrender.
However, there was someone in the crowd of people who was only half afraid of Arthur but didn't want to see Arthur get his way at all costs. This person stood out to speak.
The person asked, "Are you all stupid? Even if he is Arthur Red Mane, can he take on all of us? Can he take on all the archers? What do you think will happen if all you shoot arrows at him?"
Arthur frowned when he heard the words of incitement. He turned to look at the person who spoke to berate them. But when he saw the person who spoke, he smiled.
The person who spoke up to incite the people against him was a tall, handsome man. The man had blond hair and red eyes. The man was also someone Arthur had seen just recently.
Arthur smiled and said, "I didn't know that you were here, Brian. It is good to see you. You don't know how glad I am to see you here. We have a lot to hash out, you and me."