In the dead of night, the two repeated phrases, "Are you willing?", echoed through the large crowd, like a spark thrown into a pile of dry kindling.
Slowly, the flame of greed began to burn.
The bonfire in the square illuminated the faces of the detained villagers. Their expressions were no longer the simple panic and fear from before, but were mixed with… a complex range of emotions.
Having lived in the Hui Wai Realm since childhood… they naturally understood the country's strict class system.
What separated the commoners and the nobles was not a stream that could be crossed, but a mountain so oppressive it made it hard to breathe.
Nobles were born with immense magical power, excellent magical talent, and a privileged environment… For the commoners living in the Hui Wai Realm, it was difficult for the barren land to produce flourishing magical flowers.
Looking at the dark red blood cup in Scott's hand, the villagers hesitated, even knowing that joining the Bandit Group came with great danger.
To be a commoner for life… or to seek wealth in danger.
"Let's go for it!"
A short-haired young man, standing at the front of the crowd, gritted his teeth and stepped forward, approaching Scott: "Hey, I'm joining you guys. If I can change, I don't want to stay like this forever. What's a commoner? In the eyes of those nobles and royals, we're just animals who can use simple magic."
"I… want to be a superior human!"
Scott leaned on the sword stuck in the ground, a smile spreading across his lips, making his fierce appearance seem much gentler: "Good~ Very good~"
The dark red blood cup glowed brightly, and blood-like liquid seeped from the cup, floating in the air. As the blood-line slowly thickened like a wriggling worm, the next second, it shot into the short-haired young man's chest.
Crimson threads climbed from his chest to his cheeks, forming flame-like patterns. Magic, a blood-red and eerie magic, surged within him. It was a power he had never possessed before.
"Haha…" The short-haired young man laughed wildly and excitedly: "This magic… so strong! Haha… so strong!"
The wind was stirred by the magic emanating from the short-haired young man, and the villagers could all sense the change in him.
"Hughes… that guy, he actually joined the Bandit Group." A chestnut-haired girl in the crowd watched this scene, her lips trembling slightly. She hadn't expected her long-time companion to join the brutal and violent Bandit Group for power.
Beside the girl, a boy in gray-black clothes stared wide-eyed at Hughes, whose magic was surging. He spoke with a stutter: "He actually… his magic actually increased! If it's… if it's like this, I also… can't help but…"
The boy reached out and pushed aside the crowded people in front, slowly walking forward.
"Are you crazy? Toby, that's the Bandit Group, you're going to join them?" The chestnut-haired girl grabbed the boy's sleeve and urged him in a hushed voice.
"Let go!"
Toby shook off the girl's hand, a rare look of ruthlessness on his face: "Don't stop me, Daisy. I don't want to be a commoner in this village for my whole life. You haven't seen the way those people in the Royal Capital look at us, they don't treat us like humans at all!"
"I want to become strong!"
"Then I won't be looked down upon anymore!"
One, two, three… more and more villagers began to step out of the crowd, surging towards Scott, like a river whose dam had broken. The people remaining in place became sparse.
Goth stood by, quietly observing the changes in the crowd. From everyone initially cursing the Bandit Group, to now scrambling to join the Bandit Group for the baptism.
Look, some even started fighting over the order of the "baptism."
He suddenly realized he had underestimated the desire and ambition in people's hearts. Before taking action, he had thought of using Balo to motivate the villagers to accept the baptism of the blood cup. It seemed that was an unnecessary step.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
"Are they crazy? Joining a vicious Bandit Group for power?" Haddon could hardly believe what he was seeing. The villagers who usually worked so hard… were now becoming tools of power… "How could this be?" Lily murmured to herself.
Bai En watched the events unfolding before him with indifference, not feeling surprised. After all, a friend had said long ago: "Human desire, like a rolling stone down a mountain, once it starts, it can't be stopped."
"That thing should be an ancient grimoire tool."
"We can't let this so-called baptism continue. Let's prepare to act, Fragil."
Fragil, hidden beneath the blood-patterned black robe, nodded and replied, "Alright."
A luminous white grimoire and a blue grimoire floated beside them. Just as they were about to make their move, a bright line of fire streaked across the dark sky.
The line of fire, trailing a long tail, grew larger and larger, like a falling meteor.
"What is this?" Bai En and Fragil stopped their actions.
The line of fire fell directly beside the bonfire burning in the square, creating a deep crater.
Just as a Bandit wearing a blood-patterned black robe was about to step forward to inquire, a figure engulfed in flames shot out from the crater, "It's on fire, it's on fire! Does anyone know Water Magic? Hurry and help put out the fire!"
"Luck, remember this, I won't let you off!"
The flaming figure quickly rolled and crawled on the ground, complaining about why no one nearby was helping, while also cursing someone named Luck, whom he had never heard of, with rather malicious words.
Just as that Bandit was unsure how to proceed and looked to Scott for instructions, a blue bolt of Lightning Magic leaped out of the crater and landed steadily.
Golden-yellow hair, long boots wrapped in Lightning Magic armor, he was a standard shota. He smiled as he looked at the figure rolling on the ground and said: "Magna, you can't blame me for that. Your rotten broom was just too fragile, I only touched it lightly."
"But if you're really unhappy, how about we fight? What do you say?"
"Come on, come on!"
Indeed, these sudden intruders were Luck and Magna of the Black Bulls Squad. They had set off from their base that morning for the Hui Wai Realm, heading to the Magic Palace to search for grimoire tools or ancient magic that could repair Asta's arm.
The two collected information and bickered along the way. Near their final destination, as they passed Eldos Village, Luck's swift lightning blast caused them to fall from high in the sky, arriving here.
The sand on the ground gradually extinguished the flames. Magna got up from the ground, his hair disheveled and his face covered in dust, and he yelled at Luck: "What rotten broom? That's my beloved vehicle, the 'Crimson Zero Calamity Suppressor'!"
A baseball bat made of Flame Magic appeared in his hand. Magna showed Luck a fierce expression: "I'll kill you! You damn brat!"
...