**Chapter 70: Persuasion is to make the enemy submit.**
“Stop joking!”
Oh, I understood this sentence, but I don’t like to joke.
Two assassins rushed out from the nearby woods. However, because the mental coercion was still in effect and they were forcefully resisting that pressure, their movements were not as fast as they would be in their normal state. Still, their actions were clean and sharp. It already proves they are not ordinary people if they can move while resisting this pressure.
The two moved in unison, drawing daggers from their waists and expertly attacking me from two different directions.
Their movements were all within my sight, and I could clearly see that the attack with their heads was just a feint, while the real killing blow was in their other hand.
I took my hand out of my pocket, pressed down on the left assassin’s shoulder with one hand, and at the same time, used that force to jump up and step on the other person’s arm. As I flipped over both of them, I commanded.
“[You two will stab each other in the knees.]”
Thought Acceleration was released, and the two assassins stabbed each other in the knees as a sign of friendship. Perhaps they can only work as doormen from now on.
“Oh, you’re not even groaning? You really are ninjas.”
Your talent for enduring pain seems to be maxed out.
It’s not that my combat skills have improved, but at such slow motion, anyone could easily perform Hollywood action star-like evasive maneuvers with perfect accuracy.
I could clearly see the dagger-wielding hand approaching at a speed of 0.5 millimeters per second. If I couldn’t dodge that, I’d truly be disabled.
Moving my body during Thought Acceleration, my actions are always a little faster than theirs. In their eyes, it must look like I suddenly became super fast…
Well, although my muscles were sore for several days afterward, this is also the main reason why we needed three days of rest after escaping the mansion.
However, if possible, I really don’t want to conflict…
These people are real assassins. Since those two could move while resisting the mental coercion, others certainly could too.
Who knows how many people are ambushed nearby? It was manageable when those two attacked together, but if more than a dozen people attacked me, especially with firearms for long-range attacks, I would probably be turned into a sieve even with Thought Acceleration.
So, I’m actually bluffing right now, or rather, I’m “building momentum.”
I’m actually trembling with nervousness…
If it were me in the past, I would never come to such a dangerous place even if I were killed.
To be able to appear calm and composed even now, am I becoming more sluggish?
Or rather, I’ve already seen more terrifying big scenes than this. Compared to that extremely dangerous situation where death was right before my eyes, this situation of being surrounded from all sides seems bearable?
What’s the difference between a bad situation and a very bad situation… Either way, it’s a bad situation!
My mind was racing with thoughts, but my face remained impassive.
Seeing that no one else seemed to be making a move for the moment, I added fuel to the fire and arrogantly continued to provoke them.
“What’s wrong? Can’t any of you come forward and talk to me?”
Perhaps my provocation angered another group, as many people stood up simultaneously and charged at me.
“You really never learn, [Get away from me, all of you.]”
This group of six all fell due to various accidents. Some tripped over their shoelaces that suddenly came undone, while others stumbled in panic after bird droppings from the sky splattered into their eyes. Even more hilariously, one tripped over his own left foot and tumbled.
If I told people that these were top-tier assassins in the industry, they’d probably laugh their teeth out.
However, these assassins did not forget their duty despite their comical falls. At the last moment, they collectively detonated something on their bodies. Hearing the explosions, I momentarily thought they were trying to take me down with them and thought, “I’ve messed up this time…”
However, my body wasn’t blown away. Instead, a large amount of smoke suddenly erupted around me, engulfing me entirely.
“Hmm? Smoke bombs? Cough cough cough…”
Due to the smoke, I coughed violently and quickly ran out of the smoke.
When I ran out, a black-haired assassin had already seized this moment to launch an attack. I immediately activated Thought Acceleration, but the opponent was only three meters away, and I hadn’t stopped coughing yet.
Is it to prevent me from speaking?
They realized I relied on “speaking” to activate my abilities, so as long as they prevent me from speaking, they can prevent me from activating my abilities.
It’s certainly effective, and I can’t use the same method on them as I did on Miss Shirley, deliberately making them read text to activate “Calamity from the Mouth.” That method succeeded because I knew Miss Shirley well enough to know she would always read information, but that’s not necessarily true for these assassins.
However, even if I can’t rely on speaking to activate Calamity from the Mouth, I have other ways. A method I “long ago” learned to use.
The ability I thought was useless back then now seems like it was “tailor-made” for me.
I covered my mouth and stared at the masked assassin who rushed at me first, activating my ability.
The black-haired assassin stopped abruptly and spoke with a blank expression.
“[I will break my leg.]”
The next second, this assassin flew past me, tripped by a suddenly protruding floor in a ridiculously exaggerated pose, and performed a 360-degree somersault before hitting the ground. It looked like his leg was indeed broken.
I looked back at the tragic state of the masked assassin and shook my head, clucking my tongue.
“Tsk… Looks like he’ll be in the hospital for a few months.”
This time should be enough to make them despair.
I turned back to look at the assassins around me, who were already showing fear in their eyes, and finally looked at the witch, whose face had turned ashen.
“It’s a shame, even if you try to silence me, I can still make you speak, so there are no blind spots here.
Designated Ventriloquism is the third mental magic granted to me by the Triple Magic Circle. It allows me to designate a person to speak the words I want them to.
Of course, I can also activate Calamity from the Mouth.
I had been under a misunderstanding before. Because I couldn’t use Thought Acceleration, I thought my Spiritual Power had dropped to the level of an ordinary person, and I couldn’t use the other two mental magics. But that wasn’t the case at all.
It was just that when Keling was kidnapped, I used Thought Acceleration and nearly depleted my Spiritual Power. Afterward, due to the special nature of this world, my Spiritual Power recovered more slowly.
Later, I learned how to control Thought Acceleration, which saved Spiritual Power. So, the remaining Spiritual Power was enough to activate the other two mental magics, which consumed very little Spiritual Power.
Combined with the ability of Calamity from the Mouth, the effect was surprisingly good.
I can suppress them all-around or target one person specifically. In the past, targeting a specific person in a group had its limitations, but with Designated Ventriloquism, I can simply designate “myself,” making it faster.
And whatever I say, even the deaf can hear it, unless you poke out their eardrums.
“Sorry, can you guys give up struggling?”
This is the time to smile.
A smile like Lianbing’s, capable of exerting immense pressure.
I don’t know how well I’m imitating it, but after being exposed to it so much, I should be able to produce a similar smile.
Silence fell over the entire area. I knew that at this moment, everyone present had been completely suppressed by me, unable to muster even the slightest will to resist.
Even top assassins, upon witnessing such bizarre scenes and facing unknown, unpreventable abilities, would tremble.
After all, this was no longer a realm that could be reached by visible abilities like physical strength, skill, or magical powers.
It was something unseen and intangible, capable of rewriting reality at will and influencing karma.
A power that truly represented ‘destiny.’
Well, even so… my Destiny Power is almost depleted. Please, no more. I don’t want to burn my lifespan…
Fortunately, at this moment, the witch, who seemed to be their leader, spoke to me.
“…I understand. Please release your divine power. We will not resist any further.”
Ahem, divine power… This witch seems to think I’m some kind of divine representative.
“Fine, but you have to make your subordinates behave. Otherwise, I can’t guarantee what kind of calamity will befall them next time.”
I immediately agreed. If they were just pretending to be weak, then I would accept it.
Worst comes to worst, I could unleash a wide-area AOE and escape in the chaos. For example, “A major earthquake will occur immediately.” In Japan, it would be relatively easy to activate.
“[You are allowed to get up.]”
After releasing the mental coercion, the released killing intent became even more intense.
But judging by the outcome… my gamble paid off.
The witch gently shook her head and then spoke to those around her in Japanese.
“Stand down. Our opponent is a divine representative; we have no chance of winning.”
Phew~ That’s great, that’s great. Witch girl, you really understand me. I was already finding it hard to back down after putting on such a good show. If this continued, it might have escalated into an all-out war against me alone.
This witch girl, with her ponytail and hair framing her bangs, walked up to me, knelt down again, and even bowed her head in worship.
“From today onwards, you are the Shrine Master, and all of us at Pure World Glazed Tile will pledge allegiance to you.”
I was so caught off guard by this sudden action that my smile broke, and I let out a foolish sound. However, the other masked assassins immediately understood and came before me, lining up neatly, kneeling, and shouting in unison.
“We are willing to serve the Shrine Master!” xN
Even the assassins whose legs or knees I had injured crawled over and knelt with their bloody legs.
This is great. As soon as I released the mental coercion, they knelt on their own… Could it be that my protagonist’s overwhelming charisma has activated?
This is not just defecting to the enemy; I’ve even become the leader of the enemy organization!
Am I naturally suited to be a villain?
