[Nightmare]

Chapter 221 [Earthians Vs. Soldiers]

Helix addressed the Alzerians after the gasps of shock and awe faded and the emotional tears dried.

"So. Ummm. This is awkward." Helix laughed nervously.

"I know we destroyed your backyard and ripped your land in half, but… it's getting kinda late, so can we stay for the night?"

A stunned silence fell upon the Alzerians, otakus, and weebs.

"I have some deadly flowers to pick and need some rest, so… I know it's not much, but I'll buy people some drinks wherever we eat and stay? Ha ha ha ha haaah."

Helix scratched the back of his head awkwardly as he asked.

One confused chuckle shattered the silence.

A bewildered cackle accompanied it.

Multiplied nervous cheers provided support.

"Drop the fuckin' act, boy, or I'll tear off your arms and use them as drum sticks!" Macron roared.

The second they saw Helix's cheeky grin, it triggered an instantaneous response.

"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Battle cries broke the sound wave.

Cries of joy from the otakus and weebs blasted the nighttime sky.

A burst of laughter followed, and everyone in Alzeria started laughing for an unknown reason.

Most were just happy to be alive.

While they had never seen the Lagrock, everyone could hear it for miles.

It was loud, and its steps rocked the earth.

They heard the explosions, saw the cyclone, and watched fire illuminate over the walls.

They awaited the battle cry with bated breath.

The moment it reached their ears, it filled their heart with joy, and they started laughing with the soldiers in the distance to share their feelings.

Helix touched his crimson tribal-sun tattoo, pulled out a battle disc, activated it, and threw it on the ground.

It was a modified [Circle of Amplification] that increased the sound.

The bright blue light turned the neon area around it purple.

He also attempted to activate the circles he had created and used before.

A magic circle in the queen's chamber lit up, confusing many guards.

However, Liliana grinned, and Eliza and Lilac followed once they saw her face.

The Kingdom had removed most of them.

However, those within the Capital chambers remained; if Helix returned and tried to make another speech, leadership wanted to hear what he had to say.

Now they had gotten their wish.

"Proud Alzerians!" Helix yelled out with a booming voice.

Cheers met his booming words.

He was showcasing the confidence that they had come to respect and admire.

While the political ramifications of a speech were dire, General Masov sighed a breath of relief.

The general finally understood they [needed] Helix.

So the fact he was speaking to them as an Alzerian was relieving and gave him hope the young man would stay.

If he did stay, he would need to gain the support and trust of the soldiers.

"How do you like the moat?" Helix chuckled with a cheeky smile.

"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Helix turned around to look at it with a satisfied expression.

"It doesn't look very inviting to swim in, do it?" He asked with a pondering tone.

Laughter erupted from the walls.

Helix turned back to them to gaze at their lively faces.

After the moment died down, he suddenly erupted into laughter.

Everyone watched his bizarre reaction with confusion and slight anxiety.

"I'd love to see… hahaha… the face of a monster… haha… that traveled hundreds of miles and then realized… hahaha… for the first time…." Helix said between breaths.

Everyone listened with bated breath and wide eyes.

"That they can't swim!" He roared before bending over and wheezing.

Bewildered laughter detonated on the walls, triggering a celebratory mood.

Even General Masov was chuckling, leading to an amused expression on Major Oakley's face.

"When… hahaha… it ran to the moat… haha… it'd have to go left or right…." Helix laughed.

"And then it'd look… haha… like it was running from tiny soldiers… hahaha… in a panic!"

More laughter followed his words, sending the military personnel into a frenzy.

"Wheeeeew. That was satisfying." Helix sighed with a deep breath after thirty seconds of laughing.

Chuckles met his words.

"It's just a reminder that no matter how big a thing is, there's [always] a way for humans to destroy it."

A moment of stunned silence.

Three seconds of disbelief.

Four enthusiastic cheers.

Then—

"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The otakus and weebs' eyes lit up with excitement and joy at Helix's declaration.

There was a massive difference between having him protect them and him telling them that [they] could protect themselves.

General Masov grinned when he saw confidence returned to his troops.

"Yeeeeeeeeahhhhh!" He roared with his arms in the air.

Another wave of explosive battle cries reached the nighttime sky.

Helix's partners watched him with satisfied expressions.

"Did any of you notice?" He called out with a booming voice.

Everyone quieted down.

"Did any of you notice that the battle was won by contained traps [anyone circle mage] could use?" Helix yelled.

Stunned disbelief followed his words.

"Did any of you notice that regular soldiers, strategy, and tactics could have killed that thing?"

After a cheer rang out, the entire area erupted into hysterical cries of joy.

The people within the walls could hear him and cried with hope in their hearts.

"Did you notice?" Helix asked with a dramatic pause.

He panned the soldiers, otakus, and weebs on the wall with a serious gaze.

"That no one died despite that?"

Frenzied cheers rang into the Myriadian sky.

The scared soldiers, otakus, and weebs shaking from the shocking experience of near-death opened their eyes wide.

"Did you notice?" Helix asked with a booming voice.

Hushed silence ripped through the audience.

"That although we're strong enough to have killed that thing easily in the distance…."

Helix made eye contact with as many people as possible.

"You didn't need us to do that?"

Shocked shivers waved through the soldiers' bodies as electric synesthesia passed from one person to the next.

"That Alzerians are strong and don't need anyone to [protect] them!?" Helix roared with passion in his eyes.

He threw his arms in the air with full force and a raging fire flickering in his gaze.

"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!"

A deafening battle cry rocked the city, sending everyone inside a profound feeling of security.

General Masov and Oakley exchanged grateful nods.

Queen Liliana and Eliza exchanged excited glances when they heard their soldiers return safety and confidence to their people.

Defense Chief Salkey listened to the roaring cheers with wide eyes.

He was under house arrest but knew who had returned and their impact.

"Did you notice?" Helix yelled at the top of his lungs.

"That my partners are beautiful?"

Marie and Riley blushed furiously.

Charlotte heated up slightly before recovering with a grin.

"Heh."

"Heh heh."

"Hehe hehe."

An explosion of frenzied cheers followed a ripple of chuckles.

"You're [not] getting out of picking flowers." Charlotte called out with an annoyed tone.

Thunderous laughter detonated in the area, leading to applause and whistles.

"Charlotte, Marie, Riley, I'll risk my life for flowers and brave public dinners for your happiness without a battle!" He declared.

"I'll do [anything] to make you happy and protect the people I love!

That's what proud men do!"

Booming applause and cheers rocked the landscape.

Marie and Riley's eyes widened with understanding.

Helix had just called them beautiful and simultaneously triggered the emotions of others.

Charlotte watched the spectacle with an evil grin.

She just got played—and she loved it.

Lilianna, Eliza, and Lilac started giggling when their guards around them joined in the declaration.

They were trained to never break composure but joined with enthusiasm after Liliana gave them a look and raised her eyebrows.

Helix turned back to the crowd with an amused grin.

"Did you notice?" He asked with a whisper.

Hushed silence befell his audience again.

"Even though I was knocked out, and they were angry and couldn't fight back, they put their confidence in me and that I'd return?" Helix asked with a booming voice.

"That they trusted [me], the weakest mortal with the lowest stats, was capable of leading them to victory without casualties?"

He panned his gaze to everyone with a dramatic pause.

"Do you think that's a coincidence?" Helix asked.

"Or do you now understand why General Masov and Winter General Tyrene can face foes far stronger than them—and lead you to victory!?"

Masov's soldiers turned him into a frenzy before someone yelled and—

"YEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH!"

—the rest of the wall exploded in chaos.

The general turned back to Helix with a shocked expression, and Oakley laughed at his response.

"General. Even if that boy leads strategy, do you think he could organize or command the troops?"

Masov scoff-laughed with a strange expression.

It was conflicted, but it was positive.

"Brave Earthian Knights! Did you notice?" Helix called out before pausing.

The area quieted, and every soldier turned their gaze to the flock of young adults.

Alzerian soldiers disliked the group in general.

They were dangerous and arrogant and got special treatment, wealth, and power.

There were endless things to be jealous and bitter over.

However, Helix was one of the Earthian Knights, and most Alzerians remembered that for the first time.

He was an oddity who didn't speak, act, or resemble the others.

Now they remembered and watched the group with interested expressions.

The otakus and weebs were either nervous at the gazes of the soldiers or listened to Helix with bated breath.

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Power stones and grammatical errors = more content. :)