WorldCrafter - Building My Underground Kingdom-Chapter 182 - Overwhelming Strength

182: Overwhelming Strength

182: Overwhelming Strength

The merchant, a wiry Dwarrow, his beard singed and stained with soot, fell to his knees, hands raised in a desperate plea.

“Mercy, sir!

Please!

We’ve got mouths to feed back home.

We’ll pay double the tax, triple even—”

“Shut it,” snarled another soldier, kicking a crate off the deck into the lava river with a splash.

The leader sneered, leveling his spear at the merchant’s throat.

“If you can’t take a hint…

maybe you and your cargo can rot here.”

A third soldier chuckled darkly and added, “Yeah.

Leave the goods, and the Scorchkraken, to us.”

The merchant’s face paled even further.

The Scorchkraken, an octopus-like creature armored in thick, obsidian-scaled plates, shifted nervously in the lava below, pulling the merchant boat with heavy, heaving breaths that made the molten river bubble around it.

Ben, watching from the shadows, felt his fingers twitch.

‘How dare they make a mess on my territory.’

He stepped forward, silent as a ghost, his boots crunching lightly against the blackened rock.

The soldiers immediately spun around, weapons raised, but when they saw only a single figure approaching, their sneers returned.

“Well, well, what’s this?” one of them laughed, swinging his sword onto his shoulder.

“Some rat from the ruined city thinkin’ he’s a hero?”

Another snorted, sizing Ben up lazily.

“Must be tired of living.

You lost, boy?

This river belongs to Gravenhold now.”

Ben didn’t answer.

He just kept walking, slowly, each step sending tiny cracks spiderwebbing across the ground.

The nearest Nephirid soldier scoffed and stepped forward, lifting his spear arrogantly.

“I said—”

CRACK!

In the blink of an eye, Ben’s hand moved.

A sharp, resounding slap echoed across the lava channel like a thunderclap.

The soldier’s head twisted violently to the side.

His feet left the ground entirely, and he sailed through the air like a ragdoll, smashing into the molten riverbank with a wet, sizzling thud.

Dead silence.

Ben shook his hand lightly, as if flicking off dust.

Only then did he speak, voice low and razor-sharp.

“I wasn’t asking whose river this is,” he said, his gaze sweeping over the remaining soldiers.

“I came to remind you.”

He took another step forward, the heat around him thickening, warping the air.

“This land…

this city…

this river ” his eyes gleamed, cold and merciless, ” belongs to me.”

One of the soldiers, face twisting in anger, roared and charged.

Ben’s palm flicked out lazily.

Another SLAP.

This time, the Nephirid crumpled mid-swing, spinning twice before slamming into the lava-stained rocks like a broken doll.

“You dare raise your hand here,” Ben said, tone almost bored, “yet you can’t even survive a greeting.”

The last two soldiers stumbled back, fear breaking through their bravado.

Ben’s lips curved into a thin smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes.

“Now then,” he said softly, cracking his knuckles, “which of you wants to be the example for the others watching?”

Behind him, the merchants watched wide-eyed, the Dwarrow dropping to his knees again, but this time, in stunned awe.

Even the Scorchkraken let out a deep, low-pitched trill.

It’s not that this Nephirid soldier were weak, Ben is just that strong now, and his attack caught them off guard.

Not giving the a change to fight back.

One of the remaining Nephirid finally broke out of his shock, bellowing, “Form up!

Kill him!”

They scrambled, rallying behind him while yanking something from around their necks, small, blood-red pendants that gleamed against their armor.

As the pendants pulsed, a molten aura exploded around them.

Their muscles swelled, skin glowing faintly under the strain.

Fire flickered across their limbs, their weapons hissing as they became extensions of burning flame.

Ben’s expression didn’t change.

He simply rolled his shoulders once, as if limbering up before a casual walk.

“Pathetic,” he murmured.

The soldiers roared and charged, blades blazing with molten energy, leaving molten gashes in the stone with every step.

The first swung downward with a flaming greatsword, aiming to cleave Ben in two.

Ben moved like a shadow slipping through cracks.

He sidestepped with minimal effort, his hand snapping out.

CRACK!

Another open-palm slap.

The relic-empowered Nephirid’s helmet crumpled inward, his body flipping backwards through the air like a broken marionette, smashing headfirst into the side of the lava channel.

Before the others could react, Ben was already on them.

Another Nephirid thrust a fire-lance toward his heart.

Ben caught the tip of the lance between two fingers.

The Nephirid’s eyes widened in horror.

He tried to pull away, but it was like trying to move a mountain.

Ben’s free hand blurred.

CRACK!

A slap so fierce the soldier’s helmet split cleanly in half, the pieces clanging uselessly against the stone as he crumpled.

The last Nephirid let out a howl, unleashing a torrent of fire from his relic, the blast wide enough to scorch half the riverbank.

Flames engulfed Ben completely.

For a brief moment, the merchant and even the Scorchkraken held their breath.

Then, through the inferno, a shadow moved.

Ben stepped out of the fire unharmed, the flames curling around him like frightened snakes.

“You call that fire?” Ben said, voice low and contemptuous.

“Let me show you what real flame is.”

He lifted his hand.

A red gemstone appeared.

With a single motion he cracked it, and then a spear of compressed blue flame shot forward, slamming into the last Nephirid like a meteor.

The soldier was blasted backward, smashing through two rock pillars before vanishing entirely into the molten river.

Ben let out a low chuckle, cracking his knuckles lazily.

“Whoops.

Guess I forgot to hold back.”

He tilted his head slightly, watching the river bubble where the body disappeared.

“I was planning to keep all of you alive,” he muttered, voice dripping with mock regret.

“Looks like most of you couldn’t even survive being questioned.”

Ben sighed, half-amused, half-annoyed.

His gaze shifted to the only survivor, a battered Nephirid crawling weakly near the riverbank, half a breath away from slipping into the molten lava.

“Looks like it’s just you and me now,” he said, stepping closer, his shadow swallowing the soldier whole.

“So why don’t you be a good little rat…

and tell me everything I want to know?”