Malik chuckled and shook his head at the enemy, who appeared somewhat... intimidated by his earlier pause. Perhaps his little condition wasn’t all bad.

"If you know anything about me, you’d know that every attack is my strongest attack."

His acting was so natural that just with those words, the leader began to believe him.

"Y-You’re not tricking me!"

The man’s confidence wavered as fast as it grew.

"I know that you’re weak now! I can feel it!"

"..."

"You should know, there’s a massive bounty on your head sponsored by the Order itself! Your entire family has one as well, but you’ve remained at the top throughout all these years, even though they said you weren’t alive!"

"..."

"Never in history was someone on there for that long! That shows just how evil you are! I’m sure if you had the strength, you’d have killed me ten times over by now! I don’t fear you!"

"..."

Malik kept staring at him, his expression deadpan.

He didn’t blink or move, letting the silence do the work, until eventually, a smile made its way onto his face.

"You don’t fear me, you say? Then you will die braver than most."

That was the perfect icing on the ’silent’ cake.

The leader’s shaking returned, making it seem like he was about to have a panic attack.

Whoooosh!

That was when another group wearing the same dark blue uniforms flew in from above.

These ones looked to be different, both stronger and faster, indicating a higher class.

Even their controlled landing hinted at that.

One of them, no doubt the faction lord, held something in his right hand.

A small cage, made of black iron, with something moving inside.

"What’s taking you so long?"

The faction lord called out with a bored voice.

"It’s only a bunch of—"

His words died in his throat the moment his eyes locked onto Malik.

At the same time, his face went through several expressions in quick succession.

Confusion, recognition, disbelief, and finally, pure terror.

Without a second’s hesitation, he threw the cage downwards into the hands of the man who turned out to be a mere squad leader.

"HE’S THE DAMNED SULTAN! KILL HIM!"

Malik had already realized what was going to happen.

The moment the faction lord’s eyes fell upon him, Malik activated his second single-use Shifting Ground Soul Glyph.

He attacked before they could, recognizing the danger their reaction times presented.

Much bigger holes than before ripped open the earth. Chasms that swallowed parts of nearby buildings, streets, and the enemy soldiers who had just arrived.

Malik had also raised a wall.

A much more massive one, incredibly thick and high, rising like a mountain.

His spell was obviously much stronger than it was the first time, making him realize that using a single-use Soul Glyph early had its disadvantages as well.

A Soul Glyph’s power leaked out the longer it was activated.

But again, he didn’t think about that much... a bit busy at the moment.

The dying White Bears’ ice attacks slammed into the wall. Many spear-sized shards, pillars the size of trees, and waves of freezing air that turned the sand to frost.

No matter their strength, the wall easily held, allowing not even a scratch on its conjurer.

Unfortunately, the surroundings didn’t have such a luxury.

Rubble shot out in every direction, followed by a cloud of dust.

The sound was deafening, with ice shattering and men screaming in pain.

Moments later, the world returned to silence, and the dust slowly cleared.

Malik remained standing.

His wall had protected him while his fissures had swallowed most of the enemy force.

And, yes, ’most,’ not all, for he wasn’t alone.

The same squad leader from earlier stood at the edge of the destruction, somehow still alive. His uniform was torn, his body was injured, but the bastard was breathing.

The weakest of them had survived.

’How?’

Malik took a second only to shrug.

Luck? A well-timed dodge? A defensive Holy Relic he hadn’t seen? It didn’t matter.

The man was alive, and the rest of his people, faction leader included, were annihilated.

Malik remained still as his earth and sand wall disappeared back into the ground, sinking like it had never existed.

That was something he made sure was slow.

He could not let himself be killed by his own attacks.

Anyhow, once the area was relatively clear, Malik stepped closer and looked at the terrified man again with the same blank stare.

’I still need to bluff him away. But it should be much more manageable now.’

Ding!

—

{Invaders Fear}

[White Bear Faction (Class Eight) - 12 → 89% Increasing!]

—

’Yeah.’

Malik was about to have him fly off the planet.

"N-No..."

The squad leader stood there, wildly shaking.

"No... no... no!"

His sword hung loose in his grip, and his legs looked ready to give out.

"T-T-The risk I took was calculated, but..."

He looked down at the ground that had swallowed his comrades and at the blood staining his boots.

"It seems I’m quite bad at calculating."

He kept his head lowered, knowing that there was no way he would survive.

’I can’t kill you, you bastard. Just leave!’

Malik didn’t want to get close and risk being found out as weak. Yet, even then, when beyond annoyed, he revealed nothing and calmly spoke:

"You’ve survived one of my attacks. I will not attempt another."

He was slowly getting better at saying and coming up with such nice-sounding excuses.

"But don’t take this as mercy. I need you to spread word among your lot that I’ve returned. Do you understand?"

The squad leader looked up, confusion and relief warring on his face.

"T-T-Thank you for letting me live, Lord Sultan! You’ll never see me again!"

With that, he turned and ran.

He didn’t look back or slow down, only ran faster than he ever did in his entire dumb existence, disappearing into the sand.

Malik watched him go.

’Hm.’

Then he turned and walked to a nearby house.

Half destroyed, its front wall was caved in, and its roof was sagging.

But, well, besides that, a bed remained in the corner, fully intact, inviting him in.

Though it was a simple wooden frame with a straw mattress, partially covered by fallen debris, he saw it as Heaven-sent.

Malik sat down on the bed, leaned back, and deflated.

"Ha..."

His eyes stared at the cracked ceiling.

"I’m tired already."

He closed them for just a moment to rest.

The sounds of the town coming back to life filtered in through the broken walls.

People were crying, and soldiers were shouting for help.

Malik ignored it all.

"Too damned tired."

This was a minute he earned and needed.