Maron’s eyes were full of poisonous hatred as no one had ever dared to challenge him before. People typically didn’t talk back to him, much less strike him, and the fact that it was done in front of hundreds only intensified his rage, prompting him to order Lieutenant Mitchel to shoot Vlad.
In his mind, there was no doubt the soldier would comply out of fear of his father’s name, but Maron saw that the Lieutenant did not move, only staring at him with a puzzled expression. It took a moment, but eventually, Maron realized the man was judging him.
Lieutenant Mitchel looked at Maron as if something was fundamentally wrong with him. While Mitchel had allowed some leeway to Maron out of respect and habit for the old world’s significant political figures, there was no way he would shoot someone just because Maron demanded it, especially not someone like Vlad, who had the power to kill a dinosaur-sized Hippopotamus and could easily overpower him and all the soldiers.
In the end, Lieutenant Mitchel only shook his head and sighed at Maron’s childish and stupid behavior, turning his attention back to the soldiers and civilians.
"Everybody, make ten rows. We will be passing out pieces of raw meat and blood. This meat is a special food obtained by Sir Vlad’s efforts, and it will help you regain some of your strength and return your bodies to their normal state."
Lieutenant Mitchel understood that Vlad’s display was not just out of the goodness of his heart but also to leave a good impression in the minds of all those civilians.
Usually, Lieutenant Mitchel might hesitate whether or not to help Vlad with the scheme, but the young man had proved extreme bravery by leading the demons away. Not to mention, Vlad could have easily kept the monster’s meat for himself but chose to share it, helping the people of Good Side Town to recover and making his job easier, so he was willing to play along.
Vlad did not turn around, but Lieutenant Mitchel’s words brought a small smile to his face. He was pleased that the young Lieutenant was so wise and adaptable, similar to General Anglius. The next second, he felt a small weight on his shoulder and saw Jormungandr appearing on it.
The small yellow cat smiled at Vlad, but suddenly, a flash of killing intent appeared in his black eyes as he turned to Maron’s bloody figure. For Jormungandr, there was no difference between killing a demon, a monster, an angel, or a human.
At first, Jormungandr found Maron a nuisance, and while grabbing Vlad’s chest was a significant offense, the slap was a worthy punishment. However, everything changed once that man dared to shout for Lieutenant Mitchel to shoot Vlad down.
Since the other party wanted to kill you, you should kill it first. It was that simple for the small yellow cat.
With his rune, it would be easy for Jormungandr to kill Maron without anyone noticing, but Vlad shook his head.
"Everyone has a purpose, even a garbage like him."
Vlad was not someone who tolerated any form of disrespect or ill will against his person. He had made that perfectly clear when he cut Jessica’s head off in front of the angels and the Gifted back on the college campus. It did cross his mind to kill Maron when he shouted those words, but he changed his mind as he knew the man’s life had a purpose.
In this new world, a good leader must be able to lead soldiers into battle and protect those who follow him. He must also have the heart and kindness to care for the weak and frail, showing them peace and safety can be achieved by following him. Finally, a good leader needs to demonstrate that even in this chaotic world, there are rules that must be obeyed, and there is a price for those who break them.
Someone like Maron would not accept this public humiliation well. Since Lieutenant Mitchel did not do his dirty work, Maron would find another way, and Vlad would gladly wait for it. Of course, keeping a snake alive was dangerous, but someone who was not even a Level 1 Warrior and had so little control over his emotions could not pose even the slightest threat to Vlad.
Not bothering with those thoughts anymore, Vlad returned to the metallic brother and sister and glanced at the bucket of meat before nodding.
"Okay, that will be enough for all the civilians. Now help me reach into our lunch."