"You see, Leonardo, the weak are always weak, and the strong are always strong; if you turn back from the mistake you made right here and now, your house, your work, everything can remain yours. By staying as a guest of honor in our city, you can continue to keep your art alive with unlimited resources!"
Heinrich, combing his golden blonde hair back with his hand, stood like a demigod honoring mortals with his grace in these moments.
"Actually, this square-jaw could do the job, but unfortunately, he stood on the wrong side from the beginning!"
The methods of the man trying to seize the administration were completely contrary to his appearance; compared to his stance looking like an unbendable log, his mind was quite agile. When Nafız realized this, she couldn't help but sigh; Heinrich had evolved into a completely different path from where his will was broken.
Although he took the administration with ambition, he needed to produce some works close to the contribution Leonardo made to the Empire in order not to fall from grace; why would he turn a blind eye to such a resource going to waste while he had it in his hand?
"Ask me for something else, Heinrich; I can leave here by leaving the administration to you, I can even work in a position under you, but I cannot give those weapon plans to the source!"
The Master was aware of what he created; even the limited number of cannons he produced in his own small workshop had caused the wind to change direction instantly in the Great War on the Orc Steppes. He couldn't imagine what would happen if the forces of the Empire of Machines went into mass production; although ice and fire beads were a limited resource, it was easy to find alternatives with lower destructive power.
"What are you still after, Leo; only those plans can ensure I take your place. Hand them over to me without dragging it out too much!"
Heinrich, whose patience was running out evident from the rasp in his tone, would turn to one of those waiting at the head of the kneeling druids and make a throat-cutting gesture with his hand.
At that moment, all eyes turned to where the tall Heinrich was looking; naturally, Nafız and Alyon's attention was also directed there.
"Father, that's my sister; they're going to kill her!"
These words came from the father-son duo within the group Ainle saved from the village; they couldn't hold back their tears while looking at the little druid girl whose two braided pigtails were caught by a child her own age.
"Herbert, we are classmates; why are you doing this to me!"
While the dagger pressed against her throat was slowly cutting her skin, the little girl had started begging in desperation; although she could only utter a few words until her breath was cut by the slap she received, these were more than enough to shock those who heard.
"Shut up! Did you think you were equal to us just because you came to school by the force of that scum Leonardo? Who are you to address me as 'my friend'?"
Herbert would swing his knife rapidly to cut the throat of the little one who passed out as a result of the blow she received; his hands were so swift that he swung his knife like a master butcher.
"Stop, I will do what you want!"
Heinrich, giving his signal simultaneously with Leonardo's scream, would stop the execution of the small child; the Master hadn't lasted long, raising the white flag at the first action.
"Ha Ha Ha, finally you came around, great genius Leonardo; so what if you have an intelligence seen once in a hundred years? Here, you knelt before me, Heinrich, who always ran behind you and was despised!"
The hard countenance of the yellow-haired man, laughing with crazed laughter, had taken a distorted appearance; the darkness in his soul covered his entire aura, causing the hair of those looking at him to stand on end.
"Give the plans immediately, hurry up!"
When Leonardo took out a roll of parchment from the space inside the ring on his finger, Heinrich's laughter reaching the sky intensified even more; the feeling given by the victory he won was dragging him into a completely different state of mind.
He always knew the thing he wanted was in the messy-haired man's ring, but he hadn't even thought of stealing this item protected by mechanisms only its owner knew how to open.
Seeing the drawings, he started walking with rapid steps toward his greatest rival; the man who used to stand like an impassable mountain in his eyes was now no different from ants he could crush under his foot at any moment.
"I will shoulder this burden for you, master!"
Only one step remained for Heinrich to reach his goals; how happy and content he was until he fainted from the hand landing on the short master's neck and saw someone he never wanted to see in front of him.
"Little bastard!"
The two words coming out of the mouth of the square-jawed man, whose face wrinkled as if he had seen the devil, were like the hiss of a rattlesnake.
"We haven't seen each other for a long time, but I see nothing has changed; you are doing the job you know best, treachery, again!"
"Uncle!"
Two people came face to face in the middle of the druid village; these people were almost identical except for the dramatic height difference between them and the shape of their faces. Golden blonde hair, white skin, clear blue eyes enough to make the skies jealous, and words roughly uttered as if wanting to penetrate into the person opposite.
"Did you come to save your master, little devil?"
Getting over the first shock he experienced, Heinrich would come to his senses immediately; seeing the small glitch in his life suddenly in front of him while all the trump cards were still in his hand wouldn't change anything.
"Your guess is correct but incomplete; I didn't come all the way from Karsak just to save my master, I am also here to settle the account between us!"
The owner of the daring words was none other than Abgesandte, who once attended the Great Orc Council with the title of envoy of Karsak Trade City.
What was truly strange was that the child, who grew up over time and possessed a charismatic stance, and the leader of those trying to seize the administration were relatives.
"Words too arrogant to be expected from the student of weakness; I wonder very much what you will do. Since you can stand before me like this, you must be quite sure you will take revenge for your father; will you leave your master's beloved druids to die?"
Although Heinrich made a lot of noise, what he wanted to say was quite clear; he was using the village people, over whom he had placed a butcher each, as a shield for himself.
"I don't care an iota about the druids; you can kill them as you wish, but for the sake of my master, I cannot allow this. As you said, I am sure of myself, and I owe this to some friends standing behind me!"
Right now, so to speak, two elephants were fighting in the village square; the druids, whose families and loved ones were in danger, could only affect this turmoil as much as grass to be crushed.
These people, trembling with fear and unable to prevent their tears from flowing, were very helpless; the father and son Ainle brought with him were begging the nearest orc warrior, at a loss for what to do.
"Please save my sister; I agree to be your slave until I die, please save her!"
The young druid clung to Nafız's legs; pressing his head firmly, he was screaming in tears.
"Fine, let's see if you have the power to do what you say. Herbert, finish the job you started!"
With the order he received, the little engineer's eyes shone; finally, he could do the thing he had desired for a long time. His hand holding the knife, which he had to take to his side just a moment ago, was traveling toward the neck of the unconscious tiny girl as fast as possible.
Heinrich was observing his nephew in these moments; at any movement of his, he would activate the defensive shield with the device he held in his hand.
Unfortunately, what the man with hard facial features expected wouldn't happen; while his nephew, who was short compared to him, did nothing, the soldier's knife receiving his order was about to cut the soft neck skin.
"Ahhhhhhhhh!"
A second later, a sharp scream would echo in the skies of the druid village; the first blood of the day, which would not be erased from memories for a long time, had been spilled.