Lord System: Reborn As The Genius Heir To A Noble Family-Chapter 63: The Plunderer

With a quick pivot, sliding his foot against the grass, he pulled away, staying on his toes, even though the figure had yet to launch an attack.

A laugh escaped the scar-faced man’s lips, watching the cautious approach of his fellow Reincarnator, "C’mon now–you aren’t going to beat me by running around!"

That much was true as Leon ran around, getting the flank on the towering man again before bolting right for him.

As he closed in, instead of swinging his sword right as the figure turned around, he instead halted his approach—

["Possession Manifestation"]

Right in the face of the monsterized man, the barrel of a cannon greeted him point-blank.

"Oh?—" Ban reacted.

It fired against the reddened face, exploding into azure smoke. Amidst the billow of magical haze, carefree laughter came from the obscured mouth.

Before the smoke faded, from behind the Reincarnator, the chimera lunged, bringing its jaws down upon the intruder’s head.

"Hercules—no!" Leon tried to stop it.

As the smoke was dismissed by the beast’s jaws, it was stopped as its mouth was around Ban’s head, held back by the man’s grip.

There was no effort exerted as the monstrous figure pulled the lion’s jaws away, holding a vicious grin, "You need to teach your pet some manners! I’ll do it for you—!"

Leon moved to attack, though had to duck down as the chimera was thrown right towards him. He looked back as the silver-furred lion slid across the grass, turning back to find the figure already in his face.

"Keep your eyes on the prize, Champ," Ban grinned.

As he saw the glowing claws at the man’s right side twitch, he intercepted—

["Subjugation"]

Summoning the ensnaring strands of energy around the monsterfied figure, it stunned Ban briefly. He used the opening to swing his sword for his neck, bringing the edge against it sharply yet—clang.

It stopped, only cutting into the very first layer of the exoskeleton around the neck.

’I can’t cut it—?’ Leon realized.

Before he could pull back, the bindings that seized Ban were torn away, being broken by the physical abnormality. The ogre-bodied man stood straight, rolling his shoulders, unmoving as from behind, an axe swung at his right arm.

Leon watched as the heavy edge simply bounced off the hardened layer of natural armor around the man’s body, seeing the maid who was even more dumbstruck by the failed attack.

"It’s amazing how none of you seem to get it," Ban casually said, returning to his feet as he simply pushed aside the axe. "I’m in another realm from you. Maybe I oughta show you the kind of playing field you’re set in."

Once more, the Reincarnator’s body shifted as the reddened hue of his hardened skin was infused with silver stripes, taking on a leaner form. As Leon motioned to summon his cannons, the figure in front of him moved as a blur, vanishing from his vision before–he was grabbed.

The hand gripped his face, leaving him no chance to react before he felt his entire body captured in a boundless momentum.

"Master–!" Ruby shouted, though her voice was already distant.

By his guess as he struggled, grabbing at the arm that held him, kicking at the man’s body to no avail, he was being carried forth at supernatural speed.

’I can’t get him off–this guy’s strength is absurd,’ he thought, only able to see the palm of the hand that gripped his head.

As he fought against the unreasonable grip, having to endure the laughter of the man of the same origin as himself, he was finally released–

He was thrown to the ground, catching himself on his feet as he found himself within a change of scenery. In front of him, Ban stood with a smirk while around stood hundreds of monsters of all shapes and sizes.

’I’m outside the barrier–?’ He realized.

"I tried to be reasonable, but now I’m going to let these guys tear you to shreds while I teach your servants who their new lord is," Ban threatened, saluting as he vanished into the crowd of monsters in an act of speed.

Leon shouted as the man disappeared, "Get back here–!"

As he attempted to follow the Monster Assimilator, his way was blocked by the bodies of cyclops, among the countless other fiends that filled the valley.

"Shit..."

–The only word that he could find as he faced down the monsters that no doubt had an appetite for human flesh, left alone with nothing but his sword at his side.

–

Ruby looked around as the chimera with her did the same, shouting out, "Master...!"

The maid checked in each direction, finding no sign of the lord that was there just moments ago. As she turned to look north, she nearly collided with the figure suddenly in her path.

"Looking for someone?" The vile words left the mouth of the monstrous man.

Ruby backed away, raising her axe, "What did you do with Master?!"

Ban laughed, flexing his unnaturally muscular body with repulsive pride, "Don’t worry about him. You won’t be seeing him again. I’m the one you’ll be calling "Master"—"

The abhorrent statements were enough for the maid to simply swing first and ask questions later, aiming to decorate the ogre-like human.

Ban silently stared at the short girl as the giant blade stopped short of being able to cut his neck, furrowing his brow, "It seems I’m going to need to show you how to treat your superiors."

With a single step, he closed the distance, raising his hand as he went to backhand the maid without any remorse. The attempt to correct the girl’s attitude was sidelined as he found himself only striking air, finding the maid dispersing into a bundle of butterflies that scattered in every direction.

"What?--" Ban questioned, swatting the bugs away.

The Reincarnator looked up as the gargantuan lion sprinted towards him with its teeth bare, bringing him to ready himself to clash with the beast. Right as it came within reach, he grabbed for its jaws–

Once again, the presence before him dispersed into butterflies.

It left the man utterly confused as he looked around, only now finding himself not in the open, war-torn field, but within a maze with walls of vines that reached to the clouds and beyond.

’Illusions?’ Ban questioned.

–

[EXP: +3,000]

[EXP: +3,000]

[EXP: +5,000]

With brutal efficiency, he cut through the pair of goblins and the orc that approached him first, using only a single strike to bring them all down.

["Body of Surging Thunder"]

From all sides, he was approached with malice; a footstep behind him brought him to quickly duck, evading a spear that aimed for his head, immediately countering by cutting through the midsection of the lizard-man.

[EXP: +5,000]

There was no time to stop and think, only continuously moving as he flipped back, allowing the gray-skinned orc that attempted to strike him from behind miss entirely. He plunged his blade through the savage’s back, planting his feet against its body as he slammed it into the dirt with a fatal landing.

[EXP: +6,000]

As he withdrew his blade from the barbaric fiend’s back, he raised his gaze as the horde set in from all angles.

["Possession Manifestation"]

Pointed in each direction, the cannons were anchored in the space around him, firing off without any mercy. Encompassing the area he stood, flashes of magical explosions rippled through the horde.

[EXP: 25,000]

He let the mana-fueled weapons continue firing, unleashing dozens of shots as bits and pieces of monsters flew in every direction, if anything was even left of some.

[EXP: +120,000]

[Level Up!] [32] [79,000/250,000]

[Physical Attributes: +5]

[Magical Attributes: +5]

[New Skill(s) Obtained: Mandate]

The endless barrage left dozens of fallen monsters and a smokey environment, yet he found the slain numbers quickly refilled by more fiends, almost seeming like there were even more than before.

He released an exhale, feeling his own mana dwindling as he kept the cannons pointed, at least earning some hesitance from the monsters in fear of his weapons.

’If this keeps up, my mana will run out before the monsters do. Maybe even my body will tire before that happens–either way, I need to get back inside the barrier. The problem is, I don’t think these guys are just going to step aside and let me through,’ he thought.

Blocking his path, a row of cyclops covered in heavy-steel armor, carrying impossibly large cleavers, stood without approaching as if specifically instructed to halt his path.

["Elite Cyclops"] [Level: 27] ["Elite Cyclops"] [Level: 27] ["Elite Cyclops"] [Level: 27]

He planned his escape through the colossal blockade, though stopped as he noticed a peculiar factor–the monsters that surrounded him were completely still, staring towards him, though not at him. It was as if they were left in a complete daze, robbed of the ability to even perceive his presence.

’What’s going on?’ He questioned.

"I’d hurry up and get moving if I were you. I can’t hold this all day."

It was only as the words met his ears with a familiar voice did he finally notice the person beside him, as if they had been erased from his mind the whole time.

[Special Existence Recognized.]

["Elias"] [Level: 35] [Plunder System]

"Elias? Hah, looks like you got my message," Leon claimed with a smile, slinging his arm around the Reincarnator’s shoulder. "I could kiss you right now!"

"Yeah, don’t," Elias brushed the arm around him off, tugging his hood over his salt-and-pepper hair, wearing the same, black uniform as if trying to blend into the shadows. "Don’t forget about the promise you made in the letter."

"’Course not," Leon assured before looking around at the frozen monsters. "What did you do to them, anyway?" 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

"I stole their ability to think."

"That sounds...intense."

"Monsters tend to lack detailed thoughts, so it’s easier to do, but on this scale, it’ll only hold a minute more. So, enough chatting–let’s get through," Elias said, not taking any further discussion as he led the way.