Chapter 321: Endure
Initially, Morden didn't realize who the person sitting in front of him was. Adam's face was covered in burn marks and he looked vastly different from before, after all.
Even his friends would take a moment to recognize him, let alone Morden who had only met him once.
But when he realized that the youth in front of him was none other than the one who had crippled Kevin inside the secret plane, everything started to make sense to him.
His eyes flashed with rage and hatred as he pounced on Adam.
"Bastard, I'll kill you!"
Adam was sitting cross-legged on the ground, calmly glancing at Morden rushing toward him with immense killing intent.
Inwardly, however, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. He had no plans to retaliate. If he did, there was a chance that it could backfire against him later. He didn't want to risk it.
So he expressionlessly watched as Morden grabbed him by the throat and smashed him against the ground.
"Kuak—" The youth gasped for air, but the next moment, Morden raised his fists and viciously hammered it down on his face over and over again.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!
"You son of a bitch!" Morden roared as he kept hitting the youth. "How dare you kill my son?!"
"How dare you?!
"You took away my everything!
"I'll kill you!!"
Morden continued to rain down his fists on Adam. Blood splattered everywhere as the youth's light groans constantly echoed inside the tent.
His face was bruised and battered. His lips were torn open from the attacks and his nose had long since broken.
Yet, he didn't utter a single word.
He silently suffered all of it.
Endure it! He screamed inwardly.
The rest of the Magi of the Gracie Family who had entered the tent were now beginning to feel great discomfort seeing this scene unfold in front of them.
They had expected Adam to harshly fight back. But here he was, quietly taking the beating. If this went on for long, they feared the youth would soon die in the hands of their lord.
The Magi exchanged nervous glances and then nodded.
"My Lord, please stop!"
"At this rate, you'll really kill him!"
Morden's subordinates hurriedly grabbed him and tried to separate him from Adam. However, the middle-aged man was extremely adamant.
"Piss off, or I'll have you all killed as well! Get off of me, you filthy mutts!" He glared at them, causing them to step back in fear.
Morden then turned around and coldly stared at Adam with crazed eyes. He raised his bloodied fists and began bombarding him with punches once again.
"DIE!!"
Adam's vision was becoming blurry and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Despite that, he didn't fight back.
Endure...
Endure...
Endure!
Suddenly, his eyes flashed with an eerie light and he glared at Morden.
The man was greatly taken aback and he involuntarily retreated a few steps. His heart was gripped by fear when he gazed into Adam's abyss-like pupils.
But the next moment, he was overcome by even more fury as he rushed forward and started stomping on Adam's face.
"You filthy commoner dare look at me that way! Just die!!"
A large number of people had already gathered around Adam's tent after they heard the loud commotion.
When they entered and saw what was happening, they were stunned. They hurriedly stepped forward and tried to diffuse the situation.
Infighting was prohibited by the higher-ups, after all. This was a rule that everyone had to strictly abide by.
But when these people learned from the Gracie Family Magi about what had actually transpired to cause Morden to act this way, they were even more shocked.
A Magus could still get away with infighting by receiving some light punishment.
But the punishment for killing an ally was death!
In an instant, the looks that everyone was giving Adam had turned from pitiful to animosity.
They were in the middle of a war against the orcs. Any Magus, regardless of their power or race, was a valuable asset to the allied forces.
To kill a fellow ally was an utterly despicable act.
Suddenly, the crowd parted and a tall man with a medium build made his way through. The aura he was radiating caused the people around him to take a step back and lower their heads out of respect and fear.
Rank 2 Magus!
The man had a head full of black hair and facial hair of the same color. His eyes were brown in color and his appearance, although stern and unforgiving, had a striking similarity to Morden's.
"Hold your hand, Morden," said the man with a cold expression.
The moment Morden heard this voice, he turned around and looked at this newcomer. Tears streamed down his face as he softly muttered, "Brother... Kevin, he... he's dead."
Oswald closed his eyes, seemingly trying to contain the raging tempest within him. His hands clenched so tightly that blood dripped from his palms and dropped to the ground.
"...I know," he said.
The next moment, he opened his eyes and gazed at Adam who was lying motionelessly on a puddle of his own blood. His lips parted and he coldly muttered, "Bring him out."
Morden gnashed his teeth in rage, "How are we going to deal with him?"
"We," Oswald began, "are not going to deal with him."
"What does that mean?!" Morden blurted out in anger. "Is this because of his teacher?!"
Oswald placed his hand on his younger brother's shoulder and comforted him, "Rest assured, brother. Justice will be served."
He then glanced at Adam with narrowed eyes and added, "I've already informed the other higher-ups in the camp of Adam's crimes."
"But..." Morden hesitated for a moment and spat through gritted teeth. "His teacher is Lord Berger, a Rank 3 Magus."
"So what?" Oswald sneered. "We're at war and every soldier must follow the rules. Besides, Lord Berger is a gnome. He doesn't have a say in the matters of us humans."
He paused for a moment before continuing, his words filled with coldness that made everyone shudder.
"Today...
"Adam Constantine will be publicly executed."