Cursed Empire: Rising against the gods

Walking into an old run-down inn within Neverport. The man shrouded in a white cloak walked towards the counter.

Many eyes stared at the man, noticing the two weapons he had carried. Two swords that belonged to the Heavenly Army.

The man asked the waitress, "A bottle of ale for the road?" The man dropped two gold coins, surprising the waitress, considering that he had overpaid.

She stormed to the shelf, searching for a bottle of ale. The man didn't realize the gaze he received from the people around him.

After searching for a moment, the waitress returned with a half bottle of ale featuring the wrong label, "Here is your ale. This is one of the best ales from the Kingdom of Earnest. I hope you enjoy it." she said, showing the man a bright fake smile.

The man looked at the bottle with a deep sigh and said, "Correction, this is the beer from the Elizabeth Kingdom. It's poorly made and not worth buying. Also, I can tell that you've poisoned this drink." He tossed the bottle across the room and glared at the waitress.

She was frightened and ran to the backroom. That's when the man realized where he was. A settlement of thugs, thieves, and murderers.

Once he got up, he was surrounded by ten men and women with knives in hand, all were untrained thugs with no fighting background. Each had one thing in common, they had the eyes of the desperate common folk.

A woman with red hair, dressed in black leather, stepped forward, "We don't want to hurt you, just hand over the valuables...including those swords." she said, eyeing her teammates and signaling them when to attack.

The man revealed himself. His blue eyes stared completely unbothered by her threats. "Why would I do that?" he replied, slowly walking toward her.

The woman wasn't prepared for his boldness and commanded her allies to attack. They felt completely confident by the sheer number they had, but...

This wasn't an ordinary man.

The first attacker lunged forward to try to stab him, but the blond-haired man caught the blade with his fingers without even paying attention to the attacker, "What the hell?" Said the attacker as noticed how calm the blonde man was.

His raw strength was incredibly...everyone noticed it. Despite the attacker's efforts to push through, the man wouldn't budge.

The blonde man laughed at the guy who tried to stab him and tilted his head in confusion. Before delivering a swift side kick which sent him crushing towards the wall before landing unconscious on the table.

Two other attackers tried to stab him, but he flash step and delivered a neck chop that sent of them to the ground.

One of the attacker tremble as the blonde walked towards them. He blinked his eyes once before his face was knee.

The woman was frightened and began to back away, which led to her tripping and falling to the ground, "Wait, hang on. We might have ale somewhere, so please don't..." she said, trying to talk her way out of this.

The man was completely unimpressed. He drew his swords and made his way to her. But he stopped walking when a little girl holding a dagger stood in front of the woman.

The man's eyes sparkled as he recalled a haunting memory from the past. After sheathing his blades, he asked, "Tell me, what would you do if I gave you one of my swords?" He then sat down on the ground and continued to watch them.

The woman didn't know what to say but the little girl said, "My mommy is going to free us. She promised us that she would defeat the angels and save us all." Her voice carried years of worth of pain and suffering.

Enough so that the man would smile at their attempts at freedom, "Kid, your mother is an even bigger fool than Joseph. My first day here and I have seen nothing but poor people trying to survive." He said to her, to which the girl charged towards him with the full intent of stabbing him, "YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" she screamed.

But the red-haired woman stops the child, "EMILY! Enough...he is right." She said.

Emily refused to listen and tried to struggle free but was surprised when the man placed one of the swords on the floor, "Let me ask you this. I can give you this sword now and leave you people to continue to suffer. Or would you prefer to change your suffering to flourishment? You alone will never be able to defeat them with your pitiful level of fighting. But I can, under the agreement become the leader of this settlement. What do you say." The man had a calm and mischievous demeanor.

Emily hesitated for a short moment before immediately shouting, "NO, WE REFUSE! MY MOMMY IS GOING TO-" Suddenly Emily began to drop to the ground while gripping her neck. Not just her but everyone excluding the blonde hair man.

He picked up his sword and roses to his feet, "Maybe this will convince you." He made his way to the outside.

Where four divine creatures descend to the ground readying to claim their taxes from the people. One of them walked forward and said, "Humans, we expect the following from the village of Neverport. Under Joseph's orders, we require ten mature women, ten gold coins, and the finest ale this place has to offer." The people were already making their way to fulfill the demands.

Making these people angry would only lead to Neverport destruction. The divine creatures simply couldn't be killed. The only method requires were using their weapons or magic. This village had no access to the only means of rebelling.

Ten different women were crying as they bid farewell to their families, knowing they would never be seen again. Many people gathered their resources, managing to collect enough money to equal ten gold coins. Meanwhile, the waitress pushed past the blonde man to deliver the ale he had ordered.

Before the ale was handed over. The glass shattered to pieces by a randomly thrown stone. The people were devastated as all eyes turned to the blonde man.

The divine creatures were furious at the man and drew their weapons, "You dare go against Joseph's orders of cleansing your kind of its impurities-" It felt like a mere second, but the divine creature didn't realize that the man was already by his face.

"Keep on lying." With the swiftness of his blade. He decapitated the divine creature. Leaving the people in shock, including the divine creatures.

The red-haired woman stormed out of the inn with Emily by her side. Both were taken aback by the yellow liquid oozing from the divine creature's body. The man turned his head to them and smiled, "My name is Axel. From this day forward, I am your king. Together, we will rise against those who oppress us." With immense speed and strength, he cut down each divine creature without any mercy.

His skills as a duellist kept the people in both disbelief and excitement. A real swordsman was in their village.

After Axel defeated the divine creature, those impressed begun to cheer while those who disliked his character simply stay quiet.

Axel then picked up the axe carried by the divine creatures and tossed it towards the woman with red hair, landing perfectly at her feet.

The people were taken aback by his display. A small number were confused and shocked by what they saw. But the rest cared about one thing, and one thing only.

They were free. Neverport will not be losing any more people. From today onwards.

A few were not so trusting of the idea of a random stranger declaring himself King, but the majority who witnessed his strength were far too massive.

Red hair woman realised that. Watching the people she knew cheer on Axel and even called him King. His presence was far greater than her's.

The red-haired woman approached Axel, axe in hand, "My name is Becca. I've been taking care of these people for three years, but I was unable to prevent these creatures from breaking our spirit. Yet, you managed to achieve great results in just a few seconds. You are better suited to look after these people than-" Before Becca could finish her sentence, Emily came screaming at the top of her lungs.

"NOO!" furiously punching Becca's leg with her tears streaming down her face.

Becca ignored her and dropped the axe by Axel's feet. She attempted to walk away while Emily held her tightly.

But Axel stopped her by grabbing her collar, "Look around. No one wants you to leave." When she did, eyes of sorrow made her realize that they wanted her to stay.

Axel picked up the axe and handed it over to her, "I wish to build a kingdom for the mistreated and helpless. This place is perfect for my start but I am unfamiliar with the residence here. So how about we form a partnership, what do you say. If you were to leave, you would surely die. Rather pick the smart outcome." Axel continued to smile while giving a mysterious aura.

Becca was stunned, kept on stuttering over her words but stopped when she looked around at the people who knew her. They all didn't want her to leave.

Axel walked up to her and extended his hand, "For once we have a chance against them. We can survive this hell. Let's build a powerful kingdom together."

Many begun to support his suggestion a lot more. Emily held Becca leg tightly while whispering, "Don't leave...please." Her tears and snot were smeared on her leg as she continues to hold onto her.

Becca looked at Emily before turning her attention to him, "If everyone is okay with the idea...then we can make this work. So yes, I accept the offer." the two then shake hands which cause an uproar of cheers.

Neverport, is going to survive from now on.