Chapter 284 (1/2)

Book 3, Chapter 20 – Rise of the Highwaymen

Blackfiend claieneral He committed some crime that deeply offended his betters and caused him to become a pariah However, it was clear just by his presence that there was more to him than that

The elysians would not sit idly by as a high-ranking member of their army became a wasteland warlord Elysians were a harsh and paranoid people, full of pride Allowing a general to openly defy theo free, just didn't add up

However, these discrepancies didn't affect Blackfiend's rise to power Everyone had their own history and experiences, and were often loathe to share all the details Cyclops and the others accepted hih row dispirited The goal they all strove for seemed further than ever from their reach

They realized they could only succeed with athered to their cause and the highwaymen were born

Cyclops never liked the name He would have preferred if they called the

But hisa sihtforward life like their lowly na

Blackfiend felt that a dra hwaymen' didn't sound like the sort with lofty ambitions, certainly not worth the sweat of elysian soldiers Out in the wastelands prideIt was always survival first

Over time, twenty bandits becahway one of the borderlands' fiercest group of bandits Cyclops, because of his years of service and experience in as given a position of leadershi+p Blackfiend put hie of one or two hundred men

He thought back to one night in particular

They'd just finished a big job, one that netted theold easy Their score also caroup of about a hundred slaves and a dozen pretty young girls As the crew celebrated, Blackfiend summoned all the leaders before him

After twenty years Blackfiend hadn't changedebon skin and burly frao, when he cae was the grey that'd crept into his beard by the corners of hiscollection of scars, were the only indication of the passage of time

At fifty or so Blackfiend was growing older, but no one dared challenge his leadershi+p The highwayrowth solely to this ht shoulder to shoulder with hi that tieneral Blackfiend once was became clear He kne to train soldiers, and coht They were bandits, yes, but under Blackfiend's command they were a tremendous force Years of harsh existence in the wasteland teh they could not stand toe to toe with an elysian bastion, out here in the wilds they were nigh unbeatable

Blackfiend ordered wine bowls for each of his coo away for a while” [1]

The others exchanged curious, uneasy glances But not asking questions had been beaten into the said, he said it If he didn't, then they didn't need to know

He raised his bowl, and said to thehwaymen couldn't quite understand “In thirty days, if I return, things will change for the Highwaymen Anyone ishes to leave can, without ill-will If I don't cohwaymen will scatter”

Thirty days later, no sign of Blackfiend could be found

But the highwaymen did not disband Cyclops and the others refused to believe that Blackfiend would discard those who had been his brothers for twenty years

It took fifty days, but eventually Blackfiend did return Only, he wasn't the same man who left He called himself the chosen of the wasteland and took on a nu habits For instance, upon his return Blackfiend developed a preference for the blood of the young There were also powers, mysterious abilities that ain with an announcement

It was a challenge to another ers

Although both groupsin the borderlands, both were co as one didn't encroach on the other's territory, there wasn't a problee and sudden though it were, bandits were a savage people Without even stopping to question the state of things, the Highwaymen chose to attack

When the war began, Cyclops and the others didn't even need to raise their weapons

Blackfiend stole into the Ligers' den alone, and by himself tore the life out of forty men That number rose to a hundred before he was done The eneuns and arrows, stabbed him with knives and swords, but he would not die Blackfiend trudged through their hail of steel without pause The Liger's bandit king even chopped Blackfiend's head off But he sied wound of his neck It healed instantly

Any dae they did to heal vanished as soon as they dealt it He was immortal!

It didn't matter how dire the wound or how often he was hit, Blackfiend recovered in seconds Alone he obliterated the opposing bandit clan With a single punch he reduced half their leader's body to gruesome paste

Whatever happened to Blackfiend in his nearly two months aas a mystery The devastation he caused was a shock to any itnessed it

The Highwayht their numbers went from a thousand to a fifteenhundred Theirseveralht an end to the pillaging of borderland caravans so that they could continue to gather strength without attracting elysian notice

Blackfiend's reputation greith every clash, transcending into the realm of Godhood He orshi+pped as such by his men With more faripped the hearts of those who heard his naer a mere bandit clan They were a cult, in service to their undying God