Crypt charged at the next man he locked onto. He spun the spear and, in one swift motion, slammed it into the man's forehead, sending him flying.
The skeletons had also created a barricade in front of Jake. They made sure the men couldn't get through, smacking them with their swords and pushing them back with their shields.
Jake allowed all that to unfold for a few seconds before he finally raised his hands and spoke. "Stop!" he yelled out. Crypt and the skeletons immediately came to a stop, but their guards were still up, and they would attack whoever came at Jake.
Everyone stopped. They stared at Jake, not sure what he wanted to do now. It was already evident that he was the one who would win if this went on, so why was he stopping?
"I'm not here to fight. I only wanted to take refuge in your village for a while. I'm not from around here, so I don't know much," he said as he started walking toward them.
"Stand back! We do not want you here. We will fight you even if it means laying down our lives. We will make sure that we stop you from entering our home," one of the older men said.
"Really? Think about it well before you throw your lives away. I can kill all of you here. I've already seen the extent of your strength, and honestly, I'm certain I can take you all down.
If you throw your lives away here because you're scared of me or something, what's stopping me from heading into your home and destroying it now that you're gone?
I don't know what this mark on my hand is, or why you hate me because of it, but all I want to do is simply rest my head and gather some information," Jake explained.
The men went quiet for a few seconds. No one said anything. Then the man spoke, "How do we know that what you're saying now isn't a trick to complete your trial?
The old books say it: the Hundred Trials come and the kingdom is shaken. The chosen would do anything to make sure they complete their trial," the man said.
"Uhmm, I have no way to convince you all, and neither do I know what this trial is, but I'm promising you that I have nothing to do with it for now," Jake said, his hands still raised in the air as a sign of surrender.
The men still seemed reluctant to allow Jake into their home, but they knew that if they pushed him, their entire village would be leveled.
"Fine. You will come with us, first to see our village chief, and until he declares that you are safe and have no bad intentions, we will hold you as an enemy," the man said.
[What the hell is he gonna do if you refuse? They can't even take down undead skeletons. Sheesh, the pride in humans.]
"Master, I despise how this human refers to you so casually, despite the fact that you're doing them a favor," Drake spoke from within Jake.
"Calm down, both of you. Let's go with them. I doubt they can do anything to us," Jake said. He unsummoned the undead skeletons and left Crypt.
The men encircled them and led them down to the village. They kept glancing at Crypt and Jake from time to time; the fear in their eyes was still evident.
"Master, wouldn't it be better to force the information out of them?" Crypt asked out loud. His question made all the men that heard it turn in fright.
"No, no. It's not the time to fight, Crypt. After all, they allowed us to enter," Jake said. He had no issue talking loudly for them to hear. He wanted to make sure they knew they didn't have control over the situation, even if he was following them.
They made it to the gates of the village and walked in. Despite the fact that it was a small village, there were quite a good number of houses—well-built.
There was a park for kids, a barn for animals, farms, and lots more. They had more than enough space; it was basically a small-scale town.
"It's still night, so you can't meet with the chief. We'll have to keep you in custody for the night," the man turned to Jake and said. But as soon as those words left his mouth, Crypt walked up to him, his flaming eyes shining bright in the darkness.
"Wake your chief up now," he said, his voice deep and cold, leaving no room for argument.
'Huh? I didn't give Crypt any instruction. I guess he did that on his own,' Jake thought. He walked up and placed his hand on Crypt's shoulder. "It's fine, Crypt, we will wait till daybreak," Jake said.
He was being sincere there, but it seemed the man took it as a warning. He immediately changed his decision. "Please don't worry, I'll call the chief now. You can speak to him right away," he said and rushed away, heading for the biggest building in the distance.
The other men kept a close eye on Jake, as if their village would shatter if they looked away from him for a second.
[It seems this tattoo is a bigger issue than we even thought it was. You have to find out what it's about. Oh wait—we would've known by now had you asked that woman,] the system said in a very sarcastic tone.
"Give me a break, dude. That's in the past, though asking her would've helped us out more," Jake said.
[Yeah, next time listen to me, dumbass.]
They waited for a few minutes, and the man soon came running back.
"The chief is ready to see you. You can come with me, please," he said and led the way to the chief's house.