For a few seconds after Daneel said those words, they reverberated throughout the area, burrowing again and again into the ears of those who were present.
Witnessing this grand sight, all for sovereigns got proud smiles on their faces as they controlled themselves from laughing out loud and announcing proudly that this was the man whom they had chosen to follow.
Of course, seeing such power, Faxul and Elanev also felt more motivated than ever, waiting for the day when they, themselves, could display such awesomeness.
With each second, Daneel had ordered the system to increase the pressure felt by each individual, and so, as the silence stretched done, all eleven of those who were under its effect kept getting pressed further and further into the ground. The entire arena looked like it was made of a material which would not break easily, but still, cracks started to appear on the stands, and as for the ground on which their boss was standing, it was sinking in, as if intending to swallow the Spikeking whole.
The expression of the pierced man who had been so confident before varied from shock to disbelief to anger and then finally to worry, as he glanced up to see his subordinates who were all suffering.
Looking at him, though, Daneel also spotted a very, very slight hint of pride, because even though they were under so much pain, none of them had spoken out without his permission.
This made Daneel raise both his eyebrows, as he had not expected such a sort of loyalty from this ragtag bunch who had targeted his commanders.
It made him want to succeed in this quest even more, but he knew that he had done all that he should. Speaking more might actually make it detrimental, so he just waited.
Soon, it turned out that he was right, because the Spikeking spoke out in a voice that was remarkably different from the one he had used before when speaking to Daneel.
"Alright, fine! Just stop! Any more, and their legs might break! You know we can't swear oaths, but we will agree to follow you!"
The second he said this, the pressure disappeared, and expressions of relief appeared on all eleven people as they stood up and stared at Daneel as if he was a monster.
Seeing them, Daneel clapped and said, "Great choice! You made the right one! Like I said before, you can call me Overlord, and as you must already have understood, I wasn't joking at all before when I asked whether you would be prepared to come under me if you lost."
The spikes all disappeared back into the body of the man, and he started to dust off the dirt that had accumulated on his clothes due to him almost prostrating on the ground due to all that pressure.
He also nursed the injuries on his knees for a bit, just like his subordinates, and it looked like he was trying really hard to change his attitude.
It was obvious by now that he was used to being in command and not being commanded, so Daneel gave him a little bit of time without being too harsh.
Finally, the man spoke up after gesturing to the stands to make all those who were standing there come over.
He waited until they arrived, and it didn't take long as there were no barriers separating the arena and the stands. That was the reason why Daneel's spell before had been able to affect them, too, and soon, the group had assembled.
All of the laughter and arrogance from before was gone, and they all only looked at Daneel resentfully, as if cursing the moment when they had decided to pick a fight with him.
Some of them also shot worried looks at their boss, as if concerned about how all of this was affecting him.
When they finally heard him speak, they relaxed a bit, especially because of the words he said.
"Aye, you did say so, and the Spikeking has never been one to not keep his word. I have no one else to blame, after all. The Order is a place filled with skulking vipers and disguised tigers. And I should have known better before feeling greedy. It should have been obvious that someone who could bring those four with their crazy powers under his control must be a man of many means, but I was still confident that my power would be enough. I see now how wrong I was. My subordinates might not be as powerful as me, but they are all Amateur champions, and even though I, too, would have been able to defeat them all single-handedly, I wouldn't have been able to do so so easily. Well, my power can't be compared to those were the most powerful in my realm, anyway. Just like I promised, we will swear to follow you, in accordance to the team rules of the Order."
Until the last statement, Daneel was listening calmly, but when he heard the words 'team rules of the Order', he got a puzzled expression on his face as he had no idea what they were.
Noticing this, the Spikeking looked like he was going to explain, but he suddenly winced as he felt his knees throb with pain again.
Getting a thought, he said, "Follow me. Let's get to a damn bar first."
Saying so, he first started to march away, but then, as if remembering what had just happened, he turned around and looked at Daneel.
Laughing, Daneel nodded, and the Spikeking heaved a sigh of relief and lead the way out of the auditorium.
They made a strange group, with eleven limping individuals and five who all had broad smiles on their faces. Soon, they reached a large building with the words "Jones's Bar and Clinic."
Huh? Bar and clinic?
Quite amused by this strange combination, Daneel followed all eleven individuals inside, and his sovereigns came in with him.
Just as the name suggested, they were greeted with a very strange place.
It was divided into two areas, and there was a bar counter which ran along the length of the long building.
Even this bar counter was also divided, and on one side of it, the cupboards were stacked with healing materials.
On the other, of course, there were all kinds of bottles filled with all sorts of wine, and there were people sitting morosely while nursing the drinks in front of them.
The smell of herbs mixed with that of hard alcohol, lending this place a unique atmosphere the likes of which Daneel had never seen before.
As for the other side, there were a few beds laid out, and at the moment, all of them were empty. A motherly lady was sitting near the beds, and as soon as she saw the eleven walk in, she shouted, "Jones! We have people coming to use both our services! Get the healing wine ready!"
As soon as she said this, a man rose from the counter on the other side. He was wearing a vest exposing his ripped body, and he had a mustache which he twirled as he chuckled heartily to himself and pulled out four bottles which were filled with a green liquid.
The woman ushered all eleven of the group to the beds that were present, and as soon as the man came, she cast a spell and made a few glasses fill up with the liquid in the bottles he had brought, before they were thrust into the hands of those on the beds
"You know the drill. Drink and sleep."
The Spikeking nodded to subordinates who looked to him, and after that, all ten gulped down the liquids and promptly fell asleep.
Quite amazed by this weird turn of events, Daneel looked to the pierced man, who handed back the glass to the lady and said, "Get me normal wine, first. I have a bit of business, and after that, I'll be joining my maties."
The woman gave him an odd look, but she nodded and made a different glass float over.
A few seconds later, all six of them were seated in the bar area, and the pierced man began speaking after taking a sip and smiling as he felt the liquid go down his throat, burning it in the process and giving him enough energy to speak while ignoring the pain.
"Team rules- these are not listed in the rulebook that you are given when you make the choice, but they are known to all the participating teams. I'll give you the gist. Basically, it is unfair if someone loses and then finds themselves in eternal servitude. Teams are important in the Order, so these rules were made to keep things fair. If a match with stakes occurs, like the one we just had, and if the one losing has agreed that they would go under the one whom they were going to fight, then that person would have to enter the team of his opponent. The period in which they have to stay in that team is three months, and after that, he has the right to ask for a rematch. If he either draws that match or wins, he can leave. Also, there are other rules which state that team members who are obtained in this method must not be directly targeted such as being placed in positions of high danger. If anything bad happens, there is a court which gives judgments on these things, so generally, people who obtain team members in this way treat them fairly. Generally, newbies don't need to know about this, as there aren't many newbies like you who go around beating people and bringing them under them right after they enter. Anyway, my team is called the 'Brothers Drunk'. Hey, don't look at me like that! One day, we got together in a bar and made it when we were all drunk, so it got stuck!"
Daneel nodded as he heard the explanation, following which he said, "All right, I won't judge. What do we do now, though? Is there anything official that needs to be done for the obelisk to know that all of you are under me?"
The Spikeking took another gulp and looked at Daneel with a strange expression before sleeping.
"I guess that means you have a team mission already. Well, aren't you a man of secrets? Anyway, it's already done. I informed the Overseer using a trinket which is normally present to ask for help."
Oh? Well, that was efficient.
"I'll go to the Obelisk, then. Yes, I have a mission, and we will set off as soon as you recover. Shall I find you here, again, in a few hours?"
With a nod and a tone which showed that he still hadn't fully come to terms with this abrupt change in position, the Spikeking said, "Yes, give it six hours, tops."
With a smile, Daneel told his sovereigns to stay for a bit and walked out of the building to fly into the air.
It looked like the headquarters were shrouded in perpetual darkness with the light of the stars shining down, and as soon as he reached the obelisk, he saw that the mission tab was different.
Reading it, he had to admit that he would never have expected that this…would be the first official mission he would be taking up.
"Mission: Simulated War
Mission level: 4-star
Mission Reward: Information about an individual formerly known on the continent as 'Master Jonah'.
Mission Description: Assemble your team of 15 and arrive at an obelisk to begin the mission. You shall be teleported to a simulation where you and your team members will be commanding different troops on a battlefield with a certain objective.
Your opponent's track record in simulated wars: 23-2
Break the opponent's winning streak for additional rewards.
Objective of Mission: To prepare talented members of the Order for situations which might arise when Angaria is in danger."