Chapter 367 Unexpected Tears
Outimbe continued to remain still, like a deer stuck in headlights.
The amount of gruesome intensity he felt in that one moment of Lyrian's spiritual energy was enough to shut his system down into a stupor.
However, the crowd felt as though their hearts let go of many mountains worth of weight as Lyrian's words continued to flow within their ears.
Not because they were words of rebellion, but because they ensured safety.
"Deep within--if your delusion does not completely rot your mind--you know that you cannot defeat those Orcs." As Lyrian said this, Outimbe finally broke out of his daze.
This was important enough for him to shake his head and turn around, "Do not go there, boy! You do not know my capabiliti--" He tried to shout in anger but was cut off himself.
"Stay silent, old man!" Lyrian said, sending a surge of bloodlust through his penetrative gaze.
Once again, Outimbe gasped accidentally, feeling his lungs contract and block up.
"You know that you cannot defeat those Orcs, yet you continue to lie to these people due to your own selfish arrogance. You would rather see these people die at the hands of these Orcs than admit your weakness." Lyrian spoke with ice-cold eyes.
"T-that... is not true," Otimbe spoke slowly, his widened eyes facing the ground.
Out of nowhere, his eyes began to moisten and turn red, "I care for these people... I care for them with all my heart." He turned to face them, "You all know that, right?"
However, he was shocked to be met with enraged expressions. They weren't just angry at him, but many disappointed, staring at him with disdain. Some, even disgusted at the sight of him.
For Outimbe, this felt like a dagger had pierced straight through his heart.
He looked down, unable to face these people. Finally, he looked at his own hands, "What... have I become?" He exclaimed, falling to his knees as streams of tears trickled down his face.
Never had he seen such a side from these people, whom he cherished the most.
'Seems this was the rude awakening that he needed.' Lyrian mused, 'I guess he's less evil than I thought.'
As Outimbe broke down into tears, the villager's expressions seemed to mellow as well.
Deep down, they all still cared for him.
At this moment, all of the villagers, and also Outimbe himself; the entirety of them remembered memories of their past.
Elders who were the same age as Outimbe remembered playing with him as kids.
They remembered how brave and caring he always was, and the great ambitions he spoke of from a tender age.
The adults of today's age remember how kind of an adult he was when they were kids.
He always used to play with them when no other adult seemed to care, and he never failed to be kind.
Women remembered him as a gentleman, and men remembered him as a warrior.
No one had seen the good side of the chief before, so they couldn't outright hate him fully.
However, Outimbe now felt as though the entire world was against him.
"All I've done... it was for my village, but in the end, I wanted to protect these people so much that I blinded even myself to that goal."
Outimbe exclaimed, melting the hearts of those watching, as the crowd also began to tear up.
Kaio, rivers of tears trickling down his face, joined his brother on one knee, placing a hand on his back.
As the crowd sniffled, wiping the snot from these noses, Rothis' too began to tear up.
After sniffing a few times himself, he said, "Wow... what a beautiful story."
His two other mates looked at him unimpressed as he suddenly exclaimed, "What!? It's impactful, alright?"
At that moment, a few from the crowd walked forward. As they did, so did more and more.
As Outimbe arrived to his feet, he expected to be the victim of a flurry of blames and insults.
'I deserve what's coming to me, damn it! When it did all go wrong? All I wanted was to protect my people...' He mused, but as he lifted his head, he was met with the warm embrace of the entire crowd.
He was thrown aback at the start but quickly broke down into tears of happiness once again.
As the entire crowd embraced in shared sorrows and joys, Lyrian scoffed.
'What the hell is going on here?' He mused, 'This was not at all how I'd think it would go.'
After a few seconds, he shouted out, "Alright, that's enough slobbering and sobbing! Get serious, damn it!"
With that, everyone quickly regained their composure and returned to their previous stances.
Outimbe turned to Lyrian, his face still red with emotion.
"Young man... I am sorry for what I said before. You are right; I was foolish to think that I could take all of those Orcs on by myself. It is completely my fault; I was blinded by a false ego and wanted to protect my village, you see."
He said as Lyrian looked at him indifferently.
At that moment, Rothis eagerly questioned, "Does that mean the quest's uncancelled!?"
Outimbe looked back at them with a smile and said, "Haha... yes, the quest is back on the table. 22 gold coins are hardly worth the lives of my people."
Solvir and Rothis both broke out into celebration as they heard this, "Woohoo!"
The crowd also celebrated, excited to hear about the news.
In the midst of all of this, however, Lyrian exclaimed, "The quest is back on?"
The crowd was slightly taken aback, slowly quieting down as Lyrian said this. They were curious as to where he was going with his question.
Before Outimbe could reply, Lyrian said, "No way. If the quest is off, the quest is off. We won't be completing it any longer."
As soon as Lyrian said this, a tragic hush fell within the room, silencing even the most talkative of villagers.
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