Rebirth of the Phoenix God

"What the heck is going on here?!"

The reaction of the group of men that appeared was alone enough to convince Fen that while they had nothing to do with the real city guard, there was a slight chance that clashing with them would end up even more disastrous than doing so with the real deal!

From how their hands tightly held the grips of their weapons, it was clear that this bunch would press for the confrontation. Sadly, with the mob from before blocking his way out and the new potential enemies appearing in front of him, the young man had no simple way of escaping his current predicament.

So while the entire town was plunging into the chaos due to the sudden and full lockdown of its borders, the otherwise minor event was taking place, involving no more people than just twenty of them. 

"He refused…"

"I refused to give out bribes for some nameless and worthless scum. My gold will be better invested in the people that could actually help me out."

Rather than taking a defensive stance and looking for some kind of miracle that would save him from the clutches of the mob, Fen decided to go on the offensive. 

Instead of attempting to take both groups of people head-on by himself, something that he had no chances of succeeding at, Fen attempted to pit the clearly better-trained guards of this crime-filled district against the low-end mob. After all, no criminal guard would say no to the possibility of not only getting a bribe for free but also cutting all the shares of the people that they most likely considered as trash just as much as did they think that about Fen!

"And how did you gain the authority to decide who has the right to take the road toll and who does not have it?"

Closing in on the young man, one of the guard-like figures stared down directly into Fen's pupils. With his hand caressing the handle of his short sword, the threat in his voice was obvious for anyone.

"But well, I can't disagree with someone who speaks the truth. That would be against my own private code."

Raising his hands in a shrugging position, the man that approached Fed before was now backing off, as if even single thought of this situation developing into some kind of bloodshed made him regret all his life choices so far.

But instead of just allowing the scene to be filled by other actors, the man suddenly stopped as he reached the general area where Fen's encirclement ended.

"Kill them all."

Without any regard for the lives of the mob that dared to assault their prey, the man pulled his sword up, slashing at the throat of the nearest thug. In just a few moments, the entire place turned a small lake of blood, with only the corpses remaining from the people that attempted to initially stop him in his tracks. 

"Woah…"

Taking a look at the blood droplets sliding down the blade of his sword, the middle-aged man appeared to be clearly displeased.

"How come they are all dying so easily…"

Noticing strange sparks in the eyes of the man that just ordered the massacre of his fellow citizens of the crime-area of the city, Fen attempted to back off a bit, using the opportunity given by the breach in the crowd's numbers.

Sadly, he was never even close to leaving this place.

"And where do you think you are going?"

With his attention focused so much on the acting leader of the group, Fen failed to notice that as he was attempting to back out, two of the fellow warriors that accompanied their leader before now emerged from behind the young man's back, instantly locking both of his arms in their hold!

"You told us some interesting stuff about paying for the services. Would you be as kind, dear sir, as to enlighten us and tell everyone what did that proposition of yours entailed?"

Locked in the position, Fen could only watch as the man continued to get closer and closer, continuously playing around with the tip of his sword. 

"Well, if he doesn't want to speak, I guess we will have to make him…"

Noticing the lack of reaction on Fen's face and taking it as the sign of insubordinate, the expression on the guard's face worsened, with his entire expression twisting in an unpleasant grin.

"Search him!"

Just as this order announced the best part of mugging the other person for the guards of the Thief's district, for Fen it was the final call to action. Once confined to a prison or some torturing chambers, even Fen would find it problematic to escape.

"That will be enough."

Using the quick outburst of his power once again, Fen ignored how risky it was with how it could leave some marks that proper inquisition hunters could find out. But given how he would pretty much lose everything that he managed to get through the entirety of the last month, even going as far as to start from scratch if not getting into some shady business just to get the money required to move to the next important checkpoint of his travel. 

Right now, as his arms were free once again, his entire mind was filled with only one thought.

'How can I escape?'

First, the leader struck. With his sword aimed right at the angle between Fen's shoulders and neck, it was clear that this hit was going after Fen's head. Thankfully, the lack of information that this group had about Fen could make it a bit easier to deal with the problem.

"Swarm him!"

Even though the enemy leader was clearly swaggering on his own feet, that mad lad somehow was still capable of uttering the orders even as if started to free himself from the simple cage created by the rubble falling all over the place.

Soon, the initial success that the young man managed to obtain was overshadowed by the sad reality of the trade. With enough time, the entire group managed to properly reorganise themselves and judge both the losses and the potential gain.

One by one, the fake-guards continued their onslaught, not giving the young man even the slightest hint of rest. In just a few moments, the initial advantage coming from the outburst of Fen's power was gone, replaced by the consecutive attacks of the guards at all the points that Fen couldn't afford to defend.

Soon, his initially good position got worse, as nearly all of the escape routes that appeared with the disappearance of the angry mob were gone, covered by at least one of the guards. A few moments later, Fen only managed to save himself from the blunt hit of some kind of a small, handy hammer by relying on his wits alone. 

It seemed as if it was the end. While each and every one of those fake guards were far below Fen's level of fighting, their ability to cooperate and make up for the flaws of their compatriots was astonishing. One by one, the space that Fen could operate at was shredded to pieces by the slashes of the swords and pokes of the spears. 

At this point, Fen simply couldn't hold back anymore.

"ENOUGH!"

Shouting this order out loud, mostly in order to enhance his own courage rather than to scare or compel his enemies to listen to his words, Fen released all the locks that he set on his bloodline.

In one moment, the entire place seemed to turn completely silent. With the red hue quickly conquering Fen's entire eyeballs, his mind changed. The background noises and clanging no longer disturbed him. The perspective of losing his life there no longer seemed to be that drastic. But most importantly of all, the surge of power that the young man felt in his veins once he removed the limiters he set on himself, himself, his entire body started to brim with the energy that was desperate just for someone to make use of it!

"GET OFF ME!"

Instead of avoiding or parrying the incoming spear, Fen shot his hand forward, grabbing the wooden handle of the weapon just behind the metal blade. Tightening the grip that his fingers had over the handle, rather than breaking the metal blade away with the use of the overwhelming force that was crushing through his veins, Fen fixed the position of his feet before suddenly pulling on the weapon with all the energy that the young man could muster!

In one moment, the course of the clash reversed. Using the tiniest window of opportunity created by the loss of balance off one of the enemies, Fen dashed towards the opponent. Making sure that his face looked at least like that of a madman, he was about to jump at the unlucky victim to provoke the panic in the minds of the others, when…

BOOM!

A powerful wave swept through the entire area, instantly depriving Fen's legs of the support of the ground below!