Hitman with a Badass System

The two dwarves stood beside the unusual weapon and glanced at their audience briefly. They were like any other typical dwarves; bushy beards, bulky bodies, and smelled like ale. One had a receding forehead, while the other looked young with black curly hair. Everyone in the hall was able to see the weapon clearly. Now they all wanted to see what it could do before they started bidding. As though the dwarves had sensed their curiosity, they introduced themselves without taking any more of their time.

"I am Bufug, and my partner is called Goddun," the young dwarf introduced himself and his partner.

"I know no one gives a shit about our names. So let's go straight to the demonstration. Shall we?" Bufug's gaze swept across the hall.  Their names seemed fake to Gaya. No one in their right mind would give their real names when they were supposedly auctioning a mass destruction weapon. However, the dwarves were right. She didn't give two shits about their names. All she needed was to see what this weapon before her was capable of.

"Before we do that, we should tell them that this is only the prototype of the real beast," said Goddun, the old dwarf.

"What do you mean a prototype?" the red orc growled.

"Means we don't want any of you to pull a damn surprise on us. Make no mistake. The real beast is a hundred times more powerful than this one. So wait till after the demonstration," said Goddun. He wasn't afraid of the big brute orc despite the fact the orc could kill him with a single punch. The cultivation power between them was huge. Goddun, the dwarf, was at the Core Formation level, while the Orc was at the Fusion stage. Nonetheless, the orc remained seated without resorting to violence. Just like everyone else, they wanted to see what the prototype was capable of.

"Once you see the demonstration and finish bidding, we will take you to the real thing in a more secured area,"

Gaya's plan slightly changed after hearing about the dwarves. Initially, she thought the dwarves would bring the weapon to the auction. Now, the dwarves took a turn and only brought the prototype. Because of this change, she had to follow the dwarves and the one who won the auction to the real weapon and steal it from the dwarves. She hoped either the human couple or Colubra would win against the guardians and the orcs. Among all of them, they looked least threatening with their Core Strengthening cultivation level.

"To start the demonstration, we need a volunteer," said Goddun.

"Luckily, we do have, not one," Bufug raised a finger,

"Not two," he raised another finger. One by one, he raised all of his fingers,

"But five lucky volunteers," Goddun clapped his hands as the door on the other side of the hall slowly creaked open, revealing a group of people bound by their legs with iron chains. The group was surprisingly diverse. They had one orc, three humans, and a beastmen who had the body of a bear and the face of a man.

"Move your asses," the two dwarves behind them poked the human with his battle axe, pushing into the hall. Colubra raised her brows in shock. Not because she saw one of her kind but because everyone in the group was at the Core Strengthening stage. The iron chains tied around their legs and arms didn't seem magically enhanced with runes. Rather, they looked ordinary. Which led them to question why they were not trying to get out of their chains.

The two dwarves led them into the hall and made them stand facing the wide end of the conical weapon. There was at least seven meters distance between the group and the weapon. Whatever they did, they sure didn't earn the dwarves' empathy. The human tried to tell the other something but couldn't speak through the cloth tied around his mouth. Everyone in the group had their mouths shut by a piece of cloth.

"Now pieces of shits, listen to me and do exactly what I tell you to do. Try something funny, and you know what will happen to your precious loved ones," Bufug threatened the group in his gruff dwarven voice. The hatred in Bufug's eyes burned brightly like a campfire in pitch black night. It made Gaya wonder what the group really did to piss the dwarves this much. But whatever they did, it was not her job to find out and rescue them. The guardians were literally sitting there and watching this happen.

Even if Michael was there instead of Gaya, he wouldn't have raised a finger when the guardian who was supposed to do something was standing there doing nothing. Meanwhile, Goddun walked back to the weapon and fiddled with the knob attached to the side of the weapon. Everyone was so focused on what the weapon could do that they barely gave a shit about the group facing the weapon head-on.

"Cast your most powerful defense spells when we take away the piece of cloth. Do you understand?" Bufug asked as the two dwarves standing behind the group gave everyone a stern kick to their knees to bring them down to match their height. Even after they brought everyone down, the orc was still taller than the dwarves, which garnered some laughter among the participants. Gaya glanced at the red orc and his group to see if they would react to dwarves beating one of their own. But no, the orcs didn't even flinch an eye.  It didn't surprise Gaya after she noticed the expressionless faces of the guardians.

Eventually, the dwarves removed the clothes and let them get back to their feet. The dwarves waited with their battle hammers clenched tight just in case. Then, Bufug threatened them once again.

"Remember the faces of your loved ones and cast the strongest defense spell on your arsenal," said Bufug.

Everyone in the group felt reluctant and afraid to cast the spell, but eventually, they broke under the dwarf's murderous gaze. Then, they all cast their defense spell one by one.

"Starfire Rain," One of the humans cast the spell as countless glistening stars appeared around him, forming a bright barrier.

"Static Flare," Suddenly, a crimson-red light flashed across the hall when the beastmen cast the spell. The temperature in the room rose by a couple of degrees. As the spell's name suggested, a barrier made of red rays appeared around the beastman.

"Deflection Flash,"

"Repose Barrier,"

A few moments later, everyone had a shield around them. The others, including Gaya, couldn't help looking at the scene curiously. The two dwarves who stood behind the group quickly ran toward Bufug and joined their fellow dwarves. In Gaya's eyes, the two dwarves seemed terrified. She could see the fear creeping down their spins through their eyes. The dwarves had witnessed the weapon's power before. She was certain of it.

"Get ready to be surprised eh." Goddun, the old dwarf snickered as he brushed the weapon like he was caring for his own horse. Then, he pushed the knob inwards as the weapon purred. Gaya expected a fiery steel ball to shoot out of the weapon as it happened with the death kiss crossbows. On the contrary, nothing happened. The orcs growled, thinking the dwarves had fooled them.  But suddenly, the orc behind the glistening shield roared in utter pain. Gaya was taken aback by the sheer volume of his cry. The big orc screamed like he was going through. Soon, all the others joined the orc in his cry. Blood seeped through their eyes, ears, and nostrils as they collapsed down. Gaya noticed the sound of their cries getting louder as Goddun turned the knob.

"What is happening?" Colubra whispered to Gaya.

"'No idea," Gaya shrugged.

Their cries of agony lasted an entire minute until the orc gasped for air. Then, his big body hit the ground with a heavy thud. One by one, the entire group lost their breath and hit the ground with a sickening thud. Eerie silence swept across the hall. Even after they died, blood slowly drizzled out of every pore in their body. To this moment, Gaya had no idea how they died.

"This is unacceptable. How do we know they were not poisoned?" The two other humans, besides the guardians, rose from his chair as though it was on fire and questioned the dwarves. Everyone had the same question in their minds.

"Why don't you stand there and get your answer?" Goddun chuckled as though the human's question amused him.

The golden-haired man's face turned red. He expected an answer with a more respectful tone, except he expected that from the wrong person. Dwarves were known for many things, but respectful was not one of them. Although Gaya didn't think the dwarves used some kind of underhanded tactics to kill them, she did want to see more. By more, she wanted someone else to get killed by the weapon.

"I will settle this," Surprisingly, the red orc stood up. As soon as the human saw the big, bad, and brute orc stand up, his mouth shut down instantly. The orc was big enough to cast a large shadow on the hall. Then, he turned his gaze toward one of his men.

"Go stand there and cast yourself a defense spell," said the orc.

Hearing the orc, the others were stunned. No one in their right mind would agree to that, especially after witnessing how they suffered and cried. But the orc behind the red orc surprised Gaya by nodding his head. He strolled toward the bodies and waved his hand,

"Earth barrier," the orc cast the spell as a golem made out of stone appeared in a blink of an eye. The golem was at least ten feet tall. It placed its hands before the orc to shield him from harm.

"Show us what you can do now," the red orc growled at the dwarves, who weirdly seemed excited rather than worried. Just like before, Goddon fiddled with the knob as the weapon purred like a cat. This time, the weapon vibrated for a few moments. Everyone's gazes were fixed on the golem and the orc. To their shock, the stone golem cracked. Before they could realize what had just happened, the stone golem shattered into pieces as the orc started to roar in pain. Unlike the Core Strengthening stage people that died a few seconds ago, the orc was a Soul Refiner. Yet, the result was the same. The orc cried, collapsed to the ground, squirmed like a fish out of water, and suddenly, his cries stopped. However, the time it took the weapon to kill the orc was longer than before.

"We are satisfied with the weapon," The red orc didn't even flinch at his comrade's death. He acted as nothing had happened.

Gaya was speechless. She realized the empress wasn't kidding when she said this latest contraption could turn the tide of any war. Imagine what hundreds of these weapons could do. Furthermore, this was just a prototype. So only god knew how powerful the real weapon would be.