Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1173: Shocked Realization

The shift in atmosphere was immediate.

As Quinlan and his group stepped onto the ramparts, heads turned their way. At first, it was subtle, a glance here and there, but then the sight of the purple-eyed woman drew significantly sharper reactions.

Black Fang’s new robe clung to her figure with an elegance that only added to her dangerous aura. She walked with cold confidence.

Most of the consortium members did not recognize her right away. After all, she had never taken part in public gatherings. Most Consortium heads used their proxies, or, to be more accurate, their most trusted Veil Walker subordinates as their representatives.

Black Fang did the same. But unlike the other Obsidian Circle Member-ranked leaders who did it out of a desire for anonymity or safety, she did it because she did not care for the day-to-day operations of the syndicate.

However, due to her past, where she climbed the Consortium’s ranks by doing very high-profile missions and shocking all with the impossible successes she pulled off, many knew how she looked.

Most of the men and women who were acting back when Black Fang was still climbing the ladder were long dead or, if they were lucky, retired, but her legend still lived on, alongside sketches of her face.

Thanks to her bloody past, her face was also plastered across wanted posters in every city of Greenvale.

It only took one sharp intake of breath and a hushed whisper for the ripple to spread.

"Is that...?"

"It can’t be..."

"Black Fang!!! That’s her, I’m sure of it!" a woman decreed in hushed tones. How could she not recognize the idol she looked up to ever since she was a kid, and even to this day, thought of as the perfect role model for an assassin like herself?

The woman instantly bowed deep in Black Fang’s direction.

That only made it so a wave of gasps and voices rolled across the ramparts.

Some debated if it truly was her; others shook their heads in disbelief.

But the more they looked, the more certain they became.

By the time she reached the center, no one doubted it. Especially when Captain Rynne bowed her head. "Lady Black Fang."

The woman, however, did not spare a single glance at their reactions. Even Rynne only received a brief glance and the smallest of nods.

She was nothing like the almost teasing, perhaps even a bit playful figure who had just been with Quinlan moments earlier.

Here, her face was sharp and unreadable, the same woman who arrived in Quinlan’s home carrying the dead Orianna and nearly dead Raika.

Quinlan glanced at her from the corner of his eye and shook his head in quiet amusement.

Vex had been right. Black Fang truly had two modes of operation. Around those she trusted, she let her personality surface, even if it was done in a subtle manner.

Around others, those she did not trust, she might as well have been carved from ice.

Yet soon, the attention of the onlookers shifted.

Whispers turned from her to him.

Quinlan had removed his mask earlier, and this was the first time many of them had seen his face.

"Wait... is that really Devil?"

"It has to be! Who else would walk around like that with her?"

"Right! He is her Vesper Phenom, and there were rumors that she’s very interested..."

"So that’s what he looks like. Not bad, I bet his wanted poster will be a thirst trap material."

"Jealous much?"

"Yeah."

Their reactions told Quinlan that not many saw his face, nor were they even aware that Black Fang was already present, fighting Kaede and Elder Chizuru in the backline of the Fujimori forces.

Some saw him when he interacted with Rynne, and in general, when he rampaged through the battlefield, but most did not have the opportunity to look around.

That’s why many eyes lingered on him now, curious.

Several women straightened where they stood, brushing down their dresses or adjusting their hair as if to prepare themselves. A few even gave each other sly smirks, looking almost as if they wanted to tag team him. "Let’s work together... If we seduce him, we’re going to be set for life!"

"Yeah... And I’d like to get to know him not just because of his name and future potential."

"I know, right? He’s really handsome."

"Yes... In that rugged, manly manner... I’m weak to men like him..."

"Look at those eyes of his... The elements are swirling in there! How hot is that...?!"

"My knees are feeling so weak right now... If I had a chance, I’d throw myself at him right now, but I’m afraid I’d get killed by Lady Vex."

One man’s face twisted red when his wife whispered that last line, loud enough for the people beside them to hear. "Are you serious? In front of me?" he hissed.

His wife rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Oh, don’t even start, you son of a bitch. I already caught you in the brothel, so don’t get all righteous on me. I’m only with you because I couldn’t do better. For now."

A burst of laughter rippled through the onlookers at that.

"That was more than a century ago! I’ve been working hard to earn your forgiveness!"

"Hmph! You have an eternity of work ahead of you, fucker."

’What a healthy relationship,’ Quinlan mused inwardly after he caught some of the chatter drifting his way.

The tense stronghold had turned into a marketplace of gossip due to his arrival.

Captain Rynne stepped forward once the chatter finally died down. She lowered her head again, this time with genuine gratitude in her eyes.

"Lady Black Fang... please allow me to offer my gratitude. If you had not held Kaede and Chizuru back, our losses would have been far worse. The stronghold itself may have fallen."

Black Fang’s sharp gaze shifted outward, past the ramparts.

She studied the Fujimori gathering outside, their siege weapons roaring to life once more. Ballista bolts clattered against the barrier, cannons thundered, and the light of countless spells flashed across the battlefield.

Then, her eyes slid sideways. Quinlan felt it immediately, that faint glimmer of mischief returning as her emotionless expression lost some of its edge. Only some.

"Do not thank me," she said clearly with such strength in her voice that the words carried over the ramparts.

Then she fully turned toward Quinlan. "Thank him instead. If not for Devil, I would not have been able to attack Kaede directly."

The words had a strong effect immediately.