City of Sin
Book 1, 87

Conclusion

The street corner was filled with a river of blood. The guards’ limbs had all been chopped off, while the young nobles who’d participated had all given up an arm for their transgressions. Faulk was still held in Goliath’s left hand, looking very pale due to the blood loss. He was too weak to even cry out now, only moaning and groaning on occasion.

Earl Goliath looked at Faulk with interest like a brown bear that had seen fish in winter, lifting the boy up further and turning him around, “So, child of the Josephs, you’re just a discarded item. How unexpected, I didn’t think that old fellow would use his own son like this! Don’t worry I won’t kill you; that’d be too troublesome for me. But you... you won’t be useful as a pawn anymore...”

His hand shook vigorously as he spoke, jolting Faulk around like a cloth puppet. The sound of bones cracking sounded unceasingly from within his body, and his pale face was suddenly suffused with colour before his eyes rolled back and he fainted.

The bystanders all turned pale, but none made a sound. Goliath had inflicted serious damage to Faulk’s internal organs, eliminating all his energy. From hereon, Faulk would no longer be able to train as a warrior. He would live the rest of his life out as a sickly, weak fellow.

Senma hummed coldly within the forest, and a light swing of the slender sword in her hands let loose a string of blood pearls that drew an elegant symbol on the ground. Ten metres away, Poison Snake was leaning against a huge tree, one hand on his chest while the other pointed at the Blood Paladin, his face full of shock. Blood flowed from between his fingers despite his hand pressing down on the wound, dyeing most of his front robes red. He wanted to speak, but the moment he opened his mouth all that surged out was a bloody froth.

Senma took two steps forward, picking up the intricate navy blue crossbow from the ground. She took a look at it, “So it’s a refined gold crossbow. Let’s see what’s carved on it... Tsk, tsk! It’s actually the renowned Poison Needle! You really did spend a lot on this, no wonder it felt so threatening! I’ll be taking this, you won’t need it anyway down in hell. Thanks!”

Poison Snake reached out as he watched Senma’s figure disappear into the distance, as if trying to grab her. But he was overwhelmed by a sudden sense of weakness, and slowly slid to the ground.

Senma walked to the fringe of the forest, frowning as she looked at a navy blue arrow embedded in her abdomen, with only a bit of the tail feather showing. She didn’t fiddle with it, instead gritting her teeth and walking onto the street. Only upon seeing Richard stand up using his own strength did she heave a sigh of relief. The colour on her face suddenly disappeared, and the imposing aura she had before disappeared just like that. One could even see a trace of delicacy in her expression.

By this point, Warren had gotten up and stood beside Richard himself, deathly pale as he stared at the blood, dismembered limbs, and people moaning miserably on the ground.

By this point, Goliath had already tossed Faulk nonchalantly to the Joseph Family servants who were tossing and turning, looking at Senma with a smile, “You’re still as pretty as ever! Your tastes seem to have changed, though. Why do you like sticking something in that pretty waist of yours? If you don’t hurry back and get it treated, you’ll have to lie in the Church of the Eternal Dragon for a few days! Of course, Gaton will be paying for the treatment from the church, so that has nothing to do with me. It wouldn’t be bad to see him suffer a little for once!”

Senma took a deep breath, expression frozen as she strode towards Richard and lifted him up in one go. She then bowed slightly to Goliath and Alice, saying, “Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Go. I’ll deal with those old guys from the assembly,” Goliath waved his large hands casually.

Senma did not linger, leaving for the teleportation temple with Richard in tow. Once she turned the corner, she would enter the sights of the guards of the temple. If anyone dared attack them then, they would be attacked by the guards.

“Hey, bring me along too!” Warren cried out. However, Senma did not bother with him as she disappeared into the temple with Richard.

Warren cried out a few times, but it was to no avail. He could only stop, a malicious and poisonous look on his face. While he was Gaton’s son, he did not hold a high position in the family. It was impossible to compare him with the thirteen knights that had followed Gaton through life and death. While Gaton had many children, nobody had had any special treatment before Richard’s appearance. It appeared that Warren’s own privileges were even lesser.

Glaring at Senma’s back, Warren muttered hatefully under his breath, “Damn it, isn’t she just a whore? Does everyone look down on me just because my mother is a commoner? Someday in the future, I’ll fuck you to death!”

The moment he finished speaking, Warren was startled to replace there were two powerful beings behind him. Terrified, he quickly stole a glance and found Goliath and Alice speaking amongst themselves. It seemed like they had not heard what he’d said, something that let him feel relieved.

Goliath’s eyes narrowed slightly as he gazed at a building on a hill in the distance, “There are a few mice over there. Even with the distance, I can smell their stench! Raymond Joseph should be there as well. While I can’t sense his aura, the others should be his underlings. I’ve heard that kid’s status in the family has been rising quickly lately, and I think this issue probably has some relation to him.”

Alice snickered and then said, “Not probably. This was orchestrated by him. I’ll head over to have a chat with him now!”

“Alright. I’m not very proficient in this area, so I’m counting on you. If I were to go, I’d probably kill a few people,” Goliath answered.

“Leave it to me. However, you have to help me with that problem!” Alice exclaimed straightforwardly.

“Deal! I’ve got a good impression of Richard, but I’m not sure if he’ll be able to convince Gaton. He can only try his best.” Goliath’s smile widened as he laughed.

*Clop! Clop!* The sound of hooves rang out like thunder at the end of the boulevard. A team of knights dressed in golden armour and red caps, the splendid attire of the imperial guards, turned around the corner and quickly charged to the end of the street. The leading knight saw the pool of limbs and blood, paying attention to the emblems of the Josephs and Archerons, and the corner of his eye involuntarily twitched. He immediately jumped off his warhorse, walking up to Goliath and speaking with a bow, “I am Dean, leader of the imperial patrol. May I know how to address you, and what exactly happened here?”

Goliath hugged his arms, “I’m Earl Goliath Archeron, lord of the Westway Province. As for what happened, there’s a fair number of people here who saw the entire thing from start to end. I am willing to accompany you to the assembly and explain everything.”

Dean’s pupils shrank the moment he heard Goliath’s name, and he began to act even more respectfully. He turned around immediately, having the knights under him invite some clerics and priests over. Nobody except a few servants had really died, but if they continued to dither a life would be lost. And that might be considered his fault. While he was doing all this, Goliath stood calm and motionless like a mountain.

......

Raymond had already stowed away the precious monocular, but he didn’t leave. He instead seemed to be waiting for something.

Three knocks sounded from the door to the room, following which the door was opened without approval. Alice Archeron walked in, stabbing her large sword into the ground before she pulled a chair up and sat before Raymond.

Raymond stood up and bowed towards Alice, speaking with a smile, “It’s my honour to meet the Archerons’ beautiful goddess of war!”

Alice was completely unmoved by this and said dully, “Sorry, but I don’t plan on being courteous to true enemies. However, I do have to admit that this scheme of yours was truly unexpected, and you almost succeeded.”

Raymond took a seat and calmly smiled, “Almost doesn’t mean success. However, my only loss this time was in the field of luck.”