NOVEL WEB chapter 185
110. Ordinary Citizens
Belrand, Lower District.
A thin mist drifted from the Glein River, shrouding this ancient and quiet district. The overcast sky cast no light, and the entire area felt like a reflection of hell.
This was the dark source of Belrand, the flourishing branches of this city, casting shadows upon the earth.
Chaos was the eternal theme here.
Even as all roads out of the city were sealed, the upper district guarded by the knightly order, and a curfew imposed, the glint of blades, flames, and blood still spread through the corners of this district.
“Stop!”
Roars and shrieks shattered the stillness of the secluded place. Excited rioters brandished their weapons and swords, engulfed in flames, chasing after a frail figure not far away.
“Don’t… don’t come any closer, please let me go.”
The emaciated man fled in desperation, his body covered in wounds, as if he had endured countless inhuman torments.
Whoosh—
A piercing sound of wind cut through the air, and the man suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground, a sharp arrow shot from a crossbow, piercing through his calf.
Blood flowed freely.
“Let me go, I beg you, please let me go. I haven’t betrayed the Rat King; I just want to wash my hands of it. I haven’t betrayed him!”
His face was smeared with blood and tears, as he humbly pleaded with the rioters for mercy and compassion.
“Let you go?”
The rioters slowly approached, their faces twisted in malice.
“Have you forgotten the rules of the Rat Guild? When we were all making money, you were more eager than anyone. Now, just because the winds have shifted a bit, you think you can walk away?”
“No, I didn’t! I didn’t! I just don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want to kill anymore. I want to be a good person.”
The man struggled to crawl before the rioters, bowing his head in a plea for forgiveness.
“We used to be colleagues, Swick. We even drank together often. Let me go, I beg you, let me go. I really just want to wash my hands of it; I absolutely haven’t betrayed anyone!”
“Let you go? But if I let you go, who will let me go?”
The rioter named Swick lowered his cold gaze, slowly raising the crossbow aimed at the man’s forehead.
“If you want to be a good person in your next life, you should start early. Don’t wait until your hands are stained with blood to say such things.”
“No, I want to see the Rat King! I’ve done so much for him; he can’t treat me like this!”
The man’s terrified roar echoed, but it had no effect. In the depths of his despair, the bowstring gradually tightened, and then… it was released.
Instinctively, the man closed his eyes, waiting for death to arrive.
Ding.
A crisp sound reverberated, and the anticipated death did not come.
The man opened his eyes wide in horror. Before him stood a pure black, ancient cane, quietly upright, with faint marks where arrows had grazed it.
Who?
Who could possibly wield a cane to block the swiftly shot arrows?
Everyone stared in shock at the figure that had suddenly appeared.
Dressed in a pure black, gold-trimmed suit, he exuded an air of nobility, while the jagged hem hinted at a subtle, violent ferocity.
He was significantly taller than an average person, radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure. Beneath the wide brim of his top hat, the cold, stern features typical of Northern Slavs were now etched with a strange smile.
“Good evening, everyone.”
He tipped his hat, greeting everyone with polite courtesy.
“Did I just hear… someone wants to be a good person?”
“Who are you?”
Swick immediately shifted his crossbow, aiming it at this bizarre newcomer.
The thugs under him raised their weapons, their expressions fierce as they gradually surrounded him.
“Don’t be nervous, everyone. I’m just an ordinary citizen passing by.”
The tall figure in the suit tapped the ground with his cane, gesturing for everyone to relax like a gentleman.
“You can call me… hmm, let me think, how about… Bruce Wayne?”
The smile at the corners of his mouth grew increasingly mischievous, as if he had thought of some amusing idea.
“Hmm, ordinary citizen Bruce, Bruce without superpowers, sounds just right for me.”
“What do you want?”
Swick’s finger tightened on the trigger of the crossbow, his voice sharp.
“Are you in cahoots with this coward?”
“No, no, no. Didn’t I say? I’m just passing through.”
The man who called himself Bruce… or rather, Mu En, seemed oblivious to the crossbow on the verge of firing. He appeared completely at ease, and instead of fleeing from the encirclement of thugs, he casually pushed aside a nearby machete, wrapping an arm around one thug’s shoulder, as friendly as an old friend reunited after many years.
“However, I do have a small question I’d like to ask this kind gentleman.”
“A question?”
Swick frowned.
Under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t waste so many words. Anyone daring to interrupt the Mouse Gang’s business would be dealt with swiftly—killed and tossed into the sewers.
But this suddenly appearing man was indeed somewhat inscrutable, so he still maintained a degree of vigilance; it was best to resolve issues without violence.
“What problem?”
“I want to know, your boss, Mouse King Sam, where is he now…”
Whoosh——
The piercing sound of slicing wind interrupted Mu En’s words.
He slightly tilted his head, pressing down on his top hat, and glanced at the arrow that had grazed his cheek and was now embedded in the wall behind him, letting out a regretful sigh.
“Why can’t people just let others finish speaking?”
“Kill him!”
Swick’s eyes widened as he barked, “The boss said, anyone who dares to ask about his whereabouts during this time must be killed!”
“Truly worthy of the rumors about Mouse King Sam, who has more than a dozen shelters and even changes sleeping places three times in one night; this level of vigilance is indeed admirable.”
Mu En amiably patted the shoulder of the thug beside him and gently asked,
“Don’t you think so?”
“Go to hell, you b*stard!”
But the thug clearly could not feel Mu En’s gentleness; he tightened his grip on the machete and swung it towards Mu En’s neck.
“So, you see, I have always disliked violence.”
Mu En sighed again.
“But why do you all insist on forcing me to resort to violence?”
His fingers moved slightly.
Thunder.
In the horrified gazes of the crowd, the thug closest to Mu En had half of his arm blown apart, dispersing into a mist of blood.
And amidst the crimson fog, the man who called himself a regular citizen, Bruce, whistled as he picked up the machete from the ground.
He weighed it in his hand.
“Ah, after getting used to using Elizabeth, other weapons just feel like garbage.”
He shook his head in displeasure, then flipped his wrist, plunging the machete into the neck of the thug who attempted to sneak attack from behind.
As if strolling leisurely, so natural.
“But it’ll have to do.”
“Kill him! Kill him! Everyone, attack together!”
Swick roared with bloodshot eyes, drawing back the crossbow string and quickly aiming.
Calm.
Stay calm.
He’s just one person, and he can take down more than a dozen of us in an instant.
As long as I can hold him off, with the power of the magic crossbow, I can shoot him into a porcupine in no time!
“Ah, by the way, can you answer me one more question?”
At that moment, the ordinary citizen pulled the knife from that man’s neck, elegantly dodging the splattering blood, and redirected his gaze towards Swick.
“How much is ten seconds divided by ten?”
Ten seconds divided by ten?
Are you testing a child?
“Of course it equals one,” Swick answered instinctively.
“Is that so?”
After receiving the answer, the ordinary citizen, Mr. Bruce, suddenly stopped, pressing his top hat tightly, ignoring the thugs rushing from behind, and whispered softly as if counting down.
“Then… it shall be one.”
In an instant, as the words fell, within Swick’s constantly aiming gaze, that man suddenly turned into an afterimage and vanished.
Then, accompanied by a series of almost simultaneous screams, countless blood mists rose in the air, like a splendid flower from the other shore, slowly blooming in this endless night.