Chapter 154 – Returning to Dolaiz

“This… this… what has happened here?!”

Kangkai stared in shock at the distant Doleiz City, his face displaying nothing but two big words—astonishment!

Doleiz City was now in complete chaos. The city gates were littered with corpses bearing tragic deaths, and the peaceful scenery the ranger had imagined was nowhere to be seen.

Including Punk, none of them had expected that after being away from Doleiz City for just one day, the seemingly tranquil city would transform into such a scene upon their return. Now, raging fires burned everywhere in the city, and thick black smoke was clearly visible even from several kilometers away.

“What’s going on, Punk? Did your divination spell reveal anything?”

Kangkai anxiously turned to Punk. Even Bahanger had abandoned his usual boisterous nonsense, equally worried about Gollat’s situation.

Only Punk remained unperturbed as he cast his spell. His calm demeanor was not feigned—he felt no concern for Doleiz City’s current state. In fact, he was rather pleased, knowing Kangkai would never stand idly by amid the city’s chaos. Dealing with various matters would effectively slow the ranger’s progress.

“Perhaps there’s still time to make more efficient arrangements. I need to serve this guy a grand feast!”

Punk shot a cold glance at Kangkai, silently scheming.

Soon, the results of the divination spell emerged, and both Kangkai and Bahanger learned the cause of Doleiz City’s current turmoil.

Upon discovering that the nobles had hoarded grain, preferring to burn it rather than aid the refugees, and that the refugees had gathered to plunder the nobles, Kangkai’s face turned frosty.

Bahanger was more concerned about the self-detonating fanatics. He knew all too well how useless the City Guard was—relying on a bunch of bullies who specialized in oppressing commoners to protect the lord was nothing short of a joke. The immobilized dwarf, strapped to Kangkai’s back, roared in frustration:

“By Moradin’s beard, why does that damned Tisha Xia’er have to cause trouble for me, Bahanger, even in death? What a pity I didn’t shove my hammer up that bastard’s ass!”

However, the situation in Doleiz City needed immediate resolution. So, despite their differing thoughts, the three of them hurried into the city without delay.

There, they stumbled upon a scene where a crowd of about two thousand refugees had gathered to “put the nobles on trial.”

A tall, gaunt man, clad in ill-fitting armor clearly stolen from someone else, was wildly lashing three bound individuals with a whip.

The sobbing middle-aged fatty, the young noblewoman, and a little girl on the ground were clearly nobles—though not major ones, merely impoverished honorary nobles.

“Hahaha, how does it feel? This is how you used to whip us, right? How about it? Is my whip skill impressive?”

The emaciated young man laughed maniacally, raining down merciless lashes upon the noblewoman and the little girl. Soon, their silk garments were torn to shreds, and each coarse stroke of the whip left deep, bloody marks on their fair skin.

The surrounding refugees cheered and waved their fists, as if the gaunt youth were merely putting on an entertaining performance.The young man surrounded by the crowd had never experienced the feeling of being swarmed by others. It was also the first time he had trampled the usually aloof Nobles under his feet. The immense satisfaction made him wield his whip with increasing vigor, and he didn’t stop even as the three Nobles on the ground were already on the verge of death.

However, someone would soon make him stop—permanently, to the point where he could never lift a hand again.

“Who gave you the right to commit such cruelty?!”

Accompanied by Kangkai’s furious roar, just as the gaunt young man raised his long whip once more, a wisp of Battle Aura, gentle as a breeze, swept lightly past his shoulder. It wasn’t until the Battle Aura blade slammed into a wall behind him that a torrent of blood began to gush from the youth’s wound.

“Ah! My hand, my hand!”

The young man, who had been ferocious just a second before, immediately collapsed to the ground, writhing in pain and losing control of his bodily functions. Clutching his neatly severed arm, he wailed incessantly.

“A professional, a professional has arrived!”

Seeing the once-arrogant youth suddenly lose an arm inexplicably, the refugees fell into instant chaos. Their fearlessness toward the Nobles wasn’t due to bravery but rather because, without their guards, the Nobles were merely ordinary humans. However, professionals wielding mysterious power stirred the refugees’ deepest fears.

“Don’t panic, don’t panic! There are over three thousand of us. Even a professional is no match for us. Didn’t we kill two of this Noble’s professional guards? If we don’t find this Noble’s treasures, do you all want to flee to another territory and beg for food?”

Just as all the refugees were about to scatter in disarray, an aged but forceful voice rang out promptly.

At this moment, the refugees were utterly lost and disoriented. They had just survived a disease outbreak, experienced an unthinkable rebellion, and even killed a high-and-mighty Noble. Many had resigned themselves to taking things one step at a time, so they almost instinctively heeded that voice’s command, gripping their pitchforks and kitchen knives tightly as they glared fiercely at Punk, Kangkai, and their companions.

“Pitiful insects, forever marching further down the path to their own doom.”

Seeing this rabble dare to brandish weapons against three Formal-Level powerers, Punk nearly laughed aloud. He had been contemplating draining living beings to heal his injuries, and now these three thousand fools had delivered themselves to his doorstep.

Kangkai, however, was more concerned with the Nobles lying on the ground. Moving with the speed of a fleeting shadow, he brought the three to his side and gently lifted the most severely injured Little Girl.

Ignoring the refugees’ hostile glares, Kangkai sorrowfully stroked the Little Girl’s hair. But as an ordinary person, she inevitably succumbed to her injuries. The healing potion in his hand was useless—its potency was too great for a commoner to endure.

Facing the Little Girl’s gradually cooling corpse, Kangkai’s fingers brushed the scars on her face, and his body trembled slightly.

“It seems the ugliness of human nature ultimately requires the restraint of order. Losing order only leads to tragedies like this.”

Kangkai gently cradled the Little Girl’s body, solemnly offering condolences to the innocent deceased in accordance with the standard rites of the Church of Oubai.

“What a hassle.”Punk cast an indifferent glance at Kangkai, who was silently mourning while holding the little girl’s corpse. In his view, this guy had been completely brainwashed by Obai—daring to casually touch a corpse without any inspection. If someone wanted to harm him, it would be all too easy. In Punk’s eyes, such a fool was undoubtedly the easiest to manipulate and scheme against.

“Fine, fine. At least I won’t need to set up overly sophisticated traps. Probably just a kidnapping act will be enough to make this guy leap headfirst into the trap.”

The faint blue glow of magical power in Punk’s eyes slowly swirled as he already conceived a decent plan.

“But for now, let’s deal with these ants first.”

Punk disdainfully watched the refugees who couldn’t resist launching a charge and casually tossed out the spell he had already prepared.

Kangkai hesitated for a moment upon seeing this but did not intervene.

According to Obai’s teachings, even if these refugees hadn’t participated in the slaughter of nobles, they had committed the grave sin of failing to rescue those in peril (in Obai’s doctrine, refusing to save a life is equivalent to murder for profit). In Kangkai’s eyes, they were no longer worth saving.

He would soon deal with Kangkai and Bahanger to reclaim the legendary equipment. No need to rush.

(End of Chapter)