The next second, a horrifying, loud noise was suddenly heard beyond the alley!
*Bang*
Thales had a great fright.
By the sound of it, a body had been slammed against the wall...
The commotion and shouts on the other side of the wall were chaotic.
"No. This b.a.s.t.a.r.d…"
"Gleeward, you"re—"
"Draw your weapons…"
But it was not over.
*Bang*
Another m.u.f.fled bang was heard. To Thales, it sounded like the powerful clash between fists!
The sounds of bones cracking were heard, followed by screams of pain.
"d.a.m.n it. Get him… Argh—"
*Swoos.h.!.+*
This time, there were sounds of swords cutting into flesh.
"This son of a b*tch…"
*Pop!*
Loud sounds of bones cracking were heard again this time.
"Argh—"
"Sh*t! How did he do that—"
"Somebody kill him… Argh—"
Wave after wave of horrifying screams were audible beyond the alley. Thales who was listening to everything got increasingly nervous.
"What exactly is happening?"
"Where is the throwing knife? Use the throwing knife to…"
The chaotic crowd started to become hysterical.
"Argh—I swear, we will not... we will not let you off the hook! Never! Your brothers, your men, everyone you cherish and love, we will—"
*Thud!*
Another m.u.f.fled bang of a body falling to the ground cut the man off. His voice had appeared to be fierce, but he was in actuality, cowardly at heart.
"Quickly, pa.s.s the knife—"
*Whoos.h.!.+ Rustle...*
Thales" heart skipped a beat. These sounds were both unfamiliar and familiar to him. They were sounds of arteries being cut open on the battlefield and blood gus.h.i.+ng out of everywhere.
The voices from the crowd became more and more fearful.
"No, no, wait, let"s talk this over—"
*Bang! Thud!*
The dull and deadly sounds echoed one after another.
Standing behind the wall, Thales was filled with trepidation as he listened to these sounds.
The voices of the crowd grew spa.r.s.er with each pa.s.sing second.
"Nonono, I am only an errand boy—"
*Bang!*
Thales was taken aback. The wall that he was leaning against trembled a little, as though someone was thrown at it. A lot of dust was knocked off from the wall, falling to the ground.
Right after that, the noises outside seemed to lessen, whether it was the noises that came from people who were screaming for help or the fighting.
A voice begging loudly for mercy in a weeping tone was heard.
"Please don"t, please don"t. Shadowing you or attacking you when you"re alone, those are all their ideas… I really have nothing to do with them—"
But the next moment, a chilling, crisp sound rose into the air. *Crack!*
Thales closed his eyes. He knew what sound that was.
That was the sound of someone"s neck being twisted while he was still alive.
After numerous loud, frightening noises, things finally quieted down behind the low wall.
The chaos beyond the alley seemed to have died down.
It was after the chaos had died down that Thales opened his eyes grimly and cautiously while holding his breath.
"It can"t be, can it?"
In the terrifying deathly stillness, only two breathing sounds remained beyond the alley.
One was calm and steady, thick and heavy, and slightly out of breath.
The other was panicky, frightened, and was rapid.
Even if he had activated the Sin of h.e.l.l"s River to its full power, he still could not hear the breathing of other living beings.
"There"s only… two people left?"
Thales closed his mouth, stupefied.
A few seconds later.
The boorish, rude male voice that was not heard in a while was heard again, accompanied by a low harrumph. "Hmph, d.a.m.n Psionic, acting arrogant just because you think you know some tricks... Argh, that hurts."
A swoos.h.i.+ng sound was heard. It seemed that a sword had been pulled out of somebody"s flesh.
*Clang*
It was the sound of metal falling onto the ground.
The metal sound was followed by breathing from behind the wall. The breathing was hurried and unstable.
"You-You-You, Gl-Gl-Chief, Chief Gleeward, I-I-I-I was not…"
The voice was trembling.
As a reply, Gleeward laughed coldly. "Hmph, they have around ten people, and they can"t even handle a cripple on a wheelchair who"s alone.
"I feel ashamed for you lot."
Thales frowned intensely. "What is going on?"
One against a dozen, and there were Psionics among them. But, all of them were…
Almost in tears, the owner of the last voice was so terrified that he could no longer say a single word.
"Hey."
What Gleeward said next made him hold his breath, "You are lucky, young un. I need a living tongue to deliver my message…"
The owner with the quivering voice seemingly understood the meaning of Gleeward"s words and immediately felt a little relieved.
The next second, he rushed to speak, and he sounded as if he was so happy that he was going to cry. "Of-Of course! Chief Gleeward, just tell me what you want, and I will deliver whatever that you…"
"Hmph." Gleeward snorted coldly, and it made the survivor swallow his flattery to Gleeward. His trembling words came to a screeching halt.
Thales who was listening to all of this at a corner did not even dare to breath amid the intimidating stillness.
Clearly, the man behind the wall was dangerous.
"Listen, sc.u.ms..."
Gleeward"s boorish and unpleasant voice raised into the air. "Do you think that by using threats and violence, you can make me submit?
"You need to know that Vlad spent ten years exhausting every means and even brought Black Sand Region"s powerful military crossbows over, yet he still couldn"t kill me…"
There was a ferociousness, which was rarely heard in Gleeward"s voice, "Hmph, forget my missing legs and eye…
"Even if I cannot speak and cannot see, even if I have rotting limbs and am paralysed for the rest of my life," the boorish warrior spoke in a low voice, but every word he uttered was as firm as steel, "I could still get out of bed with gritted teeth, and grind each and every single person here…
"...into pieces."
*Pop*
There were screams from behind the wall.
Thales could sense that the survivor was being lifted by Gleeward single-handedly.
"You think that the Star Killer running wildly and madly is scary? Ha!" the boorish man"s voice turned terrifying. "When you upset Gleeward, you will know…
"…That dead face who only knows how to behead others is actually very gentle and polite."
Thales heard the frightened breathing now being accompanied by the sound of teeth chattering.
"Deliver these words," Gleeward said without emotion. "I may not be able to guard my territory and my brothers, but I hold a grudge very well. From today onwards, I will hold you responsible for everything that happens on my territory, and that everything includes matters like the girl opposite my house losing her doll, or my neighbor"s dog losing a bone in its bowl… I will put. It. All. On. Your. Heads."
*Tap, tap, tap*
It sounded like fingers knocking someone harshly on the forehead.
The man was quivering so much that it was ridiculous at this point.
"You better pray that s.h.i.+eld District as well as Hammer District remain safe and thrive, or else… to repay you, I"ll tear all of you alive, no matter where you hide, no matter how high your social status is, just as you have witnessed."
*Bang*
The sound of a body falling to the ground was heard.
"Get lost," Gleeward said slowly in an icy tone.
A second later, while the sounds of rapid and shaky breathing could be heard, frightened footsteps rose into the air as well. Along with the footsteps, the sound of countless things being knocked off also rang, while between the steps, the sounds of clothes touching the ground were heard too.
The steps gradually traveled farther and faded away.
Thales exhaled discreetly behind the wall, .
His heart was beating rather quickly. "Luckily, it"s over.
"Now, I just have to wait for the wheelchair to leave…"
"Hey!"
The boorish man spoke again.
This time, there was a lackadaisical tone in his voice.
"The man eavesdropping at the wall," Gleeward"s low voice traveled clearly into Thales" ears.
"How long are you going to hide?"
Thales" heart froze.
"What?"
He touched his stiff neck and looked up with a dumbfounded face. He then cast a glance at the low wall, which concealed him perfectly.
"Calm down.
"Calm down, Thales."
The prince was hoping to get away with sheer luck. He pursed his lips. "Maybe he"s not referring to me."
"Hmph.
"Stop pretending, person behind the wall." Gleeward seemed to be furling and unfurling his fists, causing crisp, terrifying sounds to appear. "Was it fun watching the show?
"Hey, when I get you, you won"t be so lucky."
The prince closed his eyes, feeling helpless.
Thales inhaled deeply.
"Look on the bright side, Thales.
"It"s midnight right now. I"m in the practically abandoned s.h.i.+eld District. That man... It"s impossible that he just came here for a stroll purely by coincidence.
"Also, judging from what Gleeward said, it seems like he came here by himself and ended up being surrounded by his opponents.
"And him coming to this place in the middle of the night can only mean…"
Thales regulated his breathing. He used this reason he came up with to convince himself numerous times before he started to walk and step out of the narrow alley.
Cold wind was blowing. The unbelievably big difference in temperature between night and day left Thales shuddering.
The ruined and desolate s.h.i.+eld District beyond the alley was presented to him.
But what actually attracted his attention was the complete mess before him.
Thales observed the scene under the moonlight with a dumbfounded face. A dozen corpses were littered all over the ground and wall in different postures, their expression frozen from their last moments. They were either terrified, frightened or enraged.
Among them, some of their hands or legs were bent out of shape, while some bodies were bent in half. Some of them had organs spilling out of their bodies. All of this was made all the more horrifying under the darkness of the night and the illumination of the bright moon.
A few torches were scattered across the ground, though they still burned tenaciously, struggling to provide some light.
Thales slipped as he accidentally stepped on a puddle of blood.
It was just like a slaughter field.
Surrounded by such a sight, anyone would have held their breaths. Thales tried hard to gulp. He took a good look at the only man alive. The strong man sat on the ground, dressing the wound on his shoulder quietly.
Through the weak flames and moonlight, Thales could see the man"s most distinctive feature at first glance: he had no legs.
At least Ralf still had his thighs and knees left, but the pants starting from the lower half of the boorish man"s thighs were empty. He had even tied his pants together to form two knots, a sign of his former misfortune.
Thales frowned a little.
Gleeward snorted coldly. He had his teeth clenched tightly on a strip of cloth for bandaging purposes, and he lifted his head with great effort. "Tell me. You followed me here in the middle of the night. Who sent you here? Was it Nicholas, Vlad, or someone else, eh?"
There was doubt in Gleeward"s eyes.
With the help of the light, Thales was able to see the man"s face. Just as he had expected, there was nothing in Gleeward"s left eye socket. There was only a black hole.
Below his short hair, the place where his left ear should be only spotted a round hole. It seemed like his ear had been torn from its root.
Thales was stunned.
"A little brat?"
The strong man furrowed his brows and appeared doubtful.
While he spoke, Gleeward used the remaining three fingers on his left hand to pull one corner of the cloth and used his mouth to pull the other corner. He had his right hand on the ground to help himself up and maintain balance of his broken body. Only half of it remained, and he tried his best to bandage his own wound.
Faint sadness rose within Thales.
"This man… only has half his body left."
"Hey, are you listening, you little brat!"
Thales" expression changed. When he snapped back to attention, he scratched his forehead. "As a matter of fact, I am nearly forty years old…"
"You are a child indeed." Gleeward shook his head and snorted lightly. "Is child labor a trend now? Tsk, tsk. Why oh why are people so cruel now."
"Cruel?"
Thales could only manage a helpless smile as he watched Gleeward, who sat among the dead bodies.
Gleeward"s face was flat, but he had a high nose bridge. His messy stubble could lead others to suspect that he had used a table knife to shave, badly.
When he was done dressing his wound, he moved his left hand behind him. Chafing sounds could be heard in the darkness.
The man pulled a wooden wheelchair to himself.
Gleeward gritted his teeth. He fixed the wheelchair on a flagstone that stuck out, then grabbed the armrest with his left hand, while his right hand remained on the floor to support his body.
He pushed the only remaining part of his body up from the floor, then leaned towards the wheelchair, trembling while attempting to sit on it.
A thought crossed Thales" mind. As he watched Gleeward performing these movements with great difficulty, he wanted to walk forward and help him.
But, in the next moment, Gleeward used his actions as a response to Thales" intention to help. The strong man let out a low groan before an endless power seemingly erupted from his powerful right arm, and he pushed the ground!
The next second, the boorish man leaped into the air steadily.
Thales had already taken a step forward at that point, but his foot froze mid-air.
As the wheelchair shook, Gleeward fell into it perfectly.
Gleeward leaned backwards and exhaled comfortably on the wheelchair. He glanced at the corpses all over the place in a sneering manner and revealed a cold smile.
At this point, Thales suddenly realized that even though the other person appeared to be handicapped and may only have half his body remaining, there was no doubt that the man who stood in front of him was the strongest man he had ever seen. He was also the most valiant warrior he had ever seen.
At that exact moment...
A female"s voice, which he had not heard in a long time flowed into his ears.
The voice was gentle, light, and carried with it unwavering stubbornness.
""No, Qiren.
""They don"t need cheap sympathy. It shouldn"t be coming from us who think that we"re the so-called "perfect humans" and want to fulfill our moral obligations by helping as well as sympathizing with them.
""They need us to remove our biases against them and treat them like how we treat normal people because they are no different from us to begin with.
""They cannot be normal people because we are too full of ourselves. We are not tolerant enough. It is this imperfect society that has not provided them the foundation to be normal, be it the lack of certain limbs, which have brought them different gazes, or the lack of facilities, which has made living difficult for them.
""Stop calling them handicapped.
""Because they are not."
"It"s her.
"But who could she be?"
He instinctively reached out to her.
But he touched nothing.
All that was left was blankness.
"Hey!
"You"re even letting your mind wander at a time like this?" Gleeward moved the wheelchair to the front and sized Thales up from head to toe. He pointed at his brain with a puzzled look and said, "Could you... be r.e.t.a.r.ded?"
Thales was astounded. He forced the sudden flashbacks into dark corners of his brain.
Gleeward clenched his right fist, making clear cracking sounds.
This sound caused Thales to tense up.
He tried his best not to look at the corpses around him. He put on a forced smile.
"Focus. Now…"
Thales took a deep breath. He wanted to appear friendlier.
Putray mentioned this before, "Smile, smile. Smile when you see the point of contact."
The prince opened his mouth and revealed his full set of white teeth. He looked at the man in the wheelchair eye-to-eye. "So, are you the man Putray talked about?"
Gleeward creased his brows and asked loudly, "Who?"
His unpleasant and loud voice frightened Thales.
"Putray. Umm, he is the…" Thales tried hard to maintain his smile. He tried his best to speak in a language closer to the standard accent of the Northlanders. "The weird old man who smokes with a tobacco pipe?"
Gleeward blinked his only eye and scratched his chin under the moonlight.
Getting impatient, he opened his mouth widely. He was loud, but his words were unclear when he retorted, "What are you talking about?"
Thales" heart quivered.
"It can"t be."
"Maybe, maybe there is someone. He may not have used the name Putray. He could have used a pseudonym. He may not have smoked. He may not have had time to smoke lately…" Thales was waving his arms and moving his feet, trying his best to organize his words while cursing Putray secretly about his unreliability. "He asked you to… You know, at this time, get someone to, get someone to…"
Thales waved his arms and shook his head slightly. Looking hopeful, he watched Gleeward, who did not seem to be aware of the situation they were in. "To send him to…"
"At this time? Get him to…" The boorish man narrowed his one eye slightly. His eyeball moved in circles while he pondered on the matter.
He asked in a probing manner, "Do you mean… to be transported out of the city?"
Thales" eyes lit up, and he snapped his finger. "Right! That"s it!"
Gleeward became quiet.
The man on the wheelchair watched him quietly for a few seconds.
Thales felt gooseb.u.mps.
Until...
"Ohhhh!"
Gleeward"s face changed. He slapped his head all of a sudden.
The strong man was suddenly enlightened. He pointed his right hand at Thales. "So, it"s you!"
"Oh, thank G.o.d."
Thales exhaled!
He felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders.
"Right, right, right!"
Thales slapped his thigh. The interaction that just took place was difficult for him. He smiled uneasily. "It"s me. Haha. Hi… Hehe. Umm, how should I address you?"
"Hmm…" Gleeward continued to size Thales up with a narrowed eye while he let out a low hum.
Thales felt gooseb.u.mps all over his skin.
"Gleeward." A second later, the rude man laughed and revealed his big yellow teeth. He extended his right hand. "Drew Gleeward."
Thales exhaled in relief again.
"Fortunately, this man appears to be someone who"s easy to talk to…"
He extended his right hand while there was still fear lingering in his heart. He shook Gleeward"s hand. "So—"
Right at that moment...
*Bang*
Thales who did not have the time to react felt a sudden weight on his right hand, and a sharp sting of pain on his neck. His line of vision shook viciously!
A great amount of force surged from Gleeward"s right palm, jerking Thales and causing him to lose his balance. He began to fall in Gleeward"s direction!
"I got you!"
Gleeward"s smug laugh traveled into his ears.
"Hahahaha. You want to sneak out of the city? Hey, aren"t you that little Prince of Constellation who was kidnapped?"
Gleeward"s boorish laughter grew louder, causing pain in Thales" ears.
"What… just happened?"
Thales who was having difficulty breathing struggled to open his eyes. However, he was horrified to see that his hands had been locked down on his back with an unwavering force by the wheelchair-bound Gleeward.
The latter"s left arm was around the prince"s neck. The muscles on his arm were as hard as metal. Like a cage, it pinned the prince, whose back was turned to the man, tightly in his embrace.
"All of Dragon Clouds City has gone mad because of you, be it the underground forces or the officials. I have always loathed all these things and never wanted to have anything to do with them. Yet, you came to me yourself! Hahahaha…"
"No.
"No!"
The Sin of h.e.l.l"s River surged in his veins instantly.
Thales gritted his teeth and wanted to break free, but noticed that his struggles were in vain. With just his strength-filled right hand and his abs, Gleeward had Thales" arms pinned tightly on his back.
It was useless.
Right from the moment Gleeward pinned him in his arms, Thales had already lost the position to use any sort force.
In the confinement of Gleeward"s arms, Thales could not even touch JC"s dagger.
"Take a guess. How much do you think Heroic Spirit Palace will pay me?"
Gleeward"s laughter was rather ferocious and smug. "d.a.m.n it, that dead face destroyed so many things in my territory this afternoon. I"ll make him pay until his pockets are empty!"
Gleeward suddenly used force in his left arm!
Thales only felt his head leaning back, and the moon as well as the starry sky appeared in his line of vision.
"Of course, it won"t necessarily be Heroic Spirit Palace. At this point, there are plenty of people who want you, right?" The force from Gleeward"s arm grew stronger. The laughter traveling into Thales" ears became even more excited. "Let me see… Should I ask for one thousand or two thousand gold coins? Tsk, tsk, would they give me more?"
Thales" face grew increasingly red. He only felt his neck becoming increasingly pained. Gleeward still had his left arm hooked around his neck. Without giving him a chance to fight back, he pushed down on Thales" windpipe.
His strength was so great that the prince almost felt like his back had been pressed into Gleeward"s chest.
"This person… Why is his strength so great?!"
While he was struggling to breath, the prince lifted his left leg and stomped with all his strength!
But the pain on his foot only told him that he barely grazed the floorboard and only managed to kick the wood on the wheelchair.
Only then did Thales remember woefully that Gleeward did not have legs.
"Or else, I can ask for something else, but I"ll have to be more cautious in this…"
Thales" line of vision gradually became blurry as his breathing was no longer smooth.
Very soon, plenty of "golden stars" started to pop up in the sky before him.
"No. I can"t let this continue."
He inhaled a little bit of air with every single bit of strength he had left. With his rich experiences of being choked, he held his breath and stopped moving to save his strength.
Thales" face was red. He forced out a few words from his windpipe, and his voice was as thin as air. "You… are… not… the… contact… Gleeward…"
The response he received was Gleeward"s wanton laughter.
"Hahaha! So that"s the case?! You can even mistake the contact?! Looks like your information is lacking in standards!"
Under the double torment of pain and lacking in oxygen, Thales tried his best to retain his last shred of calmness.
He no longer had the time to complain about Putray.
"Wait…"
Thales" face contorted. He forced out the following words while he was in great pain.
"Double! If you want money… I"ll give you… double…"
Gleeward was slightly stunned before he snorted coldly.
"Shut up." The boorish man did not seem to be tempted at all. He ground his teeth and spoke coldly, "Don"t take me as a fool…"
Nevertheless, his voice gradually grew weaker.
The next moment, Thales only felt the pressure on his neck lessening slightly.
A breath of air he had not taken for a long time was drawn into his lungs, though the process was mixed with pain. It was like his throat was being dragged along sandpaper.
The sound of gnas.h.i.+ng teeth traveled into his ears from behind him. There was also Gleeward"s voice, which was unpleasant to the ears, but Thales could still hear that he was slightly tempted. "Hey, brat…"
The boorish man took a slow gulp, then whispered, "Are you really offering… twice the amount?"