Slaughter

This night was far from peaceful.

Soren heard the sounds of fighting and explosions, and saw fires raging in some places. The once wealthy and relatively Order City of Wealth had now become Land of Chaos. None of the Evil Alignment's gangs were simple characters; they were all violent and Evil members. Their equipment and strength might not be as good as the City Guard, but their desperate resistance could definitely cause chaos. No one would be naive enough to think that these people who had shed blood on the front lines would surrender without a fight.

A curfew was imposed on the streets, and the City Legion lit torches to establish a defensive line, preventing the chaos from affecting ordinary people.

Everywhere was filled with the sounds of cursing and wailing.

Their relatively peaceful lives were shattered. Many people braced their doors and windows to prevent the chaos outside from affecting their families. There were traces of Rogue moving about in the darkness. Rogue had always been the backbone of the Gray Zone, and the screams of the City Guard could be heard from time to time. In the dark, they could not easily deal with Rogue of Tier 2 or above. Soren's figure was hidden in the shadows. He stood on a clock tower and looked at the city before him.

In just half a night, this once bustling city revealed an atmosphere of desolation.

A warehouse in the Dock District is ablaze, and the City Guard are trying to control the spread of the fire. Scattered battles are taking place in various locations, and members of the Dark Realm are attempting to break out and escape. The fire seems to have spread somewhat, and cries and howls can be heard coming from the direction of the Slums. Paladin have also joined the fight, but a fire has already broken out in the southwest corner of the Slums, whether due to the chaos or deliberate retaliation by the Dark Realm is unknown.

Their actions today will undoubtedly make many people resentful!

The City of Wealth is a very prosperous city. However, this prosperity is also a kind of Evil prosperity. Now, some people are being purged and targeted, and their armed forces will inevitably retaliate. In the near future, Trade throughout the City of Wealth will be affected, and ordinary people at the bottom will lose their jobs. With the loss of Trade and Black Market Trade, nearly 30% of the dockworkers will be unemployed for the next few months, so their New Year this year will probably not be so good.

"Well."

Soren let out a soft sigh and said slowly, "As expected, it will only end up being a farce!"

The City of Wealth compromised. The Paladin compromised too.

The victims did not receive the Justice they deserved because they were too weak.

Perhaps the Evil forces in the City of Wealth will subside in the future, but the current chaos will also affect and change their lives. They may not live well in the future, but it is certain that the present and the foreseeable future will be very difficult. The Paladin ' purge will severely damage the City of Wealth's Trade, cutting off smuggling, Slave, and Black Market Trade. Countless people will lose their jobs as a result. These unemployed poor people will face even greater hardship, and selling their children may be a foreseeable outcome.

The wealth is still here.

It simply ends up in the hands of the strong, never falling into the pockets of the weak.

A fleeting Justice is nothing but a false Justice!

Soren's figure darted through the darkness, his agile silhouette leaping between rooftops, covering distances of over ten meters in an instant. He moved through the shadows like a phantom, searching for his target. This was a chaotic time, a time for opportunistic profiteering, and many others shared his goal. Whether he could plunder the purged organizations depended on his own strength.

Taking a risky gamble!

Those in the Evil Alignment are never afraid to take risks; their profession is inherently dangerous.

The City of Wealth is incredibly wealthy. The organizations that control smuggling and other Trade have likely accumulated over 100,000 Gold Daler. This wealth is enough to tempt many to take risks, sneaking in during the chaos to make a quick buck—easily earning thousands of Gold Daler, a profit comparable to a risky adventure. Those with even more Evil intentions might even rob ordinary people, then blame it all on the organizations afterwards.

When Order is lost, Evil descends.

"My daughter!... Mila!... My Mila!..."

A man with bloodshot eyes stood before the raging fire. He wore tattered clothes, and his thick arms showed he had worked hard all his life. He stared at the houses that had been reduced to a sea of flames and let out a mournful howl. There was no one left alive inside. The fire was raging so fiercely that his wife and daughter had not been able to escape.

"No!!!"

The middle-aged man let out a piercing scream and lunged at an elderly man with white hair beside him. He was trembling all over, grabbed the old man by the neck and lifted him up, roaring, "It's all your fault! It's all your fault, you bastard! If you hadn't gone to beg the Paladin, those villains wouldn't have retaliated against us! My daughter wouldn't be dead!"

"You damned old devil!... I'm going to kill you!... I'm going to kill you!..."

Bang.

A young Paladin knocked him unconscious, and the old man fell to the ground. He stared at the sea of fire before him, tears streaming down his face, utterly distraught, seemingly never expecting things to turn out this way.

He murmured as if in a daze, "Why did it turn out like this!... Why did it turn out like this!...?"

The young Paladin's expression was also complex. He, too, hadn't imagined things would escalate to this point, spiraling into uncontrollable chaos, with countless innocent lives lost in the process. For the first time, he doubted his faith, questioning the very Justice he upheld, for once the chaos spread, they were powerless to stop it, despite their immense strength.

"Hold fast to your faith!"

An elderly Paladin appeared behind him, patted him on the shoulder, and said in a deep voice, "Upholding Justice requires sacrifice!..."

"Why did it turn out like this?" the young man murmured, a trace of sadness and regret in his eyes. Why did his passionate and Justice heart lead to the deaths of so many people? Why did upholding Justice ultimately turn into a war? How many more people will die in this war before it ends?

--"Demon!!!"

A piercing scream echoed through the city, and everyone fell silent for a moment before the Paladin transformed into blurs and charged toward the direction from which the sound came.

--"Detect Evil!"

They finally used the Spell; the Paladin's power began to spread, and a faint aura appeared on everyone nearby.

Many of them were white, but most were gray, and many also showed signs of light red, dark red, and blood red light.

For a long time.

These ordinary people work for the Evil, carrying their goods, guarding their contraband, and covering up their crimes. Under the light of the Paladin, they are just as guilty, only their sins are lesser.

They are all in Gray Zone.

These people walk a fine line between good and Evil; they may not realize they are committing crimes, but they are part of Evil.

Amidst the blazing fire.

A crimson hue appeared over the City of Wealth. The wealth accumulated here over a long period of time was accompanied by sins, and finally, upon Detect Evil, it transformed into a blood-red light that shot into the sky. The power of the Spell Aura was no longer under the control of the Paladin. For some reason, supernatural forces gathered on their own, turning the entire sky into a blood-red light.

The Demon has descended.

No one knows who summoned the Demon, but from the moment they appeared, the frenzied Slaughter began.

Perhaps an even more Evil force lurking within the City of Wealth has already taken notice of this place, waiting for an opportunity to incite chaos and Slaughter. The appearance of the Paladin is such an opportunity. The virtuous use the Paladin as a weapon to fight against Evil, but aren't the Evil ones also using this weapon to sow discord and incite even more intense conflicts?

No one can stop it now.

Amidst the flames, Glabrezu, three or four meters tall, appeared. It roared with maniacal laughter, brandishing its battle axe and cleaving a group of Commoner in two at the waist. The Demon's eyes held only Slaughter and satisfaction; even Soren refused to associate with these creatures. From the moment they descended, they were indulging their Slaughter. In the blink of an eye, hundreds were slain, their unseeing heads rolling across the ruins. Severed limbs littered the ground, staining it crimson with blood.

"Asshole!"

The burly man led his army in a furious roar, shouting, "Those damned Paladin! Those damned Fallen! My city! My City of Wealth!..."

"Send someone to the temple to request reinforcements!... Go now!... Fool!... Go quickly and ask the Holy Spirit Cleric for help!..."

Quasit, Chasme, Vrock, Glabrezu, Four-Armed Marilith.

Demon figures emerged from the flames, howling with excitement as they charged toward the city. The glory of the Paladin paled in comparison to the Evil. These Demon, whose strength exceeded the third rank, surged like a raging torrent, instantly crushing the city's army and then slaughtering any living creature they could see.

"Hahaha!..."

A distorted, ghostly figure emerged from the flames, transforming into a hideous form. It slowly rose from the inferno, leering, "Foolish mortals!..."

"We've finally waited for this moment!"

"This Evil city should have been reborn in flames long ago! I hear the cries of souls! I will become even stronger by sending them to Hell!... Let these idiotic Demon do the Slaughter first!..."

"The Devil is the true victor!"

The distorted phantom gradually materialized, and a Devil rose up amidst the raging flames. It did not join the battle before it, nor did it vent its Slaughter. Instead, it walked directly into the sea of fire. The scorching flames seemed to have no effect on it. It disappeared little by little in the fire, as if brewing a new Intrigue.

...(To be continued~^~)