Soren's Command Flag! (Third Update)

City of Wealth.

The shadow of the chaos and Slaughter of the past few months has not yet faded, and the city still appears somewhat deserted. There aren't many pedestrians on the streets, and much of the Trade has now shifted to Shipwreck Bay. As a result, even the lives of the poor in this once -City of Wealth have become difficult. In previous years, there were endless jobs to be found at the docks at this time, but now, people have to be selective about where they work. Many families who relied on manual labor for a living are now living in dire straits.

The arrival of the New Year and the spread of chaos within the mainland, coupled with the gradually rising food prices, made their situation even more difficult.

Many people already regret it.

Many people lost loved ones and friends that night, but they only realized afterward that they had lost far more than that.

The Paladin left.

They did manage to change the place, reducing the Evil, but they didn't give the poor the life they wanted, because they were weak, and the weak are so vulnerable after chaos. The gang power in the City of Wealth has diminished considerably; many gangs were wiped out that night, but the annihilation left many voids, and too many bloodshed has occurred in the struggle for these resources. From that day until now, the curfew in the City of Wealth has never been lifted, with numerous Guard patrolling daily.

The temple also seemed somewhat silent.

They seem to have no intention of doing anything about the City of Wealth.

They may have already done something, or made another decision.

No one knew what the temple's plans were. Perhaps they didn't care about this temporary downturn, but for the poor at the bottom of society, they only knew that life was getting harder and harder. Food prices were still rising, and job opportunities were becoming increasingly scarce. The merchants who came no longer provided financial support, and even the business of prostitutes and streetwalkers began to decline significantly. A pretty girl who used to cost two Silver Daler for a single encounter could now be enjoyed twice for just one Silver Daler, and even have her suck her flute for a while.

A corner of the street.

Two shop owners, both looking rather worried, sat together. One of them, a rather plump man, wiped his sweat and complained, "I heard there's going to be war in the south! The price of goods has gone up by 30% lately, and there's much less cargo coming in from the south. I heard some trade routes have been cut off. I also heard Red Dragon appeared in White Horse City. Now everyone's in a state of panic."

The other, thinner shopkeeper sighed upon hearing this and said slowly, "Those are all fine; we could have traveled by sea. But now, with this commotion, many merchants are afraid to come. I heard that a Pirate King named Throat Cutter has risen in the Port Tyler and Shipwreck Bay. He's different from the previous Pirate King; he doesn't like to bring his men to rob, and he also forbids his men from causing trouble."

"Many businessmen are now flocking to these two places."

The portly shopkeeper paused for a moment upon hearing this, then asked, "Not plunder? Where will he get his money and food? There are plenty of pirates making a living on the sea. If they don't plunder, won't they all starve?"

The thin shop owner glanced outside and replied, "I'm not sure either."

"But there must be other ways to make money. I've heard some pirate captains have switched careers and started trading companies quite well. If you add in the tributes from the sea, it's definitely enough to support a bunch of men. Besides, the Trade on the South Coast is mostly supported by Overseas Islands. They make a lot of money there, tsk tsk. One deal is worth two or three years of ours."

"Oh, right."

"I've heard recently that the man known as the Throat Cutter isn't entirely free from robbing merchants. I've heard that they're selling Command Flag in Port Tyler and Shipwreck Bay lately—big black flags that supposedly keep pirates from attacking merchant ships. As for those without flags, it's hard to say. Anyway, I'm not too sure. Things are changing too fast lately; something can happen every few days."

"I've been very worried lately."

"I'm thinking of selling my shop and making some preparations to go back to my estate in the countryside."

The two chatted idly, mostly about recent events.

Suddenly!

They thought they heard a scream, and a chill ran down their spines. There had been quite a bit of chaos lately; just the day before yesterday, someone had been hacked to death in front of their shop late at night. The two men didn't dare approach the sound, but instead rushed to call the patrol Guard. By the time the Guard arrived, about ten minutes had passed, and the alley where the sound had come from was completely silent. But that was for the best; those who see nothing, hear nothing, and know nothing are more likely to live longer.

As soon as they entered the alley, even the patrolling Guard couldn't help but gasp!

There were many corpses inside.

One of the Guard, a bearded man in full armor, examined the corpse. His expression immediately turned serious. He glanced around, his face grim, and said, "It was a very powerful expert!"

"These corpses were all killed with a single blow, and the time between their deaths was no more than a minute. Such a powerful expert has probably already crossed that threshold."

"This is not something we can handle. Let's report it and let the higher-ups deal with it."

There were twelve corpses on the ground.

All of them were killed instantly, with the time of death not exceeding one minute. The final screams seemed to have been caused by something else, otherwise there would have been no sound at all.

This is already Legendary -level combat power!

Not to mention that the Guard just glanced at the corpses and discovered that there were Adventurer with similar skills to him among them, three of whom were at least third-tier professionals.

The matter was quickly reported, but it's hard to say whether anyone will take any action afterward.

On the other side.

On a hidden roof beam, a young man draped in a cloak sat in the corner, toying with a gleaming gold Gold Coin in his hand, his expression seemingly excited. The Gold Coin was quite peculiar; it wasn't the Gold Daler model, nor did it bear the image of the Lady of Fortune. Instead, it featured the likeness of another goddess. The Gold Coin's obverse and reverse sides were covered in strange patterns, many of which were incomprehensible, but this didn't prevent anyone who saw it for the first time from recognizing its unusual nature.

The young man stood up, picked up the Gold Coin, pointed it towards the sea, and smiled, "What great luck!"

"Not only did I land a huge order this time, but I also happened to run into someone who discovered the legendary Lucky Coin in the underground ruins! It seems Goddess of Fortune is really on my side this time!"

"The Throat Cutter?"

"Killing you would be a huge success for me this time!"

...(To be continued~^~)