Throat Cutter—Soren

The next day.

When Vivian opened her eyes, rubbed the corners of her eyes groggily, and prepared to get up and make breakfast,

a bowl of fragrant Oatmeal Porridge was already waiting before her.

Then she saw Soren's smiling face. He held an iron pan and wore an apron, looking somewhat comical as he seriously fried a Fried Egg.

"Brother."

"Isn't this too wasteful?"

Vivian took a deep breath of the fragrant oil, wrapped her little arms around Soren's neck, stood on tiptoe, and lightly kissed his cheek. She secretly sniffed him as well, and sure enough, caught a faint scent of blood. For some reason, she had been exceptionally sensitive to the smell of blood since she was very young. If Soren had blood on him, it was difficult to hide it from her.

The clever Little Girl did not ask any questions.

She merely said regretfully, "Brother, you used too much oil."

"You only need a little oil to fry eggs. Let me do it next time."

"Look at all that oil going to waste."

After saying that, she wrinkled her Little Nose.

As though merely smelling the oily fragrance rising from the pan was enough to make her feel satisfied.

"All right."

"You little housekeeper!"

Soren placed the poorly fried egg into a bowl, rubbed Vivian's Little Head, and said helplessly, "You can do it next time, all right?"

It was a very lavish breakfast.

The fragrant Oatmeal Porridge tasted excellent. Once the fried egg was placed in the bowl, a layer of grease immediately spread across the surface. There were also several thin slices of Smoked Meat.

Just looking at it was enough to stir one's appetite!

This was a breakfast only nobles and wealthy merchants in the city could afford. Vivian had not eaten anything this good in a very, very long time.

After finishing the lavish breakfast,

the Little Girl began tidying up and cleaning the room. Soren's clothes needed washing too.

Faint voices drifted in from outside.

It seemed that some faces had deliberately passed through this street many times already. Soren sat by the door carving something, his expression serious as he worked with a dagger.

"Lord Soren!"

At last, a man who did not look like a good person came over and said fearfully, "Savi thanks you for helping him deal with a nuisance!"

"So he sent me to deliver a gift."

He gestured behind him, and two burly men approached timidly, carrying over a gift box.

Soren looked up at them, then motioned for Vivian beside him to accept the gift. He said slowly, "I'll accept it."

"I have no interest in getting involved in Slums affairs anymore."

"Whether Savi can swallow those streets is his business. Just don't disturb my life again."

"Can you do that?"

His voice gradually turned cold, and the dagger became a blur at Soren's fingertips.

The leading thug wiped away a cold sweat, feeling a chill around his neck. He stammered, "N-no problem!..."

"Savi thinks so too!..."

Overnight,

the core members of the rival gang had been slaughtered to the last man!

When Savi received the news, he was nearly beside himself with delight. He thought those idiots had provoked some terrifying enemy again.

But when he learned that Soren was the one who had acted, Savi's face immediately darkened.

"Boss!"

A sharp-witted street punk ran in, panting as he said, "We've found out."

"It seems Cole threatened Soren and even sent people to capture his sister as a hostage!"

"Everyone on East Ditch Street knows Soren values that sister more than his own life. Cole set his sights on her, and that was what made Soren kill them!"

"We hardly ever saw him fight before. Who knew Soren was this formidable?"

"Now everyone in Cross Alley calls him Throat Cutter. Even people in the Dock District have heard of his reputation. All eleven gang elites had their throats slit, and blood covered the entire floor of the room."

"Boss."

"Should we make a move against him?"

A one-eyed man glanced at the others and hesitated. "He may be formidable, but he's only one man."

"If we let him grow stronger, we might not be able to swallow Cross Alley."

Crash!

Savi grabbed something and hurled it over, smashing the man's face bloody. His expression was livid as he said, "Go after him?"

"Is your brain full of shit?"

"He could take out so many of Cole's men head-on. If he ambushes us, every last one of us will be killed!"

"Don't act rashly for now."

"Send Doghead Qiang with a gift and see what he means. Since Soren is this capable, he'll leave the Slums sooner or later."

"How could someone like him be willing to stay in this godforsaken place?"

"And."

"Have someone keep watch over at Cross Alley and see whether Soren intends to claim it."

"If he doesn't,"

"make sure no one else snatches it first."

The underlings all began bustling about. Only Savi hesitated with an ugly expression before calling one of them back. "Have Doghead Qiang come over first. I'll prepare the gift personally."

Since Soren could wipe out Cole and his men in a single night, he could probably kill him just as easily.

Someone like that was far too dangerous!

It was better to find a way to curry favor first. Hadn't Savi risen from a street punk to Gang Leader because he knew when to yield and never tried to act tough?

He did not leave a single survivor.

Even a ruthless gang leader like him found those methods chilling. Street brawls did not usually result in many casualties, after all. They still tried their best to avoid getting their men killed.

If everyone died, who would risk their lives for them?

Those Slums thugs and hooligans might not have much brains, but if a boss's men kept dying, they would not foolishly flock to him either.

It was a quiet morning.

Of course, that was only from Soren's perspective. After receiving his reply, Savi was ecstatic and immediately ordered his men to gather forces to seize the streets around Cross Alley. Since Soren had made it clear that he had no interest in the Slums, then whoever was capable of swallowing the territory around Cross Alley could have it. Savi gathered several hundred people that day. Most were just there to make up the numbers, but over a hundred could actually pick up blades and charge in to hack at people.

As for how many of those hundred had undergone Professional Combat Training and learned genuine killing techniques,

it was best not to expect too much!

No one cared about gang conflicts in the Slums. As long as they did not cause a major disturbance, the deaths of a dozen or so people were nothing. So once Savi had gathered his forces, he swiftly took over Cross Alley.

This place was far inferior to the Dock District.

Because the docks controlled nearly half of Amber City's flow of wealth, a shift in territory there could result in over a hundred deaths overnight!

That was enough to alarm all of Amber City.

The Slums?

What was there worth paying attention to in that shithole with nothing in it?

Yes.

Those with real power had no interest in the Slums, though in recent days they had occasionally heard that a very formidable man had appeared there.

He was apparently called Throat Cutter Soren!

It was said that every enemy he killed had their throat slit. He commanded great prestige in the Slums. Although he had not joined any faction, every gang leader there feared and respected him.

Two days passed quietly.

Even Vivian keenly noticed that something was wrong. The people around her clearly regarded her with a hint of awe and spoke to her somewhat timidly.

As for Soren, none of them even dared meet his gaze!

"Brother is much more impressive than before!"

Vivian swept up fallen leaves with a broom, glanced outside, and murmured, "The one who brought gifts that day was one of Savi's men."

"Why would he bring such expensive gifts?"

"I heard all of Cole's people are dead."

"They were killed by someone called Throat Cutter! That Throat Cutter should be Brother, right?"

"That sounds so impressive!"

"Brother is much stronger than before."

Yesterday, when she passed the grocery store at the street corner, the Landlady who had once whipped her back with a stick turned pale the moment she saw her.

When she confirmed that Vivian was Soren's sister, the fat Landlady immediately fell to her knees before her and desperately slapped herself. She slapped herself until her face was horribly swollen, only rising with endless gratitude after Vivian agreed not to hold the past against her. The shop owner had even specially prepared a gift, stuffing more than ten Silver Dalers into the box and respectfully saying it was to calm her nerves!

They were afraid.

Although they feared Throat Cutter Soren, Vivian still found that feeling of being feared just a little enjoyable.

"La la la!"

The Little Girl hummed a tuneless song as she happily finished cleaning the room. "We're bad guys! We're villains!"

"They're afraid of us!"

"No one will ever dare bully us again!"