Hell

The next day.

An atmosphere of tension hung over the entire Border Town. The townspeople, who had been chatting in small groups just yesterday, were now deeply wary of one another. Some even looked at each other with murderous intent.

"You did it, didn't you? You killed Howood and his family yesterday. I know you've always had it in for them."

"Bullshit. I think you're the one who killed the Russ family. You went to steal from them last month and got beaten up. You've held a grudge ever since, haven't you? You took advantage of the chaos to kill them and steal their property."

"Hmph. The thief cries 'thief.' We all know who did what."

"Stop making baseless accusations!"

"It was you. Everyone knows it. I'm not making anything up."

"..."

As the argument continued, the two families began fighting. This wasn't happening only in the Border Town near Terminal Gray; like a chain reaction, the same thing broke out in every border town in the Goa Kingdom overnight.

One or two families in every town had fallen victim. Before long, everyone in this isolated society had heard the news of the Revolutionary Army's extreme brutality.

Word had also spread far and wide that nobles were selling residency permits for Central Street. Families with some savings immediately chose to enter Central Street. Their success made the townspeople who couldn't afford it green with envy.

The threat of death could drive people mad.

On the second day, all the border towns went mad. Amid this frenzy, smoke rose as ordinarily honest townspeople took up shovels, pickaxes, and other farming tools and began fighting each other...

Countless houses went up in flames. Who knew how many toddlers, only a few years old and left uncared for after their parents died, were burned alive in the infernos? The frail, sick, and elderly were often the first to be beaten to death.

They had spent their entire lives saving their money, and they had little strength to fight back. They were the easiest people to rob, and posed almost no danger.

The hoarse cries of children and the screams of the dying elderly filled every border town. Fires blazed across the night sky. Unspeakable acts took place everywhere, and bloodshot-eyed townspeople crowded the streets. Before anyone knew it, blood had soaked into the ground.

"How could this happen!"

In the High City's council hall, the nobles who had been summoned in the middle of the night were all panic-stricken. At the head of the room, King Rosshude's face had grown terribly grim. His cold gaze swept over the nobles as he asked, "Which of you sold residency permits for Central Street?"

The nobles glanced at one another but said nothing.

After learning yesterday that Earl El had been selling Central Street residency permits, the greedy nobles had begun spreading the word as if they had all agreed to it. They had stationed their people at every gate into Central Street. Whenever townspeople came looking to buy a permit, the nobles fought over them.

In the face of such enormous profits, every noble had taken part. After all, they believed there was no need to fear the Revolutionary Army outside the walls. If they didn't make a fortune now, they would never find such a profitable opportunity again once the Revolutionary Army had been wiped out. So every noble had joined in.

They had never considered that things might turn out this way. Yet these nobles, who had always looked down on the border-town residents, felt not the slightest regret.

"It's nothing but unrest among the townspeople, caused by their fear of the Revolutionary Army. Just send the Kingdom Army to wipe out those revolutionaries, and everything will be fine."

"Exactly. Once the Revolutionary Army is wiped out, those lowly townspeople will quiet down."

"Right, Your Majesty. Send the troops to wipe out those revolutionaries now!"

"The townspeople are acting this way because they're too afraid of the Revolutionary Army."

"..."

Bam—

With a loud slap on the table, General Aude sprang to his feet, and the council hall fell silent.

"Wipe them out?" General Aude glared at the nobles, his expression grim. "How? Because of the unrest in the border towns, my younger brother's ten-thousand-man army can barely march, and they're nearly out of food. How are they supposed to wipe out the Revolutionary Army?"

"The border-town residents are now so crazed that they've even started fighting our troops. And today, who knows how many townspeople tried to force their way into Central Street before being stopped? How can we advance when we can't even secure our rear? And you're talking about annihilating the enemy? If it weren't for you greedy bastards, my brother would have taken his men to wipe out the Revolutionary Army yesterday."

"General Aude, do you have a way to resolve the situation?" Rosshude asked.

Aude's face showed a flicker of contemplation. Then he replied respectfully, "Since matters have come to this, I suggest opening the passage between Central Street and the border towns and letting the townspeople in, so we can calm them down. Then we can discuss wiping out the Revolutionary Army."

"No, that's absolutely unacceptable!"

"Exactly. What if the Revolutionary Army infiltrates the city?"

"You'd put all of us in danger!"

"..."

Before Rosshude could speak, the nobles hurriedly objected.

Bam—

Just then, the council hall doors were suddenly thrown open. A man stumbled up to the council table and dropped to his knees.

"Your Majesty, b-bad news!"

"How dare you barge into the council hall!" A middle-aged noble beside him strode forward, kicked the messenger, and shouted angrily.

The messenger had been running for a long time. The kick sent him sliding across the floor, but his expression grew even more frantic. "The Revolutionary Army has launched a surprise attack. General Vincent... is dead. The ten-thousand-man army has been almost completely wiped out. The border-town residents have collectively betrayed the kingdom and joined the Revolutionary Army..."

"What!"

Aude's expression changed dramatically. He rushed forward, grabbed the messenger by the shoulders, and shouted, "Impossible! How could Vincent have been killed? How could a Revolutionary Army of barely a thousand men inflict such heavy losses on our army?"

Two hours earlier—

In a town near the edge of Terminal Gray.

"Is this the outcome you wanted, Bai Ina?!" Hijikata Yoshitoyo looked at the hellish scene around them, turned furiously toward Bai Ina, and roared.

Bai Ina gazed at the dreadful sight of bodies and blood covering the town's streets. Her expression didn't change, and she paid no heed to Hijikata's anger. Turning to the messenger behind her, she ordered, "Tell our people to clear away the bodies. Spread word throughout the border towns that the nobles' private soldiers disguised themselves as the Revolutionary Army. Then persuade the surviving townspeople in each town to surrender."

"Yes!"

Roosevelt answered at once. Fear filled his eyes as he looked at Bai Ina. He was one of Zongcilang's subordinates, once a bandit before Zongcilang recruited him and made him one of his trusted men. So he knew that the one responsible for turning these border towns into this hellscape was the ten-year-old child standing before him.

He had once thought himself a villain who would stop at nothing. But after seeing what had happened to the border towns, he realized that compared with the white-haired little devil before him, he was far too kind.