Revenge

"Y-you are..." Ruskin suddenly found the person before him familiar. He stared hard at him, confusion spreading across his face.

Then, growing nervous, he pulled the photograph from his coat and compared them carefully. Apart from lacking the commanding air of the man in the photograph, the person before him looked almost identical. Could this really be...? Ruskin knew who the man in the photograph was. It was understandable that the village chief did not: the village had neither Luo's wanted poster nor his photograph, so he had no way of knowing that Luo was one of the renowned Four Kings.

"Y-Your Highness, the West King?" Ruskin nearly trembled as he spoke. All his earlier swagger was gone, and a fine sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

Luo appeared before him with a Switch and asked sharply, "Who do you serve?"

"Why did you kill this villager?" Luo's voice carried a note of authority.

Ruskin went pale. He lowered his head, unable to meet Luo's eyes, and stammered, "I... I suspected there was a spy here." His voice was barely audible, as though he feared angering Luo.

Before civilians, he could pose as a powerful man and look down on them. But he knew how insignificant he was in an army full of formidable fighters. Any guard from Hachinosu could probably defeat him with ease.

When the Five Elders had brought a Buster Call against Hachinosu, he had hidden on an island farther back, not daring to come out. That was why he had been stationed in this remote, undeveloped region—one of the safest places there was.

Hachinosu and the other two islands formed a barrier, shielding these protected islands behind them.

"I..." Ruskin did not dare continue.

"Speak!" Luo snapped.

The command rang in Ruskin's ears like