Under the crystal chandeliers in the Governor's Palace banquet hall, the faces of the twenty-eight nobles appeared ashen.
Without exception, these people were the same ones who had stirred up trouble in the parliamentary hall last time.
They all lowered their heads, no one dared to speak, and when they looked at each other, they even breathed very softly.
The long table was laden with a sumptuous spread of dishes: roast beef, honey-glazed ham, fresh fruits and vegetables, Dorito wine.
In Brevis, where resources were scarce, this was the epitome of luxury.
But no one dared to move.
They just sat stiffly, their eyes fixed on the plates in front of them, like a group of prisoners awaiting trial.
The door was pushed open.
Lynn walked in, leading Isolde by the hand, followed by the burly Ogryn Doudou.
Lynn didn't look at anyone, walked straight to the head of the table, sat down, picked up a knife and fork, cut off a small piece of roasted snow beef and put it in his mouth, oblivious to everyone around him.
The nobles looked at each other in bewilderment, and after a long while, someone tentatively picked up the cutlery, their fingertips trembling violently.
But no one actually dared to eat it; they just used their forks to move the food around on the plate.
Sitting to Lynn's left was the head of a minor noble family, surnamed Hope.
Unable to bear the oppression, he forced a smile that was more like a grimace:
"Your Excellency is wise and mighty; the expedition against the Orks is a long-awaited undertaking for us!"
"Our Hope Family is willing to donate 80% of our assets to fund military supplies."
Before he finished speaking, Lynn swiftly drew a Chainsword from his waist.
With a "whoosh," the saw teeth spun at high speed, and the ear-piercing friction sound broke the silence.
Lynn raised his hand and swung his sword.
Hope's head slid off his neck and crashed heavily onto the plate in front of him, splattering red and white brain matter mixed with warm blood.
Fresh blood gushed from the artery, splattering onto the faces of several nobles nearby.
The body remained seated for two seconds before collapsing heavily to its side.
Lynn raised his hand and flicked away the blood.
Blood splattered and landed on the face of the Loren family head beside him. The fat man shuddered, but didn't even have the courage to raise his hand to wipe it away.
"Let's eat then." Lynn's voice was impatient.
"Why all this nonsense?"
He placed the Chainsword on the corner of the table beside him, picked up his knife and fork again, and continued cutting the meat.
"Eat," he said simply.
The nobles, as if waking from a dream, grabbed their knives and forks like madmen, some even stuffing food into their mouths with their bare hands.
No one dared to chew; they all swallowed it whole, down to their stomachs.
Some people choked on the hard bread until their eyes rolled back, then grabbed a bottle of wine from the side and gulped it down.
After finishing the gulp, he kept stuffing food into his mouth, as if he would be the next one to collapse if he hesitated even for a second.
Hope's body still lay beside them, but no one dared to look; everyone's eyes were glued to their plates.
A moment later, Lynn put down his knife and fork and his gaze fell on the head of the Loren family.
The fat guy who was the first to start a commotion in the parliament hall yesterday.
He was stuffing bread into his mouth, his cheeks puffed out like a hamster's.
"Huh? You really eat it?!"
Lynn didn't say anything, and pulled out Bolt Pistol from his waist.
"Bang!"
The head of the Loren family's head suddenly felt his head explode, and his body slumped heavily onto the dining table, his enormous belly pressing down on the plates.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Gunshots rang out one after another.
Each gunshot was accompanied by the fall of a nobleman.
The dishes on the table were overturned, wine was spilled all over the floor, and blood was splattered everywhere.
After the eighth shot rang out, Lynn stopped moving.
The pistol's magazine is empty.
He glanced down at the Bolt Pistol in his hand, then looked up at the corpses and pools of blood scattered on the ground.
Only twenty nobles remained alive in the banquet hall, huddled in a corner of the table, covered in blood, trembling like frightened rabbits.
Lynn's face revealed a half-smile, his tone carrying a chilling undertone:
"I'm not full."
Those three simple words plunged the remaining nobles into an icy abyss.
You could even smell a stench of urine.
Lynn raised his hand, changed to a new magazine, and shoved it back into the holster with a click.
He returned to the head of the table, sat down, and picked up his knife and fork to continue cutting the meat.
"Keep eating."
No one dared to stop.
The remaining nobles continued mechanically stuffing food into their mouths, their sense of taste long since numb.
My mouth was filled with the taste of blood mixed with the smell of food, making me want to vomit.
Some people couldn't help but gag halfway through their meal, covering their mouths and desperately trying to suppress it.
Suddenly, a young nobleman across the table broke down in tears.
He suddenly stood up and staggered towards the door.
Lynn didn't move. The burly Ogryn took two steps forward and grabbed the young man's head with his large, fan-like hand.
I picked him up like a chick and slammed him back into his seat.
"Why are you running?" Lynn didn't even look up, continuing to cut the meat.
"The main course hasn't been served yet."
The young man froze instantly, slumped in his seat, trembling all over, and dared not move an inch.
The bloody banquet lasted for a full two hours.
The bloodstains on the ground gradually congealed and turned dark brown, and the corpses lay scattered about.
At the end of the banquet, the twenty surviving nobles were led one by one to the next room by Doudou.
There was a long table in the room, covered with white paper, and with a fountain pen and inkpad on it.
The documents were already prepared, and Gus stood expressionless beside them.
"Sign it." Gus's voice was devoid of warmth.
"Donate all assets, retaining only a basic share enough to barely support the family."
You can leave after you sign.
Someone tried to argue, but before they could even open their mouth, the clerk coldly pointed to the documents on the table:
"If you don't want to sign, you can go for a swim in the Man River until you're willing to sign."
The water temperature of the Man River is close to freezing point all year round. An ordinary person would freeze and sink to the bottom of the river in no time if they went in.
They looked at each other, their eyes filled with despair.
He could only pick up the pen, his hand trembling as he signed his name and pressed his bright red fingerprint.
Every stroke of the pen felt like cutting off a piece of my own flesh; the twenty documents were signed in no time.
The last nobleman to sign was an elderly man with gray hair.
After signing the document, he stood up, leaning on the table, his steps unsteady, and was led out of the room by a servant.
When they reached the end of the corridor, the other nobles were already waiting there.
Lynn stood in the shadows ahead and spoke coldly.
"I hope everyone will keep quiet about what happened tonight."
"No, Adasi, you know my methods best!"
No one dared to answer.
The nobles nodded frantically, their heads bobbing like garlic, not daring to even glance at Lynn.
He turned and stumbled away from the governor's mansion, collapsing to the ground and gasping for breath as soon as he stepped out the gate.
His face was filled with the fear of surviving a disaster.
The news eventually got out.
Twenty-eight nobles entered the banquet hall of the governor's mansion, and eight of them never came out.
When asked what happened at the dinner, they all remained silent.
He just shook his head desperately, his eyes filled with a deep-seated fear.
This caused even greater panic among the nobles who were not invited.
Meanwhile, in the governor's mansion, Lynn was looking at the list of assets that Gus had handed over.
Rena's cool voice rang out:
" The Winter Family, and the Holstein Family, were absent from yesterday's dinner, citing sudden illness."
Lynn simply said, " Gus."
Gus pushed open the door and walked in.
Lynn handed a list to Gus: "You handle this."
He knew that ever since what happened on the Song Offering, Gus seemed to have developed some strange quirks.
Let Gus deal with them.
Gus took the list and nodded. "Yes, Your Excellency."