As night falls, the hustle and bustle of Saint Petersburg gradually subsides, and the streets become increasingly deserted.
Although the imperial authorities had lifted the curfew three days ago, the chaotic situation still made the night feel unsafe, and staying at home was always a relatively safe choice. Under the dim streetlights, a light rain began to fall, and the wet road surface felt cold.
Sam is an ordinary fruit vendor in Saint Petersburg. He is almost sixty years old, with all his hair and beard turned white. He is still in relatively good health, but his family is very poor. He lives in a slum and is at the very bottom of society. He doesn't even have a fixed stall. He carries his load on his shoulders and travels through the streets of the capital every day, covered in dust and working very hard.
Business wasn't good today, and the matter of the eight envoys had delayed things, so by evening, more than half a basket of fruit was still unsold. Sam wandered the streets for a while longer, and only started his journey home with a slight sense of disappointment late into the night.
"What a waste of these fruits; by tomorrow, I doubt anyone will want them..."
Sam sighed slightly. After a busy day, he hadn't even recouped his investment. The days ahead were going to be tough again.
The dappled, dim light from the magic streetlights made the Old Man's figure appear somewhat forlorn.
"Hey? Uncle, you haven't gone back yet?" A gruff voice came from the side, and two burly men came out from around the corner. One of them greeted Old Sam with a grin from afar.
"You... know me?" Old Sam was taken aback. These were two unfamiliar faces, which made him wary.
"Haha, we two brothers happened to be right there when you were angrily rebuking that arrogant envoy from the Anzhi Empire today," the burly man among the two, with long black hair tied in a ponytail and skin as dark as if cast in molten iron, praised with a thumbs-up, and sincerely laughed, "Uncle, you're really amazing!"
Another burly man with short white hair that stood up like steel needles also wore a kind smile.
Hearing the two mention this, Old Sam immediately felt closer to them, his wariness vanished, and he put down his load, letting out a sigh of relief. Like a proud child, he proudly raised his head and said, "What I'm doing is nothing. You two young people don't know. The Martial Saint Saint's battle outside the capital was truly a display of unparalleled heroism and overwhelming power. With a single shout, he frightened away a million-strong army. The experts of the ten empires were like stray dogs, running away in terror before the Martial Saint... Such a hero is like a god. What are those few envoys from Anzhi? They're worthless trash, yet they dare to swagger around in the capital. Heh heh, even though I'm just an old fruit seller, I still have to stand up and say a few words to prevent the Martial Saint's Glory from being tarnished."
"Uncle, you seem to know a lot about the Martial Saint," the white-haired man said with a smile.
"That's right. My son serves His Highness the Crown Prince in the Iron-Blooded Camp. Although he's just a lowly soldier, he has fought alongside the Martial Saint." The Old Man spoke of his son with pride.
"Wow, I see. You have a wonderful Old Man," the burly, dark-haired man said with envy. "Now that you mention it, I really want to meet your son."
The Old Man's face suddenly darkened. "He was young and strong, just like you, a good soldier. It's a pity... he... died in the Battle of Saint Petersburg."
The smiles on the two burly men's faces froze instantly.
"Huh? What's in the basket? Haha, I'm starving! Uncle, how much are these fruits? We'll take both." The burly, dark-haired man's eyes darted around. As he spoke, he had already picked out two large pears, crunched them twice, juice splattering from his mouth, Shout, "Wow, not bad, so sweet!"
The white-haired, burly man looked incredulous. "Sweet? Let me try... Hmm, not bad, really sweet! I haven't had such a crisp and sweet pear in years... Uncle, give us all of these."
Old Sam shook his head and smiled.
He wasn't senile; how could he not see that the two burly men were deliberately patronizing his business? While his pears were sweet and crisp, they weren't nearly as exaggerated as some people thought. These were two rough, even somewhat foolish, men, but they were definitely good people, just like his son who had died in the Holy War—true men of the Empire with hot blood flowing through their veins.
Old Sam felt a warmth in his heart and was about to say something when, at that moment, footsteps came from afar. Sometime during the day, several men with unfriendly expressions appeared at the corners of the street, quietly blocking the way in all directions, and a sense of murderous intent filled the air.
"Is it you?" Old Sam's expression changed.
By the dim light of the streetlamp, he recognized the burly man who was approaching with a menacing grin. It was the same Anzhi Knight who had clashed with him on the street earlier that day and made threats.
"Old man, you have sharp eyes. What? You recognized me?" Anzhi sneered. "I told you to watch out, you old codger. Heh heh, looks like your luck wasn't so good. You didn't have time to hide before we found you, hahaha!"
"What do you want?" Old Sam knew things were going badly; these people were most likely there to seek revenge.
"How was it?" Anzhi and his companions exchanged laughter, sizing up old Sam with cruel eyes, and said mockingly, "Old man, you've made us lose face today. And I'm a man who always holds grudges, so I'm going to do something to vent my anger. I bet in such a big city as Saint Petersburg, if a lowly fruit vendor suddenly disappears, it won't attract much attention, will it?"
"You dare? This is the capital of the Zenit Empire! How dare you, a foreign envoy, murder Zenit citizen?"
Old Sam deliberately shouted loudly, hoping to attract the attention of passersby or patrolling troops. At the same time, he nudged the two burly men who were frantically munching on fruit, signaling them to jump over the wall and run before the others surrounded them. He figured one of them could escape. But the two burly men were so clueless that they didn't react at all, which made Old Sam so angry that his beard stood on end.
"Haha, old man, accept your fate. No matter how loud you scream, no one will come to save you..."
Before Anzhi could finish speaking, he was mercilessly interrupted by a soft chuckle. He looked over angrily and found that the one who chuckled was a burly, black-haired man squatting next to the basket, happily munching on a large pear with pear juice dripping all over his hand.
"What are you two idiots laughing at?" The Anzhi dismissed the two men's threat based on their coarse robes and the way they ate.
This is the first update; more will follow later.