The members, unable to bear the psychological pressure, crowded into the window Lin Feng had smashed when he broke in, desperate to escape.
They let the shards of glass cut their bodies, wanting only to get away from this young god of death as quickly as possible.
The sight of them packed together, shoving one another without yielding an inch, made Lin Feng keenly feel the ugliness of their selfishness.
Lin Feng turned his palm into a black shadow. Without needing to approach, a long, narrow shadow as sharp as a spear shot forward.
The last few members trying to escape were all pierced through the abdomen, draping over the shattered window to form a long stairway of corpses.
Lin Feng looked around once more-
Whether they had caused trouble in the restaurant or not,
all the human garbage had been cleaned up.
Finally unable to stand the bloody stench rising from this filthy place,
Lin Feng spat, found the washroom, and washed every trace of blood off his hands and feet.
"Next, I still have to take back what belongs to us..."
The Imperial Guard was the first organization every imperial official hoping to get ahead joined.
The Empire prized martial strength and had few civil officials. In the Empire, strength was everything.
For that reason, almost everyone hoping to rise in the Empire began as an imperial policeman and slowly worked their way up. Only a rare few could ultimately climb to the lofty, seemingly unreachable rank of "great general."
Beside Ogre, the weathered, middle-aged captain of the Imperial Guard, stood a petite girl with a chestnut ponytail.
She was Seryu, a new recruit in the Imperial Guard, capable, straightforward, and cheerful.
But as she was now, she still lacked decisiveness when killing enemies, something that greatly displeased Ogre.
"Seryu, one day you'll understand that compassion is completely unnecessary when upholding justice!"
As Ogre spoke, he propped his legs up high and folded his arms across his chest, assuming the air of an elder offering earnest advice.
"I never imagined that, back in the slums last time, you'd refuse to act just because they were children."
"But I just thought they were pitiful..."
"There's no need for such softheartedness! Just do as I say, or you'll certainly taste regret on future missions!"
"Yes... I'll try to get used to it."
At that, Ogre lowered his legs, lit a cigarette, and began enjoying it.
"Lord Ogre, I have an urgent report."
An armored member of the Imperial Guard entered from outside to deliver a report.
"Get on with it. I happen to be free right now!"
"About the Gathered Heroes Group-their payoff to us this month is gone..."
"Gone?! Say that again! If they don't have the money, take their property as collateral! That enormous garden is practically a little palace!"
"We went to their compound soon afterward to check the situation, and in the end, we discovered..."
"Discovered what?"
"We discovered that every member of the Gathered Heroes Group was dead..."
"All dead?"
Hearing that the Gathered Heroes Group had been wiped out, Ogre was shocked at first, then actually wanted to laugh with delight.
However, seemingly mindful of Seryu beside him, Ogre kept his expression unruffled.
"Good riddance. They were all useless gluttons who'd had their fill of wealth and luxury anyway!"
Whether the Gathered Heroes Group disbanded or not, Ogre's Imperial Guard stood to benefit.
The Gathered Heroes Group was an emerging criminal force that had been reported repeatedly and that the Empire was preparing to crack down on.
Thus, as long as the Gathered Heroes Group disbanded, Ogre, as the official in charge of the area, would receive a large allocation of funds from above.
If the Gathered Heroes Group did not disband, pressure from the Imperial Guard would still make them offer Ogre some financial benefits.
Such was the relationship between police and bandits in this world: colluding and exploiting one another.
"Um, why would the Gathered Heroes Group give us a payoff?"
"Isn't it obvious? Naturally, the Gathered Heroes Group had plenty of patriots who longed for peace in the Empire. They donated voluntarily!"
"Oh, so that's how it was..."
Ogre lied to Seryu casually while letting out a long sigh inwardly.
This girl handled matters so efficiently and fought quite well, yet her mind was so inflexible.
She also trusted others far too easily. It would be hard to avoid being used in the future.
Before anyone else uses this girl, I might as well make more use of her myself!
"You may go. I'll handle the rest!"
"Yes, sir!"
The guard gave a military salute, then hurried away.
Ogre's face darkened as he began considering his next move.
Although the Gathered Heroes Group consisted of petty thugs who bullied the weak, they also had firearms issued to them by the Imperial Guard.
At least a dozen heavy, new-model machine guns had been allocated to them last time, all high-quality weapons with improved power and accuracy.
Just a few days ago, he had even seen members of the Gathered Heroes Group wandering aimlessly through the streets, yet now they had suddenly all died?
To accomplish something like this, they could only have been wiped out in one fell swoop, not killed one by one.
When had someone like that appeared in the slums under his jurisdiction?
"Could it be that 'Night Raid'?"
"What? Has that assassin organization, Night Raid, started operating again?"
Just hearing Ogre mutter those few words made Seryu grow very excited beside him.
Night Raid was a recently emerged assassination team that carried out missions with exceptional stealth and efficiency. They were now the Imperial Guard's top target for elimination.
"We don't know yet. I'll investigate further..."
Ogre took a deep drag on his cigarette, then crushed the butt.
"Heh... Looks like I get a whole pile of good news every day-"
Walking down the street with a heavy sack slung over his shoulder, Lin Feng felt no strain at all.
Compared with the Danger Beasts he usually dragged home from his hunts, this weight did not even count as exercise.
To passersby, however, such a large sack carried by a boy could only have contained something as light as cotton.
Returning from the Gathered Heroes Group's imposing compound to the restaurant, he had barely entered when Sheele called out to him anxiously.
"Lin Feng! You're finally back..."
Sheele immediately noticed the dark red bloodstains on Lin Feng's trouser legs that he had failed to clean off completely.
"Did you get into a fight? Are you hurt?"
"I promised you I'd be absolutely fine."
"Stop talking and let me see!"
Sheele worried that Lin Feng would push himself beyond his abilities over what had happened at the restaurant. After all, she had never once seen him fight!
In Sheele's eyes, Lin Feng was merely a boy with considerable strength, not yet someone capable of fighting such a vicious organization!
Sheele crouched and lifted Lin Feng's trouser leg.
But beneath the blood-red fabric, there were no wounds anywhere around his clean ankle.
"Pull your trouser leg up a little more. Right, let me see your hands too..."
"Stop fussing, Sheele. I didn't get into a fight, so how could I be hurt?"