Compared to the corruption-ridden Kingdom, the Empire's public order was much better. Knights stood guard on the streets day and night, and almost every road was paved with flagstones and bricks, a sight absolutely unseen in any other country except Theocracy.
During the past Death Storm, it wasn't just the nobles who were purged; many local organizations involved in illegal activities also coincidentally disbanded at that time, contributing to the replenishment of the national treasury.
The Blood Emperor was also very concerned about public order, but after a few years of rapid development in the Empire, many organizations like Eight Fingers quietly resurfaced. However, they currently only dared to dabble in money-related businesses and wouldn't touch drugs at all.
Such a situation was actually intentional on the Blood Emperor's part. No matter how strict the management, it was impossible to completely eradicate transactions in the dark. It was better to let them develop a bit and then wipe them out in one go, which could also establish a wise image in front of the populace, not a bad method at all.
In a house far from the main street of the Imperial Capital, a group of boisterous people gathered. They opened wine bottles and vied to pour them into their mouths, among them was the burly man who had been collecting debts from Ai Xue.
At this moment, he smiled ingratiatingly at the one-eyed man in front of him, having lost his previous arrogant demeanor of hitting anyone he saw. He handed over a money bag with both hands, "Boss, the mission is complete. This is what the young lady from the Felt family gave."
The one-eyed man chuckled as he took it, hugging the woman in his arms tightly. He took out a few gold coins from the bag, "Well done. These are your reward."
The man immediately bowed in thanks, "Thank you, Boss. You enjoy yourself, I'll take my leave now."
Although he only received a few, three gold coins were enough to support a commoner family of three for a month. It was quite good to get these, enough for him to go find his old flame and have a good time.
After getting the gold coins, the one-eyed man immediately put them in his pouch. The woman in his arms lowered her eyelids, her originally bright smile appearing somewhat forced.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing that her little thoughts had been discovered, the woman pouted, "You're really too naughty."
He smiled and explained, "It's not that I'm stingy. I'm about to take on a big business deal recently, so the money collected can't be used casually."
"Then why did you reward your subordinate so readily?"
The one-eyed man smiled. He had already contacted people from Eight Fingers and would soon get the latest type of drugs. He also had noble protection behind him, so he would definitely seize the Empire's market.
But such a thing certainly couldn't be told to a prostitute, so he just casually brushed her off, "It's different. After this is done, I'll take you to the arena to have fun. Aren't you a fan of the Martial King?"
The woman knew that enough was enough for now. The man's temper wasn't good, and him explaining to her was the most she could expect. So she coquettishly nestled into his arms again, "Then my lord must not go back on your word~"
The one-eyed man rolled over and pinned her beneath him, reaching to unbuckle his belt. The crisp sound of metal clinking was particularly clear in the silent night. As he was about to take off his underwear, he noticed that it was chillingly cold around him.
Strange, when did it become so quiet around here?
"Why stop now? You're such a buzzkill."
"What's so good about watching lower beings (slugs) mate? Let's hurry up and finish the mission, don't make Sig impatient."
"Let's just call it research, it's quite interesting. But indeed, the mission takes priority."
The one-eyed man stared at the two people who had appeared there at some unknown time, his eyes wide. He felt a rush of heat straight to his lower abdomen. He had never seen such beautiful people. Their beauty captured all his attention, so much so that he didn't even notice that all his subordinates were already dead.
"Ah, dead people!" The woman was the first to scream.
The one-eyed man really wanted to shut the noisy woman up. She was truly ruining his enjoyment of the beauties. What if the two of them found her too noisy and didn't want to talk? Maybe he should just kill her now.
Nabe slightly frowned, her expression a bit impatient, "Too noisy."
Even her voice was so perfect. He had only been focused on admiring her appearance just now, fortunately, he didn't miss it. The one-eyed man swallowed his saliva, "To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit, ladies?"
Lupusregina said with some disdain, "I didn't expect you to be so polite, how rare. But you still need to manage your subordinates properly, they were too rude. Their deaths were entirely deserved."
"Is... what?" The one-eyed man had been nodding profusely, but suddenly reacted, stiffly turning his neck. The corner of his eye caught sight of his miserably dead subordinates.
The woman was now ashen-faced, disheveled, and prostrated on the ground begging for mercy, "I just came to work, I completely don't know what happened, please spare me!"
The one-eyed man seemed to still cling to a glimmer of hope, quietly reaching for a weapon nearby. Although he was involved in these illicit dealings now, he had once been a noble, albeit a third son, but he had received knight training. Otherwise, how could he lead these thugs?
"Can I have the man? I need to find out the location of the money."
Lupusregina appeared beside the man in an instant, her Holy Staff smashing down immediately. Blood and flesh splattered, and white brain matter spurted out.
Even so, the man still had a breath left. Then she activated healing magic, completely curing him.
"Alright, the game begins. I will torment you well until you tell me the location of the treasury."
"In..."
Lupusregina grabbed his neck, a bewitching expression on her face, "Don't say it so fast, there's no fun in that."
"Mm." Nabe nodded, slowly walking towards the woman. At this moment, she was still begging for mercy, even more vigorously after seeing the one-eyed man's tragic state, "Please spare me, I'll pretend I didn't see anything! I know many important people!"
Nabe's raised sword showed no hesitation, her eyes completely devoid of pity, as if she was only looking at some kind of dying animal, "Truly a tenacious lower being (cockroach)."
"Wait a moment."
Nabe immediately lowered the sword in her hand, "Sig, do you want to spare this woman's life? But..."
The newcomer was indeed Sig. He appeared in white robes. The woman seemed to have seen a savior, scrambling to his feet, "I'm truly innocent, I wasn't involved in any of this, spare my life!"
"I never intended to kill you."
Sig's gentle voice made the woman momentarily dazed. For an instant, she actually wanted to submit to him. She had never encountered such a contradictory person, feeling both holy and evil.
"Tha... thank you, my lord."
"What's your name?"
"Bean, I only have this name, I'm not lying!" As if afraid Sig wouldn't believe her, the woman hastily explained.
"I believe you, but are you sure you want to live?"
"Yes!"
"Alright then." Sig turned and snapped his fingers, "Mare, I'm entrusting him to you. Don't kill him, he's still useful."
His original intention in saving the woman was to leave a survivor to spread the word about this incident. However, to be safe, he still needed to teach her what to say and what not to say.
"Understood, Sig." The Dark Elves shyly tugged at her skirt corner, wielding a wooden magic staff, "Don't struggle, Auntie."