Chapter 189: Relying on Power to Bully Others

Watching Rod roar, everyone remained silent. They felt uneasy, especially John and Kenny, as it was they who had been tasked with protecting the girls. Now that such a thing had happened, they felt worse than anyone else, overcome by deep self-reproach.
Everyone kept their heads down, trying to figure out how to salvage the situation, but no matter how hard they racked their brains, they couldn’t come up with a suitable solution. The main issue was that the enemy had already left for some time, and with their formidable strength, what could they do even if they found them? Not to mention their strength, just having the hostages in their hands left them helpless.
Seeing Rod’s state, the others didn’t know what to say. They all knew that Rod was the target of this attack. They could understand his guilt and anger at that moment.
“Damn it, what else did they say?” After a long while, Rod’s curses came through, followed by a stern question directed at John.
“I told you to wait for news at the academy. That’s all… nothing else!” It was obviously impossible to let Rod commit suicide. Even if the captain agreed, they couldn’t allow such a thing to happen.
“I’ll ask my grandfather to help. Maybe he can find some clues!” At that moment, Alice, who had remained silent until now, finally spoke, her expression unusually serious as she asked the others in a low voice.
“No. If those people find out we’ve used the Empire’s power, who knows what might happen? We can’t do that. Wait at the academy? Fine, I’ll handle this. None of you interfere!” With a cold gaze, Rod rejected Alice’s suggestion. At this moment, his desire to kill surged, but his anger hadn’t driven him insane yet. Years of experience in games had improved his perseverance and mental strength. There was no need to rush; the only thing to do was wait. Those people were desperate criminals. Rod knew that if he used the Porter family’s power, it might not be difficult to track them down, but he couldn’t do that.
If pushed too far, those guys would be capable of anything.
“But…” Hearing Rod’s words, Alice grew anxious. She tried to say more, trying to persuade Rod, but was interrupted by Kiro.

“Forget it. Leave this to Rod; let him handle it. Lucia and the others shouldn’t be in any danger!”
“Don’t tell the Marshal’s office about this, to avoid trouble!” After coming up with his own plan, Rod pondered for a moment before giving orders to the group. If Marshal Okaz found out about this, it would be disastrous—likely causing chaos throughout the empire. They couldn’t add more trouble at such a critical moment.
“Hmm!” Hearing Rod’s words, the group was momentarily stunned but quickly understood the reasoning and agreed.
“Let’s go back!” Looking at the dark surroundings and thinking of the words left by those people, Rod said in a low voice. Since they couldn’t do anything right now, it was better to return to the academy to rest and regroup, waiting for those people to show up. As long as they hadn’t gone missing, they would come looking for them. Waiting patiently was the best approach.
With heavy hearts, the group set off in the darkness toward the academy. Passing through several streets, seeing the vibrant lights and noisy scenes around them, Rod felt disgusted for the first time—utterly repulsed by such hustle and bustle!
When they returned to the place where the battle had taken place, it was completely different from before—crowded with people and filled with noise. Faint shouts and curses from soldiers could be heard inside.
“Bastards!” Seeing a group of city guards approaching, Rod sneered and cursed under his breath. What else could these damned guys do but oppress ordinary people and the lower classes?
Normally, they acted domineering and cruel, but everyone knew they were just paper tigers. Wouldn’t they bow and smile when facing powerful figures? If not for their fear of the empire’s class system and the little power those people held, they wouldn’t have any place to exist.
Already dissatisfied with these vermin, and after what had just happened, Rod naturally had no good attitude. He had been fighting earlier, and so much time had passed—how could they not know? If they dared to interfere, couldn’t they even cover such a short distance? Clearly, they were scared and chose to hide in their nests.
And now? Now that the situation seemed over, they came out to act tough, giving orders here and there. Rod despised this behavior wholeheartedly.

“A bunch of dogs, ignore them!” John, already in a bad mood, snapped those words coldly, vividly portraying the role of these city guards. No one had any goodwill toward these guys; everyone frowned slightly and planned to ignore them and leave. Otherwise, they feared they might lose control and resort to violence. “You there! That’s you I’m calling—come over!” Yet, as is often the case, the more you fear something, the more it seems to happen; the more you hate something, the more it tends to occur. They originally had no intention of paying attention to these people, but those guys somehow approached them. Shouting loudly at Rod and the others, they pretended to be in charge, acting as if they were kings, not realizing that their opponents were nothing but tough guys like Wu Song—completely insignificant in comparison. Rod and his group paid no attention to the shouts of those dogs, sneering disdainfully as they continued walking ahead. This attitude clearly upset those who usually acted tyrannically. “Did you not hear me? Come over! With your sneaky behavior, I suspect you’re involved in this terrorist attack. Come with me!” Seeing that Rod and the others ignored him, the leader of the city guards, along with about a dozen men behind him, rushed over quickly and surrounded them in moments. The sharp sound of metal rubbing together filled the air as gleaming swords appeared in their hands, reflecting the moonlight brightly. “Didn’t you hear me? Hand over your weapons! Don’t you know the capital’s rule against bringing weapons into the city’s busy areas? Tie them up!” The leading officer frowned in displeasure at their attitude, but then Alice’s striking figure appeared in the crowd, catching his eye. He smirked viciously and shouted at them. As soon as he finished speaking, his lackeys immediately moved forward toward them.

That’s right. In the capital, it’s stipulated that weapons cannot be brought into busy areas. The capital is divided into three zones. The first zone covers the widest area and is part of the outer district, where supervision is relatively lax. Some mercenaries and individuals are allowed to enter this area with weapons that pose no serious threat, after passing inspection by the guards at the entrance. The second zone is the central urban area, where neither individuals nor mercenaries are allowed to bring weapons. For example, Marshal Okaz’s residence, that bustling residential area, lies on the edge of the central urban area, connecting to the outer district. That place is under strict control, but supervision there is relatively loose, as everyone knows the status of the residents, so they usually aren’t interfered with. In other areas, only organizations and individuals approved by the military are allowed to carry weapons; everyone else is prohibited, and violators can be killed on the spot. Then there’s the final core area, where ordinary people can’t even enter, so there’s no such thing as controlling ordinary people—after all, that area is where the palace is located.

“Control? Heh, sir, it seems you’ve forgotten—this is still the outer district. We brought our weapons after going through inspection and approval. Don’t wear such a label carelessly; it could cost lives!” Looking at this street, which is clearly still under the jurisdiction of the outer district, the officer’s words were obviously nonsense. Kenny sneered and retorted.

“That’s exactly what I said. What, any objections? Stop talking nonsense and take them all back. Oh, and that girl is nice—don’t hurt her!” To Rod and the others’ words, the officer snorted disdainfully. Those people didn’t seem to come from wealthy families—how could he not handle them? He glanced at Alice with a lecherous look, trying to intimidate her.

Clenching their fists, the men’s expressions turned icy, ready to act at any moment. As for Alice, she was so angry that her face turned red; she bit her lip. If not for Kiro and Rod blocking her path, she would have rushed up to teach that officer a lesson.

“Who dares! Get lost! I have no mood to waste time with you! Better not make me angry!” Stepping forward, he blocked the soldiers who wanted to act. Dark Dragon already appeared in Rod’s hand. Narrowing his eyes, he leaned close to the officer’s face and glared at him. Rod spoke calmly, but his words carried an indescribable coldness that made the officer tremble involuntarily.

“You… scoundrel, terrorist! He’s a terrorist! Take him back to me—anyone who disobeys will be executed!” Under those sharp eyes, the soldier with the baton couldn’t help but take a step back. Hearing the whispers around him and feeling utterly humiliated, his face turned red as he shouted at the soldiers beside him.
“Using someone else’s power to bluff—quite the arrogance. It seems today won’t end peacefully.” With a cold snort, Kiro stepped up to Rod, grabbed him by the arm as he prepared to charge forward, and asked the officer with a icy gaze.