Chapter 27: Brothers

“Hmph, fighting openly inside the barracks—quite a scene, isn’t it? Do you even know what you’re doing? Arrest them all and take them back!” Protected in the center by his men, Rod watched the soldiers surrounding him with a bitter smile. What a timely arrival—just when things got complicated, it seemed this matter wasn’t over yet.
Fighting among themselves in the barracks could carry serious consequences, but at this point, things likely wouldn’t end well. The situation was becoming increasingly complex. As the officer leaped down from his horse and stepped forward, everyone was speechless for a moment.
When they had volunteered to join the reinforcements and station themselves in C to defend Iron Bar Town, they had accepted the rules set by the Black Tooth Legion. Although Area C was independent of the Black Tooth Legion and didn’t have to obey them completely, it still had to adhere to a few basic requirements. First and foremost was absolute obedience and unity on the battlefield. Another rule was that no private fights were allowed inside the barracks—no matter how great the grudges, they had to wait until after the battle to settle them. Violating either rule meant no room for negotiation.
Facing the soldiers coming to arrest them, the members of the Death Scythe Squad were by no means easy targets. Most of them were warriors at the Gold Warrior level or above. In the previous peaceful times, they had been considered strong forces, each with a solid reputation. Any Gold Warrior would be a target for any organization to recruit! With their proud and unruly personalities, how could they just allow themselves to be arrested?
Their hidden pride and temperament flared up, and they became unfriendly toward the soldiers as well. Each of them gripped their weapons tightly, ready for battle.
“What! Do you want to rebel? Don’t forget the rules—violating them will result in pursuit from the entire empire and the entire continent. Area C won’t just reject you; it will also mobilize all its forces to arrest you. You don’t want things to go this far, do you?” Seeing Rod’s group’s aggressive movements, the officer grew anxious. He knew better than anyone that none of these people were easy to deal with. Seeing them resist and his own soldiers hesitating, he hurriedly shouted.
If these people really went berserk, he knew that just two or three of them would be enough to deal with their group of a hundred. His soldiers were utterly no match for them.

“Cough, cough, cough… Come on, follow them!” Taking a deep breath, Rod stepped forward at the critical moment and spoke to the group. After all, Rod didn’t want to see such a situation either—being hunted across the entire continent and in Zone C was indeed terrifying. Those three god-tier warriors alone were enough to wipe out the entire Death Scythe Squad.
“Leader…” Hesitating for a moment, Skora and Krod looked back at Rod, feeling conflicted. Both of them had once been powerful figures—had they ever been treated like this before?
“Trust me, it’ll be fine!” With a sigh, Rod said with a bitter smile. He was also in a difficult position, but what else could he do? At the moment, the only people he could think of who might help them were a few individuals, and the first ones that came to mind were Emio and Nagran. He was somewhat familiar with them—one was the commander of the Black Tooth Legion, who now ruled Iron Bar Town, while the other was the deputy commander, with Zone C under his jurisdiction. His relationship with them was fairly good, so it seemed he would have to trouble them.
“Hmph… Let go of me! I can walk by myself!” Rod’s words made everyone give up on resisting. After all, they were facing the Empire and the entire continent behind their opponents, and they didn’t want to risk nothing by fighting. Additionally, it was because of Rod—after all, he was their leader.
Soon, similar voices echoed everywhere. Although these soldiers didn’t choose to resist, who among them would want to be dragged away? So they simply chose to walk on their own! They left with a rather arrogant attitude as the soldiers led them away.
Seeing this result, the officer secretly sweated. Not resisting was already a huge fortune—why worry about more? As long as they were willing to go, they wouldn’t care what happened to them! He left dozens of soldiers to clean up the chaotic battlefield and led his team toward the Black Tooth Legion’s headquarters.
Looking back at those guys behind him, he sighed inwardly. These guys were really ruthless. Thinking back to the corpses and blood everywhere, and the chaotic scene, even someone who was used to battlefields like him couldn’t help but feel terrified! The Death Scythe Squad truly lived up to its name.
Supported by Jim and Sambik, Rod smiled slightly and gave instructions to Skora and the others, mainly telling them not to act impulsively.

Hearing Rod say he would resolve the matter, everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief—after all, offending the empire was no trivial matter, and no one wanted to run into trouble. They had no doubt about Rod’s words, for he had the ability to do it!
After this battle, Rod’s Death Scythe Squad suffered significant losses. Fortunately, no one died, which was a great comfort to Rod—his training over these past days hadn’t been in vain. Six people were seriously injured, and over twenty suffered minor injuries; such results were still acceptable! The seriously injured needed time to recover, while those with minor injuries would be fine.
…
The group walking along the road attracted a lot of attention, drawing the gaze of countless people! Most people immediately recognized their identities, and many seemed to know what had happened. Rod could faintly hear the discussions—talks about the Death Scythe Squad going berserk and attacking Camp 11, or about them attacking the faction that was most at odds with them. Rod could only smile bitterly—news spread really fast. In the blink of an eye, it had caused a stir throughout the city. He really had to admire these folks’ ability to get information!
It was hard to predict what the story would become by tomorrow—either the Death Scythe Squad was portrayed as utterly evil for bullying Camp 11, or as heroic martyrs who had rid the people of harm! It always tended to go in one of those two directions. Words could be terrifying—thinking about it gave him a headache. That’s just how humans are.
…
“Alright, stay here for now. I’ll go report this. The higher-ups will handle it!” After leading Rod’s group away from Area C to the headquarters of the Black Fang Legion, the officer gathered them in a training ground and gave orders.
He didn’t have the courage to take them straight to the prison—doing so might force them to rebel. This wasn’t something an intermediate officer like him could handle; he had to report it to his superiors for them to deal with.
“Boss, do we really have to stay here?” As the officer left, the group became free again in the training ground, but no one liked this atmosphere. With a hundred soldiers watching them warily, no one could feel comfortable.

“Hmm, we can’t leave. Otherwise, it will really cause trouble. Let’s wait until someone arrives and then decide! I’m sorry this time; I’ve gotten everyone involved!” With a sigh, Rod said in a solemn voice, his face grim. He hadn’t expected this matter to drag everyone in. It wouldn’t matter to him if it were just him—whatever came, he’d face it—but with everyone here, it was different. Rod didn’t want to put them all in danger because of himself! Still, he was secretly frustrated—those soldiers had to show up at just that moment, perfectly timed.

“Damn it, boss! What nonsense are you talking about? You think we’re women? I don’t like hearing that!” A burly man standing to Rod’s left was the first to react and start cursing.

“Yeah, boss, it’s not your fault. Those bastards! I remember them—those sons of bitches from Camp 11 who refused to help. One day, I’m gonna take revenge on them!” Another man joined in, and soon everyone was shouting together, creating a lively scene. If not for the soldiers around them, they probably would’ve yelled even louder.

Hearing everyone’s curses and words, Rod wasn’t angry at all; instead, his heart felt warm. He understood the meaning behind their words. It was worth meeting these people—far better than dealing with those smiling scoundrels or hypocrites.

“Boss, we don’t like hearing that. How can you say you’ve gotten us all in trouble? No one ever thought that. Don’t say such things! It will make us sad!” With a sigh, Ke Ruode stepped forward and patted Rod’s shoulder, understanding his feelings.

“Yeah, boss. As you said, we’re brothers! You’re our leader, so you’re willing to take the risks for Jim and the others. Similarly, as our leader and brother, we’re willing to fight to the death for you! A wound the size of a bowl isn’t anything—really, it’s no big deal!” Under everyone’s gaze, Curly Hair also stepped forward and said words that moved Rod and everyone else.

“Right! Brothers! We’re brothers!” Immediately, these words had an unimaginable impact! Rod’s words spoken at the most critical moment were heard and seen by everyone who arrived. At that moment, countless people were moved. Even now, bringing them up again still fills people with excitement! So when Curly Hair mentioned it, it instantly resonated with everyone! At that moment, Rod’s tall figure was etched into everyone’s mind like a photograph.

“We are brothers, so we bear it together. There is no right or wrong, only whether to bear it or not. Once we make a choice, we won’t regret it. Give us another chance, and we’ll still do the same!” Then Scora expressed his thoughts using Rod’s words.
The atmosphere reached its peak; the entire training ground was filled with loud shouts and roars. There was no slumped spirits or murmured complaints—only more shouts, cheers, and high spirits. In such a scene, this matter seemed to truly become unimportant!