Calvin had no idea what he just did, but the effects of his actions were as clear as day. He followed his instincts when he moved a few moments ago when he came to it, Jeff had already collapsed onto the ground with blood coming out of his seven orifices.
But before he could even think any further, the gang members let out a sorrowful howl.
"Jeff!"
The members of the Yellow River Gang rushed to Jeff's side, but they found him dead.
He had died on the spot.
What's worse, it was because of a single kick.
A sense of crisis came crashing down onto the remaining members of the Yellow River Gang.
They turned around and made a break for it to the door, but how could they possibly live when Calvin already decided that they were dead? The judgment has been passed and it was too late for it to be retracted.
Calvin leaped into the air and sent kicks onto their spines.
They weren't even able to fight back nor come close to the door for Calvin was just too fast.
Thud!
Several dull thuds rang out.
The corpses of the gang members simultaneously fell onto the ground.
They died...
Less than a few seconds, and without even putting out a fight.
They died on the spot, just like Jeff who stood tall like a mountain earlier and even gave Calvin a handicap.
"C-Calvin..." Charlotte stared at Calvin in horror.
Calvin's breathing was rough and both of his legs felt as if they were on fire.
Calvin had no idea at all that he had just executed a series of moves from the Rozenstruik Empire's Hand-To-Hand Combat Arts. This tyrannical combat art was devastating against the enemies, but it was also damaging to a user whose physique wasn't sufficiently strong.
Fortunately, Calvin's instincts automatically adjusted the strength of his attack against these people.
Instead of directly crippling his legs from the backlash, Calvin only suffered a sprain on his legs.
Even so, the sprain was incredibly painful and it took Calvin quite a long while before he managed to suppress the pain.
Turning to look at Charlotte, he said, "It's fine... They are gone now. They won't hurt you anymore... I won't let them hurt, you nor Cecilia. As long as I'm alive, no one in this world can hurt you."
Calvin who had lost some of his memories firmly believed that Charlotte was her wife and daughter.
He was a man who greatly valued friends and family.
Those that tried to hurt them never had any good ending.
This was how he felt, and it must be true.
Calvin handed over the sleeping Cecilia to the still astonished Charlotte before he turned to look at Viktor's direction.
"Now, I just have to deal with a single person."
Calvin approached Viktor with steady footsteps and the latter felt as if the god of death himself was approaching him. He was unconscious earlier but he had been awakened by the death throes of the members of the Yellow River Gang.
He started shivering in fear. Earlier, he witnessed the death of the towering Jeff. Jeff was a man who had killed dozens of civilians and rogues in his entire life, yet he was disposed of so easily by a young man like Calvin?
Just how strong Calvin was?
Was he still even human?
Viktor tried his best to remain silent in the dark corner of the hut. He suppressed his fears and even started crawling underneath the bunk bed, hoping that Calvin and Charlotte could forget that he was still here. But just how could Calvin forget his presence?
In an instant, he dragged Viktor from underneath the bed and slapped him across his face several times until his cheeks swole like a pig.
Then, he hurled her over to Charlotte, and coldly declared, "Kill him for what he had done to you."
His declaration startled both Charlotte and Viktor as the latter directly kneeled in front of Charlotte and said, "Please... Spare me... I admit that I was blinded by greed!"
"I will not do it anymore. Just give me a chance! Please, give me a second chance!" Tears streamed down Viktor as he repeatedly banged his forehead onto the floor until it bled.
The mud and the filth of the floor covered his face, but it didn't bother him at all.
If he could live, he was prepared to do anything.
Charlotte stared with complicated emotions at Viktor.
She was a member of that race and those who came from that race were kind in nature.
They disliked bloodshed, similar to the doppelgangers, but that didn't mean that they didn't know how to retaliate.
When their hands were forced, they could be as ferocious and as strong as mother nature.
But...
Killing a man...
Charlotte had never done that.
And she didn't know if she could do it.
Calvin could see the struggle that Charlotte had in her heart and he was finally a hundred percent sure that Charlotte did belong to that particular race.
A smile crept up in his lips as he said, "I'll do it. Just decide his fate..."
"You don't have to bother staining your hands with the blood of such a bastard."
Calvin's words were akin to pouring cold water onto Viktor's head. He shivered and realized that the key for his survival didn't lie on Charlotte. Instead, if he wanted to survive— he must convince Calvin to let him live.
"Sir... It really wasn't my intention to kill..."
"I just came here for the money. You know about how people live in the Northern Borough, so you should be familiar that something like this happens every day. If your wife just handed over the money to us, then everything wouldn't even come to this..." Viktor expressed his grievance.
But he was slapped across the face by Calvin.
"Are you trying to pass the blame to my wife? Remember that rapists exist in this world not because of women, but because of rapists!" Calvin glared at Viktor. Viktor trembled and tears fell from his eyes down his cheek. Calvin's words made sense, so he didn't know how to retaliate.
He kept his silence until Calvin talked again, "But..."
"You're right... Something like this indeed happens every day in the Northern Borough. Living in a shithole like this place, one should expect themselves to randomly die under the hands of a rogue and be eaten by rats without a proper burial..."
"That does make sense... But is that relevant to the issue at hand?"
"Your fate will be decided by my wife, so I want you to shut up and prepare your last words."
Calvin warned.
Viktor didn't dare to talk again.
Charlotte descended into a spiral of internal struggle.
One part of her wanted to kill Viktor as revenge, but was revenge really necessary?
Like her, Viktor was just trying her best to live and earn as much money as he could no matter what the method was. However, when she remembered the scene of her daughter being pinned onto the ground with a knife on her neck earlier.
Charlotte's blood boiled.
She glared at Viktor and her breathing turned rough.
She seemed to be deeply hesitating about the issue.
But it was clear from her eyes that she would most likely order Viktor's execution.
Viktor could see her internal struggle and he begged once more, "Please madame... Give me a second chance. You can put me to jail or do whatever you want to me so long as you do not extinguish my life..."
"I'm a man of ambition and I knew that I've gone too far, but the gospel of the Goddess Grace foretold that one must be able to forgive one's enemies to attain peace. I'm sure you would be immensely bothered about my death once you've passed judgment onto me..."
"No one among us wants that to happen, so please spare me..."
Charlotte bit her lips but hearing the gospel of the Goddess Grace. She was finally convinced.
She turned to look at Calvin and said, "Calvin... I think we should spare him."
"Oh?" Calvin turned to look at Charlotte in astonishment.
But his eyes shone in a strange light at the very next moment as he said, "All right... If that is what my wife wants, then we shall spare his life."
"T-Thank you, Madame, Sir!" Viktor immediately kowtowed as he cried out in excitement in joy.
The procession lasted long enough, but the destination was still the same as he expected. Viktor almost couldn't contain his excitement and if not for the fact that the god of death, Calvin was still standing in front of him, he would've leaped into the air at this moment.
Calvin coldly glared at him and ordered him with his eyes not to move an inch from where he was kneeling.
He then tended to Charlotte and Cecilia.
After sending them to an inn at one of the safest locations in Ashmelion, the Center Borough, Calvin came back to the Northern Borough and entered the small hut.
There, he found Viktor still kneeling onto the ground despite the fact that an hour had passed since he left with Charlotte and Cecilia.
Calvin couldn't help but be impressed. At least, the man could keep his words.
Calvin stood in front of him and said, "Stand up..."
Viktor complied, but he didn't dare to raise his head and stare at Calvin. He was still afraid that he might randomly offend this god of death and die miserably and with grievances.
"My wife has spared your life, so I will spare you. But from now on, you shall work with me. Also, I know that you are probably trying to use me like a borrowed knife to deal with the retaliation of the Yellow River Gang against you, but I advise you against doing that..."
"I absolutely despise people who try to use me for their own agenda. I hope we can make that clear..." Calvin said.
He didn't even give Viktor any chance to explain for he directly exposed Viktor's plans. Fortunately, the chance that the Yellow River Gang knew that Viktor was the one who hired the services of Talion and his brothers was now incredibly low due to the fact that Calvin killed them all.
"Y-Yes, sir..."
With the chance being so low, how could Viktor be afraid of being discovered by the Yellow River Gang?
He may have the plan of using Calvin like a borrowed knife, but at this moment, upon realizing the truth behind the incident...
He decided against it.
It was close to impossible for the Yellow River Gang to discover that he was the one who hired Talion and his brothers, so why would he be afraid of the Yellow River Gang?
On the contrary, if he acted strangely towards the other members of the Yellow River Gang, they might find him suspicious and when that happened— it would only be a matter of time until they discovered the fact that it was him who hired Talion and his brothers.
When that happened, he would most certainly die.
Viktor stared at Calvin with admiration.
He was so young, yet Viktor felt as if he was conversing with a hundred-years-old ancestor instead of a young man in his mid-twenties. What's more, Calvin was so strong! In just a few seconds, he managed to kill all the members of the Yellow River Gang that he hired to deal with Charlotte!
Speaking of dealing with Charlotte, Viktor deeply regretted the matter.
If he knew that Charlotte had such a formidable husband, then he wouldn't even dare to offend her even if he had a tiger's guts!
But there was no use crying over spilled milk and it was too late for regrets.
Calvin observed Viktor and found that the man who seemed to be a mountain of fat was indeed deeply regretting his actions against his wife.
But Viktor had to suffer the ramifications of his actions. However, since Charlotte spared his life, then Calvin wouldn't kill him. If he did so, then that was basically the same as trampling on the words of his wife.
But just because he wouldn't kill Viktor didn't mean that he wouldn't suffer any torment.
A smile crept up on Calvin's lips.
He swiped some pebbles and dust on the wall behind him and then flicked it towards Viktor's forehead.
"Ah!"
Viktor exclaimed when he felt the sudden pain, but when he touched his forehead, he found no trace of any injury.
"I have inserted a poison in your glabella. If you do not drink an antidote from me next month, then you will die a miserable death. I can also trigger the poison remotely, so don't you dare do any funny business against me nor my wife and child, do you understand?" Calvin coldly declared.
Viktor's face fell as he felt a shiver down his spine. He didn't dare to doubt Calvin's words as he kneeled onto the ground once more and nodded as if he was a chicken pecking some rice off the floor, "Yes, sir... I won't... I will do whatever you want me to do. Just tell me..."
"Good... At least, you are sensible. What I want you to do is to give me any information that you think would be relevant to me from the Yellow River Gang."
"Report their movements to me. I doubt that they won't investigate the matter about the death of these guys, and that is why I need your service..."
"Also, I want you to bury these bastards if you can't, then just throw them into the river below the Yang Bridge. I don't want these corpses here, since we're still going to come back to pack up. As for the payment consisting of several months of rent that my wife gave to you?"
Calvin hinted at Viktor and he immediately responded.
"Yes, sir! I will return it... I don't dare... I don't dare to hold onto your money..."
"All right, I like sensible people... Okay, do your job now and I'm off. Remember to remember each and every word that I said to you today since failure to meet them can cost your life..." Calvin left these words in his wake as he walked out of the door and exited the small hut.
Inside the room, Viktor swept his glance at the corpses around him and he started to laugh.
"Hahaha..."
"Hahaha..."
"HAHAHA!!!"
He madly laughed until he was out of breath.
"I managed to live..."
"All is well that ends well..."
"As for the Yellow River Gang..."
"If they dared to cross paths with that young man, then I doubt that they will be able to remain dominant in this borough."
"They've overstayed their welcome, and it's time for the Northern Borough to change hands..."
"Hahaha..."
Viktor kept on laughing inside the hut.