Siderius stood in the center of the town square. His indifferent eyes stared at the two squirming figures in the flame.

It was a hideous sight to behold. Everyone there was partially horrified. Only some were jaded like a rock.

Ashe didn't dare to look at the sight. She turned her head away. But the scream of their pain still lingered in her ears.

Kraus stared blankly. He had seen far worse things in his life. His right hand man, Geolark, tapped his foot to pass the time. Billy was shook to the core and lowered his head.

A few townsfolk gathered to observe everything from afar. Less brave ones hid in their house or climbed on a faraway tree to observe.

Thane and Gemma's last moments in life were flooded with excruciating suffering. They bathed in fire and pain just like Siderius told Snow they would.

[PSYCHOSIS -10]

[PSYCHOSIS LEVEL: 123/150]

If someone dared to say vengeance couldn't bring you peace, they were simply too scared to enact their revenge. Vengeance had brought peace to Snow's soul. Or what was left of him inside Siderius.

Vengeance was simply the result of an evil deed. And vengeance itself was evil. But Siderius couldn't care less. He wasn't the all-honorable Light-Bearer like the monks. He didn't care about good nor evil. He only cared about fulfilling his part of the deal.

Thane's skin melted into liquid fat. His bone was exposed to the air. He took whatever air left in his lungs to scream.

"I curse you! I curse you foul demon! I curse you to lose the one you hold most dear and forever suffer in loneliness!"

Then he died. Along with Gemma the dancer. Two out of four culprits leading to Snow's downfall were dead.

There were only two left. The assassin. And Lyara Starcrow.

"Two names off the list."

Siderius turned his back and walked away. Ashe followed him closely behind.

According to Thane's memory, the representative of Shadow Blade had left Mucktown. He left after the fight between an assassin of the guild with Siderius. The representative must have smelled trouble and got out of town quickly.

"The assassin that I encountered wasn't the one who killed River... Each town has a representative, similar to a handler that takes contract in and arranges the assassins.

If the representative has left, it is very unlikely that any assassin is still in Mucktown."

Siderius rubbed his chin and thought silently. Shadow Blade was a very secretive organization. But they did leave a trail behind. They might be an assassin guild but at the core, they were still looking for business.

Total secrecy would not attract customers.

"There isn't much clue left in Mucktown. But Thane did have a lot of information about other 'Request Spots' in other towns. These are the places that Shadow Blade accepts contracts. To find the assassin, I'll need to find the guild."

"What are we going to do next, Master?" Ashe disrupted Siderius' line of thought.

"Let's go back to the Rocky Pit. Tell Kraus to bring his men over to help. We need to get the miners ready to relocate."

"Yes, Master!"

The miners in Rocky Pit were skilled workers with resilience and strength. They were valuable and would be a good addition to Siderius' monastery. He had acquired quite a lot of wealth from looting his enemy. Taking care of these people would be more than easy.

Back in the Rocky Pit.

The miners stayed in the mining camp all night. They were extremely worry about what was going to happen. Nadia trusted Siderius but she still ordered a few men to keep watch in case Germort and his soldiers came.

But no one came all night. Not even a stray dog.

It was as if Mucktown didn't even know about what happened in the Rocky Pit.

And when dawn broke, the only people that showed up were a group of unfamiliar men. Nadia didn't recognize them. They were definitely not Germort's men but their purpose was unclear.

"Open up, please! We come following Lord Snow's order!" Kraus shouted.

"Lord Snow?"

Nadia stepped on the platform and looked over the gate. The people on the other side were Kraus and his men.

"What happened?" Nadia said.

"What do you mean what happened? Lord Snow ordered us to come and assist you in helping the wounded. We bring herbs and medicine."

Kraus pointed at his men on the back. Some of them carried bags of herbs on their backs.

"What happened in Mucktown?"

"Ah. You meant that. Lord Snow has killed the Bailiff and taken over Mucktown. The place is basically ours."

The miners chattered amongst themselves. It was hard to believe that Siderius took over Mucktown in one single night.

"How? How did he do it?" Nadia said.

From her impression, Snow was powerful. But he was around the level of an unawaken witch at best. That was why Nadia was a bit worried knowing Snow had headed straight into town.

If it was a one-on-one fight, Siderius might have won. After all, Germort was also only an unawaken witch. And he also had his personal soldiers.

But it seemed like she underestimated the actor again. He was much more dangerous than she could comprehend.

Nadia believed everything Kraus said. After all, if Kraus was Germort's man, he didn't need to say all those lies. They could simply barge in.

"Open the gate!"

The gate of the Rocky Pit swung open. Kraus' men went inside.

There were very few lost on the miners' side after the mutiny last night. Three of them were dead. The rest suffered only minor injuries. With the herbs and medicine from Kraus, most of the wounded were stabilized.

"So... Who are you?" Kraus pulled the bandage wrapped around the back of his hand down and revealed the 'X' scar.

Nadia raised her eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing at all." Kraus shrugged and quickly tucked the scar away. Nadia didn't recognize his scar. She wasn't a part of the guild. "What is your relationship with Lord Snow?"

"He helped us once. Then one of my subordinates betrayed us. We were punished by Germort for a few months.

Then Snow came to us last night and freed us."

"Oh? Is the traitor you're talking about Alex?"

Nadia nodded her head. "You know?"

"Lord Snow did have a special interest about his fate before. I thought it was interesting to remember."

"I see. Is he..."

"Alesio is alive. But he was taken away. I wasn't able to find out who. But a few witnesses said a man with silver hair took him."

"Silver hair... I wonder what has happened to him."

Kraus shrugged again. He rushed to the gate when a gallop echoed from afar.

"Lord Snow must be here. I need to greet him."

"Lord Snow..." Nadia mumbled. Until now, she still couldn't get used to calling Siderius a 'Lord'. Either way, the future of her and her people rested in his hands. She hoped that he would be a better leader than what Germort was.

He didn't need to be the best. She only wished that he was at least kind.

Nadia and Kraus stood at the gate as Red sprinted closer.

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