"Ok, the first thing I need you to do is tell me about my father. What happened in the last great war. What do you know?" Long Chen asked the man.
"I know the same thing that you and everyone else in the city knows. I know nothing extra," The man replied.
"Just tell me what you and everyone else knows then. That's my first task," Long Chen said to the man.
"F-fine. I'll tell you," the man let out as he started talking about the last great war.
He talked about how Demon was in charge of guarding the east and how he betrayed the team and disappeared after that. He also spoke about how that single event proved to be so crucial for the kingdom. It helped the year-long stalemate to be broken as the power difference between the Phoenix Organization and the Dragon Squad was suddenly widened. Dragon Squad managed to overwhelm the Phoenix Organization after that.
After it happened, even Vermillion wasn't able to do anything to stop the inevitable defeat.
"Interesting. So, according to what you say, no one actually saw Demon killing the teammates except the two surviving guards of that place. It's funny how Demon betrayed everyone and still left two people alive to tell everyone what happened," Long Chen muttered as he smiled. He was finding the words of Mi Liayi correct. There was no way someone who was going to betray their kingdom will leave anyone alive and disappear after that.
"If he had killed those two and disappeared after that, people might've thought that he died as well or that he was taken as a prisoner of war. Instead of becoming the betrayer, he would've been known as the martyr, but someone like him took this stupid action of leaving someone alive? Impossible," he continued as he shook his head.
"H-he thought that those two were dead, but they were still barely alive. The Phoenix Organization backup teams found them barely breathing as they got there. Your father didn't leave them alive. He just thought that they were dead," the man told Long Chen.
'That's what idiots will believe. There's no way an expert that had fought so many wars will make such a rookie mistake if his Hero reputation wasn't undeserved. There's more to it than meets the eye. There's no way Vermilion wouldn't know about this either. He worked with Demon, so he must know that this story didn't make sense, yet he let Mi Liayi and her being tortured. He might be an accomplice in this scheme or a real idiot to not know about it,' Long Chen thought as he frowned.
'As I expected, Vermilion might be an enemy and a big obstruction in my rise. I'll have to take precautions.' he continued with his thoughts.
" I-i did your first task. Now please tell me what else you want! Please be fast," the man continued as he felt his body getting weaker with each passing second as more and more blood left his body.
"The next part is even more simple. Give me a gold coin," Long Chen said as he grinned.
"W-what? I don't have that much money!" the man said, but just as he said it, he started regretting as he watched Long Chen take the knife and stab it in the knee of the man.
Long Chen didn't forget to close the mouth of the man.
"Mmm!" the man let out in pain as he felt his soul shatter. Long Chen pulled the knife out.
"Did you say something?" he inquired as he smirked.
" You bas... No, I said nothing!" The man was about to curse Long Chen as Long Chen took the hand off, but he stopped himself as he saw Long Chen glancing towards his other knee.
"I-i will give you what you ask for. You'll get it. Please don't hurt me again! I don't have a gold coin with me, though. I only have five silver coins! I-i can give you the gold coin after I go home! I promise!" the man said to Long Chen as he cried.
"That... Alright. Give me the five silver coins first!" Long Chen let out as he smiled innocently.
"I-i can't move my hand. You'll have to take the coins out of my pocket!" the man told Long Chen.
Long Chen inserted his hand in the man's pocket and found the coins.
"Five silver coins and ten bronze coins. These should be enough for me," Long Chen muttered as he nodded his head.
"R-right! I did both the things that you asked for. Please free me now and leave," the man told Long Chen as he continued crying in pain.
He felt like he was dying.
"Oh, right. I did say that I'll free you. Let me fulfill my promise!" Long Chen let out with a grin on his face as he closed the mouth of the man and sliced the knife around his neck. The man's mouth was wide open as his neck was sliced. He died with his eyes wide open and a look of disbelief on his face.
Killing someone was prohibited in this kingdom. He was worried that Long Chen might have gone crazy and might actually kill him, but after Long Chen promised to free him, he thought that Long Chen didn't actually want to kill him, and he had a chance to survive. He wanted to live the might and then get revenge on Long Chen later. He really believed that he might actually have a chance to stay alive, but his expectations were really wrong. He misunderstood the meaning of Long Chen's freeing him.
Long Chen watched the body of the man and sighed.
"It's good to bully, but you should never have lost your humanity for bullying. Beating up someone's mother just because he couldn't bully someone is the lowest a person can go," Long Chen muttered as he kicked the man's body off the bed.
He activated his Shadow Transformation again and walked towards the door. He unlocked the door.
Long Chen was just about to open the door to leave, but that's when the door was open as a woman in revealing clothes walked inside the room.
Long Chen hurriedly moved to the side and barely avoided hitting the woman. He left the room.
A few seconds after he left the room, he heard a loud scream of a woman. He didn't look back as he left the establishment.
Long Chen walked back to the old man who was taking the registration for the Spirit Warrior Entrance Exams.