A frail, pale-looking young man was standing and resting his back against a broken wall, with a grass stuck to his mouth as he chewed it like an animal.
His eyes were piercing each and every single corner of the market, watching people pass by. He was wearing a brown flat cap and a tattered black coat. He was standing barefoot—looking more like a street rat than a normal person.
"They are finally here," Alator muttered with a smirk and straightened his back.
"Everyone, bring out your tax money, now!"
A voice suddenly rang out in the open space. Just then, a group of men appeared in the market with broadswords resting on their shoulders and daggers hanging at their waists.
Some of them weren't wearing clothes and had tattoos all over their bodies, while others were putting on grubby robes and boots. Some had silver rings piercing through their noses and big earrings dangling from their ears. They looked like a gang of thugs and bandits.
They began to beat people up, destroying their goods and forcefully taking people's money from them. Even the ones that willingly gave them, they would still snatch all their money and beat them up.
The market soon descended into chaos; people began to run, fearing for their lives.
Alator was now moving through the crowd, watching the thugs closely as they continued their operation in the market.
"What is this nonsense? Your tax is 1000 Relics!" A fat man among the gang yelled at a man selling clothes.
"This is all I have, please," the man pleaded.
"Bang!"
The fat man slammed his palm on the table in front, scaring the man.
"Stop messing with me. What is that thing on your waist? Is that not money?!" The thug yelled at the man, pointing at the small leather bag hanging on the man's waist.
He suddenly reached out his hand and snatched the bag of money from the man.
"Give it back!" The man cried out and lunged at him.
"You piece of sh*t!" The fat thug said in annoyance. He raised his broadsword and sliced off the man's head from his body in a single sweep.
"Swizzz!"
The man's head flew off, and the headless body collapsed on the ground, spilling blood all over the place and splashing against the chubby man. But he feigned ignorance as if it wasn't a human he had just killed.
"These bastards," Alator muttered as he hid behind a shaky wooden shop.
"Are these people really working for the officials?" he thought as his eyes scanned around the market, watching the thugs killing and forcefully taking people's money in the name of paying tax.
He slightly shook his head.
"Bullshit! These people are clearly bandits. I don't think the Domain Lord will allow such people to work for him," he said. "Well, we all are the same. But, let's show them who's the king of bandits."
He adjusted the edge of his flat cap and partially covered his face as he began to walk towards one of the thugs.
Just as he approached one with broad shoulders, he purposefully crashed into him.
"Bang!"
"Hey, you stupid kid, watch it!" The man yelled at him.
"I'm sorry!" He apologized and walked off with a smirk on his face, heading towards another two beating a man at his store.
Alator got there and walked around, deliberately brushing against them. The place was too crowded and the thugs were too busy dealing with the man; hence, they didn't notice him at all.
He walked out of the crowd with a satisfied smile on his face. He suddenly tossed a bag of money in the air and caught it. He smirked and slid it into his pocket.
"Guess that's enough for today," he muttered and began to walk away from the place.
Just then, he saw the fat thug who killed the man selling cloth earlier walking towards his direction with five bags of money hanging on his waist. His eyes shone with interest. He quickly adjusted his flat cap and tugged at his tattered coat, pulling them together as he walked towards the man.
As he approached the man, he slightly knocked into him and staggered a bit.
"I'm sorry," he apologized, pretending to be scared.
The man glared at him and turned to leave. Looking at him, the thug assumed he was just a poor street dog; hence, he has no business with such a person.
Alator smiled, juggling the five bags of money in his hand as he walked. Then he slid the money into his pocket. Just then, he felt a strong grip on his left shoulder. He froze at the spot and narrowed his eyes to the side.
"Give me your tax money." An eerie voice entered his ears. His brows tightened as he slowly turned. He saw the fat thug standing right in front of him with his palm spreading widely in front of him.
The man had changed his mind after seeing a bulge in his pocket earlier. So he thought the young man must be hiding and pretending to look like a beggar.
"These assholes won't even spare me. I'm sure they will likely collect tax from dogs and snakes if they see one," he thought in his mind.
Looking at the man, he smiled and tossed a bag of money towards him. The fat thug caught it and smirked. Just as he turned to leave, he suddenly froze. He glanced at the bag of money in his hand and looked down to his waist. All his money were gone.
"You little bastard," he said as he quickly turned. He saw the young man already making his way out of the market and walking into an alley.
"You, stop there!" the fat thug yelled after him.
Alator looked over his shoulder and saw the man charging towards him with his sword.
"Sh*t," he cursed under his breath and dashed into the alleyway to his right, making a run for his life.
"Stop that brat! He had stolen all the money!!" The fat thug shouted to his colleagues. They checked themselves and discovered that all the money they had gathered were all missing. All of them quickly sprang into action.
Alator was running through the dirty street. He continuously bumped into people as thugs chased after him.
Seeing one almost catching up, Alator picked up a garbage container at the corner and tossed it at him. The garbage bin struck the man on the face, spilling all over him and obstructing his view. The man bumped into a stone, lost his footing, and crashed into a metal rod bulging out from the corner of the building by the side. The rod impaled him through the chest, emerging from his back.
"Tsk...!" One of them clicked his tongue, seeing his colleague die miserably.
"Get that bastard!!" The broad-shouldered man, who seemed to be their leader, shouted from behind. They quickened their pace as they chased after the young man ferociously.
One dived forward and grabbed Alator on the leg, and both of them crashed to the ground. Alator grabbed a flower pot by the side and smashed it into the face of the man holding his leg on the ground.
"Crash!"
The flower pot exploded, with dirt filling the man's eyes and his face turned bloody.
Seeing the other approaching, Alator quickly got up. Just as he took a step forward, a broadsword sliced through the air, aiming straight at his neck. He jerked back, his back foot hitting the concrete pavement, and he crashed on a butcher's table filled with meats.
The blade of the sword flew over his face, cutting a few strings of his hair—kicking off his flat cap from his head.
The butcher man screamed in horror and quickly ran away from his shop.
Alator raised his foot and kicked the man on the chest, sending him tumbling back. Using the momentum, he rolled off the table through the meats. Right then, a heavy sword slammed into the table he was lying on a second ago. The table split in half, revealing Alator underneath.
The man hacked his sword down on him again. Alator looked below and noticed the man standing on a rope; he quickly grabbed the rope and pulled it. The man lost his balance, the sword flew off from his grip, and he fell to the ground.
Before the man could get up, his sword came crashing down and pierced through his forehead.
Just as Alator got up, a devastating punch smashed into his face.
"Bang!"
He crashed onto the ground and rolled a few meters away before jamming into a table nearby and coming to a stop.
The fat thug pounced on him and smashed his fist into his face again.
"You piece of sh*t!"
"Bang!"
Alator's vision turned white for a second as the punch ripped off the skin at the
side of his face.
The man grabbed him by the neck, choking him to death. Alator struggled under his grip but couldn't escape. The man was fat, and all his weight had been brought upon him.