Cthulhu Gonfalon

Dogs barking, people calling out. The noises were intertwined.

“Traverser Sui Xiong MK 5” was panting while he lay against a tree. He couldn’t be bothered if the ground was covered with snow and sat down.

He took out a leather pouch that was carrying hard liquor. He washed the wound on his left arm. His face was contorted in agony due to the acute pain.

Until the wound was clean and he guaranteed that it wouldn’t be infected, he took out a piece of clean cloth to carefully bandage his wound.

That took up quite a bit of time, but in order to maintain the best status, he had to. If he wanted to flee in the world of ice and snow for a long period, or even until he got out of Gold Coin Federation to Ashes Woods, he had to ensure that he was in a good condition. Otherwise, he might die on his way.

“I just traversed, how could I die here!” Even when he was on the brink of hopelessness, he didn’t give up, but smiled and encouraged himself on. “Sui Xiong, ah Sui Xiong, you got to be a hero, you got to be a man. If you die in the woods being chased after by a bunch of b*stards, you didn’t live up to your name!”

He rubbed his face with some snow to refresh himself and had some dried pancake along with some snow. He felt that his body had recovered slightly and he didn’t delay any more. He hurried in his journey and travelled to the north.

He had to pass through the woods to get to the north of the Gold Coin Federation. As for after getting to the north of the Gold Coin Federation, how could he pass through? Maybe there were already people there to stop him from advancing towards the heaven for adventurers, the Ashes Woods. But, these were all matters that he needed to deal with later on.

He was going forward alone in the woods. He was injured and he was lacking the necessary equipment. It was a very tough time but he had to persist.

“This b*stard was simply a monster!” A few days after, there were a bunch of adventurers somewhere 20 to 30 miles away. They were looking at the footprints in the snow and exchanging looks.

They were bounty hunters that specialized in chasing after criminals. They had caught the b*stards posted on the bounty billboards countless times. Dead or alive, they brought them forward in exchange for their bounty. They were known as experts in the league. The criminal they were after that time wasn’t any professional habitual offender; theoretically, it shouldn’t have been difficult to deal with him. But after going after him for so many days, they still couldn’t seize hold of him!

“Those soldiers of the nobles couldn’t take it anymore,” a skinny adventurer said. “The knight that lead the troops said that they were ready to retreat and leave the rest of the mission to us.”

“Huh? Their feudal lord’s son was killed. He wants to return before he arrests the murderer?” The adventurer who led the troop was shocked. “Isn’t he afraid of getting beheaded when he returns?”

“The troop is important to the viscount too; he couldn’t afford to lose them,” the eldest adventure said. “If he were to lose the troop, the viscount would make a great loss. He has three sons but he has only one elite troop.”

“No, no, no, you’re wrong. The troop is definitely his, but the sons might not be his.”

The bounty hunters started smiling wickedly.

After a while, the leader pointed to the front and commanded to continue the chase.

Whether if the sons belonged to the viscount or not, it was his business. To them, the most important thing was to chase after the criminal that killed a noble and get his head in exchange for a bounty.

Meanwhile, on the east side of the woods, the feudal lord viscountess Geerteng was reading a letter that she had just received.

The letter was sent by another viscount from the west. In the letter, it said that his second son was killed but a brutal robber a while back, and currently the murderer might have fled to the woods. If the murderer were to enter Geerteng’s land, he hoped that she could help to chase after the man.

“The b*stard’s second son… Is that the one that liked to rear wolves?” The feudal lord Olian wondered and asked.

“Auntie, you have a good memory!” Her secretary was also a member of the Geerteng family. According to the family tree, the secretary was one generation younger than her. He complimented, “You can even remember the b*stard’s hobby. You live up to your position as a voter of the ‘great educator!’”

“Great educator” was the name that the God of Knowledge received within the two years. Compared to the names before, the name was obviously more easily understandable and very quickly communized and promoted. Now it had become the most common nickname.

Olian smiled, looked at the paper, and creased her eyebrows.

It was a simple letter but her gut feeling said that it was not so simple.

Why would an adventurer kill a feudal lord’s son? Even though it was only a second son, he was considered a noble too!

A commoner killing noble was an unforgivable death sentence. If the adventurer didn’t have a definite reason, he definitely wouldn’t do such things!

“Go and check about this,” she told the nephew. “I think there is something fishy here.”

The nephew replied and rushed back during dinner to report his investigation result.

Turned out, the viscount’s second son had gotten a wolf of a very rare breed. It was not that big, was white, looked as though it were carved from snow, and was very beautiful. He liked the wolf very much and often brought it to walk around the feudal land. A while back, for some reason, the wolf fought with a stray dog. Due to its size, it was at disadvantage and got bit multiple times. Although the soldiers got there quickly to kill the stray, the little white wolf was bitten at its vital parts. Its life was not endangered but if he wished to breed him it would have been impossible.

The feudal lord’s second son was very angry and he killed the owner’s entire family of five in the name of “damaging the property of feudal lord.” In the end, on the next day, when he brought his wolf for a walk, as usual, an adventurer popped out from the side of the road and placed a knife at his neck. He dragged him before the family who still hung at the gallows and made him kneel. Then, he stabbed a clean knife in and took a bloodstained knife out.

The bodyguards of course immediately launched an attack at the murderer, but the murderer lived up to his name that he was once one of those contestants that fought into the final rounds in the very first martial arts contest. His quick response was beyond imagination. Although he was injured, he escaped the encirclement and fleed.

The viscount, of course, wouldn’t let the murderer that killed his son be free. Not only did he send his elite troop to chase after him, but he also hired a bunch of famous bounty hunters. By then, they should have both been chasing after the man in the woods.

Olian viscountess heard and kept quiet. Then, she let out a sigh.

“Look,” she told her relatives that were dining together, “even if one is a noble when things are done ridiculously, he will come across courageous assassin. In this world, there will never be a lack of good men willing to sacrifice for justice!”

“But his action is wrong,” the secretary said. “Regardless of the reason, killing a noble is a no go!”

Olian viscountess nodded and sighed.

“This man; it is such a pity!”

After a few days, “Sui Xiong,” who was weary and hungry, finally exited the woods.

He arrived at a small village, stayed in an inn and slept for the rest of the day.

After he woke up, he ordered some food, packed and he left straight away. He continued to advance towards the north.

But, he didn’t manage to go very far.

When he got to the fork, a knight that seemed to have been waiting for him since the beginning stood up and blocked his way.

“I’ve waited for you for a very long time,” the knight said. “Did you have a good rest?”

Looking at the person’s symbol of a white balance and shield on his chest, Sui Xiong sighed.

It was a paladin that believed in the God of Justice and Law. Fighting against a lawbreaker, their ability would increase tremendously while their opponents’ specialized divinity would decrease.

The most important thing was that he remembered the person. He had seen this person before in the martial arts contest in the Void Mask Theme Park.

“I have seen you before, in the martial arts contest,” he said. “You won a round, right?”

“Good memory!” the paladin nodded. “Now that you mentioned it, I remember you too. You participated in the martial arts contest.”

Although it was said so, his posture didn’t change. He was obviously not relaxed at all.

Sui Xiong sighed and asked, “I have a few mates who I went on adventures with. Will this involve them?”

The paladin under the God of Justice creased his eyebrows. After a while, he said, “Your mates will be in great trouble. Strictly speaking, even the hotel boss will be in trouble.”

“That’s not right,” Sui Xiong smiled. “I killed the person. Beforehand, I had already fallen out with my mates during drinking. As for the boss, I cheated him. He is also a victim.”

The paladin looked at him in the eyes. After a while, he let out a heavy sigh.

“I understand,” he said. “Your testimony has been recorded. Don’t worry.”

Sui Xiong smiled and extended his hands. “Then do what you have to.”

The paladin saluted and tied him up with the magic rope that was prepared beforehand.

Later on, Sui Xiong underwent a trial in the territory. The criminal shook the feudal lord, especially when he received his sentence. He was composed and calm as he chuckled. That left the feudal lord’s mouth hanging. In his impression, after a criminal was caught, most of the time they looked terrified and anxious. How could he be so calm?

And, those criminals would try very hard to drag others down in order to minimize their own sentences and bring everyone to death together. Why would this man take up all the crime on his own shoulders?

“What is going on?” he asked suspiciously.

The leader of the guards that grew up with him, which was the paladin, too let out a heavy sigh. “A good person. Such a pity that he broke the law.”

The feudal lord thought and understood. He also sighed heavily.

“Death sentence!” he announced. “Don’t need to send it to the victim, just carry it out here!”

Sui Xiong looked calm until the very moment he died. When the executioner tied the rope around his neck, his hands and legs were slightly shivering, but he still had the mood to joke with the executioner.

“Bro, make it tight,” he said. “Don’t make me fall.”

He thought “make it tight” was a funny phrase, and he laughed.

In the end, the smile that was set on his face didn’t even disappear after he died.