Sword of Salvation-Chapter 88: - Moskvallha Empire (3)

No words came out of Oz’s mouth. For a moment, only the sound of their footsteps scraping against the brick pavement accompanied them. Of course, there were also the voices of other pedestrians; the night was not yet late, and the city was still bustling. However, just as they ignored him, Mariel ignored them as well.

"There are a lot of things I could comment on," Oz finally said. "But I won’t go into a long-winded discussion. I don’t want to waste my energy asking too many questions. I just want you to answer one thing, nothing more."

"Go ahead."

"Do you have enough power to back up everything you’ve just said?"

Mariel let out a small laugh at that question.

"I’m not the strongest," said Mariel once his laughter subsided. "That’s an undeniable fact. But if you were to gather everyone in this world, the number of people who could defeat me wouldn’t exceed ten. And even that number will continue to decrease as time goes on."

"Besides," Mariel continued, "Weimei has already started building an information network to achieve that goal. You’ve worked with her before, which is why I’m offering you a chance to join us."

Oz let out a long sigh, but it didn’t take long before he nodded and agreed. "If you can get Weimei to do such a troublesome job, I don’t think I can refuse," he added.

"But," Oz continued, "I’m not strong enough to control the entire criminal underworld. I’m not sure I’m capable. More precisely, I know I’m not."

"You don’t need to worry about that."

"Why shouldn’t I worry?" Oz asked, demanding an explanation.

"When you start uniting the criminals, use Shin’s name as the leader. The fact that Shin knows nothing about it doesn’t matter. You just need to take advantage of his reputation. But as soon as you’ve unified all the criminals in this country, find Shin and tell him you want him to be the leader in your fight against Great Human Council."

"You think that ruthless killer will just laugh and nod?"

It was a sarcastic question, but Mariel nodded in confirmation. "Shin is also determined to oppose Great Human Council," he explained. "And after the defeat he suffered at Romero’s hands, he won’t think twice about using you and the criminals. That man will do anything to overthrow Great Human Council. As long as you make sure I’m not involved with you, I guarantee Shin will agree one hundred percent."

"...I don’t know what to say."

"Just say you’ll do it," Mariel cut in.

Oz let out a deep sigh. "Alright, I’ll do it," he finally said. "But if Shin refuses, you have to take full responsibility. I’m still not interested in dying."

"No need to worry. Just follow my instructions. Oh, and you can call me Mariel. That’s my name."

Oz nodded, and they quickened their pace toward their destination.

After some time, the two of them arrived at the location: a grand and massive inn—the largest in all of Moskvallha and possibly on the entire continent.

The building consisted of five floors: three above ground and two underground. It was surrounded by eight small guard posts, which served as pillars for the perimeter walls. The posts were manned by soldiers on watch. It seemed that Prince Vincent had assigned them to guard the place under the pretense that the inn was the finest establishment for prostitution in every aspect and thus needed protection to serve as a model for other inns.

Mariel and Oz entered the inn just like any other customers would.

Just to enter, one had to pay two hundred escal or a platinum coin. It was expensive, especially just for entry.

However, the moment Mariel stepped inside, he immediately understood why the price was so high. Every staff member present was a woman—and none of them wore anything. The only thing on their bodies was a necklace with their names engraved on it.

Mariel didn’t know where to look. He felt extremely uncomfortable here. Indeed, the view was beautiful—no normal man would deny that. However, even though these women were sex workers, they were treated no differently than animals. It was disgusting. Mariel wanted to destroy this place immediately.

But he couldn’t do that yet. He needed this place if he wanted to use Vincent. More than that, he understood that most of the women here had nowhere else to go. Destroying this place without ensuring their future safety would be a foolish move. The women would only suffer more.

For that reason, despite his disgust and desire to destroy the inn, Mariel held himself back. At the same time, he had to struggle against the whispers of his hormones, which were beginning to cloud his rationality. No matter what one’s perception of prostitutes was, seeing what Mariel saw would shake anyone’s beliefs. It was a bitter truth.

Fortunately for Mariel, he had a foolproof shield to subdue his hormonal urges: he filled his mind with thoughts of Celinee, Selena, Lasyana, Delphia, and even Weimei and Medea. Thanks to that trick, he managed to maintain a calm expression.

Oz, on the other hand, showed no reaction at all. His expression remained unchanged. However, considering he was a former member of a slave-trading organization, it wasn’t surprising that he looked indifferent. The man had grown used to such sights.

"We want to meet the owner of this inn and Bulldoga," Mariel said when the receptionist asked. "We have business with the innkeeper. Prince Vincent himself sent us here. We need to meet Bulldoga to make sure Vincent wasn’t lying."

The receptionist hesitated at first, but once Mariel mentioned Vincent’s name, her doubt faded. Mariel concluded that many people had come here under Vincent’s recommendation before.

"We will call Mr. Gordon and Mr. Bulldoga. It may take some time. While you wait, why not book a room? There happen to be two special rooms still available. Sirs, you can—"

"This is important," Mariel interrupted. "We can book a room later. This is a serious matter. Just tell us where they are, and we’ll meet them ourselves. If you’re worried about punishment, don’t be. We will take full responsibility. Prince Vincent will also ensure they understand."

Hearing Mariel’s words, the receptionist relented and gave him the information. Thanking her, Mariel and Oz immediately headed to the lowest floor.

Bulldoga and a man named Gordon were there. According to the receptionist, they were "educating" new workers. There was no need to ask what "educating" meant. The answer would make any decent person sick to their stomach.

Upon reaching the basement, Mariel and Oz hurried to the largest room at the far end, ignoring the other rooms along the way. There were no guards. Gordon seemed to have such confidence in his power and reputation that he felt no need for security inside the building.

However, seeing how the doors in the basement were different from the other rooms, it wouldn’t be surprising if other members of the organization were inside.

As they arrived at the targeted room, they noticed the door was slightly open.

Ignoring the disgusting noises reaching his ears, Mariel approached the door and positioned himself to peek inside. At the same time, he gathered prana in his right hand—ready to unleash Extending Blade and eliminate Gordon. Oz had already described Bulldoga’s appearance, so he wouldn’t attack the wrong target.

The moment he spotted his target, Mariel kicked the door open forcefully and stepped inside.

His sudden action brought their depravity to a halt. The two men—and some of the women—instinctively turned toward the door.

Before either could speak, Mariel’s nearly invisible wind blade pierced Gordon’s head. His eyes bulged as if they were about to pop out, and three seconds later, he collapsed, falling on the woman whose legs he had been holding.

Seeing Gordon die, Bulldoga instinctively kicked away the woman he had been pounding and lunged at Mariel—his body already enveloped in lightning.

Mariel had no intention of prolonging the fight. He wouldn’t allow Bulldoga to use his spirit power; he coated himself in wind armor while simultaneously stripping away his opponent’s lightning armor.

Bulldoga was shocked, and Mariel took full advantage of his surprise.

Mariel kicked his unprotected groin before grabbing his neck with his right hand. In less than a second, he slammed him into the floor with such force that the ground shattered, rendering him unconscious.

Silence filled the room—the women stared at Mariel in fear.

"Oz," Mariel called out, breaking the silence. "Kill all the members who don’t recognize you. Bring the rest here."

Oz responded from the doorway, saying he would return in a few minutes.

Silence returned, but Mariel didn’t let it last. "Put on your clothes," he ordered.

The women scrambled to obey, even the one beneath Gordon’s corpse. She kicked the lifeless body away and rushed to find her clothes.

Mariel watched them dress in silence. Of course, he didn’t enjoy it. How could he, after witnessing their suffering at the hands of Gordon and Bulldoga? He observed them closely to assess their mental states. It was a crucial step in deciding how best to help them.

A few minutes later, they were all dressed—though most of their clothes were tattered.

"Form a line. Stand straight."

They quickly obeyed.

"State your names and your wishes, one by one. Start from the left."

They were confused as to why Mariel asked about their wishes. But fearing the same fate as Gordon and Bulldoga, they quickly nodded. The woman on the far left introduced herself and stated her wish.

Mariel listened to each introduction until everyone had spoken.

The majority wished to take revenge on those who had wronged them and their families, then leave to start new lives. They had strong mental fortitude—they would be able to build better futures.

A minority, however, believed they had no future beyond prostitution. Their families had been murdered, their dignity stolen. They had lost hope in the world and resigned themselves to being prostitutes. Even though they had desires, they believed those wishes were impossible to fulfill.

When Mariel asked what their impossible desires were, one of them answered, "To kill a god." She deemed it impossible because she no longer believed gods existed. If they did, she wouldn’t have suffered like this.

Mariel gave no response—he simply nodded and asked them all to sit.

"I understand," he said firmly with serious face. "Those who seek revenge will have their chance if the culprits are still alive. Those who wish to leave, I will prepare 50,000 escal for each of you. You can depart tomorrow at noon. And for those resigned to prostitution, do as you please."

Not a single one of them expected such words. Before they could react, before those who had given up could change their minds, Oz returned with 17 men. Mariel’s attention immediately shifted to them.

"Sit in rows, two meters away from the women," Mariel ordered. The men complied after Oz instructed them to obey.

Mariel turned back to the women. "These are the only ones left alive," she said. "Look at them carefully. If any of them were responsible for your suffering, point them out. As I said, those who seek revenge will have their chance. No one will protect them from your wrath."

Justice had to be served. Mariel would make sure of it. Even criminals under Oz’s leadership would have to follow the new rules.

Humans needed rules to live freely—even criminals and nobles. It was a contradiction, but that was reality.