— The Shovel's Verdict —
Sunshine Orphanage—a warm harbor for countless orphans—was now shrouded in a palpable aura of violence.
Granny Lucy, the matron, was past sixty but stood straight and resolute.
She stood guard at the entrance like a mother eagle protecting her chicks, clutching a shovel tightly in her hands, confronting a group of menacing men clad in black.
Behind her, a huddle of terrified children watched with wide eyes.
"You heartless beasts!" Granny Lucy's voice boomed with undeniable authority.
"How dare you defile an orphanage!
Have you no fear of divine retribution?
This old woman fears many things, but death is not one of them!
"Take one more step—see if my shovel shows mercy!"
Her hands trembled slightly, but her grip on the shovel was iron-clad.Her frail body belied a spirit forged in fire.
The Trinity Syndicate thugs responded with a chorus of mocking laughter.
Their leader, Gary, a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked utterly contemptuous.
He pointed at his own forehead. "Trying to scare me, you old crone? Come on, hit me right here! Let's see if you've got the guts!"
He was certain she wouldn't dare.
But—
THWACK!
The shovel cut through the air and smashed squarely into his head!
"YEEOWWW—!"
Gary howled like a stuck pig, blood immediately streaming down his face. Clutching his head, he stared in disbelief at the white-haired old woman.
"Bitch!" Gary roared, snatching the shovel from her and snapping it over his knee with a loud CRACK!
He raised the broken shaft high, aiming a devastating blow at Granny Lucy's skull.
"You senile old fool, I'll send you to your grave!"
The strike was swift and brutal, carrying enough force to be fatal.
"Halt!"
The command thundered through the courtyard.
The crowd of thugs parted, making way for a man who strode forward calmly. Leopold Graves, Second Hall Master of the Trinity Syndicate.
"Second Brother?!" Gary sputtered, shocked and furious.
Leopold cast a cold glance at him, his voice laced with impatient authority. "We are underworld figures seeking profit, not beasts who slaughter the old and weak."
"But this old hag split my head open!" Gary pointed furiously at his bleeding forehead.
Leopold sneered. "An Adept-tier Warrior, couldn't dodge an old woman's shovel?
And you have the face to complain? Lay another hand on the elderly or children, and I'll cripple you myself."
Gary's face flushed crimson with rage. He was about to retort when—
THWUMP!
Another solid impact echoed.
The back of his head was struck hard by another shovel.
A stunned silence fell over the crowd.
Granny Lucy, wielding a fresh shovel she'd seemingly procured from nowhere, stood tall, her expression filled with righteous fury, her eyes sharp as blades.
"Beast! This old woman will enact heaven's justice today!"
"You—I'll tear you to pieces!" Gary completely snapped, his rage exploding outwards.
The aura of an Adept-tier Warrior erupted from him, sending pebbles skittering across the ground.
His fist, large as a sand pot, shot forward with a whistling force, aimed directly at Granny Lucy's face!
The fist wind was sharp as a blade, the shadow of death instantly enveloping the old woman.
— Thunderous Rescue — —
Yet—
THUD!
A dull impact sounded. Gary flew backward like a kite with its string cut, tracing a high arc through the air for over a hundred meters before crashing heavily into the ground, cracking the concrete pavement like a spiderweb.
He lifted his head with difficulty, his eyes locking onto the figure who had appeared before Granny Lucy as if by phantom-step.
"Why... is it always me...?" he croaked in disbelief, before spewing three mouthfuls of blood and collapsing limp.
"Granny Lucy, are you alright?" Eren quickly checked on the old woman. Seeing she was unharmed, his frantic heart finally settled a little.
He had run every red light, pushing the accelerator to the floor, to get here just in time.
"Stubborn child, I told you not to come!" Granny Lucy was both worried and angry. "What scenes hasn't your granny witnessed back in the village militia? You should have run!"
"Run?" Leopold's face was as dark as a storm cloud.
"You kill my brother right in front of me and think you can just leave?" Though shocked by the newcomer's speed, he still relied on their superior numbers.
"Kneel and kowtow a hundred times, and this Hall Master might grant you a whole corpse!"
Eren's gaze swept over them like an icy blade.
"I'll give you all a chance too—everyone kneel and kowtow a hundred times to Granny Lucy, and I might consider letting you worthless dogs live."
A dead silence fell for a moment, then was broken by raucous, disbelieving laughter.
But before the laughter died, Eren's figure vanished!
In the next instant, he reappeared like a ghost directly in front of Leopold.
Leopold, shocked and enraged, channeled his half-step Grandmaster-tier Warrior cultivation and met Eren with a palm strike.
But the moment their palms connected, an overwhelming, crushing force surged through him—
SMACK!
A crisp slapping sound echoed as Leopold was sent flying sideways like a ragged sack, landing in a disoriented heap.
Eren indifferently scanned the charging Iron Vow members and casually waved his hand.
An invisible palm force, like a tidal wave, swept out and sent dozens of men flying back over ten meters!
Cries of pain and the sound of vomiting blood filled the air instantly.
"Striking from a distance... G-Grandmaster-tier Warrior!" Leopold's courage shattered.
He scrambled on his hands and knees to kneel before Eren, kowtowing repeatedly like a woodpecker.
"I've offended a Grandmaster! I beg for your mercy!"
"Considering you tried to protect the elderly earlier, get lost," Eren said coldly.
Leopold did not dare hesitate for even half a breath.
He dragged the remaining survivors away like stray dogs fleeing a thunderstorm, leaving behind only bloodstains, shattered concrete—and silence.
But Eren knew better.
This night would not end here.
He lifted his eyes toward the distant city skyline, where neon lights flickered like restless stars. Somewhere out there, larger shadows were already taking notice. Trinity Syndicate would not forget this humiliation.
And next time—
they would not send expendable hall masters.
A faint, cold smile touched Eren's lips.
"If they want war," he murmured under his breath,
"then let this orphanage be the line they never cross again."
Behind him, the children gathered closer to the light.
Ahead of him, the darkness waited.