Blood Brothers paraded back to the temple plaza in splendor, celebrating out in the open.

What peerless expert? What powerhouse?

It was all fleeting clouds compared to the timeless walls of a stone fortress built on the foundation of a united people, bonded through the blood and sweat they shed together, cooperating in mutual trust and maintaining open dialogue with their neighbors.

Naturally, they wouldn't expose their involvement in the crime within the game, but anyone with a brain could see the truth. They were patting each other on the back with flattery and laughs, proud and accomplished.

“Well done, Guild Leader Ardor,” Blood Oath praised emphatically after finally getting a hold of the elusive man. “Your Skyborne Lions did an excellent job. I will make sure to write all about it in my report to Binary Habits!”

“… You think this will stop him?” Leon doubted with contempt, which his interlocutor obtusely mistook for being aimed at Carl.

“Haha, look at the forums! Where's all his support now? Dried up! And where's the jeering at our expense? Turned against him! Giving him a taste of his own medicine! Hahaha!”

It was indeed as he said – those who genuinely liked Carl were few. The vast majority of his 'fans' merely enjoyed watching others suffer, and the most entertaining outcome for them was mutual destruction leading to smoldering ruins. They had been feeding their envy, vanity and egoism throughout their whole lives by consuming the continuously degrading flesh of modern 'culture', converting into base creatures with little to none higher aspirations, which they consequently stamped out.

The comments, especially those on unofficial forums, were ruthless and foul-mouthed. To them, it was all a game, and only the winners mattered. Nobody cared about the values Carl stood for, it was considered to be nothing more than roleplaying – if one did it well, whether they acted out a hero or a villain, they'd be applauded for it. Worse than that – heroism had already decayed into an abomination, perversely flipped on its head, where the hero did whatever he wanted, arrogantly trampling his enemies and indulging in all the spoils to his heart's content. The 'cool' villain had become the new model hero.

Carl's glaring acclamation of virtue, whenever it got detached from the ambiguity produced by his ferocity, was unbearably lame to those people, and they couldn't help but vulgarly let the world know on all the social media. They viewed such beliefs as intolerant, hypocritical, chauvinistic, phobic … evil. In fact, if he wasn't a bloodthirsty monster, but carried himself with a pure and gentle air, loudly speaking out against corruption, the disdain for him would be universal, with scant few approving.

“The most dangerous aspect about him had always been his ability to incite the mob. What can he do without the public on his side? Find advanced trackers? We will kill them, too! We will kill whomever works for him until they learn who's boss, until all the NPCs and players grow afraid of even chatting with him! Until they etch into their feeble minds that we are the only overlords of Geneva!” Blood Oath continued with fervor, encouraged by the community's reaction. “To this end, we should begin targeting those who betrayed you, Guild Leader Ardor – Bulwark and his men. This will further cripple–”

“No need,” Leon interjected. “I'm sorry, Chief Oath, but I have fires to put out on this side. You guys have fun.” He disconnected the call. “Ugh … what a scumbag …”

…

“Erm … S-Sir Bushido? Is it okay for us t-to go home?” A shivering female archer asked timidly. “I mean … are our families … s-safe?”

“Our families!” another one of the locals shouted after inhaling sharply.

“Oh great …” Amaranthine Bushido felt a headache coming. Carl's NPCs were crying after Toothy, despairing and panicking. They were all aware of the feud between their benefactor and Blood Brothers, whose reputation preceded them despite their ever-covert actions by proxies, so the implications were obvious.

He sighed and shook his head dejectedly.

“Lionheart isn't keeping any of you here by force. You're all free to do as you deem fit. But I'd advise you wait for him, it shouldn't be long now …”

…

By the time the victorious procession made it back to the temple plaza, it swelled significantly. The industrious small guilds, adventuring teams and independent professional players were quick to jump a sinking ship.

“Is he still cooped up in the City Hall?” Blood Oath reviewed the situation with his scouts.

“He is, Chief.”

“Good. Let him stay there for as long as he wants.”

It would be nice if Carl was present, so they could rub it into his face, but if was fine if he didn't have the guts. Either way, they would have their moment of triumph!

Blood Oath had deliberately come here instead of their guild residence, because of the gigantic player traffic passing between the three most important establishments in the tutorial, so they could all witness the clout of Blood Brothers and get any fantasies they had out of their heads. He even recalled his men from expeditions and arena lobbies, flooding the center of the plaza with his legions and giving everyone a scare.

“Wow, look at this army!” some exquisitely geared personage uttered with awe.

“Hard to believe it's all veterans …” his colleague remarked.

“Yea … to think we gave a single expert any chances at all of standing up to them … not to mention beating them …”

“Ehh … hehe … how naive of us!”

“Check out the festive mood they're in. Maybe … we should go talk to them? Try to make some friends?”

“Definitely, but … aren't you anxious?”

“Come on, if I go first, will you follow?”

“Yeah! Lead the way!”

Seeing the teeming congregation, Blood Oath was beside himself with joy.

Now that was true power!

Who could contend against them?!

With a big grin plastered on his face, the dandy fencer received accolades from all around, gradually approached by more and more representatives of other guilds and associations.

“Hey, Chief, over there!” someone suddenly yelled with alarm, drawing attention to a cloaked figure at the bottom of the temple staircase.

The name indicated by the system, and the scarlet-red uniform revealed after the veil was removed … it was him!

“How did he get here?! What do I pay those morons for?!” Blood Oath gushed angrily. “Ha! Hahaha! Good! That's great! So even you came to congratulate me? Woah!” he exclaimed tensely, reaching for his weapon, his immediate entourage instantly adopting his stance …

Carl only took a few steps forward, stopping some thirty meters away from the group of bigshots who stood at the forefront of the swarm.

Within seconds, the venue silenced, reduced to a background murmur.

“You all know who I am and why I'm here!” a momentous voice resounded, subduing the whispers. “I am Charles Lionheart, and I despise the vile deeds of this world! I despise your perversion and your shamelessness! I despise your deception and your lies! I despise your atrocity and your profanity!” he proclaimed with all his might, prompting shocked and befuddled discussions.

“What the hell is he doing?”

“Haha, has he lost it already?”

“Pfft, what a buffoon!”

“Who does he think he is?!”

But Carl was undeterred.

“The crops of chastity and humility are spoiling rapidly, stifled by wild growth! So I have come to reap the weeds and let the grains mature for the day of the harvest! He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters!”

“Whaaat???”

“Hahaha! I can't take it any more!”

“No way! He's totally off his rocker!”

Among the deafening, uproarious laughter, out of the blue, a small contingent of twenty-odd players emerged and swiftly backed Carl. He didn't call them, but was pleasantly surprised by their decisive action and enthusiastic attitude.

“Whoa, what a sight! What's the plan, Brother Lionheart, kill as many as we can?” Radiant Bulwark joked, although … it was hard to tell … because even the family of MacMillans on full realism seemed battle ready!

“Oh, wow, what a frightening force!” The opposition mocked and howled. “What, you wanna have a fight?!” they taunted, unnerving the guards, who began pouring into the plaza.

Unexpectedly, they weren't the only new arrivals – some players actually darted towards Carl!

“May no murderer, no thief, no liar and no dog dare stand behind me!” he roared wrathfully, giving them a pause and intimidating a part of them into retreat.

“Oh, oh, so sorry! Clearly you're too good for us!” someone shouted in outrage, then changed direction … and went to join the Blood Brothers.

“Rather than sowing the seed of discord and planting defilers, summon them all to your side!” Carl demanded harshly of Blood Oath.

“Ha! Good idea!” the man acceded with a grunt. “Spread the word! All those who are not with me are against me! Let's see who they choose! Hahaha!”

Soon, the divide became apparent – while about a hundred players boldly elected to affiliate with Carl, whole droves enlisted in the ranks of Blood Brothers and their allies, increasing their numbers beyond thirty thousand, double of their starting lineup.

Broadcast live by countless gawkers, some of them game journalists, it truly was a spectacular, unprecedented event, causing the normal operations in Geneva to halt and attracting the spotlight of foreign interests.

The overall sneering and heckling were so loud that one could hardly hear their thoughts, and the dismayed guards didn't know what to do, so they requested for backup, prompting the appearance of evolved elites, which stilled the commotion.

“What is this madness about?! Explain yourselves!” A grade 1 guard commander entered the scene.

“Well, it's very simple,” Blood Oath spoke up confidently, “this man over there is causing public unrest. But you don't have to believe me, just ask your people.” He shrugged defiantly.

“Is that so?” The stern officer turned to Carl and strode up to him dauntlessly. “The famous Lord Lionheart, is it? What do you have to say to your defense?” he challenged.

“He said it – ask your people,” the gory hero replied firmly.

And so the guard commander did, having the grade 0 guards recap what had transpired, but the results were … inconclusive.

“Aaargh! What is all this nonsense?! Enough! Disperse, all of you!” he ordered, irritated by the absurd circumstances.

“So you're incapable of identifying the truth?” Carl denounced.

“What was that?! Disperse now, or you'll be fined!” the incensed officer warned vehemently.

“Is that so?” Carl bravely confronted him.

The onlookers sucked air in audibly, eagerly awaiting a show. What gall! Did both these guys really forget who they were dealing with? Who would come out on top? Surely the NPC?

“Did you just talk back to me?”

“I did.”

Oh boy! They were really going at it!

While sparks were flying, Blood Oath and his impromptu coalition rejoiced internally. This Lionheart was so stupid that he would dig his own grave!

“Very well! In this case–”

“Who do you answer to?” Carl interrupted blithely.

“Huh? I answer to Commissioner Hawke and to Judge Demerius!”

“Then do so.”

This response baffled the guard commander thoroughly, but he soon understood the instruction …

… because the magistrate was right behind him!

“Sir!” The startled man saluted.

The astonishment was palpable. Eyes popped out, hair raised, jaws dropped to the floor. That was the strongest NPC in all of Geneva, for crying out loud! What was he even doing here?! How did he arrive so discreetly?! And why … why was he walking towards Blood Brothers now?!

Blood Oath's legs buckled from sheer horror. He instinctively withdrew to the safety of his army, but it had no intention to obstruct the judge who strolled into its midst.

“Theodore Deerstalker was a good man,” Albertus claimed earnestly.

“He-he killed five of our own in cold blood!” The terror-stricken dandy pointed at Carl with a trembling hand.

“In cold blood? Aren't they criminals? And aren't they immortal?” the magistrate objected. “How does that compare to murdering an innocent citizen?”

Blood Oath turned deathly pale, his face white as a sheet.

Albertus snorted lightly.

“And here I thought you would make this difficult for me.”