— The Shovel's Verdict —
"You that little shit Eren?" a brutish voice roared through the phone.
"Listen up, punk! Gary, Trinity Syndicate!
You think what happened the day before yesterday is over? Dream on!
If you want the old hag and these brats to stay in one piece, you get your ass over here and die like a man!"
Gary's voice was thick with arrogance. In the background, the faint sound of children crying could be heard.
"Eren! Don't come! Stay away!" It was Granny Lucy's voice, strained, trembling, and desperate.
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.
— Bloodline Revealed —
Witnessing all this, Granny Lucy's heart was in turmoil. "Since when... since when did Eren possess such heaven-defying power?"
After calming the children, Granny Lucy led Eren into a private room, her expression more serious than he had ever seen.
"Eren, the heritage you always asked about... it's time you knew." She took a deep breath.
"Twenty-three years ago, the most prominent family in the Novalis Sector—the Caelthorn family—was wiped out overnight. The case remains unsolved to this day."
Eren's heart jolted violently. "You mean I...?"
"The one who brought you here was none other than the head of the Caelthorn family himself—Oliver Caelthorn."
Her voice quivered, each word like thunder in Eren's heart.
"Patriarch Oliver... perhaps he sensed the impending disaster and sent you away in advance.
The next day... the Caelthorn manor was bathed in blood." Tears streamed down Granny Lucy's wrinkled cheeks.
"The enemy's influence reaches the heavens. I never dared tell you, afraid you'd be like an egg dashing itself against a rock...
But now, you have the strength to seek the truth.
Child, no matter what, you must survive!"
BOOM!
It felt like a thunderclap had exploded in his mind. Eren stood frozen.
A thousand thoughts surged—so he was the sole survivor of the Caelthorn family!
The weight of his clan's bloody extermination pressed down on him like a mountain.
"Don't worry, Granny," Eren's fists were clenched so tight his knuckles were white.
"No matter who the enemy is, I will hunt them to the ends of the earth, tear them to a thousand pieces, and offer them to the spirits of my clan!"
— Sirens of Judgment —
After ensuring the orphanage was secure, Eren returned to the car and said grimly to Kane, "To the Trinity Syndicate headquarters. It's time to settle this completely."
But before the vehicle could even start, the piercing wail of sirens suddenly tore through the air!
Click-Clack-Clack! The sounds of rifles being cocked came from all directions.
Several SWAT vehicles boxed them in completely like an iron barrel. Countless black muzzles aimed at the car from all sides, an icy intent to kill permeating the area.
"Kane! Eren! You are completely surrounded! Exit the vehicle immediately and surrender!"
The amplified shout crackled like thunder over the open ground outside the orphanage.
Kane's heart hammered wildly, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.
Peering through the window at the heavily armed, sharp-eyed SWAT officers, his mind went blank.
What colossal crime had he committed to warrant such a response?
"Stay calm," Eren's voice was still, deep as a frozen lake. He gently patted Kane's tense shoulder. "The more chaotic the situation, the clearer your mind must be."
With that, he pushed his door open first, raised his hands, and stepped out calmly and deliberately.
Kane took a deep breath and had no choice but to follow, his legs like lead.
The moment they exited, Every muzzle shifted a fraction, fingers tense on triggers. The atmosphere was taut as a bowstring; a single wrong move could trigger a storm of gunfire.
A middle-aged man with an authoritative air and a stern, resolute face emerged from behind a police vehicle.
It was Dean, the City Lord of Novalis Sector.
His sharp gaze first fell on Kane, his tone stern and filled with disappointment.
"Kane, as the Warden of Novalis Prison, you, a lawman, have broken the law!
You dared to secretly remove a death row inmate from confinement!
This is a trampling of judicial dignity!
You are hereby relieved of all your duties and will be imprisoned to await trial!"
The words hit Kane like a sledgehammer, making his head spin.
He instinctively wanted to protest his innocence, but the words died in his throat—everything Dean said was true. He had abused his authority to take Eren out of prison.
A wave of icy despair gripped his heart, and his face turned ashen.
Dean's gaze then shifted to Eren, growing even colder.
"As for you, Eren. A man on death row, not quietly awaiting execution in prison, but daring to bribe the warden and run amok outside!
This is a blatant challenge to the law and the government!"
He waved his hand commandingly.
"Take them back to prison immediately and place them under maximum security!"
The cold, heavy metal manacles clicked shut around their wrists and ankles. As they were being escorted to the prisoner transport vehicle, Eren frowned deeply, his mind racing.
Why had everything been quiet for days, only for Dean to appear with such precision today?
Was it a coincidence,
or was there an invisible hand, meticulously pulling the strings behind the scenes?