Chapter 111: Hero Descends

At this moment, a thin figure huddled at a street corner, a girl who looked no older than seven or eight.

She hugged her knees tightly, trying to ward off the cold, but to no avail; her eyes were vacant, her gaze dull as it fell upon the street.

"My brother is sick," she murmured, her voice hoarse, "If there's nothing to eat today, she'll die just like Father and Mother."

No sooner had she spoken than a middle-aged man beside her suddenly collapsed to the ground. His body twitched a few times, then lay still. The girl looked up and recognized that familiar face.

He was the uncle who had once lived next door and had brought her family vegetables he grew himself.

The girl remembered how the uncle always laughed and praised her pretty eyes, and would pat her head, but now, only the deathly pallor of death remained on his face.

She recalled how, a few months ago, those gorgeously dressed nobles had suddenly appeared on the street. They brought soldiers, new laws, and endless taxes.

Yet, facing the uncle's corpse, there were no tears in the girl's eyes, no sadness on her face.

In recent days, such things had happened too often. Those who starved to death were as common as fallen leaves in autumn.

The girl had grown numb; she could no longer cry.

At this moment, a woman dressed somewhat respectably walked past the girl. She stopped, took a copper coin from her pocket, and gently placed it before the girl.

"Poor child," the woman sighed, "Go buy something to eat."

A glint of light suddenly flashed in the girl's eyes; her cracked lips moved with difficulty: "Thank you!"

She tremblingly reached out her hand, carefully picking up the copper coin as if holding a rare treasure, and struggled to her feet, her legs shaking constantly from long-term hunger.

At this moment, a commotion suddenly arose on the street. The crowd grew restless and retreated to the sides. Before the girl could react, she was shoved backward by the surging tide of people.

"Ah!" she cried out, losing her balance. In the moment of falling, she felt the copper coin slip from her hand.

Ignoring the pain, the girl crawled toward the center of the road on hands and feet. Her eyes held only that copper coin rolling on the ground.

"Wait!" she shouted in her heart.

The copper coin finally stopped in the center of the road. The girl sighed in relief and reached out her trembling hand to grab it, but at this moment, a shiny leather boot suddenly stomped down from above, precisely pinning the copper coin.

The girl looked up, she looked up, only to see a group standing before her. Three men walked in front, followed by a young woman dressed flamboyantly.

The leader was named Sheila, son of Minister Honest, who held supreme power in the Empire, and behind him was the Empire's recently formed Special Forces—the Wild Hunt.

Sheila looked down at the girl, a flicker of disgust in his eyes. The others also gazed at the kneeling girl with contempt, as if looking at a dirty worm.

In her panic, the girl tried to stand, but her legs were weak from long-term hunger. She staggered and accidentally bumped into Sheila's trouser leg.

Sheila's face instantly darkened: "It seems some lowly commoners still haven't learned what rules are..."

The girl felt a chill come over her; she wanted to beg for mercy, but found her throat too dry to make a sound.

She could only look at the people before her with pleading eyes, hoping they would take pity and return the copper coin to her.

"Master Sheila, let me teach him a lesson."

A fat man with exaggerated clown makeup on his face suddenly came forward. His gaze swept back and forth over the girl, a disturbing light flashing in his eyes.

He licked his lips, his voice carrying an inexplicable excitement: "Those eyes are truly beautiful."

The woman behind him laughed: "Shangpu, do you want to dig out her eyes to make a specimen?" "Kosumiya, that's a great idea," Shangpu grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

Yizang, dressed in samurai attire beside them, glanced at Shangpu but said nothing.

Hearing their conversation, the girl fearfully retreated a few steps; at this moment her heart pounded violently, as if it would burst from her chest.

Sheila scanned the dilapidated street around him, a look of disgust on his face. "Forget it, don't waste time. The Night Raid people might be hiding among these lowly commoners."

The next moment, Sheila lifted his foot disdainfully and kicked hard. The copper coin traced an arc in the air, flashing with a faint light as it flew toward a distant street corner.

The girl's eyes lit up instantly; she crawled up with difficulty, her voice weak but full of gratitude: "Thank..."

Ignoring the pain all over her body, the girl stumbled toward the direction where the copper coin had fallen. To her, this small copper coin was all her hope for survival, the only chance for her and her brother to live.

At this moment, Shangpu grinned, a flash of cruelty in his eyes. He took out a sphere emitting a strange light from his pocket and casually tossed it.

"Hey, little sister," Shangpu's voice was sickeningly sweet, "Want to play a game?"

Before the girl could react, the sphere had already traced an arc in the air and landed straight at her feet.

Hum! A beam of light shot out from the sphere.

The girl widened her eyes, looking at the sphere emitting an ominous light; the air seemed to freeze, and a suffocating dangerous aura instantly spread.

"Am I going to die?" the girl thought despairingly. Tears welled up uncontrollably, blurring her vision. She thought of her sick brother, of that home that would never return.

"Sorry, brother," the girl murmured, her voice almost inaudible. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to come.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion suddenly rang out.

A violent air wave surged forward, but split apart just as it was about to reach the little girl, as if blocked by an invisible barrier. Scorching air currents howled past her, tousling her messy hair.

The expected pain did not come. The little girl tremblingly opened her eyes, and the sight before her made her hold her breath instantly.

A tall figure had appeared before her at some unknown time, his back to her, his robes flapping in the wind, exuding an aura of unspoken authority.

And on the clothes behind him, the two large characters Justice were exceptionally clear.

The smoke and dust gradually dispersed, revealing that man's sharp-featured profile; a heart-pounding oppressive feeling filled the air, as if the entire world had frozen at this moment.

"Hmph"

A cold laugh escaped his lips; just this one syllable made everyone present feel a pressure.

"You bunch of scum, truly disgusting."

The little girl stared blankly at the figure before her, and a sudden inexplicable sense of safety welled up in her heart.

She didn't know who this suddenly appearing person was, but she knew she had been saved.

At this moment, like a deity descending to the mortal world, a hero appeared.

(Chapter End)