Chapter 27: Born a Human, I Am Honored

How to respond to injustice and unfairness.

"Kill."

"When others are about to eat you, do you still plan to reason with them?"

"Since I'm already a life worth nothing, why not fight those bastards to the death."

Guarding his brother's dried corpse all night, the chef Dimon could think of only one conclusion.

So, he carried two cleavers and walked into the Bone-Breaking Gang, which was still forcibly collecting funeral fees.

"To live like a human, you can't rely on others; you can only rely on yourself."

He had changed completely.

Even at this moment, everyone still underestimated this "cook," who was huge in stature and appeared simple-minded.

While Li En was lost in the gentle boudoir of the battlefield of demons (big fog), the storm in the neighboring dock district was instead intensifying.

Li En could be suspended, but what about that honest and towering pigman?

Li En's view was not wrong; there was a fire in the pigman's heart that, once ignited, could not be extinguished.

Or to put it another way, from the moment he picked up the cleaver and took his first step, unless death came, he could not stop.

From the moment Li En lit the fire and Dimon followed, the whirlwind of slaughter had never stopped.

Today was merely another beginning.

"Brothers, actually we all know, we are just a bunch of shit."

Looking at the more than ten brothers of the Bone-Breaking Gang below, and the more than fifty gang members just newly organized, Dimon, holding a large blade, felt somewhat weary, and his deep voice was thick with self-mockery.

"... Local merchants look down on us, ordinary people hate us, and the bosses of those big organizations treat us like toilet paper; when they need us urgently, they call us good, call us brothers, but once used, they despise us as dirty and disgusting."

"Heh, the worst part is that we look down on ourselves. Ask yourselves honestly, do you look up to the rotten scum brothers around you?"

The trash below looked at each other; they did not know what their new boss was actually saying.

Dimon shook his head; he knew he was playing the lute to a cow, speaking nonsense.

But these words, he wanted to say them, just this once.

"I won't talk nonsense to you either. If you believe me, follow me, learn from me, and I can make you earn respect. Real, heartfelt respect. If you TMD don't understand, forget it; just remember, follow me and charge."

"Follow me and charge! I will lead you to get rich! I promise you will live like a human!"

Finally, after a roar, did morale surge greatly? No, the response below was still sparse.

These people had eaten nothing else; they had eaten plenty of the cakes promised by various bosses, but at least a seed had been planted.

He, perhaps, was not quite like other bosses; he seemed to want to change something.

And compared to others and other forces in the dock district, he was not so vulgar.

"Everyone here is my neighbor, everyone here is my brother and sister. I won't say any nonsense. Now, everyone should be paying 10 silver as a share fee per shop, right? I only want half. For other industries too, I only want half of the original amount. And after I grow big, my underlings will be well-managed; there will be dedicated personnel responsible for collecting money, so there will be no double collection."

To the surrounding shops and merchants, this is what he said.

"I met a kind boss. She said she is willing to build a seafood processing factory in the dock district, which can provide many job opportunities, and we can even get a few boats to set up a fishery... I don't need you to do anything. Many of your children should be in other gangs, right? Tell them that I am short on people here. Do they want to be decent people? There are opportunities here."

Where would he have met such a kind boss? It was just that Li En mentioned a plan to set up some factories here, and then see if he could find a Young Lady from the nobility to get some funding.

"Perhaps it is a lie now, but I believe in Li En... Even if it is a lie, I will make it come true." Dimon, who regarded this period as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, was the true gambler and opportunist.

He believed in the Heroine, he believed in Li En... Perhaps only because of belief was there hope, and the possibility of changing everything.

News from the neighborhood spread quickly; many deserters and informants appeared in other small gangs... but the majority remained onlookers.

This was enough; this was enough for his name to spread far and wide.

"Dimon has a big boss behind him and plans to do some decent business here."

"Really? Would anyone else look favorably on this rotten land?"

"But Dimon has that Paladin behind him! Even the Paladin my lord supports him; isn't it possible that a noble is willing to invest?"

Of Dimon's words, few believed them fully, but many were half-believing and half-doubting.

Everyone was rotten scum, trash rolling in the mud, but when someone pointed out a different path, it naturally drew more attention.

And in this rotten land, fame was authority and prestige; it was hard currency that could attract more underlings and followers.

To the other big shots, those bosses whose strength was too great for him to swallow and who, due to his recent rapid expansion, had begun to be wary of him, this is what he said.

"Those are just propaganda. I am just grabbing a piece of territory to survive right now. I won't clash with you; I can't beat you... You don't believe me? Let me say it plainly: I plan to set up a clinic, a school, and a martial arts hall here. These industries don't exist locally yet, and they are needed, right? I have some connections. You also know I have a good relationship with the Paladin my lord, right? He said he would support me in doing some decent business."

Previously, when Dimon seemed to ask casually where the dock district should start changing, after Li En pondered repeatedly, these three things were what he proposed.

Li En even thought of the excuse to persuade the other bosses to accept it at that time.

"The women in your courtyards are consumed quickly, right? If they get sick, they are thrown away; that's a pity... At least my cheap clinic can let them work for a bit longer. The rotten scum now are so weak also because the dock district doesn't even have a decent martial arts hall, right? The school is even more practical. Don't you have sons and daughters? Do you want them to be rotten scum like you for their whole lives?"

These things were not completely absent from the dock district, but since they truly made no money, they basically had no system and were quite chaotic.

If someone really integrated them and made them more decent, even for the other bosses, it might not be a bad thing.

These things made those bosses' hearts flutter; it seemed pretty good.

"As long as you don't touch my territory, if these industries really come into existence, it will be beneficial to us too, right?"

Thus, the most difficult hurdle, he had managed to pass.

"Double the share fee." To certain people in the police station, this is what he said.

Direct and straightforward, even somewhat insulting, but it was useful and took effect.

"If I get this going, you can earn more too." To the representatives of the Kingdom's grassroots civil servants, those tax collectors and constables, this is what he said.

"Besides, with fewer small fry gangs, it will be more convenient for you to collect taxes and govern, right?"

After making one lie and promise after another, he began to fulfill them.

He was roaring, he was shouting.

He was fighting, he was charging.

He was shouting out the words from the bottom of his heart.

"Follow Old Man and kill! Old Man will lead you to live like a human!"

At some unknown time, this sentence became a slogan.

What kind of "human" did he speak of? No one knew, but he truly dared to kill.

The bloody cleaver had long since been hacked into pieces; now it was replaced with one made of fine steel.

He still carried two large cleavers, his massive body raging like a storm, moving from one slaughter field to another death arena.

That was the quagmire looked down upon by the Transcendents, the brawl ground of the slum alleys, yet he was willing to sink into it.

One slash, then another.

Each slash more vicious than the last, each slash faster than the last.

Invisible power bolstered him; his will transformed into a solid defense.

Blood condensed upon him, faint Jin Guang covered his body; the Sworn One was fighting for others.

"Live like a human."

"Live like a human!"

No one truly understood what he was roaring, yet they roared along with him subconsciously.

Faint red light began to cover each voice; rage boiled in their hearts.

Thus, they moved faster, their strength increased, their blades sharper.

【The Heart-Soul has awakened.】

【Heart-Soul Skill: Born a Human, I Am Honored (Raw Stone): Roar loudly, let the roar carry the obsession of your soul, use rage to strengthen your flesh and weapons.】

【Note: Within the range of your roar, those who agree with your philosophy will receive a certain degree of bolstering; your roar will also transmit your will.】

What next? Just kill.

Clean out a street, and it is a street; if you can keep dozens of people alive with that much cleanliness, then it is dozens.

This world is too dirty; only by washing it with blood can one live.

Roars echoed through the streets; more and more figures carrying dual blades stepped into the quagmire.

His will, accompanied by the fluctuations of his Heart-Soul, began to transmit.

Perhaps, someone truly understood what he was shouting after all.

The frenzied slaughter brought a rapid rise in status; the surrounding "reputation" further increased his prestige.

Soon, Dimon entered the sight of the true uncrowned king of the dock district (the slave market).

Perhaps he should prepare a grand gift to properly pay respects to the dock authorities.

And late tonight, he and the district he sought to change would both welcome the moment of a miracle that would completely alter their fates.

"I have an ally; he should be able to safeguard the security of the dock district's industries..." Meanwhile, Li En himself was still pitching his plan to the backer.

(End of Chapter)