Chapter 291

Li En never expected this day would come so soon.

He felt as if he could now walk across these familiar streets however he pleased.

"Crack Evil!"

The familiar roar, the equally familiar radiant effect, and the explosive slash sound so ingrained it felt like instinct.

"Hum!"

That resonant crack, like a lightsaber swinging, was the sound of a high-temperature, high-heat blade cleaving—but the higher the rank of the paladin, the less obvious the purity became.

Mature paladins either produced thunderous explosions or silent, sinister cuts.

This multitude of repetitive, almost mechanical burning-slash sounds usually appeared only among rookie paladins—it was quite rare.

"Strange… how did I start recognizing such a jumble of skills? How can I tell a paladin's strength just from the sound of 'Crack Evil'?"

Li En was baffled; it seemed he, too, had been infected by the "Sul" meme.

"Even old knights can tell, right? After so many swings, it's normal," Larry said, slightly proud—she could tell too, though it was hard to say whether it was because of her "spider sense."

Despite having many eyes, spider-people had poor eyesight but strong perception and hearing.

And now, she was nominally leading the team.

The Weaver Knights' roster of usable young knights had expanded to nearly thirty, though many rookies still needed veterans to guide them—and in Li En's eyes, even those so-called veterans were weak—but the momentum had already built; only veteran paladins could distinguish the differences in these "Crack Evil" strikes.

Anyway, slashing these gang scum was a one-hit kill; no one needed follow-ups—everyone just laughed at anyone who did.

"Tch, these spies are annoying."

Li En sighed; even now, he could still feel at least three pairs of eyes watching him. It made him uneasy, and worse, they were using some kind of telescopic artifact to observe him—chasing them would be pointless.

Even if he caught them, they didn't deserve death; seizing the artifact or punishing them would just lead to someone else taking their place.

"Are they planning to attack us? Is some faction gathering intel on us?" Larry instinctively drew her sword—was another evil force approaching?

"No, they're earning money to support their families. My basic intel is fetching good prices everywhere—I'm even tempted to sell some myself."

The major powers observing Li En had no need to send their own spies; simply posting bounties would draw countless low-rank adventurers and mercenaries eager for the payout.

After catching a few, they wept and begged, whining about how hard life was and how hard it was to raise children, leaving Li En too confused to even know who to be angry at.

"Then maybe you should hold back?" Larry suggested Li En conceal his abilities and reveal less information.

"No need. We're already in the spotlight—the more ability we show, the fewer troubles will come knocking."

Li En slowly drew his sword and walked straight ahead.

He took a deep breath, then roared aloud!

"Collapse Realm!"

His battle sword slammed into the wall—the wall shattered instantly; the thief hiding behind it had no time to react before he and his poisoned blade turned to dust.

"Boom!" Then the entire house collapsed.

Li En didn't even glance at the ambushers behind the rubble—the man's bones were shattered into fragments. Eagle Eye didn't let him play an "adventure game"; it turned his world into a fully mapped, god-view "strategy war game."

That's why Li En's raids were efficient and always struck straight at the core.

Back doors? Secret rooms? Ambushes? Nonexistent. Li En wished he could permanently solidify Eagle Eye's ability—it would be perfect.

Unfortunately, the current hardware still didn't match up well—it was inconvenient to use.

"Any more?" Larry casually cast a Punishment Domain—the area held no villains, but she trusted Li En's judgment more.

"That's enough. Recall the team. Next target." A few minor thieves remained, but they were all rookies—not worth killing. A scare would suffice as a warning.

Unlike the old days of "lone paladin justice," this was an official royal operation—arrests with search warrants for public order.

When the entire city was in crisis, with villains and cultists everywhere, what did these gang members do? Judging by the results, many had grown rich during the disaster, donned a thin disguise to pass as cultists, and easily shifted blame afterward.

During that chaos, routine law enforcement in most districts had collapsed entirely.

Robbery and plunder had become routine; several had even used the chaos to settle old scores—massacring entire families, kidnapping merchants, and looting homes. Some hadn't even sent out their ransom letters yet.

They dared act this way because they knew the old kingdom wouldn't intervene—and no one ever pursued them afterward.