Chapter 141: Taking Action

Aches was being held up by two equally burly boys, while a shorter boy was punching him repeatedly in the stomach.

“Hey, you know, this punching bag is pretty tough. Actually more fun to hit than the one my dad made for me.”

“Haha, let me try after you, Yabos,” one of the boys holding Aches sneered. “This wretch’s bones are quite sturdy. I wonder if he’ll still act so tough after we break a few of them.”

Suddenly, Aches twisted with force and broke free from the two boys' grip. He immediately swung a punch toward Yabos’s face.

Yabos hadn’t expected Aches to still have the strength to resist. He had already landed over a dozen punches on him and was getting tired himself. Caught off guard, he stumbled back several steps, nearly falling.

But Aches only managed to land that one punch. The two strong boys quickly recovered and subdued him again, their fists raining down like a storm. Aches, however, just shielded his head, eyes fierce like a beast, staring daggers at Yabos through his arms, waiting for a chance to strike again.

“What are you all standing around for? Hit him!” Yabos shook off the boy helping him and snarled at Aches. “No need to hold back. Beat him to death if you have to!”

The other boys exchanged glances. A few immediately rushed over to join in. The rest, seeing others act and catching Yabos's murderous glare, followed suit. One of them kicked Aches in the stomach, knocking him over, then stomped viciously on his head.

Already injured, Aches felt dizzy and nauseous after the blow to his head.

His arms, once guarding his head, now dropped limply—he could no longer protect himself.

To the group of boys, now frenzied like wild cubs, this was like a trumpet signaling victory. Their attacks became even more ferocious.

After quite a while of this beating, when Yabos finally called them off, Aches was left lying on the ground, barely clinging to life.

“Aches, I gave you a chance before, but you turned down my kindness,” Yabos said coldly, looking down on Aches lying in a pool of blood. “A stray like you didn’t even have the chance to live like a dog. It was our Kalel Village that gave you and your mother that opportunity. And as a dog, you should’ve wagged your tail for me. But you dared bare your teeth.”

Yabos kicked Aches hard in the face again, making him spit out blood.

“A dog that won’t stay tamed.”

Several boys beside Yabos looked uncomfortable.

They, too, were outsiders.

But unlike Aches, they didn’t live in the abandoned outskirts. Their parents were still alive and considered valuable labor to the village. Some had even married into Kalel families, doing their best to integrate.

Families like theirs were the “tamed ones” the village chief mentioned. Naturally, they despised the outlying families they used to be part of, often treating them more cruelly than the village’s own.

But the boys weren’t quite the same.

They still held a grudge inside. So Yabos’s harsh words grated on them. Yet, recalling their parents’ warnings, none dared speak up. They lowered their heads like truly tamed dogs.

“Don’t worry,” Yabos sneered and said softly, “I won’t kill you just yet.”

Aches stared back, his eyes still burning with fury.

This made Yabos snarl again and kick him hard.

With a dull thud, Aches’s head hit the ground again.

This blow blurred his vision.

“Yabos, if you keep hitting him, he’ll die,” a boy suddenly stepped in to stop him. “And people are gathering around. Are you trying to cause trouble for your grandpa?”

Yabos froze at that and finally let out a frustrated grunt.

He looked around.

Though they had chosen a secluded path to “teach” Aches a lesson, Kalel Village had grown so rapidly that even the quietest paths had foot traffic. Some nosy people had come around. But most didn’t speak out—everyone knew Yabos was a thug and Aches was an outsider’s child.

That was why Yabos dared to act so recklessly.

But if he actually killed someone, he’d still be punished—his grandfather being the village chief wouldn’t be enough to silence everyone.

Just then, hurried footsteps echoed.

A large group of children, around eight to twelve years old, came running.

Yabos and the boy who had stopped him looked coldly at the crowd. Though they had planned to leave, they paused. The boys following them quickly formed a circle behind them, all putting on fierce expressions. They couldn’t just leave now—not when Aches’s “little followers” were around. If they left, they’d be mocked by the other kids by tomorrow.

“Aches!”

Someone spotted the collapsed boy and cried out.

Yabos cast a disgusted glance at what he saw as lowly brats. Only a few dared glare back; most lowered their heads, not daring to meet his eyes.

At the back, Akar noticed that the kids who dared glare were the ones who had gone home to fetch money earlier. The ones who lowered their heads hadn’t.

“Yabos!”

A rash boy, panicked upon seeing Aches, charged at Yabos, only to be blocked and beaten back by several of Yabos’s strong friends. After a few punches, he sobered and stopped trying.

“You coward! You lost the duel and went back on your word!”

“What do you mean? I never accepted a duel in the village east,” Yabos scoffed. “I wouldn’t bother over that little money. Aches came at me first out of spite. See this bruise? He hit me first!”

“That’s right!”

“We can vouch! Aches started it!”

A chorus of voices from Yabos’s group echoed.

“These brats are all your people. Of course they’d lie for you,” Akar said coldly, looking at the battered Aches. His anger was gone, replaced by icy indifference. “I think you were targeting him on purpose, which is why he ended up like this.”

“And who are you?” Yabos remained arrogant. “What? Can’t handle it yourself, so you called in a grown-up?”

“You called a grown-up last time too!” the hotheaded kid shouted. “You couldn’t beat Aches and went crying home, you coward!”

Yabos, enraged, charged forward.

But before he could react, searing pain tore through his body.

He crashed into the boys behind him before realizing he had been hit.

When Yabos looked up, a grown man was standing before Aches, staring coldly at him.

“You hit me?” Yabos fumed. “Do you know who I am?”

“Yabos! Shut up!” the older boy beside him barked. He looked grimly at Akar. “Sir, what’s your relation to Aches?”

Unlike the impulsive Yabos, this boy—also the village chief’s grandson—had joined the village militia. Though just a reserve, he trained with them and had a broader view. Yet he hadn’t seen how Akar had attacked, which left him unsettled.

He subtly signaled someone to go call for help.

Akar noticed some boys leaving but ignored them. His gaze remained on Yabos and the young militia boy.

“I’m Aches’s uncle,” he said calmly.

“Aches’s... uncle?” Yabos and the others were stunned.

They had bullied Aches believing he was alone—a “bastard” with only a mother. But now, he had an uncle? And not just any uncle—clearly not someone ordinary. Worse, this uncle had caught them red-handed.

“I think... this might be a misunderstanding.”

“Misunderstanding?” Akar grinned coldly, a murderous aura radiating. “I don’t think so. On the way here, I heard it all. You think Aches is a stray mutt who should grovel at your feet. But he refused, so you kept tormenting him.”

“Sir, I think you might misunderstand Kalel Village—”

“No, I don’t.” Akar shook his head slightly, pulling a warbow from his back. “In fact, I rather admire the way your parents handled things. Their child was beaten, and they stood up for them—nothing wrong with that. But my brother’s gone. So since you all showed such ‘care’ to my nephew, of course I must return the favor.”

Seeing Akar’s killing intent and the drawn bow, the militia youth’s face paled. “Sir! I’m a militia of Kalel Village. What you’re doing is an affront to Red River Territory! Please reconsider!”

“You’re a militia?” Akar raised an eyebrow.

Militias weren’t ordinary villagers. They represented not just village strength but that of the lord—standard for gauging a knight’s fiefdom.

So normally, only a knight of the fief could punish a militia.

“Yes, I am!” the boy replied, feeling slightly relieved. Maybe Akar would hesitate, fearing to offend a lord’s authority.

But Akar’s next words chilled him to the bone.

“But the others aren’t, right?”

“Wait—”

Akar didn’t let him finish. He swung his bow like a greatsword.

The bow struck Yabos’s head.

In the next instant, his skull burst like a smashed melon.

Blood and brain matter splattered over the boys behind him.

Terrified screams rang out.

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