The streets of the southeast city still looked as bad as ever.
The road was muddy and filthy, mixed with urine and human feces. The stench was unbearable, where children with dirty clothes ran around barefooted. Their fathers worked in an even harsher environment. After their mothers finished their housework, they would stand at the side of the street to see if they could find any potential customers that might look for their service.
Fabino quickly took out the handkerchief he had prepared earlier to cover his mouth and nose to avoid being overwhelmed by the smell. The law actually prohibited the residents from pouring their waste products on the street, but it seemed the law did not apply here.
After that, Fabino remembered that a deadly plague was unleashed unto this place about five or six years ago, taking away with it a third of the lives here. Initially, Fabino thought that there would be fewer people here. At that time, this place did look a bit lifeless. However, he did not expect an influx of new immigrants and the birth of a batch of newborns. It became even livelier than before.
Fabino had to admit that the life force in this place was indeed extremely tough.
But when he cast his gaze on the distant street, his mood took a worse turn.
Because that was the place where he was robbed and beaten up when he visited the southeast city for the first time. Fabino was the only son in the family, and he was well protected. Ever since he was a kid, no one had scolded him, let alone getting beaten up. During that time, he was being pinned to the ground and beaten up by the thugs. In a panic, he seemed to have swallowed a few mouthfuls of mud. It took Fabino half a year to convince himself that he should just ignore whatever that was contained in the mouthful of earth that he ate.
However, every time when he visited this place, the traumatic experience would still come back to haunt him. Fortunately, whenever he felt uncomfortable, he could regain his lost sense of security by turning around and looking at the guard behind him.
However, when he turned his head around, the sense of security that he just gained was lost again.
“What’s going on?!” Fabino’s expression changed drastically, “Has the public security in the southeast city deteriorated so badly? The robbers here have just evolved into a group of armed soldiers! All this just to rob me?!”
He saw a group of people in armor, armed to their teeth with weapons in their hands, appearing from the other side of the street, steadily approaching Fabino.
After Fabino expressed his concerns, the guards around him became nervous too. Immediately, they drew their weapons as if they were going to fight an epic war. Since they were chosen to become the guards of the Fabino family, they were definitely not of the mediocre breed. Many among them had joined the army before, which was precisely why they could see that their enemies were hard to deal with.
Not only were they equipped with high-quality weapons and armor, but they also wore a very unusual temperament. Clearly, they were the kind of people that had bathed in blood before. Although they had almost the same number of people on both sides, it was still unclear if they could win the fight.
The captain of the guard was very conscientious. He lowered his voice and said to the two guards from the patrol team, “You two will take Sir Fabino to a safe place first. We will stop the enemies.”
So Fabino, in huge shock, caught between the two guards, was about to flee for his life. He had even thought about filing a complaint against this place to the Senate before going home. He wanted to tell everyone that the large and small forces in the southeast area were ready to rebel.
One of the men from the opposite armed forces stepped out and said respectfully, “Master Fabino, where are you going?”
“A… Aris?” Fabino was stunned and finally recognized the person.
Earlier, when the sunlight shone on the armor, it blinded his eyes, and he could not see what they looked like. He had never thought that the armed forces in front of him were the patrol team. When they met Aris and his patrol members for the first time, they looked poor. They did not have proper equipment nor the money to improve their team’s condition. They looked more like a group of beggars. Now they looked like elite armored guards. This was something he could never have imagined.
It had only been two months. The man who was helpless about the situation in the southeast city had now returned to his prime. What surprised Fabino was that the other patrol members had also changed a lot. No longer consumed by fear, they were now filled with confidence. And Fabino started to feel that he could now rely on them.
Fabino shook his head and quickly drove this absurd idea out of his head.
‘No! No! No! This is an illusion! It must be an illusion!’
He was not looking down on them. Since he was the assessor, he knew the difficulties Aris and the other patrol members were facing. Fabino knew that he could not blame Aris for it. There was no one who could solve the problems here. The southeast city had been in chaos for a very long time, and several emperors had failed to bring changes to this place. It was unrealistic to hope that Aris could save it.
However, he could not let his emotions overtake the job. Fabino still had to give them a score according to the actual situation here. As for allocating funds and manpower to the patrol, that was something out of his control tool.
Fabino was acting in a rather awkward way now. After he saw that the armed guards were his allies, he decided not to run anymore. He could not help but ask, “What the hell are you doing? Where did you steal all these armors? Hurry and return them to their owners! I know that you want to score well in this assessment, but that’s not the right way to do it.”
“Master Fabino, you have misunderstood us. This is our armor,” Zhang Heng stepped out of the crowd and said.
“Oh, you are the gladiator who came to help the patrol team… I have seen your performance. You are really amazing.” Fabino did not hesitate to praise Zhang Heng. “…especially when you dealt with that crazy bison. You defeated it with only a rope! You are the best gladiator I have ever seen. But have you offended someone? Why were you assigned here for your first mission?”
“No, I come here voluntarily after I learned about the situation in the southeast city from Clint. And I want to do something about it,” Zhang Heng said.
“What do you want to do for this place? Burn it to the ground?” asked Fabino. “Only fire can purify the evil of this place.”
“No, I want to bring order back.”
“Hahaha… Then I want to build a pyramid for myself,” Fabino smiled halfway, but he quickly put it away and asked again, “wait, are you serious?”
“Yes, I am.” Zhang Heng took a wooden box out of his arms and handed it to Fabino.
The latter’s face sank, and he waved his hand, “No, no, I’m different from the other people in the Senate. Didn’t Aris tell you? I won’t take the bribe. Since this is your first run, I will hold you responsible. But if you dare to bribe me next time, I will definitely ask someone to arrest you.”
“No, you have misunderstood me. This is not bribery. I’m returning your belongings,” Zhang Heng said.
“Huh?” Fabino raised his eyebrows and took the wooden box doubtfully. After opening it, he was taken aback. It was the engagement ring he had lost six years ago, as well as some miscellaneous items. All the items he had lost in the robbery were now back in his life.
“In addition, we also caught the group of robbers who robbed you, but unfortunately, three of them have died, but the mastermind is locked up in the prison of the patrol station.” Zhang Heng added, ” Do you want to see him?”
