“Disobeying the king’s command is forbidden by law, you know~” Akira’s lips curled into a grin as a cruel, icy gleam flashed through his crimson eyes.
“Since you covet the king’s treasures so much, I shall grant you a taste of the true Gate of Babylon!” With a wave of Akira’s hand, several golden ripples appeared behind him.
All manner of blades, swords, spears, and halberds slowly emerged from within them.
“What?!” Tazuna’s expression changed drastically.
The sight suddenly reminded him of the Third Hokage wielding an iron staff and slaughtering his enemies all those years ago.
“This…” The villagers also froze, their struggle over the gold and silver coming to a temporary halt.
None of them had expected this wealthy young master, who appeared harmless to both humans and animals, to suddenly produce weapons.
Could this mysterious ability mean that he was a shinobi?
Before anyone could react, Akira maintained his radiant smile as the weapons behind him shot forward like arrows.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Squelch!
Squelch!
Squelch!
Squelch!
Squelch!
The villagers were powerless commoners.
They could not even perform the simplest evasive maneuver.
The incoming weapons struck them down on the spot.
Arms were severed.
Legs were cut away.
Blood and flesh scattered across the street.
“Aaaaaaargh!” The villagers collapsed to the ground, screaming in agony.
The gold and silver treasures they had clutched so desperately slipped from their arms and fell into pools of blood.
“Ah!” Tazuna dropped heavily onto his backside.
He stared at Akira in terror, his lips trembling uncontrollably.
“Y-Young master…
W-What are you doing?” “Those who dare grow greedy for the king’s gift must be punished.
For every additional item taken, one limb shall be severed.
This is already the greatest mercy I can offer.” Akira spoke with complete indifference.
Among the villagers lying on the ground, some had lost one hand, others had lost both legs, and a few had been deprived of all four limbs.
The number of their severed limbs corresponded precisely to the number of extra treasures that had fallen from their possession.
A few particularly heinous offenders had seized seven or eight pieces in one go.
The result of their insatiable greed was that swords and blades tore open their bodies, killing them on the spot.
Most of the women and children remained unharmed.
This was not because Akira had suddenly shown compassion.
They were simply too weak.
They had only managed to pick up a single treasure, or the vicious adult men around them had snatched their belongings away.
That was the merciless logic by which Akira judged them: the strong established the law, and the weak suffered its consequences.
Gulp.
Tazuna swallowed hard and stared at the two gold and silver ornaments in his hands.
Trusting his instincts, he had obediently followed Akira’s command.
He had not dared take more than the king had permitted.
That decision had saved his life.
“Criminals are unworthy of enjoying the king’s gift.” Akira activated a retrieval function within the Gate of Babylon and reclaimed all the gold and silver treasures that had fallen to the ground.
The villagers who had taken only one item felt immensely fortunate.
At the same time, they looked upon the greedy offenders with contempt and resentment.
Those bastards had even tried to steal from them!
They deserved everything that had happened.
To Akira, the gold and silver were merely insignificant trinkets.
To villagers who had lived below the poverty line for years, however, they represented enough wealth to transform their entire lives.
No one moved at first.
Some villagers clutched their treasure with trembling hands, while others stared at their wounded neighbors in horror.
A few eventually knelt from gratitude, but many bowed only because they were terrified of what would happen if they remained standing.
“Thank you for the king’s gift…” Tazuna also obediently knelt and expressed his gratitude.
Yet beneath that gratitude, what he felt most strongly was fear.
Scattering wealth before the crowd had been an act of grace.
Killing people before that same crowd had been a display of authority.
With both reward and punishment delivered together, submission was the only possible choice.
As Akira gazed upon the sea of bowed heads, an expression of absolute entitlement appeared on his face.
At that moment, another system notification sounded within his mind— [Main Role Progress: 8%] Akira felt the strength within his body double instantly.
“As expected, the more accurately I portray the character, the more power I obtain.”