Durin's Diary

Four Shock Bombs left all the victims at the scene with some degree of hearing loss, and in order to make the old man hear something, Yishu even gave him a potion for treating serious injuries—a more concentrated effect than a healing potion.

The elder finally came to his senses, and by this time, Durin had almost finished the executions—the clan had many people, and to the clan leader, it was natural to have close and distant relations. Durin had reviewed the list and photos before coming, and judging by the people currently present, most were on the list.

So many evildoers were not worth sparing, after all, sparing them would only make the price of rice more expensive, and there were even experience points to be gained from taking the lives of the wicked, truly killing several birds with one stone.

However, in order to make him talk, Durin left the Count himself and his three grandchildren alive.

Although Durin didn't think they could survive, giving people a false hope was always better than driving them to a dead-end.

The withered old clan leader woke up and, looking at the bodies around him, turned to Durin and Yishu. If it were another race, the old man might have been confused. But once he confirmed the races of Durin and Yishu and saw clearly the two Lynx cubs…

He laughed, with a touch of madness.

"So it's Duke Yishu, I saw you last time at the Royal Capital. You must have forgotten a small fry like me, but... you finally came knocking."

So they knew each other after all.

"No, the last time I visited your Royal Capital was thirty-five years ago, when your grandfather was still around, and you were just a young man. But now that we have come knocking, things will be much easier if you already know. Now you have two choices: tell us your secret and then you can die with dignity. Or you can endure torture before dying—I swear, you won't die within twenty minutes, and if you hold on, perhaps you can survive." As Yishu spoke, he gestured for the Lynx cubs to push the prepared trolley over.

It was loaded with various tools, and in desperate times, Durin also improvised, but would certainly make the old villain thoroughly "enjoy" them.

If you are Klein himself, then things just got easier.

"Did you issue the Order of Extermination?" asked the old man.

Yishu nodded.

"Let's make a deal then. Spare the children the suffering. I have a ledger here that has been preserved for many years and can finally be put to use," the elder said with a smile, adjusting his sitting posture.

"We could kill you and then look for it," Yishu retorted expressionlessly.

Facing the trade, Yishu was indifferent, but the elderly human shook his head, clutching his forehead. Clearly, the quasi-sonic explosion effect from the Shock Bombs was enough to disrupt his brain function: "I hid it well, twenty minutes may not be enough to find it. Surely you won't linger here long, so let's make a trade. I'll exchange the ledger for a non-painful departure for the children, and my ancestors can avoid the fate of having their graves dug up and their bones crushed and scattered to the winds."

"Don't you want to trade for your children's lives?" Yishu asked smilingly.

"Would you agree? Don't ask about things that you wouldn't agree to, give me an answer quickly," the human elder replied, smiling as though he had the upper hand.

"My child, do you see? This is what an elegant villain is; facing death, still seizing every possibility to negotiate with the Avenger," Yishu said to Durin, who was looking at him, and then nodded, "We can spare the children, but the Grassland Elves' Order of Extermination isn't a commodity on the market. If we say we'll desecrate the graves, we must follow through."

"Alright, if it spares the children pain, it's also a good thing. The thing is in my room, against the north wall, the middle bookshelf, third shelf from the bottom, seventh book from the left; just move it and it will open. There are a total of seven hundred and thirty-nine trade records on it, all of which I've personally handled concerning your Grassland Elves. Other private trade deals of the children, I don't know, so there are no records." After finishing, the elder looked to Durin, "You don't seem to be of age, so young and already out murdering with your elder, eh?"

"Yeah," Durin nodded.

The old man laughed, his face showing admiration, "To be so accomplished at a young age, I have high regard for you. You know, a child like you would fetch the highest price among my goods." The old man then shifted his tone, "Right, since you are the grandson of Duke Aels, I heard your father was a human. Do you feel guilty killing humans, child?"

Durin shook his head, "In my eyes, whether it's humans, orcs, or our long-eared elves, they're all just lives struggling to survive in this world. So, to me, there's no distinction between races, only between good and evil. Thus, when I kill the wicked, I bear no burden, just as I find peace in doing good."

Old thing, stop showing off these low-level tactics.

Having said that, Durin raised the gun in his hand.

In front of him, a child who had just risen, uncovering a corpse, still sat in a state of bewilderment, not knowing what had happened.

While behind him, Durin had already pointed the gun at the child and pulled the trigger.

And so, before the child had time to grasp what was going on, he fell back into the pool of blood.

The cartridge case, still holding a trace of warmth, fell onto the carpet—a carpet woven from the fur of an unknown beast species, softer underfoot than the giant lynx fur blanket on Durin's bed in the manor. Yet here, it could only be stepped on.

Durin looked around. The mansion was so lavish, the gold-foil wrapped wall lamps, the large paintings on the walls, each silently speaking of their expense to an old yet young life.

Such beauty, such value, was paid for with the bright futures of those innocent children, with the smiles on their faces, with the sufferings they endured.

Therefore, Durin ultimately smiled at the old man sitting in the chair, "You see, the fact that this peer of mine could appear at your family meeting in itself proves his complicity. He is the seed of your family, also one of the future leaders of the slave-trading syndicate. Hence, he needed to die. And since we had a deal, I allowed him to go without much pain." Saying this, Durin's smiling eyes narrowed, "The Order of Extermination is not a dinner invitation, Mister Klein Salik. You must understand that the end of life often comes uninvited."

At the same time, the old man's information appeared on the dropped curtain.

Robbie 'Klein' Salik

Legal Path Sequence 2: The Judge.

· To lose one's humanity is to lose much; to lose one's beast nature is to lose everything. Mister Robbie lives very transparently, thus he cast aside his humanity, took the name Klein, and chose to live as a beast. One must admit that to a certain extent, his way of life was very successful.

Durin felt a bit regretful. You see, unable to see the attributes because the other person is stronger than oneself—Big Orange can still help Durin confirm the old man's profession; looking at Yishu only reveals a name.

But a Judge... that's interesting, you can also decree life and death, right?

At that moment, the smile on the old patriarch Salik's face gradually faded as he turned to look at Yishu.

Yishu, who had sent the lynx cub upstairs to fetch the ledger, was expressionless, "My grandson is not wrong. The Order of Extermination is not a dinner invitation. Mister Salik, you must learn to accept that destruction can come unexpectedly."

Not far away, the lynx cub was hanging a rope from the chandelier on the ceiling.

In dire circumstances, one must resort to what is available. In the absence of a guillotine, a noose becomes the alternative—unlike humans, Grassland Elves aren't particular when in urgent need; such as the human world's insistence that a King's head must roll from a guillotine, such conventions don't exist in the lands of the Grassland Elves.