As soon as Johnny brought out a bundle, an overwhelming stench of blood permeated the air.
Southern King's brows drew together sharply. “What's inside it? Open it!”
Johnny slowly untied the bundle, revealing Speedy's severed head.
The gruesome sight hit Southern King like a ton of bricks, and everything around him went black as he reeled from a complete emotional breakdown, nearly fainting right there and then. My son. My only son, Speedy! All that's left of him is his head! He's dead, and my line has ended with him!
The elders turned pale with shock and hurried forward. “Southern Master, you need to take care of your health.”
“We're so sorry for your loss, Southern Master, but you must stay safe and healthy.”
“Hurry up and wake up, Southern Master. Please wake up!”
Southern King abruptly slammed his palms on the table and stood, the motion causing powerful shockwaves in the air that threw the elders backward. The veins on his forehead bulged, and he looked absolutely terrifying. He pointed at Johnny and growled, “Guards, chop him to pieces and feed him to the dogs! No, wait. Don't kill him just yet. I want to torture him slowly and make him suffer so much that he'll wish he were dead!”
Horrified, Johnny felt his entire body instantly turn to jelly. He quickly fell to his knees and pleaded, “I'm innocent, Southern Master! I've done nothing wrong! I didn't kill Speedy, and his death has nothing to do with me! If you kill me, the real culprit will get away. And if Speedy knew that, he wouldn't be able to rest in peace!”
The elders also attempted to placate Southern King.
“Please calm down, Southern Master. You must keep a cool head!”
“In my opinion, it doesn't seem possible that Johnny is the one who did it.”
“That's what I think, too. Firstly, Johnny is nowhere near as skilled as Speedy and is incapable of killing the latter. Secondly, would he bring Speedy's head here if he was the culprit? Wouldn't that be seeking death?”
“Southern Master, let's hear what Johnny has to say first.”
Under the elders' persuasion, Southern King regained a shred of rationality. He breathed in deeply. Widening his eyes, he glared at Johnny, wishing he could swallow the latter whole. Although it was possible that Johnny was not the person who killed Speedy, that did nothing to lessen Southern King's anger toward him. “Very well, then. Go ahead. Tell me what happened without sparing any details. Should you dare to lie, I'll turn your life into a living hell!”
Johnny nodded vehemently, agreeing to do as he said. At that moment, his heart was flooded with fear and regret. Had I known how cruel Southern King could be, I would've never agreed to accept this mission. Just moments earlier, he was about to have me chopped to pieces and fed to the dogs without even bothering to get to the bottom of what happened! Sure enough, being around people in high positions is risky business.
Despite taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, Johnny's voice still shook as he explained, “Today's the day I collect rent, so I went to the Northern Faction's Centurias bright and early in the morning to do so. When I arrived, however, I found their base deserted. There were even signs that someone had robbed the place. I took it for granted that Southern Faction had sent people to take over and wipe out Northern Faction and loot it. Hence, I went to your Centuria base to investigate. Alas, I never thought I'd be too late. They had already tortured Speedy to death, and I had to risk my life before barely succeeding in retrieving his head. I still have the injuries. Look...”
He lifted the hem of his shirt to reveal three or four bloody wounds on his abdomen. In truth, they were from him stabbing himself as a ploy to make his story more believable.
Southern King could not control his energy any longer. It raged about him and ripped apart everything breakable close by, such as the wooden tables, chairs, and porcelain pieces. In fact, even the stone table in front of him that weighed several tons was overturned. “Kill them! Kill them all! I want the Centurias dead! Elders, send word to our eight Legatuses. Tell them to gather their elites and bring them here. Today, the Centurias' blood will spill!”
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