Chapter 399 399-The King's Wisdom
Vivia's gaze dropped as she took the paper bag, "I'll go with you."
Howard didn't reply, merely quickening his pace towards the direction the street child had fled.
The street child's trail wasn't hard to follow, as the middle-aged merchant was shouting all the way, so Howard quickly caught sight of the child again.
Clutching a bundle, the child bowed his head and dashed, attempting to cross the street but then collided with a young man.
The street child fell backward, and the young man staggered from the impact.
Due to this collision, the merchant easily caught up to the street child.
He grabbed the child's hair and seized the bundle in the child's arms.
"Don't!"
The street child clung tightly, but the merchant, with a fierce tug, managed to pull the items away.
The bag tore open, and several items that looked like oranges scattered on the ground.
"Thief! Orc bastard!"
The merchant spat out, throwing the street child to the ground with disdain, then bent down to retrieve his fruit.
It seemed like the incident was over.
Although the surrounding crowd looked at the street child with disgust, beyond their disdain, there appeared to be no further action.
Howard stood within the crowd, not stepping forward directly.
He wanted to help the street child but not at the risk of involving himself in trouble.
Now that the street child's immediate trouble seemed to have subsided, offering assistance could wait until the crowd dispersed.
Acting now could easily draw unnecessary complications.
This was the wisdom of a king.
Deep-seated beliefs couldn't be changed with mere words or actions.
The merchant, muttering under his breath, didn't seem intent on beating the street child.
After sizing him up and determining there was nothing of value on the child to compensate for the loss, he gave up on causing further trouble.
However, another person approached the street child.
"Half-breed! You bumped into me just now!" The young man looked down at the street child from above.
"I... I can apologize," the street child said timidly, head bowed.
"Yes, I'm sorry, noble sir. It... it wasn't on purpose! Please forgive me!"
"Forgive?" The young man sneered as if he had heard something amusing.
"A half-breed deserves forgiveness?"
He bent down, grabbed the street child's hair again, and forcefully lifted his face.
"A half-breed deserves forgiveness!"
Pain flashed across the street child's face.
Howard narrowed his eyes, ready to take action.
Besides wisdom, a king's might was also not to be underestimated.
After the merchant gathered his stolen fruits, he left on his own, and the crowd dispersed quickly upon seeing the young man, showing no interest in what was to come.
This was not a good sign.
A crowd disperses for two reasons: either the subject of their attention loses its value, ceasing to provide "entertainment," or continuing to watch could bring unnecessary trouble upon themselves.
The current situation leaned more towards the latter.
Howard was certain he had heard the street child utter the words "noble sir" a moment ago.
This young man appeared to be a local noble.
Nobles settling here were unlikely to be powerful magnates, but for Howard, who preferred to keep his strength concealed, this was a considerable nuisance.
Drawing too much attention and revealing his identity would spell trouble.
"You look surprisingly decent upon closer inspection." The young man appraised the street child as one might assess an item, a gleam of something sinister flashing in the depths of his eyes, his lips curling into a smirk.
Sensing danger, the street child struggled desperately.
"Come with me, and I'll spare you," the young man said, releasing the child to the ground before signaling to his two followers with a wave of his hand, "Take her away!"
As the young man's followers grabbed the street child's shoulders, Howard's hand also landed on the followers' shoulders almost simultaneously.
"It's rather unbecoming for someone of your stature to bully a child, isn't it?"
Without using mana, merely relying on his physical strength, Howard firmly subdued the two seemingly strong followers.
Despite his lean appearance, Howard possessed strength far surpassing that of a burly man.
The followers attempted to shrug off Howard's grip, but his expression unchanging, he exerted his strength and completely quelled their resistance.
The followers' faces turned sour, aware that the young noble wasn't one to be trifled with.
If they were seen as incapable of handling even minor tasks, their positions as followers would likely be untenable.
Such a scenario was, of course, far worse for them.
At this thought, the two followers exchanged glances, and the taller one suddenly released the street child, aiming a fierce elbow strike at Howard's abdomen.
The soft belly, packed with vital organs and nerves, would leave Howard severely incapacitated if the blow landed solidly.
Meanwhile, the other follower coordinated by taking control of the street child.
The counterattack didn't catch Howard by surprise.
With a low, cold chuckle, he stepped back half a step, tilting his body to deftly dodge the taller follower's elbow strike.
The swift and unexpected maneuver left the taller follower unable to react in time.
After all, he was merely trained in a few moves by tagging along with adventurers, relying on his physical advantage to overpower most ordinary people, but lacking in genuine skill.
Howard, battle-hardened, easily saw through his attack, evaded, and counterattacked.
Without exerting too much force, he merely touched the taller follower's elbow, using the follower's own momentum against him while silently positioning his foot behind the follower's.
As expected, even before the follower could grasp what had happened, he was sent crashing to the ground, followed by a searing pain in his shoulder.
It felt as if his bone was shattered, rendering his entire right arm immobile.
searing pain in his shoulder.
It felt as if his bone was shattered, rendering his entire right The intense pain eradicated any desire and ability to retaliate from the taller follower, who could only lie on the ground, clutching his upper right arm, wailing in agony.
"What have you done!" Clutching his upper arm, drenched in sweat, the taller follower exclaimed, "My right arm, what's happened to it! Did you break it? Did you snap it!"
Howard ignored him, instead turning his attention to the other follower.
"Are you going to let go, or shall I make you?"
Faced with Howard's calm gaze, the thinner follower froze, unsure of what to do.
Caught between his master and an opponent who seemed formidable, choosing either side promised trouble.
The young noble finally noticed the commotion behind him and turned around.
"What's going on! Can't you handle a simple task? A bunch of useless fools!" he snapped impatiently, then froze in place.
He couldn't comprehend how, in just the time it took to turn around, one of his men was on the ground, looking as though he wished he were dead, while the other stood there, stupefied.
Everything happened too quickly for him to react immediately.
"Hey! What are you doing lying there, playing dead? Don't want your wages anymore?"
The young noble kicked the fallen taller follower, unwittingly hitting the dislocated shoulder.
The follower's face instantly contorted, and he let out a scream almost akin to a pig being slaughtered, nearly passing out from the pain.
"Young... master, this guy... seems to be an adventurer!"
Adventurer?
The young noble paused for a moment.
Those brutes? Could brutes be more formidable than nobility?
Thus, without fear, the young noble walked directly towards Howard.
Howard faced the thinner follower with an expression of calm, asking again, "I'll repeat, will you let go, or do I need to intervene?" He was beginning to find the situation bothersome.
Originally intending to simply step in and take the street child away, the response from the followers had caught him off guard.
Now, with the street child under the control of the thinner follower, Howard found himself unable to proceed as planned.
"Hey! You looking to meddle?" the young nobleman coldly eyed Howard.
"Do you know who I am?"
"That has little to do with who you are," Howard replied, stepping aside to face both the young man and his follower directly.
"This child merely bumped into you; an apology should suffice.
What more do you want?"
"An apology solves nothing. She dirtied my clothes! This is fine silk!" The young noble pointed at a small stain on his garment.
"Why can't I take her back to wash my clothes for me?"
Howard fell silent for a few seconds, then sighed, "Am I really that bad at arguing?"
He took a step forward, deciding that if words failed, action was the next course.
Mana began to surge around Howard.
"So, I'll ask you directly, will you let go, or shall I make you?"
The young noble also possessed magical talent, albeit limited.
As Howard began to muster mana, the young noble, being in such close proximity, could feel it.
"Mana fluctuations?"
The young noble squinted at Howard, noticing the change.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢