"If you shoot them now, you will be worthy to be called my brother."
Garron Romanov said with a cold, calculating glare, as he handed the pistol to his brother.
Viktor took the cold, rather heavy pistol and looked at the two kneeling people in front of him. Though Garron was unable to see him, it was clear from his gaze that Viktor was hesitating.
The two of them were sweating vigorously, and they struggled to speak to Viktor. However, their mouths were taped shut, so they could only make unintelligible grunts.
Even Captain Patroski, the head bodyguard of the Romanov family and an ex-special forces officer, was still afraid in the face of clear death. He had been trained to keep his expression neutral back when he was still in the special forces, but no matter how hard he tried to cover it, his face still looked pale.
The more Viktor thought about it, the funnier it became. If the guy wasnt afraid of death, he wouldn't betray him and leave during the attack of the zombie horde.
Meanwhile, Nicko was also in such an awful condition. Gone were the traces of the handsome, confident techpreneur Viktor had known him. His body was dirty and bloody, and the smell of urine wafted from the man as he begged for him to spare his life.
Viktor looked at the pistol in his hand and aimed it at the two of them.
He has no idea whether it was because he had killed all the orcs in the tower in the last month, or it was because of the general apocalyptic world situation, but he could feel that the handgun and trigger was lighter than usual. If he really had to shoot them, it would be pretty easy.
All he needed was one twitch of his finger, and his target would be blown up into gore on the snowy field. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that this didn't feel too different from decapitating orcs in the tower.
Even though he felt a degree of pity for them, he had no problems executing his brother's order, especially shooting Patroski, who dared to shoot him before.
However, Viktor decided to restrain himself from pulling the trigger and take some time to assess the situation. He realized that the true test here wasn't killing them, but what killing those two would mean to his brother.
For himself, it was proof that he could kill those who have betrayed him. However, what does his capability to kill mean for his brother?
Would having proof that he has the resolve to kill be helpful to his brother?
That wouldn't be the case. It's not like they would need to depend on each other, nor did his brother have a shortage of people he could trust. On the contrary, Garron has an unlimited arsenal of people who could kill on his behalf.
Then, what could it be?
Was he in need of someone he could trust to help run the country? That was impossible, as his brother was first and foremost a good businessman. Garron had always boasted about the value of putting talented people where they belonged, and Viktor was certainly not such a talented person.
Viktor knows for sure that Garron had never placed any value on kinship or blood, or he wouldn't be trying to get rid of his sister in the past and they wouldn't be in such bad relationship since.
The more Viktor thought about it, the more he realized what this test truly meant.
"Come one Viktor shoot! What are you waiting for!?"
Garron was growing impatient, and he shouted while poking Viktor's shoulder harshly, "Shoot them! What are you waiting for? Shoot them!"
Viktor put on a show of his arm trembling and said, "No… No, brother… I can't do it…"
"What are you doing, Viktor? These two must die."
"No, brother… I cannot, and as for Nicko, he's a good friend of mine… Please, brother, let him go."
Garron glared at him in annoyance, before he took the pistol from Viktor and aimed it towards the latter's head.
Of course, the panicked Viktor raised his hands in surrender.
"Brother, what are you doing? Don't… Please don't shoot me."
"You fool!" Garron roared, his anger making the other soldiers flinch slightly, "If you don't want to shoot them, then I will shoot you instead!"
"Ah, I- I am sorry, brother… Whatever I did to you, I am sorry, I never meant to make you angry. Please forgive me, brother…"
A few seconds of silence passed between the enraged Garron and the scared Viktor, before the latter turned away and shot both prisoners right in their forehead.
Bam! Bam!
The bullet hole cleanly passed through their foreheads, and they died without so much as a twitch.
His brother once again aimed the pistol at Viktor, narrowed his eyes, and said, "From now on, you will listen to my order and whatever father told you to do, you will report to me, do you understand?!"
"Yes… Yes brother, of course"
Satisfied with the answer, Garron turned away and left him on the field along with the rest of the guards. It appears that Viktor had managed to convince his older brother to not care much about him anymore.
However, this went right into his plans. As long as his father was still alive, he knew Garron wouldn't even dare try to kill him. However, if that changes, Garron may not be above killing him to get what he wants. Hence, Viktor decided that it would be much safer for him if his brother knew him as an useless idiot rather than a person with the conviction to kill and the ability to endanger Garron in the future.
This act was not really hard to convince his brother, as Viktor has been such type of person-years before the apocalypse started.
Once again, the [witch pendant] played right into his plans, for it had helped him convince Garron that he was just a normal pampered young master that no one needs to worry about.
Before leaving the field, Viktor stared at his friend's corpse and let out a heavy sigh.
Nicko had betrayed him before and thus could no longer be trusted. However, they used to laugh together, tell stories together, and generally spend a lot of time together. Thus, Viktor couldn't help but feel a bit sad for his death.
"I am sorry, bro, don't blame me alright? I tried to save you, blame it on my brother."
Afterward, Viktor left the fortress and walked towards the hotel where the old butler and his companions were waiting.
His group members were a bit curious and bombarded him with various questions pertaining to what happened, but Viktor decided not to say anything. Knowing what he meant, they decided to stop and stay silent. They left the hotel and went to the river, where a large boat was waiting for them.
Just like before, the boats seem to be armored mostly at the sides and bottom, most likely to prevent attacks from mutated fishes or similar creatures.
The group boarded one of the boats in the middle and started to travel to the south along the Volga River.
While on the boat, Viktor called the old butler and asked what happened with the Russian government while he was in the bunker. He made sure to ask in such a way that it would look like idle curiosity instead of gathering information. The old butler gave a smile Viktor sensed as cordial yet condescending and began to explain.
Apparently, the president and much of the old government were dead during the first few days of the apocalypse. The opposition decided to take advantage of it and formed a new government called the Red Faction. They quickly gained control throughout the much safer eastern part of Russia.
Of course, the Romanov was unwilling to lose the connection that made them so powerful. They decided to take matters into their own hands, gather what was left of the old government, and form a new faction called Rus Imperial.
"Right now, it is safe to say that Rus Imperial is the Romanov family itself."
At first, their hasty plan worked. However, in such an apocalyptic situation, people's voices became cheap and they could be bought over with something as simple as bread and empty promises of protection. That was enough to entice many to side with the opposition, causing Red Faction to become the more favorable side.
The group spent the rest of the boat ride in silence, and Viktor mulled what it meant for him as the boat rocked slowly along the currents.
After 12 hours, they could see some iconic ruins on the horizon of the evening sky. They have arrived in the old city down south of Russia bordered by Ukraine and Kazakhstan, a city name Volgograd or formerly known as Stalingrad
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