As the Criminals did their routine things Zash unholstable his swords and attached them to his chains and connected them to his belt he suddenly moved and slashed his Swords which due to their extreme sharpness and sheer movementum created a Crrr*ing sounds which weren't ignored yet weren't taken seriously by the Criminals either after 10 or so slashed Zash was ready to roll in the action.
With a stern and sharp look in his eyes he breathed out and swung both his swords up and then used them tugged them down hard smashing the entire rooftop in an instance.
As rubbles of Rocks and wood fell down, the Criminals fled to look for shelter while a few used whatever they had on hand to defend themselves from the falling debree when one such person who was preparing a shelf to defend himself spotted a wooden Bar which moments ago was the anchor stabilising the beams of the roofs as it fell the person wasn't stunned by that but upon closer look he spotted a small figure 'Riding' the Pole his left and right legs were attached to the pole in such a way that he seemed to be flying making the scene even more unique.
As Zash stabilized his footing he used a bit of his energy to then kick the floor towards the table which housed more than 5 Criminals and leaped off avoiding the surrounding debree skillfully with only dust catching on his cloak.
"INTRUDER !! THERE IS AN ENEMY ATTACK !!!" the man that had seen Zash's fall while riding the wooden pole warned the entire base by screaming at the top of his voice which alerted everyone while he taught it'd gave them and himself more chances to escape.
Little did he know it was futile struggle, as soon as he moved he understood what was the warm dreadful feeling he was having as it turned out he had a Throwing knife stuck in his skill right between his eyes at that very moment he was questioning whether everything was even real First he saw such an impeccable scene then in their own base at such a peacefully quiet time and now he had a Blade stuck deep in his skull in the next moment as if he was in an horrid dream, unfortunately there was no one to answer or confirm his suspicions as he soon died with confusion still visible on his face till his last moment.
But he wasn't alone as the huge Wooden pole fell down towards the dining table the unsuspecting bunch of Criminals who hid under the table thinking that they were safe were soon crushed as the table couldn't hold on such a huge weight and momentum of the huge pole hence all of them died in Second's notice in right that instance.
In a few seconds 6 Criminals had been dealth with by Zash who gave them unsuspecting swift death but that wasn't the case for everyone as the dead man who alerted his group everyone spring in action.
"What is happening !?" The Co in charge of the Criminals who saw the scene almost couldn't believe his eyes as everything fell down the debree had Killed at least 7-9 Individuals and had Harmed a Lot of his mates severely everyone was bleeding, the smoke and duct unsettled in the air and the moonlight which only added more to the confusion as the smoke and dust falling from the roof's falling had instructed everything as coherent screams echoed in the surroundings one could barely see half a meter ahead.
"Ahh !" When the Co Leader saw a few figures heading towards his location he branded his swords towards them without hesitation and killed Two of such people only to see their heads and dread in his heart as they were his very own partners who had drunk happily with him moments ago !
All of them carried bruises, Cuts and stuck pieces of wood which cut deep in their arms, legs and faces as he saw the horrified looks on their faces the Co Leader almost lost his sanity wishing he could wake up from this horrific nightmare.
"This is a dream'' "This is a Nightmare Wake up !" ''Wake up!" "This is a Dream'' constantly uttering to himself his comrades which had come up from the basement witnessed as their Second Leader was almost going Crazy then looked towards their surroundings as they saw figures fighting in the distance they didn't knew what to do as,
In the smoke one cannot identify Friend or Foe one could easily end up killing their own allies as the Massacre ensued the one responsible for this scenario watched in joy as his plan worked wonderfully he only destroyed the roof and threw a pole and a dagger and the other factors had done their job at starting an coherent infighting in the group where nobody knew their own enemies as Zash who was currently attached to an long log attached to an chain Zash stabilized himself vertically and held a piece of wood which alongside the atmosphere and his black cape completely made him blend in with the surrounding atmosphere as he continued to watch due to poor leadership and lack of good thinking the Criminals continued killing themselves as loud noises of sword meeting swords were heard people died left and right all throughout the while the perpetrator was hanging on and watching things play out like an Orchestra Conductor waving his baton and watching things play out as he sees fit he then spotted the bunch of Criminals which had come from the underground basement and witnessed this scenario in horror Zash threw the piece of wood from a curved angle with his abnormal strength he ended up Killing three while Mortally wounding many more from the Wood splinters which flew left and harmed many people even the Co Leader didn't know what to do as a flying log went past by him it Killed three of his comrads and even harmed him as it stabbed through his back only stopping due to his leather jacket if not for that he was as good as a skewered piece of meat.
Without giving it another thaught he ran like hell escaping in the underground basement as everything was seen by Zash he just threw his Throwing Knifes and Daggers towards everyone Present and moving of course the Children and Hostages who were in the Cages were completely fine if not a bit terrified by the scenes played before them as many of the abductees were mortified they just got on the floor hoping this all to end.
It took at most 5 Minutes Minimum until all screaming stopped and Zash was done with the Criminals on the Upper floor while only the Criminals in the Underground Basement were left as they piled a bunch of coffins to block off the now advancing black figure it was all useless as a force pressed down over them and the people holding the deceased holding caskets were not able to do anything and awaited Zash to kill them and ending their misery in one swift motion
In the heat of the moment Zash remembered what he had to do and moment's later He used his powers to create a fire which spread throughout the basement as the smoke and fire continued burning through the Criminals stuck inside desperately tried to get out but all their Escape paths were blocked out not budging an inch as they all saw their tunnels on the far end emitting a sparkling red fire at the end which was in turn closing in they started frantically attacking the escape routes not giving anything another thaught attacking one another coherently as such many people died right then and since they couldn't escape and had consumed a major part of their oxygen supply the people slowly started fainting due to less oxygen supply and the sheer horror of their situation while others were simply burnt by the fire which some tried to cross without giving it a second thaught in the heat of the moment
On the Same rooftop Benedrict stood as he watched this Unprecedented scene in Horror and Awe towards his First Prince this was the first time he felt Dread from the bottom of his heart which even made him a bit scared but also intrigued as how swiftly things had carried out his prince had did everything perfectly with no difficulty at all also with no need of being at direct confrontations against the enemy's even almost as if they weren't worth the time wastage in his Prince's eyes Benedrict could still hear the Screams of pure Terror from a few moments ago and couldn't bring to imagine what might have happed to the rest who fled in the underground thinking they were safe there if it was anyone else they might be safe but it was His Prince they were dealing with how can they ever imagine going against him ?? But that's a Given who knew when and what his eccentric Prince might do hence Benedrict only had pity in his eyes after looking towards the bunch of Swindlers and Criminals.
"Blame I all on your own bad luck that my Prince decided to evict you from this life and from his Empire." Thinking for a bit he smirked and planned to record everything in a book and make it into a Legendary Book which recorded His Second Prince and his adventures ever since his Awakening and planned to tell Hausa about this later as well he even regreted that Hausa wasn't here to see how brilliant of an Assassin Epis was
"I seriously got to call him back he's missing out on so many good things" Shaking his head he then used his left hand to write another letter at the same time to Hausa for him to miss out on such scenarios would be too Wasteful.
"All done and dealth with... What are you doing Sir Benedrict ?" Looking at two sheets of paper and pen in both his hands Benedrict gave him a wry smile.
"Ahh... This is an yes I was thinking that since this opportunity comes rarely and we might be facing Enemies more Smarter and Tougher than them we should Invite Hausa to be on the sidelines just in case..." Making up an excuse he awaited Epis's response.
"Sure go ahead I don't mind much it's just I expect we make most of our time since we've destroyed an entire Organisation and many a spies of other seemingly strong Criminal groups they or at least some Intelligent people are bound to get more careful,"
"hence I plan to deal with them in this Very night it's good to have subordinates as well.."
"Hmmm very well please contact Sir Hausa also Sir Benedrict you don't have to ask me on such small things oh yes and please tell him to bring a few of his men to check up on the captured bunch of people and if they seem suspicious even a little bit lock them up by all means necessary but yes treat them humanely and by no means let them leak any information also collect every single proof of our presence here which by far shouldn't be hard since i barely left any
Only the corpses being the exception as some of them contain My Throwing Knifes and Daggers should be dealth with desperately also burn their corpses up they were bad and went the wrong way when they once lived and these are the consiquences they must suffer but since they're dead now give them a proper burial and cremation if necessary."
"That'll be all" saying so Benedrict nodded and wrote in a hurrying pace and ran off in the distance as Zash was left Meditating on the roof and recovering the small amount of his power that he spent on the whole ordeal he recovered in moments notice yet still calmed himself and tried to meditate for 20-30 more Minutes as it was about 10:17 PM or so Zash opened his eyes and appreciated this locations beauty.
"These rooftop in the moonlit atmosphere with a dense patch of forest behind their back which in turn blends in the Perfectly synchronised Mountains on the side they give me a few more good ideas for Paintings." Smirking to himself one couldn't imagine this was the same youth which so mercilessly killed and massacred all those Criminals present of course Zash wanted to avoid such case if possible but he had limited time and options in any case and scenario this was the only viable option for him and he didn't Regret his actions a single bit.
Step* Step*
Two set of footsteps could be heard as a few other light presences could also be heard and felt alongside the two which had presented themselves with deep respect in their eyes towards Epis they gave a silent bow.
As Zash spotted both and the silent bunch behind them he too greeted them and said "As you may have been briefed by Benedrict you all must know that I don't want any of such Criminal Scums in my own Empire ! Remember we're exterminating every such organisations."
"Especially the Ones dealing with Fu**ed up things like the ones listed below" Thossing them a huge list of people and organisations which did things as they liked Making ornament out of Human Skins and Bones, Some Broke People and Half-bloods mentality and turn them in slaves, some kidnapped the finest of women and men and tortured them for them being more beautiful than them many if such basturds had strong background as in noble Children who were always spoonfed and had close to no normal interactions with Normalised behaviours and other witchcraft related bulls**t which had sprung in action as these gangs and phony religious groups convinced innocent naïve people that they can sacrifice their own blood and children to summon god's and demons to do their biddings and used the Emergence of the Demons as an example of their involvement in supernatural matters and other evil matters like making and supplying drugs and making people especially the young addicted to drugs and hence turning them into slaves for drugs such Organisations had to be dealth with as soon as possible !
Personally Zash wouldn't let go of them until they either stop or all of them are dead as every single bit of harm they cause is detrimental in the bigger picture of the Empire.
Some bull**** stuff asides many such organisations had to be dealth with along with these fucked up people who specifically created a demand for such things in the first place and everyone who read the reports and feeling the bloodlust emitted by Epis and knew that Today the day of Reckoning had come no These Fools A$$*S.
"Deal with them first later on follow me on the marked locations I've already memorised the locations on the spot so feel free to use them as reference and I've also marked the group's I'll be attacking in a numerical manner you can be prepared to deal with the next batch of people in accordance with all the necessary things being said we three will be going ahead and remember don't let anyone suspect anything." Sharply turning towards the group hidden in the Shadows Zash earnestly warned them once again and went ahead with Benedrict and Hausa on his back tailing him leaving the Assassins in the dark to let out a unique shudder as they recovered themselves and packed the bodies of people and did things as they were instructed.
It took no more than 5 minutes or so for the Three being Zash Benedrict and Hausa to arrive on their next location and same as before things were over before they could even start the only difficulty this time was the captives weren't in cages and were planned to be used as hostages but the ones using them were stopped by Zash as quickly as they thaught about it as for the ones who planned to escape from teh back only two people were able to escape yet they too were unfortunately killed by Benedrict who had hidden in the bushes as for Hausa he was covering the other exit.
"Ok it seems like things are dealth with but even so just to be safe" after giving the captives the silent glance Zash said.
"Stay silent for a while and my men will be here to inspect your Origins if you're smart you'll stay silent about things that happened this night if not then you will have to die."
Spotting a entire carriage full of Peppers and Spices seemingly robbed by this gang Zash smiled evilly and this time really wished that there really wasn't anyone else left hiding in the escape tunnels if someone is trying to play the smarta** Lomgcon they were in for a rude surprise as Zash collected the debree and ordered the people who were bound by ropes to go on the back alley he left them a note and said to pass it to his men later on and not to move or make a noise as he collected wood and every burnable material from their collection Zash used his powers to send the now Deadly Chili's Smoke in the tunnels and sure enough sounds of violently coughing could be heard as Zash with a slight bit of pity turned the fire down and let the fools escape only to be captured by Hausa and Benedrict who understanding what they must've been through captured them instead do killing them and forced them to spew every bit of information on the people they took orders from and these 10 or so few miserable souls gave them all the information they had asked for with tears in their eyes they just wished for everything to end and be over with rather than go through all these things once again which only made both the Experienced guards shudder at their Prince's way of doing things.
Soon the people who were responsible to deal with the aftermath were here and they too were estonished to see it all as the Co-commander of the group greeted and reported.
"All hail Prince Epis we have dealt with the corpses and every single bit of suspicious involvement of us in this matter, we've also seized the embezzled money from those Criminals and I'm happy to report that we've secured more than 100,000 Silvers, 2000 Gold and 300 Platinum Coins from the First raid what is to be done with that money my Prince please tell us" asking for further orders he reported his deeds and finds.
"Oh that's good now you've got another job check this headquarters as well this one's bigger than the previous Base also send a trap experience based person in the old base once again these bunch of people of they're smart they'll almost never put everything they own in one single location so just give it a slight glances or better yet just keep a man on inspection duty at specific locations use mercenaries in guise of inspection and monitoring location and pay them a good amount currently we have our hands full on money if they discover some secret vaults or anything let them take the money, remember you don't have to treat them poorly anyhow I'll be heading towards the next location take them" tossing a snooze Zash handed 10 or so criminals who wept and cried like babies.
"Take them in a cellar and find out all about the things they know and every person who order stuff to be done by them and find out what they might know about similar organisations and such in and out of our Empire's boundaries also prepare a sheet of such "Employers" I'll assign someone or if I'm bored I'll deal with those scumbags personally in my free time..." Saying so he related further orders and went on the hunt as fate would have it there was indeed some shady locations which hid Treasures and things similarly they got a big hail The Platinum Coins alone From both the said Organisations Equaled to somewhere around 240,000 Silver, 11,000 Gold & 2500 Platinum Coins which in itself was an astronomical amount but that was while taken in consideration there were more than Hundreds of such Organisations one can imagine how much income they might earn in due time also didn't Prince said something about outer Empire's Organisation ? The People shuddered just thinking about the wealth they weren't alone as the Criminals on the snooze heard this they thaught they were going mad as a single Person who seemed too young was planning on exterminating every single Crime Based Organisation in this Empire also planning to exterminate on the other Empire's which made them shudder and wonder what did such organisations ever even did to this boy to carry such hate bit overthinking helped no one as they obeyed the guards which carried out their master's orders seemlessly without any problems and within minutes they had done transporting personal who fit their accounts and set them free at the same time warning them from telling everyone or they might just not live to tell the tale again which alone was enough to shut most of them up while they let more than 98% of such people go except for the Criminals of course the few people being spied from other organizations also also immigrants from neighbouring Empirewhichbhad invaded the in disguise were held captive as the guards awaited further orders and went to the next place which as expected was cleared out by the Three.
"Would you look at that so many carriages are being taken in and out, what's even going on ?" Edwin who was quite concerned about his Second Child he was circling the parameters of the castle in restlessness not knowing what Literal Bloodbath were taking place in every corner of his own Empire !
Time soon passed and after about 20 and currently on his 21st raid on a big Drug Dealing Organisation Zash made an air bubble around his face as for Benedrict and Hausa they were to catch people by surprise as always so they didn't needed such things but even so Zash gave them masks he made just in case all was going well when Zash was finally forced to unholstered his Weapons against a Strong Drugged up captive which was more of a Monster than a human but seemed to be held as a captive constantly sedated under drugs and was going on a rampage Zash in this narrow space wasn't able to make the full use of his Chained Swords and had to use them normally.
Catching both the Swords in each hands Zash's powers was amplified as his small build and agility made it easier for attack aversion from the mad beast yet the beast of a man barely flinched when his right arm was cut off he even bit and slayed his dismembered arm around trying to catch Zash off guard but it wasn't the least bit fruitful while a few people tried to use this opportunity to go closer and throw pouches of Powdered drugs on Zash Zash Killed them all before they even had the chance to do anything adding more despair on the Drug dealers side who wondered what this freak was even doing here.
Unsurprisingly the beast fell before long as most of the blood his body had died the floor red if he didn't die from blood loss Zash would consider it a miracle at that point he then turned his eyes towards the now terrified bunch of people who seeing this horrific scene peed their pants and ran towards an escape while spraying powdered drug behind them.
"Haa~ i can deal with them all by Just burning or making them die choking on the same drug if not for the information some of them might contain...those two can capture them just fine. Whistle~ it's been more than Hour and a half geez looks like I really got in the mood." Looking towards the Clock which showed time he rendered himself speechless at how much he was improving at hightening his own sensed to an point that he was abnoxious to everything around himself as it was close to 11:45 meaning he had done destroying Majority of gangs in such a short while with minimal effort Zash surprised himself and somewhere deep inside wanted something interesting and different which demanded him to spend a bit more effort.
As time went in he wasn't able to get any action as these bunch of Criminals had a habit of catching their prey off guard and henceforth had close to no experience with combat and mostly indulged in drug and human trafficking hence it wasn't the least bit fun and hence Zash just used his throwing Knifes to deal with these weaklings after about 5 or more Hours later Benedrict and Hausa huffed from time to time looking at their Prince in awe as they barely did anything except for catching and killing the resistant people as for interviewing them that had to wait for the time being but the man that he went ahead smashing Mansions with his sheer strength and killing tens of thousands of people right now.
He didn't even break a sweat it seemed like things were too easy for their Prince as they were on their 59th Target Place even the people in charge of dealing with the aftermath were tired beyond belief and had to call reinforcement while they were quick and efficient and were able to handle anything this stunt by Zash Literally had them on their knees and what more the night was just starting making them wonder when these Slaughtering Frenzy might end.
There Zash strode once again climbing buildings jumping inhumanely enjoying the wind as it brushed past him and moving eccentrically while dashing and curving from time to time waving his Swords and Knives in the ever changing terrains seemingly training or making combat movements of sorts at least that's what Benedrict and Hausa taught but they couldn't dare to try and do things the same way their Prince was doing as they might just die from distraction hence they just observed and watched their footing.
While looking at their young Prince's back both were somewhat glad that at least their Elder Prince was much Normal in at least Inhumane levels while their First Prince Excelled in Swordsmanship equally or maybe even higher than Prince Epis's Epis only had the upper hand due to his Tough Physical and Elemental Powers due to him being a Magus hence there was certainly some connections to be drawn but one still had to think about this calming down for a second in how the Absolute F*Ng Hell does one become so Good in Every single Field of life !? For anyone around Epis since his Awakening saw him overcome and Excel in every single Field he came in contact of just a curious glance of his would create astonishing wonders in their own rights! What more is the fact that he still had a long way to go as of yet he was currently only 3 Months old and they both had a bonechilling shiver just thinking what the future might hold.
"Say these Raids are quite easy it seems I was worried for nothing, do both of you wan to experience flying ? since it'll be faster and our next destination drop isn't much farther away I can spare some energy." Offering both the chance to fly the duo behind them looked awkward momentarily and answered
"We would be glad Young Prince it's everyone's dream to fly like a bird. We would love to experience it only if it's not too much of a hassle on your part we won't like to impose ourselves on you." Answering expectantly they still remembered their duty and current mission but who in their right mind would entirely give up the opportunity to fly like a bird ?
"It's not too much of a bother it's just it's different than flying like a bird you see I instincly have a vague idea of flying and can control my power's to generate enough lift for myself so I flew in the past few days and noticed while flying different sized objects that size of objects varied and their principles and laws too varied so without going in too much details draw our your Swords if you may oh yes since Sir Hausa uses short blade you can take my left Sword temporarily"
Handing out his Left handed Sword to Hausa Zash offered them both to stand on the sidelines of the Swords in turn using them as surfboards.
Both of the old guys weren't given any warning as they were soon blasted away by the air as they flew at great speed they were able to see the buildings and landscape changing but strangely enough they didn't fell down as there was a force prevention them both from falling as they felt more safe they bravely embraced the feeling of flying and looked around like children left and right in a delighted which made Zash let out a soft snicker which went unnoticed but the duo which wanted to relish as much time flying as they could at the moment.
"Alright we are here." As the swords slowed down Zash just smiled and said ending their small flying trip which made them quite depressed which wasn't left unnoticed by Zash who cheered them up in the next second going
"Don't be so down once my power's rise I can make people fly without the need for Swords of course if you prefer riding them that's even better it's just that we've got to wait for my power's to grow more I guess." Hearing these words made them both giddy beyond belief for the near future and what was to come of it in due time even for them who were in their 50s and later 30s this news cheered them up like little kids hearing a bedtime story about magical Wonderlands.
The onslaught continued as they soon came upon some really twisted bunch of individuals which made some really messed up things which even disturbed Hausa and Benedrict on a spiritual level mostly due to there being involvement of Dead and traumatized Children with each passing raid which made Benedrict remember of Zash's words hours earlier.
'Is that what you meant My Prince ?! Is our Prince blessed with foresight as well !?' Benedrict looked bleak disappointed yet amazed not able to find words as on one side he felt despair of what had taken place before him as these atrocities were a bit too much but the mere fact that his prince could may possibly see in the future was stunning beyond belief shaking his head he dropped off these ideas and prepared a not to take special care of the children's and hospitalise them properly and see how they're able to fit in society and deal with them accordingly as for the dead they too were to be respectfully cremated as to not raise suspicion and respectfully lay them to rest as for the specific groups of people who tortured and killed Humans were all killed crually by the trio even the ones left alive were to be braught in later on for more torturing till they died a greater equivalent death than their victims and making them spew our their own sources and backers which will in turn clear even more filth from their Empire.
"We've finally caught up " the group of people who had expanded their task force were glad they could meet the Three in charge of decimating the Said Organisations like a House of Cards but they soon saw what they were doing which made their jaw drop the next second.
As they saw the three they were chatting and eating some snacks on the surface of the mass slaughter as the people spotted the place which reeked of blood they were left speechless at what to do thinking 'How can someone Even eat in such a situation !?'
"Hey took you guys long enough come join us you lot must be tired as well right ?" Offering a pouch of cookies the people then saw Zash getting up, taking his gloves off and washing his hands on a near by tap and preparing a Baguette from the Mansion's Food Foundary as the small of the Baguette flew around the aroma masked the now bloodied mansion of the notorious Noble which as of current was soaked in blood and piles upon piles of bodies yet the new arrivals didn't give it much taught and ate away in awe as this was the finest pie of bread they had ever came across ! The crust the Softness in between the Sweet and Salty taste along with the Sweet Cream paste made by sugar and flour along with milk and fresh ingredients being made by Prince in Advance made them all salvage and wishing for more.
"Phew they sure had a bunch of stuff I figured that we've dealt with these filths now so we might as well use some food plus Some Sweet Food is always good for energising oneself whenever one is feeling tired especially." Saying so Zash too ate a Baguette without paying the corpses much regard appreciating his own cooking skills he too ate 5 Whole Medium Sized Baguettes quite literally fulfilling his dinner's needs for the night.
"Ahem* also don't leak anything we did and ate to Father and Big Brother Alright ? For upright individuals like them this might mean too much... Oh I mean the fact about us Eating our fill on sweet and sour desserts of course as for our deed of slaughtering these scumbags answer everything as you see fit and necessary." Saying so Zash continued eating and drinking juice made out of strawberries which were cleaned by rubble dipping them in slat water which removed all the stuck parasites and as only finest strawberries were choses they juice could be said to be a huge delight in the cold atmosphere of the night making it twice as much refreshin.
While the bunch appreciated the food they cursed towards the corpses and the smell of blood which somewhat ruined the atmosphere which might just make the dead thousands of people in the Mansion rise from the dead, puke blood in frustration and die once again as these bunch of merrily Feasting bunch of people were the very same one's who had invaded their stronghold killed them these Scum Savages even used the food from their own stronghold to prepare a meal for themselves and now they were cursed at for being 'Dead & Ruining' the Atmosphere !? How was that even Fair !? But the dead cannot complain for if they could the world would be much more cleaner.
The group finished their meals they all had their fill and Zash then inquired their finds and how much they had earned from their endeavours overall.
"Burp* Excuse me Young Prince it's Burp* we've earned above 24,000,000+(24Million) Silver, 16+ Million Gold & 190,300+ Platinum as of yet we've dealth with every major and Minor Gang on the list a Total of 120 Locations are under guards and any suspicious personal is to be quickly apprehended and half of the locations are being checked from hidden treasures once again as per your orders." Reporting his finds Benedrict and Hausa were stunned at the total amount of wealth these Scumbags Accumulated was no short of a Decent Kingdom's yearly savings but apparently the number was as of yet still increasing constantly and they too remembered that they had plenty more of such locations to raid and destroy them by plucking them from their very roots.