Meanwhile, Argo is currently walking around Meteor City, his mood is getting worsened every second he looked around his surrounding.
'Why the hell there are so many children here? How many of them are the product of the rape that happened a lot in this city, and how many of them are the children from the other kingdoms that their parents threw away because they are failures? This is so messed up.'
Yeah, since he entered the city, all he saw was children moving from one trash can to the other, scrapping it for some food that might still be edible. There are even several of them who wears a slave tattoo, which makes his face darkened for a bit.
'There is slavery here? Shit! I didn't expect that this hell hole would be this bad. It is way worse than fifty years ago.'
Just by now, Argo realized how hard it would be for him to revive this city.
His thought was snapped by a small nudge on his clothes that he felt from behind. When he turned around, he could see two boys and a girl around seven years old looking at him curiously.
"Mister, are you from the outside?" One of the boys asked, Argo could hear a hint of curiosity behind his tone. He kneeled down so that he could see their face clearly before asking,
"What is your name, boy?"
"My name is Deron, and they are my little siblings. He is Alex and she is Lami. I take care of them!" He puffed his chest forward with a proud expression on his face, eliciting a chuckle from Argo.
"Well, Deron. I was born in this city and just come back from a very long journey. Do you want to hear some story?"
He could see their eyes shines brightly at what they just heard.
"You can go outside, Mister? You must be really strong!" The other boy that he identified as Alex asked in a curious tone.
"Well, you can say I am a bit stronger than the normal people. And you can call me big brother Argo, by the way."
The three children nodded at the same time before they shot their question again.
"So, why are you coming back, big brother? If you can go outside, living anywhere but here would definitely be better for you!"
Argo has a complex expression for a moment, didn't know what to think about that. For one, he was saddened that this child would recognize his hometown as hell too. But it would only make his determination burn more to make this city a better place.
Before he could say anything, they were interrupted by the sudden grumbling voice from the little girl's stomach.
"I am sorry, big brother." The little girl has a small red tint on her cheeks. "I haven't eaten anything since yesterday."
The two boys beside her also nodded, holding their stomachs in starvation.
Argo couldn't take it anymore. He activated his space storage and took a pack of bread from the inside before giving it to them.
"Here, eat it first."
They all saw the bread with a curious face before they unpacked it and take one from the pack. When they feel the taste of the bread, their eyes widened in surprise.
"Big brother, what is this?"
"That is just a slice of bread."
Now, he received a dubious face from the children.
"Big brother, please don't lie to us," Deron spoke with a serious tone. "Even though we are just little kids, we lived in the Musia Kingdom once before we got thrown off to this place, and we know the taste of bread. What we just ate is way softer and tastier than the plain bread from the most expensive bakery in the kingdom."
Now, they got Argo's full attention. Argo could draw two interesting pieces of information just based on what Deron said.
First, their identity. They are not from this city originally, and the fact they could afford to buy bread from the most expensive bakery in the Kingdom told him that they are at least coming from a wealthy family, either from a merchant, a fallen noble, or children of someone who have a high status. If that is true, that means they would have at least basic education from their original place, making it easier for him to teach them more in the future.
The second piece of information he could draw is the quality of the food here. The bread he just took from his space storage is something he bought from the Earth just because he likes it. As someone that originally came from Meteor City, he has never made a ruckus about what to eat. Just by now, he realized how far behind the quality of the food here compared to something from Earth.
'If a brandless product like this is better than the bread from the most expensive store in the Musia Kingdom, maybe I could take advantage of it. The future would be less bloody if I can conquer everyone's stomach rather than beat them one by one.'
However, before he could think further than that, his thought was snapped by the sudden intrusion from five men with similar tattoos on their arms, all of them grinned ferally at the kids.
"Hey, Deron. I saw you have something that doesn't belong to you. You know our rule, right?"
The children flinched at the mention of the rule.
"Everything here is Lord Caleb's property and to get something out of his permission would result in punishment from him," Deron muttered under his breath, his body tensed for a bit.
"So, you know the rule and decided to ignore it? As the punishment, we will make your sister pay for your idiocy."
Seeing the kids getting frightened and all the five men getting closer to them, eyeing Lamia like candy, Argo could grasp what happened here. When one of the men extended his arms to reach the little girl, he reacted quickly.
He turned his body sideways, chambering his right leg up to his chest before extending his leg upward, hitting one of the men straight to his face.
*BRUUGH!*
"Aaargh!"
His sidekick managed to throw his target five meters away from his original spot, snapping his target's jaw in a single hit. His action also gained the attention of his companions, as they all frowned a little at his sudden attack.
"Who are you?" One of them, seemingly their leader, moves forward and asked.
"Just a wandering old man." Argo shrugged nonchalantly while shielding the children from the men, causing the frown to deepen on their faces.
"Are you the one who gives them that?" One of them asked, pointing his fingers at the pack of bread that Lami grabbed. Argo just nodded, didn't show any concern about this situation. "Well, seeing as you don't have any idea of who you are offending right now, we can forget it if you give us ten more of that. How about it?"
Seeing the greed of that man, Argo pondered for a moment, pretending to think for a second. Then, he showed a feral grin to the men in front of them as he replied,
"How about no?"
His answer surprised everyone who can hear him. Yet the leader of the men just shrugged before saying,
"Well, don't blame us for what happened to you next. Boy, do what you must."
Seeing three other men trying to get closer to him, Argo muttered under his breath, "Good. I need to vent my anger right now. Kids, do me a favor and find somewhere near to hide. Don't worry about me."
Even though the children are worried about him, they still do what he said as they know they would become a burden if they stick around him. One of the men saw what they are trying to do and decided to raise his sword at the children. However, Argo parried that attack easily with a dagger that he summoned from his space storage.
*Clank!*
Seeing his attack get blocked easily, the man frowned before he yelled at the other.
"He is strong! Attack him together! Don't give him any chance!"
Hearing his friend shout like that, the other two didn't hesitate to attack him simultaneously. A clash between their swords and his dagger happened several times as Argo tried to gauge their strength. When he feels like he has already grasped their strength, he took a distance from them before letting out a mocking sigh.
"Haaah.. I am disappointed." He spoke, confusing the other. "I thought with the confidence you lot displayed before you would have the strength to back it up. I guess it is my fault to have high expectations on you grunts."
His words pissed the three men in front of him off. However, before they could say anything, Argo has already moved, using his air magic to amplify his speed before slashing the throat of the man who is nearest him.
*Slash!*
"AARRGH!!!"
Argo didn't stop just like that. After confirming that the man would die in the next ten seconds, he moves toward his next target, using his air magic to extend the small dagger into a long-wind sword.
*Slash!*
Before the two men could realize what happened, they found their head rolling on the ground, having already separated from their bodies. And in the next second,
*Splash!*
The blood burst from their bodies, shocking their leader who hasn't taken any action.
"What the hell? It looks like the bodies that were cut had to take a moment before realizing they were separated from their heads. What kind of speed of that?! Who the hell is this man?!"
Then, a second later, he felt a shiver on his spine as Argo turned around his attention on him with a smiling face, blood splattered all over his body. He had the urge to back down and run when he felt the murderous intent from Argo, yet he couldn't move his body for even an inch. There is silence for a second as the man in front of Argo has his body tensed, ready to fight. However, Argo broke the silence with his simple question.
"So, mind telling me who am I offending now?"