The carriage halted at the entrance to Coastal City, where several others were lined up as guards meticulously checked travelers' belongings and parchments.
The process went smoothly until one of the guards seized a gruff-looking man's parchment and approached the captain, a stern figure marked by a single star on his uniform.
After a brief exchange, something shocking occurred.
The captain unsheathed his sword and strode toward the gruff-looking man.
"This parchment is fake! You're not a real mercenary, are you?" the captain bellowed.
"Damn it!" the gruff man cursed, ready to flee. But the captain closed the distance in a flash, his sword glinting under the sunlight.
When the light faded, a horrific sight appeared before everyone.
The gruff man was cleaved in two, dead before he hit the ground. The captain returned to his post with an unbothered look as a group swiftly removed the body.
