The craftsman's wife screamed, desperation and terror in her voice, "Let my husband go! Don't beat him, please!"
One of the thugs turned to the gathering crowd outside the shop, sneering as he called out, "All of you, stay put. No one goes inside. Every last one of you will witness this today, and if anyone thinks of hiding, they'll be next!" His voice echoed menacingly, freezing everyone in place.
Inside, a thug swaggered forward, hefting a hammer in his hands as he let it drop to the ground with a loud thud, inching closer to the craftsman.
He raised the hammer above his head, and his voice boomed, "This is what happens to anyone who defies us!"
He prepared to bring the hammer down on the craftsman's head when a calm voice cut through the tension, "And what happens if I don't listen to you?"
The thug paused, lowering his hammer slightly as he scanned the crowd, his eyes narrowed in irritation and confusion.
The crowd exchanged uncertain glances, unsure of who had spoken.
"Who dares to talk back to us? Show yourself!" he demanded, his voice laced with anger.
From above, a figure clad entirely in black dropped silently from a nearby rooftop, landing a short distance from the thug.
The crowd turned as one to look at him—Adam, his face concealed beneath a dark mask, a sword at his side. His aura was both imposing and calm, a stark contrast to the thugs' unruly presence.
The thug sneered, trying to mask his nerves. "So, you're the one with the guts to mouth off?"
Adam's voice was steady, laced with icy confidence. "Yes. What are you going to do about it?"
One of the thugs released the craftsman's wife and started toward Adam, grinning menacingly. "Oh, this is just perfect. We've got ourselves another volunteer, one who can serve as a good example of what happens to people who stand up to us."
He approached Adam, pulling a knife from his pocket as he glared at him. Adam watched him with a composed stillness, making no move to defend himself.
The thug grew more confident, emboldened by Adam's apparent lack of reaction.
In the crowd, a shop vendor whispered, dread in his voice, "Today is a very bad day for all of us."
Others covered their children's eyes, unable to bear the thought of them witnessing the violence.
The thug charged toward Adam, knife raised, but as he closed the gap, Adam saw each movement slowed, every gesture telegraphed in slow motion.
Just as the knife neared his neck, Adam calmly tilted his head, sidestepping the blow. The thug, thrown off balance by his own momentum, stumbled forward, crashing to the ground in surprise.
The crowd gasped, unable to process what had just happened. The shop vendor stared, whispering to himself, "What… just happened?"
The thug looked up, his eyes wide with shock, as he thought, 'I attacked his neck… so how am I on the ground?'
The other thugs exchanged uneasy glances, dismissing it as their partner's clumsiness. One of them taunted, "Hey, if you can't handle it, just let me finish off this loser."
The thug next to Adam snapped, "Shut up!" He scrambled to his feet, his face contorted with anger as he glared at Adam. "This time, you won't survive."
He lunged at Adam again, aiming for his head, but Adam moved with lightning speed, grabbing the knife mid-swing, disarming the thug effortlessly, and then, without hesitation, driving the weapon back into the thug's head. The thug gasped, his eyes wide with shock and pain before he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
The crowd stared in stunned silence, unable to process the speed and precision of Adam's actions. The thugs, who had been laughing moments ago, felt their confidence drain, their expressions twisting from shock to rage.
The thug who had been sitting on the craftsman's son spat in anger, "You have a lot of nerve! Today will be your last day!" He got up and charged toward Adam.
Unfazed, Adam drew the knife from the fallen thug and, with a calculated throw, sent it flying toward the oncoming attacker. The blade pierced the thug's chest with brutal force, pinning him against the wall of the shop. Blood sprayed as he clutched his chest, a look of horror overtaking his face as he slumped and went silent.
The remaining thugs stared in horror, realizing that this stranger wasn't like any opponent they'd faced before. Fear etched onto their faces, they started backing away, desperate to escape.
But Adam drew his sword, his voice carrying a deadly finality as he said, "None of you are getting away today."
In an instant, he disappeared from view, leaving only the sound of panicked cries from the thugs as they scattered.
Moments later, Adam reappeared in the same spot, his sword now smeared with blood. Behind him, the five remaining thugs lay on the ground, writhing in pain, clutching their legs where Adam had severed them, ensuring they would not escape.
The crowd watched in shocked silence, the oppressive air of fear finally lifting as they took in the aftermath of the confrontation.
Within a second Adam cut the legs of those five thugs so that he could not escape from here.
They all fell on the ground and started screaming and blood was continuously flowing from their legs.
Adam flicks his sword clean of the blood and puts it back on his back.
Adam goes to the craftsmen, seeing this his wife and his son come to the craftsman, they are still scared of Adam.
Seeing this Adam says"Don't be afraid I won't harm you"
And he takes out the first aid kit from his inventory and throws it towards Craft Maa's wife and says, "His wound is very big, bandage it as quickly as possible if you want to save him."
And saying this he turns away from there and goes to the remaining ones and shouts"From today onwards whoever gives protection fee to these people, I myself will not spare them and if these people come to attack you,So I want to save you from these people, the end of these people starts from today, this is my message to all of them"