I, the prince in distress, send money

Chapter 248 The Cleaner's Dilemma
Chris climbed the walls of Waterladnoy once again. He stood behind the battlements, leaning on the weathered bricks, and looked up at the city.

The city of Vortradnoy is far from peaceful; shouts of battle fill the air, and several plumes of smoke rise into the sky, glaringly bright in the midday sun.

Chris squinted, his gaze sweeping over the bustling streets... where an unprecedented "clean-up" was taking place.

He was somewhat annoyed, but helpless. Apart from sighing, Chris didn't know how to stop the players.

Can you stop the players?

It can be stopped, but the cost outweighs the gain. The players are only exploiting a loophole in the rules that Chris himself made due to carelessness. Their weapons are only aimed at a group of scoundrels that Chris was trying to eliminate, not at random.

Besides, it's not really worth ruining the players' fun for a bunch of scumbags.

Having worked as a "game designer" for a long time, Chris also has his own insights. Players are like water; you can't block them with your bare hands. You have to use guidance methods and learn to go with the flow.

"Your Highness, the garrison reports that they have sealed off all four city gates. According to your orders, from now on, entry is permitted, but exit is not."

Connie strode over and loudly reported to him.

"Is the blockade secure?"

“It’s very secure. In addition to the garrison regiment, I have also mobilized the Second Infantry Regiment according to your instructions. Besides the city gate, I have also made corresponding preparations for underground passages such as drainage ditches to prevent the gangs in the city from escaping.”

Connie was confident, but Chris couldn't deny it.

Having confidence is a good thing in anything, but one should not be blindly confident. Connie is showing signs of this now, but he won't discourage her.

There are many things that you can only learn from through experience. These may be skills for dealing with people and things, or they may be experience. And even if others explain these things a thousand or ten thousand times, the learner will not understand them.

So... that's it. Anyway, even if something goes wrong, it's not a big deal. At most, some cockroaches will just run away.

As for why the city gates were blocked?

That's obviously to let players have a good time killing.

“Now that the city gates are blocked, then… Connie, send someone to inform the judge and all his entourage that the lockdown of Waterladnoy will continue until six o’clock tomorrow morning.”

Connie was stunned. She did not immediately accept the order to leave, but stood there for a while.

Prince Chris's words clearly implied that he tacitly approved the players' large-scale purge operations in the city without worrying about the gangsters escaping.

Because the city gates were already sealed off, allowing only entry but not exit, the gangsters' struggles were nothing more than a desperate fight.

She felt a chill run down her spine. This meant that the entire night in Waterladnoy would become a hunting ground for players.

“Your Highness…” Connie hesitated. She had once been part of the Neama Underworld, and the current plight of the Waterladnoy Underworld made her subconsciously feel a sense of shared sorrow.

"Wouldn't this be too..."

"Too cruel?"

Chris chuckled softly, his gaze sweeping over yet another plume of smoke rising from the city.

"Connie, do you know why these termites have been able to entrenched themselves in Waterladnoy for decades?"

Before she could answer, Chris continued, "It's because past rulers always left room for maneuver. Tonight..."

He patted the crenellations of the city wall.

“Since the judge I appointed has determined that he wants to cleanse the city, then I should maintain my trust and support for him and give him time… If he’s going to cleanse, then cleanse it thoroughly.”

After saying that, Chris turned to look at Connie.

“Connie, you also spent some time in Niamhane. Think of Eric with the missing finger, think of Widow Lake.”

The two people Chris mentioned were notorious underworld bosses in Niyama, known as "Severed Finger," a reference to Eric's penchant for chopping off people's thumbs. Because of his presence, Niyama's disability rate had increased by half.

The "Widow Lake" doesn't mean he's a woman, but rather that he's a widow-making machine... This bastard likes to attack pedestrians returning home in the middle of the night, specifically targeting able-bodied men to create many widows.

Thinking of those two people, and of herself now that she had climbed ashore and was a big shot, Connie took a deep breath and gave a solemn bow.

"I'll go and relay the order right away."

The news of the lockdown was like adding fuel to the fire in the boiling pot of gangsters, instantly pushing their panic to its peak.

The power structure within the gang quickly crumbled in panic. The once arrogant and domineering leaders fled into their secret rooms, while the lower-ranking members formed chaotic groups in the streets and alleys, like wild beasts surrounded by hunters, frantically searching for a non-existent way out.

Gang members rioted in the streets, attempting to break through the players' blockade. Some gangs even began attacking patrolling soldiers, trying to find a breakthrough from the military.

Then, these idiots were shot at in the street by the 2nd Infantry Regiment. The moment the gunfire started, they came to their senses and scattered in all directions.

In this chaotic moment, the players became even more ferocious, no longer content with small-scale cleanups, but launching a full-scale sweep.

On the streets and alleys, wherever their eyes fall, if they see someone who is not neutral or has a fierce look on their face, the players will rush over and either pin them to the ground for questioning or, in more serious cases, stab them in the head.

Some players have gone mad with killing, forgetting their original intention of making money. These players ride horses and carry weapons, patrolling the streets and alleys. As soon as they see someone with a suspicious expression or a fierce look, they rush forward without hesitation and slash them.

As night fell, the city's darkness was torn apart by firelight and screams. The players' slaughter intensified, their figures appearing particularly ferocious in the firelight, like avenging messengers from hell.

Not only did gang members fall in this purge, but also remnants of the Minesians, spies from the Leterian and Bohemian Empires, and disreputable wealthy merchants were all dragged out during this cleanup. Their blood stained the streets and the players' weapons.

Some gang leaders, wealthy individuals with questionable pasts, attempted to bribe players to ensure their survival amidst the chaos, but to no avail.

Even some village chiefs and neighborhood leaders who had connections with gangsters, or were gangsters themselves, could not escape this fate and were all killed by the players.

Chris didn't seem surprised by this. He just stood quietly on the city wall, watching the fires and chaos inside the city, a complex emotion flashing in his eyes.

After today's purge, Waterladnoy will be much cleaner, but... well, since I'm going to use players, I should bear the consequences and costs of using them.

You can't have it all, right? There are gains and losses.

Even so, Chris still had a headache thinking about the mess left behind after players abused him.

"They should be able to kill fewer innocent people by mistake... right?"

(End of this chapter)