Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 20 A Different Kind of Justice

The development of events is always full of shock and surprise.

When you use others as chess pieces, perhaps the next moment, the chess piece will jump up and give you a big fight.

"I've seen reckless people, but I've never seen anyone as reckless as this. Is the Paladin's head made of ironwood?" Rean was a little confused as he watched Larry LaBoer directly challenging the entire map.

I hid at the end of the street with my friends from the task force, watching the Spider Paladin howling at the sky.

He even subconsciously complained, "Is the Paladin's head really made of iron and can only bump forward?"
Rean's complaints did not resonate with others.

That's right, ask other people what they think of you.

The other members of the task force all looked at him with subtle expressions as he criticized Tiemu's head.

Aren't you the same? No, you are much more excessive than him.

At least he didn't chop at the noble young man. You are much more famous in the dock area.

Rean also felt the gazes from those around him, but he simply ignored them. I am just such a double standard!
After taking another look at Larry LaBelle who was still provoking the murderer in the street, Rean sighed and turned away.

Letting them make a fuss might not be a bad thing. At least the Labor family should not have time to focus on themselves in the short term.

Unlike myself who has no backing, anyone who wants to touch this paladin must consider her church and the Labor family.

More than 90% of the paladins of this era are the armed forces of the Church of the True God and are religious people, which is why they have such a high status.

"At least, the stagnant situation will start to move forward." This was the only way Rean could comfort himself.

To be honest, he was so angry. This little girl interfered and he had to re-plan his plans.

"Let's go."

"Huh? He..."

"Why, you still want to meet? Talk about how to investigate the case in public? And with this kind of fanfare?"

Rean said unhappily that perhaps Soul preferred this kind of foolish justice, while Rean himself preferred justice based on consequences.

This guy's sudden arrival directly muddied the waters.

If the serial killer was afraid of the power behind him and simply stopped and rested for a few months, then even if I ran out of strength, I wouldn't be able to stop him.

"unlucky."

Li En touched his head and felt a little regretful. He really didn't expect this guy to be so reckless.

If you want to investigate a case, do it privately. Instead of shouting at people in the street, you have no common sense at all.

"Maybe he really doesn't have common sense."

With such a big incident happening, the superior Talia came to visit the set again and naturally mentioned this "big news".

She gave Larry's information to Rean. She had found this person when she was investigating her brother before, and that's why she saw through him in her dream.

In a sense, Larry LaBelle is indeed an excellent "product".

As a rising aristocrat, Labole had industries, assets and a large number of connections, so it was natural for him to seek opportunities to move up to the next level.

Well, for him, who is just a baron, planning for the next generation is very important.

Of his three children, the eldest wanted to "move up to a higher level." Considering the reality that the kingdom's royal power was almost extinct, the Church of the True God was the most powerful force, and stepping into it and becoming a clergyman was a very good choice.

Especially the "eldest son" Larry was found to have talent in this area since he was a child. Naturally, he was treated as a favorite and sent to the church at a very young age. He became a third-level paladin at a young age and had a bright future.

Paladins are different from priests who need to preach. They are the real armed forces of the church. They are soldiers, not missionaries.

For them, many churches in this era are completely closed-door. The simpler the character, the easier it is for them to have a devout faith and the easier it is for them to receive divine grace.

The second child is a girl. It is said that she was sent to business school at a very young age. She started to participate in the family business at a young age. In the end, she should marry a son-in-law to take over the family business.

The third child came last and was said to be an unexpected product. The family, who had passed the childbearing age, had not expected to have a third generation, but this unexpected surprise turned out to be the most useless.

His mother died during childbirth. His older brothers and sisters were too outstanding and were away from home all year round, and his father was too lazy to care about the third child, which eventually led to this well-known good-for-nothing second generation.

Even if he didn't die at Rean's hands, he would have died sooner or later due to some mess.

Such a person who has no shortage of material things but is empty inside is also the easiest and most favorite target for seduction by cults.

When he heard this, Rean began to understand why Larry was pretending to be a man even though she was a girl.

Apart from the "accident" of the third child being born too late, the Labo family, with only two daughters, actually had no choice.

The Xinsheng family must be supported, one civil and one military, one businessman and one official is a perfect match.

However, this "perfect creation" is now too confined to the ivory tower and is out of control due to an unexpected early departure.

"She might become the new focus, so stay away from her."

But there are some people you cannot avoid just by trying.

If you avoid her, she will even come to you.
"Your Excellency, Your Excellency Li En, I have long heard of your great name."

During lunch break, looking at the paladin who came to the task force, Rean put down the noodles on the spoon and silently wiped the corners of his mouth.

"Hello, if you want to duel with me, please wait until I finish my lunch break and come back to work." Dueling with a bowl of noodles is quite funny.

"No, no, no, there's nothing wrong with your actions. Although it's a pity for my brother, the extent of his evil deeds makes him deserve to be judged. Evil deeds deserve to be punished, even if he is my brother. As a Paladin, I should not avenge a wicked man."

Uh, you mean, it's a good thing that I killed your brother?
If I knew you were a fool, I would have thought you were going to paralyze me and then stab me in the back.

It's not that she has no emotions, there are still traces of tears in her pupils, but she still insisted.

"If my family gives you any trouble, please tell me."

After saying that, he left.

It seems that she finds it difficult to remain calm when facing Rean, the "murderer of her brother".

But reason and morality told her that this was right, so she came.

This scene made Li En a little confused.

Are the moral values ​​of the paladins in this world so high? I am your enemy.

"No, no, no, he's obviously not normal. The constraints of a paladin don't include revenge. Most paladins are normal people. Rean, you're already abnormal, cough cough, he's a bit too saintly." The locals also thought Larry was too weird.

It seems that the long monastic life made him too pious and simple.

This is a good thing for the Paladin's practice. Faith and will are the power of this profession, and pure kindness itself is a kind of wealth. However, this kind of character may not be a good thing when one voluntarily leaves the monastery and walks alone.

Her declaration of war on the street was not just talk; her crazy behavior caused chaos in the dock area.

He is a bit similar to Rean back then. Many people have said that he is just the brainless Mad Knight No. 2. It seems that his reputation is worse than Rean's.

"After receiving a tip-off from someone with ulterior motives, they rushed into the gang and started beating people up indiscriminately."

"Had a conflict with the human traffickers in the slave market? And then they gave you official permission and you were slapped in the face."

"I raided several counterfeit drug dealers' shops and burned their inferior stocks."

There are endless interesting stories, but this is also inevitable.

For the dock area where extraordinary strength is shallow, a third-level noble paladin can easily become a disaster and a whirlwind.

The Paladin, who can't tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes, arrives at the dock area full of crime and sin. She will either sweep through it all or die suddenly along the way. Her identity ensures that most local forces will avoid her, allowing her to "uphold justice" everywhere like a bull.

But unlike Rean, her reputation was ruined quite quickly.

"He doesn't understand the facts at all."

If his father, a gang thug, is injured, who will support his family?

It is true that the shops selling low-quality black bread have no conscience at all. There are sawdust and sand in the bread, and the young man would spit for more than ten minutes after taking a bite of it. But this bread, which is as cheap as two copper coins a basket, is the staple food for many children and families in the slums to survive.

The same goes for counterfeit drug dealers and unlicensed black practitioners. Do they really think the locals can afford to see a proper doctor, a true priest with healing powers, or an expensive pharmacist? Their inferior medicine, integrated into the local ecosystem, may not cure illnesses, but at least it can relieve pain and prevent ulcers.

Compared to Rean? Many people think she is not worthy.

Rean was able to sort things out in the end and give the parties involved in the dispute a satisfactory conclusion, but she only caused a stir and didn't know how to deal with it in the end.

In the end, she could only watch in bewilderment amidst the chaos she had created. There was the kind of white that was just and kind, the kind that could persevere even after experiencing darkness and disaster, and the pure white that had never experienced the ravages of wind and rain.

In a sense, this is also the reason why paladins are often "supported" by the Church of the True God. Overly devout faith is like a good knife, but it will easily rust if used carelessly and may even hurt oneself. The polluted and fallen paladins will often become a big trouble for the church.

When it comes to doing things and preaching, they will still use priests who have experienced many years. When they mobilize the group of paladins, it is often not the time to reason.

Fortunately, compared to Rean, she still has a little advantage. She is rich! Very rich!
If she smashed the wrong store, she would compensate him. If she hit the wrong person, she would also compensate him.

Although she has lost some confidence after paying compensation all the way, she can probably keep paying at this level for a long time.

But the real blow often comes without any warning.
In the afternoon, Li En met this person again, but he didn't recognize him at first.

A face so pale that it looked like no human color at all, a dull look in his eyes as he sat there, and an enchanted sword thrown on the ground with no one to take care of it.

She sat on the side of the road, with all six swords scattered on the ground, holding her head with a look of frustration and helplessness on her face.

She was obviously doubting her life. That kind of gloom from the heart could not be caused by failures along the way.

Li En, who was pulled in by the reporter, quickly saw the reason.

Still in an abandoned house, there was a withered corpse with its tail cut off, and it was also a child.

The internal organs were hollowed out, and the vibrant life came to an end.

But this time, the victim had "blood words" written on his cheek.

"I heard you were looking for me?" At the end, there was a blood-red smiley face symbol full of malice.

It was a naked irony for Larry, who was full of justice, that the child died because of her.

And Rean also underestimated the madness of the serial killer.

Stay out of the spotlight? Not happening.

At this moment, Li En was silent.
"We can't wait any longer. Even if it's still a bit reluctant, let's execute the plan ahead of time."

Looking at the young paladin sitting on the street with a painful look on his face, doubting his life, Rean sighed.

She must be thinking that it was all her fault. If it weren't for her, the child wouldn't have died.

"If you don't know what to do, just follow me."

Li En never thought that in reality, he would have to be a nanny.

After a brief chat, he knew that the other party really knew nothing, and Li En was too lazy to teach him with words.

It’s useless. There’s no way to teach with a blank slate.

Those who can be awakened are often those who have accumulated a certain amount of experience and have fallen into confusion and bottlenecks.

Rean didn't say anything, he just continued to do what he had planned and let this guy follow him.

It is far from the time for this guy to come out of the mountains. It must be an accident that made him come out early. The reality is that most paladins are church armed forces in their lives and there is no possibility for them to go out alone. Being simple may not be a bad thing. It is easy to fall into depravity if you know too much.

Even if you come out to gain experience, it often takes several years of polishing to mature.

Don’t know? Just learn from the seniors.

Rean is still on patrol, and one of his main tasks is to warn the children to stay away from strangers and dangerous people.

He will help resolve disputes, but it will never be because of the words of one party. The ultimate goal is to solve the problem, not the so-called victory or defeat or reason.

His existence is meaningful.

In the rocky jungle, the law of the jungle is the norm, and the existence of a kind person who is willing to help the weak is the root of his gradual fame from the "Mad Knight".

"Thank you two knights for your help. The children are very happy to see you."

They came to the orphanage and brought back two "lost" children.

In a sense, this is a solution to the problems caused by Larry's direct recklessness.

The reality is that their gambling father lost everything and sold his children. Larry tried to stop him before, but was hit in the face by the other party's indenture, leaving him speechless.

How did Rean solve the problem? He tracked down his gambling father and the gang members who orchestrated the scheme, beat them up and threatened them, and successfully established that the "contract" was invalid because it was based on conspiracy to defraud, thus gaining legal advantage.

Of course, even if there is evidence, the human traffickers in the slave market are not so easy to talk to.

They can emphasize that they are bona fide trading parties and that they own the “goods.”

Go to court? Not to mention whether the court will accept the case, even if someone is willing to take it, after a few years of going through the process, it will be too late.

"There's a simple and direct way to deal with it. Look at me."

So, Rean simply warned the gambling father, built a sack of human traffickers to "deal with" them, took the child back and sent him to an orphanage.

Although he felt helpless, he was actually quite familiar with this place. After all, there were too many unkind people in the dock area.

During this process, Larry wanted to say something several times but ended up doing nothing.

Procedural justice or outcome justice, man-made justice or natural justice? She couldn't decide.

Perhaps, thinking of the child who died with his eyes open, she no longer dared to act.

"Thank you big brother!!"

"You saved us twice"

The two children's gratitude made Larry open his mouth, and finally looked at the "senior" for help.

"Don't look at me like that. You have an ability that I can never match, and right now, you need it."

"Uh, what is it?"

"You have money, but this orphanage has so many children and it's a heavy burden. How about donating some?"

Under the expectant gazes of the little kids, the young paladin hurriedly emptied his wallet.

Then when the child happily took the gold coins and tried to run away.
"Snapped!"

Rean punched the little guy, put the gold coins back into the bag, and handed it to the nun next to him.

".Forget about gold coins. Giving them silver coins will kill them." Rean, who was called a bad guy after punching a few whining monsters, sighed.

This new recruit is too pure and impossible to teach. It is better to kick him back to the church and put him on ice as soon as possible.

Shaking his head, he went about his own business.

Last time, he sent a child whose parents loved and hated each other and promised to come to see him. Now he has fulfilled his promise.

As Larry watched Rean running to play with the children, his mood became more complicated.

In terms of strength, she was confident that she could kill Rean in one round. She had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong with his condition.

However, when it comes to their understanding of knightly justice and the means of enforcing justice, the two sides are completely on different levels.

"Can I be like this?" Looking at the knight uncle who was playing with his child on his back and was almost unable to get up because of the child's pressure, she became more and more envious.

Man-made justice, for the first time I realized that I am not as perfect as others boast.

"Yes." The young nun who was taking care of the children said with a smile. This job had allowed her to see too many confused people.

"He is a righteous man who has experienced many hardships. His actions come from the heart and are not bound by many constraints. There is nothing wrong with your justice. It's just that others have taught you what justice is."

"This isn't a bad thing. When you lack the ability to make judgments, the experience of others will prevent you from going astray. When you've experienced enough hardships, you'll naturally make choices that come from your heart. The justice of others will also become the cornerstone of your own justice."

"Isn't he guiding you?"

After leaving the orphanage, Larry finally cheered up a little, which made Rean a little satisfied.

After all, the next work may require the cooperation of the other party.

As soon as he returned to the task force, Li En summoned his temporary superior and directly deployed the task.

"We can't wait any longer for that serial killer. I have a plan that might be a little over the line. Okay, quite over the line and illegal."

(End of this chapter)