Damsel in Distress

Alexander stayed at the bank for more than thirty minutes to process his withdrawal by filling out forms and changing the combination code of the vault for security purposes.

Once the process are complete, Alexander and Rolan left the Central Bank with a copious amount of money.

With this capital, Alexander can now make his inventions into a reality to stimulate the economy of the Ruthenia Empire by making products that a consumer would die for.

His plan involves acquiring private-owned properties such as automobile companies, electric companies, electronics companies, shipbuilding companies, munitions companies, pharmaceutical companies, and the like from the wealthy elites.

From there, Alexander will reconstruct the assembly lines, reform the system, and implement his future CNC machine that he'll finish in the next month.

As the two walked along the snow-filled sidewalk, heading to their car, Alexander noticed some noise coming from an alley.

Rolan, who's been perceptive of his surroundings, quickly took position by going up in front of Alexander.

"Sir, stay behind me," Rolan ordered.

Alexander obeyed his chief of security who has a serious expression on his face. From this moment, Alexander will follow Rolan's command for security purposes.

Rolan checked the alley and saw six men surrounding a woman, blocking her escape. Alexander also came by to check and encountered an unpleasant scene.

"Wooh! Aren't we lucky...a fine woman wandering alone in the street..."

"Hey~girl...want to come with us and have some fun?"

"Hey pretty lady...don't be scared...we won't hurt you..."

"We just want to play a little..."

"I already said no, I've refused you so many times already! Please, let me go!"

"Don't say that darlin'~ you're breaking my heart here..."

A girl about the same age as Alexander was getting caught up in a group of men that really stood out. The place they were in right now is in the vicinity of the Central Bank, and there were a lot of people walking by. To think that they would try to seduce a girl out in the open like this is truly concerning.

"Sir...what's your order?" Rolan took a quick glance at Alexander who was deeply in thought.

"To think that this is happening in my country, right in front of my very eyes..." Alexander sighed as he opened his eyes and shot Alexander a serious look. "Rolan...how confident are you in your hand-to-hand combat skills?"

"I can take them down all by myself," Rolan confidently replied.

"I see. Then, let's defuse the situation first, if things didn't turn peacefully, we'll have to take drastic measures."

"Understood sir."

The six men continued to harass the woman. The girl didn't like it and tried to get away from the men, but they persistently surrounded her. When Alexander and Rolan looked around, they were people in the area, but everyone pretended not to see them. Finally, one of the men grabbed her arm.

"Come on, let's go."

"I don't wanna! Let go of me, please! Help!"

When the girl let out a distress call, Rolan stepped in. Alexander watched from a safe distance.

"Excuse me."

"...Huh?"

The men all turned to look at Rolan. Their collective gaze was sharp, and it was clear they were looking down on him.

"This is one tall tough-looking MF. What do you want?" One of the men growled.

Alexander stood firm, his eyes unwavering. "Can't you tell? The lady didn't like it. Leave her alone at once or else..."

"Or else what?" One of the men challenged. "You may be tall and tough but it's six versus one...the odds are against you. If you don't want to get hurt you should get away before we change our mind."

"Not until you leave her alone..."

"Okay...don't say we didn't warn you."

One of the thugs approached Rolan and walk around in a circle. Meanwhile, Alexander stood by and watch from the distance and grabbed one of the passersby by the arm.

"Can you do me a favor? Call the police for me will you?"

The passerby nodded and dashed off.

Back in the alley, Rolan felt a hard tube pressing against his neck. The thug is armed.

Rolan turned, clenching his fist as he raised his knee and slammed it into the thug's gut. Rolan grabbed for the pistol, wrenching it from the thug's grip, firing three rounds in the process. Rolan grabbed the gun, unclipped the ammo magazine, and slammed it into the thug's leg. The goon cried out in anguish, but Rolan silenced him with a punch to the groin. He dropped the thug into the dumpster.

The five thugs looked in disbelief after their comrade got knocked out as easily as that.

One of the thugs flicks over a knife, brandishing it, then rushed at Rolan. As he closed in, Rolan deflected the blade and countered with a punch to the thug's head. Taking advantage of his opponent off-balance, Rolan delivered a kick to the goon's chest, sending him to the ground.

"Who's next?" Rolan challenged.

The goons were frozen stiff in their spot for a moment. They were used to intimidate the weak and helpless. But this time, they are facing a big man that is proficient in combat.

"Watch out!"

Alexander's voice came from the alley entrance. Rolan instinctively turned as the thug charged him with a knife in hand. Roland reeled backward, avoiding the wild slashes. He blocked, grabbed the man's, twisted it, and rammed the blade at the thug's other hand.

The goon let out an agonizing cry as Rolan showed the goon who reeled back to his other comrade while he groaned in pain.

Now knowing that the man they are fighting with is a legit fighter, they abandoned their current strategy and the four of them charged toward him at once.

Rolan braced for the worst as he saw four of them sprinting towards him with killing intent.

"Gah!"

He blocked a wild roundhouse kick from one of them. The goon tried to follow up with a kick to his head, but Rolan caught it. He then stomped on the goon's foot, forcing him to back off. The goon staggered for a moment, but he quickly recovered and lunged at Rolan again. However, Rolan deflected the incoming arm, and delivered a powerful palm strike at the goon's jaw, knocking him out.

Rolan caught the other thug's wrist and swept his legs out from underneath him. The goon crashed to the ground, his head snapped back as Rolan's powerful strike sent the thug's head backward, effectively knocking him out.

While he managed to fight off two of the goons and put them down, the other two continued attacking relentlessly.

Rolan found himself engaged in a fist fight with one of the thugs. The thug attempted a flurry of punches, but Rolan expertly blocked each strike and returned with a punch of his own. But Rolan noticed that the goon is slowing down and is starting to get tired. Rolan seized the opportunity and delivered a palm strike, followed by an uppercut, knocking out the goon.

Luckily, the last thug is still in front of him, and Rolan is in a good position to take him out. Rolan deflected the last thug's incoming punch, and delivered a powerful kick to the goon in the stomach, followed by a jab under the chin, putting him out of commission.

With all of the thugs taken out, Rolan took a moment to catch his breath and glanced over his shoulder where Alexander was watching.

Alexander raised a thumbs up, impressed by his combat ability.

"Thank you." Rolan turned as he saw the girl approaching him. She seems to be either in her early twenties or late teens. She's wearing a blazer that is worn over a dark dress and a skirt that reaches over her knee. Her navy blue hair was tied into a bun, giving her an impression of a young rich daughter of nobility.

"It's no problem," Rolan replied. "Were you hurt?"

"I should be the one asking that...Are you hurt, mister?"

"No, this is nothing. These goons didn't even land a hit on me," Rolan haughtily said, looking down at the downed thugs.

"How can I repay you, mister?"

"It's no big deal...you should be careful in the future..."

As the girl was giving her thanks to Rolan, one of the goons that got knocked down, get to his feet, and rushed at him with a knife raised high.

With Rolan's guard down, he was late to react. But suddenly, the goon's knife was sent flying as a deafening roar echoed in the alley.

"Eh?" The goon's eyes bulged, dumbfounded.

Rolan slapped the thug in the face, sending him down to the ground. His eyes flickered to the entrance of the alleyway and saw Alexander with his revolver trained in his direction. A tendril of smoke still danced on top of the barrel of the gun.

Alexander holstered it and approached the two.

"The police should be coming any minute now," Alexander notified.

"That's great...we shall wait for them to come and get out of here, sir."

Alexander nodded and glanced at the woman they had just saved.

"Are you okay miss?"

The lady struck her head upward to thank him. But before she can utter her words, she gasped as her eyes met his.

She took a step back, making Alexander wonder.

"Uhm...miss?"

"It can't be..."

"It can't be?" Alexander repeated, cocking his head to the side.

Looking at her face more closely, memory flashes before his eyes. This girl...looks familiar...like he had met her before.

But before Alexander can fully remember her identity, a group of police emerged from the alleyway.

"Raise your hand!"

"Oh, officers. I'm glad that you arrived. These thugs here..."

"I said raised your hand!" The police officer repeated, their pistols trained on them.

"What a mess..." The officer muttered as he surveyed the scene.

"It's okay..." Rolan speak out as he pulled something out of his pocket. It was an identification card. "My name is Rolan Makarov, The Chief of Staff of the Ruthenia Imperial Guards.

Rolan introduced himself while showing off his ID card. One of the police officers took his ID to verify its authenticity.

"Sir...it's real!"

Finding that out, the senior police officer ordered his men to stand down.

"Are you alright sir?" The senior police officer asked.

"Yes, we're fine. Look, I'm happy to report the incident to you but I have to leave with my..." Rolan paused, he can't just tell he will leave with the Imperial Prince of Ruthenia Empire.

Noticing that, Alexander stepped in. "I'm also part of the Ruthenia Imperial Guards and are expected to arrive at the Winter Palace in thirty minutes," Alexander told a lie.

"Ahh...in that case sir...you are free to leave."

"Don't worry sir, once our shift is done, we'll head to the police station. For now, please take care of her. She's was harassed by these mobs."

The senior police officer glanced at the lady, and the nodded.

"Okay sir, be careful on your way to the Winter Palace, the road is slippery."

Alexander and Rolan nodded and began leaving the scene.

As they got to the entrance of the alleyway, Alexander stopped in his track and glanced over his shoulder, looking at the navy-blue-haired girl...and muttered under his breath. "You looked familiar."