Who is willing to follow me?

Maron's smile faded as he heard those words, quickly realizing that the man who uttered them was the same one who had apprehended them and nearly shattered their bodies.

Lieutenant Mitchell, the soldiers, and all the civilians were confused when they heard Vlad's words, and the young man just smiled as he continued.

"However, anyone who believes the penal code is still relevant is a fool. The world is no longer what it used to be; there is a new world order!"

Vlad waved his sword the next second, and what followed was a strident scream of pain from Maron.

"¡AHHHHHHHH!"

The young man screamed in utter agony as the sword severed his right arm. It was the most incredible pain he had ever felt, and blood began to emerge from his wounds.

A wound so severe would have made Maron bleed out in seconds, but a small arc of lightning struck his bloody shoulder and cauterized the wound. Jormungandr had saved the man from dying, but certainly not out of kindness.

Vlad allowed the people to gaze at the bloody scene for an entire minute before speaking again.

"According to the penal code, what I just did was a serious crime, even if it was done to a criminal, but nothing will happen to me despite being surrounded by soldiers."

Lieutenant Mitchell and the soldiers were shocked by that last part, and it became clear that Vlad's words were not just aimed at the townspeople.

"In this world order, might makes right!"

Vlad uttered those words before waving his sword again, cutting off the arm of the man who had first lunged toward the young girl in the dinner hall.

"¡Ahhhhhh!"

The man squealed like a pig, and Jormungandr cauterized the wound before he could pass out from the hemorrhage.

"If your power is high enough, you can kill anyone you wish to and perform your most depraved desires on the weakest of all, and there is nothing your victims can do about it! What could you have done if these people had been powerful enough and come after your children!?"

When the people of Good Side Town heard that, a sense of terror gripped them, and their hold on their children grew tighter since Vlad was right. What if Maron and the others were as powerful as Vlad? Would someone have been able to stop them? Even if Lieutenant Mitchell and the soldiers had attacked them, they would have just died without achieving anything.

"In this new world order, the only way you can achieve peace and security is to either become powerful or follow someone who is both powerful and whose sense of justice is strong enough to protect everyone!"

Vlad's Force exploded at that moment, flooding everyone present with his aura and revealing the image of a mighty figure.

Immediately, all the people focused on him, and they saw in the young man someone powerful enough to face the threats that would arise and who would establish a sense of order and justice so they would not be afraid of the tyrants.

Vlad calmed his energy the next second and took the seven pieces of rope, making a noose with each one and calmly putting them around the necks of Maron and his friends.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

"Don't do this!"

"I was just looking!"

"I never took them!"

"This is murder, this is murder!"

The group began to shout in fear and dread as they felt the rope tightening around their necks, but no one made a move, and everyone just watched.

After securing one end of the rope around the necks of Maron and his friends, Vlad threw the other end through a large tree branch before focusing on Mirena and Cazan.

"Are you willing?"

The metallic brother and sister heard those words and saw how Vlad raised the free end of the rope while staring at them. Fighting demons and the Hippopotamus Monster was one thing, but this was entirely different.

Taking those ropes and carrying on with this was essentially saying goodbye to the old world, accepting the new one, following Vlad's path, and taking him as their leader.

Mirena and Cazan glanced at each other, and sharpness appeared in their eyes as they nodded and walked toward Vlad, each taking one rope.

Vlad nodded as he saw the duo was ready to fully side with him, and then he glanced at the soldiers.

"Who is willing to follow me?"

The soldiers glanced at each other, their eyes full of doubt and hesitation as they did not know what to do until one finally took a step forward. The young man was pretty skinny, with short dark hair and dark brown eyes, nothing impressive at first sight, but he was one of the soldiers who had managed to stand firm in the face of the horde. It was never good to judge a book by its cover.

"Private Frank, reporting to Sir Vlad."