CHAPTER 130: CHAPTER 130: REVENGE_1

Following the Broker’s information, he lay in wait for his target on the road. Soon, the carriage arrived. The Guards were no match for him; he completed his task with exceptional lethality.

Just then, a noise came from the carriage. His long-cultivated vigilance made him subconsciously draw his gun and fire.

The shotgun blast swept over the entire carriage, and the noise was utterly silenced.

But the satisfaction from his slaughter proved fleeting; regret bound him tighter than any chains.

Proud of his quick reaction, he opened the carriage door. He found not an enemy, but a woman cradling a child, their bodies grievously wounded by gunfire and utterly lifeless.

Dismas gazed somberly at the corpses inside the carriage, seized by the brutal scene. He felt a cold shackle called regret tightly bind his heart.

The scene became Dismas’s persistent nightmare—a pursuer he could never shake, a prison he could never escape.

"Thinking back to that time—I really didn’t mean to..." At this point, Dismas couldn’t help but clutch his head and sob.

Lance listened to the entire story, feeling quite sympathetic. It was hard to imagine. This man had survived the harsh prison environment, even willing to hide in sewers and eat rats for his freedom, yet he showed such a reaction to an accidental killing. He was, after all, a wanted criminal who had killed Guards and escaped from prison. One might say he didn’t care about killing at all. But now, he showed such remorse. Clearly, what restrained him wasn’t the law, but the barrier within his own heart.

It was rather ironic. A robber like Dismas, developing such emotions.

No! Lance reconsidered, feeling there was a flaw in his understanding. Dismas was inherently a tragic figure, having endured torments unimaginable to ordinary people. What was it that ultimately sustained him? It was hatred, indignation, and the desire for revenge! For this, he would do anything—even eat rats from the sewer or take on tasks of murder and robbery. At that moment, one could say he was leaning towards corruption, as evidenced by the swift and efficient way he killed those carriage Guards. The turning point came when he accidentally killed the woman and child. Did seeing this scene remind him of his childhood sweetheart, making him realize he had become as ruthless as his enemies? The emotions previously suppressed by hatred overwhelmed his reason, subjecting him to insane pressure. Ultimately, this led him to seek the light of humanity, enter a state of virtue, and pull himself back from the brink of corruption. In a way, if accidentally killing that woman and child hadn’t led to his awakening, each step further into corruption would have lowered his moral compass. Eventually, Dismas would have become no different from actual robbers. However, this regret showed he still had hope. He hadn’t succumbed to corruption despite the unjust treatment he had suffered. The light of humanity still shone upon him.

"Does talking about it make you feel a bit lighter?"

"Mmm," Dismas murmured, calming his emotions. For so long, he hadn’t spoken of his affairs to anyone. He had only drowned his sorrows in pint after pint of ale and in the arms of one lover after another. Now that he had spoken out, he felt the long-suppressed weight in his chest lift, and his breathing became smoother.

"That pale silhouette... she still follows me along the road. I don’t remember how I got back that day. But after that incident, I made a vow never to kill women or children."

Lance hadn’t expected such a tumultuous story behind this vow.

"What happened afterward? How is your family?" Instead of mentioning revenge, Lance steered the conversation in another direction.

"They moved away, to a place I don’t even know..." Dismas’s expression grew sorrowful. He had returned once, only to find strangers in his home, and learned the truth upon inquiring. Not long after his incarceration, their small family workshop was destroyed. The business couldn’t continue, so his parents had no choice but to move to another city. As for the tailor’s family, they had long since left that place of strife. In that era, such a move meant their ties were completely severed.

Standing in the street, he felt that while the place was the same, the people were gone. When a person realizes they can’t protect their family or loved ones, and that everything they cherish has been destroyed, they become extreme. They either sink into utter despair or become entirely crazed. Unfortunately, Dismas’s personality meant he was destined for the latter path.

He found the underling who had betrayed him. To his dismay, he discovered the man had taken over his territory and become a notable Gang leader with a large following of thugs.

"I confronted him, asking why he betrayed me. Do you know what answer I got?" Dismas recalled the absurdity of it and couldn’t help but let out a bitter, resigned laugh. If the man had betrayed him for money or power, Dismas might have understood. But the answer he received surprised him. It was simply because the man feared being implicated in Dismas’s affairs and because Dismas had restricted them from collecting protection money, which had caused widespread dissatisfaction among them. Furthermore, the man blamed Dismas for attracting a noble’s wrath over a woman, causing trouble and fear for the others. He even justified his actions as being for everyone’s greater good. The man thought he was invincible with so many followers and wasn’t afraid of Dismas, but he quickly realized how foolish he was.

A massacre ensued. The street thugs were no match for Dismas. He walked a path paved with bodies until he stood before the man.

"He begged me for mercy, but I plunged my sword into his stomach. It felt so damn exhilarating."

The sensation of vengeance intoxicated him. Thankfully, he still had some moral boundaries and didn’t harm the man’s family. With the betrayer dead, Dismas shifted his focus to the true instigator of it all: that noble.

Unfortunately, years in prison had disconnected him from the outside world. The noble had long since left the city. As a wanted fugitive, Dismas had no way to track him down. To find the noble who had caused his life’s misery, he became a wandering mercenary. In this era, that occupation often involved some side activities, which could also be called banditry.

But years passed, and he never found the man. His journey and experiences altered his mindset. His desire for revenge gradually subsided, replaced by a growing, intensifying guilt. Every time he recalled the scene in the carriage, he tossed and turned, unable to find even a moment of comfort or peace, not even when lost in alcohol and carnal pleasures. Tormented by this remorse, the intense psychological pressure eventually caused him to suffer frequent hallucinations.

This continued until he accepted the mission to Hamlet, where he found hope for his redemption.