With a flick of his finger, a force erupted. The man scread as he was blown backward, smashing through two pillars before collapsing unconscious.
Another man scread and lunged with a hamr. Roland raised his hand. The hamr froze mid-air, then twisted violently—breaking the man’s arm in one sharp crack. He collapsed, howling in pain.
A mage tried to trap him with a binding spell. Chains of light flew forward. Roland’s aura surged. The chains lted into golden liquid and vanished.
Then, he moved.
With a single step, he appeared before three attackers. His hand lashed out, slamming them into the wall. The wall cracked. Blood sprayed. They didn’t get back up.
Five more ca from the right—two swordsn, a fla user, a bruiser, and a shield guard. Roland stepped forward calmly.
His aura burst, a black-red shockwave blasting in all directions. They were flung like broken dolls—so flew across the room, others embedded into the walls, unconscious or dead.
Screams rang out.
One gambler hiding behind the table pissed himself. Another tried to crawl away but froze in fear when Roland’s eyes passed over him.
Roland looked around.
"Is that all?"
His voice was calm. Then he raised both hands.
A massive wave of energy exploded outward. The entire hall shook. The stone cracked.
Ceiling lights shattered and fell like glass rain. Dust filled the air, covering everything in gray fog. The tables were blown away. Even the ground split in places.
Like a storm the entire place was swept away and blown into tatters.
Nil and Noah stood still, mouths open.
The mixed feeling of show awe and fear, hit everything at once.
Their father...
He wasn’t just strong. He was sothing else. Sothing untouchable. Like a god of death standing in a ruined temple.
As the dust cleared, Roland walked forward, boots crushing broken stone.
The dealer, who had been so smug, now shook violently. He tried to stand, but his knees gave in. He crawled backward, hands trembling.
"ARGHHHH! WHO ARE YOU?! SPARE —PLEASE! I DIDN’T KNOW!"
Roland crouched down in front of him, his face just inches away. His eyes were cold, calm, and deadly.
"If this wasn’t Duke Riley’s land," he said in a whisper, "I would’ve butchered you without rcy."
The man’s mouth opened, but no words ca out.
Roland stood up, dusted his clothes, and turned.
"Co. Let’s go," he said to Nil and Noah without looking back.
Behind him, silence.No one dared move.
Back at the inn, the whole atmosphere was heavy tense followed by the sound of screams and sobbing.
Noah and Nil were both crying, holding their sore butts in pain. They scread, squird, and cursed under their breath while lying on the floor.
"Father, forgive !" Noah cried, his voice cracking as tears stread down his face.
Roland didn’t feel it was enough. His expression darkened as he stood up, raising his hand again, ready to go another round.
Just then, Nil scread out in panic, "Father, we’re really innocent! We didn’t know it was a gambling house! You’ve never told us what that even is!"
"We don’t even know what gambling is except that it’s bad."
Roland froze in place, mid-step. His eyes twitched slightly. He slowly turned to look at them, almost in disbelief.
"What do you an you didn’t know?" he asked, his voice quiet but full of threat. "Do you want to personally show you what a gambling house is?"
His voice grew louder with each word.
"Today you want to see a gambling house. What’s next? Tomorrow you’ll ask what a brothel is? Then what—should I also teach you how to please a woman?! Damn it!"
He couldn’t control his anger anymore.
"You little bastards! I’m gonna kill you today!" Roland shouted as he stord forward.
But before he could reach them, another voice interrupted from the doorway.
"I think you should forgive them. That’s enough."
Alia had stepped in, holding Nora and Hilda’s hands. The two girls looked terrified and clung to her dress like it was their last hope.
Nil and Noah saw Alia like an angel. They let out deep breaths, wiping the sweat from their brows. For a mont, they thought they were done for.
Roland stopped. He glared at them, the fire still burning in his eyes.
"How can they not be at fault?" he growled.
"Tomorrow, anyone could co lead them sowhere, and they’d blindly follow. Is this a joke to you?!"
Nil and Noah stepped back in fear. Roland’s expression had turned demonic. He looked like he could eat them alive.
Alia sighed. She hadn’t planned to step in like this. But the girls had co crying to her, saying their father was about to beat their brothers half to death. She thought the situation would be worse.
But now that she saw it for herself... Roland hadn’t really gone that far. His hits weren’t ant to injure. He was mostly putting on an act.
"You two," she said firmly, turning to the boys. "Apologize. And don’t you ever make a mistake like this again. You don’t even realize what could’ve happened if your father wasn’t strong."
The boys nodded seriously, then bowed.
"Thank you for your teaching, new mother."
"We’ll rember your words."
"What?"
Alia blinked, caught off guard. Her eyes widened as she looked at them. "You’re misunderstanding. I’m not—"
But before she could finish, Roland chid in smoothly.
"Good. Be obedient. Now go out and rest. We’re leaving early tomorrow," he said with a proud smirk, giving the boys a small thumbs-up behind his back.
He wasn’t too angry at them but a lesson should be taught lest they turn into so petty guys and now that they called Alia mother Roland couldn’t help but praise them.
Nil and Noah bowed again. "Good night, mother," they said in unison, then picked up Hilda and Nora and ran off as fast as they could.
Alia stood frozen in place, completely bewildered. But she wasn’t so naïve girl. She slowly turned to Roland and narrowed her eyes.
"You’re really cunning," she said flatly.
Roland chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Heh..."
Things finally began to calm down in the room. The fire in Roland’s eyes faded a bit.
After a pause, he spoke seriously.
"The dealer... he said he had backing from a Duke. Is that true?"
Alia raised an eyebrow. "I don’t know if a Duke is directly involved. But yes, a lot of nobles support that place."
She folded her arms and leaned against the wall. "That place has taken money from many people. Even lower nobles cried after losing everything. Still, they were warned not to cause trouble which ans this was a really bad thing."
"I didn’t want to cause a scene either," Roland said with a sigh. "But..." He began to explain everything that had happened from start to end.
The more Alia heard, the angrier her expression grew. Her brows furrowed. Her lips tightened.
"This is pathetic," she muttered through clenched teeth.
Alia was furious.
Extorting people was one thing—but this? This went beyond all sense. She thought the dealer would have at least so brains, and wouldn’t push too far.
But hearing all this... that bastard had clearly gone too far.
"I can’t believe a two-bit bandit has this much nerve," she hissed. "If I were still in my pri, I’d have wiped him out right there."
"Don’t worry," Roland replied, leaning back on the chair. "I held back. Didn’t kill him. But I don’t know what might happen tomorrow. That’s why we’re leaving early."
"Hmm," Alia nodded in agreent, still upset. "That’s probably wise."
There was a mont of silence. The storm had passed, for now. But tension still lingered in the air.
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