Imperial Throne

Chapter 135: Archis

A relatively sturdy boy fiercely punched another skinny boy in the face, knocking out one of his teeth.

The surrounding children watching burst into cheers.

Looking at the boy who had fallen to the ground, the sturdy boy raised his arms high, accepting the cheers of the crowd like a victor.

"You lost!" the sturdy boy pointed at the person on the ground and said arrogantly, "Now get out of here. From now on, this area east of the village belongs to us."

The skinny boy on the ground climbed up in pain. He glared at the sturdy boy with hatred in his eyes before finally turning and staggering away. Several other boys with lowered heads followed behind him.

The cheers around them suddenly grew louder.

"Cheer, my friends!" Archis raised his arms and started spinning in the middle of the crowd. "Now is the moment of our victory!"

"Archis!"

"Archis!"

"Archis—!"

"Hahaha." Archis let out a few hearty laughs before speaking again, "Alright, alright, I told you I would bring you victory. Now I've done it. Next, all of you will be my..."

"Archis!"

A loud shout rang out.

"I wasn't finished talking! Who told you to interrupt—" Archis turned around angrily, but his expression quickly changed.

A woman with an angry expression had rushed forward and, with lightning speed, reached out and pinched Archis’s ear, then gave it a sharp twist.

"Ah, it hurts, it hurts!"

"Come here!" The woman dragged the boy—who was nearly as tall as she was—to the side.

The children around them giggled and quickly followed, laughing again behind Archis. But this time, the laughter did not please him. On the contrary, he found them too noisy and waved his hands repeatedly, trying to drive the children away, only to be met with even louder laughter.

So Archis had no choice but to try and break free from the woman’s right hand.

"Let me go, this is too embarrassing."

"Embarrassing?!" the woman’s voice suddenly rose in pitch. "If you knew what embarrassment was, you wouldn’t have fought today!"

"He challenged me to a duel!"

But the woman clearly had no intention of continuing the conversation. She just dragged Archis to the door of a house.

The skinny boy who had just been beaten by Archis was standing at the doorway with a sullen face. Beside him stood several adults, among whom a young man and woman looked especially furious.

As soon as the young man saw Archis, he rushed forward and kicked him to the ground.

The sudden turn of events left even Archis’s mother no time to react.

She hurried forward to stop him, but the strong young man swept her aside with a single wave of his hand.

Immediately after, the young woman rushed up, grabbed Archis’s mother by the hair, lifted her entirely off the ground, and slapped her several times.

"Mother!" Archis’s face changed drastically at the sight.

He quickly struggled to his feet, blocked the young man’s heavy punch, and pounced fiercely on the woman who was attacking his mother, throwing a punch at her.

The young woman let out a shriek.

Then, several young men who had just been standing by rushed forward.

One kicked Archis over, and the others followed up with a barrage of punches and kicks.

"Stop!"

"Stop it now!"

Archis’s mother rushed to stop them, but being so frail, she had no way of restraining these men. She took the chance to dive into the crowd and threw herself over her son, soon letting out a scream of her own.

"Mother!"

Hearing his mother’s scream, Archis, now somewhat dizzy and dazed, instinctively rolled over and tightly shielded the woman beneath him. No matter how the fists and kicks rained down on his back, he held her down firmly, preventing her from struggling free of his embrace.

This sudden turn of events stunned all the children.

They seemed to forget how to breathe. Everyone stood frozen in place, not daring to make a sound.

"Enough!"

A loud shout rang out.

An elderly man with white hair spoke in a deep voice.

The young men who had been beating Archis looked up at the suddenly appearing elder and stopped their actions.

However, the young man who was presumably the former skinny boy still seemed unsatisfied and ferociously kicked once more.

This kick landed directly on Archis’s head, slamming him to the ground with a heavy thud.

The next moment, a pool of blood began to flow from the spot where Archis’s head touched the ground.

"Archis! Archis?"

The woman felt Archis’s strength weakening and struggled out of his embrace.

But when she saw her son who had lost consciousness, she let out a shrill wail.

The surrounding young men, however, remained calm and showed no concern. One of them even let out a scornful laugh.

The elder furrowed his brows slightly.

Yet he still said nothing. He simply called for a child to fetch a physician and then began questioning the children.

The children were somewhat frightened, but facing the village chief’s questions, they didn’t dare remain silent. Stammering, they recounted what had happened.

After listening, the village chief slowly nodded.

Over the past two years, because Karla Village occupied a geographically advantageous route, many merchant caravans—whether heading to Red River City, White Mountain Territory, Gem Territory, or Red Soil Territory—had to pass through the village for supplies. So after the nearly three-year war between Red River Territory and Gem Territory ended, the village immediately received material aid from the new lord of Red River Territory. As a result, the village, which had been on the verge of destruction, unexpectedly gained a development advantage.

However, this also attracted many refugees.

To protect his own interests, the village chief naturally had to draw in the original villagers of Karla Village. He not only strengthened the status of the militia group but also used various methods to ensure a higher proportion of original villagers in the militia, relegating the newcomers to a minority.

These actions were ultimately to protect his own interests.

And these interests mainly involved running errands and transporting goods for the merchants entering Karla Village.

Some of these tasks had low pay and were troublesome, so most adults were unwilling to do them. Naturally, these fell to the village’s children, who used the earnings to support their families.

Since the eastern part of the village had the most merchants and caravans, it became the most sought-after spot for the children.

Many kids came here looking for opportunities.

Over time, different child groups emerged.

Archis was the representative of one such group; the village chief’s grandson was another.

The village chief’s grandson wanted to monopolize the area, so he targeted other child groups in the east. Some were driven off, others joined his group. Only Archis refused to bow down, so he challenged Archis to a duel: the loser had to leave.

The result was that the village chief’s grandson lost, but he chose to maliciously report it—leading to the current scene.

The old village chief glanced at the unconscious Archis, the hastily arriving physician, and the weeping woman, and finally said slowly, "It was my grandson who broke the rules. I will discipline him. Once Archis wakes up, tell him this: the east of the village will be his. When he comes of age, he will have a place in the village militia."

"Grandfather!"

"Shut up!" The old village chief shouted angrily at his grandson, who was glaring resentfully.

Seeing that the old village chief had spoken and settled the matter, the others said no more.

These children earned only three to five copper coins a day by running errands and guiding caravans. The adults naturally didn’t care. They acted only because their "family" was bullied. With their developed hostility and unity, they couldn’t tolerate such insults, and thus they struck. In their eyes, they were merely disciplining a child who didn’t understand the rules or his place.

The crowd quickly dispersed.

Soon, news of the incident spread.

The villagers cursed the village chief’s grandson but praised the village chief’s response. As for the adults who beat Archis, the villagers had differing views: most male villagers didn’t think the beating was wrong. They claimed that if their own wives were hit, they would beat Archis even harder, and even the village chief wouldn’t be able to stop them. Most female villagers, after feeling a bit of sympathy for Archis, quickly aligned with their husbands' stance.

"Father, I don’t understand."

"Why are we letting them off?"

"Exactly, a wild brat without even a father."

"Because of credibility, you fools." The village chief snorted coldly. "If I weren’t the village chief, even if you killed them now, I wouldn’t say a word. But I am the village chief, do you understand? If this incident reaches the lord, what will he think? He’ll just believe we’re a bunch of untrustworthy people!"

"There are many ways to get rid of Archis, but you chose the dumbest one!"

The others exchanged glances.

"Find out how many kids are in Archis’s group and who their parents are. Then find a way to warn them. As long as those kids stop supporting Archis, what can he do alone? And how old is he now..."

"Thirteen?"

"In three years, when he comes of age, recruit him into the militia. By then, there will be plenty of ways to make him disappear." The village chief shook his head. "So Archis’s family are all outsiders?"

"Yes. His father died in the Three-Year War."

"No one will stand up for their family." The old village chief shook his head. "After years of suppression, all the outsiders have already been tamed. Spread the word. You don’t even need to act yourselves. Those outsiders will do it for you—more ruthlessly than anyone."

"I know what to do now." The young man who had first struck Archis suddenly grinned viciously.

"Teach your son well. Don’t let him think all day about petty tricks." The village chief shook his head. "Usually using my name to intimidate others is fine, but when he meets a fool like Archis who actually accepts a duel, does he think my name can solve everything?... If he’s not strong enough himself, what use is having a grandfather who is the village chief?"

"I understand... I’ll discipline him when I get back."