Chapter 243 Take Them All
“See those guys out there, standing like idiots? I want them all arrested. If anyone tries to resist, you have my permission to kill them on the spot.” Jonathan shot a cold, murderous glare at Derrick. When Derrick saw it, he felt a chill run down his spine, and terror welled within him.
The fact that Jonathan would really kill them if they tried to resist made him blanch, and his legs started to tremble in fear.
“Yes, sir!” Andrew had his orders, and he would not hesitate to execute them. He waved down and commanded his army, “Divine Dragon Guards, heed my order! Prepare for battle! Immediately!”
“Yes, sir!”
The sounds of the army assembling their guns roared across the room. The armored soldiers quickly reloaded their firearms and pointed them at everyone on the scene.
“Will you be coming with us without resistance, or shall we do it the hard way?” Andrew looked coldly at Derrick and everyone around him. Whenever anyone met his gaze, they averted their eyes by staring at the ground.
Derrick started to ask questions, but his voice was trembling from sheer terror. “Y-You have no right to arrest us! You have no grounds to do that!”
“Irrelevant. We need no reason to arrest you. We do as we please,” Andrew snapped, his voice as harsh and cold as the winter air.
The Divine Dragon Guards needed no reason to arrest anyone they wanted. All they had to do was raise their guns, and they would either come back with the target, or they would drench their hands with blood. Such was the lawlessness of the so-called ‘land of peace’; a band of murderers and tyrants posing as bearers of justice, justifying their murders with ‘national security,’ and branding those they deem as threats as ‘traitors.’
“T-That is just—” Derrick wanted to retort, to defend himself, but before he could manage to get even a whimper out, Andrew cut him short, “You have until the count of three. Either you get into the car, or I’ll get my men to take you in.”
“One!”
“Two!”
“Three!”
Once Andrew had reached the count of three, all the Divine Dragon Guards, as if on cue, raised their guns once more, but this time, they were prepared to pull the trigger.
If Derrick refused to comply, they would shoot him without any hesitation.
“I-I’ll go with you! Don’t shoot me!” Derrick raised his hand without any hesitation and showed a gesture of surrender to the army. The moment he raised his hands in the defeat, his team of burly men put down their steel pipes and bats immediately.
They decided to give up fighting. After all, their chances of getting out of the fight alive were slim to none. They were armed with nothing but steel weapons, but the Divine Dragon Army had firearms. Going up against them would be a suicide mission unless they were gods.
“And what about you lot? Will you surrender, or will you fight?” Andrew looked at Damien and his team of police officers. After all, Jonathan also included them in the list of people to be arrested.
“I-I am a police officer.” Damien was starting to get a little nervous after Andrew turned his sights on him. “Y-You have no authority to arrest me.”
“I am not here to hear your nonsense.” Andrew didn’t even give him a chance to defend himself like he did Derrick. Instead, he waved his hand forward, “Guards! Take this sorry lot back.”
“Yes, sir!”
Hundreds of armored soldiers equipped with firearms quickly came toward the group of policemen, which struck fear within them, and they raised their hands in defeat.
“D-Don’t shoot us! W-We’ll come with you, we promise!” The police officers could not find it within themselves to go up against an army of fully armed soldiers.
“Trash! All of you are trash!” Damien insulted his team of officers after realizing that they were going to go down without a fight. But the moment he opened his mouth, he saw hundreds of guns turning to him as if they would shoot if he even said one more word.
“Shut up and get in.” One of the soldiers smacked Damien’s head impatiently with the gun he was holding, which silenced Derrick immediately.
He didn’t dare to pull any tricks or grumble about the rough treatment at all. Instead, he followed the Divine Dragon Guards and went into the military automobile as he was told.
“Sir! We have arrested everyone, sir!” After the group of burly men and police officers were taken in, Andrew quickly marched to Jonathan to give his report.
“I can see that.” Jonathan nodded calmly. “Take them back to Jadeborough and hand them over to Randall. He’ll know what to do. Tell him I want answers by the break of dawn, and make sure it’s a good answer.
“If he fails this task, he’ll be resigning as mayor. Remember to tell him that. Especially that.”
“Yes, sir!” Andrew stood up straighter and gave Jonathan a salute before going into the car as well.
The drivers revved up, and the engines roared at the same time as if countless lions were screaming into the heavens. The group of cars then quickly turned around and shot off into the distance.
Once they were gone, a deafening silence fell upon the scene, which had been noisy just mere moments ago.
All that was left of the crowd were a few villagers, but none of them dared to so much as make a sound. All they did was watch the show quietly from the sidelines, waiting for the next scenario to unfold.
The silence dragged on for a moment longer, but Jonathan broke it eventually, “Let’s go. Our business is done here.”
Once the silence was broken, the crowd became slightly livelier. Arnold, who had been hiding and keeping his silence among the crowd, finally asked, “You’re done? Then what about our homes?”
“They are all burned up. Even if you manage to extinguish the flames right now, it would be all for naught.” Jonathan looked at him calmly. “But someone will come to you before morning. They’ll provide a new house for you as recompense.”
“A new house?” The mention of getting a new house excited Arnold. “Where will it be, then?”
“You will know in due time. Direct your questions to them, not me.” Jonathan continued calmly, “But if a new house is not to your liking, you may ask for monetary reimbursement. They will pay you a fair amount, I’m sure.”
“W-What about Derrick and the other guys then?” Arnold hesitated for a moment, then he asked the question that had been worrying him for a while, “Will they get released? Will they return?”
“They will receive their just deserts,” Jonathan answered coldly. “They oppressed their fellow countrymen, committed arson, and took all the villagers’ recompense for themselves. That short list of crimes alone is enough to send them into oblivion. If everything goes as expected, they will never see the outside world again.”
“Good to hear.” Arnold heaved a sigh of relief after getting confirmation that the tyrants would not come back anymore.
“Thank you, Jonny.” Alice carefully came up to Jonathan, seeming reserved and slightly scared. She was shocked when she saw the whole army kneeling before Jonathan earlier, and the imagery was still vivid in her mind.
“Oh, you do not have to be that formal with me.” Jonathan patted her little head. “We should be going now. Mrs. Renner must be worried sick about us.”
“Okay!” Alice nodded and went into the police car after Jonathan.
The sirens started blaring, and the convoy of police cars turned around before heading to Heart’s Hospital.
They first came to the village knowing nothing about what would happen, but after all the arrests, the atmosphere in the car seemed somber and heavy.
Arnold wouldn’t even say a word, lest he annoys Jonathan. He could not even sit comfortably and only took up a part of the seat’s edge.
Meanwhile, Alice was only stealing glances at Jonathan, but her face was already red, perhaps with embarrassment or fear.
Jonathan, of course, realized that Alice had been peeking at him, so he said, “If you have any questions you want to ask, you may say it right now.”
“Jonny, I…” Alice’s face turned even redder, and she felt as though Jonathan had caught her stealing a pudding red-handed.
“Alice, you do not have to be so reserved and careful around me.” Jonathan looked at her calmly. “I’m still the same person you know, and that will never change.”
“I know.” She stared down at the ground. A while later, she asked, “Jonny, why did the soldiers call you Commander anyway? Is there a reason for that?”
