Reuben shook his head, deciding it was best not to let his thoughts wander. He had once considered making a run for it after returning to Blumedale, hoping he might find an opening.

But now, it was clear that the smart move was to follow the rules, behave, and wait for Andrew to willingly set him free.

Natasha asked, "Darling, what about the other eight mercenaries? None of them are from Holtrien. If we kill them outright, could that stir up trouble with foreign powers?"

Andrew replied flatly, "Wipe them out. I don't care where they came from—if they dared to step into Holtrien with a blade pointed at me, then I'll be the one cleaning them up."

With that, Reuben and Natasha struck again, ignoring the furious roars of the remaining mercs.

Just like before, the bodies were dumped into Blumedale's foul drainage canals, unceremoniously discarded.

Soon after, the head of security for The Sovereign Residences—a fellow semi-martial king—rushed to Serenity Villa with his team in tow