A long time had passed. No one remained of the Harmon family. Their heads lay neatly arranged in the courtyard—a horrific, gruesome scene. Only a few members of the Martial League, including Zion, remained. Zion was dumbfounded. He had been powerless to stop the massacre of the Harmon family before his eyes. Perhaps retirement in the countryside was his only recourse.
Dustin arrived at the Harmon family villa's courtyard. He bowed, muttering a prayer. "Grandpa, I have avenged you!" he said, tears in his eyes. "The Harmon patriarch beheaded you; I have beheaded his entire family in your memory!"
He offered another prayer. "Mother, Father, and the unjustly slain members of the Fox family, I will avenge your deaths, one by one! Those who took your lives will face utter ruin and destruction so that you may rest in peace! If I fail, may I too find no rest!" he solemnly vowed near the fire pit.
His words shocked Zion and the others. Avenging the Fox family was no simple task. They feared Dustin would upend Lovellia to achieve his goal.
"Dustin," Zion said, "I know the Fox family suffered great injustice and died with resentment, but justice in this world is often elusive. Some things are simply beyond our reach." He urged Dustin to stop. "You've made a grave mistake. Surrender now; it's not too late. Continuing down this path will endanger many."
Dustin laughed bitterly. "A mistake? I avenged the unjustly slain Fox family. What have I done wrong? You ask me to surrender? Why not advise those who massacred the Fox family to surrender instead?"
Zion was speechless. After a moment, he spoke. "I've just received word that the General of the West learned of the Harmon family massacre and is furious. He fired forty-four shots outside his tent, announcing his intention to send an army to Grayvale, to obliterate everything in your path, Dustin. He will use your head to honor his brother and feed your flesh to his beasts... He's issued an ultimatum to the twenty-one cities and three provinces of the West: protect you, and they face his army."
Zion felt defeated. As the Martial League's Grayvale branch leader and witness to the Harmon massacre, his superiors were furious. He was ordered to immediately apprehend the surviving Fox family descendant. The General of the West even planned to come to Grayvale personally to punish Dustin. But Zion couldn't afford to offend either side. Dustin's three subordinates could easily defeat him, and Dustin himself was a peerless Martial Saint. He was at a loss on how to respond to the General.
"Zion," Dustin said, glancing at him, "I consider you a man of conscience. I give you a mission: investigate the Fox family massacre. Find the truth."
Zion was stunned. Was there something amiss with the surviving Fox family descendant? How dare this man, not even a member of the Martial League, order him, the Grayvale branch leader? Even if he wished to investigate, he lacked the power. Furthermore, he faced his own crisis; he could barely protect himself, let alone investigate the Fox family case.
Zion and the others stared at Dustin, as if he were a fool.
"You think very highly of me," Zion said sarcastically, chuckling.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at your naiveté. You think your Martial Saint strength grants you impunity?"