Resolve of the Weak

Joseph looked at her with mixed feelings. ‘Man, here I thought I was immune to shit like this… still getting involved isn’t my problem. The sooner I can thicken my skin, the better off I’ll be. Sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong is a leading cause of death in these settings. ‘

“So, are you honestly struggling to rest, or is this just the ‘rat folk’ looking for an excuse to pin something on me?”

The girl opened her mouth but quickly fell silent, glancing over her shoulder as if seeking help with the answer. In the back, the group pretended to busy themselves, though their constant glances soon shifted into open discontent.

Joseph could faintly hear the whispering chatter from their lips. “What on earth is that girl doing?”

“That thing is still there, can’t she do a single job right!”

“Are you all really sure about this? What if Han or Lianhua finds out?”

“Bah! Those goodie two shoes are too busy dealing with those suck ups. Besides all we have to do is apologize, remember last time.”

“Hahaha, that was a good one. I still can’t believe they just left him alone after a simple apology.”

“Shhh... The girls looking our way.”

“That girl… is she ratting us out?!”

The main group of 6 people whispering shot a deadly gaze the girls way. Meeting Joseph’s eyes, they quickly looked away, though Joseph could feel the hostility directed at them both.

Squinting and giving the girl a double take, he delivered a blunt ultimatum.

“Listen, I’m no charity worker. It would be in my best interest to ignore you and them... that said its not like I don’t understand that forming my own party will be beneficial for me. As such I will offer you one chance.

If you stand against those rats and publicly denounce them, I’ll offer you a place in my party. Don’t expect it to be easy or something you can just walk away from, it will be tough, dangerous and if you want to leave… well, we’ll see what happens.

Or you can go back empty-handed, wallow in your misery, and keep letting them abuse you. From what I hear, they’re getting impatient with how long you’ve been taking.”

Her body trembled as she stole a glance at their hostile stares and whispers. Head bowed, she nearly broke into tears at the choice before her.

Watching, Joseph thought about it: ‘If she can’t even muster the courage to stand up to those rats, she won’t be of much use to me—let alone survive long enough to be worth investing in her growth.’ He gave it one last push.

“I advise that you think carefully. I expect absolute loyalty from anyone in my party — trust is fragile, and betrayal is lethal. If you expect to tag along casually, doing the bare minimum, then turn around and crawl back to your rat-folk overseers. I don’t do things half-heartedly. If you accept, you’ll put your entire being into your role, and I’ll do the same with mine.”

The girl hesitated, tears brimming as she mumbled about how her life had decayed into this wretched state. For a moment, Joseph saw no spark of will in her hollow eyes and dismissed her as a lost cause — too broken to grasp an opportunity even when it was handed to her.

A shame, since she was the perfect candidate: nothing to lose, easy to imprint on, unlikely to betray him, and a blank slate he could mold into what his party needed. Beyond that, he almost pitied her — bullied by adults, stripped of dignity, left a shell. While he was no social justice warrior, he had standards.

Then, subtly at first but steadily growing, a fragile determination flickered across her emaciated face. She turned toward the rat-folk vultures, her frame trembling but her eyes hardening. They sneered in discontent, seeing her look of visible defiance, but before they could act she let out her emotion filled shout.

“You f-fucking bastards!” Her voice cracked, but it carried through the cavern, startling everyone. “Do you enjoy bullying me just because I’m weaker? Does it sate your pathetic egos? Does it make you feel powerful?”

She spun to the wider crowd, whose eyes darted away in shame.

“And the rest of you… you stood by and watched, silent while they crushed me! Crushed others! I hope death befalls every one of you cowards!”

A stunned hush fell. Joseph let out a faint laugh seeing the rat-folk’s twisted faces, who were caught off guard by such blunt truth.

One of them, thin and snarling, shot to his feet, ready to pounce with a vicious retort. But Han’s broad frame cut him off, and the man froze like prey under his piercing gaze, struggling to grasp the situation.

It didn’t take him long, Han’s disgust grew as he finally saw the full depth of the rot in camp, but before he could act—

Thwip!

An arrow ripped through the air, slamming into the snarler’s shoulder and pinning him to the wall. He shrieked, writhing in pain. “AHHHH!”

More arrows followed, streaking across the chamber. The others fell in turn, struck through arms and legs, their screams echoing harshly.

Han spun toward Joseph, mouth open to intervene—but too late. A final volley of arrows pierced skulls with brutal precision. The shrieks stopped. Blood pooled on the stone. Silence.