Peter is one of the many "Peters" in the slums, young and old, who does not know who his father is, and certainly does not have a "father's surname", and the nickname "Peter" is all the labels attached to his head. For the illegitimate son of a prostitute, this is quite appropriate.

Peter didn't mind that his mother had to sell her body to make a living, but unfortunately her mother was also addicted to alcoholism, and the meager income from selling her body was not enough to satisfy her cravings for binge drinking, let alone take care of her children, who drowned in the gutter when he was ten years old, leaving his young son to survive in the slums.

Peter never complained that fate was too harsh on him, in fact he always considered himself a lucky one, and even did not know what sorrow was. After his mother's death, his life was indeed difficult, but who among the orphans in the slums did not struggle to survive in this way? What's more, when he was taken care of by a kind neighbor, and when he was really hungry, as long as he knocked on the door of the neighbor's house, the brothers Nikolai and Vladimir always managed to get something to eat to fill his stomach, and treated him like a brother.

Thinking of his neighbors, Peter, who has always been optimistic, couldn't help but sigh, looked up at the snowy sky, and thought to himself, if there are really gods in the world, how do the gods think about such a thing as "good people are not rewarded"?

The brothers Nikolai and Vladimir came from much better backgrounds than Peter. Before their father's business went bankrupt and committed suicide by taking poison, the brothers lived in a wealthy area of the city, received a good education since childhood, and their temperament and conversation were very different from those of the thugs who had been wandering the streets since childhood.

Gold shines everywhere, and the Bunin brothers are proof of that.

Seven years earlier, Nikolai had joined the militia organized by His Majesty Rudolph, then General Rudolph, and had distinguished himself in the fight against the Orc siege, and was accepted as a disciple by Lady Evgenia as a glorious "Far Eastern Ranger". Nikolai rarely returned home during these years, and followed His Majesty Rudolph in the northern and southern wars, and was said to have been promoted to a second lieutenant of the chasseurs.

Vladimir Bunin was three years younger than his brother Nikolai, and was too weak to join the army, but he had an artistic talent that his brother did not have, and taught himself painting and engraving skills, and became a well-known printmaker in Krasbourg at a young age. With his mastery of sketching and engraving, Vladimir found a lucrative job at the newspaper, and whenever the Far Eastern Evening News needed to illustrate important articles, Vladimir got busy: he first conceived a sketch and carved it on a wooden board for the newspaper to print. Since the direction of the engraving is exactly the opposite of the direction of normal drawing, the work requires the painter to have a keen sense of observation and great engraving skills, and Vladimir is one of the best in this profession.

Nikolai did well in the army, and Vladimir's work at the newspaper not only earned enough to support his life and creation, but also to take care of his neighbor Peter.

Unfortunately, the good times did not last long, just half a year ago, Nikolai revealed in a letter to Vladimir that he was unfortunately wounded in the expedition against the "Dragon's Eye", and after the war had to stay in the hospital in Kitland for a long time. Nikolai did not say how serious the injury was, but Peter felt that since Nikolai, who was so strong, had to lie in the hospital for a long time to recuperate, the injury was probably not optimistic.

As if fate was deliberately playing tricks on the Bunin brothers, Nikolai's injuries had not yet healed, and the worse suffered fell on Vladimir's head.

Just six months ago, when Krasbourg was still called the "Fort of Atonement", Vladimir was deeply enraged by the tyranny of the empire and joined hands with like-minded young artists in the city to take part in the vigorous anti-tax movement. After the tax resistance movement was suppressed by the Far Eastern Knights, many people gave up the struggle, but the brave Vladimir was not deterred by the blood, joined the revolutionary group against Klautz's brutal rule, used the brush and carving knife in his hand as weapons, created a large number of prints that propagated the revolution and satirized Klautz, and also used his savings to establish an underground printing house, gathered like-minded friends to print propaganda posters, and widely distributed them in the city, exposing the injustice of imperial rule, mocking Klautz's brutal acts, so as to inspire the people to rise up and fight.

Peter also joined the underground organization led by Vladimir, but unfortunately his ability was limited, and he could only do errands such as distributing leaflets. It was precisely because of the lack of involvement that he was lucky to get out in the subsequent city-wide raid.

Klautz didn't care about Peter, a thug who was scurrying around handing out leaflets, but he couldn't tolerate a young revolutionary leader like Vladimir, and personally ordered his arrest, and ordered his men to put him in prison and torture him, tried to pry his mouth open, traced down the underground factory that printed reactionary leaflets and satirical prints, and tried to wipe out all the revolutionaries involved in the matter.

Vladimir was subjected to inhuman torture in his cell for two whole weeks, never giving in, not even revealing the location of the printing house and the comrades involved in the matter. Colonel Junius, who was in charge of the case, used the "realm of honesty" and "discerning lies" against Vladimir, but it was of no use to the young artist who remained silent after being tortured. Colonel Junius even hired a warlock to cast a spelling arcane spell on the dying Vladimir, but he was still unable to break through the opponent's will defenses and pry his mouth open.

Colonel Junius guessed that Vladimir had set up a printing house somewhere in the ghetto, and in fact he guessed correctly, but to no avail. Even if he sent all the knights to search, he would not be able to find what he was looking for in that labyrinthine slum.

During Vladimir's detention, Peter's most important daily task was to keep his printing tools and propaganda engravings for him. Peter wanted to write a letter to Nikolai asking for help, but considering that Nikolai was still recovering from his injuries and could not save his brother after receiving the letter, it only added to his troubles, so the letter was not sent in the end.

By late September last year, things had taken a turn for the worse in the city. Rudolph led the legion back to the Fort of Atonement, defeated the Klautz Knights in two battles, and established a new regime in the Far East that belonged to the Far Easterners.

On the day that the "Fort of Atonement" was renamed "Krasburg", Vladimir was released from prison. Peter ran to pick him up early in the morning, and when they met, tears welled up in their eyes. The poor young man was tortured to an inhuman form, and his eyes were blinded by the jailers with red-hot tongs.