34 Mayor

Mantle, it was a home of corruption, poverty, and crime.

Every day dead bodies could be found that have fallen due to hunger, cold, or were victims of others.

Mantle was nothing more than a hollow ghost of the previous capital city of Atlass as the elite did fly to the skies and let the undesirables on the ground.

A city without walls, a city without order and hope, a city left behind by its rulers to fend for itself.

That was how Mantle looked a year ago. That was city Aegis Schnee wanted as compensation for Atlas moves against him.

Now? In just a mere year, the unprotected city was sporting a new wall that was thirty-meter high and mounted with defenses that did make even Atlas look harmless.

Upon the wall named by Aegis Schnee as the Maria wall, could be seen patrolling Bastion droids in thousands of numbers, and for every tower point on the Maria wall that is positioned five hundred from each other are stationed, Schnee private company soldiers.

SPCS, SPCS is something the residents of Mantle were both distrustful and afraid of. The Schnee army is how they called it, and they were ready to fight and resist any unjust treatment. They were prepared to fight for the little freedom they had.

That was at least until the time the Aegis Schnee made a public speech, and Aegis made it clear that he will not tolerate any unjust treatment to his new people as a mayor of Mantle and that everybody who could find themselves in any such unfortunate circumstances could just anonymously post a report on SPCS public forum.

And as to prove that Aegis didn't have any problem with equality, he made the Sienna Khan the leader of SPCS, immediately gaining support from the faunus population, some people didn't wish to be ruled by an animal or the animal lover, but these problematic elements mysteriously found themselves in dire straits as their dark secrets mysteriously became public and were promptly investigated.

As such, it was no surprise that more than half of SPCS personnel are the residents of Mantle, both human and faunus that were given three months long and grueling training that made them capable of taking Grimms systematically without breaking the ranks because of panic.

Another change to the city are three new Schnee public hospitals that didn't charge the patients for treatments and could hold thousands of patients without a problem.

Then there were opened schools that provided the citizens of Mantle with standard knowledge and too were free under a contract of the graduates either serving five years in SPCS or ten in SDC and after they fulfill the time, they can either stay or leave.

The Mantle streets no longer sported orphans as the Willow Schnee orphanages were opened and given to these children loving and safe environment. Willow Schnee made sure that every orphanage patron is both strict but loving the children.

The homeless were opened institutes that gave them a place to sleep and eat for free under the condition of them taking jobs ranging from maintaining the streets clear of any garbage to taking good paying contracts approved by the mayor.

These contracts were ranging from participating in building new properties that didn't need any high degree from school to gain a chance to live in new frontier settlements that were built and protected by SDC.

In short, even if the continent belonged to the Atlas kingdom on paper, everybody could build new towns where they wanted without paying the Atlas council. The sole reason nobody was doing it was that is the bad weather conditions and security against Grimms.

Both cases were a piece of cake for the Aegis Schnee, who had both money for the weather problems and SPCS with an army of droids for protections from both Grimms and bandits that were even in this day pretty common.

As such, no matter how Atlas council was against it, they were tied by their own incompetence as the moment they try to stop Aegis Schnee's advancement, they would become targets of criticism as they should support Aegis Schnee move on securing a better future and not oppose it.

Still, the Atlas council made many moves to halt or harm the Aegis Schnee progress with improving the Mantle as they feared the ever-growing support the new Schnee patriarch was gaining every day.

And justifiably so, as Aegis Schnee has proven as someone who can't be contained as he has already shown the wish of destroying the status quo that Atlas council maintained for generations.

But for every public opposition, they made against the Schnee, and Aegis paid in kind by exposing their dark secrets with made already two councilors lost the position on council as they were investigated by General Ironwood, who even if wanted to rip Aegis apart for it must show that the Atlas will not tolerate corruption.

And for every assassin's attempt on Aegis or someone who works for him, Aegis paid in kind be making the preparators and assassins 'disappear' just for them to be found dead in some dirty alley with signs of torture.

This shadow war was so bloody that Assasins even stopped risking taking a job against Schnee, as the last incident proved just how bad the idea is to poke the sleeping monster.

The last assassin incident was made by one of the most famous assassins, Marcus Black, the thief of semblances, who tried his luck and promoting his name by trying to assassinate Willow Schnee on a charity program just to be stoped by Aegis Schnee, who reporters said to radiate so much coldness that even the most dangerous Altas blizzard was warm in comparison.

After that, no matter how much Atlas council or General Ironwood made 'request of releasing the Mercury Black to their responsibility for the just trial'.

Aegis just publicity asked if it ends up like with Tyrian Callows and Red Fang's remnants that escaped the Atlas prison they proclaimed is the most secure place in Atlas.

After that proclamation, Aegis Schnee no longer headed calls from Atlas council and General Ironwood, who even threaten to use force if needed.

Aegis Schnee just said to the public that if the so just general wishes to have a civil war because of the person who was publicly acknowledged as the most prominent Assasin on the entire Remnant, and not to use his force for the betterment of Atlas that he has very questionable motives.

Aegis Schnee then promtly said:

"Stop playing on politician Ironwood! You are Atlas general, but I never saw you use the Atlas army in any meaningful manner in my entire life! Where is the new outpost against Grimms? Where are new settlements that you promised to protect with your army?! GONE! You were always late to come to the rescue and just fished the survivors to paint yourself as a tragic hero!

Stop measuring your dick with me and do your fucking job!"

After that, Aegis made his contempt for the Atlas general clear by exposing numerous moves he made in these years. In short, rather than having his army patrolling and protecting the settlements in the previous years, the general had his military stationed around Atlas.

The experts expressed that move as psychological warfare as he made everyone fall to the line with the sigh of oppressive Airships and Army doing nothing other than patrol Atlas perimeter.

That move sparked riots that demanded Ironwood's explanation. Like sharks sniffing blood, the Council members that held grievances with Ironwood forgotten on Aegis Schnee and made a move on Ironwood as they expressed how disappointed they were in him, sparking war debates between Ironwood and them.

Making Aegis slowly back to the shadows as he watched the fallout with a cold and satisfied grin.

With so many changes in such a short time, people have entirely forgotten the assassin that sparked this entire debacle.

Unfortunately, the assassin gained the full attention of furious Aegis Schnee, who didn't like the fact that someone dared to even think of harming his family, and Aegis made sure how displeased he was.

The secret facility that housed numerous Aegis opposers and enemies that mysteriously disappeared there Aegis hold them as he had used for them could hear wails of pain that served as a beacon for the Grimms as they marched to the secured facility in hordes just to be gunned down by the facilities automatic defenses giving Aegis enjoy his private time with Black.