Chapter 147
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It was a rainy night.
At the crossroads.
The girls from the Moxes launched a fierce counterattack, relentlessly swinging their axes at the Tyger Claw gang.
Gloria's red hair was soaked by the heavy rain, her whole body drenched.
Wiping the rain from her eyes, she witnessed the girls valiantly pushing back against the Tyger Claws, slowly gaining the upper hand and turning the tide of what seemed impossible into the possible.
The Tyger Claws, hundreds in number, were on the verge of collapse, unable to withstand the rage and lethal intent of the Moxes, desperately holding their line as more and more fell.
The tide had turned.
The Tyger Claws were in full retreat, contracting their lines step by step.
But the Mox's girls had no intention of letting them off the hook, continuing to press the attack, fearless amidst the flashing blades.
Despite the formidable power of the Tyger Claws, the Moxes proved themselves with this bloody battle.
In truth.
Gloria hadn't expected the Moxes' girls to secure the ultimate victory.
In terms of overall strength, weaponry, and combat ability, the Moxes were not on the same level as the Tyger Claws.
But the impact of an announcement had exceeded all expectations, sparking a major chain reaction that brought significant reinforcements to the Moxes' side.
Without everyone's help and the fearless spirit, the Moxes would have struggled to defeat the well-resourced Tyger Claws.
Ultimately, Gloria believed, it all came down to the girls being fed up with oppression and humiliation, their hatred for the Tyger Claws reaching a boiling point.
Even if they didn't fight to the death here today, they couldn't escape the fate of being tormented by them later—better to go all out against the Tyger Claws and have a swift end.
Moreover, the Tyger Claws, in trying to maintain their so-called moral high ground, were wary of forcefully attacking the Moxes and annexing Lizzie's Bar as they did a few years ago, which could prompt a backlash. They forwent their advantage in firepower.
Otherwise, given the Tyger Claws' advanced equipment, a straight fight would lean heavily against the Moxes.
In the face of powerful automated weaponry, sheer numbers would merely serve as more targets.
Both sides engaging in combat with melee weapons to avoid escalating the conflict actually gave the Moxes a chance at victory.
With their numbers supported by reinforcements far exceeding those of the Tyger Claws, the Moxes' biggest weakness was compensated for.
As the scales of victory tipped to the Moxes, Gloria realized that winning this battle was far from enough.
Even if every Tyger Claw present were killed, it wouldn't pose a significant threat to the entirety of the gang.
For the wealthy Tyger Claws, recruiting new members wasn't a big deal.
Only by severely damaging the Tyger Claws' business interests and securing tangible benefits for the girls would it all make sense.
She decided to take advantage of the Moxes' momentary dominance and seize this rare chance to deal a heavy blow to the Tyger Claws.
Soon.
The battle drew to a close.
The Tyger Claws' funeral procession, hundreds strong, was nearly wiped out, incapable of resisting the fierce opposition, and a retreat began.
Many Tyger Claws dropped their katanas and fled, only to have their lives claimed by the chasing axes.
One by one, the Tyger Claws fell into pools of blood, subsequently dismembered into pieces by the stamping Moxes girls.
They vented the full fury of their grievances, the oppression from the Tyger Claws, their discontent with the filth of Night City.
The once high and mighty Tyger Claws now lay strewn dead on the streets, to the fierce delight of the girls.
More Tyger Claws fell, hacked apart by the advancing girls, blood washed away by the rain, with the strong scent of iron hanging over the street.
It wasn't until the last Tyger Claw member was dismembered by an axe that the melee violence came to an end.
The Moxes girls, soaked in blood and water, stood amongst a landscape of corpses and severed limbs.
They gripped their axes, breathing hard, the hatred still burning in their eyes.
It seemed as if slaughtering hundreds of Tyger Claw members wasn't enough to quench their thirst for revenge, their feeling of humiliation and rage far from being fully expressed.
With a clang, Judy's axe slipped from her hand, and she almost collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath, rainwater streaming from her jaw.
Gloria quickly waded through the blood to Judy's side and helped her up.
"Are you hurt?"
Judy shook her head, looking around to see the chaotic, noisy street had fallen silent, with only the Moxes girls standing. Not a single Tyger Claw was in sight, and in disbelief, she asked, "Did we win?"
Gloria, realizing Judy had yet to recover from the horrific battle, as the scene was too intense for a tech geek like her, affirmed, "The Tyger Claws' hit squad has been wiped out."
The little Mox girl, carrying a baseball bat, hurried over and asked, "Are any of you hurt?"
Gloria assured her they were unharmed.
Sasha, having dealt with the fight upfront, packed away her sharp mantis blades and leaped over to Gloria's side.
The four sisters were reunited.
Seeing everyone was okay, Gloria didn't care about the pouring rain and explained with gravity: "We've handled this round of Tyger Claw attackers, but they have not yet learned their lesson; we can't let them off so easily."
The Moxes girl fiercely added, "Absolutely! We can't let them go easily, so what do we do next?"
Gloria gravely proposed, "Our hatred for the Tyger Claws goes beyond this. The Phoenix Club still stands. Their business industries supplying their bloodline are still operational."
"We need to drive the Tyger Claws out of this area, take down every club, every store of theirs here, make them pay the price they deserve."
Immediately, the Mox girl agreed, Judy was in wholehearted accord, and Sasha had no objections. They all concluded unanimously to strike while the iron was hot, rallying all the girls to keep the frenzy going.
The Mox gang sister raised her baseball bat and shouted loudly, "Sisters, this isn't over yet, let's have a blast tonight! Raid every Tyger Claw store we find and smash every Tyger Claw venue we come across! Sisters, let's start with the Phoenix Club! Go!" With her call to arms, thousands of girls raised their hatchets in response, and the crowd marched towards the Phoenix Club.
Marching through the rainy night, they were fearless in their destruction. Any store marked with the Tyger Claws' emblem had its doors smashed in, looted, and set ablaze before departure. When they encountered Tyger Claws' entertainment venues, they violently cleared them out, killed the Tyger Claw bouncers, took the cash, and destroyed the machines and facilities.
They arrived at the Phoenix Club and found the casino's doors tightly shut. Sasha quickly breached the security, and the mob rushed in to plunder fiercely. Gloria and others, acting on the intelligence they received, used a secret elevator to reach the second floor of the club, where they encountered a gruesome scene with a bed stained with dried blood, personal garments, and a corpse on the operating table with its cybernetic organs hollowed out.
Judy frowned in anger at the sight of the crime scene, where many innocent girls, including those from the Mox, had been killed. Eventually, a fire was set, burning the entire second floor of the club.
Before long, the industries of the Tyger Claws on the streets of Kabukicho were destroyed. The girls cheered on the streets, not only having defeated the Tyger Claws but also having looted valuable goods.
Gloria, seeing the fruits of their victory, knew that the Tyger Claws' influence in Kabukicho would be significantly weakened, their base in Sakura Street untouched but their largest victory since the Mox was founded secured. The Mox not only expanded their power and gained more room to survive but also proved to Night City that the unified girls were not to be trifled with.
Judy, standing on the rainy street with her makeup washed away by the rain, didn't seem overjoyed as she watched the Phoenix Club burn down. Gloria wondered and asked Judy, "What's wrong, any concerns?" Judy hesitated, then said with resignation, "Lizzie's Bar is safe, but the sisters at the Clouds..."
Gloria seemed to realize something. Many girls at Clouds were once Mox but chose to stay there. They were probably hoping to use the Mox's power to resist the Tyger Claws' control. The Mox girl laughed and said, "So, does Clouds also want a big makeover?" Judy explained, "Clouds heard about Mox defeating the Tyger Claws and wants us to help them get rid of the Tyger Claws there to gain independence."
Gloria thought it was odd. Clouds, located on Sakura Street in Westbrook, was a core territory of the Tyger Claws, a profitable gang spot operated for a long time, now detached from the Mox. Regardless of removing the Tyger Claw guards at Clouds, they could easily send more support to take back Clouds. For Clouds to be truly independent, it would have to fully convert into Mox territory like Lizzie's Bar.
Judy, who eagerly explained the situation, had friends at Clouds who, knowing of the Mox's counterattack success, wanted her to bring the girls to handle the Tyger Claws guards and help Clouds become independent. Sasha had no objections, her main mission being to protect Gloria. The Mox girl felt Clouds should become part of the Mox, otherwise there was no need to care about their fate.
Thus, Judy looked to Gloria with pleading eyes, and Gloria agreed without hesitation. "Judy's right. If we can help Clouds become independent, it would be a huge blow to the Tyger Claws and good for the Mox," Judy said, relieved by Gloria's support. "Hundreds of Tyger Claws have fallen to us; the ones at Clouds won't stand a chance."
Gloria thought Judy was driven by emotion, her mind always on the immediate step. Clouds couldn't compare to Lizzie's. The former was in Tyger Claw territory where they wouldn't play around with knives like this time. The latter was the Mox's last stronghold, where the girls would fiercely defend their lifeline.
Understanding Judy's situation but remaining discreet, Gloria waited for Judy to summon her car. The four of them got in and headed straight for Clouds. On the way, Gloria immediately reported to Tang Yu that they were headed to Clouds to cause quite a scene.