Chapter 41: Red Lotus Vs Thieves Guild

"Onward!" Rendov alongside some other elves who had the intention of speaking favor for Zaos screamed in response to Zaos' announcement.

The rest of the gang who were still a bit skeptical couldn't help but be affected by the war cries of their companions. The Red Lotus gang had always been a domineering organization among the other underground forces.

The only reason for the gang members' lack of enthusiasm for the fight was their lack of trust in their new leader.

"Darfin, you will lead the charge against the Thieves Guild's headquarters while I take care of their leader, understood?" Zaos directed his attention to the large and muscular earth elf.

"Understood, boss," Darfin responded respectfully. His early disrespectful attitude had disappeared.

"Good. Now we head out," Zaos stepped out of the building first and the rest of the fully armored gang members followed behind him.

The group marched through the tunnels leading to the market under Zaos' lead. They moved quickly, navigating through the closed market with ease, and arrived at the hut leading to the surface world.

The fire attendant stationed in the hut quickly bowed at Zaos when the group arrived.

Zaos spared him a glance before shifting his attention to Darfin who was behind him.

"You will lead the group to the Thieves Guild from here on. Your goal is to subdue the guild, not destroy it," Zaos ordered in a serious tone.

"Understood, leader!" Darfin in his shiny metal armor bowed slightly to Zaos.

Zaos nodded as his figure turned invisible. Before the group of elves present could register his actions, the door to the hut swung open and a chilling wind brushed past the elves.

"He is fast…" Darfin muttered to himself. He was one of the only ones present who could barely keep up with Zaos' speed.

Darfin turned to the group of elves that had ascended the stairs leading into the small hut.

"Let's make this quick, we will show those lousy bandits the true power of the Red Lotus gang!" He said with a bloodthirsty smile on his face as he made his way out of the hut.

Droves of elves poured out of the hut, scaring away all onlookers from the thieves' quarters lurking in the area. The only ones who dared to stay were elves from different powerful factions who were tasked to observe the hut.

These observers were shocked to see the Red Lotus gang make such a grand movement and some of them even attempted to contact their informants within the Red Lotus gang.

While the group of elves from the Red Lotus gang were slowly making their way to the Thieves Guild's headquarters, Zaos was already a few meters away from the guild hall.

The Thieves Guild's guild hall was located at the far right of the thieves' quarter. Unlike the Red Lotus gang's secretive hideout, the Thieves Guild's guild hall and headquarters were built in plain sight.

This was because the Thieves Guild's headquarters was highly fortified. The headquarters was said to have withstood the bombardment of attacks from many different mercenary guilds that had been tasked to take it down.

Zaos smiled as he got closer to the large fortress surrounding the guild hall of the Thieves Guild.

[The impenetrable fortress… ] Zaos eyes sparkled at the sight of the large stone construct in front of him.

The stone walls of the large fortress looked sturdy and thick. On the four corners of the fort were imposing towers overlooking the area around the guild's headquarters.

The Thieves Guild had constructed the large fort to serve as a symbol of strength that the bandits of the area could count on.

[Let's see how impenetrable it is… ] Zaos arrived at the fortress's wall without alerting the numerous guards stationed on it.

He activated his phantom elemental weave and effortlessly phased through the walls.

Zaos smiled when he arrived at the interior 9f the fortress. When it came to infiltration, he believed his abilities were second to none on Krulon.

He gazed around the bustling interior of the fortress and couldn't help but marvel at the sight. Although the guild was home to bandits and thieves, these individuals still had family members who wished to protect them.

So beyond the thick walls of the fortress was a miniature bustling environment filled with all different kinds of individuals.

After observing the environment for a while, Zaos shifted his attention to the large gates sealing the lively atmosphere of the interior of the fortress from the dark and dreadful atmosphere of the thieves' quarters.

[Let's give the boys a hand shall we…] Zaos made his way to the mechanism that controlled the gates and waited.

*Gong!* *Gong!* *Gong!*

After a few minutes of waiting, a loud bell rang from one of the watchtowers.

"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!" An amplified voice rang out from the watchtower.

Immediately after the announcement, the peaceful and lively atmosphere of the fortress was thrown into disarray.

The residents quickly scrambled into their homes made of stone while the guards and bandits quickly ascended the wall of the fortress readying themselves for a battle.

Although the fortress has never been successfully invaded, attacks were not taken lightly by the bandits and guards as they knew the lives of their family members and friends depended on them.

"There are too many of them!" One of the guards on the wall shouted to his companions.

"Which organization is that?!" A bandit shouted back his voice laced with a bit of fear.

"It… it looks like the Red Lotus gang!! That's Darfin leading them!!" Another elf quickly on the wall shouted.

"Quick! Inform the leader!" A guard bellowed as he readied his weapons.

[They are finally here… ] Zaos thought after observing the commotion in the fortress. Even with all the commotion going on in the fortress, none of the elves could sense Zaos' presence at the gates.

[This battle will be fun… ] Zaos thought before cutting the ropes holding the counterbalanced weights of the large metal gates.

Immediately Zaos cut the ropes, and the gates up the fortress lifted revealing an opening for the Red Lotus gang members outside.

"What's going on?!" "How did the gates open on their own!?" "There must be a traitor!"

The elves on the stone walls were furious and startled by the sudden development. Some guards frantically rushed to the gate to shut them once more.

Yet before they could rectify the issue, the Red Lotus gang members led by Darfin increased their charging speed causing the guards and bandits to have no choice but to try and slow them down.

"Come on brothers! To victory!!" Darfin screamed as he activated his elemental weaves to withstand the bombardment of attacks coming from the wall and towers.

"For victory!!" The elves behind him roared as they also activated their elemental weaves to retaliate against the enemy.

Zaos nodded as he watched the battle from his position at the gates.

[Darfin should be able to handle things here. Now, to find the leader of the Thieves Guild; the bandit king.]