8 Rise of the Black Serpent Siblings

In less than a week, the [Black Serpent Siblings] managed to take over the entire Western District, rampaging like no other gang had tried before. Rather than being greedy, Arthur opted for something that would earn him the local businesses' support. Instead of stealing the earnings of businesses, he would only ask for a monthly fee in exchange for his 'protection'.

While it might seem quite preposterous, it was a world where the 'strong' were respected. And the [Black Serpent Siblings] had earned more than enough infamy by stomping on relatively famous mercenaries, some of them having earned the 'silver rank' in the mercenary guild. One of them was especially famous, and got decapitated by Arthur in an exchange.

Mixed feelings of admiration and fear spread accross the Western District, but the various merchants eventually gave in.

It must be said that winters in this world could last for longer than a year. Rather than seasons, it would be more accurate to talk about 'mana cycles'. Due to extreme battles opposing otherworldly magi and warrior natives, the natural cycles were broken, resulting in more hardships for the commoners.

Thousands of years later, with the disappearance of most magi, the cycles were still broken, resulting in very difficult times whenever the 'winter' lasted too long.

In these moments, most merchants would keep their calm, and trust their lords. However, who in their right state of mind would believe in the old eighty-year-old Baron, too preoccupied by his paranoic mind?

In these moments, the commoners could only rely on themselves...or strong tyrannical powerhouses like the gangs or the city guards. However, city guards represented the [Yale Household], and the recent lack of response regarding the monstrous murders in all four districts made them lose credibility.

Everything further enhanced the [Black Serpent Siblings] influence in the Western District.

Naturally, the [Blood Cult Brotherhood] and [White Skull] started to make plans as well. However, they had yet to take action.

After all, the line between bravery and recklessness was very thin.

Without error, [Knight Robert] decided to act.

Dozens of soldiers appeared on the streets. They all wore sets of leather armour and high-quality swords. Although their physiques could not compare to actual soldiers, they were still trained daily by Robert Yale, an official warrior who had broken through the [Knight] realm and awakened [Life Force], a type of internal energy refining his physique.

At the centre, Knight Robert announced his presence clearly.

Despite his presence, no one came to greet him.

The poor knight could only seek, and ask around, but there was no one who knew the location of the [Black Serpent Siblings] headquarters. Punishing the local businesses such as the famous inn called the [Dragon Den], the weaponsmith, the butcher's shop or the bakery would only result in further discontent in Black Bear City. If that were the case, the [Black Serpent Siblings] would only gain more influence.

From a distance, the [Black Serpent Siblings] observed the knight's helplessness.

"Checkmate", Arthur chuckled, "Whatever Knight Robert does, the people will feel scorn against him. He is only here to display his immediate power, but he can't do anything. As long as we keep this up, we can make tons of money"

Emma and John were impressed. Ever since Arthur had stolen from the [Blacksmith Union], he seemed to have turned into a different man. His ambitions and usual calm demeanour were replaced by a dangerous and active predator mindset, as if his fears were no longer present.

Still, his plans were as effective as that of a master strategist from the crown. The fact that they were all birthed from a 14-year-old teenager enhanced the admiration they felt towards him.

Emma asked innocently: "The streets are getting dangerous too. A rat informed me yesterday of three more corpses in the Northern District. If it were the Blood Cult Brotherhood, there would only be stabbings, but the corpses he heard about had claw and bite injuries, as if a pack of terrifying wolves killed those innocents"

John titled his head: "Were they merchants?"

Emma shook her heads: "They were just homeless rats from the Blood Cult Brotherhood. This is the scary part"

Arthur frowned.

If there was something he lacked, it was knowledge. He had only heard about magic through tales before encountering the [Black Bear Meditation Technique]. After using it for nearly a month, he could already see the benefits of awakening mana and expanding his mana pool. His intellect, memory and reflexes were all duplicated. It was not just a matter of how fast he could think, it was as if he could enter 'the zone' at will.

For someone who reached 60 years of age in his past life, it was more than rejuvenating. It was liberating.

This is why he could not dismiss the superstition of werewolves appearing in the village at will. In the best case scenario, the corpses were the work of a crazed serial killer. In the worst case scenario, a magical beast capable of entering a heavily guarded city was starting to hunt.

"What is our next move?", John asked

Arthur smiled: "Although Knight Robert can't do much, we will not be able to easily negotiate with him due to our numbers. We need subordinates"

Emma titled her head: "Are you sure? Mercenaries will not accept dirty work, and bandits are too expensive to hire. If we hire them, they will take most of the earnings we make through the protection fees"

Emma was much smarter than John. For an orphan coming from a brothel, her intellect truly was a wonder. Sometimes, Arthur considered whether it would be worth it to educate her a little, but often abandonned the idea. Be it Emma or John, both were only tools to use until he could get into a noble household. John's physique certainly was unique, but there were plenty of preparatory knights who could easily best him in a fight. As for Emma, she could not hold a candle against strategists from a noble house either.

Still, living with these two teenagers for several years now, Arthur had started to grow fond of them. Perhaps he was growing soft in this cruel world...

Emma had a good point. Mercenaries did not become bandits in order to avoid being wanted in territories and avoid the constant fear of being chased and killed by bounty hunters. And even if they were open to be hired, they would not be cheap.

As for bandits, those with enough skills would not easily accept Arthur, a mere 14-year-old, to lead them. Even if they did, they would ask for preposterous amount of money in exchange for their skills.

However, Arthur wanted to target specific individuals, with little skills and little strength, but tremendous potential: [Rats]

Rats in the Western Disctrict were mainly orphans and elders. While elders did not suit Arthur's standards, the orphans did. After all, they were the only ones who stayed in the [Western District] and endured his tremendous fees. They were also moved when Arthur confronted city guards for their sake twice in the past few years.

In this world, loyalty was a rare currency, and Arthur wanted to bet on that.

"This is a list of fifteen rats. From our past interactions, they were not ill. Although a few might need heavy training and a lot of eating, I believe they can turn into soldiers within six months. With the businesses protection fee, we no longer need them as a source of income, and we have plenty of weapons to give them", Arthur spoke

John frowned: "Giving so much power to rats who have been supressed all their lives, don't you think that is a little reckless?"

Arthur smiled: "Indeed, you have a point. Naturally, we will only give a weapon to those who graduate from the training I will impose to them"

Emma and John shivered. They knew what type of training Arthur reserved them...

Emma thought: 'He is the kind of leader who thinks that elbow and knee strikes teach resilience and strengthen muscles. He is the kind of guy who would punch me, a fine lady, in the face without regards to my looks or pride...I am starting to pity those rats...'