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Chapter 97: The Black Scorpion Gang
🕑 Added 2025-01-09 23:54:15 +0000 UTCScar from the Lone Wolves Gang, though defiant, understood that if he continued provoking Charlot, the man might actually shoot him. Scar knew full well he had no chance of surviving under anti-magic armor-piercing rounds. He glared coldly at the person who had spoken up for the Dark Night Beasts and asked, “Can you even represent the Dark Night Beasts?”
Yellow Bear remained silent, stepping forward to show his stance and give the speaker his backing.
Although Scar wasn’t afraid of Yellow Bear, he didn’t want to clash with this demon hunter either. He inwardly sneered, “Hmph, once we Lone Wolves join the city patrol guards, sooner or later, we’ll make the patrols answer to us. This foolish young man doesn’t understand how the world works. Does he really think our men will follow his orders just because they’ve joined the city patrols? Naïve.”
No one objected, so Charlot distributed the expanded quotas based on the size and standing of the gangs attending the gathering, handing out most of the available positions.
After making the assignments, Charlot watched with a smile as the gang members fought over quotas, their faces red with anger. Occasionally, he stepped in to break up disputes and made small adjustments. It took a full day to roughly determine how many people each gang would contribute to the patrol guards in Lukavaro District.
Charlot had only one requirement: the gangs had to send their recruits to No. 1 Falcon Street for daily training. If they refused to comply, their quotas would be revoked.
The thirteen gangs had no objections. After all, the recruits would mostly come from the lowest ranks of their gangs—those expendable foot soldiers. For the gang leaders, this arrangement made no difference.
What the gang members didn’t realize was that the Lukavaro District’s city patrol guards had already been restructured into the Free Knights Regiment and were ready to march off to war in the Behemoth Principality.
Once Charlot found an excuse to take them to the battlefield, it would be much harder for their original bosses to call them back.
The battlefield was the best place to hone people. After a few battles, these recruits would only listen to their officers and not their former gang leaders. Besides, as part of the patrol guards, they would at least receive decent imperial pay. What future could the bottom-tier thugs of a gang possibly hope for?
After finalizing the quotas for the thirteen gangs, Charlot dismissed the gang members, only reminding them to send their recruits over first thing the next morning.
...
The next morning, Charlot uncharacteristically arrived at work early, taking a carriage—an extremely rare show of diligence for him.
As expected, Warden Magru Trell was a man of his word.
Starting from dawn, the six prisons of Strasbourg began sending over groups of convicts, most of them young and physically strong, with men making up seventy percent of the arrivals.
The thirteen gangs of Lukavaro District also sent their people to report. What surprised Charlot was the number of young female gang members, many dressed as eccentric medieval tough girls—some in short outfits, others in maple leaf dresses, and even a few in men’s attire. Their varied and quirky appearances added an unexpected sight to the morning.
By the afternoon, Charlot’s forces had “swelled” to nearly three thousand men: about 1,200 from the prisons and the remaining 1,800 from the thirteen gangs.
Charlot promoted his “veteran subordinates,” including the adventurers he had roped in, and the patrol guards brought by Dubin Alger, to team leaders and deputy leaders. He broke up the convicts and gang members into squads of fifty, forming seventy to eighty combat squads—though many of the squads weren’t yet at full strength.
It was already dusk by the time the reorganization was complete.
Charlot ordered his hodgepodge force of patrol guards to form ranks, activating his Bloodflame Aura to exude a crimson glow and boost morale. He shouted, “I’m sure everyone is hungry by now. I’ll take you to have a good meal!”
In the Old Continent, local armies—especially city patrol guards—didn’t provide food as a benefit. Soldiers were expected to handle their own meals. After a long day of reporting, reorganizing, and squabbling, both the convicts and the gang members were tired and famished.
Hearing Charlot promise a “good meal,” everyone perked up with excitement and followed him out of No. 1 Falcon Street.
Charlot quietly called Mason and Homonsa over, instructing, “Take your squads and buy some food. Bring it to the Black Scorpion Gang’s headquarters.”
The two had no idea what Charlot was planning but followed his orders and took their men to purchase supplies.
It wasn’t long before some of the smarter members realized something was off. Charlot wasn’t leading them to Lukavaro District’s commercial zone but directly toward the headquarters of the Black Scorpion Gang.
Charlot was a level 34 fourth-grade chief clerk—an imperial noble of the lower echelons, an extraordinary being, and a commander who had recently achieved remarkable victories in battle. He was also the head overseer of Lukavaro District’s city patrol guards and held significant authority.
Even as some began to question what was happening, no one dared voice their doubts. The convicts didn’t care, and the gang members—being low-level enforcers—simply followed orders without question.
When Dubin Alger saw the Black Scorpion Gang’s headquarters in the distance, he grew anxious and approached Charlot to ask, “Boss, what are we doing here?”
Charlot didn’t answer. Instead, he pulled out his anti-space long-range rifle and shouted, “The thirteen gangs have formed an alliance. Why should we let those who didn’t join enjoy the benefits?”
“I now declare: we’re taking down the Black Scorpion Gang, and all their wealth will be shared among you!”
With a flourish, Charlot raised his extraordinary rifle, struck a pose, and fired. The shot shattered the Black Scorpion Gang’s main gate into smithereens.
Saint Karen Granny had not only granted Charlot the long-term use of the Silver Rhino but had also provided him with a crate of 120 anti-magic armor-piercing rounds. He no longer had to worry about running out of firepower.
The patrol guards Charlot had tricked into joining—including the adventurers—cheered at the prospect of looting and urged their squads to charge forward.
The convicts from the prisons didn’t care about the Black Scorpion Gang and surged ahead with enthusiasm.
Though the gang members from the thirteen allied gangs felt something was off, they were swept along and joined the assault on the Black Scorpion Gang’s headquarters.
...
The Black Scorpion Gang was one of the five largest gangs in Lukavaro District, boasting a force of 700 to 800 men. Though they lacked extraordinary beings, their leader, Black Scorpion, was a veteran mercenary with outstanding combat skills and extensive battle experience. He controlled several streets in Lukavaro District, and few dared challenge him.
When Dubin had come in the morning to request the gang’s cooperation, Black Scorpion hadn’t even deigned to meet him, instead rudely telling him to scram. With only a handful of men, Dubin didn’t dare start trouble on Black Scorpion’s turf and had left quietly.
Black Scorpion hadn’t given the matter another thought. As a local powerhouse, he knew exactly how lazy the Lukavaro District city patrol guards were—fewer than a third of them showed up for work regularly. Even if the patrol guards confronted his gang, Black Scorpion wasn’t afraid.
What he hadn’t anticipated was that Charlot would, within a single day, swell the patrol guard’s ranks to nearly 3,000 men.
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