Chapter 9: Red Lion

“SEVEN SNAKES! COME OUT!” A man clad in reddish armour bellowed outside the base of the Seven Snakes, attracting the attention of many passers-by. He was flanked by a dozen lightly armoured individuals as well, all bearing the insignia of the Red Lions.

Many of the onlookers gathered far away, watching intently. It’s only been less than half a day since the battle in the alleyway, but the word of Kyle’s prowess and his taking over the gang had already spread through the district. It was no surprise that the Red Lions would come to harass the Seven Snakes after such a harrowing defeat, where a dozen Red Lion members were captured.

“COME OUT NOW! TOO SCARED TO DEFEND YOUR OWN TURF?” The man continued yelling loudly.

The entrance to the base suddenly swung open, revealing an obviously disgruntled Kyle who had just woken up, his eyes slightly sleepy. “Who are you?” Kyle asked.

The man was stumped for only a brief moment before cackling loudly. Every movement of his seemed to be geared towards showmanship, showing off his equipment and his dominance over the ordinarily dressed Kyle. Kyle simply squinted his eyes. He’s putting on a performance for reputation and rumours, it seems.

“Don’t you know? I am the great Wrent, Left Paw of the Red Lion! It seems you’ve been taking good care of my boys.”

“And?”

“And?” Wrent’s eyebrows twitched slightly before he resumed his haughty attitude. “I believe you are keeping them as prisoners and would like to have them back. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to cause an incident here on this fine day, don’t you...?”

“How much?”

“What?”

“How much would it cost in rakels to buy your members?”

Wrent’s expression darkened. “Are you implying that we, the honourable Red Lion, would ever be willing to sell our –“ A dark yellow potion sailed through the air, with Wrent stumbling to catch it.

Just as he was about to berate Kyle for tossing random objects at him, he took another look at the dark yellow potion, staring intently. “This... this is a Stamina Recovery Potion!”

“There’s more where that came from. How many would suffice?”

Wrent coughed slightly, his eyes darting around. “Perhaps it would be best if we discuss this inside, away from prying eyes.”

Only the two of them entered the office, with Damian standing guard outside.

“I did not expect Ulon to fall so fast,” Wrent remarked as he glanced around the office, seeing most of the usual ornaments that Ulon loved to flaunt missing. “Did you come from another gang? I don’t recall seeing anyone like you.”

“No, I have been in the gang for a while now. I just felt I could do better.” Kyle replied, his back exposed to Wrent, who eyed him like a predator.

“Are you not afraid I would kill you right here?” Wrent smirked, his right hand rubbing the pommel of a ruby-engraved sword slightly with a wide grin.

“You can try if you want. I’m sure it will do wonders for your reputation,” Kyle replied apathetically, not in the least afraid of Wrent.

The sheer confidence exuded by Kyle slightly frightened Wrent, causing him to be a lot more cautious and wary. This man is not the same as Ulon. Perhaps the slow method might not work on him. I’ll have to fleece him as much as I can. There’s no way the debt Ulon racked up is gone within less than a week. I know they still owe a million to the Crimson Swords.

Wrent ran his hands over the holster of the guest chair before removing his sword belt and sitting down. “Perhaps your death does not affect my reputation as much as you think. No one knows that you’re the new leader yet.”

“Enough posturing. We’re both businessmen here. Let’s get to the point. So, how many?” Kyle began.

He has a smart head on his shoulder, and he immediately knew from the start that I didn’t care about the prisoners. A dumber gang leader would have refused based on pride. If we weren’t enemies, I would have recruited him straight away. Wrent was never worried about the prisoners. Kyle could kill them for all he cared, as long as he got ‘compensation’. The Red Lions were a business, not a group based on friendship.

Wrent still found interest in how Kyle was getting so many potions. He had heard the reports of the brothel giving potions to their loyal customers, which prompted him to send a dozen members in the first place. Of course, he planned to use his weight to pressure Kyle into giving more potions than it was reasonable. The Red Lions could then easily sell it off in a heartbeat or use it in their own training.

“You’re not getting these potions from Haui’s, are you?” Wrent tried to pry deeper.

“That’s a trade secret. How many?”

Wrent remained silent for a moment, calculating in his head. A ridiculous amount and cost should suffice. If he rejects, it will tank his reputation, and I will increase the rate of harassment whether or not he releases the prisoners. If he accepts, the gang will be financially ruined, and it would be an easy win.

“Five hundred Stamina Recovery Potions.” Wrent declared. Based on Haui’s pricing scheme, it was close to three hundred thousand rakels worth of potions. With Seven Snakes in debt, it was nearly impossible for them to even have that much in stock.

“Done. You’ll have your full stock in ten days. Let me draft a contract.” Kyle retrieved a placeholder contract, filling in the details before handing it over to Wrent for inspection.

Wait, that easily? The potions are worth three hundred thousand! Is he stealing them from an alchemist I’ve never heard of?

Wrent was still stunned when he read the contract. He checked over the clauses carefully, noting that everything was in order. “A non-aggression pact over the course of the contract...” This meant the Red Lion could not attack the Seven Snakes if they adhered to the terms of the contract. Are my Red Lions’ members really that valuable to him? What is he using them for?

As much as they were criminal gangs profiteering from illegal goods, contracts between gangs had to be adhered to. It was an issue of reputation – any gang who easily broke any sort of truce or ceasefire would immediately lose the trust of both the people and other gangs, leading them to be isolated. Even merchants would not dare to trade with them unless coerced by force.

Three hundred thousand rakels worth of potions was an eye-watering sum to Wrent. “I accept.” Wrent signed the contract readily. The non-aggression pact is but a façade – the war happens through the businesses and market. If he is as smart as I think he is, I’ll need to improve the plan much faster.

“Good, send five people to collect fifty potions each day at dusk at this meeting point. Pleasure doing business with you.” Kyle led Wrent out.

When Wrent came back out, he let out a hearty laugh, attracting the onlookers who were curious about the resolution. “Seems like you got a good head on your shoulders, Seven Snakes. Smart of you to appease us so readily. Let’s return!” He ordered his men to march back to their district.

A showman through and through. Kyle returned inside, with Damian worried. “Sir, what was the agreement? Did we go into more debt?”

“A ten-day truce, along with five hundred potions in total. Fifty to be delivered a day.”

Damian was equally stunned, but not for the same reasons as Wrent was. “What? That’s it? We churn out two hundred a day, even while training!”

“It’s their loss. This gives us time to prepare, though we will have to shore up our finances. We’ll begin the combat training immediately, we’re on a timer now. For the potions, make sure the first three deliveries are not Euria-infused. We will only infuse them from the fourth day onwards and in a random fashion. Don’t want their alchemist spotting too much.”

For the entire morning, Kyle acted as an instructor, teaching the associates fighting skills. He used the prisoners as dummies, sending in the associates one by one to beat them up while continuously healing them. While an associate was beating up a prisoner, the rest were divided into sparring pairs. Kyle focused on sparring with Damian, drilling into him the essentials of fighting.

[Healer (Basic)] [Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)]

[STATS]

Race Human Class ??? STR 48(+22)(+0) DEX 42(+16)(+0) INT 54(+25)(+3) VIT 33(+0)(+3) CHA 21(+10)(+1) Free Points 40 [EQUIPMENT]

[Necklace of Healing (Basic)]

+3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) – Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.

[SKILLS] NONE [TITLES] [Former Crime Lord]

A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh?

+10 INT, +10 CHA

[Martial Arts Training]

The best things between you and death are your fists

+10 STR, +10 DEX

[Murderer]

Everyone has to start somewhere

+2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans

[Usurper (Basic)]

So, climbing the ranks huh?

+5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority

[Potion Inspector (Basic)]

Ah, you seem to be looking for something very specific.

+5 INT, Increased description of potions examined.

[Potion Crafter (Basic)]

Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition.

+5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials

[Healer (Basic)]

This doesn’t seem like the right way to use healing...

+5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness

[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)]

With great power comes great muscular bodies.

+5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness