Chapter 73: Hostile Takeover

The streets of Ocra hardly changed – beautiful crafted arctech signs of the various brothels lined the walls of luxurious buildings, enticing tourists from Raktor to visit. The sex workers stood on the side of the pavement, luring potential clients who were stumbling out of one of the many pubs nearby.

Ocra flourished as a trade hub for smuggling, but also as a way for citizens of the Yual Dominion to escape the prohibition bans. Vices flourished in the town here, serving as a hotspot for every ‘sin’ the average citizen could dream of.

It did not compare to the scale of Raktor, but it held its own – though at the expense of its people. Just outside the glitz and glamour, countless squatters and slum dwellers begged, robbed and stole in a never-ending cycle of revenge, prestige and hope: hope that one day they might escape this vicious loop.

Underneath the campaign posters of the local mayor promising prosperity, starving children scuffled with one another over the leftover food thrown out by the high-rollers of the casinos, the sounds of laughter masking the dull thuds of skull against stone.

The casino was a hive of activity – hundreds of tourists from nearby came to strike it lucky at one of the card or dice games. A heavily tattooed Versian sauntered into the casino with a Raktor citizen in tow. “Trust me; this is the best casino in town.” The Versian smiled genially as he patted the back of his acquaintance

“Hmm, I find that hard to believe. The last two casinos I’ve been to have ripped me off.”

“That was because you did not have a Versian guiding you, like me! Come on, at least try a few games, for my sake. When have I ever let you down? Hmm?”

“About three months ago, when the shipment was late.”

“And it was only late by one hour! Come on, I already waived the transport fee for that one time.”

“... Fine.” The Raktor citizen begrudgingly agreed, sitting down at a poker table.

“Haha, I promise you won’t regret it.” Masir grinned, taking a seat next to him, nodding at the dealer.

The poker game went fast, with the Raktor citizen unwilling to commit to any hand, folding at the first sign of a push. Masir continued joking with the rest of the players at the table, scratching his chin with his pinky, evidently aimed at the dealer.

The Raktor citizen soon took his dealt two hands, his eyes slightly twitching as he peeked at the cards. “Call.”

Masir smirked as he checked his cards. “Oh? We’re playing now, are we? I think I have a good hand myself. Raise to 500.”

“Call.”

Masir was shocked by the steadfastness of the Raktor citizen, who slightly grinned in response, the face of a man who clearly has a good hand.

As the dealer dealt the next three cards onto the centre of the table, the Raktor citizen’s face was stoic, a true poker face. Masir, on the other hand, continued playing with the pot reaching nearly five thousand rakels, eventually losing to the Raktor citizen, who was dealt a pocket pair of aces. “What kind of luck is that?!” Masir exclaimed in shock.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

“Pay up, Masir. Your own fault for bringing me into this casino!”

“Fine, fine. Shit, I should have led you back to the other two casinos!” Masir sighed as the dealer shoved the chips over to the side of the Raktor citizen.

“Don’t even bother, this casino is my new hangout now!”

“Alright, you wiped me. I got to go grab more chips from the front.” Masir took his leave from the table, scratching his nose with three fingers and pulling back his oily fringe by dragging a pinky across his forehead.

The dealer did not give a reaction, only showing a sign of recognition through the eyes for a brief moment. Hook, line and sinker. Masir grinned as he walked past the bodyguards, who all bowed slightly towards him. Reaching the chip counter, he was immediately handed a Euria Seed pipe and a bag of poker chips.

“Never mind the chips, I’m not playing any longer,” Masir grunted as he lit the pipe. “Make sure he only makes a five per cent profit overall over the next five days. Give him the full VIP treatment. Allow him to leverage using his assets. On the day he leaves for Raktor, wipe him out. He’ll come begging to me soon enough.”

Just like that, casinos hooked in businessmen and middle-class earners from Raktor to spend their hard-earned rakels. The scam was made even more believable when the boss of the entire place lost in a game – who would dare to claim the casino was rigged then?

Masir left the casino, heading to a wagon stop just right outside, where a dozen kids were cleaning the wagons and listening in on the rumours of those they transported. One kid ran up to Masir, bowing deeply. “Sir Masir, there’s been word from the inn.”

“What? Is he refusing to pay his protection fee again?”

“No, he says Makoa is back!”

“Makoa?! I thought the bastard was arrested by the enforcers.”

“Whatever happens doesn’t matter – as long as you kill him,” Makoa muttered through pained sharp breathing. “And if you don’t? Then consider it my present to you.”

“Kill him? Why would I kill a kidnapped person who can be ranso-“

A loud bang erupted from the basement of the warehouse, with a screaming Ocra gang member being tossed out of the stairwell, slamming into a crate before crumpling into an unconscious mess of ore and contraband goods.

“Shit!” Kola was already prepared for this, pulling out an arctech cleaver and motioning for a few men to follow him towards the stairwell. However, before they could take even a few steps, the target stepped out the stairwell, his hands bloodied as he dragged two struggling Ocra gang members by the neck.

With a simple clench of both his hands, he cracked the necks and crushed the windpipes of both of them, before hurtling them towards Kola with an alarming speed.

[System Message]

Killed [Ocra Thug], +50 EXP

Huh, low exp. Might be more useful alive then. Kyle took advantage of the surprise on the gang members assembled, rushing in and immediately grappling Kola to the ground and disarming him, taking the arctech cleaver for himself.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE]

Item

[Vibration Cleaver (Basic)]

Frequencies to slice the world

Active Skill: Vibration (Basic) – Vibrates the blade slightly at a high frequency to improve penetrating power and pain

Cost: 1 MP per minute

Cooldown: Instant

“Who the fuck are you?!” Masir yelled from the top of the crates, grabbing Makoa’s neck and placing the knife against it. “Stop right there or else he dies! Don’t think I don’t know this was a trap set up by the both of you!”

“You can kill him for all I care. As for who am I? I’m your new owner.”