In the past, the commoners had a very stable lifestyle, but everything went downhill after the queen's indefinite seclusion, abandoning oversight of kingdom affairs. The remaining nobles were fearful of the queen and did not act out of line at first. But over time, her presence weakened with her long absence and the courage of nobles grew.
The reason the nobles had willingly relinquish their territories and allow the centralization of the kingdom to carry out so smoothly was because to them, feudal power was not a tangible compared to the existence of awakening. It was considered an external force that was reliant on the obedience and loyalty of others. Only their own personal strength was genuine. In order to enhance that strength, a large amount of wealth was required.
Although nobles had profitable businesses that provided them with the wealth to afford awakening pills, it was never enough to satisfy their insatiable greed. They started eyeing the wealth of commoners. They did not dare to act openly and only plotted behind the scenes. The birth of gangs was the result of their money-making scheme.
When the other nobles noticed the immense wealth being raked in, the temptation it brought outweighed their apprehension. When other nobles start joining, more and more are tempted to join, and the original big pie was divided into smaller and smaller slices among the nobles. To increase the profits, the gangs were driven to come up with newer methods to exploit the commoners and it eventually spiraled out of control with all sorts of crimes and evil being committed.
When the funds enter the upper district, they do not circulate back into the lower district and the economy of the lower district was severely affected. The poor becomes poorer, while the rich became stronger. In the end, the one who profited the most were the alchemist who refines the awakening pills.
The Fortune Soaring Hall was one of the gambling dens under control of the previous Black Snake gang. Not many knew that the gang had recently been renamed as Golden Lion gang. The building had three floors with only the first floor was fully open to the public. The second floor was reserved for VIPs and the top floor was only accessible by gang members.
Although business at the Fortune Soaring Hall was no longer thriving like it once was, it was still profitable. But today, business was halted after the Red Salamander gang occupied the first floor and chased away all the unrelated people. All the Golden Lion gang members were rounded up into one corner, bruised and battered.
"Don't be stubborn, Beckett! The Black Snake is finished! You can retain your position in the Fortune Soaring Hall if you swear your loyalty to the Red Salamander!" A core member of the Golden Lion gang shouted.
Beckett gritted his teeth, while wiping the blood dripping from the corner of his mouth and stared daggers at the person he once called brother. He replied with only one question, "Why did you betray your brothers and joined the enemy?"
"Betray?" The person shook his head. "This does not count as betrayal. I have always been part of the Red Salamander gang."
"So, you have been a spy right from the start! Had our brotherhood always been a joke to you!?" Beckett raged.
"You're wrong! While our allegiance had always differed from one another, the brotherhood we shared during my time in the gang was genuine. That's why I am giving you the choice to join us. Your position remains unchanged, only your boss will change. Why must you stubbornly reject my offer and embrace death? You will die if you don't us! That goes for all of you!" The person roared at Beckett and the gang members behind him.
"Genuine? What a joke! If I knew you were a spy, I would have never called you my brother! The boss will avenge me, should I fall today!"
"Y-You stu-"
"That's enough, Calvert. His choice has been made firm and resolutely." The Red Salamander gang's boss, Alroy, interrupted.
"This…sigh…yes, boss." Calvert retreated behind the boss. His words had no effect on Beckett, and he had used up his time convincing. The boss must've ran out of patience.
"Still… I'm quite curious… your boss is just a kid who is still wet behind the ears without any backing. The only backing your gang had, was already offended and chased away by that kid. What does the kid have that made you willing to die for him than betray him?" Alroy was intrigued by Beckett's resolution. In their line of business, there is a heavy emphasis on loyalty. But when push comes to shove, loyalty meant nothing in the face of life and death.
Towards Alroy's curiosity, Beckett sneered. "All I can say is you are too naïve if you think my boss has no backing when he possess great strength at his age and have no fear of those unscrupulous noble families. I can see that the boss is a person who abhor evil and leans towards the side of righteousness. It is better to die proudly under such a boss than to live slightly longer only to die a dog's death under his hand."
Beckett was all too clear on the outcome of his choices. All the core members were experienced fighters. He could tell that Leon was inexperienced at fighting back in the nightclub, but his great strength and speed made up for his lack of experience. Besides, Leon was also still young, and his potential was limitless.
"Hmph! You think that kid can kill all of us here?" Alroy felt rising anger for being looked down upon. At most the kid should be at the 3rd step like him. However, He had over a dozen years of battle experience and was obviously the stronger one. The kid would be defeated easily before anyone could be killed.
"…" Beckett gave him a look of disdain. He did not reply with words, but his answer was clear.
"Since none of you are willing to join my gang than you can all die!" Alroy roared with raised hand as a fireball appeared above his palm and grew larger at a visible rate. He was a rare fire user that did not belong to any of the noble families of fire. With his red hair and ability, he was known as the Red Salamander for a reason.
"Wait!!!" Most members closed their eyes to welcome death, but some were unwilling to resign to the death and scrambled to the front. "We are willing to join your gang, boss!"
"It's too late to join now!" Alroy did not care for these few men. Although he lacked subordinates to manage the West Lower District once they taken control over it, he did not need useless and irresolute men who only decide when death stares them in the face.
"AHHH!!!" When Alroy was about to release his giant fireball and burn the whole lot to death, a painful scream came from behind him. Turning around in alarm, he saw a person in black standing near the front entrance with an arm in each of his hands.
"My arms!!!!" The subordinate wailed painfully on the ground after having his arms suddenly ripped from his body.
"Who are you?!" Alroy focused his sole attention on the person with his guard up. As for his subordinate on the ground, he did not care. A crippled person was a useless person. He did not need the subordinate since he had became useless. He was a ruthless leader. He did not care for any past sentiments they may have shared either.
"You came to my territory to cause trouble and yet you ask who I am!?"
"Boss!" Beckett eyes lit up. He could not see his face, but he recognized his voice. He was excited that the boss had arrived on time to save them.
Actually, Leon had arrived earlier from the second-floor windows and overheard the latter half of their conversation from a blind spot. He wanted to see his men's loyalty and who was prone to betray him. He would rather have a small group of powerful and loyal elites than raise a large group of riff-raffs mixed in his gang. He could have arrived sooner, but he had gotten lost earlier due to his unfamiliarity with the area.
"So, you are the new kid boss around here." Alroy smirked and loosen his guard, when the identity of the other party had been determined.
The remaining 19 core members retreated to sides in fear after witnessing Leon's brutality, clearing a path between the two bosses. The armless subordinate's heart turned cold, when he saw his boss's attitude and his brothers worrying about themselves and abandoning him.
The 20 core members present was only a third of Alroy's total core members. The rest had stayed behind to guard their territory in the North Lower District against the White Ferret gang in the East Lower District.
Leon was an abnormality that had disrupted the balance that existed between the previous four gangs and initiated a fierce power struggle.
The Golden Lion gang was connected to the Red Salamander's territory in the north and the Azure Wolf's territory in the south. Only the White Ferret gang was not connected to the Golden Lion gang.
The White Ferret gang would take the opportunity to attack one of their two gangs, if they maneuvered a majority their men to take over the Golden Lion gang's territory. Alroy was aware of that possibility and made contingency for it.
Leon was displeased when he was called a kid and stomped down on the wailing subordinate's head, Splattering grey matter and blood everywhere.
"Bastard!" Alroy raged and fired the giant fireball at Leon. Although he did not care for the subordinate's life, the subordinate was after all, an official member of his gang, Leon's action was no different to not putting him in his eyes and slapping his face.