Three days later...
There was whisper in the streets among the gangs of all three groups about the probability of something happening the next day. The day when a high profile auction for the Holger estate would be held.
No one could truly place their finger on what this 'Something' was but there was an alertness all round.
The Plebeians were particularly frustrated. As much as they had endeavoured to keep things under wraps, a rumor still spread. A rumor they were very convinced they had nothing to do with.
San could sense he was being screwed with but he had no idea who it was, but at least he had still been able to curb the rumors to an extent.
Meanwhile the bottom-feeder gangs i.e the third group that were not affiliated with any influential family (Not by choice) were frustrated with been kept out of the loop but could do nothing about it. At least they convinced themselves of such so as to not suffer certain consequences for stepping out of bounds.
However just the day before, all Five of the bottom-feeder gangs received news of a Plebeian family interested in becoming their sponsor.
At first when they received the news and each gang discovered that other gangs received the same news, everyone was ready for a battle to prove who was best, however there was none of them stupid enough to not even honor this good news that could be a way out of their bottom-feeding status.
And so they all gathered at the point this Mysterious benefactor had called them to.
It was a large clearing a little away from the city, large enough to accommodate the total number of all gangs. Each of the 5 gangs had about 200 members each and they brought them all so as to not be in a disadvantage in case of a battle they were all convinced would break out.
As all gang leaders looked to each other, there was clear hostility in the air.
"Hey there Scarface. I'm surprised you showed your ugly muck of a face here" said a gruff voice
A man whose face was deeply scarred and was aptly named turned towards the gruff voiced man "If anyone shouldn't be here, it's you Rickety"
Rickety sneered and as though the quick exchange of insults was a trigger. all those present began a battle of words.
It was so loud that even from their distance from the city, their voices would still reach it.
Suddenly, two figures walked out of the darkness into the clearing where the bright silver moon allowed for their profiles to be seen clearly. One man and one woman.
The man was young, about 17 to 18 years of age, with shoulder length deep black hair and an immaculate face of such beauty it would make any man jealous. His sapphire blue eyes were bright and seemed to glow subtly. The smile on his face along with his steady and perfect gait made him seem a confident predator.
The woman was young as well and of apparently the same as the young man. She had Back length dark hair and dark eyes. And was a total smoke show. Her face was beautiful, her curves perfect and even with the slight frown on her face, She made the hearts of the men in the gangs pound faster and the women sneer with jealousy.
The way she looked at them caused them to shiver with a mixture of dread and arousal.
Naturally, the young man was Hal and the Young lady was Marla who had only just got out of seclusion that day.
The two walked made a beeline for the gathered gang members as though it was the most natural thing to do.
The gang Leaders and their members were caught by surprise, why would this pretty boy and girl come to a gang gathering.
Their surprise was such that, until the duo were directly in front of them, they made no moves and said nothing.
"Ahh, this is nice. The night breeze feels so good. I'm glad you all accepted my invitation"
"Your invitation?" Asked the only female gang leader of the bunch
"Yes, Fair lady. MY invitation" Hal was not complimenting her. She was called Fair lady and to be fair (Pun intended), despite her role as a gang leader, her skin was quite fair.
"My gods. You little brat called us here" said Rickety
Despite been called a brat, Hal's smile reminded ever present.
Marla on the other hand looked at Rickety with narrowed eyes that sent shivers down the man's spine.
"Marla dear. Stop intimidating the poor man" Hal chuckled
"Fine" Marla said however her frown remained.
Hal had no intention of getting her into a fight, this was just to give her a demonstration on his principle; 'Let yourself be underestimated and then display dominance'. She only needed to sit back and watch the show.
"Hey brat, who are you to call us here" said Scarface
"Yeah. Are we to listen to you 'cause you're some silk pants young master" Rickety added
Hal chuckled lightly "I'm flattered you think so but I am not a Young master. I am only here to offer you an opportunity of a life time"
"What opportunity?" Asked the fair lady in a curious tone
"Is gold involved?" Rickety asked, now intrigued
"No It is not" Hal said with a smile
The gangs all looked at Hal as though he had a screw loose, and even without any conversation they all began to retreat.
This whole situation made no sense and there no longer seemed a reason to stay but just when they made to move a dome of Astral Energy enveloped the clearing.
Instantly feeling as though things were not going their way, there was a combined attempt to break out the Astral dome. Alas as they were mostly at the Energy sensing realm with a few (less than two hundred of the thousand) at the Early and mid stages of the cosmic pearl realm, their attempts had no impact on a Rank 3 Astral dome.
The Five gang leaders were all at the Peak stage of the Cosmic pearl realm and while formidable enough to lead their gangs, they fell short in face of the dome as well.
So as one they turned their attention to the source, once he went down, so will the dome, however they remained cautious after all he could be a secret powerhouse with strong cultivation base
"Wait a minute. That's Hal Payne" said a voice among the gangs and Hal turned his attention towards the voice
"Yes, he killed our former leader" said another who stood beside him
"Oh! You guys are part of the black vine gang right?" Hal said with mild surprise as he looked at the remnant of the gang that once attempted to assassinate him.
The duo simply sneered. Hal was very much aware that the other members of the gang were among the mix. It was how this five gangs had amassed this much members all in the hope of bolstering their forces. They merged no further because neither of the five gang leaders were ready to give up command.
So of course...
They still fell short.
The gangs in the second group usually had more than five hundred members. Worthy of being called a force.
This number was still not that surprising, after all how could a city with over 100 million denizens not have street gangs with such fearsome numbers.
Yes, you read right. The population of Salmon city exceeded 100 million. Most of this were commoners and those barely better off than commoners. Such members meant nothing in this world as power was most important. A million mortals with no or abysmal amount of cultivation can not put a dent in the skin of a Cosmic pearl realm cultivator not to mention those even higher.
In this world, Strength came first.
"Let's gut this Fucker! How dare he trap us in here?" Snarled scarface and as one all five leaders went after Hal
At this point, Hal's 'jovial' smile turned into a sneer and his eyes turned black as a mass of Terrifying Devil Energy exploded out of him.
At once all attacks stopped as everyone on the scene, except Marla, clutched their chest at the suffocating pressure
"I told you I had an opportunity of a lifetime for you" Hal began slowly as the pressure intensified and forced all except the five to their knees
Marla's eyes widened at this display of dominance and for the first time since she came to the clearing, she smiled lightly
Meanwhile Hal continued...
"The least you could do was listen to me but you turned your back on me instead. How rude. What gave you the balls to do so? KNEEL!!"
The sound did not just boom in their ear, it resonated in their whole body...
*THUD*
They all knelt and bowed, including the struggling Five.
"Please don't kill us" all thousand of them chorused without an ounce of defiance left in them.
They were done.
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