Kingdom Bloodline

Chapter 5 Crazy Quaid

The abandoned house is not a house, but a place name in Yongxing City.

It is located in the Lower Town District 2, adjacent to the infamous Black Street, and its total area is roughly the size of a street.

Thales had heard from the older members of the Brotherhood that the abandoned house was supposedly built with funds from a king more than a hundred years ago, and that it was once home to the ordinary but bustling citizens of the kingdom's capital.

It once had a more respectable name, but no one remembers it anymore.

But at some point, this place became a place where gangs met and negotiated behind the scenes, and occasionally even fought each other.

So many years have passed, and the once bustling neighborhood has been transformed into deserted ruins, now only stone walls and bricks, by blood and the axe.

It is said that the abandoned house was once used as a secret dumping ground for corpses in Yongxing City, so much so that even today, children who grow up happily under the sunshine of the capital are warned in this way:

"If you don't behave, I'll send you to an abandoned house."

The abandoned house's reputation was second only to the notorious Black Street.

When the Black Street Brotherhood rose to power amidst the chaos and seized control of the downtown underworld, the abandoned house became their headquarters for managing the city's beggars.

To prevent the beggar from escaping, in addition to deploying thugs to monitor him, the Brotherhood dug a trench ten feet wide and fifteen feet deep around the abandoned house, filled with sharpened wooden stakes and rusty nails. Only a single iron gate with a large padlock was left on the front of the abandoned house.

It is said that every year, children yearning for freedom attempt to escape by crossing the deep ditch.

Rumor has it that after countless corpses and attempts, someone finally dug a secret passage in the deep trench and escaped—but Thales doesn't know if it's true or not, because no one has ever returned.

But in the five years that Thales spent there, no beggar found the legendary secret passage.

On the contrary, the number of bodies found in the deep trenches has been increasing every year as the Brotherhood's business has expanded.

As its name suggests, the abandoned stone houses are composed of long-abandoned stone houses. These abandoned stone houses are irregularly located behind the large stone gate. Some stone houses are adjacent to each other, while others are "separate". There are more than 20 houses in total, housing dozens of beggars, and sometimes even more than 100 people.

Lucky beggars were assigned stone houses with well water, while unlucky ones, like the sixth house where Thales lived, had to fetch water from other houses—and this usually came at a cost.

In fact, water and food often caused conflicts among beggars. For example, the water tank in the sixth house was obtained by Thales in the second year after he arrived at the abandoned house. He reached an agreement with the seventeenth house next door through various means to fetch water once a week.

Before that, they—at that time, Ned and Coria had not yet arrived, and there were only Cindy, Lane, Kelly, and two other beggars who had disappeared without a trace—even getting water was a problem.

What Thales and his group were hearing now was the shouting coming from the seventeenth room next door, coming from their "leader," Diego.

"Kara! No! Someone, anyone! We didn't come! It wasn't us..."

Thales still remembers the time he fought with the neighbor over water, and he smashed a rock on Diego's head. Diego's shouts back then were pretty much the same as they are now.

"not us!"

Tragic and terrifying.

So much so that most of the beggars in the sixth house didn't even realize what was happening.

But even the calmest Thales' first reaction was to follow the usual practice of beggars fighting in groups: to drive everyone in the Sixth House back to their hiding place in the rubble, keeping quiet and avoiding any involvement.

For a long time afterward, Thales regretted his decision.

Thales glanced at the inconspicuous stone slab in the corner, then tiptoed to the wall of Room 17.

He leaned against the wall, listening intently to a dog hole that connected House Seventeen and House Six—a symbol of the alliance between the children of the two houses back then—trying to figure out what was going on.

"What happened to Diego and the others? Did they get into another fight?" Ned asked curiously from inside the hole.

The beggars were far from being harmonious, and harmonious houses like the sixth house were not the majority in abandoned houses.

Aside from Quaid, many of the beggars' injuries and even deaths were, in fact, caused by the beggars themselves.

Children under ten years old are prone to mood swings and don't know their own strength when they do things. For example, one of Thales' two previous roommates before Ned and Coria arrived died in this way.

But House Seventeen was one of the few abandoned houses: Diego was a brown-skinned, small-eyed, blond-haired, carefree but strong-willed boy. At nine and a half years old, he seemed to have more leadership qualities than Sinti and Thales. At least the beggars in House Seventeen listened to him, which made the water battle between House Six and House Seventeen back then full of twists and turns.

“It must be Karak from the tenth house! He loves bullying the other houses!” Kelly said hurriedly, as if she had figured something out.

"We need to hurry and help! We already agreed with Diego!"

Upon hearing this, Lame Ryan tried to crawl out of the hole.

But before the moonlight could reach him, Ryan was shoved back by Thales.

"It's not Karak! It's something else!" Thales listened with a grave expression to the screams coming from next door.

The more I listened, the more alarmed I became.

With a dull thud, like a sandbag being thrown against a wall, but this time it was the cry of another child, Ensola.

"No, Diego!"

Thales remembered this eight-year-old boy; when they were fighting for water, Ensola stood firmly beside Diego with his lips tightly pursed.

When the two sides started fighting, he clung tightly to Sinti's leg, preventing him from getting close to Diego and Thales's fight. If Thales hadn't been quick-witted enough to pick up a rock, it's unknown whether the Sixth House would still have a regular water supply to this day.

"Something's not right!"

As the oldest child in the house, Sinti's confusion gradually turned into seriousness.

As the beggar who cooperated most happily and tacitly with Thales, Sinti was mostly silent, but whenever he spoke, it always carried great weight.

"Beg for mercy! Beg for mercy! Continue!"

A deep, yet frantic voice came from next door.

In that instant, the confusion and seriousness on the children's faces all turned into terror.

"I love hearing you bunch of brats beg for mercy!"

Every beggar in the abandoned house will never forget that voice; it was more terrifying to them than a demon from hell.

At least the devil wouldn't break the beggar's bones inch by inch, nor would he slash the beggar's face piece by piece, much less immerse the beggar head down in a water vat under the pretense of "quenching your thirst" (would the devil really not do that? At least the beggar doesn't know).

It's Quaid.

Quaid Rhoda, the beggar leader of the Black Street Brotherhood.

It is also a nightmare and a jinx for beggars.

"No! Boss Quaid! We were wrong! We, ahhh..."

"Let's see if you dare to curse me behind my back again! Let's see if you dare to spread rumors! Damn it! Red-haired woman! Damn it! Baldy! Damn it! Yas Liton! You all deserve to die!"

As Quaid continued his incoherent cursing, a series of banging sounds came from next door.

"Help! Help! Diego! Kara! Marita! Get up! Please save me!"

"Run! Run towards, uh..."

Upon hearing this, Thales instinctively tensed up, and his muscles began to tremble uncontrollably.

The abandoned house under the moonlight looked eerie and sinister at this moment.

"Oh my god! Where are the guards! Where is Mr. Rick! Oh my god! He's going to kill us, he's going to kill us all..."

"no, do not want!"

Heart-wrenching cries came from more than one person.

It took Thales a second to realize what Quaid was doing.

He turned his head sharply and looked at everyone in the sixth room.

Ned and Coria were trembling in the hole in the wall, and Ryan, who had just been about to rush out to help, was now frozen in fear.

Kelly and Sinty were in no better shape. Kelly's anxious and fearful gaze darted back and forth among them, wanting to speak but unable to utter a word, while Sinty was pale-faced and staring intently at Thales.

"Bang! Bang! Bang! Crack!"

“You damned scum! You even dare to laugh at me! Laugh at ‘Bloodaxe’ Quaid Rhoda! You even dare to…”

"Haha, go ahead and shout! Why aren't you shouting anymore? Shout!"

The air was filled with frantic roars and agonizing screams, accompanied by the shattering sound that no one wanted to dwell on.

Thales knew that at this very moment, panic had already spread throughout the sixth room.

He racked his brains, pondering his current situation.

Quaid is drunk again and is beating the beggar boy again.

No, judging from the situation next door, he's incredibly drunk tonight.

No, Quaid may be a jerk, but he wouldn't be crazy enough to kill all the beggars in the house at once...

By the way, where's Rick?

Where are the guards and patrolling thugs of the abandoned house?
What about the Brotherhood's defensive forces stationed in the abandoned house?

"Taylor, what, what do we do?" Hearing the tragedy next door, Sinti instinctively felt something was wrong.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on his pale face as he kept asking Thales questions.

"Calm down, everyone stay silent! We..." Thales frowned, racking his brains for a solution.

But before he could finish speaking, a small figure suddenly emerged from the dog hole between the sixth and seventeenth houses.

Kolia let out a low scream in fright.

Thales, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized the beggar Ensola, covered in blood, who had crawled over from next door.

Before Thales could help him up, Ensola struggled to his feet, staggered, and fell heavily to the ground again.

"Run! Escape! We have to..."

Ensola seemed to be on the verge of collapse, oblivious to the blood streaming down his face.

Thales and Sinti nervously helped him up, the screams and roars still ringing in their ears. Ensola seemed to have lost his mind, only muttering "Run!" with a horrified expression.

Thales slapped him, bringing him back to his senses. "What happened? Did you offend Quaid?"

Ensola's tears suddenly streamed down her face.

“Que, Quaid, he’s gone mad! He wants… we’re not the only ones, he, he wants them all… one room after another, he goes in and… he beats everyone he sees, he beats everyone he sees, until they die…”

Ensola was rambling incoherently, but enough for the beggars of the Sixth House to understand what was happening.

The six little faces turned deathly pale, and even Thales couldn't help but tremble slightly.

"I heard crying, so I went out to peek. Quaid was dragging Larry from the third room. Blood, blood, all blood... and then he saw me..."

"He grabbed Kara, Kara, and slammed her to the ground. Diego, Diego tried to stop him... Then he punched her several times, and Diego didn't move... And, and Marita, sob sob..."

Thales felt a chill run down his spine.

He wasn't unfamiliar with Quaid's beating tactics; in fact, his back was still throbbing.

But most of the time, Quaid is stopped by thugs who rush to the scene before someone is about to die—as for whether the beaten kids will suffer permanent injuries, nobody in the Brotherhood cares.

"The third house is finished, finished, and we... He was just attacking Midland, I don't know how many more are left..."

Before Ensola could finish speaking, crying and complaining, Thales covered her mouth!
Everyone's expression changed, and they subconsciously looked towards the next room.

They suddenly realized that, without them noticing, the crying and roaring from next door had disappeared.

The seventeenth room fell silent.

It was as if all the beggars had fallen into a deep sleep.

Only a rough breathing sound remained, still moving slowly.

Everyone knows what this means.

In the sixth room, almost all the children began to tremble.

In that instant, Thales turned his head sharply, trying to keep his voice down: "Listen, we need to hurry..."

"boom!"

With a loud bang, Thales instinctively pulled Ensor behind him.

The door to the sixth room was kicked open.

At the doorway, Quaid's unsteady figure slowly approached.

That fierce, grinning face was staring at the seven trembling children.

"Run, where did you run off to?"

Everyone in the sixth room was terrified, including Thales.

"Hmm, you, you look a little... familiar..."

Quaid looked at Thales at the front, staring at him blankly for a moment.

"I...I remember you!"

His facial expression kept changing, from bewilderment to realization, then to ferocity, and finally to a fierce and hateful clenching of his teeth.

"Ah, you're that kid, the one who got caught by that bald guy..."

"It was you! It was you who spoke up! Because I beat you up, didn't I!"

"It must be you..."

"definitely is!"

At that moment, Thales felt a chill run through him.

----

Rick carefully drove the carriage along the road.

He forced himself to calm down and felt the warmth on the back of his neck.

Fortunately, everything is normal.

The ghost did not appear.

He's probably having a headache over Quaid.

The large building housing the Black Street Brotherhood headquarters was gradually approaching.

Rick breathed a sigh of relief.

"Accountant?"

A familiar voice came.

In the torchlight, Leyok's face appeared in the distance ahead.

The fraternity assassin greeted Rick with a strange look on his face:

"What, it's you? This is a business that involves knives! With your accounting hands, you want to get involved?"

Rick paused for a moment.

But as the carriage moved forward, he saw that the front of the main building was filled with flickering torches.

They were figures standing quietly, each with a black cloth representing the Brotherhood bound to their body.

There are at least several hundred people.

Rick suddenly realized that almost all of the Black Street headquarters' personnel were here.

By the moonlight, he saw his superior, the obese Morris, who was also the big boss of the population business in Yongxing City, discussing something with several other figures of different shapes and sizes—a blond giant who was over two meters tall, a mysterious figure in a dark red robe, and a fat and honest-looking fellow.

Rick was startled.

He recognized it.

Those were some of the other big shots in the association.

There were even a few big bosses who didn't usually live in Yongxing City.

After getting off the carriage, Rick walked straight toward Lyok, past rows of heavily armed thugs in black cloth, wielding axes, daggers, and studded clubs.

"Leyok, nice to meet you... never mind, enough with the small talk, what's up tonight?"

Rick dislikes Leyok, just as Leyok dislikes Rick. They only meet often because of work, and they both have an unspoken understanding about this.

But the person here who knows the most inside information and can be asked the fastest is Leyok.

"Didn't the boss tell you?"

Leyok glanced at him and curled his lip in disdain.

"The usual rule: when facing the Blood Vial Gang, you can use any weapon except for magic guns and infantry crossbows..."

The assassin, known for his efficiency and ruthlessness, adjusted the curved sword at his waist, seemingly sensing the sharpness within its sheath.

Rick was startled:
Blood Bottle Gang?

The assassin took a deep breath and licked his lips with a grin.

"Tonight, we're taking Red Town Street!"

----

"Still no news from Yodl?"

Before the fireplace, a middle-aged nobleman with gray hair asked a solemn question, with an ornate chair in front of him.

"Patience, my friend."

"We've waited twelve years, so it doesn't matter if we wait a little longer."

The robust figure rose from the chair and grabbed a scepter inlaid with a bright blue crystal.

Upon closer inspection, the crystal on the scepter was slowly but rhythmically shimmering with starlight.

"Our pointless speculation will only lead to doubts about the abilities of the Yordles."

“He’s carrying the flame of that lamp, isn’t he? I believe he’ll find it,” the robust figure said slowly.

His eyes reflected the firelight:

"He will succeed too."

The middle-aged nobleman bowed deeply.

“I don’t doubt Yodl’s abilities, it’s just that,” he paused, then sighed:
“Yordal is calm and ruthless, and his loyalty to you is unwavering, but what worries me is that he cares nothing for anything else, just like he did twelve years ago…”

The middle-aged nobleman did not continue speaking, nor did the robust figure immediately reply.

The robust figure carried the scepter to the French windows, gazing at the brightly lit and magnificent temple outside.

Even the moonlight cannot rival such brilliance.

"Then go and prepare. Head to the temple in secret immediately... Set off as soon as you have news, without waiting for the Yordle's report."

The robust figure spoke slowly:

"I have no reason to doubt Yodl."

"However, it's always good to have a backup plan."

(End of this chapter)