Imperial Crown.

Chapter 154 The Riots Subsided
The three gang leaders who left the Chamber of Commerce all looked unhappy.

If Mantheni was still putting on a show, then Weber and Honduras were truly worried about the future of their respective gangs.

They could all see that Raven was using an overt conspiracy, a blatant one.

There are three major gangs, but only two spots for the security forces.

This is not only an opportunity to clear one's name, but also the only chance for survival!
Although the downtown area is large, there are only so many underground industries.

Previously, the three companies had checked and balanced each other, and no one dared to take fatal action for fear of being taken advantage of by the other party.

But once they become the security forces, the two families that have whitewashed their identities can work together seamlessly to uproot the remaining family and share the profits.

They may even regard their former peers as the source of their achievements.

This conspiracy is not impossible to crack - as long as the three parties do not accept it, Raven can only watch helplessly.

But do the three companies have this tacit understanding?
Impossible!

If you could really control this greed, you wouldn't become a gangster!
After returning to their respective nests, the three leaders took action.

Bloody Harpoon had the longest history and the richest treasury. After Weber returned, he immediately took out 12,000 gold coins, a box of magic crystals, and one third-level magic core and more than 50 second-level magic cores that he had accumulated, with a total value of about 18,000 gold coins.

Just when he was about to send someone to deliver the things, Mansene suddenly came to visit, and the two had a close conversation, the core of which was two points:
First, Baron Raven emphasized the current chaotic public security in Mon'en City from the beginning. If they wanted to show their sincerity, they would not only need money, but also need them to contribute in this regard.

Second, although the Silver Hand Brotherhood has some business in the port area, its roots are in the old city; the two sides have had conflicts in the past, but they were not large-scale. This time they can unite and squeeze Honduras out. Otherwise, given Honduras's unscrupulous style and vindictive temper, if he takes over, both families will have a hard time.

The two sides reached agreement on these two points.

In the afternoon, after collecting gifts totaling 8,000 gold coins, Honduras also thought of the idea of ​​uniting.

He has been eyeing the port area for a long time, and among the three, the Silver Hand Brotherhood is currently the weakest.

So after careful consideration, Honduras released Mantheni's father, "Silver Hand" Mott, as a token of goodwill, hoping to cooperate with the Silver Hand Brotherhood to jointly drive out the oldest Bloody Harpoon.

Mott immediately agreed, and Mantheni also expressed his willingness to cooperate with Honduras. The two sides had a very pleasant conversation.

That night, riots broke out again in Mon'en City, but this time they were no longer targeting civilians, but those unruly second- and third-rate gangsters!

The three major gangs showed their fangs.

In order to gain Raven's trust, these gangsters cut off the left ears of the victims. In just one night, more than a dozen boxes of ears were delivered to Raven, and each box contained hundreds of ears.

The next day, the sky was covered with dark clouds and the lower town was filled with the smell of blood.

After a brutal night, second- and third-rate gangs also reacted. When communication failed, they united together in an attempt to fight back against the three major gangs.

However, the hastily assembled mob was no match for the tightly organized large-scale gangs. In just one day, more than half of the hundreds of second- and third-rate gangs in Mon'en City lost their leaders and either fled in all directions or were swallowed up by the three major gangs.

The momentum did not stop, and the three major gangs continued to take action that night.

The Silver Hand Brotherhood joined forces with the Broken Tooth War Gang and headed towards the port area together.

While fighting against the Bloody Harpoon force, the Silver Hand Brotherhood suddenly turned the tables and began to work together with the Bloody Harpoon to target the Broken Tooth Warband.

This act of betrayal was too sudden. Even though the Broken Tooth War Gang displayed powerful fighting capabilities, they were still defeated and suffered heavy casualties.

According to the participants, the three major gangs together had thousands of members, and the brutality of the fighting was no less than any war.

The weapons used by the three parties included but were not limited to crossbows, catapults, kerosene tanks, harpoon cannons, and so on.

There were so many corpses that the Monn River turned red and an entire city block was turned into ruins.

From night to early morning, Honduras fought and retreated under the protection of its confidants.

He lost the battle, but he hasn’t lost the “war” yet!
He still has one last chance, which is to cling to Raven's thigh and swear allegiance completely!

"Damn it, in the end I had to rely on a young man to save me!" Honduras spat out a mouthful of blood foam and cursed in a low voice.

But it doesn’t matter, he was promoted to the second level by betraying his employer.

Now let Raven temporarily protect him. As long as he can catch his breath for a while, recover his strength, and even reach the third level, he can naturally hold on to a stronger thigh and step on Raven under his feet!
Although it was already morning, the sky was still filled with dark clouds, making it feel depressing.

Honduras smeared blood on his face, made a mournful expression, and staggered towards the Chamber of Commerce headquarters building.

This was half a show.

But he had only taken two steps when he heard heavy footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw that the Bloody Harpoon and the Brotherhood of Steel had teamed up to catch up with him!

At the front, "Barracuda" Weber was carrying a harpoon, and next to him was "Silver Hand" Mott, whose legs and feet were unsteady after being tortured. Mantheni supported her father with a look of revenge in her eyes!
Honduras' heartbeat suddenly quickened, and his original panic swelled to ten points. He ran as fast as he could, rushed to the gate, and screamed:

"Lord Raven... Lord Raven, save me!"

However, the sturdy man seen yesterday was still standing at the door.

His eyes were deep, and he looked at Honduras as if he was looking at a dead person.

Honduras was shocked: Was this guy bribed?!
"Go away!"

Honduras roared and screamed, and for the last chance of survival, he summoned up his remaining fighting spirit, as if he was covering himself with a cloak of fire, and strode towards Eric.

He clenched his right fist and pulled it behind his back, like a strong bow filled with power.

The moment it rushed in front of Eric, the bow was suddenly released, and the fist hit Eric's face like a meteor!

"Ah."

A scornful smile appeared on Eric's lips. He took a step forward, planted his legs firmly one in front of the other, clenched his fists, and let the iron fighting spirit surge, turning his armor-covered right hand into a veritable iron fist - to be exact, an iron hammer!
boom--

Silver and red collided, and the fighting spirit exploded into a ball of silver and red, rainbow-like glow. The floor under the two people's feet suddenly exploded, and large amounts of sand and soil were splashed among the flying gravel.

then.

Honduras' fist drew back strangely.

That was not according to his wishes, but he was smashed back by a powerful force!

With a crackling sound, the finger bones and metacarpal bones shattered like mud, flesh and blood burst out, and the bones on the forearm broke through the elbow and flew out with a whoosh!
"Uh-"

Honduras' body was unable to fully absorb the force of the blow. He flew backwards, smashing the wall of the building on the street, fell to the ground, and spit out a large mouthful of blood.

The remaining iron fighting spirit invaded his body along his arm, cutting his flesh into pieces until it cut his throat.

Blood is flying!

This scene immediately made Weber's hair stand on end, and he looked at Eric as if he was looking at a monster!
As an old rival, he knew how strong Honduras was. However, even such a veteran second-tier warrior could not last more than three seconds in front of Raven's personal guards!

If Weber previously believed that Raven was only strong in his mind and tactics, now he deeply realized that Raven not only possessed wisdom, but also had the powerful force to protect his wisdom!
At this moment, the door opened and Raven walked out leisurely with a warm smile on his face.

"My Lord Baron." Eric saluted Raven as if he was doing something insignificant.

As soon as he appeared, he became the focus of everyone's attention.

Raven walked at an easy pace, looking at Honduras' body as if it were a piece of garbage, then turned around and glanced at Weber, Mott, and Mantheni.

There were hurried footsteps as Weber, Mott and Mantheni came up to Raven with their men.

Originally, they brought people here with the intention of showing off their muscles to Raven, but Eric's punch shattered all of that.

Even Raven's smile became unfathomable at this moment.

The three of them knelt on one knee and saluted in unison: "My Lord Baron!"

Behind them, a group of gang members and future security forces also knelt on one knee and saluted:

"Lord Baron!"

The voice echoed in the street, deafening. "I see your sincerity." Raven raised his hand gently:
"Wake up, my vigilantes."

Boom——

Thunder roared and heavy rain poured down, extinguishing the last bit of fire in Honduras' eyes and freezing this scene in his eyes forever.

The rain is fair. It covers the sky above the city of Mon'en, washing away the ashes and blood in the lower city and washing away the mess in the upper city.

It's like two different worlds.

While the lower town was in a hellish state, the upper town was partying all night to celebrate the end of the war. The streets were littered with wasted bread, bacon, and jars of wine that were smashed after just a few sips.

There were even large pools of vomit.

But Hyde didn't care about these things at the moment. He walked so fast that even the servant holding an umbrella for him could not keep up with him.

He walked through the hall and came to Earl Tyrone's study. Raindrops fell on the carpet. He panted and said, "Father... News from the lower city!"

Tai Long raised his head and frowned slightly: "I told you not to be so impulsive. Wipe your face."

Hyde grabbed a silk scarf and wiped his hair, slowly taking a steadying breath.

"Tell me, what's going on?" Tyrone asked.

Hyde blurted out, "It was Raven. The riot in the lower city was solved by Raven!"

"So soon? It's only been two days since he left the castle and went to the lower city!" Tyrone's face lit up with joy, then gloomy, and then happy again.

As the Lord of Mon'en City, it is a good thing that the riot in the lower city has been quelled, especially so quickly. However, this trouble was not solved by the Slater family. But even so, as the Lord of the City, he must have a positive attitude.

"What is the specific process?"

Hyde took out a document from his arms and handed it over: "This is from 'Typhon's Tooth'."

After taking the document, Tai Long opened it and scanned it carefully, his expression changing several times.

He put it aside, stood up, walked to the window, and looked towards the downtown area.

For a moment, he regretted giving the position of President of the Lower Town Chamber of Commerce to Raven.

"If I remember correctly, Raven is only twenty years old this year?"

Hearing his father's question, Hyde immediately replied: "Twenty-one years old, father."

"Twenty-one years old..." Tai Long sighed, "Only one year older than you!"

"From now on, don't blame him for cheating you once, and don't blame him for competing with you for the Viscount."

"Spend more time with him!"

At the same time, in the church of Mon'en City, Archbishop Thomas also looked at the document in his hand and asked, "Is the content correct?"

"Yes, Your Excellency the Archbishop." Savanna's hair was slightly wet by the rain, but her voice was very steady: "I observed the entire process, and the believers of the Bloody Harpoon and the Silver Hand Brotherhood also provided a lot of information."

"What a good move." Thomas sighed. "If he is willing to believe in our Lord, he will definitely have a place among the cardinals in a few decades."

Savanna's pupils shrank slightly. This was the first time she heard Thomas speak so highly of someone.

Thomas didn't pay attention to her expression, but took off his glasses and put them on the table.

His impression of Raven came partly from Savannah and partly from Lux.

Thomas has come into contact with Lux, and like her teacher, Archpriest Crouch, this priestess has unquestionable faith in the Lord of Light.

Before this, he was a little confused about what made Lux so concerned about Raven's affairs and even disobey orders to help Raven.

Now he began to understand a little.

Raven is indeed a person worth investing in and winning over.

"Although he has not yet become a viscount, Baron Raven's territory has exceeded that of an ordinary viscount."

"Sawanna, go to the secret vault and get a portion of 'Magic Lemongrass' and another portion, no, two portions of second-level magic. Give them to Raven for me and say they are gifts for his outstanding contribution in clearing out the Death Hand Cult."

Savanna was stunned. A second-level magic was worth thousands of gold coins. The third-level spice "Magic Lemongrass" was in short supply. Even Archbishop Thomas had a limited quota per year.

"Your Excellency, Archbishop, I have no intention of questioning your decision." Savannah said, "But why do you treat Raven differently? Even when Count Montreal asked for it, you didn't give him the magic-infused lemongrass, right?"

Thomas whispered, "I am planting seeds for the fruits that will come ten years from now."

"Go!"

"Yes, Your Excellency the Archbishop." Savanna took the order and left.

When crisp footsteps stepped onto the stairs leading to the secret vault, a person was climbing up the stairs at the Fox family residence.

After reaching the last staircase, Gul'dan pushed open the oak door and said, "Father, you called me?"

"Take it and have a look." Montreal pinched his brow with his fingers and turned a document in the direction of Gul'dan.

Gul'dan sat down and began to flip through the pages with a disdainful smile on his face.

After a few minutes, Montreal released his fingers from his forehead: "Anything you want to say?"

"Just a clever trick." Gul'dan said casually.

"Eh..." Montreal sighed: "It seems that you didn't listen to what I said last time."

"This is not cleverness, this is politics!"

"His plan was aboveboard. Although the ground was covered in blood, he achieved his goal without losing a single soldier."

Gul'dan kept silent. "I know you mean to say that he took over two gangs and quelled the riots in the downtown area in just two days. This is indeed a gain, but..."

"Don't just look at what he gets, but also what he gives," said Montreal.

Montreal thought of itself.

This time, the cooperation with Thomas came at a huge cost, but the gains were quite limited. Even after deducting the benefits gained by the vassal nobles of the Fox family, the Fox family itself made no profit at all.

It can be said to be a complete loss-making business.

And Raven did not pay any price - there was a vacancy on the list of the Security Army, and the bad reputation of being involved with the gangs also turned into a good reputation that allowed the gangs to reform themselves.

What they gained in return was absolute control over the downtown area.

"If I were his age..." Montreal's expression was mixed: "If I were his age..."

"Ugh--"

A long sigh.

Raven didn't know that he had attracted the attention of the three big guys, and even if he knew, he didn't have the time to care.

After Honduras' death, the Silver Hand Brotherhood changed its name to the "Hand of Protection Legion" and the Bloody Harpoon changed its name to the "Port Defense Legion". They all wore the badges of the Security Force and took to the streets.

Almost overnight, the riots in the downtown area were completely quelled. Even though there were still sporadic crimes, they were no longer a big deal.

Raven's reputation also spread throughout the city of Mon'en. For a time, merchants from the lower city came to visit him in an endless stream, blocking the street in front of the Chamber of Commerce.

Various gift lists fell on his desk like snowflakes.

……

(End of this chapter)