A brave man may not live, but he cannot die

Chapter 270 Loan Sharks and the Razor Gang

"Damn it. Damn it—"

In a small alley not far from the casino, Lucar Branson kicked a stone in the corner of the wall hard.

His wrist was empty; there should have been a decent watch there, but with his loss in the gamble, it had been staked on by the casino and turned into chips that had left him.

As a member of the Branson family, Rugal was separated from the direct line of power by several generations, but the family's influence had expanded rapidly in recent years, requiring trustworthy family members to manage the business. With his shrewd mind and excellent skills, Rugal quickly stood out among his relatives, especially in the two years since the head of the family, Reeve, retired due to illness. Rugal gained Jenny's favor and rose to the position of airport manager.

This position may not seem high-ranking at first glance, but it actually oversees all aspects of the airport, especially the frequent interactions with companies from various countries in daily work. The kickbacks and gifts are plentiful, making it a very promising career path. Even high-ranking officials in Elon Musk greet Rugal with friendly smiles. With only one son and one daughter in the Branson family's direct line of succession, Rugal has a good chance of becoming Elon Musk's right-hand man, managing the vast corporation for the future head of the family who is entering politics.

But he doesn't look glamorous now.

A carriage was parked in the shadows of the alley. The coachman could tell from Rugal's appearance that he had lost money and was in a very bad mood, but he still mustered up his courage and stepped forward to remind him:
"Mr. Lucar, you should go back to work. Your schedule shows a meeting at five o'clock this afternoon."

"What kind of bullshit meeting is this?!"

He roared in frustration.

After shouting, Rugal clasped his hands together, rested his head against the rough brick wall, and moved his lips slightly, but his voice was barely audible.

"Great Goddess, thank you for the order you have given us. In the name of the Holy Spirit, I, Rucal Branson, beg for your forgiveness, and ask you to spread the Gospel, to give the gift of Holy Communion, and to do everything in perfect good."

He was just an ordinary person, not a priest who could invoke divine power through prayer.

"Merciful Mother, please forgive my sin of greed, and eradicate all the roots of regret. Grant me inner purity, health, joy, and heavenly love."

After praying for a while, he felt much calmer and sat down against the wall.

He fumbled for cigarettes in his pocket, took out the last one, and put it in his mouth. The driver lit it for him.

The way a successful, high-ranking middle-aged man smokes in the alleys of Westville is no different from those beggars who are afraid of the dark clouds. He takes a deep drag, exhales shallowly, and his fingers holding the cigarette tremble uncontrollably.

There's a reason why Rugal became like this.

Going back a bit, in the early stages of Reeve Branson's illness, one could still occasionally spot him sunbathing and getting some fresh air at the manor. His attending physician was a man from the Western Continent, with red hair, light brown skin, and a large nose.
The guy called himself "Jack," a common name in the Western Continent. Although he wore a white coat, he didn't seem reliable. For some reason, the master trusted him exceptionally much, often inviting Dr. Jack to his home for meals, and their relationship was extremely close.

The Branson family was vast and powerful, rife with parasites who clung to their wealth and power, taking advantage of the patriarch's trust, such as the relatives living on the estate. Dr. Jack, however, was an exception. He enjoyed Reeve's deep trust but never used it for personal gain, nor did he ever lay a finger on the young, beautiful maids. Over time, Rugal's impression of him changed drastically; he came to see him as a kindred spirit, often chatting with him, and they became friends.

After a deeper conversation, I learned that although Jack was a doctor, he also had many insights into business, especially in investment. Rugal, who had risen to his current position through careful consideration, couldn't resist asking Jack to recommend some products after witnessing the phenomenal gains of the stocks he had chosen.

Having witnessed the lives of true tycoons over the years, Rugal began to plan how to leave his fortune to his son. He took out his savings, preparing to compete with Dr. Jack. Dr. Jack, being quite generous, recommended a large number of jewelry-related stocks to him. In Rugal's view, these stocks had almost no room for appreciation; after all, in an era of civil war in the Western Continent, luxury goods were unlikely to reach very high prices.

But trusting Jack, he still staked his entire fortune on the jewelry industry. Soon, exciting news kept coming: a mysterious force appeared in the market of Ashwell City, snapping up high-purity gemstones. High-purity gemstones were precisely the raw materials for high-end jewelry, which caused jewelry prices to soar, and his stock also rose steadily.

Even the most composed person can lose their mind when faced with readily available wealth. Seeing such a substantial gain, Rugal began to harbor wicked thoughts.

Although his son Lucas is quite promising, unless he marries Chaldale, he will ultimately follow in his father's footsteps, working for the family's power holders for life, only to be ruthlessly discarded when the next generation becomes incapable. Given this, why not seize the opportunity to make as much as possible while one still has the ability?
Gradually, Rugal began to abuse his power, misappropriating funds from the airport for investment. As the only air hub connecting the southern continent's nations to the rest of the world, the Eye of Grindelwald saw countless airships passing through daily; any tampering could be easily concealed without anyone noticing.

In this way, after a period of time, he reaped unimaginable profits. Just as Rugal was preparing to stop, Jack approached him—

"I just happen to have a fantastic opportunity, one I don't usually share with just anyone. How about we try investing in a jewelry store?"

Rugal had offered to share his profits with Jack more than once, and he was sincerely grateful to this insightful friend. However, Jack was of noble character; he would eat and drink with him, but he wouldn't take a single penny, which made Rugal trust Jack to an unparalleled degree.

So when Jack mentioned it, Rugal immediately agreed.

The jewelry store he was investing in was located on Cloud Avenue and was positioned as the most upscale store in Ashwell City. Having the opportunity to invest during a period of skyrocketing jewelry prices was like a windfall. Unfortunately, Rugal's savings weren't enough to cover the investment; he was still quite short.

Just as the pie in his mouth was about to slip away, Jack cleverly secured a large loan for him, successfully giving Rugal one of the city's most valuable assets. Given time, the returns would cover the shortfall, and everything would be fine.

Unfortunately, the horrific incident that occurred in March of this year, which became known throughout the city, destroyed all of that.

Lucar's jewelry store was burned to the ground by ruthless thugs and their bombs, and the warehouse and counters were looted. The jewelry store owner was able to recover some of the losses with insurance, but Lucar was in a terrible situation. His investment was almost completely lost, and he still had to repay the huge loan.

At this critical moment, Dr. Jack had already disappeared without a trace, and the head of the Reeve family had not shown up for a long time either. Anxious Rugal had mentioned Jack to Elon and Jenny several times, but the two were very reluctant to talk about it, and their displeased expressions made Rugal dare not ask any more questions.

Desperate, Rugal could only embezzle public funds to fill the loan hole. But the hole only grew larger. Although the Branson family owned the operation of Grindelwald's Eye, the airport wasn't Branson's personal fiefdom; above them were the foreign ministries and city councils of various countries, as well as the regulators sent by Grindelwald.

The consequence of repeatedly embezzling public funds is that if problems are discovered in the accounts one day, the Branson family, when questioned, will decisively deal with him, the instigator, without showing any leniency.

No one knew about this, not even his wife and son. The only way Rugal could think of was to make up for the deficit through gambling.

This time, the goddess still did not bless him.

That card-counting mathematician who just appeared out of nowhere was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"Hey, forgive me, I was just in a bad mood."

After calming himself down, he threw away his empty cigarette and said to the driver, "Let's go back. We had some fun. Heh, just relaxing a bit. Time to get back to work."

The driver did not answer him.

Instead, he stared at the alley entrance with a look of horror.

Rugal followed his gaze, and a deep fear flashed in his eyes. He stood up, forcing himself to remain calm, and said, "Go back to the car first, I'll be back in a bit."

Standing at the alley entrance were several men who looked like gangsters. Beneath the slit collars of their black suit jackets were bare chests covered in scars, and the leader's bald head still bore the faint marks of an imperial convict.

If you are familiar with the underground layout of Seville, you can recognize at a glance that this is the city's most ruthless gang, the Razor Gang, fugitives from the north who inherited the style of the Imperial Mafia!
“Mr. Lucar,” the coachman said, though he was afraid, duty compelled him to stand beside his employer.

“It’s alright.” Rugal took a deep breath. “They came to find me. It’s alright, they’re all friends.”

The driver breathed a sigh of relief and immediately drove away. These people were different from the Golden Wind; they disregarded rules and only cared about their mood.

Several members of the Razor Fist approached and surrounded Rugal, forming an impenetrable wall.

"What are you doing?" Rugal was terrified inside, but his face showed impatience. "It's not the end of the month yet, is it?"

"It's almost the end of the month, Mr. Lucar."

The man with the brand on his forehead gave a forced smile, and when he opened his mouth, he spoke with a thick Northern accent, a hoarse, trilled "r" sound:
"Your luck didn't seem to be very good just now."

"I don't need to remind you, according to our agreement, the amount you need to repay this month is 615 gold pounds and 3 silver coins."

Rugal gritted his teeth: "Your interest rates are too high."

“You didn’t raise this issue when you borrowed the money,” the man said coldly. “If you knew us, you’d know the interest rate we’re offering is already very low. You should know the consequences if you can’t repay on time.” “Are you threatening me?”

The man pulled a sheet of paper filled with accounts from his collar. When Rugal saw the airport's red stamp at the end of the account, his legs went weak.

"Of course not now. But the Branson family probably wouldn't care about the life or death of a corrupt official in prison."

Rugal was breathing heavily, and after a while he forced a smile and said, "Don't worry, there won't be any problems this month."

"What about next month? You even dared to embezzle the airship's parking fees. Your actions were so egregious that even we could find out. I never expected that you'd be in jail before we even got the money back."

A switchblade suddenly appeared, startling Rugal. But the blade didn't pierce him; instead, it grazed the man's outstretched tongue.

"It's not time yet, it's not time yet," he chuckled. "A few human organs aren't enough to repay you."

"The principal has already been paid back, you're going too far—"

Meeting the man's sinister gaze, Rugal silently shut his mouth.

The man sheathed his switchblade and whispered in Rugal's ear, "Actually, it doesn't have to be so complicated. We've already discussed a new repayment plan. You can always abandon the debt-ridden revenge if you want."

Rugal's eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously shook his head: "I said, this matter should not be mentioned again. In any case, I will not betray my family."

"If you treat them like family, will they treat you like family?"

"Think about it carefully. If they all die, who will ultimately inherit your family's business?"

"This has nothing to do with you. No one will know that Elon has too many enemies, and no one will suspect you." That sexy, retroflex tone was like a devil's seduction.

Rugal remained silent, his expression unwavering.

"Heh, well, then we can only hope you pay it back. Let's go, guys, let's go gamble a few rounds with the godfather."

The man smiled and led the group away. Only when they reached the alleyway did he turn back as if remembering something, saying casually, "Oh, right."

"Let me tell you about the rules of our Razorfen Downs."

"It's only right that the son should pay off his father's debts. Your son is still a minor, isn't he? He has plenty of time. I'm sure he can pay off your debts."

The entrance to the Golden Wind Casino.

Quinn slipped the check into the girl's pocket.

"Here, for your living expenses."

"You're not my husband."

"It's only a matter of time."

Quinn looked at the reddened earlobe and wanted to take a bite.

So adorable when you're being arrogant.

Xia Dai'er began to ramble incoherently and was unable to speak.

Just as Quinn was contemplating whether to have a delicious meal right there, he suddenly saw several Northern Continent people in black suits pass by.

He recognized the man in the lead; he was the moneylender Sukhorukov, who had appeared on the list of urban traitors in Servi's combat training classes. He was also a minor leader of the Razorfen Downs, a Sequence Nine Knight.

This guy has a presence in all the casinos in Seaville, so it's inconvenient to capture him for training. Besides, Sequence Nine isn't worth training, so we let him live until today.

He glanced at him once and then looked away; casinos are places where you can meet all sorts of people.

But then, someone unexpected appeared.

Rugal, who had been swindled out of a large sum of money to keep his girlfriend happy, came running up breathlessly. The members of the Razorfen Downs seemed to have anticipated his arrival and were waiting eagerly at the door.

"I agree, I agree—"

Rugal, his eyes red, said, "Bring the young lady out, is that it? I can do it, on the condition that the debts are forgiven, and I get another thousand gold pounds. Plus a train ticket to leave Aswell, a new identity in the Kingdom of Ron, mine, my wife's, and my son's.

Hearing her relative's voice, Xia Dai'er, blissfully dazed, subconsciously looked up, but the next second her lips were captured by Quinn's kiss. Feeling his scent, she felt a little breathless from the kiss, and her head began to spin.
Stop trying to hook me. I'm just an ordinary high school student; I'd never even held a boy's hand before I met you. You came along talking about marriage and kissing, and it's completely maddening me. All I can think about is you.
On the other side, it's like being in a different world from a couple kissing oblivious to everyone else.

“Five hundred,” Sukhorukov replied. “Three Ron household registrations aren’t cheap.”

“No discussion.” Rugal had a kind of reckless, manic energy about him.

Sukhorukov thought for a moment, then shrugged and agreed to the plan.

"You know the time and place."

As he watched Sukhorukov and the others enter the casino, Lukar's shoulders trembled with each breath, but gradually calmed down.

He composed himself, as if nothing had happened, and prepared to leave.

Just then, he saw the damned mathematician who had won all his chips, looking at him with his companion.

"You owe those people money?" the mathematician asked.

".none of your business."

Rugal turned to leave, but then suddenly stopped and tentatively asked, "Could you teach me your winning strategy?"

"Lost it all?"

"I lost everything."

The mathematician smiled.

"If you think spending 10 gold pounds on gambling is too expensive, then don't gamble. That saves you 10 gold pounds! Then use that saved 10 gold pounds to buy chips, which is essentially the same as not spending any money. Follow me for more financial advice—"

Under Lucar's bewildered gaze, the mathematician, with his companion who was holding his arm, pushed open the casino door again.

(End of this chapter)