Chapter 321- Meeting of Leaders

If the keep and walls to the north fail to stymie the demon beasts, Frost City served as the first line of defense. Similarly, the city acted as the central base for the military to sortie against any hordes that penetrated across the treacherous mountain paths.

As such, villas dotting the landscape to its east, west, and south, bore the image of resilience.

An inexhaustible supply of thick stone chiseled from the mountains fortified its four walls. Lumber hewn from the western forest supplied the thick window shutters and internal beams. A mixture of stone tiles, rafters, struts, and purlin formed a cobwebed roof defense.

Properly barricaded, along with a well-stocked cellar, one had a high chance of survival until rescue from the city arrived. Unless swamped under large hordes, they proved their resilience over stray pockets of those persistent carnivores.

"Chu might say this is practical, but the narrow windows and no balcony at the top make it look like a cocooned cave."

Ignorant of the scowls of the two guards posted at the entrance, she looked up at Singh as he turned around.

"You did well Singh in acquiring that farmhouse and barn over the hills. It gives us a homely feeling."

A guard standing before them broke off any semblance of conversation.

"State your business."

"Peb, you know exactly why I'm here."

Doug scoffed from beside Singh. The small redhead stood behind them, between two hooded attendants. Unfazing, she disregarded the guards, never once paying attention to them.

"Oh, sooo it's Doug? Ah, I now recognize you from one of those brats you usually pack along."

The guard turned to his companion. Their oiled leather vest and polished buckles gleamed even in the moonlight.

The look of superiority, however, faded on noticing the quality gauntlets, armor, and swords of the two visitors. On closer inspection, the robes covering Doug's other companions reeked of superior craftsmanship.

Eyeing with envy the scabbard with the insignia of the Military, the guard spoke,

"This is a meeting between the heads of the Society. You're not supposed to carry weapons, nor any additional companions."

"Cut the crap Peb. I am well aware of my rights as a leader. Or do you want to go inside and inform Arash why I decided to leave? I wonder how the Elders of the Bloodnight Society will deal with you."

Doug retorted.

From the contemptuous welcome of these lackeys, it seemed the Behemoth Gang headed to a path of destruction tonight. If the Boss hadn't arrived in Frost City, their lives and achievements would have been lost.

Seeing he had no other alternative, Peb scowled. Glancing at the young girl, he sprouted another insult.

"Rumor has it, this guy has an unusual fetish. Haha."

"Well, the Behemoth Gang is known for running down toddlers in the smelly slums."

The two guards chuckled for a minute while keeping them waiting. After another round of heckling did nothing to raise the ire of the group, the older one spat to the side before speaking,

"Ah yes, enough young master Peb. This way Doug."

They opened the front door to the visitors and led them inside the foyer. Guard Peb had just closed the door and moved towards the thick doors of the hall entrance to announce their arrival when...

"Wait."

He paused on hearing a soft but commanding tone.

Turning his neck to the left, he eyed the urchin from his natural height above with scorn.

The green eyes never looked at him, but to Doug who had stopped and turned his head.

Ignoring the fly standing a few paces to the side, the redhead spoke.

"Miki, kill him. Doug, is this how lowly servants greet the holder of a Bloodnight's token? Tut, tut, poor manners indeed."

Poor Peb never had the opportunity to hear the words of the redhead beyond 'kill'.

A thin spray of blood misted from the leather over his heart as he slumped to the whitened slab floor. A dark red stain took form beneath him, creeping into a pool.

The remaining guard recovered from the shock from what could only be described as an instantaneous development.

At the same time, disbelief faded to dread on his face.

Unknown during those dispassionate words, he never knew when he found himself standing with his back against the stone wall.

Fear, coupled with the sharp blade of a dagger pressing against his neck sealed his vocal cords. His eyes darted from left to right as panic engulfed him.

A bead of cold sweat trickled on hearing the detached voice.

"Doug, snuff out the fat candles to signal Chu. Miki, supposed that fly wore an iron plate covering his heart? Some assassin you are. Singh, these candles and trinkets appear wasted here, send some lackeys over to collect them. The renovated houses in the slums need furnishing."

The voice of a girl retorted from the robed figure as she ripped out the lethal dagger embedded in the man's heart.

"You think everyone is as strong as Lucy? Cracking his skull with a cross bolt would have been a waste. What the... That fool had to drizzle his blood on my robe. Yuck"

A display of confusion appeared in the eyes of the guard before he slid down the wall as the hooded figures revealed themselves. Gurgling while frantically clutching his throat, his eyes glazed.

He lost consciousness while in the throes of disbelief.

Lucy flicked the blood off her dagger before resheathing it beneath her robe. She tightened the straps on her greaves. Next to her, Miki handed over her crossbow to Singh. The young man hung it over his shoulder beneath his robe.

It would be aesthetically unpleasing to view a beauty lugging around such equipment.

"How many Sersens?"

"Four, at most. The guards should be as skilled as these two."

Singh whispered his answer to the raven-haired girl. Miki nodded, pointing out instructions with her fingers. In silent agreement, the party reformed around the redhead.

Dyna clenched and unclenched her fingers before speaking,

"Singh, don't forget to close the door when we enter."

With the foyer in darkness, the tall wooden doors opened into a magnificent hall.

Sky blue banners draped the walls vertically at intervals. A red cloth ran from their feet to up the dais at the other end. Polished benches lined both sides, with a double row of chairs before the steps.

Tall desks with intricate carvings stood beside the walls. Stacked with thick candles of various sizes, they, along with the ones on the chandeliers hanging from the beams up high provided reasonable light.

Like an open cathedral, it served as the great hall to entertain guests, and display wealth.

Lord Arash occupied the lone chair above the three-step stage. A lanky figure clad in leather armor and a sheathed sword stood beside him.

Below, and to the right, a short fat man sat among a few well-armed men. A man stood beside Boss Jink, holding an iron chain. At the feet of the fatty, a Jaga gnawed and slurped on a meaty femur.

A horse-faced burly man scowled among five or six men while seated on the left of the walkway.

Eyes roved over the group before settling on the two girls at the rear. A few lips smacked in anticipation of an enticing meal. Some smirked at the meaningless attempt of the two men to come armed.

Only one outcome was expected today.

"Mr. Doug, if you please."

A servant standing to the rear of Boss Dermal walked out and ushered Doug and his party forward. Guiding them to the front, just below the wide steps, it placed them at the epicenter of the three hosts.

Indifferent from the partially hidden sentries beyond lord Arash or the few thugs silently gathering at the entrance, the smallest member of the arriving party voiced her displeasure,

"Doug, what a miserable welcome. Like a servant, like the master. We failed to see the benefits of you accepting that token back then. What a waste of our time."

Before lord Arash could voice his prepared lines, this street urchin interrupted. Regaining his thoughts, he readied his words only for Boss Jink to spit from the side,

"Brat, there is a price for interrupting a conversation between Bosses."

The fatty smirked while sending a subtle signal.

With a little tug on the iron chain, the Jaga snarled towards the newcomers who disturbed its leisure.

The muscled fore-shoulders flexed and rippled. It sought eye contact while standing up to establish fear in its prey before attacking.

Nature compelled it to focus on the smallest of the quarry. The exposed fangs dripped in anticipation.

However,

A delicate head rotated slowly, with green eyes locking onto the red pupils of the rising beast. they narrowed while she commented,

"Beasts shouldn't mumble when this one speaks."

Right after, she grinned briefly at the Jaga, casually exposing her white canines. With the two girls slightly behind her, the carnivore held an unimpeded view.

A palpitating bloodlust gaze locked onto the beast, and under the fragrant scent of this intended prey, a whiff of something, a smell beyond terrifying.  

Boss Jink felt this twerp had pointed that insult toward him when the Jaga immediately bolted.

Lunging through his men, it tore towards the entrance. The unfortunate trainer attached to the chain bounced on the stone behind while screaming in its wake.

Nearing the blocked doors and the faces of the tense men wavering at its front, the beast suddenly skidded and backpedaled. With eyes contorted in fear, it spun from the doors.

Danger seemed to reek from the doors and the narrow windows.

One with a hierarchy similar to the little human.

Scrambling to climb the drapes to seek refuge among the trellis, it tore a few before falling to the ground. The large head twitched on failure.

 A whimpering yowl barely escaped the cat's throat as it found refuge behind some benches. The trainer groaned on the stone floor, his jaw broken from the ordeal, his arm fractured by the chain.

With his face buried in the stone floor, his fingers twitched around the leather strap attaching the iron chain to the injured arm.

A few men stomped on a drape nearby which had caught on fire.

The redhead in the hall ended the silence by coughing into a dainty fist.

"Ahem, what a sorry excuse of a man. No wonder the animal is untrained and wild."

During the commotion, Singh had appropriated a chair. Now seated with the two girls on either side and the two men behind, she spoke to the bottom step of the dais.

"The responsibility for Lin rests with Doug. It is up to Doug to serve out punishment to those who overstep their boundaries."

She twirled the token with her fingers while continuing. Sometime in between her words, it had appeared.

"Chu made us the leader of the Behemoth Gang. Doug, Singh, and the others belong to us."

Slowly finding the faces of Boss Jink and Boss Dermal who were now standing after the unexpected commotion, she raised her head and locked eyes with the seated lord Arash.

"We are here... for compensation."