Chapter 44 - Slaughter

During the earlier clash between the two gangs, the Fortune Soaring Hall had already been turned upside down with all sorts of broken chairs and tables, gambling chips and playing cards scattered everywhere. There was no obstruction between the two bosses as the fireball was shot straight at Leon, unimpeded.

There was only calmness in Leon's eyes as he faced the incoming fireball. With one hand raised, the fireball was stopped, albeit not as easily done as earlier in the day. The intensity of the flame was more or less at the same level, but Alroy's fireball was larger compared to Sean's. There was a stronger impact force. Nevertheless, it was still not strong enough to budge Leon's position in the slightest nor the intensity of the flame was high enough to burn his hand.

Like two magnets coming together, the fireball did not explode on impact and was quickly tamed under Leon's control.

"WHAT!?" Alroy's eyes almost popped out it's sockets. "How is your hand not wasted!?"

The scene of Leon catching his fireball shocked him deeply. Being a 3rd step fire user, Alroy was aware that the advancement of his strength also comes with a higher degree of resistance against fire, but even he would be burned by his own fire if he did not control it properly. The other party had to be a fire user 3 steps stronger than himself to be able remain completely unscathed from his fire.

From the information provided by Calvert, the person in front of him was only around 17-18 years old. What was the concept of 6th step awakener under 20? He thought it was impossible even if he just saw it with his own eyes.

"What tricks did to you use, boy!?" Alroy questioned him aggressively, while making a defensive stance. Although he believed it was impossible for the Leon to be at the 6th step, he at least believed he was not simple and wasn't stupid enough to underestimating him. Underestimating your enemies always comes with a price.

"Tricks huh? Even if there were tricks, why should I tell you?" Leon's voice had a hint of disappointment in them. His high resistance was bolstered by his initial success 5-element body. He thought he could shatter his opponent's fighting spirit by displaying an overwhelming difference in strength. It would save him some efforts and time in killing the boss if his fighting spirit was shattered, but his way of thinking was too naive.

When the truth is too absurd, people tend to deny and come up with a more believable possibility. But even if Alroy believed Leon was a 6th step awakener, he would not have given up so easily. He had climb on top of a mountain of bones to be the boss of the Red Salamander gang he is today. Allowing the opponent to successfully intimidate him was equivalent to losing half the battle and could be further equate to throwing away his life.

"…" Alroy had asked in the spur of the moment. If Leon spilled his secrets so easily just because he ask then he was an idiot. He felt stupid for asking a stupid quesiton. Alroy looked at his men and barked. "Surround him!"

His men would not be able to put up a fight should Leon charge at them, but Alroy just wanted to give him the pressure of being surrounded.

"Futile efforts."

In Leon's eyes, such action was pointless. A bunch of ants would not be able to shake an elephant. These people all had very dense bloody aura. A lot of innocent lives must have been lost at their hands with grievance. He wasn't going to let any of them live.

Leon raised the giant fireball high above his head. No one knew what Leon was going to do but they did not stop him. They didn't want to jump out and be the target of Leon's fireball, including the boss. Alroy didn't want to suffer from his own attack. He was ready to jump out of the way if Leon decided to toss the fireball back at him. But Alroy had some level of confidence that Leon would not do that because his own men is right behind him.

The fireball in the air started deforming and be compressed into a weird shape. It only took a few seconds before the final form of the fireball was clear. It had become a long solid fiery scythe. What could be a better weapon than a scythe for reaping lives?

"CAREFUL!!!!"

The moment Leon grabbed the scythe, Alroy immediately dropped to the floor. He tried to warn the others, but they did not have the time to react. They were all skilled fighters, but their reaction time and speed could not be compared to an awakened.

A circular swing was complete in a split second and all the men surrounding Leon was dissected in half easily like a hot knife through butter.

"Shit! Shit!! Shit!!! I'll kill you!!!" Alroy was so mad for the loss of his core members but did not make any move despite what he said. He was at a disadvantage. He could not condense a weapon of fire like Leon. The Red Salamander gang would be severely weakened after this loss. He regretted being greedy for more territory.

Leon just stared at him with a mocking smile for all bark and no bite, but immediately frowned at the fiery scythe in his hand. It had lost its edge after the one swing. It was not solid enough to retain its shape. Leon could also feel the temperature of the flame dropping, but he thought this was natural.

He was still at the first step, while Alroy was at the 3rd step. His fire would not be as hot so the heat of the scythe would continue to drop until it reached his level. He concluded that it wasn't viable to use his fire ability as a substitute for his weapon. He needed to get himself a real weapon, otherwise he would be at a disadvantage when fighting someone of similar strength.

"What's wrong? If you're not coming at me then I will come to you." Leon dashed towards Alroy.

Alroy's face was ugly but there was nothing else he could do but try his best to defend against Leon's attacks and look for an opportunity to escape. This was outside his ability. He underestimated the kid far too much. How was this a kid? This was a little monster. He would need the noble families backing his gang to intervene.

Although his idea was good, Leon did not give him the opportunity. Alroy gritted his teeth as he dodges each consecutive swings of Leon's 'fire scythe'. It was missing its edge, so it was more appropriate to call it a fire staff now.

Alroy was unable to perfectly dodge each attack and suffered burns. He was good at close combat, but Leon's weapon and speed easily suppressed him and didn't give him an opportunity to counterattack.

"Wait! Can you let me go? I will never step into your territory again!" Alroy said while continuing to dodge the blows. He decided to let down his pride and plead for mercy.

"No." Leon sneered. his words could not be trusted. He would call for his noble backing if he let him leave. Leon also had other plans for Alroy. He continued chasing after Alroy and dishing out blows, weakening him in the process.

"Fuck!!" Alroy was slowly covered in burns and his movements became sloppy and slower. He suddenly came to an abrupt stop. His body couldn't keep up anymore and gave in.

Leon wasn't expecting him to stop so suddenly and his last blow sent Alroy flying in the direction of the entrance.

Leon stunned. Beckett and the men were stunned. Alroy was also stunned after he landed but coughed up blood right after. The last blow had injured his organs badly. Were the heavens toying with him? What sort of cruel joke was this? His opportunity to escape finally came but he no longer had the strength to run.

Seeing the Red Salamander was finally defeated, Beckett and the men cheered.

"Ooh! Boss is amazing!"

They had been awed by the boss's strength and uncanny usage of his ability. No one had thought of compressing their ability into a weapon before.

Leon ignored the gang member's compliment and went over to completely cut off Alroy's chances of escaping through hitting his acupoints. Only when Alroy's fate was sealed, did he turn back to face the gang members.

None of the gang members could tell what kind of expression Leon was making with his bamboo hat covering his face, but some of the members started feeling uneasy. These people were the ones that chose to betray his gang at the last moment.

"The moment you chose to betray the gang, you no longer belong here." Leon's voice was cold and stern. The few traitor's hearts jumped at his cold words. They thought Leon was going to kill them off as well, but they were relieved by Leon's following words. "Get lost."

The traitors got up and left the Fortune Soaring Hall with their heads down. They were too ashamed to ask for forgiveness and a second chance to stay in the gang. At the most critical point, they had chosen to cling to life pathetically than to die proudly as a Golden Lion gang member. They felt regret for not persisting for just a little bit longer. They could've been part of something great.

They had a faint feeling that the boss was going to fight all the villainous nobles for the stability of Lower District in the future. Although they can longer be a part of it, they will not join the other gangs. After the near-death experience, they had realized they weren't suited for underworld life. They decided to go back to their families and live their life honestly.

The others still in the gang thought it was a pity considering they were forced to betray them. Leon already knew that. That's why he didn't kill them. But they lost their qualification to remain part of the gang. He didn't want those with weak wills and would surrender to pressure. The gang was still weak but already have many strong enemies.. Keeping them would be like keeping a time bomb.