CHAPTER 53: A THUNDEROUS WARNING

Under the pale silver glow of the moon, men moved silently, each carrying heavy barrels upon their shoulders. Their silhouettes were visible in the soft light, yet there were no prying eyes but only a few terrified civilians who dared not look and instead stayed locked away within their homes.

The Red Serpents held the streets of this district in a chokehold. Though not the most powerful gang in the city, their reputation was enough to paralyze entire neighborhoods.

People didn’t report them, not out of indifference but out of fear. Those who dared speak up often witnessed their female relatives kidnapped and repeatedly raped in retaliation. The gang had a twisted method of punishment as they wouldn’t kill you, but they would turn your life into a living hell. Victims were forced to return to the Red Serpents’ base over and over again with their families forced to prepare them for every visit as they are not killed but forced to watch their loved ones used on a daily basis.

It became a horrific arrangement. Families whose women had been targeted were made to send them nightly to satisfy the gang’s perverse desires. So the rest of the community stayed silent, not because they didn’t care, but because they couldn’t risk such a fate for their own loved ones.

But even silence wasn’t protection. People lived in constant anxiety that a Red Serpent might one day take interest in one of their daughters, wives, or mothers since age didn’t matter for them and if the gang desired them, there was no escape.

The Red Serpents built their empire on depravity. They weren’t just criminals but they were predators who liked preying on the weak through shame and sexual violence. Their tactics were especially cruel because they left physical bodies untouched in the long term, but destroyed entire families psychologically and emotionally.

Occasionally, they targeted women associated with families that worked under the former city council, back when the Councillors still held power but under Zorthar’s influence, nobody dared raise a hand against the Serpents. That was because Zorthar, and by extension their executive Prestor, used the Red Serpents as a tool.

They were the arm that carried out underhanded dealings in the central region of the city. If a merchant refused to sell their business to Zorthar, the Serpents would "handle" the matter by coercion through shame, blackmail, and fear. Prestor found them efficient although nasty, and Zorthar used them like a weapon in the shadows.

That night, the gang advanced stealthily, maneuvering through alleys and gaps between homes to avoid drawing attention.

At the head of the procession were scouts, signaling silently whenever a change in route was necessary. Their knowledge of the labyrinthine backstreets allowed them to bypass the guards and the routes notorious for ambushes, where the Serpents had the upper hand.

The narrow alleys were perfect for them. City Guards avoided such places because they were death traps.

Swords were difficult to use in the tight quarters, and Serpent members could strike with small blades from hidden corners. The guards, hampered by their armor and formation fighting techniques, were sitting ducks in these twisting lanes. The Serpents, in contrast, thrived in chaos and close quarter brawls.

As the bulk of the group carried the barrels toward the palace, a separate team scouted for City Guard patrols, hoping to capture lone members, especially female ones.

Since Baron Estefan’s rise to power, patrol procedures had changed. Teams now had no fewer than five guards, and patrols were more frequent. This made it harder for the gang to operate undetected or stage their usual ambushes.

"Look, there’s a woman," one of the scouts whispered, eyes gleaming as they spotted a patrol unit. "She’s a fine piece," another added, barely able to contain his hunger.

The men communicated only through hushed murmurs. Silence was their shield. They weren’t targeting just one group of guards but rather they stalked several patrols, hoping to single out female guards and snatch them away under the cover of night.

After nearly an hour of avoiding patrols and weaving through side paths, the barrel carrying team finally reached the palace undetected.

Unlike what they expected, the palace had no permanent guard posted at its gates as only rotating patrols that moved in cycles. The palace’s vast size made it impossible for one patrol group to fully monitor the grounds without leaving blind spots.

This gave the Serpents just enough time to act. "Oi, set them down gently," one of them barked as the barrels were lowered into place. "We don’t need the whole thing blowing early."

The men rushed, stacking the barrels against the palace wall. It was a messy job but some tried to toss the barrels to save time, earning a slap from the group leader in return. They were nervous since this wasn’t their usual work of kidnapping or blackmail. This was something else entirely.

They were planting explosives beneath a noble’s estate. The repercussions of this would be unimaginable if caught. Attacking commoners was one thing, but to move against a Baron was something that would be like to declare war on the aristocracy itself.

And the Kingdom did not forgive treason lightly as anyone caught targeting a noble was labeled a traitor.

Entire families were tortured and executed. Even acquaintances such as friends, neighbors, distant relatives could be imprisoned or killed under suspicion of aiding a traitor. The punishment was not just personal but rather it was systemic and total.

Only nobles could feud among themselves, sanctioned through royal order in territorial wars. But a commoner who dared assault a noble was committing the highest form of rebellion.

Eventually, the barrels were all in place. The group leader attached a thread to a fuse, a simple mechanism to trigger a delayed explosion. The timer was set for five minutes which was just enough for them to flee from the area.

With the thread pulled, the gang bolted. None of them stayed to watch. They ran, retracing their steps through the alleys and lanes, eager to vanish into the dark.

Then it came, a deafening explosion tore through the silence of the night. It echoed like thunder crashing over the rooftops, waking the entire district. The earth shook. Windows rattled as people woke up in the process..

The city had just been given its warning, a clear warning against the new government to not mess with the underworld.

[To be Continued]