Everyone from the martial arts community had arrived at Silver Lake. Many influential people and powerful sects were in attendance, including Brody Kent of the Sunrise sect, Carlos Fitz of the Tiger sect, and Belinda Hawkins of the Iron Fist Sect.
They all shared a common enemy in Lee Harshaw, and everyone wanted to kill him and get justice for the martial arts community. They began to shout, taunting Lee.
"Come out and face us!" yelled one.
"Are you a coward?" challenged another.
"How dare you move against us! You will pay for this!", yelled another.
Chris, Julian, Chelsea, and Melissa merged with the crowd, quietly observing the situation.
Several hundred meters away, Jessop and Rufus Clifton stood by the lake, waiting to see what would happen. As leaders of the Baltimore underworld, they had the right to watch. Jessop knew the Steadman family had been colluding with the Blood Brothers, and if the martial arts community were to be defeated, it would be bad for the Clifton family.
Just as the mood of the crowd reached its peak, the door of the building opened slowly, and Lee walked out, followed by six men carrying bloodied robes. They held up the material, and everyone recognized the robes as belonging to the Black Swallow Academy, the Golden Warrior Academy, the Death Master sect, and the Spitting Cobra sect.
Silence fell as everyone gaped in shock.
"Well, which of you is brave enough to face me?" Lee asked, sneering at the crowd.
One lone voice cried out, "I am!"
Brody Kent stepped forward and looked at Lee. "I'm the leader of the Sunrise sect. You have killed members of our community, and you continue to challenge us. We cannot let you go."
The Sunrise sect had long been regarded as the supreme martial arts group in the country, so Brody felt it was his duty to speak first.
"Ah, Brody Kent of the Sunrise sect," Lee repeated. "Aren't you getting on a bit? I thought you would have retired by now." He smirked. "Well, before you die, you should know that the martial arts community slaughtered all of Hu Juli's family, so you are not innocent here! You're hypocrites! You boast of being noble and talk about morality, while you commit the gravest sins."
He paused for a moment, regaining control. "Well, today, I will avenge my predecessor," he said. "And your robes will join the others after I take your head."
Brody was furious. "Hu Juli only sought glory for himself," he said. "If it hadn't been for the concerted efforts of our community, he would have colluded with our enemies to destroy us. He deserved his punishment!" He pointed at Lee. "And now you are the traitor among us. We should never have allowed the Blood Brothers gang to be established. You want to avenge a traitor!"
Everyone nodded as they listened, and Lee lost his temper.
"You'll die for that!" Lee roared, launching an attack.
"I will rid the world of your vile presence!" Brody yelled, rushing toward him.
**
Two hours later, Alex, Debbie, and Callisto arrived in Baltimore.
As soon as they got off the plane, they took a taxi to Silver Lake.
While in the car, Alex called Jessop, assuming the Cliftons would know what was happening.
"Mr. Clifton, what's going on there?" Alex asked. He wanted to get the latest news as soon as possible.
"It's bad," Jessop said, his tone heavy. "Really bad. Lee has killed Brody Kent and also the leaders of the Phoenix Gang and the White Dragon sect. The situation is extremely tense, and the martial arts community is worried that they might lose this fight."
Alex was surprised. He hadn't expected the situation to have gotten so critical already. He was tormented by the knowledge that he had caused this war, and now so many people had died because of it.
"I'll be there soon," Alex said, and then he ended the call.
"Alex, what's wrong?" Debbie asked, looking at his gloomy expression.
"Nothing," he said. "Don't worry."
He looked out the window and frowned. "Stop the car!" he yelled. They were moving too slowly, and there was no time to lose.
The car stopped, and Alex insisted on switching places with the driver. "Debbie, we need to go faster," he said. "Don't be afraid. Callisto, look after Debbie."
He started the car, shifted to fifth gear, stepped on the accelerator, and began to speed along the road, overtaking one car after another.
Half an hour later, they arrived at Silver Lake.
Alex didn't have time to argue with the police officer doing crowd control, so he simply barged past him, with Debbie following behind.
**
Lee decapitated his opponent and tossed away the head. He had done this so many times now that it was becoming routine.
He waded into the lake, washing the blood off his face to clear his vision. His clothes were drenched in his enemies' blood.
He looked over at the shore and laughed at the fighters there. "The Sunrise sect, the White Dragon sect, and the leader of the Phoenix gang have all fallen. Who's next?"
Everyone in the martial arts community was angry, but no one dared to step forward. If even Brody Kent couldn't defeat Lee, then how could they do any better?
"What?" Lee asked. "Have the rest of you become cowards?"
Still, no one spoke.
Lee grinned. "You all competed with each other to kill Hu Juli's family, but now that it's your turn to die, you're not so keen to volunteer! It's a miracle that any of your sects have lasted this long. You're all worthless."
"You—" Greyson Ashbury of the Pouncing Leopard school began to speak, but his wife stopped him.
She whispered, "You promised me you wouldn't fight. Everyone who has accepted the challenge is dead. Don't do this."
"But…" Greyson began, and then he sighed, giving in.
All the members of the Iron Fist sect looked at Belinda Hawkins. It was clear that Lee would not be defeated easily, so would Belinda fight?
Belinda thought it over. She didn't want to waste the chance to make Iron Fist the most respected sect in the community, but Lee was really powerful, and she wasn't sure she could beat him. Then again, Lee was insulting the entire martial arts community, so how could she ignore the challenge?
Improving the standing of the Iron Fist sect would be a wonderful achievement, but she needed to fight for the sake of the whole community. Lee had to be stopped.
"You're all talk," Belinda called out to Lee. "No one cares what you think, and they'll care even less once you're dead." She drew her sword and attacked.