The new warden, Anthony, warmly welcomed Charlotte during his unexpected visit. After some friendly conversation, Charlotte got to the point: "My city guard is about to be reorganized into a Free Knights Regiment, but the Empire can't provide me with enough manpower. So, I'm here to ask for your help!"
Anthony, a shrewd individual, smiled and replied, "Sorry, but the prisoners in Kilmainham Prison are all felons."
Charlotte shrugged and said, "Of course, I know that the prisoners here aren't suitable. But as the warden of Kilmainham Prison, you should know people from other prisons. I wonder if you could introduce me to someone who can help?"
Although Charlotte didn't know Anthony's background, he was certain that Anthony was also aligned with his senior, Menierman. Otherwise, Anthony wouldn't have recognized him or signed the transfer order so quickly.
This kind of connection shouldn't be wasted.
Warden Anthony hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said, "If it's about getting a batch of prisoners from other prisons, that's no problem."
"How about this? Tomorrow, I'll have those prisoners report to Yansun Street No. 1. I'm not sure how many there will be, but it should be over a thousand."
Charlotte was delighted and, after some more casual chatting, intentionally left ten Egus on the seat as he left. Anthony made no mention of it, and personally escorted Charlotte out of Kilmainham Prison.
Back in his carriage, Charlotte finally understood why those with power and influence always seem to be a step ahead.
A few days earlier, Creel Brittany had mentioned, "Within a week at most, Fars will declare war on those vampires in Byron."
Today, Lady Mayvis informed him that the Lucavaro District city guard was about to be reorganized into a Free Knights Regiment and even brought the paperwork so he could legally begin recruitment in advance.
Coincidentally, Charlotte had previously worked at Kilmainham Prison, and the new warden was on the same side as him, which allowed him to pull together a batch of prisoners from the prison to bolster his knights' regiment before anyone else had the chance.
By the time the Fars Empire officially declared war and others thought of recruiting from the prisons, it would be too late.
Of course, those at higher levels would know about these developments even earlier, but they wouldn't have Charlotte's problem, as the armies of the nobility would certainly be fully staffed.
After pondering this in the carriage for a while, Charlotte instructed Lady Nancy, "Take us back to Yansun Street No. 1."
Although Anthony had agreed to help him secure a batch of prisoners, the number might not be enough, and the quality of the recruits was questionable. He still needed to find more new recruits.
Back at Yansun Street No. 1, Charlotte had Dobin gather all the gang leaders in Lucavaro District.
Dobin took a few men and spent over two hours gathering around 50 to 60 people, representing a total of thirteen gangs.
Of the five largest gangs in Lucavaro District, only three sent representatives: the Lone Wolves, the Night Beasts, and the Golov Brothers. The other two refused to meet with Dobin, displaying a rather arrogant attitude.
While most gangs didn't care much about the city guard, they didn't want to directly confront them either. Since Charlotte had courteously invited them, some gang leaders were curious about what the head of the district's city guard had in mind.
However, most of the gang leaders didn't dare to come in person, fearing a trap by the city guard, so they only sent representatives.
The Lone Wolves were led by their chief, who called himself Scar due to a knife wound on his face. He was a burly, intimidating figure, though not a transcendent being, but a formidable fighter.
The Night Beasts sent their second-in-command, nicknamed Yellow Bear, who was a first-rank transcendent.
Yellow Bear was tall and powerful, not a knight but a demon hunter, and even more imposing than White Wolf, whom Charlotte had met before—a giant of a man standing over two meters tall.
The Golov Brothers, a gang led by three brothers, didn't attend in person but sent a nondescript figure named Golden Rat, who was small and carried a dagger at his waist.
Among the gang leaders present, the most noticeable was the leader of a smaller gang—a slightly stout but decent-looking woman who introduced herself as Doll Sister. She was also a transcendent, and one of only two present who were.
Charlotte greeted the gang leaders warmly, with a smile on his face, but his words were quite forceful: "The Lucavaro District must be under the control of the city guard!"
Several of the gang representatives began to stir. If not for the rumors that this city guard leader was a transcendent who had "killed eight transcendent detectives from the Fierce Horse Agency," they might have revolted on the spot!
Scar from the Lone Wolves glared and asked, "Commander Charlotte, what do you mean by this?"
Charlotte smiled slightly and said, "I have a batch of blank orders in hand. I need each of you to contribute some people to join the city guard and help manage Lucavaro District."
This statement caused an even bigger commotion among the gang leaders.
However, their attitudes were now vastly different from before. Scar grinned and asked, "How many orders do you have? If you give all the slots to us Lone Wolves, we'll take care of the entire Lucavaro District for you."
The Lone Wolves were the only major gang whose leader came in person. Although Scar wasn't a transcendent, he prided himself on his formidable strength, believing he could even best ordinary transcendent beings. He wanted to intimidate Charlotte and give the commander a show of power.
Charlotte smiled slightly and raised his voice, "There can only be one voice in Lucavaro District, and that voice is mine, Charlotte Mecklenburg. I don't mind being challenged, and I don't mind killing those who challenge me."
Charlotte pulled out his Silver Rhino and began loading magic-piercing explosive rounds into the spatial magazine, then placed the gun on the table.
Seeing this extraordinary weapon, Scar's fierce expression remained, but he stayed silent, knowing that an extraordinary weapon in the hands of a transcendent could easily kill opponents two or three ranks higher.
Yellow Bear and Doll Sister also remained quiet. Although both were transcendent beings, they were only first-rank and lacked the confidence to challenge Charlotte.
The gang leaders finally settled down.
Charlotte had gained quite a reputation. Although most of the Lucavaro District city guard were empty titles, there were still over 200 active members, which was no small force. Even the district's five largest gangs weren't confident they could take down the city guard on their own.
Besides, Charlotte wasn't trying to make things difficult for them; he was offering the gangs a share of power. No one wanted to miss out on such a "feast," so someone quickly spoke up, "The Lone Wolves can't handle such a big piece of the pie alone. The Night Beasts are willing to help Commander Charlotte share the responsibility."