The leader of the Black Scorpion gang, upon hearing the sound of the magic-piercing explosive round shattering the door, was still unsure of what was happening. He wondered, "Could it be the Lone Wolves? Or maybe the Night Beasts?"
"Recently, I haven't had any conflicts with the other gangs. Why would they suddenly attack the Black Scorpion gang?"
Confident in his combat abilities, he grabbed an iron chain and rushed out of his room, only to see a much larger force than his own flooding into their base.
At the forefront was a young man, holding an extraordinary rifle in one hand, looking as formidable as a divine warrior, and he was aiming right at him.
Charlotte didn't know who Black Scorpion was, but seeing that this gang leader had an imposing presence, he decided to "make an example" without hesitation.
Even a high-level transcendent couldn't rely on protective aura alone to resist a magic-piercing explosive round. As a mere gang leader who hadn't even ascended to transcendent status, how could Black Scorpion stand a chance?
With one shot, Charlotte blasted Black Scorpion to pieces.
Despite his attempt to show off by single-handedly firing the shot to intimidate his unruly subordinates, Charlotte was surprised at how accurate his aim was.
The Black Scorpion gang leader was hit directly by the magic-piercing explosive round, his entire body bursting into a cloud of blood, leaving no remains.
Charlotte hadn't expected the magic-piercing explosive round to be so devastating against an ordinary person.
Dobin, a veteran of the city guard who recognized Black Scorpion, was astonished by Charlotte's ferocity. Seeing that his commander had easily "blown up" Black Scorpion with a single shot, he immediately shouted, "Black Scorpion is dead! Members of the Black Scorpion gang, those who surrender will not be killed. Anyone who resists will be eliminated."
He repeated the warning several times, but Charlotte's hastily assembled city guard was filled with too many unruly convicts and gang enforcers who had no concept of discipline. Charlotte's earlier promise to share the Black Scorpion gang's wealth had led many of the gang members to be killed before they had a chance to surrender.
Charlotte had no intention of restraining his subordinates; he was, after all, just a former math teacher with no experience in this kind of situation.
Without their leader, and as an untrained fighting force, the Black Scorpion gang quickly crumbled under the city guard's assault, with members throwing down their weapons and surrendering.
In less than half an hour, Charlotte had taken control of the Black Scorpion gang's base. All around him, the city guard was ransacking the place in search of valuables, with some even looting the bodies of the gang members without concern for whether they were dead or alive, stuffing money pouches into their pockets.
Surveying the chaotic scene, Charlotte let out a small sigh of relief. He hadn't been sure of success before setting out, but the plan seemed to have worked out well enough, at least without any major blunders.
Dobin and his men worked hard to bring order to the city guard, ordering the surrendering Black Scorpion members to drop their weapons, sit on the ground, and form a circle.
As Maxton and Hermonsa arrived with a large supply of food, the situation at the Black Scorpion gang's base finally began to calm down.
Black Scorpion had been killed as soon as he appeared, leaving the gang leaderless. Although the fighting had resulted in dozens of deaths and over a hundred gang members managed to escape, there were still five or six hundred left.
Charlotte broke them up and distributed them among his existing combat squads. Then, as his men eagerly ate the food Maxton and Hermonsa had brought, Charlotte jumped onto a statue at the Black Scorpion base, looking down on the crowd and loudly declared, "I promised to share Black Scorpion's wealth with all of you!"
"My old subordinates know that Mr. Mecklenburg always keeps his word."
"After you've eaten, you can start collecting the loot. I'll have professionals evaluate it and convert it into fols and sandines, which will be distributed according to your contributions in today's battle."
Charlotte didn't confiscate the small items his men had hidden away; anything too large couldn't be easily concealed.
Since this city guard had little loyalty, he wasn't about to anger them over a few valuables and risk chaos.
Charlotte's announcement was met with thunderous approval—after all, who would turn down the promise of money?
Charlotte originally intended to seize another major gang's territory in one go, but seeing that his men were starting to show signs of fatigue after the initial excitement, he abandoned that plan.
After everyone had eaten, Charlotte decided not to lead them back to Yansun Street No. 1, knowing that this motley crew was liable to scatter along the way.
He ordered his men to rest on the spot and selected a room for himself.
Not wanting to risk any trouble during the night, Charlotte stayed awake, practicing the Blood Glory technique.
Early the next morning, the Black Scorpion base was bustling.
Upon investigation, Charlotte discovered that the commotion was caused by members of the gangs who hadn't shown up at Yansun Street No. 1 the previous day, now demanding to see him.
Following the previous day's battle against the Black Scorpion gang, this ragtag city guard had gained some morale. The newcomers were corralled together and made to wait until Charlotte was awake.
However, the noise from so many people had disturbed Charlotte's rest.
After washing his face and tidying his appearance to look more imposing, Charlotte had the gang members brought to him.
Among the visitors, the most prominent was an older man dressed impeccably, who looked nothing like a gang member but clearly held some authority, judging by the way others treated him.
The man was the first to speak, "I am Ross Bard of the Bard Commerce Guild!"
"As the local commerce guild of Lucavaro District, I am willing to lead the entire Bard Commerce Guild in joining the city guard."
The Bard Commerce Guild was one of the five largest gangs in Lucavaro District, alongside the Lone Wolves, Night Beasts, Golov Brothers, the recently destroyed Black Scorpion gang, and the Bard Commerce Guild.
The Bard Commerce Guild was unique; it wasn't a traditional gang but rather a security group formed by seventeen businesses to protect their operations, rarely clashing with other gangs.
Initially, the Bard Commerce Guild had no interest in getting involved in Charlotte's schemes and had turned down Dobin's invitation. But the previous night's battle had alarmed all the local powers.
When Ross Bard learned that the Black Scorpion gang had been wiped out overnight, he wasted no time convincing the guild's other members to join him in pledging their allegiance to Charlotte first thing in the morning.
He was determined not to become Charlotte's next target.
Charlotte was pleasantly surprised by the Bard Commerce Guild's willingness to join and said with a smile, "Excellent!"
"Welcome to the city guard family, Bard Commerce Guild."
He then glanced at the others and asked, "What about you?"
The other gang members, pale with fear, quickly chimed in, "We also want to join the city guard."
Charlotte turned to Dobin and said, "Check to see if there are any other gangs in the district that haven't voluntarily joined the city guard. I'll help them join in a more 'dignified' manner."