Chapter 19: Political Change
The tallest building in Black Bear City was the Silver Church, belonging to Silver Order.
The secondest tallest building was the mercenary guild, with four floors, and countless coming and going from townsmen and mercenaries. Although the majority of requests were about manual tasks rather than fighting, there were more than a hundred mercenaries in Black Bear City. This was a force to reckon with, an army that could be bought, if presented with enough gold coins. Even Baron Yale was wary of them, making Bjorg a very powerful and influential man.
Many would say that Knight Robert was the strongest man in the city, but Bjorg knew that the truly powerful man was the one capable of raising an army. He had ambition, and eyed the Yale Barony ever since he settled in Black Bear City.
With the Greenhill Kingdom's war with the Dalian Empire, it would not tolerate any internal fighting between nobles. However, if a weak and old rural noble were to be replaced by a relatively young mercenary with preparatory knight strength, then the crown would not say a word.
Yet, the rise of [Black Serpent], a never-seen-before outlaw organization which expanded at a rapid and steady pace both economically-wise and strength-wise, made him fearful. Mercenaries who were sent to oppose him directly, like the B-rank Sword Queen Jane, were all killed ruthlessly. The [Golden Stags] had acted out of their own accords, but the truth was that the one who gave them information was Bjorg himself.
In the fourth floor of the mercenary guild headquarters, Bjorg was sitting in his office, faced with dreadful news.
"What? You are telling me that the [Golden Stags] were all killed in broad daylight?", he shouted
"The bodies are still fresh on the streets, sir", the man said, "But...One of them was actually a beast, a werewolf! The townsmen are all panicking, willing to pay tremendous amounts of money to hunt those beasts. Because of suspicions, several townsmen have brawled, resulting in injuries. City guards are trying to solve the situation, imposing a confinement in homes"
"This is...madness", Bjorg said, "What about [Black Serpent] ? Is he letting them kill our mercenaries as their mad leader wants to?"
"Sir, their leader has hunted a werewolf, a beast so big and so large that it would easily rip the throats of dozens of city guards if met with a patrol. The boy is being hailed as a hero! Knight Robert would not be able to do anything, even if he wanted to"
Bjorg cursed.
He could not do anything.
[Black Serpent] was growing stronger, and he could only watch.
The same thoughts went through Knight Robert's mind, as he poured his effort to calm the panick of townsmen. While he was overjoyed at the news, he realized with horror that Arthur was significantly stronger than he realized when he heard descriptions of the beast.
Unlike the one caught by the 'acolyte', this beast was incredibly big and strong. It was an adult one, a very strong magical being that could rival with a knight in terms of strength. The swordsmanship, physique and teamwork needed to take one of them down exceeded the expertise of thugs.
Knight Robert could only accept this fact : [Black Serpent] became an organization that was impossible to contain anymore. Even if he decided to go down the streets and suppress them, he would only lose his men. Unlike [Black Serpent] shadows who grew up on the streets, the city guards were inexperienced. Although they trained, they were not motivated to become the strongest.
City Guards trained because he ordered them to.
Shadows, and those joining [Black Serpent], would gladly cut their own veins for the organization and what it represented.
The City Guards were seen as an official force representing the [Yale Barony], a weak noble household which was not even capable of supressing bandits and the source of their problems.
[Black Serpent] represented order, reliable protection against the magical beasts that invaded the city.
Inwardly, Knight Robert prayed: "Hopefully, may both werewolves and this cunning Arthur Thorn die in their confrontations"
Knight Robert did not possess magic crystals. He had only heard of them through his grandfather's stories about magical entities, known as 'acolytes'. From the beginning, he was planning on killing off Greem and Arthur once the werewolves were exterminated. After all, fights between magical existences never ended without injuries, and killing injured beginner-rank acolytes was certainly feasible with his physique and resources.
Everything changed the moment Knight Robert realized the growth of [Black Serpent]. Now, he could only hope for a miracle to happen.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone