Chapter 166 - Calm Before The Storm

The destitution in the Seven Snakes District was palpable, even from afar. Rows upon rows of houses, apartments, stores and factories were shattered into shells from the continuous war with the Ardent Cretins. Entire blocks of memories, dreams and hope had been pummeled into the ground by never-ending barrages of mortars, pellet fire and explosives in multiple skirmishes. With the help of a fraction of the surviving enforcers as well as reinforcements from the Culdao Peaks in the early stages, Damian and Keith were able to hold their ground remarkably well.

Still, their original district had been turned into a wasteland, only visited by the gang members at war, and the desperate caught in-between. The Seven Snakes' original base still functioned as a hidden outpost, but had suffered numerous direct attacks that buried much of its former glory. The market was reduced to a shadow of past memories, the stalls left in smoldering wrecks and once-crowded streets abandoned in silence. Only rats and insects roamed free, unbothered by the death and killing that intermittently wreaked havoc in the area.

Damian had no choice but to use two out of the three districts they owned as a buffer zone. The defensive emplacements they had established months before the civil war proved to be critical in slowing down the initial charge that the Ardent Cretins unleashed. Traps, mines and ambushes were regularly plotting, stalling any attempts by the Ardent Cretins to get close to the heart of the shopping arcade. Still, it was far from enough to stem the overwhelming disadvantage in numbers.

Recruitment was widespread and indiscriminate in the surviving civilian population nearby, most of whom had gathered in the arcade even if they came from the enforcers' district. The arcade remained the sole source of continuous food, water, housing and safety in this war-torn region of Raktor bar the East Sector. Every able-bodied man and woman was armed with what the Seven Snakes had left, bolstering their numbers just enough to form a credible defense for months. Despite their success in repelling the continuous attempts by the Cretins to break their defenses, everyone knew this was just the calm before the storm.

Their fears were realized when the largest explosion happened outside the city, a single line of blasts indicating that their lifeline, the tunnel to the Culdao Peaks, had been shattered. While the Seven Snakes members still held onto what they had left, despair and hopelessness were taking root in the civilian populace, giving rise to discontent and signs of rebellion. "Why haven't we surrendered?! Four months of non-stop fighting, and we've only been losing ground continuously!" An enraged business owner stood in the middle of the foyer on an empty crate, his loud voice amassing the disheartened and curious alike. "What's the point in resisting when the only end is our eventual loss?"

"Yeah!" A member of the gathering crowd agreed, nodding his head vigorously. "The tunnel has been blown up - there's no chance we'll last longer than a month! Soon, they'll announce rationing, and all of you know just who the bulk of the rations are going to go to!"

"But the Seven Snakes has been protecting us all this while! Our rations should go to the fighters - my son is fighting for us out there on the front." A mother of a fresh Seven Snakes recruit pleaded as more people began to gather.

"Then he is fighting a fool's war. One not started by us. We didn't sign up to be caught in a gang war. I propose we form a group to request for evacuation to the East Sector!" The business owner announced. "There's no reason for us to linger here anymore, and certainly not your son, who is merely delaying the inevitable."

"How are we going to make it to the East Sector?! It's more than five districts away. We're right smack in the South Sector!" Another man in the crowd argued back. "We might be caught and killed by the Ardent Cretins!"

"Why would they kill us? We're not Seven Snakes members! We're just civilians caught in a mindless power struggle between maniacs. And worst of all, the Seven Snakes' leader isn't even here! Imagine what would happen if Ares were to come tomorrow - no one here would stand a chance!"

The growing numbers of the crowd had already alerted the Seven Snakes, with Damian stepping out to take control of the situation. By the time he had arrived, there were more than two hundred civilians in the crowd. He had two dozen Seven Snakes members surround the crowd, preventing them from growing any more in size. "Stand down, everything is going to be fine!" Damian called out to the business owner leading the impromptu riot while realizing that he didn't recognize the business owner. That's strange. I should at least know everyone in the arcade by now. Where did he come from?

"That's what you said to us a few weeks ago - and nothing has changed!" The business owner shot back. "The East Sector is much safer - there's no threat of war, and most of the nobles in the Central Sector have found refuge there. We will be protected if we can make it to the East Sector!"

"There is no reason to risk such a dangerous travel path." Damian shook his head. "We are well fortified here, with enough countermeasures to deter anything coming at us."

"Even Ares?"

"Ares has not shown himself here yet. There is no point in worrying about hypothetical situations. We will protect you just as we said we would at the start."

"If you are going to protect us, I demand that you form a protective escort convoy for us right now to the East Sector!" The business owner snapped.

Damian opened his mouth to speak but held his tongue, realizing he was caught in a trap. The business owner caught onto Damian's hesitation, quickly turning to address the crowd. "Damian can't answer because he isn't protecting us. He's using us as hostages! Right now, a single mortar could kill half of us! He's trying to stop us from finding a safe haven in the East Sector!"

His assertion drove fear into the crowds, many having seen the terrible barrages that had wrought devestation across the city. They began to chant for the evacuation, with some of the rowdier ones forcing the surrounding Seven Snakes guards back from their encirclement.

"Please, everyone, calm down! There's no reason to panic!" Damian pleaded with the surging crowd, but his words fell on deaf ears. The business owner continued riling up the crowd, building support for an escape to the East Sector, while Damian tried to figure out what was going on. I have never seen this man before, and now he's leading people to the East Sector? There were too many alarm bells ringing in Damian's head, and he knew for a fact that he could not let the business owner speak any longer. He activated his radio, speaking quickly to the surrounding guards and others listening. "I need more backup in the foyer. There's a riot brewing!"

As the riot got out of hand, more Seven Snakes poured out of the arcade, many of them tired from the countless rotational shifts of patrol and defense duty. They fanned out and supported the original two dozen guards, bringing the total number to fifty guards against the crowd of two hundred. The presence of the additional guards injected even more fear into the hearts of the rioting civilians and the business owner. The business owner's shifty eyes darted about, though he had a small smile on his face as he began to gradually disappear from view. A few other men in the crowd were also moving suspiciously. Damian kept his eyes on one of the men as he saw the glint of a handgun from behind the man's shirt.

"There are spies stirring the riot armed with guns! Seal off the whole foyer, and don't let any of them slip past!" Damian ordered. "Stop him at any cost!"

"But sir, if we physically arrest them, the riot might spin out of control!" A Seven Snakes guard warned.

"I have a plan, don't worry. Now attack before they shoot!"

The guards kicked into action, earning screams and resistance from the rioting crowd. They shoved their way through the sea of people, trying to get to the spies. A pellet shot rang out, one of the guards dying from a point-blank shot. Before the chaos erupted into an uncontrollable mess, Damian was already shouting into the arctech speakers installed around the foyer. "Kyle, the leader of the Seven Snakes has returned!" He hollered into the radio, his voice echoing across the majority of the district.

The announcement stunned the rioters into disbelief, allowing the guards to immediately converge and apprehend the suspicious people in the crowd. The business owner tried to scamper out through the encirclement, crawling on all fours in a bid to escape. Unfortunately, two Seven Snakes guards tackled him onto the ground, the business owner screaming and kicking as he squirmed against his capturers. "He's lying! Kyle isn't here! He is just trying to buy time so he can split us up!"

The business owner's warning rallied many of the rioters, all of them becoming far more enraged at the obvious deception of Damian. Shouts and jeers of discontent were lobbed as a human wave pushed against the surrounding Seven Snakes guards line. It wasn't until the distinctive whir of a wagon approached the foyer from the main street, an oddity in this period of war, that the rioters turned to see the shock of their lives. "It's.... it's him! He's really here!"

Atop a new returning wagon, Kyle stood with his helmet removed while manning the mounted repeater, his face visible for all the civilians who knew him by heart. They had to, after all the miracles he had pulled off in the district and the countless goodwill he had amassed for the construction of the housing complex, arcade, factory, and trade schools. No one had any doubt that the Seven Snakes were a criminal gang. And Kyle was their king, returning in all his full glory with a stunning set of exosuit armor.

But with an even bigger threat beyond this bubble of safety, not a single person resented the return of Kyle, except the captured business owners and the others who tried to stir the riot. The Seven Snakes might be the bad guys, but the people knew and accepted them as their bad guys.

"We're saved - we're saved!" The mother broke down in tears, her entire trust placed in the strength of Kyle. Damian couldn't stop smiling, and the Seven Snakes guard let out a resounding cheer. Damian's original announcement had lured every civilian and Seven Snakes member out of their shelters of despair into the open foyer, gathering to form an impromptu parade. The wagon drove up to the front of the foyer and Kyle hopped out of the top of the wagon. His tremendous exosuit landed with such force that a slight tremor rippled through the ground, towering at least a head taller over the entire crowd like a giant among men.

"You're not saved, you fools!" The business owner spat and screamed while he was still pinned down by two Seven Snakes guards. "You think Kyle alone is enough to defeat Sebastian or Ares? You're outnumbered three to one! Idiots!"

"He isn't alone." An authoritative voice spoke out. A collective gasp among the people erupted as Baron Cain and Bishop Vernette stepped out of the wagon as well. Their shoddy warehouse worker garments made it hard for the gathered civillians to recognize them, but the haughty expression on Baron Cain's face was more than enough to remind them who he was.

Baron Cain walked up to the business owner, a sneer appearing on his face. "I know you... you're one of Baron Namor's toelickers. I've seen you lurking around him before."

"Wha... how are you alive? You should be dead by now!" The business owner didn't bother trying to deny it, knowing that the gig was up. Before he could say another word, Baron Cain grabbed his head, lifting it and smashing it into the ground hard.

"I would very much like to repay the hospitality Baron Namor's knight has shown me, but you seem to know a lot." Baron Cain whispered angrily. "Kyle, I hope to have a private chat with this man when possible."

"Of course. Restraint him and the other spies in the holding cell." Kyle ordered the guards. "However, we will need to discuss our strategy for handling the Ardent Cretins first before worrying about Baron Namor."

"Yes, absolutely." Baron Cain nodded. Kyle led the Baron and the Bishop through the crowd towards the arcade. The people parted to make way for the return of the leaders, while the gossip and rumors spread like wildfire through word of mouth.

"How is the Baron and Bishop here? Last I heard, they were besieged in the Central Sector?" A member of the crowd whispered excitedly to his friend as he couldn't keep his eyes off Kyle's exosuit.

"That means Kyle rescued them right under Ares' nose. We have a fighting chance!" The friend clenched his fist in excitement. "Soon, we're going to take the fight to the Ardent Cretins and show them who's boss!"

Kyle didn't bother to correct them, knowing that morale was of the utmost importance at this stage of the war. Belief and faith went a long way in ensuring a motivated and capable fighting force. He knew he would need every ounce of strength that he could muster from the people and his forces if he were to come out on top - he could not take out all fifteen thousand of the Ardent Cretins alone.

As Kyle made his way through the fawning crowd, Damian gave a perfect crisp salute, a permanent smile plastered on Damian's face. Damian remembered the last time Kyle had returned to Raktor from his first trip out of the city - it was a hushed and quiet event. Now, the strength of the Seven Snakes had grown far beyond what his younger self could believe, and even his current self still couldn't grasp the magnitude entirely. "Welcome back, sir. You have no idea how good it is to have you back."

"Good work holding down the fort, Damian." Kyle let out a small, approving smile, patting Damian's shoulder as soon as he got close. "You've proven yourself as a capable underboss."

Damian beamed, his chest puffed up with pride as he began to walk alongside Kyle, his role in the Seven Snakes forever cemented. He did not forget the other two esteemed individuals behind Kyle, and he also bowed respectfully to the others. "Baron Cain, glad to see you safe and sound. Bishop Vernette, your surviving enforcers are awaiting your return."

"No time for that." Bishop Vernette snapped as the four of them walked briskly through the interior of the shopping arcade. "We need to consolidate our forces. Sebastian will know within hours at best that we have escaped. Minutes at worst."

The original clean floors and walls were hardly maintained, many stalls turned into temporary medical rooms and ration distribution rooms. Any luxury business had been rapidly converted into efficient logistical distribution centers, feeding the wider populace and ensuring the fighters had everything they required. Deliveries to the frontline were made by runner squads like Alex, while the weapons factory continued to churn out much-needed armor and rifles to supply the newer recruits. However, with the tunnel now destroyed, Kyle's return was welcomed like a hero. Countless logistic workers and Seven Snakes members saluted him, their faces grinning from ear to ear while some had tears welling up in their eyes. "We're going to make it out of this, no chance we'll die with Kyle around!"

Soon, the four made it back to the top floor, where Keith and the other vipers were waiting for them in the meeting room. Only Gordon, Reese, Eric Dicar and Adrian were here, with Niko, Monica still in the Culdao Peaks. Sasha was still up in the air doing reconnaissance flights. As soon as Kyle entered the meeting room, he began speaking quickly, having no time to waste. "Is the large street I asked you to prepare ready?" Kyle asked Keith.

"Working on it, sir, I have three construction crews clearing it according to your requirements. Though I'm still not sure of the purpose..." Keith hasn't seen the Aurtlas before, having been trapped in Raktor for the past few months.

"There'll be time later to explain. I need an updated account of all our forces." Kyle requested. "Sebastian will know that I have rescued Baron Cain and Bishop Vernette. Which means he may attack very soon to prevent us from amassing a proper strike force."

The urgency was apparent to the entire meeting room, with no one wasting any words getting their point across. "Two thousand Seven Snakes fighters, including new recruits, are ready to fight. If we're splitting into attack defense, then we can dedicate maybe half to fight." Keith explained. "As for the enforcers, there are more than three thousand of them, but organizing them will be a bit more difficult. They are helping us defend in exchange for food and resources, but there are differences in leadership among their ranks-"

"I'll take care of that." Bishop Vernette interjected. "My presence should be enough to rally them to help."

"There's still more than a thousand of my men and enforcers trapped deep in the Ardent Cretins territory." Baron Cain explained. "And with the betrayal of Baron Namor's knights, I'm not sure if their exact locations have been exposed just yet."

"So if we managed to gather everyone, that's seven thousand men. Still outnumbered two to one." Gordon sighed. "This is going to be an uphill battle."

"It was always going to be an uphill battle. This is the core of a major gang you're talking about. There's a reason why they are in power." Adrian pointed out. "Two to one is a good ratio, but if we can rally even more people, that would be good."

"What about the other gangs? Red Lions, Wretches?" Kyle asked.

"Red Lions were wiped out by the Ardent Cretins. Leo is missing. The Wretches have joined the Ardent Cretins, but are boxed in by the enforcers." Damian answered. "There isn't much firepower left in the South Sector that hasn't already picked a side. The remainder are thug rackets that are just trying to profit and loot anywhere they can."

"And with the tunnel now cut off, it would be near impossible to arm more people even if we found them." Keith shook his head.

"Don't worry about that, once you get that large street cleared off rubble, the reinforcements will be coming in." Kyle assured. "This coming two days will be our most critical moment. Sebastian will exploit us in this very moment, so I need everyone to be prepared. Sasha, are you listening?"

[Loud and clear, sir. We're running low on arcia energy here, so we may have to return soon.]

"Good. Get back to the Culdao Peaks and assemble everyone Niko and Monica have gathered. Then, I want all remaining Ghosts still in Desham to fly directly into Raktor as soon as possible, with as many Aurtlas as possible. Not a single Ghost should be idling in Desham, including recruits. Keith, get the latest map of the area."

[Got it, I'll relay the message.]

"Ghosts? What Ghosts?" Eric Dicar glanced around the table in confusion, realizing most of the other vipers had no idea either. Keith rolled out a large battle map for Kyle, the map marked with the recent reports by scouts and observers.

"Bishop Vernette, your enforcers are the bulk of the troops. We won't be able to win with a direct confrontation, not with the number of disadvantages. One thousand Seven Snakes will join your enforcers to form the first battle line to push into the Ardent Cretins. Three strike forces will be formed - One led by me, one led by Damian, and one by Sasha from the sky." Kyle began to elaborate on a battle plan, drawing on the borders of their current territory. "First, we will get the encircled knights of Baron Cain and remaining enforcers trapped near the Central Sector to raise hell. Once the Ardent Cretins are divided into two fronts, the three strike forces will look for an opening, and the moment we sense weakness, the closest strike force will push all the way in."

"And then circle around to pincer the entrapped forces." Baron Cain nodded sarcastically. "Hammer and anvil. A classic strategy, one that Sebastian would definitely not expect. Sebastian will have his own elite troops covering the weakened side as well."

"Which is why we will not be flanking the frontline Cretins." Kyle jabbed right at the heart of the Ardent Cretins district. "The other two closest strike forces will immediately rotate over and join the push. We'll charge right in, ignoring the battle lines, and destroy as much as we can. A blitz attack that will catch them off guard. I will personally lead the charge, while Damian and Sasha will eradicate any supply depots or stragglers behind the front lines."

"You want to kill Sebastian right off the bat?!" Bishop Vernette exclaimed.

Kyle nodded. "Just like how they cornered the Central Sector at the ceremony. Cut off the head, and the rest of the body dies."

"But Sebastian will call Ares over, and-" Keith spoke out with a worried tone.

"And I'll capture Sebastian before he even arrives. He can't arrive immediately, no matter what tricks they have up their sleeves." Kyle stated it with such sheer confidence that his words were like a fact. "And if he does make it on time, it's time the city learned who is really the strongest in the South."

***

At the Ardent Cretins' central district, five hours later...

Sebastian peered through a telescope perched on the top balcony of a mansion, eyeing as an Aurtla landed in the Seven Snakes district for what seemed like the tenth time today. The telescope was ornate, glistening with arctech energy that lanced across the outer circular surface, enhancing Sebastian's vision to be as acute as a hawk. Smoke and explosions could be seen erupting from the Magda as well, Sebastian surveying the entire skyline of the South Sector.

An arctech knight covered entirely in black armor from head to toe knelt behind him in the inner office, speaking carefully. "Sebastian, sir, we have reports from the ground troops that Kyle has rescued Baron Cain and Bishop Vernette, and that they are amassing their men. The Magda is also being reclaimed -"

"I can see that, you dimwit. Did we not send more than three thousand men to encircle the escaping Baron?" Sebastian snapped angrily.

"Sir, yes, but there was intense fighting. Strange objects fell from the sky, and it somehow renewed the fighting morale of the surrounded groups." The arctech knight reported.

"Alvin never ceases to impress me. Who knew an amnesic could rise to such height to challenge even me? The world is truly an interesting place." Sebastian muttered, only to earn a scoff from elsewhere in the office. A flash of irritation crossed Sebastian's face as he descended from the telescope's pedestal and marched back into the office. "Do you have something to say, mage hunter?"

"For all the legends and rumors of the esteemed Sebastian I have heard so far, this is quite a disappointment. To be trumped so easily by an upstart thug racket of less than twenty people years ago. This entire ordeal has been... eye-opening." The same sleek lady decked out in a relic armor set grinned while sitting on Sebastian's office desk.

"There is a limit to just how much disrespect your filthy mouth is allowed to speak!" The arctech knight rose to his standing posture, towering over the mage hunter by a head and a half. His fearsome glare stared down the mage hunter through the eyeslit, only causing the mage hunter to burst into laughter.

"Now I can see why you hired me and my crew. If this is the commander of your so-called elite ‘Black Knights’, you got a lot of work to do." The mage hunter mocked, prompting the arctech knight to draw his sword. Sebastian held out a single hand, motioning for the arctech knight to stop.

"If you have any grievances you would like to air, perhaps now is the best time to do so. Perhaps you have certain misgivings about some... actions I have taken?" Sebastian asked as he walked back to his desk, taking a seat on a plush green velvet throne-like chair, contrasting against his gold-accented cloak.

"I do. The entire siege is a farce. If I were in your position, I would have taken Ares out of the Central Sector and crushed the Seven Snakes with my full force. I wouldn't even let them stall the war out and burn our resources." The mage hunter began her tirade. "You have the purported strongest in the South, and you sent him off on a selfish trip to fulfill his battle lust. Pretty foolish if you ask me."

Sebastian leaned back with a smile. "And that's why you can never really be a major gang leader, Bella. You lack the foresight, the vision."

"The vision of what? The vision of losing? I merely propose a simple and effective way to solidify your rule, though I suppose it is far too late to enact any of the changes I've talked about."

"It's true it will solidify my rule, but over what? A disgruntled populace?" Sebastian's expression hardened. "Do you really believe that the Seven Snakes will merely fade into obscurity with a loss against Ares? They will scatter like rats, fleeing and embedding themselves all over the Sector. Their territory stretches into the Culdao Peaks, with resources on par with us. As long as Kyle lives outside the city, the remnants of his gang will always hold out hope. They have lost for months in a never-ending skirmish cycle, taking more losses than us, yet their will remains stronger than ever. Ares alone will not be enough to break them."

"Then what will?"

"This exact scenario will." Sebastian grinned as he stood up. "And it is exactly why I hired you and your team."

"I don't understand. You must be lying. You couldn't have predicted this scenario." The mage hunter squinted in suspicion. "It's war, everything changes."

"Not when you're the one pulling the strings. I engineered the scenario. Here's what is going to happen." Sebastian explained. "Kyle is gathering his forces now. And right about now, he's expecting me to attack immediately."

"And you're saying you won't."

"I will."

"What?"

"And once I muster all my forces to attack, two things will happen. First, the encircled knights and enforcers near the Central Sector will attempt to break out at full force." Sebastian counted with his fingers. "My troops will have to fight on two fronts, weakening the defenses along the borders. And thus, the next thing to happen will be a breakthrough, a gap. A strike force of Kyle's best fighters and soldiers will run right in, forcing their way in."

"That means they envelop the rest of your forces. Hammer and Anvil."

"No. Kyle will run right to me in an attempt to decapitate me in one fell swoop. We won't be prepared, and I will be forced to either surrender to keep my life or be killed by Kyle. Or so he believes."

A realization dawned on the mage hunter's face, a smile breaking out. "Looks like the rumors about you are true after all. Kyle is just as vulnerable as you are if he makes it here."

"A fallen noble is still a noble, after all. I did consider using Ares to crush all of them at the start. But you do not play chess by poisoning your opponent before the game begins." Sebastian picked up his cane from a nearby rack, tapping it onto the ground where a sinister purple streak of arcia energy snaked up the length.

"You make sure his pieces never even existed in the first place. Commander? Rally the men. The final battle begins."