Orpheus followed Katherina into the bar and entered an office where he asked about the gang’s situation; as usual, Amber and Lilith stood behind him.
After hearing Katherina speak about the gang’s situation, Orpheus was slightly surprised. Katherina’s management of the Black Snake gang was excellent. She managed to control each part of the gang perfectly and kept detailed records about the gang’s earnings, costs, losses, the relationship between the members, the relationship with other gangs, and the relationship with other powers.
She even told him who were spies and whose force they belonged and how she arranged the different members according to their specialties.
Orpheus couldn’t help but heave a sigh of admiration.
“Truly impressive. Your management of the gang is practically flawless. I even wonder why your gang is still medium-sized.”
Katherina smiled wryly. “It’s not so easy becoming a large gang. There are only four large gangs in the imperial city, and each one of them is a more powerful monster than even some noble families fear. Even if our high-level combat strength is comparable, there is a great disparity between our low-level strength. Moreover, all the four strongest gangs have a powerful force supporting them from behind. I don’t dare to think about replacing them.”
“Oh? However, I was thinking about making this gang the strongest gang in the capital.” Orpheus used this opportunity to tell her about his plan of taking over the underworld.
And as expected, Katherina was startled. “… Are you joking?”
“Do I look like someone who can joke?”
Katherina gulped, feeling sweaty all of a sudden.
“… You are crazy.”
“I have never done something I’m not confident in accomplishing.”
To Orpheus’s declaration, which sounds like bragging, Katherina fell silent for a moment. Remembering the terrifying power she felt and the extraordinary girls under him (A/N: Even if she hadn’t seen Amber fight, she is sure she is powerful like Lilith because men like Orpheus will not have a weakling as a follower.)
Her expression turned bitter, and she couldn’t help but admit it. “Yeah, thinking about it, maybe it’s possible for you.”
Orpheus said nothing but put his hands behind his head. Looking outside through the office window, he observed the capital’s night sky.
“My goals are greater than you think, Katherina. Do you want a piece of advice? Take advantage of this opportunity. It will not come twice. As I said, tools can be either useful or useless. In your case, I hope it will be the former because you’re smart, and I like smart people.”
Katherina fell silent for a brief instant. “… I’ll think about it.”
”I don’t have too much time to waste. I’ll give you one night to think.” Orpheus said, putting pressure on her. He would have pushed her to accept right away by showing his strength, but it would be counterproductive as she wouldn’t be loyal; by letting her join the boat willingly, it would be greater this way. And after seeing how she managed the gang, Orpheus had decided on the gentle approach. He needs a woman like this; Lilith was not fit for this job; she was more like a weapon used to take care of nuisances, while Amber, well, she could learn beside Katherina.
When Orpheus was about to give Katherina an instruction, someone hurriedly entered the office with a panicked expression.
“Boss, bad news!”
Katherina was so startled that she forgot she was no longer the boss. “What happened?!”
Orpheus was annoyed that someone appeared and interrupted him but decided to watch for now.
“The Vermilion gang ambushed the third master! He is currently being attacked by two of their vice-leaders.”
“Those scums!” Katherina’s expression fell. “How do they dare to plot against my little brother?!”
In an instant, her presence changed completely. Gone was the fear she was showing, and instead, it was replaced by a powerful rage.
She then looked at Orpheus with a determined expression, telling him that she was going out no matter what he said. Seeing this, Orpheus was amused and shrugged.
“Let’s go; I want to see how strong is one of the four strongest gangs of the capital.” He said, leaving Katherina speechless.
”Boss, who is this guy?” The guy that came running asked while trying to look at Orpheus but was forced to lower his head because Amber and Lilith were glaring at him; he felt like he would die if he were to go against them.
Katherina sighed; she had forgotten that she had not informed her gang about the change in leadership.
”This young man is the new boss of our gang. You should be respectful.”
”What?” Her subordinate was surprised by the sudden news.
”There is no time. Let’s go.” Katherina said before leaving the bar, and the others followed her.
The Vermilion Gang was one of the fourth strongest gangs in the capital. They dominated the western part of the city and had been around for more than thirty years.
From what Katherina told them, the Vermilion gang and the Black Snake gang were long-time enemies. The Vermilion gang feared the powerful strength of the leader and vice-leaders of the Black Snake gang and had tried more than once to destroy them.
Unfortunately, Katherina and her sisters were too strong. Even though the Vermilion gang had some people that could face them, nobody could stop them if they wanted to escape. Due to this, the Vermilion gang could only compromise in fear that Katherina and her sisters would go all-out in revenge if the Black Snake gang were destroyed.
Katherina, on the other hand, doesn’t dare to go all-out against them for fear of her subordinates losing their lives. After all, even if she manages to destroy the Vermilion gang, most of her subordinates will die during the battle. Something she feared greatly.
Moreover, she does not want to offend the force behind the Vermilion gang. Even if she doesn’t know the identity of that force, she knows it’s very strong.
This situation caused a delicate balance between the two gangs, and Katherina was happy with the status quo. After all, she was not interested in making her gang one of the strongest gangs. The only reason she created the gang in the first place was to create a safe environment for her ‘family’. As long this family was safe, it was only what mattered.
But it was different for the Vermilion gang. For them, the existence of the Black Snake gang was like a blade hanging over their necks. They constantly lived in fear of the Black gang one day attacking them.
So, they never stopped finding ways to destroy or annex this gang.
“In other words, it’s not the first time you clash.”
Orpheus mumbled after hearing her story.
Katherina showed a dark expression. “I have told them more than once that I’m not interested in going against them, but they don’t believe me… This time they crossed the line.”
”Well, they do. They are afraid and mostly greedy, wanting to have your gang under them. You know this is a trap, right?”
To Orpheus’s question, Katherina nodded.
”I know, but I must still go. He is my only family left. I can’t let him die, not like this.” Katherina declared with a resolute face.
Orpheus looked at Katherina briefly and shrugged.
It took less than five minutes to reach the place of the battle. Besides Katherina, Stella and another Level 5 origin master were with Orpheus’s group.
But once they reached their destination, the battle had already ended.
Ten men were lying on the ground, injured. One of them, Katherina’s brother, was so severely injured that he was just one step away from death. He had the same hair and eyes like her sister.
Beside them, a group of men was standing with mocking smiles. They were looking at the men on the ground with bloodthirsty expressions.
“Rufus! What do you think you are doing!?”
Katherina looked at one of the men and asked coldly.
Behind her, Stella’s eyes had turned red. She instantly wanted to charge to rescue her brother, but Katherina stopped her.
“Can’t you see?” The man named Rufus smirked and put his right foot on Katherina’s brother’s head. “I’m punishing someone who didn’t know his place.”
Katherina became enraged. Her presence surged around her, pressuring the entire place with her killing intent.
However, Rufus remained unfazed and smirked.
“How terrifying. Damn, I can’t control my legs.”
Then, he increased the strength of his right foot.
“Ugh!” Katherina’s brother groaned and opened his eyes. He looked at his sister with eyes filled with determination. He was telling her not to care about him.
But Katherina could not do it. He was her brother, so in the end, she relented and called back her killing intent. She knew this was a trap, but there was nothing she could do other than listen to try to save her brother.
Rufus grinned as if his plan had worked. “Wow! That’s much better!”
“What do you want, Rufus?” Katherina closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm down. When she opened her eyes again, they had become as cold as the coldest ice.
“Miss Katherina sure is straightforward. I’ll be honest then. I hope Miss Katherina can surrender her gang to us. Don’t worry; I guarantee that your position in the Vermilion gang will not be lower than mine. After all, Miss Katherina is a powerful origin master. Of course, it’s the same for your sisters and brother.”