Leon's eyes easily traveled through the darkness and locked onto the culprit who accidentally exposed himself.
"T-This... great lord, I was just passing by... didn't see anything..." Thorpe tried to explain himself with cold sweat.
Leon's glare was very chilling and piercing, making his heart go cold. When Leon realized who it was, he smiled.
'I planned to look for your gang and yet you came to me.' He thought.
"You came at the right time. How about a little spar?" Leon said with a smile.
Although the other party was smiling, Thorpe felt colder.
"Great lord, please spare me. Your power is too mighty. I fear my frail body would just snap at the slightest pressure exerted by you." Thorpe didn't dare to spar with Leon. Looking at the web-like cracks in the trees, it would be like asking for death.
"You have no right to refuse." Leon did not take no for an answer. Lina was now considered his friend, so he didn't like Thorpe after what he tried to do. He felt he had let him off too easy last time.
But he would not kill him yet. Thorpe still had some uses and Leon wasn't a cold-blooded killer yet. He had only ever killed spirit beasts in his past life. No human lives had been taken, only saved. His father and him have saved many with their medical skill, including other Divine Kings. Yet they plotted against them, father and son. Hmph! To bite the hand that fed them. Leon would rest until they meet their just ends.
"Is there no other way?"
"None."
Having said that, Leon dashed forward and rain down a volley of blows on Thorpe. Although, Leon had suppressed most of his strength, Thorpe was still unable to fight back and ended up suffering a beating.
"Ahh... mercy..."
Leon didn't have much experience in fighting humans and wanted to gain some experience by fighting Thorpe, but the thug was too weak and had no will to fight.
Why would he bother fighting when the result would be the same? It was better to surrender early to minimize his suffering.
He couldn't get what he wanted but he still felt pretty good beating someone up. It was like the anger suppressed deep within himself finally had an outlet. It wasn't good to keep his feelings bottled up inside forever. His resolve to avenge his father would not be affected either so it was good to beat up some thugs.
It also aligns with his objective of taking over the underworld. They would not submit easily. It was best to beat them into submission first.
"If you take me to your gang's headquarters, I can find someone else to spar with and you would not need to suffer further." Leon suggested. He thought the thug would give in easily, but he had more backbone than he thought.
"No way." Thorpe refused without hesitation.
'You must be joking.' There was no way he would do that. Thorpe was already beaten black and blue, but it was just fleshly wounds. He could endure physical pain, but it would be a different if he sell out their hideout. His boss would kill him. Loyalty is absolute. No room for betrayals. Death to all traitors.
"Are you not afraid I will kill you refuse?"
"You can kill me if you want. If I expose our secret headquarters, then brother Snake will definitely kill me anyway. If I must die either way, why would I help outsiders and sell out my own brothers?" Thorpe was resolute.
Being part of the underworld and doing shady crimes, they were prepared to be killed in their line of business at any given moment.
"Death is easy but living is hard. I can make you wish for death but not have it. Do you believe me?" Leon was prepared to torture Thorpe into submission.
He did not trust people like Thorpe who likes to indulge in benefits at the expense of others. Claiming protection money, free dining, violence and attempted ****. He had already seen quite a few actions that would earn his displeasure from the Black Snake Gang. Who knew what else they do behind the scenes?
Thorpe had already seen his power. If Leon cannot control them then he would destroy them.
"I don't believe."
"Great. You can have a taste of it." Leon lifted him up and hit a few acupoints that immobilized him.
"That's it? Doesn't seem like much." Thorpe mocked, seeing he could only not move and nothing else. But before long he was struck by an endless wave of immense pain.
"Aarrghhhhh!!!"
He could not endure the pain for even a second before screaming in pain. He wasn't even allowed to squirm as he was immobilized, making it unbelievably more torturous.
"What did you do to me!!?!"
"Nothing much. Just stimulated the nerve and made the blood flow in reverse. Your meridians will start rupturing after 2 minutes and you will bleed from your 7 orifices until you die, but don't worry. I am a doctor and will be able to heal you, allowing you to continue the experience." Leon explained nonchalantly. There were no mental burdens in what he was doing. There were other methods with greater intensity of pain, but he chose not to use it. If he broke the thug's mind, then who would lead him?
"Arghhh!!! Just kill me!!!"
"No way, I still need you alive to lead me the way."
"Fine, fine, fine! I give up!! I will lead you." Thorpe quickly gave in, seeing there was no other way.
"Great." Leon hit a few acupoints and ended his suffering and immobility.
"Why choose the hard way when there's an easy way out? When I take over your Black Snake Gang, you would have earned a merit instead. Who would dare to kill you then?" Leon shook his head.
"...You want to take over our Black Snake Gang...?" Thorpe wanted to roll his eyes and black out.
'Mother fucker, why didn't you say that in the first place? Who would want to refuse such a powerful leader?'
Thorpe thought Leon wanted to wipe them all out. He gotten news that two of their brothers had been killed a few days ago and thought it was Leon's doing. He planned to die alone instead of dragging his brothers with him.
In fact, his assumption was correct. It was Leon's doing, but the two thugs deserved death for touching his parents.
"Lead the way." Leon nodded
Thorpe got up weakly and lead the way. He was lucky to give in early before his meridians started rupturing. Their gang was willing to submit to a more powerful leader, but their leader had to have their interest in mind. If they couldn't indulge in their vices, then what was the point of joining the underworld? Thorpe felt deep hatred for Leon, but he did not dare to show it. He would just submit on the surface, but he swears he would kill him if the opportunity arises.
'I'll let you play leader for now, kid. A man knows when to retreat, when the odds are against him.' Thorpe thought, unaware of his inevitable demise.
While it was true that Leon wanted to take over the Black Snake Gang, a little house cleaning was needed. He didn't want to keep the bad eggs around, who committed evil. When he takes over, he would lay down new rules and regulations. He decided to only keep those with better characters. He was just using Thorpe for now.
Not everyone who join the underworld was evil. Some were just too poor to survive on their own and was forced to join, while some younger ones thought it was cool. There could be various of reasons but regardless of the reasons, if they were moldable and not inherently evil, he would correct and guide these people onto the correct path.
... They arrived at a night club. Leon blinked his eyes as if he was seeing wrongly. He thought the headquarters of the Black Snake Gang would be more secretive and difficult to find, but who knew that they would pick such an obvious spot for their headquarters?
Was this pure stupidity or confidence? Did they think that the most obvious spot was also the most unobvious spot? What logic was that? Leon didn't want to think too deeply into the matter. He feels like it'll affect his own intelligence.
They entered the night club and headed straight to the back. There was a door guarded by two men. The men recognized Thorpe and open the door for him. They cast a glance at Leon's unfamiliar face but didn't think too much. They thought he was a newcomer with big connection to be brought personally by Thorpe, who held a high status in the gang.
Behind the door was a set of stairs that led underground. The undergrounds had three levels and the first level was where most gang members gather. Brother Snake, Arlo, Gower and 20 other men were present. Including Thorpe, all these people comprised the core of the Black Snake Gang strength. They were the strongest and held the greatest statuses in the gang. Ordinary members weren't allowed on this floor as it involved their important decision-making and confidentiality.. They were in the middle of a serious talk, when Thorpe and Leon intruded.