Chapter Fifty-Three: Silence

A month and a half had passed since Liu Tian left the kingdom. This span of time—neither too long nor too short—had already been enough for certain things to change. In just over a month, the city’s crime rate had soared by three hundred percent, and most of the inhabitants now lived in utter misery.

With the economy deteriorating day by day, a great depression had finally erupted, swelling the ranks of the jobless and the destitute. The formerly benevolent lords, preoccupied with choosing sides and laying plans while the Queen’s illness worsened, had no time to deal with the chaos. As more and more people lost their livelihoods and were left with nothing, the spike in crime was only to be expected.

To make matters worse, tensions between the city’s two largest gangs—Silverwood Star and Violet—had flared into open conflict, pouring oil on the flames. There had always been friction between these factions, but several months ago, each lost a high-ranking member under mysterious circumstances. With no culprit to be found, both blamed the other, deepening the rift. Then came the kidnapping of Alice Gaine, the cherished daughter of the Gaine family. Both gangs, forced to negotiate and offer concessions to quell the crisis, found themselves stretched thin.

Now, for the sake of survival, the gangs had reached a point of outright hostility: one would have to destroy the other. Taking advantage of the depression, both sides began expanding rapidly, recruiting new members in droves. The violence escalated: today one side smashed the other’s establishment and killed their prized bird, tossing it into their enemy’s bed; tomorrow, the other side raided their rival's hotel and left a decapitated horse at their doorstep.

It is unclear which gang struck the first blow, but soon a full-scale brawl erupted. By day, there was still a semblance of order; neither side wished to provoke the lords into deploying the army to crush them outright. But at night, especially far from the aristocratic quarters, savage battles broke out everywhere. The sewers filled with corpses, and the crematoriums burned ceaselessly. Fortunately, the frequent rains washed most of the bodies into the sea, staving off any outbreak of plague.

It was into this chaos that Liu Tian returned from the Scarlet Cloud Empire. After a long and weary journey, he arrived in the city deep into the night.

Of course, in this era, nights in the capital were little different from days—neon lights and blazing lamps illuminated the city as if it were noon. Yet tonight, unlike before, the sounds of fighting and explosions echoed through the streets, and a faint scent of blood lingered in every alley.

“So, have I arrived in Gotham? Since when did this place become so delightfully savage?”

Liu Tian walked through the midnight streets, a single hand holding his bag. Despite the late hour, the streets were as crowded as ever. Members of the two rival gangs, clad in their respective uniforms, clashed with blades and even firearms.

The use of guns in the capital made it clear: the gangs were fighting in earnest, heedless of consequences. It was now a battle to the death.

Bars and brothels—establishments that once operated through all hours despite wind or rain—were shuttered in perfect unison. Everyone knew the gangs were preparing, by the leaders’ orders, to settle their feud tonight.

The loser would be cast into oblivion; the victor would feast on the vanquished and expand their influence on the winds of depression. As for the bystanders, they merely needed to be ready to fawn over the winner. It made little difference whom they paid protection money to—survival was the only concern.

In these turbulent times, the gangs were like cockroaches: impossible to eradicate. With the depression and the looming change in monarchy, Violet and Silverwood Star grew ever more brazen.

Some among their leadership, with keen foresight, recognized that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The current interregnum, coupled with an endless supply of recruits, provided ideal conditions. If they moved quickly enough, by the time the lords noticed, it would be too late to stop them.

Both Adolf, leader of Violet, and Abbott, leader of Silverwood Star, saw this clearly. But before either could become the kingdom’s true underworld sovereign, they needed to eliminate the other.

Perhaps collaboration would have been wiser, but mutual distrust ran deep. Maybe Abbott had seduced Adolf’s woman, or perhaps Adolf had forced Abbott’s daughter into a degrading film. Or maybe there were countless other small betrayals between them. In any case, both were determined: only one would survive this golden moment.

There could be only one king; there was no need for a second throne.

Years of rivalry had made them intimately familiar with each other’s strengths and secrets. Though both had recruited many new members—mostly just the desperate and unskilled—the influx did little to alter the balance.

Back and forth the struggle raged, each side countering the other’s every move. Now, both were at their limits. If the fight dragged on, outsiders might seize the chance to profit from their mutual destruction.

In this atmosphere, a duel was arranged: a fight to the death between Abbott and Adolf. Both were skilled fighters, and after much consideration, they agreed to settle the matter with their fists alone.

They each harbored supreme confidence, bolstered by the secret, costly genetic enhancements they had received from Blue Dream Corporation.

What should have been a brief and decisive battle soon devolved into a drawn-out struggle as both unleashed their hidden trump cards, culminating in a blood-soaked, desperate contest—whichever side could kill the opposing leader would seize victory.

It was at this moment that Liu Tian entered the fray, heading straight for the heart of the battlefield. There was no special reason for this—this route simply happened to be the quickest way home, and he was too tired to take a detour.

“Oh, what a lively brawl,” he remarked.

Despite the chaos, Liu Tian walked straight ahead as if the fighting all around him did not exist. He even found time to comment on the spectacle.

As for dodging the combatants? Out of the question.

Anyone who blocked his way had their neck snapped and was tossed aside without hesitation.

Whether it was a duel or a gang brawl, blades or bullets, nothing could slow Liu Tian in the slightest.

Regardless of whether they wore Violet or Silverwood Star colors, everyone in his path ended up lying together by the roadside, united in death.

Liu Tian dispatched them with utter decisiveness, as if kicking aside a stone blocking his way.

He felt no need to justify his actions with notions of justice. He knew that he killed these people simply because they were in his way.

It was neither about righteousness nor evil—just the removal of obstacles, a casual remedy to whatever he encountered.

And in Liu Tian’s wake, the raucous world fell eerily silent. This unnatural calm spread ever forward along his path, reaching inexorably toward the final battlefield…