Chapter 46: Chapter 46: "Even Heaven Doesn’t Care, So Why Should I?

With the power of the Wild Wolf Gang Leader’s Token, the crumbling section of the City Wall was once again secured.

But...

It came at the cost of a precious Exotic Treasure.

An Exotic Treasure that could temporarily bolster the City Wall’s defenses was an extremely precious, life-saving item.

"Are the Chen Family’s Architects still not here?"

The Wild Wolf Gang Leader stood in the downpour and bellowed at a subordinate by his side.

"We’ve sent several people to the Chen Mansion, but there’s been no reply yet!" the subordinate, who was holding a long saber, yelled back, wiping rain from his face.

"Goddammit!"

Every inch a thug, the man stared out at the near-endless horde of Ghost Objects beyond the city. His face was a savage mask as he gripped his saber’s hilt, fury blazing in his eyes.

Tonight, in Jiangbei City’s hour of peril, the only ones standing on the City Wall were his Wild Wolf Gang brothers, alongside scattered forces from the Jiangbei Marketplace. He even saw merchants handing over the Ghost Stones they usually kept locked away, giving them all to the Architects to build Arrow Towers.

All just to survive the night.

Yet...

Not a single person from the Jiangbei Chen Family or the Hill and Valley Royal Family had come to defend the city.

He knew exactly what those two families were thinking. Their own estates had High Level City Walls, so what did it matter to them if Jiangbei City’s walls fell? All they had to do was protect their own little patch of turf.

They weren’t willing to waste their Ghost Stones and Exotic Treasures on defending Jiangbei City.

As one of the three great powers, his Wild Wolf Gang had its own territory and its own walls. He could have easily retreated to his own domain,

But—

He hadn’t made any big plays in years. His gang was a newer power, one that had emerged after Jiangbei City fell during the rainy season 37 years ago. He couldn’t get a foothold in the major rackets, so his main source of income was collecting protection fees from the local shops.

Since he took these people’s protection money, he had to protect them.

That was the rule.

You take the money, you do the job.

"Boss, what do we do now?" a trusted subordinate asked anxiously. "It’s obvious the Chen Family and the Wang Family aren’t coming. Why don’t we pull back too? We can’t hold this line by ourselves."

"...Haaaah."

The Wild Wolf Gang Leader turned to look at an old man standing behind him on the City Wall, drenched in the rain. This was his gang’s Architect, a hired expert and a Level 5 Architect. The leader had once saved his life in the wild, and the old man had followed him ever since.

He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse with suppressed rage. "Elder Zhu, what are your thoughts?"

"I’ll follow the Gang Leader’s orders."

The old man’s eyes were calm as he chuckled. "Whatever the Gang Leader commands, I will do."

"Good!"

The thuggish man glanced at the Meat Worm Ghosts charging relentlessly through the downpour beyond the city walls and suddenly broke into a laugh. "I say, since we took their protection money, we have to protect the people behind us."

"Taking the money and not doing the job... that’s not the Wild Wolf Gang’s style. Don’t you agree?"

A bolt of lightning flashed.

It cast a bloody glint across the man’s deathly pale face.

"Er Hu!"

"Here!"

"Open the armory! Bring out every last Ghost Stone and Exotic Treasure the Wild Wolf Gang has! I’m going to fucking defend this city to the death!"

"Yes, sir!"

Opening the armory meant it was time to bet everything they had.

After this battle, even if Jiangbei City was saved, the Wild Wolf Gang would cease to exist.

Word of this decision quickly spread among the defenders on the wall.

Throughout the city, anyone with a Ghost Stone to their name began rushing out of their houses into the storm. Whenever they saw someone wearing the Wild Wolf Gang’s colors, they would press everything they had into their hands.

Everyone knew. The Wild Wolf Gang was defending the city for them.

The gang had an escape route if they chose not to fight, but the citizens had none. For them, a fallen city meant certain death.

"Dad."

In a Wooden House down an alley in Jiangbei City, a man in coarse clothes holding a Big Saber grinned at his frightened, reluctant parents. "You always said I was a good-for-nothing for joining a gang. You always wanted me to get a position with the Chen Family, saying that was the ’proper’ path."

"Well, look now."

"When the city’s really about to fall, we’re the ones protecting all its people."

Just then, a firework bloomed in the sky over the city, defying the torrential rain.

The man delayed no further. "The Gang Leader has issued an urgent summons," he said, bidding a hasty farewell. "I have to go. I’ll be back by dawn."

...

「Jiangbei City, Chen Mansion.」

Inside the council hall, several Elders were gathered.

"That Wild Wolf Gang Leader certainly has guts, but he’s not very rational. Win or lose, after this battle, the Wild Wolf Gang will be history in Jiangbei City."

The Grand Elder of the Chen Family sighed, his expression complicated.

The Wild Wolf Gang was one of the newer powers.

They hadn’t been through the rainy season 37 years ago.

They had no idea that a city’s fall during the rainy season is inevitable. So what if they manage to hold on tonight? The rainy season still has more than twenty days left.

It’s all a wasted effort.

The correct strategy right now is to conserve all resources, defend one’s own territory to the last, and simply endure the rainy season.

The Second Elder remained silent.

’He just felt... the family had grown more and more dysfunctional over the years.’

’On the Ghost Map, he could clearly see that "Jiangbei Chen Family Outpost 37" was not yet destroyed. It was an undeniable fact: Chen Fan had become an Architect, and a high-level one at that. Yet this Architect, who should have belonged to their Chen Family, had been driven out to the Wilderness because of internal strife.’

’It was just that...’

’...no one in the family dared to bring it up anymore. Everyone just pretended it never happened.’

At that moment—

Patriarch Chen pushed the door open, strode into the council hall, and spoke the moment he sat down.

"The Wild Wolf Gang has opened its armory, staking its entire foundation to defend Jiangbei City. They’ve chosen to live or die with its hundreds of thousands of citizens."

"Their courage is commendable."

"I respect him for it. He’s a man of character."

"The city’s populace is currently united. Anyone with even a few Ghost Stones to their name is rushing into the streets to press them into the hands of Wild Wolf Gang members. With this level of support, they might actually hold the city tonight."

The Grand Elder mused, "Patriarch, are you suggesting we should also go defend the city? To take advantage of the momentum and restore some of our reputation?"

"No."

Patriarch Chen shook his head. "I will let history judge whether my actions over the years were right or wrong. But of this I am certain: everything I have done was to ensure the Chen Family prospers. In that, I have done right by my ancestors."

"And I have been worthy of the title of Patriarch."

"Even if they hold the city tonight, the rainy season has more than twenty days left. How will they defend it in the weeks to come?"

"They are squandering the city’s resources."

"Have all Chen Family disciples immediately change into the attire of the Wild Wolf Gang. Have them go out and ’receive’ the Ghost Stones and Exotic Treasures that the citizens and merchants are handing over."

"Especially around the Jiangbei Marketplace."

"I could not care less about the safety of the general populace." 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

"Ever since the Eternal Night invaded, how many people on this continent have died? How many have begged the heavens for a chance to live? Did the heavens answer?"

"The heavens don’t care, so why should I?"

"I only care about one thing."

"The prosperity of the Chen Family."

"Everything... for the Chen Family."

"..."

The Elders exchanged a look, each seeing the complex emotions in the others’ eyes. After a long moment, they nodded in unison. "As the Patriarch commands."