A Perfect Opportunity

That night.

Under cover of darkness, evil stirred restlessly in the Lower District.

"Open up! Open up!"

A Bloodfang Gang thug was violently pounding on the front door of a residence.

Several minutes passed without any response.

"Stop shouting. Get the tools!"

Another thug hefted a hammer axe and quickly bored a large hole through the door before forcing it open.

The two thugs swaggered inside.

"Bloodfang Gang business!"

Inside, a young couple huddled together in a corner, their faces pale with terror.

"Time to pay up! If you can't come up with the money today, don't blame us for getting rough!"

The thug snarled threateningly.

The young woman pleaded through tears, "Big brothers, please give us another two days. Just two days."

"We really don't have any money right now. We won't get paid until two days from now, and we'll definitely repay you then. Please spare us this once."

The Bloodfang Gang thug sneered. "We already gave you five extra days last time. With interest on interest, you now owe two gold coins and eighty-one silver coins. You think you can pay it all back in another two days?"

Despair immediately appeared on the young woman's face.

"How could it be so much? Didn't we only owe two gold coins last time?"

"Bullshit! The extra is interest, plus the errand fee for yours truly coming all the way here to collect!" the Bloodfang Gang thug said viciously.

Previously, the man of this young couple had fallen ill. To hire a priest from the Radiance Church to heal him with divine magic required fifty Rayak silver coins.

They could not afford that much money. Just when they had nowhere left to turn, members of the Bloodfang Gang appeared.

They were willing to lend them money, but they charged interest.

To treat his illness, the young woman had no choice but to grit her teeth and agree. She had planned for them to work hard and repay the debt after the man recovered, but the Bloodfang Gang had never intended to let them pay it off. The money they earned through backbreaking labor was not even enough to cover the interest!

After repeated collections, the couple had nearly sold everything they could sell, yet their debt had not decreased in the slightest. Instead, it kept growing.

"Big brothers, we really don't have that much money..." the young woman begged tearfully.

As if he had expected this all along, the Bloodfang Gang thug looked at the woman with ill intent.

Though she was dressed very plainly, her beautifully curved figure was still apparent.

"Hehe, if you can't pay, there are other ways."

"Come with us. The black market is short on people lately. Perfect timing—you work there for a few days, and we'll forgive half your debt. How about it? That's a good deal, isn't it?"

As he spoke, the thug pulled a leather collar from his pocket and tossed it in front of the woman.

The young couple's expressions turned ugly.

What would she be doing if she went to the black market? Did that even need to be said?

Seeing how fiercely the young woman resisted, the thug was about to step forward and drag her away by force when he suddenly felt someone lightly pat his shoulder from behind.

"Who?"

The thug turned around.

A sturdily built young man came into view.

Brandon smiled as he confirmed, "You two are with the Bloodfang Gang, right?"

The thug nodded reflexively. "What a stupid question! Can't you see the Bloodfang Gang is handling busi—"

Bang!

A fist filled with fury smashed viciously into the thug's face!

Heroic Strike! Punk!

A tooth flew away along with a spray of blood.

Caught off guard by the vicious blow, the Bloodfang Gang thug was stunned for a moment before flying into a rage!

The Bloodfang Gang had always been the ones bullying others in the Lower District. Since when had anyone dared to hit them?

How could he possibly tolerate that?

He had just undergone a secret ritual at Blood Roulette, and his strength had greatly increased. His confidence was at an all-time high!

"You fucking—"

Just as he was about to activate the restless energy within his body and retaliate, teaching the other man a proper lesson, he saw people filing in one after another through the broken doorway. Before long, the small house was packed to the brim.

"...Fuck... who exactly are you?"

The thug's arrogance immediately wilted.

Brandon could not be bothered to respond. He waved and called out, "No mistake! These two are Bloodfang Gang members too!"

"Friends, the usual rules! Line up! One hit each, split the contribution evenly, and no extra hits!"

"And be careful not to kill them outright, or the people in back won't get any justice points!"

"Last time, some idiot hit too hard and killed one directly. What a massive loss!"

The crowd responded boisterously.

"Yeah! Got it!"

"Alright!"

"Pick up the pace, everyone! This is only the second group. I heard Pete's team has already dealt with their third batch of Bloodfang Gang members. We're falling behind!"

Almost exactly like before, the two Bloodfang Gang thugs first tried to fight back.

They barely managed to knock down a few people with the energy in their bodies, only to be completely swallowed up by the sea of people afterward.

The Knowledge Sect members might not yet have sufficient physical strength to support them, so their damage was not high. But after wielding fury or mastering basic magic, at least their attacks could reliably have an effect!

It was like having guaranteed damage of at least one point, even if they could not break through the target's defenses!

Fists and kicks rained down in a dense barrage. Before long, the two Bloodfang Gang members' resistance grew weaker and weaker, and their restless energy dwindled further and further, until they finally passed out completely and could no longer provide any justice points.

The desperate young couple in the room had gone utterly blank.

What had they just seen?

The Bloodfang Gang thugs they had been unable to resist before were now being beaten like dead dogs?

Had a scene from their dreams somehow become reality?

"Thank you for saving us... May I ask... who are you?"

The young woman asked cautiously.

Brandon smiled politely. "The Knowledge Sect. We are here to protect the safety of the Lower District!"

"If Bloodfang Gang members come to harass you again, you're welcome to seek help at Moni Brothers Tavern."

Meanwhile, similar scenes were playing out one after another throughout the Lower District.

After discussing matters at the tavern, the Knowledge Sect members split into three groups led by Pete, Rena, and Brandon respectively, searching in different directions for "isolated" Bloodfang Gang members.

Nighttime was always the peak period for Bloodfang Gang thugs to commit evil.

Using all sorts of methods, they disrupted the peace and order of the Lower District.

They lent money to poor people desperately in need of it, then forcibly charged exorbitant interest the borrowers could never repay. They drained them of every last possession, then forced the men into doing illegal labor for the gang while dragging the women off to the black market or other service establishments controlled by the Bloodfang Gang. This was their most common method.

After gaining powerful strength, the Bloodfang Gang members became even more unscrupulous, making no effort whatsoever to conceal their actions.

Jobs that had once required five or six people to carry out now only needed one or two people to brazenly force their way into homes and cause trouble.

But this happened to provide the Knowledge Sect with a perfect opportunity to defeat them one by one!

If the Bloodfang Gang still stuck together as they had in the past, they would be unable to handle so many enemies and might even have to worry about the gang coming after them instead.

But if there were only one or two isolated members?

The tables had turned!