The Outer City was still the Outer City. Its people had no say in the decisions made by the powerful.
But looked at another way, those decisions could not affect them, either.
The nobles believed the Saltfish Gang was the Deputy City Lord's Gray Glove, so they let it expand Unrestrained through the Outer City. Once the entire southern district fell under the Blade of Freedom, it reached into neighboring streets and even the Inner City at a frightening pace...
After identifying the nobles' weakness—the survival of their families—Francois began handing out Invitation Letters like calling cards to nobles with weak ties to the Kingdom and officials in key positions. When he encountered a particularly capable official, he sometimes offered a Letter of Recommendation instead.
A lack of talent had always been Free City's weakness. After all this time, aside from the few Elites Annan had brought back from his travels, the city had only its first class of school graduates.
That made this a perfect opportunity for Free City to sink its fangs into the Kingdom's neck and drink its blood—though at its current size, it was more like a mosquito feeding on the Kingdom's back.
Francois vanished for several days. As soon as he returned, he summoned every noble and official who had joined the Blade of Freedom to the Saltfish Gang's headquarters.
The once-grimy building had been remodeled to resemble a council chamber. As everyone gathered, they spotted familiar faces among the crowd. Some had only just finished pounding the table at the City Lord's Mansion and cursing Free City.
"So you're one of us too..."
The Deputy City Lord scanned their faces, surprised and a little relieved.
"I've called you all here for one reason." Francois stood straight before them. "I contacted Lord Annan and told