The Mafia Empire

Robin looked to Wood. Wood waved his hand without saying a word, and two m wielding clubs smashed the first-floor windows and oped the door from the inside. At least twty m swarmed into the building, armed with clubs, machetes, and two with handguns.

After searching the first floor and finding no one, they charged up the stairs to the second floor like wolves. That's wh Julian's m struck back.

Several brok stone pillars were thrown down from the second floor, crushing some of the m who had rushed ahead. Skulls cracked op, legs were shattered, and the air filled with agonized wails.

In this kind of fight, stairways were the best places to defd and the hardest to attack. Stairways were narrow, allowing at most two people to pass at a time, while the top of the stairs was wide op, allowing a larger group to attack the smaller one below.

This was why sieges in the age of cold weapons required waves of lives to fill the gaps—because the attackers were always outnumbered by those defding.

One man, who had be at the back of the group, rushed forward, spotted a figure on the second floor, and fired two quick shots without bothering to aim. The bullets tore into the wood, sding splinters flying. Taking advantage of their emy's hesitation, several more m charged up the stairs.

The sound of fighting and shouting filled the air, with occasional gunfire ringing out. Not long after, three more cars sped down the street and screeched to a halt nearby. More m poured out—these were the ones who had heard of Wood's revge and had come from other parts of the city. They were armed with clubs and machetes and rushed up the stairs without a word.

They were ev more eager to kill Julian and Graf. These were Jim and Jiji's m, desperate to avge their bosses by taking the lives of Julian or Graf.

Just as the noise of battle began to spread to the third floor, Robin noticed something moving at the edge of his vision.

Humans are animals, too, and are naturally more ssitive to movemt. Wh Robin turned to see what had caught his atttion, his eyes narrowed, and in an instant, every hair on his body stood on d as chills ran down his spine!

In the shattered glass mirror, Robin saw his frail self, the disheveled Wood beside him, and behind them, a group of young faces wearing flat caps began to close in.

Sometimes, gangs are indeed better than the police at figuring things out. For instance, wh Jiji was killed, someone saw a young man in a trch coat and flat cap approach Jiji, pull a gun from his pocket, and shoot Jiji in the head. He was a very delicate looking young man, with features that leaned toward the feminine. Some ev swore that it was a girl, not a boy.

However, no matter what, Robin came to one conclusion: they were facing a "young emy." Apart from Graf, most of the people in this unique group were young—fifte, sixte, sevte, eighte, or a twty years old. They were all Guars, all impoverished and destitute. They needed to change something, so they became Julian's accomplices, helping him brutally murder his own brother.

So what about the people behind them right now? Were they also part of Julian's gang?

In that instant, Robin's mind seemed to flash back to his younger days, wh every detail and every clue worth noting separated themselves from countless fragmts, piecing together. In the next second, he grabbed Wood by the collar and, with Wood's astonished expression, rushed towards the nearest car.

It was a trap!

He shouted frantically, "Those people upstairs are just bait, we are the real targets!" He shoved Wood into the back seat of the car, not ev bothering to close the door, his leg already stepping into the driver's seat.

The car keys were still in the ignition. He just needed to push a lever, let the catalyst ter the filling chamber, react with the crystal, and th wait for about t seconds, and the car would quickly speed down the street.

But in just those one or two seconds, he heard footsteps closing in, felt a hand grab his collar, pulling him back. His face flushed, gripping the steering wheel, and with his other hand, he reached under the driver's seat. Most people liked to keep handy items there. As he grabbed a wrch, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Without ev looking, he swung the wrch backward.

With a dull thud, his hand tingled, and the force holding his collar suddly disappeared. He scrambled into the driver's seat, twisted the key, and pushed the lever. He could feel the catalyst already reacting violtly with the crystal, and the car began to tremble slightly. Glancing to the side, he saw a group of young people rushing towards him.

With a loud crash, the driver's window shattered, and several knives plunged into his body. He clamped down on their arms with all his strgth, and at that momt, the car's tremors intsified. He stomped on the accelerator, and the car lurched forward.

In the back seat, Wood gasped for breath. He had also be attacked, with a slash on his back, another on his arm, and a cut about t ctimeters long on his face, the skin peeled back, exposing the yellowish fat beath. He was panting heavily, his whole body aching, but at that momt, he felt most grateful to Robin.

If they had be just a little slower, he might have be killed. He had to admit that these young people were ruthless and decisive, always aiming for vital points with each attack. If not for Wood's habit of staying active, he would likely be dead by now.

"Wh we get back, bring in Godor's m. No matter the cost, I want that guy dead in front of me!" Wood growled through gritted teeth, wincing in pain. He knew he had be too reckless and too impulsive. He should have listed to Robin, waited until everything was planned out before making a move, instead of rushing out blindly in a fit of rage without any preparation.