Chapter 172: Public Enemy (II)
"If I hadn’t stayed behind, it would have been a slaughter on day one," John said. "My military background and level gave them some pause, and together with Minh Quan, we fended off their initial thugs. But they kept bringing in higher-level ascenders from their family, pressuring Minh Quan to hand over control."
Minh Quan was the designated manager Uhtred had put in place to handle territory permissions in his absence, recognized even by the System, meaning only he could give such access to the dungeon.
As the altercations grew worse, small concessions were made to prevent a bloody takeover. Minh Quan eventually allowed one of their top talents to attempt the lower floors.
That was when the mafia got a harsh reality check.
When their best of the best talent tried pushing past floors eleven, twelve, thirteen... the monsters nearly wiped him out. It was then the mafia leadership realized just how insane Uhtred’s actual combat strength was. He had cleared all twenty floors completely long before the trial notice even arrived.
That realization chilled them. They finally understood why the world government hadn’t launched a direct strike on Uhtred’s land. Fighting someone who could solo a twenty-floor dungeon was suicide.
However, the mafia had already crossed the line. Knowing Uhtred wouldn’t forgive their intrusion once he returned, they shifted tactics. They dropped the blatant violence and tried forcing a formal contract onto Minh Quan to waive all daily fees until Uhtred got back.
Minh Quan refused to sign away any access to Uhtred’s dungeon. Needles to say, the mafia did not take this lightly.
During the final argument, a hot-headed lieutenant from the Vanezzi family snapped, drawing a blade and severing Minh Quan’s right hand from the wrist.
But even bleeding profusely, Minh Quan had still refused any further access. He would’ve died if it wasn’t for John Allen who stepped in to offer a solution.
He proposed that Minh Quan should use the System interface to make a new contract. One that would waive the mafia’s daily fees, allowing them entry, but under strict terms:
La Familia Suprema could bring a maximum of one hundred men per day to push for the twentieth floor. If they cleared the final floor before Uhtred returned, they could contest control of the dungeon under System law.
If they failed, every single multiversal token of the waived fees would be automatically deducted from the mafia by the System the moment Uhtred stepped foot back in his territory. And their fate would belong entirely to Uhtred.
Of course the mafia family were no fools. They had seen exactly what John Allen wanted to achieve with this. He was confident that even with their combined effort, they wouldn’t clear the dungeon before Uhtred arrived.
However, the deal was just too good. John Allen had made it such that they couldn’t resist. This was the only option where they even had a chance to contest for control of the dungeon. If it had been any other term, they wouldn’t have accepted, but the fact that there was a possibility of them owning the dungeon had made the deal too good to resist.
If they couldn’t even accept such a deal, what then were they as the mafia?
"That’s the deal Vanezzi was running for the past month," John said. "He rotated a hundred different guys every day, trying to push to the last floor, but they still couldn’t reach it in the end."
Silence settled heavily as John finished speaking.
Uhtred hadn’t interrupted a single time throughout the long explanation. He stood completely motionless, his expression unreadable, though the air around him had grown dense and frigid cold.
John Allen cleared his throat softly, finishing his breakdown of the global landscape.
"The global situation is a complete mess right now, Uhtred. The World Government is crushing small and mid-tier factions that refuse to obey their new laws, and they’ve got ascender enforcers patrolling the zones now. They even have spies planted within every major territory across the continents..."
He paused.
"And speaking of spies... there’s the Shadow Brokerage. The last new organization. Nobody knows who they are, or where their territory is located, but they trade high-value information. Class details of ascenders, talent grade of key figures, territory location... if it exists, they’re selling it."
John Allen looked Uhtred dead in the eye, his tone heavy with warning.
"The world you left a month ago is dead. The guys who controlled the world before the integration are back on the playing field. They took advantage of your time away, and they don’t intend to lose power they’ve regained this time."
Uhtred didn’t reply immediately. He stood in silence, processing everything: The World Government labeling him a public threat. The mafia chopping off Minh Quan’s hand, forcing him to give dungeon access. Factions already dividing up the planet, imposing "global laws" and deciding who was a criminal and who wasn’t.
Slowly, the tension in Uhtred’s shoulders eased. The suffocating pressure radiating off his body pulled back into his core, leaving his demeanor strangely relaxed.
He turned slightly toward his crew.
"Dennis."
Dennis stepped up immediately, his posture relaxed despite the heavy mood. "Yeah?"
"Gather everyone. You, Zara, Diya, Minh Quan... We’re having a meeting."
Minh Quan blinked, looking up from his still-kneeling position in surprise. "A meeting, boss?"
"We need to position ourselves," Uhtred replied, his eyes becoming slightly unfocused for a split second as he brought up his System panel to see the changes to the leaderboards again. "The world went ahead and set up a new order while we were away. The World Government thinks it encompasses everything now. They think because they passed some laws on paper, everyone on Earth has to bow down to them."
He let out a short, quiet snort.
"Before the trials, I kept to myself. I stayed in my territory, cleared my dungeon, and minded my own business. No one on this planet really knew who I was or what I was capable of doing. The people who survived the trials got a small taste of it, but the fools running things out here clearly didn’t get the memo..."
A cold, sharp smile tugged at the corner of his lips.
"I need to make a statement."
"La Familia Suprema. We’ll start with them..."
"We’re wiping them off the face of the planet."