Chapter 203 If It's A War You Want, A War You Will Get
The Gundam Shelter was easily one of the biggest shelters out there as over the years, its numerous gangs and military organizations expanded its territory.
The Red Zone itself occupied a huge expanse of land.
The territory around the Blood Market was just one small part of the massive Red Zone. All 3 gangs that Rex attacked the previous day were around the territory of the Blood Market which was also where the Berserk Gang based.
Despite the fact that the targets were all in the Blood Market territory, news of Rex's notorious deeds the previous night still spread far and wide.
Literally the whole Red Zone already heard of the news.
Those that were perceptive enough could already sense the undercurrents that was starting with the Berserk Gang. As for the others who were clueless, they could only guess in fear at the intentions of the Berserk Gang.
Throughout the night, no mystic warrior of any gang dared sleep as they all did night vigils, straining their tired brains to constantly remain alert against an attack, the red vampire already struck fear through their hearts.
In the whole Blood Market territory, though there were dozens of gangs, only 7 gangs had Advanced mystic warriors as their gang leaders.
Of these 7, Rex of the Berserk Gang already killed 3, leaving only 3 alive. In the grand scheme of things, this looked like a major loss to Rex who intended to take them all in but he saw it as a necessary evil for the greater good.
During the night, while Rex went solo to assassinate the 3 Advanced mystic warriors, Aragorn, Ben, and Elanor were also hard at work organizing the army.
If the night was the vigil, today was the D-day.
After having a good night rest, Rex finally woke up to meet his 3 friends already waiting for him in the strategy room.
Before leaving, he did not forget to don his war gear.
"Are you set?" Aragorn asked as soon as he saw Rex.
"Yes, have you chosen the target that we'll meet to negotiate with first?"
Aragorn looked at the other 2 before replying. "We decided to meet the gang leader of the Silver Surfer gang first, he is the strongest of all 3".
"What tier?"
"His last battle shows that he is a 2nd tier Advanced mystic warrior. The other 2 including the 3 that you killed yesterday are all 1st tier Advanced mystic warriors".
"Ok, once you're ready, let's leave".
Having decided on it during their previous gathering, Aragorn and Rex would be responsible for the negotiations to integrate the target gangs into the Berserk Gang. As for Ben and Elanor, they'll protect the Berserk Mansion in their absence.
Before they left, Elanor asked a question. "Rex, what of the smaller gangs?"
"They'll follow the trend", Rex smiled. "They don't have a choice. Once I subdue the Silver Surfer, Mountain Pillar, and Ape Ville gangs, those that are wise enough would recognize the trend and seek to join us themselves".
"As for those that don't seek to join on their own initiative, we'll offer an olive branch towards them. Those that agree, we'll integrate them".
"As for those that refuse, they have only one fate, death".
It was cruel, but this was the way of the Gundam Shelter.
This was the reason why Rex and his companions came here to start anew. In the Gundam Shelter, there was no constitution or rule of law, strength was the only rule of law that was respected in this chaotic shelter.
If you had the required strength, you could create your own rule of law.
Having been developing for months already, Rex and his gang finally got to the point where they could create their own laws and enforce them.
On going outside, Rex and Aragorn saw thousands of mystic warriors already gathered outside the mansion. They were all prepped and ready for battle, all that they were waiting for was the order from the gang leader.
They saluted respectfully on seeing Lord Rex and Lord Aragorn.
After waving at them, both leaders of the Berserk Gang boarded the Monster Truck whose powerful engine soon reeved loudly. Aragorn took hold of the steering wheel as he piloted the powerful truck away from the gang.
…
A few blocks away from the Berserk Mansion, hidden in different corners were mystic warriors from different backgrounds which kept an eye on the Berserk Gang after the occurrences of the previous night.
As soon as the famous Monster Truck left the mansion, they all scrambled to grab their communication devices and send messages to their masters.
Today, the main roads in the Blood Market territory were unnaturally quiet.
Perhaps, having a hunch that a great upheaval would commence today, most of the merchants and businessmen who did business here already took precautions. There were barely any restaurants that opened for business.
Aragorn did not pay attention to all of these as he piloted the Monster Truck straight to the destination. 7 minutes later, they arrived.
Originally, when an unknown truck approached a gang's territory, the normal tactic was intimidation through questioning to deter the intruder.
This time though, the sentry guards of the Silver Surfer gang dared not create a ruckus. The sentry leader stammered. "W-who are you?"
"What business do you have with our gang?"
The inhabitants of the Monster truck were unexpectedly polite. "We want to meet the gang leader of the Silver Surfer gang for negotiations".
"Negotiations…?"
"Let them in!" Amid the sentry leader's dilemma, an authoritative voice ordered and he instantly obeyed and opened the gate inside the gang territory.
Unlike all the other gangs, like the Berserk Gang, the Silver Surfer gang had a mansion for themselves though it was far smaller than that of the Berserk Gang.
An entourage was already waiting for them inside as Rex and Aragorn were escorted inside the mansion to the living parlor where a blonde-haired handsome middle-aged warrior was already seated waiting for them.
The blonde-haired warrior stood up as soon as they entered. "To what honor do I owe this impromptu visit from the great red vampire himself?"
In a single sentence, the blonde-haired middle-aged warrior was able to set the atmosphere, instantly elevating Rex's status above his own.
Rex got the clue which made things a lot easier for him. As soon as they sat down, he smiled and turned to face the blonde-haired warrior.
"You should know a lot about the Berserk Gang".
"Yes".
"You also know that we are about to fight the Gandalf Gang, right?"
"…Yes". The blonde-haired warrior hesitated a bit this time before answering as he tried hard to read Rex's intentions through his facial expression.
"I and my sworn siblings may form a powerful trident force, but I'm realistic enough to know that to fight a gang of the Gandalf's level, we need an army of mystic warriors who can fight at the lowest level on our behalf".
"I intend to integrate all the gangs in the Blood Market territory under my rule, and I intend to start with the Silver Surfer gang". As he said this, Rex stared straight at the blonde-haired warrior to see his reaction.
The blonde-haired warrior did not fidget nor did his face change, his reaction shocked Rex as he instead smiled. Then the next moment, he kneeled down.
"Gang leader, before I pledge my loyalty to you, since this is a negotiation, I wish to place my terms before you".
Rex was briefly caught off-guard, he did not expect this mystic warrior to succumb so easily, he soon recovered though. "Tell me your terms".
"I want to become one of your sworn siblings and also become another leader of the Berserk Gang".
Rex was silent for a few seconds as he stared at this warrior. "I don't control it, fate will determine if you and I can become sworn siblings in the future".
"As for your 2nd term, I can fulfill it. You have the full qualifications to become one of the leading figures of the Berserk Gang, I accept your 2nd term".
"Then, I'm relieved". The blonde-haired warrior smiled.
"From today, I, Erling, hereby pledge my loyalty to you".
The process was pretty straightforward after the pledge of loyalty. Rex revealed his plans to this warrior before officially merging the Silver Surfer gang with the Berserk gang, they'll help them fight the rebels who refused to join them.
Once he got the plan, Erling went to get his warriors prepared for battle as Aragorn and Rex left on the Monster Truck. Throughout the negotiation, due to how malleable Erling was, Aragorn didn't need to speak.
Their next destination was the Mountain Pillar gang. The leader of this gang was a renowned defensive Advanced mystic warrior with 3 defensive mystic abilities, he was a turtle in battle, slow but with irritating defensive abilities.
Like Erling, Jacob was also malleable. He recognized the changing trends and to not be overwhelmed by it, he aligned with it and also pledged loyalty to Rex.
His only problem was the battle with the Gandalf Gang, he was not optimistic about the gang's chances but Rex gave him evidence to show him that they stood a chance. This was what pushed him into pledging his loyalty.
After the Mountain Pillar gang, they finally went to the Ape Ville gang.
Once they got to this last gang, the defensive and hostile nature at which they were received already spoke volumes but Aragorn still drove in.
Once the negotiations started, Haman spoke his mind.
"You are a fool to think you stand a chance against the Gandalf Gang".
"The Ape Ville gang will not join the Berserk Gang!"
"Before you attack us, beware, we are part of the Axe Gang". He glared at Rex. "I joined them in the night when you massacred those 3".
"If you attack us, just know that you are indirectly attacking the Axe Gang".
Rex was not offended by the words or the glare, he simply asked. "Does that mean you are ready to go to war with us?"
"Yes, I'm not afraid of you!"
"Fine". Rex smiled and stood up. "If it's a war you want, a war you will get".