Chapter 209: Lin Qi’s Rally

In a quiet alley in the eastern part of the Imperial Capital, at its winding end, stood an enormous slaughterhouse. During busy times, the animals processed daily here supplied a third of the Imperial Capital’s meat needs. That’s why the slaughterhouse was so large, especially the rear courtyard for holding livestock, big enough to hold nearly two thousand people.

Right now, over a thousand burly men, dressed in shabby clothes and with rough faces, stood haphazardly in the yard. Their wandering eyes darted around suspiciously like thieves. It was freezing cold, the place offered no shelter from the wind, and standing there doing nothing was quite painful.

Thud! Thud! Two loud crashes sounded as Lin Qi casually slammed two metal chests onto the ground. Each chest was two feet long and wide, and one foot tall. They were incredibly heavy, cracking the hard, frozen earth beneath them into two large pits.

Enzo, standing beside Lin Qi, kicked open the lid of one chest. A wave of golden light spilled out as countless gold coins clattered and scattered across the ground. A collective, sharp intake of breath erupted around them. The hearts of the thousand-plus rough men pounded twice as fast. Their faces flushed, heat radiated from their bodies, and the temperature in the yard seemed to rise by several degrees.

Lin Qi placed one foot on the second metal chest. Arms crossed over his chest, he barked coldly, “Old brothers of the Iron Fist Brotherhood, step forward!”

Over three hundred large men happily squeezed their way out of the crowd. They bowed respectfully to Lin Qi and shouted loudly, “Boss!”

Lin Qi grunted and announced sternly, “Every one of you, grab twenty gold coins first. This is your first reward for serving me faithfully these past three years! Three years, and I haven’t given you much. Take these twenty gold coins and spend them as you like!”

The men’s eyes turned greedy green. They stared fixedly at the glittering gold coins littering the ground, veins bulging on their foreheads. Just days before, Lin Qi had already given each of them a bit of money, making them worship him like their own parents.

Now, with Lin Qi generously handing out twenty gold coins each, his status in their hearts rose to that of a Deity!

Bowing deeply to Lin Qi with utmost respect, the old Iron Fist Brotherhood brothers lined up and received their share of coins—twenty gold pieces each—from Enzo! Twenty Gold Coins! Undoubtedly, this was a fortune. For these thugs and ruffians scraping by at society’s bottom, silver coins were rare sights in their lifetime. Twenty heavy Gold Coins? They hardly ever dreamed of seeing that much.

A few Copper Coins could buy a huge chunk of Black Bread with ham. Ten Copper Coins got you a large mug of thin beer. A bottle of fine Rum only cost two or three Silver Coins. Spending a joyous night with a maid at a tavern? Even the prettiest maid wouldn’t ask for more than five Silver Coins for the whole night.

And a newly minted Empire Wowo Call? Depending on the gold-silver value, it was roughly worth twenty-five to twenty Silver Coins. The exchange rate from Silver Coin to Copper Coin was fairly stable. One lovely, shiny Zhazha Call was equivalent to the purchasing power of one hundred Copper Coins.

So, twenty Gold Coins were a significant amount. Twenty Gold Coins could comfortably feed, clothe, and support a family of three for a year or even longer.

The old Iron Fist Brotherhood brothers joyfully lined up neatly to one side. Holding their heavy Gold Coins, they bowed deeply to Lin Qi once more.

The other eight or nine hundred rough men, just recently recruited by the Iron Fist Brotherhood, watched with eyes reddening with envy. They stared hungrily at the coins scattered on the ground, panting heavily. At that moment, if Lin Qi just named a target, they would turn into Demons and rip it apart mercilessly with the most brutal means.

Twenty Gold Coins! Heavens! How many feasts would that buy? How long could they live in carefree luxury? How long could they indulge in wild drinking and gambling?

If not for the dozen or so strange men standing behind Lin Qi, dressed in splendid jackets, wearing white masks, these newly recruited toughs might have considered robbing Lin Qi himself. But they didn’t dare. Because the belts of these men, clad in jackets, with swords at their waists and wearing fine leather boots, all bore an emblem design.

These men were Noble bodyguards. Without a doubt, they served Nobles.

These scoundrels had the guts to rob and kill, to commit all sorts of crimes. But they wouldn’t dare provoke a Noble. Compared to the lofty Nobles, they were insignificant worms in the gutter. If they offended any Noble, the entire underworld brotherhood of the Imperial Capital would be slaughtered.

This was the Imperial Capital, not Dun Er Ke, nor some other Empire city. This was the Imperial Capital, where the Imperial Emperor resided. Anyone daring to lay hands on a Noble, or anyone connected to a Noble, here meant all their underworld brothers would be butchered. This was a prohibition established over centuries by those high-ranking Nobles, piled upon countless bones and rivers of blood.

Lin Qi looked coldly at his newly recruited men. Some had been followers of The Hunchback. After The Hunchback and his entire household were killed, Cripple had aggressively invaded the Commercial District. These men resisted Cripple’s control but lost in the conflict and could only flee in panic.

Another part were bankrupt small citizens and some idle loafers.

These people existed at society’s bottom. They saw no light, no hope, no prospect in life. They only thought of money, food, strong booze, and women. They were the most dangerous thugs, yet also the most obedient followers. As long as you had money to satisfy their basic survival needs, they would tear your enemies apart like rabid dogs.

“As for you lot, I don’t wish to make any judgment!” Lin Qi’s icy gaze swept over the assembled toughs. Everyone instinctively shuddered. “I withhold judgment because I still don’t know you! I need brave men, not trash. I need stalwart men, not petty thieves. I need Warriors who dare to kill and dare to be killed, not cowards who wet themselves at the sight of blood!”

“If you consider yourselves brave men, stalwart men, Warriors, and if you are willing to offer up your pitiful, slender loyalty to me, then step forward! Each of you will get… one Gold Coin. One poor, insignificant Gold Coin!”

Lin Qi sneered mockingly. He bent down, picked up a gold coin, and made it flip expertly between his fingers.

“One coin. Just one!” Lin Qi’s smile was wicked. “But look! There are tens of thousands more Gold Coins right here! See them? You get only one now, but tens of thousands are right here!”

Lin Qi roared at the top of his voice: “I’m going to do something big! Anyone who distinguishes themselves in this matter gets a reward! A rich reward! Ten Gold Coins! One hundred! One thousand! Ten thousand! What’s that!?”

He hurled the coin in his hand at the nearest large man, striking a deep, bloody mark on his forehead. Lin Qi yelled furiously, “Cripple! I aim to deal with Cripple! As you all know, I intend to kill Cripple! Whoever brings me Cripple’s head gets ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLD COINS! I know some among you might be Cripple’s spies! But think for yourselves! Cripple – would HE give you One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins!?”

RAAHH! The mob of over a thousand thugs went wild. They threw up their hands simultaneously and roared.

But Lin Qi’s voice boomed over theirs. He howled insanely, “Who’s willing to follow me? Who wants to follow me, hack Cripple to death, and seize all he possesses? Kneel before me! Swear loyalty to me! Then take that pathetic little Gold Coin! And after that? You might earn ten! One hundred! One thousand! Ten thousand! Or even ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND!”

Lin Qi pumped his arms powerfully. “Good men! Do you want Gold Coins? Not coarse Black Bread, but delicious white bread! Not watery, flavorless thin beer, but rich, mellow aged Rum, or sweet, fragrant wine! No more vegetable soup with no salt and oil, but hot, thick stew bubbling with chunks of beef and melted cheese! Forget trying to coax those damned, haughty tavern maids! Buy your own pure Young Girls to be your maids!”

Lin Qi spat the next words through gritted teeth. “Pure Young Girls. You know what that means!”

The thugs roared with wild laughter. Oh, they knew what it meant.

“You can have your own solid, windproof house! Adorable little maidservants! A beautiful little wife! A reliable old steward! A lazy coachman! A Four-Wheel Carriage—nothing flashy, but comfortable! And later? Even your old comrades will see you and respectfully call you ‘Master’!”

“How? Because I say so! Because I, Lin Qi, leader of the Iron Fist Brotherhood, say it! I say that some among you can have this! You will succeed if I want it! You will become rich if I command it! You will become Masters if I demand it!”

“Offer me your loyalty! Take that pathetic, pitiful little Gold Coin which is yours! Then kneel! Kneel before me! Kneel before a fortune in gold coins! Kneel before your future women! Your carriages! Your houses! GET DOWN ON YOUR KNEES!”

More than a thousand burly figures crashed to their knees in rabid frenzy. In that instant, Lin Qi was their god!

“Down! Symbolizing your submission and loyalty to me!”

“Now! Stand up!” Lin Qi bellowed. “Pick up your Gold Coin! Pick up your weapon! Then stand up! Stand behind me! Follow me to fight! Follow me to kill! The lucky one who kills Cripple gets ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND GOLD COINS! Kill Cripple’s valued lieutenant, get TEN THOUSAND! Kill one of Cripple’s thugs, get ONE THOUSAND!”

“The holy Gold Coins await you!”

“Gold and blood! That is the world’s only truth!”

“Trading your blood, or someone else’s, for holy gold! That is the fairest trade in all existence!”

“Warriors! Time to move out!”