Chapter 300: Changes in the Slums
In the following days, Li Meng stayed put, never leaving the stronghold.
He waited patiently for trouble to find him.
The drastic changes in the Brotherhood were bound to reach the ears of its backers in the Council Tower.
It was only a matter of time before the fallout arrived.
As the vice leader, Rose busied herself constantly.
She handled almost everything.
The food and housing needs of hundreds of people had to be addressed.
Dedicated personnel were needed to manage new members joining the Brotherhood.
The repair of the ruins surrounding the stronghold required hiring construction crews.
There was an endless list of tasks, each one demanding a substantial amount of money.
---
Labyrinth City "Aukladeo"
The Council Tower.
The Council Tower stood at the heart of Labyrinth City "Aukladeo,"
Its base housed the city's sole entrance to the labyrinth.
Whoever controlled the labyrinth controlled the city.
The Council Tower was a massive structure resembling a towering cylinder.
Its council hall rose high into the clouds, the tallest building in the city.
In an upper room of the tower:
"Hmph, I knew that idiot Grey would ruin the Brotherhood Thieves' Guild one day!"
A bald man stood by the window, wearing a long purple robe.
He was tall and muscular, towering at 2.1 meters.
"Councilor Gewen, you must avenge our guild! The leader may have been reckless, but we never neglected our tributes to you. Now that he's dead, you must get justice for us!"
Behind him knelt an adventurer, sobbing and pleading as he kowtowed.
Gewen turned to the groveling adventurer with an irritated expression.
Grey had been too brazen in recent years.
The previous Brotherhood leader at least maintained a semblance of propriety, but Grey had acted with impunity, relying on Gewen's support.
He'd offended countless factions in the labyrinth.
It was common knowledge that the labyrinth exploration teams were backed by various kingdoms and factions from across the continents.
"I understand. He was my cousin, after all. I'll avenge him. Now leave!"
Gewen impatiently waved his hand.
"Thank you, Councilor Gewen, thank you! I'll take my leave now."
The adventurer scrambled to his feet, his previous sorrow vanishing in an instant, replaced by glee as he exited.
Gewen watched coldly as the man left.
Once alone, Gewen turned back to the window, gazing at the cityscape.
The slums lay in that direction.
The Brotherhood Thieves' Guild stronghold was there.
"Who could it be?"
Rumor had it that a single person had wiped out the guild.
"Could it be one of the labyrinth city's emperor-class warriors?"
He frowned in thought.
The city housed god-level powerhouses, but they were either reclusive or missing.
None of them would bother with something as trivial as the Brotherhood Thieves' Guild.
Only emperor-class warriors might have intervened.
But there were few of those in the city:
The Council Tower had seven, the three Great Sword Schools and the Magic Tower had five, and the demi-human factions had nine emperor-class leaders and sages.
Human factions could be ruled out. No human emperor-class warrior would move against the Brotherhood out of respect for Gewen.
The Brotherhood also rarely troubled human adventurers.
Demi-human factions were more likely suspects.
But their emperor-class leaders were divided among countless factions.
Though powerful, none were exceptional enough to single-handedly annihilate the Brotherhood.
"Could it be a rival faction within the Council Tower?"
The Council Tower had thirteen councilors, each with extensive backing.
Power struggles among them were not uncommon.
--
Saint Biron Continent
Labyrinth City "Aukladeo"
The slums, Brotherhood stronghold.
Time passed swiftly. A month slipped by unnoticed.
Since the events of that fateful night, the slums had undergone dramatic changes.
News spread quickly, attracting waves of vagabonds to the Brotherhood's stronghold.
Membership soared to over ten thousand.
For the slum dwellers, the Brotherhood became their only refuge.
The rumor that the Brotherhood possessed a miraculous liquor capable of regrowing limbs spread throughout the labyrinth city.
This drew widespread attention to the Brotherhood.
In just over a month, the areas surrounding the Brotherhood's stronghold transformed.
Abandoned neighborhoods were redesigned and rebuilt.
New houses rose one after another.
Construction teams flocked to join the reconstruction frenzy in the slums, hired by the Brotherhood.
Meanwhile, the treasure in the Brotherhood's vault visibly diminished.
---
"Boss, boss!"
The door to a room on the upper floor of the stronghold was suddenly thrown open.
Rose jumped in surprise.
Ame burst in and found Rose sitting on the boss's lap.
She pouted slightly before leaping onto the desk.
Rose, perched on Li Meng's lap, blushed.
Li Meng patted her lightly on the waist.
"Off you go. If you want to have my child, you'll need to build up your strength first."
It had only been a little over a month.
Though Rose had recovered well, she was still frail.
Li Meng wasn't interested in thin, bony women.
Rose stood hurriedly and left the room.
Hearing her retreating footsteps, Ame looked at Li Meng curiously.
"Boss, why do you want children so much?"
Whenever the boss saw a voluptuous woman, he couldn't seem to resist, always talking about having children.
Yet he also complained that the women he fancied were too thin, insisting they needed time to recover before bearing children for him.
"Because I need strong helpers!"
Strong helpers?
"Boss, will your children really be that strong?"
"Absolutely. Very strong."
"I don't believe it!"
"You'll see one day!"
The more talented the woman, the better. Li Meng wasn't willing to let such opportunities slip by.
In this regard, he wasn't particularly fond of human women.
Humans lacked innate talents and relied entirely on learning.
Though their potential was high, their baseline was far too low.
This was why Li Meng preferred voluptuous demi-human women in the Brotherhood.
But they were still too thin. It would take at least half a year before they were ready.
Before bearing children for him, they needed to recover their health completely.