Ascension Of The Blood Supreme

The twin moons had finally revealed themselves. They cast their light on all beneath.

The heavy metal car drew closer to the city on the horizon with time.

The car had now turned silent.

Suddenly, Aiden opened his eyes.

He turned to Dickinson.

"Tell me how things run in the city."

"Senior, it has been a long time since I was here. I left the city as a child, and I’ve been wandering the Kahra desert since. So, the structure of things may have changed," Dickinson replied.

Aiden simply nodded.

The enforcers looked into the rearview mirror.

"How long has it been since you left the city?" The chief enforcer asked Dickinson.

"15 years," Dickinson replied.

"Then things have changed. The City Lord has changed some methods of running things," The enforcer said.

Everyone in the car perked their ears up. They were all new to MadCity. It wouldn’t hurt to know about where they were going to stay before they arrived there.

"How about I give senior an overview of how things are in the city?" The enforcer’s tone shifted to that of reverence as he looked at the mysterious lodgekeeper.

"That would be very helpful," Aiden replied politely.

"Very well senior..." The enforcer was actually pleased that he was being helpful to a powerhouse. He continued as every passenger took advantage of this opportunity to learn more about MadCity.

"Madcity operates on the law of the jungle, the same law that runs the Karha Desert. However, like most cities, Madcity is more organized and civilised compared to the towns. People kill, rob and bully others. Human and drug trafficking rings run. Smuggling goods occurs and all. But all this is done with class and decorum. What I’m getting at is that everyone in MadCity is a civilized criminal."

"Everyone has class here. And the rules have made it so.

For instance, you can’t kill someone in the middle of the street just because the city is full of outcasts and criminals. Of course, as long as the surveillance cameras don’t see you kill someone in streets, you won’t get into trouble."

"If you want to kill someone, perhaps you could have them assassinated, or duel with them in the city duel arenas. People pay money to watch these duels, and you also get your revenge. After killing your opponent, their money and other belongings, including their apartments and other businesses and properties naturally become yours, according to City Laws. However, if someone thinks they can take what you have from you, they can just have you assassinated or killed in the city duel arenas, if you agree to have a duel with them."

Everyone listened quietly.

He continued.

"The city has these rules about killing to ensure that the city runs like a civilized society, unlike the towns. MadCity is one of the cities where transports arrive to carry citizens who want to leave the southern continent to the Southern Seaport City, where the southern seaport is. Big crime bosses and shady people who want to leave the southern continent come here to wait for these transports, which arrive every two months. Imagine people of their caliber coming to the city to find corpses and blood splattered everywhere in the streets?"

Everyone nodded. His words made a lot of sense.

It seems the picture of the Kahra desert cities they had was wrong. They won’t be seeing dead bodies and blood lined up in the streets when they arrive. But that didn’t make the city any less deadlier.

Before the enforcer could continue, Aiden asked.

"When is the next transport to the southern seaport arriving?"

"Two months today, senior," The enforcer replied.

"Alright," Aiden replied.

"So, I will have to spend two months in MadCity, huh?" Aiden thought.

The enforcer continued.

"The City is divided into four districts. The southern, the eastern, the northern and the western districts. Each district is headed by a district Lord appointed by the City Lord. All the district lords are expert rank 2 warriors. Senior, the city Lord was rumored to be a legendary rank 2 warrior, but there are rumors that he is currently a beginner rank 3 warrior. No one has seen him fight for a long time. Because of this, his breakthrough is regarded by many as rumors.

Many still assume he’s a legendary rank 2 warrior. After all, becoming a rank 3 warrior is not an easy chasm to cross. It’s a whole new realm of power. If it were so easy, all the city lords would have been rank 3 warriors by now."

Dickinson revealed a slightly worried expression.

But his demeanor quickly returned to normal.

"If the rumors about the city lord’s breakthrough into beginner rank 3 is true, then it’s literally impossible for the senior to handle him and help me free my parents, and take over the city." He looked at the lodgekeeper. The man was calm.

"I know this expression. Will he find a way?" Dickinson thought.

A glint flashed through Aiden’s eyes.

"It looks like fulfilling my end of the deal so that I can get Dickinson’s father to forge an identity for me will not be easy. Most of the time, these rumors turn out to be true. The city Lord must have broken into beginner rank 3. Then, he intentionally leaked the news of his breakthrough through the city to deter anyone from thinking he had gone soft and that they could take his city from him. He’s a smart person. I will need to come up with a plan to deal with him after settling in. But, I definitely can’t approach him head on. It’s gonna get me killed," Aiden thought.

A thought occurred to Aiden.

He asked the enforcer a question.

"Are alchemical products sold in the city?"

The enforcer replied, "Every alchemical product like worldly energy recovery elixirs and healing elixirs, among others are sold in the city. However, poisons are off limits. For some unknown reason, the city Lord has a strict rule against that. Recently, someone smuggled poison into the city. Some of the enforcers were ordered to kill her. Also, the city Lord has eyes and ears everywhere. So, finding out about these things is easy for him."

"Of course. If he allows poisons to be sold in the city, can’t someone weaker than him find a way to use a poison to kill him?" Aiden thought. "Just now, I was thinking of purchasing a beginner rank 3 poison to get rid of him. But it seems that won’t be possible, since poisons cannot be sold in the city. There’s no way I will even find some to buy. I will need to find another way to get rid of him. I will figure something out after settling in," Aiden thought.

The enforcer continued, "Taxes here are taken every month. I think basically, that’s all one needs to know to survive in Madcity."

"Thank you," Aiden said politely.

"You’re welcome, senior," The enforcer replied.

"We’ve arrived," The driver said.

Everyone looked ahead.