Spirit Taming

Chapter 666: 666. Thugs

"Sent me alone to deal with people in the damn warehouses. Isa should have come here. The merchants use this place more than average people. But no, they had to send me when I could have been better off helping Grace."

The mumbles of Ralph were constant. The large force behind him of students, academy staff, and guards heard every word too. They were trying to make themselves heard but Ralph was too far in his own head. It was very clear that he was not going to care about them at all.

"Didn't even send a gargoyle with me because I didn't need it they said. Ridiculous. Making me do all this work alone." The grumbling only got worse as Ralph found that he was able to make it entirely to the warehouse district of Nova city without anyone bothering him.

The warehouse district was exactly what anyone would expect it to be. Storage for many businesses, and most of all, the goods of the major families.

It was originally set up on the outskirts of the city, then as the city expanded over the years there were homes, walls, and more built around it. Now, it was a place where not many people lived because it was troublesome to move around it.

As the larger families became worried that they would have their general goods poached, or merchants, they increased security. That made the general public who had to walk through this area very troubled.

Many times, the more corrupted families would use their guards to stop people. Saying that they might pose a risk to their stored goods. This was just a way to add pressure, to intimidate. However, it began to get worse.

Besides using the intimidation tactics, there were many instances of the guards using this chance to kidnap people that were useful or in their way. The corrupted families either used this to their advantages or were able to hide away these actions.

In all essence, this became a gang territory. The guards of many corrupted families followed the Mourne family guards. They had realized they were able to do more without any reason or repercussion. This was unlimited power in the minds of the twisted and weaker people who chose to guard the goods.

It was only in recent years that the general warehouses for smaller families and merchants began to get raided.

Accusations of there being methods to steal other warehouses of goods. Accusations of people hiding out there as criminals. Accusations of kidnapping to make slaves, which was very hypocritical, was happening constantly.

No one had the sheer number in forces to stop this all from happening. This was an issue that was both supported by the Mourne family, and made worse by them. Therefore, this was a major stop that warranted a large number of the forces gathered together to clean it all up.

When Ralph finally glanced behind him after coming to this area, he noticed that more than three quarters of this force he had been sent with were from the Mane family. It was clear that they were here to properly recover the stolen goods and allow them to enter trading and usage again. The hoarding mentality of those with power was disgusting.

This Greed had caused damage everywhere. The Mane family was right there to try and stop it, but now with their plans made solid, it made sense that they properly put their forces in to this. Trade would be the base for Nova City to rebuild. All the stolen goods could be the tickets to a better future instead of asking for hand outs from the allied cities.

Regardless, he was ready to deal with everyone.

When Ralph called out the molten boar and the dragon welp, everyone felt the strength that came with them. They had known that Ralph was tough, the axes that he carried were clearly heavier than any other ax that they had seen. Yet, he was still just mumbling like an annoyed kid. It put them off.

"The smaller warehouses are yours. Mine is the one with that big Mourne family crest. The sooner you clean everything up, the sooner we can go help everyone else. But if you find anyone being kept captive, call me."

There was a certainty that they would find people that had been kept captive. Therefore, when that happened, Ralph wanted to know. He had grown up on the streets he knew well that there was always a chance that I could just disappear. Many of the other people on the streets in his same conditions did not hide the rumors of people disappearing.

One day they would be sleeping where they normally did. Trying to get food. Then the next day, they would be gone. Some would say they just up and left, but that was never a thing. Instead, everyone knew that they were taken away by the powerful families as cheap labor. So cheap that it was free.

That left alone allowed Ralph to begin to tap in to some pent up anger. The annoyance of feeling hungry when he was little. The pain from feeling like he was always alone. And then the great anger then came from realizing that all the things he had gained could be stolen away from him now after all this hard work.

Did he really need to lose the family that had grown around him? Even with his attitude, they relied on him for things. They helped him grow. He even found someone worth fighting for. What kind of man would he be if he didn't take a step forward and fight for it? What kind of person would be?

"See! I told you, these brats would come here and offer themselves to us once they realized that all the other little opposing forces they threw failed. Here's the first one. That kid that won a tournament. Let's break him!"

Ralph had his molten boar break the door down only to be met with a bunch of greedy and twisted faces. The yelping and growling of their wild hyena beasts proved that they all followed the same group. The same leader.

"Grizzled hyena, go and break him for me while the rest handle those messed up beasts." The leader was a slightly older man with the Mourne family crest tattooed on his arms. A clear sign that he was following the strong to oppress the weak.

"Let's go wild." Ralph felt insulted and gave in to his rage. The axes raised and the charging grizzled hyena met the axes head on.

As bone cracked and the axes sliced, everyone's ears heard over the sounds of yelling and laughing. It was so loud that there wasn't even a chance to begin to wonder what had happened. Only silence that came afterwards.

Or at least it would have been silence.

The draconic roar from the dragon welp was enough to shake the entire large warehouse being used as a place to allow these thugs to thrive. The dragon welp breathed in as the molten boar did as well.

They had been together enough to cooperate. But what Ralph had yet to see what their combined attack.

Violent flames mixed with acidic fumes causing the flames to become an odd yellow. They melted and burned everything around, including the hyenas and the suffering leader. These were not purifying flames. Such a thing would be kind. These were dangerous acidic flames that caused them extreme pain in their last moments.

While cruel, Ralph walked through them unharmed as he felt his recent forging activities causing him pain. The flames from his partners and the acid could not harm him. He trained with them. Even as he got close to them, he could only feel the pain that he had given to himself. His heart didn't even flinch as the thugs were mercilessly beaten down.

They had caused so much damage and throat themselves invincible here in their little hide out. But that was a mistake. They were human. They were weak. They never grew stronger because they stopped training when they realized they could use their strength against the masses as they wished.

Now they were meeting their end as an act of justice. Their scum would be cleaned from the city by Ralph and all the forces that had joined him. Regardless of anything else, even if Ralph was not here, the people nearby would remember what happens when these sorts of thugs are around. What happens when they begin to grow?

It would prevent any future of them growing like this again. The entire warehouse district was being cleansed. Every single hideout used for terrible things. Every little nook and cranny was being cleaned. No one would be allowed to leave here at the end of the day. Only the victims would be freed to start over.

To see the sunlight again. Ralphs was going to be sure of that. Especially since he already heard the gasps of surprised freedom from those being released from the smaller warehouses nearby.