Amazon Apocalypse 2: Chapter 51 (Patreon)

"Who is he?” I began. “Where'd he come from? I've heard a little here and there, but I want to know what you've learned."

Terrance nodded and stood. "I think I'm best suited to answer that. I've seen his file. I was actually here to interview him about a few leads back home."

He gestured in the direction of Crownhill County Prison. "He managed to talk the judge into having him locked up here in Crownhill. He had a bunch of his own cronies here already, which is probably why he chose Crownhill. He likely leveraged the fact that he already had an organized group when the System showed up.”

That actually made sense. I nodded for him to continue.

“I did some investigating, and even talked to a guy named Martin. Martin seemed a little off, though, like he was on something. Most of his crew were on whatever it was, as well. The story he gave me was that fighting turned real bloody real quick in the prison. And with skill books raining down for everyone who picked up a couple of levels, the guards couldn't keep the prisoners in line.”

It had to have been a nightmare for the guards.

"The guys locked up there were bad news to start with—a rough crowd not afraid of violence. Some of them were real fucked in the head, too, and had no problem with killing each other for levels. About three quarters of the prison ended up as levels for the rest.”

Margaret buried her head in her hands.

“From there, Cromwell and the leaders of the other two main prison groups signed something like a peace treaty. Most of the convicts hadn't seen a woman in ages, so finding some was hot on all their minds. They started running wild over that corner of the city.”

Terrance shook his head. “You guys had to deal with the Wolfmen, but everybody on the northern end of the city had to deal with the guys who now call themselves the Three Kings. Cromwell was one of them. The other two are Knuckles and some crazy bastard calling himself Caesar."

My eyebrows rose. "Caesar? As in… Julius Caesar?"

Terrance chuckled. "Yup. Word is he fancies himself something of an aspiring emperor. He's actually got the smallest faction of the three, but he's personally got the highest level and has the strongest men under his command.”

“What about the others?” I asked.

“Knuckles is somewhere in the middle, with Cromwell in third. But Cromwell is the most aggressive of the three about conquering territory. He swept over the whole northern half of the city. Men either joined him or turned into experience points, while women were handed out to his men as rewards or traded to the other two factions in the Crownhill County Prison."

I grimaced. Cromwell sounded like a real gem. I could only have imagined what might have happened if he and Craig met around now.

"So Cromwell is the biggest scumbag of the group I’ll have to deal with..." I drummed my fingers against the table. "Do we know his class? His level?"

Terrance shrugged. "His level is somewhere over 30. That might just be a rumor, though. Some people say he is over level 40—but I think that's just a rumor. As for his class... it has something to do with causing pain. Apparently he can make every moment of existence pure agony. Most of his opponents ended up on their knees the moment they saw him. The only two it hasn't worked on were Knuckles and Caesar. Knuckles has a berserker skill that lets him ignore pain, though I’m not sure how Caesar blocked it though."

"Sounds like a rough one. The rest of you should avoid direct conflict with him," I said.

"But... not you?" Marcus asked curiously.

I let out a grim sigh. "It's pretty obvious how this is going to go, isn't it? He wants Crownhill. I have Crownhill. It's going to come down to a fight, sooner or later.”

I shrugged. “The way I see it, I might as well make it sooner rather than later and get it over with. From what I hear, he's been a real terror to the northern chunk of the city. I've promised protection to everyone in the shelter, and I plan to honor that. That protection applies to bad men just as much as it does to monsters."

"Didn’t you hear what I said?" Terrance asked. "His class lets him cause intense, crippling pain that renders his opponents unable to fight. The number of people who can stand against it are so rare, that only the two other strongest people in the Crownhill County Prison can stand up to him. He's built the biggest organization of ruthless bastards on this shard—bigger than your militia, in fact."

"Which makes that much more important that I deal with him," I replied.

My council exchanged looks.

Margaret was the one who finally spoke. "Carter, the Three Kings are really bad news. I know you defeated the Alpha Wolfman in single combat. And I heard you cleared out the Ogres, as well. But the Three Kings are humans. And this Cromwell guy was a ruthless killer before the integration… who knows what he is now?"

"Oh, I understand, Margaret. Fighting him will mean risking my life. But it's not like I haven't risked my life before." I gave her a shrug.

The others looked unconvinced. "He had three people at D-Rank, Carter. Three of them!" Frank warned.

"Emphasis on had,Frank. All three are dead now. You can add that to the message, Margaret."

Frank frowned. "True. But Cromwell wasn't here. Who knows how many of his subordinates are as strong as we are?"

"Bridget and I are at the D-Rank," Sakura said.

She had a vote in other meetings, but not in this one. Since she lived with me, she wasn't really serving on the council today so much as serving as my secretary. She was in on the meeting to take notes.

It was an odd reversal of our former roles. In the past, she'd been the boss running the meetings while I took notes.

"As are Michael, Marcus, Frank, and me," Margaret replied. "We don't know if Cromwell has more D-Rankers than we do. But we do know he's a lot more ruthless than we are."

"He may have me on ruthlessness," I admitted. "And I’ll admit I haven't seen him for myself. But I think I could win if the two of us had a duel. And that, I think, is the easiest way to settle this.”

I grinned at Margaret. “He heard about the Obelisk on your radio show, Margaret. So for your next broadcast, I want you to advertise that I'm ready and willing to meet him in battle. If he wants Crownhill, he can come and face me like a man for it."

"I don't think mobsters do duels to the death," Frank said.

I shrugged. "He's not just a mobster anymore, though. You said people were terrified of him because of his class. That means he rules through fear, not respect. And if people learn the person they fear is afraid of someone? I imagine he'd lose a lot of loyalty overnight.”

This could be a good thing, I decided. “Since they know by now that we welcome everyone who wants to contribute, I imagine we'd have quite a few defectors to welcome with open arms."

Kyle stared at me hard. "Will... will that giant shark thing you had be with you?"

I nodded.

Kyle slapped the table. "Carter can do it!"

Margaret held up her hands. "Let's not be hasty, Carter. You realize you're risking a lot here? You're the settlement owner, so all this," she gestured around us, "hinges on you. It hinges on your reputation, your personal power, and your continued survival. If you die, we're all screwed."

"And if Cromwell is allowed to do as he pleases, we'll be screwed as well." I stood, putting my foot down at last. "I have played things pretty safe until now. I've focused on crafting and leveling my proficiencies. I’ve been staying away from the shelter so I wouldn't attract monsters, helping small teams level, and generally waiting things out until victory is clear.”

I shook my head. “That isn't an option now. Cromwell is coming for us—coming for me. I want to show the Three Kings they can't shove us around. I'll probably have to kill him, and maybe both of the others, too, to teach them that lesson. But that's a price I'm willing to pay."

Margaret sucked in a breath. "Alright... alright. I'll do it. Hopefully it will scare Cromwell off just hearing that you're willing to fight him. He'll likely back off just on the chance that you might be able to fight him. I doubt he got to his position as a crime boss by taking big risks."

I remained silent. I had my doubts about Cromwell backing off. I doubted he'd become a crime boss by yielding to any challengers. But as long as Margaret sent the challenge, I'd be alright.

"See that it's done. I'll be back to check for his reply, daily." I pushed my chair in. "And with that matter settled, our council meeting is adjourned. The next time I see you all, we'll hopefully be discussing the recent upgrade of the Settlement to a Fortress, and what to do with Cromwell's rotting corpse."

I let out a chuckle, but only Kyle let out a soft laugh in reply.

***

After the meeting was over, I regrouped with Bridget and Sakura. Our brief visit to Crownhill had taken a lot more time than I'd thought it would. But we'd finished everything we wanted to do and were ready to return home.

"So... you're going to fight a difficult foe soon," Sakura purred in my ear. "He’s a foe you might need as many levels as possible to defeat."

"Yeah,” I shrugged, “maybe."

"So that means you’ll need some help from Bridget and me. The two of us racked up quite a few levels in that fight, you know. Both of us are at level 29."

Chuckling. I planted a kiss on Sakura's forehead, right at the base of her horn.

"You know what? Sometimes you're just too darn cute, Sakura. Sure. If you're offering your levels up, I'll help myself. But not to so many that you'll drop below level 25. Understood?"

Sakura wrapped me tight in a warm embrace. "Just wait until I tell Bridget!"

The night that followed was a long one. And a hard one, too—for Bridget and Sakura. The two of them really loved my Fabulous Phallus skill.

You have drained four levels from Bridget Larsen!

You have drained four levels from Sakura Miyamoto!

Your race, Homo Acceleratus, has gained two levels!

I ended up promising the two of them afterwards that we'd do it again if the two of them leveled back up to at least level 28 tomorrow.