A blind man could have seen that the Empire was eating itself alive.
George was not trying to stop the collapse, nor did he have big dreams of becoming the next emperor.
All he wanted to do was get a share of the cake or at the very least survive the coming tribulations.
Survival, however, required leverage. In this world, leverage meant power, and power was built on two things: money and resources.
Under normal circumstances, George would have taken the traditional route.
Inflate criminal threats, submit requests for extra funding from the Imperial Vault, stage large-scale crackdowns, and funnel excess resources into private holding… trimming the meat if you will.
It was an old tested and trusted method that was mostly tolerated and overlooked under normal circumstances so long as results were visible and loyalty was there.
But these were not normal circumstances.
The High Chancellor had begun applying pressure on him.
George was no longer considered reliable, much less loyal, and requests for additional funds were scrutinized, delayed, or denied outright.
Even the regular funding use was thoroughly scrutinized by the High Chancellor and his people.
George understood what that meant, The High Chancellor was looking for a reason to kick him out of power.
And he dared not show a gap in his armour, so he changed tactics.
Instead of bleeding the Imperial Vault or even skimming some of the funds to his pocket, he went directly to the source of the unrest itself.
Across the central Imperium, George began selling classified information to the major crime groups he was meant to destroy.
Criminal syndicates, bandit coalitions, and underground networks paid to some of the shady organisations his family owned, not just in coin alone but also in steady streams of resources siphoned from their raids and operations.
In return, they received information that no outsider should ever possess, defence layouts, patrol schedules, deployment routes, blind zones, and safe corridors through imperial territory.
Ordinarily George would not have dared do such a thing, but he knew the empire was falling apart.
As long as he remained outside the palace walls, the Emperor could not act against him directly. Jurisdiction blurred beyond the capital, and enforcement relied on evidence rather than suspicion if he didn't want to upset the nobles that still supported him.
And the High Chancellor could no longer touch him as long as he couldn't find evidence of his wrongdoings.
Just as George was going through documents and deciding on what information to give whom, the hurried footsteps of a guard echo his door.
A knock came and without looking up George said, "Come in."
George finally glanced up when he heard the heavy breathing of the man before him.
Looking at him, his face was pale and he seemed terrified, "What happened?" George finally asked.
"Minister, The Six-Seven Gang has been destroyed!" the man stammered half scared, half tired.
George's expression stiffened, he straightened up instantly and demanded, "Are you sure about this?"
"Yes, my Lord," the guard stammered, "We don't know who struck them down, but the killers were merciless. Every formal member was killed in their sleep more than 2000 people were killed last night and we are still finding more bodies by the minute. And…" The guard hurriedly explained before suddenly stopping.
"And?" George snapped.
"And… the body of the leaders of the gang were impaled on the city's main gate. And…" The guard paused again unsure of whether to continue what he was saying or stop there.
"And!!!" George was on the verge of strangling the guard.
"The bodies of Scott, the grandson of the Reus group leader and his guards are also impaled there." The guard immediately said causing George's eyes to widen in shock.
***
{Imperial Valekar Empire – Reus Trade Group Headquarter}
"Lord Reus terrible new! The Six-Seven Gang was wiped out last night and impaled on the city gates."
The man that delivered this news to the was visibly shaking in his both as he said the words.
He truly couldn't believe that after his long stretch of drawing the long stick in doing difficult tasks, he finally drew the short stick when it came to informing the Patriarch about the death of his only beloved grandson.
"Dogs die… I don't have time for this," Paul snapped as he turned back to go back to his training, "Tell Oliver to get a new one and meet our business partners for help."
"Well… Ahem… You see… Cough."
Paul frowned as he glanced back at the steward still standing there and stammering.
"Do you have something to say to me?" Paul asked impatiently.
The steward finally summoned all the courage he could and said, "Master, Young Master Scott was with them last night… he is also dead."
"What?" Paul snapped backward losing control of his aura and crushing the steward to the floor almost killing him.
"Who did it! Who dare to kill my grandson!?" Paul was visibly angry.
"M…My Lord we are doing everything we can to find out who did it." The steward, "Please Master we are trying."
Paul took a deep breathe calming himself, "Keep searching… and get out of here."
The steward immediately ran out thanking The Sun God for sparing him but just as he exited the room and was about to close to when he was split in two.
Paul closed his doors as he started attacking the walls recklessly trying to release his rage and grief, all day down to the night.
He wasn't the only one affected by this development. Throughout the capital, countless nobles tossed and turned in their beds. For they, too, had learned of the fate of Six-Seven Gang's fate.
The gang had not only been exterminated… they had been displayed upon the walls like grotesque trophies.
The message was unmistakable. Someone had defied the delicate balance of power that held the city together. Someone had broken the unspoken pact among the factions.
Not to mentioned they killed the beloved grandchild of the Paul Reus, the major stake holder in the capital trade.
But who?
Spies were dispatched in every direction, racing to collect any piece of information.
The Argus Giant Eyes was bombarded with request upon request with ridiculous amount attached just to be the first to know who did it.
And the effect was far worse… since no one knew who committed such atrocities, everyone was eyeing their neighbour and allies, not knowing who was next.