With the aid of the Wild Wolf Gang Leader's Token, this once run-down section of the city wall held firm once more.
However...
A precious Extraordinary Treasure had been consumed.
Such Extraordinary Treasures, capable of temporarily strengthening a city wall, were incredibly valuable and life-saving assets.
"Has the Chen Clan Architect still not arrived?"
The leader of the Wild Wolf Gang stood in the pouring rain, shouting toward his subordinate beside him.
"Several people have already been sent to the Chen Mansion, but there's been no reply yet," the subordinate holding a blade shouted back, wiping rainwater from his face.
"Damn it!"
The thuggish man swung his gaze to the endless tide of Eerie Creatures outside the city, his face twisted in savagery as he gripped the hilt of his blade, rage flickering in his eyes.
Tonight.
During Rivernorth City's crisis.
Only his Wild Wolf Gang brothers and small forces like the "Rivernorth Marketplace" stood atop the city wall. He even saw many merchants digging out the Eerie Stones they had hoarded for emergencies, handing them over to Architects to construct Archery Towers.
All just to hold the line tonight.
Yet...
Not a single person from the "Rivernorth Chen Clan" or the "Ravine Wang Clan" had come to defend the city.
He naturally understood what these two families were thinking. After all, their own estates had higher-level walls. What did it matter to them if Rivernorth City fell? They only needed to protect their own turf.
They were unwilling to waste Eerie Stones and Extraordinary Treasures on defending Rivernorth City.
As one of the three major factions, his Wild Wolf Gang also had its own territory and walls. He could have retreated to defend his own land.
But—
He hadn't had any big dealings over the years. The Wild Wolf Gang was an emerging force that arose after Rivernorth City's walls were breached 37 years ago during the rainy season. He couldn't get a foot in the door of those lucrative trades, so collecting protection fees from shops was his gang's primary source of income.
Since he had taken protection money from these people, he had to protect them.
That was the rule.
Money paid, service rendered.
"Boss, what do we do now?" a trusted aide beside him asked urgently. "The Chen and Wang Clans clearly aren't coming. Should we retreat, too? We can't hold the city on our own."
"...Phew."
The Wild Wolf Gang Leader turned to look at an old man standing behind him, drenched in rain. This was their Gang Guardian, a Level 5 Architect who had been saved by him from the wilderness, staying with him ever since.
Taking a deep breath, his voice hoarse with suppressed anger, he asked, "Elder Zhu, what are your thoughts?"
"By your orders, Gang Leader."
The old man's eyes showed little emotion as he said with a chuckle, "Whatever orders the Gang Leader gives, this old man will carry out."
"Good!"
The bandit-like man suddenly laughed as he looked at the Flesh-Worm Ghosts charging relentlessly through the storm. "Listen, since we've taken protection money, we should protect the people behind us."
"Taking money without doing the job—that's not the Wild Wolf Gang's way. What do you all think?"
Lightning flashed.
A hint of blood red appeared on the man's ashen face.
"Erhu!"
"Here!"
"Open the vault! Bring out all of our Eerie Stones and Extraordinary Treasures! I'm going to defend this damn city to the death today!"
"Yes!"
Opening the vault meant it was time to stake everything.
After this battle, even if Rivernorth City held out, the name "Wild Wolf Gang" would no longer exist in Rivernorth City.
This news quickly spread across the city.
Inside the city, anyone who could scrape together Eerie Stones rushed out of their houses into the storm upon seeing a Wild Wolf Gang member, handing over their entire savings to him.
Everyone understood—the Wild Wolf Gang was defending the city for them.
The Wild Wolf Gang had a fallback even if they didn't defend the city, but the common people had nowhere to retreat. If the city fell, it meant their death.
"Dad."
In a wooden house in a Rivernorth City alley, a man in hemp clothing, holding a large knife, grinned at his terrified-looking, reluctant parents. "You always said I had no future joining a gang, that you wanted me to get a position within the Chen Clan, saying that was the proper path."
"Now do you see?"
"When the city is about to fall, it's we who protect all the city's people."
Just then, a firework bloomed over the city, defying the storm.
The man didn't delay any longer, hurriedly saying goodbye. "The Gang Leader issued an emergency summons. I have to go. I'll be back at dawn."
...
Rivernorth City, Chen Mansion.
In the council hall.
Several Elders had gathered here.
"The Wild Wolf Gang Leader is certainly a man of courage, though not very rational. Regardless of the outcome of this battle, the name 'Wild Wolf Gang' will no longer exist in Rivernorth City afterward."
The Chen Clan's First Elder sighed with complex emotions.
The Wild Wolf Gang was a latecomer in this city.
They hadn't experienced the rainy season 37 years ago.
They simply didn't understand—in such a rainy season, the city's fall was inevitable. Even if they held out tonight, so what? The rainy season still had over twenty days left.
It was all futile.
The correct approach was to conserve all resources now and tough out the rainy season by defending their own territory.
The Second Elder remained silent.
He just felt... after all these years of development, the Clan had become more turbulent internally.
According to the Eerie-hide map, the "Rivernorth Chen Clan Station 37" was still intact. One clear fact was that Chen Fan had become an Architect, and not a low-level one. Yet this Architect that belonged to their Chen Clan had been driven out to the wasteland due to internal strife.
Only...
No one in the Clan dared mention this matter again, acting as if they didn't know.
Just then—
The Chen Patriarch pushed open the door and entered the council hall. No sooner had he sat down than he opened his mouth, saying,
"The Wild Wolf Gang has opened its vault, staking its foundation to defend Rivernorth City to the death, sharing life and death with hundreds of thousands of common people."
"Admirable courage."
"I respect him as a man of character."
"Currently, the city's people are more united than ever. Anyone with even a few Eerie Stones is rushing into the streets, offering them up to Wild Wolf Gang members. With such support, they might actually make it through tonight."
The First Elder mused out loud, "Patriarch, are you suggesting we also go with the tide by joining them defending the city, and salvage some reputation?"
"No."
The Chen Patriarch shook his head in denial. "Whether my actions over the years were right or wrong, let future generations judge. But one thing is certain—everything I did was for the better development of the Chen Clan. In this regard, I have nothing to be ashamed of before our ancestors."
"Nothing to be ashamed of as the Chen Patriarch."
"Even if they can make it through tonight, the rainy season still has over twenty days left. How will they pass through the latter half of the rainy season?"
"They are wasting the city's resources."
"Immediately order all Chen Clan clansmen and disciples to change into Wild Wolf Gang attire and go collect the Eerie Stones and Extraordinary Treasures gifted by the common people and merchants."
"Especially near the Rivernorth Marketplace."
"The safety of the city's people—I don't care about that."
"Since the Perpetual Night invasion, how many have died on this continent? How many have begged Heaven for a way out? Has Heaven given a damn about them?"
"If Heaven don't care, why should I?"
"I care about only one thing."
"The growth of the Chen Clan."
"All... for the Chen Clan."
"..."
These several Elders exchanged glances, seeing the complexity in one another's eyes. But after a long moment, they all nodded in unison. "We obey the Patriarch's command."