Look closely. This scarred half-orc is named Jack, and he's considered a mid-level leader in the 'Gutter Rats'.
Jack felt like he had never been this unlucky in his entire life.
One second he was collecting protection fees, and the next he was buried in sand, his mouth filled with the taste of earth. Before him, that tall woman calling herself 'Hakime' was simply not human.
Three minutes ago, Jack had kicked over a vendor's stall and was preparing to continue his show of dominance.
"Hey, Bro, you gonna open (your wallet) yourself? Or..."
Before he could finish, a large hand wearing a leather glove pressed down on his shoulder.
The half-orc turned around, and a tall figure blocked his path.
Young Miss 'Hakime' just stood there quietly. Her height of two hundred and twenty centimeters was extremely conspicuous in the generally short stature of the black market.
The half-orc froze for a moment, then looked this weirdo, who was wrapped up tightly, up and down. His gaze became lewd: "Yo, where'd this chick come from? Nice body. What, you want to stick your neck out for him?"
The lackeys behind him followed up with bursts of mocking laughter.
Caesar had no interest in wasting words with these small fry.
He was currently in a very bad mood, filled with suppressed rage.
In the next second, he moved.
Hakime's right foot lifted without warning and then came down heavily.
[Bulldoze]!
"Boom—!"
With a dull, massive roar, centered on where his foot landed, the bluestone ground of the entire alleyway cracked like a spiderweb, and a visible shockwave instantly spread out!
The half-orc and his lackeys stumbled, all falling to the ground as the miscellaneous items on the stalls were jolted half a meter into the air.
"Damn it..."
The half-orc had barely managed half a curse before his voice caught in his throat.
He discovered in horror that his and his brothers' ankles had been seized, like iron pincers, by hands of sand and soil emerging from the cracks in the ground.
The crowd watching the excitement in the alleyway instantly fell silent.
Magic!
This is a Mage!
Caesar still didn't say a word; he just raised his 'hand' again.
He faced the ground and lightly clenched his fist.
[Sand Tomb]!
"Aaaaaah—!"
Shrill screams echoed through the black market.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the hard stone road turned into a pool of flowing sand. The half-orc and his lackeys were like rats that had fallen into a swamp, their bodies sinking uncontrollably.
"Help... help!"
"It's ground-type magic! It's an Advanced Mage!"
Panic spread through the crowd.
The half-orc struggled desperately, but the sand seemed to have a life of its own; the more he struggled, the faster he sank. Soon, the sand reached his chest, and the heavy pressure squeezed the air out of his lungs.
Caesar controlled Hakime's body, walking step by step to stand before him, looking down from above.
Under the shadow of the hood, it was clearly a loli's face.
But the half-orc felt like he was the loli.
"Lead the way."
The voice coming from under the hood was raspy and low, mixed with the texture of grinding metal. This was not the voice of the loli in front of him at all, but a voice from within her body—the voice of the true monster.
The half-orc shivered, his teeth chattering: "To... to where?"
"To see your boss, of course." Caesar moved his Dragon body under the cloak, producing a series of crisp cracking sounds. "He's the one in charge of this black market, so it wouldn't be too much for me to talk to him about cooperation, right?"
"I can't betray the boss! Who... who are you..."
Caesar had no patience for nonsense and controlled the sand to begin tightening.
As the sensation of suffocation hit, the half-orc immediately broke down.
"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll take you there! Don't kill me!"
Jack wanted to cry. This wasn't talking about cooperation; this was clearly going to raid the place. But he didn't dare refuse; the feeling of suffocation from moments ago still lingered in his lungs, and he didn't want to experience being buried alive a second time.
Ten minutes later.
They arrived at the 'Rat King's' stronghold. It was a massive underground warehouse, with four burly thugs standing at the entrance, holding clubs that hadn't even been completely wiped clean of blood.
"Halt!" the lead thug roared. "Get lost if you don't want to die! This is Master Rat's..."
Bang!
Without any words, Caesar kicked out directly.
The thug didn't even have time to scream before being sent flying by the massive force, crashing through the thick iron doors of the warehouse with a loud bang and falling silent amidst a cloud of dust.
The remaining three thugs were dumbfounded.
Caesar brushed the dust off his pant leg and said calmly, "The door was too narrow."
Cecilia shook her head excitedly on top of him, nearly blowing their cover again, and quickly held onto the hood: "Yay! I want to play too!"
The warehouse instantly turned into a chaotic mess.
Dozens of fully armed gang members rushed out from every corner, holding crossbows, machetes, and maces. Sitting in the very center on a large tiger-skin chair was a sinister-looking old man two meters tall—this was the 'Rat King'.
The 'Rat King' had once been a Silver Rank adventurer and was considered a figure of some note in Osterburg's underworld. Seeing his subordinates in such a miserable state and then seeing the tall 'Hakime', he narrowed his eyes.
"Friend, you've crossed the line."
Caesar couldn't be bothered with any villainous opening remarks.
He directly released the half-orc in his hand and took a step forward.
The Dragon Might of a LV.33 Gold Rank Earth Dragon, mixed with Gabite's savage aura from the top of the food chain, transformed into an invisible tsunami of pressure that swept across the room!
The flesh on the Rat King's face twitched violently. He felt as if he were being stared down by an ancient Vicious Beast. That terrifying pressure made even breathing difficult, and his hand holding the battle-axe even began to tremble.
The dozens of gang members behind him collapsed instantly. Those with weaker strength simply rolled their eyes and fainted with foam at their mouths, while the rest fell to their knees with weak legs.
This was absolute power suppression.
"Submit, or die."
Caesar's voice echoed through the stronghold.
However, just then, an accident occurred.
A few of the Rat King's confidants, driven to a dead end, exploded with a final madness under extreme fear. They roared, not rushing at Caesar, but circling to the side for a desperate final struggle!
Their target was Hakime's head!
To capture the gang, one must first capture the leader!
In their view, the head of this weird tall person was the only weakness!
"Protect the Boss!"
A rusty dagger sliced through the air. It didn't hit the target, but it successfully flipped back the hood that Young Miss 'Hakime' had always kept pulled down low.
In an instant, the whole world went quiet.
Everyone still conscious saw the exquisite, doll-like loli face under the hood.
And... on that head, two exceptionally conspicuous, bald patches of scalp.
The shameful 'North-South Exposure' look was completely revealed under the dim lights.
Cecilia's brain stalled for a fraction of a second.
In the next second, the shame and anger originating from her True Dragon bloodline erupted like a volcano!
"Aaaaaaaaah—!"
The ear-piercing scream made everyone's eardrums ring.
Without even thinking, she directly used her most powerful Draconic Magic!
"[Luster Purge]!"
An indescribably blinding beam of pure white light exploded outward, centered on her head!
The entire underground warehouse was instantly filled with this holy light.
Everyone who looked directly at the light source—whether it was Caesar, the Rat King, or the thugs—saw only a field of pure white. A needle-like pain shot through their eyes, and they were blinded on the spot.
Caesar: "..."
He was also blinded.
Damn it! This troublemaker!
Caesar grumbled in his heart, but his movements didn't stop. With his eyes closed, relying on his powerful perception, a massive Shadow Claw reached out from under the cloak. He pressed the still-screaming Cecilia back onto his neck and, in passing, knocked out the mentally broken Rat King and the remaining survivors.
On this day, Young Miss 'Hakime' officially took over the 'Gutter Rats'.
It hadn't even taken half an hour.
Half an hour later, the Rat King and a group of high-level gang members slowly woke up. They then found themselves tied up tightly with ropes, kneeling in a row.
And that terrifying Young Miss 'Hakime' was sitting on the throne that originally belonged to the Rat King.
"Now, I ask, you answer." Caesar's voice was flat, yet it carried a bone-chilling coldness. "In Osterburg, besides your 'Gutter Rats', what other gangs are worth mentioning? Where do their bosses live?"
The Rat King had completely lost his temper and tremblingly spat out all the intelligence on the other gangs in the city, such as the 'Broken Bone Brotherhood' and the 'Blackwater Dockworkers'.
After Caesar finished listening, he nodded with satisfaction.
"Very good."
He stood up and walked in front of the group.
"Now, you are all my people. Who agrees? Who objects?"
No one dared to speak.
"Then... tonight, I'm taking you all out for team building!"