Ross Vance’s voice wasn’t loud, but everyone in the courtyard heard him clearly.
“By the authority vested in me by the Emperor of Mankind, and in the name of the Holy Imperial Inquisition, I hereby pass final judgment.”
Mad Dog’s eyes snapped wide open.
He didn’t understand what Ross Vance was saying, but he could feel the sheer, oppressive weight of it.
It didn’t feel like facing a human, but rather facing an existence far beyond his comprehension.
“Charges: murder, human trafficking, organ trading, desecration of the dead, and the slaughter and mutilation of Imperial citizens through heretical means.
The aforementioned charges are clear, and the evidence is irrefutable.”
Ross Vance raised his right hand.
Faint golden psionic energy condensed in his palm, eventually forming the shape of a longsword constructed purely of energy.
“For these multiple offenses combined, you are sentenced to death.
Executed immediately.”
The golden blade fell.
Mad Dog didn’t even have time to let out a scream.
His body froze in place, maintaining his kneeling posture for a full two seconds, before falling straight forward, his forehead slamming onto the concrete.
Ross Vance withdrew his right hand, and the psionic energy dispersed.
“Keep Razor alive for now.
Lock him in the basement, and don’t let him contact the outside world.
Observe him for a few days.
If he behaves, we might have a use for him.”
Griffin struck his fist against his chest.
“Understood.”
Ross Vance went back inside and slept straight through to the afternoon.
When he woke up, sunlight was already leaking through the gaps in the curtains.
He lay in bed scrolling through his phone for a while before slowly climbing out of bed.
Walking into the living room, he found that Griffin had already served lunch on the table.
Steak, green salad, and a cup of black tea.
Cecilia was also there.
Ross Vance sat down and began to eat.
Before he could take more than a couple of bites, he felt the two people across from him staring at him.
“Is something on your minds?” He skewered a piece of steak without even looking up.
Griffin and Cecilia exchanged a glance.
“It is like this, My Lord.
While clearing out the Hellhounds Motorcycle Club’s territory and disbanding their peripheral personnel, we discovered a few things,” Griffin spoke first.
“What kind of things?”
“We found a ledger at one of their strongholds recording human trafficking operations,” Cecilia took over.
“Furthermore, they weren’t just trafficking living people, but also dealing in organs, corpses, and massive quantities of blood.”
Ross Vance’s chewing paused.
“Corpses and blood?” He frowned.
“I can understand human trafficking, but what do they want with corpses and blood?
Does the ledger state who the buyer was?”
“It wasn’t recorded in the ledgers, but Razor confessed,” Cecilia replied.
“The buyer is The Hand.”
Ross Vance set down his fork and leaned back in his chair.
“The Hand…” He pondered for a moment.
“Then it’s not surprising.
Those Japanese ninjas are fundamentally an organization of heretics worshipping a malevolent deity; they can resurrect the dead through sacrificial rituals.
Their ultimate goal is to summon a dark god called The Beast.
By Imperial standards, they are no different from Warp heretics, just a bit lower in tier.”
Cecilia’s brow furrowed.
“My Lord, sacrificial rituals require a vast number of living sacrifices.
The Hand buying corpses and blood indicates that their rituals have never stopped.
The massive number of missing persons in Hell’s Kitchen every year is likely connected to this.”
Ross Vance nodded.
Cecilia was right.
Previously, he had only viewed The Hand as heretics without thinking deeper in this direction.
According to the standards of the Lex Imperialis, such an organization deserved to be completely uprooted, leaving none alive.
“My Lord, should we begin investigating The Hand then?” Cecilia asked, her eyes full of disgust for heretics.
“No need to rush,” Ross Vance waved his hand, then jerked his chin toward the door.
“You two go to the entrance and invite Murdock in.
He’s already arrived.”
Griffin and Cecilia stood up and went out.
Ross Vance leaned back, tapping his fingers twice on the table.
The Hand.
He hadn’t planned on tackling such a tough nut to crack so early.
But the current issue was that they had completely wiped out the Hellhounds Motorcycle Club, instantly severing The Hand’s supply chain.
Given the nature of those Japanese ninjas, they would undoubtedly seek retaliation.
Ross Vance sighed.
“Fine, let’s feel out their strength first.”
Before long, Griffin led Matt Murdock inside.
He wore a dark gray suit, clutched a briefcase, and his expression was hidden behind dark sunglasses.
“Have you eaten?
Want to join me?” Ross Vance continued eating his steak.
“Griffin, pour Mr.
Murdock a cup of coffee.
A hot Americano with ice.”
“You’re highly efficient.” Murdock sat down across from him.
“Word has already spread on the streets.
They’re saying that the entire core of the Hellhounds Motorcycle Club was wiped out by a mysterious force last night, and their top two leaders have mysteriously vanished.
Right now, every gang in Hell’s Kitchen, big and small, is talking about this.”
“It was alright.
Just a bunch of small-time thugs.
Nothing major to us,” Ross Vance said indistinctly while chewing.
“Organizations have already begun paying attention to you,” Murdock warned.
“I came today just to give you a heads-up.”
“I know, The Hand, right?”
Murdock paused.
“How do you know?”
“My men found out when they were cleaning up today.
Mad Dog has been selling people, corpses, and blood to The Hand.”
Murdock fell silent.
Ross Vance glanced at him, stuffed the last bite of steak into his mouth, chewed, swallowed, then took a sip of his black tea, speaking unhurriedly.
“You reminding me to watch out for The Hand shows you’re pretty wary of them yourself.”
“I am,” Murdock did not deny it.
“The Hand’s intelligence network in Hell’s Kitchen is even deeper than Kingpin’s.
Now that they’ve lost Mad Dog as a supply line, they will certainly investigate who did it.
Although you cleaned up very thoroughly, those Hand people don’t play by the rules.
They might not even need proof; suspicion alone is enough.”
“Then let them come.”
Murdock’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Are you sure about that?”
“Not really,” Ross Vance shrugged.
“But since things have already played out this way, I can’t just do nothing simply because they might cause trouble for me, right?”
Murdock didn’t reply.
“What do you plan to do?” he asked.
“If they don’t move, I won’t move.” Ross Vance set his teacup down.
“As long as they don’t provoke me, I’ll leave them alone for now.
I don’t have enough men to launch a head-on war with The Hand yet.
I need time.”
“The Hand isn’t easy to deal with,” Murdock warned.
“I know, which is why I’ll feel out their bottom line first.”
Murdock silenced for a few seconds, then nodded.
“Within a day, I’ll compile all the intel I have on The Hand and send it to you.”
Ross Vance raised an eyebrow.
“I thought you didn’t want to collaborate too closely with me?”
“I’m not collaborating with you.” Murdock stood up and picked up his briefcase.
“I’m collaborating with whoever can purge Hell’s Kitchen’s gangs.
So far, I’ve seen what you’ve done.”
Ross Vance smiled.
“Is that a compliment?”
“Consider it a statement of fact.”
Before leaving, Murdock paused at the door.
He turned, his face behind the dark glasses angled toward Ross Vance, his lips parting as if hesitating over something.
Ross Vance leaned against the doorframe of the reception room, hands in his pockets, waiting for him to speak.
“Mr.
Vance,” Murdock said.
“If you need me to help deal with The Hand, I can…”
“Stop right there,” Ross Vance raised a hand to interrupt him.
“You’re Daredevil.
Running around as a lawyer by day and wearing spandex to beat up a few street thugs at night is fine, but going up against a bunch of regenerating ninjas from The Hand?
You’re just asking to get yourself killed.”
The corners of Murdock’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t argue.
Leaning on the doorframe, Ross Vance watched Murdock’s silhouette disappear down the end of the hallway before turning back into the reception room.
Ross Vance plopped back down in his chair, propping his feet onto the edge of the table and cradling his head in his hands.
“Speak up.
What are your thoughts on this Hand business?”
Griffin spoke first.
“My Lord, given our current manpower, a head-on clash with the full force of The Hand wouldn’t yield a high chance of victory.”
“So your recommendation is?”
“Investigate first, then strike,” Cecilia took over.
“Map out all their strongholds in New York, especially the locations of their Resurrection Altars.
Once we find them, we launch a coordinated raid to destroy all the altars simultaneously, leaving them with nowhere to resurrect.
Then, we can clean up their members one by one.”
Ross Vance nodded.
Cecilia’s train of thought lined up perfectly with his own.
The Hand’s greatest asset wasn’t their combat prowess, but their Resurrection Altars.
As long as the altars existed, killing them was pointless; they’d just bounce back alive and kicking the next day.
So the first step wasn’t fighting, but locating.
Find the altars and destroy them all at once.
Only then could they talk about a complete purge.
“Alright.
Let’s do it that way.” Ross Vance stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and pushed it open.
The afternoon sun streamed in, casting long shadows across the floor.
“Murdock will deliver the intel within a day.
Cecilia, you’re responsible for organizing it and conducting further reconnaissance.
The Hand’s resurrection rituals require sacrifices.
There are bound to be clues regarding missing persons around their strongholds.
Search along that direction.”
Cecilia slammed her right fist to her chest.
“Understood.”
“Griffin, upgrade the base defenses.
The Hand isn’t the Hellhounds.
They’ve lost their supply line, and they won’t take it lying down.
They might already have their eyes on us.”
Griffin nodded.
“I will set up rotating watch schedules and establish additional hidden sentries around the base’s perimeter.”
Ross Vance turned around and looked at the two of them.
“Alright, that’s all for now.”
“Everyone attend to your duties and get moving!”
“Yes, My Lord.”