After stealthily getting away Jaune quickly made his way back to the hotel.
"So this is the relic my lord?" Alice asked while looking at the floating lamp.
"Yup, the relic of knowledge and I swiped it with Leonardo being none the wiser," Jaune said with a smirk before taking another bite of his food. 'Damn, this is good.'
\Come on Jaune summon the genie./ Neo said, making grabbing motions at the lamp.
"No I have no need for it and I'm saving her questions for later," Jaune said with a no-nonsense tone that caused Neo to deflate.
\Fine./ Neo said with a pout while sitting down.
"Now let's go over the main players in the Mistral underworld," Jaune said, taking out his scroll and connecting it to the holographic TV projector.
"All operations in Lower Mistral are run by the spider and their leader is Lil Miss Malachite the mother of Melanie and Miltia. She runs the gang from her bar in Lower Mistral and is a highly regarded info broker in the underworld. She controls The Luck of the Mountains nightclub, and Broken Memories a black market shop that reverse engineers Atlesian technology." Jaune said while going through live camera footage of the various places around Lower Mistral. "There are also several other small gangs but we can take care of them with little issue."
Closing the live footage Jaune then pulled up a detailed map of Mistral. "Now Alice I want you to have Miss Malachite submit to my cause and use whatever method you see fit to use," Jaune said to Alice causing her to nod before Jaune turned to Neo. "Neo you on the other hand are going to Broken Memories and make sure to keep your killing under control so I can have some subordinates."
Neo in response gave a firm nod with a serious face but both Jaune and Alice could tell she was only taking Jaune half seriously.
Releasing a sigh Jaune ignored the little minx while beginning to tell what he would be doing. "While you two are dealing with that I'll head to the nightclub and all the smaller gangs in the area. We'll strike all at once and take the entire underworld of Mistral in one fell swoop." Jaune said before standing up and grabbing his scroll. "Now get some rest by nightfall tomorrow we shall start the operation."
"Understood my lord." Alice said while taking a knee, "I will not fail you."
\Got it./ Neo said with a smile as she saluted Jaune.
Seeing them so readily agree caused him to smile before he walked to his room to rest.
~~~~
The next night under the broken moon's light stood Jaune, Alice, and Neo. Jaune wore his standard combat uniform, Alice wore a skin-tight purple bodysuit, and Neo just wore her normal clothes.
Pulling out his scroll Jaune looked at the clock for several seconds before it struck twelve. "Break!" Jaune said before jumping off the roof followed by Alice and Neo all three of them going in different directions.
~~~~
'I am my lord's dagger. I am a cloaked assassin that sulks in the shadows. But I am the best my lord has so I shall support him with all my power even if it costs me my life. Because despite saving me, us, girls for completely selfish reasons. I would forever be grateful for not becoming a mindless assassin who only followed orders. And for that, I will be eternally grateful and serve my lord faithfully.' Alice thought while arriving at her destination.
Stepping into the bar Alice ignored the hopeless idiots who ogled her body. With her training, their stares meant nothing though she will make sure they learn that she was not one to be messed with in the future. Alice's attention turned to the woman who sat at the very end of the room.
She was a heavy-set middle-aged woman with light skin and short blonde hair kept in a bob haircut. She has a spider in its web tattooed on her left shoulder, a beauty mark under her right eye, lipstick on her upper lip, and purple nail polish on her fingernails. The top of her dress is white and backless, with long sleeves and details, such as beads and straps, in purple. Below is a purple corset, and a long pleated skirt that is yellow on its top layer, purple in the middle one, and white in the lower layer. Her shoes are brown and decorated with a green ribbon.
"Lil Miss Malachite," Alice said curtly ignoring her two bodyguards that tensed up under her tone. She couldn't help but internally roll her eyes seeing their amateur actions before talking once more. "I shall give you two chances to join my lord and work under him."
Miss Malachite's only response to, in her opinion, a gracious suggestion was to raise an eyebrow and then snap her fingers. Like a switch, the various patrons around me went from carefree and interested in our conversation to being ready to fight.
"I don't know who you work for but it was a poor mistake to come here into the heart of my territory by yourself." Miss Malachite said in a haughty tone.
'Idiots.' Alice thought while releasing a sigh and pulling on the [Sticky-Steel Thread] in her hand causing all the threads that she had set up as she stood there, to tighten around all of their necks, causing them all to start bleeding due to the lack of aura. "Now Malachite I was polite and courteous with you the first time I asked, but my lord told me I could use any method I wished so I shall ask you again with your life on the line. Will you join under my lord's banner?" Alice said this time with a glare before she undid the bindings around Miss Malachite's neck causing her to reach up and feel the blood on it.
With shaky breaths in between she answered me several seconds later. "I will… serve… under… your lord… just… don't kill… me."
"Good!" Alice said with a cheery smile on her face as she thought about the praise her lord would give her for finishing the task he assigned her so quickly.
~~~~
'Ah, I love the sound of screams.' Neo thought in amusement while hitting a man who tried to punch her in the balls with her parasol, hush. A gift from the boy who showed her the freedom she always yearned for under her parents' hawk-like eyes. But with her mother and father dead Neo now has a new purpose, to live her life how she wants. And right now following Jaune around on his quest was what she wanted. And the world he is thinking of making sounds fun, and she can't wait to see what he's going to do next!
With a backstep Neo created an illusion of myself via [Illusion Creation] while also making myself invisible to the man who just tried to stab her, causing him to shatter the illusion. With a twirl, Neo smacked the man across the face sending him flying due to her enhanced strength.
Opening her parasol with a flick, Neo blocked the gunshots from the leader of Broken Memories, Bisque.
Swinging the parasol onto my shoulders Neo gave the man a smirk while using [Illusion Creation] to talk.
\Hey, Hey are you going to give up anytime soon? Not that I'm complaining after all I can go for a few more hours./
"Heh, just wait. I already contacted the Spider and when they get here you're done for." Bisque said with a smirk.
\Oh? I hope you don't mean the crime syndicate spider do you? After all, they are going to vanish after tonight./ I said with a raised eyebrow.
"What are you talking about? The Spider syndicate is one of the most powerful organizations in all of Mistral, only being under Leonardo Lionheart with Haven Academy. How could you possibly take down such a large organization?"
\Well you didn't think I came for little old you just because I wanted to? No, I came because I was ordered to get this black market under Jaune's control while he and Alice dealt with the others. So I shall ask you again, will you join under J or die right here and now?/ Neo said with a glare while pointing the blade from her parasol at Bisque threateningly.
"Go ahead and kill me, you and these so-called allies don't even understand what you're up against," Bisque said stubbornly.
\Well I guess you're dying then./ Neo said with a shrug and made a 'What can you do expression' before in a burst of speed appeared in front of Bisque and stabbed him in the throat.
'Well that's done let's call Jaune.' Neo thought while pulling out her scroll and calling Jaune.
~~~~
Jaune couldn't help but sigh as he killed another group that wouldn't submit to him. Of course, Jaune made sure to just kill the scum of the place leaving behind scared, helpless remnants that were pulled into the group to survive in Lower Mistral. He made sure to leave his scroll number with them so that if they wanted a safe place to stay then they could contact him.
'[Great Sage] what are my soul energy levels like right now?' Jaune asked.
[Notice. 59,567 worth of soul energy has been absorbed.]
'I've been slowing down.' Jaune thought before pushing those thoughts to the back of his head as he walked into his final destination, The Luck of the Mountains nightclub. Sneaking inside via [Shadow Movement] he was immediately greeted by the soft voice of the star singer of the nightclub, Honey Wine.
Stepping into the main area Jaune saw on stage was Honey Wine. She was a mature woman with long, light yellow hair and striking gold eyes. She wore a yellow sheath dress with black accents that hugged her body nicely.
Ignoring the patrons that were drunk and under the control of Honey's semblance, Jaune continued walking forward till he was right in front of the stage gaining her attention.
"How did a little kid like you get in here?" She asked with a confused expression on her face since this place was decently guarded.
"How I got in here doesn't matter, Miss Honey. What does matter is what I have to speak with you about." Jaune said with a bright smile but anyone who paid enough attention could tell it was fake. "Now release all the people here from your semblances control and let's speak in private in the back room."
As Honey was about to call out security, Jaune already expected that used skill [Coercion], which allowed him to evoke a pressure on a target or group, causing her to break into a cold sweat.
"I understand," Honey said while releasing the people in the nightclub from her semblances hold and then heading to the back room. As for why her semblance didn't work on Jaune was because [Great Sage] protected his mind from almost all mental attacks and something as weak as Honey's weak suggestion semblance wouldn't be able to break through.
"What do you want?" Honey asked while sitting down across from Jaune.
"Nothing much I just wanted to tell you that the spider is now under new management, specifically mine," Jaune said while relaxing while pulling out a cup of apple juice.
"What but your just a kid?" She said in confusion.
"I assure you that I am more than just a simple kid and I have big plans for you and your semblance." Jaune said with a smile that sent shivers down Honey's spine."