Chapter 195 As You Can See, I Am Not Dead!
Rex found it hard to cope with the changes, but he forced himself to.
Unlike the cold and unapproachable Elven Princess that he met deep inside the Great Forest of Elias, the current Elanor was so different from how he left that he found it hard wrapping his head around it.
Also, he never expected such a massive change in status for the 2 Elden descendants that he took a gamble on and saved months ago.
Max and Stark Elden after months of working in the Berserk Gang already managed to prove their competence and climb their way to the top.
Though Elanor played a huge role in this rise through the ranks, it was also a great show of the ability of the 2 Great shelter dwellers.
Of the many changes that happened to the hierarchy of the Berserk Gang, the one that shocked Rex the most was Elanor again, her love life.
"You f*cking fell in love?"
"Damn! What happened to our brotherhood code?"
Princess Elanor twisted her lips in denial. "You can\'t expect me to be single forever, right? Afterall, I\'m not like you who keeps on focusing on a long-lost childhood crush".
Rex patted his chest; he felt the pain from Elanor\'s words.
Though he wanted to troll Elanor to the ends of the earth due to her decision to fall in love, out of respect for Max, the man in the relationship, he held back before finally reuniting with them officially.
"Who\'s the new guy?" Princess Elanor finally asked.
"Hehe". Rex rubbed his nose. "You\'ve both probably heard a lot about him already, do you remember the Horny Lord that I always talked about?"
Elanor raised her eyebrows. "The famous Ben the Horny Lord?"
"Wow, I\'m that famous around here". Ben laughed heartily; he did not feel offended the slightest to be referred to as the Horny Lord.
"So, you\'re that guy?" Elanor looked at Ben weirdly.
"Yeah". Ben patted his chest confidently then he turned to face Rex. "Who\'s the beautiful chick? Is she taken?"
As soon as Ben asked, he felt a pair of eyes glaring at him then he finally remembered Max, the other guy in the office as he laughed awkwardly.
Rex rolled his eyes and ignored his friend\'s question. "Princess Elanor is my sworn sister; she is an Advanced Mystic warrior and an Elven Princess".
"…"
Ben\'s jaw dropped. He looked back and forth between Rex and Elanor, then he cleaned his eyes and looked again. "An elf?"
"Yeah". Elanor smiled reservedly as she finally removed her smart disguise that Aragorn created for her, exposing her long elven ears.
"Holy freaking sh*t! Elves are really still alive?"
"Damn! No wonder you look so freakishly beautiful!"
"The patriarch would be so hyped to meet you!"
"Huh?" Elanor was confused.
Rex had to step in. "Don\'t mind him, I\'ll also like to introduce you to my newest battle companion, King".
Almost instantly after he called its name, dust appeared beside Rex\'s neck as a strange silhouette started materializing from it. In no time, a long snake materialized and wrapped itself around Rex.
"Meet King, the King Dust Snake".
Aragorn and Princess Elanor already took battle stances as soon as the dust appeared as they felt a powerful aura that threatened to suffocate them.
On seeing the snake appear, they were surprised and as they looked into its dark-toned golden eyes, they shuddered, it was like they were looking at an abyss.
"I-is that your new transformed beast?" Elanor finally asked.
"Yes".
The snake soon slithered upright before bowing its head before the 2 warriors. King already recognized the 2 as close companions of its master.
Just King alone already sent Aragorn and Elanor\'s imaginations running wild. "Exactly what did you experience in the Great Desert?" Elanor blurted out.
"Before I tell you, tell me everything that happened in my absence".
Princess Elanor was adamant to hear his story first, but after Aragorn intervened, she finally relented as they gave an account of all the happenings for the past 2 months after his departure.
Most of the talk was centered around the Gandalf Gang and his departure.
"After over a month of not seeing you, rumors started flying around that you were dead and this was where things started going down the drain".
"They never showed it before, but the Berserk Gang relies on you. When the rumors of your death started being circulated, morale in the gang dropped to an all time low and it keeps on dropping every day".
"In the same time that morale started dropping was when the Gandalf Gang started attacking and harassing us, making morale to drop even more".
"I believe Holmes is responsible for the attacks, apparently, he was able to seek the help of the renowned Advanced mystic warrior, Gandalf who is rumored to be a dreaded energy blocker".
"What\'s an energy blocker?" Rex asked.
"We\'re not sure". Elanor answered. "Over the months, we already tried to get information about him but every information vendor refuses to work with us".
"They are reluctant to work with us and antagonize the Gandalf Gang".
"Things regressed to the extent where our gang members started deserting the gang to join other gangs. We had to impose strict rules to stop this".
After listening to the full story, Rex took a deep breath and sighed.
"What are you going to do?" Aragorn finally asked with a serious expression on his face, this was what he had been longing to ask since.
Rex closed his eyes and took another breath before opening them again. "I\'ll make a decision quickly. First, let me tell you about my adventures in the desert".
"But…"
"Don\'t worry, after I arrived at the Great Desert…"
Rex felt like he went back in time as he started narrating his journey and adventures. As for Aragorn, Elanor, and Max who listened in, they were drawn in completely by the adventures that their brother experienced.
More than 40 minutes later when Rex finally finished narrating after simplifying a lot of details, Princess Elanor sighed in envy.
"I thought you were suffering but who knew you were living my dream, now I\'m so envious". She glared at Rex who only chuckled at her antics.
After this session, food was prepared and the circle of friends ate. It was during this session that Aragorn asked again. "What are you going to do?"
"Fight of course". Rex answered easily.
"I and Holmes are sworn enemies, it\'s either one of us dies or our feud would never die. It\'s only normal that we try to kill each other".
"And since they started it first, I have no qualms in retaliating".
"After here, both of you will escort me to greet the gang. We need to reassure our warriors that I\'m alive and well and available to protect the gang".
"Once we restore morale this way, the next step is to start attacking".
"But the Gandalf Gang is a way more powerful gang than us that is located in the Snake territory". Aragorn interjected.
"Don\'t worry, I didn\'t suffer so much in the Great Desert in vain".
"I came out a much stronger warrior and I\'m not about to waste my talents".
Rex rubbed his beard as he looked at his 2 brothers. "Do you remember why we came to the Gundam Shelter?"
"To escape from the powerful enemies after our life".
"No, to grow, fight, and get strong enough to kill our enemies".
"We didn\'t come to this chaotic shelter to be content with average, we came here to turn our situation around, the Gandalf Gang will be our stepping stone to greatness, all I need from the both of you is your trust".
"I understand". Aragorn nodded. "But are we ready?"
"Yes, we are". Rex smiled. "There\'s me, you, Elanor, Ben, my 3 transformed beasts, and my transformed humanoid warrior, that\'s 8 Advanced mystic warriors already, do you still think that we\'re not yet ready?"
Aragorn and Elanor\'s eyes widened. Though they knew that Rex had them, they still instinctively saw Rex\'s transformed beasts and warriors as supplements.
But after feeling the powerful aura of the Dust Snake, they were not so sure anymore, everyone of those 4 under Rex were powerhouses of their own right.
Both of them stood up. "Brother, we\'ll support your every action".
"Good, let\'s enjoy our food".
A few minutes later after they finished eating, they stood up and left the office after sending a high-priority message to gather the whole gang.
As the Berserk Gang expanded, it became impossible for all the warriors to be inside the gang mansion at the same time. This didn\'t matter much though since Aragorn already created gadgets through which they could keep in touch.
At this moment, even those warriors that were not in the mansion had access to what was going on through their gadgets that were created by Aragorn.
With the whole Berserk Gang gathered, Rex took the stage, shocking not just the warriors of the Berserk Gang but the onlookers from outside.
"As you can see, I am not dead".
"I\'ve heard of all the sins that the Gandalf Gang committed against us in my absence, and I say NO! We will not take it!"
"The Berserk Gang submits to no one".
"We are our own masters".
"From today, I officially declare war on the Gandalf Gang!"
The blood of the onlooking warriors started burning hot.
"We will not rest until Gandalf either surrenders or his head is served before me in a gold plate!"
"Long live the Berserk Gang!" Rex cupped his right fist and pumped it in the air.
Instantly, all the warriors responded. "Long live the Berserk Gang!
"LONG LIVE THE BERSERK GANG!!!"