《A Black Market LitRPG》 Chapter 1: Birth of a New Crime Lord Alvin was never one for fighting. Hell, he hated the thought of getting his nose broken or even having his fingernail cracked. Even wooden splinters from the wheelbarrows or sparks from the arctech wagons frightened him, despite being nearly twenty-five years old. So why was he in the midst of a brutal gang fight in the smog-filled alleys lined with pulsating pipes that churned green? Before he could answer that question himself, a straight punch cracked his nose from tip to base, causing blood to spurt and bone to fragment as he staggered backwards, tumbling over broken wooden boxes filled with grimy, gooey trash. He didn¡¯t even know why the two gangs were fighting, only that he was ordered toe here to help. Alvin could barely register his surroundings after the first hit, stumbling about coated in filth and pus from the trash heap. He tried to support himself against the wall that wasyered with never-ending pipes, wooden barricaded windows and metal doors. His head spun, unable to determine where he was walking to. Unknowingly, he began to cross over towards the rival gang, oblivious to the shouts of his friends as he tried to swipe the goo off his face. ¡°Who the fuck is this blind idiot?¡± One of the rival gang membersughed at the stumbling Alvin. He ran his hand over an engraved metal pipe, causing the runes to glow bright yellow before he smashed it right down onto Alvin¡¯s head with a loud thud. The runes seemed to imbue additional properties into the metal pipe, the additional force and strength cracking his skull through the dirty auburn hair that became stained with blood and bits of meat. His body plopped onto the ground without a word, dead on the spot. ¡°Fucking hell, Riker killed him!¡± Alvin¡¯s allied gang members grimaced but did not care too much about Alvin dying, all of them too preupied with keeping themselves alive as they struggled against their opponents. He was just cannon fodder, after all. A weak boy sold off by his parents to the gang as repayment for their loan. ¡°One down, nine to go, boys!¡± Riker announced loudly, boosting the morale of the rival gang. Alvin¡¯s corpse was kicked to the side, slumping against the wall beside a dead, decaying rat and abandoned gears and parts. Shouting, yelling, and sounds of metal echoed through the alley as bright runes and blood decorated the walls with brilliant shes and streaks. ¡°Shit, they got way more enchanted gear than we do, retreat! Leave Alvin¡¯s body behind!¡± Alvin¡¯s gang beat a hasty retreat, leaving only the rival gang members in the alley, all of them cheering and heckling the fleeing enemy. ¡°You two, check that idiot¡¯s pockets for anything good. Rest of you, head back with me. The boss will be pleased to hear this. The Seven Snakes are such pushovers, pah.¡± Riker ordered. Two rival gang members remained behind, alone in the alleyway, putting on grim faces as they began to scavenge through Alvin¡¯s clothes. They, too, were practically cannon fodder, albeit not as weak as Alvin had been. Such was life in the underbelly of Raktor. One of the gang members looked out for anyone else who mighte across the bloodied scene. He spotted two patrolling local enforcers about to cross the entrance to the alleyway, but instead of backing off or trying to flee, he smirked at the two of them, locking eyes with them. ¡°Having a good day, sir? Hopefully, nothing to see here?¡± The gang member had a wide grin on his face as his hand rested on a metal pipe on his belt. Thew enforcers nced at the gang member, recognising his outfit and equipment before slightly bowing with a bit of apprehension and fear. ¡°Of course, nothing to see at all. You have a good day too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Better keep on walking.¡± The gang member chuckled as the enforcers picked up the walking pace. He walked back to the other gang member, who was still checking the body for anything good. ¡°Seems like there¡¯s nothing here¡­.¡± Suddenly, the body jerked violently, thrashing in ce and scaring the two gang members. ¡°What the hell? Did the fumes get to him or something? Is he a deviant?¡± The body eventually stopped thrashing,ing to aplete still. The two gang members nced at each other, hesitant about what the next few steps were. Nothing particr came to mind, but in such an environment, violence was the best solution. ¡°Fuck if I know, but better hit him a few more times!¡± The two gang members retrieved their bent pipes, with one taking the lead and swinging down on Alvin. In a blink, Alvin¡¯s eyes flew wide open, grabbing the attacker¡¯s wrist with one hand while his legs kicked out hard against the attacker¡¯s shins, causing him to yell in pain. As the lead attacker fell, Alvin dodged another hit from the second attacker, flipping his body and recovering into a standing position while still gripping the wrist of the lead attacker, twisting it slightly, making the man wince in pain. With a stomp, the arm of the lead attacker was broken cleanly, allowing Alvin to retrieve the pipe and fend off the second guy. A single parry was all that was needed to catch him off guard before Alvin performed a frontal stab with the metal pipe, knocking the man back onto the ground. In a fluid motion, Alvin lunged at the second attacker before he hit the ground, grabbing his face and mming it down into the hard concrete, knocking him out cold. The lead attacker watched in horror as Alvin began to turn around and walked back slowly towards him before kneeling down on his broken arm. Alvin rested the tip of the pipe on the lead attacker¡¯s thigh while the man whimpered and struggled to get out, pain wracking his nerves as Alvin pressed harder on the broken arm with his knees. ¡°Where¡¯s Xanius? Where¡¯s my exosuit? Who kidnapped me?¡± Alvin asked with a stern expression. ¡°Who hired you to attack me? Which star system is this? Who owns this? Where¡¯s the nearest hypene?¡± ¡°Wha¡­what the hell are you talk- ARGGGGGGGHHH!¡± The enchanted metal pipe mmed down hard onto the thigh of the lead attacker, causing him to scream out loud in pain before Alvin used the pipe and smacked his cheek, ripping off a bit of skin. ¡°Answer the questions.¡± ¡°I¡­I don¡¯t know who the fuck Xanius is! What the fuck is an exosuit?¡± The lead attacker yelled back as he thrashed on the spot, a reflex from the incredible amount of pain that arced through his entire body. Alvin looked carefully at the lead attacker¡¯s eyes and expression for a good twenty seconds before finally releasing him. The lead attacker let out a sigh of relief, watching Alvin walk back to the unconscious second attacker. Without another word, Alvin stomped on the neck of the second attacker, crushing the windpipepletely.
[System Message] Killed [Red Lion Thug], +10 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 1 ---> Level 2
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
¡°What¡­?¡± The purple box that appeared in front of Alvin¡¯s face was jarring, and he tried to swipe it out of the way. What was a hologram doing here? He had not recalled installing any invasive interface systems into his nerval jack. The lead attacker did not wait around, already attempting to crawl away, hoping to get out of the alleyway and somewhere more popted so that someone could save him. He grunted as he tried to use his good arm to drag himself away. He couldn¡¯t stand either; his shin fractured by the kick from Alvin. How had he suddenly be so strong? Before he could move any further, a strong grip lifted him from his cor, tossing him back against the wall with a loud thud. Alvin knelt next to the lead attacker, his amber-yellow eyes staring deep into the frightened attacker¡¯s soul. ¡°You and I are going to have a nice long chat about this ce.¡± ¡°Shit, shouldn¡¯t have left those two idiots to it,¡± Riker grunted as he stomped back to the alleyway where they had just fought. ¡°Fucking fodder can¡¯t even handle a simple task. Pah, I got better things to do than babysit some kids.¡± He reached the entrance of the alleyway, noticing there was no one there at all. He also noted that Alvin¡¯s body was missing, too, though there seemed to be clear signs of a second fight. Blood that was much fresher and more recent. That detail put him on guard, holding his pipe at the ready. ¡°I don¡¯t care who the fuck you are, don¡¯t think you can just mess around on the Red Lion¡¯s turf!¡± Riker shouted in bravado. ¡°Looks like there¡¯s no shortage of second-rate thugs in this ¡®city¡¯.¡± A voice wafted in from above in a taunting fashion. Riker quickly nced upwards, only to see a looming shadow dropping towards him, a knee brutally colliding into him and cracking his corbone into fragments. He could not even scream, the air being knocked out of him as he copsed onto the ground, but he bore the brunt of the pain and recovered into a fighting stance. The sight shocked him, however. ¡°You? The idiot?¡± An eyebrow twitched on Alvin¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t show any other expression, merely lunging forward with his right arm swinging his metal pipe downwards in a predictable sh. Riker smirked and blocked the obvious iing attack, but it was a feint, with Alvin instead punching out with his left arm and nailing him in the guts. Riker doubled over and fell onto his ass, grimacing as he tried to regain his stance, but it was far toote. Alvin was already on top of him, swinging the metal pipe down with the utmost precision, targeting all the major limbs and joints. Riker screamed as he suffered a rapid barrage of strikes, unable to move any of his severely bruised and broken limbs. ¡°You, who the fuck are you? Don¡¯t you know who I am? The Red Lion will never let you Seven Snakes off, you cocksucker!¡± A swift kick to the jaw caused a snapping sound, rendering Riker unable to talk. Alvin leaned in with a stern expression, ring at Riker with bloodshot eyes. ¡°My name is Kyle Hawthorn, Dominator of the Kablsk Spice Routes, Ruler of the Neadrsa Flow and Crime Lord of the Melsura Star Sector. And you? You are the first step to my new empire."
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 2 Max HP: 13(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 13(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 24(+12)(+0)
DEX 22(+10)(+0)
INT 22(+10)(+0)
VIT 16(+0)(+0)
CHA 20(+10)(+0)
Free Points 5
[EQUIPMENT]
NONE
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
Chapter 2: Seven Snakes ¡°This was supposed to be an easy fight!¡± A meaty hand mmed the wooden table, causing the map made out of parchment on the table and empty mugs of ale to tremble. The same hand pointed menacingly at a group of young men, who flinched slightly. ¡°All you had to do was defend against the Red Lions, and instead you idiots turned it into an ugly fight that got one of the repayment fodder killed for nothing. We lost control of that entire block!¡± The owner of the hand berated the group, chiding them for their ipetence. ¡°It wasn¡¯t our fault ¨C Riker was too strong! We need more equipment and train-¡± One of the guysined, infuriated at the one-sided scolding. ¡°You¡¯re useless, Damian. If I was there, I could easily beat him with one hand tied behind my back. Back in my heyday, I used to be the champion in this district! Me, Ulon Baktar! Even the Ardent Cretins knew about my name.¡± The gang leader of the Seven Snakes smacked his chest with that same meaty hand. Then why don¡¯t you go there and fight yourself, huh? Damian internally raged as Ulon Baktar went on a spiel about the good old days and how the Seven Snakes used to be a great gang, controlling more than three districts in the South Sector. Now they were a small-time racket, barely a factor in the criminal underbelly of Raktor. The only reason why the twenty gang members remained behind was that they were far too weak to join the other gangs, as well as being locals of this district right here. Their friends, family and acquaintances were all here ¨C leaving the gang meant their rtionships would be subject to abuse by Ulon. Damian grimaced, shooting an angry re at Ulon. If only I had enough strength to kill him in a duel¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t you know how I became gang leader? I duelled the previous one as per tradition, winning easily! It is ALL of you, the useless trash, that is dragging down the reputation we once had!¡± Ulon used. Before Ulon could continue his monologue any further, the door burst wide open, with Kyle Hawthorn entering, dragging the badly beaten-up Riker, who was still slightly whimpering as his wounded limbs were continuously cut by the rough flooring. Kyle had Riker¡¯s enchanted metal pipe strapped to his belt, his clothes still drenched in dried blood. Tossing Riker to the side without care, Kyle walked up to face Ulon directly, who was still sitting behind the table. ¡°You are the gang leader of the Seven Snakes?¡± Kyle asked stoically. ¡°Al-Alvin, I heard from Damian that you were badly hurt. They thought you dead! Where did you find Riker? Was it another gang that intervened? Did we get back the block?¡± Ulon was happy about seeing one of Red Lion¡¯s goons in terrible shape, focusing on Riker¡¯s bruised face with glee. Kyle snapped his fingers once, a light but somehow extremely clear and attention-grabbing sound. ¡°Answer the question.¡± Ulon was slightly taken aback by the sheer confidence that Alvin now radiated. Instead of replying directly, Ulon was more angered by the fact that this lowly repayment fodder had the audacity to act like he was in charge. ¡°Yes, I am your gang leader, and I order you to get back into formation behind Damian before I punish you again! Seems like the gang fight has made you forget how we run. You belong to me!¡± ¡°I heard you killed the previous leader in a duel. I challenge you to a duel for the position of the gang leader.¡± The entire room was shocked. The weak Alvin now suddenly standing up to Ulon? What in the world has gotten into him? He had just e back¡¯ from the dead. Ulon squinted his eyes. ¡°You do know it¡¯s a life-or-death duel, no?¡± Kyle didn¡¯t respond, merely staring right at Ulon¡¯s plump face, waiting for his reply. The nonchnt expression on Kyle¡¯s face irked Ulon even more. ¡°Good; if you want to be beaten to death so much, I¡¯ll happily oblige. I won¡¯t be killing off my property so soon, though ¨C I¡¯ll have you taste punishment!¡± ¡°Very well.¡± Kyle immediately delivered a strong frontal kick to the table, smacking right into Ulon and toppling him over in the chair. The table cracked apart in the middle from the force, causing Ulon to be caught off-guard and slightly disorientated from the shock as he tried to get up. Before Ulon could recover, Kyle grabbed the enchanted metal pipe from his waist belt, running up and smacking it as hard as he could on Ulon¡¯s undefended head. A loud snapping sound was heard, Ulon¡¯s forearm shattering in a desperate attempt to block.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Enchanted Metal Pipe (Basic)] A pipe to bend the rules Active Skill: Reinforcement ¨C Increased force when hitting MP Cost Per Activation: 2 MP Duration: Thirty Seconds Cooldown: Two minutes
Instead of crying out, Ulon bore the pain and began to try and fight back while he stilly on the floor, throwing a few punches and kicks, runes on his ne glowing green. A green aura enveloped Ulon, healing the wound on his forearm like magic and mending. ¡°Hah, you think you can-¡° Another quick smack on his arm interrupted Ulon, cracking his forearm again, followed by a flurry of rapid hits. Kyle wasn¡¯t about to let Ulon heal normally, continuously whacking. ¡°Wai-WAIT! STOP!¡± Ulon screamed, sticking his other good arm out, which was unceremoniously hit by the enchanted metal pipe too. Kyle whacked with consistency, never stopping and with a constant breath, as though he was pounding a dough of bread. The beating continued for three minutes, the ne¡¯s glow beginning to faint. Ulon could barely talk now, his face aplete mess covered in blood and snot. Kyle finally grabbed the metal pipe with both arms before smashing it right down on Ulon¡¯s head, a soft little spurt echoing through the office. None of the other members dared to move during the entire duel, shocked by the sheer brutality revealed by Alvin. It was as if a different human ¨C no, a monster had awoken within Alvin. Kyle was about to raise his metal pipe to hit Ulon again when a message appeared.
[System Message] Killed [Ulon Baktar], +500 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 2 ---> Level 9
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
Kyle rested his bloodied metal pipe on his shoulders and bent over to rip Ulon¡¯s ne from his neck, curious about the source of the green aura.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Obtained
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] For the timid of heart. +3 INT, + 3 VIT, + 1 CHA Active Skill: Heal(Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health Cooldown: Ten seconds
Kyle nced around at the frightened gang members. ¡°Anyone else want to try me?¡± The gang members shook their heads rapidly, including Damian. While Ulon was a slob and azy leader, there was no doubt he was well-defended and had a solid constitution. The number of hits Kyle had to deliver to kill Ulon was a testimonial to that. Kyle didn¡¯t even look tired out, his eyes still staring directly at them with rapt attention. ¡°No, leader.¡± Damian bowed immediately, a slight fear erupting on his face as he realised that Kyle could maybe beat all of them up without breaking a sweat. If I couldn¡¯t beat Ulon, I can¡¯t beat Alvin now! ¡°Good. From now on, the gang is under me. The name shall remain the same. Who¡¯s the oldest gang member here?¡± Kyle asked. The gang members looked at each other,pletely confused about Alvin¡¯s apparent memory loss. Did he really not remember anything about the gang? ¡°I¡¯ve been here the longest, about five years now, Alvin.¡± ¡°Ok, the rest of you, dump the two bodies into the nutri-recycler or the airlock and get out. You stay. Also, from now on, my name is Kyle, got it?¡± Kyle motioned with a dismissive tone. Expressions of utter confusion were apparent to the gang members. They begin to whisper among each other, wondering if Alvin finally went senile or was pushed to the edge by the near-death experience, creating a bipr personality. What the fuck was a nutri-recycler? A loud and clear snap rang through the room again. ¡°I said, got it?¡± Kyle stared them down with a stern expression, causing the rest of the gang members to nod their heads vigorously, exiting the room while carrying the dead Ulon and unconscious Riker. Kyle kicked the broken table apart, retrieved the somehow structurally sound chair and sat down on it before staring right at Damian. ¡°Name?¡± ¡°Alvin, do you not remember me? What happened to you in that fight? I swear I didn¡¯t mean to abandon you; it¡¯s just¡­¡± Damian rambled, before looking up into Kyle¡¯s eyes, seeing that he was extremely serious and not in a joking manner. The blotches of blood that stained his clothes added even more intimidation. ¡°My name is Damian, leader.¡± Damian formally replied after a few seconds, to which Kyle finally nodded. ¡°I¡¯m going to be asking some questions. You will answer immediately and directly to the best of your abilities.¡± Damian nodded. Did he lose all his memories, and a bipr personality took over or something? ¡°Good. I only need to know four things. First, economic factors. What is the current state of the economy? Average debt per person?¡± ¡°Eco-what?¡± Damian was already lost. Kyle took a deep breath, knowing this was going to be tough. ¡°Fine. What is the poption of the city?¡± ¡°Yes, sir, the city of Raktor is home to approximately eight million people. We are currently in the South Sector.¡± He did lose all his memories. ¡°What is the level of technology here?¡± ¡°Level of technology¡­? Well, most of the new stuff runs on arctech, machinery and so on. I¡¯m not sure how to exin it¡­¡± Damian scratched his head. Kyle frowned visibly, causing Damian to tense up slightly. ¡°How does this city make money? Do you have a currency system?¡± ¡°Ah yes, the city is a big trade hub, so most of the moneyes from trading and services. We¡¯re at the edge of the empire, bordering two other nations. There are a few factories, but they are still fairly new and not scaled up yet; mostly research. The currency is rakels.¡± ¡°So a nascent industrialisation society¡­¡± ¡°Na-sce-nt?¡± ¡°Ignore that. How does the Seven Snakes make money now?¡± ¡°Oh, the usual. We provide protection services to traders and stall owners in this district as well as other shops. We also trade in alcohol and own a few brothels. Or at least we used to.¡± ¡°Alcohol?¡± ¡°Yes, wine, moonshine, the usual. There¡¯s a citywide ban on alcohol and many other things now, so the gangs have been fighting or negotiating for every inch of territory to cash in on potential customers. That was why we were fighting for that area, Alv¡­ Kyle. Leader, sorry.¡± Kyle¡¯s eyes seemed to light up. It seems that one of his first steps has already been aplished. ¡°How rich are we right now rtive to the rest of the city? Top 5%, I assume?¡± ¡°Pe-rc-ent? What¡¯s that? Actually, we¡¯ve been in debt since three months ago to another gang called the Crimson Swords.¡± Damian said with a sheepish smile. Kyle¡¯s eyes immediately lost their light, but he was unfazed. There was still a chance. ¡°You mentioned arctech; what¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Arctech is equipment that relies on energy, specifically arcia energy. Can be found stored in arcite ore.¡± ¡°Arcite?¡± ¡°A mineral that provides energy, other than living beings and leylines. Something that powers weapons like your metal pipe.¡± Kyle checked his still bloodied metal pipe, noticing the runes on it. It did not activate when he was swinging it for some reason. ¡°How big is our gang? This can¡¯t be all the members, right? Where are the rest? I was told by the Red Lion member that we control an entire district.¡± Damian was a bit ashamed, seeing Kyle ask it with such confidence. ¡°This is the full strength. Twenty men are all we have. We barely have any money to recruit any more. We used to be bigger.¡± Damian watched Kyle grip the metal pipe even harder, causing him to tremble slightly as Kyle¡¯s face seemed to simmer with rage or disappointment. Kyle pondered for a moment before realising something missing. ¡°Are drugs banned? Psychedelics? Hallucinatory products?¡± Kyle tried every term he could think of. ¡°Ps-ki-eric-ks? Drugs? What? If you¡¯re talking about hallucinations, an engraved array or a potion would be able to inflict illusions. We have alchemists in the city, though such potions are ridiculously overpriced and hard to procure. Nobody uses them¡­¡± A small smile appeared on Kyle¡¯s face as he heard the keywords he wanted to hear, which only frightened Damian even more. It was the smile of a businessman knowing he¡¯s found a hole in the market. ¡°Now we¡¯re getting somewhere.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 43(+17)(+0)
DEX 39(+13)(+0)
INT 36(+10)(+0)
VIT 30(+0)(+0)
CHA 20(+10)(+0)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
NONE
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
Chapter 3: Carving Out A Market Kyle¡¯s entire body was aching. He had overexerted himself during the fight, and his muscles were screaming out for rest. He sat in an opulent red velvet chair, the bloodstains from yesterday long gone and reced with a clean formal suit. He was in Ulon¡¯s private room, now obviously his. It was filled with useless trinkets, trophies and a gaudy stuffed head of a wildlife Kyle had never seen before. All extremely distracting and a waste of time, in his opinion. It¡¯s been slightly more than a day since he arrived in the city of Raktor, somehow waking up in another person¡¯s body, along with a holographic interface reminiscent of VR games. It¡¯s far too real to be a VR game¡­. Kyle pondered as he checked his face in the mirror, looking nothing like how he did in the past. His face no longer had the perfection of designer genes cultivated over centuries. The first rule of thumb for Kyle when entering an unknown and potentially hostile environment was to gain safety first. By instantaneously taking out Ulon, he had temporarily secured his position as a gang leader, albeit of a small one but easier to control and tweak to his preference. Twenty weak members are hardly enough to serve as a buffer against enemies¡­ Efficiency was the name of the game when one wanted to be a gctic crime lord. Kyle did not beat around the bush, immediatelying up with a simple step-by-step n.
  1. Build a solid base/group of people to perform menialbour and reach a position preferably on the same level as his previous titles. Remain hidden from the big powers as much as possible.
  2. Find a niche market to sell, preferably illegal, so as to exploit profit margins. Scale up and dominate the market, as well as ensure nopetition.
  3. Figure how the hell did he survive/woke up in another person¡¯s body
There is also the issue of the gang I attacked when I arrived. No doubt they woulde knocking sooner orter. Kyle surmised. The Red Lions seemed to be a muchrger gang from what he learnt, controlling four districts in the South Sector. He needed to potentially prepare for war. In order to protect himself and his followers, he would need money. Most likely lots of it. And he would need it extremely soon, with the Red Lions poised to pounce if the Seven Snakes showed any more weakness. Until then, he had to remain low. Kyle winced as he tried to move his arms, sore from exhaustion. On his neck was the Ne of Healing, which he still had no idea how to activate.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Equipment Equipped
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] For the timid of heart. +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health Cooldown: Ten seconds
He also had no idea how to ess the purple box properly. He tried swiping with his hands. When that didn¡¯t work, he tried it verbally. ¡°Holographic Interface. Menu. System. Statistics.¡± As soon as he said thest word, the statistics appeared in front of him.
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 43(+17)(+0)
DEX 39(+13)(+0)
INT 39(+10)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
Kyle tried to focus on activating the ne, which suddenly did the trick. The same green aura enveloped his body, healing him by a tiny amount. It, however did not do anything to alleviate the exhaustion his muscles felt. Kyle surmised that being tired was not considered health damage and as such, could not be healed. This will be a problem; I will need to learn more about how this holographic statistics interface works. He did not know if other humans had the same interface but given the fact that it disyed every single piece of information, both past and present of the individual, Kyle knew better than to reveal such detail to those around him. Especially when he¡¯s only been the leader for a day. I will not let myself be betrayed again, that is for sure. Kyle dragged himself out of the room, assuming the strong and stern posture again, before returning to the main office. A crime lord must always espouse and demonstrate strength, dominance andpetency, even when running a small-time gang. The broken table had been reced with another basic table, the same map parchment on it. Damian was already in the office, waiting for him. ¡°Can you read and write?¡± Kyle asked as he walked towards the desk and sat down. ¡°Uhm, not perfectly, but I have a younger brother who can.¡± ¡°Go.¡± Damian soon returned with a young kid barely eighteen years old. ¡°He¡¯s Keith, he can read and write.¡± ¡°Good,e here.¡± Kyle retrieved arge bulky book from a bookcase, which looked like an ount of the gang¡¯s finances. ¡°Read this out loud.¡± Kyle couldn¡¯t read thenguage of the book but could somehow speak the samenguage as Damian and the rest. I must find a way to fix this impediment in the future. Keith began to read out loud, using his finger to trace the myriad of numbers. ¡°This year, Year 369 of the Yual Reign, in the month of Autirth, forty thousand, twenty hundred and sixty-two rakels were obtained as revenue. The deficit is¡­¡± He hesitated, ncing slightly at Kyle. ¡°Continue.¡± Kyle¡¯s demeanour frightened Keith, spurring him to read on. Every month that Keith read out, Kyle¡¯s expression only got darker and darker, until he was almost boiling with rage. ¡°Ulon indeed was a great gang leader,¡± Kyle muttered sarcastically. If he had such a subordinate back in the Melsura Star Sector, he would have instantly executed him by particle irradiance from the nearest star. ¡°As of this month, the month of Autirth, the total deficit we have is approximately one million and two hundred thousand rakels, owed to the Crimson Swords with an expected due date of four months on thest day of Decaber. The end of the year.¡± Keith finished. ¡°So what I¡¯m hearing is that even if we cut all our expenses right now, it will take us around thirty months toe close to repaying the debt, assuming there is no interest. And that is assuming the ounts are urate.¡± ¡°Yes sir, though the interest rate is 22% year on year.¡± Keith was still slightly stiff. Kyle didn¡¯t react anymore. He was already far too incensed to care. Instead of wasting emotions and energy on being outraged, he put his attention on Keith. ¡°You seem like you are good with math.¡± ¡°I used to train under a schr before we came here¡­ sir. Leader.¡± Keith still couldn¡¯t get used to calling Kyle sir. The change from the weak Alvin who always took care of them to this distant Kyle was worlds apart. ¡°Good. From now on, you¡¯ll be my assistant with financial issues. Every night you are to spend one hour teaching me how to read and write as well. Do this, and there will be a reward for you. Now leave us.¡± ¡°But Alvin, you already know how to read and write¡­ I mean, yes sir! Leader!¡± ¡°Stick to sir.¡± Keith nodded and bowed awkwardly and took his leave. ¡°Damian, how many alchemists do we have under us?¡± ¡°Huh? None, we never had any alchemists, to begin with.¡± ¡°Not even a single one within our protection racket or influence?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Damian scratched his chin. ¡°There is one member of the Alchemist Guild in our district, but he¡¯s a bit feisty, though. No matter which gang tried to approach him, he always refused to pay the protection fee, even under threats. He lives in his shop, and it is well guarded by traps. Ulon never managed to get him to budge.¡± A well-protected alchemist¡­ ¡°Get ready, we¡¯re going to visit him. Bring out the cash reserves.¡± Kyle stood up, patting his pants before moving to leave. Perhaps we canplete the second objective soon. But we¡¯ll need to do some scouting. ¡°What? Now?¡± Damian was caught off-guard. He had never seen a gang leader be so proactive in his five years as a goon. Ulon usuallyzed around and got others to do things for him. ¡°If not, when? When we¡¯re bankrupt?¡± Kyle retorted. ¡°Lead the way.¡± Damian hastily retrieved rakels into a medium-sized coin pouch before the two exited the Seven Snakes¡¯ base,ing out of the basement of a five-storey building into a narrow street that was fairly isted. ¡°The alchemist lives near the food market. We regrly buy our meals from there as well,¡± Damian exined as they walked through the street. Homeless squatters, rubbish heaps and small workshops painted thendscape, with kids covered in grimeughing and running through the sparsely popted street. He had already epted the fact that Kyle was an amnesiac and needed to be taught from scratch. There was also something about the straightforwardness andpetence of Kyle that drew Damian in, a far cry from the repulsive Ulon. A few turns and corners soon had them at a dense food market. Stalls and carts with colourful banners carved with magic peddled their harvest or forage from the nearby forests and monster regions. Arctech wagons hauling goods from beyond the city came in all various types. Kyle noticed that many bore different license tes and insignias, no doubting in from other countries. Kyle looked around and found a few monster parts and limbs that he had never seen before. Some were even selling mealworms as a meal, but Kyle barely flinched when he saw that. I¡¯ve had worse. He also noticed a few people sitting at the corner cafes with smoking pipes, blue smoke puffing through the air. The aroma was intricate, the smell of blueberries floating through the air. ¡°That¡¯s a popr hobby of the people, smoking Euria Seeds,¡± Damian exined. ¡°Addictive?¡± ¡°Sorry?¡± ¡°Is it hard to quit the hobby?¡± ¡°Oh, not at all. I think the body faces a mild resistance after quitting but would return to normalcy fairly fast, within three hours at most?¡± Damian and Kyle navigated through the crowd, before finally reaching a standalone two-storey house positioned in between two blocky six-storey office buildings, making it seem anachronistic. A medium size sign hung on top of the entrance, reading ¡®Haui¡¯s Alchemy and Alchemical Products.¡¯ Another sign was hung next to it ¨C the emblem of the Alchemist Guild. Kyle knew from experience that a highly prized product would naturally have a consortium around it. No doubt a strong association¡­ he must have quite a backing then. The ground around the house was carved with runes simr to those on Kyle¡¯s metal pipe. ¡°I assume those are the traps.¡± ¡°Yes sir, but he won¡¯t use it against new customers. You¡¯ve never visited him before, so we should be okay.¡± Kyle entered the shop without hesitation. It was fairly spacious inside, with a few shelves with potions of all sorts. There were already a few other customers inside, all humans who were calcting the prices of potions they were looking to buy. He eyed the other customers, noticing that they were keeping a close eye on him as he walked through the shop. It seems some of them are security. About five to seven well-trained guards. He nced at one of the price tags of a greenish-looking potion. ¡°Five thousand rakels¡­ Impressive.¡± Holding the potion up in his hand, another purple box appeared in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Health Potion (Basic)] Restores a moderate amount of health. Cooldown: Thirty seconds
Another dark yellow sk was on a different shelf, with Kyle lifting up to examine it.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Created
[Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)] Restores a moderate amount of stamina. Cooldown: Thirty seconds
Six hundred rakels¡­ Kyle nced around the shop, finding no hints that the alchemist was involved in some mass supply. He is not as rich and powerful as I first thought ¨C he makes money by selling the far more expensive potions on a small scale basis. ¡°Best be careful with that, young man. Once broken, considered sold.¡± A husky voice wafted in from the back of the shop. It belonged to an old man in a purple robe who rested his head on a counter,zily fiddling with a chisel in his hand and spinning it with his fingers. Kyle ced the potion down and walked up to the counter. ¡°Mr Haui, I presume.¡± They both sized each other up for a brief moment. ¡°Indeed. Any particr potion you¡¯re looking for? Or just browsing? Or perhaps¡­¡± Haui¡¯s voice trailed off, a small hint of hostility long honed towards shoplifters apparent in his squinting eyes. ¡°I am looking for something of a different quality. Something more exquisite and different, if you know what I mean.¡± Kyle replied, much to the confusion of Damian. Haui¡¯s eyes showed signs of recognition, but wariness crept in as he stared at Kyle, examining him and his clothes carefully. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you around here before. New in town?¡± ¡°You could say that. If what you offer interests me, perhaps this could be a start of a great business rtionship.¡± Kyle nodded knowingly towards Haui. ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Haui seemed to be weighing the pros and cons in his head while Damian still continuously looked back and forth between them. Every hour since Kyle became the gang leader was aplete rollercoaster of emotions for him. A minute of silence passed before Haui finally ced the chisel down on the counter. ¡°Follow me.¡± Haui motioned to a side door that led to a stairwell. An illegal operation. As expected for such a well-defended alchemist. The trio walked down the stairs, only to enter a basement filled with potions that were not the same as what was disyed in the front. ¡°Take a look. Every aphrodisiac, poison, curse and illusionary potion is here. I won¡¯t call them the best in Raktor, but it¡¯ll do the job.¡± Kyle nodded, walking through the shelves and rows upon rows of potions. He noticed a few boxes of herbsbelled ¡®Poair Leaves¡¯ stacked on the corner through his peripheral vision, though he continued picking up potions and examining them. Each of the potions was wellbelled and disyed in small quantities. Assuming he performs all his production in-house, he does not seem to have enough ingredients to engage in mass production. There is still a chance, but only if I find evidence of the right potion here. He was on his twentieth potion since he arrived when another purple box appeared in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Potion Inspector (Basic)] Ah, you seem to be looking for something very specific. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined
Kyle held the same potion and noticed the description had been upgraded.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Mind-Bending Potion (Basic)] Sends the user on an illusionary trip fueled by their subconscious, rendering them incapable of normal functions. Lasts up to a day on a full dose. Rmended Dosage: Half a bottle for an adult human male for three days Ingredients: Poair Leaves, ???, ???, ???, ??? Cooldown: Thirty Seconds
¡°Perfect.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 43(+17)(+0)
DEX 39(+13)(+0)
INT 44(+15)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Basic)] Ah, you seem to be looking for something very specific. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
Chapter 4: Reorganization ¡°Sir, are those potions really worth it? Mind-bending doesn¡¯tst long, and that¡¯s a bit too many Stamina Recovery Potions. Sure, the Stamina Recovery Potions are rtively ¡®cheap¡¯, but they will be impossible to reverse engineer as well. Alchemy has always had the highest failure rate in terms of industries. Too much prior knowledge is required to make even a basic potion¡­ sir.¡± Damian was stilling to terms with how much Kyle had spent on the potion, twelve thousand rakels, despite the fact that they were still in debt. Kyle did not reply. With the scientific knowledge he had from his former life, distition would be a cinch. He did not need Damian¡¯s approval either for now. The food market was still just as crowded as when they first arrived, hectic and bustling with activity. The locals seemed to be on lunch break, gossiping about everything under the sun. Kyle took a slower walk, keeping his ears peeled. ¡°Did you hear? The Veiled Angels subjugated three gangs in a row in the West Sector!¡± ¡°Wow, so the Violet Devils are neck and neck for domination, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yea, they both hold twelve districts each. I feel bad for the gangs trapped in thest remaining six districts. A bloodbath is going to happen over the next few months for sure. I only hope the Sanctum of Yual would not intervene this time; it would be even worse.¡± 30 districts in a sector¡­ Kyle was listening intently when Damian slightly tugged his shoulder to the side. ¡°Sir, see those two? Local enforcers of the Sanctum.¡± He pointed to two men nearly covered in white from head to toe, only the engravings of gold and red on their shirts, pants and shoes breaking the monotony. They were simply patrolling, checking the stalls of the food market. ¡°Sanctum?¡± ¡°The main religion of the Yual Dominion.¡± Damian sighed internally, now truly believing Kyle was apletely bipr personality of Alvin. ¡°They enforce thew around here, though the local enforcers usually close one eye on gang activity. They are far too understaffed to actually make a difference here even if they wanted to, though it would be best if we do not directlye into conflict with them.¡± Another major power to watch out for. Kyle frowned. He had long forgotten the feeling of being a small fry in a big pond. Back in his former life, he had been thergest crime lord for a long time, dominating entire clusters of stars. Perhaps that was why I was so easily betrayed at the end¡­ The two walked through the food market and back to the gang¡¯s base. As they neared the entrance, Kyle suddenly spun around and faced Damian directly. Damian gulped, reminded of how brutal Kyle was against Ulon, the same stern expression worn on Kyle¡¯s face as he stared hard at him. ¡°Damian, was it? I understand none of the gang members have been formally educated nor trained, with the exception of Keith.¡± ¡°Huh? Yes, indeed. We never had the money to.¡± The best underlings are loyal ones who arepetent. As of now, they seem to becking in both physical and mental training¡­ Kyle frowned, not replying and re-entering the Seven Snakes base. He did not really pay attention to it the first time he entered, but now he focused more on the d¨¦cor,yout, and furnishing. ¡°How big is this base?¡± ¡°Sir, we own the entire basement floor of this building. It is only one floor though, a downsize from our previous five-storey building that was lost.¡± ¡°I assume lost because of debt,¡± Kyle remarked. Damian nodded timidly. Why was he feeling ashamed of how far the gang had fallen? Perhaps it was because he had been singled out as the oldest gang member, making everything seem like it was his fault. ¡°Show me around.¡± ¡°Sir, you¡¯ve already seen your office and your ¨C¡° ¡°I meant everywhere else. I want to see the rest of the base.¡± It was unheard of for gang leaders to actually leave the vicinity of their rooms and office, much less tour the quarters ormon areas shared by the members. What if they poisoned him? Backstabbed him? Damian nced at Kyle¡¯s face, who didn¡¯t seem to give a shit. He conceded, bringing him on a tour of the base. The baseyout was exceedingly simple. The entrance led into a short hallway, which immediately spilt off in a T-junction. Right was the gang leader¡¯s quarters, including the office, personal room and shower. Left was the rest. A big, bold red sign indicated that clearly. Upon turning left, the two entered arge openmon area that was joined to rooms all along the side. Themon area was filled with junk of all sorts. Heaps of broken metal, twisted wooden frames and half-crushed pipes were stacked on the corners. At the centre, the gang members were out in force, ying games with each other on snooker tables the size of a room or training on sandbags and weights in the middle. A stolen arctech speaker ying garbled music echoed against the carpeted floor and dusty walls. Theyout was extremely haphazard. Most justzed about, lying or chilling on one of the many benches and sofasying about, some obviously stolen from an aristocrat¡¯s setting, with the prior pink fluffy colour now a diminished brown-stained mess. Kyle¡¯s eyebrow twitched slightly upon seeing the rampant mess. He was not one to fret about cleanliness, considering that he had been regrly covered in blood since day one. However, it was the sheer disarray andck of organization amongst them that really got to Kyle. ¡°Damian. I would like to ask you a simple question.¡± Damian froze, noticing the fearsome expression on Kyle¡¯s face. ¡°¡­Anything, sir.¡± ¡°Are you invested in making this gang better? You¡¯ve been here the longest.¡± It was a hard question. In hindsight, Damian knew he could have left the gang anytime. There used to be people that he cared for in the gang, but five years of continuous fighting and hustling was a long time. Now he was thest of his generation. Should he jump ship with his younger brother? Damian immediately disregarded that thought. He owed it to his former friends to make the gang the best he could. This was the reason why he even stayed on when Ulon was the gang leader. He was still slightly on the fence about whether Kyle would be a good gang leader, unable to shake the impression of weak Alvin. ¡°Yes, sir, I am.¡± Damian resolved himself, answering truthfully. ¡°Good. From now on, you are in charge of discipline and training.¡± ¡°Discipline? What?¡± ¡°Let me provide an example. Gather everyone here.¡± Damian began to gather everyone while Kyle waited patiently, standing near the entrance of themon area. It took close to ten minutes or so for all twenty gang members to assemble, and even then, they were standing in a disorderly manner, some yawning and scratching their heads. Only Damian and Keith were standing firmly. ¡°It¡¯s the second day since I took over the leadership of the gang.¡± Kyle began, standing firmly. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed a clearck of discipline, training and organization among you all. You two, run over to the other end of themon area, touch the wall ande back.¡± Kyle pointed to two random gang members. The two gang members looked around, trying to figure out whom Kyle was pointing to before they realized it was them. The request didn¡¯t click in their head, making them confused. ¡°Huh? Me? Why the hell would I do tha-¡± ¡°RUN!¡± Kyle suddenly bellowed with such force that the two random gang members nearly shat themselves before they began to run, reminded of the sheer brutality Kyle had inflicted on Ulon just a day ago. The other gang members were shocked at the strength of Kyle¡¯s shout. This was the first time they had seen Kyle this furious. They ran as fast as they could, touching the wall beforeing back, but they began to slow down upon returning, obviously tired from sprinting the distance. ¡°How far was that other wall?¡± Kyle asked Damian, who looked lost, trying to estimate the answer in his head. ¡°About 25 meters from here, sir,¡± Keith answered. ¡°You¡¯re telling me two of our members who are involved in protecting stalls, traders and our businesses are unable to sprint for more than twenty-five meters?¡± No one replied, their heads kept low, ashamed by the performance of their fellow gang members. Some even felt they might not do any better themselves either. The two returning gang members panted and heaved, looking as though they had just finished a marathon. ¡°Next, you two. Lift that sofa up and move to that position. Before cing it down, hold it for thirty seconds.¡± The next pair didn¡¯t hesitate this time, knowing Kyle was serious and had not joked so far. They lifted a heavy three-seater sofa, but could barely lift it and dropped it onto the floor within ten seconds. Kyle sequentially gave each pair a different physical task in themon area, with the gap between tasks reducing with each passing minute, causing them to exert even more strength. Moving things, sprinting, lifting, shuttle runs to pick up random pieces of trash. Even Damian and Keith were not spared from the physical tasks, performing what seemed like useless menialbour. After thirty minutes, the gang members were all tired and sweating profusely, staining the armpits and back of their shirts. Clear signs of discontentment and anger were directed at Kyle for making them do useless stuff. ¡°Now stand in a row in front of me.¡± The gang members tiredlyplied, forming a twenty-man row in front of him. ¡°Turn around and look.¡± What is even the point of all of this¡­ oh god. Damian was slightly shocked. The sheer exertion of the tasks had blinded him so far, but he now had a clear wide view of themon area. Somehow, their physicalbour had fixed theyout of themon area, no longer haphazard and wildly ced. Even the trash and litter on the floor, as well as the bulky heaps of broken metal, were all nicely aligned to one corner. The gang members were equally astonished. ¡°Holy shit, have you ever seen themon area look like this before?¡± They murmured among each other for a minute, admiring the work they¡¯d done. Suddenly thebour tasks didn¡¯t seem so meaningless anymore. ¡°Every day.¡± Kyle suddenly spoke, causing the gang members to turn around and face him. ¡°Every day, I wille into themon area. If it does not even look remotely like this, Damian will be responsible. You will all report to me in this manner, standing in a row every morning at the crack of dawn, understood?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The gang members were much more receptive now to Kyle, after witnessing the good results of the supposed useless orders. ¡°The structure of membership is now redefined. All of you are associates, with the exception of Damian as both underboss and acting captain from now on. Through the training and a vetting process, you will then be inducted in as ¡®vipers¡¯, proper members. Work hard.¡± Damian¡¯s face glowed tremendously, knowing how big it was to be dered as the underboss, the effective second-inmand. Ulon had never allowed anyone to be the underboss in his entire reign. The gang members, now associates, were also slightly excited about receiving training. None of them wanted to remain weak. Already among them, there were some bets on who could be a viper first. Kyle beckoned for Damian and Keith to follow him, returning to the office. ¡°Do you understand now?¡± Damian nodded vigorously. ¡°You provided seemingly meaningless orders, but all the small little tasks eventually built up into something great. It instils into them a simple idea that ¡®if I listen, good things will happen.¡¯. The membership hierarchy is great as well.¡± ¡°Not as eloquent as I would put it, but yes. Discipline for discipline¡¯s sake is meaningless. All tasks have to point towards a greater goal or objective. Moving on, the physical training regime shall be done in this manner, with the objective of strengthening their overall capabilities. Write down what I am about to say.¡± Keith nodded, taking a seat at Kyle¡¯s desk and scribbling down whatever Kyle dictated. Some of the words flew way over his head and had to be reced with something simr. Soon, the training regime waspleted on parchment, Damian going over it once. Damian¡¯s eyes bulged as he continued reading each line. ¡°This¡­ this is madness! No human can exercise this long without assistance! How can we possiblyplete this?¡± ¡°You will.¡± Kyle retrieved the dozen Stamina Recovery potions he bought in the shop, cing them on the table.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)] Restores a moderate amount of stamina. Rmended Dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every eight hours Ingredients: Poair Leaves, ???, Water Cooldown: Thirty Seconds
Chapter 5: Supply and Demand In the Red Lions¡¯ base¡­ The Red Lions were muchrger than the Seven Snakes. The gang controlled four districts in total, with more than three hundred men in total. Each of the three subordinate districts was controlled and managed by separate sub-leaders. They were now eyeing the Seven Snakes district, which would be an easy kill. However, they were not the only enemy facing the Red Lions, with bothrger and smaller gangs trying to test them with small skirmishes. No gang wanted a full-out bloodbath between gangs ¨C they were here to make money, not to be mass murderers. At this very moment, the sub-leader of the adjacent district to the Seven Snakes was training hard against a wooden dummy in a massive training yard nested between buildings. Wounding a punch that caused the reddish armour set to elicit striking neon blue lines reminiscent of arcite fuel, he delivered a devastating strike, cracking the wooden dummy figure into half. Two Red Lion associates ran up to him, getting down on one knee while waiting for the sub-leader to acknowledge their presence. He panted slightly, grabbing a towel from a servant and wiping off the sweat on his scarred forehead. He ran his other hand through his spiky dark red hair before tossing the towel back and nodding towards the two underlings. ¡°Speak.¡± ¡°Boss Wrent, we still can¡¯t find any trace of Riker. We suspect another rival gang has imprisoned him.¡± ¡°Who did it?¡± The associates looked at each other before one gulped and bowed lower. ¡°Boss, I think it¡¯s the Seven Snakes.¡± A loud bellowingughter roared through the yard. ¡°Ridiculous! Against us?! The Left Paw of the Red Lions?! Ulon and his measly twenty men would never be able to pull off such a feat.¡± ¡°But boss, he wasst seen heading towards their district, where we recently took over ownersh-¡°The associates paused as Wrent raised his hand. ¡°Or maybe a bigger gang has impersonated them and is trying to get us to fight each other. I would not put it past the Ilysian Punks or the Wretches, and it won¡¯t be the first time they did such a thing. Our main headquarters is still at war with them. Focus your search on the punks from Versia.¡± The Ilysian Punks and Wretches were non-native gangs, hailing as immigrant-formed from beyond the border. ¡°Yes, boss. What do we do about the Seven Snakes now?¡± Wrent currently had more than sixty men under him, three times the number of the Seven Snakes. However, a cornered animal was just as dangerous as a wounded one. Wrent was ying the slow game. Any pyrrhic victory would leave him weak and vulnerable to the other sub-leaders and external rival gangs. If I can subjugate the Seven Snakes while the headquarters and other sub-leaders are busy with the Ilysian Punks and Wretches, it would be a big boost to my reputation and allow me more of the take. ¡°Carry out my orders. Keep an eye out for any booming businesses of the Seven Snakes. The moment any of them stand out, we will slowly target them one by one with persistent harassment, crippling their finances. They are already in debt, and this would eventually force them to capitte without a single loss of life on our side.¡± The next day¡­ Kyle observed intently as he poured out a tenth of the Stamina Recovery potion, mixing it with stored rainwater as the base, representing nine parts. He then swirled the mixture around before pouring it into an empty sk, filling it to the brim.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Created
[Diluted Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)] Restores a tiny amount of stamina. Rmended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every hour Ingredients, Poair Leaves, ???, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Potion Crafter (Basic)] Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials
Kyle immediately put down the diluted potion and picked it back up.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Created
[Diluted Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)] Restores a tiny amount of stamina. Rmended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every hour Ingredients, Poair Leaf, Greis Powder, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds
¡°Finally, the entire list of ingredients is visible to me. The exact recipe might be missing, but it¡¯s a start.¡± Kyle quickly retrieved the Mind-Bending Potion.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Mind-Bending Potion (Basic)] Sends the user on an illusionary trip fueled by their subconscious, rendering them incapable of normal functions. Rmended Dosage: Half a bottle for an adult human male for three days Ingredients: Poair Leaf, ???, ???, ???, ??? Cooldown: Thirty seconds
The description had barely changed, much to his frustration. ¡°Looks like I don¡¯t have the necessary skills to see such aplicated recipe yet.¡± Kyle mused to himself, noting a difference in the number of ingredients between the two types of potions. He repeated the process of diluting the Stamina Recovery Potions, but no new titles, skills or information appeared. ¡°I¡¯m relying a bit too much on this holographic interface, it seems, a very addictive approach. Perhaps when I get back to the Melsura Star Sector, I should buy out the VR game industry as much as possible¡­¡± With now a hundred and twenty diluted potions, he ordered Damian and another gang member to distribute them to the training gang members, who were now undergoing a hellish regime. Kyle called for Keith. ¡°How much cash reserve do we have?¡± ¡°Uhm, about twenty thousand rakels since you spent the other half on the potions. That wasst month¡¯s revenue.¡± Keith was a lot more receptive to Kyle now as they had witnessed the rtive increase inpetency. ¡°What are our current expenses?¡± ¡°Hmm, food, utilities, equipment maintenance. It should amount to ten thousand rakels, assuming five hundred for each gang member. This is also taking into consideration that there would be no future fights with the other gangs.¡± Kyle was reminded that Riker was still imprisoned by them. If I let him go, the Red Lion woulde running at us. I can¡¯t afford a fight now. Seeing as they have not approached us yet, they probably thought it was another gang who attacked them after the fight. Let¡¯s keep it that way. ¡°Are you familiar with Poair Leaf and Greis Powder?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Huh? Oh yea, they are pretty basic ingredients. Used quite a lot in simple bandages and as a spice for food. It is quite abundant in the food market area.¡± Kyle¡¯s eyebrows twitched slightly. He recalled seeing arge amount of Poair Leaf crates in the alchemist¡¯s basement. Each crate could probably hold about a thousand kilograms based on his estimates, and judging by the size of the potion, not many need to be used for each potion. Very interesting¡­ ¡°How much is each of the ingredients?¡± ¡°Erm¡­¡± Keith tried to recall in his head. ¡°Maybe about a thousand two hundred for a sack of Poair Leaf, two thousand four hundred for the Greis Powder.¡± ¡°Good, go out and buy a sack each ande back. Try to remain inconspicuous as much as you can.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Wait. While you¡¯re out there, buy a sack of Euria Seeds.¡± ¡°Raw or crushed, sir? Do you need a smoking pipe as well? It will cost about six thousand seven hundred.¡± ¡°Raw. No, no pipe needed.¡± While Keith was gone, Kyle quickly calcted. Each Stamina Potion was sold to me by Haui for six hundred rakels. Assuming I can nail down the recipe, I can potentially enter a price war with him. However, I will have to add something more unique to the concoction¡­ The sacks arrived, though they were a bit too bulky to be ced in the office, so they were stored in themon area. The associates were currently resting from their training, gulping down their diluted Stamina Recovery Potions. It was not super effective, but every little bit helps. Some of them watched as Kyle scooped a handful of each into separate smaller bags before heading into the kitchen. ¡°What the hell is Alvin up to now? I¡¯ll like to say that I prefer this personalitypared to the weak one before, but isn¡¯t this too drastic of a change? Is he a chef now?¡± ¡°Better than the shitty Ulon who justzed around. I actually feel more productive now. I can somehow see the makings of a great gang.¡± ¡°Man, I joined the gangs to fuck around, not get drilled this hard.¡± One of the associates was still reticent about the entire training regime, lolling about on the sofa. ¡°Rested enough, associates?¡± A stern voice suddenly spoke from behind. ¡°If you have time to chat, you have time to train and get stronger. We haven¡¯tpleted the exercises today. Move!¡± Damian ordered. As the associates continued their training under the supervision of Damian, Kyle was in the kitchen, arranging the ingredients out nicely.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Poair Leaves (Basic)] A bunch of leaves of an evergreen shrub known as Poair. Amon ingredient in tea to provide rxation and a base ingredient for many potions Not rmended to be consumed raw
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Greis Powder (Basic)] A powdered form of an umon rock found in mountainous regions, it is touted to improve virility and sexual lifestyles. Not for the faint of heart Do not attempt to snort
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Euria Seeds (Basic)] Seeds with extremely mild intoxicating attributes, along with the dense vour of sweet acidic fruits. Extremely hard to crack with human teeth
Kyle grabbed a single seed, looking around the kitchen to find anything to crush it with. However, the kitchen was extremely barebones, only having the basic utensils. In fact, it looked like they barely cooked at all. Kyle now understood why they had been buying food from the food market. None of the gang members knew how to cook nor had the money to hire a cook. Instead of being angry, he ced the seed in a small stone bowl, using his metal pipe¡¯s tip and smashing it slightly, careful not to break the bowl as well. The seed was now ttened, with the oil squeezed out. He carefully poured out the oil into a sk before holding it up to examine.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Extracted Euria Seed Oil (Basic)] The oil of a Euria Seed. Someone went to town on the seeds for sure
He crushed a few more seeds in this manner before collecting enough to fill a sk. The description did not change, prompting him to boil it over a stove. A copious amount of blue smoke began to waft out of the kitchen, attracting the attention of the exercising gang members. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a lot of smoke for a Euria pipe. Should we check?¡± ¡°Idiot, you want to antagonize Alvin when he¡¯s in this state? No fucking way!¡± Kyle waited till there was nothing left to boil, only a dark yellow residue left behind. After the sk had cooled down, he picked it up to check.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Pure Euria Mineral] The dissolved minerals in Euria Seed Oil. Potentially increased addiction attributes
He then used a separate sk to mix the Poair Leaf and the Greis Powder along with water, trying to get the ratio right. Too many leaves and it was simply tea. Too much Powder, and it was more of a sludge. Too much water and nothing at all. Each sk could only hold two hundred and fifty millilitres, based on his estimate. He soon had five sks going in sequence, boiling them in tandem for different durations. He checked them all, frowning when the holographic interface did not pop up, which meant he failed. However, with the sheer brute force ofbination, he finally managed to figure out the recipe. ¡°15% of each, the rest water, boiled for three minutes.¡±
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Created
[Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)] Restores a tiny amount of stamina. Rmended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every eight hours Ingredients, Poair Leaves, Greis Powder, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds
He did not receive another title or skill, but it was good enough. He then took the dark yellow residue, dropping a small amount into the potion.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Created
[Addictive Stamina Recovery Potion (Basic)] Restores a moderate amount of stamina, along with a moderate temporary high. Rmended dosage: A bottle for an adult human male every eight hours Repeated consumption in a short period of time may result in addiction Ingredients, Poair Leaves, Greis Powder, Pure Euria Minerals, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds
A small smile appeared on Kyle¡¯s face as he read the description. ¡°Our first drug. Time to begin.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 43(+17)(+0)
DEX 39(+13)(+0)
INT 49(+20)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Basic)] Ah, you seem to be looking for something very specific. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Basic)] Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials
Chapter 6: Bring To Market Two dayster¡­ Six associates were now lined up in a spare empty room, with only two basic long wooden tables in the middle and at the side along with chairs. They stared in awe at the equipmentid out on the tables, as well as the crates stacked at the back of the room, filled with sks and portable arctech stoves. Kyle had gotten Keith to use the remaining extra cash to buy them, with the one hurting the most being the arctech stoves. Something to dabble into in the future, perhaps¡­ ¡°You, you¡¯re number one. You weigh each of the ingredients before putting them into separate bowls.¡± Two weighing scales were on the table, the counterweight already perfectly calcted. Kyle had gotten Keith to writebels on parchment onto the weighing scales, indicating which ingredient they were for. ¡°Next, number two.¡± Kyle motioned to another one. ¡°You take each of the ingredients and put them into the same sk, and fill up to the brim with water.¡± ¡°Finally, number three. You boil the sks, each for exactly three minutes. No more, no less.¡± Kyle then moved over to the other table, where there were only Euria Seeds and a few mortar and pestles. ¡°You, number four. You grind as many Euria Seeds as you can. Pour the oil out into a sk.¡± ¡°Number five. You boil the sk as long as possible until you see a dark yellow residue like this.¡± Kyle showed an example. ¡°Then, for every other sk the group makes, you drip just a pinch in.¡± ¡°Number six. You then pack the normal sks separately from the ones that have received the Euria Seeds. Everybody clear?¡± They all nodded except for one who raised his hand. ¡°Sir, sorry to ask, but what exactly are we making?¡± ¡°Stamina Recovery potions. A stark reminder ¨C anyone, associate or even vipers, caught drinking the Euria-infused potions will immediately be punished heavily and imprisoned for a while. Understood?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Good. Start now.¡± The operation began, with the associates slightly fumbling about as they got used to handling the equipment. However, they went slow and steady, afraid of being chided by Kyle, who watched over them like a hawk. Soon, after ten minutes of repetitive action, the muscle memory began to be engraved into them, making the job faster and simr to a factory line. Kyle nodded in approval before leaving the room. The associates felt a sense of belonging and as though they were part of a greater whole. They might have had more passion for the job if they didn¡¯t realize that they were basically performing menialbour, just like a factory worker. ¡°Didn¡¯t I join the gangs so I didn¡¯t have to do this kind of thing¡­?¡± Kyle returned to his office, checking a list of all businesses owned by Seven Snakes, sorting them out by revenue. It wasn¡¯t so much of a list, seeing there were only two external businesses ¨C a pub and a brothel. The brothel was performing very well, providing the majority of the revenue. He had been learning to read and write from Keith every night for the past few days. As he could already ¡®speak¡¯ thenguage, reading was easy, though writing still needed a bit of work. He called Damian in. ¡°In three hours¡¯ time, we¡¯ll visit the highest-performing brothel that the Seven Snakes own.¡± ¡°You mean the Lusty Arcian?¡± ¡°¡­ Yes. Once the potion production haspleted a crate, we will bring it over with us, got it?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°One more thing. I want you to give Riker three Euria-infused potions in a single day. Follow the rmended dosage of eight hours. After that day, don¡¯t give him any more, even if he asks for it.¡± ¡°¡­What? Why are we giving him our product?¡± ¡°Just do it. Make sure to feed him still and provide water. I¡¯ll check in four dayster.¡± Damian was uncertain about what Kyle wanted to do this time but agreed instantly, having lost all hope of trying to understand his mind. The brothel was very well hidden, as prostitution was illegal in the city. It was nested on the second floor, right above a reputable restaurant, but only essed via a hidden side entrance. It was narrow and cramped, the carpeted floor on the hallways stained with bodily fluids from years ago or even recently. A dense fog of Euria smoke hovered permanently just under the arctech bulbs that flickered white against the blue hue. Kyle entered through the main entrance, noticing the d¨¦cor to be extremely feminine in every sense, the flowery impression permeating the entire lobby area while a sensual tune wafted in through the perfumed air. ¡°Oh my dear Damian, did you bring a new customer today? It¡¯s a bit too early for any sort of action, no?¡± A toned muscr man was resting his head on his arm against the countertop, smiling at the two of them. He wore a pink formal shirt with ck pants and sported a slick haircut. Kyle was mildly impressed by how well the man carried himself. ¡°Good afternoon. I¡¯m here to meet vin Tudor.¡± ¡°That¡¯s me!¡± The man said cheerfully before taking a closer look at Kyle. ¡°Hmm, I think I remember seeing you before in the Seven Snakes¡­¡± ¡°He is the new gang leader of the Seven Snakes, Kyle¡­¡± Damian nced back at Kyle. ¡°Just Kyle is fine.¡± ¡°Oh my, Ulon is dead? Finally! That fat pig deserved it; I never really took a liking to him. So, to what do I owe the pleasure? Perhaps youe to sample some of our products?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to observe the operations if possible. You two,¡± Kyle motioned to the other two gang members outside carrying a few bags of potions. ¡°Leave them here and return.¡± vin watched intently as Kyle ordered them. ¡°Great charisma, leadership qualities, everything Ulon didn¡¯t have. Am I about to see a rise of a new shining star, Damian?¡± ¡°I believe so.¡± Damian nodded in agreement. ¡°Hmm, operations won¡¯t begin till two hourster or so.¡± vin ran his hand over his beard, scratching it slightly. ¡°No matter, let¡¯s go through your finances first.¡± ¡°Ooo, a business-type leader as well! I like you even more now. Sure, go ahead. You own the majority of this ce anyway. I just run it.¡± vin retrieved his ount book and passed it to Kyle. Kyle quickly nced through the book, his eyes rapidly reading and looking out for discrepancies. ¡°I note that most of the workers here usually take off days quite frequently?¡± ¡°Everyone in this line of work does. It is fairly exhausting, you know? Even our customers get tired as well.¡± vin exined. ¡°We just run out of stamina faster, which is why we have to rotate our workers regrly. You can see this in our expenditures.¡± ¡°Indeed. Which is why I have a special proposition for you.¡± The nightlife was roaring across the district, with hundreds of factory workers returning from their day job and trying to rx. Many sat at the various cheap food stalls at the markets, eating voraciously topensate for the gruelling exertion of their jobs. The reputable restaurant was booming as well, serving dishes to well-off families who ran farms, fishing trawlers and forestrypanies or did administrative work. Even the enforcers of the Sanctum were having a break, simply enjoying the meal andughing heartily. At the side of the restaurant in the dark alleyway, two men were squabbling right outside an inconspicuous entrance leading to a stairwell. ¡°Come on, man, just follow me! It¡¯s going to be okay!¡± An older man pped the younger one on the back. ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I haven¡¯t done it before, and I don¡¯t know what to do! To be honest, I¡¯m pretty tired after today¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly why you got to get it done today, Niko! Let out all that frustration at the job and have at it. Listen, I know the owner of this ce, so just trust me, okay?¡± Niko hesitated before nodding slightly. The older man immediately led him up the stairs, entering the brothel. ¡°Oh my, weren¡¯t you just here three days ago?¡± vin smiled at the older man. ¡°Already back for more? Won¡¯t your wife miss you?¡± ¡°Ah fuck her; she¡¯s probably out as well screwing around. She¡¯s still in, right?¡± ¡°Madison? Of course. In fact, we¡¯ve recently received some additional products, so her schedule will be changed from every three days to every two days now.¡± ¡°Really? That¡¯s fucking amazing!¡± The older man was extremely excited, but his mood was suddenly dampened. ¡°Don¡¯t think my body can keep up with it, I don¡¯t have enough grit or stamina to do it that often.¡± ¡°Ah, for that we have a special gift for you. And for your neer friend as well.¡± vin retrieved two potions from behind the counter. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Niko asked curiously, looking at the darkish-yellow potion. He had never ingested a potion before in his life, the cost always being far above his pay and his family¡¯s means. ¡°Stamina Recovery Potions, on the house.¡± ¡°On the house!?¡± The older man nearly choked on his own tongue as he heard that. ¡°vin, you must be rolling in the money now to be able to afford such expensive potions. The cost of this would be almost the same as two weeks of pay for me at the factory!¡± ¡°Haha, you are all our dear customers!¡± vinughed it off. Niko¡¯s eyes¡¯ bulged. A potion of this cost, for free? It sounded too good to be true, but before he could question it any further, the older man grabbed the stamina recovery potion from vin, popping the cork and immediately downing it. Niko could visibly see the strength and vitality return to the old man. Both of them had been working in the factories. ¡°Ohhh, that hits the spot! Niko,e on and try it!¡± The older man urged Niko on. ¡°Don¡¯t worry boy, I¡¯ll give you one more after you¡¯re satisfied here.¡± vin winked at Niko, who steeled his body and drank the potion thoroughly. He could feel the cold liquid rush into his stomach before a hot surging force raged through his muscles, relieving the aches and sores he had to endure on his factory job. It felt as though he had just woken up after a restful sleep, ready to start the day anew. ¡°This is awesome!¡± vin assigned the two to their rooms, already with the girls waiting inside. Niko was still a bit hesitant, worried about what was about to happen. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve never done anything like this before¡­ It¡¯s my first time.¡± Niko confessed to vin. vin patted his shoulder with a slight smile on his face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, dear boy. You¡¯ll be a regr with us in no time.¡± Chapter 7: Scaling Three dayster¡­ ¡°It¡¯s working like a charm.¡± vin was gushing over how much money had been made over since the introduction of the Stamina Recovery Potions. ¡°How are you getting all of these potions?¡± ¡°A new trade secret of the Seven Snakes,¡± Kyle replied nonchntly as he tallied the earnings. A tidy sum of four thousand rakels over three days was a big boost to their revenue. Assuming nothing wrong happened, they were set to make more than forty thousand rakels from this brothel alone every month. With the potions, the number of repeat customers had increased, as well as word of the brothel. Rumours of the vigorous intensity of the sex workers went viral through the district, prompting even more to visit them. Kyle still had ns to scale this further. ¡°Read this.¡± He passed a rolled-up parchment over to vin, who nced through it, shock being even more evident on his face as he read. ¡°You¡¯re a genius. Loyalty programs and points will surely make even more customerse in multiple times. Especially when you lock the stamina recovery potion behind the program.¡± vin remarked with a surprised look, wondering how did the young man have so many unique ideas. Kyle nodded in response, moving on to the next subject. ¡°With the stamina potions avable for your workers, you would have more of theming in.¡± ¡°Yes, the size of the brothel isn¡¯t enough to amodate all of them. Even if they were willing to work today, I wouldn¡¯t have a room for them¡­¡± vin sighed. ¡°How much to expand to the next floors?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t cost much, about two thousand rakels a month in rent for the next floor. We will still have to do a fair amount of work, though ¨C the ce was aplete trash pile thest time I saw it. We will need a lot of movers to clear the floor before I get the construction crew in.¡± ¡°If I get you your movers, how long will it take to construct?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ a week at most. The cost will be about six thousand rakels if I remember correctly. I¡¯ll have to check with Reyas again.¡± ¡°Approved. Get it done as soon as possible.¡± Returning to the Seven Snake¡¯s base, Kyle rallied all of the associates, pausing the production of potions. ¡°The training regime will be temporarily paused. Instead, we will clean out an expansion space, one floor above the brothel, to make space for expansion.¡± Kyle exined. ¡°You mean the Lusty Arcian?¡± Damian piqued up. ¡°¡­ Yes.¡± Kyle still barely remembered the name of the brothel. It didn¡¯t matter much to him, only how much money he could make. Everything was about economies of scale. The associates got ready, moving over to the new floor with Damian in the lead. With vin¡¯s quick connection to the owner of the building, they immediately got ess. Damian entered the floor, almost recoiling at the stench. It was clear that there were a few squatters that used to live here, with their refuse and junk all over the ce. ¡°Work fast! The faster we move, the more money we¡¯ll make!¡± Damian ordered, issuing tasks and focusing on which to clear first. The doorway was narrow, so some of therger trash that had somehow fused together in a burnt g pile had to be broken apart. Over the loud nging of metal, Damian was overseeing the cleanup. Suddenly, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine as a soothing voice spoke extremely close to his ear. ¡°Oh, Damian dear, you¡¯ve grown up so fast.¡± Damian immediatelyunched his elbow against whoever was behind, only to be stopped by vin, who grinned widely. ¡°You used to be such a cute na?ve boy. Now, look at you, underboss of the Seven Snakes.¡± A bright red blush began to appear slightly on Damian¡¯s ears. ¡°That was five years ago; stop teasing me!¡± ¡°Do you remember when you first came to the brothel, a brand new pure soul? Oh, the screams of joy I heard from your room that night¡­¡± Damian was even more embarrassed, with a wave of snickering breaking out through the gang members who were listening in. ¡°That was only the first time, alright?¡± ¡°Sure, darling. Oh, look here, what a cutie you are.¡± vin suddenly walked up to another associate, grabbing his chin and viewing him from all angles. The associate desperately tried to break free of the grip, pulling his head away. However, the grip was rock solid, vin only smiling slightly. ¡°You seemed to be a new face too, and you got great looks. How about youe work for me? Kyle seems not to appreciate your talents. You¡¯ll be much better treated here. Customers would love you! And don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t take all the profits.¡± Fucking hell, am I getting scouted? While the associate was slightly happy at being praised, the thought of being a sex worker did not appeal to him. ¡°I-i-I think I¡¯m good,¡± the associate said with squashed cheeks as vin let him go. vin frowned slightly. ¡°A pity. Oh? How about you?¡± His eyes lit up again, locking onto another target. The associates worked quickly, spurred on by the harassment of vin. Within a single day, the floor was cleared and spotless, allowing the construction crew to begin work on the expansion. Kyle remained in his office, calcting the total profit. With the bulk purchase of ingredients and sks, making the potions was exceedingly cheap. It only cost about twenty-seven rakels per potion at the current market rates, which meant that even if he sold the stamina potion for half the price of what Haui sold it to him for, his profit margin would be tenfold. He could sell it for way lower, but that would draw unwarranted attention and bring him into direct conflict with Haui and perhaps the Alchemist Guild. I¡¯m stillying the foundations for my cartel, we¡¯ll have to y it slow for a while. Moving too fast with this will backfire rapidly. Instead of selling the potions outright, it was only provided to brothel customers. Repeat customers could purchase it through the loyalty program, with quantity limited by the number of times they visited. This reduced the number of waves that would ripple, allowing him to slowly build up his supply system. He nced at the office table, noting the map of the district with the territory of the gangs marked out. The Red Lions are our closest neighbour. Hmm, it should be about time. Kyle called for Damian into his office. ¡°It¡¯s been about more than a week since I took over. I think it is about time.¡± ¡°Time? Time for what?¡± ¡°Expect a few small skirmishes with the Red Lions soon. With the roaring sess of our brothel, it would be surprising to see them take no action at all. Post two associates on rotation to keep an eye out for any movements or advances. Any issues, report back to me immediately. Do not fight without me.¡± Night-time soon came around again, and this time the brothel¡¯s queue of customers even extended all the way out into the alleyway, with dozens of repeat customers willing to wait half an hour to get their fix. Niko was there in the queue, having waited about fifteen minutes. His leg continuously shifted, as he rubbed his hands constantly, a slight jitter visible in his eyes, which darted around the alleyway. He scratched his neck, feeling that constant numb feeling that permeated his jawline and gums, not going away. He soon made it to the counter, meeting vin for the second time. ¡°Oh, Niko, back so soon?¡± Niko scratched the back of his neck while heughed nervously. ¡°Haha, yea¡­ is Ellie around? I would like to have her again if possible.¡± ¡°Sorry dear, she¡¯s currently upied, if you don¡¯t mind waiting for a little longer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no problem, I can wait¡­¡± Niko¡¯s eyes darted to the stamina recovery potions on disy shelves behind the counter. vin caught on, a small grin appearing on his face. ¡°The first two were on the house since you¡¯re a neer. You¡¯ll have to buy the potions through the loyalty program now.¡± He exined the loyalty program to Niko. Niko instinctively got it ¨C the more you visit, the more you will be able to buy. ¡°This is my second visit, right? So I can buy one?¡± ¡°Yes, you can. It¡¯s three hundred rakels. Want one?¡± The price was high but not as extravagant as some of the other alchemist shops nearby in other districts. Niko was about to hand over the money when argemotion broke out outside the brothel. vin lost his grin, an angry expressioning over his face. ¡°Sorry, Niko, let me just head on outside to deal with some ruffians.¡± He cracked his knuckles before heading out. Curious about what was happening, Niko went back out to the stairwell, only noticing that the alleyway had been blockaded by more than a dozen guys, all wearing red armbands with the crest of a roaring lion on them. They were split in half, covering both ends of the alleyway. ¡°Been hearing all about your good business, pimp!¡± The captain of the Red Lion¡¯s crew spat on the ground, fiddling with a hammer that had neon red arctech engraving along the head and handles. He was the only one wearing some form of armour that was arctech, too, while the rest had basic metal pipes and sticks. ¡°It¡¯ll be a real shame if some hooligans were to break down and scare away your loyal customers. Perhaps you need protection from someone strong, like me. Name¡¯s Lionel.¡± A dirty grin erupted on his face, performing a mocking bow. Niko noticed the queue was gone, with none of the queuing customers willing to stay behind in fear of getting beaten up. They were here to have a good time, not get into a gang fight. He contemted leaving, but it was already toote ¨C he and a few other customers were trapped inside, with vin protecting them. Niko felt useless, weak and ipetent in the face of the dozen Red Lions. What the fuck have I been doing with my life? Working a dumb factory all day, only to get caught in a fight with no real skills to defend myself with¡­ ¡°Indeed, a real shame. However, we¡¯re already protected and covered under the Seven Snakes. So sorry for that, Lionel,¡± vin spoke eloquently with a tinge of sarcasm, crossing his arms. He was at least a head over most of the gang members, but it did not intimidate them in the slightest. ¡°Seven Snakes? That old fat pig Ulon? Bah, he hasn¡¯t left his den in five years! Looks like you need a lesson on who calls the shots here.¡± Lionel scoffed. vin¡¯s expression remained stoic, staring down Lionel. However, deep down, as strong as he was, he knew he would not be able to fend off this many fighters from raiding the brothel. I¡¯ll have to get the customers to escape through one of the side entrances, though its far too cramped. His eyes nced at Niko, who was already trembling as he cowered in the stairwell. Before Lionel could order a raid on the brothel, a cry of pain erupted from the spilt group of Red Lions opposite him. A loudmotion erupted among the six members, seemingly fighting something. ¡°Haha! Which idiot decided to interfere?!¡± Lionel smirked, knowing that his Red Lion members won¡¯t lose to any street thug. Most likely, it was a drunk customer trying to defend the brothel or something. At any moment now, he would expect to see a beaten-up body of a no-name. However, he instead saw a dismembered limb with the Red Lion armband sail through the air towards him, whichnded in front of him with a bloody thud. A wave of shock rippled through the Red Lions while a wide smirk appeared on vin¡¯s face as he realized who it was. ¡°It seems you¡¯re about to receive a lesson yourself.¡± vin grinned, rolling up his sleeves. Chapter 8: Lesson Delivered vin¡¯s originally confident face faltered slightly when he only saw Kyle alone, by himself. What the¡­ where is the rest of the Seven Snakes? But soon, that confidence was reinstilled as he watched Kyle brutally defeat the Red Lion gang members. It was like watching a performance rather than an alleyway fight, a picturesque demonstration of prowess and perfection. ¡°Who the fuck is that? What are all you numbskulls doing? Get him!¡± Lionel roared, prompting the Red Lions on his side to charge forward to attack Kyle. However, one of them remained behind, clearly shaken. ¡°What are you waiting for?!¡± Lionel red at him with a ferocious stare, but even his intimidation couldn¡¯t stop the member from trembling. ¡°Lio-lio-lionel, that¡¯s the guy! That¡¯s the guy!¡± ¡°The guy? What guy? Speak clearly before I smack you myself!¡± ¡°He-he-he was the one killed by Riker a week ago before he went missing! It¡¯s a ghost!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Lionel took another look at the guy attacking the Red Lions, somehow fending off three at a time in the narrow alleyway. Kyle was proficient with his legs as well, delivering strong kicks that cracked shins and jaws with precision. Already three members were out for the count, one having his limb horribly twisted off by Kyle¡¯s raw strength. Before the additional dozen could reinforce the rest, vin reached out and grabbed a Red Lion¡¯s head, smashing it against the ground with a loud resounding crack. ¡°Can¡¯t just be standing around when the boss is in action.¡± The members of the Red Lion jostled about as the backline tried to urge the front forward, but the front was reluctant to face Kyle and vin on separate sides. ¡°Screw all of you; I¡¯ll show you how it¡¯s done!¡± Lionel roared as he shoved the members aside,ing to the front and charging at vin first. The neon red hammer swung wildly at vin, forcing him to dodge or block with his arms. His right forearm took the brunt of a downward hammer strike, but somehow vin withstood the pain, allowing him to throw an uppercut at Lionel¡¯s chin. Lionel backed off instinctively, dodging the iing fist and swapping the hammer to his left hand. With a sideward swing, he nailed vin right in the ribs, causing vin to gag and stumble backwards. vin winced as he resumed his fighting stance, but a sudden sharp pain suddenly sprouted from the ces he¡¯s been hit, a searing fire almost burning through his nerves. It was as if there wasva flowing in his veins. With a smirk on his face, Lionel exploited the weakness, knowing his hammer engraving effect had kicked in. Three more hitsnded on vin, with the final one crippling his knee and forcing him down onto the ground. ¡°That¡¯s right, stay down like the little dog you are. AND YOU, YOU¡¯RE NEX-¡° Lionel was about to taunt the other attacker but soon noticed all six of his guys fighting Kyle had already been taken out. Thest was dangling by the neck, Kyle nearly crushing it before throwing him to the side. Kyle did not kill any of them, keeping them barely alive. Lionel instinctively gulped. Even he did not have the confidence nor ability to fight off six of his own members at the same time. And the enemy looked like he did it with just an enchanted metal pipe. ¡°It¡¯s just one fucker!¡± Lionelughed, fake bravado masking the fear in his heart. ¡°He¡¯s acting strong; he must already be tired or injured by now. GET HIM!¡± The remaining five members hesitated for a moment before they noticed Kyle was indeed showing slight signs of exhaustion. ¡°RED LION!¡± One of the members yelled, spurring the rest to charge in tandem. Good, I can now stay at the back and make a retreat if necessary. Lionel smirked to himself, moving slightly towards the back. As the members rushed towards Kyle, Kyle stretched his limbs and massaged his sore shoulders. ¡°A good warm-up. It¡¯s been a week since I went to town.¡± The first attacker approached, but instead of preparing to parry, Kyle threw his enchanted metal pipe into the air. ¡°What..?¡± The first attacker nced upwards, distracted by the soaring metal pipe, before his lower jaw was caved in by a palm strike from Kyle. The world spun around as Kyle grappled him, tossing him down onto the ground. Two attackers rushed him from both sides, with Kyle dodging the first hit with a sidestep and grabbing the wrist of the second attacker, tugging him with a martial art spin. In a blink, Kyle spun around and used his body weight to m them into each other, causing the two of them to topple to the ground. Kyle followed up by stomping hard on his groin, causing the man to let out an unearthly sound. Onest brave attacker charged Kyle, but the soaring metal pipe finally fell back, smacking the attacker right in the back of his head. Disorientated, he was no match for Kyle¡¯s swift kicks and punches, forcing him to drop to a knee before Kyle delivered a spinning kick, concussing him. ¡°Fucking hell, he¡¯s not wearing any enchanted gear either!¡± Lionel was panicking now, preparing to retreat while using the remaining Red Lions as bait. He began to walk to the other exit, only to find Damian and the rest of the Seven Snakes waiting for him with a light smirk. ¡°The lesson isn¡¯t over yet.¡± Damian grinned widely. At the roof of the nking building, a lone civilian was watching the battle intently, jotting down notes on a book and observing through the pulsating pipes. His eyes focused only on Kyle as he subjugated the rest of the Red Lions, writing down the observed strength and reaction of the Seven Snakes members. ¡°Seven Snakes¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were that strong.¡± vin flinched as Damian treated his wounds. ¡°It¡¯s not about strength; it¡¯s about knowing how to use your body,¡± Kyle replied while observing the rest of the Seven Snakes tying up the Red Lions. They were now slumped against the side, with Lionel¡¯s face barely recognizable. He had specifically ordered the Seven Snakes to keep all of them alive. Kyle held Lionel¡¯s armour piece and hammer in his hands.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Chest te of Nullification (Basic)] Calms the nerves, especially when sore. +2 STR, +4 VIT Active Skill: Pain Nullification ¨C Reduce the pain experienced by the wearer by 50% MP Cost Per Activation: 5 MP Duration: Thirty Seconds Cooldown: Ten seconds
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Enchanted ming Hammer ( Basic )] A good ol¡¯ one-two, except its only one punch. Active Skill: Dyed Assault - Target hit will experience searing pain after five seconds,sting for ten seconds MP cost per activation: 2 MP
I should learn how these types of equipment are made. Kyle made a mental note to ask Damianter. They seemed to be the main way the locals of this world fought at a higher level than themon human. Doesn¡¯t seem too prolific either, it might be another market to enter. ¡°Sir, what are we going to do with them?¡± ¡°Haul them all into the holding cell and feed them all a Euria-enhanced Stamina Recovery Potion. Give them three a day, then stop for four days.¡± Damian didn¡¯t understand why Kyle was giving away his product for free when it could be sold for twice its cost through the brothel, but he nodded and followed the orders. ¡°Does that apply to Riker as well?¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t touch him. I have a special n for him.¡± An arctech wagon suddenly drove up near the entrance of the brothel, with four local enforcers stepping out of the wagon. They saw the entire scene, with the Red Lions tied up, and Kyle ordering the Seven Snakes associates around. Kyle nced over his shoulder, noticing one of the enforcers approaching him, wearing a captain¡¯s cap. ¡°Seems the rumour of Ulon dying was right. Been a while since I¡¯ve seen the Seven Snakes this strong.¡± The enforcer captain remarked as he stood next to Kyle, looking at the scene with clear disinterest. Even the blood oozing towards his shoe barely fazed him, as though gang fights were extremelymon in the city. Kyle reached into his suit¡¯s pocket, retrieving a thick envelope and slipping it into the enforcer¡¯s pocket. ¡°Just a minor scuffle between friends. That¡¯s all.¡± Kyle spoke softly before patting the shoulder of the captain. ¡°Indeed, just a minor scuffle. Nothing to see here. I suppose we¡¯ll be seeing more of this, though?¡± The captain did not smile just yet, refusing the budge. Kyle let out a small sigh before retrieving another thick envelope and sliding it into the enforcer¡¯s pocket again. ¡°Yes, there will be more of this in the future. Shouldn¡¯t waste your precious time attending to such minor incidents. Spend some more time with your families. Life is more important, is it not?¡± ¡°Indeed, it is. You have a good day, sir.¡± The enforcer captain grinned and tipped his cap before leaving with his squad. Kyle soon left along with the prisoners, leaving Niko and the rest of the customers staring in awe. ¡°Holy shit, did you see that? Who the hell was that? I don¡¯t remember Seven Snakes having such a strong champion. Even the enforcers did not dare to arrest him directly.¡± ¡°Yea, that was amazing. I think the Red Lions might seriously be in trouble at this rate.¡± ¡°Nah, that kid can¡¯t hold a candle to the Red Lion¡¯s boss. I¡¯ve seen him in action recently; man¡¯s a monster. If you thought this was cool, you ain¡¯t seen nothing yet.¡± vin cleared his throat, motioning for the customers to return to the brothel. Already the sex workers and other customers who had finished during the fight peeked their heads out of the windows to watch the fight, witnessing Kyle. ¡°That man is the new head of Seven Snakes,¡± vin said proudly. ¡°You better expect some big changes around here.¡± Niko waspletely amazed by Kyle. The way the Seven Snakes appeared was far too cool as well. Could he even join a gang like that? Back at the Seven Snake¡¯s base, Kyle was in his room, grimacing as he removed his shirt. As intimidating as he looked, he did not manage to avoid a few hits, causing his upper body to be fairly bruised. The Ne of Healing provided some much-needed relief, restoring his HP back to full, albeit extremely slowly, with the cooldown being ten seconds. A quick swig of a Stamina Recovery Potion also rxed his muscles. Might be time to make some healing potions. Will have to discover the recipe again. Before the night ended, he called all of the associates into themon area again. ¡°Great work out there. However, this is only the first of many skirmishes.¡± Kyle warned. ¡°Starting tomorrow, we will be focusing onbat training. I will be teaching you directly.¡± A wave of murmurs spread through the associates, mumbling among each other. ¡°Shit, he¡¯s teaching us directly? Since when do gang leaders do that?¡± ¡°Fuck yea, I want to be as strong as him. Maybe one day I¡¯ll duel him and win.¡± Kyle overheard that, smirking. ¡°You can try. But before you go to sleep, I¡¯ll provide a demonstration just to prepare you mentally.¡± Kyle led the confused associates to another spare room, where there was a single Red Lion prisoner tied up on a chair. He grabbed a nearby Euria-enhanced stamina potion, forcing the liquid down the prisoner¡¯s throat. He then used the Ne of Healing on him slowly, healing the prisoner to full health over a minute. ¡°Wha.. what¡¯s going on?¡± The Red Lion prisoner was stunned. Was his captor saving him? Kyle cut the ropes, setting the prisoner free to move about. He turned to face the Seven Snakes¡¯ associates. ¡°Since I took over, I noticed a clearck of brutality in the way we fight.¡± Before the Red Lion prisoner could react, Kyle spun around and delivered a forceful elbow strike right into his nose, causing blood to spurt out and him to copse on the ground, writhing in pain. The associates were stunned at the sudden outburst but were soon reminded of how Kyle got into his position in the first ce. ¡°Demonstration is over. From tomorrow morning, each of you will take turns to beat him up.¡± In another district of the South Sector, the same observation book was being read by a well-dressed gentleman as he paced slowly through arge dining hall filled with people eating away at a grand feast. The candlelight and extravagant furniture were only contrasted with theck of manners each of the diners had, eating like hooligans at a campfire. Food and liquids were tossed around. ¡°The Ilysian Punks and the Red Lions seem to be neck and neck, while the Wretches are still tending their wounds from thest three-way war¡­¡± The man muttered to himself as he trawled through the logs of the observer. ¡°SEBASTIAN!¡± A voice bellowed from the end of the long dining table, attracting the attention of everyone. ¡°What are you doing, still working?! The Ardent Cretins don¡¯t pay for overtime, you know?¡± A chorus ofughter erupted from the rest of the diners as arge man stood up and walked to Sebastian. Sebastian bowed respectfully to therge man, holding the book to his chest. ¡°Sire, as the dominator of the South Sector, it is essential to observe and keep track of every movement within that can potentially threaten our reign.¡± ¡°Yes, but none of the other gangs in the South Sector can currently match our sheer strength. Ten districts now, with even more toe! Even if we lost every member, there¡¯s still me. ISN¡¯T THAT RIGHT, BOYS?!¡± ¡°YES, SIR! ARES IS THE STRONGEST IN THE SOUTH!¡± The Ardent Cretins chanted in response, having practised it often. ¡°Damn right.¡± Ares nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Now, work is important, but I order you to eat now with us!¡± Sebastian begrudgingly dragged his feet to an open seat, plopping down on the bench while the diners feasted on the scrumptious foodid before them. However, the observer¡¯s book was still open on hisp, with Sebastian ncing at it every so often. A log near the end caught his eye, however. ¡°Seven Snakes has a new leader, and he beat up a dozen Red Lions alone with no arctech equipment? This will be a problem. Perhaps a talk is necessary to soothe ambitions.¡± Chapter 9: Red Lion ¡°SEVEN SNAKES! COME OUT!¡± A man d in reddish armour bellowed outside the base of the Seven Snakes, attracting the attention of many passers-by. He was nked by a dozen lightly armoured individuals as well, all bearing the insignia of the Red Lions. Many of the onlookers gathered far away, watching intently. It¡¯s only been less than half a day since the battle in the alleyway, but the word of Kyle¡¯s prowess and his taking over the gang had already spread through the district. It was no surprise that the Red Lions woulde to harass the Seven Snakes after such a harrowing defeat, where a dozen Red Lion members were captured. ¡°COME OUT NOW! TOO SCARED TO DEFEND YOUR OWN TURF?¡± The man continued yelling loudly. The entrance to the base suddenly swung open, revealing an obviously disgruntled Kyle who had just woken up, his eyes slightly sleepy. ¡°Who are you?¡± Kyle asked. The man was stumped for only a brief moment before cackling loudly. Every movement of his seemed to be geared towards showmanship, showing off his equipment and his dominance over the ordinarily dressed Kyle. Kyle simply squinted his eyes. He¡¯s putting on a performance for reputation and rumours, it seems. ¡°Don¡¯t you know? I am the great Wrent, Left Paw of the Red Lion! It seems you¡¯ve been taking good care of my boys.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°And?¡± Wrent¡¯s eyebrows twitched slightly before he resumed his haughty attitude. ¡°I believe you are keeping them as prisoners and would like to have them back. I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t want to cause an incident here on this fine day, don¡¯t you¡­?¡± ¡°How much?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°How much would it cost in rakels to buy your members?¡± Wrent¡¯s expression darkened. ¡°Are you implying that we, the honourable Red Lion, would ever be willing to sell our ¨C¡° A dark yellow potion sailed through the air, with Wrent stumbling to catch it. Just as he was about to berate Kyle for tossing random objects at him, he took another look at the dark yellow potion, staring intently. ¡°This¡­ this is a Stamina Recovery Potion!¡± ¡°There¡¯s more where that came from. How many would suffice?¡± Wrent coughed slightly, his eyes darting around. ¡°Perhaps it would be best if we discuss this inside, away from prying eyes.¡± Only the two of them entered the office, with Damian standing guard outside. ¡°I did not expect Ulon to fall so fast,¡± Wrent remarked as he nced around the office, seeing most of the usual ornaments that Ulon loved to unt missing. ¡°Did youe from another gang? I don¡¯t recall seeing anyone like you.¡± ¡°No, I have been in the gang for a while now. I just felt I could do better.¡± Kyle replied, his back exposed to Wrent, who eyed him like a predator. ¡°Are you not afraid I would kill you right here?¡± Wrent smirked, his right hand rubbing the pommel of a ruby-engraved sword slightly with a wide grin. ¡°You can try if you want. I¡¯m sure it will do wonders for your reputation,¡± Kyle replied apathetically, not in the least afraid of Wrent. The sheer confidence exuded by Kyle slightly frightened Wrent, causing him to be a lot more cautious and wary. This man is not the same as Ulon. Perhaps the slow method might not work on him. I¡¯ll have to fleece him as much as I can. There¡¯s no way the debt Ulon racked up is gone within less than a week. I know they still owe a million to the Crimson Swords. Wrent ran his hands over the holster of the guest chair before removing his sword belt and sitting down. ¡°Perhaps your death does not affect my reputation as much as you think. No one knows that you¡¯re the new leader yet.¡± ¡°Enough posturing. We¡¯re both businessmen here. Let¡¯s get to the point. So, how many?¡± Kyle began. He has a smart head on his shoulder, and he immediately knew from the start that I didn¡¯t care about the prisoners. A dumber gang leader would have refused based on pride. If we weren¡¯t enemies, I would have recruited him straight away. Wrent was never worried about the prisoners. Kyle could kill them for all he cared, as long as he got pensation¡¯. The Red Lions were a business, not a group based on friendship. Wrent still found interest in how Kyle was getting so many potions. He had heard the reports of the brothel giving potions to their loyal customers, which prompted him to send a dozen members in the first ce. Of course, he nned to use his weight to pressure Kyle into giving more potions than it was reasonable. The Red Lions could then easily sell it off in a heartbeat or use it in their own training. ¡°You¡¯re not getting these potions from Haui¡¯s, are you?¡± Wrent tried to pry deeper. ¡°That¡¯s a trade secret. How many?¡± Wrent remained silent for a moment, calcting in his head. A ridiculous amount and cost should suffice. If he rejects, it will tank his reputation, and I will increase the rate of harassment whether or not he releases the prisoners. If he epts, the gang will be financially ruined, and it would be an easy win. ¡°Five hundred Stamina Recovery Potions.¡± Wrent dered. Based on Haui¡¯s pricing scheme, it was close to three hundred thousand rakels worth of potions. With Seven Snakes in debt, it was nearly impossible for them to even have that much in stock. ¡°Done. You¡¯ll have your full stock in ten days. Let me draft a contract.¡± Kyle retrieved a ceholder contract, filling in the details before handing it over to Wrent for inspection. Wait, that easily? The potions are worth three hundred thousand! Is he stealing them from an alchemist I¡¯ve never heard of? Wrent was still stunned when he read the contract. He checked over the uses carefully, noting that everything was in order. ¡°A non-aggression pact over the course of the contract¡­¡± This meant the Red Lion could not attack the Seven Snakes if they adhered to the terms of the contract. Are my Red Lions¡¯ members really that valuable to him? What is he using them for? As much as they were criminal gangs profiteering from illegal goods, contracts between gangs had to be adhered to. It was an issue of reputation ¨C any gang who easily broke any sort of truce or ceasefire would immediately lose the trust of both the people and other gangs, leading them to be isted. Even merchants would not dare to trade with them unless coerced by force. Three hundred thousand rakels worth of potions was an eye-watering sum to Wrent. ¡°I ept.¡± Wrent signed the contract readily. The non-aggression pact is but a fa?ade ¨C the war happens through the businesses and market. If he is as smart as I think he is, I¡¯ll need to improve the n much faster. ¡°Good, send five people to collect fifty potions each day at dusk at this meeting point. Pleasure doing business with you.¡± Kyle led Wrent out. When Wrent came back out, he let out a heartyugh, attracting the onlookers who were curious about the resolution. ¡°Seems like you got a good head on your shoulders, Seven Snakes. Smart of you to appease us so readily. Let¡¯s return!¡± He ordered his men to march back to their district. A showman through and through. Kyle returned inside, with Damian worried. ¡°Sir, what was the agreement? Did we go into more debt?¡± ¡°A ten-day truce, along with five hundred potions in total. Fifty to be delivered a day.¡± Damian was equally stunned, but not for the same reasons as Wrent was. ¡°What? That¡¯s it? We churn out two hundred a day, even while training!¡± ¡°It¡¯s their loss. This gives us time to prepare, though we will have to shore up our finances. We¡¯ll begin thebat training immediately, we¡¯re on a timer now. For the potions, make sure the first three deliveries are not Euria-infused. We will only infuse them from the fourth day onwards and in a random fashion. Don¡¯t want their alchemist spotting too much.¡± For the entire morning, Kyle acted as an instructor, teaching the associates fighting skills. He used the prisoners as dummies, sending in the associates one by one to beat them up while continuously healing them. While an associate was beating up a prisoner, the rest were divided into sparring pairs. Kyle focused on sparring with Damian, drilling into him the essentials of fighting.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
After lunch, Damian took over the training, allowing Kyle to focus on preparing for the end of the truce. He had no doubt in his mind that the Red Lion would begin to pressure them now that they were well aware of their ability to produce this many potions. As long as we can hold on for three days after the end of the truce, it¡¯s a win for us. Keith was in Kyle¡¯s office, racking his brains over the finances of the gang. ¡°Is it doable?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°To get a simr armour set like the Red Lions? I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s going to be far too expensive.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Kyle pondered. He needed to boost thebat capability of his men before the fight broke out. If they were not able to procure enchanted armour, what other methods did he have? ¡°Keith, one more task for you. Set up an induction program for new joiners, and procure a few armbands with the logo of the Seven Snakes on them. Have it done by tomorrow.¡± ¡°New joiners?! We¡¯re so small and tiny. Who would even want to join us?¡± Kyle red silently at Keith, who immediately zipped his mouth and nodded. More members can help bulk up our numbers, but we need a qualitative improvement across the board. The way to solve this would be to get more potions, but as it stands, there was no chance in hell that Haui had not heard about the deal. With the absurd number of potions being supplied for ¡®free¡¯, the market for potions must be in peril now. Kyle decided to tackle this problem head-on, bringing a few associates to visit Haui¡¯s shop. He stood outside the traps which surrounded the alchemist¡¯s house while the private guards immediately came out and stood opposite, ready to fight. The locals around the food market were scampering away, afraid of getting caught in the ensuing fight, while a few brave souls remained to watch the oue. Even the local enforcers did not dare get in between, keeping a clear distance away as they observed. Haui stepped out of the store in his alchemist robes, a slight grin on his face. ¡°I was expecting you toe soon. Are you nning to raze, or to negotiate?¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 48(+22)(+0)
DEX 42(+16)(+0)
INT 54(+25)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Basic)] Ah, you seem to be looking for something very specific. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Basic)] Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
Chapter 10: Negotiations ¡°To negotiate, of course.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think one needs seven gang members to perform a rudimentary negotiation.¡± ¡°Negotiations require an even ying field.¡± Kyle nodded his head at the guards. A small smirk appeared on Haui¡¯s face. ¡°I doubt your members are as prepared as my private guards. Are you sure these are the only guards I have prepared?¡± ¡°Then you would just have to ount for me as well.¡± The two stared at each other for a brief moment, before Haui finally broke outughing. ¡°Very good. Come in.¡± Only the two of them entered the store, with the gang members and the guards staring each other down outside. ¡°I must say, I did not expect you to be the leader of the Seven Snakes gang. I merely thought Damian was paid a few rakels to escort a foreign individual of note around, seeing as how he had to exin everything to you.¡± Haui sat behind the counter, arranging his robes. ¡°I also did not expect you to have paid for observers around the district as well.¡± Kyle paced around the store slowly, looking at some of the potions he had not examined thest time he came. ¡°The Seven Snakes can¡¯t be the only ones having members patrolling, can they? My business depends on who runs the district. But let¡¯s cut the crap.¡± Haui¡¯s demeanour suddenly changed, his eyes ring at Kyle with ferocity. ¡°You¡¯ve been undercutting my potions through the brothel and now flooding the market with knockoffs via the Red Lions. Even if Wrent is from another district, the fluctuations in market price would directly affect me.¡± Haui stood up and paced around, picking up a chisel and twirling it in his hands. ¡°There was a myriad of ways I could have gone about this. The moment I heard about the brothel providing half-priced Stamina potions through a ¡­ ¡®loyalty¡¯ program, I contemted an assassination or a kidnapping.¡± ¡°Except you didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Indeed. I understand that in order for you to reverse engineer my potions that fast, you either must have an extremely impressive skill or ability able to decipher the closely guarded recipes of the Alchemist Guild without external help. Maybe even a device that can do it for you. And the mass production scale is on the level of factories. As such, you are extremely valuable. If I sent anyone to kill you, it would be a loss for me. I don¡¯t believe any organization I hire would be willing to kill you if they found out the true reason behind the contract.¡± Haui sighed. ¡°And I can¡¯t kill you myself because you are extremely well protected. I doubt this is the full extent of your security forces as well. I would not want to anger the Alchemist Guild either.¡± Kyle replied. This was why he didn¡¯t simply just run over and kill Haui ¨C it was far too costly, and he did not know the full extent of Haui¡¯s backing. Haui was a bit surprised before a wide smile appeared on his face. ¡°It appears that we are quite alike, you and me. Neither party can truly eliminate the other, and even if we try to, the consequences are far too brutal. So here we are.¡± ¡°What is your proposal?¡± ¡°From my observations, you can¡¯t create new potion recipes, seeing as you don¡¯t have any formal alchemist training or connections. However, yourpetence with reverse engineering and mass production gives me great insight into how to target a wider audience and potentially profit off themon people, not just the upper middle ss or leaders of gangs. How about this? For every potion you reverse engineer from me, you must provide me with half of the profits indefinitely.¡± Kyle¡¯s eyebrow twitched slightly. Asking for half was daylight robbery. ¡°A tenth. And you must tell me the recipe of the potions.¡± Both of them smirked, knowing they had entered the negotiation phase. ¡°The recipe of the potions is strictly off-limits. I am bound by code through the Alchemist Guild never to reveal such information to non-members. It spoils the market for many of the other alchemists, you see. However, the reason why I ask for half is that I am willing to shelter you from the Guild as well, by iming you are my ¡®associate¡¯. The recipes will still be off-limits, but you will not suffer repercussions.¡± Kyle pondered. Even if he rejected Haui now and went to another alchemist shop to purchase potions, eventually, the Guild would catch onto him as well, seeing how good Haui¡¯s informantwork is. ¡°Fine. Two-tenths, but only for a year after for each potion type.¡± ¡°Ridiculous. Four-tenths, for three years.¡± Haui countered. ¡°Two-tenths, two years.¡± ¡°Three-tenths, four years.¡± ¡°Two-tenths, two years.¡± Kyle was not budging any more. ¡°Fine. Deal.¡± Haui wrote down a simple contract on a parchment, passing it to Kyle to sign. A non-aggression use was in there as well, just to ensure neither party tried to backstab each other. They still could, just that it would be in breach of the contract. Contracts between criminals are less of a legal requirement and more of a justification for retaliation. Kyle also did not want to earn a bad reputation for breaking a contract or pact he signed ¨C Ulon had already done enough damage. Simrly, Haui too, had a reputation to protect. There was another use as well where Haui had the right to determine what potion recipes to give to Kyle. ¡°You must understand that the more exquisite potions are heavily guarded recipes by the Guild. Under no circumstances can we mass produce this without having a strong enough power base.¡± ¡°You make it sound like we are already partners.¡± ¡°Of course. Your profit is mine as well.¡± Haui smiled. He had obtained Kyle as a future distributionwork ¨C a free flow of money. Kyle did not lose as much as well. In exchange for money he had gained a direct source of basic potion recipes and a slight protection from the Alchemist Guild. ¡°Well then, with the Red Lions now well aware of your mass production capabilities and you imprisoning their members, no doubt there will be a fight toe. May I suggest this potion? Again, I cannot provide you with the recipe.¡± Haui handed over two potions: the first being a glossy indigo potion sk, a tinge of red swirling in the liquid within.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Strength Potion (Basic)] Boost muscle strength for a short duration. Good for quick short battles. Rmended Usage: Drink the entire sk in one go Active for five minutes Ingredients: Greis Powder, ???, ???, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds Consuming another within a day will result in diminishing effects May experience side effects after the main effect wears off
The second potion was a green potion infused with what seemed to be Poair Leaves that was not dissolved yet.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Health Potion (Basic)] Restores a moderate amount of health. Rmended Usage: Drink the entire sk in one go Heals up to 50 HP Ingredients: Poair Leaves, Greis Powder, ???, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds Consuming another within eight hours will result in diminishing effects
Kyle nodded, taking a few potions. He did not need to pay Haui, seeing as he was already providing 20% of the profits. The two walked to the entrance of the store before Haui stopped Kyle. ¡°A fair warning. The Ardent Cretins already have an observer watching this district. They are always watching. If you want to remain under the radar, do not act too overtly. I¡¯ll prefer it if another gang did not steal you away just yet. If you are going to sell potions, do not oversupply like how you did for the Red Lions. Already the Guild is asking questions. Keep any contracts below a hundred at maximum.¡± Haui and Kyle returned outside, only to see the gang members and the private guards already about toe to blows. They were throwing insults at each other with abandon. Haui sighed, before calling the private guards back. The gang members were astonished. Today was a day of surprises, seeing Kyle having negotiated with two separate individuals sessfully. ¡°Hey, I thought Alv¡­ Kyle was all about simply beating people up?¡± ¡°Yea, not sure what has gotten into him.¡± Kyle ordered the gang members to return with him. As he walked, he noticed a lone local enforcer of the Sanctum eyeing him carefully. The enforcers seemed to be on to me as well. This is getting exhausting. With so many major powers ¡®watching¡¯ him, every action he took from now on had to be measured. Haui was right in that he was indeed nning to sell more potions, but he now had to limit the supply. This also meant that the pricing point would then be forced to be closer in line with the potions market now. With this, Haui¡¯s profit margin for the basic potions would still be fairly secured. A crafty alchemist, I must find a way to either get rid of him or integrate him into the gang. If every alchemist is like this, the Alchemist Guild must be extremely dangerous. Returning to the Seven Snakes¡¯ base with the other gang members, Kyle began his potion discovery process again, attempting to find the recipe for the strength potion. There were more ingredients involved in it, so Kyle attempted everything he could think of. With a simple distition process, he managed to separate the liquid from the dissolved Greis powder, though another material sludge was mixed into the residue. He grabbed the sk of residue, examining it.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Residue of Strength Potion.] A mixture of Greis Powder and Olio Roots. Inflicts extreme muscle pain on consumption
He then picked up the condensed liquid that had been distilled.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Concentrated Yul¡¯s Tears.] Increases metabolism rate as well as energy transfer through the human body. Grants explosive strength, though it should not be drunk directly
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined
The upgraded title allowed him to see now the full ingredients of the strength potion and health potion.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Strength Potion (Basic)] Boost muscle strength for a short duration. Good for quick short battles. Rmended Usage: Drink entire sk in one go Active for five minutes Ingredients: Greis Powder, Olio Roots, Yul¡¯s Tears, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds Consuming another within a day will result in diminishing effects May experience side effects after the main effect wears off
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Health Potion (Basic)] Restores a moderate amount of health. Rmended Usage: Drink the entire sk in one go Heals up to 50 HP Ingredients: Poair Leaves, Greis Powder, Yul¡¯s Tears, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds Consuming another within eight hours will result in diminishing effects
¡°One steppleted.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 48(+22)(+0)
DEX 42(+16)(+0)
INT 59(+30)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Basic)] Mixing water with an existing potion might be inane but still worthy of recognition. +5 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +5% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
Chapter 11: Addiction Symptoms The training routine went as nned. The main reason why Kyle wanted that many prisoners were due to the mental trauma inflicted on each prisoner afterbat training. No prisoner could remain sane after being beaten up by twenty gang members in a row, continuously being healed. ¡°JUST LET ME DIE!¡± One of the Red Lion prisoners shook the pig iron bars of his temporary jail violently. They were segregated into separate cages, ensuring they couldn¡¯t help each other to break out. ¡°Shut up, idiot; they can¡¯t even hear you from inside this room,¡± Lionel grumbled. It¡¯s only been a day since they got imprisoned, but already a few of the members¡¯ mental states were at an all-time low. But there was someone else in the room who clearly had it much worse than anybody else, judging by the continuous groaning, moaning and ttering of teeth. Lionel nced over at the cage of Riker, who was lying on the floor, breaking out in a cold sweat and shivering. Lionel wasn¡¯t particrly surprised to see Riker here after they were captured. Kyle was that strong, after all, so he didn¡¯t expect Riker to escape either. ¡°Fucking hell, what did they do to you? Potion overdose?¡± Lionel asked, but Riker barely registered the question, only turning and tossing about on the cold metal surface. At this moment, the room¡¯s main door opened, revealing Kyle nked by Damian. Immediately the other Red Lions members started cursing and swearing at Kyle, sting them. Damian was lugging a sack of Stamina Recovery Potions, giving them one each. Lionel grabbed the dark yellow potion sk, still slightly astonished at how many the Seven Snakes had. This was the third one they¡¯d received since they arrived here. Going by Haui¡¯s price, it meant Kyle had spent more than a thousand eight hundred on each prisoner. Is this guy loaded or what? He noticed Damian didn¡¯t give Riker any Stamina Recovery Potions, but the moment Riker¡¯s eyes met Lionel¡¯s and saw the potion in his hand, Riker turned into some sort of feral beast, lunging at the potion. The bars barely restrained him as Riker forced his arm through, trying to reach for Lionel. ¡°How many days has it been?¡± Kyle asked Damian. ¡°About three full days since we stopped, sir.¡± ¡°Hmm, he still seems a bit too feisty. Open the cage.¡± Damian carried out the order, immediately opening the cage. Riker pounced on Kyle, but Kyle immediately parried his attacks and flipped him onto the ground, mming him down hard. Riker gagged, a slight frothing out from his mouth, but he was far too weak to sit up. Lionel could tell Riker had not eaten for maybe a day or so. The food tter was still filled in the cage, with Riker barely touching it at all. Kyle dragged Riker away from the room, with Damian, shutting the door behind them. A cold shiver ran down Lionel¡¯s spine. What in the world are they attempting to do? Riker was tossed into a spare empty room and tied onto a wooden chair, with only Kyle being the other person inside. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°f¡­fuck you¡­¡± Riker was still in a cold sweat, his eyes bloodshot as he tried to keep his head up facing Kyle. Kyle ced his hands on Riker¡¯s shoulder, who began to struggle but was unable to break free of the ropes and Kyle¡¯s iron grip. ¡°Inspect. Analyze. Identify.¡± Nothing appeared. ¡°Interesting.¡± Kyle thought he might have been able to see a statistical table of Riker or at least a status effect of some sort, but it did not exist. He tried a few more words, but nothing happened. Hmm¡­ Kyle began to examine Riker carefully, checking his eye reactions, heartbeat, pulse and so on. If only I had a full medical wing here. A side project for the future. Noted symptoms: Increased sweating, heart rate, hot and cold shes, slight hallucinations and perhaps loss of vision, not unlike dehydration. ¡°Riker.¡± Kyle stood in front of him, snapping his fingers to catch Riker¡¯s attention. ¡°If you defeat me now, I¡¯ll let you go and give you this potion.¡± Kyle pulled out a Stamina Recovery Potion from his suit¡¯s inner pocket. Riker¡¯s eyes were suddenly rejuvenated with life, his head nodding vigorously. Just as Kyle removed the ropes, tying him down to the chair, Riker immediately attacked without hesitation. Kyle did not counter-attack this time, merely dodging left and right as he observed Riker¡¯s muscle movements and reaction timing. Too slow, too weak,ck of awareness. A shadow of his former self. Perfect. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough.¡± ¡°n-no wait ple-ase!¡± His hands tried to grab onto Kyle, missingpletely as he copsed onto the floor. Kyle tied him up back with ease, returning him back to his cage. Damian and Keith waited for him in the office. ¡°Continue to feed Riker, but do not give him any more Euria-infused Stamina Recovery Potions. Moving forward, for the remainder of the prisoners, we will split them into three groups.
  1. Non-Euria Infused Stamina Recovery Potions
  2. Euria Infused Stamina Recovery Potions non-stop
  3. Euria Infused Stamina Recovery Potions, stopping after the first day.
Each gang member will rotate and defeat one of each group every day inbat. At the end of the day, I will heal all of them. Got it?¡± Damian nodded, leaving the room to pass down the modified training regime. ¡°Sir, a few people have shown up at the entrance, wanting to join the Seven Snakes,¡± Keith informed. Faster than I expected. ¡°Have them all gather in my office as soon as possible.¡± Ten young men were lined up, their eyes eager and ncing around at the office, as well as staring at Kyle. Niko was among them, having quit his factory job after witnessing his performance of Kyle first-hand,pletely enamoured by the prospect of gang life. Kyle recognized most of them to be onlookers for the skirmish when he fought the Red Lions. He got up from his chair and inspected them for any irregrities. As he returned to the first of them, he suddenlyunched a high kick towards the first¡¯s face, only stopping mere millimetres away from his face. The man barely had time to react at all, only stumbling slightly backwards a few momentster in a panic. ¡°If you¡¯re here, you know what you¡¯re signing up for. Death is a real possibility.¡± Kyle returned to his standing position. ¡°I am not looking for members who simply want to ¡®take it easy¡¯ or ¡®boss others¡¯ around. Mutual loyalty is an integral part of how I run the gang ¨C do right by me, and I¡¯ll do the same for you no matter what happens.¡± Niko¡¯s heart swelled with happiness, his fist clenching as he praised himself for making the right choice here. His prior factory job was soulless, with the manager barely caring if anyone died or was missing. They were just numbers to be reced. Kyle¡¯s words had struck a chord with Niko, causing him and a few others among them to nod their heads vigorously. It was right toe here! Kyle¡¯s modus operandi for the Seven Snakes was vastly different from the Red Lions. His former life as a gctic crime lord has taught him an important lesson in fostering loyalty among even the lowest of members. He did not do it because he was nice. Conversely, he has identified this method to be the most secure in preventing betrayals. Something he did not do very well in his former life before he was killed by his own friend. Performing a small beneficial action that is ultimately meaningless to me will mean a great deal to the recipient and will build loyalty over time. Kyle smiled gently as he noticed the happy expressions on their faces. ¡°There is a war with the Red Lionsing soon in about ten to thirteen days. If anyone wants to back out now, this is yourst chance.¡± Kyle said with a stern, serious expression. None of them backed out, standing firmly. ¡°Good. Keith will now perform an induction program for all of you today. At the end of it, I will present each of you with your armband as ¡®associates¡¯.¡± Kyle showed the Seven Snakes Armband, which had an borate crest on it. A clear wave of excitement rippled through the ten men. Formal ceremonies to make them feel important are another critical key to retaining loyalty. The ten men left the office with Keith in the lead, giving them a tour of the base. Kyle headed to the kitchen again, this time staring at the strength potion that now had its full description.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Strength Potion (Basic)] Boost muscle strength for a short duration. Good for quick short battles. Rmended Usage: Drink entire sk in one go Active for five minutes Ingredients: Greis Powder, Olio Roots, Yul¡¯s Tears, Water Cooldown: Thirty seconds Consuming another within a day will result in diminishing effects May experience side effects after main effect wears off
He sent for two gang members to collect the required materials of Olio Roots and Yul¡¯s Tears, which came in a sack and pot separately. Kyle¡¯s face slightly baulked at the price of the Yul¡¯s Tears reported. A pot with five kilograms of Yul¡¯s Tears was more than ten thousand rakels. I only hope that the recipe is not too intensive on the percentage of Yul¡¯s Tears used¡­ He internally cursed the Alchemist Guild and Haui for not providing the recipe. However, Kyle was cognizant that he would have done the same thing as well. Recipes and methods of production were far too precious to be freely distributed in this kind of city. The same brute force method was employed as thest time, albeit with more than four ingredients in the mix, the number of potentialbinations was a lot higher. Kyle brought in a few helpers to speed up the process, utilizing the numerous arcite stoves to iterate continually. At one point, he had more than ten sks going, writing down on parchment and crossing outbinations he had failed. Keith soon popped his head in. ¡°Sir, they are ready for the ceremony.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Instead of being irritated at being interrupted during the process, he put everything down and moved to themon area, where the ten men were already lined up. The ten men had already seen Kyle working hard, so the action of him immediately stopping just for them caused them to feel even more valued directly by the gang leader. The ceremony was a simple oath to the gang while Kyle put on the armband for them individually. ¡°You are all now official members of the Seven Snakes, under my protection. I will fight through hell and back to ensure your safety, and I only ask you to do the same for the gang and me.¡± The ten men bowed with true respect. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The loyalty will take a few days to truly instil and drive it deeper, but it¡¯s a start. Keith showed them to their bunks while Kyle continued trying to figure out the recipe. The process proved to be difficult. There were a huge amount of potentialbinations, and Kyle didn¡¯t know when he wouldplete it. Too many variables were present in the recipe. He now understood why Damian said reverse-engineering alchemy was near impossible without a hint or a guiding book. As hepleted his 60th failed potion, a new title appeared for him
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking Resets on discovery
Suddenly, it was as though three pieces of information appeared in his head, informing him of what the recipe consisted of partially. It seems that for every twenty attempts I make, one of the variables of the recipe is revealed. Hence, with sixty crafted, I now have three variables revealed. Kyle quickly drew a newbination table, narrowing it down to between two variables, making it simpler. With time, he locked down yet another variable after 20 failed attempts. Kyle could already imagine Haui¡¯s face if he knew exactly how Kyle was able to reverse engineer recipes so fast. A few hours passed through dinnertime before he finally got the recipe down. ¡°15% Greis, 15% Olio Roots, 35% Yul Tears, rest water. Boiled for five minutes.¡± Kyle nearly raged at the sheer amount of Yul Tears he had wasted, having finished the entire pot with only one Strength Potion to show for it. At least another product has beenpleted. Infusing it with Euria should be possible too. He did not try to reverse engineer the health potion just yet. It was far too costly to waste the Yul Tears on it ¨C if the percentage were even higher, he might go bankrupt now. He sat back in his office, eating histe dinner while Keith reported the daily finances to him. ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t keep burning through money like this. We don¡¯t have a lot of cash reserves left. Assuming you want to make another set of Strength Potions, it¡¯s going to wipe us out for the rest of the month unless we get some revenue in.¡± Keith was worried about the expenditure for reverse engineering the potions. ¡°It¡¯s no problem. The expansion of the brothel will bepleted in a few days. Then we will easily make it back. Who are the other rival gangs that are at odds with the Red Lion as well?¡± ¡°The Ilysian Punks or the Wretches are the main ones thate to mind, but they have been ignoring us for a long time.¡± ¡°I want the smaller gangs in adjacent districts. Anyone at the same size as us and lower. Deliver this sealed message to them.¡± Kyle packed a few parchments into message tubes, handing them over to Keith. ¡°Ah, you want to ask for their help! I¡¯ll send it right away.¡± ¡°No, Keith. We¡¯re going to find some customers.¡± Chapter 12: Arcite Technology Wrent fiddled with a Stamina Recovery Potion in his hand, sitting at the end of a long table in a well-furnished room. ¡°Have any of the alchemists replied? I want to know if the potions they are providing areplete knock-offs. I haven¡¯t heard of anyone being able to produce five hundred a day.¡± It¡¯s been less than two days since they signed the contract, but Wrent has yet to distribute the Stamina Recovery Potions to his gang members for fear of them being poisoned. ¡°Boss, our in-house alchemists are all currently busy, and will only respond in two weeks¡¯ time.¡± The Red Lions¡¯ main headquarters were still embroiled in a violent conflict with the Ilysian Punks and the Wretches. Wrent had not yet been requested to join the conflict, his controlled district was not adjacent to any of the fighting zones. ¡°How about Haui? Has he replied?¡± ¡°We provided him with a few samples, and he has verified that they are legitimate stamina recovery potions, albeit with a lower efficiency than his.¡± So the Seven Snakes are mass producing it but with a much lower quality than if done by a certified alchemist¡­ ¡°If Haui says it¡¯s okay, then we can use it. Priority is to distribute them to our gang members first for enhanced training and preparation. We need everyone ready to assault the Seven Snakes at the end of the non-aggression pact.¡± If everything goes to n, the initial samples their alchemist will receive will not be the Euria-infused ones, seeing as the first three crates arepletely clean. If it¡¯s Haui who is testing, even better. Kyle tapped the table, thinking. It¡¯s been two days since the start of the contract. A Seven Snakes¡¯ associate entered, passing Kyle a few message tubes: replies from the other gangs. He opened them, reading the contents before calling Keith into the room. ¡°The new recruits won¡¯t have time to train in preparation for the battle. The other gangs have agreed to purchase Strength Potions from us at a fixed rate for the next month. Get the new recruits to begin production on a separate line. Follow the exact method I did for the Stamina Recovery Potions, but no Euria this time.¡± Kyle had sent a contract proposal, undercutting the market price of the Strength Potions with a discount of ten percent, selling them for nine hundred rakels each. This should not rock the market too much. ¡°Sir, are we not nning to get the other gangs addicted?¡± ¡°Not yet, no Euria infusions. Let¡¯s not burn bridges yet this early. Focus on earning money first ¨C the faster we deliver the batch of Strength Potions, the more cash we will have on hand to make more and fight better.¡± Keith bowed, heading to themon area to set up the production, while Kyle considered his war n. With the potions secured and a revenue source established, the supply contracts with the other gangs as well as the brothel¡¯s iing expansion would cause his current pile of cash to skyrocket. However, he had to consider the method by which he defeated the Red Lions. Showing off too much would be a big disaster, as it would prompt the top leader of the Red Lions to intervene and most likely crush them. He knew that the Red Lions overall were engaged in an open conflict with the Ilysian Punks and Wretches, which gave him more wriggle room to move around. However, there were also the local enforcers and maybe even the Ardent Cretins watching him. Either way, he needed to ensure a clearbat advantage if he wanted to be able to control the flow of the fight. Time to source for new advantages I can get. Kyle got Damian to bring him to the nearest arctech dealer he could find. The dealer was situated in the corner of the food market, with multiple types of armour and household appliances on disy. This was where Keith bought the arcite stoves from. The dealer wore a simple cloak, though Kyle could tell he was wearing armour underneath by the glint of cold steel underneath. Let¡¯s not pick a fight. Kyle picked up a few items, reading the description.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[cial Defensive Bracelet (Basic)] Slow those who would stop you. +2 STR, +2 VIT Active Skill: cial Defence - Imparts a slowing effect onto enemies who hit any part of the wielder¡¯s body MP Cost per Activation: 2 MP Duration: Two seconds Cooldown per Target: 10 seconds
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Aero Shoes (Basic)] For swift feet. +4 AGI, +1 CHA Active Skill: Sprint - Allows the wielder to move slightly faster MP Cost per Activation: 2 MP Duration: Fifteen seconds Cooldown: One minute
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Chest te of Strength (Basic)] A generic te engraved with a strengthening mechanism. +5 STR, +5 VIT Active Skill: Strength - Allows the wielder to increase strength for as long as Arcia is provided MP Cost per Minute: 10 MP Warning ¨C arcite fuel is suggested
Kyle inspected the Chest te, noticing it was fairly intricate. Engravings simr to the metal pipe he had ran all over the surface and interior, along with what seemed like two electrical terminals that powered the entire thing. ¡°Ah, you¡¯ll need an arcite fuel pack for that.¡± The dealer pointed to another device that was a basic waist belt, filled with canisters of a mild cobalt blue liquid that pulsated slowly. Kyle recognized it to be the same fuel that currently powered his potion stoves, albeit clearly more powerful and efficient. Seems like there are different grades of arcite fuel. ¡°How much for it?¡± ¡°Well, normal civilians are not supposed to have their ownbat fuel packs without a license, but we¡¯re far past that, aren¡¯t we? Sixty thousand.¡± Kyle¡¯s face didn¡¯t show any reaction, but he internally winced at the price. The dealer noted Kyle¡¯s reluctance. ¡°You can run the other two items without the need for arcite fuel, but that¡¯s all dependent on how much¡­ natural energy your body has.¡± Seems like he¡¯s referring to the MP stat I¡¯ve been seeing. I have zero right now, however. How do I increase it? Kyle nodded before leaving. The prices of the other two items were also in the tens of thousands, representing an important investment that Kyle wanted to mull over first. Kyle continued to browse the other items before spotting something that took him by surprise. Huh, did not expect to find this here.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Enchanted Flintlock Pistol (Basic)] A arcia-gorging device that shoots pellets at high speeds Active Skill: Buckshot ¨C elerates muzzle-loaded pellets at high speeds, causing damage on impact MP cost per activation: 25 MP
¡°Bah, I¡¯ve been trying to get rid of that pistol for ages now. Nobody around can even use it, and it cost me far too much to even acquire in the first ce.¡± The dealer scoffed at the gun as Kyle examined it. ¡°Nobody uses guns around here?¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t anyws against wielding pistols out here. But seeing as you¡¯re too poor to buy a fuel pack in the first ce, you might as well forget about it.¡± The dealer shooed him off. Kyle mulled as he walked back to the base. ¡°Damian, how much is the gun? Doesn¡¯t anyone else use the guns?¡± ¡°Only the top of the enforcers, sir. Even the enforcers themselves don¡¯t have the energy to arm themselves with pistols and use them; it simply draws too much arcia energy and takes time to reload as well. The design and manufacture of such arctech is still far tooplicated for factories to do. I¡¯ve heard the military has made some headway into improving the guns so far, but for now, we¡¯re stuck with this.¡± So essentially, a flintlock pistol, but instead of gunpowder, they use arcia. Kyle noted that the guns were basically expensive to make and difficult to mass produce. Naturally, with his knowledge from the Gctic Era, it would be a cinch to dominate the market with high technology. However, until he figured out what was the current military technology, he would not attempt any manufacture of guns. Too big of a jump would open a whole another can of worms, and he already had his hands full dealing with the Red Lions. None of the technology here isbustion-based, so showing up with gunpowder will draw too many eyes. Returning to the base, Kyleid out the three arctech items he had in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Chest te of Nullification (Basic)] Calms the nerves, especially when sore. +2 STR, +4 VIT Active Skill: Pain Nullification ¨C Reduce the pain experienced by the wearer by 50% MP Cost Per Activation: 5 MP Duration: Thirty Seconds Cooldown: Ten seconds
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Enchanted ming Hammer (Basic)] A good ol¡¯ one-two, except its only one punch. Active Skill: Dyed Assault - Target hit will experience searing pain after five seconds,sting for ten seconds MP cost per activation: 2 MP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Enchanted Metal Pipe (Basic)] A pipe to bend the rules Active Skill: Reinforcement ¨C Increased force when hitting MP Cost Per Activation: 2 MP Duration: Thirty Seconds Cooldown: Two minutes
All the items in front of Kyle now required MP to activate their skills. Kyle had witnessed Lionel activating the hammer, and Wrent wearing an armour suit that clearly had arctech capabilities. Even with the Strength Potion, I¡¯m at a disadvantage. I can¡¯t use the system interface to determine what their effects are beforehand when fighting without touching. ¡°Statistics¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 0(+0)(+0) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 48(+22)(+0)
DEX 42(+16)(+0)
INT 64(+35)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
He did not have MP and had no concrete idea how to gain it either. However, based on his understanding of how ¡®Titles¡¯ worked, he might have a rough guess. ¡°Are there any items that boost the¡­ natural energy of someone?¡± Kyle asked Damian and Keith. Damian and Keith were a bit shaken before ncing at each other with a knowing expression. ¡°Sir, vin at the brothel has a few types of erm¡­ artefacts of a certain nature that might boost your lifestyle,¡± Damian replied with a hint of understanding. ¡°What the hell are you two thinking about? I¡¯m talking about using arctech.¡± ¡°Oh. Right. Sorry. It might be worth a shot trying to find Ulon¡¯s private stash then; it¡¯s where your current ne came from.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t we already auctioned or trashed most of it?¡± Kyle recalled disliking the useless trinkets and ornaments, and when he touched them, he didn¡¯t see any interface pop up. ¡°No, those are just the public ones. I don¡¯t know too much about it, but I do know it¡¯s somewhere in the room. Though it is just a rumour I heard through the gang members, it may not be true.¡± The three of them scoured the private room where Kyle was sleeping, eventually finding a secret wooden box in a bookcase embedded into the wall ¡°Oh, this is exciting.¡± Keith had stars in his eyes, no doubt waiting to see what valuable items there were in so he could sell them for the gang. Damian noticed the box was neither secured nor locked in any way. ¡°He probably thought no one would steal anything.¡± The box was opened to reveal a huge pile of junk, all useless trinkets. Kyle methodically went through them one by one, slightly irked at the mouldy condition of many of the statues. Soon he held a statue of a penis with stains on it, slightly used. He quickly handed it over to Keith, who had long lost the stars in his eyes and nearly gagged when he held it. After sorting through more than a hundred objects, Kyle soon found a sapphire ring, the band golden. It seemed like there used to be an engraving on it, but it somehow has been worn off over time.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] A ring from a former wielder of Arcia. +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate
That¡¯s a very small amount¡­ Kyle immediately put the ring on his right hand, feeling a surge of ¡®arcia energy¡¯ rush through his veins like a hit of an exotic stimnt. It was minuscule in effect, but he could already tell his body had improved slightly.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Equipment Equipped
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] A ring from a former wielder of Arcia. +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate
Kyle sorted through the rest of the stash, only finding one book of interest. It was an intricately bound tome,plete with a metal binder and leather covers filled with engravings.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[A Treatise on Arcia by Theorin] A iplete guide on how to wield internal Arcia The theories are outdated, but still provide a good baseline understanding
¡°My god, I didn¡¯t know this still existed!¡± Damian eximed as he patted the dust off the old tome. ¡°Theorin was the first gang leader of the Seven Snakes, more than twenty years ago. He was a natural-born wielder of Arcia, allowing him to dominate the districts before arcite fuel became poprized. Did not expect Ulon to hold on to it.¡± Kyle opened the tome, noting the density of the words, as well as some of the moreplicated words. He would need Keith¡¯s assistance to trante it. However, with this book and the new ring, he could potentially begin to utilize more arctech in the future. Even he understood the limitation of his fighting skills against items that could impart special effects. With this, it¡¯ll be an easy win. Chapter 13: Assault A few dayster¡­ ¡°Boss, all our men are waiting for your orders.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Wrent nodded his head, wearing his reddish armour set. He strode out to the training yard, where more than forty members were all lined up in formation under the evening sky. They each had a light armor set, though only four of them had any arctech on them, serving as the squad leaders. Each squad had ten members standing in neat rows. ¡°The Seven Snakes have been growing far too rapidly over thest two weeks. On top of that, they are still holding onto our men! As such, from today, we will be entering a state of war against them. Each squad is to target one of the major businesses immediately.¡± Wrent held up a parchment with a sketch of Kyle¡¯s face. ¡°If you encounter the leader of the Seven Snakes, Kyle, retreat at once. Do not attempt to engage alone. The objective is to wear them down and split their forces. He is the onlypetent one among them that has some sort ofbat training. The rest are weak idiots.¡± Wrent knew this war had a chance of being dragged out. If they failed the first assault, they had to wear them out slowly over time. The Red Lions had been using the Stamina Recovery Potions, but not all of them. Wrent kept more than four hundred of them behind in a protected area near the armoury. However, he was not worried about any attacks on the base, seeing as he was here to defend it. This allowed him to maximize his attacking force, which he needed if he wanted to hold a numerical advantage over the Seven Snakes. He passed out a single arctech radio to each of the squad leaders. ¡°These are precious equipment loaned to us by the main base. Don¡¯t you dare lose it. Even if you die, your ghost must return this to me. Understood?¡± The squad leaders nodded grimly. This way, Wrent would be able to monitor the situation, and the squad leaders would be able to convey information to each other. ¡°A few days, a week, two weeks. We will not rest until Seven Snakes have capitted and returned ourrades. The Red Lions never falter. BEGIN!¡± ¡°Yes, Boss!¡± The squads began to move out, heading to their designated locations. Wrent smiled to himself as he retreated into his office. You may be smart, but the nail that sticks out will get hammered down first. It¡¯s just business. He was already internally salivating at the thought of taking over their potion production process, wondering about what secrets the Seven Snakes were holding on to. An hour passed, nearing dusk, as the arctech street lights began to flicker on, their bright blue lights illuminating the dusty cobblestone roads. The first squad reached the brothel first, but they soon noticed that the Seven Snakes associates were already out in force, with seven guys guarding the nearby streets. [Boss, they seemed to be onto us.] ¡°It¡¯s expected.¡± Wrent was calm, expecting Kyle to be prepared in advance. ¡°When all squads are in position, we attack simultaneously.¡± Another ten minutes passed before all four squads were in their various positions. The brothel, two pubs and a restaurant were being targeted, but all four squads reported seeing associates of the Seven Snakes in the vicinity. ¡°Any sign of Kyle?¡± [No, boss. However, there seem to be more associates than the twenty expected. It seems closer to thirty or even more now.] This did not faze Wrent. If I¡¯m right, he¡¯s probably waiting at the base or somewhere in the middle where he can rapidly respond to any attacks. And the new recruits barely had a week for training, so it will be easy. ¡°Move in now.¡± The squads began to slowly move into the district, positioning aggressively and standing near the targeted businesses. The local customers who were originally beginning to queue up or head in that direction began to scatter upon seeing the threatening Red Lion members stare at them from a distance. ¡°Hey! What are you Red cunts trying here? You¡¯re fucking scaring them off!¡± One of the Seven Snakes¡¯ guards began to confront them. ¡°I¡¯ll stand wherever the fuck I like. Why? Does your father own these streets? Didn¡¯t know this was your grandfather¡¯s road either. Mind your own business.¡± ¡°You better fucking move, or-¡° ¡°Or what? Run and hide under like you always did with Ulon? Once a bitch, always a bitch.¡± All over the district, confrontations like this were beginning to drive the tension even higher. The Red Lions were provoking the Seven Snakes to attack first. It was all a childish back-and-forth of who attacked first and who was in the right, a game of public perception as a few brave onlookers watched the arguments get even more heated. In a matter of minutes, it won¡¯t matter who started the fight ¨C only who won. Wrent was about to lean back into hisfortable office chair when he suddenly heard a loud thud in the training yard before a metal door was cracked open with a repeated hammering sound. The grating metallic sounds pierce the air, prompting Wrent to exit the office to see who was attacking immediately. A lone man was smacking away at the hinges of the armoury door with a neon-red arctech hammer. The hinges of the armoury door soon gave way, causing the armoury door to m onto the ground with arge cloud of dust. ¡°KYLEEEEEEE!¡± Wrent lunged at him, retrieving his ruby-engraved sword and swinging wildly, but the arctech shoes on Kyle¡¯s feet glowed yellow and allowed Kyle to move faster than expected, dodging the ferocious attacks. Kyle quickly ran into the armoury, ncing around before spotting the potion crates. A tingling sensation ran down Kyle¡¯s spine as he instinctively dodged downwards, a red arc slicing through the air where he was previously standing. The red arc crashed into the potion crates with a loud explosion, sending dark yellow liquid spiralling into the air. Kyle nced behind to see Wrent¡¯s ruby-engraved sword glowing with arcia, a pipe connected to his waist belt as the fuel pack churned. ¡°So, you¡¯vee to your death then. Were you nning on raiding the armoury and stealing our equipment?¡± Wrent grinned, blocking the only way out of the armoury. Without a word, Kyle ran deeper into the armoury instead, much to the surprise of Wrent. ¡°COME BACK HERE YOU CUNT!¡± Wrent roared as he charged through the armoury. Kyle quickly used his hammer and smacked the intersections of a few empty armour racks, as well as tossing training weapons to stall Wrent. The well-organized armoury started to copse on itself, the metal shelves and cupboards being overturned. Wrent¡¯s armour set prevented him from moving as fast as Kyle, rendering him unable to keep up. With one swift motion, Kyle leapt over him,nding into a roll before recovering and running straight out of the armoury. ¡°STOP RIGHT THERE!¡± Wrent yelled. Kyle didn¡¯t reply, only showing a small smirk before leaving, which infuriated Wrent even more. Wrent nced around the room, seeing only an utter mess. There was no critical equipment being kept here; all of it had already been distributed to the attacking squads. He tried to figure out the objective of Kyle, who was clearly avoiding a fight with him. The dark yellow liquid oozing on the floor suddenly made him realise he had lost the entire stash of potions. The loss of the Stamina Recovery potions weighed on him, but his pride mattered even more. How could he have failed to capture the enemies¡¯ leader when he was right there? He ran back to the office and grabbed the radio. ¡°Cease the attack and converge back on the base ¨C Kyle is fleeing back through our district! Cut him off!¡± [Boss, we can¡¯t. We¡¯re right in front of them. If we back off now, we will lose our reputation!] ¡°Aren¡¯t they pushovers? Just attack first and knock out a few of them and catch the leader!¡± The Red Lion squads were now torn between leaving a confrontation they started with the Seven Snakes gang members and closing in on Kyle, who was escaping their base. ¡°Fuck it, if Wrent ordered it, we do it!¡± They began to attack the Seven Snakes out of nowhere suddenly, but none of the Seven Snakes were surprised, knowing their n had seeded. ¡°Hold as many of them here, don¡¯t let them go back!¡± Battles erupted in the street, the flickering of the arctech neon signs serving as the backdrop to dozens of men that fought in the streets in a rough melee brawl with fists, gauntlets, knuckle dusters and pipes. Much to the surprise of the Red Lions, the Seven Snakes were suddenly much better at fighting than expected, able to dodge and parry effectively on an equal level. It was not only the effect of the homemade Strength Potions that boosted them. All of them had undergone a physical andbat training routine since Kyle took over, which was now close to three weeks, much like a boot camp. Any of the Red Lion members who tried to leave to carry out Wrent¡¯s order were immediately stopped by the Seven Snakes. However, the Red Lions still had the edge in equipment, allowing them to inflict more damage on the Seven Snakes. The battles were brutal, with both sides suffering injuries and broken limbs that stacked up over time. [Boss, they aren¡¯t that weak, we can¡¯t beat them instantly!] Wrent cursed and mmed his office table, cracking it in half. ¡°ARGGHH! SEVEN SNAKES!¡± He could not leave the base lest Kyle was performing a feint ¨C there was still plenty of resources that Kyle could easily return to ransack. The scale of the fights began to escte slightly, with exhaustion beginning to set in. However, the Seven Snakes were far more tenacious, gritting their teeth as they pushed back against the numerical and equipment disadvantage. ¡°This is nothingpared to our training!¡± The next hour was harrowing, as the fights dragged on. Wrent was impatiently tapping the table, waiting for some good news over the arctech radio. However, suddenly one of the lights indicating an active connection to a squad dimmed. Shit, one of the squads had their arctech radio broken?! ¡°All squads retreat now!¡± Wrent immediately ordered. I have to cut my losses now and reorganize before it¡¯s toote. The squads were more than happy toply, immediately retreating and limping away. All of them had suffered some form of injury in one shape or another. The Seven Snakes, however, did not chase them, letting them retreat slowly. The Seven Snakes themselves did not go unscathed, having suffered a few injuries and concussions themselves, far worse off than the Red Lions. The stamina potions helped them possess the grit to still stay standing after the brutal sh. Should I call for reinforcements from the main base? The thought shed past Wrent¡¯s face as he realized he was now on an even ying field with the Seven Snakes, having potentially lost Even if half of them returned, he did not have any Stamina Recovery Potions left to give to them. However, he instinctively shuddered when he thought of how the top boss of the Red Lions would react if he asked for help. The main base had problems of their own fighting other gangs, and if Wrent admitted he couldn¡¯t handle a small-time gang like the Seven Snakes, he could forget about climbing the ranks any further. My position as the Left Paw would be stripped regardless of victory. No, I¡¯ll have to do this myself. Eventually, the squads returned, including the one that had lost the arctech radio. They had to leave three of their members behind, while the other squads all returned intact but still covered in bruises and wounds. ¡°Wha-what happened to our Stamina Recovery Potions?!¡± One of the returning squad members eximed upon seeing the mess of broken crates and dark yellow liquid on the floor. Wrent didn¡¯t reply, only internally cursing himself for not protecting it carefully. He immediately took out a stash of Health Potions, giving them to the squad leaders first and distributing them. ¡°One squad will keep guard and patrol the district lest the Seven Snakes try to attack now while we¡¯re weak. Rotate every eight hours. All other squads are to sleep.¡± Wrent knew they needed to rest if he wanted to have a shot at winning at all. With the assault failing, they had now entered a protracted conflict stage. Chapter 14: Horizontal Merger ¡°Sir, how did you know they were not going to call in for reinforcements? It seems a bit stupid not to do so, seeing as they lost half a squad.¡± Damian was confused as he oversaw the gang members dragging captured Red Lion members to new holding cells. ¡°Wrent is a showman through and through. Any action that could potentially damage his reputation will not be taken. Even then, us providing Strength potions to many of the other smaller gangs around them has increased the number of issues the main base of the Red Lions has to deal with, which means they can spare even fewer men to counter us.¡± Kyle exined. ¡°Then why did we not chase them down and defeat them in one single blow? This means they would have time to recover and fight us again in a few days.¡± ¡°A cornered star fleet is just as dangerous as a wounded one.¡± ¡°Fleet? As in naval battles?¡± ¡°Never mind. Either way, pushing them too hard would cause us to attract more attention from the major bases. The victory over them must beplete but not too attention-grabbing.¡± Damian finally understood Kyle¡¯s line of thinking. It wasn¡¯t right to go all out and stomp the opposition in a domineering fashion, especially when the foundations of the gang were not solid enough. There were too many big fishes in the district watching right now. Having the Seven Snakese to a ¡®draw¡¯ or a very minor ¡®victory¡¯ was less rming. The two of them began checking on the injured members, with Kyle healing them with his Ne of Healing. The Red Lions were still dominant in their level of weapons, with some being unconscious due to fighting against the enemy squad leaders that had arctech equipment. A few even had mangled or severely bruised limbs. I should reverse-engineer a health potion as well but after this. Kyle soon returned to his office, slightly tired from the intense running he had to do. The n had been pulled off perfectly with no mistakes, though he might have been forced slightly to buy the Aero Shoes from the dealer in order to move faster. With this, the chances of the Red Lions attacking them would be much lower than expected. They were now even in numbers, which gave them a level ying field. Kyle was well aware that the Red Lions still had the edge in terms of equipment, as evidenced by the damage inflicted on his gang members. However, Kyle was not worried at all. In a few days, they will crumble internally, and it will be an easy negotiation¡­ Three days after the assault¡­ Wrent woke up groggily, his forehead sweating buckets as he struggled to get up from his bed. Fuck, have I been infected with a gue or something? He could feel his heart rate increasing slightly, and there was a general sinking feeling in his stomach. The nerves on his jaw and spine were especially tender, as though he could feel every millimetre of his gum going numb, causing him to yawn or try to dislodge the feeling constantly. The other Red Lion members were not faring any better either, some even puking or reporting intense nausea. ¡°What in the world is going on?¡± Wrent eximed as he watched the members stumble about,cking strength. ¡°Hey, you, weren¡¯t you supposed to be on patrol? What if the Seven Snakes attack?¡± ¡°Hu-hu-huh?¡± The Red Lion member could barely register what Wrent was saying, obviously hallucinating slightly. Fucking shit, what is happening?! Wrent tried to recall what had happened. Did Kyle somehow infect the base¡¯s utilities or something? How is this happening to us? However, Wrent has been taking antidotes for thest two days, which only managed to stave off the symptoms barely. He had tried even a precious Health Potion, but it did not work at all. It isn¡¯t poison, so what is it? His eyesnded on the broken crates of Stamina Recovery Potions, a sense of understanding finally hitting him. Did they drug the potions? How in the world is it so addictive?! Addiction was not a particrly new symptom, but he had not seen anything on the ck market that even remotely came close to the same level of addiction and mass production as this. The strategy employed by the Seven Snakes was finally clear as day. Before Wrent could even think about doing anything, a loud bang at the entrance to the base was heard. It was the Seven Snakes. Kyle walked in, dressed in a clean formal suit, unlike the arctech equipment he had worn previously. Damian and Keith nked him, along with a dozen other gang members. ¡°Grrr, you daree to your own death? Red Lions, attack him!¡± Wrent grunted weakly. Instead ofplying, none of the Red Lion members could even move properly, some merely staggering while others suffered from slight seizures. Kyle simply snapped his fingers, with the Seven Snakes moving forward to restrain the Red Lion members, who barely resisted. Some struggled weakly, but it was a futile resistance. ¡°Useless!¡± Wrent grunted as he grabbed his sword with his right hand, about to unleash another red arc with a swing. But in a single instant, Kyle sprinted towards him with the Aero Shoes, closing the distance in merely four strides before gripping the right hand of Wrent and forcing it down. ¡°ARGHH!¡± Wrent yelled in pain as Kyle crushed the right hand against the hilt of the sword. He tried to muster the strength to fight back, but the withdrawal symptoms were making it even harder on him. ¡°This is no way to treat your esteemed suppliers, is it not?¡± Kyle smiled with a sinister grin. At this point, Wrent heavily regretted not asking for help from the main base, realizing he had far underestimated Kyle. He had been too used to the image of Seven Snakes being useless under Ulon. ¡°Do it then, kill me,¡± Wrent spoke through gritted teeth as he was brought to one knee on the ground, forced to look up at Kyle. ¡°The top leader of the Red Lions will never let you off.¡± ¡°Ah, why would I ever kill my precious customers? Please, no need to kneel. Such courtesy.¡± Kyle let go of his hand, with Damian moving forward to lift Wrent up. They dragged him into the office, sitting him down at a table facing each other. Kyle retrieved a parchment from a message tube, rolled it out and slid it in front of Wrent for him to read. ¡°I believe the samples we provided in the previous contract were much to your liking. In fact, it seems your members love it so much they are even dying for it.¡± ¡°Y-you!¡± Wrent cursed as sweat still dripped down his forehead. He could barely move his body now, and the bones in his right hand were also fractured from Kyle¡¯s grip. ¡°Now, for our next contract, we would like to enter a mutually beneficial supply contract. How does that sound? If you sign this, we will immediately provide a few crates in advance for your perusal.¡± Kyle motioned outside the office¡¯s window, where Wrent could see two additional Seven Snakes members carrying crates in. Already Wrent could see the hunger in his members¡¯ eyes as they watched the cratese in. The members were not dumb, knowing they were addicted to the potions now, but they didn¡¯t have the willpower to fight their bodies. Wrent took another look at Kyle, who sat patiently with Damian and Keith standing behind him. While Kyle¡¯s expression was calm and serene, Wrent knew there was a brutal streak hiding within. What is more important ¨C my loyalty to the boss or my life? He nced again at his members suffering outside. Wrent grimaced, finally deciding to look at the contract, rationalizing to himself that he was doing it for his members. He began reading through the contract, noticing the uses were roughly the same except for the fact that he now had to pay for the potions. He read the changes to the non-aggression use, noticing that the contract had it extended to a year at minimum. This was expected, but the next use was what threw him off. There was an additional use which stated that the Seven Snakes would admit publicly that it was their fault and loss for the conflict and would pay reparations in the form of potion discounts and the release of prisoners. Wrent was utterly confused, but as he looked up into Kyle¡¯s calm eyes, a realization rose within him. He¡¯s leaving me a way out, a way not to be reced by the boss of the Red Lions. And if I or we renege on the reparation contract, our reputation would go straight into the gutter. With this additional use, the Red Lions would not suffer any reputation loss, and the Seven Snakes would have its non-aggression pact as well. Wrent would have a much higher chance of retaining his position and control over the district, which was exactly what Kyle wanted. This man is far too dangerous. At this rate, he¡¯ll take over the entire sector within two years. Wrent eventually signed the contract with his personal stamp. ¡°Good, d we¡¯vee to an agreement. We look forward to your future cooperation. Enjoy the potions.¡± Kyle smirked and left immediately. While the contract was between equals, Wrent knew he had be the underling in the unspoken hierarchy, gripping his fist tightly. As the Seven Snakes released the restrained members and left the new crates behind, the members were all confused at what had just happened. Some of the members were certain that they would be dead. Wrent did not know what to exin to them. All they could do now was to consume the potions. I swear I¡¯ll find a way to remove this addiction and take revenge in a year! Always leave a way out for a cornered corvette, lest they choose the self-destruct option. It is better to milk your enemies. Kyle was happy with the result. While he would be losing the prisoners, he had tested the effects of addiction sufficiently now. With the gang members being trained well enough now over two weeks, there was no need for addiction-riddled prisoners to fight against. They could simply spar against each other now. This would also prevent the otherrger gangs from mping down on us. Any other gang that tries to attack us would run the risk of angering the Red Lions, seeing as we are supplying them in a ¡®reparation¡¯ contract¡­ None of the Seven Snakes was unhappy with the oue, all were extremely clear that they hade out victors of the conflict. It boosted their pride and sense of aplishment in the Seven Snakes, their respect for Kyle in the clouds now. Even the new recruits who did not fight as much were starstruck by how easily they defeated the Red Lions. ¡°Holy shit, it was only a few hours of skirmishes, two days of patrols and that¡¯s it? Is our leader some sort of monster?¡± ¡°He managed to sneak into their base alone and escape even with Wrent defending! How awesome is that!¡± Niko excitedly whispered under hushed tones as they watched Kyle return to the base with the rest. Kyle began giving out orders to them. ¡°Keith, prepare the public announcement. Spread it through our businesses. Get vin in on it as well.¡± The expansion of the brothel was going well despite the conflict, with the customers fairly assured of the protection provided by the Seven Snakes. ¡°Damian, prepare for the prisoner transfer process. Return everyone.¡± ¡°Everyone else, gather in themon area in three hours for dinner. It¡¯s time to celebrate.¡± A loud cheer erupted among the gang members. They had won a clear victory. Kyle returned to his office, looking at the map parchment that showed the districts again. The base is now secured against most smaller threats. The locals are now well aware of a resurgence of the Seven Snakes. Kyle nodded to himself with a satisfied expression, however, he knew he was far from being a significant power in the city of Raktor. If he truly wanted to achieve his original first objective of a solid power base, only when he truly dominated the entire city would he consider it as some measure of sess. His eyesid on the list of gangs in the South Sector, noting the prominent individuals and the top dominator ¨C the Ardent Cretins. Despite the daunting challenges ahead, Kyle already had a step-by-step n of what to do, a small grin appearing on his face. As long as he remained under the radar, everything was easy. I used to rule nebs, spice routes and star systems with poptions numbering in the trillions. What is a small city like this to me? Chapter 15: Repercussions The next day¡­ ¡°Did you hear? The Seven Snakes lost to the Red Lions and had to pay reparations?¡± ¡°Nah, no way. I saw them fight each other ¨C they were at a draw! Sure, the Seven Snakes were beaten up slightly more, but they were extremely tenacious.¡± ¡°Their new gang leader seems to be much morepetent than Ulon, but I guess a small-time gang will always be a small-time gang.¡± Such were the types of rumours going around the food market and the South Sector, but it was drowned out in a sea of other conflicts. The Seven Snakes were not the only gang fighting at the time ¨C it was the city of Raktor, after all. A fight was around every corner. However, the morale of the Seven Snakes was much higher. Everyone was extremely clear that it was their victory, and they had never won against another gang like this in the past five years under Ulon. ¡°Are we going to be the next dominator of the South Sector?¡± One of the more overtly excited gang members discussed. ¡°Idiot, no way! How the hell are we going to overtake the Ardent Cretins? Wait, fuck that. We can¡¯t even go against the main force of the Red Lions!¡± ¡°Nah, believe in Kyle! I like him much better than his Alvin persona.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t wait to have my own underlings; I¡¯ll put them through the same training routine!¡± The mood in the base was festive, but Kyle was not. At least not until the waves had died down. He sat in his office, waiting patiently until Keith came in, his face clearly shaken. ¡°Sir, there¡¯s someone here to see you.¡± ¡°Alone?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kyle¡¯s expression darkened slightly. ¡°Have hime in. Prepare the best tea we have.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Soon, a well-dress gentleman in a butler outfit walked in. He did not bow nor show any sign of respect towards Kyle, simply walking around the office and looking at the bookshelves and furniture. ¡°Hmm, how quaint. I am a bit sad to see Ulon¡¯s hallmark ornaments missing.¡± ¡°They were quite a distracting sight, so I had them auctioned off.¡± ¡°A pity.¡± The man finally locked eyes with Kyle before sitting in a chair meant for guests, rxing as though he had just arrived home. ¡°You¡¯re doing much better than Ulon did. When I first met him, he could barely reply to me or look me in the eyes. I recall him trembling continuously, nearly unable to form a coherent sentence.¡± The man remarked. Keith soon entered the room with a teapot and cup on a delicate tray, cing it down and pouring a cup for the guest. ¡°Ah, I was expecting you to deliver one of your ¡®special¡¯ potions.¡± The man chuckled, before examining Keith closely, looking at him from head to toe. ¡°A gait of a schr. Your abilities seemed to be far wasted here. Perhaps I can offer you another form of employ-.¡± ¡°Get to the point,¡± Kyle challenged. The man did not seem irked in the slightest at being interrupted, merely smiling gently as he crossed his legs. ¡°I¡¯m here to deliver a form of greeting from our leader, Ares UIras. He has only the best wishes for the future of the Seven Snakes and hopes to potentially forge rtionships where possible.¡± Kyle nodded. ¡°You may give him my thanks, Sebastian. I will surely take him up on his offer.¡± ¡°Ah, a man who has done his research. Consider me surprised that even an amnesiac knows about me.¡± ¡°It is hard not to notice legends and myths about the vice-leader of the Ardent Cretins.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tter me. I¡¯m simply doing my job. I¡¯m sure that you will have your own myths in the future if given enough time.¡± ¡°Only if I am allowed to.¡± Sebastian¡¯s smile got wider. ¡°I knew we would understand each other. A big improvement over the oaf Ulon. Seems like being amnesiac is a gift of sorts; perhaps I should try it one day?¡± ¡°I can have an alchemist prepare a memory-erasing potion if you so wish.¡± Sebastianughed while Kyle maintained a stoic expression. ¡°Maybe sometime in the future, when I¡¯m retired. For now, I still have to manage a group of naughty children who only get rowdier as they grow up. Always aiming to be the parent. Do you have any tips for handling them?¡± ¡°Some sweets or cake would make them easy to handle. A gift goes a long way.¡± ¡°Ah, but children forget very fast, especially when another carrot is dangled in front of them. That reminds me.¡± He stood up, rummaging through his suit¡¯s inner pocket. ¡°Here, a token of goodwill from the Ardent Cretins.¡± Sebastian retrieved a transparent ss bottle holding a miniature galleon suspended by wood inside. ¡°An exquisite gift, handcrafted by one of our patrons.¡± He stood up and ced it on the table in front of Kyle. The boat was extremely intricate and fragile. Keith looked at it and could tell that even a slight sudden jerk could cause the boat to copse. For Sebastian to be able to carry it in his suit without breaking it was stupendous. ¡°Do be careful with it. If one were to rock the boat too much, the pieces within would begin to crumble. I hope to see you again from time to time under simr circumstances.¡± Sebastian took his leave, with Keith escorting him out of the base. Keith soon returned, only seeing Kyle continue to stare at the ship. ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t know the vice leader of the Ardent Cretins was so nice! That boat looks really expensive.¡± Keith eximed. ¡°It was not a nice conversation. Far from it. It¡¯s a threat.¡± Kyle responded grimly. After all that he had done to make sure he remained as low as possible, somehow, the big fish of the South Sector had locked onto him. He was expecting someone of note to visit but never expected the vice leader himself toe in person. Don¡¯t rock the boat, lest you want your gang to crumble into pieces. Kyle knew what the warning was, clear as day. He gripped his fist tightly. With the Ardent Cretins having their eye on him now, any sort of expansion or scaling up from him will be heavily scrutinized. The moment Sebastian detected a threat, Kyle knew he was the type to use everything he had to eliminate it immediately. That was the privilege of the strong, after all. Kyle himself used to do that in his former life. ¡°Keith, call Damian in. We will have to restructure the n moving forward.¡± The central sector of the city of Raktor was the most prosperous. Buildings made of arcia-infused ss towered over streets filled with automatic carriages, guided by the roads as they ferried aristocrats, nobles and the general upper ss to and fro. An opulent and intricately detailed building reminiscent of a temple was one of the key features of the sector. While many of the locals and tourists would admire it as a work of beauty, it was equally feared by many of the gang leaders. A lone girl walked up the marble steps, clearly excited as her cobalt blue eyes darted around. She checked her pearlish-white cloak, rubbing a small stain off the shiny silver pauldrons. The long golden rims of the cloak fluttered as she continued climbing, wearing straight dress pants and a buttoned shirt under. ¡°Priestess Kitana Reao, here under orders from the Archbishop.¡± Kitana bowed to the guards at the entrance, who bowed respectfully back. They performed a simple check on her belongings before allowing her in. She entered the vast temple, the ceiling and pirs adorned with paintings that werepleted over generations. At the height of it, all in prime view was a portrait of Yual, the Emperor of the Yual Dominion that ruled over the city of Raktor and others. As she walked, she could hear whispers from local enforcers and clerks who stared at her, their echoes bouncing off the concave ceiling and domes. ¡°The Inquisitors are here? Finally, we get some much needed help.¡± ¡°Yes, the bloodbath in the West Sector between the Veiled Angels and the Violet Devils is escting far beyond our control. If the Inquisitors did not show up, we might have had to call in the military.¡± ¡°The military would never agree to intervene in civil affairs unless ordered by the Emperor himself.¡± A servant led her to a smaller audience chamber, where an old priest was kneeling in front of a statue of the emperor. Already there were nine others like her, lined up and standing behind rows of pews and praying as well. Kitana quickly joined an empty spot, sping her hands in prayer as well. The old priest finally stood up after five more minutes, turning to face them. ¡°My fellow priests and priestesses. It is with great honour that you havee before me and the Emperor today, to be given a special role.¡± ¡°Crime has infiltrated the streets of Raktor, defiling the bans set forth by the Archbishop himself. The citizens of this city do not know what true purity is and are unwilling to adhere to thew. While the Archbishop has turned a blind eye to it in the past, he can no longer divert his eyes away from the stray sheep that are running amok.¡± The old priest retrieved a scroll before he rolled it out and read it. ¡°As such, under holy appointment and orders direct from the Archbishop himself, you are all now appointed as Inquisitors of the Yual Reign. Go forth and cleanse this city of filth, and bring glory to the Emperor!¡± ¡°Glory to the Emperor! Glory to Yual!¡± The ten priests and priestesses bowed. They remained bowed as a few servants brought out a series of peaked caps, with the priest bestowing one to each individual, the symbol of the Inquisitors clearly shown. Kitana received the cap with much excitement, a fire lighting up in her eyes. The old priest chuckled before cing his hand on Kitana¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Keep that enthusiasm strong and steadfast.¡± ¡°Yes, Bishop.¡± Kitana bowed even lower. Soon the ceremony was over, and Kitana was already ordered to head towards another room to meet the department that she would be in charge of. Each pair of inquisitors was to oversee the purification of a different sector to not sh with each other. However, Kitana instead headed to a secluded area, grinning as she ced the cap on her head, the cap fitting snugly. She then nced around her shoulders, making sure no one was looking around before she hunkered down and whispered to herself. ¡°Statistics.¡± Chapter 16: Inquisitors The arctech enforcer wagon rumbled as it crossed rugged and poorly maintained cobblestone streets, a far cry from the pristine capital that Kitana was used to during her training. Her partner inquisitor grinned at her obviously ufortable face, smoking a Euria pipe. The blue smoke drifted across his grey beard, with each breath rxing his old tired wrinkles that seemed to mark every part of his face. ¡°First time out of Tryas?¡± The old inquisitor joked as he retrieved more crushed Euria Seeds powder and ced them into his pipe. ¡°I¡¯m afraid so,¡± Kitana muttered in reply, ncing through the back of the covered enforcer wagon. A grimy street trailed behind, with squatters half-drunk on the side of the road. The entire pavement was half covered in piss, vomit or some other form of liquid. Gangs of young teenagers roamed the streets, harassing others, while dejected factory workers had sex with obviously drugged girls in trash heaps. It was vastly different from the prim and proper feeling of the Central Sector. Here in the South Sector, the fumes of the factories ballooned high above, while the dense streets were full of travellers, traders, mercenaries and exiles from not just the Yual Dominion but other nations past the border as well. It was a pure melting pot of cultures and people, as well as the lowest of scum. ¡°Statistics,¡± Kitana muttered to herself. So, I¡¯m still level one ¨C I guess Mother was right about having to kill people to level up. She nced around the streets, smirking internally to herself. Plenty of targets here just asking to be killed identally in the line of duty. She caught the old inquisitor ncing across at her, calming herself down. Better to y a zealous na?ve girl for now. Just as the wagon passed yet another thug fight, Kitana stood up to stop the driver. The old inquisitor stood up to stop her as well, sitting her back down with a stern look. ¡°Calm down, girl. Do you think you can take on all ten of them? Sit down and wait till we get to the office.¡± Visibly fuming, she sat down back on her seat, ring at the partner inquisitor. His old face showed no signs of anger or righteous fury. ¡°What kind of inquisitor ignores crimes urring against the Sanctum of Yual happening right before their very eyes?¡± Kitana kept up the act. ¡°The practical kind.¡± The old inquisitor sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve seen plenty like you get killed in no time because they have no tact. Want to survive long enough to make a difference? y it cool.¡± ¡°How the hell did you be an inquisitor?¡± ¡°Because I do my job. No more, no less.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t your job to punish crimes?¡± ¡°Oh, dear. This is what they get when they send such a fresh girl straight from Tryas. Listen, girl, stay behind me and let me do most of the talking when we¡¯re at the office, alright?¡± The old man sighed, continuing to puff his smoke. Kitana internally celebrated. Good, saves me the scrutiny. The enforcer wagon soon stopped in front of a chapel, where the South Sector¡¯s enforcers¡¯ headquarters was. ¡°We¡¯re here, esteemed inquisitors. Wee to the Magda.¡± The Magda was the South Sector¡¯s enforcer headquarters - a block of buildings centred around the main chapel, providing the logistics and support necessary to each of its enforcer branches situated in each district. Thousands of cases and reports were handled here, as well as equipment procurement. The old inquisitor and Kitana hopped out the back of the wagon, following their driver. They were led not into the chapel but into a side office building. Floors upon floors of administrative clerks handled requests for arcite fuel, enforcer wagon repairs and arctech equipment. Arctech phone lines rang non-stop to the station while stressed interns ran about with stacks upon stacks of paper. The two inquisitors walking through the office drew a lot of eyes and whispering, their white uniforms and decorativepels sticking out like a sore thumb. Everyone they passed bowed to them, with the old inquisitor simply smiling and waving them off. They soon reached their destination: the Bishop¡¯s office. A grand room with a ceiling two stories high, bookshelves lining the walls as the light from the sunset shone through the stained ss windows, filled with depictions from the Sanctum of Yual. ¡°Ah, Mason. Thank Yual, they posted you here.¡± The Bishop smiled as she got out of her chair. Kitana noted her scarred hands as they approached the table, which was filled with piles of papers requesting her approval. Mason chuckled as he came to a stop in front of the table, giving a half-hearted mock salute. ¡°Inquisitor Mason and Inquisitor Kitana, at your service, Bishop Vete.¡± ¡°This young? Are they sure about this? I would have thought the posh ones would have all remained in Tryas.¡± Vetemented as she examined Kitana from head to toe. ¡°Or maybe someone above has other ns for her. Who knows.¡± Mason replied with a half-shrug before walking towards a sofa on the side and plopping down, retrieving his Euria Pipe again. ¡°So, what¡¯s the deal?¡± ¡°I think it¡¯s better if I let Baron Cain do the talking. He¡¯ll be here any minute. Would you like a drink, Kitana?¡± Vete sat back in her chair, smiling gently. ¡°What deal are we talking about here? Are we not here to clean up the city?¡± Kitana ignored the offer, still ying the na?ve zealous girl. She had to put up such an act in front of the Bishop as well. Vete simply shot a fierce re at Mason, whoughed in response. ¡°Girl, as I said, let me do most of the talking here.¡± ¡°My name isn¡¯t girl, it¡¯s ¨C¡° Before Kitana could finish, the doors to the office swung wide open, with Baron Cain walking in nked by two knights. The baron was decked from head to toe in ¡®luxury¡¯: a posh velvet cap along with a well-pressed suit adorned with jewels along the handkerchief marked with the insignia of the Yual Dominion. ¡°Ah, my requested inquisitors have finally arrived,¡± Cain smiled with open arms as he did not bow nor salute to any of them, strutting across the room. With a loud plop, he satfortably on the sofa next to Mason while the three of them immediately stood up and bowed with respect. Nobility was far higher than those in the religious order, so even Bishop Vete had to bow. ¡°Hmm, you seem familiar,¡± Cain remarked as he took a closer look at Mason. ¡°Yes, sir, I¡¯ve worked here before with your father on a different operation. Inquisitor Mason at your service.¡± Mason said respectfully. ¡°Ah! Then you¡¯re the best man for the job. The nature of this operation is exactly the same. I¡¯m short on time, and I have a party to attend, so let¡¯s get right to it. You two, bring out the map.¡± The two apanying knights walked into the centre of the office, rolling out a map of the city that has already been marked by red lines and red stars indicating points of interest. ¡°Unlike the other sectors that my siblings hold, the South Sector is rtively stable. However, it is this stability that is hurting my finances. I take it you understand, Mason?¡± Baron Cain raised his eyebrows, taking note of Mason¡¯s expression. Mason immediately bowed. ¡°Of course. You want us to rough up the current status quo. Keep them on their toes.¡± ¡°Exactly. But not too much, lest they start to move their ratholes around.¡± The baron held a wide grin on his face before his expression became even more solemn. So, beat up the gangs a little to shake some money from their pockets. A protection racket, but run by the Baron. Intriguing. Kitana listened intently. ¡°There is another reason why I have asked for you all toe here. There have been a few spies smuggling guns out of our military factories that are contracted to produce new types of guns and various ssified equipment. We lost a shipment a month ago, and I¡¯m sure Bishop Vete here recalls how that went.¡± ¡°Poorly. We didn¡¯t find a single trace of it. Perhaps you can consider increasing the budget ¨C twenty enforcers to a district of thousands is hardly enough.¡± Bishop Vete shot back. Mason took a closer look at the map on the floor, counting the number of red stars marked. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ that¡¯s a lot of factories. Do we even have enough enforcers to cover them?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t. I¡¯m not nning to give you any more money until you prove your worth. Get the gangs to pay me, and maybe we can talk about increasing the budget.¡± ¡°Any leads?¡± Mason asked. ¡°None as of now,¡± Bishop Vete replied. ¡°But there are suspicions that it is the work of a foreign nation trying to steal our military technology.¡± ¡°Under no circumstances can the technology be leaked any more. Thatst shipment was the final straw. The other barons have already increased checkpoints at the exit and entrances of the city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t understand. We¡¯re here to protect some random factories instead of cleaning up the city?¡± Kitana interrupted the baron, her na?ve zealous act on full disy. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen on my way here, this entire Sector is awless ce! If you knew about it, you would have raised the budget immediately.¡± Baron Cain was slightly taken aback before an incredulous expression took over his face as he nced between Mason and Vete, who simply shook their heads in response. ¡°What? Why the fuck has everyone been hiding stuff from me ever since I got here?¡± Kitana challenged the three of them. ¡°Mason, could you please do the honours?¡± Cain motioned with his hands. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Mason bowed before walking sternly up to Kitana. ¡°Wha-¡° Kitana¡¯s face was punched hard by Mason, the sound of her cheekbone cracking from the blunt force. Before she could stumble backwards, Mason grabbed her by the uniform¡¯s cor and kicked the back of her knees, forcing her to kneel in front of the Baron. Kitana groaned in pain as she held her broken nose, her mind spinning as blood trickled down through the seams between her fingers, staining the carpet. ¡°What¡¯s her name?¡± Cain asked Vete. ¡°It¡¯s Kitana, sir. I¡¯m afraid she¡¯s fresh from Tryas.¡± ¡°Fresh from Tryas¡­ Well then.¡± Cain got up, patting his suit down before walking over to Kitana and standing in front of her. ¡°One rule to learn during your short, pitiful life here: don¡¯t you FUCKING talk back to me like that. I pay the bills around here, so I¡¯m thew. Got it?¡± Cain spat on her head before leaving with the two knights out through the door. The moment Baron Cain left, Mason immediately took out a Health Potion and stuffed it down Kitana¡¯s mouth, forcing her to drink it. The green aura slowly mended her face, but the blood stains were still all over her face and floor. ¡°Girl, I already told you to leave the talking to me. What were you thinking, shouting like that?¡± Mason sighed as he let Kitana down to rest on the floor. ¡°Mason.¡± Bishop interrupted him with a stern expression. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t change, she¡¯s going to die here immediately. You know someone above is counting on that.¡± Kitana was still slightly conscious, hearing them speak. She struggled to get up, with Mason helping her up. ¡°Who? Who is going to kill me?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you know why you were the only inquisitor of your batch to be sent to Raktor?¡± Mason asked. ¡°It¡¯s usually because of three things: one, you¡¯re too talkative. Two, you¡¯re too zealous. Three, you¡¯re too na?ve. And as far as I can tell, you¡¯re all three of them.¡± They don¡¯t know I volunteered myself because it¡¯s where the most action happens¡­ legally. Kitana grumbled as she stood back upright, pping away the hand offered by Mason. ¡°You¡¯re telling me they trained me to be an inquisitor so I can look the other way? I still don¡¯t understand what the fuck is the purpose of using here!¡± Mason suddenly pulled out an arctech pistol, aiming it right at Kitana¡¯s head. Kitana¡¯s training instinctively kicked in, with her trying to draw her pistol as well. However, her pistol was missing. ¡°Recognize this?¡± Mason motioned with his head to the pistol, which was clearly nicked from Kitana. ¡°The truth is this: You¡¯re a young, na?ve, half-baked inquisitor that was sent here to die. Do you know why they don¡¯t have to assassinate you? Because based on your current attitude, you would have died in less than a day out on the streets of Raktor. You can¡¯t even defend yourself or keep your pistol secured - what hope do you have against the gangs?¡± Mason berated her. ¡°If I kill you right now it would be a mercy.¡± The sound of the arctech pistol¡¯s safety being clicked frightened Kitana, her heart pounding as she stared at the barrel aimed right at her forehead. Mason¡¯s hand suddenly jerked, causing Kitana to flinch instinctively. Opening her eyes slowly, she saw that Mason had tossed the pistol on the floor instead. ¡°Your safety was off,¡± Mason remarked as he sat back down on the sofa. ¡°Girl, look. I will do everything in my power to keep you alive for the duration of this operation. Once this is over, you can go back to your zealous holier-than-thou solo crusade and get yourself killed for all I care. At least it¡¯s off my record. Follow me, and I¡¯ll train you to survive. Do we have a deal?¡± Kitana nodded. ¡°What are we going to do about protecting the factories?¡± ¡°I heard there are a few organizations around this Sector that specializes in protection; let¡¯s knock down some doors tomorrow with a bit of lethal force. Get some rest first.¡± The two of them were shown to their quarters, a luxurious studio apartment. Kitana checked the room before closing the curtains, ensuring no one was spying on her. She nearly couldn¡¯t stop the wide grin on her face as she checked her statistics again. I was right to choose Raktor ¨C I¡¯m going to surpass my siblings. With this much EXP running around the streets waiting to be killed, who can stop me now? Chapter 17: Moonshine and Plans In a derelict warehouse, a lone man was fiddling with a basic moonshine distition still, adjusting the angle of the condensation arm running into another doubler barrel. A loud bang could be heard at one of the side entrances, causing the man to be slightly startled before calming himself down as he saw who it was. ¡°Fucking hell, Monica, you gave me a scare. Maybe a simple knock instead would suffice.¡± ¡°Shut up, idiot. I ain¡¯t got no hands carrying these sacks.¡± A burlydy had kicked open a small door with her right leg, her hands upied as she hefted tworge sacks of grains and sugar, the sweat dripping down her white tank top. With a loud grunt, Monica dropped the sacks next to a mixing container, panting slightly. ¡°Where¡¯s Adrian and the rest? You the only one left in here?¡± ¡°Ye, the rest went out to make sure no Seven Snakes slithering around. They¡¯ve been getting real nosy with this district ever since they lost to the Red Lions.¡± ¡°Sounds about right.¡± Monica grabbed a well-used concrete-stained bucket and used it as a stool. ¡°So, is Eric still the best distiller around here?¡± She motioned towards him with a mocking smile. ¡°It¡¯s Eric Dicar, and should be the best in the district. Unless someone else somehow got the freshest mountain water from the Culdao Peaks nearby, we¡¯ll monopolise the market.¡± Eric smirked. ¡°Well, cook it slow. We ain¡¯t rushing for time. If we make too much of a bang, who knows if Kyle will show up.¡± ¡°Bah, it¡¯s been three days since he wasst seen negotiating with the Red Lions. Probably cooped up and huffing away at Euria seeds with the way he¡¯s been buying them off the market. His whole base is probably one big smoke cloud by now.¡± Monica chuckled before standing up and ripping the sacks open, mixing them into a mash in a container as Eric continued toin on the side. ¡°Honestly, we should have gotten a much bigger pot. Our production scale is miserable with this, it¡¯s barely ten gallons per batch at this rate.¡± ¡°Gotta stay portable, don¡¯t want to be pinned by the Seven Snakes. We agreed on this before.¡± Monica warned. Eric didn¡¯t reply, obviously unsatisfied as he continued to tailor the temperature of the arcia stove before firing it up. Instead of asking Monica to dump the mash into the pot, they both waited, standing near the walls and peeking out of the boarded-up windows of the warehouse. ¡°They are taking far too long. Something¡¯s up.¡± Monica muttered as a few more minutes passed. She was about to ask Eric to pack it up when Adrian ran into the warehouse hastily. ¡°Fuck, they are prowling nearby. If they so much as catch a whiff of the moonshine, we¡¯ll be in trouble!¡± Adrian gasped for air as he tried to catch his breath. ¡°I had the other two walk in separate directions to pull off their trails, so we got maybe ten or fifteen minutes to move.¡± ¡°Alright, just like we practised.¡± Monica and Eric were not bothered at all. They had already moved through the various districts of the South Sector multiple times, exploiting the territorial gaps and derelict buildings in the vicinity. It wasn¡¯t the first time they were hunted by the ruling gangs, who obviously would not tolerate others subverting the alcohol production and smuggling business. They packed up the equipment nicely, cing the pots and condensation arms into nice cardboard boxes before loading them up onto separate trollies. ¡°Split up, meet at Point 23, got it?¡± They had already premarked a series of locations where the operations could be run from. Even if squatters had moved in, simple intimidation or negotiations would usually suffice, a routine procedure. Eric donned a felt cap with a t top and put on a factory worker¡¯s garments, making it seem like he was pushing basic supplies and scrap metal around. He slowly pushed the trolley through the streets on the side of the pavement, keeping his head down. The streets were crowded and filled with business. Construction and food supply wagons rattled by, while people loitered on the side of the streets. Schoolboys yed punk and ying football in the alleyways while buskers strummed a sad song for rakels no one could afford to give. Eric blended in nicely, acting like he was pushing supplies to another factory. He saw three Seven Snakes gang members head in the opposite direction, seemingly attempting to corner off theirst-known location. Hah, dumbasses. The relocation went off without a hitch, with Eric reaching the pre-determined meeting point easily. It was a run-down office-style building withrge factory floors per level. Eric pushed open the boarded-up doors, hearing a loud scrambling inside and some whimpering. I would say ¡®fucking squatters¡¯, but I¡¯m not any different now, am I? The first floor was an obvious slum, with makeshift barrel heaters ckened from the use of any mmable material. He saw five squatters in separate locations, keeping a wide berth from each other as they huddled up in as many clothes as they could, the stink unbearable from the pile of clearly unwashed linen stained with puke. ¡°Alright fes, we¡¯ll be here for a few days. In exchange, we¡¯ll get you some moonshine, how about that hmm? Maybe you guys can do a few deliveries for us too.¡± Eric asked from outside, peeking his head through the door. His voice echoed and wafted through the empty floor, easily reaching the ears of the squatters. The squatters all immediately nodded. It was amon urrence in the city of Raktor, and they wouldn¡¯t say no to some free moonshine and extra cash. ¡°Good.¡± Eric did not enter the building yet with the equipment on the trolley. Who knew if the squatters would suddenly decide to turn on him and take his equipment? Better wait for Monica and the others. Soon, Monica and Adrian arrived, both safe. ¡°Anyone followed you?¡± Eric looked behind them, trying to spot anything suspicious. ¡°No, they were all checking out thest location, so we¡¯re safe. I counted more than eight of them moving there. I really miss the days of Ulon. We could go unharmed for weeks.¡± Adrian sighed. ¡°Got a few squatters in there. We¡¯ve reached a temporary agreement so far for a bit of swill and some movement.¡± ¡°Right. Let¡¯s get the stuff in before we¡¯re spotted.¡± The three of them shifted the equipment and set it up just like before. Adrian scoped out the area, using a crowbar to smack one of the old rusty doors to ensure they had a secondary exit in case of a raid. Monica huffed as she lugged the heavy equipment back into ce. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t have put the mash in first¡­¡± Sheined while carrying the mixing container back, slightly stumbling as she shifted it across from the trolley. ¡°We should be good for a few days, so we can start right now. Gotta deliver some before night.¡± Eric and Monica dumped the mash into the pot, before Eric started the fire. ¡°Now we just have to wait.¡± The three of them took a rest, rotating watch duty as they sat andy on the floor. Eric took out a logbook, noting down the specific temperature, the type of condensation arm he used and so on. It was important to note as it helped him improve his method of manufacturing. It was his livelihood, after all. ¡°Scuse me, good sir.¡± One of the squatters found the courage to talk to Eric after a good hour, while Monica and Adrian stared at the approaching squatter warily. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, what does this setup do?¡± Eric¡¯s eyes lit up brilliantly like never before. With a slight cough, he stood up to his full bearing, assuming the gait of a university professor of sorts. ¡°d you asked! This setup distils liquor in a deceivingly simple method, using pure Cornia, malt and sugar. Mixing them and heating them allows us to distil the vapour which is concentrated through the doubler and subsequently through the worm¡­¡± Monica rolled her eyes. ¡°There he goes again, can¡¯t help exining this shit to everybody.¡± ¡°Ah, just let him it. Not every day he gets to act like what he used to be.¡± Adrian shrugged his shoulders. The other four squatters were enamoured by the lecture provided. The questions asked were exceedingly childish and obviously uneducated, but Eric was more than happy to answer them. ¡°Sir Dicar, this is amazing!¡± One of the squatters stood next to Eric, staring at the setup with amazement. ¡°With such a simple setup, we¡¯re able to be free of the Sanctum of Yual¡¯s inane prohibition bans. You could produce for the entire district!¡± ¡°Indeed, I heavily disagree with the prohibition ban on alcohol. A mature man should be allowed to drink whatever he so desires. Such a ban implies amonck of ¡®trust¡¯ from the authorities in the citizens, who are better than¡­ Wait a minute, how did you know my surname?¡± In a blink, the squatter next to him grappled Eric expertly, pinning him to the ground using his body weight, while the other four squatters who had gradually got closer to Monica and Adrian lunged towards them. Monica and Adrian barely stood a chance against the surprise attack,pletely caught off-guard. ¡°What the?!¡± Monica struggled, but the squatter on top of her had expertly locked her limbs down in a martial art style grapple. He took out an arctech radio, speaking fast. ¡°Damian here, we¡¯ve got them. Move in now.¡± Eric instantly recognized the name. The vice-leader of the Seven Snakes?! They fucking disguised as squatters?! Eric was dumbfounded. He had never seen a gang go to such extremes to catch them in his many years of being a moonshiner. ¡°Is this even a gang anymore? You¡¯re more like undercover enforcers!¡± Damian didn¡¯t reply, only holding a small smirk on his face. Soon, the eight Seven Snakes members entered, joining the five disguised squatters and capturing the three moonshiners. They hauled them and the equipment back to the Seven Snakes¡¯ base, tossing them into the office. As Eric struggled to get back upright onto his knees with his arms bound, he already knew that there were two more captured in the office. They were the other two of his operation, having been caught long before they even relocated. Before the five of them could start ming each other on who snitched or was caught first, the office door swung open with Kyle and Keith entering. Kyle strode up to the office desk, his demeanour fierce. A domineering presence washed over the five of them, causing Eric to gulp internally. This was not his first time being caught, but it was an eye-opening experience. Somehow Kyle seemed to exude this sort of confidence and leadership Eric had never seen before, the well-ironed formal suit Kyle wore further emphasising it as he leaned against the front desk, standing in front of the grovelling five members. ¡°Prepare a message to Wrent thanking him for his detailed information.¡± Kyle motioned to Keith, who bowed and sat at a new desk prepared just for him, slightly away from Kyle at a perpendicr facing. ¡°Professor Dicar, what a pleasure to finally meet you. I have heard many rumours about your incredible skill from your time at the University.¡± Kyle looked down. ¡°If you truly find it a pleasure, perhaps you should consider my level offort being bound like this.¡± Eric scoffed as hey like a worm on the floor, unable to lift his own body up. ¡°Apologies. You two, untie him and have him sit in the guest¡¯s chair.¡± Eric gingerly rubbed his wrists as the rope was undone before he sat and leaned back into the luxurious velvet chair. ¡°Interesting that you put that much effort into capturing me and my crew. Getting bored of the potion business after a mere few weeks since being a leader?¡± ¡°When building an empire, it is better to diversify and hedge one¡¯s bet. Also, casinos and brothels hardly run on potions alone.¡± ¡°Ah, so entering the very business, I see.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t intend to enve you, Professor Dicar. Instead, I have an offer.¡± ¡°I doubt you have anything to offer than can weigh against my freedom.¡± Eric spat. He was well aware of how gangs wanted to use him to make their moonshine. Brutes and grunts ying at nobility, ignorant of the true essence of brewing alcohol. Kyle didn¡¯t reply any longer, instead motioning to the two guards to grab Eric off the velvet chair, who struggled in vain. ¡°Please, follow me. I guarantee you will be interested.¡± Chapter 18: New Expansion Plans With the other four captured moonshiners hauled off to a holding cell, Eric was manhandled to another room. ¡°Let go of me! I can walk myself, thank you very much.¡± He tried to shake off the two guards¡¯ grip. Kyle nodded his head as a signal, with the two guards letting go of Eric. They walked through themon area, Eric noticing the gang members training hard against dummy figures or sparring with each other. A mountain of Stamina Recovery Potions was stacked in wooden crates along the side, causing Eric¡¯s jaw to drop in astonishment. ¡°I did not expect the scale of your production to be so huge,¡± Eric was astonished, estimating close to a thousand potions stacked there alone. ¡°I was under the impression that you were only supplying less than fifty per day or so.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply, still walking towards an unmarked door. They entered a separate room, and this time Eric¡¯s jawpletely copsed. Forgetting his predicament as a captured moonshiner, he instead ran forward, ogling at therge pristine distition stills that were far more advanced than anything he had ever seen, even at the university. ¡°My god, who made this for you? It can¡¯t be the Alchemist Guild, can it? I don¡¯t even think they would let you have such a device; this is only reserved for the best of the best!¡± Eric was like an excited fanboy, jumping up and down as he examined the intricate details of the setup. Kyle had implemented a factory-style distition process, something he reverse-engineered from his memories. Alcohol in the Gctic Era was produced much more efficiently, but at least the basic principles remained the same. Eric suddenly let out a loud gasp. ¡°This condenser is extremely unique! What is the jagged surface on the exterior of the condensation arm? This enchantment on the barrel, what does it do? Is it powered by arcia as well to give special effects?¡± He ran around a series of kegs, noticing they had unique enchantments on them as well that seemed to speed up the fermentation. Kyle motioned for one of the guards to provide three samples in small cups. Eric was a bit hesitant, knowing there was a chance it could be poison or some sort. ¡°Professor Dicar, if I wanted you dead, I would have had you killed there and then, making it look like an ident.¡± Eric finally relented and tried the first sample. It was a high-proof moonshine whiskey, clear of any impurities and smooth to the throat. ¡°My god, it¡¯s even better than anything I have tasted!¡±
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Moonshine Whiskey] A high-proof moonshine whiskey distilled with precision and factory-level quality. None of that rugged taste -5 INT, +3 STR Temporary Stat Effect Duration: Depends on Race
He quickly drank the next sample, a bubbling sensation with a sweet aromatic taste. ¡°This is wine¡­ but not one made from the usual ingredients¡­ Grain wine? The sparkling sensation is not unique, but thebination is¡­¡±
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Cherry Sparkling Sake] A sparkling rice wine made from polished grains, distilled with precision and factory-level quality. Smooth taste with a posh feeling -5 INT, +3 STR Temporary Stat Effect Duration: Depends on Race
Eric then tried thest one. ¡°Another grain wine, but this time with a burned sensation, highly distilled. The addition of the lemon taste gives it a secondary kick. Amazing! Where are all these recipesing from?! I¡¯ve spent my life studying alcohol, but I have nevere across any of these!¡±
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Lemon-voured Soju] A mixture of grains fermented, distilled with precision and factory-level quality. Mixed with a dash of lemon. Great with beer or yoghurt -2 INT, +1 STR Temporary Stat Effect Duration: Depends on Race
You¡¯ll probably lose your mind in the Gctic Era, then¡­ ¡°Do you want to know?¡± Kyle asked with a knowing expression. Eric¡¯s excitement suddenly plummeted, the circumstances of his current plighting back to him. ¡°Cut to the chase. What do you want?¡± ¡°Work for me, and you¡¯ll have this entire room plus more where those recipes came from.¡± ¡°And my crew?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be part of the gang. I¡¯m counting on you to convince them.¡± ¡°What if I say no?¡± ¡°You already know what happens.¡± Kyle smiled. Eric weighed the benefits in his head. For years, he had been a professor researching new methods of alcohol production. He had been expelled for no reason due to the sudden and rapid ban on alcohol, forcing him onto the streets in order to make a living. Too many gangs have tried to recruit him, even with the threat of force, but a simple bribe and a few drops of moonshine were always enough to get the guards to go against their bosses. That was how he met his current crew, anyway. However, Kyle had shown him a new path, a chance to regain his old life. The new recipes lured him tantalizingly, and he couldn¡¯t stop thinking about all the types of alcohol he could make with the set up in front of him. ¡°You have a deal. Let me talk to them.¡± Eric was brought to the holding cell, where the other four moonshiners were still restrained. ¡°Eric, you alright? Just agree to whatever they say; we¡¯ll break out of here soon enough.¡± Adrian was worried. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve epted their deal. We will all be Seven Snakes members for now.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯m starving.¡± Monica¡¯s stomach rumbled loudly. This wasn¡¯t their first rodeo, having escaped a few gangs before. ¡°We¡¯ll be out of here in no time.¡± ¡°Keith, calction on the current amount of alcohol consumption at our ventures?¡± Kyle returned to the office, letting Damian be in charge of the induction of the four moonshiners. ¡°About three barrels per pub each day, maybe two for the Lusty Arcian who justpleted their expansion. With one pub and one brothel, that amounts to five barrels a day.¡± Keith quickly calcted. ¡°It¡¯s going to increase once we get the former businesses, we lost over the years back on board.¡± ¡°Good. Once Professor Dicar is settled in, we¡¯ll supply the alcohol for our businesses directly and make our own. Have Monica form a new crew to handle the shipment discretely.¡± ¡°Sir, are we nning on selling to other gangs or districts too?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯re not going to cut anybody just yet. Not with the Ardent Cretins watching us. We¡¯re simply going to improve our current businesses. That way, we can drive more customers to us.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that eventually draw more attention to us? The local enforcers might start moving in if our footfall traffic increases; I¡¯m not sure if the ice money is enough to keep the heat off.¡± Kyle contemted as he sat back down on his office desk, still eyeing the map of the district. ¡°Everyone is human, and everyone¡¯s got a price. It¡¯s a simple task to figure it out. We won¡¯t be pushing the quality of the alcohol up by too much, only just a little till we¡¯re ready. More importantly, have you set up our public free soup kitchen yet?¡± ¡°It should be ready to open in a few hours.¡± ¡°Good, get the flyers ready. n for a public cleanup event in the next two days as well.¡± Keith nodded while Kyle continued to check the finances. The most important part of running a gang is convincing themunity that we are a benign part of it rather than a tumour. Simple events such as this would drive support for us in the district, helping us deflect the enforcers through the locals who would be opposed to them over time. Now that Kyle had ovee the main issue of Wrent and the Red Lions trying to absorb them, there was yet another crisis looming on the horizon: the debt owed to the Crimson Sword. As much as Kyle wanted to curse Ulon and waive off the debt, that wasn¡¯t how it worked in the industry, and Kyle knew they woulde to collect their due. In an ideal situation, Kyle would have simply gone to war with all nearby gangs, trying to absorb all of them directly through sheer force and improve his revenue by acquisition. However, with him being one of the smallest gangs in the South Sector, it was hard for him to throw his weight around without being immediately crushed. He had to y nice for now. It was exactly this reason that spurred Kyle to scale up his businesses and offerings in any way possible within his current district. Obtaining the services of Eric Dicar is just a small step ¨C to pay off such a big loan would require him to make close to four hundred thousand rakels a month. With the size of their gang, this was something impossible. Alcohol brewing in the city was big business, but he couldn¡¯t scale up to his full potential lest the surrounding gangs began to eye him with greed or envy. Kyle had Keith draft up some ns to open a few casinos and gambling dens, but none of this would ever reach the scale that he needed. The potion business was rtively limited as well ¨C producing more would draw the ire of the Alchemist Guild. It truly felt like he was being cornered from all sides within the city of Raktor. There are other ways to solve this situation: assassination. Kyle was no stranger to such methods, having personally killed rival gang leaders in his former life to establish territorial monopolies. The only issue was that information on the other gangs was hard to obtain. It was also better if Kyle refrained fromshing out this soon after a war with the Left Paw. Kyle¡¯s eyes wandered to the map of the city beyond its borders, where the forests and monster regionsy. If I can¡¯t expand in the city, perhaps I can obtain benefits from beyond its walls. Out there, I would be less observed and tracked. He still had to figure out what benefits he could obtain outside the city. Come to think of it, I have never left the city yet since I came here. Kyle recalled seeing all the monster parts traded in the food market. He decided to ask Keith and Damian about potential ventures outside of the city. Perhaps he could do a bit of illegal mining or forestry. However, for today, he would need to make some personal preparations before leaving, such as boosting his knowledge of arcia and its uses. The technology level of the world he was in was haphazard, thanks to the existence of arcia. The past three days had him setting up the in-house brewery while he studied the tome left behind by Theorin in the night in order to understand arctech better.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[A Treatise on Arcia by Theorin] A iplete guide on how to wield internal Arcia The theories are outdated, but still provide a good baseline understanding
The book taught the basic engravings and how tobine them and ovey their effects. Kyle had already done a preliminary implementation in the fermentation of mash in the kegs, allowing him to implement a simple decay engraving, elerating the fermentation process and subsequently production of alcohol. If he had his way, he could implement microbrewing fermentation processes from the Gctic Era here. However, such engravings were extremely rare. Arcia is far too amazing. Such an exotic material would have the entire human quadrant scrambling for it if found. Kyle had yet to find any evidence that he was even in the same universe or timeline as his original one, though he still did not believe in the idea that Arcia was ¡®magic¡¯ or fantasy. It was more like electricity and oil, which might be considered magical by the locals as well. Anti-gravity, sma weapons, faster than light travel would be considered ¡®magic¡¯ by the people here¡­ The study in enchantments has yet to yield a title or a bonus of sorts from the reading. Kyle surmised that it was ack of implementation ¨C he had always been rewarded for repetitive action rather than learning. He returned to his room, where there were more than two dozen ordinary metal pipes on a table, along with Riker¡¯s next to it. A single needle-like etcher hooked up to a portable arcia generator was ced as well, Kyle having bought it to practice. Repetition is the key to sess, after all. Kyle sat down and began etching away at the metal pipes, copying the engravings on Riker¡¯s. Kyle was not counting only on alcohol and potions to prop up his ie ¨C weapon smuggling, and dealing was a hot business as well, especially with the number of conflicts going on in every sector. Many city residents also ventured out into the monster-dominated regions, requiring armour and weapons which could only be bought at licensed stores. With his distributionwork, he could easily bypass that and undercut the market slightly. He was not nning on selling any cheap goods or low-quality products. On the contrary, he was aiming to provide the best quality he could en-masse for alcohol, potions and weapons. It¡¯s a reputation issue ¨C better to be well known for high quality than low. It would be good if he could customize his own armour set and weapons as well. He dearly missed his exosuit from his former life, which made him wonder if he could replicate it in the future. The oveying of enchantments and engravings reminded him of how nanocircuit boards were made. An arcia printed circuit board did not seem too far out of the question. As he reached his twentieth copied metal pipe, a title was finally awarded to him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Arcia Engraver (Basic)] Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 9 Max HP: 34(+0)(+0) Max MP: 5(+0)(+5) Max STA: 34(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 48(+22)(+0)
DEX 45(+19)(+0)
INT 69(+40)(+3)
VIT 33(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 40
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Basic)] Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
Chapter 19: Beyond Raktor Damian scooped with adle, pouring fresh soup into a bowl before handing it over to a dishevelled young man. ¡°There¡¯s bread to go with it ¨C go over to that young man there.¡± He pointed to Niko, who was busy serving an endless queue of homeless squatters, desperate for free food. ¡°Thank you so much!¡± The man bowed respectfully, before joining the queue. Damian smiled, before serving the next in line. The Seven Snakes had booked out an area near the food market, spreading the word through the locals that they were offering free meals to those in need, no questions asked. There were obviously a few who feigned poverty just to save a few rakels, but it did not matter. The cost of the soup kitchen was barely a dent in their finances. Some of the nearby food stall ownersined about the surge in homeless people who smelled like rotten eggs, but the local people in general looked favourably on the initiative. Neither the enforcers nor the Sanctum of Yual hardly did anything like this, and if they did, it would always lead to a conversion of some sort. Many of the homeless did not want to be exploited or tangled up in some religious mess, so they were more than appreciative of what the Seven Snakes were doing now. Monica and Adrian soon entered the soup kitchen with a few others, all of them panting as they held brooms andrge buckets filled with trash picked up from the side of the street. ¡°Good work, take a breather and head out to the next street when you¡¯re ready. We got to clean up the next three streets before nightfall.¡± ¡°THREE?!¡± Monica was about to lose her mind while Adrian hastily tried to calm her down. ¡°We¡¯ve been sweeping the entire day!¡± ¡°Better than wasting your life away making swill in random buildings, no?¡± Damian smirked. ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it.¡± Monica seriously contemted running away with her crew, but Eric was trapped inside the Seven Snakes base, spending almost all his time in the new brewery. She had an inkling Eric did not actually want to leave and began to weigh whether her freedom was worth ditching Eric. ¡°Psst, Adrian, you wanna try to escapeter?¡± ¡°Escape?¡± Adrian pondered for a moment, the hesitation clear on his face. ¡°What? Don¡¯t tell me you like taking orders from these cunts.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but to be honest, they are doing something good here.¡± Adrian motioned to the soup kitchen. ¡°I used to be a squatter myself before you recruited me, you know that. What they have now is nothing short of amazing to me. And I really feel much better and at ease doing something upright here.¡± Monica scoffed. ¡°They are doing this so they can collect information across the district through the squatters and scout potential recruits. You know this!¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t change the fact they are getting free meals. At least they are alive.¡± While Monica and Adrian bickered, a Seven Snakes associate ran up to Damian. ¡°Sir, Boss Kyle wants to meet you in his office right now.¡± Damian immediately dropped everything, handing his role over to another before making it back to the base. As he entered the office, Keith and Kyle were already discussing something important that shocked Damian. ¡°You want to venture out beyond the city?¡± Damian eximed in surprise. ¡°But why now? We just secured our ownership of the district.¡± ¡°What we have right now is not enough. Even with the in-house brewery, potion contracts, new casinos and pubs, it would be impossible to clear the massive debt we have now. If we default on that debt, everything we own right now would be up for grabs from the Crimson Swords.¡± Keith exined. Damian sighed, crossing his arms as he looked at the map of the nearby regions around the city of Raktor. ¡°So, what can you possibly get outside the city that can benefit you? Everyone from the viges came to the city to make money ¨C moving back outside doesn¡¯t make any financial sense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± Kyle pointed to a few regions nearby. ¡°Every resource andmodity within the city is harvested or collected from the outlying viges or monster regions. For example, Keith and I have been tracking the production of Yul¡¯s Tears which we use for our Strength Potion. It¡¯s extremely inefficient and requires adventurers to forage for it in the mountains.¡± ¡°If you manage to get a stable supply, undercutting the market would bring eyes to us again. Aren¡¯t we limiting ourselves to this district for now because of Sebastian¡¯s warning and the Inquisitors?¡± ¡°Indeed, which is why we need to establish a shellpany that will begin to supply the other Sectors. We need a front to deflect attention while collecting the money. In short, the production of raw material should be industrialized, allowing us to reap the profit from economies of scale.¡± ¡°But what material should we be targeting?¡± Damian tried to rack his head. There were so many materials that they could focus on, but which one would provide the most profit? ¡°Keith?¡± Kyle motioned with his hand. ¡°Yes, sir, the report you asked for on individual consumption is ready. While the sample size is limited to this district alone, consumption of Euria seeds for personal enjoyment is quite high. Nearly 15% of the poption smokes it right now. Food tops the chart, but the ingredients used are far too diverse topete against Euria seeds.¡± Damian quickly raised an objection. ¡°Wait, wait, wait. Shouldn¡¯t we be targeting ¡®prohibited¡¯ stuff? Maybe like the raw ingredients for alcohol, or arcia itself? What about Yul¡¯s Tears? That¡¯s expensive.¡± ¡°The objective of this expedition is not to spook any gang or enforcers. We don¡¯t have a clear picture of how the other gangs are getting their supply, so doing anything rted is slightly dangerous.¡± Kyle had clearly learnt his lessons from moving too fast. He had assumed this world was a simple pushover, but it was far more intricate than he thought. It was not going to be that easy to climb the ranks. ¡°Yul¡¯s Tears directly affect the Alchemist Guild, so doing anything rted to that would make Haui¡¯s partnership and protection meaningless.¡± Kyle continued. ¡°I am willing to consider legal ventures as a way to make money.¡± It was not rare for criminal gangs to operate legitimate businesses. It helped to both obfuscate andplicate investigations into how far the criminalwork spread. Kyle also considered it as a diversification of revenue beyond just illegal stuff. ¡°Okay, so Euria Seeds. There are a few ntations of the stuff nearby, but nothing ofrge scale yet, which is why it is rtively expensive. Probably impossible to buy them over with our current cash reserves.¡± Damian pondered. ¡°Euria Trees are native to the Culdao Peaks. However, it is infested with monsters, mostly goblins.¡± ¡°Goblins?¡± Kyle was confused. ¡°Yea, small little deformed things, extremely primitive. There are a couple of dens around the area. Some adventurers have them estimated at two hundred per den. Very territorial. There¡¯s a small little town nearby where you can gather some information. Most of the adventurers have a base there.¡± Damian pointed to a mark on the map. Kyle remained quiet for a while, contemting. ¡°Can the goblins understand humannguage?¡± ¡°Only very basic words, but yes,munication is possible. However, they generally kill on sight, so it¡¯s preferred to avoid them where possible. You¡¯re not nning anything funny, are you?¡± Kyle let out a small little grin, the same one whenever he had a n in y. A slight shudder went down Damian¡¯s spine. Why do I feel bad for the goblins now? At the edge of the West Sector, it was one of the major entrances into the city of Raktor. Thousands of caravans dragged by horses and donkeys went to and fro, passing by the immigration checkpoints. A timetable lit up in dull blue arcia lines showed all the private transportation services to nearby viges, towns and even other cities. Passengers wearing thick winter coats and dragging their luggage ran down the crowded cobblestone street, trying to find their assigned caravan. Adventurers, mercenaries and local gang members from the Veiled Angels were hanging around as well, as well as local enforcers who performed random inspections on passing cargo. There seemed to be a sort of tacit agreement between the Veiled Angels and the local enforcers ¨C any wagon marked by the gang was not inspected at all, or at least the enforcers closed one eye when they saw what was inside. A lone cloaked man held onto a thin ticket detailing the time and destination. He squinted at the timetable, trying to decipher the myriad of lines that changed rapidly. ¡°LAST CALL! LAST CALL FOR CULDAO PEAKS TOWN!¡± A young boy yelled with a loudspeaker as he stood on top of a stack of boxes. ¡°AT BERTH 19-C RIGHT NOW!¡± The cloaked man shifted the backpack on his back and began to move, slightly confused by the sheer amount of travellers and peddlers shouting at the top of their lungs, selling goods and potions of all sorts. ¡°Sleeping Potions! Don¡¯t get woken up by snores or even a bandit attack! It ain¡¯t worth your time! Just let them rob the others!¡± ¡°A headband engraved with a silence skill! Why even tolerate the dumb idiots in your wagon wagging their tongues? Get one now for five hundred rakels!¡± ¡°Afraid of your wagon and cargo being overturned? Hostile monsters got you surrounded? Don¡¯t worry; our emergency response mercenary team got you and your merchant business covered. Simply activate the device in trouble, and our nearest patrol will respond immediately, no matter the threat. Only for the low, low cost of two hundred thousand rakels!¡± The cloaked man shoved his way through the dense crowd, pushing past weary travellers and dumb tourists from the towns and viges gaping at the sight of the city. He soon made it to Berth 19, where a gruff man in dirty overalls was impatiently tapping his foot as he leaned against the metal-spoked wheels of a covered wagon dragged by two horses. His eyes nced at the cloaked man, eventuallynding on the flimsy ticket he was holding. ¡°You the guy I¡¯ve been waiting for?¡± ¡°Yes, is this the transport to Culdao Peaks?¡± ¡°Finally! Get on. I¡¯m already ten minutes behind schedule. My boss is going to whip my ass if I run anyter.¡± The gruff man motioned to the back of the wagon, where there were already five others sitting in ce. The cloaked man gingerly entered the wagon and ced his backpack on the floor, nodding with respect to the other passengers before sitting down quietly. The other five were already engaged in a seemingly heated debate as the wagon moved out from the berth, the cobblestones causing the seats to rumble violently as it jerked back and forth. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what kind of Euria you¡¯ve been sniffing, but there¡¯s no chance in hell the Inquisitors are going to allow any sort of gang or secret society from existing in Raktor again. Mark my words; it¡¯ll be a short few years till Raktor will finally be cleansed!¡± One of the more wealthy passengers, who seemed to be a merchant, scoffed. ¡°I rather have a healthy business environment rather than a dangerous one when I have to sumb to the gangs.¡± ¡°You really believe that? First time in Raktor? Hundreds of inquisitors havee and gone. This time ain¡¯t any different. They onlye in when the nobles¡¯ pockets are being threatened or they are looking to expand. To me, the bans are ridiculous and just a fa?ade for the enforcers to take in anyone ¨C no one outside of the major city even adheres to it.¡± Another merchant rebutted him angrily. ¡°I agree. The bans are far too ridiculous and should be lifted.¡± A third merchant chimed in. ¡°Prostitution is a sin! Drunkenness is a sin as well!¡± The first merchant angrily wagged his finger at the other two. ¡°This world is sorelycking in morals, and I, for one, am d the Inquisitors are here to purge them!¡± The wagon suddenly came to a halt, with two Sanctum enforcers checking for their identity. Each of the passengers handed over their identity card as well as a city permit. ¡°Kris Greyborn¡­¡± The enforcer looked at the face of the cloaked man,paring it to the identity card. He was a bit suspicious, but the enforcer couldn¡¯t be bothered to pursue the matter, signalling to the front to let the wagon pass. The cloaked man let out a sigh of relief internally. Guess I haven¡¯t been marked yet by the enforcers. Kyle stared out of the back of the wagon, looking at the towering stone walls engraved with various glyphs, boosting its defence. It wasn¡¯t until they had moved far away enough up a hilly slope that he truly saw the scale of the city, sprawling across arge area with a massive river flowing through it. Finally, I¡¯m out of the city. Chapter 20: Forest Ambush ¡°We¡¯re camping here for the night, one more day to the Culdao Peaks.¡± The gruff man who doubled as the driver motioned to a rest area that other travellers had used countless times. It was a clearing in a forest a bit further away from the main road but still big enough to have ten people sleeping infort. Kyle did not set up any equipment like the rest of them, simply sitting on the ground and leaning slightly against his backpack, observing the surroundings. The stars were clearly visible, though the constetions were all far different from what Kyle could recognise. Is the orientation different, or am I truly in a different world? Kyle still couldn¡¯t believe he had reincarnated in a different world, having grown up in the Gctic Era, where science dominated. In any case, he could not read the stars ¨C space travel in his former life was all done by A.I star trackers that automatically did the calctions. He was not trained as a navigator either. However, he could see that the Milky Way Gxy was not visible at all, instead a slightly faint pinkish hue enveloping the background. I¡¯ll figure it out when I gain more resources and power. Kyle turned his attention back to the passengers. The three merchants were still bickering over the arrival of the Inquisitors, making Kyle slightly regret not having bought the headband that supposedly silenced the environment. ¡°They are a feisty bunch, aren¡¯t they?¡± One of the other passengers remarked as he sat down next to Kyle. He flicked his hood off, revealing a glossy ck hair slicked back, with a small scar across his nose bridge. He held out a hand, offering a handshake. ¡°Name¡¯s Orthon, mercenary heading back to Culdao Peak. You?¡± ¡°Kris. I¡¯m a herbalist, looking for new potential medicine there.¡± Kyle shook his hand briefly, noticing the calluses on his palm as well as a clear mark of a sword wielder. ¡°Oh, without an escort? Could get pretty dangerous.¡± Orthon sized up Kyle, looking at his cloak and equipment, his eyesnding on the Aero Shoes for a while. ¡°Those three merchants seemed to be doing fine without any help.¡± Kyle noticed Orthon¡¯s gaze but did not react. He eyed a repeating crossbow slung across Orthon¡¯s back, loaded with bolts. It was extremely luxurious and ornamental ¨C almost as if it was meant for nobility. ¡°Of course, they got escorts! Me and my buddy Troy.¡± Orthon motioned back towards thest passenger, who simply nodded as he re-tied his bow, checking the tension of the string. ¡°It looked like an easy job; both of us were already heading that way, so we just grabbed some easy money along the way.¡± ¡°How much was it?¡± ¡°Oh, nothing much, just three hundred rakels per person. Barely enough in total to buy a Strength Potion, but enough to survive if you know where to buy your food in Raktor. Why? Interested in hiring us?¡± ¡°Perhaps. I¡¯m looking for native Euria Seeds.¡± ¡°Hmmm.¡± Orthon scratched his chin. ¡°I know they are in the Culdao Peaks, but I don¡¯t know where thergest concentration is. You might want to ask around in the town.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll give it a shot.¡± ¡°No worries, mate. If you ever need help, just head down to the tavern and ask for me or Troy, we¡¯ll be around for a month or two. Gonna go for a quick wee.¡± Orthon patted Kyle¡¯s shoulder before leaving into the bushes, causing Kyle¡¯s eyebrow to twitch slightly at being touched. Kyle watched Orthon leave, before shifting his backpack a bit further away from the campfire that was just set up, before lying down to try and get some rest. ¡°Mr Greyborn? Want any soup before resting?¡± The gruff man called out, but Kyle acted like he was far too tired, sleeping soundly. ¡°Hey, if he doesn¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll dly take his portion.¡± One of the merchants scooped a bowl quickly and gulped it down, burping with satisfaction. The gruff man also drank the soup, with Troy watching them intently. Soon, they fell asleep soundly, the rumbling of snores echoing through the rest area. Troy pretended to sleep as well, waiting for the merchants to be in a deep slumber before he slowly opened his eyes. Time to make a move. He slowly got up and turned his head, looking into the forest before signalling with a soft whistle three times. He nced around the rest area, before realizing something was wrong. Where is Kris Greyborn? His backpack is still here. Did Orthon already make a move first? Wary, he retrieved his bow and was about to walk out into the treeline when someone suddenly dropped onto him from above, mming him onto the ground with both knees pinning his shoulder des. ¡°ARGH-¡° Troy screamed for a split second before a ragged piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth, muffling him. Unable to turn around, he felt five hammer strikes hit his body at different positions of his limbs, causing him to yelp in pain. Kyle walked off to grab a rope from his backpack, while Troy immediately spat out the cloth and tried to stand up, pulling out a knife sheathed in his belt and aiming it at Kyle. Kyle did not react, simply walking towards Troy with the rope. Before Troy could move a single inch, the dyed pain from the neon red arctech hammer kicked in, causing him to scream again. Kyle immediately lunged forward and grabbed his cheeks, toppling Troy¡¯s head into the ground with a loud thud and knocking him out. Despite the screams, the merchants and driver did not wake up, barely budging. Drugged by the soup¡­ Kyle tied Troy up before dragging him into the treeline, hiding his body in the bushes. Kyle himself waited at another position, nning to ambush anyone who wasing. After a few minutes, two men and Orthon walked out of the treeline towards the campfire withrge grins on their faces. ¡°We¡¯re getting rich today, boys! Check the merchants for any emergency response devices, can¡¯t have them calling them on us.¡± The two menplied, moving forward when suddenly Orthon grabbed them by the shoulder. ¡°Wait! Something isn¡¯t right! Troy and the new guy are missing!¡± Just as the two men began to nce around, a shadow lunged out from the sides, elerated by his shoes. The shadow swung a neon red hammer, delivering a direct uppercut to the first man, immediately knocking him out cold. ¡°Shit!¡± Orthon cursed, pulling out his own sword. The other man began to panic as Kris leapt and weaved around him before delivering a sweeping kick and swinging the hammer in a downward strike as the man fell. The hammer strike cracked the man¡¯s ribs, causing bone splinters to jut out from under the skin from the sheer force. Another swift kick to the head knocked out the man for good as well. A sudden swing of the sword forced Kyle to back off, the sound of air rippling as Orthon grunted. ¡°Who the fuck are you? An enforcer? Or the Veiled Angels?¡± Orthon didn¡¯t chase after Kyle, instead retrieving the ornate repeating crossbow with his free hand, the cocking mechanism engraved with arcia. Kyle assumed the force of each shot would be light due to the size, but the arcia enchantments along the length improved the force, elerating the bolts faster than he expected. Two bolts whizzed past his head, while a third hit him right in the left shoulder and embedded itself deep, causing him to stumble back. ¡°Never expected this, huh?¡± Orthon grinned, gripping the sword with the other hand and swinging wildly. However, Kyle suddenly parried with the handle of his hammer before delivering a strong left hook right into Orthon¡¯s jaw, sending two teeth flying out of his mouth. Another knee to the stomach caused Orthon to copse on one knee, before Kyle swung the hammer down on the back of Orthon¡¯s head three times, knocking him out cold. Kyle panted slightly before moving to a tree stump and slumping against it. Luckily for Kyle, the crossbow bolt was fairly shallow and not embedded in the bone. Kyle used his fingers, digging into the exposed flesh by himself as he winced. He located the arrowhead and slowly eased it out, bearing the pain. Soon, he managed to pull out the entire shaft and arrowhead before using the Ne of Healing to heal himself lightly as a temporary measure. The wound sealed up as a green aura surged around it, boosted by his [Healer] title. Nifty for post-battles, but that¡¯s assuming I win the battle in the first ce. Kyle stood up, testing his shoulder¡¯s artiction. Picking up Orthon¡¯s crossbow, he examined it.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Ornate Repeater Crossbow (Intermediate)] Perfect for multiple targets. Active Skill: Force Increase ¨C Bolts shoot faster and harder MP cost per activation: 1 MP
Kyle had yet to acquire a ranged weapon, so he decided to hold on to it, slinging it behind him. He walked up to one of the unconscious attackers, wondering what to do with him. Kyle noticed he did not gain any EXP so far. Thest time he had gotten any EXP was only when he killed Ulon Baktar, the former Seven Snakes gang leader. Even beating up a dozen Red Lions did not him anything. Is the System forcing me to kill? That¡¯s fine, but surely I can get more benefits out of it? He retrieved Troy¡¯s dropped knife, using it to quickly slit the throat of one of the unconscious men, killing him on the spot.
[System Message] Killed [Forest Bandit], +50 EXP
Kyle waited for a while, noticing there were no new titles. Perhaps I have to do it differently. He walked up to the second unconscious man, slitting his wrists and allowing the blood to seep out slowly. He then stabbed the man a few times, causing him to wake up from the sheer pain and scream out. It ended with a quick jab to the nose, knocking the man back out. Soon, the blood formed a sizeable puddle, prompting another System Message
[System Message] Killed [Forest Bandit], +50 EXP
Huh, let¡¯s focus on getting information, then. Kyle moved on to the next. This time, he grabbed Troy¡¯s body and pped him awake. ¡°Burh¡­¡± Troy groaned as he was abruptly woken up before his eyes narrowed in shock. He tried to break free of the rope that tied his arms and legs. ¡°Who are you affiliated with? Why did you assume I was the Veiled Angels?¡± ¡°Wh-what? I ¨C¡° Troy was still lightheaded from the previous concussion but soon shrieked in pain as Kyle used the knife to dig into the ribs. ¡°Answer.¡± ¡°I¡­ we¡¯re affiliated with the Violet Demons! We hijack caravans for them! Please let me go!¡± Troy struggled against the knife while he began bleeding profusely. ¡°How many of you are there?¡± ¡°Twenty, no¡­ forty! Sixty! Let me go now, or they¡¯ll hunt you down! Orthon is a big shot among us. If you kill him or me, you¡¯re dead meat!¡± Troy tried to intimidate Kyle, but Kyle was not having any of it. ¡°So I¡¯m questioning the wrong person then.¡± Kyle summarized before pulling out the knife and stabbing Troy in the heart. Troy¡¯s body convulsed for a few seconds before he finally died, slumped over.
[System Message] Killed [Forest Bandit Troy], +100 EXP
Last try, then. Kyle walked up to the unconscious Orthon, tying him up with a rope before pping him awake. ¡°Uhh¡­ wha¡­ WHAT?!¡± Orthon stared in shock, unable toe to terms with the sheer amount of blood and gore around him. Hisrades¡¯ bodies were stacked next to him, dripping slowly in a dark red snaking river that oozed towards him. ¡°You¡­ who the fuck are you!? What kind of enforcer does this?¡± ¡°Who said I¡¯m an enforcer?¡± Kyle suddenly stabbed a knife deep into Orthon¡¯s thighs, gouging the bone. ¡°I¡¯m the one asking the questions here. Answer correctly, or else you¡¯ll end up like them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to give you any-GRRRNNH¡± Orthon winced as the knife buried deeper with a twist, the pain nearly causing him to scream. Kyle didn¡¯t stop, continuing to twist. ¡°STOP STOP OKAY PLEASE!¡± Orthon relented after three more twists, his thigh already a bloodied mess through his pants. ¡°Where is the forest bandit¡¯s base?¡± ¡°South of here, seven kilometres. Wooden fortress, you can¡¯t miss it.¡± ¡°How many of them are there?¡± ¡°There¡¯s¡­ there¡¯s about twenty-five of us.¡± So Troy really was useless. ¡°All as equipped as you?¡± ¡°No¡­ ARGGGHHH YES, YES, WE HAVE BOWS AND CROSSBOWS!¡± Kyle stopped twisting the knife for a moment, thinking deeply. Orthon noticed the hesitation in Kyle¡¯s eyes. ¡°Tha-that¡¯s right! If you kill me off as well, myrades are going to be hunting you down! No one escapes us in this forest. This is our home ground!¡± ¡°That sounds bad.¡± ¡°Yes, it is, so if you wanna live you¡¯ll-¡° Orthon couldn¡¯t speak any more, his eyes bulging as he choked on his blood, his windpipe sliced by the knife. He stared at Kyle, who did not even continue to look at him, walking off. Kyle couldn¡¯t care less about the gurgling forest bandits ¨C he was more upied with the new system messages in front of his eyes.
[System Message] Killed [Forest Bandit Orthon], +200 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 9 ---> Level 10
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Announcement
[ss Upgrade (Level 10)] Congrattions, sses will be unlocked now. Please wait
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 10 Max HP: 37(+0)(+0) Max MP: 8(+0)(+5) Max STA: 37(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss ???
STR 52(+24)(+0)
DEX 49(+21)(+0)
INT 76(+45)(+3)
VIT 35(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 45
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[SKILLS]
NONE
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Basic)] Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
Chapter 21: Perfect Underlings Kyle arrived at the Culdao Peaks Town by foot, walking all night along the main road while chugging Stamina Recovery Potions whenever he was exhausted. It was the crack of dawn by the time he arrived, but he did not enter the town immediately, instead tossing the bloodied clothes into a ditch nearby before changing to a clean set from his backpack. He entered the town as normal, acting like a traveller who had walked from the city due to missing the caravan. No one cared about him appearing, with Culdao Peaks being a regr stop point for travellers on foot or by wagon. Culdao Peaks Town was a small ce of close to eight hundred people, mostly hamlets and a few high streets of shopping stalls and a central market. Already Kyle could see the stall owners working hard, dragging out items unsold since yesterday and hoping to make a quick buck. Looking around for an inn, he found the best inn he could get, paying with rakels on the spot no matter the price he was quoted. Why should a crime lord live in squalor or stinge, after all? Kyle could already imagine Keith nagging him for spending two hundred rakels for a single night. The inn was quiet in the morning, and the sleepy attendant who had barely woken up led him to his room, which was furnished with a queen-sized bed and a private bathroom. While not much in the Gctic Era, this was a luxury, especially when this was not the city. As he walked through the inn, Kyle had been keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. It became even more in-depth when he was finally left in the room, where he checked every nook and cranny for any engravings, enchantments or devices. A habit from his former life. Kyle finally loosened up after an hour of searching, lying on thefortable bed. His mind recalled the system message about him receiving a ss upon reaching level 10. sses¡­ what are they?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Frequently Asked Questions
[sses] sses are the main method of obtaining skills apart from equipment Skills are not lost upon ss Change In order to perform a ss Change, either hit the milestones set forth or approach a Terminal with the requisite material
What? Terminal? ss Change? Milestones? Kyle had never heard any of these terms before at all. He tried asking more, but no more system messages appeared. It seemed like that was the only question that had triggered an active response from his interface so far.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Information
[sses Generated] sses have been generated based on your performance and inclinations so far. Please choose carefully
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Generated
[Politician] Words are a man¡¯s strongest weapon ¨C even better when paired with fists. Active Skills revolve around persuasion, leadership and self-preservation
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Generated
[Biochemist] Give a man a potion a day, he¡¯ll be rich in a month. Active Skills revolve around potion enhancement, quality increments and gathering
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Generated
[Hammer Dancer] For one who uses the hammer religiously. Active Skills revolve around mming, hitting and breaking things
Kyle nced through the sses, none of them even being mildly interesting. The biochemist ss seemed interesting, but there was more to running a criminal empire than just drugs alone. Nothing short of Crime Lord or equivalent is good enough to satisfy me. Kyle thought, which suddenly prompted the system message to disappear, and a new one to appear.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Information
[Generating Unique ss] Please Wait. Please Wait
A few minutes passed before a new system message popped up.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Generated
[Crime Lord] Those who stand on top of the underworld and rule with strength. Active Skills revolve around intimidation, leadership, violence and self-preservation Unique ss ¨C Single Upgrade Track
Kyle¡¯s face twitched slightly at the mention of ¡®self-preservation¡¯. Is this interface mocking me? He begrudgingly epted the ss mentally, causing the message to disappear and a new one taking its ce.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] WARNING
[ss Integration Beginning] Please find a safe location. Please find a safe location
Huh? Kyle barely had time to worry about it when a sudden jabbing pain erupted at the nape of his neck. The fiery pain shot through the nerves, spine and bones like lightning, causing him to double over terribly. He gritted his teeth, trying to bear the pain but it was unlike anything he had ever experienced. Not even the Dynasty¡¯s training nor the imprisonment in his former life could inflict this much punishment onto his body. His arms felt the prick of a thousand needles inside every vein, capiry, and pore, while his abdomen cramped up. Kyle bent over as he rolled on the bed, his back beginning to sweat profusely, his head thumping with the sound of his elerating heartbeat in his ear. It was even just painful to breathe, forcing him to take short, measured breaths to withstand whatever was happening to his body. ¡°GRRRRHHH!¡± Kyle grabbed a rolled-up piece of the nket and mped down hard on it, his hands gripping anything he could reach in sheer tension. His body began to swell and contract in a grotesque fashion, as though something alien within was remodelling his body from within. It felt like a hot iron branding him from within, causing him to nearly cry out in pain. As the pain continued, Kyle became more and more aware of something that felt foreign in his body, somehow integrated into the very fabric of his body. Too many effects and processes were happening internally, making it hard for him to focus on what was exactly happening, not to mention the mind-numbing pain. Kyle had no idea how much time had passed until the pain finally subsided, allowing him to finally take a breather. His body felt exhausted, as though it had burnt all the energy he had in a single instant. Kyle quickly activated the Ne of Healing and drank the Stamina Recovery Potion without checking his stats. Better to be safe than sorry.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Obtained
[Crime Lord] Those who stand on top of the underworld and rule with strength. +10 STR, +10 CHA, +10 INT, +10 VIT +10% chance to convince underlings
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Intimidation Aura (Basic)] Control those who oppose you with fear. +50% Intimidation Sess Chance Duration: Five minutes Cooldown: One day
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Penchant for Violence (Basic)] A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 50% for a short duration Duration: Fifteen seconds Cooldown: Ten minutes
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[This is My Turf (Basic)] No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach Duration: Thirty seconds Cooldown: Three Hours
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Designate Follower (Basic)] Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters Limit of one follower now
Kyle didn¡¯t bother checking the skills in-depth, immediately checking the time. It was almost night-time now ¨C the ss integration had taken the entire day. His body was covered in sweat and blood, prompting him to take yet another shower. He nced at his face in the mirror, realizing his facial structure had slightly improved, with the former Alvin¡¯s face being boosted with a charismatic effect. What the hell is this interface? The bed was soaking wet with sweat and bloodstains from his hands, so he got the room service to change it out. Keeping his belongings with him, he left the room while they cleaned up the ce, heading down to the lobby of the inn for dinner. This time, the inn was crowded, filled with many of the townsfolk. Kyle noticed the three merchants and the gruff driver were already in the same inn, telling stories about a monster attacking the forest bandits. One of the merchant¡¯s eyesnded on Kyle¡¯s face for a brief moment, before looking away and continuing to tell the story to enthralled listeners. Is my face really that different, or did they just not pay much attention? Well, that saves me some trouble at least. Kyle found an empty table and sat down, peering at the menu that had been carved into a board above the bar. Ordering his meal, he nced around the inn, listening in to some of the conversations around. ¡°Got shaken down again by Fred. Fuck man, he used to be an alright enforcer, until the Sanctum of Yual sent one of their priests into town. Now he¡¯s all righteous and holy, unwilling to even look the other way for even a moment. We used to drink in this town all day and night, now not even a single drop!¡± ¡°Mate, my hands are already shaking from theck of card games here. It¡¯s only been a week but I¡¯m dying right now. Maybe I should just head and join the forest bandits.¡± ¡°You serious? After hearing about the monster that attacked them? What would Mary say? You can¡¯t just leave her and the kids.¡± ¡°Bah, the three merchants are off their rockers. Fuck it, I¡¯ll bring them all along. Maybe I¡¯ll join the ve traders too when they make their next pass-through.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t count on it. The next time theye around, Fred and his cronies would probably be all over it. A bust like that would be big on their record.¡± ¡°HAH! Fred won¡¯t stand a chance against them guards, he barely swung a sword in his life!¡± Looks like the prohibition bans are being enforced in the neighbouring towns too¡­ Kyle took note of the conversations in town, marking them in his head for future reference. If he wanted to establish a proper supply line of Euria Seeds, this town might have a big part to y in it. Euria Seeds had yet to be deemed prohibited, so Kyle did not have to worry too much. But seeing how the Sanctum of Yual was willing to ban many things outright, he was certain they would soon start banning Euria Seeds, especially with the way he was about to develop the business. There was not much else going on, mostly just other peopleining about the enforcers moving into town. Kyle did not see any idea of a local mob or mafia existing yet. There was a chance for business here, but he could not do anything until he got a better picture of the town and made some more connections. Perhaps I could set up a few shellpanies here to handle the trade of Euria Seeds. He was on a strict time limit as well, with the repayment of the debting up. For now, he decided to focus on finding the habitat of the Euria Seeds as well as the goblins who supposedly lived in the same area. The next day, Kyle immediately left the inn as early as he could, continuously checking behind him for any tails or people watching. He was not sure if any of the city gangs had posted someone to watch over him, but he already knew that if the Violet Demons learnt of him killing their forest bandits, he would have a problem. Using a replica map bought from the town, he navigated his way through the dense forest, trudging through the foliage and dead leaves. He spotted a few animals, noticing that most of them were simr to those of Ancient Earth. Squirrels, deer, wild pigs and rabbits were seeminglymon here. He slightly expected a bit more of a fantasy twist, seeing as there were already goblins around. As he walked through the forest, a bloody stench soon wafted through the air, bing stronger over time. It put him on guard, forcing him to keep his hammer at the ready, his eyes darting all over the tree branches to check for ambushes. Pushing his way through a few dense bushes, he soon finally got a glimpse of the source of the smell. It seemed to be a mass grave of sorts, except the bodies were all fully dposing and rotting, clear signs that they have died quite some time ago. Three goblins were crouched over in the mass grave, sorting through the rotten human meat and limbs. They used their little green grubby hands to scoop something out of the meat, stuffing it into dirty pouches made of leather and skin patches, grunting to each other. Kyle decided to hide and watch, seeing as the goblins did not notice him. The three goblins worked their way through the pit, scooping continuously. Soon, Kyle finally understood what they were doing. They are harvesting the maggots from the dposing meat as food. Interesting¡­ Suddenly, a loud rickety sound could be heard, with the three goblins immediately scampering away towards the mountains. Kyle hid even more,ying low in the bushes as he spotted a wheelbarrowing through a small path. It was two forest bandits, one escorting and one pushing two dead girls on the wheelbarrow. They dumped the bodies into the mass grave pit, with one of the forest bandits peering over the edge. ¡°Hey look. Your former girl Krisna is doing pretty good.¡± ¡°Cheh, thought she would have been reduced to bones now. Guess the maggots and goblins don¡¯t even like her. What a waste of rakels that one was.¡± They didn¡¯t converse anymore, simply heading back the same way. Kyle did not move at all, continuously observing his surroundings. He soon saw the three goblins reappear, obviously not having collected enough. He paid more attention to their loadout this time. Each one was barely armoured, with only a flint or stone knife hanging from a loose cloth belt. Only one of them had a decent metal knife, which seemed to serve as the only weapon they had. When entering a new environment, observing how the locals worked was the best way to get they of thend the fastest. Kyle decided to follow the goblins back to the den, before deciding on a course of action. Maybe they can be the perfect underlings¡­
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 10 Max HP: 37(+0)(+0) Max MP: 8(+0)(+5) Max STA: 37(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
STR 52(+24)(+0)
DEX 49(+21)(+0)
INT 76(+45)(+3)
VIT 35(+0)(+3)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 45
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Basic)]: Control those who oppose you with fear.
[Penchant for Violence (Basic)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld
[This is My Turf (Basic)]: No one gets close to you without your word.
[Designate Follower (Basic)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Basic)] Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
Chapter 22: Mental Fatigue Three dayster¡­ Kyle had the ce mapped out for now. There was indeed a huge amount of Euria Seeds in the region. If he somehow managed to pick everything, he would be able to supply the city of Raktor with up to fifty times its current consumption each year, and that was just his estimate. Not even the ntations he had learnt about from Damian could produce that much in a controlled environment. The reason why no one harvested much here was due to the constant threat of goblins. While the weaker ones were sent out to forage for food, the stronger ones remained in their dens and protected the nearby areas, which somehow corresponded with a dense concentration of Euria Trees. Kyle had already watched another human harvester get chased out of some of the denser Euria Trees habitats, which seemed to be considered sacred or protected by the goblins. The stronger goblins had much better gear from former fallen adventurers and failed expeditions. Some goblins were even bigger than Kyle though rare. Kyle had located one goblin den, nested in an abandoned mining shaft from decades ago, the tunnels leading into the base of the mountain. It was well defended, with close to twenty to thirty goblins patrolling the main entrance at all times. Working his way around the mountain, he found a secondary entrance to the same mining tunnels, though it was much smaller and subsequently less defended as well. He only saw five goblins on guard duty at any given time, and they were significantly less defended. Kyle was aware that they were not the only group or tribe of goblins in the area. There might be a dozen tribes or more, but the area was big, spanning tens of kilometres. Even if he attacked a den and the other tribes reacted, it would take too long for them to respond. However, he had found no sign that the tribes were working together on good terms. On one asion he had seen five goblin guards immediately kill a stray goblin who seemed to have lost his way. This consistent observation also triggered a few titles over the three days.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Goblin Observer (Basic)] Hopefully, not a green skin fetish +5 DEX, +25% sess at learning goblinnguage
Kyle had also found a small little alcove nearby, a short walk away from the secondary entrance to the goblin¡¯s den. He rested there, nning how he was going to tackle this issue. There was no way of starting a Euria Seeds harvesting business without clearing the goblin tribes. Theoretically, he should have brought two dozen Seven Snakes members and had them sequentially wipe each tribe. However, that will draw far too many eyes, especially with the enforcers in the town and the city gangs watching his gang¡¯s movements. No doubt Sebastian and Wrent are eyeing my members closely now for any anomalies. Hiring adventurers to fight the goblins would create unnecessary attention. Other businessmen and merchants were also interested in harvesting the bountiful Euria Seeds, but are currently blocked by the high cost of eliminating the goblins. Kyle would prefer if that natural barrier remained so as for him to quickly develop a monopoly. However, there was one additional benefit Kyle had over the other merchants and businessmen ¨C it wasn¡¯t the first time he colonized a with local natives. If he was right, all the tactics he learnt in the Gctic Era would work here easily as well. If only I had my exosuit, I could have them revere me as a god. But let¡¯s start with the basics first. The same three goblins headed out to another part of the forest this time. They always sent out two groups, to collect more food for the growing tribe. The tribe was always growing. This was how life was. They harvested fruits, dug up tubers and sometimes pinched a few fungi, stuffing all of them into the same dirty pouches they had been using for generations. Suddenly, one of the goblins spotted a rare sight that would make anyone go crazy ¨C a loaf of bread dropped on the ground. Fresh. The goblin pounced on it immediately, quickly eating half of it. The other two saw it, before immediately tussling and grappling the first goblin, trying to get a bite of the rare bread as well. Loud grunts and squeals echoed through the treeline as the three goblins fought over it. A silent shadow loomed over them, perched on the tree branches. The moment the three goblins began to tire out from their fight, the shadow dropped, swinging a neon red arctech hammer and crushing a goblin¡¯s head in a single downward swing. The remaining two goblins yelped, but before they could wield their knives, they were immediately kicked in quick session, the wind knocked out of their chests. They did not stand a chance. As night soon fell, a lone goblin guard in the den ran in to report to the shaman, who was the leader of the goblin tribe. Both groups sent out to forage for food did not return home. The shaman frowned but did not think much of it. The forest was not exactly a safe ce, and six goblins were hardly a dent in their numbers. The tribe had more than three hundred goblins. Goblins could already start working after two years of childhood, so the shaman was not bothered, simply sending the guard away. The next day came and went, but the exact same thing happened. All three groups disappeared as well, never returning. Even search parties sent to find their bodies were unsessful. The shaman was now slightly worried. On the third day, the killings stopped. The forage groups were afraid to venture out but somehow did not encounter anything. The shaman was extremely confused now but decided to put the past two days behind him. He simply doubled the number of guards at the entrance as well as at the secondary entrance. On the fourth day, the killing resumed. Search parties still failed to find the bodies, with one of the search parties never returning as well. The shaman ordered the forage groups to be beefed up, attaching two goblin warriors to each of them. The killing didn¡¯t stop on the fifth day, with the addition of the goblin warriors not doing anything. Now, the shaman was in full panic mode, unable to determine what was going on. The guards were still doubled, and the entire tribe was in a high-tension mode. By now, it had already lost more than two dozen goblins, along with a few trained warriors. Scouts were ordered everywhere in the forest, but they could not find anything. On the sixth day, nothing happened. No killings, no sightings. The pattern repeated, with the shaman unable to fix or remedy it. He could send out more troops, but that would leave the base more vulnerable. As the ninth day approached, the shaman immediately sent as many foraging groups as he could, following the pattern of no killing. The doubled-up guards who had been in high tension the entire week and doing continuous patrols finally took a break, knowing that there would be no killing on this day. It was at this very moment of mental fatigue that Kyle began his attack. The guards at the secondary entrance did not even see iting, with Kyle activating his Aero Shoes and smashing their heads with professional precision. He quickly entered the mining tunnels, copsing the structure and closing the entrance before leaving. He then headed to the main entrance, where the number of guards had dropped significantly. The trained warriors were all taking a rest in the den itself, leaving only rookie goblins to defend the main entrance. It was a simple wooden barricade, with a few abandoned houses that used to store mining equipment or serve as dorms, along with a watch post. Kyle noted there were a few goblin archers, but he had the crossbow from Orthon, along with twenty bolts loaded into the cartridge.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Ornate Repeater Crossbow ( Intermediate )] Perfect for multiple targets. Active Skill: Force Increase ¨C Bolts shoot faster and harder MP cost per activation: 1 MP
With pinpoint precision, he sniped the archer at the top of the watch post, who could barely scream with a bolt stuck in its windpipe. Moving quickly, he attacked the main entrance head-on, causing an rm to be raised. The rookie goblins valiantly fended off Kyle, but he leapt and danced around their amateur swings, simply kicking them or using his hammer to parry their hits before cracking their limbs or bones. After dealing with the guards, he could already hear the stronger warriorsing out from inside the den. Kyle immediately ran up to the mine shaft, copsing only one of the beams in a controlled fashion. The originallyrge tunnel that could fit seven humans from end to end started to crumble, the rubble now only allowing one goblin toe out at a time. Kyle did not n to fight all three hundred goblins at the same time but rather reduce the number of opponents he had to face as much as possible. The goblin warriors did not think too much, simply charging through the tunnel and running right at Kyle. The skill of the trained warriors was far better than expected, having fought adventurers and other tribes. Kyle had to focus more, practising hisbat skills in a continuous series of life-and-death duels. The Ne of Healing could not heal a wound fast enough during the battle itself, so Kyle ced more emphasis on avoiding wounds, parrying hits and putting the full range of his former martial arts knowledge to the test. He fought close to a dozen goblin warriors in a short ten minutes, killing all of them. The system messages of each kill were temporarily ignored by Kyle as he chugged a Stamina Recovery Potion and a Strength Potion to keep him going. An hour passed, the bodies of goblin warriors piling up next to him. Even the goblin warriors were starting to lose their original fervour, the previous mental fatigue catching up to them. They also realized that this human was the main culprit behind the killings, adding even more fear and intimidation. Suddenly, a loud roar burst out from the tunnel, with the goblin warriors being shoved out of the way by a muchrger goblin. Wielding a rusted battleaxe that was obviously stolen from an adventurer, the goblin was two heads taller than Kyle. Its green skin was adorned with tribal tattoos, and runes carved into its face. The rest of its body was covered in full metal te armour like a knight, potentially the onlyplete heavy armour set that the goblin den had. The arm had a vambrace that was noticeably an arctech equipment, builtpletely different to the rest of the armour set. It had green arcing lines along the length, making Kyle wary about its effects. The two stared at each other, as the goblin warriors still cramped in the tunnels watched on in fear. Even some of the forage groups who heard the fighting did not dare to try and backstab Kyle. ¡°Human!¡± The goblin champion suddenly yelled, shocking Kyle. ¡°You, die, here!¡± It spat on the ground, before gripping its battleaxe with both hands, ready to duel. Kyle did not respond, immediately wielding his crossbow pistol and firing three bolts at the champion¡¯s head. Instead of being afraid, the vambrace began to glow brighter, before three energy bolts suddenly shot out, hitting the crossbow bolts and deflecting them away. Point Defense?! Kyle was surprised, caught off-guard as the champion charged with the battleaxe, performing a deadly horizontal swing that almost nicked Kyle as he leapt backwards. With the Aero Shoes, Kyle sprinted forward faster, using his hammer to bash the armour te of the goblin as he was still swinging. The hammer instead bounced off the armour, unable to do any damage. Penchant for Violence. The skill activated, giving him a boost inbat stats. His body suddenly roared with a surging force from deep within, as though he had unlocked some hidden potential in his body. He nked the goblin as the momentum carried him around, just as the goblin was about swing downwards for a counterattack. With speed as his advantage, he delivered a kick against the goblin¡¯s shin, causing the goblin to kneel over. Kyle slightly winced in pain from kicking a full metal te, but he gritted his teeth and continued, narrowly dodging a right hook from the goblin. Kyle was about to lift his hammer to strike again, but the champion¡¯s vambrace activated again, sending a bolt towards the hammer that sent Kyle slightly off bnce. The unexpected use of the vambrace caught him off guard, allowing the goblin to recover and swing the battleaxe again, forcing Kyle to squat and avoid it. With a final decisive blow, Kyle delivered a straight right uppercut into the groin of the champion, causing its eyes to bulge. Kyle took advantage and punched the goblin¡¯s face three times in rapid session, toppling it over. Suddenly, the tribal tattoo on the goblin¡¯s face glowed green, a healing aura working through the body. What?! Kyle was not about to let him heal right in front of him, grabbing his hammer again and pummelling the goblin in the face with as many strikes as he could manage. Despite the green aura, the goblin¡¯s face soon became a bloodied mess of meat and flesh. The rune was disfigured now, breaking the healing aura and killing the champion. Kyle heaved as he stood up, his face and arms bloodied from the stter. He nced at the remaining goblin warriors, who all were now shivering in fear. Their champion had been killed in less than a few minutes, what hope was there against this human?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Goblin Killer (Basic)] Greenskin bad, humanskin better. +10 STR, +5 DEX, +2 VIT, +10% damage to goblin-type enemies
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 10 ---> Level 15
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Chapter 23: Industrialization Kyle had to kill off a few more brave goblin warriors before they finally relented, recognizing Kyle¡¯s domineering strength. He knew he would not be able to win against all three hundred, so the method of skimming their forces slowly plus funnelling them through a single cramped entrance worked perfectly. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. The goblin warriors and the forage groups all dropped their weapons in surrender, hoping to appeal to the human¡¯s morality if any. Some tried to get a sneak attack as Kyle approached to collect their weapons, but were always immediately killed by Kyle, further driving fear into their hearts. He picked up the vambrace of the goblin, patting away some of the meat and flesh before putting it on.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Equipment Equipped
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] Blocks a certain number of projectiles when activated. +3 DEX, +2 VIT Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked Cooldown: Five minutes
Kyle rounded up the surrendering goblins at the mine entrance, tying some of them up with rope left in the storage huts. Soon, a goblin shaman appeared, escorted by warriors to him. The shaman was small, frail and sickly, but Kyle could see the same runes that were on the champion that was now carved everywhere on the shaman¡¯s visible parts. ¡°Human! For what purpose do you ughter us?¡± The goblin shaman spoke with surprising rity and some mastery of the humannguage, though it was apanied by a low guttural ent and obviously broken grammar. ¡°I¡¯ll like to negotiate the purchase of the tribe.¡± ¡°Pur-chase? Money? The tribe is worth far more than your trinkets.¡± The goblin shaman scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re in no position to take such a stance.¡± ¡°The tribe is three hundred goblins strong!¡± ¡°And also, must have the elderly, sick and young still hiding in the den. You do not have three hundred warriors. I estimate close to fifty of your best warriors have died at my hands over thest week.¡± ¡°Means human should pay reparations! For grievances! You have yet to defeat our champion yet!¡± The shaman stood strong. ¡°You mean this guy?¡± Kyle motioned to the body of the champion he had pummelled to death, causing the shaman to yelp slightly in surprise before calming itself down. The shaman did not reply immediately, instead quickly conversing with the warriors around it. Kyle could somehow pick out a few words thanks to his title, allowing him to understand a bit of what was being spoken. ¡°¡­.strong¡­ambush?....too strong¡­find want¡­.¡± The shaman finally finished their little discussion, clearing its throat before re-assuming its position. However, before it could speak, Kyle aimed his crossbow and fired bolts at two of the warriors next to the shaman, killing them instantly through their eyes. ¡°This is taking too long, and I decided you¡¯re not worth the price. You will now all answer to me.¡± Kyle spoke with a domineering attitude, triggering his new skill Intimidation Aura as well. The sudden switch from negotiation to violence shocked the shaman, curtailing its defiant stance and forcing it to submit immediately lest more of its kind was ughtered. It was how self-preservation worked in the forest ¨C thew of strength. The remaining goblin warriors immediately bowed along with the shaman, grovelling on the floor. Kyle did not even flinch nor hesitate when killing the warriors. For him, violence was a given, something he could do at a drop of a hat if there were no repercussions. Based on his former experience, violence and show of strength was the best way to initially pacify a native poption. The rebellions wouldeter, but Kyle had that all sorted out as well. ¡°You, name.¡± Kyle pointed his crossbow at the goblin shaman. ¡°Name is Gk, at your service!¡± The goblin shaman replied quickly. ¡°Gk. Show me around the goblin den.¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± Gk immediately got up, clearing a path for Kyle to walk through the still grovelling goblin warriors. They escorted him down the mining tunnels, winding paths of forks and dead ends. The goblin warriors whispered to each other as they walked, with Gk continuously giving hand signs as though it was fidgeting with its hands. Kyle pretended not to see it, instead focusing on the abandoned mining equipment as he listened in on the whispers of the goblins behind him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage
The improved title allowed him to pick up a few words from the whispers. ¡°¡­ambush¡­dead end¡­ plunder¡­¡± The tunnels were barely illuminated save for the glow of some mushrooms and unknown jewels embedded in the walls, with former miningnterns lit up intermittently between passages. Gk kept making turns and leading Kyle down, all the while the number of goblin warriors and archers behind Kyle began to increase. They soon reached a dead end, with Gk turning around with a wide grin. The runes on its body began to glow white, before a sort of hazy optical illusion slowly masked the shaman from view from the legs up. Gk smirked: ¡°Human, today you-¡° A swift hammer uppercut knocked its chin upwards, stopping the optical illusion and sending him flying into the air before crashing into the side of the tunnel¡¯s wall. Kyle was already more than prepared, but was slightly surprised at the effect. Optical Illusion technology? Arcia is really amazing. The archersunched a few arrows at Kyle, prompting him to activate the armguard he had taken from the champion, allowing him to block them with green energy boltsncing out and deflecting them. Activating Penchant for Violence again, he rushed at the throng of goblin warriors, swinging wildly with his full strength. He bashed through the warriors in the tunnel, sometimes even using their bodies as shields and ramming them against the warriors themselves, causing them to tumble over. Kyle methodically killed each and every goblin warrior, the battlesting for nearly five minutes. Gk finally came to its senses, only seeing the bloodied Kyle standing in front of it, with the bodies of its brethren behind him. ¡°Looks like you don¡¯t understand fully yet.¡± Kyle grabbed the neck of Gk and lifted the goblin shaman up, causing its legs to dangle as it tried to scratch Kyle¡¯s arms off. ¡°I am the master of this tribe now. Your warriors are all dead. Do you still wish to resist?¡± ¡°N-n-no! I will submit!¡± Gk relented, struggling against the iron grip of Kyle. It now realized that Kyle could understand goblinnguage to a certain degree, which was the only reason it could think of as to why Kyle knew about the ambush. ¡°Good.¡± Kyle dropped Gk to the floor, who gasped for air as it massaged its almost crushed neck. ¡°Gather all remaining goblins in yourrgestmon area. You will be the trantor.¡± Half an hourter, close to two hundred goblins were all gathered in arge cavernous area, theirmon dining area. Gk stood on a makeshift stage from turned-over mining carts and crates, clearing his throat. The goblins were all murmuring with each other, staring at Kyle with curiosity and wariness. Many of them have not left the den before but have heard stories of evil humans who killed goblins for fun. Kyle¡¯s mouth began to move, speaking to Gk while he tranted to the goblins. ¡°Fellow members, today is a good day! A human hero has arrived and has quelled the monster who had been killing our warriors over thest week. While we have lost many of them in the fight, this human here has saved us in our time of need. With us being left vulnerable, this human will help defend our den from rival tribes and other creatures of the forest.¡± The goblins were all stunned. A human helping goblins? ¡°The human has offered to provide us with food, technology and equipment as well. I have agreed to this deal in my capacity as a shaman.¡± The crowd of goblins didn¡¯t cheer, but they didn¡¯t react adversely either. They weren¡¯t too smart, unable to understand the implications of such a favour. Kyle pinned most of their intelligence on that of an eight to twelve-year-old kid, which was just right for the next part of his n. Gk dismissed the crowd, gathering the smartest goblins in a group to meet Kyle. There were only three of them: Gk, Gringer and Gobalt. All of these three knew about what Kyle had done in truth and were nowpletely subservient to him until they found a way to beat him or eradicate him. Kyle observed the crowd of goblins dispersing. With him eliminating most of the warriors, only the elderly and the young were left behind. The elderly are of no issue, but for the longevity of this operation, subverting the young is necessary. ¡°This tribe now falls under me. I will have all goblins work to harvest Euria Seeds.¡± Kyle showed them an example of the seed. ¡°This¡­ this is a sacred fruit that only the shamans can touch when performing the rituals. Having the uneducated goblins touch them is sacrilege.¡± Gk couldn¡¯t help speaking out, decades of tribal traditions ingrained into it. Kyle simply had to rest his hand on the hilt of his hammer before Gk zipped its own mouth, no longer speaking back. ¡°How many able-bodied goblins do we have left?¡± You killed our warriors, and you¡¯re asking us this? ¡°Fifty able-bodied goblins remain, though they are not trained to fight. It would have been much more before.¡± Gringer was in charge of the warriors, bowing respectfully with a tinge of hatred in his voice. Kyle ignored the veiled jab, looking towards Gobalt, who was in charge of the logistics of the tribe. ¡°Food supplies?¡± ¡°Dwindling. Only enough tost two weeks.¡± Because of your filthy actions, human. ¡°That¡¯s good enough. From today, I will train all fifty warriors in a different fighting style. Gather all the weapons from the main entrance and bring them here.¡± Kyle ordered. The fifty warriors soon lined up in front of him, trembling slightly as he walked through and inspected their bodies. While Gk had imed that the human hero was here to protect them, they couldn¡¯t help feeling like they were being sold as a product. Some of them were well aware that this human was the monster that was killing them, instilling even more fear into them. Gringer tranted as Kyle spoke. ¡°All of you will be trained as archers instead from now on. The training routine will be tree-climbing, marksmanship with bows, and knife-handling.¡± The goblins all immediately went into a frenzy, with Gringer turning to re at Kyle. ¡°Tree-climbing is for shitty elves, not us! We are better!¡± Gringer spat with derision, as did many of the newly trained warriors. Kyle suddenly stood up, speaking in the goblinnguage. ¡°Who can defeat me? Come forward.¡± The warriors all froze. They did not know the truth of Kyle killing their warriors, but they had heard the story from Gk that Kyle killed a monster that one hundred of their warriors could not. Gringer himself did not dare fight Kyle. If the champion could not defend him, who could? ¡°Then the training routine is settled.¡± Kyle began to order for the dilution of the high concentrated Stamina potions he had brought along in his backpack. ¡°Do not drink until I tell you to. Anyone who does not follow the order will not receive another.¡± The next day, the training began in earnest. The goblins were much more physically inclined than the humans, but their shorter stature limited the range ofbat styles Kyle could teach them. Kyle instructed them on how to use the trees for cover, leaping from branch to branch and taking advantage of their low weight and small figure to avoid retaliation. He had them run mock battles against each other through the forest, honing their marksmanship andbat skills. The warriors soon began to see how effective the fighting style was, which was much different from their usual blunt and head-on battles with other tribes. A week passed under the intensive training of Kyle. They trained day and night, not requiring much rest due to the Stamina Recovery Potions provided. Kyle had brought highly concentrated potions, before diluting them with water and passing them out. This meant they managed to clock in close to eight to twelve hours of training each day. They weren¡¯t expert fighters by the end of the week but werepetent enough that three of them could give any normal human a run for their money. Kyle was satisfied with the result but soon was confronted by Gobalt. ¡°Human! We have only enough food left for a week!¡± Kyle took out his map of the forest, a big red circle marked on the location that Orthon, the forest bandit, had told him previously. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, our food supply is right here.¡± Chapter 24: Raiding a Fort Paulie roared as he drove a cleaver into the wooden table, causing the cutlery to jump. The two forest bandits standing in front of him shivered slightly as therge man leaned back, the veins of fury clearly visible on his face. The ves to his left and right were not bothered at all, remainingpletely still and silent as Paulie cursed and swore with every phrase he could find in his limited vocabry. ¡°You¡¯re telling me, that after three whole weeks of searching far and wide, you can¡¯t find a single hair nor tail of the guy that killed Orthon and Troy?! ARE YOU EVEN A FOREST BANDIT?!¡± Paulie bellowed, chucking a ss against the wall which shattered brilliantly. A few of the ss pieces rebounded and cut into a ve¡¯s skin, but she did not move a single inch, remaining passive. ¡°Boss, we really tried! The closest we could get to was Kris Greyborn, but the only thing we found was his bloodied cloak. No one in town seems to have heard of the guy before!¡± ¡°What about the three merchants who were with them? The driver?¡± ¡°They are all dead, they swore they did not know anything even under torture. I¡¯m telling you, I think the rumours of it being a monster is ¨C¡° ¡°SHUT UP! You know there is no such monster in the forest. We ARE the monsters of the forest. The goblins tremble at us!¡± Paulie mmed the table. He fumed for a while, before dismissing the two guys and pondering quietly. Paulie wasn¡¯t an independent boss ¨C most of his work and hijacking came from information given by the Violet Demons in the West Sector of Raktor. He would receive a cargo list, and his boys would be posted on it as guards. The stick-up was supposed to be in and simple: money or their life, and usually money always came through. Sometimes the drivers would be more than happy to ¡®give-up¡¯ the cargo: they got a cut from the Violet Demons directly, and their employer wouldn¡¯t be able to me the drivers for the loss. It was an easy business, but having four of his men killed in what was supposed to be a simple nab and grab left a sour taste in Paulie¡¯s mouth. Is it the Veiled Angels pulling a fast one on us? Or are the new Inquisitors in town trying to get the two of us to sh harder? ¡°You, bring me another ss,¡± Paulie ordered one of the ves. He frowned and tried to consolidate the evidence he had now. Was the heat finally catching up to him? Frustrated, he grabbed the new ss of mead served by the ve, drinking it down in one swift motion. The ss was already slightly jagged, cutting his lips slightly. ¡°FUCK!¡± Paulie raged and mmed the ss onto the ve¡¯s head, knocking her out onto the ground with a loud crack. Blood began to pool on the floor, but the remaining ves didn¡¯t react. ¡°You three, grab the body, clean and dump.¡± The vesplied, hauling the dead body out of the room while another ve desperately tried to mop up the dripping blood stains. ¡°Fucking useless idiots, why did I even agree to buy you all from Vin? I should rough him up the next time his ve caravanse around.¡± Suddenly, a loud bell could be heard ringing through the base. ¡°What?! What¡¯s going on?¡± Paulie demanded, with the ves all shaking their heads in response. The bell was meant for an enemy attack, but it had not been rung in the five years they had been in operation. Scrambling outside, Paulie could only see the dead bodies of watchtower scouts falling to the ground, three arrows lodged in their necks while their faces were frozen in shock. ¡°Who, who is attacking us!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but they are hitting us from the treeline!¡± One of the bandits at the top of the wooden walls that surrounded the forest bandit¡¯s base reported down to Paulie, before an arrow went straight through the bandit¡¯s head, killing him instantly. ¡°GET TO COVER!¡± Paulie roared, running back into the room as a barrage of arrows flew over the walls, hitting indiscriminately. It was random, but the arrows lodged themselves everywhere ¨C the storage sheds, the walls of houses. One even made it through the windows of Paulie¡¯s house. He observed the arrow, noticing it was shoddily made, but the arrowhead was extremely sharp. Goblins? But why? He quickly grabbed his armour set, crossbow and sword, along with a metal helmet. The remaining forest bandits were no slouches either, quickly responding to the death of theirrades and firing back into the treelines. A few goblins were hit, their bodies visible to the forest bandits. ¡°What? Why are the goblins attacking us, and since when were they so good at using a bow?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, they are all stinking rats anyway. Let¡¯s show them who¡¯s the boss of the forest!¡± Paulie galvanized his men with a rousing shout, leading the counterattack as he climbed up the walls, firing back with precision, killing a goblin with each bolt. Another loud bang drew Paulie out of his momentum, causing him to turn and see a lone human at the wooden gate which had been smashed apart by a series of hammer strikes. The man wore a cloak, but his back clearly had the ornate crossbow that Orthon used to have. It¡¯s him! Paulie pped the shoulders of the two closest guys. ¡°Get that man, he¡¯s the one inciting the goblin attack!¡± Already five forest bandits were aiming at him, shooting indiscriminately.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Projectile Defence Armguard (Basic)] Blocks a certain number of projectiles when activated. +3 DEX, +2 VIT Active Skill: Point Defence - Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked Cooldown: Five minutes
The man lifted his armguard, with green energy bolts flying out and deflecting the iing arrows. Behind him, more than two dozen goblins wielding bows and swords rushed into the fort, climbing the walls and engaging the forest bandits in closebat. With the goblin archers shooting from the top of the trees and the goblin warriors attacking from within, the forest bandits were pincered, forced to defend from the side and from the front as well. Paulie immediately recognized he was about to lose this fight, quickly grabbing one of the forest bandits and using him as a shield, as his body soon became a pincushion for arrows. He ran back into his house, scrambling for his secret stash. I need to get out of here. If the Veiled Angels catch me, it would be all over! ¡°You four, go block that door for me!¡± The ves followed the order, quickly carrying the furniture over to the door and blockading the door. Screams and shouts echoed in from outside as the remaining forest bandits began to waver, trying to flee. Paulie soon managed to dig out his secret stash from under the floorboards, grabbing everything valuable when suddenly the cloaked man jumped in through the windows. Paulie grimaced, before waving wildly at the ves. ¡°What are all of you doing?! Kill that man!¡± If he were here to rescue the ves, he would never hurt them. This is my chance! The four female ves grabbed anything that could act as a weapon nearby, charging at the cloaked man. Without a single breath of hesitation, the cloaked man wielded his hammer and immediately hit the front two ves right on the head, killing them instantly, while using his free arm to punch the third in the face and sending her sprawling.
[System Message] Killed [Female ve], +10 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Female ve], +10 EXP
Thest one did not even move an inch, already dead from a crossbow bolt fired by the cloaked man buried in her heart.
[System Message] Killed [Female ve], +10 EXP
Paulie now knew he was done for ¨C a true killer had arrived. ¡°Wait, wait, wait we can talk this out! What do you want? Are you an overseer from the Violet Demons? I¡¯ve been following up on every payment, I¡¯ve paid all my debt on time!¡± Paulie desperately waved with one hand, while his other hand reached for a sword on his waist. ¡°We can talk this out, right? Look, I¡¯m open to switching sides. Veiled Angels? No problem, I¡¯ll even take a lower cut!¡± Paulie tried to buy time as he inched closer to the back of the house, trying to feel the floor with his foot. The cloaked man continued walking briskly towards him, his hammer on his right and crossbow pistol on the left. As he walked into attacking range, Paulie grinned and lunged forward with his sword drawn, charging with a forward stab. This is My Turf.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[This is My Turf (Basic)] No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach Determined by strength stats Duration: Thirty seconds Cooldown: Three Hours
but Paulie continued charging when he was suddenly forced back by an unknown force field around the cloaked man. Paulie got up and tried to swing at the man, his sword bouncing off the invisible forcefield that seem to extend three meters in a radius around the cloaked man. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Paulie swung desperately, his sword continuously being deflected off as the cloaked man walked closer and closer to him. ¡°Who the fuck are you?! What do you want!?¡± Paulie backpedalled, his back against the wall now as he held the sword in front with both hands, the secret stash dropped to the floor. The cloaked man never stopped walking, continuously moving towards Paulie. The forcefield began to touch the sword, the sheer resistance forcing Paulie to drop the sword as the skin on his palm was nearly shredded from the resulting friction. The invisible wall began to push up against Paulie, making him unable to move as he was pinned against the wall. The armour on his body began to creak as the cloaked man inched ever closer, as though he was trying to crush Paulie with all his might by simply stepping forward. ¡°Please, stop! I¡¯ll give you everything you want! Jus-ARRGHHH¡± The cloaked man walked even closer, the forcefield squashing Paulie into the wall. The cloaked man also began to feel resistance from the forcefield, like he was pushing a steel block. He pushed forward, with his feet cracking against the wooden nks in the ground, causing splinters. As he took the second and third steps, the meat waspacted, with the skeletal structure of Paulie snapped, twisted and deformed beyond its stress limit. The skill effect ended, causing Paulie¡¯s body to drop to the ground, blood oozing out of every orifice.
[System Message] Killed [Forest Bandit Leader Paulie], +400 EXP
Kyle smiled to himself as he picked up the secret stash, wiping the blood off its wooden surface. The skill would be pretty good if it did not have a three hours cooldown. The sounds of screaming and fighting soon came to a halt outside. Kyle left Paulie¡¯s body in the house, returning outside where Gringer waited for him. ¡°Sir, we have secured the fort!¡± ¡°Good. Call the others to transport all the food, equipment and all the human ves back to the den. Use the wheelbarrows the forest bandits have. If there isn¡¯t enough, make new ones.¡± ¡°Yes sir! Shall the human ves be thrown into a mass grave too?¡± Gringer asked excitedly, obviously expecting some more juicy maggots. ¡°No, I have other ns for them.¡± The disappointed Gringer moved as ordered, getting the remaining thirty-eight goblin warriors and archers to haul the food back. It took a few hours, but soon the entire fort had been picked clean, with Kyle nodding in satisfaction. Given the right training andmand structure, goblins can be quite an effective workforce. Returning to the goblin den, Kyle suddenly asked for Gk to meet him independently. ¡°Human! What is the meaning of all these human ves? How can we feed more than fifty of them!?¡± ¡°Not important. And we have all the food stolen from the forest bandit.¡± Kyle dismissed his concerns, instead his eyes drawn towards the goblin¡¯s runic tattoos on its body. He recalled how Gk had attempted to disguise himself. Weird. Now that I think about it, these are arcia engravings, are they not? Gk instinctively shuddered. ¡°No, I am not female! No breeding!¡± Kyle¡¯s face twitched slightly before he calmed himself down. ¡°I¡¯m interested in your tattoos. You can activate them like an arcia engraving?¡± He recalled the goblin champion healing himself. ¡°You are human; this is a goblin¡¯s secret. Not allowed to tell!¡± Gk crossed its arms, before Kyle suddenly grabbed his hammer, about to smack its head in. ¡°Wait! I¡¯ll tell!¡± Gk led him to a ritualistic chamber only approved for shamans or shamans-in-training. The ceiling was riddled with twine, from which hung countless pig skins that had been carved on. Kyle noted that each of them was a specific skill engraving, which he assumed was what the shamans learnt from. A unique smell suddenly assaulted Kyle¡¯s nose, reminding him of the arcia fuel packs he had seen in action around Raktor. The chamber was filled with arcite embedded into the walls, some of it clearly already sapped of all its liquid arcia fuel. Kyle never expected the goblins to have ess to such a vein of arcite. It was small, but still something valuable. He was still weighing whether to mize it or not when Gk pointed to a ritual knife, engraved with enchantments too. Picking it up, the knife was extremely heavy, but obviously not made by goblins.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Taboo Knife (Intermediate)] A goblin heirloom from the past, designed for tattooing enchantments onto the skin. Age undetermined
¡°Only goblins with achievements can receive the sacred symbols.¡± Gk motioned to his hands, which were adorned with tattoos. ¡°Any lesser goblin would faint or die from the pain.¡± I was under the impression that engravings only worked on objects. Kyle¡¯s eyes lit up. He had a previous n for the human ves, but that was not necessary any longer. The sinister expression on Kyle¡¯s face frightened Gk once more, reminding it of its previous experience. ¡°Does this work on humans?¡± Chapter 25: Secret Agents Sasha¡¯s stomach rumbled as she tried to recall where she was. She did not see any of the same bars and cages that held her for what seemed like ages. Instead, all she saw was a small little cavern, with a simple stool and nothing else. Shey in a smallfortable bed made out of fur, before a dull aching pain seared through her, stemming from her hand. She raised her right hand to reveal a bandage, soaked in blood and another type of liquid, slowly oozing onto the forearm. Another type of punishment? Sasha was used to the beatings from the forest bandits. She had been in very for more than twelve years now, her entire town being enved by greedy ve traders. She could recall Vin¡¯s face full of greed when they stuffed her in a sack and gassed her to sleep for days. Paulie¡¯s face was still vivid in her memory, as he raped her time and time again, even when she was underaged. Now, at the age of twenty, her face no longer bore the joy she once had. Her days were filled withbat, as she was continuously used as target practice by the forest bandits, forced to dodge arrows or withstand sword blows. In the hope of getting stronger, she would sneak into the weapon storage or training yard, fiddling with the weapons and learning how to handle them. She managed to do it undetected for a year before she was caught. Strong emotions had faded into nothingness over the years, and despair and hopelessness soon took the void. Even the other ves were of nofort to her, fighting with her for survival and favouritism from the forest bandits. Every day was a struggle ¨C no one was her friend or willing to help her. With ack of proper food and no weapons, she was unable to defend herself nor support the muscle mass needed to even fight effectively. Strangely, my stomach no longer feels hungry. And my stamina seems to have recovered¡­ As Sasha moved, her right hand throbbed with pain, causing her to scream. However, only a weird guttural sound came out, which helped her quickly remember why she was one of the forest bandit¡¯s favourites: she was mute. Her vocal cords were damaged, rendering her unable to talk back or scream. However, no one responded to the weird sound as she was alone in the cavern. Loud footsteps could soon be hearding down the hallway, with Sasha instinctively curling up into a defensive ball, hiding from view in the corner as much as possible. Soon, the owner of the footsteps was visible - it was a goblin. It sighed as it walked through the main corridor connecting the hundreds of small cavern rooms, poking its head inside and ncing at Sasha. Sasha immediately tensed up, but the goblin did not do anything, instead walking back briskly to wherever he came from. Oh no, it¡¯s going back to call the others! I have to escape. The only thing she knew about goblins was that they thrived off the dead bodies of humans, having had former ve friends sent to the mass pits to die. She peeked around the corner of the cavern, noticing that the patrolling goblin had long left. The room opposite was empty, leaving Sasha curious as to why there were so many rooms as she continued checking them. Some of them seemed to be inhabited by goblins before, with clear signs of their habitationying around in the form of goblin clothing and even some rudimentary toys. I¡¯m staying in a goblin room? But why? Sasha began to worry even more about what was happening to her, checking each room. Somehow every room was devoid of people or even goblins, frightening her even more. As she passed a room, an arm suddenly reached out and grabbed her, causing her to flinch and react violently, nearly punching the person. However, she stopped, realizing that it was one of the other ves she knew: Ciel. They weren¡¯t particrly close ¨C no one was to Sasha. Ciel had on a few times joined a group to beat her up, steal her food and even rape her, for which Sasha always bore a grudge. However, Ciel did not take note of Sasha¡¯s angry expression, instead putting a finger on her mouth and hushing her. ¡°Stay quiet and don¡¯t make a sound! The goblins are hunting us, I know where the exit is, follow me!¡± Before Sasha could protest, Ciel started running off, motioning to Sasha to follow him. The two of them ran down a long hallway, before turning a corner expecting to see an exit. However, a handsome man with a domineering presence instead was standing in front of them, smiling. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Sasha and Ciel were startled, before immediately running down the corridor in the opposite direction. Surprisingly, the man did not give chase, simply standing there and watching them run off. Sasha found the man¡¯s behaviour odd, until she saw a dozen goblins holdings moving past the man, obviously aiming at capturing them. With the man blocking off what seemed like the exit, they had no choice but to run deeper into the corridor of rooms. They soon hit a fork, with both of them instinctively splitting up, forcing the chasing goblins to divide their forces too. Sasha kept running down the room, her head ncing into each of the room until she found what she was looking for, dashing in. The six goblins chasing her immediately surrounded the room, only to peek inside and see nothing. The goblins chattered among themselves, with them preparing to give chase. But just as they were about move off, a figure dropped from the ceiling of the room, her fingertips covered in blood from clinging onto random nocks in the cavern. She quickly tackled one of the goblins, grappling it to the ground and twisting its neck quickly. In a swift motion, she grabbed the knife from the dead goblin¡¯s belt, wielding it and pointing it towards the five goblins who were now inching slowly towards her, holdings. The was soon thrown, but Sasha quickly dodged it by leaping backwards. Leaping off the wall around the, she lunged with the knife outstretched, plunging it into the chest of a goblin. Without attempting to retrieve it, she quickly punched and kicked her way through the goblins, nailing all of them in a single hit. Soon, the five remaining goblins were either dead or squirming on the floor. Instead, the sound of pping was heard from behind. Sasha spun and threw a knife at the source of the pping, only to see the man catch it by the handle with his bare hands. ¡°Impressive. Much better than the young man.¡± Sasha turned and began to run again when the man suddenly lunged and grabbed her by the shoulder, twisting her into an arm lock and dragging her with him. The man brought her out of the corridor into a wider area, where there were already six of her former colleagues waiting for her, including Ciel who was sitting there quietly eating a piece of bread. Each of them had a simr bandage on their hand. Instead of a joyous reunion, they all stared at Sasha awkwardly, their gazes avoiding her as they continued to talk among themselves. ¡°Ciel, you told me she died to the goblins!¡± One of them whispered angrily. ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± Ciel desperately tried to deny that, but his eyes told a different story. Sasha had long been used to such gossip behind her back, a ck sheep among the ves. The main reason was that she was hard to talk to, and no one knew how tomunicate with her. Sasha did not know how to read or write either, making things worse. However, her condition only emboldened other ves to bully her even more, sure that she would never be able to speak the truth. She had been targeted countless times, a dummy to beat up so the ves could feel better about themselves. Even after learning how to fight, there was no way she could fend off an entire group of ves unarmed. Weak, I¡¯m too weak! From one ve master to another, only to be bullied by others! Sasha raged internally, but her face remained calm, heading to a corner and sitting down far away from the other ves. ¡°How could she die to the goblins? The goblins were not intended to kill you, but to test you. Sasha is the only one who managed to kill a goblin. Well done.¡± The man praised Sasha, observing the reaction of the surprised ves and Sasha, who was in pure shock. It was the first words of praise she had heard since she was enved. ¡°I regret to inform you that the seven of you are what remains of the forest fort. All the other ves are dead, either used as shields, bait or due to coteral damage.¡± Ciel¡¯s heart clenched, knowing that his friends made over the years were mostly dead. The six ves began to weep silently for a brief moment, before recovering. Death was always a moment¡¯s notice away in the life of a ve, but they never expect them to die just inches away from freedom. Some cried for their parents who were enved with them, others cried for their friends. Sasha did not cry nor weep. All of the ves had been dead to her for a long time ago. Instead, she felt some sort of satisfaction, knowing that those who had hurt her, indirectly or directly, had finally gotten their due. Except these six. The furious gaze from Sasha¡¯s eyes locking onto the other six ves was spotted by the man clearly, who had a smile on his face. ¡°Follow me.¡± The man beckoned to the seven ves including Sasha, who moved their bodies andplied on reflex. They had spent far too long in very. The man led them to what seemed to be the main exit of the mine, showing patrolling goblins, a few of them training with bows and swords within a barricaded wooden fort. Most of the armour they were wearing was clearly from the forest fort. ¡°I am the one who saved you all, and you now have a choice. Walk out the gates, and you will be free. There will be no more debts to settle between us. You will owe me nothing.¡± Ciel and the six ves¡¯ faces lit up at the sound of freedom, but Sasha¡¯s face remained downtrodden. She knew perfectly that she was a long way from home - if her vige even existed anymore. Being mute and weak would only have her captured by other bandits or vers within a week. ¡°Second option: Work with me, and I will train you to be strong. Everything you need to live will be provided, but the training will not be easy. You will follow my everymand, but I promise no one will ever look down on you again.¡± Sasha¡¯s face brightened tremendously, but she quickly noticed the souring faces of the other six. ¡°You¡¯re offering us envement? Just when you freed us? Are you crazy?¡± Ciel spat angrily, with the others nodding in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s a choice, no one is forcing you. Two minutes to choose.¡± Ciel quickly grabbed the rest into a huddle, including Sasha. ¡°I think we can make it out. The town isn¡¯t that far from here, I went on a grocery run before. I can get us there, but we will need to make sure we can fend against other goblins. Even if the man here controls the goblins, it isn¡¯t the only tribe.¡± ¡°I will provide you a basic weapon to defend yourself with.¡± The man interrupted. Ciel bowed in thanks, before continuing to exin. ¡°If we work together as a team, we can fight off anything. We just need to fight for a day or so, and then we¡¯ll be in town. Then we can go our separate ways. Maybe even stick together to make something for ourselves. What do you say?¡± His optimism influenced the other five who excitedly agreed, already having dreams of freedom beyond the forest. Some wanted to return to their homnd, others hoping to strike it rich on their own. None of them wanted to follow themand of the man, which only reminded them of their ve life. However, Sasha broke free of the huddle, walking over to the man and standing next to him. To her, freedom without strength would only end up in very again. She had witnessed the man¡¯s strength personally and wanted to be as strong as him ¨C no, even stronger. Anything that could help her take this next step, she would grab it. Furthermore, why would she want to escape with those who tormented her for thest few years? Ciel¡¯s face turned from a bright expression to a scowling face. He had hoped that Sasha would join them on the escape, seeing as she was the only one among them who had killed a goblin barehanded. ¡°One minute left.¡± Ciel and the other five made up their minds, collecting a simple dagger each from a goblin before walking out of the fort. They did a simple bow of gratitude to the man, before leaving for a better future. Ciel gave a final nce at Sasha, one of pity as though she had chosen wrong. This irked Sasha even more, causing her to clench her fist. I¡¯ll get stronger than all of you idiots, and one day I¡¯ll have my revenge. The man turned to Sasha, who was the only one left. ¡°How good are you with a crossbow? Nod for good to great, shake for not good.¡± Sasha nodded her head slightly. The forest fort had crossbows, and while she never received any formal training, her time sneaking around the weapon storage and testing them gave her a basic understanding. The man handed her a crossbow, one she recognized to be Orthon¡¯s personalized one. ¡°Show me.¡± Sasha nced around the mine entrance, noticing a dummy strawman used for target practice. She aimed the crossbow carefully, firing a single bolt and nailing the target on the head. She then handed the crossbow back to the man respectfully. ¡°Good enough. Are you ready for your first mission?¡± The man handed her a Strength Potion and a Stamina Recovery Potion, telling her to drink them. Sasha felt a satisfying rush of strength, as though she had somehow grown more muscles out of nowhere, while her body felt like it had eaten well for weeks. She had never felt better before, nodding vigorously in response to the man¡¯s question. The man tossed her the crossbow and a simple knife. ¡°There are six liabilities running towards the town through the forest now. Kill them all before they spread the word that we are here.¡± Chapter 26: Secret Agreements ¡°Gk, send three goblins to observe her. Once she has killed all six, drag the bodies here. If she tries to run, kill her as well. No one leaves the forest alive.¡± Kyle motioned as he watched Sasha leave the main entrance. ¡°To feed the pit?¡± Gk excitedly asked. ¡°What about the failed ves?¡± ¡°Those who died during the surgery, throw them in the pit too. The rest who are still alive, keep them in the rooms and cage them.¡± ¡°Ah, for future food I see.¡± Gk bowed, leaving Kyle alone. He did not trust any of the ves, not even Sasha. However, based on his observation, Sasha had all the right inclinations to be moulded into the perfect weapon. Hatred, revenge, anger¡­ all of this can be easily manipted. Kyle walked down to a different set of rooms, where the failed ves were being held. Most of them had devolved into rabid primal humans, growling and snapping at Kyle. He had lied to Ciel and the other five that all the other ves had died. In truth, Kyle had managed to save almost all the ves save for the ones he killed in Paulie¡¯s house. He looked into a room, noticing a failed ve that looked like Ciel¡¯s father, twisting and groaning on the floor. At least your family would be useful for Sasha¡¯s training. Thanks to the number of human subjects, he had managed to figure out an approximate of the Taboo¡¯s Knife sess rate. It was abysmal, a measly 7 out of 50. His sample size and type of bodies were not exactly in the ideal state or range, but it was a telling sign that he shouldn¡¯t try it on himself without further assurances. It would be impossible to do it without someone¡¯s help. The pain of engraving the arcite under the skin seemed immeasurable, and he would not be able to grip the knife effectively. Just one wrong move and the engraving would not be as effective or create apletely different effect. Kyle would not say he did not trust anyone. He trusted Damian and Keith to handle affairs while he was gone due to mutual benefits, but he would not trust them to do suchplicated surgery. I will have to find an extremelypetent arctech engraver to do this, and I must establish trust or threat. He had performed a simple operation on all the human ves, engraving the exact same enchantment he had been practising ¨C the force-increasing enchantment from Riker¡¯s metal pipe. Engraving an enchantment did not mean it was the end, as Kyle could simply cut off the skin where it was engraved and re-healing it, generating new skin to try again. However, with no anaesthesia, it would prove to be a huge problem. There was another huge problem he encountered: he had verified who was backing the forest bandits. When Troy had told him the truth, he was a bit hesitant to truly ept it, but after hearing Paulie¡¯s final words he was certain now. The Violet Demons, the second major gang of the West Sector¡­ If they found out I piged their business, it would be a big problem. I have to hide my tracks as much as possible. Best if I remain here for a while longer to stave off the heat. Kyle had already been away from Raktor for close to a month. For all he knows, the Seven Snakes might have been taken over by another gang leader, but this was a necessary expedition to clear the debt owed to the Crimson Swords. He also knew that if he left the goblins alone right now, they would not work for him any longer, immediately rebelling. Someone has to stay behind and supervise them with force, that¡¯s the only way. This meant that he would need to stay for a month longer before everything was set up nicely and could operate independently. Once the Euria Seeds hit the streets of Raktor, the prices would plummet, but at the scale, I¡¯m selling them, the profits would be immense. One million rakels would be done in a single week if everything goes right. Just as he was thinking deeply, the gates of the wooden barricade around the main entrance opened to reveal Sasha dragging one of the six who left back alive, while three goblins behind her dragged the dead ves back to the fort. All of them wore faces of shock and anger, a crossbow bolt lodged right into their brain. Kyle¡¯s eyes squinted as Sasha dragged the remaining ve in front of him before kneeling. ¡°The mission was to kill all of them. Why have you kept this one alive?¡± Instead of Sasha talking, the ve immediately grovelled on all fours, begging with tears streaming down her face. ¡°Please, let me live! I made the wrong choice! I used to be a clerk: I can read and write and do whatever you need! I¡¯ll be your ve!¡± She was clearly shaken by the ves being killed by Sasha. Kyle pondered for a moment, ncing at Sasha¡¯s expression. While she did not follow the orders to the letter, it seems that she has brought me back an underling. Adaptability on the fly is great as well. This will be interesting. ¡°Good. Sasha, since you kept her alive, you will be in charge of her discipline. If she tries to go against me, you have every right to punish her. Name?¡± ¡°Merissa, sir!¡± ¡°Get up and follow me, the both of you.¡± Kyle led them to another room that was now designed like an office. Kyle intended to handle the logistics of shipping the Euria Seeds out into Raktor here, but with Merissa and Sasha here, they could assist him with the entire operation. ¡°Merissa. You will now tally the number of Euria Seeds collected and delivered every single day without fail. You are also in charge of ensuring the well-being of the goblins. In the event they try to rebel, you immediately tell me or Sasha. Understood?¡± Sasha tugged at Kyle¡¯s clothes, pointing to the office table and doing a cross with her arms, shaking her head vigorously. ¡°You can¡¯t read and write? Not an issue. You will learn in a week.¡± Kyle dismissed her. Kyle quickly showed Merissa the basics, all the while she was trembling. She was acutely aware that Sasha had been ordered by Kyle to kill them all, so she remained docile andpliant, following Kyle¡¯s orders. Kyle then brought Sasha out back to the single rooms where the failed ves were held. ¡°Over the next month, I will teach you how to read, write and fight. We will also learn how you can activate the engraving on your body to your benefit. At the end of the month, you will be strong enough to kill everyone in this den. You will then be in charge of overall operations here in the goblin den, ensuring Euria Seeds are being delivered. Anyone who steps out of line, you will punish them. Understood?¡± Sasha nodded vigorously. She already nned to make the best of her time here, to make herself stronger and independent. This was the best training arc she could hope for herself. ¡°Good, let¡¯s begin.¡± *** Sebastian entered the grand office of Bishop¡¯s Vete alone, smiling at the two inquisitors and bishop who were waiting for him. ¡°You¡¯re a hard man to meet, Mr. Sebastian.¡± Mason stood up to shake his hand. ¡°Took a month of beating up your associates to even get you to respond.¡± ¡°My apologies, I was busy with some other personal matters.¡± Sebastian sat down quietly into a nice velvet chair, crossing his legs. He nced at the serene face of Mason, contrasted by the obviously hostile expression on Kitana¡¯s face. ¡°I assume she¡¯s the mad dog being let loose on us. Since when were the inquisitors this violent?¡± ¡°Want to find out?¡± Kitana grinned, grabbing the pistol on her waist. ¡°Not interested. I¡¯m more interested in how such a young inquisitor could turn out to be the most bloodthirsty in history.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say your men were very adamant in resisting arrest. Nothing else we could do.¡± Mason smoked his pipe, before tapping it on the edge of the table. ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to the point. Baron Cain wants more money.¡± ¡°How much more?¡± Sebastian didn¡¯t care about his associates getting killed. They had thousands of them, a hundred or so dying was just a statistic to him. ¡°I¡¯m not privy to how much he specifically wants. But you should know how angry Baron Cain gets.¡± ¡°So, you¡¯re killing my members, trashing my businesses and then asking me to pay you?¡± ¡°Sounds about right. Shouldn¡¯t be new to a gang who runs a protection racket.¡± Mason chuckled, while Kitana still red at Sebastian. ¡°Mason. I came here to save my business, not take another loss.¡± Sebastian sighed, tapping the holster of the chair. ¡°I¡¯m sure the losses of your front businesses are more than enough to warrant an increase in payment to Baron Cain.¡± ¡°I know the two of you have been investigating quite a fair bit into the factories. The entire Sector is talking about it. Perhaps instead of payment, I can be of some assistance?¡± Mason grinned as though he had already been expecting the conversation to twist this way, huffing out a plume of blue smoke. ¡°What assistance?¡± Mason yed dumb. ¡°I can provide protection to the factories you need. I¡¯m sure the factory workers arepromised beyond belief and will never talk to an enforcer. I already have my men inside. I know everything.¡± ¡°How do we know you¡¯re not going to nick the goods themselves?¡± Kitana scoffed. ¡°For one who likes to kill so much you¡¯re surprisingly na?ve.¡± Sebastian let out a smallugh, infuriating Kitana slightly. ¡°I¡¯m business-focused first and foremost. Stability is the best for business. We¡¯re on the same team here, you and I.¡± ¡°I think my definition of stability is not the same as yours.¡± Mason held up his hand to stop Kitana. ¡°What about the districts outside of your jurisdiction?¡± ¡°Well, again. Stability is my main concern. I do not step into other gangs¡¯ districts without permission, and I highly doubt any of the other gangs would be willing to allow me to establish a permanent presence there in their factories. But I can assure you the factories in my district will not be touched. That reduces the number of factories that you need to protect.¡± ¡°Who said anything about your help-¡° Kitana started before Mason held up his hand again. ¡°When can you start?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so impatient, we have yet to discuss what you will offer me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious, no payment required to the Baron.¡± ¡°I want a deal that my businesses and members would not be touched for the next two years.¡± Sebastian stated. ¡°Two years?!¡± Mason was taken aback. ¡°You¡¯re out of your mind, a free pass for two years?¡± ¡°I was not talking to you, seeing as you don¡¯t have the power to make such a deal yourself. Isn¡¯t that right, Bishop Vete.¡± The bishop who had been staying out of the conversation sighed, finally putting down her pen. ¡°Only if your men will protect the factories for that same duration.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Then we do have a deal.¡± ¡°Good. I will be moving my men into the factories tomorrow. Tell your enforcers to get out of our way, from now on. And stop killing my men. Don¡¯t think you¡¯re invincible.¡± Sebastian bowed to the Bishop, before leaving the office. Mason and Kitana sat back down on the sofa, the angry expression on Kitana¡¯s face dissipating quickly. ¡°Well, that went rather well.¡± Kitana smiled as she leaned back onto the sofa, her zealous haughty attitude long gone. It was a ploy by Mason and Kitana: have Kitana act as an enthusiastic inquisitor and beat up gang members, forcing the gang members toe to the table to parley. ¡°Like I said, carrot and stick. Now we only have to cover the remainder of the factories.¡± Mason eyed the map now pinned on a wall, checking the twenty districts left. ¡°So I get to beat up another gang?¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. We do have enough manpower to watch over the remaining factories though just barely. Too many different gangs watching the factories might incite them to backstab each other. Besides, with the rumours we¡¯ve been putting out, no one should be stupid enough to hijack our factories.¡± Chapter 27: Attempted Takeover Two weekster¡­ The Culdao Peak Town had be even more of a bustling hub of trade, the market packed to the brim. Dozens of wagons and caravans shuttled crates of Euria Seeds to and fro from the town towards the city of Raktor, prompting new businesses to sprout up along the way. The inn which Kyle stayed at had the best businesses, with the sheer amount of merchants and travellers trying to cash in on the amount of traffic going through as well as profit on the price difference of Euria Seeds between the town and Raktor. ¡°Did you hear the news? I heard one of thepanies is under attack by the other five!¡± ¡°Really? Didn¡¯t the six of them agree to share the habitat? Why would they renege on the agreement now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it seems to me that eventually only onepany will remain standing. As profitable as it is, I don¡¯t think it¡¯srge enough for sixpanies to share.¡± The rumours floated around the town like wildfire. It was to be expected, as it gave the town a new breath of life. Strangers from the city of Raktor that they had never seen before were now entering frequently, using the town as a base station hub for transportation. Thepanies¡¯ workers would bringrge baskets on their backs into the forest, harvesting the seeds before selling them off en masse in the town. Other independent adventurers and townsfolk tried to get in on the action but were somehow deterred by goblin archers and warriors defending the habitat. The biggest rumour was that the sixpanies had somehow managed to broker a deal with the goblins. Some townsfolk had even heard rumours of metalware and forging equipment being delivered to the goblin den. ¡°Trading human weaponry for Euria Seeds, this might be dangerous in the future! What if the goblins decide to turn around and attack us?¡± ¡°Bah, they¡¯re numerous but weak! Without anybody training them they are no better than a kid with a sword. Our Yual Dominion¡¯s knights can easily tten them. If they don¡¯te on time, then the gangs from the city of Raktor would take care of them easily.¡± It was no secret that the gangs of Raktor were beginning to take notice of this massive venture, hoping to cash in on some of the profits. They had eyes everywhere, disguising themselves as travellers, escorts, adventurers and merchants. One such traveller draped in a cloak sat near the market, observing the crowded area as some of the Euria Seeds harvested by thepanies were sold right here, while the rest were shipped at wholesale prices to various parts of Raktor. Merchants jostled with each other to choose the best basket, throwing hands. The traveller sipped on his water sk, just as a young boy ran up to him, whispering into his ear. ¡°Good, here¡¯s your rakels.¡± He ced a hundred rakels into the boy¡¯s hands, who grinned widely and ran off. He got up from his chair, moving slowly but with purpose through the crowd, targeting a well-dressed gentleman in a suit. He revealed a concealed knife from his wrist, jabbing the tip into the back of the gentleman, who froze. ¡°Don¡¯t make a sound. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want your wife to see your dead body on the ground here. You¡¯re not the onlypany executive I can use, Feldon.¡± The traveller whispered to the gentleman. Feldon gulped instinctively, before nodding vigorously. The traveller nudged him with an elbow, the two of them moving to a more secluded area between buildings. ¡°Who are you? What do you want?¡± Feldon asked, his voice shaking. ¡°Which gang is behind this operation?¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± Feldon¡¯s face was filled with confusion. The traveller wielded the same knife and pressed it against Feldon¡¯s neck. ¡°I swear, I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! As far as I know, we¡¯re a legitimatepany! I only joined a week ago!¡± The traveller examined Feldon¡¯s eyes carefully, before finally letting him go. ¡°Who¡¯s growing the Euria Seeds? There must be a hidden ntation nearby, right?¡± ¡°Huh? Our workers collect them from the forest. The area is filled with ripe Euria Trees!¡± ¡°Yet only the sixpanies can collect from that particr area? Do you think I¡¯m stupid?¡± The traveller scowled, pointing the knife at him. ¡°Look, It¡¯s my first time here as well! I was supposed to just oversee the transfer and sale of Euria Seeds here, that¡¯s all!¡± Feldon pleaded with a fearful expression. ¡°Bring me to the habitat.¡± ¡°Wh-what?! No, you¡¯ll be killed. I don¡¯t even know if I am allowed in!¡± ¡°You¡¯re apany overseer, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be fine. MOVE!¡± The traveller growled and continued aiming the knife at Feldon, forcing him to move under coercion. They re-entered the market area, with the traveller nodding to two other random strangers. They each had a different outfit to blend in, but they all came from the same gang. They heftedrge backpacks, no doubt filled with weapons. The four of them moved into the forest from a different approach, with Feldon forced to be in the lead. The other two opened their backpacks, passing a crossbow to the traveller. ¡°Keep your eyes peeled. Have your crossbows at the ready. If it¡¯s the Veiled Angels running this operation, we kill on sight. Too many, and we run.¡± The traveller ordered the other two. ¡°Yes sir.¡± Feldon¡¯s mind was racing as he stumbled through the foge, continuously peeking behind him only to see three crossbows aimed at him, ready to shoot him if he tried to run. Veiled Angels? If they got a beef, it means that the three of them must be from the Violet Demons! The two gangs were currently at war with each other in the West Sector, bloodbaths appearing whenever and wherever they shed. This applied outside the city as well: money was money after all. The Violet Demons were not about to let the Veiled Angels be the only ones to profit from such a scheme. Taking down our forest bandits and setting up their own operation? If these Angels think they can get away with it, they are dead wrong¡­ The traveller smirked as they trudged through the forest. They passed a few Euria Trees, but they could no longer spot any seeds on the branches or leaves, no doubt being harvested by thepanies already. Suddenly, a warning arrow swooped in,nding right at their feet. It was a crudely made goblin arrow, short and stubby. The group looked up to see three goblin archers perched on the branches of trees, aiming down at them with their short bows. Feldon screamed instinctively, trying to run away before the traveller grabbed him by the throat and pped his cheek. ¡°Idiot, yourpany already has a deal with them, just show yourpany emblem!¡± ¡°Right, right.¡± Feldon fumbled as he searched through his suit¡¯s pockets, his breath was still erratic. He quickly retrieved a metallic emblem, engraved with a simple logo of thepany. The goblins did not aim at Feldon any longer but aimed their bows at the remaining three. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re not getting a free pass after all.¡± The traveller sighed, before lifting Feldon as a shield and hostage. They walked forward, the other two aiming at the two goblins with bulky crossbows. ¡°Keep moving!¡± The traveller growled to Feldon, who quickly moved. However, a single arrow grazed Feldon¡¯s cheek, before a gurgling sound was heard behind him. He turned to see the traveller¡¯s neck pierced from the front by the arrow as he copsed to the ground. ¡°Fuck!¡± The remaining two lifted their crossbows, firing bolt after bolt at the goblins. The two goblins did not stand a chance, their bodies riddled with bolts and dropping to the ground. However, another zipping sound could be heard, with one of the remaining two screaming out in pain as the arrow pierced his chest, embedding itself in his heart. ¡°Who¡¯s there!? Veiled Angels? Stop shooting if you don¡¯t want him to die!¡± Thest man immediately grabbed Feldon as a hostage, a knife aimed at the neck while his other free hand hefted the crossbow in the direction where the arrow came in from. No one replied, and no more arrows came in. A bead of sweat began to trickle and snake its way down the man¡¯s face as the tension began to build within. He nced everywhere, trying to spot any movement. All he could hear was the rustling of the leaves and the sounds of animal cries from the distance. Out of the blue, a searing pain erupted from his back, stemming from a dagger plunged deep by a youngdy. Her face was apathetic as the man yelled out in shock, immediately using his crossbow as a blunt weapon to try and hit her. Her short ck hair floated as she ducked quickly before retrieving another dagger from her belt, jabbing two times in rapid sessions in both ankles of the man, causing him to fall on both legs, dropping Feldon and his crossbow as well. ¡°Wait! I have money! Just let me go!¡± The man shouted in a final attempt to sway the youngdy, but she showed no reaction, not even responding. ¡°Fine! I won¡¯t go down without a fig-¡° The man tried to continue speaking, but his cheeks were already pierced by a crossbow bolt, from his own crossbow wielded by the youngdy now. A few more bolts ended his life, with Feldon still shivering as he stared at the three dead bodies. I signed up to be a manager, not a fighter! The youngdy grabbed Feldon by the waist, lifting him up and walking deeper into the forest towards the mountain. ¡°Wh-where are you bringing me? The town is the other way!¡± Feldon tried to convince her to change direction, but she did not reply anymore, almost as though she was mute. They soon reached an abandoned mine, where the wooden palisade walls were crawling with goblins, freaking Feldon out even more. They entered the fort, with the youngdy dumping Feldon onto the ground unceremoniously. ¡°Good work Sasha. Gk, send out the goblins to collect the bodies.¡± Kyle ordered with a satisfied expression on his face. ¡°Ah, you must be one of the new employees. Feldon, was it? Wee to the source of the Euria Seeds.¡± He helped Feldon up, who patted his already bloodstained suit in vain. Feldon was surprised they knew about him when it was his first time visiting. He knew the goblins were at peace with thepanies, but not to the extent wherepany members could stay at the den itself. ¡°I-I-I demand an exnation! What in the world is going on here?¡± ¡°Sasha, head back and take a rest.¡± Kyle motioned towards the entrance. ¡°As for your exnation, it is very simple. I am the one running this entire operation. My name is Kyle, gang leader of the Seven Snakes.¡± ¡°W-what?! How?! I thought¡­¡± ¡°We have a problem now, Feldon. It seems you¡¯ve been marked by the Violet Demons, and they are trying to use you as a way to sneak their way into this operation. Releasing you back into the town will only raise even more suspicion, cing you under an even bigger threat.¡± Feldon pondered for a moment, before suddenly realizing what Kyle was implying. ¡°You¡¯re.. you¡¯re suggesting I stay here permanently! No, no way in hell! My wife and kids are still out there in the town!¡± ¡°Oh, Celine, Mick and Daphne? Of course, I will bring them here as well for their protection.¡± The uracy with which Kyle knew about Feldon frightened him even more. ¡°Sasha will handle it.¡± ¡°What?! I¡¯m a prisoner now? My rtives are all in Raktor, my kids¡¯ school is there too, you can¡¯t just -¡± Kyle suddenly grabbed Feldon by the neck, lifting him up. ¡°You seem to misunderstand something. You don¡¯t have a choice. Your life is now in my hands. Make the wrong move and I can¡¯t say what happens to dear Celine.¡± Feldon immediately mped up, nodding vigorously as his hands desperately tried to remove Kyle¡¯s grip. Kyle dropped him on the ground, ordering the goblins to show him to his new room. Feldon soon noticed that he wasn¡¯t the only one here ¨C plenty of otherpany workers who werepromised by the gangs were now sheltered here. Gringer ran up to Kyle, bowing respectfully. ¡°Sir, one of thepanies seemed to have turned over to another gang. The Euria Seeds are being passed for free to their wagons just outside the town.¡± ¡°Looks like the attack from the other fivepanies were not enough to keep them in line. Kill every worker from thatpany thates to pick up the baskets.¡± The workers did not directly interact with the goblins, instead exchanging baskets at known locations agreed upon throughout the forest. The workers only knew this was part of the deal as to not interact with the goblins, but it was a ploy by Kyle to ensure no one knew the real nature of the operation. Keith was the one who set up thepanies in Raktor but had used frontmen to serve as the fall guys in case anything went wrong. The money invested was through yet another shellpany, so even if thepany¡¯s head told the controlling gang who funded him, it would end up in a dead end. With this, Kyle had established a safe tradingwork of Euria Seeds, where he is the only direct profiteer. At the same time, he was training Sasha and a few of thepromisedpany workers, forming a secret force of his own. Kyle already had ns for this force to serve as a hidden dagger that he could use to strike at other gangs¡¯ operations in the region, or even enter Raktor undetected to fight in the South Sector. With this, even if the other gangs were watching his movements, they would be unaware of this new hidden force. Sasha was also designated as a follower with Kyle¡¯s designated follower skill, a new arcia engraving appearing on her neck that allowed them to telepathicallymunicate over a long distance. Looks like I¡¯ve done everything I could here. It¡¯s time to return. Chapter 28: Hijacking The return of Kyle to the Seven Snakes was hushed and kept on the down low, with no fanfare. Kyle did not want to tip off any of the observers, be it the enforcers or other gangs like the Ardent Cretins. He had left Sasha and thepany workers behind in the goblin den to serve as the logistics and defenders, while the five remaining loyalpanies continued to work as nned. Some of the workers definitely skimmed some of the Euria Seeds, but Kyle did not care as long as they did not eat too much into their profits. With updates from Damian and Keith, the Seven Snakes had expanded quite significantly. Many of the restaurants under them now had backrooms, filled with pubs or brothels. Keith and Niko were working on setting up a casino in one such backroom, though it was to be small in scale at first. Kyle nced through the list of new vipers, who acted as squad leaders: ¡°Monica, Adrian, Niko¡­¡± The Seven Snakes had more than fifty associates now, but Kyle had not met with any of them yet. The new vipers had climbed the ranks due to their hardworking ethic, and their ability to hustle, allowing the Seven Snakes to slowly spread across the district. Thisbined with the effects of the soup kitchen and the weekly public clean-up events has skyrocketed Seven Snakes¡¯ reputation in themunity. All ording to n. None of the Euria Seeds were bought by his gang, instead routed to the other Sectors to reduce the trail they had. Kyleplimented Keith on theplicated paper trail, ensuring no one would be able to find out. Money was collected in cold hard cash in person rather than through bank ounts, preventing traces by the local authorities. The new supply of Euria Seeds did drop the prices in the market area, allowing Kyle to make even more profits on his addictive potions, which had been selling like hotcakes in the expanded Lusty Arcian. With this, he could generate enough money to pay off the debt to the Crimson Swords, which meant his gang was in the clear for now. However, running a gang was an eternal battle against thew. Every expanding gang would have to contest with the local enforcers, who usually turned a blind eye until something grew too big. Right now, they were near that threshold. Damian had got a few corrupt enforcers on the gang¡¯s payroll, reducing the heat, but there seemed to be trouble looming on the horizon. It was due to a piece of news that shocked Kyle when he returned: the raids by the enforcers on the Ardent Cretins. It was reported to be extremely brutal, with many low-level grunts killed by what seemed to be an overzealous inquisitor. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a good thing that they got raided? That reduces their financial advantage over us, allowing us to expand outwards even more. Right now, we¡¯re stuck in this district because of them. If the enforcers keep this up we might have a chance.¡± Damian reasoned. ¡°No. It hints that the new inquisitors that recently took office are finding evidence or warrants, or going all out. They are targeting the big fishes first for now as they generate the most heat, but soon the increased surveince will trickle down to us.¡± Kyle knew the Ardent Cretins must have had local enforcers on their payroll, so for them to still get raided means there¡¯s been a sweeping change inw enforcement, or at least the purpose ofw enforcement. ¡°Indeed, they are clearing the low-hanging fruit first of the big gangs, trying to weaken them. Did you see the West Sector? It¡¯s almost in full-blown conflict now, a three-way fight between the Veiled Angles, Violet Demons, and the enforcers.¡± Keith handed a newspaper over to Kyle. Kyle read the article, frowning slightly. The Ardent Cretins limiting us now is the least of our worries ¨C the inquisitors seem to be on a warpath for some reason. ¡°When was thest time inquisitors came to the city?¡± ¡°Erm¡­ I don¡¯t think it was when any of us were around¡­¡± Damian shook his head. He had only been in the gang for five years and had never heard of inquisitorsing. However, it was obvious that the Seven Snakes coulde under greater scrutiny from now on. Every step had to be measured. ¡°We will nowe up with contingency ns to deflect as much heat from the enforcers as possible. We might be on track to pay off the debt, but the enforcers can restrict our operations, which would hurt us financially.¡± Kyle began to pace the room, thinking hard and recalling all the methods he used to evade the Gctic Council in the past. ¡°It¡¯s not enough to entice the corrupt enforcers. We need to ckmail them. Set them up with sex workers from the brothel if possible or have them gamble at the new casino. Use our connections through the locals, bribe them to do it if they must.¡± Kyle spoke quickly. ¡°Damian, increase the number of informants we have in the local enforcers through this method.¡± ¡°Keith, make sure every ¡®venture¡¯ we have is well hidden behind more legitimate fronts. We will need to begin shifting the Seven Snakes base as well into a more decentralized version.¡± ¡°Already on it, sir.¡± Keith nodded. ¡°I already have the Lusty Arcian remodelled to be a beauty school at the front. As for the Seven Snakes¡¯ base, we¡¯re in the process of acquiring a total of seven different locations that our members can rotate through. The brewery will be shifted as well along with Professor Dicar.¡± ¡°How soon can we get the relocation done?¡± ¡°About a week. Not a lot of setups are needed.¡± ¡°Good, I want us cleared out of here by then before we get hit. Get Monica, Niko and Adrian in.¡± The three of them soon entered, lining up in front of Kyle. Kyle did not trust them fully yet but seeing that they had been promoted out of the recruits meant that Damian and Keith trusted them. ¡°Monica, in charge of smuggling the alcohol brewed by Professor Dicar to our ventures. Any updates?¡± ¡°Yes sir, the enforcers have been doing more regr wagon checks, trying to catch anyone flouting the prohibition bans. We¡¯ve been disguising the wagons as food supplies or potions, but we did have a few wagons caught over thest two months.¡± This wasn¡¯t good. Alcohol was the lifeblood of the brothels, pubs, and casinos. ¡°Damian, fix this issue. Make sure the patrolling enforcers don¡¯t bother us any longer. Next, Adrian.¡± Adrian was in charge of observing the district, trying to pick out other gangs¡¯ spies or newly-formed thug rackets. He used to be one of them, so he had experience in spotting the same signs. ¡°Yes sir. My squad has rooted out five thug gangs so far. We¡¯ve sessfully converted three of them into our own affiliate rackets in exchange for protection from other thug gangs. Two thug gangs were imprisoned, currently used by Eric in alcohol testing. Half of them have already died. Bodies have been incinerated, no one would be looking for them.¡± Kyle nodded, unfazed. Alcohol brewing was a dangerous process, a single overdose could kill anyone. Better to try it on a few humans first before serving it to their loyal customers. His eyesnded on Niko. ¡°Yes sir! Security at our ventures has been stable. So far, no incursions or raids by enforcers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°¡­yes sir¡­¡±. Niko was obviously flustered by theck of activity he hadpared to the other two. Theckluster reaction from Kyle pained him internally. I need to do something big if I want Kyle to recognize me. ¡°Enforcer activity is increasing, so please keep your men under control. Do not do anything to give us away to the enforcers.¡± Kyle lectured, before dismissing all of them from his office. Law enforcement never changes no matter which universe, huh? Kyle smiled to himself. While there was definitely a threat from the enforcers now rising, Kyle had dealt with this for his entire former life. As long as I y my cards right, we can make something out of this. Perhaps even be a major gang in no time¡­ The restaurant was packed to the brim. Weary factory managers just clocking off the shift, stall owners who just had a good run at the food market, or administrative clerksining about their day. A hundred tables and booths were filled up, with two dozen waiters going back and fro. An old factory worker entered the restaurant, his attire shabby and grimy stained with the grease from working the machines. He rubbed his hands anxiously, walking up to a waiter. ¡°Sorry sir, do you need something?¡± The waiter was confused, wondering why the older factory worker was standing in front of him. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m looking for a toilet. Really urgent. Preferably one with a golden snake.¡± ¡°Ah, just right down the double doors, turn left and you¡¯ll find it.¡± The waiter nonchntly motioned behind him. The old factory worker weaselled his way through the tables, trying to ignore the weird stares he was getting from the restaurant customers. He reached the double doors, opening to reveal a crowded kitchen, the smell of oil and spices filling the air. He walked through them with trepidation, stealing a quick nce at the chefs. None of them seemed to be particrly bothered that he was there, despite not being a chef or a staff member. Navigating through the tight space, he soon reached a discreet ck door, knocking on it with a specific pattern. A small sliding notch slid open, revealing a pair of piercing eyes. ¡°Who?¡± A gruff voice wafted from behind the door. ¡°I know Niko, let me in!¡± The older factory worker said desperately. The sliding notch closed, with the door opened. ¡°One wrong move and you¡¯re dead, old man.¡± The guard grinned, motioning for him to enter. The sight beyond the door was apletely different view from the rest of the posh restaurant. Card games, dice games, every gambling game you could think of was right here. High-rollers surrounded by escortsughed their heads off as they watched their opponents squirm on their velvet chairs. Bartenders served alcohol non-stop, with some of the customers already clearly drunk, but still paying right out of their weekly pay. The old factory worker tried his best to avoid the others, finding his way through the casino. Unfortunately, he bumped into arge Seven Snakes associate, who red at him in anger. ¡°Old man, you lost? Or a snitch? Whatchu doing here? Who let you in?!¡± ¡°I-i-I-¡° ¡°He¡¯s with me, back off, Bosso.¡± A young man wrapped in bling and a formal suit shoved therge guard away, who immediately lost his anger and scurried away, as though afraid of the young man. ¡°Niko!¡± The old factory worker patted him on the shoulders, before examining him. He was the one who had introduced Niko to the Lusty Arcian in the first ce. ¡°You¡¯re all grown up now! Look at you!¡± ¡°Haha, thanks Karl, how¡¯s the factory been treating you?¡± Niko motioned to an empty booth on the side, already pre-arranged with drinks and snacks. ¡°Oh you know, same old, same old, manager got a bit pissy as usual¡­¡± Karl sat down in the booth gingerly, feeling the velvet. This level offort was far beyond anything he was used to, having grown up poor. He nced at Niko, who seemed to befortable in this area. ¡°HAHA! They always get pissy, even if you did everything right. Anyway, the drinks are for you, have a go. We got our own in-house brewery now, so our alcohol is top of the line now, or at least that¡¯s what I think.¡± Niko poured a ss of wine, handing it to Karl. ¡°I, I don¡¯t have any money left, I spent it all on the potions from the brothel¡­ I just can¡¯t kick the habit, you know? I tried borrowing money from the banks, but they are allining about my low ie¡­¡± Karl¡¯s face was downtrodden as he swirled the ss of wine, wondering if he needed to pay for it. ¡°Karl.¡± Niko suddenly grabbed Karl¡¯s shoulder, staring at him. ¡°This? All of this? Free. On the house. For old times¡¯ sake.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Of course! We¡¯re friends!¡± Niko grabbed his own ss of wine. ¡°Cheers!¡± They drank happily, talking about their past time in the factory together, reminiscing over shared memories. ¡°So¡­ why the sudden visit?¡± Niko finally got to the point. ¡°Don¡¯t say for old times¡¯ sake.¡± Karl¡¯s happy expression was frozen in ce as he slowly put down the ss. ¡°I need some extra cash, and seeing as the banks aren¡¯t helping, I was hoping¡­¡± ¡°To borrow from me? Sure, Karl, but I need more assurance that you¡¯re going to pay me back. I know exactly how much the factory pays you, and how much you spend on the brothel.¡± ¡°Look I swear I¡¯ll pay you back. I¡¯ll cut down on my brothel visits, and even if I don¡¯t pay back, you can take my assets or ¨C¡° ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me, Karl. I¡¯m not the same na?ve boy. You don¡¯t have any assets left, you already pawned all of it off.¡± Niko snarled before suddenly mming his ss on the table with force, frightening Karl with the sudden swap in attitude. ¡°Be real. If you want money, you bettere up with something valuable.¡± Karl gulped internally as he saw how far Niko has changed, being thoroughly intimidated. ¡°I really don¡¯t have anything left, I¡¯m at my wit¡¯s end here!¡± ¡°Are you sure? I¡¯m confident a senior factory worker must have ess to some information¡­¡± Niko grinned. Karl¡¯s face was slightly confused for a moment before realization dawned on his face. ¡°You¡­ nononono there¡¯s no way. I¡­ I¡¯ll be fired if I help you!¡± ¡°You want the money? Or nah? You¡¯ll even get a cut on top of that. Imagine spending everyday working on the floor, watching all those goods roll past right under your nose, knowing that you¡¯ll never earn more than half a rakel for any of them.¡± The words cut deep into Karl¡¯s heart, but his morals still lingered. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re suggesting - the manager would call the guards and the enforcers at a moment¡¯s notice!¡± Karl shook his head vigorously. ¡°Oh I know exactly what I¡¯m suggesting.¡± Just at this moment, the door to the casino opened to reveal two local enforcers still in uniform. Their piercing eyes scanned the room, eventually locking eyes with Niko. They made a beeline for Niko, but to the surprise of Karl, none of the other guards or customers even bothered, simply continuing on. Niko stood up and shook hands with both of them, though one of them had a clearly sour expression. ¡°You better have a good reason for bringing us in here.¡± The two enforcers sat down next to Karl, frightening him. Niko sat down and leaned back on the booth, a wide smirk on his face. ¡°How about a nice big cut of a factory hijacking?¡± Chapter 29: Unexpected Windfall Word on the street was all about how the enforcers were protecting the factories quite frequently. Even the Ardent Cretins seemed to be protecting their factories for some unknown reason. Rumour was that the enforcers finally had enough of hijackings and were actually doing something serious about it. Niko was not nning on hitting those factories, but rather the factory that he used to work at. He knew it inside out with Karl ¨C all they made was some processed metal, minerals and maybe a few basic household appliances. Nothing special, but still worth money when sold to the fences. As far as Niko knew, the enforcers were not protecting the shipments of this particr factory, so Niko felt that it was a clean hit. With the insider information provided by his two corrupt enforcers buddies, Niko had a high confidence in the sess rate of this hijacking. With Karl providing the delivery timing of the shipments in and out of Niko¡¯s former factory, it was a cinch to simply set up a roadblock in the factory blocks to stop the factory wagon. The corrupt enforcers had slowly cleared out the rest of the area, while iming that they were patrolling the area to prevent the clean enforcers from spotting the hijacking. However, the factory wagon was nearly an hourte, slightly scaring Niko that he had been made by Karl. ¡°Fuck, where is the wagon?! Have we been set up?!¡± Niko whispered angrily to his crew. ¡°Not possible sir, I don¡¯t see any enforcersing to arrest us. This whole block is empty!¡± Niko got his crew to check around a bit, and found nothing else suspicious save for thete timing of the wagon. Just as Niko was about to call off the operation, the sound of an arctech wagon could be heard rumbling through the factory blocks. ¡°Finally!¡± Niko eximed, preparing himself for a quick and fast hit. The wagon¡¯s driver noticed the impending roadblock in front, the wheels screeching to a halt. Niko and his crew attacked the wagon immediately, smashing the windows and dragging the upants out. To their surprise, there were two additional factory workers inside, who tried to fight back. ¡°Private guards? I¡¯m surprised the factory has enough money to hire you guys to guard shipments now!¡± The crew killed the private guards and the driver without hesitation. Dumping their bodies into the back, they quickly drove to an intermediate point, splitting up the bolted wooden crates into five different wagons before driving out in unpredictable routes, before finally arriving at the Seven Snakes base through multiple transfers to shake off any enforcers. It was a simple n and a routine hijacking - except for the fact that now Niko and his crew were on their knees, kneeling in front of Kyle who red at him, while Damian and Keith were speechless, staring at the interior of the crates. One of the crates was opened to reveal a full military arsenal unlike anything they had ever seen. Repeater arctech carbines, explosives, portable cannons, reactive armour and defensive barrier deployables. The technology in the crates were obviously far beyond what the regr guy can get in Raktor, and was most definitely not from Niko¡¯s former factory. What made it even worse was that the private guards¡¯ bodies were found to have marks indicating they belonged to the Ilysian Punks. Niko gulped internally as he realized what he had just done. This meant that effectively, the Seven Snakes had hijacked another gang¡¯s truck, while said gang had stolen it from a separate source. ¡°Did you not even stop for a moment to realize this truck was not from the same factory! rm bells should have went off in your head the moment the nned truck was an HOURte!¡± Damian roared as he berated Niko. Niko couldn¡¯t say anything, knowing he got too caught up in executing the hijacking in order to prove himself to Kyle. He nced up at Kyle, whose face was surprisingly not as angry as Damian and Keith. Instead, Kyle¡¯s eyes were locked on the repeater carbines in the crates. The carbine did not work anything like the automatic energy and particle rifles he had in his former life, but he recognized that the speed at which one could shoot with this was close to ten times faster than the flintlock pistol. His head was racing with ideas on how he could create marginally better guns and enter the market. Keith finished counting up the equipment. ¡°Sir, the amount of equipment in this crate, you could outfit fifty men up to military grade. And based on what I found, it seems that the Ilysian Punks were nning on smuggling these out of the Yual Dominion back to their home country of Versia.¡± Keith handed over a handwritten note found on the crates. ¡°It also seems to be authorized by one of the top dogs of the Ilysian Punks.¡± Not every gang was local ¨C with Raktor being a trade hub at the border of the Yual Dominion, it had a lot of foreign immigrants or travellers who established their own gangs. ¡°They had an insider in the military,¡± Damian concluded. ¡°There¡¯s no other way for them to get these many guns out other than sheer luck or a long ass stakeout at the factories.¡± ¡°If so, we¡¯re going to be caught in a crossfire of hell. The enforcers would definitely be looking for the missing shipment; the Ilysian Punks would be after us for stealing them.¡± Keith sighed. ¡°We should put this equipment back where the enforcers can find it easily or hand it back to the Ilysian Punks.¡± ¡°No.¡± Kyle suddenly stated. ¡°We¡¯re keeping them.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Damian and Keith were shocked. ¡°Kyle, we¡¯ll be trapped in an all-out war! You¡¯re talking about robbing the military here!¡± Damian shook his head vigorously. ¡°Only if they found out. Were you spotted on your way back?¡± Kyle asked Niko. Niko shook his head. ¡°No, I checked the roadblock area to make sure there were no observers around. We swapped wagons five times and spilt up, so it¡¯s impossible they locked onto us.¡± ¡°So this means we have some time¡­¡± Kyle nced at the repeater guns, pulling them out.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Smoothbore Arctech Repeater] A military rifle designed by the Yual Dominion. Active Skill ¨C Volley (Basic): Fires multiple projectiles as long as one holds down the trigger and has enough in the magazine Cost per Activation: 25 MP
25 MP? That¡¯s a ridiculous consumption rate. Kyle inspected the exterior of the repeater, noticing that human technology had jumped slightly faster due to the existence of arcite. It was radically different from how kic guns worked in his life, with the rifle¡¯s inbuilt engraving providing explosive energy to the projectile rather than contained within a bullet casing. Kyle¡¯s mind raced as he thought of all the potential scenarios that could happen. The only reason why they were stuck to their district now was that theycked the strength and firepower. If he could reverse engineer the guns and military-grade equipment, he could easily take over the entire district. Furthermore, he had learnt various engravings from his time at the Culdao Peaks, thanks to the records of the goblin shamans who marked them on pig skin. ¡°Kyle, whatever you¡¯re thinking, it¡¯s too crazy!¡± Damian tried to convince Kyle. ¡°If you so much as use those guns outright to kill anyone else, the enforcers will immediatelye swarming. Even our own enforcers won¡¯t be able to protect us anymore!¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be killing anyone with these guns. Keith, get every associate that is good with their hands to gather here. I need about ten of them.¡± Keith was slightly confused before his eyes finally lit up, understanding what Kyle was nning to do. ¡°Damian, go to the enforcers and check up on their activity. Drop a hint that the Ilysian Punks have insider knowledge of the military. Tell Adrian to keep an eye on the movement of the Ilysian Punks. They must be suspecting the Red Lions for now. Get Monica to shift half a crate over to the Red Lion district and ce it in one of their pubs.¡± Damian finally caught on, quickly issuing orders and leaving the base. There is a chance the Ilysian Punks will try to probe us first, seeing as the hijacking happened in our district. The Ilysian Punks were known to be vicious and had never done a sit-down before. Not even Sebastian of the Ardent Cretins could get them to stop their violent streaks. Kyle finally understood it was because the Ilysian Punks were receiving the support of a rival country beyond the border ¨C Versia. This is going to getplicated fast, but the biggest rewards always have the biggest risk. ¡°Niko, from now on, you¡¯re in charge of making sure no one other than the ten associates and we get near these crates, got it? We¡¯ll slowly shift them over to a new location, where you will permanently guard.¡± Niko nodded vigorously, willing to do anything now to make up for his mistake. However, there was something about the grin on Kyle¡¯s face that made him feel like it wasn¡¯t a mistake. Kyle grabbed one of the repeater guns back to his office, checking the engraving. The basis of a gun is simple: elerate the projectile. As such, the engravings should be basic as well. He dismantled the gun, revealing the interior of the barrel. It wasyered four times, with the innermost being rifled. The threeyers all had simr types of engraving aimed at elerating the projectile through the barrel. The magazine did not have bullets, but rather lots of tiny pellets. It seemed as though the gun was designed to fire multiple pellets at the same time when the user pulled the trigger. Interesting, a slightly simr concept to a particle gun¡­ All he had to do now was to copy the engraving multiple times. But first, Kyle was worried about the system message iming that it was unstable. Reassembling the gun, he loaded the magazine in before getting Niko to set up a dummy in an old room where they used to hold the prisoners. Kyle quickly made a makeshift firing range with crates and scrap metal, making sure the pellets didn¡¯t ricochet all over the ce onto him. Aiming down the barrel, he squeezed the trigger, feeling the arcia energy within him drain outwards into the rifle. The engraving lit up, elerating the group of pellets in the barrel forwards in a burst shot that sted the dummy into pieces. However, instead of Kyle firing another shot, he was forced to drop the gun. The barrel had be unbearably hot from the eleration, while the MP drained from him was more than half of his MAX. The recoil from the shot was also too strong, reducing uracy. Did Niko pick up the defects? Kyle wondered. There was a good chance that it was simply just the technology of the era as well. He had not seen the military in action yet, so he was not privy to what was their technology level. In some sense, the technological progression path in the world was warped by arcia. Arctech wagons moved on engravings rather than on the concept ofbustion, and energy was generated directly from arcite ore without the need for boiling water either. Even wireless radio technology was done via engravings. Kyle fired the rifles a few more times, testing out different angles and firing speeds before jotting down what he needed to modify. The idea was simple: with the military guns now in ce, he could now ¡®create¡¯ guns. There was, of course, a nationwide ban on guns. But that was not going to stop Kyle. Kyle could have made ¡®guns¡¯ much earlier based on his former life¡¯s knowledge, but he needed to get an idea of what the current era¡¯s type of gun was. Making one that was far too advanced would be a disaster for his n ofying low in the meantime. Kyle quickly drew out the engravings he needed to implement into the new gun that he was nning to sell. He was not going to sell exactly the same type of gun, as that would be a dead giveaway. It needed to seem as though it was a natural urrence rather than them hijacking the factory. Instead of a rifle, let¡¯s make handguns instead. ¡°Sir, I have your ten members,¡± Keith reported, with the ten new associates in front of him. Most of them were and are still involved in the potion-making process. ¡°Good. Anyone experienced with arctech engravings?¡± The ten members looked at each other, shaking their heads. ¡°No matter. You will be split into two groups of five, where each member will never be located in the same ce.¡± Kyle handed out the engravings he drew, giving a different one to each of them. Each member of the five-man assembly line was to engrave a specific part of the new handgun without knowing how to assemble the entire thing. Kyle didn¡¯t trust any of the associates, so hepartmentalized the process for them. At the end of the day, each of the members would then ship theirpleted batch to Kyle, where he and Niko would assemble it into its final form. And, of course, I¡¯ll add my own little touch at the end. A present for those who try to reverse-engineer my guns. ¡°Keith, the new locations, are they ready?¡± ¡°Not yet sir, but they have already been cleared out.¡± ¡°Start moving now. All ten of you, report to your assigned locations. I will teach you personally how to engrave. We start in two days.¡± Chapter 30: Secret War ¡°The Red Lions took our shipment?¡± A burly, tanned man covered in tattoos grunted, staring down from his chair at the man kneeling in front of him, who was bruised and bleeding. ¡°Captain, this is not an easy conclusion to make. Are you absolutely sure?¡± ¡°I-i-uhh, no, but all of the enforcers on our payroll are talking about us smuggling guns. I think the Red Lions leaked the information out to them so as to draw more heat to us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible for anyone to know about that shipment outside of us. Captain, you are one of the rare few who nned the route.¡± ¡°I told you it¡¯s not me! I don¡¯t think it¡¯s any of us. I think it was a lucky hit-¡± The captain shook his head vigorously as the burly man stood up to his full height, towering over him. ¡°So you¡¯re saying the Red Lions got it out of sheer luck? Am I hearing things right? Our proud Versia men were stumped by sheer luck?!¡± The burly man grabbed the captain by the head with one hand, a machete in the other, as he pressed the cold de against the neck. ¡°We fix underground matches, casinos, races. We don¡¯t do luck here, Captain. Now, speak slowly about every fact you have gathered.¡± The burly man let go of the captain, who coughed slightly and nodded vigorously. ¡°Yes, sir. Our shipment was ambushed in the Seven Snakes district, but nobody around knows about it except for the attackers and us.¡± ¡°And¡­?¡± ¡°Sir, that¡¯s all we have¡­¡± The captain replied sheepishly with a bowed head. ¡°Then the course of action is clear. A visit to the Seven Snakes is in due.¡± ¡°For a talk, sir?¡± The burly man chuckled, swirling a ss of wine as he leaned back into his chair. ¡°Captain, you never negotiate when you¡¯re on the losing end. If the Seven Snakes have our guns, they¡¯ll instinctively know that they have the upper hand on us. Let¡¯s show a bit of force first.¡± ¡°Sir, this would be a deration of war, and we¡¯re still fighting the Red Lions-¡° The captain tried to continue speaking, but a machete¡¯s de was already lodged in the side of his neck, causing him to choke on his own blood. The burly man stood up again, squatting next to the squirming captain, who struggled to remove the machete from his neck in vain attempts. ¡°The Ilysian Punks have no need for cowards, Captain.¡± The burly man whispered to the dying captain before snapping his fingers. Two punks came into the office, staring at the captain bleeding out. ¡°Dispose of the body. Throw it into the incinerator or feed it to the arena monsters.¡± The two punks nodded immediately, getting to work and hauling the body away. A cleaner servant also quickly entered, moping up the blood. Nobody defied Makoa, who was a sub-leader in the gang. ¡°Oh, and set an appointment with my tattooist. I have another one to add now.¡± Three dayster¡­ The Seven Snakes bases were now fully relocated, spread out into seven different areas with the old ce being abandoned. Kyle was still teaching how to engrave, moving between safe houses and fixing irregrities in the etching. Just as he was done teaching two of the members how to engrave a cooling enchantment onto the handle, Adrian burst into the room, panting. ¡°Sir, the scouts have spotted the Ilysian Punks heading right for us.¡± ¡°How many?¡± ¡°About a dozen of them, all armed with melee weapons.¡± ¡°Earlier than I expected ¨C gather a dozen rookie associates and meet me at the food market. Time for some training.¡± Kyle smirked. So the Ilysian Punks have decided to start a war instead of negotiating. At the food market, screams and shouts filled the air instead of the usual hustle and bustle. ¡°Get this shit out of here!¡± An Ilysian Punk flipped the food stall, smashing the kitchen and scaring the customers around. ¡°This district is soon going to be run by us! Not the Seven Snakes!¡± The Ilysian Punks were already atrge, sending their lowest rung to mess up the area. They targeted the food market, going through and messing up each of the stalls. ¡°That¡¯s right, boys, break everything in here! The snakes ain¡¯t got no balls to defend their own turf.¡± The leader of the punksughed as they trashed the ce. Some of the punks grabbed food and stuffed it into their mouths, while others set fire to crates. Just as the leader was about to order some more, a group of men appeared at the end of the street, numbering a dozen. At the head of them was a man dressed in a formal suit, his right arm protected by a weird green vambrace. On his right hand, he held an ornate crossbow, loaded with bolts, as he strutted towards them, the members behind him showing a dominant figure. ¡°Oh? The bosses out to y? Acting all strong because you won against a measly Left Paw? SHOW THEM WHAT WE¡¯RE MADE OF!¡± The leader ordered. The punks cheered and charged them with pipes and crowbars, running in from all directions. Kyle simply snapped the fingers on his left hand, prompting the members behind to chug a quick Strength Potion before meeting the charge head-on. The residents ducked for cover as a massive melee brawl broke out right in the food market. Even the local enforcers did not dare get involved in the brawl, knowing they very well might be killed by the crossfire. ¡°Just let the Seven Snakes handle this; let¡¯s get out of here!¡± The Seven Snakes fighters tried to fend off the punks, but it was clear that they were far out scaled. Despite the punks¡¯ attitude, it was clear they were all battle-hardened through multiple wars with nearby gangs, unlike the rookie associates from the Seven Snakes. Outmatched in every way, the Seven Snakes fighters began to lose ground, slowly getting injured. The punks had no qualms about killing them, but just as one of them was about to deal the final blow, Kyle intervened, shooting three bolts into the chest of the punk. ¡°Get up!¡± The Seven Snakes member quickly scrambled to his feet, retrieving a health potion from his belt and drinking it, recovering his wounds. The leader of the punks was irked when he saw this. He knew that the Seven Snakes were well-equipped with potions, but he did not expect even their rookie fighters to be that well-treated. ¡°Take down the boss first!¡± He yelled to the punks, prompting three of them to aim the crossbows, shooting at Kyle, who activated his armguard and blocked the projectiles. The fight continued on, with the leader continuously trying to kill Kyle and his fighters, but they were like cockroaches, healing just when they were in danger. It was as though Kyle was keeping them on edge and using the punks as training. Already a few of his men were injured despite being stronger, a sign that their stamina was running out. ¡°Fuck, retreat! Don¡¯t think you¡¯ve seen thest of us!¡± The punks fell back, running off out of the food market. The food market was left in ruins, all the stalls beaten back. ¡°Get every other free member out here to fix up the market. Tell Keith to pay all the stall owners back.¡± Kyle ordered, much to the gratitude of the locals. It felt as though the Seven Snakes had everything under control with Kyle in the reins, so the trust among the locals was not shaken. However, Kyle was not happy. He knew that the Ilysian Punks was simply probing for the guns. Their shipment had been attacked here, after all. It was no surprise that the Ilysian Punks would try to test and see if they were dumb enough to show the guns off. Kyle wasn¡¯t about to let his associates use the guns so tantly. As dangerous as it was, Kyle believed he had found a way where he could finallye out on top and overtake the Ardent Cretins using the military shipment However, it was a long n and required him to buy time. Kyle knew his n would be feasible in the Gctic Era, but whether it could work here was something else. Back at a new office, Damian was visibly jittery, immediately jumping up to meet Kyle the moment he returned. ¡°Kyle, I¡¯ve been listening in on the enforcers so far. It¡¯s even worse than we expected Nearly every enforcer is up and about, searching the original factory. For now, they don¡¯t know that the guns were hijacked a second time, so they are swarming that district.¡± ¡°And that district is owned by?¡± ¡°The Wretches, sir. Not on good terms with the Ilysian Punks. They probably think that it was either the Red Lions or the Ilysian Punks who turned the heat up on them, seeing as they are still in a state of war.¡± Damian frantically exined. ¡°You seem to have something to say.¡± ¡°Sir, I truly believe that keeping all the guns on us is a death sentence. All it takes is for one rumour to spread and trigger an enforcer raid on us.¡± Kyle pondered, considering Damian¡¯s opinion. To be honest, I don¡¯t need to hold onto every military crate, seeing as I can simply just reverse engineer them¡­ ¡°I understand, Damian.¡± Kyle tapped the map of the sector, smiling to himself as he figured out a n. ¡°Dump all military equipment except for two sets into the districts I point out here. Make sure they are in a slightly visible location but don¡¯t get spotted. Mask it with food or other items first. I want the gangs to discover them.¡± ¡°You want to frame all of them and spark some chaos with the guns.¡± Damian nodded. ¡°Exactly. We¡¯ll have one set in a crate here in our district as well just to avoid suspicion. We¡¯ll turn the crate into the enforcers as soon as word gets out to buy some goodwill. We keep the remaining set for our own purposes.¡± Kyle pointed to the Ilysian Punks-controlled districts, aiming at the closest adjacent district. After exining the n further to Damian, he soon focused back on figuring out how to push forward his new n to manufacture the handguns. It was clear that he had to present some improvements over the current flintlock or muzzle-loaded pistols, but he needed to tailor the expectation slightly lower. The five engravings that he had added into his upgraded version of the pistol were to make it far more efficient, so much so that even the average human with a bit of arcia energy would be able to fire it up to three times. Kyle was not particrly proficient in arctech engravings, but he could immediately see issues in the flow of energy and wasteful conversion using his former life¡¯s knowledge. The engravings he had chosen would help to reduce the heat generated, as well as improve uracy and control the recoil. It¡¯ll be a revolution in guns, and I¡¯ll be at the head of it. He already had a few prototype parts collected from the associates. He ensured that none of the associates knew more than one engraving each, preventing his recipe from spilling out. However, if he truly wanted to mass produce it, he needed to enlist the help of a factory or two. He began to n for a few ways in which he could start to dig his hooks into the factory workers. Niko should probably have an idea. He assembled a prototype pistol, the glossy raw metal surface glistening under the arctech light of the office. Just as he finished putting the different parts together, a new system message popped up.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item Created
[Enchanted Handgun (Basic)] A efficient gun with marks of foreign technology. Active Skill: Shoot ¨C Fire a group of pellets at high speeds Magazine holds up to eight rounds MP Cost per activation: 3 MP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Arctech Gunsmith (Basic)] Death handcrafted and delivered at high speeds. +5 INT, +3 AGI, +10% chance to craft an intermediate pistol when assembling
Chapter 31: Failsafe The factory churned with a never-ending rumbling sound. Soot and fumes nketed the entire factory floor, withrge arctech furnaces melting metal, g drifting on molten rivers. Assembly lines formed as dirt-covered workers moved their hands through the same mundane motions, twisting and screwing appliances before them. On an upper floor, there were offices filled with arctech designers, working hard on improving engravings incrementally through every iteration. The manager at the head of the office made a simple modification to the engraving, passing it down to the next guy who calcted a very specific parameter before handing it over to the next person. It was like a human calctor, with each designers simply focusing on one parameter. In the middle of this chain was a young man, his eyes clearly zed with boredom as he barely gave a nce at each of the prototypes in front of him. They were basic household appliances - right now, a simple heated kettle that didn¡¯t require an arctech stove. He sighed as he scribbled down a few numbers on a piece of paper, before checking another variation of the same kettle. The hours passed slowly, his mind numb from the monotonous work. As he slowly walked out of the factory, he began to wonder why he even decided to be an arctech designer. Whatever happened to all the cool equipment that he could have been making? Instead he was some glorified single equation calctor for a fucking kettle. However, tonight was going to be different. As soon as he turned the corner, Karl was already waiting for him with a wide grin, along with three other workers from the factory floor.¡°Ready to party it up, Gordon?¡± Karl patted his shoulder. Gordon was a bit stunned before he nodded resolutely. He had been enticed by the raving stories Karl had talked about the morous casinos, brothels and pubs that he had never been to before, so they agreed to head over to one of the casinos Karl knew. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, I know a guy in there? He¡¯s the boss. I already got word from him they set up everything for us, the full VIP treatment.¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have that much money.¡± Gordon stammered. ¡°HAHA! Don¡¯t worry, that guy used to be one of our factory workers! Can you believe it? He¡¯s one of the top dogs right now. Here theye.¡± Karlughed it off, while Gordon was shocked. A luxurious arctech wagon drove up to the factory, turning heads and eyes towards them as the wagon stopped right in front of them. Niko was already in the back of the wagon, beckoning for them to enter. The five of them entered the wagon, which was coated in the most luxurious surface Gordon had ever seen. He had never imagined a simple word from Karl was able to acquire all of this. Karl noticed the surprise on Gordon¡¯s face, nudging him as the wagon sailed off to the casino. ¡°Surprised? It¡¯s easy to get into the good life just like that.¡± Karl handed him a bottle of ubelled beer still in its ss bottle. ¡°Homebrewed by the Seven Snakes themselves, we even got our own brewery!¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t drinking alcohol illegal under the ban¡­?¡± Gordon asked worriedly, having never flouted thew before. Karlughed, pping Gordon on the back. ¡°Hey Niko, tell him how many times you¡¯ve been caught drinking over thest two months.¡± ¡°Zero,¡± Niko replied with a smirk on his face. Just at that very moment, the wagon stopped near an enforcer patrol, causing Gordon to mp up slightly, trying to hide the bottle of beer in his hands. The enforcer patrol spotted Niko in the wagon, the two enforcers walking over to the back of the wagon. ¡°Having a good night out eh?¡± ¡°Of course. Looking forward to seeing you at the dice games.¡± Niko tossed a bottle of beer each to the enforcers, who simply smiled and slipped the bottles under their uniform before walking off. Gordon¡¯s eyes shone like diamonds at how easily Niko handled the enforcers. He had no idea it was this simple to live the high life. What the hell has he been doing all his life, aiming to be some no-name arctech designer trapped in a dumb office? Niko grinned as he caught the look on the factory workers he was tasked with inviting. Hook, line and sinker. The wagon soon arrived at the casino, showing them a whole new high life, unlike anything they had seen before. The VIP treatment was real, where they had escorts and free-flow drinks tend to them like they were the kings of the world. The factory workers naturally got carried away, having what essentially amounted to a free pass on luxury. Gordonughed and drank with Karl and Niko non-stop, enjoying the nightlife as the sounds of coins and gambling echoed all around them. ¡°You see now Gordon? What¡¯s the point in slogging away in a grimey old factory making fucking kettles with those idiots out there? You¡¯re leagues ahead of them, don¡¯t you think it¡¯s about time you make your money¡¯s worth?¡± Gordon recalled the faces of his parents, who were adamant that he got a nice stable job, just like his dad who worked as a construction worker. But after he had a taste of luxury? How could he ever go back to his boring old life? Karl spotted the expression of Gordon and gave a knowing look to Niko, who draped his arm around Gordon, smiling at him. ¡°If you wanted, you could have this every night for the rest of your life. All you got to do is just one simple job.¡± Two dayster¡­ Gordon was in the office, checking his pocket watch carefully. It was about time for the workday to end, but instead of packing up like everyone else was, his eyes were locked on the manager while acting like he was still working on something. The office began to clear out, soon leaving the manager and Gordon alone in the office. ¡°Gordon, what are you still doing? We don¡¯t pay for overtime, you know.¡± ¡°Manager, I wanted to talk to you about a potential improvement in one of the engravings. Here¡­¡± Gordon beckoned for the manager toe over and see, while his hand began to reach for a handgun under the table, hidden from the manager¡¯s view. ¡°Sorry, Gordon, but I got dinner with my family. I¡¯ll check it first thing in the morning.¡± The manager waved his hand dismissively, grabbing his things and preparing to leave the office. Just as he tried to open the door, the door swung wide open to reveal Karl and the other three factory workers, all holding knives, rope and a crowbar. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about your family, Manager Staten. We got them covered. You¡¯ll be speaking to us for now.¡± Karl motioned for the other factory workers to restrain the manager down to the ground. Staten struggled to fight back against the factory workers, but he was never going to win three-on-one. ¡°What the fuck is this, a strike? You¡¯re never going to get aw-¡° A solid punch from a factory workernded right on his face, smashing his jaw and causing his gum to bleed profusely. His eyes wandered to Gordon, who only stared impassively at him, showing no signs of helping him. The factory workers hauled Staten onto a chair, tying him down with the rope. ¡°Alright manager. We would like you to resign and nominate Gordon as your sessor.¡± Karl began, taking out a Euria Pipe and smoking it. Karl had been paid handsomely for his role in hijacking the guns, though it was a fluke. Kyle was not one to underpay those who help him, so Karl was a defacto associate now of the Seven Snakes, though still integrated into the factory. ¡°Resign?! Are you crazy? My family depends on me!¡± ¡°Oh, you mean Rachel? Cute little girl, nice red hair. Had to shut her up because she wouldn¡¯t stop screaming.¡± Karl smirked. Staten¡¯s face went nk, before slowly turning into anger. ¡°Fuckers, what did you do to her?! I SWEAR I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡± ¡°Ah, he¡¯s too loud. Shut him up.¡± Karl ordered the three factory workers, who began to force open Staten¡¯s mouth. One worker held open the mouth while another took out a crowbar and positioned it against Staten¡¯s bleeding lower gum. ¡°Every time you shout, this is going to happen.¡± The scream was horrendous as the crowbar ripped out a tooth from the gum, causing Staten to spasm in the chair. ¡°Stuff this in his mouth, don¡¯t want the blood to get all over here.¡± Karl threw a cloth over. ¡°Now, nod your head for yes, shake your head for no. Remember, dear little Rachel is waiting for you. This doesn¡¯t need to get any bloodier.¡± Staten nodded his head vigorously,pletely powerless to stop any of them. ¡°Good. You will resign effectively tomorrow and name Gordon as your sessor. If by any chance the enforcers hear about this, or Gordon does not be the manager, you can forget about seeing Rachel, got it?¡± Karl smiled as Staten nodded his head in acknowledgement, while another factory worker took out a Healing Potion and stuffed it down Staten¡¯s mouth, forcing him to drink it. The wounds were immediately cleared up, though his tooth was still missing. The next day, Staten held a general meeting, announcing his resignation due to health issues and appointed Gordon as the factory manager. There was a mixture of shock, surprise and anger, but Gordon felt a rush as he took up his new position at the head of the office. Just like that, he became the manager in charge of designing the products for the factory. He immediately fired all the existing foremen on the factory floor and instituted Karl and the three workers as their recements, ensuring they had total control over what the factory could produce. Near the end of the workday, a man apanied by five Seven Snakes members, including Niko, marched in, meeting with Gordon. The man walked right into Gordon¡¯s office without hesitation, ncing around the room. ¡°Manager Gordon, how do you like your new office?¡± ¡°It¡¯s brilliant, sir.¡± Gordon got up and bowed immediately, knowing from Niko that this man was Kyle, leader of the Seven Snakes. ¡°Let¡¯s get straight to business. I need you to produce these parts for the Seven Snakes. We¡¯ll handle the cost, along with an added benefit.¡± Kyle handed over a few of the requested prototype parts that he himself had made. Gordon eyed the parts, noticing they were mostly defensive armour pieces with basic arctech engravings. Is he trying to outfit an army or something? The armour pieces were all designed to be concealed under normal clothes, while Gordon noticed that there were three sets ordered that had a much different engraving style with a note that requested him to personally produce these parts. ¡°Sir, these engravings are¡­¡± ¡°Proprietary. I will work together with you to make these specific parts.¡± Kyle wasn¡¯t about to let Gordon learn too much about the new optical illusion engraving that he had modified from Gk. Gordon nodded, still checking over the entire order. However, there was a snag. ¡°Sir, the factory owners are still unaware of this takeover and will still have quotas on the production of other products to fulfil.¡± Gordon tried to exin before he nced at Kyle¡¯s piercing eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you are a brilliant arctech designer. The money is there for the taking; it is up to you how much you want to make.¡± Kyle replied nonchntly. ¡°Do this well, and there will be better contracts in the future. I look forward to our cooperation.¡± The group of the Seven Snakes left, with Niko patting Gordon on the back and handing him a set of documents before leaving. Gordon read through the documents, his eyes widening as he read the details on it. ¡°This¡­ this is revolutionary! The factory can be fifty percent, no maybe even a hundred percent more efficient with implementing these methods!¡± Back in the office, Keith was already about to burst his top at Kyle spending money to fund the factory production. ¡°I know what you¡¯re nning, but we don¡¯t have enough money to pull it off! That armour production is going to cost millions at this rate ¨C arctech gear isn¡¯t cheap. Our associates won¡¯t have enough arcia energy to fuel the use of the equipment, which means they might need fuel packs. That¡¯s going to be another money sink¡­¡± The Euria Seeds cash revenue was enough to offset the debt, but it wasn¡¯t in the tens of millions yet. However, Kyle was unfazed, simply smiling at the frustrated Keith. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry, money won¡¯t be a problem very soon.¡± Chapter 32: Auction The Central Sector was not free of crime, though its crime was of a higher ss. Rather than petty protection rackets and inane extortion, it was here where most of the moneyundering, trafficking and high-value deals were made between corrupt barons, enforcers and entrepreneurial gangs. In a hidden alleyway away from the grand open streets, two bouncers dressed in suits were dutifully scanning the individuals in line, all of whom wore masks to hide their identities. In the middle of the line was a single man, holding a mundane briefcase that could barely be seen under the dark night sky. As he walked up to the two bouncers, he was searched from head to toe for any concealed weapons. ¡°Open the briefcase.¡± The bouncer ordered. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯m nning on selling something within. I¡¯ll prefer not to show it out here.¡± The bouncer grunted in response, motioning with his head to someone else inside. A well-mannered receptionist came out to greet the man. ¡°Intending to sell something for the uing auction? Please follow me.¡± The man was led to a intermediate section where there was a ornate archway that seemed to be something of a body scanner. ¡°Sorry, sir. Just a precaution to make sure you have no active arctech equipment.¡± The receptionist exined. ¡°I understand.¡± The man eyed the scanner, but was unable to spot any engravings externally. He hardly felt a thing as he passed through the scanner, and the receptionist immediately brought him through the next door. The man entered to reveal a red carpeted floor, dazzling with bright chandeliers glistening with osciting arctech lights. The entrance was crowded as people lined up for the cloakroom, while others simply hung around near a bar drinking cocktails. None of them paid attention to the man with the briefcase. The receptionist led the man to a separate section of the ce, where it was much quieter. ¡°Please wait here while our head artificer prepares to inspect your item.¡± She motioned to a small private room with a table and chair. The man sat quietly in the private room without making a fuss, waiting. Soon, an old artificer equipped with what seemed to be a magnifying ss in one eye entered the room along with a private guard. The old artificer sighed, sitting down on the opposite chair with a plop. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get this over with. Whatever you think it¡¯s worth, it¡¯s going to be at least half of it, so don¡¯t get your hopes up.¡± The old artificer said with a dismissive tone, his face clearly bored by the dozens of fake or cheap items he had to check each auction. The briefcase was opened to reveal an exquisite handgun, somehow carved with an oriental design unlike anything the old artificer had seen before. The design was out of this world, his words stuck in his throat. ¡°This¡­ what even is this?¡± ¡°An arctech handgun.¡± ¡°I know that much! Where the hell did you get it from? This is¡­¡± The old artificer snapped. ¡°I was under the impression this auction house doesn¡¯t ask questions.¡± The old artificer coughed slightly in a calm manner, though his hands were obviously fidgety, wanting to touch the handgun. ¡°Yes, but it is also under our terms and conditions that there should be no ill-gotten gains that may have been obtained from our¡­ bigger patrons.¡± ¡°Rest assured, this was not stolen from the city of Raktor.¡± ¡°Great! May I examine it properly?¡± The man nodded, with the old artificer excitedly grabbing the handgun and inspecting the engraving on its exterior. The old artificer ran his hands over the surface, finding the grooves and the bolts used to hold the frame in ce. Just as he was about to remove the bolt, the man suddenly spoke. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t open it if I were you. I¡¯m told it would not end well.¡± ¡°An explosive failsafe, work of a master arctech designer to prevent others from reverse engineering their inventions. Expected.¡± The old artificer sighed. ¡°But seeing as we can¡¯t open its interior, we cannot verify the exact operation of the gun.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s quite simple. Point and pull the trigger.¡± ¡°But does the gun not require an arcite fuel pack?¡± The old artificer asked. Guns normally were extremely hard to use regarding arcia energy requirements. Naturally, he felt such an exquisite pistol would have an obscenely high arcia energy cost. ¡°You can have your guard give it a test run. Go for it.¡± The old artificer nodded at the guard, who wore a metal protective glove, before picking up the handgun in case it blew up in his face. Aiming at a wall further way, the guard pulled the trigger once, firing a st of pellets that embedded right into the thick wall. ¡°Try firing again.¡± The man motioned, to the confusion of the old artificer. ¡°Fire again? Guns like these can¡¯t be fired agai-¡° The sound of the trigger being pulled and another st of pelletsing out shocked the old artificer, who stared intently at the private guard. ¡°You¡¯re not a hidden mage, are you?¡± ¡°No, I can barely keep a chest te active for more than two minutes.¡± The guard shook his head, himself somewhat proud of himself. The old artificer was in pure shock, his mouth agape. This¡­ this is revolutionary! ¡°Do you understand the gun¡¯s value now?¡± The man smirked. The old artificer finally calmed himself down, sitting back down with the handgun ced in front of him. What came next was the hardest part of the entire thing. He steeled his face. ¡°Seventy percent of the final auction price.¡± The old artificer held up a finger. ¡°Ridiculous. You already know in your heart that this gun is an advancement in technology. Ny percent.¡± The old artificer¡¯s heart clenched. This exquisite gun was bound to be a hit among the nobility. Maybe even Baron Cain might go all out for it, or merchants from other nations might grab it. ¡°Seventy-five percent, that¡¯s as high I can go.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯s no deal.¡± The man reached out to grab the handgun, but the old artificer stopped him. ¡°Wait, wait, wait, I¡¯m sure we can talk this out.¡± ¡°Ny or nothing.¡± The old artificer breathed in heavily before ncing at the open briefcase. ¡°Those are the pellets, I assume?¡± ¡°Yes. Loaded into cartridges like this.¡± The man demonstrated the reloading of the pistol, shocking the old artificer once more. Loaded into the grip of the pistol, simply ingenious. This man is definitely not simple ¨C if I don¡¯t treat him well, this may be thest we see of him. We must keep him around! ¡°Ny percent, deal!¡± The old artificer quickly shook his hand before hastily ordering the guard. ¡°Get this man a VIP seat immediately; he¡¯s an esteemed patron of the auction house now!¡± ¡°Keep the briefcase. Also, a change of clothes would be nice.¡± ¡°Of course, anything for you!¡± The old artificer was nearly swooning over the handgun, knowing it could sell for way over a million rakels or even ten million rakels. This is it, the main key point of the auction! The man was given a VIP seat, overlooking the entire auction hall in his own private booth. A waiter served wine and snacks, though the man hardly drank nor ate any of it, his eyes simply scanning the auction hall. The auction had yet to start, but there were many of high society already mingling around with each other, forming business deals and partnerships. The man noticed even a few bishops in the midst, negotiating with strangers in hushed tones in the corners. [Good evening, fellow patrons. The end-of-year Decaber Auction is finally ready tomence! Please take your seats. This month¡¯s auction has many interesting things in store; please collect a list from one of our employees.] The door of the private booth opened, revealing the old artificer who entered with a gleeful smile, sitting down next to the man and handing him a list of items. ¡°Good sir, perhaps you might be interested in buying a few things? Also, it would be good to know your name¡­¡± ¡°You may call me Hawthorn.¡± ¡°Ah, Sir Hawthorn, I willmit that name to memory.¡± The old artificer nodded, racking his brains to try to recall if there were any nobility in Raktor with that name. He prided himself on knowing almost every one of worth in the city, but no ¡®Hawthorn¡¯ came to mind. Perhaps it is a moniker. ¡°And to whom do I owe the pleasure?¡± Sir Hawthorn looked at the old artificer. ¡°I am known as Master Xen, but you may simply call me Xen.¡± The old artificer nodded his head before pointing at the list. ¡°Perhaps you might see something that might interest you?¡± ¡°Perhaps¡­¡± Hawthorn nced through the list, noting the huge variation in types of items of all curiosity. Artefacts, historical art pieces, potions and even ves were traded at this auction. However, Hawthorn did not spot anything that would help him until he reached the end of the list, his eyes widening in recognition. Master Xen spotted the obvious change on Hawthorn¡¯s face, knowing he had found a potential hook to foster a closer rtionship. ¡°Ah, seems like there is something you¡¯ve taken a fancy to.¡± ¡°How much can I borrow?¡± The old artificer stroked his beard. ¡°I personally value the handgun to be a million rakels, so ny percent would be nine hundred thousand.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking. The gun would go for ten million at the minimum. I guess I can¡¯t borrow any then.¡± Hawthorn put the list aside, sighing. Master Xen¡¯s eyebrow twitched at being called out like that, though both of them knew ten million rakels was to be expected. ¡°Fine, you can borrow nine million rakels. However, if your handgun sells less than ten million, you will have to make up the difference. Do note our loan interest rates are petitive¡¯.¡± ¡°Not a problem. Nine million rakels it is.¡± The audience finally settled down, with the auction finally presenting the items in sequence. [First up, Item #1, we have a cyclops ve! Be the envy of your peers when you show off this magnificent specimen, one of thest of its kind.] The host of the auction snapped his fingers, with workers wheeling in a ve cage nearly three meters tall. Inside was a bound cyclops, naked and skin shredded from the numerous whippings to keep it docile. [Bidding begins at one hundred twenty thousand rakels.] Hawthorn didn¡¯t show any interest at all in the ve, with Master Xen noting all of this down, trying to put his finger on what Hawthorn likes. If I can get closer to him, I might find the source of the gun. If HE is the source of the gun, I must suck up to him even more than ever. The auction proceeded as normal, with the items alternating between categories. Hawthorn curiously stared at the stage, as though he was watching an ancient holo-drama from Ancient Earth, where totems, broken-off stones of ancient ruins and forgotten weapons were auctioned for millions. [Next up, Item #33: An explorer team has dug up ancient ruins in Versia, only to find carved human-sized statues or idols of what seems to be spines. The statues are rumoured to be unbreakable, and of course, the auction house did not dare to test that theory.] The statues were disyed on the stage, made of rock and what seemed to be dried mud. It looked extremely unpleasant and more like centipedes, and many of the audience members were already thinking of what the next item was, checking his list. [Bidding begins at a hundred thousand rakels.] The auction hall was silent, leading the host to feel slightly embarrassed at disying such an item with no interest to be found. [Well then, if no one bids, then it will be simply be kept by the auction house. Going once¡­] ¡°A hundred thousand rakels.¡± Hawthorn suddenly spoke out, raising his auction sign to indicate his bid. Master Xen raised his eyebrows in surprise, adjusting the magnifying ss on his eye to see the items on stage better. I don¡¯t understand¡­ it¡¯s just rock and stone. A noticeable wave of murmuring began to spread across the audience, with some of the more curious people wondering why would a person from the VIP booth want to buy such an item. Perhaps it was actually of some value? Three more members bid in sequence, raising the price to two hundred thousand. ¡°Three hundred thousand.¡± Hawthorn re-bid. Now the audience was far more intrigued, wondering whether the statues had inherent value. Baron Cain sat with his entourage in an opposing VIP booth, wondering who the bidder was. None of his peers within his social circle would ever buy something as gaudy as those statues. How in the world would you disy them? [Three hundred thousand, going once, going twice¡­ SOLD! To the VIP patron in booth six.] ¡°Master Xen, could I trouble your employees to bring the items up to this booth immediately?¡± Hawthorn asked. ¡°Ah- of course, of course!¡± Master Xen quickly spread the order down, with the centipede statues being brought up into therge booth, mounted on trolleys. Hawthorn stood up and walked over, cing his hands on the ¡®centipede¡¯ looking statues.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Ancient Exosuit Spine] Lost technology created in the Gctic Era, unusable without thorough refurbishment. Active Skill: Nerval Jack ¨C Enables an exosuit pilot to wield a suit through a nerval distributionwork Requires an operational exosuit
Chapter 33: Bidding. What the fuck is an exosuit spine doing here? Kyle Hawthorn was stunned, but he quickly controlled his expression, aware that Master Xen was watching him. He twisted his facial expression to one of disappointment, sighing audibly. ¡°Sir Hawthorn, is there a problem with the items?¡± Master Xen asked gently. ¡°No, there¡¯s no problem. It just was not what I expected at all.¡± Kyle took a deep breath, calmed himself and sat back down. The rest of the auction flew past him as his mind raced through all the possible implications of what the exosuit spine represented. The system mentioned that it was an ancient exosuit spine¡­ does this mean I¡¯ve travelled into the future in some way? Kyle ran through plenty of possible scenarios, but each one of them did not seem to solve the issue of there being Gctic Era technology on the. Some scenarios did have merit in them, but until he gained more power and was able to explore the¡¯s surroundings truly, he would have to withhold making assumptions and snap judgements. Ancient ruins in Versia¡­ I must make a visit myself one day. Either way, with the exosuit spine, he now had a good reference to potentially make his own exosuit. Just because he came from the Gctic Era as a crime lord did not mean that he knew immediately how to make an exosuit from scratch. Many humans in the Gctic Era relied on cranial imnts to store such detailed information, so it was expected for him to forget while he was here. Master Xen tried to make small talk with Sir Hawthorn a few times, but Kyle was so engrossed in his thinking that his eyes were simply zed over, as though Master Xen did not exist any longer. It wasn¡¯t until Master Xen reached out with a hand that Kyle suddenly violently reacted and entered a defensive posture, assuming it was an attack. Master Xen quickly pulled his hand back, worried. ¡°Sir Hawthorn, it¡¯s almost near the end of the auction. The handgun is going up now.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Kyle replied stoically, resuming his calm demeanour. Master Xen continued observing Sir Hawthorn, aware that the statues must have affected him in some way. A curse? Or perhaps Sir Hawthorn is a non-human in disguise? [The final piece of the auction is a true rarity, a clear-cut innovation in the method of gunsmithing, arctech designing and firearms. Behold, the world¡¯s first repeater handgun!] A luxurious cloth was pulled off a pedestal, revealing the exquisite handgun in all its glory. [The name of this handgun is Oriental Bloom. Behold the intricate carvings on the surface of its barrel. A master arctech designer has made this handgun, so naturally, fail-safes are in ce if the owner attempts to disassemble it. However, the handgun is still the first the auction house has seen that can fire more than one burst at a time!] ¡°That¡¯s bullshit; everyone knows arctech guns can only shoot once every thirty seconds. Any faster would be a clear waste of arcite fuel or extremely exhaustive on the user. Many guns don¡¯t even have the material required to withstand the force!¡± One of the audience members scoffed in response. The host did not mention anything, instead grabbing the handgun from the pedestal and taking aim at a straw dummy target that was rolled out by the workers. In quick session, the host fired the handgun three times, the recoil extremely high. The projectiles sted the straw dummy into chunks, with a few impacting the auction hall¡¯s wall due to the high recoil and poor marksmanship of the host. Many of the audience members instinctively cowered from the loud bangs before gaping in awe at what just happened. ¡°¡­. Impossible¡­¡± The same audience member sat down with a defeated expression. However, the other audience members¡¯ faces glowed up, knowing that they had a chance to own this gun for themselves. The prestige of wielding such a gun for oneself would be enormous. [Bidding begins at half a million-] ¡°One million!¡± ¡°Two and a half million!¡± Baron Cain was already upright in his chair, shouting at his entourage to double-check his ounts and to call the inquisitors. ¡°That gun, it¡¯s too coincidental!¡± The shipment from the factory had just been stolen a few days ago, and now a repeater handgun? He leaned over the railing, trying to get a better look at the surface of the handgun. The carvings were unlike anything he had seen before, making it look as though it was from apletely different nation. However, it was too much of a coincidence. If he did not hold onto that gun, it could be a national disaster. He quickly scribbled a message on the napkin, sending it to all the barons of the other sectors that were in the auction as well. I need the other barons to stay out of the way! In another VIP booth, Sebastian sat with the leader of the Ardent Cretin, Ares. ¡°Sebastian, we need to get that gun! Having that gun would boost our firepower and enable us to have better-negotiating rights with the enforcers.¡± Ares was already grinning widely, thinking about what would happen if everyone in his gang had this gun. Sebastian frowned, thinking deeply before shaking his head. ¡°No. Baron Cain is most likely going to go all out for this. I will send a message to him saying that we will not contest him for it. Acquiring that gun is a death sentence for our gang.¡± Ares was about to protest, but Sebastian shot him a death re. ¡°We agreed to let me handle the auction. Are you already not satisfied with the proceeds from the ves?¡± ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡± As all of this was happening, the audience became even rowdier, with the bid reaching fifteen million. ¡°Seventeen million!¡± A loud voice echoed from an adjacent VIP booth,ing from a wealthy gentleman nked by three guards. Waves of murmuring rippled through the crowd, with those in the know able to recognize his voice through the mask. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s the leader of the Veiled Angels!¡± ¡°Eighteen million.¡± Another gentleman was sitting on the opposite side of the hall in a VIP booth as well, smirking at the other. The men standing behind his seat were clearly the Violet Demons, their mouths twisted in a sinister smile against the leader of the Veiled Angels. Despite them being in such close proximity to each other, neither of them made any moves to try and kill the opponent. Even though they were at war in the West Sector, the auction house in the Central Sector was a neutral zone. The gangs were not about to flout the unspoken rules established by the ruler of the auction house ¨C offending him meant offending the city of Raktor itself. Before the leader of the Veiled Angels could raise the bid any further, a clear voice from one of the VIP booths stunned the entire audience. ¡°Twenty-five million rakels.¡± Master Xen¡¯s eyeballs nearly popped out of their sockets. He was already shocked when the Violet Demons bid eighteen million, but now the handgun was worth twenty-five million rakels. Xen nced at Sir Hawthorn¡¯s face, who had no reaction at all, simply leaning back in his chair, rxing. [Twenty-five million rakels! Do I hear any other bids?!] The host was naturally celebrative, reaching a personal milestone. The floor was silent, each of the previously rowdy members bing quiet. Twenty-five million rakels were enough to buy an entire mansion in the Central Sector. Only those of nobility, the barons, could have that much money to spend on an exquisite handgun. As much as a technological improvement as it was, twenty-five million rakels were just far too much. Already Sebastian was thinking of ways he could send men to infiltrate Baron Cain¡¯s lodging to try and snatch the pistol. The same idea was running through all of the major gang leaders¡¯ heads, only to be disrupted by a foreign voice wafting in from booth six. ¡°Thirty million rakels.¡± Sir Hawthorn suddenly spoke. Baron Cain was temporarily stunned before the realization of what just happened caused him to crush his ss in anger. ¡°Who¡¯s that fucking peasant in booth six? Is he a foreign baron? You!¡± He pointed at one of the employees of the auction house. ¡°I want a verification that booth six has enough to pay for this, or is he just jacking up the price for no reason!¡± The host was equally stunned,pletely lost for words now, until an employee ran up onto the stage, whispering into his ear. [Ahem, thirty million is an unexpected bid. Please hold while our employees confirm that the individual in question does have enough.] Master Xen was bbergasted before pinching himself slightly to assure himself it wasn¡¯t a dream. ¡°Sir Hawthorn, I hope you¡¯re not artificially inting the bid price with no assets to back it up. The auction house does not take kindly to fake bids.¡± Sir Hawthorn did not say anything, simply exposing the interior of his suit to reveal side holsters in the inner pockets where two more of the same type of handgun rested. He took out one of them, tossing it to Master Xen, who nearly dropped it, eximing in response. Master Xen examined the carvings, noticing that the design was radically different. It was as if an alien species had carved this out instead of humans. The moment three employees came into the booth to check, Master Xen quickly dismissed them. ¡°He has more, MORE than enough. The bid is valid!¡± Even if the price was reduced, two of these handguns could go for ten million each, minimum. There were noints from the auction house. If the bid closed at thirty million, Sir Hawthorn would still have to cough up the remaining million rakels. Either way, the auction house made money from the 10% cut, so they continued the auction. [Uhm¡­ It seems that the individual does have enough to support the bid. The bidding shall now resume.] ¡°WHAT!?¡± Baron Cain was outraged. As rich as he was, outbidding thirty million was not a small purchase in any shape or form. However, he could not risk losing the gun as well; he needed it to trace the culprit, who may or may not have reverse-engineered the technology. ¡°You! Tell me the name of the individual in booth six!¡± ¡°Sir, under the direct orders of Count Leon, the auction house will not divulge the personal information of any individual without their express permission, including you, sir.¡± ¡°Fine! Thirty-five million rakels!¡± Baron Cain ced a bid in desperation. [Thirty-five Million Rakels! Do I hear a counteroffer from booth six?] All eyes turned to booth six, staring at the masked man who did not seem intent on bidding again. Baron Cain was even more incensed by the obvious ploy, cursing under his breath. [Thirty-five million rakels, going once, going twice¡­ sold to the individual from booth one!] ¡°GET THAT HANDGUN HERE AND CALL THE INQUISITORS NOW!¡± Baron Cain roared with ferocity. ¡°Tell them I want all avable enforcers under me to track that fucking cunt from booth six immediately!¡± The auction house began to clear out an hourter, and the events of the night began to spread through the city. Mason and Kitana were waiting in their own enforcer wagon, with Mason puffing his Euria pipe as per usual. Kitana tapped the leather seat under her, impatient as she stared daggers into the opening of the street. [Sir, he¡¯s on the move. One wagon ising out of the auction house right now.] The arctech radio blurted out. ¡°You sure it¡¯s him?¡± Mason asked. [Yes, I visually saw him enter the car.] ¡°All right. Kitana, get ready. We¡¯ll pull the car over the moment it enters the South Sector.¡± Mason grabbed the wheel of the enforcer wagon, turning on the arctech engine. The arcite fuel tank churned as the engravings along the base shaft lit up, slowly rolling the wagon forward. Just as they started moving, a wagon came out from the auction house¡¯s warehouse and onto the streets. Mason did not give chase immediately, simply moving along slowly as the target wagon sped off. Only when the target wagon turned the corner did Mason begin to pick up the speed, staying at afortable distance. A few minutes passed without much incident as they drove through the safe streets of the Central Sector, but soon Mason had a frown on his face. ¡°This path¡­ it seems he¡¯s heading for the Ilysian Punks territory.¡± ¡°So it really is the Ilysian Punks who stole our guns?¡± Kitana assumed. ¡°Looks like the tipoff wasn¡¯t wrong after all.¡± ¡°Or it could be a ploy by the Ardent Cretins to incriminate their rivals. Wouldn¡¯t hurt them to have one lesspetitor in the sector while we¡¯re wasting time.¡± Mason warned. They stalked the target wagon for a good two hours before the target wagon finally came to a stop at a residential building opposite a known Ilysian Punk hangout. Three individuals got out of the wagon, shifting the statues into the building. Mason stopped the wagon just around the corner, the two of them exiting the wagon and checking the surroundings. Already people on the street were eyeing them, with a few Ilysian Punks spotting them and running off to inform their superiors. ¡°Fuck, this is going to get dicey. Look, find out where those three individuals went. I¡¯m going to their hangout to negotiate safe passage. Don¡¯t want too much attention here.¡± Mason ordered. Kitana nodded, gripping her arctech pistol while she observed the wagon and the building entrances. She slowly moved over without too much hassle, acting calm as she walked past the wagon, checking the inside of the wagon. The wagon waspletely empty, and unmarked, making it hard for Kitana to determine where the wagon came from. She found a handwritten note on the driver¡¯s seat, picking it up. An Ilysian Punk shipment order. She decided to patrol around the outskirts of the residential building, entering the alleyway. As she cautiously stepped through the grime and trash that littered the floor, a cracking sound prompted her to raise her pistol, aiming at an obviously dishevelled squatter who was equally rmed. ¡°Wh-what did I do? I¡¯m not part of the punks, I¡¯m not!¡± The squatter waved his hands wildly. Kitana sighed, lowering her pistol and prompting the squatter to move along. The squatter bowed respectfully, timidly moving past her while taking great care to avoid touching her. As the squatter ran past her, Kitana turned to look at his back. Eyes of Truth.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Activated
[Eyes of Truth] Ignore any illusions or disguises, allowing one to see through everything. Dependent on intelligence stats Duration: Ten seconds Cost: 5MP
As the words repeated in her brain, her pupils turned golden, and the world around her became a matrix of golden lines, breaking down things into their basicponents. The dishevelled features of the squatter broke down to reveal a handsome young man, notorious as a gang leader. Kitana could see all the engravings present on the man. Kitana immediately saw the true identity of the squatter but did not give chase. Optical illusion engraving on the suit ¨C that¡¯s new. Kitana did not check the building any longer, instead heading out back onto the street to where the enforcer wagon was. It¡¯s clear that they are the ones who made the handgun and probably used the military shipment as inspiration. It seems like they are the ones who have the final possession of it. Who knew that a small gang like theirs would have such capabilities? Kitana began to think carefully, weighing out all the possible future scenarios that would bring her the most benefit. [Kitana, did you get them? At least tell me you found out who it was.] Mason barked over the radio. ¡°I did. It¡¯s the Ilysian Punks. They are the ones who robbed the military factory.¡± Chapter 34: Preparations Kyle did not expect to be treated this well by the enforcers when he came in to report about finding a crate of military equipment. He also did not expect to have an impromptu meeting with the inquisitors, who wanted to talk with him right after. The three of them were now sat in a lobby area, with Mason and Kitana both smiling at Kyle. ¡°Only a good citizen of Yual such as you would have the heart to return such an important good. The enforcer department will confer onto you a medal of public service.¡± Mason nodded his head. Kyle smiled genially in response. All three of them knew that he was the gang leader of the Seven Snakes, it was an open secret. ¡°I would prefer if I traded the medal for a more concrete benefit.¡± Mason nodded, getting the gist. ¡°Before wee to that, we just wanted to check if you had seen any crates around this district as well. Wouldn¡¯t want to go door to door, banging up people just to find any.¡± ¡°Rest assured inquisitor, you have my word that this is the only crate you¡¯ll find in my territory.¡± ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Mason¡¯s voice trailed off as he nced at Kitana, who nodded. ¡°Well then, speak.¡± ¡°Word is already on the street that the Ilysian Punks have the rest of the guns. You¡¯ve probably heard about it.¡± Mason and Kitana¡¯s faces remained calm, showing no reaction while internally they knew that they were about to be caught in some ploy. ¡°The Ilysian Punks have recently beenunching attacks into my district, and I¡¯m nning some retribution. We¡¯re on the same side here with amon enemy, so I¡¯ll say a temporary alliance is in order. Perhaps we can be of some help.¡± Mason finally chuckled. ¡°You mean you want the enforcers to look the other way while you attack the Ilysian Punks with everything you got?¡± ¡°And as soon as I find even a single trail of any guns, I will let you know immediately,¡± Kyle concluded. ¡°Or we could simply round them up all by ourselves.¡± ¡°Inquisitor, I¡¯m not too sure your men are as willing and motivated as mine to fight against a gang who most likely have full possession of military equipment enough to decimate a battalion. Life is precious, after all. Every death is a stain on your record.¡± Kyle smirked. Mason leaned back into the chair, smoking his pipe again. ¡°A tempting offer, Alvin. Perhaps we are on the same side after all.¡± As soon as he said the name, he tried to examine Kyle¡¯s face for any reaction but found none. ¡°Do we have a deal then?¡± ¡°You have my word. Any issues with enforcement, you may talk to Kitana directly.¡± Mason motioned to her. ¡°Good. Then I shall take my leave now. Pleasure doing business.¡± Kyle patted his suit down, buttoning it before walking out of the enforcer¡¯s office. Mason nced at the figure of Kyle leaving, before looking directly at Kitana. ¡°Are you confident that the target was not him? It seems he knew that this was going to happen, as though he was setting up everything.¡± ¡°We have the handwritten Ilysian Punk shipment order as proof, with a direct mark that can only be ced by the higher-ups in the gang. No way the Seven Snakes were the ones who robbed the factory.¡± Kitana shook her head, but internally she knew that Kyle was the one who made the handgun and was framing the Ilysian Punks. ¡°Fine then. One more gang in our pocket is always a good thing. He¡¯s right; it¡¯ll take less manpower now to attack the Ilysian Punks head seeing we have his gang as cannon fodder. We¡¯ll let the dogs eat each other, then swoop in for the kill. After all, the alliance is ¡®temporary¡¯.¡± Kyle returned to one of his offices, where Damian and Keith were already waiting for him. ¡°So, did they ept the deal?¡± Damian asked. ¡°They did. We are clear to attack the Ilysian Punks head-on right now without worrying about getting caught. Where did we nt the guns?¡± ¡°We nted them in the three districts closest to us as previously agreed, while the others are still being slowly nted.¡± ¡°Good, we strike in two weeks. Gather the associates; it¡¯s time to do some preparations.¡± The three returned back to the old Seven Snakes base, which was still in use by most of the associates. With the enforcers in a temporary alliance now, the only thing they had to worry about now was probing attacks from the Ilysian Punks. ¡°Have we vetted all of the new associates?¡± Kyle asked Damian. He was well aware that many of the new members had joined during his trip to the Culdao Peaks, so he was unsure of whether any snitches or spies had made it through the crack. ¡°We¡¯ve tried our best to filter those we found shady. Many of the guys we took were desperate, mostly through the soup kitchen recruitment effort.¡± Kyle nced at the assembled associates now. Those involved in the production were not here. However, there were close to seventy associates here right now. Their growth was tremendous, with many joining due to rumours of Kyle¡¯s strength and business prowess. Others joined simply for survival or for a ce to belong. The three vipers were in attendance as well ¨C Monica, Adrian and Niko. They stood proudly in front of their crew, knowing something big was about to happen. Many of the new associates were muttering to each other, this being the first time Kyle had gathered all of them together. ¡°Associates, both old and new. My apologies to the newer ones for not personally weing you to the Seven Snakes.¡± Kyle stood up on an elevated stage, speaking to the assembly. Keith and Damian rolled out a map behind Kyle, a detailed version of just the south sector, with the gangs¡¯ territory clearly highlighted in colours. ¡°In just a short three months since I¡¯ve assumed leadership, we have achieved many things.¡± ¡°We have fended off aggression from the Red Lions, fixed our finances and trained ourselves to be apetent fighting force, able to stand up for ourselves. And this is all thanks to your hard work and dedication.¡± ¡°Look at how much we have aplished. Can you not feel it? This is true power. Who among you wants to go back to the factories, to the streets, to the thug rackets you used to be?¡± Kyle stated. The associates and vipers all shook their heads. Now that they had a taste of power, wealth and authority, who would be sane enough to give that up to pursue a meaningless job in a factory line, to wander homeless? ¡°But are you satisfied with what we have today? Even now, bigger gangs look down on us from above. The Ardent Cretins watch our every move. The Red Lion wants to keep us in check. And even now, the Ilysian Punks dare to attack our district continuously. If it¡¯s a fight they want, they¡¯ll get it!¡± ¡°YEA!¡± Niko cheered as the rest of the associates roared in response. ¡°Over the next two weeks, everyone will undergo the same training course. Keith, bring it in.¡± Kyle snapped his fingers, leading Keith and Damian to haul trollies full of crates, equipment produced by the factory now run by Gordon. ¡°Thanks to your hard work, the Seven Snakes can now afford proper arctech equipment for all of you. The vipers and Damian have been specializing the equipment to each of your needs. Keep proper care of this equipment; there is only one set for you. Use the next two weeks to familiarize yourself with the weapons and armour.¡± Kyle concluded, dismissing them. The associates happily ran over to grab their new arctech equipment. ¡°My god, we¡¯re loaded! Not even the Red Lions have such equipment; we¡¯ll be legends in the South Sector.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t about being loaded, but it¡¯s about our leader reinvesting the profits into the gang rather than taking it back himself. He¡¯s so much better than Ulon I nearly forgot he used to be Alvin.¡± ¡°Alvin? Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Oh newbie, you¡¯re in for a tale¡­¡± Kyle had got Gordon to mass produce simple arctech equipment designed by Kyle. Each of the pieces of equipment was not good or a masterwork, but rather just one simple engraving on each. Kyle walked towards the crate, inspecting the equipment.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Seven Snakes Vambrace (Basic)] A official design by Kyle, leader of the Seven Snakes + 3 STR, + 2 VIT Active Skill: Harden (Basic) ¨C Increase toughness and durability for a short period of time Duration: One minute MP Cost Per Activation: 1 MP Cooldown: Five Minutes
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Seven Snakes Breast te (Basic)] A official design by Kyle, leader of the Seven Snakes +5 VIT, +2 MAX HP Active Skill: Deflect (Basic) ¨C Able to block up to three medium-speed projectiles Duration: Thirty Seconds MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP Cooldown: One hour
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Seven Snakes Metal Pipe (Basic)] A official design by Kyle, leader of the Seven Snakes. Active Skill: Reinforcement ¨C Increased force when hitting MP Cost Per Activation: 2 MP Duration: Thirty Seconds Cooldown: Two minutes
The metal pipe was effectively a carbon copy of Riker¡¯s metal pipe, the result of his hours spent copying the engraving. Despite his efforts, he had yet to reach the intermediate level yet for Arcia etching, partly due to offloading most of the work to the factory. Kyle had learnt over time that the titles were only granted through repetition, which meant he truly had to grind if he wanted to raise his title levels. But for now, it was already good enough. With the factory producing the equipment necessary to gear up the Seven Snakes, Kyle knew they had more than a winning chance to take down the Ilysian Punks one district at a time. Kyle watched the other associates marvel and test out their arctech equipment. Some of them fainted due to arcia exhaustion, unable to maintain the cost required to activate some of the engravings. ¡°We will train for a few weeks to raise everyone¡¯s arcia energy to an eptable level. I will consult Haui for any potions that might help with this endeavour.¡± Kyle exined to the vipers, Damian and Keith. ¡°Sir, if weunch the attack on Ilysian Punks, what if they counterattack and raze our businesses? We don¡¯t have anything left to defend with.¡± Damian pointed out. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that; I¡¯ve already called for backup.¡± In an abandoned mine somewhere in the Culdao Peaks, screams and shouts of fighting could be heard echoing down the long, dimly lit corridors, the rocky texture of the walls stained with blood and leaking arcite fuel. Gk gulped as he walked down the corridor with trepidation. This used to be his home, where he had fond memories of delivering nearly rotten limbs from humans and other creatures to the joyful mothers who were resting in each small room. Now, the rooms had long lost their prior splendour, demonized into a harrowing hell of pain and torture. Gk straightened his back as much as he could, keeping up a false bravado as he continued. That ursed human! It¡¯s all his fault! It would have been simple to overthrow his reign as soon as he left, but what he left behind in a human female form was far more sinister and deadly than the goblins could have expected. They tried to break free many times, but each time the human- no, the monster stopped them. Even as they pleaded for mercy, not a single word left her lips. Gk eventually reached the source of the scream and shouts, an erged room originally meant for goblin children to y together. Now, it was instead a makeshift fighting arena where goblins and humans alike were desperately fighting their hardest against what seemed to be feral mindless humans that had engravings all over their skin. Zombies. Feldon grunted as he was shoved onto the floor by a feral zombie, the saliva from its mouth dripping onto his face. He quickly shoved a metal pipe in a jab fashion, mming it right into its neck, with copious amounts of blood spurting out. The same scene was yed out all over the room, making it seem like a horror movie. Regardless, Gk was not enraged, nor was hepelled to help. Instead, he bowed, clearly speaking out loud. ¡°Master Sasha, the ursed hum- Lord Kyle has requested for your assistance in the city of Raktor. The message says to bring those who are ready.¡± As he finished, a figure leapt down from an alcove in the ceiling,nding onto the floor without a sound. With a sh of her hands, she immediately grappled and restrained each zombie in one swift motion like clockwork. Some of the zombies tried tosh out at her, but her movement was swift and fluid, as though she was dancing through the horde, targeting each one with precision while aware of her surroundings. The humans and goblins let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the training session was over. The zombies were not raised from the dead ¨C instead, they were the failed results of Kyle¡¯s arcia engraving experiments, humans who had lost their minds through the intense pain. ¡°Finally, I get to leave this ce!¡± Feldon rxed, massaging his ursed muscles. He had signed up to be apany manager, not a grunt, and it¡¯s been more than two months since he¡¯s been stuck here with his family. Granted, he was not treated badly, but the training routine every day was mandatory, making him feel like he was in a military boot camp. It was a necessary measure, however, as many gangs and daring adventurers attempted to raid the goblin mine in order to control the source of the Euria Seeds. However, the goblins andpany employees that were slowly gathered over the course of three months were a sufficient deterrent to many attackers, thanks to the training by Kyle as well as the leadership of Master Sasha. Sasha pped her hands, immediately prompting the humans and goblins to line up. There were now more than fiftypany employees as well as a hundred goblins, a veritable force to be reckoned with in the Culdao Peaks. Instead of speaking, Sasha began to motion with her hands towards a female clerk standing behind her, who cleared her throat. ¡°It¡¯s time to show our strength and to make Lord Kyle proud. However, only seven will join her as the nature of the mission is small. It is also required to have enough members here to defend the goblin base. Only humans.¡± Many of the goblins were dejected to hear that, some of them previously holding out hope they¡¯ll get to travel in a human city. Imagine all the limbs and torsos they could eat. Feldon¡¯s face faltered but soon held an expression of determination. ¡°I can do this, let¡¯s do this! For my family¡¯s sake!¡± Gk¡¯s eyes lit up. The strongest humans leaving means we finally have a chance! Just as he began to snigger to himself, he noticed a shadow looming over him. Gk looked up to see the ferocious gaze of Sasha, intimidating him into instinctively bowing and retreating. Forget it; if we rebel, she¡¯ll onlye back and make things worse for us! Chapter 35: Kidnapping Five dayster, at the Lusty Arcian¡­ ¡°What? We¡¯re expanding the brothel again?¡± vin was shocked, with Keith presenting the numbers to him. ¡°We have more than enough funds now to purchase a few more floors. We¡¯ll do it slowly, but the end goal is an entire building. Any problems?¡± Keith smiled. ¡°Of course not; I assume half of the floors is to serve as a front for the brothel?¡± ¡°Indeed, your¡­ beauty school has been quite useful in providing ample evidence for the enforcers to ignore this location. However, the brothel is still slightly underdefended.¡± Keith recalled thest time the Red Lions attacked the brothel. The Ilysian Punks was still snooping around the district, and they¡¯ve already tried to flush out the Seven Snakes from the businesses. However, the increased defence has been able to protect the businesses thus far, so it was not a big issue. With the war looming on the horizon, Keith also asked vin to hire a few mercenaries just in case of a bacsh. Even though they were in a temporary alliance with the enforcers, it did not mean the enforcers would help them to defend their district ore to their aid in a fight. There was no doubt among the Seven Snakes that the enforcers were more than willing to let dogs eat dogs. Keith began to pack up his documents into a briefcase, wearing his suit. vin examined him, a sense of nostalgia hitting him as he recalled how young Keith and Damian were when they first joined the Seven Snakes. ¡°Where are you heading to next?¡± ¡°Oh, one of the safehouses. I have to calcte how much spare cash we have in case we need to rece any of the new equipment. Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll escort you.¡± ¡°No need, I already have two associates with me posted by Niko.¡± Keith motioned with his hand towards the window. ¡°Ah, a big shot now, huh? My little Keith all grown up. Let me escort you, it¡¯s not safe around the district now with the Ilysian Punks attacking every other day.¡± Keith finally relented, the four of them leaving the Lusty Arcian and walking through the streets. There was a palpable tension in the air as people scurried away or around them. ¡°The probing attacks has the locals spooked,¡± vin noted. ¡°While our defence has been rock solid so far, the Ilysian Punks is not really mobilizing their entire force. They are trying to grind us down and erode the support we¡¯ve garnered over thest few months. It was already hard enough to repair our broken reputation from Ulon¡¯s legacy, but no one wants to get caught up in the wars.¡± Keith spoke with an air of rity, having learnt a thing or two from Kyle. ¡°You know, didn¡¯t you use to dream of being a schr in one of the top universities?¡± vin suddenly changed the subject. ¡°I even remember Damian saying he would be the security guard of that university which you chose.¡± Keith felt an embarrassing cringee over his body as he involuntarily shudder. ¡°Don¡¯t remind me of that! Those were dreams of a na?ve boy lost in his own world, oblivious to the workings of the city.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it is a na?ve dream. Maybe even with the help of the gang, you could get in still.¡± vin joked. ¡°A Seven Snakes schrship? That¡¯ll be the day. I don¡¯t even think I want to waste that kind of money on myself.¡± Keith chuckled in response. ¡°Or maybe even Kyle might open a university just for you. A pretty good ce to clean some money by spending it on ridiculous projects, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit too farfetched, I think, Kyle wouldn¡¯t-¡° Keith suddenly stopped talking, noticing three foreign individuals standing opposite the street, ncing at them as they smoked their pipes. vin also immediately noticed them. It was hard not to ¨C everyone knew almost everyone here in these parts. As for the Seven Snakes, it was their job to know who¡¯s going in and out of the district. ¡°We need to move quickly.¡± vin urged Keith on, picking up the pace. The three foreigners also began to follow along. Their jackets pped in the wind as they strutted, with one of them having his hand permanently in the inner pocket of his jacket. They trailed behind Keith, vin and the two Seven Snakes associates down the long street. Just as they approached one of the main junctions, Keith and vin suddenly darted into an alleyway while the two apanying Seven Snakes associates pulled out their metal pipes and approached the three foreigners, who were equally unafraid. ¡°New to Raktor?¡± One of the Seven Snakes associates jeered towards the foreigners. ¡°If you need a map, I know somewhere you can buy it.¡± The three foreigners did not reply, instead immediately pulling out their arctech pistols and firing bursts of projectiles that shredded the outside suit of the associates, knocking them over. ¡°Hide the bodies in the alleyway.¡± One of the foreigners ordered the other two. ¡°Yes, captain.¡± The other two foreigners moved forward to hoist the two Seven Snakes associates up. Just as they bent over, the two associates lifted their waists up and use their legs to mp around the necks of the foreigners, grappling them to the ground. The suits of the associates were ripped in shreds, revealing a hidden Seven Snakes breastte that managed to block the projectilesing in. As the two tumbled and tussled on the ground, the foreigner captain did not stop to help hisrades, instead running towards the alleyway Keith and vin entered. As he rounded the corner, a fist came hurtling toward his face, with his battle instincts kicked in and narrowly dodging it. Caught off guard by the fist, he nearly lost his bnce as he dodged yet another punch from vin, who had been waiting for him around the corner. The foreigner captain rolled onto the ground before regaining his stance, pulling out an engraved knife. vin¡¯s eyes squinted as he recognized the knife. ¡°So, the Ilysian Punks finally are pulling out the big guns.¡± ¡°Shut it, Yual scum.¡± The captain spat as he lunged with precision, targeting vin¡¯s vitals and organs with the discipline of a military soldier. vin blocked as much as he could, but he was no match for the captain, his arms and legs being shredded by cuts and stabs. Despite the one-sided fight, vin was still grinning. ¡°Smiling before your death? Happy to meet your fictional divine emperor?¡± The captain mocked. ¡°Never believed in that, but I know you¡¯re here for Keith. I¡¯m just a small fry, so the longer I hold out here, it¡¯s my win regardless.¡± vin smirked. ¡°You make it sound like we only brought three of us.¡± Keith ran as hard as he could, panting as he could feel the cold air of the city searing his lungs with every breath he took. He had not been doing the physical training routine due to his duties with the finances, but he was now regretting not even practising running. His calves and thighs burned as he ran for more than five minutes at a near sprint speed. Just a bit more! As he turned the corner of the alleyway into the area of one of the known safehouses, he was immediately grabbed by a burly hand, covering his mouth and preventing him from screaming out loud. Keith¡¯s eyes could already see half of the safehouse guards taken out, with the other Ilysian Punks fending off the Seven Snakes¡¯ associates. Niko was fighting off as many as he could, but they were outgunned and outmatched in terms ofbat ability. Niko noticed Keith being captured at the back, roaring out in anger. ¡°KEITH!¡± A quick chop to the back of the neck, followed by an uppercut into Niko¡¯s chin knocked him out for good. ¡°We¡¯ve got the target, retreat!¡± Keith gasped for air as a bucket of ice-cold water was sshed onto his face, causing the locks of his blonde hair to droop down, clinging to his cheeks. He tried shifting his arms, but he was bound to a chair with tight ropes and metal handcuffs. He nced around the room, only to notice a heavily tattooed man sitting in a chair in front of him, a wild grin stered on the man¡¯s face. The man was nked by three guards, the one holding the bucket being the same captain that caught him. ¡°Makoa,¡± Keith muttered, recognising the top dog of the Ilysian Punks. ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised at all,¡± Makoa remarked as he observed the calm expression on Keith¡¯s face. ¡°I always knew this was a possibility.¡± ¡°I could tell from the ferocity of your guards. Too bad they werecking.¡± ¡°Just get this over with it.¡± Makoa chuckled. ¡°What a brave little kid. You can still work for the Ilysian Punks if you want to. Both you and your brother can transfer over ¨C as long as you spill the beans on where the guns are. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know you guys were nning to attack us.¡± ¡°What guns?¡± Keith yed dumb, wearing a confused look. ¡°And here I thought we were on the same page. The hard way it is, then.¡± Makoa motioned with his hand, prompting two guards to move forward and wrap Keith¡¯s head in a rucksack before tilting the chair over into a basin of water behind. The water surged around the rucksack, clinging to his face and evoking the instinctive fear of drowning. Keith¡¯s body convulsed as he fought against the restraint of the chair, but the two guards held him firmly down, watching Keith thrash for a good twenty seconds before pulling him out. Loud gasps for air filled the room as Keith choked involuntarily. ¡°Are you ready now?¡± Makoa remarked. Keith coughed out water but still wore a weak smile under the drenched rucksack. ¡°That¡¯s all you guys got?¡± Makoaughed out loud. ¡°You got balls, kid. Let me know when you¡¯re ready to talk, hmm? You two, keep going until he¡¯s done.¡± Keith gritted his teeth as he felt the chair tilt back once again, his mind holding onto hope that his older brother and Kyle woulde to save him. Makoa won¡¯t kill me. As long as I hold on¡­ Makoa and the captain left the room, walking through the Ilysian Punks¡¯ hideout. ¡°The kid knows we¡¯re not going to kill, so make sure to bring him to the brink. If he ever goes too far, heal him slightly and continue. Break his mind.¡± Makoa ordered. ¡°Just like we did it in Versia.¡± The captain nodded. The two of them walked down a hallway towards the double door. The sounds of cheering and booing could be heard from beyond. Makoa opened the doors, revealing an underground boxing arena with nearly ten thousand viewers in the audience, screaming at the fighters going toe to toe with deadly weapons in the bloodstained ring. ¡°COME ON, YOU IDIOT, I SPENT MY WEEK¡¯S PAY ON YOU. DON¡¯T LET ME DOWN!¡± ¡°JUST DIE ALREADY CUNT!¡± The viewers jeered and roared as the fighters threw swings, jabs, stabs and kicks at each other, battling it out in a bloody diator duel. Makoa ignored the spectacle, instead walking towards the VIP viewing area, where five servants had already prepared a spread of food and drinks for him,id out on a ss table in front of a velvet sofa adorned with scantily ddies. ¡°What about the Seven Snakes? Most likely, they will try to attack us to free Keith.¡± The captain asked as Makoa sat down on the sofa. Makoa grinned as he picked up a ss of whiskey, swirling it. ¡°They have no idea where we are, so how could they ever find us? With our observers watching the moves of all their higher-ups, the moment Kyle makes a move himself, we¡¯ll know in a split second. If they strike out, we¡¯ll swarm their district in one fell swoop and destroy all their businesses even before the Red Lions and the Wretches know what is happening.¡± ¡°So Keith is the emotional bait.¡± ¡°Exactly. He must not die; we must continue to dangle him in front of them. No matter whatever moves they make, they¡¯ll lose in the end.¡± Chapter 36: Rescue Gordon inspected the new prototype barrel that came out from the factory floor, checking the engravings. ¡°It¡¯s a bit rough around the edges, so the efficiency isn¡¯t extremely high. Maybe if we modified the engraving to be more spaced out, that would result in less interference between the traces¡­¡± He quickly stepped over the mess of books left open on the carpeted floor of his office, trying to find a rted text, but not before passing the barrel over to Kyle, who inspected it as well. ¡°The rifling is too uneven; the ball projectile would not have the stability I need. You have to redo this barrel at least.¡± Kyle remarked. ¡°I can do that, but this barrel design ispletely different from all the other guns in Raktor right now. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it before ¨C did you design it yourself?¡± Gordon tried to probe. Kyle didn¡¯t reply, instead focusing his attention on the remaining partsid out on the table. He examined the muzzle brake as well as the stock of the gun, checking their mechanical tolerances. Kyle still could not get over the fact that the gun did not have any sort of firing mechanism, as it was powered by arcia energy instead of gunpowder. While it acted simrly to a particle rifle, the mismatch in technology still threw him off slightly. Just as Kyle was about to point out a few more mistakes; the door banged open to reveal a clearly flustered Damian. ¡°Kyle, they got him! They kidnapped Keith!¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Who else? The Ilysian Punks, those fuckers! We need to form up and strike back immediately, I¡¯m going to call everyone into the main base-¡° Damian frantically exined, clearly in turmoil. ¡°No. Don¡¯t make a single move. I will call Adrian first to understand the situation. We will not move now.¡± Kyle retorted, shocking Damian into silence. Soon the shock on Damian¡¯s face was slowly reced with anger. ¡°What are you saying? Are you telling me to let my younger brother get tortured to hell?!¡± Gordon was frightened by the sudden tension in the room, his eyes frantically ncing between Kyle and Damian. ¡°No, we will save him. But now isn¡¯t the right time.¡± ¡°The ¡®right¡¯ time?¡± Damian¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Why do I feel like you were expecting this all along? Were you using Keith as bait?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply any further, taking out an arctech radio and calling Adrian. ¡°Did you track who kidnapped Keith?¡± [Yes, but too many of our scouts are being marked by their observers. We can¡¯t move around much, but we managed to pinpoint the rough location of their hideout.] ¡°Then we need to go now! What the fuck are we waiting for?¡± Damian was about to leave when Kyle suddenly walked up and grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t make any rash moves; they are watching our every move. The moment our forces leave the district, it¡¯s game over for us.¡± [Damian, he¡¯s right. The observers are tracking the boundaries of the districts and they got snitches among the locals. That¡¯s how they were able to snatch Keith in the first ce!] Damian was obviously not listening. ¡°Then we just sit here like ducks? I¡¯m going to save my brother, with or without you guys!¡± Damian scoffed, trying to p Kyle¡¯s arm away. However, Kyle¡¯s grip was like iron, crushing Damian¡¯s shoulder. Damian threw a fist at Kyle, who easily caught it with his other hand. With a swift kick from Kyle to the shins, Damian was brought onto the ground, dropping onto his knees as Kyle continued to grip him. ¡°And what are you going to do when you go over alone? Get yourself kidnapped? I didn¡¯t make you the underboss to be emotionally manipted. Take a deep breath.¡± Kyle ordered. Damian wanted to retort, but the words were stuck in his throat. I still can¡¯t beat Kyle; what hopes do I have alone against an entire gang? He inhaled deeply, letting out a long sigh. ¡°You can let go now; I¡¯m fine.¡± ¡°Good. There will be time for revenge, but for now, we stay put.¡± Kyle returned to the gun parts on the table, assembling them with the barrel into one of the longest rifles Damian and Gordon had seen. A weird-looking telescope was mounted to the top of the gun as well. ¡°But then who is going to save Keith if we can¡¯t move?¡± Damian asked in exasperation. ¡°The Red Lions? The enforcers?¡± [ANNDDDD HE¡¯S KNOCKED DOWN! CAN HE GET UP A SECOND TIME?!] The crowd roared the thunderous cheers and boos simultaneously echoing off the walls of the expansive underground boxing arena. It was another rowdy night as usual, with hundreds of viewers and betters trying to w back their winnings. On the side, there were indebted alcoholics drinking non-stop, hijackers trying to hustle their stolen goods, fencers making connections and even millionaires nervously ncing around with their bodyguards, hoping to get a good word in with the district leader, Makoa. Makoa was at his usual table in the VIP viewing section. He motioned with his hands towards the ring, getting the attention of the coach. The coach nodded in response, conveying the signal to the knocked-down boxer, who began to get up slowly but painfully, wincing as he could barely see out of his eyes. The boxer stared across the ring at the jubnt rookie, who was already on the verge of celebrating his win. The round proceeded as normal, with the limping boxer somehow being able to avoid a knockout till the gong rang. [WHAT A SPECTACULAR FIRST ROUND! COULD WE SEE A COMEBACK? BETS FOR THE NEXT ROUND ARE OPEN NOW!] The bookies were swarmed in an instant, with the crowd mouring for tickets as young boys yelled out odds. Makoa didn¡¯t care; his attention was now focused on the bound man kneeling down next to the table, his face swollen from multiple beatings. ¡°Enforcer Staten, this is the third time we¡¯ve met.¡± ¡°Fuck off, punk. Kill me and get it over with. Isn¡¯t that what you¡¯re best at?¡± Staten sneered through the blood dripping down his face. A low chuckle rose from Makoa, while the six girlsughed along with him. ¡°Don¡¯t devalue yourself. You¡¯re much more useful to me alive than dead. For now.¡± Staten grimaced, knowing what he was implying. From the view of the VIP section, he could already make out more than two dozen local enforcers as part of the crowd, already trapped in the never-ending cycle of gambling and debt. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you punks knew anything about business acumen.¡° ¡°Staten.¡± Makoa interrupted. ¡°This is the third time you¡¯ve interfered with our businesses. We¡¯re usually nice to our fellow citizens, especially those who keep the public peace here in our beautiful Raktor.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a gang of thugs, match-fixing is hardly a proper business.¡± ¡°Perspective. I¡¯m in a dilemma as to how to¡­ change your view of us. No family, no rtives. You¡¯re the perfect enforcer, with no weaknesses. However, I believed I have a solution¡­¡± Makoa motioned to a guard, who brought a Euria-Infused Stamina Recovery Potion stolen from the Red Lions. ¡°You¡¯ll never get anything out of me.¡± ¡°The human body begs to differ.¡± Makoa grabbed the potion and walked over to Staten, forcibly opening his mouth with hisrge hands. ¡°Drink up!¡± Staten tried to resist, but soon involuntarily drank the potion, coughing wildly as Makoa mmed him onto the ground. ¡°Tell me why are the enforcers increasing their raids into Ilysian Punks¡¯ territory!¡± Makoa roared into Staten¡¯s ears. ¡°Fuck you!¡± The retort from Staten earned him another punch, causing Staten¡¯s mouth to bleed internally. ¡°Another tough nut. When does the effects kicks in?¡± Makoa asked the guards. ¡°Three dayster, assuming three potions are drunk in a single day.¡± ¡°Good. Listen here, Staten. You can leave anytime you want. As long as you follow the rules around here.¡± ¡°The inquisitors will never let you-¡° Makoa delivered a fearsome kick to the enforcer¡¯s stomach, causing him to gag. ¡°Your narcissistic emperor is not going to help you. Get him the fuck out of here.¡± The next round had begun, with the previously limping boxer suddenly regaining strength out of nowhere and fighting back hard. It was still a close match, but the boxer managed to knockout the rookie just before the end of the round. As the gong rang thrice, the crowd roared in response, no doubt having won or lost their entire life fortune. [AND THAT¡¯S IT FOR THE END OF THE FIRST MATCH. THIS SECOND MATCH HAS A NEWCOMER, AND IT¡¯S A LADY AT THAT!] A loud wave of ooh¡¯s and aah¡¯s went through the ground, as an unknowndy stepped out onto the ring from the sides. Her eyes were dead, showing no signs of emotions as people around her continuously catcalled her. Thedy nced around the crowd, noticing a few random audience members who nodded back in response. They were spread out among the crowd, somehow inching closer to the Ilysian Punk arena guards that covered the exits of the arena. They all made a discreet sign with their hands, nodding towards thedy. Thedy then looked up, noticing the VIP section and Makoa¡¯s visage at the edge of the viewing tform. A small tattoo on her neck glowed red, with a clear voice entering her mind like a wireless connection. [Sasha, report in. Any signs?] [Makoa, local leader spotted. Beginning mission.] Sasha replied mentally. The tattoo was the result of the Designate Follower skill, allowing Kyle tomunicate mentally with Sasha over a limited range. Sasha stared at the rabid crowd, who were catcalling and jeering her for showing up. The arena was open to all and every fighter regardless of experience. People just wanted to see blood, who cared who it came from? ¡°Did you end up in the wrong ce, little girl? Shouldn¡¯t you be in the kitchen?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s your husband? He¡¯s looking for you outside, go home! You don¡¯t stand a chance here!¡± The jeers barely registered in her mind as she focused onmunicating telepathically with Kyle. Kyle had used the Designate Follower skill on her, enabling him to converse with her despite her being mute. Sasha did not show any outward reaction, acknowledging it internally. At the other side of the ring, the arena organizers were jubnt. ¡°I knew it, she¡¯s driving our view count up! Most of the audience sincerely believes that she won¡¯t win, so they are going to bet against her.¡± A guard quickly reported to Makoa, who grinned widely. ¡°Interesting. Stage a win for her, and send a fighter who can take a few hits. Seems like this girl can deliver a few.¡± He continued to n his attack on the Seven Snakes, unaware that Sasha was right in his nest. The announcer¡¯s voice was barely audible in the boxing ring, but a loud cheer went up as Sasha¡¯s opponent appeared. [GIVE IT UP FOR MASON!] Apparently a popr fighter, Mason was not overtly muscr but had the right weight and body for fleet movements in the ring. Known for his footwork, Mason waved happily to the crowd, while the coach gave him a cryptic hand sign. Losing to this girl? Fuck... Mason internally groaned, but he epted the job. He wasn¡¯t doing this for the fame, though. None of the fighters were. Let¡¯s just make this an easy loss, she doesn¡¯t look like she can deliver really strong hits. The bookies were overwhelmed with bets riding on Mason, with Makoa ordering the Punks to match bets on thedy, aiming to sweep up the entire round. Money was easily earned that way, with Makoa being more than happy with the appearance of thedy. The referee lined the both of them away from each other, beginning the match. They circled each other as the crowd cheered non-stop for Mason. ¡°Sorry,dy. I might not know your reason, but I¡¯m here to win.¡± Mason grinned, side-stepping and feinting, throwing a few probing punches. Sasha simply matched his footwork, like a dance, somehow able to keep up with him. Mason was content with this pace, acting cautious but soon the coach signalled with a sign to attack more. Mason nodded, beginning to attack more seriously. He threw a few jabs and hooks, while continuously cornering thedy, forcing her near the edge of the ring. Sasha only dodged, never retaliating with her own attack so far. This meant Mason would not be able to lose the match as nned. ¡°Stop dodging and fight back!¡± Mason goaded Sasha on, increasing the speed of his punches. Finally, as a single right hook was about tond on Sasha¡¯s face, Mason suddenly felt a cold shiver run through his entire body, forcing him to back off immediately as though he was eyed by a predator far beyond his means. However, it was far toote. Sasha¡¯s right fist was already in front of his own face, the punchnding right on his nose and crushing his face in with a resounding crunch. The force waspletely unexpected, with Mason toppling over onto the floor, his hands grabbing his nose that was profusely bleeding. The crowd was equally confused by the sudden force shown by Sasha, which did not match her body stature. Before the stunned referee could stop them, Sasha leapt forward and delivered a strong kick to the side of Mason¡¯s head, the bone-cracking echoing over the ring. Mason¡¯s body immediately went limp, as a mush of blood leaked out the back of his head. The sudden increase in skill shocked Makoa, rm bells ringing in his head. He locked eyes with Sasha, fullyprehending what she was here for. ¡°Grab her now!¡± Makoa ordered, with the Ilysian Punks immediately leaping onto stage and trying to restrain her. Chapter 37: Boss Fight The arena devolved into a frenzy, the audience thinking that the ensuing fight was part of the show. The fence surrounding the ring shook violently, the crowd cheering on the Ilysian Punk Guards and Sasha. Everyone was here to see blood. Sasha deftly avoided the first lunge, parrying with her arm and twisting her body to deliver an elbow strike right into the first Punk¡¯s head. An arctech aura burst out from her right hand, increasing the force of the strike and snapping his neck instantly, killing him. The other two guards fared no better, being eliminated with precision punches all aimed at their heads. Makoa¡¯s eyes squinted, before motioning for more guards to attack her. Who is this girl? Did the Wretches finally send one of their famed assassins? However, Makoa noted that the fight was not just happening in the ring, but on the exits as well, with random audience members fighting against the Ilysian Punk guards. The audience members were well equipped ¨C arctech equipment hidden underneath their clothes augmenting their strength and skills. Makoa quickly grabbed an arctech radio handed over by a servant, barking into it: ¡°Observers, where the fuck are the Seven Snakes now!?¡± [Boss, we¡¯ve spotted Damian at the food market, and Kyle wasst seen eight hours agoing out of the factory, but he headed into one of their dummy bases.] Then who the hell is attacking us now?! ¡°What are you idiots doing? Swarm them now!¡± Makoa roared, spurring the remaining Ilysian Guards to move down to apprehend Sasha. He also began to leave the VIP section, heading towards the armoury to gear up. Sasha exhaled slowly, having defeated the three guards. She could already see the rest of her strike team stirring up a fight amongst the crowd against the other Ilysian Punks. ncing up again at the VIP section, she noticed that Makoa was now missing. [Sir, target on the move.] [Priority is to rescue Keith. Most likely Makoa will protect Keith.] Kyle replied over the wirelessmunication engraving. Sasha nodded to herself, noticing two more Ilysian Punks geared with basic armour and swords, charging towards her. She nimbly avoided the first swing, pushing out with her palm against the lower chin of the first Punk, mming his jaw into his skull and sending him spiralling onto the ground. A sword swing swiped across her head as she instinctively ducked and spun around in a crouching position, delivering a strong kick to the shin and cracking the bone within. The second Punk screamed out in pain before Sasha recovered to a standing position and elbowed the Punk right in the face, causing him to stagger back and drop his sword. Sasha picked up the sword and immediately shed his neck before moving towards the fighters¡¯ entrance, entering the hallways. As she turned a corner, an Ilysian Punk ambushed her, throwing a punch that shot straight at her face, but she spiralled to the side before shing off the arm in one fell swoop, followed by a forward stab into the Punk¡¯s neck. ¡°Who the fuck are you!¡± One of the Ilysian Punks yelled out from across the hallway, armed with a repeating crossbow aimed at her. He fired off two shots in session, but Sasha simply used one hand to lift the dead body of the Ilysian Punk she just killed, using him as a pincushion as she charged forward. Before the crossbow user could retreat, Sasha used all her strength to fling the dead body at him, mming into him and causing him to fall over onto the floor. In a blink, Sasha was already on top of him, stabbing downwards into his vitals in rapid fashion. She grabbed the repeating crossbow and the pack of bolts, running down the hallway and checking for Keith. Sasha assumed that the holding cells were located below, so she took the first staircase she found that led downwards. However, as she stepped off the first flight of steps, a resounding crack echoed through the entire stairwell, causing the concrete below her to copse. The fall had her crash into a pile of rubble below as the soot and dust kicked up all over the base floor, obscuring her vision. Sasha quickly recovered, instinctively blocking a metallic fist aimed straight at her torso with her sword, which broke in half from the sheer strength. Another metallic fist came swooping in fast, nailing Sasha right in the exposed ribs and sending her flying into the wall with a loud thud, her bones fracturing internally as her body slumped to the ground. ¡°For an assassin, you¡¯re doing a piss poor job. Seven Snakes did not pay you enough to afford arctech equipment?¡± Makoa grinned as he moved towards Sasha. Arcia engravings on the surface of his two metallic gauntlets glowed purple and churned as the arcite fuel pack strapped to his belt gurgled away, feeding the gauntlets through pipes. Makoa could tell that Sasha had no obvious arctech equipment on her save for the stolen crossbow, which made him let his guard down. However, a sudden green aura surged from the base of her spine, healing her bones and damaged muscles at a visible rate. Makoa quickly lunged to attack, but Sasha was already anticipating it, diving out of the way and performing a rolling recovery into a fighting posture. ¡°What the¡­?¡± Makoa was confused, but he was not given the time toprehend what had happened, Sasha immediately firing off the remainder of the crossbow bolts before tossing it away and charging with two knives previously hidden in her clothes. Makoa raised his gauntlets in a defensive posture to block the bolts, one of it which lodged into his thigh. Sasha tried to dash in close to stab Makoa, but a single swing of the gauntlets forced Sasha to back away lest she got mmed into the wall again. While she had an healing engraving on her back, it took arcia energy to activate it ¨C using too much would cause her stamina to plummet. ¡°Bitch!¡± Makoa roared as he threw straights and hooks at Sasha, who sidestepped most of them, the two of them dancing in circles on the uneven pile of rubble. As Sasha ducked to avoid yet another swing, she kicked a loose stone in the pile of rubble with all her might, dislodging it. Makoa stepped forward, only to find himself falling over as the rubble beneath him began to slide down. Sasha quickly dashed forward with her knives, activating their engravings to sh at the now exposed pipes between the arcite fuel pack and gauntlets. The pipes iled wildly as they were chopped off, spilling arcite fuel that sprayed all over the area, coating it with a distinct smell and colour. Makoanded on his back as well, crushing the fuel pack under his own weight. ¡°URGH!¡± Before Sasha could close in for the final blow, Makoa suddenly aimed the glowing gauntlet at her, which fired off like a rocket towards her. The unexpected movement caught her off-guard, the gauntlet mming right into her guts and pushing her back into the pile of rubble. Makoa grunted as he stood back up, removing his now-dead gauntlets and tossing them off into the puddle of arcia fuel. ¡°Looks like I won¡¯t have the chance to interrogate you.¡± Makoa retrieved a match from his belt, lighting it and flinging it into the puddle before retreating down into the basement. The arcia fuel erupted into mes, burning straight towards Sasha, who was still badly hurt. Makoa did not stay around to make sure she died, instead focusing on his own survival. Shit, I lost my arctech equipment ¨C at least I still have my belt. I have to get out of here, along with Keith! Makoa rushed down the basement, passing by countless holding cells where traitors, ves, enforcers were held. They were all shocked at the condition of Makoa, a sliver of hope appearing in their heart. Makoa ignored them, heading straight for the holding cell of Keith, where the captain and the two guards positioned to guard him were already waiting for him. ¡°Boss, what¡¯s the n now?¡± ¡°Give me your arctech radio!¡± Makoa snatched the radio away from the captain. ¡°This is Makoa Montoga. Get a wagon up to exit C right now!¡± [Yes boss!] ¡°Grab the prisoner, we need him alive as a hostage. You, follow me. You two, head down that way and make sure every attacker is dead! Don¡¯t let anyone through the fire!¡± The two guards nodded, rushing off while the captain hoisted the unconscious Keith on his shoulder, making a beeline for their secret exit. It was a long underground tunnel that led to an alleyway exit one block away. As they reached the end of the underground tunnel, arge metallic door awaited them. Makoa quickly rushed to the door, tapping on it with a secret pattern. However, there was no reply from the other side. The captain grimaced as Makoa gave him a knowing look, prompting the captain to retrieve his arctech pistol at the ready. Makoa retrieved a master key from his belt, unlocking the metallic door from his side. Makoa pushed the door outwards in a rapid swing, with the captain immediately clearing the room with the arctech pistol. None of the guards stationed here was found anywhere, the room waspletely empty. The sounds of rain could be heard echoing down a short stairwell that led to the street level. ¡°You, go check if the area is clear. Hand me the prisoner.¡± Makoa motioned to the captain, whoplied with the order. The captain stepped up silently with trepidation, wary of his surroundings. He peeked his head out of the entrance, noticing the alleyway to bepletely empty and devoid of the two guards that should be nearby. He waited for a minute, before realizing there was truly no one around. A rumbling sound of an arctech wagon could be heard pulling up to the exit of the alleyway, with the captain squinting. He spotted the emblem of the Ilysian Punks on the wagon, signalling to Makoa that it was all clear. ¡°About damn time.¡± Makoa grunted as he hoisted Keith¡¯s limp body up, jogging towards the wagon with the captain. The driver was already waiting for them at the front. They tossed the body into the back before hopping on themselves. ¡°Go now! What are you waiting for!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The driver anxiously stepped on the pedal, but before he could turn the steering wheel, a loud bang and a subsequent whizzing sound was apanied by the shattering of ss. ¡°What the fuck?!¡± Makoa could only say those words as the driver fell over onto the steering wheel, his feet still on the pedal as the wagon veered off the street and mmed into the wall of a building, frightening the residents within, who barricaded their doors quickly. The bang frightened the pedestrians on the street as well, causing them to flee in all directions or take cover in one of the nearby buildings. The crash nearly concussed Makoa, but he was quick to recover. He pped the unconscious captain awake. ¡°Get up idiot! We¡¯re under attack!¡± ¡°wh-What?! From where?!¡± ¡°Get out there and find out!¡± Makoa ordered him, with the captain immediatelyplying. The moment the captain stepped out of the wagon however, another loud bang was heard, this time followed by the squelching sounds of brain and meat as a hole was drilled through the head of the captain, his body crumpling backwards to the ground instantly.
[System Message] Killed [Ilysian Punk Guard Captain], +400 EXP
Makoa was shocked. A pistol? No, a musket. Or a cannon. But from where?! He patted his belt, checking and making sure it was still working. Grabbing Keith¡¯s body, he held him as a hostage, stepping out of the wagon slowly. ¡°I DON¡¯T KNOW WHERE YOU ARE, BUT IF YOU TRY ANYTHING I¡¯LL SNAP HIS NECK!¡± Makoa roared out into the open, his eyes frantically darting around trying to find the shooter. No one replied, which gave Makoa even more confidence as he started to retreat into the alleyway. This way, he only has one angle to shoot me. However, before he could step back, a loud bang had a spiralling metallic ball projectile the size of a marble mmed into Makoa. His belt activated, a personal energy shield suddenly protecting him. However, the force sent Makoa stumbling backwards, causing him to drop Keith onto the floor with a thud. As he staggered back, two more shots were fired at him, depleting the energy shield and knocking him back even further. The belt vibrated violently, the shield flickering. Makoa¡¯s eyes widened as he realized his shield was about to dissipate. Fuck the hostage, I have to survive myself! He quickly sprinted down the alleyway and disappeared, leaving Keith on the floor. Soon, the sniper revealed himself to be Kyle, walking up to the unconscious body of Keith and checking his pulse. Kyle noticed the numerous sh marks on Keith¡¯s face, hands and legs, whipped till the skin was raw. He nced down the alleyway, noticing he would not be able to catch up with Makoa. The energy shield... Yet another heritage from the Gctic Era. It seems Versia is where I should be finding my answers. [Sasha, I have Keith on me.] Back in the copsed stairwell, the two Ilysian Punks ordered by Makoa to clear out the base watched the raging fire. ¡°Makoa said not to let anyone through the fire, but how is anyone going to clear this?¡± Just as he finished the sentence, a human figure suddenly leapt through the fire, mming straight into one of the punks. ¡°GAH!¡± The punk gasped as he was knocked onto the floor. Before the other punk could react, a glowing right fist was already in front of his face, pummeling him right into his nose bridge with a followup uppercut, dealing a severe concussion. The first punk struggled to see who attacked him, only to see ady with her clothes half burnt, along with burn marks across her face healing at a visible rate. Her skin was already cauterized by the severe burns, the gaps revealing the bloodied throbbing flesh beneath. ¡°Mon-mon-monster!¡° Sasha walked up to kick his head with as much force as possible, snapping the neck in a single instant. [Do we retreat now?] Sasha replied on the wireless channel mentally, using the effects of the Designate Follower skill engraved onto the back of her neck. [No. Kill everyone. Not a single Ilysian Punk gets out alive.] Chapter 38: No Holds Barred All the inquisitors could see in the morning was a smoldering wreck of a wagon, crashed into a building. No bodies could be found, and if there were, they were all burnt to a crisp, apparently dying after the wagon¡¯s arctech engine caught on fire. ¡°The Seven Snakes are definitely not ying around¡­¡± Mason remarked as he inspected the scene, which was now cordoned off by the enforcers. The fight was more than a few hours ago, with the enforcers finally responding to reports of loud explosives and shockwaves in the area. ¡°Dynamite bombs, sir?¡± Kitana queried. The wagon¡¯s engine was clearly blown out, with the ckened body of the driver still lifeless over the steering wheel. ¡°Perhaps. Seems that the Seven Snakes know how to make their own chemical explosives. Either way we¡¯re long past worrying about guns ¨C if the Ilysian Punks has the shipment, we¡¯re looking at an all-out conflict.¡± ¡°Sir!¡± An enforcer ran along the street towards the two inquisitors, saluting. ¡°We¡¯ve found the crates mentioned. It¡¯s definitely the military guns that was stolen from the factory.¡± ¡°So Kyle is serious about this alliance after all¡­ Cordon off the entire block. I want every enforcer to scour this entire area to figure out how the hell the Ilysian Punks managed to get their hands on it.¡± Makoa panted as he jogged down the alleyway, having ran more than two districts. He had not been directly injured in the fight, so his mind remained clear, continuing to ponder over what the hell just happened. It was nearing daybreak, the glimmer of the local star peeping out from just below the horizon. Shit! I just lost a raid against assassins hired by the Seven Snakes! Makoa grimaced internally. He would very much prefer to keep the loss of his base and hostage a secret from the higher-ups, but he knew it was a futile effort ¨C they always found out in the end. Thus, Makoa made a beeline for the main base: it was better if he turned himself in. As he approached the lobby of a luxurious hotel owned by the Ilysian Punks, the two guards were taken aback by the soot and grime-coating parts of Makoa¡¯s body. ¡°Stop ogling with your mouths open and get me to the boss, NOW!¡± Makoa roared. The guards quickly escorted him into the lobby and into an arctech elevator, which chugged slowly up to the highest floor. The doors slid open to reveal an only-ss room, providing a panoramic view of the South Sector and beyond. The height of the hotel was a mere ten storeys, but it was enough to give a sense of awe. Makoa shrugged off the two guards who tried to support his arms, walking by himself into the centre of the velvet-carpeted room, facing an empty desk and chair. He sat down on one of the sofas, catching his breath as he waited. He locked eyes with a butler who was standing at the side nonchntly. ¡°You look terrible.¡± The butler remarked. ¡°Shut it.¡± ¡°You better have a reason for disturbing my sleep.¡± A low voice wafted in from behind Makoa, to which Makoa immediately stood up and bowed towards the source. ¡°Good morning General Javel!¡± Makoa performed ny degrees bow, before recovering into a standing posture and saluting. ¡°Rx. We¡¯re not in Versia anymore.¡± General Javel chuckled, the wrinkles on his old face scrunching upwards as he wore a gentle smile on his face. ¡°So, I assume you got hit by the Red Lions?¡± ¡°No, sir,¡± Makoa shook his head as he watched Javel stroll over into his office chair. ¡°It¡¯s the Seven Snakes; they hired assassins to hit our district.¡± ¡°For what reason?¡± ¡°I¡­ I was trying to find the source of the missing gun shipment that we hijacked. It wasst seen at the Seven Snakes¡¯ district, so I¡¯ve been performing probing attacks for thest few weeks.¡± ¡°And let me guess. You follow the doctrine of stealing a valuable hostage to pressure them.¡± ¡°Sir, I did not expect the Seven Snakes to be able to hire that many assassins! They also had a sort of cannon that could precisely target me from a far distance away.¡± ¡°How far?¡± ¡°I did not see the shooter myself, but I estimate five hundred meters, or even more.¡± Javel¡¯s eyes squinted at Makoa as he ran his hands over the velvet chair. ¡°That¡¯s a tall im, Lieutenant Makoa. Five hundred meters is double the range of any known rifle in existence now. Are you sure?¡± ¡°I¡¯m confident.¡± Makoa nodded vigorously. Javel scanned Makoa¡¯s face, before sighing. ¡°I trust your instincts. Alejandro, how soon can we move?¡± The butler bowed in response. ¡°Sir, we can spare one hundred fifty men to attack the Seven Snakes immediately. However, they are the reserves for our continuing conflict with the Red Lions and the Wretches. Tapping into this resource may weaken our stance against them.¡± Javel pondered, thinking carefully. ¡°Makoa, you will be in charge of the counterattack force. Prepare yourself. Weunch in two weeks. Continue the probing attacks.¡± Javel ordered, to which Makoaplied and hastily left the room. Granting a chance for revenge is a simple method of motivation. Javel sighed as he nced out of the ss windows, overlooking the city. Alejandro walked up next to him, also looking at the view. ¡°Sir, what are you thinking about?¡± Alejandro asked. ¡°I¡¯m thinking there is a ploy afoot. I don¡¯t know who the mastermind is yet, but we¡¯re about to enter a total state of war. A small gang suddenly appearing with advanced technology mere days after the shipment of weapons were intercepted? It¡¯s too coincidental.¡± ¡°Indeed. The recent auction in the Central Sector seems to be part of this same chain of events.¡± ¡°Who do you think is behind it?¡± ¡°Either the Wretches or the Red Lions. We have been in a stalemate for a year now, no doubt they are looking for additional avenues to attack us from. Enlisting the help of smaller gangs is a valid tactic.¡± ¡°Reasonable. But what if it is the small gang that is the one instigating all of this? The Seven Snakes, did they not just have a fight with the Red Lions recently? They also had a change of leadership.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit too far-fetched. They lost the fight against the Red Lions, and a ¡®change of leadership¡¯ is hardly enough to pull that gang out from the gutter that Ulon dropped them in.¡± ¡°But yet none of Makoa¡¯s probing attacks worked, and they even hired good assassins to rescue the hostage.¡± ¡°I will confirm with the Nest on who hired them, if any. However, I am more inclined to believe that the Red Lions are propping them up as a puppet gang of sorts. They are simply a scapegoat.¡± Javel frowned for a moment before nodding in agreement. ¡°Agreed. Set up a defence-in-depth n for our front against the Red Lions¡¯ attack. Lure them into our districts and ensnare them while our counterattack force deals with the Seven Snakes.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Wrent¡¯s face was confounded as he stared at the message he had just received. It had been an easyst three months, with his reputation in the Red Lions slightly increasing, thanks to his position as the main potion supplier for the entire gang. Due to the contract with Kyle, Wrent was now purchasing potions in bulk, allowing the Red Lions to have an easier time fighting the Ilysian Punks and the Wretches. He still remained as a sub-leader, though he was now fully in charge of logistic issues instead of fighting on the frontlines. However, the message he received was shocking. Order from the Mane of the Red Lion: Left Paw of the Red Lion is to attack the Ilysian Punks with every avable force in fourteen days¡¯ time. There has been verified intel that the Ilysian Punks are nning to raid the Seven Snakes with arge force in three days. Utilize this gap to take control of one more district. ¡°HAH! FUCK YOU, KYLE! YOU FINALLY GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!¡± Wrent shouted out loud in his office with glee, nearly jumping up in joy at the thought of his hated enemy being utterly destroyed. Sure, the Red Lions had a non-aggression pact with the Seven Snakes, but it was not a defensive one. Wrent would be more than delighted to take advantage of the situation. However, Wrent took a closer examination of the letter, noticing it did not have a seal nor a mark representing the Mane of the Red Lion. Weird, but maybe Leo did not have the time to mark this properly. Wrent immediately called his top subordinates into the room. ¡°Round up the men; prepare for war against the punks from Versia in fourteen days!¡± Elsewhere in the district, the patrolling Red Lion squads received the order via their arctech radios, slowly pulling back towards the base. A lone squatter kid eyed the movements of the Red Lion squads before running off into the alleyways. The kid turned the corner to meet Adrian, who was already talking to other squatter kids. ¡°Mister, the Red Lions are pulling back to the base!¡± ¡°That means the letter worked. Thank Yual Wrent is a gullible idiot.¡± Adrian let out a sigh of relief before tossing a few rakels to the squatter kid, much to the whining of the others. ¡°Stop whining. If you want it, you gotta work for it!¡± Adrian utilized the squatterworks to track the various movements of the gangs, as well as to spoof the Red Lion letter. In truth, it did not matter even if Wrent checked its legitimacy with the main base. It was a verified fact that the Ilysian Punks were attacking the Seven Snakes. [Adrian, are you done?] Kyle¡¯s voice crackled over the arctech radio. ¡°Yes, sir, everything has been set up.¡± [Good. Maintain visuals of Ilysian Punks and Red Lions. Both sides should be well aware of what is happening.] Kyle ended themunication, leaning back into his office chair. ¡°Sir, the Ilysian Punks must be watching the Red Lions¡¯ movements intently as well. With such a mobilization, it will send a warning sign to the Ilysian Punks.¡± Monica offered her opinion. The vipers were gathered in front of Kyle. ¡°Exactly.¡± Kyle nodded. ¡°If they attack us, the Red Lions will take a huge bite out of them. If they don¡¯t, that buys more time for us. Our objective is to stall any major conflict as long as possible to buy time. Every day helps us to close the gap. Don¡¯t forget it¡¯s only been six days since our associates received their equipment.¡± Niko and Monica nodded in agreement. Kyle dismissed them as he began to readjust his battle n for the uing conflict, drafting up all possible scenarios. He then took a tour of the various bases, where the associates were divided up into different groups. He spotted Damian desperately training hard alongside them, struggling to activate the arctech equipment while sparring with other associates. ¡°Grh!¡± Damian grunted as he felt his body screaming out in fatigue due to the low amount of arcia energy he had internally. Damian was the only one attempting to push his limits, while half of the associates were mostly resting, too tired to continue. The original training routine, as stated in the textbook Kyle had was to expend and use arcia energy to train resilience continuously, but at the rate it was going it seemed that the Ilysian Punks would attack them before they were ready. He had already attempted multiple keywords on the associates, trying to see if the holographic interface he had could help him see their MP. However, much to his dismay, the System did not react at all. Kyle had already long suspected that others do not have the same system as he did, but he was not about to assume that he was the only one in the entire world. Kyle decided to pay Haui a visit at his alchemist store, which had its security andyout much more improved. The agreement between the two of them had enriched Haui, making him a very wealthy individual. As he entered the newly expanded alchemist store, Kyle immediately headed to the basement in silence, where Haui was working on creating new recipes. Haui barely turned around to greet Kyle, simply continuing with his work. ¡°I need a potion to restore arcia energy and improve training of it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a recipe for that.¡± ¡°You have health potions and stamina potions; why not arcia potions?¡± ¡°Would you like to drink arcia fuel directly? The fact is that such a high-level recipe that doesn¡¯t involve melting of the human stomach is one of the utmost secrets of the Alchemist Guild, and I myself am not privy to it.¡± ¡°So there¡¯s no way to speed up the training of arcia energy?¡± Kyle frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of mages training in the arcite caves near Tryas, but otherwise, no. If you had enough money, maybe you could buy a ton of arcite ore and line the walls with it. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be stupid enough to do that, right? Right?¡± Chapter 39: Allocating Points Keith woke up groggily, noticing he still had bandages all over his body as hey on a white bed. He gingerly touched his face as he struggled to sit upright, feeling the new skin that was most likely the result of the Health Potion or Kyle¡¯s Ne of Healing. The door suddenly swung open, revealing Damian carrying a bucket of fresh water and a cloth. However, the sound frightened Keith, who immediately curled up into a defensive ball, an instinct developed from the days of torture under Makoa. ¡°Keith, you¡¯re awake!¡± Damian quickly ran over, cing the bucket on the floor before reaching out in a hug. Keith instinctively recoiled from the motion, the trauma still hurting him deep inside mentally. ¡°Sorry¡­ I just need some time¡­¡± Keith apologized for the sudden reaction while Damian nodded in understanding. ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll be here if you need me, okay? Just call me on the arctech radio.¡± Damian said with a gentle tone, before leaving the room. As he closed the door behind him, his face curled up into a furious expression. Ilysian Punks, you fuckers! Damian fumed as he stormed through the base, frightening the associates who walked past him. It was in the early morning before their regr physical training routine, but he was already heading over to the training arena to practice. If I don¡¯t put in the extra work, how will I be strong enough to protect Keith? He noticed two associates simply lounging about in a break room. ¡°What the fuck are you two doing! Why aren¡¯t you training?¡± ¡°Huh? It¡¯s more than an hour till the training routine ¨C¡° ¡°AND YOU THINK THE ILYSIAN PUNKS ARE GOING TO WAIT FOR US?¡± Damian roared, taking out his pent-up frustration of inability on them. ¡°GET UP AND TRAIN NOW!¡± He stomped as the associates grumpilyplied,ining about how they felt like they were in a military boot camp rather than a criminal gang. However, when he entered the training arena with them, it was aplete mess, with multiple other associates grabbing arcite ore and cing it around the room. Dozens of arcite ore sacks were stacked in the corner of the room, with Kyle directing the associates around. There were even a few mini caves of densely packed arcite ore, where a few associates were stuffed inside its cramped interior, apparently practising their arcia energy. It felt like a mine, albeit with cubicles of arcite ore, making for an extremely weird scene ¡°Wh¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± Damian was surprised, losing his prior anger in confusion. He also noticed a small short kid in a cloak next to Kyle, who seemed to be giving Kyle advice. ¡°I¡¯m improving our training conditions,¡± Kyle replied without turning back. ¡°Lord Kyle, more arcite ore put here. The flow is not right!¡± The small short kid eximed in a growling and broken ent, making Damian curious as to who this neer was. The short kid turned around to reveal a goblin¡¯s face, shocking Damian. ¡°What?! You brought it from the Culdao Peaks?¡± ¡°I had to. Gk has experience in making such a chamber. I¡¯m sure it will do a good job, isn¡¯t that right, Gk?¡± Kyle smiled. ¡°Yes, yes, of course!¡± Gk nodded vigorously, having already been reminded clearly of both Kyle¡¯s and Sasha¡¯s strength. If the chamber was designed wrongly, Gk knew there would be immediate punishment not only to him but to the rest of his tribe. ¡°Damian, we need more arcite ore. Buy some from the workshops or factories nearby.¡± Damian¡¯s mouth was already agape at the amount of ore beingyered into the room. ¡°We need more?! This is already close to a few million rakels!¡± ¡°Yes. Buy another few million rakels worth.¡± ¡°But that will bring our surplus down!¡± ¡°Money isn¡¯t meant to be hoarded indefinitely. Do you want to get stronger or not?¡± Damian was about to retort but decided against it. Kyle was right; there was no point hoarding when there was an imminent conflict with the Ilysian Punks on the horizon. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Kyle observed the rest of the operation, as more and more arcite ore wasyered in. The training room was starting to look more like a naturally-formed cave than anything else. He nced at Gk, who currently had its eyes closed, apparently trying to feel the flow of arcia energy. Damian dutifully brought back the extra arcite ore,pleting the chamber. Gk nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Yes, yes. This is same as chamber! It is how we do holy tattoo!¡± Kyle¡¯s eyes squinted, realizing something he had missed while he was in the Culdao Peaks. He had performed the engraving on the ves in their respective rooms rather than the dedicated arcia chamber. ¡°So, the sess of engraving depends on the environment?¡± ¡°Yes, more arcia in air, more power and easier!¡± Gk nodded. ¡°Engraving? Like engraving objects?¡± Damian queried, still unaware of what Kyle exactly did in the Culdao Peaks. [Sasha,e here.] Kyle used his directmunication channel via the Designate Follower skill. Sasha immediately entered the chamber, saluting Kyle. ¡°Spar with Damian. Use all engravings.¡± [Yes, sir.] ¡°What? What engravings?¡± Damian was still utterly confused, not seeing any form of arctech equipment on Sasha. Without warning, Sasha threw a high kick at Damian, who instinctively blocked it with his arm. In a fluidbo, Sasha delivered three to five hits, with Damian blocking in a defensive posture with his forearms. Her hits are nothing special, I don¡¯t see what Kyle is talking abo.. Suddenly, Sasha¡¯s right fist glowed under its bandage, with her throwing a straight punch. The resulting force sent Damian stumbling back, knocking him off bnce. With a sweeping kick, Damian found himself hitting the ground hard, staring at the ceiling now lined with arcite ore. ¡°You¡­ you have arctech engravings on your body? But how?!¡± Damian finally realized what was going on, but his mind could not figure out how was it possible. He was not an expert on arctech design or use of arcia energy, but he had a sinking feeling that this engraving was extremely taboo. ¡°Again!¡± Damian jumped up to his feet, preparing to spar with Sasha again. Kyle did not stay to watch the two of them spar, leaving the chamber with Gk. He led Gk to another room, where Monica was handling prototype handguns that were handcrafted by the ten associates and assembled by Kyle. Only the vipers would be allowed to use the handguns, as Kyle did not want them to be too obvious. However, there was still a surplus of two hundred handguns,id out on a table. More were being produced on a daily basis, though Kyle was not nning to get the factory involved. Monica was inspecting each of them before nodding at Kyle¡¯s arrival. ¡°I need the two of you to work together on this job. For every ten handguns, Distribute eight handguns to as many weapon dealers as possible. Don¡¯t let them find out that you¡¯re Seven Snakes. In fact, it would be even better if Gk did the sale.¡± ¡°How much do you want them sold for?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. The objective is to get as many guns out there into the sector. If you have to give them away for free, do it.¡± ¡°What if they reverse engineer it?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t, I have a failsafe built into them.¡± Monica frowned. ¡°What do we do with the remaining handguns?¡± ¡°Stash them deep, and put them in a thick metal safe. As deep as you can find. When Keith wakes up fully, get him to find a suitable location. Under no circumstances can the enforcers find that stash.¡± ¡°You got it. But if all of these get traced back to us, we¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°You let me worry about that part. Gk, before you go, did you bring the knife?¡± Gk obediently presented the taboo knife wrapped in a cloth to Kyle.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Taboo Knife (Intermediate)] A goblin heirloom from the past, designed for tattooing enchantments onto the skin. Age undetermined
Kyle gave them a few more minor orders before returning to his office. On his tableid two other items ¨C the sniper railgun he had used to attack Makoa and the ancient exosuit spines.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Arctech Sniper Railgun (Basic)] Thews of motion, weaponized. Active Skill: Snipe (Basic) ¨C elerate a projectile to ungodly speeds Cost: 10 MP Range: Two kilometres
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Ancient Exosuit Spine] Lost technology created in the Gctic Era, unusable without thorough refurbishment. Active Skill: Nerval Jack ¨C Enables an exosuit pilot to wield a suit through a nerval distributionwork Requires an operational exosuit
Now that Kyle had a method of improving the training rate of the associates, it was time to figure out how he could boost himself even more. He checked his statistics again.
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 15 Max HP: 52(+0)(+0) Max MP: 23(+0)(+5) Max STA: 52(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
STR 72(+34)(+0)
DEX 85(+44)(+3)
INT 91(+50)(+3)
VIT 49(+2)(+5)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 70
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Basic)]: Control those who oppose you with fear.
[Penchant for Violence (Basic)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld
[This is My Turf (Basic)]: No one gets close to you without your word.
[Designate Follower (Basic)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Basic)] Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Basic)] Greenskin bad, humanskin better. +10 STR, +5 DEX, +2 VIT, +10% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Basic)] Death handcrafted and delivered at high speeds. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance to craft an intermediate pistol when assembling.
The titles had been extremely useful to him so far, as well as the ss skills and the mana points. However, he had yet to spend time checking out the strength or dexterity stats. With no description of the stats, he was unable to determine what those stats rte to. The stats seems to be exponential in nature¡­ Kyle surmised as he had been gaining stats with every level up, but it did not feel like a linear power up. He could clearly tell he was significantly stronger than he was when he first arrived, especially with the increase in MP. The charisma stats seemed to affect his looks slightly as well, but did not increase with levels. He also noted he had a lot of free points from the level-ups, but he had been holding on to them due to his reluctance to rely too much on the system. If the ss selection was any indication, if I dumped all my free points into a specific stat, it would most likely be extremely painful. There was no doubt that for the uing fight, he would need everything he could get his hands on. Kyle decided to put all his free points into Strength, Dexterity and Vitality.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Information
[Free Points Allocated] +25 STR, +25 DEX, +20 VIT
Kyle felt a slight surge trickle through his muscles, a rejuvenating effecting over him. It wasn¡¯t much at all, which was a bit underwhelming to him. Kyle clenched his fist, testing his new strength, but he only felt a little stronger than he was before.
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 15 Max HP: 52(+0)(+0) Max MP: 23(+0)(+5) Max STA: 52(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
STR 97(+34)(+0)
DEX 110(+44)(+3)
INT 91(+50)(+3)
VIT 69(+2)(+5)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 0
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Basic)]: Control those who oppose you with fear.
[Penchant for Violence (Basic)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld
[This is My Turf (Basic)]: No one gets close to you without your word.
[Designate Follower (Basic)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Basic)] Those scribbles look like they might blow up anytime soon. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Basic)] Greenskin bad, humanskin better. +10 STR, +5 DEX, +2 VIT, +10% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Basic)] Death handcrafted and delivered at high speeds. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance to craft an intermediate pistol when assembling.
The stats in the system are far too unreliable. Kyle shook his head in disappointment before thinking carefully about what had just happened. My ss upgrade was painful ¨C almost ten hours. Yet seventy points of stats did not much of anything. What is the difference? Before Kyle could contemte any further, a Seven Snakes associate knocked on the door. ¡°Sir, I think you should head to the new arcite training chamber. You should stop them!¡± ¡°Stop them?¡± Kyle was confused, quickly leaving the office and heading over. In the training ring, Damian was desperately throwing jabs and hooks at Sasha, who nimbly dodged and twisted her body, avoiding the slow punches. The spar looked more like a mockery, where Sasha barely seemed to make any effort to move around. Damian let out a loud roar before throwing a straight punch at her face. In a blink, Sasha grappled the arm and flung him overhead by using her body as a pivot, mming him back first into the ground. ¡°Fu¡­.FUCK! AGAIN!¡± Damian bellowed as he got straight up, unfazed by the sudden defeat and getting into a fighting posture again. Sasha nodded and continued the spar. The same result was repeated over and over again, but Damian gritted his teeth and kept trying. However, no matter what strategy he tried to use, he could not beat thedy nornd a single punch on her. Is this all my training has amounted to over thest three months?! The engraving on Sasha¡¯s right hand glowed again, prompting Damian to avoid the hit. However, Sasha followed it up again with rapid activations, showing her prowess in using the engravings to augment herbat style. The fistnded on his forearm, nearly cracking his arm and sending him sprawling onto the ground again for the umpteenth time. Damian cursed to himself as he winced and doubled over. How the fuck am I to protect Keith when I am this weak?! ¡°Enough.¡± Kyle¡¯s voice wafted over the rocky chamber as he entered. ¡°You¡¯re far too driven by anger to train properly. You keep repeating the same mistakes over and over. How long do you want to be beaten up by Sasha? Days?¡± Damian gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. ¡°I need to be stronger. I will do anything to be stronger! Kyle, give me the engraving too!¡± He had seen over the course of his sparring with Sasha just how effective it could be. Kyle frowned. ¡°The process is extremely dangerous. The chamber now may increase the sess rate, but you might either die or lose your mind.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I might as well be dead at my current strength!¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Damian nodded with determination, his eyes feisty and driven. Kyle did not try to convince Damian otherwise anymore. It would be a good thing if Damian became stronger as well. ¡°Sasha, clear out the room and prepare for the procedure.¡± [Yes, sir.] The chamber was cleared of associates, leaving only Damian on a surgery table of sorts while Kyle and Sasha prepared the necessary equipment. Sasha strapped Damian down to the table on all limbs, to prevent him from moving around. Kyle unveiled the Taboo Knife, polishing its edge slightly with a grinding stone. ¡°Do you want the same force engraving?¡± ¡°No, give me a defensive one.¡± Damian shook his head. He knew his body was not fast enough to perform counterattacks, so it was better if he yed a more defensive role. ¡°One that can block bullets.¡± In a ck market on the far side of the South Sector¡­ An armoured man weaved through the dense crowds, packed like sardines in an underground bazaar, a sleazy atmosphere thick with Euria smoke assaulting his nose. The sound of metal armour clinking was drowned out by the din of the crowd as dealers sold all sorts of exotic goods and illegal weapons. He shoved his way through, with the crowd actively avoiding his gaze as though he was a god. ¡°Behold! Fifteen handguns of the highest quality here. Don¡¯t think they are anything like your usual arctech pistols ¨C these babies can shoot up to three times, even if you¡¯re a normal human!¡± The crowd which gathered around the stall was amazed, whispering frantically among one another. Small-time bandits, criminals and other thugs all jostled with one another to get a better look at the weapons. ¡°Limited avability, only yours for sixty thousand rakels!¡± ¡°Sixty thousand rakels?! That¡¯s a ripoff!¡± One of the thugs yelled from the side. ¡°I¡¯ll buy it!¡± A smuggler grinned and grabbed a wadful of notes out of his hands, handing it over to the dealer. ¡°Deal! Pleasure doing busine-¡°Before the dealer could hand over the gun, the crowd was physically shoved apart by the armoured man. ¡°This stall is now closed. Move along.¡± The armoured man spoke. Immediately the crowd began to disperse, many not willing to contest him except for the smuggler who had just paid. ¡°HEY! I PAID HIM; IT¡¯S MY GUN! WHO ARE YOU TO-¡° Before the smuggler could finish his words, the armoured man grabbed the smuggler by the head and mmed him onto the ground, finishing the smuggler off with a step onto the neck and cracking it clean. The dealer was frightened, his heart palpitating as he quickly tried to run away. Fuck, fuck, fuck I can¡¯t get caught by the guards of this ck market! However, the armoured man grabbed his shoulder in an instant, delivering a punch to the face that knocked out the dealer immediately. Retrieving the arctech radio slung by his side, he tuned the channel before speaking into it. ¡°Report: I have spotted handguns entering the ck market. Put me through to Baron Cain.¡± Chapter 40: First Volley ¡°So, you¡¯re the Seven Snakes¡¯ dedicated brewer?¡± ¡°And you¡¯re the new arctech designer. How did Kyle enve you?¡± Gordon had a confused expression on his face. ¡°Enve? He helped install me as the factory manager.¡± Gordon was working on arge arctech radio, a modification ordered by Kyle. He wondered as to why did he need a radio thisrge. Is he nning to run his own radio station or something? With this power, the radio can reach the entire city. Or is he trying to make sure he can reach something... The only instruction he got from Kyle was that it should be able to be received even in a basement. Eric Dicar scoffed. ¡°Idiot, you know that you¡¯re not truly free. If you ran right now, Kyle would chase you to hell himself, mark my words.¡± ¡°But why would I run? I already feel like I¡¯m the top of the world here! In fact, I don¡¯t see you running.¡± ¡°I¡­ I have recipes to learn.¡± ¡°And I have engravings to learn too!¡± Gordon and Eric Dicar exchanged a knowing look, having met for the first time. They were now in Gordon¡¯s factory office, waiting for a supposed meeting with Kyle. ¡°So¡­ you too?¡± Eric queried. ¡°It seems we both have our suspicions. Why don¡¯t you start first?¡± Gordon motioned with his hand. ¡°I postte that Kyle is a time traveller.¡± ¡°Impossible, I¡¯ve asked around. He used to be known as Alvin before his bipr personality took over.¡± ¡°Fine. Time travelled and took over a body. Soul possession or something.¡± ¡°Wait, you believe in souls?¡± ¡°I sometimes feel my soul leaving my body after a bad drink.¡± Gordon groaned. ¡°Look, that¡¯s a bit too farfetched. I have a better theory ¨C Alvin was actually the amnesiac, and Kyle was his original personality! He probably is from a foreignnd, perhaps beyond the Great Waves that has much better technology than us.¡± ¡°Okay now that¡¯s ridiculous. Everyone knows there¡¯s nothing beyond the Great Waves.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know that for sure! Just because no one made it back does not mean that there is nothing out there.¡± ¡°Pssh, and you dare diss my soul theory?!¡± The doors to the office swung open to reveal Kyle striding in. Without skipping a beat, he headed over to the only remaining military crate in the Seven Snakes district, pulling out a mortar and a cannonball. ¡°We need to create an improved version of this.¡± Kyle spoke quickly, getting straight to the point. Eric and Gordon immediately snapped out of their previous conversation, paying attention. ¡°Improve? This is the peak of Yual¡¯s military technology!¡± ¡°Exactly, which is why I called the two of you.¡± Gordon nodded, but soon nced at Eric. ¡°Wait, I understand why you would need me, but why Eric?¡± Makoa stood on a balcony, overlooking arge square where the hundred and fifty Ilysian Punks were gathered to assault the Seven Snakes district. He watched as they loaded up their pistols and armour, some even stocking up on potions. This was the staging area, not far from the Seven Snakes district. Never before did I have to use this many punks to crush a single district¡­ It has been a week since the loss of his base, with Makoa preparing everything in advance for this assault. ¡°Sir, your gauntlet and recharged shield are ready. General Javel reminds you that the shield is extremely precious. In the event that you lose, you must destroy the shield to prevent it from falling into enemy hands.¡± One of the Ilysian Punks¡¯ messengers reported to him. ¡°I understand. Send my thanks to Javel.¡± This is myst chance at redemption, I¡¯m not going to let this slip away now. It¡¯s all or nothing! ¡°Get all squad leaders into this room. It is time for the briefing.¡± With the squad leaders gathered in front of the map of the Seven Snakes district, Makoa began his exnation. The entire operation was designed in a military fashion, as many of the squad leaders were former Versia military soldiers. ¡°We will strike from three points ¨C north, northwest and south. The main bulk force will be through the north, with a hundred allocated to them. Each squad will have ten members and focus on rooting out the Seven Snakes and forcing them to surrender.¡± ¡°What about civilians? We won¡¯t know who¡¯s supporting them or not.¡± ¡°No indiscriminate killing ¨C we don¡¯t want to turn the local popce against us. We¡¯re targeting the Seven Snakes themselves. Coteral damage is fine, but under no circumstances-¡° Before Makoa could continue, a sudden whizzing sound could be heard in the air, sparking an instinct long drilled into him from past wars. ¡°MORTAR ATTACK!¡± The Ilysian Punks immediately vacated the open areas, heading into the buildings around the staging area as Makoa spotted a projectile hurtling through the air towards them from the balcony. The projectile mmed into the cobblestone floor of the staging area,pletely missing everybody. ¡°Hah! They misse-¡° A billowing sphere of fire and mes burst out from the projectile, exploding in a dazzling explosion that rocked the entire area. The ss rumbled with ferocity as the shockwave rippled through the area. Thousands of small fragments were flung in all directions from each projectile, mming into the walls and windows, shattering them. A few unfortunate Ilysian Punks who were looking through the windows were immediately impaled by the ensuing fragments and ss shards, crying out in pain. The characteristic tubing sound of the mortars could be heard as they sailed over the buildings slowly, raining even more fragments down onto the area. A few of the projectiles even exploded in mid-air, coating the ground with fragments. What kind of mortar explosive is that?! What the hell is going on! ¡°SQUAD LEADERS, GET YOUR MEN OUT OF HERE AND LAUNCH A FULL ASSAULT!¡° Makoa roared under the booming explosions. The squad leaders were all trained, immediately following the orders and bellowingmands on their respective arctech radios. The conflict had begun. The sounds of explosions and ensuing gunfire frightened the local residents, caught in an all-out conflict between the Seven Snakes and the Ilysian Punks. ¡°Can the Seven Snakes win this? What is going to happen to us when the Ilysian Punks take over?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even think Kyle can beat the Ilysian Punks; their entire attack force is here!¡± The streets were rife with chaos as the Ilysian Punks pushed their way into the Seven Snakes district. The squads worked in a disciplined fashion, clearing the urban blocks, building by building. In a residential building, a family of four were cowering in the room, barricading their door. ¡°Stay quiet!¡± The father warned the daughters. ¡°Daddy, what¡¯s happening?¡± Before the father could respond, the door was mmed violently, causing the two daughters to shriek. The father and mother desperately tried to cover their mouths, but the youngest was already on the verge of tears. Muffled voices from beyond the barricaded doors could be heard, the foreign ent of Versia clear as day. ¡°Sir, there seems to be people in this room.¡± ¡°Smash down the door or set it on fire. Our job is to clear each marked building of Seven Snakes and those in them, we don¡¯t have time to vet the residents. Clear the safe house, then burn everything else!¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± The Ilysian Punks were not out to wantonly kill residents, but to flush out the hideouts or safehouses of the Seven Snakes. Unfortunately for the family of four, there was a regr safehouse of the Seven Snakes located in this building, forcing the Ilysian Punks to clear it out. Before long, a thick cloud of smoke began to waft through the seams of the barricaded door. ¡°Daddy, the door is on fire!¡± The youngest cried out in a shrill voice. ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay, just stay calm.¡± The mother was also beginning to panic, worried about the impending asphyxiation. ¡°We need to open the windows to let the smoke out, quickly!¡± ¡°No! Don¡¯t open the windows, they¡¯ll-¡° The father tried to stop his wife, but as soon as the mother swung the windows open, a single shot nailed her right in the chest, piercing her heart instantly. Her body felt back on to the floor, convulsing from the pain. ¡°FUCK!¡± The father yelled, quickly scrambling over to the wife. ¡°I told you not to open the windows; they¡¯ll think you¡¯re trying to snipe them!¡± The wife tried to reply, but could not utter a word as the bullet was lodged deep in her heart, the blood filling her innards and lungs. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯ll save you. Damian will be here in no time with a health potion, just stay awake, stay awake.¡± The father desperately gripped the hand of his wife as he tried to find something to stem the bleeding. Time seemed to drag on as the continued crying of his daughters and pained breaths of his wifested for an eternity. The echoes of gunfire, explosions and mortars whizzing through the air were the only music he heard. Soon, the wife¡¯s hand lost its grip, her eyes gazing into the far beyond. The father could not say anything, only doubling over in shock. Just as he began to sob, the sounds of the Ilysian Punks re-entering the building could be heard. ¡°Where¡¯s the sniper?! Which room? Blow it up!¡± The father immediately racked his brains, trying to figure out an escape n but was at aplete lost. Even if he tried to escape via the now-open windows with his daughters he would simply be shot down in a simr fashion. He could try to put out the fire, but it would be a clear sign to the Ilysian Punks that someone was still alive in the room. Where the fuck are the Seven Snakes! Aren¡¯t they supposed to protect the district?! The father put his ears to the wall of the room, trying to hear beyond the fire. However, sounds of fighting suddenly could be heard beyond the crackling of mes. ¡°It¡¯s the Seven Snakes, kill them all!¡± Gunfire and metal shes echoed through the walls of the buildings, the cries of men falling. ¡°Why aren¡¯t my bullets hurting hi- ARGHHH¡± A squelching sound could be heard, along with the snapping of bone. Soon, loud footsteps could be heard over the fire approaching the room. The father quickly moved from the wall, grabbing a knife from the kitchen and preparing to defend himself. ¡°Get behind me, quickly!¡± He urged the daughters. The barricaded door was suddenly wrenched apart, the fire hardly affecting the man who began to clear the barricade. ¡°Anyone alive!?¡± The man roared in. ¡°Damian, I¡¯m here, I¡¯m here!¡± ¡°Alex, fuck! I¡¯ming in!¡± Damian shoved away the burnt wooden debris, running in. His eyesnded on the wife¡¯s body, stunned. Damian tried to find the words to console him, but Alex just shook his head, tears streaming down his face. ¡°Alex, you need to move. We have shelters nearby. We¡¯ll give Martha a proper burial. Think of your daughters!¡± Damian urged, the sounds of fighting still echoing down the streets. Alex finally nodded in agreement, quickly hoisting up his wife¡¯s body while Damian carried the two daughters. As Damian passed the other Seven Snakes associates in his crew who were also in the building, he ordered them to check every other room and save those whom they could. ¡°And grab whatever equipment you can from the dead bodies! We need everything we can to fight them off!¡± The two of them ran down the open street, hugging close to the building walls. With the local enforcers keeping a wide berth of the conflict as per their agreement, there was nothing preventing both sides from devolving into a brutal conflict. They soon reached a barricaded street, with countless sandbags and makeshift wooden palisades serving as cover. It protected a chunk of the street, where many of the local residents were already evacuated to. Alex¡¯s scenario was not unique, with many losing their loved ones or being forced to abandon them in the heat of the conflict. Damian grimaced as he watched the forlorn faces of those he personally knew. He had grown up in the district with Keith, after all, and many of those here were like kin to him. ¡°Alex, stay here with your daughters. Take shelter in the basement over there.¡± Damian pointed out a stairwell at the side of a building that led deeper. ¡°We have food and water tost a few days if needed.¡± However, Alex did not move, instead grabbing Damian by the shoulder, his eyes burning with revenge. ¡°No, Damian, I don¡¯t need food and water. I need a weapon.¡± Chapter 41: Close Quarters Eric Dicar winced as he plugged his ears with his finger, the screeching sound of the mortar tubes and the deafening thuds nearly sting his eardrums apart. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up to be an artillery crew!¡± Gordon wiped the sweat off his brow as he and two other associates lugged a custom-made metal spherical ball and loaded it into the base of the mortar before closing the hatch. ¡°CLEAR!¡± Gordon yelled before he pressed the trigger. The ten arcite fuel packs stacked in a haphazard manner next to the mortar chugged furiously, churning as it powered the eleration engravings along the side of the tubes, glowing red hot. With a bang, the metal ball was lobbed up high and far away, sailing towards a building in a far distance. [You¡¯re off target, you need to hit it fifty meters to the right!] Adrian¡¯s voice crackled over the arctech radio. ¡°Fuck!¡± Gordon cursed, before motioning to Eric to prepare the next explosive. It¡¯s already been three hours since the battle began, with their mortar performing the first strike. There was not enough time to mass produce the explosives, requiring Eric to mix them manually on the spot. The form was far too dangerous for others to handle ¨C a simple rounding error in the percentages may very cause the projectile to blow up in the associates¡¯ hands. The fighting with the Ilysian Punks had yet to spread through the whole district, with only the northern blocks embroiled in conflict. Damian, Monica and Niko were in charge of the defence, helping save the local residents as well as stem the iing Ilysian Punks. However, they were clearly far outnumbered ¨C it was a nearly three-to-one numerical disadvantage. What helped the Seven Snakes hold their ground was the armour and handguns provided to them, allowing them to survive for long. Damian gritted his teeth as he activated the ¡®Harden¡¯ engraving on his body, protecting himself from a gunshot as he fought in the ruined Golden Snakes casino. The engraving had boosted his internal arcia energy, along with the nonstop training in the arcite chamber. Grabbing a half-broken metal chair, he swung it around as a weapon, knocking out two Punks onto the ground as the rest of his crew shed in an all-out melee brawl. Countless casino chips and cards were scattered on the ground as the Ilysian Punks continued their objective of wrecking every Seven Snakes hideout and business. Damian continued undeterred, focusing on making sure none of the associates under him died by blocking for them. The enemy squad leader cursed as he checked his arcite fuel pack level, him being the only one wielding an arctech pistol. With a loud roar, Damian immediately targeted him and charged, mming into his waist and tackling him onto the ground. The arctech pistol was knocked out of his hand, disconnecting from the arcite fuel pack and scattering away onto the floor amidst the sounds of yelling and punches. They grappled each other in a desperate life-or-death match, trying to suffocate each other. Damian¡¯s eyesnded on the arctech pistol lying on the corner, reaching out with one hand to try and grab it. They tussled and tumbled on the ground, throwing punches at each other while both of them scrambled for the arctech pistol. The enemy squad leader managed to grab the pistol again, desperately trying to reconnect the arctech pistol to his fuel pack when he realized his fuel pack had already been crushed by Damian. The shock left him open, allowing Damian to deliver a rapidbo of three punches to the squad leader and knocking him down again. ¡°Stay down, cunt.¡± The enemy squad leader tried to get up but was suddenly hit on the head by a metal pipe, nearly caving his skull in and causing blood to spurt through his hair. ¡°THIS IS FOR MARTHA, YOU FUCK!¡± Alex mmed the pipe down repeatedly, bellowing out his rage. Damian did not stop him, himself also angered at what the Ilysian Punks had done to Keith. He checked in with the rest of his crew, of which five were seriously injured. ¡°Head back to the shelter and get more health potions.¡± While the rest of the associatesplied and carried the wounded, Alex did not listen, continuing to hit the Ilysian Punk squad leader in the face, mashing it into a mess of meat. ¡°Alex. Alex. HEY, ALEX, STOP!¡± Damian shouted and grabbed Alex. ¡°You¡¯re injured too! Think of your daughters; they still want you alive back at the shelter!¡± Alex was about to shrug him off until he yelled out in pain as Damian poked a finger in Alex¡¯s gaping wound on his waist. ¡°There¡¯s plenty more of these fuckers to take revenge on. You need to stay alive!¡± ¡°Huff..huff.. you¡¯re right. Sorry.¡± Alex took a deep breath and staggered towards the exit of the casino, nearly crumbling onto the floor before Damian quickly supported him. The crew headed back to the shelter, rotating with another squad which headed out to defend them. Already the exhaustion was visible on the Seven Snakes associates, barely propped up by the Stamina Recovery Potions. However, the potions did not alleviate the mental fatigue from the close-quartersbat in the city. At the Lusty Arcian, Niko and vin were involved in a desperate protracted battle, both sides firing at each other in therge expansive lobby of the beauty school, with broken pots and mirrors strewn on the floor. Makeshift barricades and tables were used as cover as Niko crouched behind it, gripping a handgun crafted by Kyle. ¡°How long more till the Red Lions attack the Ilysian Punks!? They must know we¡¯re in shit by now!¡± Niko roared into his arctech radio as yet another shot whizzed past his cover. [I don¡¯t know, but the Red Lions doesn¡¯t seem to making a single move!] Adrian replied. ¡°WHAT?! Then what the hell are we buying time for?!¡± Niko cursed. ¡°We¡¯re going to lose the Lusty Arcian at this rate!¡± [There are even bigger issues ¨C there¡¯s a fifty men squad from the Ilysian Punks moving to the south of us!] Niko¡¯s face baulked. He was under the impression that the force attacking them right now was the main force. There¡¯s more?! [Sasha and I will handle it.] Kyle suddenly spoke on themunication channel. On the roof of a building, Kyleid down t and mounted his arctech railgun, aiming down an open street. He peered through the telescope, zooming in on the approaching Ilysian Punks. Five squads marched down the open streets, all far more armoured and equipped than the punks attacking in the north. Kyle noticed a wagon being escorted in the middle of their formation filled with arcite fuel packs, supposedly serving as their mobile supply station. Kyle marked the five squad leaders before focusing on one, firing the first bullet. With a significant recoil, the metal ball nearly broke the speed of sound, hurtling towards the Ilysian Punks formation. In an instant, the metal ball tore a hole through the squad leader¡¯s head, killing him before he could even react.
[System Message] Killed [Ilysian Punk Squad Leader], +200 EXP
¡°Fuck, the long-range cannon is here! Get to cover!¡± Kyle fired two more times, killing yet another squad leader while missing another as the Ilysian Punks broke formation, sprinting all over the ce.
[System Message] Killed [Ilysian Punk Squad Leader], +200 EXP
The Ilysian Punks began to break into the nearby buildings and shops, using them as cover as they moved from door to door or through the alleyways out of their firing angle of Kyle. Kyle immediately unmounted the arctech railgun and began to head down to the ground floor himself. ¡°Sasha, hunt them one by one now, before they spread too far into the district!¡± [Yes, sir.] Sasha replied, already on the way there. She immediately ordered the squad members under her to spread out and began chasing the Ilysian Punks down. Moving alone, she had her sights on whoever was the closest. This time, she wore a full coat, the interioryered with arctech armour. The armour barely slowed her down as she sprinted down the streets towards the closest squad, who were disorganized as their leader had just copsed. The shop owners cowered in fear behind the cashier as half an Ilysian Punk squad barged into the bakery. They quickly closed the door behind them, barricading themselves in as they hauled the shelves. ¡°Shit, what do we do now? Our lead is dead. The arctech radio is on his body!¡± Before anyone could offer their opinion or suggestion, Sasha kicked her way through the store ss, shattering the window. With a handgun in her hand, she fired three rounds in rapid session at the closest Ilysian Punk ¨C two in the body, one in the head. Sasha ducked as another Ilysian Punk swung his crowbar at her head while she kicked outwards into his groin before parrying a punch from another side. In a flurry of jabs, punches and kicks, she quickly knocked out four members. Thest surviving member ran out into the streets, yelling at the other Ilysian Punks. ¡°The assassin is here!¡± Instead of chasing him down the streets, Sasha instead chose to exit the bakery through the back alleyways, trying to nk around and target another squad. However, the moment she turned the corner, a familiar metal gauntlet knocked right into her left shoulder, sending her soaring into the air. She twisted her body as she flipped through the air,nding on the ground and recovering, the armour mitigating some of the damage. ¡°So we meet again, assassin. How much did the Seven Snakes pay you this time? Is it worth your life?¡± Makoa grinned, nine punks standing behind him in the alleyway with their arctech pistols at the ready. ¡°Shoot her.¡± Sasha gritted her teeth and activated her breastte¡¯s ability, sending out three dark green projectiles that countered the volley of shots. However, six shots made it through, with three missing her and the remaining three nailing her in the thighs and waist, causing her to stagger onto the ground on one knee. Makoa motioned with a single hand, the Ilysian Punks moving forward to finish her off. Sasha¡¯s eyes burn with determination, unwilling to go down without a fight. As the first knife stabbed her, she deftly dodged and twisted the wrist holding the knife, forcing the attacking punk to drop it. She moved fluidly as she avoided and weaved through the attacks, parrying and mming them into the walls. The healing engraving on her back worked overtime, but with the bullets lodged deep in her body, it could not be healed automatically, causing her movement to slow down over time. The pain surging from the embedded bullets caused her to falter slightly, with a hit from a metal crowbarnding right on her back, mming against the armour with a dull thud. Before she could recover her posture and counterattack, Makoa suddenly lunged towards her, delivering a flurry of punches that caved in her armour, shredding her full coat apart to reveal the dents underneath. However, before Makoa could follow up, a loud familiar bang mmed into his energy shield again from behind, staggering him. The long-range cannon ¨C what?! He turned around and saw who it was. ¡°The Seven Snakes leader? GET HIM!¡± The squad members turned and rushed Kyle, but the handgun in his left shot with precision, firing three times in a row.
[System Message] Killed [Ilysian Punk Member], +50 EXP
The remaining squad members were undeterred and rushed him, swinging wildly at him from all angles. Kyle dropped his handgun onto the floor and wielded his arctech railgun with both hands, using it like a blunt staff. Penchant for Violence. His body surged with strength as his muscles erged slightly, along with his perception increasing. With the additional free points added to the stats, the effects of doubling it was bing more apparent to Kyle. Even his brain seemed to run at a faster speed, allowing him to react faster as the world around him began to slow down slightly. This is like a Gctic Erabat stimnt. The first attacker gritted his teeth and swung a crowbar from the right, but the reach failed to hit Kyle as he took a step back. He jabbed the barrel of the railgun into the stomach of the first attacker like a spear before swinging it down on another attacker,ing at him from another side in a downward hit. The distinctive sound of a shot forced him to immediately swivel and block an arctech pistol bullet with the body of his railgun, shot from a punk who managed to reload during the fight. Kyle charged forward with the heavy steel muzzle of the railgun as a spear, mming the tip into the nearest attackers and crushing their bones with a single hit. A solid jab was enough to cause a punk to be knocked out of the fight, whimpering on the ground from the pain. Makoa was astonished by the sheer strength Kyle possessed despite his lean stature. Where is he getting this power from? He doesn¡¯t even have an arcite fuel pack! Is he a mage? Kyle mmed the butt of his railgun down on an incapacitated Ilysian Punk¡¯s neck, killing him instantly.
[System Message] Killed [Ilysian Punk Member], +50 EXP
¡°So, is this all you got?¡± Chapter 42: Demise Makoa gasped for air as he crawled on the floor, the broken pieces of his metal gauntlet stabbing into his arms. A hand grabbed his head and lifted him up, causing him to grunt in pain. Kyle bent over and touched the belt of Makoa from behind.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Ancient Personal Defense Shield] Lost technology created in the Gctic Era. Limited to humans under 3 meters. Usage dependent on battery levels. Active Skill: Shield Projection ¨C Generates a thick shield that blocks iing attacks as well as air Rmended to toggle lest the user runs out of air.
¡°Where did you get the energy shield from?¡± Kyle asked, lifting Makoa up by the neck with one hand alone, hoisting him over the bodies of twenty other Ilysian Punks. At the side, Sasha spat out a mouthful of blood while she moved her own hands within her bullet wounds, prying out the embedded metal pieces that fragmented within her flesh. Without a sound, she ripped thest metal piece from her thigh, finally activating the healing engraving on her back and sealing up the wound. ¡°Like I¡¯m fucking going to tell you any-¡° Makoa yelled out in pain as Kyle twisted a knife into Makoa¡¯s waist. ¡°Just kill me and get it over with.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a precious hostage, and I have someone here who would love to have a chat with you.¡± Makoa grinned with his bloodied teeth, half of them missing from the fight. ¡°Are you sure this is over? I¡¯m not the only one in the Ilysian Punks, you know.¡± Kyle squinted his eyes while his arctech radio coincidentally crackled into life with Adrian¡¯s voice frantically shouting on the other side. [Kyle, they got another forceing to attack us!] ¡°Haven¡¯t the Red Lions begun their assault on the Ilysian Punks?¡± Kyle dropped Makoa to the floor. [I don¡¯t know what Wrent is nning, but the Red Lions are not making a move at all!] ¡°Hah, fools!¡± Makoaughed with a hoarse throat. ¡°You think the Red Lions are your allies, and you could use them to outy us? They, too, want to see you in ruins! They won¡¯t make a move until you¡¯ve been wiped clean ¨C only then will they enter this district and steal your potion production methods. General Javel will clean you up and then use this district as a trap for the Red Lions!¡± At the northern district, Damian and Niko fought desperately against the new wave of Ilysian Punks who were now attacking the shelter. ¡°Wasn¡¯t it supposed to be not more than two hundred members? Where did these fuckerse from!¡± Damian roared as he swung wildly with a makeshift club, his former weapon already broken in half. Niko couldn¡¯t reply, already slumped against the ground, breathing heavily as he tried to put pressure on his waist, which was bleeding profusely. ¡°I¡­ I think we¡¯re fucked¡­¡± ¡°NO! Don¡¯t give up on me, Niko! Stay awake!¡± Damian roared as he grabbed the arm of an Ilysian Punk and twisted it with using his body as a pivot. ¡°Kyle wille to save us; I believe it!¡± What Damian did not know was that for all the enhancements Kyle had from the System, it was not possible for Kyle to reach in an instant. It would take more than five minutes for Kyle to even make it over if he sprinted. All around him, fellow Seven Snakes associates were falling down, the exhaustion from the hours ofbat taking a toll on them and making them sluggish. Compared to the fresh Ilysian Punks, they were no match. Even Damian was beginning to lose hope, wondering if this was how the Seven Snakes woulde to its end. He grunted as he forced himself to keep fighting, trying to stem the tide of Punks. Behind him was thousands of local residents hiding in the basements. It was down to him to defend! ¡°ARGHHHH!¡± Damian bellowed as he fought with all his might, throwing punches and kicks. Soon, however, he was grappled to the ground by three Ilysian Punks, restraining him down as he thrashed. ¡°Shut him up!¡± The enemy squad leader ordered, with Damian ncing at the blue sky as a metal pipe swung downwards onto him. Just as he flinched instinctively, he heard a cry of pain as the punks holding him down were knocked aside like bowling pins. Damian opened his eyes to see a fluttering pearlish white coat stained with grime and blood as the wearer swung a warhammer around, smashing the skulls of the punks apart with the glowing yellow tip infused with engravings. What?! An inquisitor? The inquisitor rampaged through the street, swinging the warhammer with a single hand while her other hand wielded an arctech pistol, firing tantly at the Ilysian Punks. ¡°COME ON!¡± The inquisitor yelled, a wide grin on her face as she began to clobber everyone who got close to her. ¡°Shit, stop her! It¡¯s the Mad Dog Inquisitor!¡± Kitanaughed as she kicked a fallen Ilysian Punk¡¯s chin before mming the head of her warhammer on his head, crushing it into a paste. Her eyes glinted like a predator, marking each of the Ilysian Punks as she moved on like a one-man army, ughtering her way through the new Ilysian Punk force. Look at all these EXP bundled up together for me! The Ilysian Punks were no match for her strength, some of them horrified and trying to flee. Even shooting her was of no use, as the inquisitor coat wasyered with projectile defence engravings as well. Kitana sneered at the fleeing Ilysian Punks members, mming her feet into the ground. A rush of yellow arcia trails snaked out across the ground with her foot as the source, causing the cobblestone to surge forward and wrap around the legs of twenty or more Ilysian Punks, making them unable to move. They struggled and nearly tripped over themselves as they were all rooted to the spot. ¡°Wha¡­ what the fuck is this!¡± An Ilysian Punk managed to exim before the warhammer¡¯s head smashed his jaw into smithereens, along with a follow-up strike hitting his knees and snapping them off. The restrained Ilysian Punks were horrified while their allies fled back to their district, carrying the wounded. Kitana smiled as she slowly walked up to the remaining neen Ilysian Punks. ¡°By order of the Inquisition, you shall now be purged.¡± General Javel¡¯s face was grim as he watched the smoke plumes spiralling out towards the sky from the Seven Snakes district while Alejandro desperately tried to make sense of what was happening on the ground. ¡°Sir, it seems our forces have been routed by the Seven Snakes. Half are either dead or captured, with the rest fleeing back into our districts.¡± ¡°And I assume the Red Lions are gearing up for an all-out attack this very moment.¡± ¡°¡­ yes sir. The Wretches are also preparing for war, while the enforcers are aiming to raid us as well. It seems like the gamble has failed.¡± ¡°Not yet. There¡¯s still one more card we can y.¡± General Javel picked up his arctech radio, tuning the frequency to a separate channel. ¡°Sebastian, I know you¡¯re listening on this channel.¡± [Always astute as ever, Javel. But it seems that you have been exposed.] Sebastian chuckled through the arctech radio. ¡°Are you willing to help us?¡± [And why would I do that?] ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb with me. I know that while you¡¯ve been helping us fight against the Red Lions and Wretches, you¡¯ve also been supplying them at the same time. You want this protracted war. With the Seven Snakes tipping the battlefield, your three-way war may be gone.¡± [Hmm¡­ an interesting proposition. I ept. I will send you an elite squad, one of our very best. They will arrive at the headquarters within an hour.] ¡°Thank you.¡± General Javel ended the conversation, smirking to himself. ¡°Alejandro, ry defensive orders to all units. Distribute all remaining military equipment to whoever is left. We¡¯ll plunge this area into chaos and make them regret attacking us. With the support of the Ardent Cretins, we may be able to negotiate a ceasefire after a week of fighting eventually.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The Ilysian Punks quickly reformed their defences, preparing for the inevitable counterattack from all sides. Soon, the elite squad of the Ardent Cretins arrived, decked from head to toe in engraved knight armour along with wielding heavy polearms. Each of them had three arcite fuel packs embedded within the armour, fuelling the heavy consumption of the knight¡¯s armour. While their overall speed was extremely slow, they could take a big punishment. ¡°Good! Very good!¡± General Javel nodded happily. ¡°We will have you fight against the Red Lions directly, which now poses thergest threat. Alejandro, you will-¡° Before General Javel couldplete his words, the closest Ardent Cretin reached out and grabbed Javel by the neck while the rest surrounded him and quickly restrained him. ¡°WHAT? What is the meaning of this? Alejandro, stop them!¡± Javel¡¯s eyesnded on Alejandro, who did not react at all and stood quietly at the side. Realization dawned on him, a scowling expression forming on his face. ¡°ALEJANDRO, HOW DARE YOU!¡± ¡°Under the authority of Baron Cain, I hereby arrest you for treason and espionage against the Yual Dominion. Illegal smuggling of guns to foreign powers and the formation of secret societies, as well as consistent flouting of the prohibition bans. How do you plead?¡± ¡°FUCK YOU, ALEJANDRO!¡± ¡°General Javel, you¡¯re too fixated on your heritage to Versia. Why help a homnd that has no gratitude for you? I will not die for a home I have not stepped foot in for twenty years.¡± ¡°TRAITOR! Mark my words, once I get out, you and your descendants will suffer! Not even the Grand Waves will save you!¡± General Javel yelled as he thrashed on the floor before one of the Ardent Cretin delivered a strong punch to his face, knocking him out cold. ¡°That¡¯s if they even let you go. Take him away and hand him over to the Magda. Bishop Vete would be pleased.¡± Alejandro smirked as two Ardent Cretins hauled him away. [Good work Alejandro.] Sebastian¡¯s voice wafted over the arctech radio. ¡°Don¡¯t forget your promise,¡± Alejandro warned. [Of course, you will get your position among the Ardent Cretins. However, there is still one more part to the deal.] Alejandro nodded, walking across the room towards an inconspicuous bookshelf. He ran his hands over the bookshelf, feeling the grooves between the books before stopping at a yellow-painted leather cover. With a single twist, the bookshelf rumbled as it swung open to reveal a hidden elevator leading to a basement deep beneath the ground. Alejandro and two Ardent Cretins entered the elevator, which rumbled as it descended more than five floors underground. The elevator door swung open to reveal arge storage cavern with countless crates stacked up along its walls. ¡°This is everything the Ilysian Punks have hoarded over thest three years. Guns, potions, gold. This is the main stash. The main entrance is in the West Sector, while the exit is beyond the city walls. ¡° The two knights inspected the crates, noticing there were far more military technology here than just the shipment that went missing. It seems that the Ilysian Punks had actually been doing this for years rather than a recent thing. [Ah, so that¡¯s why the shipment of guns went past the Seven Snakes district.] ¡°It is easier to throw the enforcers off our trails by nting the entrance far away from our area.¡± [And the exit?] Alejandro led the two Ardent Cretins to the far end of the cavern, where the rushing sound of water could be heard. ¡°An underground river that leads to a cave in a nearby forest, from which couriers can easily pick it up and smuggle them into Versia. The transport route works both ways.¡± [Brilliant, Alejandro, you will be rewarded.] As soon as Sebastian said that, the two Ardent Cretins grappled Alejandro, restraining him from behind. Shocked, Alejandro struggled against the metallic armoured arms that locked his limbs. ¡°I followed your orders to the letter and even gave you the stash! How dare you do this?!¡± [The Ardent Cretins has no ce for traitors like you, Alejandro. Cut him up and dump the body in the river. I¡¯ll be there shortly.] Chapter 43: Aftermath Kyle grabbed the head of yet another Ilysian Punk and punched it hard, his fist cratering the punk¡¯s face in. While he had managed to clear out the Ilysian Punks from the Seven Snakes district, he was slightly surprised as to how easy the counterattack was on the following day after the initial assault. Damian too was slightly wary, afraid of an imminent counterattack. However, the Ilysian Punks¡¯ entire top hierarchy seemed to have crumbled in an instant. ¡°Do you think it was the inquisitors that helped us?¡± Kyle did not see Kitana in action, but had already heard from Damian about how she killed the second wave of Ilysian Punks, effectively saving the Seven Snakes. The description of how Kitana restrained the punks threw rm bells into Kyle¡¯s mind. A unique arctech equipment? Or another system user? He was not that arrogant to believe he was the only system user in the world ¨C there was a good chance that Kitana was one too, but he did not have evidence, especially since he had yet to meet another system user at all. Whatever the reasons for the inquisitors help, he now was able to save most of his forces and get them back into fighting condition the very next day, enabling them to fight for control over the adjacent districts owned by the Ilysian Punks. The Ilysian Punks tried to re-organize and fight back, but with theirmand hierarchy in shambles, they fell like dominos, easily overpowered by the highly organized associates led by Kyle, Sasha, Damian and Niko. It was now a mad race against time, with the Seven Snakes, Red Lion and the Wretches trying to cut up the districts owned by the Ilysian Punks. ¡°Clear out this pub and move onto the next block. We need to reach the other district before the Red Lions get there.¡± Kyle had the Seven Snakes spilt up into different squads, conquering and staking their im on each urban block in sequence. The residents were slightly rmed by the fighting, but the rival gangs only targeted each other as long as they stayed out of the way. The enforcers were also going in at full force, raiding the main base of the Ilysian Punks immediately and arresting every Ilysian Punk in sight. By the time night fell for a second time, the conflict was over as abruptly as it had just begun. Kyle walked through the new district the next day, with the ce springing back into life. No longer did the residents cower in fear, heading back to work as though nothing had change. For those who had lived in Raktor long enough, such gang conflicts were asmon as the change in seasons. It did not matter to them who was in charge of them, as long as they could carry on with their ordinary lives. ¡°Keith, set up the same events we did for our previous district. We have to build some goodwill in the new district to properly assimte it into us.¡± Kyle ordered Keith, who was walking behind him and taking notes of the damage to some of the businesses. They both inspected one of the Ilysian Punks¡¯ former pubs, the bar and tables smashed to smithereens by the brawl. A few Seven Snakes associates were already inside cleaning up, hauling the dead bodies outside. Keith noted that a few of the employees were dead, sighing as he saw two associates haul a dead bartender out. ¡°It¡¯s going to take twenty thousand rakels to fix up this mess, and then we need to hire more people to rece them.¡± ¡°How much cash do we have left?¡± ¡°After repaying the Crimson Swords, producing the arctech equipment, funding your pet railgun and building custom explosive liquids for a mortar? About four hundred thousand left. Do you have another exotic handgun to auction, by any chance?¡± ¡°You know the value will be deprecated.¡± ¡°Then you better hope the Violet Demons don¡¯t try to attack the goblin den anytime soon. With both you and Sasha gone, our defences there are sorelycking.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll gather more recruits to defend that area.¡± Kyle replied, stepping out of the damaged pub back onto the street. In the distance, he could see plenty of freshly recruited Seven Snakes associates cleaning up the streets of debris and broken weapons. Wagons of dead Ilysian Punks were carted off, to be dumped unceremoniously in the mass graves far beyond the city¡¯s walls. Alex was one of the newly recruited Seven Snakes associates, staring at some of the tied up punks who surrendered. If it was him from two days ago, he would have personally taken a knife and cut all of their heads off one by one. However, he had long lost the burning desire for revenge, now only torn with despair at what had happened to his wife. While he was lost in his depression, staring nkly at the ground, a hand tapped his shoulder frantically. ¡°Alex, alex. ALEX! Stand up straight, the boss is here!¡± Alex jolted back to reality, straightening his back as the new recruits lined up straight. Kyle walked past them, inspecting each of them from head to toe. Many of them were residents of the Seven Snakes district, caught up in the war. Some joined for fame and money, others joined for protection. But the vast majority were driven by hatred and a desire for revenge, Alex being one of them. ¡°Under thews imposed by the Sanctum of Yual, murder is uneptable. In normal circumstances, you will have immediately been arrested by the enforcers and hauled away to prison, potentially enved to mine arcite ore in Tryas. However, as long as you listen to me, this fate shall never befall you.¡± Kyle spoke as he stepped slowly, his voice as clear as day. ¡°Once you join the Seven Snakes, there is no turning back. If you wish to retract your membership, do so now. Walk away and live a normal life.¡± However, no one budged, all standing straight and firm. Alex too did not budge, despite having lost the original reason why he fought back against the Ilysian Punks in the first ce. His two daughters were counting on him to survive, and with his house in ruins, he needed all the extra money he could get. Many of the other fresh recruits were of the same mindset. With their homes and lifestyles now in ruins, it was unimaginable how long they would have to toil away as a construction worker, a chef or a factory worker to make back what they originally had. Being under the Seven Snakes was a different story altogether ¨C the fame and fortune came easily as long as you were a part of it. None of them were frightened by pain any longer, having fought side by side against the Ilysian Punks to defend their families. ¡°Good, then you are now all associates of the Seven Snakes. Work hard, and you will received in equal amounts. Carry on.¡± Kyle dismissed them, letting them resume their work. Kyle continued through the two districts that they captured, repeating the same speech to different groups of fresh recruits. What the recruits did not know was that he had deliberately dyed the response time of the Seven Snakes to the attacks of the Ilysian Punks, in order to create more chaos and drive up the desperation of the people. He needed more tragedies to happen to break the normal lifestyle of the citizen, making them flock towards him for security. Just like a protection racket. And unsurprisingly, it worked like a charm. The Seven Snakes had now more than fifty fresh recruits, doubling their numbers in just a short three days. More work would have to be done over the next few days to properly integrate them into the gang, but for now Kyle was happy with how the gang was growing. We will need to make the gang more hierarchical to prevent leaks and betrayals. I must add another intermediate rank. He soon came across Damian who was helping give out food to those affected by the conflict, setting up a soup kitchen simr to how they¡¯ve done it before. More than a hundred residents were gathered, covered in a haphazard manner of clothing to protect them from the environment, as their hands shakily epted the bowl of soup. Damian smiled as he gave out each bowl, trying to make small talk with the residents. From behind Damian, a young man eyed him and the Seven Snakes emblem on his shoulder angrily, retrieving a knife from his pocket and slowly closing the gap from behind, nning to stab him in the back. As the young man lunged without a word, the knife stabbed into the flesh and caused Damian to scream. However, the de did not push as far as the young man would have hoped. Immediately two of the Seven Snakes associates grabbed the young man, pinning him down on the ground. ¡°FUCK YOU SEVEN SNAKES! YOU KILLED MY FATHER!¡± The young man roared in anger as he thrashed on the ground, fighting against the associates. He used his mouth to bite deep into the arm of an associate, forcing the arm to let go of him as he tried to scamper away. Instead, he ran headfirst into Kyle, knocking into his leg and bouncing backwards. ¡°YOU! I¡¯LL KILL YOU!¡± The young man recognized Kyle as the leader of the Seven Snakes, throwing a fist. Kyle dodged the attack, causing the young man to stumble forward and trip onto the floor. ¡°This weak, and you want to avenge your father? Pathetic.¡± Kyle motioned for the two associates to grab him. ¡°Drag him out.¡± The young man was dragged out to the front of the soup kitchen stall, kicking and screaming while Damian pulled the knife out of his back. ¡°Fellow residents. We are working hard to clean up and provide you with new housing as well as food.¡± Kyle spoke to the crowd of residents as he walked behind the young man. ¡°But you all seem to not understand something. So let me make this clear.¡± Kyle grabbed the arctech handgun out from his suit¡¯s inner holster and aimed it at the back of the young man¡¯s head, pulling the trigger. The brains and flesh sttered in a spray onto the floor, coating the ground with blood and gore. A few of the residents shrieked in panic, but many were simply frightened and rooted to the ground. ¡°Anyone. ANYONE. Who tries to go against me and hurt my people: You know what¡¯sing. THE SEVEN SNAKES RULES THIS PLACE NOW!¡± The young man¡¯s body was dropped onto the ground, limp as his head lolled to the side. ¡°Clean this up.¡± Kyle ordered the two associates as he adjusted his suit, putting the handgun back in its holster. Damian nodded, unfazed by how Kyle had reacted. He had long known that Kyle would fully retaliate against anyone who tried to go against him, or hurt the Seven Snakes. He felt a bit of sympathy for the young man, but he also felt a increase in loyalty, knowing that Kyle was willing to go that far to get revenge for him. Kyle continued walking down the street, meeting up with Keith again. ¡°Did you see the enforcers?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°No, why? Are we not in a temporary alliance?¡± Just as soon as he asked, three arctech wagons turned the corner and drove towards them, bearing the insignia of the enforcers and the Sanctum of Yual. The wagons came to a halt right in front of Kyle, with fifteen armoured enforcers jumping out and surrounding him, aiming their rifles at him. Mason stepped out of the first wagon, smoking a pipe as he grinned at Kyle. ¡°Alvin Tersa. Under the powers vested into me by the Inquisition of the Sanctum of Yual, you¡¯re under arrest.¡± Chapter 44: Trump Card Bishop Vete frowned as she read through the reports over thest few days. While the raid on the Ilysian Punks had been going on, someone had been disseminating cheap repeater handguns much like the one sold in the auction, prompting countless small-time criminals to buy them. Baron Cain could not control the flow of handguns, leading to an increased crime rate across the South Sector, with thugs now using the handguns to threaten and raid shops and businesses. The gun situation waspletely getting out of hand. More and more enforcers were being injured in the line of duty. At this rate, Bishop Vete could tell that the Baron was losing his patience. One wrong misstep and the Bishop could say goodbye to her current well-paid position. The doors to her office burst open as Mason escorted Kyle in. ¡°Sorry for the rough handling.¡± Bishop Vete apologized as Mason uncuffed Kyle in the Bishop¡¯s office. ¡°We just had to show we were doing something.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t seem fazed by the handcuffs, nor did his skin show any sign of pain or soreness. Kitana stood by the side, eyeing Kyle carefully. ¡°I assume you have something you need me to do,¡± Kyle spoke directly, getting straight to the point. ¡°Where are the remaining guns?¡± Mason asked. ¡°Remaining guns? I handed over every single crate I¡¯ve found in the Ilysian Punk territory.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with us. We know exactly how many crates had gone missing. And all of a sudden, your members appear with handguns that looked exactly like the one sold in the Central Sector¡¯s auction house. The exact same ones that are showing up all over the ck market. Every fucking second-rate thug would have one by the next year.¡± ¡°And just like those second-hand thugs, I needed everything I could get my hands on to win. The ck market sells a lot of things ¨C I¡¯m sure you know that better than I do.¡± ¡°I¡¯m assuming it¡¯s the same for the mortars then.¡± ¡°How observant.¡± ¡°Alvin.¡± Mason straightened his coat. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask again. Where. Are. The. Remaining. Guns?¡± Kyle looked Mason in the eye, unflinching. ¡°I don¡¯t know. They are most certainly not in my territory.¡± ¡°And you expect me to believe that? It seems you got the biggest haul out of this entire fiasco. I¡¯m even inclined to believe that you instigated the Ilysian Punks to steal from the factory in the first ce!¡± ¡°An usation unfounded.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that. Maybe a few weeks in prison will help you talk.¡± Kyle did not reply, showing no expression on his face whatsoever, causing Mason to be even more visibly frustrated. Mason ordered for two enforcers toe in and drag him out to a holding cell. Kyle shrugged their hands off, walking by himself. As the doors closed behind Kyle, Mason sighed before looking at Kitana and Bishop Vete. ¡°Well? What do the two of you think?¡± Kitana shrugged her shoulders. Her skill, Eyes of Truth, could see through optical illusions and such but could not make out if someone was lying or not. Maybe when I hit my next ss upgrade, I¡¯ll get ¡®Ears of Truth¡¯. Bishop Vete was equally hesitant. ¡°I don¡¯t think he is the one holding on to the remaining crates. We¡¯re still missing ten crates, and even if he¡¯s lying, he will only have one crate at most. Holding that many is a veritable death sentence for such a small gang as his.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait for our enforcers to report back before making a final call.¡± Mason crossed his arms, plopping down onto the sofa. Two minutes passed in silence, while the Bishop continued to read reports of increasing gun violence. Soon, an enforcer entered the office, bowing to the inquisitors and the bishop. ¡°Sir, we¡¯ve checked the entire Seven Snakes district and found no traces of any guns.¡± Mason stood up in shock. ¡°Not even a single crate? Gun barrels? Bullet tests? Firing ranges?¡± ¡°Nothing, sir. All we found was some evidence of a factory manufacturing a few arctech armour pieces, but nothing rted to guns.¡± ¡°He¡¯s hiding them; I know he is!¡± Mason mmed his fist on the holster of the sofa. ¡°Uhh, sir? There¡¯s one more thing.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a protest going out now right outside the Magda. It seems to beprised of the local residents, calling for Kyle¡¯s release.¡± ¡°Who the fuck is riling them up?!¡± Mason gritted his teeth in anger, but he already knew the answer deep down. Of course, it¡¯s the Seven Snakes members! The Bishop walked up to the window of her office, overlooking the protesting crowd who held signs and arctech loud hailers shouting out. [JUSTICE FOR KYLE!] [RELEASE OUR PROTECTOR!] ¡°You!¡± Mason pointed at the enforcer. ¡°Gather ten of your men and clear them out!¡± ¡°By that order.¡± Bishop Vete interrupted. ¡°Release Alvin now.¡± ¡°But if he¡¯s holding onto the guns¡­¡± ¡°Then we will catch him in the act there and then. It is not worth going against public opinion right now. They see the Seven Snakes as their protector and defenders.¡± ¡°You know it¡¯s the Seven Snakes members that are fueling the crowd. No doubt they bribed or hired a few civilians and squatters to form a protest, I don¡¯t believe-¡° Bishop Vete rubbed the bridge of her nose, her face fatigued. ¡°Understand this, Mason. You may have a job to do, but I have a position to protect. I will not let you jeopardise my authority over this South Sector.¡± ¡°You giving up Kyle to them shows ack of authority instead!¡± Mason countered. ¡°It is only a matter of time before public opinion will begin to swing against Kyle once again. Soon, they will see the Seven Snakes for what they are ¨C what every gang is: an organization dedicated to fleecing as much cash as possible from them. It is at that time that we strike. Furthermore, the longer we hold Kyle, the longer public opinion will turn towards us. Would you like for reporters to publish our faces in newspapers in Tryas?¡± Mason finally understood the angle the Bishop was aiming for. ¡°I understand. But I still think -¡° The arctech phone line on the Bishop¡¯s desk rang, prompting the bishop to pick it up. ¡°Yes, sir. I understand. I will have him released right away.¡± Kyle was hauled out of the holding cell, uncuffed for the second time today by Mason, who had a sour expression. ¡°It looks like things are not turning out the way you expected them too.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re scott-free. I¡¯m always watching you. The moment you slip up, you can forget about life outside the arcite mines.¡± Mason threatened. ¡°A word of advice from me then ¨C perhaps you should consider if the other gangs had a part to y? I heard rumours that the Ilysian Punks were uncharacteristically poor orcking in wealth when their main base was cracked open. But what do I know? I never made it that far ¨C I¡¯m sure you can verify that with your observers.¡± Kyle smirked. Mason didn¡¯t reply, merely cursing under his breath as he dragged Kyle out towards the entrance of the Magda chapel. As he stepped out into the daylight, the crowd cheered and roared as they saw him emerge. For some unknown reason, a red carpet wasid out right through the middle of the crowd at the base of the marble steps, along with a smiling noble standing right in front of him. ¡°Ah, the man of the hour! Saviour of the South Sector! I am truly sorry for the mistake I made. How could we ever arrest a model citizen of the Yual Dominion!¡± Baron Cain grinned widely as he patted the back of Kyle, waving at the crowd and smiling at all the reporters who turned up to cover the protests. Another showman. Kyle decided to y along, bowing to Baron Cain. ¡°Thank you for your kind words, Baron Cain.¡± ¡°Please, allow me to reward you. I would like to invite you to my dwelling.¡± ¡°Of course, I am grateful for the invitation.¡± They entered the Baron¡¯s personal arctech wagon, with the luxury up to eleven. Kyle, however, was obviously not impressed, having experienced far more in the Gctic Era. His expression remained calm, not flustered nor tempted by the wealth on disy around him. Baron Cain smiled and gave a final wave to the crowd as the wagon departed, before sitting down opposite Kyle. Without a word, Cain slowly pulled out the ¡®Oriental Bloom¡¯ handgun from his suit, resting it on hisp. ¡°You don¡¯t seem surprised by this sequence of events.¡± ¡°Some have told me I need to work on my expressions.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t seem flustered at all by this handgun.¡± ¡°Should I be flustered?¡± ¡°Who sold you the other prototype handguns?¡± ¡°The ck market has everything, Baron. If you would like, I could rmend a dealer to you. Though I¡¯m sure you know every dealer there is in the South Sector already.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one who sold this handgun in the auction house, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°What auction?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y dumb with me, Mr. Teras. I have my own informationwork. Do not take me for a fool. If I wanted to, I could have you locked away in a mmer and ve-mining for the rest of your life.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re willing to take a hit to your reputation, that is. Does the lord of the city, Count Leon, know that the guns are proliferating all over the South Sector? I recently heard gun violence is on the rise. Not a very good look for an aspiring Baron.¡± ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m simplyying out the scenario. I¡¯m not a criminal, Baron Cain. I simply run an organization aimed at generating the most profit through various means.¡± Kyle leaned back into the chair. ¡°Now you have a problem, and I offer a solution.¡± Baron Cain didn¡¯t reply, prompting Kyle to continue. ¡°Guns have begun to proliferate on the ck market, allowing normal thugs to purchase them and use them. In fact, almost any normal human can use them, not requiring an arcite fuel pack. Sure, they can only get off a few shots, but that¡¯s enough to perform a mass shooting if they wanted to.¡± ¡°Get to the point.¡± Kyle smiled, knowing he had hooked the Baron. ¡°I have a way to disable all existing handguns on the ck market. But in the event I am imprisoned or killed for any reason, existing orders with my subordinates both inside the city and outside will distribute even more guns into the city. And I¡¯m sure that would put you in a very good light with Count Leon.¡± Baron Cain stiffened up, thinking about the repercussions. He was indeed nning to imprison Kyle personally, which was why he had the entire publicity stunt in the first ce. With that, he could make an excuse that Kyle was staying at his ce as an honoured guest, preventing his subordinates from throwing a fit. He stared at Kyle¡¯s face, noticing that Kyle seemed to have been expecting this. Baron Cain quickly thought through all the possible scenarios. Killing him would set off a chain of events he did not want to handle or contest with. With the handguns in full proliferation now, it would be impossible for him to mobilise the enforcers to crack down on every single thug who had one. He had no idea how many handguns did Kyle distribute into the ck market. ¡°If I ept your solution, you must cease all gun distribution immediately.¡± ¡°Of course. Peace in our time. However, the orders I gave my subordinate still stand.¡± ¡°How does your solution work?¡± ¡°You will see it in action tonight. But time is ticking. If I don¡¯t return to the Seven Snakes district by the next three hours, I¡¯m afraid that even I can¡¯t stop it.¡± ¡°So if you don¡¯t stop it within a day¡­¡± ¡°Then feel free to imprison me or kill me. It wouldn¡¯t matter at that point after all.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Baron Cain ordered the driver to turn around and drive the wagon back to the Seven Snakes district. The wagon soon reached the district, with Kyle stepping off onto the street. ¡°A final piece of advice. Keep your handgun in a thick metal safe if possible.¡± Baron Cain was stunned by the sudden advice, but Kyle was already walking off, while a reporter nearby began to observe the Baron. ¡°Get us back to the mansion right now!¡± Baron Cain urged. Kyle entered the former Seven Snakes base, where the vipers, Sasha, Damian and Keith, were waiting for him. ¡°Sasha, set up therge arctech radio with Gordon in the room.¡± [Yes, sir, already on it.] ¡°Good. Whoever still has your handguns, ce them here on the table.¡± Niko was confused but stillplied with the order. ¡°Why, what¡¯s going to happen? Is this a ceremony?¡± ¡°A show of force.¡± As soon as therge arctech radio was set up, Kyle activated it, before tweaking the interior engravings into a different position. Instead of speaking into it, Kyle took an engraved metal te and slotted in, modifying the arctech radio. No one felt anything, but the handguns began to glow red hot from the inside, a sizzling cracking sound instead emitting from the interior. Damian was the first one toprehend what was happening immediately, his face breaking out into a wide grin. ¡°Holy shit, you¡¯re self-destructing all the handguns in the city! HAHA! Imagine the Baron¡¯s face right now!¡± Niko nodded but was still a bit confused. ¡°Wait, but does this mean we lose our handguns as well?¡± He pointed at the melting handguns. Kyle chuckled slightly for the first time. ¡°This is simply to show the Baron and the enforcers that we destroyed our handguns as well. But this isn¡¯t the only set of handguns we have, remember?¡± Chapter 45: Innovation ¡°So I just have to stand here?¡± A little girl with pigtails nced around the room, while arge arctech device was aimed right at her, four ck lenses staring her down. If she did not know any better, she would have assumed it was a monster of sorts, but she hadplete faith in the man behind the machine, who was currently modifying its innards with a hot pointed iron serving as an etcher, changing some of the arctech engravings on the fly. ¡°Yes, dear, just stay right there. Papa¡¯s going to show you a miraculous invention!¡± ¡°Like the dragonfly you showed me?¡± The father stuck his head out and grinned at the girl. ¡°Even better. Just give me a minute.¡± He focused back in the interior again, mumbling to himself as he carefully re-routed some of the arctech engravings. ¡°Just got to add a few more traces here to reduce the high-speed load of the iing light¡­. FUCK!¡± He yelped as the hot iron identally touched one of his fingertips, making him almost drop it and wreck the rest of the machine. The hot iron, however scratched the surface of an engraving, rendering itpletely useless. ¡°No, no, no!¡± The father groaned as he noticed the error, trying to take subsequent deep breaths to calm himself down. Stay calm, Reese. This is your big breakout moment; stay calm. We still got a few days to sort this out. ¡°Daddy, how long do I have to stand? I¡¯m tired¡­¡± The little girl whined as she shuffled ufortably, her eyes already locked onto the sofa nearby. ¡°Sorry, dear, it¡¯s going to be a while more. Let¡¯s take a break.¡± Reese smiled weakly, turning off the arctech etcher and stepping back. The room was a mess of metal and engravings save for the sofa, where the little girl rolled around happily. Reese shambled over to a workbench filled with broken engraving tes and tools scattered in an unruly fashion. ¡°Need to find a recement¡­ it¡¯s better if I did the modifications here¡­¡± He pulled a wooden stool up to the table to sit, rubbing his deep ck eyebags that had never gone away since he began this project. It¡¯s been nearly a month, and have been nothing short of a miraculous run. His arm instinctively reached out to the right, attempting to grab something as he stared at the engraving in front of him. The observant little girl quickly jumped to her feet and ran out of the room, but soon return with a shocked face. ¡°Papa, we¡¯re out of potions!¡± ¡°What?! We¡¯re out of Stamina Recovery Potions?!¡± Reese¡¯s face balked, but he took yet another deep breath. ¡°It¡¯s okay darling; I don¡¯t need the potions to get this done. Only one more final stretch to go.¡± That final stretch turned into hours, with the little girl having gone to sleep in her own room while Reese toiled through the night. His body felt lethargic, his arms weak and his thighs aching from the numerous nights he had spent trying to make this thing perfect. Just as soon as he was about to give up and turn in for the night, the doorbell rang softly, ringing like a charm. Reese¡¯s face immediately lit up and he scampered to the door, frantically opening it to reveal a well-dressed gentleman in a ck coat. ¡°Hello, Reese. I¡¯vee to check up on the progress of your project.¡± ¡°Sir Kyle, thank goodness you¡¯re here! I¡¯m currently trying to fix a few issues here and I may require your help once again.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Kyle smiled genially before motioning to an associate behind him carrying a crate of Stamina Recovery Potions. ¡°You, put it in the kitchen and wait for me outside.¡± The associate nodded, with Reese making way for the two of them to enter the house. Reese quickly led Kyle into the workshop, exining the issue with the engraving. ¡°The main problem I¡¯m facing right now is that there seems to be residual energy being emitted from the machine towards the lens. From my understanding, the entire device should bepletely passive.¡± ¡°Let me have a look.¡± Kyle sat on another wooden stool and examined the engraving in question. ¡°Bring over the schematic diagrams.¡± Reese pulled out an entire stack of paper, each detailing a specific part of the machine and its connections. Kyle flipped through each page, tracing the error through its various supposed connections. ¡°I found the error. You have the engraving connected to these wrong four ports, causing the engraving to be connected to form a radiative effect.¡± ¡°Radiative¡­?¡± ¡°Nevermind. The point is, you¡¯ll have to re-do a few parts in the machine. Can you make it for the demonstration debut?¡± ¡°I¡­.¡± Reese was about to say yes, but he checked the number of modifications he would have to make, which would be more that he could do in the next two days. He could barely keep himself awake even in front of his biggest investor into the project yet. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll get the factory to manufacture the parts for you right away. I will be back in the morning ¨C you have a good rest. Don¡¯t want you messing up the demonstration.¡± ¡°Th-thank you, sir!¡± Reese stood up and bowed deeply, his face filled with gratitude. He would never forget how hard and long he fought at the University of Raktor to get this project done, only to find Kyle as an investor so quickly the moment he was drinking and crying in a pub. He also owed his life to him for saving him from a pub brawl in which he nearly got killed. This project would truly be his big breakthrough. Kyle had already signed a contract with Reese to co-found apany that couldmercialise the product if the demonstration was sessful. He could already imagine his face and name stered across the billboards of the city, along with thepany logo. I¡¯ll be rich and sessful! However, he was still a bit suspicious of Kyle. It was natural. They were going to be co-owners of the new filmpany after all. I don¡¯t know if Kyle has something unique nned. The university¡¯s theatre was not particrly crowded for the demonstration debut, with only a few other faculty professors and merchants yawning in the front row seats. However, the turnout was still more than anything Reese could had expected. He peeked his head out from the backstage around the stage curtains, spotting the dean of the university sitting there as well. Hah, you old fucker. You did not even give me the time of day when I started! Reese gripped his fist tightly as he recalled that humiliating moment, the lowest point of his career as a university professor. He knew the dean would most likely be the first to pounce on the sessful demonstration. On a viewing box near the top, Kyle looked expectantly down on the stage, supporting Reese. The lights of the theatre began to dim slowly; all eyes now focused on the brightly lit wooden stage. Reese rolled the arctech machine out, which looked like a rectangr box-shaped device half the size of a human, with four ck lenses jutting out conspicuously. Reese cleared his throat and faced the audience, his white hair now slicklybed down and his clothes cleaned ¨C though his deep eyebags remained a testament to the work he had put in. ¡°Fellow professors, potential investors and other viewers such as my students, today I am proud to reveal an invention that would revolutionize the way media is used to enrich our lives.¡± ¡°For generations, we have relied on paintings and scribbling on parchments to convey images, memories and meanings through the generations. This machine here represents aplete overhaul of this limitation, allowing us to store our most precious moments in the form of paper.¡± A theatre employee suddenly ran up to the dean in the front row, whispering urgently into his ears. Within seconds, the dean sat right up, quickly following the employee out of the theatre. It did not matter to Reese, who was more than happy to see the old geezer gone. ¡°I present to you ¨C the lightcapturer!¡± Kyle internally winced at the name but did not show any outburst of emotions or groan. It was a different world that he was in now ¨C he could hardly expect the name to be the same. Also, if he did use or convinced Reese to use the name ¡®camera¡¯, ¡®holo-recorder¡¯ or the countless Gctic Era branded names, it might give him away to those in the know. With the existence of the Ancient Exosuit Spine as well as the energy shield wielded by Makoa that now was with him, he was acutely aware that there was more to the world than a simple ¡®reincarnation¡¯. ¡°The lightcapturer does what its namesake does. Capture light. The prevailing theory of our world is that we see things through reflected rays of light, and as such the device is a reimagining of current optical magnification engravings, instead routing the information captured and putting them onto paper. An example is now being distributed by the assistants.¡± A few pieces of paper were distributed around, with a photo of Reese¡¯s daughter on it. Many of the audience members gasped at the detail, though Kyle was hardly impressed. In his view, it was the most pixted holo-image he had seen. ¡°That¡¯s right, this is not a painting, nor was it mass-produced by a printing press. This is a lightprint of a scene! And today-¡° The doors to the theatre suddenly banged wide open, with ten thugs entering the theatre. Reese was taken aback by the sudden entrance, while the audience members were all confused. Squinting his eyes and looking at the leader of the thugs, an expression of recognition began to dawn on his face. ¡°Yo¡­you! You were at the pub!¡± ¡°So were you, pretty boy. Big day for you, huh? Think you can get into a fight with me at the pub and get away scot-free?!¡± The leader of the thugs grinned as he twirled a crowbar, strutting down the aisles while his fellow thug members spread out among the audience, watching them closely. ¡°I was drunk then; I already apologized!¡± Reese eximed. ¡°Please don¡¯t do this, I swear I¡¯ll repay you next time for any grievances I may have caused you.¡± The leader hopped up onto the wooden stage, eyeing the lightcapturer machine. ¡°Nice toy you got. Would be a shame if it was smashed into pieces!¡± The leader wielded the crowbar, smashing the very future and dream that Reese had been focused on for every waking hour of his life in the past month. As the metal parts were dented and the lens was shattered into tiny brilliant ck pieces, Reese instinctively roared and lunged forward in a desperate bid to protect the machine. However, the leader immediately swung the crowbar at him, hitting Reese right in the head and knocking him out. ¡°GUARDS!¡± An audience member shrieked, before she was hit over the head by a metal pipe by one of the thugs. The leader kicked the unconscious Reese, flipping his body over. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t think passing out is the worse I can do to you. BOYS! Grab the body and machine out of here!¡± ¡°Ya bosmang.¡± The thugsplied, with two hoisting the body up and two picking up the valuable parts of the machine, before the thug group left the theatre. As soon as the door closed behind them, the entire audience broke into a frenzy, running all over the ce. ¡°Professor Reese got kidnapped! Call the dean and the enforcers, quick!¡± ¡°Where did the dean go? Where are the university guards!¡± Reese woke up groggily, noticing his head was still pounding with liquid dripping down his forehead¡­ no, it was blood, his own blood. Jolting awake, the sudden movement had him fall over backwards in the chair that he was tied to, crashing onto a bare concrete floor with a resounding crash. The ss windows that pockmarked the ceiling shone brightly into his eyes, causing him to wince. ¡°Look, the cunt is awake.¡± The leader smirked as he stood up from the barrel he was sitting on, striding over with his crowbar. ¡°Wh-why are you doing this?¡± Reese asked weakly, the blood loss and the impact still making him dizzy and unable to get a good grasp on where he was. The leader squatted next to Reese and grabbed his face. ¡°The same reason why everyone in Raktor does something ¨C money. And you look like a hundred thousand rakels to me now.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Someone put a contract on you! Do you really think that I, the great Tyler Won, would barge into a university and risk getting caught by the enforcers just so I can fuck you up for a pub brawl a month ago? HAH!¡± If the thumping in Reese¡¯s head was not already bad enough, it got even worse with this realization. Who paid the thug gang to kidnap me? Was it my jealous colleagues? The dean?! Soon, a man dressed in a inconspicuous attire entered the warehouse, clearly of a different ss than the leader of the thugs. ¡°Good job catching him.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re the client. Fuck that, where¡¯s the money? I don¡¯t want to mess with Kyle any longer if necessary.¡± ¡°Not until I ask the hostage some questions.¡± The client adjusted his cor, walking up to Reese who looked petrified. He did not recognize the person at all, but he began to put two and two together quickly. Shit, he¡¯s here to steal the technology from me! The leader groaned loudly. ¡°Fuck, are you serious? Fine, have it your way. But fifteen minutes more, and we¡¯re out of here.¡± Before the client could retort, a series of screams and cries echoed through the empty warehouse, prompting the remaining thugs to stand up, their faces wary. ¡°Who the fuck is that?¡± The leader dropped Reese back onto the floor, walking up to the main warehouse entrance, where the sounds of fighting could be heard. An injured thug staggered to the door, limping towards the leader. ¡°Who is attacking us?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s him! The Seven Snak-¡° Before the thug could finish, his head was crushed in by a neon red arctech hammer, breaking through the skull in a smooth downward motion. Reese gaped in shock, having never seen an actual fight break out before. It looked like an entire theatrical scene to him as the wielder of the hammer charged forward, smacking each of the thugs with a single hit and killing them. Even the leader of the thugs stood no chance against the strength of Kyle. ¡°Wh-what!? Kyle!?¡± The client eximed, before running over to Reese and grabbing him up, using him as a hostage shield. Within a minute, Kyle had killed all the thug members in sequence, as though it was a choreographed fight scene. Reese naturally was happy. He came to save me! ¡°Stay back! Otherwise I¡¯ll kill him!¡± The client began to sweat profusely, his eyes ncing back and forth, looking for a way out as he held the crowbar to Reese¡¯s neck, the tip piercing into the skin. Kyle stopped moving, standing still. ¡°Good. Now we can make a deal. You don¡¯t want your precious Reese here getting hurt, do you? Don¡¯t try anything funny.¡± The client tried to understand what was happening so far. How did Kyle get here so fast? Was he tracking the thugs? I should have shifted the hostage immediately. ¡°Oh, I won¡¯t. But I can¡¯t say the same for her.¡± Kyle suddenly spoke. ¡°Her?¡± The ss windows in the ceilings were shattered, with a female figurending right behind the client as they were showered in ss shards. In one swift motion, thedy grappled the neck of the client and pinned him to the ground. His limp body slumped to the floor, releasing Reese onto the ground with a thud. ¡°Thank Yual you¡¯re here!¡± Reese nearly cried tears of joy. However, instead of helping Reese up, Kyle quickly moved over to the client, grabbing his mouth and preventing him from clenching down. He used his hands to pry the client¡¯s mouth open, reaching inside and checking for any suicide pills or killchips. A habit from the gctic era. Just as Kyle was about to begin the interrogation, the client wriggled one of his hands free, activating an engraving inbuilt into his clothes. The clothes began to catch fire, forcing Sasha and Kyle to let go instantly. The me was unnatural, burning nearly instantly and turning the client¡¯s body into a ckened figure without even giving him a chance to scream, with the skinpletely charred. [What was that, sir?] Sasha was shocked, having never seen anything like it. Reese too was in utter shock as Kyle turned his attention to setting him free. What kind of human would be willing to set himself on fire to prevent getting caught by the enemy? ¡°That¡¯s crazy! Madness!¡± Kyle frowned, clearly remembering the expression of the client before the activation of the engraving. ¡°We have a new enemy. Or perhaps, an old one.¡± Chapter 46: Light Thrower Two weekster¡­ Gk raised its staff, a vicious expression written all over its face as it grinned widely, its sharp yellow teeth on full disy. ¡°There is nowhere left to run now, human! You die here!¡± ¡°Kyaaaa! Somebody, save me!¡± A scantily d girl screamed and cowered, sping her ears. ¡°No one is here to hear your screams nor save you, girl!¡± Gk stepped forward, its eyes piercing at the girl with clear desire. The girl shivered even more as she watched the goblin slowly approach her. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my fair maiden! I¡¯ming to save you!¡± A loud masculine voice boomed into the cavern that the two were in, prompting the both of them to turn their heads towards the source. Gk could barely see the entrance of the cavern, the brilliant light shining brightly and nearly blinding its eyes. All it could see was the figure of a human man, along with a fluttering cape from behind. However, it caused him to instantly bare its teeth at the figure in hatred. ¡°Curses! It is you again! How did you find us?!¡± ¡°Nothing can ever escape me, the mighty¡­ err¡­ enforcer man?¡± ¡°CUT! CUT! CUT!¡± Merissa screamed with all her might, throwing a book on the ground in sheer frustration. ¡°You dense little fucker! How many times are we going to go through this fucking scene, you little shitbag!¡± The vulgarities spewing out from the former ve-turned-clerk captured by Kyle and Sasha were of no surprise to the rest of the crew in the cavern, the lightcapturer operator simply yawning while a goblin wobbled slightly, trying to carry a heavy metal pole high above its head, with a weird looking arctech device at the end that looked like a bowl. ¡°Stupid Feldon, always ruining my chances at being star!¡± Gk joined in the berating of the ¡®enforcer man¡¯. ¡°ARGGHH!¡± Merissa grabbed her hair, nearly ripping it out of clumps. ¡°EVERYONE, BREAK FIVE! FELDON, IN MY OFFICE, NOW!¡± The supporting crew was used to this sequence of events, immediately exiting the cavern and heading for the mess hall. The goblin nearly dropped the metal pole onto Gk¡¯s head before Gk grabbed the head and supported it, scowling at the goblin. ¡°Idiot! If you break this device that Kyle crafted himself, it is over for us!¡± Back in the newly expanded office, Merissa was clearly exasperated, storming into the room and mming a book on the desk. The assistant clerks nearby were not flustered or worried at all, knowing that Merissa was on a rampage. And for a good reason too. Merissa sat down in her chair, ring at the meek Feldon, who was still wearing the cape. ¡°Feldon. Can you please exin what the schedule is for today?¡± Feldon gulped instinctively, nearly stuttering as he spoke. ¡°W-we are to do the final action scene for the film, with Kyle personallying in to watch the new version.¡± ¡°THAT¡¯S RIGHT ¨C THE DEBUT FILM!¡± Merissa yelled at the top of her lungs. ¡°YOU THINK KYLE WILL BE HAPPY WITH YOUR PERFORMANCE SO FAR?! THIS IS THE FIFTEENTH TAKE WE¡¯VE DONE THIS MORNING! DO YOU WANT TO RETURN TO RAKTOR OR NOT?!¡± ¡°Yes, of course I do!¡± Feldon nodded vigorously, knowing that this was one of his options to return to the city of Raktor. ¡°Then this is your fucking chance to reinvent yourself as a new person so you can live happily with your family in Raktor! Why the fuck do you keep fucking up a different line every single fucking take! You¡¯re lucky you were handsome when you took on the role at the start ¨C because right about now you look like a fucking pile of steaming hot SHIT!¡± Merissa cursed louder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! Please give me another chance, I promise I¡¯ll do it right this time!¡± ¡°Oh yea? Recite your lines for the scenes one more time.¡± ¡°Uhhh¡­ ¡®I am an enforcer of Yual! Nothing can ever escape my sight!¡¯¡± ¡°Good. Fuck up one more time, and I¡¯ll personally stuff the sound recorder pole up your ass.¡± Bishop Vete sat gingerly into a standalone velvet chair, with Mason nking her. ¡°That¡¯s all we need? An empty room?¡± Mason asked warily. Why do I feel like I¡¯m about to get assassinated here? Kyle internally groaned as he watch Reese set up the light-thrower machine, projecting a nk white image onto the opposing wall. ¡°This machine doesn¡¯t look too special ¨C it seems like it is simply a spotlight shining white. We have plenty of that in our arsenal.¡± Bishop Vete remarked. Soon, the image on the wall changed to reveal a title scene, shocking the Bishop and Mason. What frightened them even more was how there was suddenly the sounds of goblinughter echoing around the room. Mason retrieved his arctech pistol from his belt, scanning the room and noticing the source wasing from a separate arctech radio. ¡°What the fuck is going on?¡± The Bishop did not respond as violently as Mason, enthralled by the opening scene of the Culdao Peaks forest. ¡°This¡­ this is real? Not an optical illusion engraving?¡± ¡°Optical Illusion engravings cannot change on the fly, ma¡¯am.¡± Kyle patiently exined. ¡°In order to achieve this, it is required to update the image multiple times a second. Preferably thirty times a second.¡± ¡°Yes, this is the invention of the century, mark my words!¡± Reese nodded his head vigorously. It¡¯s been two weeks since they set up thepany. Reese hadpletely quit his job as a professor, serving as the co-founder fulltime under Kyle. He didn¡¯t dare stay away from Kyle any longer, especially after the kidnapping. Mason too stopped and watched the film, but his main interest was in the technology. So it seems that the arctech radio is synchronized with the images shown on the wall¡­ The film was only a short five minutes, with a zing-fast story. Mason nearly choked at the end when he saw how gaudy the ¡®enforcer¡¯ acted. ¡°That¡¯s not one of ours, right?¡± ¡°No. This is simply a demonstration film of what these machines can do.¡± The light-thrower machine began to wind down, powering off. The bishop remained silent, pondering while Mason was examining the light-thrower machine carefully. ¡°You¡­ you made this yourself?¡± Mason asked Kyle. Reese cleared his throat. ¡°We made it together, just to be clear.¡± The bishop motioned to the inquisitor, beckoning him toe closer while she looked at Kyle. ¡°Alvin and Reese, please give us a moment to discuss further before we talk business.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Kyle left the room, leaving the two of them alone. ¡°Ma¡¯am, it is fairly clear Alvin has an ulterior motive to all of this. Need I remind you of what happened a few weeks ago with the handguns.¡± ¡°It does not matter. The handguns were destroyed ¨C end of story. But what he and Reese have invented here has immense value.¡± ¡°Sorry, Vete, but I don¡¯t see-¡° ¡°Mason, this machine could be the turning point. It could even elevate me to a cardinal.¡± The bishop spoke quickly. ¡°If we y our cards right, the reputation of the enforcers would be improved by miles.¡± ¡°What do you mean? I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°With the ability to record these uhm.. flims¡­ we can steer public opinion to a more better perspective. Have them understand what the enforcers are exactly doing and so on.¡± ¡°But what is the best way to do that? Surely it is not using a gaudy childish film like that, right? Right?¡± Damian grunted as he lifted up a sack of concrete with one hand, hauling it over to the mixer while another associate poured water. The building was an entire mess,pletely hollowed out. It was an abandoned residential apartment, but now the associates and a hired construction crew was hollowing out and breaking down most of the walls to form a vacant space. ¡°I don¡¯t understand, why are we building grand steps like those in front of the Magda inside this building?¡± Niko scratched his head, looking again at the blueprint for this room. A few associates gathered around to check theyout as well, their heads confused by thepletely different architecture and room design than they were used too. Putting velvet chairs onrge stairs facing a nk wall? What is going on? ¡°Is he trying to build a theatre or something? Doesn¡¯t look like any of the ones I¡¯ve been too.¡± ¡°Who knows, maybe Alvin finally went full loony.¡± ¡°Alvin? Who¡¯s Alvin.¡± ¡°Oh boy, I remember the good ol¡¯ days when I was just like you¡­¡± Theyout of the building was weird ¨C a theatre at the very top while there were to be multiple restaurants and shops along the way. Kyle mentioned to Damian that this was called a ¡®hypermall¡¯, but Damian had no idea what the fuck that meant, nor what does ¡®hyper¡¯ mean. Regardless, most of the current ie of the Seven Snakes was thrown into this, plus every avable associate. However, even that was not enough, prompting the Seven Snakes to issue daily jobs to those in the district who wanted it. Plenty of homeless squatters and poor folks took up the work immediately. For those who were on the weaker side, Keith hired them to handle the logistics and negotiations with potential tenants who would set up a restaurant or shops in the ¡®hypermall¡¯. Keith frowned as he calcted the potential legal earnings from the theatre, working out the total footfall. It doesn¡¯t seem viable at all, why did Kyle choose this location. Kyle too dropped by from time to time, bringing along Gordon and Eric to see the construction. ¡°What?! Who would use a heat engraving system in a shop?¡± Gordon eximed, knowing that such luxury was only reserved for the nobility. Eric was not too concerned about that, but more of the hidden pubs that would be embedded into the area. ¡°You¡¯re nning to sell alcohol in your new ¡®theatre¡¯ too?!¡± Kyle pointed out on a map, showing them the nearby buildings. ¡°The location of this theatre is slightly out of the way of the centre, but there are more than enough roads leading towards there. We¡¯ll charter regr wagons from each of the districts we control to this hypermall.¡± ¡°The lightshows that will be held in the new theatre will give us a first initial boost. The objective of the entire hypermall is to elevate the local residents to a higher standard of living.¡± Gordon caught on to what was happening. ¡°You want to make our district the envy of everyone else in the South Sector.¡± ¡°Exactly. Once weplete this project, it will demostrate our willingness and the ¡®need¡¯ for our inclusion into the local society.¡¯¡± Kyle nodded. This had always been the n since he caught wind of the development of the ¡®camera¡¯, reported to him by one of his associates who saw the pub fight. This allowed him to establish a privately owned filmpany headed by him and Reese, making his position much more legitimate. The money used to build the new hypermall was less legitimate, but the locals would not care about it if it improved their standard of living. If everything yed out correctly, Kyle could create a chance for himself to enter higher society on a more legal and genuine basis. He understood that positions obtained solely by violence was untenable. A crime lord is always actively bncing the scales between reputation and illegal deeds, never going too far into either sides. ¡°This will put us into the spotlight, potentially endangering all our other operations!¡± Eric frantically pointed out. ¡°Everyone knows that you are the leader of the Seven Snakes as well ¨C would the enforcers not simply investigate and dig up the evidence?¡± ¡°Ah, I have already reached a mutually beneficial deal with the enforcers under the name of our new private filmpany. That reminds me Gordon. I need you to handle filming tomorrow.¡± ¡°Filming? In the city?¡± ¡°We¡¯re filming a protest.¡± Chapter 47: Protest ¡°It is Nona, our goddess, who have shaped the earth as it is. Who hasid out every food, animal, monster and nt for our needs. And the Word of the Goddess states ¨C ¡®I have created everything on this for the enjoyment of the human race. Who dares im that humans shall not consume what I have created¡¯.¡± ¡°YEA, YEA!¡± The throng of people gathered on the streets, cheering a person standing onto of an arctech wagon that slowly chugged forward, forming a parade. ¡°Yet the Sanctum of Yual ims that consumption of such sacred goods is a sin and beyond what we, themon folk can handle.¡± The person donned a blinding red robe, his head adorned with what seemed to be an ornamental oriental piece. He held an upright posture, his speech passionate through the arctech loud hailer as the crowd roared back in response. ¡°YEA!¡± ¡°The audacity, folks! The audacity of the religion to demean you. To put you lower than those who serve the ¡®living god¡¯, the Emperor of the Yual Dominion. Are you not sapient? Are you not capable of self-control? Are you not HUMAN!¡± ¡°WE ARE HUMAN!¡± The crowd was riled up, a loud wave of fanfare exploding across the street. ¡°Then let us show our displeasure! Show our anger, our wrath. Only by marching out in solidarity can the rulers of these city truly understand what they have created ¨C injustice among themon folk. Rise, brothers. Rise!¡± ¡°YEAAAAAAA!¡± A few cries from the front of the parade was heard, as people began to spot a blockade at the front. Fifty enforcers that were armed along with their wagons parked sideways to block the streets. The enthusiasm of the crowd noticeably fell, with the cheering and shouting being toned down a good amount. ¡°Brothers, we are here simply to show our presence. We are not violent ¨C for our Goddess Nona has proim the divine worth of every human soul. Despite their misguided views, it is our duty to peacefully convert them.¡± A wave of murmurs spread through the crowd, many agreeing. No one wanted to get into a conflict with the enforcers - as much as they hated the idea of the prohibition bans on alcohol, they did not want to be imprisoned or lose their jobs. ¡°We are peaceful protestors, we shall show our stance here and now by camping in the stre-¡° Suddenly, a loud shattering of ss was heard as a shop¡¯s window was smashed into by a few protesters, with many scrambling in to grab the goods and rakels from the shop. The shopowner did not dare fight against the mob, immediately running away. The red-robed person¡¯s face baulked immediately. ¡°Brothers, we are not here to raid nor pige but to change thews! Why are we ¨C ¡° ¡°HEY, YOU STUPID CUNTS! GET OFF THE STREETS!¡± He turned to face the source of the voice, noticing it was a group of masked thugs. ¡°YOU¡¯RE FUCKING UP OUR TERRITORY HERE, BREAK IT UP!¡± The thugs shoved their way through the crowd, trying to forcibly disperse them while the enforcers did not make a single move, simply watching. ¡°Hey, we¡¯re just doing a peaceful protest here!¡± One of the protestors tried to square up against the thugs. ¡°Oh yea? Take a piece of this!¡± The thug immediately swung the metal pipe in his hand on the protestor¡¯s head, knocking him out cold immediately. Immediately the protestors began to scream and panic. ¡°You fucking bitches!¡± Another protestor yelled as he charged with a group towards the thugs, forming a massive melee brawl that soon spread throughout the entire crowd. The red-robed person was shocked and confused. ¡°Stop fighting! Stop fighting!¡± However, the protestors were not listening any longer, fully caught up in the heat of the battle. They were not about to just simply let the thugs hit them and get away with it, they had to enact revenge and defend themselves.¡± The protestors began to spread out over the street, the chaos and conflict spreading even further. Many of the protestors were not there because they believed in Nona, the goddess, but rather was there just to take part in the movement. Some used the chaos to raid and pige some of the shops, and when the fighting spilled out into the residential blocks as protestors and thugs chased each other, the local residents too got caught up in the fighting. [PROTESTORS, THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING. VIOLENCE AGAINST RESIDENTS WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. STAND DOWN IN THREE MINUTES OR WE WILL BE FORCED TO TAKE ACTION.] A loud hailer echoed across the streets. The warning was not heeded by anyone in the protesting crowd, each person fighting for a multitude of reasons. Those that tried to run from the fight were chased down by the thugs, forcing them to fight back to defend themselves. [TIME IS UP. MOVE IN!] The enforcers marched forward in a row, with protestorsshing out at them in the heat of the battle. They were immediately pinned down and arrested by the better-equipped enforcers, before being hauled off to a detention centre. At the top of a building, Gordon peered through the lens of the lightcapturer machine. ¡°Magnification lenses seems to be doing pretty well. We¡¯re getting a lot of good images here.¡± ¡°Why are we filming the protest?¡± Reese asked Kyle, who was staring intently at the leader of the protest. ¡°The enforcers are our very first customer. This is not the first time this protest has happened.¡± Kyle exined slowly, turning to face Reese to observe his reaction. He was originally a university professor, so he may have some issues¡­ Reese wasn¡¯t dumb, immediately getting the gist of it. ¡°We¡¯re selling them a film showing how violent the protestors are.¡± ¡°Yes, the revenue and the recognition of our filmpany will spread even faster with the support of the enforcers. This will help us offset the cost of the building.¡± ¡°Mizing influence, I understand.¡± Reese nodded his head. ¡°I would have expected you to be more displeased.¡± ¡°Before I was kidnapped ¨C I would have thrown a tantrum at this. But after¡­ I can clearly tell some corners have to be cut if I want to live and see my invention through.¡± Reese exined, though a hint of wariness could be seen in his eyes. Kyle may very well try to kill me or have me removed if I ever go against his ns¡­ ¡°That¡¯s good then.¡± Kyle smiled as though nothing was wrong, patting Reese on the back. ¡°Gordon, I think that¡¯s should be enough footage for now.¡± Gordon nodded. ¡°Right. But what do we do about the audio recordings?¡± ¡°The thugs will bring them back to our base. Let¡¯s wrap it up.¡± The red-robed person was tossed into the holding cell along with a group of protestors. He was beaten badly by the enforcers during an interrogation, his skin raw and his robe nearly ripped to shreds. ¡°Brother Long Hua, are you okay?¡± One of the protestors quickly moved over to check his wounds. ¡°Thank you for your concern brother. This is part of the tribtions the Goddess has given us, so I will bear the pain.¡± Long Hua struggled to get up. ¡°Damn these enforcers!¡± Another protestor chimed in as he mmed the wall. ¡°Fret not, my brothers. I have been to many other countries ¨C it takes time, effort and most importantly, persistence.¡± The other protestors¡¯ eyes lit up, quickly mouring around Long Hua. ¡°So it is true! You have visited other countries!¡± ¡°Indeed I have, and the number of our brothers have stretched far and wide across countless sovereignties.¡± ¡°Even in Versia?¡± ¡°Oh, far more than Versia and the Yual Dominion. Hwayul, Irimeo and Kharaku, those are the major countries that I have visited thus far, not to mention the innumerable towns and cities that fall in between jurisdictions.¡± ¡°That¡¯s strange.¡± A protestor interrupted. ¡°My mom is from Hwayul and I never heard anything about this religion before.¡± ¡°Of course ¨C our brotherhood is repressed across the entire continent, so it is no wonder that the news regarding us is heavily controlled! The governments do not want such a religion to be dominant.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense.¡± The protestors all murmured in agreement. ¡°But this also means that the movement is suffering heavily. We need money for the cause, to further support our fight against unteral oppression.¡± ¡°How would the money be used?¡± ¡°As our missionaries are ostracized and shunned widely, the money would be used on smuggling us into various cities, as well as daily necessities.¡± The protestors and Long Hua talked a bit longer for an hour or two, with Long Hua continuously preaching to them, increasing their zealousness. Soon, an enforcer opened the holding cell¡¯s gate, releasing them. ¡°Don¡¯t you idiots think about trying to raise another riot anytime soon. Especially you, Long Hua. This is the second time ¨C go against the Sanctum of Yual one more time, and you¡¯ll be sentenced to very in the mines.¡± ¡°Thew of your countries do not bind me as much as the Word of the Goddess.¡± ¡°Whatever, fuck off.¡± The enforcer shooed them off, the protestors walking off together towards their previous gathering point, where some of the more persistent protestors were already waiting. ¡°Brother Long Hua, I will donate a few hundred rakels to the cause.¡± One of the protestors quickly offered, clearly enticed by the prospect of social change. ¡°Me too, anything to change the prohibition!¡± The protestors all stood in solidarity, handing over rakels to Long Hua. ¡°My brothers, your stay in heaven next to our Goddess will be glorious. Your graciousness will be remembered for centuries, unlike those who rest on theirurels, lording over us!¡± ¡°Yea!¡± ¡°Ourpassion far surpasses them. However, it is not the right time to push for the cause immediately now. We must bid our time, slowly building our strength. I will contact all of you soon. For now, focus your eyes on the final goal, and persist!¡± ¡°Yes, Brother Long Hua!¡± Long Hua left the area, holding on tightly to the bag of rakels he had just collected from the protestors. He nced behind him a couple of times, and as soon as he was a few urban blocks away, he quickly made a sharp turn into an alleyway. Reaching into a hidden bag lodged behind a trash pile, he patted the grime off of it before pulling out a new set of clothes. He stuffed the red robe and headset into the bag and ced it back. A grin appeared on his face as he double checked the amount of rakels he had managed to get. Looks like I¡¯ve exhausted this Sector ¨C perhaps its time to move onto the next one. As he strolled out of the alleyway, he was suddenly approached by a well-dressed gentleman, who was clearly muscr under the impable formal suit. ¡°Brother Long Hua, I have finally found you! But why are you not dressed in your red robe.¡± Long Hua was caught off-guard, quickly coughing and clearing his throat. ¡°Ahem, I need toy low for a while in order to avoid being arrested by the enforcers once more.¡± He quickly hid the bag of rakels behind his back, smiling genially at the gentleman. ¡°Are you one of the followers of Nona as well?¡± ¡°Yes, I was very inspired by your passionate speech during the protest yesterday!¡± The gentleman nodded his head. ¡°Good, but however this is not a good time for us to discuss such things out in the open. I¡¯m sure you understand how the enforcers are.¡± ¡°But of course! I have a wagon ready nearby if you need me to ferry you anywhere. Perhaps I can offer a tithe of my own as well at my very own restaurant¡­¡± Long Hua¡¯s eyes glinted with greed as he stood further upright, enhancing his ¡®holy posture¡¯. ¡°The Goddess will bless you for your offering, my brother. Lead the way.¡± They entered a simple arctech wagon, though Long Hua noticed a lingering smell that he could not quite put his finger on. Potions? A bit suspicious for a restaurant owner¡­ but it is good to have a wealthy supporter. Long Hua wouldn¡¯t say no to being treated like a king. The gentleman motioned for the driver to carry on, while smiling widely at Long Hua. ¡°I am thoroughly impressed with how well you riled up the crowd. You have an elegant way with words.¡± ¡°All thanks to the Goddess Nona, who has blessed me to be her mouthpiece. To be able to have my words heard by the masses is my only goal.¡± ¡°Hmm, but your skills seems to be underutilized. Such a shame. Also, judging from the bag of rakels, that doesn¡¯t seem to be your only goal.¡± Long Hua immediately squinted, his expression souring. ¡°You¡¯re not a follower. Let me out immediately.¡± ¡°Long Hua ¨C or should I call you Salos? Born and raised in Versia, joined the military at the age of 13. Dishonorably discharged under General Javel for selling and trading contraband goods, as well as selling ssified information to other militaries. Also publicly charged for leading an insurrection against the ruling government.¡± Long Hua brandished a knife from his clothes, aiming it at the gentleman. ¡°I don¡¯t know how you got that information, but know that you are now dead to me.¡± Before Long Hua could do anything even more, the gentleman lunged forward, with the knife striking against a hidden vambrace under the formal suit, nging against the armour. In a rapidbo, the gentleman grappled Long Hua and twisted his wrist, forcing him to drop the knife as he screamed in agony. ¡°ARGGHHH! W-who¡­WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU!¡± ¡°Your new owner. I have a better use for your¡­ oratorial skills.¡± Chapter ex1: End of Writeathon Announcement - No Change In Schedule. Usually if you see this kind of update, it¡¯s authors saying they will downgrade the number of chapters. Well I¡¯m here to assure you that the end of Writeathon does not mean chapter releases are being toned down - I will still release two chapters a day Patreon, one chapter a day on RR for the foresseable future. I do not anticipate any major obstacles ahead in timing. Generally my schedule goes like this - 7am wake up, 8am work till 6pm, write from 7pm to 10pm (two chapters), sleep. So pretty stable so far. There¡¯s a period of time where I may slow down temporarily on June 16-19, due to me flying over to prepare my uing satellite for integration into the rocket, so that may jumble up the schedule a bit. I haven¡¯t done one of this yet for ckmarket, so I wanted to share some of the stuff I¡¯ve been nning out in the future so you can rest assured the story isn¡¯t just being wung - there are overarching plot lines and goals to hit. For plotlines: Arc 3: War Crimes is ted to end around Chapter 100, give or take. Arc 4: The Wardens is the next major overarching plot. I aim to cover the following questions: 1. Who is the ¡¯Mother¡¯ that Kitana is referencing to? (Chapter 16) Who are her siblings? How do others have the System as well? How did Kyle get the System? Will Kylee into conflict with whoever or whatever organization is behind Kitana? Is someone controlling the Systems or monopolizing them? 2. What is the history of the actually? Did he time skip? Is it a VR game? Is the whole a experiment of some sort? Why can¡¯t he see the stars or any signs of the milky way when he looks up at the night sky? (Chapter 20) 3. Transnational illegal fishing, forestry, loansharking and a return of the Mind-Bending potion seen in Chapter 3. 4. More information about the Hwa Dynasty and some pirate stuff. 5. Hints at what¡¯s beyond the Great Waves. Colonization Round 2? 6. Will Kyle finally take down the Ardent Cretins and be a major gang? A war will be covered as well - though Kyle will not take a directbat role in it as an enlisted, so none of that stupid conscription and bootcamp stuff. More maniption and major gangs shenanigans. Arc 4 is nned to end around chapter 200 - it¡¯s a long one. Chapter 48: Hypermall One monthter¡­ Baron Cain shifted his gaze uneasily as he adjusted his necktie and cor, ncing around the ballroom nervously. It was slightly packed, with many noble familiesughing and eating happily, mingling with each other. ¡°Ah, Cain Detrius. It¡¯s been a while since we met.¡± A lesser noble walked up to him. ¡°Indeed. I believe the previous gathering three months ago was thest time we¡¯ve met.¡± Baron Cain focused his attention on the short stocky man, who clearly had an ulterior motive instead of just small talking. ¡°Yes, you don¡¯t usuallye to any other gatherings apart from these quarterly ones, don¡¯t you? I do have a few acquaintances that would be more than happy to have yourpany. There is room for tangible benefits here.¡± ¡°I will consider it ¨C however right now I have my hands full.¡± ¡°Ah, that ugly building in the South Sector that has just been built? What an eyesore that is, and to think it was built by themon folk. How repulsive. I assume you¡¯re going to take it down?¡± ¡°I am working on it.¡± Baron Cain curtly replied. Mind your own business you fucking twat. If the lesser noble next to him was just amon folk or an inquisitor, he would have him caned or whipped immediately. However, even though the lesser noble did not hold and nor title, he and everyone else here had some form of ties with each other due to inter-familial marriages. Baron Cain eked out a fake smile as the lesser noble continued to talk his ears off, obviously intending to pry out what the Baron¡¯s next actions were. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the construction union is extremely unhappy about how the building was done. I heard it was a brand new constructionpany that seems to be building at near cost rather than matching union prices.¡± Baron Cain simply nodded in response, unwilling to divulge any further. Indeed, he knew that Kyle was the one who set up the new constructionpany. Rumour was that the building was fairly innovative in some aspects, with the constructionpany filing for intellectual property protection from him. He has yet to approve the process, but he was naturally afraid of antagonizing Kyle ¨C it was only through thepromise they made that the spread of repeater handguns were stopped indefinitely. Kyle had kept true to their word, with no more handguns hitting the ck market. However, he did not underestimate Kyle, knowing that Kyle could retaliate against any perceived aggression from his side by releasing a hidden stash of handguns. It was what he would have done in his position as well, after all. In short, he could not do anything outwardly against Kyle, who seemed to have a stranglehold on him now. Kyle did not push the Baron too much, falling in line with the other gangs and also providing him with a tithe of their profits on the same percentage as the Ardent Cretins. This assuaged the Baron¡¯s ego slightly, knowing that whatever profits the Seven Snakes make ¨C he would have a cut of it. He swirled the wine in his ss on his left hand, the hilt of his handgun tapping against the interior of his suit. He had followed Kyle¡¯s advice and left it in a thick metal safe, saving it from god knows what methods of arctech activation Kyle had. A team under his payroll was already trying to reverse engineer the handgun, as well ase up with a replica. Maybe I could sell such an invention to the military myself. ¡°Announcing the entrance of Count Leon!¡± A servant called out loudly, with the grand double doors of the ballroom revealing a blonde hair man dressed in a fully decorated blue uniform, walking in with a big smile. The lesser nobles and barons pped as Count Leon walked in, his features dazzlingly handsome. He walked up briskly to the front of the ballroom, swiveling around on his heel before facing the audience. ¡°Fellow members, thank you all for again for attending this quarterly gathering of Raktor. I understand that many of you have pressing issues to petition me, and today is exactly that day to do so. However, before I start, I would like to say a word to honour one of our own, who has done a tremendous job. Baron Cain, please.¡± Count Leon motioned to the Baron, who was slightly shocked. As Cain walked up, his brain was running through all the reasons why he was called up. In fact, the very reason why he was so nervous at the start was that he thought that Count Leon would admonish him for losing the guns in the first ce. ¡°Baron Cain is an exemry ruler ¨C he was able to quell and root out a foreign power¡¯s attempt at stealing our technology. With such extensive evidence of Versia¡¯splications in our affairs, we now have justification for retribution and reparations im from Versia. Not only that, he did it all in a span of three months, stabilizing the South Sector immediately!¡± Cain smiled as he gently bowed to the pping audience, though his eyes were still ncing at the Count¡¯s expression. So the Count made some money off threatening Versia, thanks to my initial failure, while I got nothing. How convenient. ¡°Quickly, quickly! Ollie, we¡¯re going to bete!¡± A kid pped another kid right on the face, causing him to jolt awake. ¡°Late? Late for what?¡± ¡°The opening of the new¡­ erm¡­ arcade? Shopping arcade. Something like that?¡± ¡°Shopping? We got no money even to buy groceries, much less go shopping! Shut up and let me sleep.¡± ¡°I heard that there would be free candy given out!¡± ¡°We¡¯re going immediately!¡± Ollie shot up from his makeshift bed on the hard warehouse, changing into his clothes quickly. The abandoned building they lived in was terribly ran down, the paint on the walls clearly peeling off while the double-decker beds creaked loudly as other kids also scrambled to get ready. Ollie cupped his hands under a water tap, wincing from the near ice-cold water before sshing his face, rubbing with a obviously used towel. ¡°Come on Ollie, quick!¡± ¡°I¡¯ming, I¡¯ming!¡± Ollie scampered out of the room, running down the hallway with the rest of the kids. However, Ollie suddenly came to a halt, stopping right outside a makeshift tent barricaded by rusty barrels and dirty clothes. ¡°Mister, do you want candy? I can bring some back for you!¡± ¡°Thank you kindly, but there¡¯s no need to. You go enjoy yourself now.¡± The old squatter smiled weakly, obvious beads of sweat trickling down his wrinkles and chaffed skin. Ollie nodded, sprinting off to catch up with the group of kids. Theyughed and shouted as they ran out onto the streets, avoiding the scowling pedestrians and raging of wagon drivers. ¡°Where¡¯s the new shopping arcade? Which street is it?¡± ¡°I heard it¡¯s a single building, with thousands of shops inside!¡± ¡°Thousands? How is that possible? Don¡¯t joke around, I work at the factory part-time! Even I know you can¡¯t fit in that many.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, I heard Guang Hwa say it himself! He even told me directly that we get a free hot bath when we get there!¡± ¡°Okay now that¡¯s too farfetched!¡± OIlie panted as he sprinted, slowing down to a walk. ¡°They¡¯ll never let us into that ce now ¨C even the public baths don¡¯t ept us!¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious, Ollie,e on!¡± The kids ran down a series of blocks, finally reached an extremely crowded cross junction where they could barely see above the heads of the adults that were all standing there, ogling at something. ¡°Let¡¯s squeeze to the front!¡± They used their small bodies to push through the legs of the crowd, weaving through as they managed to get near to the front. They could begin to hear a voice, speaking passionately as it was propgated over multiple arctech radios spread across the street. ¡°That¡¯s the guy! That¡¯s Guang Hwa!¡± [Today marks the beginning of a new era in this district. The building behind me offers the best services, food and entertainment than anything else in the district, not to mention the very first light-thrower theatre!] The crowd murmured between each other, all of them gradually bing more excited. Word of the invention of the light thrower had been spread quite thoroughly, especially with the enforcers using it to improve their reputations. Many of them had already seen films of the protestors attacking the enforcers, only to end up arrested. [Fret not ¨C the first meal, item and theatre ticket you buy in this shopping mall is free for the first day!] ¡°FREE?!¡± One of the crowd members was shocked, the excitement naturally spreading even faster. [That is right. The Golden Snake Construction Company is proud to sponsor the opening day of this building. As its spokesperson, I shall now dere the building ¨C OPEN!] Guang Hwa turned around and cut a symbolic ribbon, much to the fanfare of the people. The floodgates literally opened, with the crowd rushing forward to enter the building. However, the members at the front of the crowd immediately slowed down upon seeing the fifty or so Seven Snakes associates, all armed and armoured, serving as the private guards for the shopping arcade. There were even enforcers stationed at the entrance, ring down at the approaching crowd members. The crowd immediately calmed down, word travelling rapidly from the front to the back. ¡°Shit the enforcers are here, don¡¯t push!¡± ¡°Why the fuck do you care about the enforcers ¨C the stuff in that shopping arcade is free! We have to move before its gone!¡± ¡°Idiot, have you not seen how badly the protestors fared when they attacked the enforcers?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the idiot, I was there at the protest myself, it was the thugs who attacked first!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, I saw the light-thrower pictures, it was clearly the protestors who attacked first!¡± Just like that, the effect of the edited film Kyle and the enforcers had distributed began to take root in the people, instilling the people with more fear and less inclination to fight against the enforcers. The crowd began to queue up in an orderly fashion, guided by the enforcers and the Seven Snakes guards. Ollie and the other kids quickly ran up to Guang Haw, swarming him. ¡°You promised us candy!¡± ¡°Yes, of course there¡¯s candy! There¡¯s a candy shop right inside. Just queue up and you¡¯ll get it in an instant!¡± Ollie immediately queued up. The Seven Snakes guards vetted each individual quickly, checking them for hidden weapons and so on before allowing them to enter. Ollie peeked through the queue, already seeing people browsing the candy shop and clothing stores beyond the ss doors. As Ollie walked up to the guard, the guard blocked his path and pointed him to another entrance at the side. Ollie noticed that the guards were redirected all the unkept and shabbily dressed folks to there, causing him to get mad. ¡°HEY! YOU¡¯RE DISCRIMINATING!¡± ¡°Go to that entrance, or you won¡¯t be able to get in.¡± Ollie was about to grumble before Guang Hwa suddenly bent over next to him, smiling at him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we just have to get you cleaned up!¡± ¡°Thest person to say that to me robbed me of everything, you think I¡¯ll believe a cunt like you?¡± Ollie retorted, about to storm off when his friends quickly stopped him. ¡°Fine, how about this? All of you kids can follow me in now. Surely I can¡¯t rob all of you at the same time, right?¡± ¡°YAYY, GUANG HWA!¡± The kids screamed his name, running forward quickly into the side entrance. Ollie followed along warily, still keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. However, as soon as he entered the side entrance, his jaw dropped immediately. ¡°This¡­ this is madness!¡± In front of him was the interior of a wide indoor bath house, with more than thirty separate pools and a thousand showering cubicles, and it seemed that there was still more construction going on in the upper levels from the thumping sounds above as well as the Seven Snakes associates lugging material up. Naturally, the kids did not care, immediately stripping their clothes off and cing them into a shelf before trying to sprint into the pools. However, Guang Hwa quickly stepped in front of them, blocking them. ¡°HEY, YOU PROMISED US A HOT BATH!¡± ¡°I did, but you have to shower first!¡± The watering out from the shower was heated, much to the surprise of Ollie, who had lived his entire life with nearly cold water save for the heated barrels in his squatter tent. He closed his eyes and let the hot water wash the sludge and stains that had been on his body for months, his mind in pure bliss. ¡°Scrub! Scrub hard!¡± A few of the workers in the bathhouse came to pass the kids a simple bristle scrub, with Ollie recognizing one of the workers. ¡°B? How did you get here? I thought you were working at a construction site!¡± ¡°Ollie! You made it! I got a job from the Golden Snake people; they pay real good money, and you get to almost live like a king on your offdays. You know there¡¯s a dorm for workers here too? It¡¯s amazing!¡± Ollie was even more shocked, his mind in turmoil as he continued to listen to his friend gush about how the worklife was here, and his time hanging out with the Seven Snakes. This¡­ this is it! This is my ticket out of the slums! Chapter 49: Collusion The opening day of the shopping arcade was in full swing, with hundreds of visitors flocking towards the shopping malls. Kyle watched the entire affair from the top floor office¡¯s balcony, overlooking the front lobby of the shopping arcade, a mere five storeys above. Keith was already giddy with excitement, watching the visitors browse the various stalls. ¡°This is it, I can smell the money!¡± Keithughed. ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself - we need to make sure the first light-thrower show is perfect,¡± Kyle warned. ¡°Have the associates patrol the floors regrly, especially the bathhouse.¡± Keith quickly calmed himself down, nodding in agreement. ¡°Got it. I¡¯ll keep an eye out.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Kyle exited the office, intending to make a tour around, ensuring everything was going smoothly ording to his n. The shopping arcadeyout was simple ¨C he decided not to innovate too much lest unknown organizations were watching him. It was clear to him that he was not the only one aware of Gctic Era technology, which meant he had to keep a low profile. As such, each of thepanies he established had a figurehead in ce to serve as the public face. If Kyle wanted to grow his influence legally, he needed frontmen to absorb the shock and hate where necessary. Of course, the locals knew that he was the main guy in charge, but that was not the case for foreigners and other district residents who woulde over to patronize the shopping arcade. Even if the enforcers and lesser nobility knew who he was and how much he controlled, it was still better to stay out of the public spotlight as much as possible. No reason to pose front and centre and jeopardize his position publicly. Kyle reached the bottom of the lobby through an arctech elevator, feeling the cool wind that blew through the corridor of the shopping arcade. He limited the innovations within the shopping arcade to three main points: 1. Temperature Control 2. Light thrower Cinema 3. Cleaning Inventions These three innovations are hardly revolutionary ¨C they should not freak out anyone working with Gctic Era tech¡­ Kyle was acutely aware of his animosity with Versia now. He had no doubt that the Ilysian Punks and those who were backing them from beyond the border would return to harass him or to take revenge. As he walked out to the front lobby, he noticed Guang Hwa smiling at a group of reporters, his face covered in makeup to make him look like apletely different individual, lest he was recognized as Long Hua. ¡°President Hwa, can you tell me what inspired you to start such arge project?¡± ¡°Of course. The Golden Snake Construction Company is, first and foremost, dedicated to the betterment of themon folk. We want to improve the standard of living for everyone living in our district. However, it is not limited to just this district alone ¨C we would like to extend our hand to everyone in the city of Raktor toe and visit once!¡± ¡°Offering free entry to the bathhouse for everyone seems to be apletely unprofitable venture; how is thepany funding any of this? The cost to clean such arge bathhouse meant to serve thousands would be astronomical!¡± A reporter jabbed an arctech radio in front of his face, obviously trying to dig out some dirt. ¡°Indeed it would be if we were relying on current technology. However, we have partnered with our sisterpany, Anaconda Cleaning Solutions, in order to alleviate such a cost. I cannot divulge further as the innovations are a secret. However! Today, on this glorious opening day, we will be showcasing the first public screening of a light-thrower show!¡± ¡°A light-thrower show? Is it the same machine that the enforcers have been using to campaign recently?¡± ¡°Indeed it has. The enforcers have worked very closely with our new theatrepany ¨C Sliver Snakes Productions. And speaking of the devil, here he is!¡± The reporters turned to see the Seven Snakes guards clearing a path as a luxurious arctech wagon pulled up, with Reese stepping out in a slick tuxedo, his hair clearly well-done and his skin glistening in the daylight. Kyle nced over to a Seven Snakes associate who was filming the entire thing with a lightcapturer. He walked up to the associate and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t film the reporters. Film Reese.¡± ¡°U-uh, yes sir right away!¡± The associate was nearly shocked to death by Kyle¡¯s sudden approach, hastily repositioning himself to get the correct viewing angle. The reporters immediately swarmed Reese as he got out of the wagon, mouring and asking him questions. ¡°One at a time, people, one at a time!¡± ¡°Reese, you have been credited with the invention of the lightcapturer and light thrower ¨C how do you feel right now?¡± ¡°I feel vindicated. I am proud and happy that there were this many people who came out in support of my work. It has been a long hard journey with many obstacles, but I am d to say that today is a new era in theatre and the entertainment industry!¡± Reese continued to answer questions with a steadfast expression, his eyes winking at Kyle, who hung back. Kyle nodded his head, satisfied with the performance so far. Kyle walked around the perimeter of the shopping arcade, heading towards what was set up to be a transportation hub of sorts. Dozens of arctech wagons were here, with many local residents disembarking and entering the shopping arcade. He watched as a packed arctech wagon entered one of the berths, unloading a dozen families who looked as though they wereing to a theme park. He spotted Monica in the front passenger seat of the wagon, who waved to him. ¡°How¡¯s the transportation so far?¡± Kyle asked as he approached.. ¡°Working fine. As you can see, I managed to negotiate a fair working wage for all the drivers here; they won¡¯t have any qualms about what we¡¯re doing.¡± Monica replied as she nced around suspiciously, her eyes locked onto an enforcer who was helping to guard the perimeter of the shopping arcade as well. ¡°We working with them now?¡± ¡°It¡¯splicated. They won¡¯t arrest us outright, but if they see it right in front of their faces, they¡¯ll act.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Monica nodded before beckoning for Kyle to get on as well. ¡°Hey, you. Drive into the basement.¡± Monica asked the driver. ¡°Basement? How can you drive into a basement?¡± The driver was confused, ncing around. ¡°Idiot, it¡¯s at the end of the hub. I taught you during your induction. You need servicing; go there.¡± ¡°Who says I need servicing?¡± ¡°Says me. You¡¯re working for me now, remember?¡± The driver grumbled to himself as he restarted the arctech wagon, driving into a downward slope that led to an underground warehouse below the shopping arcade, where the unused wagons were stored. ¡°I¡¯ll take over from here; go wait in the break room.¡± Monica urged the driver out, whoplied quickly, scampering away. Monica drove the arctech wagon into a service workshop, where two Seven Snakes associates were already waiting. Kyle hopped out of the back of the wagon, motioning for the two associates to begin. They began to remove the floorboard, revealing barrels of alcoholyered into the base of the wagon. Grunting as they lifted it and ced it onto a trolley, they followed Kyle from behind as he led into a double door at the back of the workshop, which opened to reveal a fully-fledged pub, packed to the brim with customers. Eric Dicar wasughing as he served customers non-stop at the bar, happily exining all of the different types of alcohol here. Kyle recognized nearly all the customers as regrs at the other Seven Snakes¡¯ businesses, noticing Karl and the factory workers partying at the back. Eric noticed Kyle, his joyful expression quickly diminishing as he quickly sauntered over, bowing slightly to Kyle. ¡°How¡¯s the bar going?¡± ¡°First day, and it¡¯s already a riot. Sales are through the roof. Honestly, you should¡¯ve ced the brewery here.¡± ¡°Better to keep things separate for now. Harder to track.¡± ¡°Right. I heard Reese is already at the theatre. You should head over.¡± Kyle nodded, heading to the projector room of the theatre on the top floor of the shopping arcade. A group of associates were still running around in the room, setting up everything for the uing show. ¡°Ah, ah, ah one two three radio check.¡± Gordon¡¯s voice boomed across the theatre, sting out from the various arctech radio ced around. ¡°Gordon, any issues?¡± ¡°Everything is working perfectly; we¡¯re good to go in a few minutes,¡± Gordon replied without looking back as he double-checked the audio yback, making sure it was in synchronization. ¡°Sound is ok, the light thrower is okay. However, I¡¯ve been monitoring the arcite fuel consumption of the entire building. Do we even have enough money to pay?¡± ¡°Only for the next three months.¡± ¡°We need to find a more stable source of arcite ore; maybe we can set up our own energypany as well. Have you considered expanding to Versia?¡± ¡°Versia? Is it good for arcite ore?¡± ¡°Not as good as Tryas, but at least you don¡¯t run the risk of angering the nobility here.¡± Versia¡­ I do have ns to head over eventually, but it is not the right time¡­ Kyle could hardly leave the Seven Snakes as they were right now. With multiple legalpanies in the spotlight, he knew enemies coulde from anywhere. ¡°Anywhere that¡¯s closer to Raktor?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ we had an operation in the Culdao Peaks, and I recall it used to be an arcite mine. Perhaps you could find undiscovered veins there? I know the nobles gave up fighting the goblins, so it¡¯s a chance there too.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± The theatre was already packed to the brim, with the seating capacity being five thousand and many more standing in the aisle. Reese was just about finished with his opening speech on the main stage. ¡°¡­ and without further ado, I present to you the firstmercial film by the Sliver Snake Productions: Princess Rescue!¡± Gordon flicked the light thrower on while activating the audio yback device at the same time. The opening scene began to show on the grand white wall that was as smooth as marble, reflecting the images perfectly. The audience gasped in awe as they saw thergest moving ¡®painting¡¯ they had ever seen,plete with audio as well as a tribal drum beat echoing through the theatre. [In the depths of the mountain, a lone princess captured by a goblin tribe cries for help¡­. Who can save her?] [Kyaaaa! Somebody, save me!] The princess¡¯s voice resounded, drawing the audience more and more into the scene. An evil goblin grinned widely as he stepped closer to the princess. [No one is here to hear your screams nor save yo-] Without warning, the light-thrower machine suddenly cut off, losing powerpletely. The arctech radio faltered too, the audio warbling and distorting as the theatre was plunged intoplete darkness. ¡°What? What¡¯s going on? Is this part of the show?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see anything; what happened to the painting?!¡± Kyle quickly grabbed an arctech radio off a nearby table, barking into it. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why isn¡¯t the backup kicking in?¡± [Sir, someone sabotaged both the main and the backup arcite fuel generator. It¡¯s aplete mess in here!] ¡°Fuck! Get the associates in here now to handle the crowd. Guang Hwa, grab a loud hailer and calm down the crowd!¡± Kyle stormed out of the projector room into the office. The entire shopping arcade had somehow lost power, with the arctech engravings originally powered by a single grid no longer working as expected. Even the backup was not working, fueling Kyle¡¯s worst fears. Keith was already in the office, desperately trying to call an arcite fuelpany. ¡°We need an arcite fuel generator here as soon as¡­. What do you mean no? I¡¯m willing to pay five hundred thousand rakels ¨C no, a million rakels for you toe down right now!¡± Keith¡¯s face baulked as the radio went silent, causing him to grip the table in anger. ¡°Kyle, nopany wants to help us at all! What¡¯s going on?! It feels like they are ganging up on us!¡± ¡°Even the ones we have a contract with?¡± Keith nodded, with Kyle gritting his teeth. It¡¯s too much of a coincidence. Whoever sabotaged the opening day knew exactly what was going to happen, and there were a few people who would have the incentive to do so. ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time to have a chat.¡± Chapter 50: Sustainability Three dayster¡­ Sebastian sipped on a cup of tea at a luxurious restaurant in the Central Sector. As he ced the cup down, he could already hear slightly agitated footsteps approaching him from behind. ¡°The great leader of the Seven Snakes, this agitated. You should be happier ¨C your opening day for the shopping arcade went extremely well, save for the slight dy.¡± Sebastian spoke without turning around. ¡°A dy you engineered.¡± ¡°An usation unfounded.¡± ¡°I know the Ardent Cretins have a tight grip on the unions here. You¡¯ve been pressuring them to increase the price on us for arcite fuel.¡± Kyle spoke directly as he sat opposite Sebastian, his face clearly incensed. ¡°Mr. Kyle, I am a proponent of the free market. You cannot sincerely believe I am to me for the increase in price. Perhaps the market has shifted significantly since you built the shopping arcade.¡± ¡°I doubt the market can shift enough for apany to be willing to renegade on a prior contract.¡± ¡°Perhaps thepany may be facing certain personal issues of their own.¡± Sebastian smiled. ¡°Personal issues created by you?¡± Kyle scoffed. Sebastian sighed. ¡°I do not control the union of business owners. If they decide to increase the price, I too am at their mercy. And I¡¯ll prefer not to retaliate less the Mad Dog gets loosed on us again.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase. How much would it take for you to stand down?¡± ¡°Not everything is about money, Mr. Kyle. Isn¡¯t that why you provided an entire free bathhouse service to the entire district?¡± ¡°You want me to shut down the shopping arcade.¡± ¡°Again, not my wishes. I do not speak for the union. But right now, they are feeling very, very threatened by you. Who am I to restrain them? I am just but one man.¡± ¡°Seems that I have been talking to the wrong person then. My apologies.¡± Kyle got up to leave, not bothering to talk any longer. It was clear that he and Sebastian would not be able toe to apromise. Kyle knew why Sebastian hadunched an attack: the new shopping arcade was pulling in too many customers and causing the other businesses in the city to suffer. Coupled with the addition of a new transportation hub as well as a free bathhouse, the footfall was tremendous. Landlords across the south sector were losing their tenants as they were lured by the Golden Snake construction withpetitive rental rates and promises of increased traffic. Even local small gangs who ran a protection racket were also threatened by their food market stall owners escaping their grasp, all fleeing towards the shopping mall, selling affordable food for the poor who were already there for the free bathhouse. Kyle already had ns to establish a cheap food market area next to the shopping mall to centralize the traffic further, increasing his power and influence. However, while he expected local business owners to be angry, he did not expect Sebastian to get involved, especially considering that the shopping arcade was nearly five districts away from where the Ardent Cretins ruled. He¡¯s threatened by the growing influence I have over the local poption. Kyle had been doing public projects ever since he joined ¨C free soup kitchens, public cleanup events and so on. He knew from centuries of crime in the Gctic Era that being in a gang meant making a bnce between the amount of good and evil done to society. The addition of the shopping arcade was meant to make Kyle and the Seven Snakes nearly indispensable in the society of Raktor, where any attacks against them would suffer severe publicsh back from the residents, who now had a taste of a higher standard of living thanks to the improved utilities and jobs provided by the gang. However, this would note to fruition as long as they did not have a stable supply of arcite ore. Even the ck market was somehow afraid of selling directly to Kyle, forcing Kyle to spend far more than what was the market price in order to get it. It¡¯s an economic war. Kyle headed back to the shopping arcade, where the footfall had significantly reducedpared to the opening day. The first light-thrower show was aplete dud, causing many to lose confidence in the shopping arcade. In the office, the rest of the Seven Snakes¡¯ higher-ups were already discussing the situation along. Keith noticed Kyle¡¯s entry, speaking quickly to him. ¡°It¡¯s not looking good, sir. Even our constructionpany are unable to get new building projects due to the perceived failure of the shopping arcade. Many of the lesser nobles are unwilling to give us the tender either, favouring otherpanies.¡± Damian nodded. ¡°It¡¯s the same with food and water as well. Many of therge suppliers of flour and fish are somehow refusing to supply any restaurant or stall owners that are working under us. If we don¡¯t solve this issue by this month, most of them are not going to renew their tenancy contract regardless of how much footfall we have.¡± ¡°We need arcite fuel to keep up the transportationwork. Forget about refuelling the shopping arcade ¨C they don¡¯t even want to refuel our wagons regardless of where we drive to.¡± Monca grumbled. Reese was clearly dejected, slumping into a chair. The first public showing of his invention had failed tremendously, hitting him hard. ¡°The fucking Ardent Cretins need to be taken down a peg. Why can¡¯t we do the same thing we did with the Ilysian Punks and just bloody their nose for a bit.¡± Niko suggested. ¡°Are you crazy? We might have gottenrger over the past month, but we¡¯re nowhere close to matching the numbers the Ardent Cretins have. Hell, we might not evene out unscathed if we fought the Red Lions right now!¡± Damian retorted. ¡°Has Wrent replied to our request formercial contracts?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°No, sir. It seems the Ardent Cretins have already gotten to them.¡± ¡°So we are truly alone in this war¡­¡± Kyle sat down at his desk, sping his hands together as he racked his brain, formting a quick n. ¡°Let¡¯s summarize the situation: We can buy what we need, however, the prices are extortion. We are being isted by everyone under the Ardent Cretins¡¯ thumb.¡± Kyle began. ¡°Yes, sir. Assuming we continue to buy at the current ck market price we¡¯ve been paying, we¡¯ll run dry in less than a month.¡± Keith nodded his head. ¡°The main issue we need to tackle right now is how do we get more arcite fuel. Any ideas?¡± Damian raised his hand. ¡°We could try strong-arming thepanies into submission.¡± ¡°Not feasible. The Ardent Cretins would be guarding them, and I do not want toe into a physical war with them.¡± ¡°I did mention we could either look to Versia or the Culdao Peaks for sources of arcite ore, however, it would be a tough ordeal to set up a transportation route that would not be hijacked or harassed by other gangs.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re isted, unable to expand and unable to trade outside the city.¡± Kyle summarized. Keith squinted his eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t seem particrly flustered. Do you already have a n?¡± Gordon¡¯s office was now littered with countless pieces of paper as Gordon and Reese argued and jotted down changes, continuously modifying a single engraving. In the middle of the office was a dismantled light capturer, as well as a pile of depleted arcite ore devoid of any energy. Kyle was there too, his right hand holding a normal arcite ore while the other held a depleted one.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Arcite Ore] A condensed form of arcia energy, stored in a solid state. Can be converted into a fuel form, where it can then power engravings
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Depleted Arcite Ore] Solid arcite ore butcking in energy Cannot be used any longer
The system says that it can¡¯t be used, but is that truly the case? Kyle knew that arcite fuel generators effectively extracted the energy from such ore into a liquid form, forming arcite fuel that would then provide power in a simr fashion. Kyle posited that it was possible to refill the ore again with arcia energy, seeing as arcia energy could be converted into other forms of energy. He just had to find the right engraving. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go over this again. The light capturer can capture images by the reflection of light rays, which then exists as energy for a short period of time before the images are stored onto our reel.¡± Gordon exined. ¡°Exactly, so what we need to do is to modify the engraving such that the collected light energy would be pumped into the arcite ore!¡± Reese nodded his head in agreement. ¡°So why the hell are you making the engraving bigger before we even made any modifications!¡± ¡°Right now, the engraving is far too small to see tangible results. The amount of light energy collected is miniscule ¨C we need arger one to prove it works!¡± While the two of them chased down a path of sr energy hinted to them by Kyle, Kyle himself was focused on finding a way to convert mechanical energy and pumping it back into the arcite ore. The efficiency would be much lower, but it would be a form of regenerative fuel as well. Perhaps this would allow me to harvest wind energy as well. If Kyle had his way, he would have built a partial Dyson Sphere around a star or spread out a of dark energy harvesters in deep space and be done with it, but he had to start small here. He grabbed a copy of an arctech wagon¡¯s mechanical shaft engraving.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Arctech Wagon¡¯s Shaft Engraving] The workhorse of the industrial era. Converts arcite energy into mechanical motion with 50% efficiency
He created a simple prototype setup, where the mechanical shaft engraving could be turned continuously with a rotating handle while the engraving was trailed off to form a connection to a metal te on which the depleted arcite ore rested. Turning the shaft as fast as he could, the metal joints of the test setup creaked as the rotation nearly shook the frame apart. However, he could see a trickle of arcia energy being deposited back into the arcite ore. It seems that the engraving is tailored in one direction. I will have to reverse-engineer it. Kyle had experience with the engravings, working together with Reese and Gordon to break down the base parts. Reese brought his entire book collection of arctech design, with Kyle spending two days just reading through the books, learning how to break down the engravings into modr parts. It wasn¡¯t as easy as him simply duplicating the engraving like he had done in the past. All of the engravings he had done before were simple copycats of the textbook he had or a copy of what the goblin shaman had recorded in its den. He had never delved deep enough into the inner workings of the engraving. His proficiency in arctech engraving began to grow over the days as he continuously iterated his prototype setup, trying new modifications. Every try seemed to result in failure, with the efficiency of conversion being less than 1%. It¡¯s not enough; I need a higher percentage if we are to survive this economic war! A week passed, and even Gordon and Reese were starting to lose hope. Kyle had lost count after five hundred tries, simply going through the motions and continue tweaking the engraving. As he engraved the next design iteration onto yet another metal shaft, a new system message popped up.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment
His brain was immediately loaded with information on how to improve the quality of the arctech engraving, his hands working quickly as he threw away the half-engraved metal pipe and started anew. His fingers were steady as a rock as he slowly etched into the surface of the metal, even and distributed. Kyle even began to feel a slight sense of disgust when he recalled the now rtively shoddy work he had done in the past. Completing the engraving, he ced thepleted metal shaft into the test setup, the mental exhaustion of working over a week already taking its toll on his brain despite the consumption of Stamina Potions. He spun the handle again, with the shaft¡¯s engraving clearly working better and smoother. The depleted arcite ore seemed to recover at a visible rate, though it was still not as efficient as the conversion from arcite energy to mechanical.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Mechanical Arcia Regenerator] Put your muscles to work. Converts mechanical energy to arcia fuel with a 15% efficiency
¡°Better than nothing.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 15 Max HP: 52(+0)(+0) Max MP: 23(+0)(+5) Max STA: 52(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
STR 97(+34)(+0)
DEX 113(+47)(+3)
INT 96(+55)(+3)
VIT 69(+2)(+5)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)
Free Points 0
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Basic)]: Control those who oppose you with fear.
[Penchant for Violence (Basic)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld
[This is My Turf (Basic)]: No one gets close to you without your word.
[Designate Follower (Basic)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Basic)] Greenskin bad, humanskin better. +10 STR, +5 DEX, +2 VIT, +10% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Basic)] Death handcrafted and delivered at high speeds. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance to craft an intermediate pistol when assembling.
Chapter 51: Hierachy ¡°My god, you actually did it!¡± Reese celebrated as he and Gordon watched Kyle demonstrate the Mechanical Arcia Regenerator. ¡°But the efficiency is extremely low ¨C how are we going to find such arge source of mechanical energy in the city?¡± Gordon pondered. ¡°Perhaps we could build a waterwheel on the main river that runs through the city?¡± ¡°No way ¨C the Ardent Cretins will never allow us to move that tantly if they could. Also, we would have to submit a petition to Count Leon. We might have to either ce it on our own buildings that we already own, or look further.¡± Kyle raised his hand and stopped the conversation. ¡°Let me worry about that part. How¡¯s the progress on the remodification of the lightcapturer engraving?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not working sadly. I believe the concept has been implemented correctly, but there¡¯s simply not enough light able to be concentrated onto the engraving to make it even remotely feasible. Based on our calctions, we would need to cover an entire district in such engravings to even power one floor of our new bathhouse.¡± Kyle looked at the dismantled lightcapturer, bending over to sort through the separated parts. ¡°Focus your efforts on concentrating the light onto the engraving itself. We can use the lens to redirect light to the engraving.¡± Reese was perplexed at first before his face lit up in understanding, nodding vigorously. Gordon was still trying to figure out what Kyle was saying. ¡°Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean we still have to ce that many concentrating mirrors around either way?¡± ¡°Yes, but making the mirrors is easier and cheaperpared to cing engravings that could be easily damaged by the weather all over the city.¡± ¡°Exactly! We can funnel arge area of light onto a single engraving, reducing our material cost!¡± Reese excitedly exined, working out a n immediately. The three of them got into action, nning exactly how much would be needed. Kyle picked up the prototype light-converter engraving that the two of them had been working on for the past week.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Light Arcia Convertor] Harness the power of daylight in the palm of your hand Converts visible light waves to arcia energy with a 10% efficiency
¡°The efficiency of this engraving is far too low¡­ only ten percent.¡± Kyle pointed out, with Reese stunned. ¡°How do you know the efficiency of the engraving without testing it?¡± Reese was slightly suspicious. Even he did not know the exact percentage, and he was the one who made it in the first ce. ¡°I can tell from the differences between my mechanical engraving versus this one. Here, have a look. This specific trace is shorter and wider, reducing the amount of arcia current loss and making it more resistant to interference from other traces¡­¡± Kyle exined the understanding that he had gleaned from the activation of his Arcia Engraver title, enlightening Reese further and distracting him. ¡°You¡¯re right, I never thought about that! And to think that I used to call myself a professor!¡± ¡°Also, you can consider modifying this part to be more lenient. Right now, it is limited to a specific band of frequency of visible light.¡± ¡°Fre¡­. What?!¡± ¡°Right. Let me handle the modification of this engraving ¨C you two work on the n of materials needed. I will try to get the efficiency of this engraving as high as possible.¡± Kyle brought the prototype to another workshop, making sure the other two could not see him. Through his practice over a week of modifying the mechanical engraving, he could now pinpoint the exact parts of the engraving that could be reworked. Specifically, he intended to rework the frequency limitations of the light converter, enabling to catch other forms of radiation as well. As long as the rest still believes that it is only converting light, I should not be throwing too many danger signs. He reworked the frequency portion of the engraving before making four more. The Arcia Engraver title gave him a 20% chance of gleaming a new inspiration and raising the quality of the engraving, which then allowed him to learn more about what could be improved. He had tried to do it multiple times with the mechanical engraving, but it seemed like there was a cap to the quality level of the engraving, so the amount of inspiration he could get was limited. It was as though the system interface had a hard limit on what improvements it could make to the engraving that Kyle worked on. Repeating the same process on the light converter engraving, Kyle began to get a bit frustrated as he made his twentieth one. He grumbled to himself as he made the next one. Wasn¡¯t the chance supposed to be 20%? 1 in 5? How is it possible? Just as he said that in his head, the title¡¯s effect triggered, giving a familiar surge of information to his brain and nervous system, his hands moving automatically to improve the engraving in front of him. About time. Kyle picked up thepleted engraving.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Electromaic Arcia Convertor] Harness the power of stars in the palm of your hand Converts electromaic waves to arcia energy with a maximum of 67%, depending on frequency 22% for visible light waves
Not too shabby. If I could find a radioactive source¡­ Kyle began to think about the Culdao Peaks. Perhaps he could begin mining there again. He had already sent Sasha back there a month ago to handle the goblin den as she saw fit. Niko entered the workshop, bowing to Kyle. ¡°Sir, you called for me before?¡± ¡°Yes I have. I need you to bring these mechanical engravings over to the goblin den at Culdao Peaks. Make sure the wagon is well protected - the Ardent Cretins will try their hardest to cut us off as much as possible. Hand them this document as well.¡± A weekter¡­ Gk let out a rxed sigh as it soaked into a pool of hot water. ¡°This¡­ this is life.¡± It remarked before a ssh of water went right into itsrge nostrils, causing it to gag and sneeze. The goblin kidsughed as they yed in themon pool, sshing around in hot water powered by the new arctech engravingsyered into the stone walls. ¡°Stop disturbing me! I¡¯m rxing!¡± Gk raged and flung a handful of water back at the kids. It expected the kids to fight back, but instead, the kids were horrified and began doggy paddling and scrambling to the other end of the pool. ¡°Hah! That¡¯s right! Me shaman! You bette-¡° ¡°Gk, what are you doing here?¡± A familiar female voice caused it to tense up, one that has haunted every waking moment of Gk¡¯s life since Kyle left. Gk gingerly turned around, smiling meekly as it slowly got up out of the pool. ¡°Lady Merissa, I ¨C ¡° ¡°No excuses. Have youpleted the instation of the wind converters and light converters? Have youpleted the tunnel to Raktor?!¡± ¡°Yes¡­ mostly.¡± ¡°What do you mean mostly?! Do you think we gave you the engravings for free? Is this bathhouse for free? You got a day to fix everything up, or else I¡¯ll tell Sasha.¡± Gk tensed up even more, nodding its head vigorously. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± It quickly scampered off,pletely naked. Merissa did not care at all when she saw the wrinkled genitals on full disy, having lived with the goblins for close to four months now. She sighed as she continued her rounds through the goblin den, which had been reinvented to include various modernised features. The lights were improved, as well as better utilities and a sewage system. The goblins were cleaner than ever before, with none of themining. She still had to continuously scold the goblin workers who attempted to skive at every minute, forcing her and those under her to always be on the lookout. On top of that, she had to make sure they continued to expand the tunnels towards Raktor. Kyle did not want to have a supply chain continuously running overground, which was prone to ambush and hijacking. Right now, they had already dug a few kilometres over the past few months, though it was getting harder to ventte the tunnels. Three more months till we reach the outskirts of Raktor. We need more workers! Merissa stormed back towards her office, where Feldon was already waiting for her. ¡°When will I be able to return to Raktor? Am I not a film star now?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be a film star until we start making a proper supply of replenished arcite ore to the city! And besides, if you entered Raktor right now without a disguise, the Violet Demons would lynch you on entry.¡± Feldon was about to retort that he could act as a squatter in order to enter the city, but he knew Kyle would also find out about his departure. He could also hardly smuggle his entire family out of the goblin den, though life here was rtively peaceful so far, save for the constant raid attempts from other gangs who were still trying to encroach on the Euria Seeds. Before Merissa could continue scolding him, a burst of static erupted on the arctech radio mounted in the office. The bursts came in a specific pattern, causing Merissa¡¯s eyes to light up. ¡°Call Gringer, Gobalt and Gk immediately! Have them gather all the goblin warriors immediately!¡± ¡°What? I thought we were working on the supply of arcite ore?¡± ¡°Exactly! MOVE!¡± The goblin den kicked into action, the warriors forming up into groups. A few humans were embedded into their ranks, the humans being the squad leaders of the goblins. They stood at attention at the entrance of the mine, with Gk, Gringer and Gobalt standing at the front. The gates of the fort soon opened to reveal Sasha, who entered with slightly bloody hands gripping a struggling goblin. The goblin was noticeably different, with a tattoo marking his affiliation to another tribe. ¡°Ahah!¡± Gk eximed with joy upon seeing the predicament of the goblin. Every goblin warrior shuddered with excitement while Feldon was still at aplete loss. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s happening?¡± Merissa smacked the back of his head. ¡°I covered this four days ago, you idiot! We¡¯re annexing another goblin tribe!¡± Sasha made a few hand motions, with the warriors immediately following her out of the mine to assault the neighbouring goblin den. Trained like a paramilitary organisation, the human squad leaders converted the sign motions into verbal orders for the goblins who did not understand. Over the past week, Sasha had been implementing the same strategy that Kyle used to subjugate the first goblin den by stalking and hunting the members, which left the den to forage for food. Now with a significant force backing her, she did not need to stalk as long as Kyle did, enabling her tounch an assault immediately. It was a nearly overwhelming victory, with the new battle tactics that Kyle and Sasha had drilled into the goblins, plus the ubiquitous use of crossbows and bows, unlike the enemy, who still relied on brute force tactics. Gk gloated as it stepped into the enemy¡¯s den with its warriors, watching the enemy try to flee through the mining tunnels. The fighting was harsh and brutal, but the enemy goblin tribe stood no chance, even with all the traps and ambushes they set up. Soon, the enemy goblin tribe¡¯s warriors were diminished, resulting in theplete surrender of the tribe. Gk stood at the top of a rock formation, speaking to the enemy goblins. ¡°Be happy! For I am Gk, your new shaman! Your old shaman, weak and powerless! I, Gk, will give you happiness!¡± ¡°No!¡± An elderly goblin stood up in defiance, pointing its wrinkly green finger with long yellow nails towards Gk. ¡°You work with Humans! You are no longer goblin! We see your machines! Betrayal of ancestors!¡± Gk snapped his fingers, prompting Gringer to move forward with two warriors to grab the elderly goblin, dragging it out to the front as its children and rtives screamed and tried to pull him back. The warriors smacked and beat up those who resisted while the elderly goblin was hoisted above next to Gk. Gk grinned as he pulled out from his belt a prototype handgun, nting the tip of the barrel right into the neck of the elderly goblin, sting the brains of the goblins out in a spectacr stter that showered onto the screaming goblins. ¡°Who else? WHO ELSE?!¡± Gk roared, aiming the handgun towards the crowd. They all cowered in fear, no one speaking out any longer. Gk did not see them as goblins any longer, only seeing them as new ves. He was already internally celebrating at all the vebour he could now delegate. My tribe shall no longer be ves! ¡°Good. First, it is time to work!¡± Chapter 52: Ambush Leyton breathed slowly as hey t under a shrub, the dense foge masking his presence save for a small little opening through which his eyes peered outwards, overlooking a sandy road long weathered by wagon wheels. He gripped the arctech radio tightly, checking the volume dial on it. Setting it too loud might spook anyone nearby, and he couldn¡¯t talk loudly either. His left hand remained on a military-grade repeater carbine next to him as he continued observing any movements. Suddenly, a loud roaring sound was heard next to him, causing him to tense up immediately. He soon realised it was the snoring of his partner, who was dozing off while both hands were still holding onto the rifle. ¡°Idiot, wake up!¡± Leyton hissed softly. ¡°The fucking Seven Snakes will being past anytime soon!¡± The partner did not wake up until Leyton smacked the back of his head, jolting him awake. ¡°What, where?! Are they here?!¡± He asked frantically in a low soft tone, his eyes darting around. ¡°Shut up! If Grey finds out you¡¯ve been sleeping on the job, you can forget about getting promoted next year.¡± The partner rubbed the back of his head gingerly, wincing slightly as he rxed. ¡°Pah, you really believe the spiel Sebastian gives every year? They won¡¯t promote us ¨C they need foot soldiers like us to do the dirty work. Ain¡¯tining; the pay¡¯s pretty good, and look at the slick weapons they gave us!¡± Leyton didn¡¯t retort, knowing that there was truth to what his partner was saying. It¡¯s been a while since they left the slums three years ago to join the Ardent Cretins. Back then, their na?ve eyes and attitude made them feel like they were kings of the world. Until they met the higher-ups and realized they never even made a dent in the socialdder, barely even moving up a rung. Still, Leyton would not return to the slums willingly. He was far too addicted to the standard of living of a gang associate. That¡¯s exactly why they were here. Suddenly, the distinctive sound of an arctech wagon began to loom from down the pathing down from Culdao Peaks Town. The partner grinned as he clenched his rifle tighter, aiming down the iron sights, but Leyton didn¡¯t move yet, observing with his keen eyes. The wagon soon came into clear view, chugging along slowly as it rattled down the sandy gravel path, bouncing with each pebble the wheels rolled over. The partner took aim but was blocked by Leyton quickly. ¡°Stop, don¡¯t shoot yet!¡± ¡°What? Why? I thought we were supposed to shoot!¡± ¡°Not at every wagon thates by, you idiot! We only want the Seven Snakes one ¨C you want to be the reason we start a war with the Violet Demons?!¡± Leyton pointed to the edge of the wagon, which had a cryptic rune indicating that the merchant operating the wagon was under the protection of the Violet Demons. ¡°Right¡­ sorry.¡± The partner sheepishly smiled. Leyton turned on his arctech radio, speaking softly into the receiver. ¡°One sinner heading to Raktor.¡± [Copy that. Any signs of snakes?] ¡°No sir, nothing south.¡± [Roger. Keep looking.] Leyton heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the wagon go past, before he scowled at his partner. ¡°Next time, wait for me to make the call first, alright?!¡± ¡°Alright, alright! I¡¯m sor-¡° Letyon quickly grabbed the partner¡¯s mouth, shutting him up. ¡°Shut up and listen. You hear that?¡± The partner¡¯s eyes widened with confusion, trying to hear as well before he shook his head. He grabbed Leyton¡¯s hands off, spitting out a glob of saliva. ¡°What are you hearing?¡± Leyton nced around his surroundings, looking up at the tree branches. ¡°It sounded like footsteps of humans¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± The partner immediately tensed up, looking all around them too. He trusted Leyton¡¯s instincts, which was why they were paired as a spotter and a gunner duo in the first ce. However, the sound of an arctech wagon began to distract them and dominate the environment, following the same sandy road. This time Leyton noticed no markings at all on the exterior of the wagon. ¡°Are we clear to shoot?¡± The partner asked hastily. ¡°Wait¡­¡± Leyton waited for the wagon to go past them before he checked the back. The familiar glow of arcite ore glinted blue through the seams of cloth at the back. ¡°Shoot! Shoot the wheels!¡± The partner fired a round, cocking again before firing again. The two shots were spot on, hitting the spoke of the wheel and causing it to dent. The wobbling of the wheel caused the wagon to falter and skid off the road, mming right into a tree trunk far away from the duo. ¡°Sir, snakes with blue spotted. Wagon down. Requesting hit.¡± [Good work. Moving in. Pincer from the back.] ¡°Yes, sir. Come on; we need to make sure no one makes it out alive.¡± Leyton began to stand up with their partner, helping each other up. However, before they could even stand up straight, five shots of a handgun were fired towards the partner. The partner¡¯s armour red to life, firing point defence projectiles to block the shots, but two made it through and nailed him in the chest and neck, causing him to scream in a gurgle of blood as he fell over. Leyton¡¯s training kicked in, immediately diving for cover behind a tree trunk as he readied his own rifle, cocking it. He peeked out from the side, trying to spot who was shooting at him, but the forest was suddenly quiet as though nothing had happened. Shit, I have to warn the others! Before Leyton could turn on the arctech radio again, a female figure dropped down from the tree branches right above him,nding right in front of him. Leyton yelped as his vision was filled by an armoured knee, smashing his nose right and mming his head against the tree trunk. His world spun as he slumped to the floor, dizzy from the concussive impact, while the female figure whistled with her free hand as the other held a prototype handgun. Leyton eyes widened as he recognized the handguns. The ones circting in the ck market a month ago? Weren¡¯t all of them destroyed? At themand of the whistle, three goblins sprinted over, quickly grabbing the dying Ardent Cretin and Leyton too, hauling them off deeper into the forest. Near the downed wagon, the front of the wagon was smashed in as though the metal itself was wrapped around the tree trunk. Smoke rose from the wagon while five armed soldiers appeared from the woods, each wielding military-grade guns and armour. ¡°Clear the area. Where¡¯s the driver?¡± The leader asked, as one of the soldiers moved up and broke the door to the driver¡¯s seat open. ¡°Sir, there¡¯s no one inside! They rigged it to drive straight!¡± The five soldiers immediately tensed up, holding their repeaters at the ready. ¡°Retreat now, we¡¯ve beenpromised.¡± ¡°Sir, what about Leyton?¡± ¡°He¡¯s probably already captured. Move!¡± The five soldiers quickly moved through the forest away from the main road, continuously checking behind their backs. The leader began to spot signs of goblins stalking them from their left, leaping through the trees from branch to branch. ¡°Fire a few shots in their direction, scare them back!¡± As they raised their repeaters to aim to the left, Sasha and the other goblins struck from the right, firing at them. Sasha emptied the entire clip of the handgun into one soldier, overwhelming his point defence engraving and killing him on the spot. The sheer number of arrows also caused the point defence engravings to be powered down, enabling the goblins to attack with crossbows and bows. Grunting as he hefted his repeater, the leader aimed with pinpoint precision, sniping the heads of the goblins, killing five. As he fired his twentieth shot, he pulled the trigger again to no effect, prompting him to reach to his belt for the next magazine. In that split moment, Sasha sprinted towards him, forcing him to use both hands on his rifle to block a punch from Sasha¡¯s glowing right hand. The engraving on her hand boosted the force imparted, smashing the wooden cover of the repeater and bending the metal barrel hidden within. The leader dropped the repeater immediately and threw a punch at Sasha, who blocked it with her left arm as she took a step back to avoid tripping on the dropped repeater, before lunging again with a kick from the right, nailing the leader right in the waist. Sasha winced from the pain erupting from her shin, which impacted against the military armour, allowing the leader to recover and retrieve a small knife out, stabbing and slicing towards Sasha. ¡°Men! Split up!¡± The leader roared, still intending to retreat. However, he could see from his peripheral vision that all his soldiers were already knocked out by the sheer number of goblins. He could see from the branches that there were nearly fifty goblins. ¡°Shit!¡± The leader cursed as he tried to sprint away, only for a barrage of arrows to be fired towards him, piercing his flesh from behind as he screamed in pain. Sasha walked up slowly to the injured leader, bending over to grab him by the cor and lifting him up. She inspected the military armour, noticing that it was simr to the ones the Seven Snakes had hijacked from the Ilysian Punks. This¡­ could be a problem. Haui smiled as he looked around his new store, right smack in the middle of the shopping centre facing the front lobby. The workers were busy setting up the shelves to disy all sorts of potions, while he pointed out where some of the equipment should be ced in the back room. ¡°Liking your new store?¡± Kyle asked as he entered, shaking hands with Haui. ¡°Indeed I am. Sometimes I wonder why I have been hiding in that dodgy old little hut for such a long time.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not giving it up yet.¡± ¡°Of course. A man of my intellect can surely handle two stores, can¡¯t he? I do have a few apprentices under me that can handle the more mediocre potions and their production.¡± ¡°I was under the impression you were against selling potions at a cheaper rate to the ¡­mon folk.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just say I¡¯ve been enlightened by your methods. There is merit to sheer quantity after all.¡± Kyle nodded in agreement. He had specifically invited Haui to set up a potion store here, with the potions aimed at being sold at a more affordable price than his previous store. The reason why Kyle could not outright sell the potions was that he did not have a license from the Alchemist Guild. Thus, Haui was the simple solution. With this, Kyle would have yet another reason for people toe to the shopping centre, boosting the footfall yet again. By creating as many amenities in one ce as much as possible, he could reinvent the entire nearby area as an economic hub under his control. ¡°I noticed you had a few issues with arcite fuel recently. Will I have to deal with intermittent outages?¡± ¡°The arcite fuel issues are sorted right now. However, there is still the issue of traders not willing to sell basic goods such as food and ingredients to us.¡± ¡°I can solve that easily.¡± Haui smiled. ¡°There may be ck market traders who are afraid of earning the ire of the Ardent Cretins, but there will also be enemies who are more than willing to see the Ardent Cretins fall. And also those who just want money regardless.¡± ¡°Then I thank you in advance.¡± Kyle was aware of Haui¡¯s deepwork and ties to the underground. After all, Haui brews all sorts of poison for assassinations and hitjobs illegally ¨C such ingredients would not be easy to get legally. ¡°Perhaps you can thank me with a bigger tithe of your profits from the potion business.¡± ¡°Your tenancy here is already free.¡± ¡°Well, it was worth a try.¡± Kyle bid farewall to Haui, walking around the shopping arcade. The roof of the building was now stered in concentrating mirrors, while a consistent flow of arcite ore from the Culdao Peaks was guarded by Monica and other associates. Depleted ore was then funnelled to the goblin den and to a few lightconverters ced around the districts they owned, with Gordon provided the leftovers from the factory production lines. If the tunnel to Raktor waspleted over the next month or so, it would be even better, with him being able to shift half of the goods underground. The supply chain wasing together, and with Haui now helping him to solve the other issues, the shopping arcade was now back into full swing. Now that they were in the clear, his eyes were set on thepanies that had previously refused to sell to him. You wanted an economic war? You¡¯re going to get one. Chapter 53: Retribution ¡°Berth 9, wagon arrived ten in the morning. Attacked by small-time thugs, with light damage to its exterior. The driver says that a restaurant was doing roadworks that blocked half of the road. They are really pulling out all the stops this time.¡± Monica spoke quickly as she walked with Kyle and Keith through the basement, where the main logistics for the shopping arcade were handled. The basement was filled with wagons unloading food and ingredients, as well as arcite ore from the Culdao Peaks operation. Kyle noticed some of the wagons had severe dents on the side, as well as one whose wheel had beenpletely torn off, having to be towed in. ¡°So first they raised the prices to extravagant amounts, and now they are trying to obstruct our deliveries.¡± Keith shook his head as he entered the administrative office, checking on the books while the clerks frantically jotted down the delivery timings. Each of them reported the timings and events to a manager, who was marking the points in the city where the deliveries were attacked. ¡°We¡¯ve already lost two wagons today just from hijacking. Niko has been working hard putting guards on each of the wagons, but the manpower is getting intensive.¡± Monica grumbled as she looked at the map. The majority of deliveries were routed through the Ardent Cretins territory, being the shortest and quickest way out of the city. The Seven Snakes¡¯ three districts were like an ind in a sea of enemies. ¡°I understand,¡± Kyle replied as he observed the patterns of delivery hits. ¡°The hits seem to be urring at the same areas all the time. They have formed a.¡± It was a bit of an issue ¨C the arcite ore that was replenished by the new renewable energy setups at the Culdao Peaks was theoretically illegal. Kyle could hardly call in the enforcers to cover it, seeing as his arcite ore would be taxed. Furthermore, word would spread among the nobility that a new arcite ore mine would be found, which would jeopardise his entire goblin operation. Gk certainly would not be happy. ¡°Any hits done by the Ardent Cretins?¡± ¡°No. Every hit seems to be done by hired thugs. It seems the Ardent Cretins are being especially careful.¡± Keith shook his head. ¡°Or, it is really the group ofpanies opposing us that are really having a beef.¡± Monica pointed out. ¡°The patterns seem more like a loosely organised attempt at disruption rather than a centralised force. I suspect thepanies are working alone for various reasons.¡± ¡°Who are thepanies so far?¡± Keith shrugged. ¡°Well, just about every food supplier in the South Sector has refused to do business with us. Thanks to Haui¡¯s connection, we¡¯re buying them from the North Sector now, but they still have a chance of getting intercepted in the Ardent Cretin¡¯s territory.¡± ¡°Okay. Call Damian and Guang Hwa in. It¡¯s time for some payback.¡± ¡°God damnit! Not again!¡± Solomon crushed the slip of paper in his hand into a small little ball as he tossed it into a basket at the corner of his office. The arctech radio on his table seemed to gloat at him as it continued to rattle off, the announcer¡¯s voice filling the room. [And it looks like it¡¯s lights out for Team Rising Stars, who unfortunately has just suffered a severe arctech malfunction. This might very well be the end of their championship run!] Fuck! I put half my savings on this bet! Solomon cursed under his breath as he quickly took out his ounting book, flipping through quickly and checking the profits. His pudgy finger traced down the column of expenses, his face scowling. ¡°Secretary!¡± He roared as he stormed out of his office, frightening the administrative clerks right outside. Solomon marched up to a scrawny¡¯s man table, his bulky build intimidating him into a shivering mess. ¡°Boss, I didn¡¯t do anything wrong! It wasn¡¯t my fault!¡± ¡°Huh? What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You¡¯re angry about the failed hijacking yesterday, right?¡± ¡°What on earth are you saying? I¡¯m angry about the expenses we¡¯ve been spending on amenities for the workers! Why is there a three hundred thousand rakels cost for the fucking renovations!¡± ¡°But boss,st week you said to the workers that you wanted to improve the living standards of their dormitory-¡° ¡°I want you to reverse it. Immediately!¡± ¡°The bacs-¡° ¡°I don¡¯t care about the bacsh from the workers. Cancel it immediately!¡± Solomon grumbled as he walked out of the office onto a catwalk overlooking a factory where potatoes were being processed manually by thousands of workers. There were not many big specialised machines on the factory floor for mass stripping or cleaning, with the workers instead washing and peeling the potatoes to prepare them for packing, storing them away in arctech cooler boxes to keep the potatoes fresh. Thergest machine that Solomon had purchased was a conveyor belt, as the cost ofbour in Raktor was extremely low due to the extreme poverty many of the slum dwellers faced. Solomon walked along the catwalk to another office, where a frustrated subordinate was arguing on the phone. ¡°If you don¡¯t ept the new contract, you can forget about getting your food ever again in the South Sector!¡± [I¡¯ll take my chances with the Seven Snakes ¨C they seem to be doing pretty well with the shopping arcade. Goodbye, cocksucker.] The restaurant owner on the other end hung up, causing the subordinate to be frustrated, the veins on his forehead nearly popping. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why did he cancel the contract?¡± Solomon interrupted the subordinate¡¯s solo tantrum show, prompting the subordinate to regain his senses and bow to Solomon quickly. ¡°Uhh, sir, remember how we talked about sanctioning any businesses rted to the Seven Snakes?¡± ¡°Yeah? What about it? What¡¯s wrong now?¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s already been two weeks since we started, but the shopping arcade hasn¡¯t copsed yet.¡± ¡°I know ¨C that¡¯s why we¡¯ve been targeting their deliveries, haven¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Yes, but the footfall there is immense ¨C it¡¯s drawing away customers that would have normally gone to the restaurants we supply!¡± Solomon¡¯s face twitched slightly. ¡°That¡¯s exactly why we did the sanctions: to prevent that exact scenario from happening!¡± ¡°Sir, it¡¯s already happening. Today alone, we just lost five restaurants. They are all relocating to the Seven Snakes district area.¡± ¡°Fucking twats, get some hired thugs to beat them up!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I tried to do yesterday, but our hired thugs got beaten up instead by the Seven Snakes! The restaurants are being treated like VIPs!¡± Solomon did not reply just yet, pondering as he paced the room, looking at the piles of paper of cancelled supply contracts. First, I lose half of my savings, then I lose my customers. The sanctions were supposed to bring money, not fallout like this! ¡°So what do you suggest? You must have a n in mind.¡± Solomon asked. ¡°¡­ I believe the only way out of this is to work with the Seven Snakes.¡± ¡°ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?! Imagine the humiliation I will have to face for being a traitor to the otherpanies!¡± ¡°Yes, but think about it! Based on our current rate, we¡¯re operating at a loss ¨C we won¡¯t be able to survive the month!¡± The subordinate retorted. ¡°Especially considering you just blew half of our cash. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know you used the factory funds to bet on the races.¡± Solomon wanted to retort but calmed himself down, thinking rationally. He¡¯s right. At the rate we¡¯re going, the sanctions are unsustainable. But being a turncoat is even worse¡­ Or is it? ¡°Send a letter to the Seven Snakes asking for parley. If we are the first to turn over, the Seven Snakes must be more than willing to sign a beneficial contract with us.¡± The subordinate immediately got to work, quickly drafting up a letter. Solomon was about to head back to his personal office when he suddenly heard amotion from the factory floor, a loud mour. What the fuck is going on? ¡°Comrades! How long will you toil under an ungrateful master? How long will you suffer and work aimlessly, only to be thrown to the side once your limbs have been dried out? How long?¡± An agitator dressed just like them was speaking out. The workers were still slightly confused by the new guy who had just been hired the day before. Wasn¡¯t he a newbie? Why is he standing on three crates? However, the words he spoke resonated deeply with many of the workers¡¯ hearts, and a sense of disenchantment surrounded them. ¡°High above you, the owner of this factory grins down at you, thinking of all of you as simple sheep, mindless and obedient!¡± ¡°But the boss saidst week he was going to renovate the dormito-¡° ¡°Is that true? Are you sure? Do not believe the lies of the owners unless you see them and hear them for yourself! Behold, the secretary of the boss himself!¡± The agitator motioned with his hand, prompting a burly partner to drag forward the secretary, captured during his toilet break. ¡°What the fuck?! SECURITY!¡± Solomon yelled at the top of his lungs, sprinting as fast as his overtly obese body would allow him to, heading down to the factory floor. The panicking secretary immediately nodded his head as he was lifted up high by one hand, screaming out in fear. ¡°It¡¯s true! The boss just cancelled the renovation!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Why? He just promised usst week?¡± ¡°What the fuck is this? I promised my family we would have a nicer room to move into!¡± The workers began to get more agitated, while the factory guards began to charge towards the agitator. ¡°Don¡¯t let those two fuckers get away!¡± Solomon roared. ¡°Damian, run!¡± Guang Hwa screamed, quickly sprinting away. Damian was a bit astounded at the speed with which Guang Hwa fled. He had pegged him for a man with minimal physical capabilities. When ites to saving his own skin, he sure can put in the work. Damian was not as fast as Guang Hwa, being tangled up in a fight with the factory guards who swung batons at him. Activating his ¡®Harden¡¯ tattoo, he shrugged off all the attacks, delivering a straight one-two punch to each of them, knocking them out cold. Ever since Keith had been kidnapped, Damian had been tirelessly working his ass off, improving his arcia energy flow as well as synchronising his attack with his new engraving skill. He built himself into a much more muscr build, going above and beyond in his training routine. As it stands right now, he could flip an arctech wagon if he really wanted to. With the guards knocked out, Damian made his escape easily, running in a separate direction from Guang Hwa. Solomon was enraged, shouting and screaming at the workers. ¡°What are you numbskulls doing! Go and chase them!¡± Instead of listening, the workers all began to converge on Solomon, their eyes filled with rage. ¡°Where¡¯s the dormitory renovation you promised us?!¡± ¡°What did you do with the money?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business! Back off now otherwise, you won¡¯t have a job!¡± Solomon threatened, but it fell on deaf ears as the workers started to physically grab him. ¡°Don¡¯t dodge the question!¡± One of the workers grabbed Solomon by the cor before being quickly pped away onto the ground by him. ¡°You dare touch me?! ME?! I AM YOU-¡° Before Solomon could enter his final form, the workers all began to attack him, throwing punches, kicks and potatoes from afar. Solomon cowered and rolled on the floor, scampering away from the angry horde of workers as he tried to escape the factory. Fuck, I can¡¯t die here! The workers began to trash the factory, stealing whatever valuable parts there were from the nearby machinery. Some of the more desperate workers began hauling sacks of arcite ore out from the factory, hoping to make a quick buck. My assets! How am I going to repay back my debts now? Solomon nearly cried to himself as he limped out of the factory, hearing the loud bangs and explosions behind. The tears he shed were not for the administrative clerks and subordinates being beaten up by the workers but for the amount of loans he had taken out to build the factory in the first ce. It¡¯s no problem. I¡¯m sure the Ardent Cretins will lend me more money! I just have to talk to Sebastian, and everything will be right as -. Solomon was suddenly grabbed by the cor for the second time that day as soon as he stepped out onto the street, surrounded by five Seven Snakes associates who stared daggers at him. Kyle smiled as he lifted Solomon up with one hand despite the weight, causing his stubby legs to dangle. ¡°You!?¡± Solomon was shocked. ¡°Hello, dear factory owner. You seem to be in trouble. Perhaps the Seven Snakes can be of assistance?¡± Chapter 54: Undercurrents A weekter¡­ ¡°Why hasn¡¯t the shopping arcade been taken over yet! They should be bankrupt by now!¡± The chairman tapped the table with his fingernails rasping against the hardwood. A wave of murmurs spread through the table, where more than two dozen business owners sat. ¡°I say it¡¯s due to us letting ipetent twats into the prestigious South Sector Business Owner Union of Raktor. Unable to even enforce a simple sanction against an uppity upstart, pah!¡± An older gentleman grumbled as he chewed vigorously before hacking out arge glob of spit tainted with crushed leaves into a spit bowl. ¡°Indeed! Back in my time, we would just hit every store and shop they owned, no questions asked. Why, we used to burn down entire viges just to kill the supply chains!¡± Another elder chimed in, nodding vigorously. ¡°Shut up, old fart! The enforcers might be looking the other way right now, but if we go that far, who knows if the Mad Dog would be unleashed on us.¡± A visible shudder spread through the business owners. The tale of the Mad Dog had spread far and wide through the South Sector, her undying thirst for violence unsatiable. Many saw her brutality as a much-needed reprieve from the stranglehold that the gangs held over the city. But for the owners, they knew if they were caught and exposed, there would be no mercy from her. ¡°I heard she had been posted to the West Sector.¡± ¡°Ah, no doubt to keep the two major gangs under control. That brings me some relief knowing that she¡¯s far away.¡± ¡°Still, the Seven Snakes are on very good terms with the enforcers. Let¡¯s not give them any ammunition with which to charge us.¡± The chairman gritted his teeth. ¡°All this useless bickering won¡¯t do us any good! I want to know how to take down the Seven Snakes and fast!¡± The owners all nodded, grim expressions stered on their faces. It had been three long weeks of continuous refusal to supply any business of the Seven Snakes, harassing other smallerpanies into siding with the union instead, and even hiring thugs to disrupt the deliveries. ¡°We need to put more effort into forming a blockade. We must be united in this aspect, otherwise, just hijacking a few deliveries here and there is not going to make a dent in their finances!¡± Someone scoffed from across the table. ¡°United? How dare you say united when I¡¯ve personally seen thugs hired by Solomon hijacking my delivery wagon!¡± Solomon was startled, ncing around rapidly in confusion. ¡°Me? I haven¡¯t hired any thugs in a week!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me! If anything, I would think that you are working as a double agent!¡± The rival owner continued to use Solomon. The eyebrow on Solomon¡¯s face twitched slightly. ¡°You dare use me?! I think it is you who incited my workers to revolt against me justst week!¡± As the two bickered on the table, a sense of disunity began to spread through the other owners. ¡°Speaking of that, Deliah, I¡¯ve noticed you¡¯ve begun to poach my farmers.¡± A sturdy man used a well-dresseddy in a frill blue Victorian-style dress. Thedy smirked, unfolding her blue fan and hiding her face. ¡°Whatever do you mean? I simply offered them a better price.¡± ¡°How dare you? The situation is already as bad as it is, with many businesses moving over to the Seven Snakes district! Why are you contesting me?!¡± ¡°Just because we¡¯re in a union does not mean it¡¯s a fixed market, darling. Supply and demand. Haven¡¯t you learnt that when you failed in Tryas?¡± ¡°You¡­!¡± ¡°ENOUGH!¡± The chairman mmed the table, interrupting the bickering urring between the owners. ¡°There is no reason topete with each other! If we can take down the Seven Snakes, there¡¯ll be a bigger pie for all of us to share!¡± The owners grumbled amongst each other, nodding umittedly. The cracks between the owners were starting to show, fuelled by the usations lobbied at each other. Solomon gave a slight wink to his rival, who winked back in return. They had nned this from the start, nning to draw out the hidden actions that eachpany had actually been doing to each other. Both of them were already working for Kyle. The union was made up of a loose gathering ofpanies ¨C but they were primarilypetitors with each other. The chairman tried to convince them for a while longer before they finally dispersed. He sighed to himself, watching the owners leave the meeting hall, with only one person remaining on the other end of the long table. The person nodded his head at the chairman, permitting him to approach. ¡°I hope you havebelled those who were clearly ipetent. Many of their businesses are about to falter just from such a simple economic sanction of just three weeks. What a rubbish business model.¡± The person remarked. The chairman wiped his forehead, his hand clearly trembling. ¡°Sebastian, I don¡¯t think we can hold the sanctions for another month. My businesses may be stable for now, but eventually, the Seven Snakes wille to dominate.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Sebastian smiled gently as he leaned back into his chair. ¡°I never expected Kyle to give up that easily.¡± ¡°What?!¡± The chairman was stunned. ¡°Then what was the point of all of this?!¡± ¡°To weed out the ipetent among us. To strengthen the South Sector as a whole. To buy time. There are plenty of reasons, chairman.¡± Sebastian took out three rolls of blueprints,ying them out on the table. The chairman walked over to take a look, gasping. ¡°This¡­ this is the construction blueprints from the Seven Snakes for the shopping arcade! How did you get your hands on it?¡± ¡°Kyle would like to believe his gang is water-tight. Everyone has a price, do they not? Your sanction has bought enough time for me to build my own rival shopping arcade, with a few improvements. Naturally, you will have a share and first dibs on any property development next to it.¡± Sebastian had never nned to implement a long-term economic sanction ¨C it was simply to put enough pressure on the Seven Snakes and stall their growth while the Ardent Cretins reverse-engineered the design of the shopping arcade. The chairman¡¯s previously confused face slowly turned into the expression of a man who had nailed a deal. ¡°I understand, Sebastian. The longer the sanction¡­¡± ¡°The higher chance you have to knock out yourpetitors within the union itself. Absorb those who fall to the wayside or are unable to handle the economic pressure. Those that survive will have proven their business model; the rest will be subservient to you.¡± General Javel gasped for air as he jolted awake in his cot, internally frightened by the sounds of footstepsing down through the prison corridor. He huddled into a corner as the arctechntern¡¯s light began to cast shadows of the corner, eventually shining right onto his malnourished figure. ¡°Please, no more! I have told you everything!¡± Javel shouted in fear as he peeked his eyes, noticing a hooded figure with a backpack slung across his back. ¡°Javel, it is me.¡± The hooded figure pull the hood back, revealing a scarred face. Javel nearly cried for joy when he recognised the voice and face. ¡°Brother Xan, I thought you had forsaken me!¡± ¡°Why would I? We swore an oath that day. Get up. I¡¯m taking you to the border.¡± Javel quicklyplied, more than happy to leave the stinking prison cell that had housed him for more than a month. All he could recall over the fleeting days were countless hours of torture and interrogations. Xan quickly helped clothe him, unashamed of Javel¡¯s sickly form. The two had been through much worse in the wars before. ¡°Have you ensured our escape route?¡± Javel asked with a tinge of panic as they walked out of the cell, ncing at all the other prisoners who were fast asleep in their cells, either knocked unconscious or passed out from the tough vebour. ¡°I have prepared a wagon that can take us all the way to the border, which you will then be on your own. That¡¯s as far as I can go.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Javel nodded. Xan was the insider he had in the military, having risen up through the ranks. It was the only way the Ilysian Punks were able to nab that many shipments without the military detecting most of them. The two of them walked right through the exit,ing face to face with the prison guards who watched the gate. ¡°General Xan? What are you doing here?¡± The prison warden questioned, astonished. The general and the shivering prisoner made for a weird sight, especially in the dead of night, raising suspicions among the prison guards. ¡°I¡¯m transferring the prisoner to a separate prison. This is a top-level military mission. Do not leak of this transfer ¨C Versia agents may try to intercept this wagon. This is why it must be done now.¡± ¡°Ah, I understand. Yes, sir. Open the gate!¡± The warden nodded his head, saluting General Xan. Outside the gate, an arctech wagon was already waiting for the two of them. General Xan helped Javel into the back before getting into the driver¡¯s seat and riding off into the forest. ¡°Where¡­ where are we?¡± Javel had no clue where he had been imprisoned, kept in the dark the entire time when he was a prisoner. ¡°Just beyond Raktor, near the Versia border. We will arrive in three hours. For now, get some rest. There is an arctech handgun at the back, be prepared to use it if anything goes wrong.¡± Javel nodded, taking a much-needed rest. However, a sudden jolting shook him right awake again as the wagon screeched to a halt, with the sounds of people surrounding the wagon with bright arctech lights, illuminating the cloth that covered the wagon. ¡°Who are you people? Do you know you are obstructing a Yual Dominion general?!¡± Xan got out of the wagon, his hand on the pistol on his belt as he red at the eighteen assants who surrounded him. They were all equipped with state-of-the-art military gear, their face masked to protect their identity. The assants did not respond, instead raising their repeaters and aiming them at Xan, who performed a quickdraw and fired off three rapid shots before the assants could react, causing their projectile defence armour to re green. Xan dashed into the treeline, using the tree trunks as cover as a hailstorm of projectiles showered the forest, cracking branches and punching holes through leaves as they fell. Xan stuck his hand out to fire a few blind shots in their general direction, flinching as the bark near his head was stripped off by a near shot. Pinned down by the suppressing fire, Xan could only watch as the other assants approached the back of the wagon, easily dragging the weak Javel out. ¡°Shit, Javel!¡± ¡°You should worry about yourself.¡± A familiar voice spoke from behind Xan, causing him to turn and throw a punch in that direction instinctively. However, it was immediately grabbed by a strong grip, with Xan only seeing the world swirl around him as he was flung onto the ground by sheer strength His military training kicked in, quickly recovering and rolling out of the way. ¡°I had a few people in mind on my list. You were especially hard to get to, being all cooped up inside your military fort.¡± Resuming a shooter position, he fired the remainder of his shots at the familiar figure. The projectile defence armour of the man red to life, blocking all the shots. Xan tried to reload, but the man was faster, lunging forward with a sharp engraved sword and stabbing into Xan¡¯s shoulder, causing him to shout in pain. Xan fell onto the floor, with the tip of the sword still pressing into his flesh as the man ced one foot on top of him. ¡°General Xan. Hero of the 1st Yual ¨C Versia War, yet here you are, betraying the very Emperor you swore an oath to serve. You know, I was worried I would be only getting reparations from Versia for this entire incident. But thanks to you finally leaving your damn fort, I have the best catalyst I can think of.¡± ¡°I swore an oath to protect peace!¡± Xan spat on the man¡¯s face, whose projectile defence red to life again, neutralising the spit. ¡°An interesting worldview. What made a peaceful general turn to illegally smuggling weapons to the enemy? Surely that would create more problems than solve them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to fool me. The only reason why the Yual Dominion continuously lusts for Versia territory is due to its smaller military. You are no different from your father before you, Count Leon. Do not think I don¡¯t know you are eyeing an expansion!¡± Count Leon scoffed. ¡°And you thought bncing the scales of technology would make up for it? That by establishing equal power, you could bnce the world? To limit growth?¡± ¡°It is better than petitioning against an uncaring Emperor and a greedy Count! The nobles only think in terms of gains and losses, so why can¡¯t I amplify the potential losses?¡± Count Leon¡¯s eyes squinted. ¡°Be careful, General Xan. It might be one thing for a citizen of Raktor to speak ill of the Emperor, but a general won¡¯t be let off so easily.¡± ¡°Just kill me and be over with it.¡± ¡°Oh no, I have better ns for you. You,¡± Count Leon spoke to one of his underlings. ¡°Is the lightcapturer ready?¡± ¡°Yes sir, all working.¡± The underling hauled arge machine. Xan recognised it immediately, but he still could not figure out what was going on. ¡°Good. Drag Javel here as well. You two, put on these emblems.¡± Count Leon grabbed two Versia Emblems from his front pocket. Xan eyes widened as two of the assants began to masquerade as Versia soldiers. ¡°What in Yual¡¯s name are you trying to do?!¡± Xan tried to lift his body up, but the sword pierced even deeper into his shoulder. ¡°Smile for the lens, Xan. Today, you die a hero. Be happy! For the war sparked for your sake shall be glorious.¡± Chapter 55: Degradation Reese whistled to himself as he slid his hand over the varnished table, glistening with a smooth glossy surface. He grinned to himself as he look around the posh office,plete with an overview of the streets outside through transparent ss walls. Ever since he established the Sliver Snake Productionspany with Kyle, his lifestyle has only been on the up and up. His invention of the light capturer and the light thrower was the turning point for all of this to happen. His little daughterughed happily as she yed around with her assigned Seven Snakes bodyguard, the two of them running around the room. Reese smiled as he recalled how close he was to losing it all due to the kidnapping. It was only thanks to Kyle that he had managed to survive. He had suspicions that Kyle was the one who put out the kidnapping contract in the first ce. Maybe it was all a ploy to simply foster a sense of respect and loyalty in me. That didn¡¯t matter to him as much anymore, having gotten used to the way the Seven Snakes were running things, both legally and illegally. He was only human, after all ¨C he would do anything to see his little girl well-fed and treated. Oh, and a bit of luxury for himself too. An employee of thepany entered meekly, bowing to Reese as her eyes were a bit confused by the burly bodyguard chasing the little daughter slowly around the room. ¡°Sir, the payment for the rental hase in, but they say they will require an extension in the contract. They have provided the additional payment for the extension as well.¡± ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°The anonymous buyer from three days ago.¡± Reese nodded his head in understanding. ¡°Hmm, as long as they paid. Any ideas what the buyer was using it for?¡± Part of the idea behind renting out the equipment was to spy on the buyers and figure out what they were using the devices for. Sometimes it was to film an extravagant wedding at the bequest of a rich baroness from another city; other times, it was an inspired film-maker wanting to make an independent show. This allowed Kyle and Reese to monitor the growing interest and spread of the light thrower industry, or as Kyle calls it: the ¡®media¡¯ industry. This will help them stay ahead of thepetition. ¡°No, sir. The buyer was prepared and shook off the observers almost immediately.¡± Suspicious¡­ Reese pondered a while before dismissing the subordinate. This was the first anonymous buyer they had, making him wonder what they were using it for. Reverse-engineering? It won¡¯t be possible with the failsafe that Kyle and I have implemented. Theughter of his daughter shook him out of deep thought, making him smile. Money is money. Just as he was about to head over to y with his daughter as well, Kyle entered the office, immediately motioning to the bodyguard to leave the room. ¡°We need to work together to make a degraded version of the engravings.¡± Reese had learnt a lot of new terms and concepts over his time with the Seven Snakes, but Kyle¡¯s words nearly threw him for a loop. ¡°What?! You want to make the engravings worse?¡± Reese was appalled by the very notion Kyle had put forth. He had spent his entire life improving engravings ¨C was he just supposed to turn around now? ¡°Rx. I never said we were degrading our own products ¨C rather, we will be creating a less efficient version of it.¡± ¡°But why?! Are you intentionally going to create bad products to sell to our customers? That would hurt our reputation.¡± Kyle fumed slightly, prompting Reese to stop arguing back and let Kyle exin. Regardless of Reese¡¯s financial status currently, Kyle still intimidated him slightly, with Reese knowing that Kyle could kill him off easily if he truly wanted to. ¡°You understand that right now, the lightcapturer and light thrower engravings arepany secrets, held only by the two of us, correct?¡± ¡°Yes. That is why we vet every buyer and their background to trace if the technology is being reverse-engineered. I also engrave every single one of them manually myself.¡± It was the only way to control the spread of technology ¨C Kyle did not trust Gordon¡¯s factory workers to be immune to bribery or extortion, potentially leaking details of a mass production process. It was better to keep the supply low, raising the rental prices. Reese thought quickly about why Kyle wanted a degraded version of the engraving, his face lighting up in understanding. ¡°I get it now! This is ingenious! When¡¯s the deadline?¡± ¡°Tonight.¡± A Seven Snakes associate gingerly adjusted his sleeves, pulling his right sleeve back to check the time. He leaned against an arctech wagon parked in an inconspicuous alleyway, far away from the prying eyes of the pedestrians who filled the streets. He tapped his foot impatiently, constantly checking the time on his watch as he nced down the decrepit path. A loud ng was heard, causing him to jump in fright as a rat scampered across the alleyway, dashing between piles of trash and depleted arcite ore. ¡°Seriously, why I¡¯m always the one taking all this risk!¡± The associateined, scratching his bald head furiously, trying to soothe an itch on the back of his neck. He waited a few more minutes before finally getting impatient and grumbling to himself. ¡°Fucking thugs, can¡¯t even keep to a time.¡± He opened the driver¡¯s door, only to hear the distinctive click of an arctech pistol. The associate gulped instinctively, raising his arms in surrender as he turned around slowly,ing face to face with a three-man group. Two bodyguards carrying thick briefcases nked anky businessman, the most distinctive part of his suit being the pink feather in his cap and the purple handkerchief in his breast pocket. ¡°Took you long enough, eh?¡± The associate smiled, having already expected them, while the two bodyguards moved forward around him, checking if there was anyone else in the wagon. ¡°All clear, sir.¡± One of the bodyguards spoke to thenky businessmen, who grinned widely, clearing his throat. ¡°Guang Hwa, president of the Golden Snake Constructions. Or should I say, Brother Long Hua? The instigator of the most recent religious protest, if I recall.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a religious protest, but a call to freedom.¡± Guang Hwa scoffed. ¡°Feisty. Now, where are the goods?¡± ¡°All right here, in the wagon. Where¡¯s the money?¡± ¡°Hahaha! Who knew that the great Kyle would be so easily taken down by a greedy subordinate? I feel sorry for him recruiting you to be the spokesperson.¡± Guang Hwa scowled, reaching his left hand down to undo a button near his neck, revealing a metal choker that ran right around his neck. The bodyguards immediately stepped forward to check the engravings on the neck, ensuring that it was not a tracking engraving. Thenky businessman was amused, clearly intrigued. ¡°You two, search the interior of the wagon and make sure our friend here was not followed.¡± He stepped forward to Guang Hwa, examining him. ¡°Interesting. It is quite funny to see the head of a prominent Golden Snake Construction wearing such a thing. However, the design is indeed unique. Perhaps you might be interested in selling it to me as well?¡± ¡°Fuck you, if this thing goes off, my head goes with it.¡± ¡°It is a tough choice, but it is one that I am willing to make.¡± ¡°Shut up. Where¡¯s the money?¡± ¡°Rx, you will get it once you are clear.¡± The bodyguards checked every nook and cranny of the arctech wagon, examining even the spokes of the wheels for any hidden devices or engravings. ¡°So, who¡¯s the buyer on the other end?¡± Guang Hwa asked. ¡°Keep asking questions like that and I may be inclined to think you are an enforcer mole.¡± ¡°Except I already sold you the blueprints of the construction before. Went rather well, in my opinion.¡± ¡°A fine deal indeed.¡± Thenky businessman scratched his chin. ¡°This deal would be even better for you, would it not? I can¡¯t imagine any other information dealer on the ck market getting such a catch like this. You¡¯ll be the talk of the town for a while.¡± ¡°Surprisingly astute.¡± The information dealer neither denied nor confirmed Guang Hwa¡¯sment. [Sir, no signs of the Seven Snakes or any enforcers nearby.] An arctech radio on the belt of the dealer crackled to life. The bodyguards soon exited the wagon, nodding their heads that it was clear of booby traps. The dealer walked to the back of the wagon, lifting the cloth that covered them. Arranged in a haphazard fashion, there was one copy of nearly everything that the Seven Snakes had innovated for the construction of the shopping arcade, including aplete lightcapturer and light thrower at the back. ¡°Jackpot. This will fetch an extremely high price.¡± The dealer couldn¡¯t help grinning to himself as he stepped into the back of the wagon, looking around. ¡°I don¡¯t see any manuals or notes here ¨C you promised to bring whatever documentation they had as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a spokesperson ¨C you think I knew which exact piece of paper to bring? It was already hard enough for me to get my hands on these devices.¡± Guang Hwained. The dealer bent over to activate the light thrower, which churned and projected a still image of the Sliver Snakes Productions¡¯ logo. ¡°Seems to be in working order. You two, drive this wagon off and do a switch in the next district. Split it up into three separate wagons before converging, got it? Safehouses B and D.¡± The bodyguards nodded, entering the driver¡¯s seat, much to the confusion of Guang Hwa. ¡°Hey, why are you driving off my wagon? How the hell am I supposed to get back? The Seven Snakes will find out and-¡° ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about that. I brought more friends to take care of that.¡± Two more men walked into the alleyway, obviously hired thugs under the dealer¡¯smand. Guang Hwa¡¯s eyes narrowed, knowing what was happening immediately. ¡°You! You promised me five million rakels!¡± ¡°And? Don¡¯t you know the rules of Raktor? A contract can only be enforced by the strength of both parties. No one is on your side ¨C no one even knows we signed the contract. Even if I break it, no one is going to intervene for you, not even the Seven Snakes. After all, you betrayed them, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Bitch, if I survive, I¡¯ll tell the entire world of your-¡° ¡°That¡¯s if you survive. Enjoy the rest of your life.¡± The dealer smirked, leaving the alleyway as another ten thugs entered the alleyway, surrounding Guang Hwa with a bored expression. ¡°Alright, say yourst words and make your peace.¡± The leader of the hired thugs yawned, the job being just another one in his books. Guang Hwa was clearly panicking, his eyes darting all over the roofs. ¡°Come on, boss! Whatever the fuck you¡¯re nning, do it now!¡± He screamed in fear. ¡°Huh?¡± The leader was confused, hearing the sound of something hurtling towards him from above. His instincts kicked in, causing him to jump out of the way and recover into a fighting posture. ¡°Get all of our men in here NOW!¡± He did not underestimate the enemy, immediately recognising that it was a trap by the Seven Snakes. Out of the dust cloud caused by the crash stood Kyle, cracking and stretching his limbs, warming his body up. ¡°Been a while. Damian, Niko, Adrian. You have eyes on the dealer?¡± [Intercepting now.] ¡°Good. Let¡¯s have some fun.¡± Chapter 56: Sabotage Kyle deftly sidestepped the iing punch before ducking as a sword swung horizontally over his head. With a quick counter swing of his hammer, he fractured the ribs of the first thug before swivelling around him and kicking him in the back, sending the first thug crashing into the other. Three swings and an arrow came in straight at him, forcing Kyle to hop backwards, his speed faster than the average fighter, thanks to his increased DEX. The leader did not look surprised, simply ordering the thugs to corner Kyle even more. ¡°Killing the Seven Snakes leader would be the biggest haul of our lives!¡± Penchant for Violence! A familiar surge of power rushed through Kyle¡¯s body, strengthening his muscles and sharpening his vision. The world around him seemed to slow down even more, with hisbat stats all doubled and improved. The stats reported to him via the statistic screen were not linear in effect, but a 100% increase was always wee. The movements of the thugs were in slow-motion to him, making it easy for Kyle to parry the iing strikes. To the cowering Guang Hwa, who was hiding at a safe distance, Kyle looked as though he was moving extremely fast, with ungodly reaction speeds. The sight burnt the strength of Kyle even more into Guang Hwa. Fuck! I just had to be enved by such a monster! The increase inbat strength and speed caught the leader off-guard. Before he could even reorganise the thugs, already half of his dozen-strong squad was already dead, killed in one hammer blow by Kyle.
[System Message] Killed [Hired Mercenary ], +100 EXP
What? They give 100 EXP? Kyle had expected a low amount of EXP ¨C when he first killed a Red Lion Thug, it was a mere 10 EXP. A sinister grin began to spread on his face as he twirled the hammer by its handle in his right hand, staring right at the leader. ¡°Shit! Hold him off! I¡¯ll finish the job!¡± ¡°Yes, si-¡° Just as the thugs steeled themselves for their eventual demise, it came faster than expected in the form of Kyle¡¯s lunging strike, dancing through the remaining five thugs and killing all of them in a swift motion even before the leader could move three steps. ¡°Damn you!¡± The leader pulled out a blunderbuss from his back, sting it right at Kyle. The projectile defence vambrace Kyle had activated, but it was not enough to block the multiple pellets, with half of them making it through to hit Kyle right in the chest. ¡°I got you now!¡± The leader roared, drawing his sword and stabbing at Kyle. However, Kyle was not hurt at all, the breastte underneath blocking the rest of the shots as he dodged the stab, spinning around before delivering a straight direct kick at the leader¡¯s head, knocking him down onto the ground. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m just a hired-¡° Words no longer came out of the gurgling mouth of the leader; his throat snapped cleanly in half by a single stomp of Kyle¡¯s foot.
[System Message] Killed [Hired Mercenary Leader], +250 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 15 ---> Level 16
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Guang Hwa meekly stepped over the dead bodies of the thugs, afraid to approach Kyle but also equally afraid to try and run away now. Kyle barely gave him a nce as he grabbed his arctech radio while walking to a parked arctech wagon nearby. ¡°Where¡¯s the dealer?¡± [Sorry, sir. We did not manage to catch him, but Adrian is still trailing him right now.] Damian apologized. ¡°No matter. Give me his current location, I¡¯ll handle the rest.¡± In another building in an adjacent district, a room was a cluster of radios and old newspapers, with multiple copies of the map of Raktor and its surrounding areas, each marked with a note of events happening. Two clerks scrambled around as they listened in to all the public radio stations and checked up on thetest news. The door was suddenly flung wide open, with a flustered dealer storming through the room. ¡°Sir, I have news that the military is increasing their purchase of arcite ore and recalling their reservists. I believe-¡° The clerk spoke rapidly before the dealer cut him off, waving his hands frantically. ¡°NOW IS NOT THE FUCKING TIME!¡± The dealer grabbed the clerk by the cor and roared. ¡°There are enemiesing for us!¡± ¡°Wh-what? Why?¡± ¡°The fucking Seven Snakes! You two go and defend with the rest of the guards! What are you giving me that nk look for? I OWN YOU! Now go!¡± The clerks scrambled out of the office, each grabbing a repeater handgun. The handgun was not of the same design as Kyle, but a far worse and less efficient design, a result of reverse-engineering. With all the original copies of Kyle¡¯s handgun destroyed, the reverse engineering was an attempt at duplicating the concept rather than the actual mechanism. The dealer panicked as he scrambled around the room, grabbing a sack and stuffing everything valuable he had hidden around the safe house. Just as he was about to finish up, the sounds of screaming and fighting were already echoing through the building that he was in, causing him to tense up even more. Fuck, fuck, fuck! The dealer cursed, quickly lifting the sack over his shoulder and heading towards the exit. It¡¯s fine; my thirty guards can stall him long enough for me to make my escape. I just have to make it to ¨C The dealer opened the door only to see a smiling Kyle, barely panting as countless guardsy behind him scattered along the ornate hallway, rolling on the ground incapacitated. ¡°Wha-¡° Kyle grabbed him by the mouth, causing him to drop the sack with countless precious jewels and ornamental figures fumbling out on the ground, made of gold. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that you¡¯ve been stealing certain secrets from me.¡± ¡°I only purchase what is put in front of me. It is your own men who betrayed you.¡± ¡°I have already dealt with him. It doesn¡¯t change the fact that you are in possession of the goods.¡± The dealer noticed Kyle was up to something. If Kyle was truly angry, the dealer knew he would have already been dead. ¡°How much do you want?¡± ¡°Ah, signs of intelligence. You sold the construction blueprints to the ardent cretins for a nice five-millions rakels, did you not?¡± So the first deal was a trap too! The dealer was astonished that Kyle was using his own blueprints as a money-making scheme. He already knew what Kyle was going to ask for next. ¡°So you want me to hand over the blueprints, the goods AND pay you back five million rakels?¡± ¡°Oh, I think you are misunderstanding something. I want ny million rakels now. You can keep the blueprints.¡± ¡°What?!¡± The dealer waspletely confused now. Ny million rakels was more than his entire fortune three times over, but the dealer took a second nce at the whimpering guards outside; burly men turned into crying babies. ¡°How the fuck am I supposed to give you that amount of money?¡± ¡°You¡¯re an information dealer, are you not? Do what you do best.¡± Two weekster¡­ The shopping arcade built by the Ardent Cretins was having its grand opening day, with a muchrger turnout and fanfare, thanks to the immense marketing budget the union and Sebastian had thrown in. The shopping arcade was significantlyrger, spanning an entire urban block, unlike the single building size of the Seven Snakes, adding even more to the grandeur and wowing the crowd. Hundreds of businessmen, wealthy middle-ss and lesser nobles turned up, with the shopping arcade this time dedicated to only the upper ss. The Ardent Cretins actively blocked the slum dwellers and poorer folks from approaching the area, making it a limited area. This is the way to make a shopping arcade profitable ¨C why pander to those with no money? Sebastian smirked to himself as he stood by the side, watching the chairman take the stand with an opening speech. ¡°This may not be the first shopping arcade established in Raktor, but it is most certainly the biggest. We promise the best in entertainment and satisfaction to all our patrons here ¨C a dedicated zone!¡± The crowd nodded in agreement; many of the attendees previously shunned the Seven Snakes shopping arcade due to the influx of lowborn workers and poor individuals. Many of them detested the idea of giving out free amenities to the public, though they internally admitted that it had a dramatic increase in footfall. As such, upper society was split on which model to follow. With Sebastian¡¯s new shopping arcade, the ardent supporters of the ss hierarchy finally had something to back. Sebastian had no shortage of investors who wanted to establish a limited shopping arcade tailored to the wealthy. The notion was not unique at all. ¡°And without further ado, we shall now open the new shopping arcade! Enjoy the luxuries we have to your heart¡¯s content!¡± Unlike the surging crowd that tried to force their way in during the Seven Snakes opening day, the crowd here were a lot more mannered, entering in an orderly fashion. Sebastian spotted a familiar face in the throng of people, causing him to smile as he made his way over. ¡°I did not expect you to actually ept the invitation.¡± ¡°A senior must always support his junior, is that not the case?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem particrly surprised at the construction of this shopping arcade.¡± ¡°Of course, the innovations I have implemented are hardly cutting-edge. Even ayman could make his own, given the right understanding. It was only a matter of time.¡± ¡°Well then, as thanks for your warning, I would like to inform you that your innovations are out on the ck market for everyone to see. I could give you the name of the dealer who has been leaking them.¡± Sebastian said with a tinge of glee in his voice as he watched Kyle¡¯s face turn into anger. ¡°Perhaps even now, other businesses in other Sectors are buying the information right now.¡± Kyle looked furious. ¡°Thank you for the tip. I wish you only the best for the rest of your opening day.¡± He stormed off, not bothering to enter the shopping arcade. Most likely, he is going to perform a purge of the Seven Snakes. Sebastian himself did not know who was the one who leaked the information, only that he had bought it from the dealer as the middleman. He gloated to himself, walking into the shopping arcade guarded by two Ardent Cretin bodyguards, watching the attendees visit the countless shops. The first hour was truly a sess, with the temperature control engravings cooling the air within the corridors and shops while extravagant lighting awed the customers. Sebastian had only invited the very best that the South Sector had to offer ¨C beauty products, fashion, and jewellery were all on disy here. ¡°Sir? Sir¡­ You are needed at the main control office.¡± An Ardent Cretin quickly whispered to Sebastian. Sebastian quickly followed the man, entering an office on the top floor with a dozen engineers all arguing with each other. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Sir, it¡¯s hard to exin, but our estimates of the arcite fuel consumption are off by a slight margin.¡± Sebastian narrowed his eyes. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The temperature control engravings, the efficiency is much lower than expected.¡± ¡°How much are we talking about.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not much, but..¡± ¡°Tell me the numbers.¡± ¡°The efficiency is only about 70% at best.¡± ¡°Did we not estimate at least 80% efficiency?¡± ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± At that moment, another engineer burst in through the office door. ¡°Sebastian, sir! The lights are flickering! I think the lighting engravings are overheating!¡± ¡°Turn off a few of them to alleviate the strain. All of you, keep working on improving the design. Surely the twelve of you can beat an old university professor, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ yes, sir.¡± Sebastian wasted no time, heading up to the duplicated light thrower theatre¡¯s projector room, which had more than five employees scrambling inside preparing for the debut show. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ve tested the light thrower?¡± ¡°Yes, sir, we did a test run yesterday with a sample film. It ran smoothly for a good fifteen minutes.¡± ¡°Try it now.¡± ¡°Sir?¡± ¡°Try it now!¡± The employee hastily activated the light thrower, projecting the sample film on the theatre screen. Not after a minute the image began to flicker, and sounds of hissing sparks could be heard inside the light-thrower machine. Sebastian immediately assumed it was a failsafe implemented by Sliver Snakes Productions, quickly opening up a side panel of the light thrower and inspecting it. Already he could see the traces on the engraving slightly warping, resulting in the weird behaviour. ¡°Cancel the light-thrower show.¡± ¡°But sir, that¡¯s the main attraction of the ¨C¡° ¡°CANCEL IT NOW!¡± Sebastian roared, prompting the employees to quickly scamper out of the room, spreading the order to the others. That fucking slimy dealer - charging me for more than twenty million rakels for this sham?! I will find him and kill him! Chapter 57: Arms Industry Despite the sanctions against the Seven Snakes¡¯ shopping arcade, it had been holding up well for more than a month since its inception. Already, it had be a mainstay for local residents both from within the district as well as beyond to visit. The light-thrower shows brought countless visitors from other Sectors to watch the films, while the free bathhouse amodated the poorer people, improving their livelihood. With the growing business of the shopping arcade, more and more jobs and thus employment opportunities began to open up, as businesses and shop owners began to snap up the neighbouring units, trying to entice customers who flocked to the shopping arcade. Squatters even began to shift residences nearby, with the Golden Snake Construction beginning to renovate nearby buildings into mass amodations. While the facilities were slightlycking in that there were only mass toilets and a barebones room; it was more than enough for the perennially homeless people. Of course, the catch was that the squatters had to be employed in a Seven Snakes-rted business, legal or not. Wages were still paid via the constructionpany, but in reality, it was a no-show job, where the squatters would then work in pubs, casinos or brothels. The stronger ones were whisked away secretly to the Culdao Peaks goblin dens, assisting in the modernisation of the caves into a burgeoning industrialised society. Kyle had never ced all his eggs into one basket ¨C there was always the off chance that Raktor might suffer in the future. It was always good to have a backup n. As the bathhouse and shopping arcade became a hotspot for gatherings, it was easier to influence the local poption into believing that the gang was a force for good. Many began to idolise the gang lifestyle, increasing the number of associates to nearly double what they had before. Kyle smiled to himself as he read a few newspapers reporting on the recent string of events that led to the Ardent Cretins cancelling their light thrower debut show. Many other impatientpanies who bought from the ck market information dealer without checking also suffered heavily, having to scale back their expansion ns. These reported events led to an increase in the reputation of the light thrower theatre in the Seven Snakes¡¯ shopping arcade, making it the go-to destination for high quality films. More importantly, the films being shown were much better than the amateur films that other Sectors were showing. Short story arcs lifted right from the Gctic Era that was remodified for the local viewers, such as ¡®Ring of the Lords¡¯. However, Kyle had to heavily modify the story in the event that another person with knowledge of the franchise would pick up on it. He garbled the storyline, but the audience stillpped it up, with already a few well-known citizens being avid theatre-goers. Also, thepanies that tried to barge in on the rental market for light throwers and capturers were stunted by the ¡®bad¡¯ engravings Kyle had designed and leaked on purpose, further boosting the brand name of the Sliver Snakes as one of quality and assurance. ¡°Everyone, I am proud to announce that as of today, we have finally turned a profit on the shopping arcade!¡± Keith announced to the office filled with administrative clerks, who all cheered. ¡°So when are we getting our bonuses?¡± A clerk raised his hands. ¡°Nice try. If we can keep this up for a month, I¡¯ll think about it.¡± Keith chuckled before walking up to Kyle¡¯s desk. ¡°Keith, status report on allpanies and businesses. Briefly.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Our pubs and brothels have increased footfall thanks to our truce with the enforcers. Everyone knows the Seven Snakes is well protected, so the mental barrier that most people had is starting to decline.¡± ¡°Moving on, the Sliver Snakes Productions have reported a monthly profit, mainly due to rental of equipment. As of now, we have been making a loss on the theatre tickets.¡± Kyle sighed, rubbing his forehead. ¡°There¡¯s not much choice in it ¨C if we priced it correctly, only the middle and upper ss would be able to attend. Continue.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Golden Snakespleted the construction of the mass apartments and dormitories a week ago. No faults nor issues have been reported as of now. Utilities such as arcia power lines to each room is still being calcted.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine; we don¡¯t have enough arcite ore to power it. Yet.¡± ¡°We had three prospective clients, one of which is Baron Cain.¡± ¡°Baron Cain?!¡± Kyle was astonished to hear that the noble in charge of the South Sector was directly requesting the constructionpany¡¯s services. ¡°What¡¯s the contract for?¡± ¡°Yes, sir, quoting directly from the letter sent ¨C ¡®A request for a quote regarding the construction of a metallurgy factory on the outskirts of Raktor, that will mainly produce processed metal ingots. Specifically, steel ingots.¡¯ It also stressed that the factory bepleted swiftly, should the contract be epted.¡± Kyle raised his eyebrows even higher, surprised. ¡°Give the letter to me. I¡¯ll handle it.¡± Something isn¡¯t right. Why would the greedy Baron want a metallurgy factory when most constructionpanies do not rely on it? Unless¡­ Damian entered the office, walking right up to Kyle¡¯s desk and saluting. ¡°Sir, the ck market dealer has skipped out of town. The safehouses seemed to have been burnt down. I¡¯ve heard rumours of multiple gangs and thugs after his life.¡± ¡°Of course ¨C he sold the degraded engravings that break apart after a certain amount of time used. I¡¯m sure they will find the right people to fix it, but it is still going to take time and effort.¡± Kyle nodded. ¡°Did you find anything else?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I found scribblings on an undamaged desk. It seems to be the notes of a clerk working right under the information dealer.¡± Damian handed over a leatherbound notebook filled with scribbles that were barely legible. Kyle quickly read the contents. Hmm, seems like he was keeping track of all the information so he could make it out on his own when he wanted to. Commendable. The journal was surprisingly detailed and clear in terms of the date and timing of urrences, stringing a pattern together. Kyle flipped to the pages that covered thest two weeks, immediately noticing a pattern. ¡°Keith, what has the military of Count Leon been doing?¡± ¡°Hmm? I recently heard they increased their bulk orders of arcite ore ¨C apart from that; I don¡¯t know. Oh! There is a military exercise that is going to be held here just nearby, but it¡¯s an annual one, so not too surprising.¡± ¡°When is that?¡± ¡°Hmm, two months from now. Why? What did you find in the journal?¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply, instead asking Keith and Damian to bring all the old newspapers collected over the past two weeks, corroborating the journal with the events reported in the newspaper. Stockpiling of energy sources, the concentration of military personnel, activation of reservist forces¡­and now the Baron wants to build a factory? ¡°Did the Baron state when he wanted it done?¡± ¡°No, but he did say he needed it swiftly¡­¡± Kyle now knew exactly what was happening. How could a Crime Lord of the Melsura Star Sector not infer from the events right in front of his eyes? ¡°Keith, gather everyone of importance here. Our previous n of expansion has to shift dramatically.¡± Baron Cain stepped out of his wagon, escorted by five bodyguards, as he internally marvelled at the shopping arcade. He had not attended the opening day itself and was seeing it for the first time. Impressive. He could now see why all the lesser nobles andndowners were so riled up by this new trend. ¡°Ah, Baron Cain. Please to make your acquaintance! I am Guang Hwa, President of the Golden Snake Constru-¡° ¡°Shut up and bring me to someone who actually matters.¡± Guang Hwa was noticeably irritated, but he still put on a fake smile and led the Baron into a specialised VIP room, a well-decorated room for meetings, with enough posh and luxury to make the Baron feel as though he was in another noble¡¯s dwelling. Kyle was already waiting for him, standing up and bowing to him. ¡°Thank you foring, Baron Cain. The Golden Snake Construction is honoured to have you as a potential customer.¡± ¡°Hmph. As you should.¡± Cain sat down opposite him in a regal chair. ¡°Let¡¯s get to the point. I want a quote on how much the steel factory would cost.¡± ¡°Of course. I can easily provide the numbers, but I believe we can offer something of additional benefit that may interest you.¡± ¡°What benefits can you give? A steel factory is a steel factory.¡± ¡°I am referring to other events that should not fall onto certain prying ears.¡± Kyle nced at the five bodyguards surrounding them and Guang Hwa. Baron Cain paused for a moment. ¡°Leave us.¡± He motioned to his bodyguards, with the five and Guang Hwaplying. As soon as they left the room, Cain¡¯s face turned extremely sour. ¡°How the hell do you know? Espionage against nobility can be considered a crime.¡± Kyle whipped out the journal he had. ¡°Taken from a ck market dealer¡¯s clerk. Make of that what you will. I only inferred the gist of things; I am not clear on the details.¡± ¡°So what? You¡¯re just a gang ¨C I doubt you have anyt-¡° Baron Cain caught himself before he continued, his eyes narrowing as he realised what Kyle was hinting at. ¡°You¡¯re insane.¡± Kyle smiled. ¡°How about you hear me out before you dismiss it? If you have heard everything I had to say and still want the base quote, I won¡¯t press the matter.¡± Baron Cain hesitated for a moment before nodding, prompting Kyle to continue. ¡°I can roughly gather from your countenance that your attempt to sell a new technology regarding firearms to the military has failed spectacrly. A specific handgun, if I recall correctly.¡± Kyle stood up and began to slowly pace the room. Only because you ced your failsafe inside. ¡°That¡¯s a wild guess ¨C you don¡¯t know if I tried.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true, but I also understand that the nobility has arge burden when attempting any military manoeuvres. Your contribution to the military is directly tied to prestige. Anyone who shirks this obligation may and has been stripped of their titles, if any. But if your contribution remains among the top, the Emperor will recognise you and award you a higher title or more concessions. That was how Count Leon made his initial rise fifteen years ago.¡± ¡°For an amnesiac, you somehow know how upper society works very well.¡± ¡°Will having a simple steel factory be enough? I¡¯m sure other nobles out there have much better resources and opportunities to contribute. Are you satisfied with your current standing?¡± ¡°Speak directly and stop beating around the bush! What exactly are you proposing?¡± ¡°You already know what I am proposing. Give me half of the funds and the license to expand the steel factory into a weapons factory as well. I¡¯ll cover the rest. But I must retain overall control of the factory.¡± Baron Cain already expected this. ¡°You are asking me to certify a criminal organisation to have the legal license to produce guns? Are you mad?¡± ¡°Why not? Extraordinary measures call for extraordinary times. Also, thepany created to run it will be very legal. One of the cleanest. As long as you give just your word, you will shoot through the ranks, not even needing to lift a single finger.¡± Cain was a greedy person, Kyle¡¯s speech having already appealed to him directly. He could already envision the countless heaps of merits and concessions he would receive once the Yual Dominion won the war. He was also confident that Kyle had the technology and methods to elevate his contributions. After all, the war with the Ilysian Punks had clearly shown Kyle¡¯s capabilities. ¡°What¡¯s in it for you? You won¡¯t receive any awards or prestige from doing this.¡± ¡°Baron Cain, I¡¯ve said this before. I am a businessman, first and foremost, who had the unfortunate luck of dealing in certain ventures that may or may not be consider against certain arbitary rules set by arbitary people. Of course, I will do everything I can toe out strong in such an exciting time. I simply just want to improve my position in society, as you do. Shall we work together?¡± Baron Cain was irked by theparison, but he internally agreed with Kyle. Both of them seek to climb the socialdder ¨C everyone wants to move to the next rung. Even Count Leon was no different: was that not why the war was started? Originally, the Baron felt that the war would be a burden on him. However, with the possibility of a new venture with Kyle, he was starting to see the war as a boon instead. ¡°Let me consider it and get back to you.¡± ¡°I understand. However, please understand we may not be able to meet the deadline the longer it is dyed. Our entire constructionpany will work on it.¡± Kyle bowed as Baron Cain stood up. ¡°Not a word of this is to spread to anyone else. Do you understand? Especially of the war.¡± ¡°Yes, Baron Cain.¡± As Cain left the premises with his five bodyguards, Kyle already could not help smiling to himself back in his office. ¡°Keith, did you find any more information on when the diplomatic mission from Versia ising in?¡± ¡°Yes, sir, but only fragments. They are arriving in Raktor to negotiatepensation with Count Leon in approximately a week or so. The exact day of arrival is hard to pinpoint.¡± ¡°Does not matter. Keep an eye out for their arrival.¡± ¡°Yes, sir, but why are you looking for the Versia diplomats? Are you afraid that they might take revenge for what we did to the Ilysian Punks?¡± ¡°No, Keith. I have a business proposal for them. One that will definitely pique their interest.¡± Chapter 58: Double Agent The procession was public as the Versia diplomatic team arrived via a wagon convoy, protected by more than three dozen guards. The diplomats stared in curiosity as a dozen light capturers had their beady ck lenses aimed at them. The news of the lightcapturer invention was not particrly new in Versia, where a few entrepreneurpanies had already tried to create their own knockoffs. However, it was still a sight to see it spread through society so quickly. Newspanies were capitalising on the new medium of information rapidly, its changes echoing through the city of Raktor. ¡°Ah, Minister Dekar. It is good to see you again.¡± Count Leon was already in position to receive them at the grand steps to the central office that handled all affairs in the county. He bowed to a man wearing a sharp, tight uniform adorned with tens of medals, signifying his rank and position in the government of Versia. ¡°It is good to see you again as well, Count Leon.¡± Minister Dekar smiled as he stretched out his hand, shaking Count Leon¡¯s hand in a sign of goodwill. Both of them had wide smiles on their faces, as did the rest of the apanying diplomatic group and the four barons who stood behind Count Leon. The reporters quickly recorded the entire event, speaking rapidly into their arctech recording devices ¨C their voices to be released alongside the recorded lightcapturer films. The dignitaries wasted no time, immediately following Count Leon into the meeting room, where two long tables wereid out facing each other, with chairs already pre-designated for each member of the diplomatic team. The opposing parties chatted a bit with each other, exchanging small talk as they waited for the meeting to begin. Many of them knew each other from both sides, having met before in their former jobs or through diplomatic missions both before and after the previous war. ¡°Everyone, we shall begin now.¡± Count Leon announced, taking his seat right in the centre of the Yual Dominion¡¯s table. As soon as the meeting began proper, however, the air immediately became tense, with the two teams clearly knowing what this was all about. ¡°So, to rify the purpose of this meeting: your citizens have been caught redhanded smuggling weapons into Versia from Raktor, and ¨C¡° ¡°Ex-citizens, need I remind you.¡± Minister Dekar interrupted. ¡°General Javel had been previously stripped of his citizenship.¡± ¡°-And the Versia military has been directlyplicit in this entire affair.¡± ¡°How strange. This sounds like a simple case: your nation can¡¯t keep its criminals under control. I would also like to officially state that the Versia military has not received any of these aforementioned weapons, none whatsoever.¡± ¡°Criminals which stem from your nation and are directly sabotaging Raktor to empower Versia. I have direct evidence that your military is actively assisting in the transfer of these smuggled goods.¡± Count Leon motioned with his hand, prompting a servant to bring forward a stack of papers, cing them in front of the diplomatic team¡¯s members. ¡°Each of these papers represents a formal license to transport weapons around the country of Versia, signed off directly by an official of the government.¡± ¡°We have already dealt with the corrupted official, but the fact remains that the guns have never made their way into the formal military. It is purely a criminal transaction, from one ck market to another. We did not actively n for nor support such activities ¨C our own enforcers are performing an investigation right no-¡° ¡°I don¡¯t care about what your enforcers are doing!¡± Count Leon snarled, raising the tension even higher. ¡°The simple fact as I see it is this: Your people, citizen or not, have been smuggling guns out of our military facilities INTO your country!¡± ¡°I find that usation ungrounded and misleading - the government of Versia do not im to have jurisdiction nor control on every single ¡®ex-citizen¡¯ that has been emunicated. Such a statement would lead me to also use your ex-countrymen of establishing human trafficking rings in my own country as well!¡± Minister Dekar shot back. ¡°On top of that, your military shows clear signs of mobilisation, something that is clearly aimed at Versia!¡± ¡°Is my military not allowed to perform military exercises within our sovereign territory?¡± The barons and the Versia diplomatic team remained silent as the argument was solely waged between the Minister and the Count. Both sides were unwilling to give up ground, but the Minister knew deep down that he had already lost the moral ground. It was an undeniable fact that the guns had indeed been smuggled into Versia. He tried his hardest to deflect or counter with other examples, but Count Leon stayed on task. ¡°Here is my ultimatum: Your country will catch all criminals involved in the smuggling and distribution of Yual Dominion¡¯s technology, as well as pay back reparations of an equivalent sum. The hijacking of our military facilities has negatively impacted our economy, resulting in losses of nearly two-hundred and fifty million rakels in total.¡± ¡°Ridiculous! You want us to be your hunting dogs andpensate you as well?! I would like to remind you that the original reason for the smuggling to ur was because you, too, have potential corruption brewing in your own military. How is it possible for a small gang to smuggle that many guns?¡± The negotiations went back and forth before the meeting concluded indecisively, adjourning for a lunch break. Count Leon signalled towards Minister Dekar, prompting Dekar to follow him into a side room, which was a simple resting area with amenities. Closing the door behind him, Count Leon smiled as he shook hands with Dekar again, with Dekar being slightly confused. ¡°Ah, I guess your predecessor did not inform you of what is going to happen.¡± Count Leon smirked as he poured himself a ss of wine, sipping on it carefully. ¡°Did you never wonder how your predecessor was able to buy such a grand mansion despite the paltry government sry your ¡®democratic¡¯ system pays you?¡± Dekar squinted his eyes inprehension. ¡°You¡¯re saying he epted bribes. From you.¡± ¡°Minister Dekar, I¡¯m sure you are a proud Versia citizen who believes in the democratic system. But be honest with yourself. How hard have you been working to support the people of Versia, with nothing but a pittance of a sry to show for it? Despite being a representative of an entire nation. The business owners are all earning far more than you! Do you not think it is unfair?¡± ¡°I will not be so easily swaye-¡° ¡°Ah, listen to my offer first. I will give you fifty million rakels as well show clear signs of demobilisation across the country. You get to go back home and im that you are a herald of peace, solving the crisis. I will also give you custody of General Javel and every other Ilysian Punk that is rotting in jail, letting you show off to the people that you have worked hard to ensure that your people remain free. What a good story, is it not? Your political career will be legendary! Or perhaps you would prefer the alternative of war?¡± The meeting soon resumed after the lunch break, with the diplomatic team taking their seats once again. Many of them expected the same argument to be continued between Count Leon and Minister Dekar, but surprisingly, there was little opposition raised by the Minister anymore. ¡°Fine, we shall pay thepensation of two hundred and fifty million rakels. But in return, you must cease the mobilisation of Yual Dominion forces at our border! Also, you must release all Versia citizens currently in custody back to us.¡± Minister Dekar put on a strong fa?ade. ¡°A finepromise. Under the authority bestowed upon me by the Emperor, I ept the deal on behalf of the Yual Dominion. Let us hash out the finer details of transfers now.¡± The meeting took another three days as the members of the diplomatic team scrambled to hash out the uses in the deal, covering every possible legal loophole in the agreement. The Yual Dominion tried to sneak a few terms into the agreement, being immediately caught by the diplomatic teams who argued against the unfair terms. As the procedure was going on, Minister Dekar was resting in his room when a diplomat knocked on his door. ¡°Come in.¡± ¡°Sir, apologies for disturbing you.¡± ¡°It is of no matter. What is it? Has the Count tried to sneak in a separate use yet again?¡± ¡°No sir, the Yual Dominion has stopped trying to do so for now. I received word that a certain individual would like to meet you, though he is only willing to meet you outside Raktor.¡± ¡°Outside Raktor? Preposterous! Sounds like a trap to simply assassinate me!¡± ¡°He says we can bring as many people as we want. Also, he sent us this. We have checked it to ensure it¡¯s not a bomb nor an assassination device.¡± The diplomat handed over a metallic case embellished with an ornamental design that seemed oriental. This¡­ this is! Minister Dekar¡¯s eyes widened in shock. Everyone had heard about the first repeater handgun sold in an auction at the Central Sector of Raktor. Even his agents had reported on the design of the handgun. Dekar opened the case to reveal a replica of the Oriental Bloom that Baron Cain owned himself, though it was not exactly the same. ¡°My god! He¡¯s the creator?!¡± ¡°In the note provided with this case, he ims he is not the creator but someone who has managed to decipher the inner workings behind the handguns. He wants to discuss a potential investment venture into Versia.¡± Minister Dekar was more than happy to hear this. The reason why Versia was always on the back foot was due to its perceived weaker military strength and a smaller economy. He would never admit it publicly, but the government was definitelyplicit in the smuggling of guns from Raktor in order to alleviate the imbnce in military strength. Now that he had a chance to meet with an arctech designer able to level the ying field, he was not going to let up that easily. ¡°Where is the meeting point?¡± ¡°Around the Culdao Peaks area. I suggest we use a body double to make the Yual Dominion believe that we are returning to Versia while another wagon takes you to the secret meeting point.¡± The n was put into ce immediately, with Minister Dekar and a team of a dozen Versia Guards disguised as a merchant escort moving out from Raktor towards the Culdao Peaks. They blended in easily into the hordes of merchants in the now expanded Culdao Peaks Town, with the marketce increasing in size and the wealth of the town increasing. More and more people were migrating into the town in search of fame and fortune, while other merchants began to invest in supporting industries to facilitate the travellers and other traders who bought and sold the Euria Seeds. A lone hooded man was waiting for them in an alleyway, immediately turning and walking into the forest while Dekar and the guards followed. Where is he taking us? I¡¯ve heard rumours of domesticated goblins, but surely he does not intend to use the hostility of the goblins against us? The Versia Guards were all well armoured under their normal clothes,plete with an armour set as well as an arctech pistol. Dekar gingerly stepped through the dense foliage, though there was a clear rough path created by the continuous movement of workers carrying Euria Seeds. Suddenly, five goblins appeared on the treeline, leaping past the guards overhead, who all reacted instantly and held their pistols at the ready. ¡°Hold your fire ¨C they are making sure you weren¡¯t followed.¡± The lone hooded man turned around, with fifteen goblins lining up behind him. ¡°Wha- how did you domesticate the goblins?¡± Dekar couldn¡¯t help asking. Even in his homnd, there were many failed attempts at restraining the goblins, causing losses and continuous rebellions. One of the goblins clearly took offence at the insult and was about to retort when the hooded man raised his hand. ¡°You do not need to know how I did it: only if I can deliver. The ying field between both militaries is hriously skewed, and both you and I know Versia needs a helping hand.¡± ¡°So you want us to buy weapons from your operation here in the Culdao Peaks¡­?¡± ¡°Of course. I would like to aid in the upgrading of the Versia military to counter Raktor aggression.¡± Dekar grew slightly wary. He must have an ulterior motive. ¡°Why have you not done this for the Yual Dominion? Surely they would pay you a higher price.¡± ¡°Their motivations are not aligned with me. I am a firm believer in Versia sovereignty. The governing principles of the Yual Dominion are far too backward for my liking.¡± What rubbish. He is obviously in it for the money, but he is right. This is something the Versia Military needs dearly. Instead of revealing his cynicism, Dekar had a wide grin on his face. ¡°Ahah, a fellow supporter of democracy! Of course, we wee your help! However, the factory must be in Versia for national security issues, though I would prefer that these goblins do not follow you.¡± Dekar nced again at the fifteen goblins, many of whom snarled back at him. If he creates the factory in Versia, I will be able to deploy better spies to steal the design. It seems that these goblins are not easy to be bribed. Maybe even better - I can capture him myself. I have to hook him in first. ¡°That is only possible if your government gives me the proper licenses to operate within Versia itself.¡± ¡°Of course, of course, we can!¡± Dekar grinned widely. ¡°In fact, as a representative of the state, I myself could issue the license without needing the approval of anyone else!¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s a deal. We¡¯ll work out the finer details at ater correspondence.¡± ¡°Indeed. I look forward to a fruitful rtionship, Mr¡­?¡± ¡°Kris. Kris Greyborn.¡± Chapter 59: Refocus Two dayster¡­ The Seven Snakes were in aplete frenzy as Kyle began to ramp up the production. Keith was over the moon with the Baron¡¯s eptance of the steel and weapons factory, but was slightly confused with the next request of Kyle. ¡°Wait, you want me to find people to look exactly like you?¡± ¡°It is normal for every person to have a body double. As long as they look about sixty to seventy percent alike, we can make up for the rest using makeup and disguises.¡± ¡°What are you nning this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to Versia.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Keith eximed. Kyle had already made up his mind from the moment he met Minister Dekar. It was one thing to sell weapons from the Culdao Peaks, but onsite manufacturing in Versia itself would be harder to intercept. It would be best if he headed over himself to handle the establishment of a new factory. To reduce suspicion from the local nobility and other gangs of his potential months-long disappearance, he needed to find a doppelganger that could potentially act as him and throw off any potential observers watching him. He had already risked a lot heading over to the Culdao Peaks to negotiate with the minister. ¡°So you just want me to grab any random person off the streets and just choose those who are the closest?¡± ¡°Yes, try to find six if possible.¡± Kyle nodded his head, causing Keith to sigh and shake his head, wondering what Kyle was up to now. There was of course, another reason as to why Kyle wanted to go to Versia personally ¨C the existence of the Gctic Era technology disyed through the Ilysian Punks as well as through the auction. If Kyle wanted any answers regarding the world and how he got here, he needed to go over. With the weapons contract set with Minister Dekar, now seemed like a good time to clear all of it in a single trip. ¡°You won¡¯t be going alone, right? If you die in Versia¡­¡± Keith couldn¡¯t bear to think of what would happen if Kyle died. He recalled how just a few months ago, they were a small little gang of twenty to thirty members. Now, they numbered close to three hundred, thanks to the recruiting efforts of the free soup kitchen, public cleanup events and bathhouse. Keith would not dare to im that the Seven Snakes werepletely united as a capable force, but it was a far cry from the paltrymand of Ulon. If Kyle were to die, this entire pyramid would most likelye falling apart. Keith wasn¡¯t as strong as Kyle to be able to hold the entire gang through charisma and strength. No one else in the Seven Snakes was, all putting their respect on Kyle rather than each other. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it. I have a guide in mind.¡± ¡°Okay, I will try to find the body doubles as soon as possible.¡± Keith saluted. Just as he was about to leave Kyle¡¯s office, Niko barged in, panting wildly as he held a folder of documents in his right arm. ¡°Sir¡­.¡± Niko panted, an exhausted grin on his face. ¡°We got it! We got the license!¡± Kyle too, had a wide smile on his face, immediately standing up and grabbing the licenses from Niko¡¯s hand, checking them. ¡°Call everyone into the office for a celebration. Now.¡± Kyle ordered Keith, who nodded immediately. It took half an hour for all the vipers, thepany heads, Gordon, Eric and Damian, to pause their current tasks and return, wondering what was so urgent for Kyle to call all of them back in. Only Keith and Niko had an excited expressions on their faces, while the rest were utterly confused. ¡°You all have followed me for months, some even following me for nearly half a year now.¡± Kyle began his speech. ¡°Since I took leadership in the Seven Snakes, we have grown exponentially, our reputation and name soaring through the South Sector. Even the gangs in the other Sectors talk about us and our exploits on a regr basis.¡± ¡°Today, I would like to announce that as of this day, for the first time in Yual Dominion¡¯s history, an organisation like ours has an official license to manufacture weapons for the military!¡± Kyle proudly showed off the license to them, causing Damian to exim in shock. Such a license represented one of the top positions in society ¨C not any ragtag group could obtain it simply just by asking. Every holder of the license had to prove their ability to deliver and would make an obscene amount of money from every military contract. Even Monica, Adrian and Eric were at a loss for words. Just four months ago, they were simply a ragtag crew smuggling moonshine to businesses that continuously tried to undercut them. Yet now, they stood as one of the top members of the South Sector, respected by everyone. Eric nearly shed a tear when he recalled how far he hade. A disgraced university professor affected by the prohibition by the Sanctum of Yual ¨C now a leader in alcohol distribution and production. His recipes are the backbone of the entire operation, ensuring a consistent stream of dirty money into the Seven Snakes and his own pockets. Gordon, too was grinning to himself as he patted Reese on the back. He had just been a lowly arctech designer with no future ¨C it would have taken him ten years alone even to have a shot at being the factory manager, but he now held authority as well as prestige. Sasha was not too concerned with the license, but her own journey under the direct tutge of Kyle had made her into a force to be reckoned with. No longer was she known as a weak mute ve that could be easily bullied even by other ves. Instead, she reigned at the top next to Kyle, being the second strongest in the Seven Snakes. Damian was the most sentimental of them all. He was there from the very beginning, having seen the second personality of Kyle take over Alvin. Previously, he had an issue with the ¡®new¡¯ personality taking over Alvin¡¯s body, but as he watched the meteoric rise of the Seven Snakes of the months, he was not sure if he even wanted Alvin back at all. Hell, if Alvin¡¯s main personality ever resurfaced, Damian would be the first one to beat it out of him and try to get back Kyle as much as possible. Seniors, Mentors. The Seven Snakes have returned to their rightful position. Damian sniffled slightly as he rubbed his nose, sentimental. Guang Hwa, on the other hand, was unfazed by all the obvious emotional signs that everyone else was showing. I got fucking enved by Kyle, why would I be happy he¡¯s getting stronger?! Fuck! ¡°We have suffered setbacks and obstacles, but each day, it is us that have prevailed, that has ovee every enemy that has stood in our way. I could not have done it without you, and I truly cherish all of you.¡± Kyle spoke gently with sincerity. Suddenly, his face grew grim. ¡°However, whates next will be the toughest period of our growth. If we make it past this, we will be unrivalled in the South Sector for years toe.¡± ¡°The war between Versia and the Yual Dominion is inevitable ¨C the resolution signed between the two of them is but a farce. Count Leon still wants hisnd, war or not. In two months¡¯ time or more, the Yual Dominion¡¯s military will be congregated for an exercise on the outskirts of Raktor, near the border of Versia. As such, I will ensure that the Seven Snakes is in the right position to capitalise on this situation.¡± ¡°Damian, you will speed up recruiting. Establish a secondyer below the vipers, known as cobras, to reward associates who have stuck with us since the beginning. Have the best of them be crew leaders and let them operate independently to reduce overhead administration. We need all the manpower we can get.¡± ¡°Keith, prepare the logistics needed to build the weapons and steel factory requested by the Baron. This is the first external project that the Golden Snakes Construction Company is undertaking ¨C everything needs to go perfectly. Hire prospectors to find iron ore deposits in the nearby areas, as well as the Culdao Peaks. Establishing a transportation line between the Culdao Peaks town and the new factory will ease the development and production a lot more. We¡¯ll need to speed up development of the underground tunnel¡± ¡°Eric, we need to ramp up the production of alcohol and begin storing them. Once the war kicks in, alcohol is going to be highly valued. Every excess should be ounted for and stored in separate warehouses for future use.¡± ¡°Monica, continue to ensure that our transportationwork is working as intended. Feel free to use the funds avable to you to expand the fleet and our reach. Start providing regr transportation route services to underserved districts to increase our influence.¡± ¡°Adrian, start contacting ck market dealers and keep up to date on any information they might have. We need to know about any event that happens as soon as it happens, no questions asked. Continue to keep observing the movements of the Wretches, Red Lions and especially the Ardent Cretins. Track all their high-profile members and make sure we know exactly where they are every time.¡± ¡°Niko, you¡¯re still in charge of security now. Ensure all our deliveries are on time. If a hijacking of our wagon urs, make sure to report it to me immediately. Continue to protect our pubs, casinos and brothels ¨C no-name thug gangs may begin to eye us as easy targets as soon we announce our project and shift manpower to build the weapons factory.¡± ¡°Gordon, your expertise in factory design as well as automation improvement, will be needed for the uing steel and weapons factory. Check the documents that I will give to youter for details on what I intend for the factory to do. Therger of a scale that we achieve, the more our influence and reputation will increase.¡± ¡°Speaking of reputation ¨C Reese, you will be in charge of marketing. We want to promote a positive brand image, so work with Guang Hwa on building a public reputation for ourpanies, including the uing factory. We have to frame the purpose of the factory correctly, otherwise, there will be bacsh from the pacifists within the country.¡± Kyle continued to give a few more minor orders before concluding the meeting. ¡°When I took over leadership, I only had one goal in mind ¨C to grow the Seven Snakes into a power that cannot be contested.¡± ¡°Yes, not even the Ardent Cretins will be able to pin us down any longer!¡± Damian nodded. ¡°Forget about the Ardent Cretins ¨C they are insignificant to the bigger n. Are you truly satisfied with having just less than a quarter of a small city under your control?¡± The rest was shocked at what Kyle had just mentioned. They could barely envision themselves reigning at the top of Ratkor. Sure, Damian might have daydreamed about it at some point in his life, but to actually fix it as a goal? The word ¡®impossible¡¯ appeared in their minds, but yet, for some reason, Kyle seemed to defy that impossibility. ¡°Not even the entirety of Raktor will be enough for me!¡± Kyle dered. ¡°The entire Yual Dominion shall fall under my whims alone. And when I¡¯m done with them, not even the other countries nor those hiding beyond the Great Waves can escape my grip!¡± The ambition of Kyle sparked a fire in their hearts, daring them to aim as high as they could. Every notion of ¡®obstacles¡¯ or ¡®setbacks¡¯ were thrown out of their minds, cing their faith in Kyle. ¡°And if you think that is enough for us, that we should be content with having the entire respect us, you are wrong. For even the stars themselves will bow before us!¡± Chapter 60: Inkling Deep underground in an unknown location of Versia¡­ The sound of panting and grunts filled the wide cavern, with the shes of metal striking metal glinting through the darkness, illuminating the shadows thrown by the arctechmps situated all over the ceiling. A dozen rock spiders circled and scaled the walls, their red beady gem-like eyes glinting at the man who was being assaulted now by three of their brethren. The man heaved as he swung a sword in each hand, duel-wielding and spinning while he parried each of their strikes. The man did not have enough hands to parry, with one spider breaking through andunching a stabbing attack with two of its pointed legs. His eyes glowed lightning blue, with a surge of lightning arcing like a power line down his skin, elerating his motions to levels impossible. Within a split second, he had urately stabbed his sword into the red beady eyes of each of the three spiders.
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +500 EXP
The rock spiders copsed with a shriek, their bodies going limp as the man kicked them to the side, his legs bloodied and stained with slimy, dried dirt hardened between his joints. He wiped the sweat off his grimy forehead, grinning to himself as he watched three of the other dozen spiders begin to saunter down towards him, taking the ce of their fallen brethren.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial Failed] You did not manage to kill a dozen spiders within the aforementioned time limit of three minutes The trial has been reset
The man did not pay any attention to the holographic message in front of him, simply swiping them away as he prepared himself for the new round of enemies. The level of skill that he disyed was more than enough to clear the trial with ease, yet for some reason, the man was still stuck here, slowing himself down on purpose. ¡°Sir Soren, your breakfast is ready.¡± A voice called out from the edge of the cavern, showing a servant dressed like an explorer. In front of him were two metal tins filled with what looked like baked beans and a b of kaya butter on white bread. ¡°Almost finished!¡± The man spoke through his gritted teeth as he blocked a stab from the spider, parrying it with his sword as he supercharged it with lightning, cutting the spider¡¯s leg off but not finishing it. ¡°I forfeit the trial!¡±
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial Forfeited] Failure is the mother of sess You may enter the trial again after three hours
He let out a sigh as the spiders began to back off, retreating back into their holes in the cavern walls. One of them even scampered past the servant,pletely avoiding him as it burrowed deep into the wall. ¡°That was a good exercise. If I stay here for three months, I¡¯ll catch up to my siblings in no time!¡± ¡°Sir Soren, need I remind you that the amount of EXP that you are receiving from these spiders will exponentially drop off over time? This is not an efficient method for long-time levelling. You need to-¡° ¡°Yes, yes, I know. Why are you nagging exactly in the same way as Mother? I¡¯ve been changing dungeons, haven¡¯t I?¡± Soren scratched his chin as he strutted over, plopping down onto the ground in a crude manner and grabbing the metal tin off the floor along with the kaya bread. ¡°Mmm, tastes like home. I¡¯m sure d you came along with me.¡± ¡°I did not have a choice, sir. You used your points to ¨C ¡° ¡°-to request your assistance instead of asking for a weapon or a specific posting. Yes, Rayner. I¡¯ve heard the story before: I was there, remember?¡± ¡°And you will do well to remember that I will not help you for the next phase too.¡± ¡°But that can change as well, can it not?¡± Soren grinned, causing Rayner to sigh in exasperation. They soon finished their breakfast, Soren licking the leftover kaya off his thumb as he picked up his dual swords again. ¡°Well then, Round 3 it is!¡± ¡°Sir, the trial will not reset for another two hours. We should find another ce first.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right; we can easily clear up some of the mobs nearby.¡± Soren and Rayner packed up their equipment, with Rayner hefting the backpack over while Soren whistled as they trekked down through a derelict hallway. The walls were made of brick, covered in moss and algae which thrived in the damp, moist areas illuminated by the arctechnterns eternally turned on along the hallways. Countless skeletonsy along the floor through which they gingerly stepped over. A good majority of them were monster skeletons, but a few were distinctively human. ¡°Remnants from the Heavenly War, it seems.¡± ¡°Pah, useless old farts. If it weren¡¯t for their ipetence, we would be masters of this world already.¡± Soren scoffed. ¡°If I was alive back then, I would have easily turned the tide just with a single de.¡± ¡°It is good to have such confidence, but perhaps you should work on your foundation first.¡± Rayner insinuated. Soren scowled at Rayner, ignoring him and continuing to walk down the hallway towards a location they had previously marked. The number of skeletons left behind began to decrease sharply as they approached the hallway, causing Rayner to stop Soren for a moment. ¡°Be careful ¨C even the elders are wary of entering such a ce.¡± ¡°Then all the more for the great Soren to show them who¡¯s better! I did not choose you to act like Mother, you know!¡± Soren berated Rayner, shrugging off Rayner¡¯s hand and storming off further into the hallway. They soon reached arge throne-like room, except it was filled to the brim with rubble save for the centre pathway that was adorned with a stained red carpet, nearly ckened from the soot and dust umting over who knows how long. On the throne sat a rock golem nearly the size of a small hill. It had four arms along with three crystal eyes embedded into each of its three heads. The room shuddered as the rock golem began to shift slightly, the crystal eyes filling up with life as they shone emerald. The rubble around Soren began to form into humanoid shapes, albeit some with additional limbs and many featuring a tail. All of them were made of rocks, consolidating around a single core well protected by variousyers of metal. ¡°Well then. Good luck, sir. I will see you for lunch.¡± ¡°Thanks, Rayner. Alright, bring it on then!¡± Soren grinned as he brandished his two swords.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial of the Emperor] A fallen race seeks to take revenge on those who trespass Clear Conditions: Defeat the Emperor
Kyle surveyed the new potential site for the steel factory to be built on the outskirts of Raktor. Gordon and Reese were apanying him, along with the rest of the Golden Snake Construction Company, who were marking the field. ¡°Where is the closest iron ore deposit?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Too far from here, but this is the only location that Count Leon has authorised for the factory.¡± Gordon shook his head in dejection. Despite the Baron¡¯s high rank andnded title, his authority only extended the range of the South Sector up to the defensive walls of Raktor. The county was ultimately owned by Count Leon, who had the final say in where the factory was ced. The military buildup and imminent war was not a secret to those in the know and within the circle of rtions with the nobility. Nearly every major gang knew about it ¨C Kyle was even sure that the Red Lions knew about it. While the general popce was still in the dark, believing that the tensions between Yual and Versia had been solved by the reparations resolution signed recently, thendowners and businessmen were scrambling for the primend to build up infrastructure to support the uing conflict. As such, Kyle¡¯s proposed steel and weapons factory was not the only onepeting for resources. Count Leon had his own gaggle of businessmen that supported his every move, forming a sort of corrupt conglomerate that had the best locations and adjacencies to iron mine deposits as well as coking coal for steel manufacturing. Instead, Kyle got a in, arid plot ofnd,pletely filled with grass and weeds with nothing to show for it. Behind him was the city of Raktor, while in front of him was the Culdao Peaks, which had no proven iron mine deposits at all. Gordon traced on the map the distance to the closest iron mine deposit. ¡°The nearest one is already owned by anotherpany ¨C we will definitely need to pay them an additional fee in order to get them to supply us with the necessary materials. Furthermore, the transportation would take more than four hours one way via wagon.¡± In the Gctic Era, I may have sumbed to the economies of scale and bought the raw materialsmercially from established suppliers¡­ Kyle pondered for a moment before deciding not to go ahead with buying from another supplier. He believed that he could do it better and potentially create a vertical integration system which would lower the costpletely and beat every otherpetitor in terms of scale. However, this was not so easy to be done ¨C he needed to first find a nearby iron ore deposit that was unimed. The only thing he could think of was the abandoned mines that were now goblin dens in the Culdao Peaks. He had long been digging a tunnel from there to Raktor. It was nearlyplete, with only a few weeks left of work to do. The tunnelworks left behind helped ease the amount of digging needed to be done on their part. ¡°We will need to have prospectors enter the goblin den and figure out if we can establish a direct route for raw materials.¡± Kyle was not sure if there were any iron mine deposits deep in the depths of the mountains that used to be dormant volcanoes. Perhaps there may be a few deposits as a result of the volcanic flow. Further work will need to be done in order to extract them. They spent a few more hours working out the details, with Reese and Gordon working in tandem to n out the structure of the assembly line. Each time, Kyle would intervene and prompt them not to rely on workers where possible, instead creating a dedicated specialised arctech machine for it. ¡°The st furnace will need to be of sufficient scale to achieve a profit when heating up.¡± Kyle pointed out. ¡°And the entire method of delivery from the iron ore deposit to the st furnace and out into a basic oxygen converter.¡± ¡°A what converter¡­?¡± Gordon was confused, having no background in chemistry. Reese too, was utterly lost, having no idea what Kyle was talking about. Kyle sighed, quickly drawing out an system diagram, his style ofbelling and shapespletely different to whatever Gordon and Reese were used to. Gordon and Reese looked at each other, sharing a knowing look. ¡°Let me simplify it for you ¨C raw iron and coking coal is mixed into pig iron, then mmed into arge pot where we st oxygen, a constituent of air, into it, blowing away the excess carbon and forming steel. We then pour it out into a mold. As much as possible, this entire process should bepletely automated, save for the mining.¡± Kyle was working on his understanding of the automated mines that he used to deploy on the asteroids or moons of gas giants. If only I could buy a starter package like what they used to offer in the Melsura Star Sector. He sighed as he recalled easier days. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll work on it. But we still need to find the iron ore deposits!¡± Gordon pointed out. ¡°I know that right now we only have ess to two goblin dens, but what if neither of them have anything? It will be such a waste!¡± ¡°I understand. There are more than two goblin dens in the Culdao Peaks. We simply have to expand.¡± Chapter 61: Plans for Expansion Moving Forward: The symbol can bebined with others. [] A female goblin wailed in its ownnguage as it cowered on the ground, the mes erupting all around here as the trees were burnt down all around here. The sounds of fighting and fellow goblin tribe members¡¯ screams of pain echoed all around her, causing her to tremble slightly, clutching and protecting a goblin baby with her life. The gallop of a horse could be heard, with its rider covered in steel, the distinctive yellow grin of a goblin appearing in her vision while the tip of a spear pointed right at her. [] The female goblin pleaded. [] [] [] Just as the rider nocked back his spear, the baby¡¯s eyes suddenly flew wide open, glowing a bright yellow with demonic mes spurting out from it. A strong barrier suddenly appeared around the mother, deflecting the spear and knocking the rider off the horse. [] The rider wore a face of pure exaggerated horror as it watched the yellow aura swirling around the baby goblin surge to an even greater height. The baby goblin began to rapidly grow up, turning into a full-size hobgoblin in three seconds, cracking its huge fist and walking menacingly towards the rider. [] The rider screamed at the top of his lungs, pulling out a backup knife and jabbing it right at the yellow aura hobgoblin. The knife barely prated more than a millimetre into the yellow aura, the storm knocking the knife away as it twirled into the sky with a twinkle. [] The hobgoblin flicked the tip of its nose as it got into a fighting posture. [] The hobgoblin roared as he threw a flurry of punches, smacking the rider into an unrecognisable pulp in just five seconds before finishing thebo with a kick that sent the rider flying into the sky. Just as the hobgoblin did a victory pose, it began to shrink again back to a baby form, ooo-ing and gaga-ing at the mother. The female goblin gasped, scampering over to the baby hobgoblin. []. The baby hobgoblin couldn¡¯t reply, but it looked in the direction of the audience and winked, ending the scene. [st: That Time I Went Forward in Time to be my great-granddaughter¡¯s baby while retaining all of my powerups and skills as well was my intellect and mydykiller moves.>] The lights in the underground theatre began to turn back on as the screen showing the film dimmed, with the goblin audience practically screaming and cheering for the trailer. As the audience bickered and discussed the trailer, two humans were silently watching the audience reaction, with a girl holding a clipboard and jotting down details. ¡°Hey, you! Make sure they pay for the trailer! One rakel for each member, even kids!¡± The girl screamed at a goblin worker, who nodded quickly. She continued writing down on the clipboard. ¡°Reaction: S+, Controversy: S+. This film will surely be one of the best we¡¯ve made for the goblins.¡± The man standing next to her cleared his throat. ¡°Uh¡­ Merissa, I don¡¯t understand why-¡° ¡°It¡¯s Ms. Merissa to you, fucker.¡± ¡°Ms. Merissa, why are we making films for the goblins? Shouldn¡¯t we be making films for Raktor?¡± ¡°We already are, but the goblins need to be appeased for a few moments to make our position here better secured. We need to present ourself as a clear force for good, else they would continuously try to rebel.¡± ¡°Did they not try to rebel just a week ago?¡± ¡°Only the newer ves. The better of a ss system we build, the easier it is for us to have them turn on each other while we hold the reigns overall.¡± Merissa tapped her clipboard. ¡°Have you not learnt anything over the past few months you¡¯ve been here, Feldon? How the hell were you hired as apany manager of all positions?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I looked good?¡± ¡°You¡¯re lucky you do, otherwise I would have thrown you into the training arena for the rest of your life.¡± The arctech radio on Merissa¡¯s belt buzzed, crackling to life. [Ms. Merissa, the boss is here.] At the entrance to the goblin mine, there was an honor guard procession to receive Kyle and Sasha, who walked in apanied by a meek-looking human who was carrying what seemed to be prospecting equipment. ¡°Mister Kyle, you promised me that I would be safe here!¡± The meek person whispered urgently to Kyle as he nearly flinched from the snarl of a goblin warrior who stood at attention along the side. ¡°You are. This will be your home for the next year or so. Once you¡¯re finished with the prospecting for minerals, consider your debts to the Seven Snakes cleared.¡± Kyle replied. The meek person nodded, sighing internally to himself. If I just had won thatst poker hand, maybe I would not be out here today¡­ The group was met by Merissa and Feldon, who bowed to Kyle. ¡°Everything okay?¡± ¡°Yes sir. We have prepared everything in advanced.¡± ¡°Mister Raksha.¡± The prospector jolted to attention as they began to enter the mining tunnels. ¡°Yes, Mister Kyle!¡± ¡°I need an answer by today or so. I¡¯ve heard you are one of the best in town. I¡¯m on a very tight schedule. Any dy would be¡­ detrimental to our working rtionship.¡± ¡°Prospecting a brand new mine from scratch is hardly an easy task, especially when there¡¯s barely any infrastructure left to support it¡­¡± ¡°Merissa.¡± Kyle called out, with Merissa immediately moving over to him. ¡°Exin what you have prepared for him.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Mr. Raksha, the following information and support has been prepared for you:
  1. Prospecting surveys from the previous mine owners
  2. A team of elder goblins who have lived in the mine for decades.
They will assist you in your search for any minerals.¡± ¡°Bah, if the survey did not state that there was any iron ore here, what is the point in hiring me here?¡± ¡°The survey also did not state that arcite ore was present here ¨C however, I have found a vein of arcite ore, albeit a small one. This has led me to put the veracity of the survey done into question. That¡¯s why you are here.¡± ¡°Arcite ore? Here?¡± Raksha was shocked. ¡°If you mise it, you could ¨C¡° He stopped himself before he continued, noticing Kyle¡¯s clearly irritated face. Fuck, he¡¯s the leader of the Seven Snakes; what the hell am I doing talking back to him? They continued to walk down the tunnels, with Raksha obviously surprised at the increased level of infrastructure. None of the arctech lights were flickering, with utility pipes clearly running along the length of the tunnel, providing flowing water and air venttion into the area. A few air ducts could be seen as well as he passed a tunnel-in-progress that was clearly leading in the direction of Raktor, with goblins hauling out rubble from the consistent digging. Looks like to have been in progress for a few months, judging from the equipment in ce. It was already a big surprise to him that a human would be in charge of such arge goblin operation. Goblins were notoriously hard to govern and could easily start a rebellion due to their sheer numbers. He had heard of previous attempts by the Yual Dominion to subjugate this area but had always lost or suffered too many losses against the major goblin tribes. Raksha began to scan the tunnels, taking note of the various formations of rocksyered into the tunnels, with it changing as they went deeper and deeper. Kyle brought Raksha to the main administrative office, which has been expanded greatly. It was now a three-level cavern, with each floor having multiple clerks, both human and goblins working hard to manage the logistics of the entire den. With the absorption of the second tribe to boost their worker numbers, the number of goblins living in the den right now was more than six hundred, nearing the size of a big town. Since Kyle wanted total control over the entire operation, Merissa had no choice but to hire clerks to assist her, even splintering some of them off into separate ministries to cover different tasks. As Feldon showed Raksha where all the old survey documents were collected as well as introduced him to the team of elder goblins, Kyle walked around with Merissa and Sasha, observing the work of the clerks. ¡°You¡¯ve done a very good job of teaching the goblins how to read and write.¡± ¡°Thank you, sir. It is but my duty.¡± Merissa bowed. ¡°Any results with the agricultural test?¡± ¡°Yes sir. Due to the Culdao Peaks being a volcanic formation in the past, the soil around the entire forest area is arable and can be used to grow certain crops.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the forecast?¡± ¡°Well, we currently do not have enoughnd area to sustain the goblin poption. Even if we focused on crops that can grow within three to six months, we would need to expand all the way to the main town. Which would obviously reveal us to the general human popce.¡± Merissa pointed to a map of the area hung on a wall. ¡°As such, we need to expand sideways along the perimeter of the mountain. The closer we hug to the mountains, it will be easier to hide, but it limits our farming space as well, not to mention the entire area is nearly like a valley between hills. The other tribes are also controlling that territory.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s either hydroponics or terrace farming, got it.¡± ¡°Hydro-what?¡± Kyle considered his options. Both of them would require an insane amount of water ¨C the small rivers nearby would hardly be enough. He looked at the map, noticing a unique formation between three mountains that formed a triangle. ¡°Have we ever scouted here before?¡± ¡°No sir, but I can ask one of the elder goblins if he knows anything about it.¡± Merissa quickly asked one of the elder goblins that were listening to Raksha¡¯s orders. ¡°Sir, he says it¡¯s a frozenke.¡± ¡°So a cier¡­¡± The size of the cier was quiterge, potentially enough to sustain his operations for decades toe. He will need to find a way to tap into that water source and potentially divert it down towards both the goblin den as well as the steel factory. ¡°But he also says that there is a major goblin tribe there that controls ess into the area. Apparently, this tribe used to pay a quarterly tribute to that tribe until we took it over.¡± ¡°It¡¯s already been more than three months since we took over, but I have yet to see any goblin delegation requesting for tribute.¡± ¡°Oh, Sasha killed all of them while you were gone.¡± Sasha had a proud smile on her face, nodding to herself in self-recognition. Kyle was not surprised, himself probably doing the same. Why in the world would I pay them tribute? ¡°Mr. Kyle.¡± Raksha scurried over, holding a few documents in his hands. ¡°I have yet to survey the area personally, but I find that most of this document is urate and precise. The formation of arcite ore might not be well known, but iron ore is very well documented.¡± ¡°Get to the point. Is there iron ore or not?¡± ¡°No sir. There is a very very low chance of iron ore here. Most of the iron here would be trapped in forms that would be exceptionally hard to extract. None of the oxides that we normally use would be found here, as there was a clearck of oxygen and water here before the mine was opened.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s the solution?¡± ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t have any. I think this mine is done for. You might find other things like coal, but you won¡¯t find much iron ore here.¡± Kyle looked back at the map, pondering as he looked at the marked locations of the other major goblin tribes. I can¡¯t farm properly if I don¡¯t expand inwards; I can¡¯t get water in bulk if I don¡¯t expand towards the mountains. And now I have no iron ore in this den. ¡°Sasha. Gather all the warriors. It¡¯s time to centralise this area.¡± Chapter 62: Regicide Sahusa the Great was not having a good time, contrary to popr belief. It was not the fact that he was named after a myth of his great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, or that the name automatically implied that he was a goblindykiller or that he had five arms. Of course, those made him irrationally angry as well. But what really irked him was the bickering of the five goblin tribe leaders in front of him, which had been going on for nearly five days in a row now. And he, as the Goblin King, had to sit here and listen for hours and hours on end while surviving individual meetings with each of the tribe leaders in order to hold everything together. King Sahusa sighed. It¡¯s only been a year since I took over, and yet everything has gone to waste. Sahusa kind of regretted assassinating his father now. He had always thought that ruling as a king was the ultimate goal, but here he was, forced to ve away and listen to old farts grumble and argue with each other. Sahusa was enraged now, his bottled fury bursting forwards as he stood up. An arrogant hobgoblin crossed his arms, flexing his muscles and the skulls mounted on his shoulder. Another scrawny old tribe leader pointed out. A third tribe leader spoke. Osir grunted as he mmed his fist on the table, causing the entire wooden surface to reverberate Sahusa interrupted the conversation, raising a scepter in his hand that waspletely covered in dense engraving. The scepter seemed to amplify his voice as it glowed. The tribe leaders tried to talk but realised that their voices could not be heard by anyone but themselves. King Sahusa put his foot down, before storming off out of the meeting hut He grumbled to himself as two servants immediately fell into line behind him, keeping pace as he pushed aside the cloth marking the entrance to the meeting hut, and stepped out. The meeting hut was positioned on a cliff overlooking the valley between to Culdao Peaks mountains. He stormed down a stone path that was carved out of the valley¡¯s slope, leading to a small pce that was embedded into the mountain in arge alcove. Sahusa sighed loudly, stopping to take a look at the valley. The goblin city wasrge but was mostly made of mud, wood and stone mined from the mountains. They were dispersed through the long valley save for a central market area, where he could see thousands of goblins mouring for thetest meat or cave carrots and mushrooms to eat, nearly trampling over each other or fighting non-stop. His warriors were working around the clock to maintain the peace, but even he could tell that exhaustion would soon hit them. This is not sustainable; I must find a solution immediately. The servants gasped, looking at each other. It was a once-in-a-lifetime event to consult the Oracle ¨C nearly no one living had seen it in person. Sahusa himself had not personally seen it, but the procedure has been passed down through stone tablet inscriptions over the generations. Thest time it was done was four generations ago. The servants quickly scrambled, reading up on all the ancient texts of how to consult the Oracle. An hour passed before King Sahusa was prepared. The servants put on a ceremonial robe on him, one that was pure white in nature and had sharp corners on the shoulder pads, along with a weird extra p of fabric near the breast pocket. The procession paraded down towards a grand cave, which led to arge metal door, reflective enough for King Sahusa to see his handsome face in it. The goblin servants began to read off the ancient texts, following the directed pronunciation as guided. They struggled with many of the intonations, causing the words they spoke to sound like an ent of a foreignnguage that Sahusa had never heard of before. As soon as they finished reading the text, arge red light above the door came to life, with a xon suddenly ring out an rming sound, scaring King Sahusa. He roared, prompting the servants to immediately scamper out of the grand cave and back into the valley. King Sahusa felt dejected, recalling the myths of the Oracle told to him by his father. The Oracle was the reason why his tribe was even able to dominate nearly half of the goblins in the Culdao Peaks Area, making them the superior ones. If the Oracle does not even want to help me, what hope do I have left? King Sahusa began to ponder his options. Starting a war during a famine is one way, but I must be assured of victory. A prolonged conflict would only cause more issues. Sahusa returned to his room, nning while using a makeshift map of the area as known by the goblins. It was a given that the area could only support so many goblins¡¯ hunting and foraging in the forest and caves, which served as a natural barrier to the poption. However, Sahusa was not content with simply letting his people starve nor send them off to war simply to cull the number of heads to feed. He did not want to be callous, but the thought continued to remain in the back of his mind as a potentially easy way out. Before he could think further, a warrior barged into a room, panting heavily. ¡°King Sahusa! The scouts have reported that another two tribes has fallen to Gk!¡± ¡°What?!¡± King Sahusa stood in shock. He had thought the expansion of Gk would be slow and measured ¨C but two tribes in a single day was apletely absurd notion to Sahusa. Not even the original Sahusa managed to achieve that in the tales! ¡°Have you told any of the other tribe leaders?¡± Sahusa asked. ¡°No, your Majesty, but the scouts might have told them directly as well!¡± King Sahusa¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Quickly assemble all my warriors for battle! We must-¡° His words were caught in his throat as he could already hear the cries of his servants and the sounds of metal shing echoing through the stone pce. ¡°We must defend our territory, now!¡± ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± The warrior scampered off, while Sahusa walked into a separate room, his personal armoury where his father¡¯s armour rested ¨C a full steel armour stolen from a young human noble,plete with an arming sword. Before he could put it on, however, the door to the armoury was sted open, with more than fifteen goblin warriors under Osir¡¯smand entering. They immediately tackled the king to the ground in a rush, pinning down and restraining him. Sahusa shot back as he was forced to kneel on the floor. Osir let out a hearty chuckle. Sahusa was about to retort before Osir delivered a kick, mming the jaw of Sahusa with force. Sahusa struggled against his restraints as he was dragged unceremoniously through the hallway. The bodies of his servants and loyal warriors were strewn across the pce¡¯s many corridors, the stench of blood and meat filling the air as more and more rebel goblin warriors entered the pce. The rebel warriors did not seem shocked by the turn of events, raiding and piging the pce and digging out all the valuable goods. Osir scoffed as he marched ahead of his warriors. They soon reached the balcony, where the true scale of the devastation caused by the rebels was made obvious to King Sahusa. Tens of thousands of goblins were embroiled in fighting and fleeing, with the battle raging all across the entire length of the valley. Everything was being piged while the loyal warriors of Sahusa¡¯s tribe continued to fight for their lives. The rebel warriors strung Sahusa up onto a pole, hoisting him up high over the valley. Osir grabbed the sceptre handed to him by a warrior before activating it and amplifying his voice over the entire valley, echoing off the slopes and mountains. [] Osir dered through the sceptre, shouting over thend. The rebel soldiers cheered in response as they continued to fight, while the loyal warriors¡¯ morale began to deplete rapidly as they saw their king captured. Themon goblins were also quickly surrendering, unwilling to fight any longer to the death against a losing cause. What reason was there to defend for a king that has already been captured? [] Osir finished his speech. A warrior asked, earning a p to the face. Osir ordered them to drag Sahusa down from the pole. Sahusa smirked as he knelt on the ground. Chapter 63: Counterattack Gk grinned as he pped the back of a captured goblin, who was shambling off in a line, heading off back to the main goblin den. Kyle did not concern himself with how the goblins were being assimted, as he already expected the first batch of goblins that he dominated to create a ss hierarchy. This meant that Gk and his tribe were motivated to capture and ensure that the new goblins did not overthrow their newfound power. By creating a ss divide between them, I can have them focus their energy and anger on each other rather than the humans running the operation¡­ It was amon tactic that many leaders of the Gctic Era have implemented and perfected since the first human empire was born on Ancient Earth. The total number of goblins under Kyle neared a thousand in total,posed of three different tribes. Gk¡¯s First Tribe had transitioned into being the administrative wing as well as the overseers. Gk had also elevated the Second Tribe, creating the ss pyramid in order to retain order. Now, they were herded back to the goblin den of Gk for ¡®re-education¡¯, where they would be subjected to continuous disys of modern technology and increased living standards. It was not wrong to say that despite their enved status, their standard of living was far better than what they had previously. With the increased number of goblins, the agricultural project bes even more critical toplete. We can temporarily sustain the poption with food bought via the Euria Seeds trading system, but this won¡¯t be sustainable in the long term. Kyle did not follow the new goblins back to the den, instead remaining in the den that had just been captured. Sasha was resting with the troops while Merissa and Feldon assessed the state of the den and if it could be connected back to the main goblin den. ¡°It¡¯s not too far, but we would need some serious tunnelling work if we wanted to link everything up in a straight line. Right now the tunnelworks can be used, but it is a bit inefficient.¡± Merissa pointed out to Kyle. ¡°Once the steel factory is up, I¡¯ll look into making equipment, but we¡¯ll have to do it manually first.¡±¡¯ Creating such heavy equipment would definitely not be easy ¨C Kyle was not even sure if he could get it done within two months. It could be done extremely fast if he duplicated the automated mining equipment he knew from the Gctic Era, but he had to weigh the pros and cons of it. ¡°For now, let Raksha map out the area and see what¡¯s the possibility of digging out a tunnel to connect the existingworks,¡± Kyle replied. Given the number of goblins under him, it was possible to simply do a rotation shift and provide arctech hand drills to chew away at the rock. It would certainly be easier to implement than an entire tunnelling machine. Luckily, there was already an existing tunnelwork in the dens that could be easily linked, and they had already been digging the tunnel to Raktor for months. If I had the goblins simply dig at the same time in different section, the tunneling speed will be increased multiple times. Raksha was also busy prospecting and checking every nook and cranny of the den as far as he could with the assistance of captured elder goblins. Kyle hoped that at least a bit of iron ore would be found so they could begin building a distribution system for the factory. The steel and weapons factory was now being constructed, with Gordon and Reese leading the effort. Baron Cain provided connections for the supply of heavy equipment as well as a starting batch of materials, but Kyle was not happy with the cost of it, wanting to create his own vertical chain. Just as Kyle was about to leave the den, an excited Raksha quickly ran up to him. ¡°I¡¯ve found it! I¡¯ve found it! Here¡¯s the motherlode!¡± Raksha¡¯s face was covered in ck dirt, his hand holding a few crumbling pieces of ck rock. Kyle¡¯s eyes immediately widened, picking up the rock and feeling it for himself. ¡°Coal. You found a coal seam?¡± ¡°Indeed! I cannot determine if there is more than oneyer yet, but there is definitely ayer right here that we can dig right into!¡± ¡°Merissa, Feldon, you hear that?¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Merissa nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll have them prepare the roof supports and the venttion immediately. I assume this makes the tunnel even more important?¡± Kyle nodded. ¡°Every goblin worker is to focus on this project ¨C we need it done within a week. The steel factory is to bepleted next month, so I want the distributionwork up and running.¡± ¡°Thework will be slow if we use the same method that we use for the Euria Seeds.¡± Feldon said. ¡°That¡¯s a temporary solution for now. Once the steel factory is ready, we¡¯ll startying rails for faster distribution.¡± Kyle returned to the outside, where Sasha was desperately trying to train the goblins to shoot the handguns. It was not going well, with the goblins being too far used to the bows trained under Kyle. [Sir, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible for us to distribute the extra handguns to the goblins. I fear we may suffer more casualties than expected.] Sasha spoke through the wireless channel. Kyle nodded. It was impossible to train a human to be a sharpshooter within a day, so he did not have high hopes for the goblins in the first ce. ¡°Not a problem. We¡¯ll do it the old-fashioned way, then. Any news from our forward scouts?¡± [They im there¡¯s been rioting over the past day in the central territory, but we have not heard back from them in a while.] ¡°When was theirst check-in supposed to be?¡± [About five hours ago.] ¡°Assemble all the warriors immediately. Prepare for an attack soon.¡± Sasha did not question the order, immediately signalling with her hands and passing down the message. The goblin warriors and human squad leaders were all confused, murmuring among each other. The differences in race hardly mattered to them any more as they fought side by side, many bonds forged through the battles and shared despair of Sasha¡¯s training routine. Kyle took stock of the number of troops left. A portion of them had been diverted to escorting the newly captured goblins back, which meant he was left with a diminished fighting force that was slightly tired as well. ¡°Sasha, scout ahead and report,¡± Kyle ordered, prompting Sasha to immediately scale up the mountain, leaping from rock to ledge, trying to get a bird¡¯s eye view of the forest that surrounded the mountain. ¡°Rest of you, split up into two groups. Both groups will head away from the mountain, two kilometres that way. Keep a line of sight to here. Once you see the signal, you will rush back here and nk the attackers. Got it?¡± The warriors nodded first before they began to mumble among themselves again. One of the humans raised his hand, picking up the courage to ask Kyle. ¡°Sorry, but what¡¯s the signal?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when you see it. Prepare everything and leave now.¡± Following Kyle¡¯s orders, they split into two groups of fifty each, heading deep into the forest away from the mountain. With this, only Kyle was left at the mine, save for Merissa, Feldon and the other goblin workers still prospecting with Raksha. [Sir,rge troop movement spotted.] ¡°Estimates?¡± [About two hundred goblins.] ¡°Then it is an even fight.¡± Kyle checked his armour, hammer and arctech handgun. The railgun was hard to use in such a dense forest, so he needed close-range weapons that were reusable. The handgun could only be reloaded twice with the number of magazines slotted in his belt. The sounds of marching footsteps and drums began to reach Kyle¡¯s ears. The noise echoed into the goblin den, prompting Merissa toe out, astonished at where all the warriors went. ¡°Stay inside the den. I am going to block the tunnel.¡± Kyle hefted a fewrge boulders and broken, abandoned mining equipment to stuff the entrance, ensuring that none of the enemy goblins could enter the den while he was fighting. A loud horn red across the forest in a rapid burst of three blows, causing the birds of the forest to fly away en-masse as the drums continued to pound. Two hundred armoured goblins and hobgoblins were moving in formation while the leader of the force was atop a horse, a skull cap above his head. He asked a servant who was walking barefoot, carrying his equipment. The leader held up his fist, prompting the force to immediately stop and form a defensive formation, with the goblins carrying heavy steel shields positioned at the front. None of them had any bows, as bows were seen to be used only by weak pointy-ear elves. The leader motioned to a goblin messenger, who nodded and grabbed a stone tablet from his backpack, climbing up a tree. [] The goblin messenger screamed through a makeshift wooden loudhailer, amplifying his voice over the treeline, echoing off the slope of the mountain. Nothing in the forest moved save for the breathing motion of the goblins, who held their swords and spears at the ready, keeping their eyes peeled for anything in the distance or through the dense foliage that obscured much of their vision. A fearful young goblin who had been conscripted into the force was slightly trembling as he gripped his spear, sweat nds causing him to lose his purchase on the handle. An older goblin smacked the back of the young goblin heartily. The young goblin nodded slightly, still unconvinced. The minute of silence passed slowly, with every pulse of his blood thumping in his ears as he lost track of time. The leader announced. The words were caught in the leader¡¯s throat as a lone human male appeared in the distance, walking slowly towards them. The leader was shocked. The goblins were all stunned but soon steeled their hearts and charged. They split up and jumped over the roots of tree branches and fallen logs, rushing at the human male. A smirk appeared on the human male¡¯s face as he brandished a handgun. Intimidation Aura! Suddenly, every goblin who had their eyes locked on Kyle froze in fear, with nearly half of them stopping and turning around. Even the leader of the goblin felt it, his heart nearly skipping a beat as he felt the eyes of a predatornd on his skin, the goosebumps sending a tingle through his spine. Kyle quickly aimed the handgun, firing rapidly with precision at the goblins who were frozen with fear. Within the first second, two goblins were already crumpling to the floor, and a tunnel formed through their heads.
[System Message] Killed [Goblin Warrior], +50 EXP
The sounds of the shots jolted those who were still stationary and prompted them to move. An older goblin that had fought against the Yual Dominion before yelled at the top of his lungs. Kyle took the advantage to dance around the trees, using the trunks as cover as he darted in and out, sniping at the goblins who failed to conceal their headspletely. In the first thirty seconds, nearly a dozen had already died, with the fear amplified by the Intimidation Aura. More and more goblins began to flee, running back. The young goblin too, lost hisposure, screaming as he ran away. However, a javelin was tossed towards him,nding right in front of him and causing him to shriek in fear. The leader and his elite troops were now on the ground, fighting against the Intimidation Aura. The threat did not work until the leader impaled one of the runners with a thrown javelin. As the fleeing goblins rallied once more and rushed at Kyle, they noticed Kyle reloading, with a metal block dropping out of the handgun. The experienced older goblin roared, charging out with his own spear and lunging at Kyle. Penchant for Violence! Kyle¡¯s speed increased, his hand swiftly retrieving the magazine in his belt and reloading the handgun in an instant. In a blitz spray, he retrieved his hammer and swung at the iing attackers while he used his other hand to fire the handgun non-stop. The loud bangs of the handguns cracked like a whip as it echoed off the mountain, with the nking groups able to clearly hear the sounds of fighting. Kyle grinned as he sheathed his now empty handgun, grabbing the nearest goblin and lifting him high. With an extremely strong toss, Kyle flung the screaming goblin far out beyond the treeline towards the nking groups. ¡°That should be a good enough signal.¡± Chapter 64: Infiltration The fight was over in less than thirty minutes, with the nking groups attacking from the sides, along with Sasha nking from the mountain. The armoured goblins and hobgoblins sent by Osir were no match for the archers and fighters trained by Sasha and Kyle. Kyle himself had exhausted all his ammo, though he could easily form new pellets back at the goblin den. The arctech handgun was a simple contraption that elerated projectiles, so there was no need for anyplicated bullet production. He breathed deeply as he calmed himself down, stepping over the drying pools of blood and corpses that were strewn all over the forest. Kyle had lost count of how many goblins he had killed, simply fighting wildly with all his strength.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Goblin Killer (Intermediate)] Goblins tremble at the sound of your name +20 STR, +10 DEX, +4 VIT, +20% damage to goblin-type enemies
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 16 ---> Level 20
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Sub-ss Upgrade (Level 20)] Congrattions, sub-sses will be unlocked now Please wait
Kyle dismissed the holographic system message from his field of view, deciding to deal with itter. Right now, he marched up to the leader of the attacking force, who was tied up and kneeling on the ground along with the rest of the goblins who surrendered, its mouth bleeding profusely as a few of its sharp yellow teeth were scattered on the floor. Sasha grabbed its head, lifting it up to face Kyle. Kyle motioned for another goblin to perform the interpretation, interrogating the leader. ¡°How many warriors are left in your territory?¡± The leader grinned through bloodied gums. ¡°A thousand warriors¡­. Interesting.¡± Kyle contemted his options. ¡°Sasha, get Gk here immediately, along with fifty baskets of food. Take them from the storage.¡± Kyle spun as he ordered the remaining warriors. ¡°The rest of you, pick up the equipment and wear it.¡± The warriors nced at each other before it finally caught on as to what Kyle wanted to do. They quickly spread out across the battlefield, picking apart the broken equipment and wearing them wholesale. The leader of the attacking force was stunned, watching the wide-scale battlefield salvage operation happening as Sasha sprinted off to fetch Gk. Bresir tapped his crossed arms slowly, silently overlooking the city where remnants of burning houses and huts still sent smoke spiralling through the air like ck pirs of heaven. It¡¯s been a full cycle since Osir had delegated Bresir as the head general in charge of the newly formed army. He was a hobgoblin, muchrger and stronger than a normal goblin ¨C closer to the average build of a human. This allowed him to wear the human knight armour stolen from years ago, making him look like a proper armoured general. The market square that used to trade in food and forage was stripped down to form arge parade square, where thousands of goblins were queuing up for their strictly controlled rations. Bresir felt a slight tremble on his feet, ncing down to notice the goblin merchant that he was stepping out trying to squirm, the merchant¡¯s arms shaking violently as he tried to support himself on all fours. Bresir stomped on the back of the merchant, breaking his spine and causing the merchant to squirm on the floor in pain. He bent down to grab the goblin merchant by the neck, lifting him high above and causing his short legs to dangle wildly as the merchant kicked the air in response. He mmed the merchant onto the ground, knocking him out. Two rebel warriorsplied, dragging the merchant off as Bresir continued to observe the area. There were still small pockets of resistance; loyal knights of the former king holed up in caves along the slopes of the valley. Battles were still erupting as some refused to fall under the new system. What is Osir doing? Bresir wondered. The new Goblin King had taken all his best troops and holed themselves up in the pce. Some rumours among the rebels were saying that Osir was simply taking over to enjoy the luxuries of the pce, forgetting about the people. Bresir did not want to believe it, but he couldn¡¯t help thinking that there was a modicum of truth to it. Suddenly a loud mour erupted from the queue of goblins waiting for their food rations. Two goblins were rolling and tumbling on the ground, embroiled in a scuffle as the maggots in their bowls were thrown high up into the air. The queue of goblins immediately broke formation as the nearest goblins lunged for the maggots on the ground, stuffing the soil and maggots into their mouth while the fighting spread, epassing nearly more than a hundred goblins. Bresir grunted, immediately rushing down with a squad of rebel soldiers to disperse the crowd. Bresir yelled, moving forward with the rebel soldiers and shoving the brawl¡¯s participants apart. The soldiers grabbed each of them and dragged them out before restraining them with twine and rope. Bresir forced his way into the middle of the brawl before bellowing out in a roar. The shout stunned the participants, allowing the soldiers to act quickly. More and more rebel soldiers entered the fray, reducing the number of rioters and fighters punching each other or scrambling for maggots. Some of the goblins were heavily injured, moaning as theyy on the ground. Bresirid eyes on the original culprit, who was still fighting and swinging wildly. With a charge, Bresir immediately charged and tackled the culprit head-on, mming him into the ground and pinning him with the sheer weight of his well-built body as well as knight armour. He grabbed the culprit by the neck, keeping a tight grip. The goblin onlookers all murmured in agreement. Bresir promised to the people with heartfelt sincerity. He truly believed in Osir¡¯s vision for a new golden age for the goblins, hoping to unify the tribes into a single race that could work for a better future. Many of the onlookers could truly feel his sincerity, cheering for him. Bresir waved to the crowd and stayed a bit longer to help those who had suffered coteral damage, though they did not have enough herbs nor poultices to mend and heal wounds. It¡¯s been a cycle since I sent the strike force to attack them¡­ if they were sessful, the scouts should have reported back by now¡­ A goblin scout reported by coincidence, bowing deeply. Bresir¡¯s jaw nearly dropped before he shook himself out of his stupor. This¡­ this is unbelievable! A miracle! Bresir frantically ordered, organising the remaining soldiers to the main gate. A simple wall of wood and stone controlled the entry into the valley, with observers posted along every interval of the length. Bresir rushed to the gate, which was a simple wooden door barred with a wooden beam. The guards panted and yelled out as they lifted the heavy wooden beam, opening the gate for the victorious force. Bresir squinted his eyes, noticing the visage of the two hundred goblins returning through the tree line. However, his excitement soon turned to dismay as he noticed how badly injured the goblin force was. Many of them had broken equipment and bloodied limbs, while some were limping. Others were wrapped in makeshift bandages from the leaves of Euria Seeds trees, hobbling as they carried the baskets of food. The guards of the wall quickly rushed forward to carry the basket of food, helping them carry them in. Bresir quickly ordered as he went down himself to meet Leader Qatu, whose face had been badly bruised. Qatu motioned to the rest of his pitiful force. There were less than a hundred goblins and hobgoblins left, all injured and shambling in some way or another. Bresir quickly made way for them, allowing the force to enter through the wide-open wooden gates. Bresir observed the condition of the force as they walked past them. How terrifying is the human force to inflict this much damage onto our armoured strike force? I must report this to Osir once he exits the pce¡­ Bresir¡¯s train of thought was suddenly stopped as a fairly tall hobgoblin walked past him,pletely covered in armour with its face masked by a leaf bandage. Bresir considered himself one of the tallest hobgoblins around, and he had been managing the army and rebel soldiers under Osir for a long time. Strange, I don¡¯t recall a hobgoblin being an entire head taller than me. On the periphery of his vision, he noticed that a few of the hobgoblins were also just as tall, and one was extremelynky and slim, almost feminine. I also do not remember sending a female hobgoblin off with Qatu¡­ The more he observed, the stranger he felt. However, most of the suspicion passed as soon as he saw the fifty baskets of food. It does not matter as long as we have enough food to feed the people! Gk was tied onto a pole and hoisted by two hobgoblins. Bresir grinned as he marched up to the bound shaman. Gk scoffed: The arrogance and hostility stemming from Gk made Bresir more suspicious. Bresir himself walked through the rows of baskets ced in order, opening them and checking them. Most of them were human goods and food, with dried meat and nuts being the majority. Bresir could not find any evidence that there was a human or even an enemy goblin hiding among the baskets. If they are not hiding in the baskets¡­ Just as the realisation hit him, tworge human hands grabbed him by the head and twisted it sharply, his vision spinning 180 degrees rapidly as he nced at Kyle¡¯s face, no longer masked by the leaf bandage. As Bresir¡¯s body slumped onto the floor, he could only see Kyle grab an arctech radio, speaking into it rapidly. ¡°We¡¯re in. Commence the assault.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 20 Max HP: 67(+0)(+0)(+0) Max MP: 38(+0)(+5)(+0) Max STA: 67(+0)(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
Sub-ss ???
STR 117(+44)(+0)(+0)
DEX 128(+52)(+3)(+0)
INT 106(+55)(+3)(+0)
VIT 81(+4)(+5)(+0)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)(+0)
Free Points 25
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Basic)]: Control those who oppose you with fear. +50% Intimidation Sess Chance. Duration: Five minutes. Cooldown: One day.
[Penchant for Violence (Basic)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 50% for a short duration. Duration: Fifteen seconds. Cooldown: Ten minutes.
[This is My Turf (Basic)]: No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach. Duration: Thirty seconds. Cooldown: Three Hours.
[Designate Follower (Basic)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication. Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters. Limit of one follower now.
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Intermediate)] Goblins tremble at the sound of your name +20 STR, +10 DEX, +4 VIT, +20% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Basic)] Death handcrafted and delivered at high speeds. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance to craft an intermediate pistol when assembling.
Chapter 65: Saviour
[System Message] Killed [Goblin General Bresir], +500 EXP
¡°Clean up the guards.¡± Kyle motioned with his hands, the trojan force under him immediatelyshing out in a surprise attack. The guards were caught off guard, the prior excitement of victory and finally having enough food to eat was reced with horror and confusion as they tried to retreat from the walls. ¡°Sasha, don¡¯t let any of them retreat!¡± Kyle ordered, nning to secure the gate without the rest of Osir¡¯s forces finding out. Sasha nodded, swinging a longsword with both arms as she cut down goblin after goblin, frightening the guards even more as they saw through the hobgoblin disguise. The guard¡¯s head was chopped cleanly off as Sasha¡¯s right fist glowed bright, the force of the swing boosted. She parried a hit from a brave fighter before pushing back, taking advantage of the confusion and disorganisation among the guards to kill more than a dozen in two minutes. Kyle focused his attention on securing the gate, flushing the remaining guards who were stationed on the walls. Javelins were thrown at them, with Kyle easily dodged them and sprinted up the stone steps. The paltry metal shields of the guards were dented and smashed in easily by Kyle¡¯s kicks and hammer strikes. One of the guards yelled to a wooden watchtower, but what replied to him instead was a loud bang followed by the falling body of the observer stationed above, shot in the chest. Kyle aimed his handgun at the watchtowers, ensuring no goblin observer could send back any signal to the main rebel army. If the rebel army caught wind of the attack, he could not guarantee that his forces would be able to fight head-on. As the battle was concluded, a secondary attack force under Kyle¡¯smand entered through the gates. In total, Kyle now had two hundred and fifty warriors under him. The warriors gathered the bodies of the guards and piled them up, along with the corpse of Bresir. Gk was untied, grinning widely as he danced in front of the corpses of the guards. ¡°Arrogant hobgoblin, I spit on your body!¡± A few guards were kept alive and interrogated by Kyle and Gk. This allowed them to understand the overall situation in the area now while Kyle pondered his next move. [We should rally with the other local pockets of resistance fighting for the former king.] Sasha pointed out. [We can tap into their manpower and gain some legitimacy, otherwise, we will be fighting against both sides who want to resist human control.] ¡°Where is the former king now?¡± Kyle asked Gk. ¡°Sahusa the Great¡¯s pce.¡± Gk pointed to arge section of the valley¡¯s slope above the treeline. ¡°Guards say hest seen with Osir inside, has been one cycle.¡± ¡°Not all the six tribes are here, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, this is home of Steel Song Tribe. Osir¡¯s main tribe is Howling Wind, far away.¡± Kyle frowned. ¡°This means that there¡¯s a chance that there will be additional forces trying to enter the valley from this direction.¡± With the other tribes having their own armies beyond the valley, it was even more important to hold the gate to ensure fewer variables. ¡°Sasha, you will remain here in charge. Hold the gate until I have saved the former king.¡± [Yes, sir.] Kyle grabbed a few health potions from a supply crate, stuffing the small vials into his belt alongside his magazines before he sprinted off towards the pce alone. He used the dense forest as cover, running towards the slope of the valley up the mountain. Surprisingly, there were nearly no guards outside the pce, with every avable rebel soldier fighting against the loyal knights elsewhere. Makes it easier for me. Silently striding into the vicinity of the pce, he was amazed by the seemingly man-made formation that the pce was carved into. It seemed to be a perfect square that was tunnelled out of the side of the mountain, leading deeper in. Large stone pirs supported the weight of the ceiling to prevent it from copsing, with centuries of drawings lined on the surface. Kyle gave the drawings a cursory nce, noting the long history of the goblins and how long they had been here. Based on the drawings, it seems like they have been here for a good five hundred years or so, but I¡¯m not an expert. If anything, he was only an expert at selling such archaeological finds on the ck market, having dug up countless alien ruins in the Gctic Era. He soon reached the entrance of the pce, finally noticing two hobgoblin guards that were patrolling therge archway. Kyle hid himself behind a stone pir, taking out his arctech handgun and checking his ammo. Fifty rounds total. Kyle peeked his head out, examining the guards who carried a sword and a round shield. He noticed that their armour was far more borate and intricate than the guards and strike force that he found. He could even see signs of arctech engravings on the surface of their vambrace, though it was too far for him to determine what effects they would have. Taking a deep breath, Kyle stepped out from the pir, immediately firing his handgun at the two guards. The vambraces of the two guards red to life, firing out point defence projectiles to cancel out the iing shots while they yelped as they were caught off-guard. They lifted the round shield and entered a fighting stance as Kyle sprinted towards them, closing the gap. The guards rushed forward bravely, with the first guard taking point and shing downwards at Kyle. He dodged to the side before using his left free hand to grab the wrist of the guard, pivoting and delivering a kick to the back, denting the armour in and cracking the guard¡¯s spine. Kyle immediately leapt backwards as the second guard stabbed towards him before aiming the handgun and firing two more shots. To his surprise, the arctech vambrace blocked the shots again, while the first guard¡¯s breastte activated to produce a healing effect, allowing him to recover back into a fighting posture. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s do it the hard way.¡± Kyle sheathed his handgun and brandished his neon red hammer, charging them. The two guards were synchronised, each covering for their own openings while blocking attacks with the shields. However, they were still no match for the brute force strength of Kyle¡¯s hammer strike, mming down right onto the shield and causing the first guard¡¯s knees to buckle to the floor, losing bnce. With a backhand swing as a follow-up, Kyle parried the second guard¡¯s sword and sent it flying out of their grip before continuing with a devastatingbo, killing both of the guards.
[System Message] Killed [Improved Hobgoblin Guard], +250 EXP
Improved Hobgoblin? Kyle was a bit taken aback, having never seen an improved hobgoblin before. None of the hobgoblins he killed from Leader Qatu had such a title for them. He entered the pce, which was aplete mess. Dozens of goblin and hobgoblin corpses were strewn over smashed furniture and cracked marble floor tiles, the blood already dried over a day. Kyle stepped warily into the entrance lobby, keeping an eye for any ambushers. To his surprise, there were no guards anywhere in the lobby; only the ambience of death and silence apanied Kyle as he watched his step. As he approached the grand staircase, he could hear footsteps walking down the marble tiles, prompting him to hide behind one of the pirs nearby. A lone hobgoblin guard was patrolling the pce, equipped with the same equipment as the guards Kyle killed. Kyle stealthily crept around, waiting until the guard passed the pir before jumping out and grappling him to the ground, quickly forcing the guard to drop his sword and shield. Kyle spoke in a broken goblinnguage, unable to fully imitate the guttural sounds as he pinned the guard down. The hobgoblin was surprised, earning a smack to the back of the head. The hobgoblin tried to flip Kyle over, but to no avail, as Kyle expertly restricted all of his limbs¡¯ movement. Another smack. Smack. Kyle smacked him a few more times before he finally relented. Kyle used his hammer and broke the limbs of the hobgoblin at the joints, the screams muffled as Kyle forced its head into the ground. Kyle grabbed the breastte and destroyed the engraving on it, preventing the hobgoblin from healing. The hobgoblin whimpered as Kyle lifted him up, grabbing him like a hostage shield in front of his body, except for the clearly twisted and broken limbs of the hobgoblin dangling. The hobgoblin nodded vigorously through teary eyes. Just like this, Kyle used the crippled hobgoblin as a guide who was unable to fight back thanks to the broken limbs. He navigated the myriad of hallways and rooms filled with dead servants and other family members of the king, quickly moving. Soon, he was led to a hallway where there were two more guards protecting a jail door. In a split instant, Kyle flung the crippled guide towards the two guards, the body smacking into the first guard while Kyle sprinted along the side, lunging at the second with a strong hammer strike uppercut right into the chin.
[System Message] Killed [Improved Hobgoblin Guard], +250 EXP
He made quick work of the other guard as well, keeping the crippled guide alive, who was agonising from the impact of the throw. Kyle aimed his hammer at the hinges of the prison door, smacking it repeatedly till it was damaged and fell to the ground with a loud nging thud, revealing a badly bruised goblin who was stark naked. Sahusa the Great could barely see through his swollen eyelids, but he made out the outline of the human. Kyle grabbed the crippled guide and dragged him into the prison cell, tossing him into a corner. Retrieving a health potion vial from his belt, he fed it to Sahusa, healing him slightly just enough to talk. ¡°Who¡­ who are you?¡± Sahusa spoke as he tried to sit up, wincing at the bruises sending jolts of pain through his nerves. ¡°Are you with Gk?¡± ¡°A smart king, then. I need you to get your people back under control. I will help you squash the rebellion.¡± Sahusa was nearly overjoyed to hear it, but he soon calmed himself down, thinking quickly about why Kyle was offering such a deal. He remained quiet as he contemted, finally reaching a realisation. ¡°You want me to serve as your puppet.¡± ¡°Even smarter. Your society is unable to support your poption without agricultural development. I assume this is not the first time such a rebellion has happened.¡± Sahusa didn¡¯t reply, but internally he knew Kyle was right. The growth of the poption was always limited by the ecosystem as they could only hunt and forage, with no knowledge of farming. There had been a few attempts, but the scale was simply just not big enough. ¡°Do you not want to see a golden era of goblins? One living in prosperity and happiness? I can make it happen ¨C as long as you help me as well.¡± Kyle pressed. Sahusa sighed, knowing the only other option he had was to let Osir take control, beginning the cycle anew. Perhaps Kyle represented a way out of this never-ending loop. ¡°Fine, I agree. However, I am not a king anymore ¨C it is Osir.¡± ¡°I know. Where is he? They told me he would be in the pce.¡± ¡°No he is not. He is currently trying to brute force his way into getting an audience with the Oracle.¡± ¡°The Oracle?¡± Chapter 66: Evolution ¡°The Oracle has been with us since the beginning of time,¡± Sahusa exined as he put on the dead hobgoblin guards¡¯ gear, having healed up to full with another of Kyle¡¯s health potions. ¡°But Osir is no easy foe; he is one of the strongest hobgoblin there is, which is how he maintains his position as leader of the Howling Wind Tribe. In order to defeat him-¡° Another group of patrolling guards spotted Sahusa and Kyle in the open, prompting Kyle to charge them without hesitation, easily dodging their swords and killing them with multiple strikes to the head and body. ¡°Where is the Oracle?¡± Kyle wiped the blood stter off his cheek, walking back to Sahusa. The former Goblin King gulped internally as he watched Kyle approach him, his mind finallyprehending how strong Kyle was. ¡°I need to go the armoury to pick up my armour set first,¡± Sahusa exined. ¡°This way, I can also assist you¡­ a little.¡± ¡°Fine by me.¡± Kyle nodded. He wouldn¡¯t say no to some more arctech armour. Perhaps he would find something that could help him even more. Kyle finished off the crippled guide in the prison in one clean swing before moving quickly through the pce with Sahusa as the guide. Sahusa was half-expecting Kyle to meet up with another group of humans, but as they neared the armoury, he did not see any others there. Weird, did he enter the pce alone? The armoury was unprotected,pletely empty. All of the weapons and armour had already been taken and distributed among the rebel soldiers. Sahusa was crestfallen at the disappearance of his armour set. ¡°Osir seems to have taken everything of worth in here.¡± ¡°Then you stay put here. Tell me the way to reach the Oracle.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll go with you. I can handle my own.¡± ¡°No.¡± Kyle gripped Sahusa¡¯s shoulder tightly, forcing him down onto the ground. ¡°If you don¡¯t stay here, I¡¯ll tie you up. I can¡¯t have you dying on me.¡± Kyle did not want a liability tagging along with him ¨C the death of the former king would make it even harder to consolidate the area with legitimacy. Sahusa tried to get up, grabbing Kyle¡¯s wrist. However, he did not have enough strength to overpower Kyle, realising how weak he waspared to Kyle. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll stay hidden here. The Oracle stays in a grand cave far behind the pce. Simply head further into the mountain, and you will find it. I doubt Osir managed to make it past the entrance.¡± Kyle nodded, barricading the armoury to make sure they couldn¡¯t easily reach the former king. He sprinted through the pce in a general direction, killing a few more hobgoblin guards along the way. Soon, he reached the end of the pce, with the cavern extending further in. As he ran further in, he noticed the bodies of hobgoblin warriors fallen onto the ground, their chests gouged out by a searing wound that went straight through their hearts. Kyle instantly recognised the type of wound, having seen it far too often in the Gctic Era. Particle beam guns? They exist here?! He was not too surprised at the fact that Gctic Era technology was present in this world. He had already seen an ancient exosuit spine as well as a personal energy shield from the Ilysian Punks. But he did not expect such technology to be hidden under the primitive goblins. Kyle had been trying to pin down what was the history behind the world that he was in, and how he had awoken here. Plenty of theories swarmed in his head, but the existence of the particle guns forced him to reconsider the validity of most of them. More and more goblin corpses were appearing with increasing frequency, leading up to arge broken metal door. Kyle noticed that there were mechanical turret stands left in the ground, apparently ripped out by something. The door was recognizably of Gctic Era technology, but Kyle could see a few signs that it was not the same level of technology that he was used to. The Gctic Era did not imply that every single sector in the gxy had the same level of technology, with the time taken to perform FTL travel from the center of the gxy to the rim being more than ten years. This led to the stunted growth of technology in the sectors on the outskirts, which was where Kyle¡¯s criminal empire used to thrive, far away from the reaches of the Council. As such, technology grades in the Gctic Era was split between ¡®sses¡¯, with Kyle¡¯s previous domain being C-ss. The difference in exotic material concentration also inhibited technology adoption ¨C even if a C-ss force knew how to make a B-ss technology, it did not mean that they had the materials to do so. The turrets and door were of A-ss technology, two grades above what Kyle knew. The door was also far too big to be an entry point of a crashed ship. Kyle entered the doors, noticing argeb-like hallway, except the walls were dark blue and the ceiling was immeasurably high. It felt more like a temple of sorts, with a single delineated path running down through the middle. Countless bodies of robotic drones were smashed and broken apart, some entangled with dead hobgoblins who fought to the end. It was clear that Osir had forced his way in with his forces, utilising the king¡¯s armoury.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System ALERT
[UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS] %@&#*( ARE N&T ALL*WED IN SY*@#M WILL BE [email protected] IN T@)#TY SECONDS PLEASE L333E44AVE THE AR@&#EA %@&#*( ARE N&T ALL*WED IN SY*@#M WILL BE [email protected] IN T@)#TY SECONDS PLEASE L333E44AVE THE AR@&#EA
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[UPLINK ERROR] U12812 TO CONN123 TO M2IN SE213R U12812 TO CONN123 TO M2IN SE213R
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Adminstrator ess
[ess Granted] Secret Key epted Wee to Instation 12 Secret Key epted Wee to Instation 12
Instation 12? Kyle became even more curious. He had never had a system message for entering a new area before, not even when he entered the Culdao Peaks area or different parts of Raktor. For the System to react like this to such an area, it seems like it could hold the answers as to what exactly is the holographic system interface that Kyle has. He picked up the pace, moving through therge hallway. However, he immediately spotted something that forced him to stop and deviate, running towards the wall. Kyle leaned down next to a deformed skeleton, one that had two horns jutting out of its skull. However, it was wearing apletely destroyed exosuit, the particle beam rifle in its handpletely shattered by what seemed to be a bullet. It was not the only monster skeleton piled up along the side, with multiple different types of skeletons of varying shapes, sizes and form. Only a few were actually human, and they bore a different type of exosuitpared to the monster skeletons. Kyle was not an expert in determining the time of death, but for the exosuit to have decayed this badly over time indicated it could have been more than a thousand years or so. The time scale gave his heart a sinking feeling, the possibility that whatever he knew of the Gctic Era could have been long gone by now. He tried to salvage some equipment, but all the working guns and weapons were already taken, no doubt by Osir¡¯s forces. This is bad ¨C if they are armed with particle beam rifles¡­ Kyle decided not to move ahead any further, quickly salvaging as much as he could find, hoping that the hobgoblins did not take everything. Soon, his keen eyes managed to find a working personal energy shield, though the battery strength was degraded over time. Picking up the energy shield, the system surprisingly did not give him any indication of what the item was, and it¡¯s statistics. Weird; it¡¯s getting even weirder now¡­ [Warning: 10% charge left. Proceed to the nearest employee charging station.] Kyle did notin too much, equipping the personal energy shield to his body, whichtched itself onto its back, generating a skinyer forcefield around his body. This should be good enough unless I have to fight the automated defence turrets. He chuckled slightly as he continued down the hallway. He had spent the majority of his criminal empire attempting to hustle for highly controlled B-ss technology, yet here he was, wearing an A-ss personal energy shield. As he approached the end of the hallway, arge hissing sound was heard as the pneumatic doors on the end opened to reveal five hobgoblin guards exiting the hallway. Kyle noted that they still had their weapons sheathed, taking advantage of surprise to rush at the hobgoblins, firing his entire arctech handgun clip at two of them, killing them instantly. One of them roared, but none of them had the time to react as Kyle charged them down, closing the gap in four short leaps, and pummeling the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin roared just as Kyle sank his fist into its face, crushing the entire skull in one fell swoop. A sword swing came in too fast for Kyle to react to, causing the A-ss personal energy shield to re up and deflect the sword. [Warning: 5% left. Proceed to the nearest employee charging station immediately.] Kyle grunted as he swivelled to grab the attacking hobgoblin by the neck, snapping it with his grip and flinging him aside as the third hobgoblin stabbed towards him, forcing him to dodge and take a step back before speed reloading his handgun. The final hobgoblin fell, the point defence vambrace unable to react at such close range. Kyle noticed that there wasn¡¯t any system messages for him killing the hobgoblin as well. Determined now to find out the truth, he headed past the open pneumatic doors, entering arge circr chamber where a lone hobgoblin was in the middle, surrounded by numbered doors all along the circumference. Each of the doors had a countdown clock over them, with thirty seconds left. The hobgoblin was thergest he had seen yet, towering at nearly 2.4 meters in height. It roared as it mmed themand console in front of it, the orange holographic interface illuminating his green muscles. Therge hobgoblin roared to the console. [Error: Voice Pattern not recognised. Please repeat the question. Note: Due to the destruction of defensive systems, following Protocol 138A, all relevant data has been erased from the databanks.] Therge hobgoblin gripped themand console, ripping it off its stands and the connected wires, causing it to fray as the console was tossed to the side. Therge hobgoblin nced at Kyle entering the chamber, his eyes widening. ¡°I take it that you¡¯re Osir.¡± Kyle brandished his handgun, aiming it right at Osir and firing three shots. Instead of hitting Osir, a personal energy shield on Osir glowed purple, blocking the shots and dissipating them. Osir barely flinched, instead ncing towards the countdown clock and grinning The doors around the chambers hissed as residual green gas began to waft out, with nearly two dozen hobgoblins stepping out of their individual chambers, all clearly improved hobgoblins armed with swords and shields. Chapter 67: Warlord Kyle did not stand around in the open circr chamber, immediately retreating to the entrance. He fired the rest of his magazine at the two closest hobgoblins, overwhelming their point defence systems. His hand instinctively grabbed a magazine to reload the handgun while feeling his belt. Only two more magazines left after this one ¨C thjrty-six shots left, including my current magazine. Instead of exposing himself to attacks from all sides, he funnelled them into the tight, narrow space of the entrance, bending over to grab a shield into his left hand from the earlier hobgoblin guards he killed. The first three hobgoblins charged through the gap, earning themselves a full strike of the shield right onto their faces, sending them stumbling back into their allies who crowded around behind them. Osir roared. Kyle ignored the obvious taunt and swapped to close-quartersbat, changing out his handgun for the hammer and going to town on the closest hobgoblins. He swung and smashed, using the shield on his left hand to fend off the sword attacks as well as break their necks with a forward jab of the shield¡¯s edge. Penchant for Violence! The same surge flowed through the veins of Kyle¡¯s body, granting him an increase in strength, allowing him to easily dispatch the iing hobgoblins as he fought them three at a time. None of the improved hobgoblins were a match for his sheer strength and fast reflexes. Osir roared, prompting the hobgoblins to charge forward with even more vigour, using the fallen bodies of theirrades to try and block the attacks of Kyle. ¡°No chance.¡± Kyle grinned as he expertly focused on any hobgoblin trying to get past him. At some point, he dropped the hammer and grabbed the ankle of an injured hobgoblin, using him as a weapon by wildly swinging him around. With a single swing of the hobgoblin¡¯s body, the ankle bone snapped off cleanly as Kyleunched the body towards the hobgoblins, knocking them out like dominos back into the circr chamber. Osir was astonished by the sheer strength of the human, only recalling the line infantry that they had fought in the past. Since when were humans thispetent? I must capture him alive and find out his secrets! Already half of them had died, leaving only a dozen hobgoblins alive and afraid to re-enter the death trap of the entrance, where Kyle stood over the corpses of theirrades, drenched in goblin blood. Penchant for Violence onlysts for a while; I need to make the best use of it right now! Kyle did not wait for them to muster up the courage toe back in and fight, instead using his handgun to fire at the hobgoblins, taking them out one at a time. With precise calctions on how much their point defence system could block, it took four shots to kill one of them, prompting Kyle to finish off three of them with rapid fire as he sprinted around the circumference of the chamber. Just as Kyle began to reload his magazine while running, his brain screamed danger as a hail of particle beams flew straight at him. The speed of the beam made it unable for Kyle to avoid the hits, his personal energy shield wobbling before it dissipated. The particle beams seared through the skin and flesh of Kyle¡¯s right arm and thigh, prating all the way through and carving a smoking wound out. [WARNING: BATTERY DEPLETED!] The personal energy shield warned as Kyle fumbled onto the floor, blood cauterising on the sizzling wound while his handgun and shield ttered onto the floor. The remaining hobgoblins began to rush Kyle while Osir held a smoking turret gun in both hands, astonished by the existence of the personal energy shield on Kyle. Osir eximed. But before the hobgoblins could move any further, an all-epassing feeling of dread fell over the hobgoblins and even Osir himself, his heart palpitating slightly as his neck broke out in cold sweat. Osir had never felt this way for a long time ¨C thest being his first trial hunting a sabretooth in the ravine near his home tribe. Intimidation Aura! Kyle stood up quickly, wincing at the pain while he used his undamaged arm to grab the health potion vials, stuffing them into his mouth and activating the ne of healing as well. A bright green surge healed Kyle back nearly instantaneously, but he knew this would be thest full healing he would get for a while. The effects of the Penchant for Violence began to taper off, but the Intimidation Aura allowed Kyle to buy time to pick up his handgun and reload. Osir was the first to snap out of it, squeezing the trigger on the turret gun. However, only smoke and sparks were ignited along the frame of the turret gun, causing it to malfunction. Instead of hesitating, Osir tossed the gun with a loud roar towards Kyle, forcing Kyle to leap out of the way. Kyle immediately emptied his clip into the next three hobgoblins, nailing them while they were still frozen to the ground. The sight of theirrades falling to the ground amplified the fear they felt in their hearts, prompting the remaining six hobgoblins to scamper out of the entrance, afraid of fighting against Kyle any longer. Osir did not bother with them, knowing nothing he did now would be able to bring them back. He cracked his hands as he marched towards Kyle, who reloaded his handgun and fired the entire clip at Osir. The projectiles were all deflected by the personal energy shield, with Osirpletely unfazed. With a loud battle cry, Osir charged forward in a tackle with unexpected speed, mming right into Kyle with his right elbow and pinning him into the wall with his sheer body strength, being nearly one and a half timesrger than Kyle. Kyle gagged as the impact ran through his body, his guts churning as Osir¡¯s humongous left hand grabbed Kyle by the neck, lifting him with ease before being thrown headfirst onto the floor. The force nearly knocked Kyle out, but hisbat training kicked in, his body instinctively rolling out of the way to dodge an iing stomp by Osir. Aero Shoes! Kyle¡¯s shoes glowed brightly, elerating him even faster as he circled Osir, grabbing his hammer and picking up yet another shield. His eyes darted across the room as he analysed every single opening and opportunity that he could exploit. He was no stranger to fightingrger humanoid aliens, having fought countless slovesas in the liberation wars of his home nation during the Gctic Era. Osir felt a slight tingle run down his spine as the analytical eyes of Kyle sized him up like prey to be chopped up, making him wonder who was the real predator here. However, there was no time to hesitate ¨C only the battle mattered. As soon as Osir made the first step, Kyle sprinted towards Osir, swinging the hammer at the extended leg that was stepping forward. But before he couldplete the swing, his instincts prompted him to retract his arm and support his shield with both arms as Osir immediately countered with a backhand swing, sending Kyle flying across the chamber. Kyle twisted his body and negated the force through his recoverynding before dashing out of the way as a brokenmand console came hurtling towards him, smashing into the wall in a burst of sparks and metal. The fragments pelted Kyle¡¯s face, impeding his vision. Before Kyle could shake them off his face, Osir was already a step ahead of him, lunging towards him. Kyle¡¯s eyes glinted as he spotted an opening, pivoting on his right foot and side-stepping the heavy punching in. With two rapid strikes to the waist of Osir, Kyle immediately retreated before counterattacking. Osir grinned as he prepared to fight back, but suddenly, the two points on which he had been struck red up with a severe jabbing pain, causing him to flinch involuntarily. With his movement temporarily hampered, Kyle took the chance and delivered a brutalbo,nding five strikes directly onto Osir¡¯s right forearm. The dyed pain retook effect, neutralising Osir¡¯s right arm for a short moment, allowing Kyle to continue the devastating series of strikes, continuously swapping over to the other side. Kyle¡¯s brain raced as he mentally calcted the time taken for the pain to kick in, timing it with his follow-up attacks to prevent Osir from retaliating effectively. Osir bellowed, his warlike blood and animalistic instincts pounding non-stop, the adrenaline causing the effects of the hammer to be insignificant. Kyle was caught off-guard by Osir¡¯s sudden cry, another heavy-handed m hitting his shield. The vibration from the hit nearly caused Kyle to drop his shield as his bones were rattled from the sheer force. Kyle immediately knew what was happening, quickly backing off and leaping from side to side, no longer interested in fighting back. Osir heaved the bodies of his fallen warriors, using them as projectiles to force Kyle into dodging before charging forward. However, Kyle was far too nimble for Osir to catch up with, especially with the activation of the Aero Shoes. The song and dance continued for another minute or so while the pain that Osir had been ignoring began to creep back slowly, the dull aching sensation no longer able to be avoided. The very moment Kyle noticed Osir slowing down, heunched a vicious counterattack, rushing straight at Osir unexpectedly. It was a simple tactic every frontier explorer of the Gctic Era learnt when dealing with native alien lifeforms ¨C avoid when enraged, strike when weak. No sane explorer would fight an alien who should be braindead while the body is still unaware of its own death. Just like that, Kyle held the unequivocal advantage over Osir, easily hitting all over the body. Osir yelled out in pain as the multitude of dyed pain effects kicked in at the same time, causing him to suffer tremendously. Osir knew that Kyle had more than enough strength to beat him over the course of the fight. Osir would have given up and retreated if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that this was a life-or-death duel. His head hung low, dejected as he slumped against the wall, unable to move his limbs any longer. ¡°Good.¡± Kyle took a deep breath, his head covered in sweat, grime and blood as he tried to wipe it off with an equally bloody hand. ¡°I have a few questions. What is the Oracle?¡± Osir was dumbfounded. ¡°Answer the question.¡± ¡°You keep talking about the heavenly war; what is it?¡± Osir spoke with a pained expression as he breathed deeply, his lungs aching. Osir coughed out blood, dripping down his chin. ¡°How long ago was this¡­ heavenly war?¡± Kyle asked with hesitation, afraid to know the answer. He already had hints from the skeletons and rusted exosuits. Osir¡¯s voice started to get weaker. Kyle quickly moved forward to heal him with the Ne of Healing, but for some reason, the green aura that enveloped Osir was not enough to fix the internal bleeding. ¡°What are the chambers for? What did the console tell you?¡± ¡°The Oracle, what did she tell you?¡± Osir¡¯s voice trailed off, the small amount of healing unable to stem the severe wounds Kyle had inflicted on Osir. Kyle stopped trying, noticing Osir¡¯s hands losing their tension. The chamber was aplete wreck, with many of the chamber doors smashed in or broken apart by their brutal fight. He stood up, ncing around the room. One of the doors out of the chamber looked different ¨C an administrator room of sorts. He readied his shield and hammer, preparing for the worst. Time to find out what Instation 12 is. Chapter 68: Queen
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[ess Granted] Temporary Administrator Privileges recognised Please register at the nearest terminal Temporary Administrator Privileges recognised Please register at the nearest terminal
Kyle ignored the message, staying wary as he stepped through the now-opened door of the administrator¡¯s room. However, instead of seeing a control centre of some sort, it was instead a long hallway, dimly lit by barely functioning lights. There is still electricity in the ce ¨C entirely possible for someone to be alive. He slowly stepped down the hallway, minimising the noise of his footsteps as much as he could as he approached a T-junction. On the wall was stered a sign in the Council¡¯snguage, further cementing Kyle¡¯s belief that this was a Gctic Era instation. [] Seed Storage? Is this a doomsday bunker? However, the existence of the green gaseous chambers that improved the hobgoblins did not seem right. It felt more like an experimentalb rather than a bunker meant for hiding out. There were no signs for shelter as well, so it did not feel like an evacuation point. Kyle decided to check out the chemicals first, curious about the green gas. He had breathed in a few whiffs but felt no particr changes to his body. He soon reached another metallic door, locked tight. Kyle was considering his options on breaking the lock when the door automatically opened for him, as though it was expecting him. This raised his suspicion even higher as he tried to figure out why did he have such privilege. Is every System user an administrator? If there are such facilities in Versia, and Gctic Era tech was able to be recovered, perhaps they, too have a System User¡­ Kyle focused his attention on his immediate surroundings. He stepped through the door, revealing a biob that was clearly dedicated to gic extermination. Hundreds of pressurised gas tanks were lined up in a packed formation, the tubes attached to their nozzles and running the entire length of theb¡¯s ceiling towards an exit duct that no doubt led to the individual gas chambers. There were four vats in theb, each with a floating specimen inside. Kyle could see that they were arranged in ascending order, with a goblin baby being the first, followed by a goblin child, a goblin adult and a hobgoblin adult. Were the goblins artificially created? Or experimented on? Kyle moved over to the control terminal, where he spotted a helmetless human wearing an exosuit sitting on the chair, facing the vats. He readied himself for a fight, slowly moving up and using the hammer to spin the exosuit around slowly. Only the dead, agonised face of its upant stared back at Kyle, long dead before Kyle even arrived. Streaks of dried blood stains were marked on the wall, along with three other destroyed exosuits with no bodies. A pile of human bonesy in front of the exosuit pilot. Cannibalism. Not surprised. He shoved the degraded exosuit and bones out of the way, tapping the control panel. Nothing responded despite electricity still being supplied to this ce. Kyle tried tapping once again, prompting a shimmering sound to materialise behind him. He quickly swivelled and swung the hammer, only for the hammer to pass through a holographic human. [Good morning, Administrator. What tasks would you like me to perform today?] The holographic AI human bowed, wearing a skimpy bikini that entuated her curves in a disproportionate way. Kyle didn¡¯t want to think about what thest survivor was doing with the AI. ¡°Revert to your default form and give me the logs of theb. And call me sir.¡± [Understood.] The A.I. reverted into a military-style uniform,plete with a beret. [Following Protocol 138A, all existing logs and data have been purged from the facility. Shall I attempt to uplink to the main server?] ¡°No, do not uplink. What is Protocol 138A?¡± [I apologise. Information regarding Protocol 138A has also been erased.] Kyle frowned, visibly frustrated. However, it was not unexpected to face such an issue. Many human forces in the Gctic Era employed such tactics to mask their military or secret instations. Gctic Coordinates were a life-or-death matter. If they were leaked to a hostile alien force, it would be catastrophic. Kyle himself had employed such a protocol during his liberation war against the invading slovesa, preventing captured ships from leaking critical data of the core worlds. ¡°So you don¡¯t know what thisb is for.¡± [Correct. But I am connected to every mechanical and electrical system in this facility.] ¡°What defence systems are left?¡± [Sorry, all defence systems have been neutralised.] ¡°What was your original purpose?¡± [Sorry, I do not have the information to answer that.] ¡°What is this holographic interface that I have?¡± [Sorry, I do not have the information to answer that.] Kyle groaned. ¡°What information do you actually have?¡± [For one, I am well equipped with agricultural development. I have been able to restore many of the instructions needed to redevelop using the seeds stored in the Seed Storage section. I am also able to control the pressure of the gas tanks that are currently connected to the individual chambers, though I am unsure as to what their purpose is.] Kyle sighed. If the A.I. had continued to be useless, he might have stormed the entire ce just to find her databank and rebooted it in the most manual way possible. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± [Apologies. All other records have been eradicated. There is one remaining piece of data that I have retained, however.] ¡°Show me.¡± [It is an instruction to connect to the main server. Shall I execute?] ¡°NO!¡± Kyle shouted quickly. He had no idea what forces were behind the or controlling any instation. If the force behind the main server found out that he had taken down one of their facilities, there would be severe repercussions. If Kyle were in that position, he would have done the same thing as well. ¡°Under no circumstances are you to make any radio transmissions, electrical connection, or conversation with anyone outside this facility except me. Got it?¡± [Yes sir.] Kyle pushed the dead exosuit wearer out of the chair, sitting down on it to rest. This is actually a blessing in disguise, but I must find a way to hide the existence of the A. I as much as possible. Spreading the word about such a facility among themon people is a good way to invite trouble. He nced at the A.I., who was still in a holographic form. It will be hard to utilise her to redevelop the area in this form. ¡°Do you have a mechanical form or a robotic form that you can control as an avatar?¡± [Affirmative. Please wait.] A rumbling sound erupted from the other side of the researchb, where Kyle had yet to explore. The vibration shook the entireb, rattling the bones on the floor while it was followed by a weird squelching sound and a gooey drip. Soon, a stark naked female hobgoblin approached him, green goo still dripping from her skin. ¡°Will this body suffice?¡± Kyle was taken aback by the level of technology the A.I. boasted. This is truly an A-ss technology ¨C people would kill for such an A.I. in the Melsura Star Sector. ¡°Anysh back if you die in this form?¡± ¡°None, sir. It is simply a remote avatar for me.¡± Kyle grew a bit suspicious. ¡°You must have records of using such a body before.¡± ¡°No, but I have retained the instruction on how to do so. Shall I terminate this avatar?¡± ¡°No need. This is fine.¡± Kyle quickly started nning in his head. With the help of this A.I. avatar, it could elerate the redevelopment of the entire goblin society by centuries. All he had to do was to find some way to get the goblin society to ept the A.I. ¡°Can you speak the goblinnguage?¡± ¡°No, sir. Information has been erased. But I can learn.¡± ¡°Good. Show me the seed storage now.¡± Kyle followed the female hobgoblin towards the other end of the facility, which was revealed to have millions of native seeds kept for future nting, stored in cryogenic conditions. Some of the cryogenic storage boxes had already run out of energy but had enough instion to keep out most of the heat from spoiling the seeds. Kyle grinned as he surveyed the area, knowing that his bid to develop an agricultural system for the goblins and build a strong workforce could finally be elerated. Sahusa was panicking as he continued to hide in the armoury, worried about what happened to Kyle. He had not heard a single warrior past the armoury ever since, but Kyle not returning after a few hours worried him tremendously. Suddenly, two pairs of footsteps could be heard approaching the barricaded door of the armoury. Sahusa quickly grabbed a sword and shield that was nearby, preparing to fight. Don¡¯t look down on me! I am Sahusa the Great! ¡°Sahusa. You better be alive in there.¡± The voice of Kyle wafting through the barricades sent a wave of relief through Sahusa¡¯s body, nearly bursting out into tears. The barricade was quickly torn down, with Sahusa mouring to his feet. ¡°Osir, did you kill Osir?¡± ¡°He¡¯s dead. Congrattions, you are now the king once more. I hope you remember our deal.¡± ¡°Indeed I have.¡± Sahusa nodded. ¡°Well, circumstances have changed. I would need to add one more condition to the deal.¡± ¡°One more condition¡­?¡± Sahusa¡¯s eyes narrowed, his heart quickly turning to suspicion as he eyed Kyle warily. Humans had a strong reputation for being sneaky with their words. His father and grandfather had always told him not to trust the words of any humans. ¡°What is the condition? More territory? My people? Orplete control? I will not be a mere puppet like what you did to Gk¡­¡± Sahusa continued as Kyle revealed the second person who was walking next to him. ¡°Nothing of the sort. I simply need you to take this hobgoblin as your queen.¡± Sahusa¡¯s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets as he intricately examined every curve of the sexy female hobgoblin in front of him. It was as though she had been perfectly crafted to the ideal female hobgoblin shape, her sharp yellow teeth perfectly aligned along with the smooth glistening texture of her green skin entuating her lean muscles. Why does she look so familiar? Sahusa couldn¡¯t quite put his finger on it, but he knew he had seen her somewhere before. He gulped internally as he felt something akin to a purple arrow strike through his heart. Not even in the past year of indulging in decadence with the servants of the pce had he experienced such a flutter in his heart. ¡°Of course, of course!¡± Sahusa slicked back his pointy ears, putting on his best pose despite his dishevelled clothes and armour. He quickly moved past Kyle, kneeling in front of the female hobgoblin. ¡°I would be honoured to know of your name, fair maiden.¡± Sahusa grabbed her hand. In a blink of an eye, the female hobgoblin delivered a kick right into Sahusa¡¯s shoulder, sending him crashing to the side. Kyle was taken aback, but not because of how strong the female avatar was. ¡°What is your name, by the way?¡± ¡°Apologise, but I do not have a name as well. If you must, my designation is EKV-29391-¡° ¡°Okay, never mind. From now on, your name is Orisa. You will act as a wife to the goblin king, Sahusa the Great. He will be your second-inmand. Nomand of his is to override mine.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The female hobgoblin nodded before heading over and picking up the groaning Sahusa. ¡°My dear king, I¡¯m sorry for kicking you.¡± Sahusa¡¯s heart fluttered even more as Orisa carried him in both arms like a maiden. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I have had worse with my first wife.¡± Sahusa muttered, clearly lovestruck. ¡°Okay, enough.¡± Kyle pped his hands, interrupting them. ¡°We still need to clean up the main rebel army and subjugate the rest of the tribes. Orisa, how far away from here can you operate?¡± ¡°I can operate effectively up to beyond 10 kilometres, but this will require me to deploy the antenna system of the mountain. Shall I deploy it?¡± ¡°No, do not deploy any radio equipment.¡± Kyle rejected the idea. As much as the antenna was directional, there would always be some leakage that could potentially tip off anyone watching. ¡°Do not go further than what you can handle.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Sahusa. As part of our deal, you will now regain control of your kingdom. All goblins in the Culdao Peaks Area are to fall under your control. Do you understand? Work with my subordinate, Sasha. She knows what to do.¡± Sahusa nodded but was confused as to where Kyle was walking off to. ¡°Wait, where are you going? If we used your strength, we could easily dominate the rest of the tribes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going back to the oracle. I have a few personal things to settle¡­¡± Kyle walked off, pulling back up the holographic messages that suddenly came in like a flood. Every hobgoblin he had killed inside was recorded, filling his vision.
[System Message] Killed [Improved Hobgoblin Guard], +250 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Goblin King Osir], +3000 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 20 ---> Level 25
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Announcement
[ss Upgrade (Level 25)] Congrattions, Unique ss will now be upgraded Please wait
Chapter 69: Subclass Selection Kyle headed back to the Oracle chamber himself. While he was seen leaving the pce, he still kept in contact with Orisa, exining to her what she needed to do in sequence. Pacifying the entire goblin poption here in the Culdao Peaks was not going to be easy ¨C but with the advanced capabilities of the A.I. and the puppet head that was Sahusa the Great, it made it easier for Kyle to implement an agricultural revolution. However, first on the menu was stabilising the local area first. The rebel army was still upying many parts of the valley, being the main domineering force that was still unaware that their leader Osir had already fallen. Kyle decided to leave the cleanup to Orisa and Sasha. As for heading back into the Oracle Chambers, there was a few good reasons.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Sub-ss Upgrade (Level 20)] Congrattions, sub-sses will be unlocked now Please wait
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Announcement
[ss Upgrade (Level 25)] Congrattions, Unique ss will now be upgraded Please wait
Thest time he had done a ss upgrade was when he was level 10 ¨C and it was an extremely painful process. If Kyle wanted to get the upgrades right now, he needed to do it somewhere out of sight andpletely safe from any possible enemy attacks. Kyle returned to the researchb, sighing as he sat back down in the chair. Now that he had seen how the hobgoblins and goblins had been experimented on, a burning question began to nag in his mind. How is the System conferring the skills onto me? Regardless, the moment he thought about the sub-ss upgrades, a new system message appeared.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Generating Sub-sses] Please Wait Please Wait
It better be good this time, and before I make a final choice, I should ask for the skills first. Kyle tapped his fingers impatiently, waiting for about a minute before the sub-ss windows appeared.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Sub-sses Generated] All subssese with one ss-unique skill at the start Please choose carefully
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Tycoon (Basic)] Money makes the world go round Active Skills revolve around business acumen, persuasion and leadership
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[ve Driver (Basic)] Seize the means of production into one hand Active Skills revolve around intimidation and maniption
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Drug Cook (Basic)] Mixing nature to get people high Active Skills revolve around the increased quality of drugs and a higher chance to learn new recipes
Kyle nced through all of them, his face frowning. None of the subsses generated seemed to be useful to him. He had learnt how powerful the System was when utilising his Crime Lord skills duringbat ¨C if he did not have such skills, he would have progressed much slower than he would have originally. As such, neither of the three sses seemed to offer something that Kyle could not actively work towards himself. Weird. The Tycoon sub-ss is entirely revolved around making money. Can the System manipte rakels directly?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Rich Man¡¯s World (Basic)] Reduce the opposition people have towards your deals +50% Persuasion Sess Chance Duration: Five minutes Cooldown: One day
So it seems that the skill is simr to the Intimidation Aura except inversed. Kyle did not find any interest in selecting such a subss ¨C he did not need the help of the System to persuade anybody. What he needed was a sub-ss that actively boosted things that he was sorelycking. As such, the other two subsses of ve Driver and Drug Cook were also dismissed by him. If he really needed the System to support him in those areas, he would prefer to work towards a title instead of taking up a subss slot. As of now, he had no idea if he could even revert any of the choices he has made or will make in the future.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Regenerating Sub-sses] Please Wait Please Wait
Another minute passed before another three windows appeared in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Inventor (Intermediate)] Breaking the norm, one patent at a time Active Skills revolve around an increased chance to optimise new blueprints for invented parts
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Revolutionary (Intermediate)] Move the people with a wave of your hand Active Skills revolve around crowd control and persuasion
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Poisoner (Basic)] Mixing nature to kill people Active Skills revolve around poison and its applications
Kyle was not impressed with any of these sub-sses either. Why did he feel like the System was looking down on his capabilities and background as a former Gctic Era Crime Lord? For one, he already knew how to improve many of the current inventions of this era - it was more of an issue with secrecy rather than with the inability to make new stuff. Kyle also prided himself on his ability to lead or at least to use fear and power to control people. I used to rule an entire star sector! Why would the System think I need help persuading a small crowd?! Lastly, poison was also nothing new ¨C Kyle could already think of a few chemical mixtures that could kill someone with a small drop, no sub-ss needed. Seriously, can you show something more useful? Something I can¡¯t do myself. And maybe show more than three this time.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Regenerating Sub-sses] Please Wait Please Wait
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Serial Killer (Advanced)] Once you start, you can¡¯t stop Active Skills revolve around increasing stats the more you kill within a given timeframe
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Pact Maker (Legendary)] Enforces written contracts to a certain level Active Skills revolve around applying debuffs to signatories who do not adhere to the contract
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Tamer (Advanced)] Even the animals shall be exploited Active Skills revolve around subjugating animals for various uses
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Mind Controller (Legendary)] Manipte the thoughts of others at will Active Skills revolve around the maniption of thoughts and emotions
Kyle began to take more interest in the sub-sses shown. He immediately dismissed the Serial Killer subss, which he considered useless. He did not need extra help killing multiple targets - he could easily invent a machine gun for that. The Pact Maker subss looked fairly interesting. Kyle was clear that the underworld contract was enforced by strength and reputation ¨C many of the contracts served as proof of justice in the event one party decided to renegade on the terms. However, if one party had an overwhelming power advantage, the contract waspletely unfair. I could definitely use this to my advantage¡­ Kyle decided to keep the Contract Dealer subss in mind while he explored the others. Tamer¡­ sounds interesting. Kyle was not a human nor humanoid supremacist in anyway ¨C the Gctic Era had taught him a simple rule: if it can work, it can be exploited. However, domesticating animals was not exactly extremely hard as well. Humans have been doing it for a long time, so Kyle did not see a clear need for it just yet. Mind Controller had the most interest from Kyle. The ability to influence emotions¡­ sounds simr to the First Apocalypse. Kyle would like to have this sub ss, but it felt too simr to how he currently used the intimidation aura as well. Let¡¯s keep this in mind first. Store Pact Maker and Mind Controller as possible sub-sses. Show me the next set.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Announcement
[Regenerating Sub-sses] Please Wait Warning: Last Three Sub sses for Selection
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Shadow (Legendary)] From the shadows you strike Active Skills revolve around infiltration and self-concealment
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Manufacturer (Unique)] Lead the Industrial Revolution Active Skills revolve around mass production and assembly lines Unique ss ¨C Single Upgrade Track
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Generated
[Arcia Mystic (Unique)] The flow of arcia energy is in your hands Active Skills revolve around the maniption and understanding of engravings both physically and remotely Unique ss ¨C Single Upgrade Track
Kyle was sitting on the edge of his seat now, his mind racing through all the possibilities now. The three sub-sses provided were clearly attuned to what he intended to achieve. He recalled the n he set out to achieve when he first arrived in Raktor:
  1. Build a solid base/group of people to perform menialbour and reach a position preferably on the same level as his previous titles. Remain hidden from the big powers as much as possible.
  2. Find a niche market to sell, preferably illegal, so as to exploit profit margins. Scale up and dominate the market, as well as ensure nopetition.
  3. Figure how the hell did he survive/woke up in another person¡¯s body
Points 1 and 2 could have been said to have been slightly aplished, with the addictive potions still being circted through the Seven Snakes businesses along with their legal aboveground businesses of construction and media, with an uing weapons industry. If he were still intending to follow the same n, then Pact Maker or Manufacturer would be the best option. However, the Arcia Mystic ss was far too alluring to give up simply. What¡¯s the unique skill of the Arcia Mystic ss?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Negation Field (Basic)] Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius Upgradable Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: Three days
WHAT?! Kyle nearly lost his mind at how broken the skill was. It was a perfect duelling skill ¨Cbined with the skill This is My Turf, would he not be invincible for the ovepping duration? Kyle calmed himself down, checking the Manufacturer¡¯s unique skill.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Mass Production Drones (Basic)] Instantly gain knowledge on how to construct arctech drones Able to control up to five drones remotely Upgradable Duration: One hour Cooldown: One day
Kyle immediately selected the Arcia Mystic ss as his subss. The ability to create said drones could be easily developed from the ground up ¨C Kyle already had a working example of a general-purpose A.I. such as Orisa to simply duplicate.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] WARNING
[Sub-ss Integration Beginning] Please find a safe location Please find a safe location
Before Kyle could even brace himself, the familiar sharp, sudden jabbing pain erupted at the nape of his neck. The fiery pain shot through the nerves, spine and bones like lightning, causing him to wince and fall off the chair, writhing in pain. How is this as painful as the main ss upgrade?! As he rolled around the floor, a million needles prickling his skin, he could feel the same foreign object in his body slicing away at his internal organs and underlying flesh, as though it was rearranging his vessels and blood flow, albeit in a brutal gruesome fashion. [Sir, you seem to be experiencing severe distress.] Orisa¡¯s holographic image appeared. [Symptoms include talking to oneself and undergoing extreme cramp cycles. Do you need me to y you some soothing music?] Kyle grunted unintelligibly, unable to reply in coherent words as the pain continued to envelop his entire being. He began to struggle to keep awake, the continuous waves and bouts of pain nearly making him lose consciousness. ¡°Ti..tis is nuthin¡­¡± Kyle tried to speak to Orisa, nearly biting his own tongue off. The spasms caused his body to convulse on the floor, making him involuntarily hit his head against the edge of a gas tank before falling unconscious. Chapter 70: Golden Age Kyle gasped as he jolted awake, his eyes darting around the room. He raised his arms gingerly, noticing he was lying in a puddle of vomit, piss and bloodbined ¨C a side-effect of his ss upgrade. Two screens hovered in his vision.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Sub-ss Obtained
[Arcia Mystic (Unique)] The flow of arcia energy is in your hands Active Skills revolve around the maniption and understanding of engravings both physically and remotely Unique Sub-ss ¨C Single Upgrade Track
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Negation Field (Basic)] Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius Upgradable Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: Three days
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] ss Upgrade
[Main ss Upgraded] Your rise in criminal society has been noted Crime Lord upgraded to Viscount of Vices All skills upgraded
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Intimidation Aura (Intermediate)] Control those who oppose you with fear +60% Intimidation Sess Chance Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: Twelve Hours
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Penchant for Violence (Intermediate)] A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 60% for a short duration Duration: One minute Cooldown: Seven minutes
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[This is My Turf (Intermediate)] No one gets close to you without your word Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach Duration: One minute Cooldown: Two Hours
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Designate Follower (Intermediate)] Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters Limit of two followers now
Kyle smiled to himself, despite the slop that he was currently covered in. However, as he tried to sit up, he suddenly realised something critical that he needed to test immediately. Disables all engravings in a five-meter radius¡­ does that include my own engravings? He decided to test it now immediately, despite the cooldown being three days. He ensured he was still wearing his Aero Shoes. Negation Field! A warbling visual effect surged from his body as the centre, forming a sort of translucent hemisphere. Aero Shoes! The Aero Shoes lit up for a second before petering out as though the flow of arcia energy had been disrupted. Nothing else happened. Kyle frowned immediately, but he still had to test a few more things. Penchant for Violence! Instead of feeling the same familiar surge of power rushing through his blood, Kyle winced from a backflow of arcia energy, sent into turmoil by the negation field. The pain erupted from deep within his body as though he had an engraving in there. Kyle pondered even longer before pulling out his handgun and trying to fire a few shots. His hand was immediately wracked with pain, causing him to drop the handgun uncontrobly. What does this mean? Kyle questioned himself internally, but he already knew the answer all along: the System has been engraving the skills onto his body or readjusting his internals to generate the skill effect. This also exined why every single ss upgrade was so painful and agonising, as though someone was carving away at his flesh. Kyle had always held the notion that arctech was not a form of magic but rather a special exotic element that simply had magic-like properties. He had seen other exotics have equally amazing properties, but he had never heard of one which could be imbued into the human body like this without rejection. Nearly every study of the Gctic Era stated that humans could not integrate exotics normally withoutpletely modifying their gic makeup to adapt. Kyle wondered now if all humans on this were of a specific variant, able to ingest and manipte arcia normally. But how did the humans get here in the first ce? Kyle was certain this was not Earth ¨C Ancient Earth was well alive when he was still a Gctic Era crime lord. Also, the existence of the A-ss facility directly contradicted Earth¡¯s status as the capital of an S-ss human nation. Kyle found it impossible for an A-ss facility to sneak into the mountains of Earth, when every inch of Terra soil was guarded with a billion spaceships and satellites. Kyle could not confidently say he knew exactly what happened in the history of this. It could still very well be a virtual reality game, though it seems to be straying even further from that angle. Time travel was a possibility as well - Kyle was not unaware of time anomalies present in the more chaotic sections of the Milky Way Gxy. But how did he end up here? The A-ss facility did not look like an evacuation shelter either but rather as an observationboratory. Were they studying the natives, which were the goblins? As Kyle was weighing the different theories he had, Orisa¡¯s holographic image appeared. [Good morning, sir. It has been three days since you werest awake.] ¡°Three days?¡± Kyle was astonished. The previous ss upgrade took only the better part of a day; he did not expect to be knocked out for so long. Perhaps it was also due to the main ss upgrade as well. ¡°Is the stabilisation of the goblinsplete?¡± [Yes, sir. All goblins are now united under Sahusa and my avatar. My avatar is currently carrying agricultural reforms as ordered.] Kyle nodded, standing up with the sludge around him sliding off. The facility had no functioning showers left, so Kyle had no choice but to head back to the pce. As he walked out through the circr chamber and hallway, he noticed that all the bodies and corpses had been removed by Orisa already. Even the skeletons from before were stored deeper in the facility. The new hobgoblin guards, made up of the loyal knights of Sahusa, were standing guard outside the Oracle Chamber under the orders of the new Goblin Queen. They were told not to look inside, but an overpowering foul stench soon assaulted their senses, nearly causing them to gag. The guard turned to see Kyle marching out with a nk expression, his body stained with disgusting streaks of vomit and blood. One guard put his sword up at the ready before the other hobgoblin guard smacked him on the head. Kyle ignored their bickering, simply stepping past them and heading straight to the king¡¯s room, where Sahusa was rxing. Sahusa nearly screamed at the appalling appearance of Kyle before calming himself down. ¡°Servants, quickly! Give this human a bath!¡± The servants led Kyle towards arge bath area, where they simply picked up buckets of water and sshed them onto him, warily avoiding the streams of bile streaking along the floor as it snaked towards the drainage. The facilities here definitely need to be improved. Kyle examined the state of the pce. It was indeed opulent but could be designed to be much more efficient and rxing. A task forter ¨C let¡¯s see the overall progress. Kyle got Sahusa to bring him around the valley to observe the projects implemented. ¡°It¡¯s only been two days since we have reunited the goblins ¨C we are focusing on the terrace farming project as ordered by Orisa.¡± Sahusa pointed out to a nearby sloped section of the valley, where sectioned terraces were already carved out and nted with seeds. Kyle noticed Orisa was working alongside the goblin farmers, guiding them directly. Nearly all the male goblins and hobgoblins were smitten, while the female goblins showed clear signs of jealousy and envy. He noticed that the hobgoblins, being stronger andrger, were able toplete more tasks effectively. Many of them were former rebel soldiers, converted into farmers to solve the famine quickly. He walked with Sahusa along the farming plots, bending over to check the sapling that was already beginning to grow. The speed of the growth was not as surprising to Kyle as it was to Sahusa. The Gctic Era was full of gically optimised seeds for maximum growth, with most crops being able to grow to maturity within two weeks or a month at most. With the seed storage under Orisa¡¯s control, it was easy to nt them and simply wait. In the meantime, Kyle would spend money to buy food from the Culdao Peaks to feed the goblins and tide them over until the first harvest. ¡°What about the tunnelling project?¡± ¡°Yes, we are working on clearing a path through the forest to directly connect our territories to Gk¡¯s goblin den. Your prospector has already identified multiple coal seams here as well as arge iron ore deposit.¡± Kyle nodded. The entire purpose of consolidating the goblins was to both have apliant workforce as well as ess to the resources. He nced across the valley to notice arge mining tunnel with thousands of goblins carrying crudely made pickaxes, rotating in and out to erge the mining shaft. A clear major sand road was carved out through the entire length of the valley, leading out of the walls that guarded the entrance and snaking off towards the direction of Gk¡¯s goblin den. He could already see a few wheelbarrows being hauled by goblins going to and fro, carting some of the already mined iron ore out of the valley before the transportationwork was fullyplete. I will have toy railways to make the entire operation even more efficient. Sahusa continued exining the progress of the other projects. ¡°As for the irrigation system, it is a bit of a challenge as there is a lot of manualbour to do over a wide area.¡± Kyle watched as one of the weaker, smaller goblins was panting as he used a shovel to dig out the shape of the terrace on the slope while the hobgoblins effortlessly did the work. Previously he never had an issue with Gk¡¯s goblins because their work was simply harvesting Euria Seeds, which actually required them to be small and nimble. ¡°What¡¯s the percentage of hobgoblins currently?¡± ¡°Per-cen¡­what?¡± ¡°For every ten goblins, how many are hobgoblins on average?¡± ¡°Uhm, not many. In fact, I think it¡¯s one in a hundred.¡± One percent, that¡¯s not good enough. We need to move faster. Kyle re-calcted how much time he had left to implement everything. It¡¯s been about two weeks since he started building the steel factory, as well as subjugating the goblins. With only a month and a half left, Kyle was on an extremely tight deadline. He also needed to go over to Versia to set up a weapons factory for them as well. He was nning to nail the Raktor¡¯s weapon factory in the next two weeks before heading over to Versia and implementing it quickly. Luckily for him, Versia¡¯s weapons deal did not have a tight deadline, unlike Baron Cain¡¯s tender, so it was okay if Verisa¡¯s factory came online a bitter after the war. However, Kyle wanted toplete things as fast as possible before moving on to other ventures. ¡°Round up all the weakest goblins and bring them to the Oracle Chambers for enhancement.¡± He ordered Sahusa. Sahusa was taken aback. ¡°Enhancement?! What do you mean?¡± ¡°In fact, all the hobgoblins currently should take immediate priority.¡± Kyle walked over to where Orisa was teaching a group of goblins how to farm and things to look out for. ¡°Orisa, prepare the chambers for enhancement.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. You mean flood them with green gas?¡± ¡°¡­. Yes.¡± An hourter, a hundred hobgoblins were standing outside the circr chamber in the expansive hallway, murmuring among themselves as they watched the first two dozen hobgoblins, along with King Sahusa, enter with Orisa guiding them. As the hobgoblins discussed excitedly as to the origins of Orisa over the next few minutes, the pneumatic doors slid open, revealing the same two dozen hobgoblins and King Sahusa. Those waiting outside were taken aback as they clearly saw a marked difference in the bodies of those who entered. The most prominent change was that of King Sahusa, who had grown to a size nearly asrge as Osir, his repressed genes activated by the green gas. It was a stark difference from his previously average height as a normal hobgoblin. Sahusa flexed his hands a bit, noticing the sheer power and strength flowing through his body. He had never felt better in his life. Punching his fist into the air, he yelled at the top of his lungs.
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 25 Max HP: 82(+0)(+0)(+0) Max MP: 53(+0)(+5)(+0) Max STA: 82(+0)(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
Sub-ss Arcia Mystic (Unique)
STR 127(+44)(+0)(+0)
DEX 138(+52)(+3)(+0)
INT 116(+55)(+3)(+0)
VIT 91(+4)(+5)(+0)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)(+0)
Free Points 50
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Intermediate)]: Control those who oppose you with fear. +60% Intimidation Sess Chance. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Twelve Hours.
[Penchant for Violence (Intermediate)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 60% for a short duration. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Seven minutes.
[This is My Turf (Intermediate)]: No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Two Hours.
[Designate Follower (Intermediate)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication. Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters. Limit of two followers now.
[Negation Field (Basic)]: Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius. Upgradable. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Three days.
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Intermediate)] Goblins tremble at the sound of your name +20 STR, +10 DEX, +4 VIT, +20% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Basic)] Death handcrafted and delivered at high speeds. +5 INT, +3 DEX, +10% chance to craft an intermediate pistol when assembling.
Chapter 71: Factory The redevelopment of the Culdao Peaks area went smoothly, save for a few minor hups from rebellious tribes, which were easily solved by the strike force under Sasha¡¯s control. Thanks to the effects of the evolution chambers, hobgoblins were now much moremon among the goblin poption. This made the agricultural, mining and irrigation projects a lot easier ¨C though Kyle controlled the number of hobgoblins carefully, with only a thousand being uplifted in two days. ¡°Why do we not just evolve every goblin to a hobgoblin?¡± Sahusa asked Kyle. He, of course wanted to see every member of his race uplifted to their full potential ¨C who would say no to a thousand more improved hobgoblins? ¡°Not yet. Increased strength does note for free. Let¡¯s wait and see if there are any side effects before allowing the general poption to evolve.¡± Kyle remained wary of the significant age of the evolution chambers as well as the inherent nature of gic enhancement. He himself was a designer baby in his former life ¨C and it required special nutrition up to two times that of a normal human in order to maintain the body. If that urred to the improved hobgoblins who were now bestowed with extra strength, it would only make the famine worse. Kyle could easily afford the food now for the entire poption, but doubling that without worrying about the consequences would cost him even more. It was also not necessary for every single goblin to be a hobgoblin ¨C the projects could only handle so many other hands working on them. Kyle got started on having the goblins build drainage and sewer systems, improving the basic utilities of the valley, as well as reconstructing many of the damaged homes over the course of the rebellion. Orisa continued to guide the goblins on terrace farming, calcting the number of seeds and plot area needed for the entire goblin poption to achieve self-sufficiency. ¡°Sir, in twelve days¡¯ time, the first round of harvest will be ready. I have staggered the growing periods of each terrace farm area for continued harvesting over two weeks, which means there should be continuous food production.¡± Kyle was slightly surprised. ¡°This seed can grow in all conditions?¡± ¡°Unless a natural disaster urs, this is one of the hardier grain variants that can survive nearly every other weather condition. It will be perfect to serve as a staple for the goblins. I have already tested itspatibility with the goblin¡¯s digestive system.¡± With the food issue ted to be solved, Kyle turned his attention again to the irrigation project. Hundreds of hobgoblins were now chopping away at trees and digging ditches all across the valley, preparing to divert water trapped in the cier between mountains. Kyle continued nning the route of the water, wondering if he could redivert it entirely towards the factory to serve as a consistent water supply. However, creating a brand new river just for the factory would rm many observers within Raktor, not the least of all Count Leon, who held overall ownership over the entire region of Raktor. Theoretically, allnd in the Culdao Peaks belonged to him; it was just that the Count did not find any reason to upy the area and flush out the goblins. Once I build the railway connecting the goblin dens and the factory, Count Leon would immediatelye running asking for their piece of the pie, or maybe the entire pie himself¡­ Kyle thought carefully, considering all his options. He needed to find a way to transport the coal and iron ore over without being detected. Kyle moved over to the mines, where the goblins were all hard at work digging a well-supported tunnel through the mountain. Raksha, Merissa and Feldon were all overseeing the project, aiming at joining up all the goblin den through thework. ¡°How feasible is it to have the resources be transported to the factory instead of ovend? I need the railway tracks to be built underground.¡± Kyle asked them. Merissa and Feldon were no experts in underground mining, leaving only Raksha aspetent enough to answer. ¡°Should not be a problem. It would simply be a concept of slope mining, albeit with a very gradual slope. The main issue would be air venttion ¨C do we even have enough arcite ore to ventte the entirework? We might drill shafts into the tunnels to provide filtered air along the way as well.¡± It was a fifty-kilometre distance from the iron ore deposit to the factory, which meant significant amounts of venttion and filtering of air would be necessary to make it less dangerous for the workers. Luckily for Kyle, they had already been digging a tunnel for the transfer of Euria seeds before, so close to three quarters of the job was already done. The remaining sections were simply joining up the old tunnelworks, which only left less than five kilometres of digging to be done. Kyle shook his head, drawing out the n he had in his head. ¡°We only need venttion for the mine and the receiving end of the resources. For everything else in between, the carriage would bepletely encased and supplied with its own air.¡± ¡°Like a diving bell¡­ but how are we going toy the tracks?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do it iteratively. The steel factory will buy iron ore and coal from another supplier temporarily and make the steel tracks. Once they ferry thepleted tracks over to us, we just need toy them down one section at a time, using thepleted tracks to rotate the workers in and out continuously.¡± The n went as expected, with Kyle sending an order through the Euria Seeds distributionwork to Keith and Reese, exining what the factory needed to build. On the steel factory side, many of the heavy-duty equipment had been bought from other suppliers, having no time to develop them from scratch. The sinter nt, coke overs, st furnace anddles were all ordered from other manufacturers under the wing of Baron Cain. Reese got to work, hiring more and more workers to implement the post-processing of the casted steel, churning out railway sections after a week of setup. With the new railway sections delivered under escort by Sasha and her strike force to ensure no disruption and observations, the goblin miners began toy the sections down in the nned direction. The depth of the tunnel became longer and longer, and at some point, the venttion provided by the normal flow of air was not enough. Thanks to the already existing underground tunnelwork system as well as the work put in by Gk¡¯s goblins since four months ago,the amount of rock they actually needed to dig through was not as much as anticipated. Raksha helped to map out the tunnel system calcting the route needed to be taken. Many of the old tunnel systems created by previous abandoned mines that were scattered around the area simply needed to be linked up, many being a few hundred meters away from each other. With this, the goblins simply split up and built sections separately in parallel, allowing the digging to go faster while eventually joining all of them up. Long pipes made of fired y wereid in the tunnels stemming from the entrances of the former goblin dens, along with air pumps worked by hundreds of small goblins pumping air through the y pipes in to ensure the workers could still breathe. With the sheer amount of workforce working day and night, the tunnel waspleted in twelve days thanks to the prior work done as well as the old tunnelworks, finally reaching the factory. Reese waited in the basement of the factory, checking the time when the soil in front of him began to crack open, bursting out to reveal fifteen goblins, all sweating and panting. Behind themy a continuous stretch of railway tracks, big enough for a series of mine carts to fit on it. Reese quickly added his own air pump on this end of the tunnel, filling the tunnel with air. As he worked with the goblins, a rumbling sound could be heard as a mine cart hurtled down the tracks like a rollercoaster, with Kyle being the first test passenger. The cart came to a stop at the end with manual braking. He stepped out of the cart shakily, immediately jotting down notes on a clipboard. ¡°Section 4-D is not aligned properly; Section 2-A nearly took my head clean off ¨C needs to be wider. Steel quality in 5-D is not good; severe fatigue noted ¨C mark for recement.¡± Kyle muttered to himself. With this, in two short weeks since the unification of the goblins, they had a functioning steel factory now with its own vertically integrated iron mine and coal deposits, worked by the goblins. In exchange, goods such as food, household appliances, basic tools and equipment were sent back to the goblin territory, forming the first major trade route between the two territories. Kyle was now back in Raktor, having solved the dearth of resources. It went a bit slower than he expected, but the factory was up and running now. Baron Cain visited on the day of it¡¯s official opening, smiling widely to himself. ¡°I never expected you to have the factory ready for me one month ahead of schedule ¨C truly amazing.¡± Cain praised Kyle, joyous of the fact that he could one-up his fellow Barons and even the Count himself who were all in some sort of race to provide the best equipment and support to the military for the uing war. ¡°With this headstart, it means we can start producing weapons for the military.¡± ¡°Are you sure the military will buy our weapons?¡± ¡°As corrupt as they are, they will once we show them a demonstration. As a start, I will need you to produce enough equipment to arm one of my knight squads to engage in mockbat with their soldiers ¨C this will serve as a good exercise to prove just how effective the new equipment really is.¡± Over the next few days, Kyle created various moulds for the steel parts required to create the handguns. The factory¡¯s production was split between railway tracks and weapons, as the military also needed the railway tracks to serve as the backbone of their logistics. With the low input cost of Kyle¡¯s steel factory, the military public tenders were easily won over by his low bid price, undercutting the market by nearly a tenth of their original price. Even the military generals in Count Leon¡¯s pocket were unable to publicly reject the offer ¨C money was everything in waging war. ¡°Who is this lowborn peasant under Baron Cain spoiling the market?!¡± Count Leon raged to himself, calling up all the steel factories under him. ¡°Why can¡¯t you idiots beat his price? How is this new upstart better than all of youbined?!¡± [Count Leon, we were the ones who increased the price in the first ce due to the unionisation of jobs in order to get a better cut. If we drop it now, the workers may start to rebel!] ¡°Why haven¡¯t we cut off all sources of iron ore to the new factory?!¡± Count Leon pressed, knowing the region of Raktor and all prospected iron ore deposits. He was sure that he had full control of all of them. [That¡¯s the thing we have! We stopped selling iron ore and coal to them three days ago when they applied for the contract, but ording to our observers, the factory is still running.] Count Leon hung up in anger, pondering the situation. If they are still able to run, it either means they are stealing from my iron mines or they have found a new one. He found the notion of the first theory ridiculous, seeing as he had his own thugs and armed forces guarding the iron mines tightly, which meant that the second theory was far more valid. He immediately arranged a meeting with Baron Cain, nning to pressure him into giving up the mine. ¡°Baron Cain, you understand well that this entire region of Raktor is under my jurisdiction. Running an illegal mining operation in my territory is tantamount to a deration of war on my title.¡± Count Leon smirked as he entered the meeting room. ¡°You don¡¯t have any evidence of such an operation.¡± Baron Cain calmly replied. ¡°However, if, hypothetically, there was such a mining operation, it can only be considered illegal if the mining rights have been given to you.¡± ¡°All mining rights in Raktor have been given to me by the Emperor himself.¡± ¡°Ah, but not for every mine, am I right? I seem to recall a few illegal arcite mines that have not been dered to the Emperor as well. Has he given you the rights to them as well? I¡¯m sure Tryas would be very interested in such mines.¡± Count Leon stiffened slightly, his eyes narrowing at Baron Cain. ¡°You¡­ what are you aiming at?¡± ¡°Count Leon. We have much to benefit from a mutual agreement here. How about this? You get a cut from the factory, and we both share the prestige of having the county of Raktor be one of the top contributors to the military. Maybe together, we could even put the nobles of Tryas to shame. Don¡¯t you hate how every year they gather us in the capital simply to look down on us?¡± Leon did not reply immediately, thinking carefully. As much as he hated how Baron Cain managed to get the upper hand on him, he did not disagree with the concept of showing up the nobles in Tryas. Far too often, he had been looked down on for the rowdy and crime-ridden city of Raktor, which was why he aimed to start a war with Versia to expand his territorial influence. ¡°Fine.¡± Count Leon eventuallypromised. Starting a fight with Baron Cain would be counterproductive. ¡°I agree to the deal. Let us negotiate on the cut in a moment¡¯s time. I have a call to make.¡± Heading outside, Count Leon grabbed his arctech radio, tuning to a specific channel. ¡°Sebastian, I have a job for you.¡± Chapter 72: Ocra The shopping arcade ran by the Seven Snakes boomed like never before. Having ovee the initial troubles and issues with arcite ore as well as supplies, the security of the goblin trade route made it even more stable. Haui smiled as he watched hundreds of local residents browse his expanded alchemist store, with the potions flying off the shelves at record rates. The store was focused on selling low-cost potions that could treat everyday ailments, along with diluted health and stamina potions. This,bined with his previous store, allowed him to tackle both the lower-ss market and the upper-ss market, effectively solidifying his position as one of the top earners among alchemists in the South Sector. Only three other alchemists had such a reach, but none had ever achieved such widespread public eptance as him. Next year, I¡¯m winning that Alchem Prize for sure! Haui, of course, was at the two stores every day, rotating his shifts as he interacted with the customers, building his public reputation as a gentle, humble alchemist. As he talked to the customers in the store, he suddenly noticed Kyle walking past the store, heading towards the office. However, Haui also noticed another Kyle, followed by one more and yet another one, all dressed in the same way. He rubbed his eyes and checked his own pulse, wondering if he was under some sort of illusion array or Mind-Bending potion. Even the customers nearby were all wondering if it was part of a show. The first Kyle noticed Haui¡¯s confusion, walking up to him with a smile. ¡°Good morning, Haui. How¡¯s the store?¡± The other Kyles behind him also echoed in synchronisation, each one of them having the same demeanour, except for thest one, who sounded a little too high-pitched. Haui could hardly tell which one was the real Kyle. ¡°What the hell is this? Who¡¯s the real one?¡± ¡°None of them.¡± Kyle¡¯s real voice wafted from behind, causing Haui to nearly jump in fright. ¡°By Yual, what is happening?¡± Haui¡¯s eyes darted between the Kyle who had just ambushed him versus the group of new Kyles, trying to spot the difference. As he looked closely, he could see the slight difference in the thickness of hair, the height as well as the posture, but it still gave him an eerie feeling. ¡°I¡¯m training them. Why?¡± Kyle replied, with the other Kyles also echoing in response. ¡°Kyle, I always found you a bit weird, but this fetish has gone too far. You can¡¯t force another person to be like you just because you only adore yourself.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°I can prescribe a potion to fix narcissism. Perhaps a bit of ego-death would help.¡± Kyle ignored Haui, walking off back towards the office with the rest of the Kyles. In the office, Keith and Damian were simply marvelling at the other doppelgangers who were currently being trained by Guang Hwa, hand-picked by Keith himself off the streets. ¡°You idiot, Kyle doesn¡¯t pose like that. Be more menacing! More intimidating! And when you give a smirk, your eyes need to smile in a sinister way as well! And you should not smile very often either. And keep your body straight! Kyle doesn¡¯t stick out his butt like that!¡± Guang Hwa used a wooden stick to tap the doppelganger¡¯s body, pointing out the bad points of the posture. ¡°And when Kyle talks, he talks in a deep ent. Go bass! Go low! Feel the Kyle in your veins!¡± Guang Hwa passionately eximed like he was an instructor for actors. ¡°When you walk, you got to walk like you¡¯re the cock of the town. No one is above you; everyone is beneath you! Drill that into your mindset! Okay, now you! Number 3. Try Line 15.¡± Number 3 stepped forward, clearing his throat as he approached Damian, who was already on the verge of tears. He arched his jaw forward while ring at Damian with a fearsome expression. ¡°Damian, I would like to ask you a simple question.¡± Damian immediately burst outughing, unable to hold back any longer. Number 3 frowned, wondering what he did wrong. ¡°HAHAHAHA¡­sorry¡­hah¡­ it¡¯s not your fault.¡± Damian wiped the tears of joy from his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s just that it¡¯s such a good impression! It¡¯s exactly like him when he first became leader!¡± ¡°d you found it funny.¡± ¡°Indeed¡­ wait, wow! That was a perfect impression of Kyle; it sounds exactly like-¡° Damian turned around to see who it was, only toe face to face with the real Kyle. He immediately straightened his back, standing at attention. Now it was Keith¡¯s turn tough. The real Kyle walked up to his table with the six doppelgangers and Guang Hwa lining up in front of him. It¡¯s been a month since Keith recruited them, and Guang Hwa has been training them non-stop in how to act exactly like Kyle. ¡°Damian, have you tested thembat-wise?¡± ¡°Erm, well¡­ they arepetent. But none of them has the same strength as you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, as long as they exude the same confidence. I will be going to Versia today, so the doppelgangers will be in charge immediately.¡± Kyle began giving out orders. ¡°Guang Hwa, you will take on the role of all major meetings. Read up on every singlepetitor, yer and noble we have in our range. I have received word from the Baron that Count Leon is aware of our goblin operation, which means there will be troubleing soon. I will endeavour toe back to Raktor soon.¡± ¡°Damian, work with Sasha and Niko to ensure the security of the entire supply chain. I don¡¯t want any more hijackings or spies getting into our factory and finding out where we¡¯re getting the iron ore from. All workers must have their backgrounds vetted. That¡¯s all.¡± Keith raised his hand, interrupting Kyle. ¡°Wait, did you not say you were bringing Sasha along to Versia?¡± ¡°No need, I have an even better guide.¡± The enforcer stared daggers at the pair of hooded men in front of him, part of a long queue of travellers waiting in line in a crowded checkpoint building situated next to the major river that ran through the Central Sector. Dozens of ferries went both ways in the river, serving as a convenient transportation route for both goods and people. Many immigrants to Raktor usually came in by boat, unless they hailed from the Hwa Dynasty. The enforcer read through the document in front of him, confirming the details of the two travellers. ¡°You, first one. Name?¡± ¡°Kris Greyborn.¡± The first traveller replied without hesitation. ¡°upation?¡± ¡°Herbalist.¡± ¡°What is your purpose in travelling to Versia?¡± ¡°I would like to find new ingredients for use in my herbal remedies.¡± ¡°Got a license from the Alchemist Guild?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t make potions, so no.¡± ¡°What about him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s my escort. Name¡¯s in the document.¡± ¡°Makoa¡­ Snake?¡± The enforcer squinted, finding the name slightly familiar. The second traveller shifted slightly ufortably. Kris Greyborn suddenly leaned forward, a small pouch of a few rakels appearing in his palm.¡°Mr. Enforcer. I am on a tight schedule, and my boat is about to leave.¡± The enforcer snatched the pouch and opened it quickly, his eyes bulging slightly. ¡°Of course, Mr Greyborn and Mr Snake. You two have a good journey now.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± Kris grabbed the document back, leading Makoa off towards the boat. All along the river, there were multiple piers with ferries docked, the river¡¯s water choppy and murky from the constant motion of ships to and fro. Young kids hauled crates of cargo produced in Raktor onto the ships, while families had teary goodbyes to entrepreneurs and merchants looking to make their fortune in Versia or beyond. The ferry they had bought a ticket for was nothing special ¨C a generic arctech boat that did daily ferries to the town of Ocra, the closest Versia town on the river, before transferring to the capital of Versia. Kyle needed to meet up with the minister first before he could have the license or even knowledge of where to set up the factory. There was no doubt that it was going to be an uphill battle: he was confident that there were other yers in the mix who had a vested interest in making sure his factory was not established. Kyle and Makoa took their seats in a cramped passenger section, obviously not meant for those of the upper ss. The entire erged cabin was filled with other travellers, some clearly being smuggled onboard the ferries or being sold as part of a human trafficking ring. Others wore slightly thicker clothes, no doubt carrying illegal substances to smuggle out of Raktor. For all he knew, these smugglers could be affiliated with a major gang or, even worse, the Ardent Cretins. He remained visibly ignorant. ¡°So this is the reason why you kept me alive?¡± Makoa spoke softly to Kyle. ¡°Always good to have a reliable guide.¡± ¡°I could easily run away once we¡¯re in Versia. Or betray you.¡± ¡°You can try. The ve engraving on your chest might have an issue with that.¡± Makoa scowled. The same ve cor that Kyle used to bind Guang Hwa was also ced on Makoa in an engraving form. ve engravings were formed in master-ve pairs, allowing the master engraving to cause writhing pain onto the bearer of the ve engraving. Makoa had been imprisoned by Kyle ever since the copse of the Ilysian Punks, tortured for information. Makoa himself was not aware of where the military of Versia got the Gctic Era technology from, but he knew whom to look for, which was why Kyle was bringing him along. ¡°You¡¯re nning to profit from this war.¡± Makoa continued, aware of why Kyle was going to Versia even though he had not heard about the deal with the minister. ¡°Indeed I am. A businessman is always on the lookout for new opportunities. Did the Ilysian Punks not do the same thing?¡± Makoa couldn¡¯t retort, knowing what Kyle said was true. However, while Makoa seemed fairlypliant on the surface, deep down, he was thinking about how to get rid of Kyle permanently. I have a few friends in Ocra, ex-military ¨C as long as I make contact with them, I can ambush Kyle. Though they would not be happy to see me. They might even try to kill me. Makoa hardly cared if he died due to the ve engraving activating or retribution from his gang ¨C all he wanted to do was to make sure Kyle suffered. The boatman untied the ferry from the pier, with the arctech motor roaring to life as it spun the des, propelling the ship forward at a steady pace. Kyle nced out of the porthole, watching the riverside pass by gradually, filled with the hustle and bustle of industrialisation. The smokestacks of various factories soared into the sky, chugging out ck fog while the various ships moved goods along the river, even within the city. A barge filled to the brim with sand sailed past them, headed for a ss factory, while an empty food barge overtook them from the other side, heading back to the grain bins on the outskirts of Raktor to pick up more grain to fuel Raktor¡¯s food demand. A few hours passed, with Kyle sitting in silence and slowly meditating. The ferry passed a few more rows of factories as they neared the town of Ocra, spewing their waste material and chemicals into the rivers. The water began to turn a sickly shade of grey and green as they moved further downstream. Soon, the ferry slowed down to a crawl before the boatman moored the ferry to the pier of Ocra. It was a quaint little town bolstered by its strategic position along the river, allowing it to serve as a trade hub between the capital of Versia and Raktor. Kyle and Makoa stepped off the ferry with dozens of other travellers, merging with the upper-ss passengers and entering the town. Already Kyle could see the effects of the pollution affecting the residents, whose water supply was being poisoned. Sickly children and women gathered along the edge of the streets, with many of them huffing Euria Seed pipes as theyy on rotting crates propped up by salvaged metal. Thanks to Kyle making it cheaper for the entire market, the addictive pastime became even more essible to everyone, bing a trademark of the poorer ss over time. ¡°We will find an inn to stay in before leaving for the capital. Any rmendations?¡± Kyle asked Makoa, slightly shocking him. Is he na?ve, or is he baiting me? He must know I still hold a grudge against him. ¡°I know a few ces. Follow me.¡± Makoa led him to the closest inn he was familiar with. The inn was fairly run down, with the wooden boards clearly rotting and mould creeping on the walls. However, Kyle did not seem fussed, simply going along with Makoa. The inn owner was surprised to see Makoa. ¡°Makoa, been a long time." "It has." "Ran into problems then?" "No problems. I only got one Versian coin. Might need a few more if you have some tonight." "I can do in rakels too. Maybe pay a visit to the bank for it." "Sure, you can set up an appointment for me tomorrow." "Will do. I¡¯ll get you the best room for the night. The third and second rooms on the left, third floor. Don¡¯t have rooms with two separate beds, so that¡¯s the best I can do.¡± ¡°Thanks, boss.¡± Makoa handed over a few rakels to the inn owners, leading Kyle up the stairs. ¡°I didn¡¯t know Versia uses rakels too,¡± Kyle remarked as they climbed the dimly-lit stairs, which creaked with every footstep. ¡°Ocra trades with Raktor far too often; it¡¯s normal to have two currencies,¡± Makoa replied calmly, but internally he was conflicted. Really? After that entire conversation, the only thing he picked up was the different currencies?! They headed to their separate rooms, with Kyle staying in the second room. The bed had a terrible stench, along with a broken mirror as well as a rotting table. Kyle¡¯s eyebrow twitched slightly, his sensibilities as a former Gctic Era Crime Lord offended. But he soon calmed himself down, instead checking his arctech equipment and his handgun magazines. Hopefully, thoseing for me will be of some use. Chapter 73: Hostile Takeover The streets of Ocra hardly changed ¨C beautiful crafted arctech signs of the various brothels lined the walls of luxurious buildings, enticing tourists from Raktor to visit. The sex workers stood on the side of the pavement, luring potential clients who were stumbling out of one of the many pubs nearby. Ocra flourished as a trade hub for smuggling, but also as a way for citizens of the Yual Dominion to escape the prohibition bans. Vices flourished in the town here, serving as a hotspot for every ¡®sin¡¯ the average citizen could dream of. It did notpare to the scale of Raktor, but it held its own ¨C though at the expense of its people. Just outside the glitz and mour, countless squatters and slum dwellers begged, robbed and stole in a never-ending cycle of revenge, prestige and hope: hope that one day they might escape this vicious loop. Underneath the campaign posters of the local mayor promising prosperity, starving children scuffled with one another over the leftover food thrown out by the high-rollers of the casinos, the sounds ofughter masking the dull thuds of skull against stone. The casino was a hive of activity ¨C hundreds of tourists from nearby came to strike it lucky at one of the card or dice games. A heavily tattooed Versian sauntered into the casino with a Raktor citizen in tow. ¡°Trust me; this is the best casino in town.¡± The Versian smiled genially as he patted the back of his acquaintance ¡°Hmm, I find that hard to believe. Thest two casinos I¡¯ve been to have ripped me off.¡± ¡°That was because you did not have a Versian guiding you, like me! Come on, at least try a few games, for my sake. When have I ever let you down? Hmm?¡± ¡°About three months ago, when the shipment waste.¡± ¡°And it was onlyte by one hour! Come on, I already waived the transport fee for that one time.¡± ¡°¡­ Fine.¡± The Raktor citizen begrudgingly agreed, sitting down at a poker table. ¡°Haha, I promise you won¡¯t regret it.¡± Masir grinned, taking a seat next to him, nodding at the dealer. The poker game went fast, with the Raktor citizen unwilling tomit to any hand, folding at the first sign of a push. Masir continued joking with the rest of the yers at the table, scratching his chin with his pinky, evidently aimed at the dealer. The Raktor citizen soon took his dealt two hands, his eyes slightly twitching as he peeked at the cards. ¡°Call.¡± Masir smirked as he checked his cards. ¡°Oh? We¡¯re ying now, are we? I think I have a good hand myself. Raise to 500.¡± ¡°Call.¡± Masir was shocked by the steadfastness of the Raktor citizen, who slightly grinned in response, the face of a man who clearly has a good hand. As the dealer dealt the next three cards onto the centre of the table, the Raktor citizen¡¯s face was stoic, a true poker face. Masir, on the other hand, continued ying with the pot reaching nearly five thousand rakels, eventually losing to the Raktor citizen, who was dealt a pocket pair of aces. ¡°What kind of luck is that?!¡± Masir eximed in shock. ¡°Pay up, Masir. Your own fault for bringing me into this casino!¡± ¡°Fine, fine. Shit, I should have led you back to the other two casinos!¡± Masir sighed as the dealer shoved the chips over to the side of the Raktor citizen. ¡°Don¡¯t even bother, this casino is my new hangout now!¡± ¡°Alright, you wiped me. I got to go grab more chips from the front.¡± Masir took his leave from the table, scratching his nose with three fingers and pulling back his oily fringe by dragging a pinky across his forehead. The dealer did not give a reaction, only showing a sign of recognition through the eyes for a brief moment. Hook, line and sinker. Masir grinned as he walked past the bodyguards, who all bowed slightly towards him. Reaching the chip counter, he was immediately handed a Euria Seed pipe and a bag of poker chips. ¡°Never mind the chips, I¡¯m not ying any longer,¡± Masir grunted as he lit the pipe. ¡°Make sure he only makes a five per cent profit overall over the next five days. Give him the full VIP treatment. Allow him to leverage using his assets. On the day he leaves for Raktor, wipe him out. He¡¯lle begging to me soon enough.¡± Just like that, casinos hooked in businessmen and middle-ss earners from Raktor to spend their hard-earned rakels. The scam was made even more believable when the boss of the entire ce lost in a game ¨C who would dare to im the casino was rigged then? Masir left the casino, heading to a wagon stop just right outside, where a dozen kids were cleaning the wagons and listening in on the rumours of those they transported. One kid ran up to Masir, bowing deeply. ¡°Sir Masir, there¡¯s been word from the inn.¡± ¡°What? Is he refusing to pay his protection fee again?¡± ¡°No, he says Makoa is back!¡± ¡°Makoa?! I thought the bastard was arrested by the enforcers.¡± ¡°And he says he¡¯s currently escorting an extremely wealthy individual.¡± ¡°Oh, really. No problems beating him up?¡± ¡°The innkeeper said he looked like an easy target. The second room, third floor on the right.¡± ¡°Good. Round the boys up ¨C I need a dozen. Time for them to get off theirzy bums and make some ransom money.¡± Masir¡¯s gang called the shots around the town of Ocra ¨C they were thergest gang in business. Granted, the town was not particrly big, only with fifty thousand people being residents. However, there was more than enough of the pie to go around, with Masir¡¯s taking the lion¡¯s share and establishing a sort of stable environment with the other two gangs, allowing them to focus on profiting off the iing tourists. Masir did not wait around, heading to one of the safehouses to check on his goods¡ªdozens of ves captured from Raktor, kidnapped off the streets. He grinned as he walked down the row of cages, inspecting the quality of those kidnapped. ¡°Really good haul today; these will all fetch a good price in the capital.¡± He squatted and reached his hand out through the cage to try and touch the fair skin of an obviously poshdy, immediately earning him a tight p on the hand. ¡°Fuck off, you cunt.¡± ¡°Oh my, such a vulgar mouth won¡¯t do you any good where you¡¯re going. My clients won¡¯t like that. Better nip that in the bud now, my dear. Otherwise, I might sell you to Vin instead of the capital.¡± Masir grinned. ¡°Perhaps the bandits would give you the treatment you truly deserve.¡± Thedy simply red at him, while the other prisoners who had been here for a much longer time did not have the energy nor the attitude any longer, having been punished with ack of food and water. One of the gang members approached Masir. ¡°Sir, K is ready with the men. Shall we attack?¡± Masir left the safehouse to join a dozen men under hismand, led by his second-inmand K. ¡°Why would Makoa return now?¡± K pondered. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but if he thinks he cane back after he betrayed us for the Ilysian Punks¡­¡± Masir¡¯s voice trailed off. The gang members all were aware of what happened to those who left Masir¡¯s gang without further approval ¨C death. ¡°Isn¡¯t that why he¡¯s offering up someone to kidnap? As a peace offering.¡± ¡°Or he¡¯s nning on using us to clear up his own debts. Or, he¡¯s nning to betray us again. Split up and surround the inn; I don¡¯t want any unexpected variables. K, bag and drag the guy out.¡± K nodded. They approached the inn, with the innkeeper and his family immediately vacating the premises, having gone through the same routine many times before. Barging into the inn, K headed up to the second room, breaking down the dpidated door in one swift motion. Before the target could even wake up, they wrapped a rucksack around his head and gave him a few punches, tied his limbs up and hauled him out. ¡°Get Makoa out here as well,¡± K ordered one of his men. Makoa did not fight back, already expecting them to arrive as he walked out of the inn with his hands up, surrendering to Masir. ¡°The prodigal Makoa returns. Gone off to make your fortune in Raktor, only remembering the bonds you made when you¡¯re down and out. How terrible, Makoa.¡± Masir sneered. However, Makoa did not answer, only looking at the target. ¡°You guys knocked him out?!¡± K was confused. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? He was an easy target.¡± Makoa frowned slightly, but Masir scowled as he grabbed Makoa by the cor. ¡°Ignoring your former leader, hmm? Maybe you need a lesson. K, tie this cunt up and order all the boys back to Safehouse 1. It¡¯s time for a reminder.¡± The Safehouse was arge warehouse situated near the river, serving as an illicit mooring point for ndestine smuggling and trading of contraband goods, avoiding taxes by the local mayor and the government. Nearly a hundred members were now gathered, half of which were already working on concealing goods into the lining of the crate walls, masking the crates with other products like food, spices and metal ore. K tossed the target into a holding cell. ¡°Guard him. Makoa seemed surprised that we managed to catch him ¨C there must be a trick somewhere. Search him carefully and strip him.¡± He ordered five of his men before joining Masir on top of a few crates where Makoa had already been roughed up, bound to a chair. ¡°Ocra boys has got to stick together ¨C that¡¯s the only way we¡¯ll be kings of this mess. The cunts in the capital want us down; the bitches in Raktor scorned us. Only through unity and supporting each other can we truly be free. Isn¡¯t that right, boys?¡± Masir spoke to the men, earning nods and sounds of approval. ¡°Yet here we have a prime example of someone who had betrayed the Ocra boys: thinking he could do better with Javel and his cronies. Do better than us. Now here he is, crawling back to us. What should we do?¡± ¡°Fuck him! He doesn¡¯t deserve us!¡± ¡°Kill him!¡± ¡°Hang his body up for everyone in town to see ¨C that¡¯ll teach them!¡± The men were riled up, some throwing things at the bound Makoa, calling for his death. Masir smiled, before leaning next to Makoa and grabbing his head, cing a knife against his ear. ¡°You got thirty seconds to tell me why exactly you came back here and why you want us to kidnap the guy. What are you hiding? Tell me, and maybe I¡¯ll only cut off one part.¡± ¡°Whatever happens doesn¡¯t matter ¨C as long as you kill him,¡± Makoa muttered through pained sharp breathing. ¡°And if you don¡¯t? Then consider it my present to you.¡± ¡°Kill him? Why would I kill a kidnapped person who can be ranso-¡° A loud bang erupted from the basement of the warehouse, with a screaming Ocra gang member being tossed out of the stairwell, mming into a crate before crumpling into an unconscious mess of ore and contraband goods. ¡°Shit!¡± K was already prepared for this, pulling out an arctech cleaver and motioning for a few men to follow him towards the stairwell. However, before they could take even a few steps, the target stepped out the stairwell, his hands bloodied as he dragged two struggling Ocra gang members by the neck. With a simple clench of both his hands, he cracked the necks and crushed the windpipes of both of them, before hurtling them towards K with an rming speed.
[System Message] Killed [Ocra Thug], +50 EXP
Huh, low exp. Might be more useful alive then. Kyle took advantage of the surprise on the gang members assembled, rushing in and immediately grappling K to the ground and disarming him, taking the arctech cleaver for himself.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Vibration Cleaver (Basic)] Frequencies to slice the world Active Skill: Vibration (Basic) ¨C Vibrates the de slightly at a high frequency to improve prating power and pain Cost: 1 MP per minute Cooldown: Instant
¡°Who the fuck are you?!¡± Masir yelled from the top of the crates, grabbing Makoa¡¯s neck and cing the knife against it. ¡°Stop right there or else he dies! Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know this was a trap set up by the both of you!¡± ¡°You can kill him for all I care. As for who am I? I¡¯m your new owner.¡± Chapter 74: Internal Conflict The fight was over in less than half an hour, with Kyle dominating them in a single instant. He had killed nearly a quarter of them before Masir finally surrendered with the rest, all of them kneeling in front of Kyle in a row as the blood from his men streamed along the uneven flooring of the warehouse.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 25 ---> Level 26
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Despite the numerical advantage, the Ocra gang members were a cut below the average standard of an associate in Raktor ¨C ill-trained with bad equipment. K, too was bruised heavily, left alive by Kyle, who still held the bloody cleaver, dripping wet. ¡°Why the fuck are you doing any of this?¡± K spat out a glob of blood and spit. ¡°I¡¯m nning on setting up a business. And I need plenty of locals who can do some work. Are you interested?¡± Kyle responded. You make it sound like we had a fucking choice. Masir scowled, ring at Makoa, who had been untied. ¡°What kind of work?¡± ¡°Well, I will need escorts and guards for ¨C¡° ¡°Fuck you: you¡¯re a Yual dog!¡± One of the kneeling Ocra gang membersshed out in anger. ¡°Like we¡¯ll ever listen to the likes of ¨C¡° The words never left his astonished face as his head was chopped clean off, dropping to the ground with a thud as his body still pumped blood out of the stump that was his neck. ¡°I need escort and guards for some goods and equipment that I will be bringing into Versia from Raktor. I¡¯ve noticed you have quite a splendid setup for smuggling things in and out from Raktor.¡± Masir grimaced. It was a full-on hostile takeover ¨C he had never expected people from Raktor toe down and try to cut in on the business. ¡°And, I¡¯ll need a few men to apany me to the capital. I¡¯m sure you have a few connections there: I¡¯ll need to use them.¡± Makoa was surprised by the entire sequence of events. Originally, he believed Kyle would attempt to fight back against the kidnappers and would be forced to skip town. Instead, Kyle had used the kidnapping to his benefit, bringing him right into the belly of the gang and allowing him to dominate most of the members together. In truth, Kyle was simply executing what he had done at the very start when he woke up as Alvin ¨C find a weak group and dominate them immediately, establishing a power structure. However, he was not as weak as he once was, allowing him to aim for the highest gang. Masir too was shocked by the sudden suggestion, but he had no room to oppose lest he wanted his head cut-off. I like to remain alive for now, thank you very much. But I have to find an opening to get this guy off me ¨C the capital will do that for me easily. ¡°In order to make sure the deal is enforced, I¡¯ll have to carve a little something special onto your bodies.¡± Kyle got Makoa to grab his bag, bringing out the tattoo knife. Some of them tried to fight back and ambush Kyle while he was engraving, but he killed each and every one of them without hesitation, causing the number of men to dwindle even more. Masir¡¯s heart clenched as he realized more than half of his men had died. Shit! I put so much money into them! Kyle engraved the exact same ve engraving into each of them on the back or on the chest, allowing his master engraving to punish all of them in an instant as long as he was conscious. ¡°Good. Now you will be known as Ocra Snakes, the first international subsidiary.¡± Kyle dered, making Masir, Makoa and K utterly confused. Kyle still marked it as an achievement internally. Not many criminal organisations could im to be transnational ¨C a first step to his global dominion. ¡°For now, let¡¯s rearrange the men and prepare for a trip to the capital. Otherwise, Minister Dekar is going to be upset.¡± Minister Dekar was already upset, as his attendants continued to read off the events urring across Versia while he signed off authorisation forms and reviewed the infrastructure development n of the outlying towns and cities that were applying for a government subsidy. It was like a never-ending mountain of paperwork, where he cleared a pile only for the next pile to be carted into the room. Yet the minister did not shy away from the work, chugging along. ¡°Minister, the chairman of the Vearden group is requesting for a meeting again.¡± ¡°Purpose?¡± ¡°It is with regards to the current military budget.¡± ¡°When was thest time I¡¯ve met them?¡± ¡°About two months ago sir. You¡¯ve been refusing to meet them ever since your return from Raktor.¡± Minister Dekar sighed, cing his pen down. ¡°Fine. Have him meet me in the guest room.¡± ¡°He is already waiting for you there.¡± The attendant bowed, leading the Minister there out of his office. They walked through a busy office, full of government clerks handling the everyday affairs of the country of Versia. Situated in a grand six-storey pce refurbished for governmental use, it was the headquarters of bureaucracy in the nation. He nced at some of the paintings that were still hung up on the walls ¨C portaits of nobles andndowners who had long fled for the Yual Dominion when the revolution and subsequent war happened. Memories of his time as a young revolutionary appeared in his brain, scars of war and hardship filling his heart as he followed the attendant down the pce¡¯s hallways. All across the pirs were stered posters of propaganda, iming that the government was ¡®for the people, by the people¡¯. But under the fa?ade of democracy was a steaming pile of corruption that never left. All the revolution did was rearrange the socialdder, allowing the middle-ss to seize the property of the fleeing nobles under the name of the government, turning into the very thing they swore to defeat. He knew this very well - he had epted bribes as well from Count Leon, so even he was not clean. However, he continued to assuage his conscience by iming that it was for the good of the country: that it was for peace. If he had not epted that bribe and pushed for a tougher stance, it would be clearly unknown if a war would have broken out because of him, causing an even worse fate to befall the people that he cared about. A necessary evil. Unlike many of his predecessors, Minister Dekar gave away the bribe as an anonymous donation to a charity organisation, unwilling to hold on to the dirty money. Both his morals and reputation were on the line. For it was not money that drove him ¨C but ideals and belief in the State of Versia as a whole. The attendant soon brought him to the guest room, where three leaders of the local industry were already waiting for him. ¡°Minister Dekar ¨C you¡¯re a very tough person to meet.¡± ¡°I have been swamped recently; I apologise for not arranging a meeting sooner.¡± Minister Dekar spoke nicely, though internally, he saw them for what they were. Snakes, hoping to leech over the hard work of the people. ¡°Ah, then you must have missed our recent proposals to build a military-industrialplex.¡± ¡°I must have missed it in the mountain of paperwork that I have to go through, yes. Please, exin it to me.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± One of the industry leaders handed over a document, prompting Minister Dekar to flick through it. ¡°The Versia State has always been in a perilous state of conflict and brinksmanship with the Yual Dominion for the past fifteen years ¨C the government has nationalised the sale and production of military weapons and equipment. However, we find there are major inefficiencies in both its research and development of new weaponry.¡± ¡°And your suggestion is¡­¡± ¡°The free market has always proven the best at ensuring the best product makes it to the finish line. It is thepetition between rival corporations that allows for much more cost-saving and innovations than ever before. Raktor is a great example of this, fuelling creativity. Just recently, they had the invention of the light-thrower, showing their technological prowess in arctech design.¡± ¡°Indeed. I even had the chance to visit one of their famed shopping arcades. It is truly a miracle.¡± Another leader chimed in. Minister Dekar sighed, rubbing his nose bridge. ¡°The military¡¯s arctech designs are national secrets. If I allowed the three of you to propose designs, what is there to prevent Yual spies or even Hwa Dynasty spies from stealing our technology or even learning about our doctrine?¡± ¡°Minister Dekar, you clearly know that the military as is already suffering from certain corruption and espionage. While we do not im to be perfectly able to protect against all forms of spying, we are open to working with the government in order to facilitate a healthy military industry here.¡± The minister did not reply for a while, reading the proposal handed to him carefully. ¡°It says here that you want the rights to the national mines as well.¡± ¡°By allowing us full developmental rights of the mines, we can maximise production and reduce cost, providing the best benefit to the military. As it is right now, the mines are heavily underdeveloped and underutilised.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see a need to rush into this. There is no imminent war ¨C a reparations deal has already been signed between us and Yual.¡± Minister Dekar pointed out. ¡°If we wait until the war breaks out, it will be far toote. Infrastructure can¡¯t be built in a single day ¨C it takes months, if not years, of effort to bring it up to the same quality that can bolster a war effort.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­¡± ¡°What is there to hesitate, Minister Dekar? Money is a great form of incentive to drive both the construction of infrastructure and innovation in technologies. This proposal, if epted, would skyrocket the economy.¡± No, it wouldn¡¯t. All it would do is form an oligarchy, with the profits only shared between the three of you. Minister Dekar smiled on the surface. ¡°I will consider this proposal sincerely. Thank you for your time. You may expect a response in two working days.¡± ¡°Consider it seriously, Minister Dekar. You and I both know that there is a war looming on the horizon ¨C it¡¯s not a matter of if; it is a matter of when. We only have the best interest of the state in our hearts, as do you. A dy on this proposal would mean the death of us.¡± ¡°Thank you for your dedication to the state.¡± Minister Dekar curtly escorted them out of the room before returning to his office. Outside the pce, the three leaders were visibly upset as they sat in their arctech wagon, fuming at the nonchnt response by the minister. ¡°It is quite rming that the Minister haspletely shifted gears. Before his trip to Raktor, he was extremely enthusiastic about this idea ¨C he was even the one who supported it!¡± ¡°Why does it feel like he is apletely different person? I fear that he has conspired with the enemy or is aware of our ns.¡± ¡°Indeed, it feels as though Minister Dekar is stalling for something or someone.¡± ¡°My sources tell me that he made a detour to another ce beyond Raktor to meet someone. Could he intend to betray Versia?¡± ¡°We need to keep a close eye on anyone entering in and out of the capital, especially anyone meeting the Minister. Whatever n the Minister has, it must be foiled!¡± Chapter 75: Tenar The wagon rumbled slightly as the wheels bumped against loose rocks on the dirt path, jostling its passengers as it went along arge semi-arid grasnd, the climate slightly changing from what Kyle had been used to in Raktor. Much like the tailored tourists I used to rx on. Kyle was sitting in a luxuriouspartment with Makoa, leaning back on a plushforter while he nced at the window outside. The wagons were part of a convoy owned by Masir, who used it for the ve trade. The other wagons were filled to the brim with people kidnapped from different regions to be sold in the capital. ¡°It¡¯ll take another four hours before we reach Tenar,¡± Makoa exined to Kyle. ¡°The capital of Versia is less popted than Raktor or Tryas ¨C most Versians live in outlying towns and cities.¡± Makoa was timider than he used to be, seeing as he was theoretically now a ve under Kyle. ¡°I heard there was a war between Yual and Versia before.¡± ¡°Well, as expected of a stupid Yual do ¨C I mean an upstanding citizen of Raktor, the educational sybus must have probably wiped most mention of this war from the history books.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°Versia used to be a county like any other in the Yual Dominion ¨C but we were previously conquered more than three hundred years ago. As such, the region had always been semi-autonomous. However, in thest three decades, the Yual Dominion has been attempting to force us into a mining-specific sector.¡± Kyle looked out the window, noticing that there was much arablend. The grasnd stretched out to the horizon, rolling hills of knee-high grass and clumps of weed growing tall. A few grain bins, silos and herds of cows and sheep could be seen grazingzily in the distance. ¡°I assume this did not go over very well.¡± ¡°Indeed. The Versian is traditionally a farming culture ¨C having the majority of our poption transition into mining was a short-sighted move. The ill-conceived ns of mining and the low ore yields also meant that both working conditions and job payout were terrible.¡± ¡°As such, the previous Count implemented a mandatory policy for each household to send two males to work in the mines in order to meet the quota set forth.¡± ¡°And the rebellion happened.¡± ¡°Well, there were a lot of other factors as well, but that¡¯s the rough gist of it.¡± Both Kyle and Makoa rested for the rest of the trip, Kyle nning his next move. He knew that the deal he had with the minister was merely a verbal promise ¨C he could very easily be arrested or captured by those who knew what he was here for. It was apparent to him that the local economy would not be happy to hear a foreign weapon designering in to set up shop. Kyle decided to stay vignt for any plots or any signs that he was being followed. I¡¯ll need to observe more of the city first. This was the major reason why he subjugated Masir¡¯s gang. They had connections within the capital that would make it easier for him to collect information and understand the underlying tensions within the city as well as enter the ck market. Furthermore, as a crime lord, why should he physically do everything himself? With Masir, Makoa and K at his beck and call, all he had to do was to sit back and observe, not requiring him to stick his neck out. However, it might be good to establish a name for myself by taking down a few notorious people in the capital. The wagon convoy soon entered the outskirts of the capital, which stood as a walled city that stuck out like a sore thumb over the expansive farms that surrounded it. The convoy entered a small size town that was a pitstop for many other travellers. Sharp rapping on the side of the wagon prompted Kyle and Makoa to step out, their faces hooded under the bright daylight. Masir was going down the entire line of convoys, rapping each one beforeing back to Kyle. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to wait here until night ¨C it¡¯s a bit hard with the goods.¡± ¡°I understand. Makoa and I will head in by foot first.¡± ¡°Right. If you want to meet up, head over to the relic market on Asha Street. Second shophouse from the main road, third floor. Big arctech sign, can¡¯t go wrong.¡± Masir exined with a straight face. ¡°Okay. K, you will being with us then.¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± K was shocked, with Masir also taken aback. Kyle red at them, causing Masir and K to agree immediately, not wanting to antagonise him. The bloodbath yesterday was still fresh in their mind. The road to the capital was filled with travellers, merchants and other tourists trying to get in. A snaking queue led out of an immigration building which served as the city¡¯s border. ¡°Kris Greyborn with two escorts.¡± ¡°Kris Greyborn¡­ right. You¡¯re on the list. Wee to Tenar; your stay is valid for two months. Please don¡¯t overstay your wee.¡± The enforcer had a clear dislike of people from the Yual Dominion. So he was not lying when he actually had a ticket in. Makoa was surprised. The other two cleared the entry check having been already registered as citizens of Versia. The exit of the immigration centre led to a wide paved path that had decorations hung on the arctechmpposts along the side. Kyle craned his neck to look at the fourrge statues of honour guards holding stone spears that towered over him, lined up in formation. As they walked further down, they came to a fountain with a half-broken statue soiled with red paint and graffiti ¨C [Death to the Count!]. Quite a few Versia tourists who were on their first trip to the capital were staring in awe, with even a school group being guided by three teachers. Kyle was surprised to see a few lightcapturers already in use by a few entrepreneurs. ¡°Capture this moment, right here right now! All for the low price of fifty Versian coins!¡± ¡°See here, kids, a relic from a time when the nobility still oppressed us! Versia is a country in which every man has a say, regardless of birth!¡± ¡°Wow, look, it¡¯s a graffiti by President Johan ¨C [Death to the Count!]¡± Kyle stopped to take a look. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose the Count survived the rebellion.¡± ¡°First to be executed publicly. His wife gave him up for safe passage to the Yual dominion.¡± They continued to enter the city, passing by its grand walls. Kyle noted a few unusual engravings on the wall, though both Makoa and K were not experts on it. The guards red at the three of them as they passed by, with Kyle also spotting plenty of cannons installed along the rim of the walls. The city¡¯s main streets were filled with arctech wagons, which seemed a lot more prevalent than in Raktor, where only the middle ss and above could afford them. The wagons were filled to the brim, with people hanging out from the sides while clutching onto their hats. Dozens were out on the street, with the smell of freshly baked bread wafting through the streets. The pavement was surprisingly clean, unlike the dirty grime-filled sidewalks of Raktor. Kyle somehow got a feeling that Tenar had a much higher living standard than that of Raktor. He did not spot any slum dwellers as he did in Ocra, with the alleywayspletely cleaned out. The jarring mismatch of the era and the city type felt a bit suspicious to him. There were even public water fountains for passersby to drink or refill their metal canisters. Hardly any stains on the building walls or windows could be seen either. ¡°Is there a foreign dignitarying? Or is there a celebritying to the capital soon?¡± ¡°Huh? No. It always has been like that.¡± K shrugged. ¡°Anyway, Asha Street is this way.¡± The relic market ¨C should be better. Kyle followed along, navigating through the crowded streets. People moured outside of popr cake shops and temporary stall carts that served waffles, the sweet scent filling the air. Theughter of well-fed children echoed off the walls. They walked past a long queue of people who were waiting outside what seemed to be a free soup kitchen. Welfare benefits ¨C I¡¯m surprised a country at this age would support universal social security. Generally, he would have expected a city to turn out exactly like Raktor, with the industrialist andndowners at the very top. Asha Street was brimming with activity ¨C merchants propped up wooden tables covered with a brilliant cloth, disying arctech equipment that was specially designed. Kyle could see a clear difference in the type of crowd that was here under the colourful fabrics hung across the buildings that blocked the harsh daylightpared to the outside. Adventurers, explorers and mercenaries were all browsing weapons, armour and equipment out in the open, thanks to Versia not having a ban on it. Even arctech guns and handguns were sold out in the open, with Kyle already spotting a few replicas of his handgun. ¡°Selling weapons like this in the open is legal? I¡¯m surprised the government is this open.¡± Kyle asked Makoa. ¡°It is. The state was born out of a revolution ¨C of course, every citizen has the right to bear arms. There ispulsory conscription as well.¡± ¡°Compulsory?¡± ¡°Indeed. Versia is a small state who broke away from the Yual Dominion. We need every man and female to defend our way of life here. Conscription is three years, followed by reservist of ten years.¡± That¡¯s one way to increase your military force to the same level as a bigger yer¡­ Conscription was not foreign to Kyle ¨C he had used prisoners for wars conducted in the Gctic Era. However, Kyle was not happy with the idea that the arctech guns were legal. Being legal means I have less of a chance to establish a monopoly and also limit my options on setting any price I want¡­ Kyle was a proponent of strong criminalisation: it was what made the margins of his product sell so high. The more prohibition ¨C the better. Lesspetition, less willingness to y the market, and allowing him to dominate easily through more violent means. The weapons deal is looking less profitable. He already had ns in ce to flood the market with high-tech weapons to dominate the ck market, but it seemed that it would only work in Raktor. The three of them proceeded up to the shophouse mentioned, where the sharp nging of metal and grunts of mechanics filled the sweltering workshop that made up the first floor. No one paid any attention to them, focusing on crafting as they walked past them up the stairs. K led them down the hallway of the third floor, where there were a few rooms side by side. Kyle suddenly stopped, preventing Makoa from leaving the stairwell. ¡°K, you can drop the act now. Just bring out everyone you got.¡± K froze in ce, turning around slowly. ¡°Sir Greyborn, I don¡¯t know what you-¡° ¡°Shut it. I can hear them squirming in the walls. Let¡¯s not waste time.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± K eximed. ¡°Who¡¯s here? No one is supposed to be in any of these rooms!¡± The clear confused expression on K¡¯s face was evident and looked real enough, making Kyle even doubt himself. Now that I think about it ¨C Masir wouldn¡¯t have the chance to send a message in advance to anyone here, and he wouldn¡¯t dare risk retribution. Kyle thumbed the master engraving te in his pocket, ncing around the hallway. Then there are only two possibilities: a group hired by my enemies in Raktor, or a group who is aware of my meeting with the Minister. ¡°Fine. If they won¡¯te out, I¡¯ll make them.¡± Penchant for Violence! Kyle sprinted through the hallway, stopping at the first door on the left and kicking it right at the hinge, causing it to fall back. The wooden door splintered as it smashed against the full lean metal armour of a knight who staggered backwards. The sudden appearance of the knight stunned Makoa and K. As soon as Kyle exposed the knight, five more knights burst out from the rooms, with a sword immediately piercing K through the heart from the back, his still surprised face locked in shock. Makoa immediately darted down the stairwell, unwilling to save Kyle. ¡°Target confirmed: Kris Greyborn. Get him!¡± Chapter 76: Triple Cross The five knights rushed down the hallway, prompting Kyle to focus on the first knight in front of him first. Without a word, Kyle immediately brandished his Vibration Cleaver, charging at the knight and swinging downwards. The knight blocked the cleaver with his vambrace before throwing a jab at Kyle¡¯s waist, forcing Kyle to back off. The Vibration Cleaver hardly made a dent in the surface of the knight¡¯s armoured arm, the bacsh rippling through Kyle¡¯s arm. High defence ¨C not your normal hitman. Just as Kyle was about tounch another attack, one of the other five knights made it into the room, reaching out to grapple Kyle in a sudden ambush. Intimidation Aura! The outstretched hands of the ambushing knight froze for a split second as his heart stuttered due to fear, allowing Kyle to spin out of reach before chopping off his wrists and reducing them to stumps. Kyle instinctively dodged with a quick sidestep, the edge of the first knight¡¯s sword nearly grazing his body. ¡°Should¡¯ve gone for the head.¡± Kyle taunted as he delivered a strong kick to the now whimpering ambushing knight, sending him flying towards the door and mming into the others who tried to enter as well. He parried three more strikes from the first knight, before aiming at the knee and slicing straight through before thrusting the tip of the cleaver deep into the chest of the first knight.
[System Message] Killed [Versian Special Division Knight], +250 EXP
Special Division?! Penchant for Violence hit its time limit, the familiar stimting strength leaving Kyle. However, Kyle didn¡¯t have time to think; the remaining four knights entered to apprehend him. The intimidation aura began to afflict them, allowing Kyle some time to lunge at the closest knight, killing him with five rapid strikes as he precisely aimed the gaps in the armour, chewing away at the flesh with the Vibration Cleaver like a chainsaw.
[System Message] Killed [Versian Special Division Knight], +250 EXP
Kyle suddenly heard a loud bang, followed by a searing pain in his thigh. Ne of Healing! He nced up to see the remaining three knights holding arctech handguns that seemed like replicas of his. ¡°Don¡¯t try anything else, Mr Greyborn. Otherwise ¨C¡° The healing aura surged around the wound, numbing the pain. Kyle took the advantage to sprint at the knight speaking, catching him by surprise and driving the tip of the cleaver right up into his chin, the vibration churning his tongue and brain into a bloody mush.
[System Message] Killed [Versian Special Division Knight], +250 EXP
Kyle kept the cleaver lodged in, spinning the body to block the follow up shots by the other two knights, before grunting and tossing the clearly dead knight towards them. Using the body as a distraction, he moved to the left, nocking his arm back before unleashing a straight horizontal swing at the knight¡¯s neck. However, the vibration cleaver failed to make it past the armour of the knight who caught onto the ruse, blocking it with both arms. The force sent both of them flying back, with Kyle earning more than three shots to the arms and legs, staggering him. Weird ¨C they are not nning on killing me. Kyle would¡¯ve activated This is My Turf or Negation Field by now, but he felt no sign of killing intent at all. Maybe¡­ He ducked out of the way, rolling on the floor of the empty room as the knight fired two more shots before the handgun stalled, a sign of bad craftsmanship. As the knight quickly pulled out his sword, Kyle lunged ¨C but not towards him. Instead, Kyle aimed for the whimpering ambushing knight who was now wincing on the floor, killing him instantly with a quick decapitation.
[System Message] Killed [Versian Special Division Knight], +250 EXP
¡°I surrender.¡± Kyle dropped his cleaver to the floor, raising both hands up. ¡°What?¡± The remaining two knights were caught off-guard, with one pinned under a dead body, struggling to shove it off. ¡°I surrender.¡± The two knights looked at each other in confusion, the blood still thumping in their ear as they were just in a life-or-death fight. In fact, they were both equally sure that Kyle could have killed the both of them if he wanted to. Penchant for Violence ran out quite some time ago, and my Intimidation Aura is going to run out soon too. Kyle knelt onto the floor, his hands ced behind his back. The two knights did not hesitate any longer, bringing out arctech handcuffs and tying both his hands and legs. One of the knights delivered a strong punch to Kyle¡¯s cheek, bruising it. ¡°This is for Ali, you fucker.¡± Kyle simply smiled in response, infuritating the knight even more. ¡°Don¡¯t bother with him ¨C he¡¯ll suffer for itter. Pack him up.¡± The knights stuffed him into a body bag, making it impossible for him to see where they were going. He could sense he was at one point thrown into the back of an arctech wagon, while the paving of the road was steadily getting worse and worse. After half an hour, he was unceremoniously taken out of the bag and hauled into an empty room which seemed like a makeshift cell. Made in thest month or so ¨C was it meant for me? I have a rough idea of who it is. They bolted the door behind them, leaving Kyle in nearplete darkness as the hushed discussion of the two knights could be heard outside the cell, with Kyle¡¯s hearing enhanced by his stat points. ¡°Fuck¡­ Ali¡­¡± One of the knightsmented. ¡°That guy fucking owed me three drinks. The cocksucker. And to think my handgun jammed halfway even.¡± ¡°That guy, who the fuck even is he? He¡¯s a monster! I never seen a human do anything like that ¨C not even our instructor was that fast.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know and I don¡¯t want to know. As long as he is in chains, I¡¯m fine. When is heing?¡± ¡°He¡¯s still on the way ¨C it¡¯ll be five more minutes and then we¡¯ll hand him over.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Five minutes passed with the knights checking and fixing their equipment. Kyle breathed slowly, waiting patiently as he tested the strength of the handcuffs. The bright engraving seemed to be unbreakable by his current standards. The rumbling of an arctech wagon soon alerted him, prompting Kyle to crawl closer to the door as a group of footsteps echoed through the dpidated building. ¡°Where is Mr Greyborn?¡± ¡°Tied up in the room behind me. That fucker killed five of our knights.¡± ¡°Five?! How? Was he armed with a repeater?¡± ¡°No ¨C he did not have a single gun. All he had was this.¡± ¡°This is a joke right? You are the Special Knights of Versia! You¡¯re supposed to be the cream of the crop! Why does the state even pay you guys?!¡± The knights had nothing to say, remaining silent. ¡°Fine. He¡¯s under my custody now. I¡¯ll find a way to cover it up.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The sounds of the knights nking armour were now reced by another set of footsteps. Bodyguards. Kyle straightened himself up against the wall, leaning against the wall as he waited for them to approach the door. As soon as he heard a hand touch the door¡¯s handle, Kyle leapt into action. Penchant for Violence! His strength doubled ¨C allowing him to easily break off the handcuffs. The first bodyguard stepped through the cell, only to have his head grabbed by Kyle and unceremoniously squashed against the wall, knocking him out immediately. Kyle immediately ducked as the second bodyguard reacted quickly, firing three shots at Kyle. A bullet grazed Kyle¡¯s shoulder as Kyle closed the distance in one strong leap, toppling the bodyguard over with a martial arts flip and mming his back into the ground. The bodyguard nearly gagged as Kyle delivered three punches to the face, concussing him immediately. Grabbing the handgun, he positioned himself at the edge of the prison cell door. As he tried to peek his head out, two shots rang clear, pinging off the concrete walls and forcing Kyle back into cover. ¡°Minister Dekar, this is quite the wee. I did not know Versia was so well-versed in hospitality.¡± Kyle yelled out through the doorway, while checking the magazine of the handgun. ¡°How are you enjoying Tenar, Mr Greyborn? This might be thest time you get to see daylight.¡± ¡°I could say the same for you. You should hope your bodyguards are better than the Special Ops Knights you sent. I was under the impression this was to be a clean business transaction.¡± ¡°The sale and production of weapons for the military is done through state-owned ventures. I can hardly allow you to run free and set up a private venture. For all I know, you could be funnelling the money that you would earn back to Raktor, or even leak military information. Please understand that this is simply a security measure.¡± ¡°So you decided to try and capture me as a prisoner.¡± ¡°As long as I have your brain, I don¡¯t need to deal with you at all. Give it up. If you kill me ¨C you¡¯ll never make it out of Versia alive.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Kyle stuck out his handgun, firing back in the general direction where the two shots came from. He did not hit anything, but the bodyguards and the minister began to take cover. Kyle peeked out his head to finally have a good view of where he was held ¨C a derelict warehouse with plenty of pirs. Already four bodyguards were hiding behind the pirs, armed with repeater rifles that were clearly stolen from Raktor. ¡°I read about the reparations deal - but it seems you were lying about the military not being involved in the smuggling of weapons.¡± ¡°Versia needs every bit of help it can get. If you are truly sympathetic to the cause, as you previously said when we first met, you will surrender yourself now.¡± ¡°Minister Dekar ¨C the world works on mutual benefit.¡± ¡°You will have the benefit of knowing you are working for a brilliant ideal.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t try to push your luck any further, Dekar. I only have so much patience.¡± ¡°Says the person who is trapped in a room. What can you possibly do against four repeater rifles?¡± This is My Turf! Kyle stepped out into the open, shocking the Minister. ¡°Don¡¯t kill him ¨C aim for his limbs!¡± The four bodyguards opened fire, the hail of bullets rushing towards Kyle. Instead of sting apart his flesh, the bullets were all deflected, ricocheting and lodging into the walls and pirs. ¡°What the-¡° Before Minister Dekar could exim out loud, Kyle was already sprinting down, closing the gap with the bodyguard. Kyle rushed headlong into the bodyguard, knocking him over with the barrier before jumping up high andnding on top of the fallen bodyguard, the invisible barrier ttening him to the ground in a cry of pain. Kyle continued to rush the bodyguards, timing himself. As soon as he had ten seconds left on his skill, he sprinted for Minister Dekar. Just as he reached the minister, the skill wore off, allowing Kyle to grapple Minister Dekar from the back and use him as a hostage shield, the barrel of the handgun aimed at the minister¡¯s head. ¡°Now, let¡¯s have a nice talk, shall we?¡± ¡°Idiot. I have even more bodyguards outside who-¡° A loud explosion suddenly sted through the shattered windows of the warehouse, with sounds of shooting and fighting outside. The bodyguards who had their rifles aimed at Kyle were all stunned, wondering what was happening beyond the walls. Suddenly, a veritable barrage of bullets fired through the various windows, nearly two hundred pelting the entire area. The four bodyguards who were standing in the open were all riddled with bullet holes as the force staggered their bodies back into a ragdoll corpse that slumped across the floor in a pool of their own blood. Kyle grabbed the Minister and pulled him low onto the ground, keeping their heads down as the barrage of bullets flooded the warehouse. ¡°Your bodyguards are a bit too trigger-happy,¡± Kyle yelled into the Minister¡¯s ears over the raging sound. The suppressing fire soon died out, with the Minister utterly confused now as well, his mind racing through all the possibilities. ¡°None of my bodyguards have that kind of firepower!¡± ¡°Then someone else is trying to kill the both of us together.¡± Chapter 77: Renegotiation The sounds of fighting were still raging outside even after the barrage ended. Minister Dekar grimaced, confident that his bodyguards outside were locked in a firefight with another group. A torrent of footsteps could be heard rushing towards the main entrance to the derelict warehouse, prompting Kyle to drag the Minister into cover behind a pir quickly. ¡°Who is attacking us now?¡± ¡°There are plenty of groups who want me dead.¡± Dekar replied hastily. ¡°Enemy spies from the Yual Dominion, disgruntled remnants of nobility andndowners, or maybe the industrialists¡­¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Kyle weighed his options immediately. He was nning to pressure the Minister into a forced deal using brute force. I could try to negotiate with the attacking group ¨C but I doubt they will be as open to me taking a slice of the pie. A dozen enemy soldiers were already at the entrance, barging in through the doors. They wore masks that hid their identity, though the equipment they used was clearly unique. Kyle hadn¡¯t seen anything like that before. The leader had a skull mask: a clear sign that they were hitmen hired through the ck market. ¡°Minister Dekar, we¡¯re here to rescue you!¡± The leader yelled across the empty warehouse, but the Minister did not reply, clearly knowing that they were not his bodyguards. ¡°Fan out. Aim for the limbs ¨C we need him alive for the execution.¡± With a motion of his hand, the leader and the other soldiers spread out amongst the warehouse, moving from pir to pir. Kyle eyed the repeater rifles dropped by the bodyguard, though he would need to cross three pirs to get there. Plenty of time to get shot at. His Penchant for Violence and This is My Turf were on cooldown, making his options limited. Let¡¯s add a few free points first ¨C I¡¯m going to need DEX. A lot of DEX.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Information
[Free Points Allocated] +70 DEX +70 DEX
His body began to feel lighter as he felt a slight tingle run down through every muscle, somehow making them tighter and leaner. Kyle nced back down at the Minister, whose eyes were also darting around for a weapon. Kyle handed him the handgun. ¡°Protect yourself ¨C I¡¯m rushing them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to what?!¡± ¡°There he is!¡± One of the soldiers eximed, spotting the two of them from across the warehouse. Kyle didn¡¯t reply to the Minister, dashing towards the closest soldier. Intimidation Aura! Every soldier who spotted him suddenly froze up in fear, but the leader was immune to it, immediately aiming his repeater at Kyle. However, Kyle positioned the closest soldier to him between him and the leader, preventing the leader from getting a clear shot. He grabbed the repeater by the barrel and twisted it out of the soldier¡¯s hand, before using his other free hand to grip the neck and turn him into a hostage shield. But before Kyle could make another move, two dozen shots were fired at him, causing the point defence vambrace on the soldier to re to life, negating six shots before the rest riddled him with holes, making him scream. No mercy, huh? A shot grazed Kyle¡¯s forehead, a line of blood dripping down his face as he continued to use the grappled hostage as a shield while moving from pir to pir, firing back at the enemy soldiers with precision. None of the soldiers fell, retreating behind cover as soon as their point defence engravings were overpowered. ¡°Broken!¡± ¡°Reloading!¡± The enemy soldiers were highly coordinated, cycling their exposure to Kyle based on the cooldown of their point defence system, making it hard for Kyle to take anyone of them down. At the same time, the Minister had managed to go the other direction, reaching the fallen bodies of the bodyguards and picking up their dropped repeater. Using Kyle as a distraction, the Minister fired an entire volley at two soldiers who were nked, killing them instantly. ¡°The Minister is there ¨C just kill the other guy and get it over with!¡± Kyle eyed and memorised the position of the remaining ten soldiers, including the skull mask leader. In ten minutes, I must kill everyone both inside and outside. Negation Field! He sprinted while holding the clearly dead soldier in front as a shield, charging at the next soldier. Before the soldier could react, the hostage shield was already in front of him, smacking right into him and causing him to fall over, the fuel pack on his belt spilling out onto the floor in an iridescent blue. Two nearby soldiers aimed at Kyle, pulling the trigger on their repeaters ¨C but nothing happened. Instead, a severe bacsh of arcia energy rippled through the pipes of their arcite fuel pack, causing it to explode into mes. That¡¯s new. Kyle did not stop to admire his handiwork, quickly closing the gap with the other soldiers while the Minister continued to suppress soldiers on his side. The leader noticed the two soldiers who had spontaneouslybusted, his eyes squinting under the skull mask. ¡°What the fuck was that? All of you ¨C keep your distance from him!¡± However, another two soldiers were not quick enough to get out of range of Kyle¡¯s negation field, their repeaters failing to activate as Kyle punched them right in the face and guts, the follow-up bacsh of the arcite fuel pack finishing them off. Kyle soon realized that there was no system message appearing for each kill. I guess the explosion killed them, not me. Already eight soldiers had fallen, with Kyle killing six and the Minister killing two. The leader fumed, firing an entire clip at Kyle before he got within range. Kyle quickly ducked as soon as the barrel was aimed towards him, only a single bullet clipping him on the waist. ¡°This fucker¡­ The rest of you, fuck the minister, kill this idiot first!¡± The leader roared, prompting the soldiers to all focus on Kyle, pinning him down behind a pir as fragments of it were sent flying all over the ce. The problem with the Negation Field is that I can¡¯t fire back. No arctech worked in a five-meter radius, making it difficult for him to fight in a long range battle such as this. Kyle was truly trapped now, with no way out. Just as he considered his options, the gurgling choking of two more soldiers falling could be heard. Minister Dekar was still using Kyle as the main distraction, firing round after round with precision honed through the revolution. As soon as the leader and the remaining two soldiers turned to face the Minister, Kyle took the advantage to leap out of the cover, the adrenaline running through his veins as he pumped his legs as hard as he could to rush towards the leader. ¡°Shit!¡± The leader swivelled back to fire at Kyle as soon as he heard Kyle¡¯s footstep ¨C but Kyle¡¯s speed was already far beyond a normal human, closing the gap before the leader could pull the trigger. The leader quickly recalled that his soldiers died when they tried to fire at close range, prompting him to not try the same thing and instead toss the repeater at Kyle, who was caught by surprise. Kyle used his left hand to grab the iing repeater just as a metal gauntlet mmed into his right arm, knocking him slightly to the side. The gauntlet fizzled as the engraving¡¯s arcia energy began to backflow, with the leader quickly grabbing the gauntlet off and tossing it to the side. ¡°So,bustion of arcia energy at range? Interesting. Maybe I¡¯ll sell you to the Nest.¡± The leader grinned as he retrieved a cleaver. They really love their cleavers. Kyle grunted as he met the challenge head-on, using the repeater as a short staff to parry and block the swift strikes from the leader. The leader was no slouch, his movements precise and urate. However, the movements were too slow to catch Kyle off-guard ¨C the enhanced DEX allowed Kyle to react quicker than ever. Even the leader was shocked by how easily some of his killer moves were being fended off as though he was but a child with a training sword. ¡°Who the fuck are you? Another Nest hitman?¡± ¡°Names won¡¯t matter where you¡¯re going.¡± Kyle suddenly sped up, blocking the machete with the barrel of the repeater before kicking forward. The leader dodged sideways before grabbing onto Kyle¡¯s now extended leg. ¡°Hah! I got you no-¡° Kyle exerted all his core muscle strength and remaining leg strength to spin as hard as he could around his grabbed leg, his other feet kicking the leader right in the jaw before he could react. The two of them tumbled onto the ground, but Kyle was the first to recover, immediately using the butt of the repeater and smacking it on the leader¡¯s neck repeatedly before stomping hard.
[System Message] Killed [Tiger-Level Nest Hitmen], +500 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 26 ---> Level 27
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Kyle huffed as he turned around, his eyes still in battle mode as he hunted for thest two soldiers. However, they were already dead, overpowered by the Minister, who had the rifle aimed right at Kyle. ¡°Minister ¨C you can¡¯t be serious.¡± Kyle spoke calmly, his hand still holding a repeater. Five minutes to Negation Field timeout. ¡°Spill it. You¡¯re not a normal weapon designer and I never thought you were one. But even then, the level ofbat skills you have is far beyond anything we have. Who exactly are you? An agent sent by the Hwa Dynasty?¡± ¡°There are more skilled people in the county of Raktor than you think, Minister. Your small poption is hardlyrge enough of a sample size to truly see outstanding talentpared to the Yual Dominion. Besides, is this really the right time?¡± Kyle motioned with his head outside. ¡°Haven¡¯t you noticed? The fighting outside already stopped.¡± ¡°Maybe my bodyguards have ¨C¡° ¡°Won? Against these guys and a repeater turret that can fire two hundred shots in ten seconds? I am tempted to give you away to this well-mannered gentleman¡­ Are you sure you still have the power to offer the same deal I was promised?¡± ¡°Of course I have!¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem that way anymore.¡± Kyle grinned slowly, backing away towards the entrance. ¡°Maybe I might try my luck with joining them¡­¡± ¡°Wait, wait! I agree to the deal! If you help me get back to the government headquarters, I¡¯ll give you everything in the deal: license, preferential treatment, you name it. But thepany must be majority state-owned, no less than 80%!¡± Kyle didn¡¯t respond, continuing to step to the entrance slowly. ¡°Okay! 75%!¡± ¡°30%.¡± ¡°What?! You¡¯re mad! Do you think I would give away Versia to-¡° ¡°30%, or I sell you out to the people beyond this door. I think you¡¯re mistaken about who holds the power here. Are you sure you can bargain with me? 30% is a very generous offer on my part.¡± ¡°¡­. Fine. 30%. But you have to protect me till the deal is signed!¡± ¡°Agreed. Let¡¯s work out the finer details as we escape from here. You must know a ce.¡± Minister Dekar fell into silence, thinking quickly. ¡°There¡¯s an old entrance to the catbs in a nearby building ¨C we can use that, for now, to get into the main district before heading for the government pce.¡± They quickly rushed down the warehouse, with Kyle peeking out beyond the door to watch for any enemy soldiers. Surprisingly, there was no soldiers watching the side exit, allowing the two of them to sneak their way out into a nearby building ¨C a simrly derelict factory floor with rusted equipment. The Minister led Kyle into a dark basement, with nearly no light inside. They rummaged for an arctechntern, turning it on to reveal a humongous boiler. Dekar walked around the boiler, feeling the floor for a gap in the tiles. As soon as he found it, he lifted the tile, revealing a straight vertical shaft with adder downwards. The smell was atrocious, even causing Kyle to flinch in response. This is even worse than the moons of Riest ¨C and that¡¯s saying something. They scampered down thedder,nding on a sidewalk next to a raging torrent of what could clearly bebelled as sewage water. The walls were clearly marked with signs of erosion and decay, with rats the size of a human arm scampering around the opposite side. ¡°Interesting, you seem familiar with this ce ¨C unusual for a man of your position.¡± Kyle remarked as the Minister groped his way down the sewers, holding thentern close to the brick walls, searching for a symbol. ¡°Of course I know this ce: this is where the revolution started from.¡± Chapter 78: Execution As the two of them trekked down the sewers, guided by Dekar¡¯s memory of theyout, Kyle wondered if Raktor had a simryout. Weird, I don¡¯t recall hearing anything about catbs, only sewers. But most people stay in the alleyways or in concentrated slums. ¡°So, who were the people attacking us? Why did they want to kill you?¡± Kyle asked as they trudged along, avoiding the pools of sludge and rotten carcasses of unidentifiable creatures. ¡°The industrialists. They¡¯ve been lobbying for the government to release restrictions on the sale and production of weapons for the military.¡± Dekar responded. ¡°I was under the impression that every citizen of Versia could hold a weapon ¨C even an arctech rifle.¡± ¡°There are still limitations on how much weaponry a single citizen can hold. They can¡¯t buy cannons or artillery, for example.¡± Kyle pondered for a while,ing to a conclusion. ¡°So the industrialists want full privatisation of the weapons industry.¡± ¡°Leeches is what they are ¨C no doubt they want to monopolise the industry as a group, ripping off the government.¡± ¡°Are you not also ripping off the military or the taxpayers by having a state monopoly as well?¡± Dekar stopped in his tracks, turning around and ring at Kyle. ¡°You seem to have this impression that every single government official is corrupt and is out to profit for themselves. Well, I¡¯m here to tell you that Versia is not the same as your noble-infested system that you are so proud of!¡± ¡°Surprising for someone who took a bribe from Count Leon.¡± ¡°I gave it away to charity.¡± ¡°You mean you gave it away for safekeeping.¡± Dekar fumed as he resumed walking. ¡°Unlike your money-addled brain, I believe in the Versian State! Everything I do is for the people and for the continued existence of the state. Living standards, quality of life, sanitary systems, transportation - I worked for fifteen years to establish all of that. To make a better society than ever before! Something your greedy heart will never understand.¡± Kyle was a bit astounded, smiling to himself. It¡¯s been a while since I met a man who had such strong ideals ¨C they neversted long in the Gctic Era. ¡°So that¡¯s why the capital looked so clean.¡± ¡°Exactly! I poured my heart and soul into ensuring the best for the citizens of Tenar, and soon I will be able to do the same for the other cities! These idiotic industrialists have no shame: their wealth and quality of life today is due to the work I have done.¡± ¡°Impressive. Yet here you are, powerless.¡± ¡°Indeed. I learnt a strict lesson today ¨C peace must be defended with force. Violent force, if necessary. When I get back to the headquarters¡­¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply, simply nodding along as Dekar continued to rant and espouse how he would quarter the industrialists from head to toe. However, Kyle did not believe the Versia state could achieve true stability. The issue was with how they came to power ¨C it reduces legitimacy as well as makes subsequent coups easier. Once the first coup is sessful, every other interest group out there will know that such a method is possible. And if the current government doesn¡¯t have the power to restrain them¡­ Suddenly, the Minister yelped out loud in fear as he tripped over a corpse. However, upon closer inspection, it was not a corpse, but rather a wasted homeless squatter, with an unshaven beard and long flowing white hair, half-naked with tattered pants. ¡°Watch where you¡¯re going, twat!¡± The old squatter groaned, trying to stand up but failing. Kyle was surprised: he was under the impression that Tenar had no homeless people at all after seeing the morous capital along with the passionate speech of Dekar. Dekar quickly bent over to help the old squatter up, apologising profusely. However, as soon as Dekar caught a glimpse of his face, his jaw droppedpletely. ¡°Zayin? What the fuck are you doing here? I thought you were in Ocra?¡± ¡°Huh? Who are you? How do you know my name?¡± The old squatter was clearly drunk, unable to tell who Dekar was. ¡°Where are you staying now? I¡¯ll get you back to your house.¡± ¡°House? What house? This is my house!¡± The old squatter brushed off Dekar and pushed him away. ¡°This is thend of the great Zayin! Born and raised in the catbs of Tenar, and proud of it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke with me, Zayin. There are more than enough houses for everyone ¨C the government has made sure of that! Even if you didn¡¯t have a house, there are more than a hundred homeless shelters across the city which can help you.¡± ¡°Those rubbish shelters? Got beaten up two times there, and I am not going back. Hell, nobody goes back there. And I don¡¯t know who the fuck you are, but there ain¡¯t a hundred homeless shelters in Tenar; are you joking?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not ¨C I¡¯m the Minister. Minister Dekar!¡± A sliver of recognition appeared in Zayin¡¯s eyes before rage and anger began to envelop his entire face, his hands shakily grabbing Dekar by the cor. ¡°You! You corrupt ignorant twats! You forsaken the entire cause of the revolution!¡± ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± ¡°You¡¯reing with me, even if it¡¯s thest thing I do in my life. Get over here, you cunt!¡± Zayin grabbed Dekar and forced him to walk fast and further down the sewer before turning the corner into the catbs. They walked down a long tunnel before turning to see arge underground hall, the stench even worse than the sewage. Hundreds of homeless people were cowering here, their makeshift tents and contaminated barrels of water littered along the side of the cavern as dim flickeringnterns served as their only light source. A group of malnourished kids could be seen running around the cavern,ughing and ying while women huddled in groups, fixing clothes and sewing up what seemed to be factory uniforms before tossing them into a pile. A scrawny naked kid scrambled up to them upon seeing them. ¡°Grandpa Zayin, is my dad back from the factory yet?¡± ¡°Fuck off twat, go find some other old chump to bother. And no, he¡¯s not back yet ¨C it isn¡¯t even the end of the work shift.¡± Zayin shooed him away. Dekar was stunned at the entire sight; his entire fifteen years of work invalidated. ¡°Impossible ¨C I toured the catbsst year at this exact spot! It waspletely empty!¡± ¡°Except every single time before you came, someone came in to force them to clear out. I know EXACTLY who you are, Dekar Aulus.¡± Zayin suddenly turned to face him, his face and expression clearer than ever. ¡°At first, I thought I was hallucinating, but to finally see you have the balls toe visit your dear old pal.¡± ¡°No! They told me you left for Ocra!¡± ¡°Why in the fucking world of all ces would I move to that shithole!¡± Zayin roared, grabbing Dekar by the cor. The shout attracted the attention of the others, prompting them to slowly crane their necks over, trying to get a better view. ¡°Oh my god, is that Minister Dekar?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he on the run now? Why is he here?¡± ¡°We should get him to move away from here ¨C if the militaryes back here, they¡¯ll beat us up again!¡± Dekar could clearly hear the wave of murmuring, wondering what the hell was happening. ¡°You and I were both born in the same slums, right here in Tenar. Same district, same factory, same revolution! And you believed I decided to ditch all that and head to Ocra, where there was even more poverty?! You stupid fuck, I should give you a right ol¡¯ punch now if you weren¡¯t the minister.¡± Zayin raised his fist, ring at Dekar, who was still astonished. Kyle interrupted them, cing a hand on Zayin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Sorry to interrupt your joyous reunion, but I have a contract to sign with our dear minister here. I¡¯m sure he will fix all of this as soon as he gets back to the government headquarters.¡± ¡°Like I¡¯ll ever trust anyone in the government ever again. Maybe Versia should return to anarchy!¡± Zayin spat through rotten teeth. ¡°Please, Zayin, I¡¯m sorry for all of this! I can fix this, I swear!¡± Dekar pleaded. ¡°A bit toote for that, isn¡¯t it? Fifteen years of this shit!¡± Kyle grabbed Zayin and forced him apart, sending him tumbling to the ground. Before Dekar could turn around to scold Kyle, Kyle grabbed him by the armpit and dragged him back out to the main sewers. ¡°Let go of me!¡± Dekar struggled, but he was unable to fight off Kyle¡¯s tight grip. Kyle tossed him to the side, mming him to the wall. ¡°I don¡¯t have time for this nonsense ¨C Dekar, you are going to get us to the surface. There¡¯s no point trying to apologise to him: fix it with your actions. Are we clear?¡± ¡°¡­you¡¯re right.¡± Dekar finally calmed down, focusing on what he needed to do. ¡°Good. Now let¡¯s move ¨C because I¡¯m afraid of what I heard just now.¡± ¡°About me being on the run?¡± Kyle nodded, the two of them picking up the pace. ¡°Here¡¯s thedder that goes right into an alleyway next to the main street.¡± They mbered up thedder quickly, with Dekar quickly lifting the heavy metal lid and sliding it to the side before reaching back to the surface. However, instead of the usual mour and din of the citizensughing or lining up for bakeries, the streets were filled with protestors instead, holding signs and loudhailers, chanting out loud. ¡°What in the world?¡± Dekar eximed. ¡°Never mind that ¨C how do we get you into the headquarters?¡± ¡°This way.¡± Dekar led him down a series of alleyways as a loudhailer boomed loud enough for the two of them to hear. [Minister Dekar is a traitor to the state of Versia! He has been caught epting bribes from the Yual Dominion,undering them through a charity organisation his aplices own!] ¡°Down with the Minister!¡± ¡°DOWN WITH THE MINISTER!¡± ¡°Are you sure we can get back into the headquarters?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°We must get back in ¨C otherwise, this usation will go out of control!¡± They weaved their way through the myriad of alleyways, running past chefs who were throwing out food waste into the sewers, shocking them. ¡°Hey, wasn¡¯t that Minister Dekar?! He¡¯s here!¡± ¡°Shit, run faster!¡± Kyle urged. Dekar led them towards an open square, which was situated right outside the grand steps of the government pce that used to be owned by the former Count. Its grand pirs towered over the crowd of protestors, along with what seemed to be a wooden stage being hauled forward. There was a single prisoner on it bound to a pole while a government official stood on top of it. Dekar¡¯s eyes widened as he saw who was being tied up on the wooden stage, nearly shouting out loud before Kyle quickly grabbed his mouth and silenced him. ¡°For a former revolutionary, it seems your time in the government has made you forget the basics of concealment.¡± Kyle made sure they hid in the alleyway, preventing them from being directly spotted by any of the protestors. Walking out now into the open square would be suicide. The government official held a loudhailer as he looked right at a lightcapturer. [Here is James Gram, owner of the charity organisation who had epted more than fifty million in rakels from Minister Dekar. Let him speak for himself.] The prisoner grunted as his head was lifted for all to see, his cheeks swollen purple from the numerous beatings. ¡°My¡­ my name is James Gram¡­ please don¡¯t hurt my family¡­¡± [The audacity of this man to worry about his family when fifty million rakels that should have been used for the improvement of Versia has been monopolised by him! Only fifteen years have passed since the revolution, yet the ugly remnants of the noble ss rear its head once again.] ¡°N-no! I¡¯m a revolutionary, one of the original! Ask Dekar, ask Johan! They can vouch for me!¡± [Listen! An admission that even the current President is part of this corrupt affair!] Dekar was frantic, quickly thinking of all the possibilities. ¡°We need to find President Johan and get him to end all of this!¡±. However, Kyle was not as optimistic, already dreading what was about to happen. [The people of this country deserve that money, James! And yet you squandered all of it away!] The government official yelled out before leaning over to James, whispering into his ear. ¡°If you do not confess now, your family might not be in very good hands¡­¡± James¡¯ eyes widened, his face clearly stuck in a dilemma. After a moment¡¯s pause, he nodded vigorously ¡°I¡­ I¡­ Yes. I squandered the money!¡± He yelled out. ¡°I did it! Please don¡¯t hurt my family!¡± [Well, citizens of Versia. What do we do with greedy folk who squander away the nation¡¯s wealth?] ¡°BEHEAD HIM!¡± The crowd roared back angrily. Kyle nced at the stunned Dekar, sighing as James¡¯ bloodied head rolled off the stage to thunderous fanfare, cheering and shouting. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re not getting into the government¡¯s headquarters anytime soon.¡± Chapter 79: Convenient Goddess Dekar watched in horror as the crowd of protestors cheered, forcing their way into the government pce as the guards and soldiers struggled to keep them in order. ¡°There must be a secret entrance or passageway into the pce,¡± Kyle asked Dekar. ¡°Can we use that?¡± A few seconds passed before Kyle grabbed Dekar by the shoulders and shook him violently, shaking him out of his stupor. ¡°Minister, get up and move. You¡¯re not going to aplish anything just staring at them.¡± ¡°...yes, you¡¯re right, you¡¯re right.¡± Dekar mumbled to himself before pping himself on the cheek, the former confidence of apetent minister returning to him. ¡°Indeed, there is a passageway - but it is on the other side of the square.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s backtrack and find a better ce to cross.¡± The hollers and chants of the protestors continued to echo through the tight alleyways as Dekar and Kyle moved quickly. Kyle himself was a bit surprised at the strength of the revolt. He had done his research beforeing on the general political stability of the country, noting that the government had much goodwill. For this many people toe out in force against the state, the industrialists must be behind it. Paid protestors, most likely. none of this are actually angry citizens. No one flips that quickly unless for mary gain. As they snuck their way back to the sewers, Dekar spotted a military patrol, trying to fend off some protestors. ¡°Quick, if we talk to them, maybe we can enlist their help.¡± Dekar was about to call out to them when Kyle suddenly grabbed him from behind. ¡°No, something¡¯s wrong.¡± Kyle motioned towards the soldiers. ¡°Look at their arm patch.¡± ¡°What do you mean? That patch signifies the Versia Armed For ¨C oh¡­¡± There was a clearly recognisable small skull logo in the middle of the patch: if Dekar were not looking carefully, he would have missed it entirely from the whole design. Shit, they are part of Nest too! ¡°Thisplicates things¡­¡± Dekar murmured to himself. ¡°Move first ¨C we need to get back to the catbs.¡± Kyle urged Dekar, who agreed and changed directions. There was no meaning in heading back to the government headquarters now that the hitmen had also infiltrated the military forces. Just as Dekar and Kyle were running between residential buildings, a window above them opened to reveal a young mother who spotted the two of them. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that Minister Dekar?! Minister Dekar!¡± She hollered down, attracting the attention of the protestors and the military squads nearby. ¡°Shit!¡± Dekar didn¡¯t bother looking up to reply, picking up the pace as the thunderous vibration of multiple footsteps began to congregate around them. ¡°Where is he?¡± ¡°He was just there, running left!¡± ¡°Find him, cut him off!¡± As soon as Dekar turned the corner, he nearly ran straight into a military soldier, who immediately brandished his handgun, aiming at Dekar. ¡°Stop, don¡¯t move or else I¡¯ll ¨C¡° The remaining words never came out of his mouth as Kyle immediately killed him with a snap of his neck.
[System Message] Killed [Wolf-Level Nest Hitman], +100 EXP
¡°Keep moving!¡± Kyle shoved Dekar, forcing him into a running sprint as they were chased by soldiers and angry protestors. ¡°The Minister is running for the exit; cut him off!¡± ¡°You, go to the right and block the streets!¡± Dekar frantically turned multiple corners, his mind continuously routing the possible exit points. ¡°This way, in here!¡± He stopped right at a nondescript door, barging in with Kyle before quickly closing it. The soldiers and the protestors rushed past, the thuds echoing through the dark room that they were now hiding in. ¡°There¡¯s an alternate entrance to the catbs here. We can¡¯t go back to Zayin; lest they follow us, they would get implicated.¡± Dekar exined. The room had been poorly maintained, clear signs of mould and degradation filling the woods with termites eating away at the wooden furniture that had been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Dekar quickly pulled out arge rug, a loud plume of dust hitting Kyle right in the face as it unveiled yet another vertical shaft with adder that led straight down into the sewers. The two were back in the sewers, Kyle slowly getting limatised to the smell. Dekar led him in apletely different direction away from where they met Zayin, navigating the multiple junctions to finally reach a small little chamber untouched for decades. ¡°We¡¯ll be safe here ¨C only a select few know of this ce,¡± Dekar exined as he rummaged around the damp chamber for an arctechntern and turned it on, the arcite ore not used just yet. The chamber was surprisingly cosy ¨C plenty of fabrics and mattresses strewn across the floor, while clear signs of animal bones left behind from the former upant¡¯s meals were stacked nicely in a side, cleaned by a swarm of maggots that squirmed under the light. ¡°And what if the select few are behind this?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s impossible ¨C we are united in ideal.¡± ¡°Except your own government workers have been infiltrated or turned against you. I¡¯m beginning to suspect the entire government has always been working behind your back. Did you even hold power back then, Minister? Or were you just a puppet?¡± Dekar did not reply, his face grim as he tried to piece together the sequence of events. He could not refute Kyle ¨C his entire understanding of the situation in the capital had been overturned by Zayin¡¯s and the homeless people¡¯s existence, coupled with the turning of the military and paid protestors against him. There was also the sudden appearance of advanced technology far beyond what the military had. Kyle patted a mattress before plopping down, and taking a quick rest. Dekar scavenged for some water sks, handing one to Kyle as they sat down in silence for a minute. Kyle took a deep breath, sping his hand together. ¡°So, we seem to be at a crossroads.¡± ¡°Crossroads?¡± Dekar was a bit surprised. ¡°If you mean the future of Versia ¨C then yes, we are at a turn-¡° ¡°No. I meant you and I.¡± Dekar¡¯s eyes narrowed slightly, staring at Kyle. ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°You seem to have a misunderstanding that I am a Versian citizen who is affected by all of this madness and equally worried about the state as you.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re saying you don¡¯t give a shit when people¡¯s livelihoods are at stake.¡± ¡°I am a businessman, Mr Dekar.¡± ¡°We had a deal.¡± ¡°The deal was made when you still had the position of Minister. I don¡¯t believe in sunk cost facy, Dekar.¡± Theck of titles irked Dekar slightly, but he couldn¡¯t disagree ¨C how could he still be a minister when his own forces had turned against him? ¡°No, the deal is still valid.¡± ¡°I believe the amount of effort that I have to put in in order to make the deal seed has increased dramatically, such that I am very much inclined to leave Versia altogether.¡± ¡°You¡¯re joking. All of this shit happening, and the only thing you care about is money?!¡± Dekar was infuriated. ¡°Have you no morals? No shame? What about the people?¡± Kyle barely reacted to the insult at first, sipping slowly from the water sk before letting out a sigh. The idealistic drivel that Dekar was spouting grated on his nerves, angering him. ¡°One. I am not a Versian citizen. Two, I sell weapons. Weapons that can kill people by the dozens. Hundreds.¡± Kyle stood up, walking slowly to Dekar. ¡°Thousands. Millions. Billions. Trillions. I have sold weapons that could annihte poptions untold over great distances that your idealistic brain can hardly register, faster than even your eyes can see! Do you think these ¡®morals¡¯ matter to me?¡± Dekar instinctively gulped, with the searing re of Kyle burning through his face till he couldn¡¯t bear to hold his gaze any longer. ¡°And from what I¡¯ve seen, your ¡®morals¡¯ have only led you to this exact situation. Only money, power and everything else that helps me hold onto them matter ¨C nothing else. Not your half-baked ideals that fell so easily to corruption.¡± ¡°Look at how your ideal has served the people ¨C the very same people that were swayed so easily by the trinkets given to them by the industrialists to protest and execute your best friend on the spot in a public show of blood and gore. The hitmen that are after your life. They are not ready for your ideal, they never were, and they never will. Not unless you have enough force to protect it.¡± ¡°Do you really believe in serving the people anymore when they hardly serve you? Do you truly want to listen to the people who can hardly think for themselves, only knowing how to whine and beg when things go south? How much was the head of your friend worth, hmm? Three Versian coins per protestor?¡± Dekar steeled himself with resolve, unwilling to take the one-sided beating any longer. ¡°Ideals are ideals for a reason ¨C I believe with enough effort, we can create a culture around this that will foster unity among the Versian people-¡° ¡°Enough. Save your spiel forter. I don¡¯t want to hear rambles of a former minister: I want to know how you intend to honour our deal.¡± At this juncture, there was no clear path for Dekar to even fulfil it. However, he had witnessed Kyle¡¯s impressivebat prowess, able to fight off dozens of soldiers on his own given the right opportunity. He could not let him go at any cost, otherwise, the fight to take back his position would be extremely perilous. His mind raced back to the past, recalling how he used to be a revolutionary, living for months on end at a time in the catbs just like this. ¡°We need to gather people, like-minded folks who are aware of the hostile takeover by the industrialists. If we can talk to a few of my former colleagues across the country, we can organise a strong enough force to take down those in power.¡± ¡°Sounds like a lot of work.¡± ¡°It is, which is why we need to act fast and ¨C¡° ¡°I¡¯m out.¡± Dekar was stunned. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°The amount of effort I have to put in doesn¡¯t seem worth it. How long will the revolution take? Two years? Three years?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit of an exaggeration, but maybe a year or so¡­ we need time to build up weapons and troops to fight back¡­¡± ¡°And that¡¯s exactly why I am out. I am not going to be your bodyguard for a year.¡± Dekar was about to retort before realising Kyle hadn¡¯t actually stormed out of the chamber nor left yet. If he was truly serious about leaving, he would have done so the moment he heard me criminalised by the crowd. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°The state only owns 10% of our joint weapons factory venture, two unlimited mining licenses and a national pardon for me, regardless of any crime.¡± Dekar¡¯s eyes nearly bulged at the idea. ¡°Ridiculous!¡± ¡°Is it now? In exchange, I can appoint you back into power ¨C or even have you be the president if you so wish. Discounted weapons for the military, all the more to secure your government¡¯s stronghold against these industrialists and others who seek to topple you. Are you really willing to let the industrialists stay in power just because of a paltry 90% share and two mining licenses? Think carefully. And also, if you agree to the deal, we do this my way.¡± The former minister fell silent for a moment, contemting whether it was worth the cost. It felt like he was making a deal with the devil, something that he would regret deeply in the future. The industrialists being in sole power was a far greater evil than him and Kyle together, where he could still potentially keep an eye on what Kyle was doing to ensure the state¡¯s interest. As it is right now, he ispletely powerless, and he has no bargaining power with Kyle. In fact, what truly frightened him was if Kyle left him behind and went to negotiate with the industrialists. No, I must keep him with me at all costs! ¡°You have my word. But you need to exin how you¡¯re going to solve all of this first. I don¡¯t believe you can do it faster than a year.¡± ¡°In two months or less, I will have you back on your small throne,¡± Kyle promised, confident in his n. ¡°What?! That¡¯s impossible?¡± ¡°Of course, we will need to get help first. Have you heard of the goddess Nona?¡± Chapter 80: Sparks Zayin winced as a Versian sergeant grabbed him by his long white hair, dragging him across the floor and tossing him against the wall, lined up with five other men who were wearing factory uniforms. The women and children were huddled in the corner, their eyes stricken with fear as they stared at the barrels of the repeaters wielded by the soldiers who herded them. ¡°Where is the Minister?! Don¡¯t lie to us; we know he visited you.¡± The sergeant questioned him. ¡°What Minister? I haven¡¯t gone above ground for years; how would you expect me to know everyone up there?¡± Zayin grinned, earning a rough kick from another soldier. ¡°You got two minutes to answer before we arrest everyone here. Your lot shouldn¡¯t even be here.¡± ¡°We were forced to live down here!¡± One of the factory workersined. ¡°There¡¯s not enough rooms and shelters in the city ¨C where else do you want us to go?¡± ¡°Shut up! I didn¡¯te to hear your sob stories. Tell us where the Minister is, or we¡¯ll have to do it the hard way.¡± Zayin kept mum, only a crazy smile on his face that infuriated the sergeant even more. ¡°Fine. Grab them and drag them to the holding cell. We have tools that will make this fucking sewer feel like heaven.¡± A soldierplied, moving forward to cuff them. However, a sudden cry of pain erupted from the soldier guarding the entrance; his neck grappled tightly by a hooded man. Without warning, the hooded man rushed forward with the soldier as a shield before grabbing him by the belt and swinging him wildly. Penchant for Violence. The sheer force of the throw caught the sergeant off-guard as the soldier¡¯s body collided with him, with Kyle overpowering the soldiers near the entrance in an instant. Shots began to be fired at Kyle, the pellets ricocheting off the walls and injuring some of the homeless, inducing panic. Some of the men took advantage of the situation to grab the soldier nearest to them, entering into a tussle. Kyle moved swiftly to neutralise all the soldiers, taking great care not to kill any of them. In a short two minutes, all ten soldiers were taken down. Over the next few minutes, Kyle hauled them, piling them up next to each other in a corner as they moaned, arms bruised or bones broken from the punches and kicks of Kyle. Zayin¡¯s confused eyes finally locked onto Kyle, squinting as he tried to recognise him. ¡°You¡­ you were with that fucking cunt! It¡¯s your fault the soldiers came here in the first ce!¡± Kyle ignored him, instead stripping the equipment off the soldiers. Armour tes, guns, arcite fuel packs,nterns and other misceneous stuff were stripped down to their bare essence. Heid them out in front of the astonished men whom he had just saved, only twenty of them. ¡°Pick up the weapons.¡± ¡°What?!¡± The men looked at each other, confused. ¡°Are you satisfied with living here?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Are you?¡± ¡°But, taking up arms against the ¨C ¡° ¡°Answer the question. It¡¯s a yes or no. Are you truly happy with how you¡¯re living here? Under the boots of those who are living better than you, under those who oppress you?¡± Kyle rose up, walking towards the women and children. ¡°Are your families happy to live here, huddling and cowering every time someone walks in with a gun? Are you overjoyed every time someonees in to relocate you just to another section in the catbs?¡± ¡°Are you proud to be a Versian? To not have any of the profits, the fruits of yourbour, but all the hardship and suffering? To work long hours at the factory only to earn a pittance that can barely feed your family that day?¡± ¡°Those of you who are satisfied and content with your position in life. STAND UP!¡± Kyle roared. The homeless did not stand, them whispering among each other. A woman whispered to another as she cradled her baby. ¡°Is he a lunatic? What¡¯s going on?¡± Kyle stared at her and walked up to her, kneeling right in front of her. ¡°Can you honestly, from the depths of your heart, tell me that you are satisfied? Right here, right now. That you are satisfied andforted by the knowledge that your kid, the very same baby that you hold right now, will be as impoverished and discriminated against just like all of you here. Can you?¡± The woman didn¡¯t dare to answer, but in her heart, she wanted to scream, to scream at all the indignity that she had to endure. For all the cold winter days she had to queue for food only to be rejected, the months spent waiting for a spot on the government¡¯s housing scheme, only never to be selected. ¡°He¡¯s right, he¡¯s right! I¡¯m sick and tired of this ce. How many more years must we endure this!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, don¡¯t listen to him! If we try to fight, we¡¯ll only get punished just like the rest did. Don¡¯t you remember Allie?¡± Kyle cleared his throat, emting Guang Hwa to the best of his abilities. Too bad I could not put any free points into Charisma. ¡°So rejoice! For Ie not as a leader of you to your doom but as a messenger of your salvation!¡± ¡°Salvation?¡± ¡°Indeed. For it is our goddess, Nona, who have shaped the earth as it is. Who hasid out every food, animal, monster and nt for our needs. And the Word of the Goddess states ¨C ¡®I have created everything on this for the enjoyment of the human race.¡¯ Yet here we are! Living in shame, forced to scurry like rats under the heels of those who monopolise the gift of the goddess.¡± The homeless were beginning to listen carefully, no longer doubting Kyle. ¡°Yet the industrialists who gue the government ims that they only have your best interest in heart while they lean back on luxury chairs and sip on the wine bottles produced by your very hands. They believe that you are undeserving of the Goddess¡¯s gift! That only the fruit of thend that she has provided belongs to them alone! Do you ept this?¡± ¡°NO!¡± Three enthusiastic kids shouted out. ¡°The audacity of those people to warp and twist the government to work for them instead of working for the people! To put you lower just because. Are you not sapient human beings who have equal rights to the inheritance given to us by Nona? Are you not capable of lofty goals? Are you not citizens of Versia?!¡± ¡°WE ARE!¡± ¡°Then thank the goddess she has sent me ¨C her holy messenger blessed with her power. It is through her miraculous strength and leadership spoken through me that I shall burn a path for all those who are downtrodden, dissatisfied, neglected, and all those whom others call unworthy! No citizen of Versia is unworthy!¡± ¡°YEA!¡± The homeless crowd was really into it now, the excitement pumping in their hearts. Years of mindless toiling away to make a living had begun to hit them as they realised how low they had fallen. What other way was there to go than up? ¡°We shall fight! Fight for our rights. Fight with everything we got! Fight for Nona and Versia!¡± ¡°FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!¡± Kyle began to give out the equipment, handing the repeaters to the men first. ¡°We will learn how to use this over the next few days. The rest of you spread the word. Spread as fast as you can. Let every downtrodden soul know of this reckoning!¡± As the homeless shelter was stirred into a frenzy, Zayin walked up to Kyle, his face scowling. ¡°You, you¡¯re going to get us all killed!¡± ¡°Interesting choice of word for a former original revolutionary.¡± ¡°Did Dekar put you up to this? What did he offer you? Money? Power?¡± ¡°And what does it matter to you what I get if the people get what they truly want and deserve?¡± ¡°You¡¯re using as scapegoats, as cannon fodder ¨C just like fucking Johan did. Once the revolution was over, he tossed us aside like waste.¡± ¡°And what other solution do you have?¡± Kyle smirked. ¡°You seemed to have done nothing to help both yourselves and them over the past decade.¡± Zayin was bbergasted but could not find the words to justify his position. Indeed, he had beenzing around as a bum, drinking half-emptied bottles scavenged from the side of high-ss restaurants,nguishing in his self-despair and inability to change anything. Yet the moment he met someone that could change it, the only thing he did wasin without offering an alternative. ¡°You can sit at the side and wait for your own death, or you can watch the people get what they truly deserve.¡± Kyle dismissed Zayin. Zayin frowned slightly as he pondered his next steps before he spotted Dekar from the corner of his eye, peeking in from the entrance to the cavern. ¡°You slimy rat, what horror have you unleashed on us this time!¡± Zayin roared. ¡°Zayin, I promise this time I¡¯ll make everything right. I learnt from my mistakes ¨C I¡¯m not going to forsake my people any longer. Whatever the cost. Please, help me. You and I both led the original revolution. I need your help once more.¡± Zayin sighed. Perhaps it is time for onest attempt. At least with me at the helm, I can watch and make sure my people do not suffer needlessly. Dekar motioned for Kyle toe over, with Zayin joining the discussion. ¡°So we got the people riled up; what next?¡± ¡°We need to finish the revolution in two months ¨C and it has to be as bloodless as possible,¡± Kyle exined. ¡°We cannot dismantle the military nor the government too violently either; it will be a waste of resources.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± Dekar nodded. He did not want to weaken the state of Versia to the point of civil war ¨C with the Yual Dominion looming in the distance; it would only be a matter of days before Count Leon learned about the turmoil, potentiallyunching an attack to im more territory of Versia. What Dekar did not know was that Kyle knew the war was a definite guarantee ¨C he himself had built a weapons factory for Baron Cain in preparation. The Baron previously set the deadline for the factory to be one month from now ¨C but the war might not necessarily happen immediately. I have to clean this up as fast as possible. Setting up the factory in Versia and mines in Verisa would take time as well unless he could retrofit factories seized from the industrialists. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s fine and all.¡± Zayin shrugged. ¡°But that¡¯s not a concrete action ¨C we don¡¯t have enough manpower, nor do we have enough firepower to even negotiate with the government.¡± Kyle nced at the pitiful arrangement of guns. It will take time to train them as well ¨C maybe a months-long boot camp. I have to secure proper training resources for them as well. ¡°We will need to steal and scavenge as many resources as we can.¡± ¡°Zayin, you spread the word around to the other groups living in the catbs. We need as many able-bodied soldiers as possible. Don¡¯t bring all of them here just yet, just make sure they know of the message. We want toy the foundations first.¡± ¡°Dekar, you will go and speak with as many acquaintances as you can. Only those that you truly trust. We need resources and financial support wherever possible, the more the better.¡± ¡°Then what are you going to do? Stay here and train them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to take out Nest.¡± Chapter 81: Nest The relic market of Versia was far more subdued after the protests, with the military searching everywhere for any hints of the Minister and his aplices. Kyle walked through quickly, looking out for a symbol mentioned by Zayin. Suddenly, the sound of metal scattering on the floor caused many to turn their heads, only for them to look away in fear as two soldiers beat up a merchant. ¡°Where is the Minister?!¡± One of the soldiers roared as he kicked yet another of the merchant¡¯s disy stand, intentionally disrupting the business. ¡°Hey! Stop!¡± A scrawny young man shouted from behind, holding a metal knife. ¡°Don¡¯t think I know you¡¯re just bullying the merchants here so your bosses can monopolise the relic industry as well!¡± One of the soldiers sighed before aiming his repeater at the man and firing three shots into the limbs. The man had no time to react, instantly copsing to the ground in pain, groaning from the projectiles that dug deep into his flesh. The soldier nced at the passersby and onlookers, who winced in response and quickly scurried away. ¡°That¡¯s right, run like the fucking rats you are. HEY, YOU TWO! Haul these two idiots and confiscate all their relics. Imprison them for being aplices of the Minister.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t bother helping them, immediately continuing his search for the symbol. He wasn¡¯t here to y a hero just yet. Three clouds with a waterfall between them¡­ He spotted the skull symbol on one of the corners of the street, clearly denoting the presence of Nest for those who were in the know. He did not want toe into contact with Nest, who was an ¡®unbiased¡¯ organisation of informants, hitmen and assassins. Only money matters to them, and as of now, Kyle had no assets to offer to Nest, nor did he want to give away his identity to them. For all I know, they may very well be aware that I am Kyle Hawthorn. Soon, he found the symbol, quickly turning down the corner into a less crowded street, with only a few merchants and food stall owners lurking along the walls. Each of them eyed Kyle warily, their heads tracking his every move as he walked. Forward sentries ¨C not surprising. Kyle was well-versed in the secrecy required by such ck-market organisations, so he simply let them observe him, clearly showing his intent. He walked up to a door that seemed to lead into a toilet, but instead, it was an arctech elevator, with someone waiting inside beyond the fenced door. ¡°Where the clouds gather.¡± The bouncer in the elevator yawned, digging his ear. ¡°So shall the rain fall.¡± ¡°Purpose?¡± ¡°Sending a message as well as request for smuggling of goods.¡± ¡°All right.¡± The elevator¡¯s fenced doors slid open, with the bouncer prompting Kyle inside. The bouncer patted him down, noticing that he had no weapons but only multiple small vials of health potions. Weird. However, the bouncer didn¡¯t care ¨C as long as there was no weapons, it was fine by him. What could he do anyway, throw them as projectiles? Kyle expected the elevator to start descending, but instead, the man activated another engraving on the opposite wall, another door opening to reveal a pristine office that was a far cry from the usual Yual and Versian style of design. Instead, it was fully oriental, with the floors made of marble and the walls painted with drawings of fish swimming. At the end of the long room sat an old man along with five other clerks, each having their own independent desks as they continually made calls on arctech radios, organising smuggling and supplies to and fro. The old man nced up from his work, his metallic prosthetic left hand¡¯s gears whirring as he adjusting his sses, the engraving glowing along the side. ¡°Mr. Kris Greyborn. The protector of Minister Dekar. To what do I owe the pleasure?¡± Kyle approached the old man¡¯s desk, bowing sincerely before taking a seat on one of the more opulent chairs meant for guests. ¡°This is much smaller than I would have expected. Perhaps I should have gone to Nest instead.¡± A clear sign of anger and frustration appeared on the man¡¯s forehead, his eyebrows twitching slightly before he calmed himself down, cing down his pen and turning to face Kyle fully. ¡°Yet you are aware that Nest is chasing you down at the behest of the industrialists.¡± ¡°Ah, a free piece of information? I was under the impression that I had to pay for such a tip. Thank you, you do treat your customers well.¡± ¡°Cut the crap. You came here for a clear reason. Speak. And you better have an offer to back it up.¡± Kyle cleared his throat, standing up and pacing around the table. ¡°The Clouds have always drifted thend. Originally calling the Hwa Dynasty home, they were ousted two hundred years ago in a political upheaval. Yet now established in Versia, they are losing ground and business to Nest, who ns to dominate the entire ck market of Tenar and subsequently the country.¡± ¡°We have a working rtionship with Nest, a bnce.¡± ¡°Ah, but is it tenable? Once the revolution seeds, your hold on the ck market will begin to diminish. The puppet government may suddenly turn on you, wiping you out while letting Nest pick up the remains.¡± The old man banged the table in anger. ¡°Do not try to sway me with words. You have onest chance before I will have you leave the premise.¡± ¡°I need you to send a message as well as to receive a package for me.¡± ¡°Message delivery will be five thousand rakels. Smuggling a package into the capital in this scenario will cost much, much more. Maybe two hundred thousand rakels. Payment upfront.¡± ¡°I have an alternative payment. I will help you eliminate Nest from the ck market.¡± The old man nearlyughed his head off, pping the table with his metallic hand. The clerks joined in theughter, sneering at ¡°Just because you took down a few Tiger-level hitmen, you think you can take down their entire organisation?¡± ¡°I can deal a strong-enough blow; the rest will be up to you to clean up.¡± ¡°HAH! What confidence you have! Maybe you should change roles and be a jester! This is ridicul-¡° Before the old man could finish, his neck was suddenly grabbed by Kyle and lifted up high. The clerks all immediately pulled out their repeaters, aiming them right at Kyle, who held the old man. ¡°You are not the only organisation I can use in the ck market. Choose ¨C your entire heritage dies here, or you be rulers of the Versian ck market.¡± ¡°F-fool!¡± The old man struggled as his neck began to strain against the chokehold of Kyle. ¡°My men¡¯s repeaters will shred you to pieces. ¡°A trade I am willing to make. Ten seconds to make your choice. Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six. Five-¡° ¡°Okay! Okay! I¡¯ll do it!¡± The old man finally relented, tapping Kyle¡¯s arm as he was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor. He gingerly rubbed his sore neck, choking out saliva. How in the world did he move so fast in just a split second?! Kyle reached into his belt and handed the old man a health potion vial for his neck. ¡°Good. Gather your men and prepare for the signal. We begin tonight.¡± The customers cheered and roared as they watched two ruffians have a go at each other on top of three round tables, the frames barely able to hold on as their weight continuously shifted. Sweat and blood were flung into the cheering onlookers, who heartily downed their pints and shouted. ¡°COME ON, YA WUSS! GRAB HIM BY THE BALLS!¡± ¡°THE EYES! AIM FOR THE EYES, YOU FUCK WIT!¡± The brawl was hardly the main attraction of the bar, with ve female dancers dressed in revealing clothes parading themselves on the stage, with men throwing flowers at the girls non-stop as they groped another girl that was already giving them ap dance. The kaleidoscopic lights from the tinted arctechnterns swivelled around the floor while jazz music sted from the surrounding arctech radios. Kyle sat at the bar, his face masked from view as he swirled a ss of whiskey, slowly savouring it. Just as he was about to raise his hand to signal to the bartender, another drunk man barged his way next to him on the bar with two clearly drugged girls in tow. ¡°Hey, BARTENDER! A room in the back, the one with spikes!¡± Kyle nced at the man¡¯s neck, a clear skull tattoo signifying that he was part of Nest. ¡°The spider crawls in the undergrowth.¡± The drunk man turned swiftly to stare at him, any sign of his previous haphazard acting long gone. ¡°Who do you work for?¡± ¡°Sorry, wrong person.¡± ¡°The vulture hides in its nest. Now, tell me who you are working for.¡± ¡°No one. I¡¯m looking for information.¡± The man groaned before motioning to a burly bodyguard. ¡°Get this guy downstairs. VIP.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Please, follow me.¡± Kyle followed the burly bodyguard, shoving their way through the rowdy crowd as theyughed and cried, obviously high on some drugs. Kyle noticed an empty potion sk rolling on the floor, picking it up.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Empty Mind-Bending Potion sk (Basic)] Sends the user on an illusionary trip fueled by their subconscious, rendering them incapable of normal functions Lasts up to a day on a full dose Rmended Dosage: Half a bottle for an adult human male for three days Ingredients: Poair Leaves, ???, ???, ???, ??? Cooldown: Thirty Seconds
Ah, the handiwork of Haui, it seems. Kyle was well aware since meeting Haui for the first time that Haui was already selling potions to the ck market. Of course, Kyle did not care if this affected Haui or not. They walked downstairs past the churning arctech engines that powered the entire ce, along with couples making out along the corridor, some of them already fully naked. The burly bodyguard eventually led him to a plush room with top-of-the-line alcohol and potions lined up nicely in golden disy cabs. A bright chandelier hung low over the red carpeted floor, with there being two guards inside nking a maturedy whoy on a sofa, smoking a Euria Pipe and flipping through documents with clear boredom. ¡°Take a seat, please. The Nest wees every customer. I trust it wasn¡¯t too easy to find us?¡± ¡°It was hard indeed.¡± Kyle sat on a sofa opposite thedy. He nced around the room, estimating the distance. The maximum dimension of the room seems to be 5 meters ¨C doable. ¡°So, what information do you need?¡± ¡°I need a list of all industrialists who are currently infiltrating the government.¡± Thedy paused before putting down the documents and grinning widely. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that list has some of our biggest customers around here.¡± ¡°I heard the Nest only deals in money.¡± ¡°But can you offer enough money to offset what they paid us?¡± ¡°Name your price.¡± ¡°A hundred million rakels, and I¡¯ll give you the list.¡± Kyle had a slight look of shock on his face. ¡°I only have Versian coins ¨C why would I have rakels?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fool me, Kris Greyborn. I¡¯ve been keeping my eye on you ever since you entered the capital. It is clear you are a man with some background from the Yual Dominion. Who is your owner?¡± ¡°I am working independently. Hopefully, that piece of information should be enough to offset the cost?¡± Thedy red at Kyle, obviously infuriated. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to understand your position here, Mr. Greyborn. The industrialists have offered close to fifteen million rakels for your head ¨C but I think you can be of much more worth alive than dead. Where is the Minister?¡± ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± The door leading into the room swung open, with ten more Nest guards entering and aiming their repeaters at Kyle, who raised his hands slowly in surrender. ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying to bluff us anymore, Kris Greyborn. We saw you leave Clouds ¨C how much did they pay you?¡± ¡°Enough to make it worth. Perhaps you can offer more?¡± ¡°Or I can simply capture you. To think the Clouds have stooped so low to hire other parties just to kill me ¨C ridiculous.¡± ¡°Oh? This could be the first time Nest is wrong about something.¡± Thedy¡¯s eyes squinted. ¡°Wrong?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to kill all of you.¡± Chapter 82: Lady Yona Negation Field. Kyle lunged for thedy as the twelve guards tried to fire their repeaters. However, their repeaters failed to fire, to their surprise. Thedy, however, was also well prepared and battle-trained, immediately mbering over the sofa and kicking the sofa towards Kyle. Kyle leapt over the moving sofa,nding between the two guards and throwing snap punches at them, knocking them out instantly. The ten guards behind him rushed at him in synchronisation, forcing Kyle to grab the sofa and swing it around, smashing it into the first guard while he positioned his foot right over a fallen guard¡¯s neck and stomped hard.
[System Message] Killed [Tiger-level Nest Hitman], +500 EXP
Kyle¡¯s eyes lit up from the message, grinning to himself as he threw the sofa into another guard and fended off melee attacks from the guards in sequence, parrying and counterattacking. Each blow he dealt was devastating and lightning quick, the guards unable to react in time. Suddenly, rm bells rang in his head, prompting him to dodge as fast as he could quickly. A crossbow bolt flew across the room and lodged itself in the opposite wall, with thedy smirking as she aimed an ornate crossbow at him. ¡°I know all about your skills, fool. You¡¯re not the only transcendent!¡± Kyle suddenly sped up his movements, no longer pulling punches. He threw out a right hook as hard as he could, breaking the guard¡¯s jaw instantly before following up with an uppercut, the sheer force killing him instantly.
[System Message] Killed [Tiger-level Nest Hitman], +500 EXP
¡°Surround and attack him in sequence!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get him from the front, you two ¨C guhh!¡± Kyle did not give them time to organise, overpowering them in an instant with a flurry of jabs and elbow strikes while still avoiding crossbow bolts. Thedy¡¯s eyes darted all over the ce as she tried to track the fast motions of Kyle, but she did not panic and calmly fired as many bolts as she could. Kyle used everything he could grab onto and mmed them into the iing guards, causing them to topple over one another. Kyle delivered a punch to the guts of a guard before hoisting him as a shield, a crossbow bolt piercing the guard¡¯s heart before Kyle dealt the finishing blow to secure the EXP.
[System Message] Killed [Tiger-level Nest Hitman], +500 EXP
Within a short two minutes, Kyle had already killed the guards barehanded, now taking cover behind a sofa as yet another crossbow bolt swished past his head.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 27 ---> Level 28
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Kyle patiently waited for an opportunity, ncing around him and grabbing a nearby knife from a dead guard. As soon as he heard the click of the mechanism on the crossbow bolt, he rolled out and charged at thedy, mming right into her in two long leaps. He pinned her down with his knees, resting on top of her body and preventing her from moving. Kyle instantly grabbed her mouth open and stuffed his hand inside, checking for any suicide pills. He also began to strip her clothes, noticing arge engraving on her chest that was beginning tobust. It¡¯s the same as the client who tried to kidnap Reese! Due to the negation field, the engraving failed to activate, with the mes sputtering out as the arcia energy began to bacsh into thedy¡¯s body, apparently triggered by Kyle¡¯s contact with her. He quickly grabbed his knife and lightly carved the engraving, breaking it apart. The engraving continued to be powered by the ambient arcia energy in her body despite Kyle cutting across the tattoo. Shit! The engraving is made up of multiple backup traces ¨C cut one, and the rest will implode. Kyle quickly shed away at every trace of the engraving. He reached into his belt and grabbed multiple health potion vials, forcing it into her convulsing mouth. Her chest was reduced to a bloodied mess, with nearly all of the skin being ripped out as new skin healed back. The pain and shock hadpletely knocked her out, prompting Kyle to get off her and restrain her with belts from a few dead guards. Grabbing the crossbow, he began to walk towards the door, only for three Nest guards to barge in, obviously called over by the sounds of fighting. They aimed their arctech guns at him, earning a crossbow bolt to their head immediately as the negation field was still in effect. With the negation field, I may find some time to make my own version of a handgun that does not rely on arctech. Kyle would have to make do with the crossbow for now, reloading the bolt before stepping out into the corridor. His blooded figure and face sent waves of panic through the corridor as the couple screamed and ran away from him. Every subsequent Nest guard fell like dominoes, unable to fight back against the Negation Field. Before one of the couples could run away, he grabbed them and red at them, the copious amount of blood sttered across his face making him look like a monster. ¡°Tell them ¨C the Ghost of Tenar hase for all who betray the people.¡± ¡°ARGGHHHH!¡± ¡°The Ghost of Tenar is here, now!¡± Kyle roared at the corridor before letting go of the couple. He walked into the main stage area of the strip club, where the busy crowd and lights still masked the sounds of fighting. As he moved through the crowd, the customers slowly began to panic and scream in horror, fleeing away from him. Nest guards immediately moved forward to attack him, with him easily crushing their limbs and heads.
[System Message] Killed [Wolf-level Nest Hitman], +100 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 28 ---> Level 29
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
¡°THE GHOST OF TENAR HAS COME!¡± Kyle bellowed with all his might, his voice resounding over the music. The crowd began to scatter, running out in all directions. The ve dancers were confused as to what to do, with the Nest Guards dying one by one in front of them as Kyle brutally ripped them to pieces. One of the ves suddenly noticed that another¡¯s cor was not working any longer, its distinct hue no longer shining. ¡°Your cor, it¡¯s not active anymore!¡± ¡°Yours too! What¡¯s going on!¡± ¡°Break free!¡± Kyle yelled. ¡°Fight for your freedom! The Ghost of Tenar wants its people to be free!¡± The ves were confused, but they quickly helped each other to break the cors, picking up the repeaters from the fallen guards and arming themselves. ¡°Where are the rest of the ves?¡± ¡°Down here!¡± The freed ves did not question their saviour, taking their chance at freedom immediately. Who among them wanted to dance forever? Kyle headed down, clearing the entire hideout of Nest Guards, including the ve holding cells. Weapons were distributed and given to even more of them as more and more were freed. He grabbed one of the ves, whispering to him. ¡°Lead the ves to the Clouds; they will help you.¡± ¡°Huh? The Clouds?¡± The ve was confused, but he turned around to only see Kyle gone from sight, disappearing like a ghost. ¡°What the?¡± Back at the Clouds headquarters, the old man was waiting impatiently, his men already gathered in front of him, numbering nearly three hundred. Suddenly, a clerk got a call on an arctech radio. ¡°Sir Tian, there¡¯s something weird happening at one of the Nest¡¯s hideouts, but I¡¯m not sure if it is the sign.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on there?¡± ¡°There¡¯s screaming in the streets now. Some are saying that the ¡®Ghost of Tenar¡¯ is killing the guards inside.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it! That¡¯s the signal! Move! Move!¡± The armed men of the Clouds moved towards the business, the streets filled with panicking citizens, some drenched in blood. ¡°The Ghost of Tenar! The Ghost of Tenar!¡± Some of the more traumatised ones muttered to themselves, having seen the sheer brutality of Kyle upfront. Sir Tian led the contingent, entering the strip club, which was filled to the brim with Nest guard corpses numbering in the dozens. A few ves were still scavenging equipment from the dead guards, spotting the Clouds and quickly readying their repeaters. ¡°Wait! Wee in peace! We are with the Ghost of Tenar!¡± Sir Tian quickly exined. ¡°We¡¯re here to help you!¡± ¡°He¡¯s right! The Ghost of Tenar told me so!¡± One of the ves quickly exined to the ves, diffusing the tension. ¡°He told me to let the Clouds help us!¡± ¡°Yes, indeed. We can keep you safe and train you!¡± Sir Tian nodded vigorously. The armed men of the Clouds quickly escorted the ves out of the building, heading back to the headquarters before Nest was to strike back. Internally, Sir Tian was ecstatic, having gained so much manpower for free, including the weapons and equipment of the fallen Nest hideout. Sir Tian headed to the VIP room, looking to see if thedy was dead. But instead, he only saw the bodies of dead Nest Guards, with both Kyle and thedy missing. What? Where did he go? Dekar was startled as Kyle barged into the safehouse before tossing ady onto the slimy mattress. Belts bound her arms and legs, and Dekar noticed the top part of thedy¡¯s dress ripped to shreds, his face turning furious. ¡°You¡¯re fucking joking, right? Does your two-month n involve shagging randomdies off the street? What the fuck is wrong with you?¡± ¡°Look carefully at her shoulder. She is one of the leaders of Nest in Tenar.¡± Dekar took a closer look, realising he was right. ¡°What the fuck did you do? I thought you were just going to send a message?¡± ¡°I did¡ªtwo messages, in fact. Hopefully, the recipients will be receptive. I need you to get out of this room for an hour or two.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re still going to rape her?¡± ¡°If I am, what are you going to do about it?¡± Kyle red at Dekar, obviously not in a joking mood. Dekar left the room silently. It was the first time in the past few days that he had seen Kyle that agitated. Granted, he had only been with him for a few days at most, but even when Kyle was negotiating for the deal, Kyle had a semnce of total control of his emotions. Even he knew the speech given to the homeless people was of a fake persona. This time, Kyle was extremely agitated, barely able to reign in his raging emotions. He ced his hand on thedy, using the Ne of Healing to heal thedy slightly before pping her awake. Thedy groaned as she stirred from her concussion, her head still spinning. As she locked eyes with Kyle, her eyes widened as she bolted straight up, quickly trying to move to a corner. However, her limbs were restrained by belts, making it hard for her to move as Kyle squatted in front of her. ¡°Don¡¯te any closer ¨C or else I¡¯ll kill myself!¡± Thedy threatened, her gaze furious as her eyes darted around the safehouse, looking for an exit point. ¡°I already removed your engraving.¡± Thedy was confused, finally noticing that the top half of her dress had been shredded apart. Instead of the engraving that had gued her for her entire life, only red sore skin that was newly grown could be seen. The skin felt like a foreign part, as though arge wound had been healed over rapidly. ¡°How did you-¡° ¡°I¡¯ve met your kind before. Though I never expected it to be a Nest speciality.¡± ¡°Why would you-¡° Instead of replying, Kyle brandished a knife, holding it against thedy¡¯s neck. ¡°I¡¯m the one asking questions here. You¡¯re no longer tied to Nest since I destroyed your engraving. Am I wrong? Or would you like to die here for an organisation that will clearly murder you on sight?¡± Thedy pondered her options while still observing the room. Naturally, she treasured life a lot more than death; she had no loyalty to the Nest, so she decided to act her way out. ¡°Thank you for removing the engraving!¡± Thedy put on her most desperate pleading face, crawling up to Kyle and entuating her sexiness, trying to soften Kyle up. However, a sharp ring pain suddenly burst from her thigh as she winced, with Kyle stabbing a knife right through and slowly moving it, sending waves of pain through her body. ¡°Please stop! It hurts! Why are you doing this!¡± Thedy begged. ¡°Don¡¯t bother acting. I¡¯ve heard all about who you are. Lady Yona, one of the main people in charge of Nest in Versia.¡± Thedy stopped acting, her former haughty demeanour returning. The pain of the knife seemed to barely bother her, as though it was like a tickle. She had been through worse. ¡°Fine. What the fuck do you want?¡± ¡°I want a list of all the industrialists who are infiltrating the government, and I want all active Nest hitmen locations. But more importantly, how do you know about transcendents?¡± Chapter 83: Democracy The ravaged strip club that was the Nest hideout was inplete shambles ¨C bodies, broken pieces of sses and ve cors, pieces of flesh hanging on chairs and bloodstains creeping onto the main stage. Soldiers were already investigating the ce, half of them being Nest hitmen who were secretly picking up evidence. They were slightly shocked at the scale of the damage, not believing that a single person did all of this. ¡°Is there really a Ghost of Tenar?¡± One of the lower Wolf-ss hitmen muttered as he checked a dead Nest Guard¡¯s body, entirely stripped of any valuable weapons or equipment. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid ¨C we know it was a mercenary hired by Clouds. Just ount for everyone ¨C the boss doesn¡¯t want anyone running away. Not like they can.¡± They ounted for the bodies, with some that were carved into pieces, a target for the ves¡¯ outrage at their imprisonment. Scouring the area, they soon reached the VIP room, where Lady Yona was supposed to be. All they noticed was a single pair of bloodied footsteps walking out like the trails of an evil spirite to haunt them. Even those who initiallyughed at the idea of the Ghost of Tenar began to doubt themselves, witnessing the sheer carnage wrought by the fight in the VIP room. ¡°Seems like they died in short session; whoever killed them did it in a few minutes at most. Did not even look like a struggle.¡± Another Nest hitman remarked. ¡°That¡¯s nuts ¨C only the boss can do that.¡± ¡°Hey,e check this out.¡± A hitman at the far end of the room beyond the crashed sofas motioned for the rest toe. He held up a piece of Lady Yona¡¯s ripped dress, the ornamental design on it clear as day. The implications struck them like lightning, their bodies tensing up. ¡°Find her body.¡± The leader of the hitmen quickly ordered. ¡°Search the entire ce quickly! If she¡¯s not here, the entire Nest here in Tenar will bepromised!¡± In the government pce, Vice-President Mornero was working through the night, sorting through the paperwork. His secretary was also working hard, toiling away on a separate desk to handle governmental affairs. Both of them were clearly tired, yet the pile of work in front of them seemed never to diminish. Mornero had already lost count of the number of days he had spent sleeping on the couch in the office. The arctech phone on the secretary¡¯s table rang loudly, shaking Mornero out of his focus. The secretary quickly picked up the phone. ¡°Vice-President Monero¡¯s office, speaking¡­ What? You still haven¡¯t found the President? Double your efforts ¨C if the public finds out about this, it would be a public disaster for us, do you understand? I don¡¯t care if you have to work through the night ¨C find him!¡± The secretary mmed the phone before leaning back and rubbing his nose bridge, the sluggishness of long work hours beginning to catch up with him. ¡°Take a rest, Kalian. Go home. Isn¡¯t your wife waiting for you?¡± Mornero smiled weakly as he picked up his pen once again, writing down issues he had with a proposal that came from another city council requesting subsidies. ¡°Are you sure you can handle this on your own?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Take it from someone like me ¨C treasure your family while they are still alive.¡± Kalian did not know how to reply, knowing very well that Mornero¡¯s entire family had died in the revolution and subsequent war with the Yual Dominion. He did not know the exact details, but he knew better than to pry too deep into his boss¡¯s private life and history. ¡°Then good luck, sir. I will return earlier in the morning to pick up the ck.¡± ¡°No need ¨C this government hardly pays overtime.¡± ¡°Then I shall work for free. Good night, Mr. Vice President.¡± Kalian bowed and took his leave. Mornero was left alone in the office with the mountain of paperwork in front of him. ¡°I need some fresh air.¡± He got out of his office chair and walked over to the open balcony. It showed a grand view of the city of Tenar, its brilliant lights and nightlife still bursting with brilliance as the radiance illuminated the low-hanging clouds above. He took a deep breath, holding it before releasing it slowly, his face rxing as he watched Kalian leaving the government pce. Suddenly, a light thud could be heard behind him, though he was not frightened nor wary at all. ¡°I already ordered the military to intervene ¨C did you find anything?¡± ¡°We have a problem. Lady Yona is missing. Potentially taken by an unknown mercenary.¡± ¡°The Ghost of Tenar?¡± Mornero turned around to face the voice behind him, revealing a well-built man dressedpletely in ck, a stark contrast to his own brown government suit. ¡°Let¡¯s talk inside.¡± The two of them headed into the office, closing the doors while the man from Nest examined the room, ensuring that no one could overhear them. ¡°Please tell me you know who he is.¡± Mornero began, sitting back in his office chair. It was obvious the Ghost of Tenar was a weird nickname that was being spread. ¡°Kris Greyborn. Herbalist from Raktor. Disappeared into the goblin-infested area, never to be seen again. Heard rumours of a forest bandit fort being destroyed, though it was nearly a weekter.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me a herbalist managed to take down more than fifty guards and Lady Yona in one fell swoop? This is a joke, right? What the fuck do I even pay you guys for?¡± ¡°He reappeared five monthster in the town of Ocra, where he subdued a gang and used them as guides to enter the capital. We have already captured all of the gang members involved, though none of them knows where exactly he came from.¡± ¡°All I¡¯m hearing from you are excuses. Are you not the leader in charge of the entire Nest splinter cell here in Versia? This ipetence is starting to irk me. Do you understand the scale of your failure, Mr Nox?¡± Mornero stood up, ring at him. Before Nox could reply, Mornero continued his berating. ¡°Firstly, you failed to capture Minister Dekar at his most vulnerable. The outskirts of the factory district were the best ce you could catch him, yet you were unable to even with the improved weapons.¡± ¡°Next, you failed to catch him when he was spotted by your very own men running around in the main district, allowing him to re-enter the catbs. The only thing you have done right so far is riling up the people to ce a scandal on the Minister, along with kidnapping the President. If you had fucked that up as well, we might not be having this chat.¡± ¡°I can only promise to do better. I will double my efforts at no charge to make up for our failure.¡± Nox bowed apologetically, apparently sincere. Monero let out a deep sigh before rposing himself. ¡°As long as we¡¯re clear on the problem. Don¡¯t you dare let the former President escape ¨C the entire n hinges on him being in captive.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. We have him held at a secure location far from Tenar. He won¡¯t be able to interfere at all.¡± ¡°Good, good.¡± Mornero nodded as he paced the room. The n was exceedingly simple from the get-go: remove the President and have any opposing voices silenced as he became the Acting President following the constitution. This would allow him to garner more poprity and more favour. The industrialists backing him have already corrupted the parliament, helping him to achieve a majority. He could propose any bill then and pass it through immediately. However, this n was now in jeopardy due to Nox mentioning Lady Yona¡¯s disappearance. ¡°Are you sure Lady Yona was not killed?¡± ¡°Her body was not found in the raided Nest hideout. Only signs of her dress being ripped off, which leads me to believe that a hostile force has captured her.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t all of you have a self-destruct engraving?¡± ¡°Until I find remnants of her charred body, I will not give up the search.¡± ¡°What do you need me to do?¡± Mornero asked. Despite his reluctance to help others clean up their problem, he needed to solve the problem up front ¨C if Lady Yona leaked his n to the public, it might turn public opinion towards him. As of now, he had to move under the assumption that the n had already been leaked. This would mean I need to execute faster before the enemy catches on. ¡°I need the entire incident to be framed as a crime, with the military targeting the Clouds.¡± ¡°Clouds?¡± ¡°Kris Greyborn wasst seen entering and leaving one of their known hideouts, leading us to believe that the Clouds had paid him to attack us. We have confirmation that all of our merchandise is currently under their control.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give the order. We strike tomorrow. Anything else?¡± ¡°No, sir.¡± ¡°Good, you may leave.¡± Nox bowed again before leaving through the balcony, jumping onto the nearest tree before disappearing into the nearby park. The agility of Nox hardly shocked Mornero ¨C the leaders of the Nest were all of top-notch abilities. Mornero frowned as he contemted the current progress of the n. With Lady Yona on the loose, his timeline of four days was far too slow. He had been waiting for this moment his entire life since he joined the revolution as an orphan. He spent twenty years waiting, plotting and acting like part of the original revolutionaries, sharing in their dreams and their ideals. But deep down, his heart continuously burned with a vengeance. The stacks of requests from farmers, towns and city councilsy in front of him on the desk, further fuelling his hatred even further. Useless scum, always asking for handouts or subsidies in a never-ending esction. At the corner of the desk was a single hand-drawn portrait of his family, with his father standing proudly. The edges of the photos were slightly burnt, a remnant of the fire that had burned down his entire mansion, killing all but him. What did my family do wrong? Were we not good caretakers of thend? Were we not loved by the people? His family had owned thend since time immemorial, themselves being Verisans who were given titles of nobility from the Yual Dominion during the first conquest. Even then, they ensured the prosperity of their people, never taking more than what they needed. His father remained humble, with Mornero and his siblings even regrly helping the farmers and the vigers solve their issues with haste. Yet despite their centuries of heritage managing thend in harmonious rtions with those living under them, they were beset by the fires of revolution, with a foreign revolutionary group from another citying and asking for their head. The vigers that tried to shield his family from the chaos were in on the spot, the revolution having no mercy for sympathisers. And at the head of all of this was the current President, Johan and hisckey, Dekar. Mornero gripped his fist tightly, the anger raging within him. For twenty years, he assimted into them, hiding among them and helping them. His skills in managing people and logistics made him a suitable candidate to be one of the key figures of the revolution, eventually making him the Vice-President, making it even more ironic as he began to sway people to his side with money and power. His hatred was directed not only towards the leaders of the revolution but to themon folk as well, who were easily swayed. To him, they were merely sheep and cattle, going where the wind blows with no motives or no convictions of their own. It was the mob mentality that got his family killed and his entire vige in, turning those left against him. He had lost his name, his bloodline, his heritage, and his belonging. All that mattered to him was to reach the top and flip the entire disgusting state on its head. The people do not deserve to vote! They should have no say in how Versia is run! Why should I listen to every uneducated, homeless citizen on how to run the country, on how budgets should be allocated? All they know is how to form a mob and lynch others as soon as a target, an enemy is painted. Look at how easy it was to pay off a few hundred protestors tomit a public execution to no reason or rhyme. The thought of the Minister and the President being overthrown by the same methods they used to overthrow the government gave such an invigorating rush to Mornero, his face breaking out into a wide grin as he chuckled to himself over the irony of it all. Once he bes the President, he will fix the wrongs of this world and restore Versian society to its natural order. Now¡­ Now it alles under me! Chapter 84: The Ghost of Tenar ¡°What?! Vice-President Mornero is the ringleader?!¡± Dekar eximed, his mouth agape as Kyle revealed the results of his interrogation of Yona at a meeting table set up in apletely different safehouse in the catbs. They had been rotating their locations each day, avoiding the continuous attempts of the military to find out where they were. Instead, Kyle had been leading the armed homeless dwellers to ambush the military that was entering, grabbing their equipment for himself. ¡°I never trusted that cunt ¨C he was too smart for his own good,¡± Zayin remarked with a shrug. ¡°He was probably the one who ordered me banished and exiled to the catbs without telling any of you.¡± Dekar¡¯s head was spinning, wondering how long Mornero had been nning this entire sequence of events. He had been wondering why many of the original leadership of the revolution had left for other cities, yet Zayin was still here. Were the others also killed off? Or exiled beyond the country? Thest few days had been a whirlwind of events, with him at the start even believing he was in control of everything when he captured Kyle. ¡°What about Clouds? Based on what you¡¯re telling us, they will definitely try to find where Yona has gone.¡± Dekar motioned towards an old man who was sitting at the meeting table as well. ¡°Can you please stop talking about me like I¡¯m not here?¡± Yona groaned as she stood behind Kyle. ¡°Silence.¡± Kyle raised his hand. ¡°Sir Tian, I hope you understand why I called you here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I am now the most prominent target, am I right?¡± Tian grunted in acknowledgement, clearly displeased. He had been far too hasty in agreeing to Kyle¡¯s deal, but his greed had gotten the better of him when he saw the raided Nest Hideout, earning himself nearly eight hundred ves along with hundreds of weapons, enough to start an armed rebellion. ¡°The military will try to pin you down ¨C spread your forces out among every possible safe house and lure them it, continuously trapping them. We need to ensnare them like a swamp here.¡± ¡°I assume it¡¯s because you are already nning to attack a separate location? What¡¯s next on the list? It better not be suicidal or something that involves throwing bodies at.¡± Zayin questioned. ¡°For the next three days, we will train and continuously harass Nest and the military while always moving. Once my packagees in from Sir Tian, we can begin the next step. We¡¯re going to attack a government instation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I mean by suicidal. Are you fucking serious? The government pce is the most heavily guarded ce in the city!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not attacking the government pce directly just yet. I¡¯m going for the power stations first.¡± Four dayster¡­ ¡°Is everything in order? This is my first speech as acting president ¨C nothing can go wrong. You hear me?I don¡¯t want any hitmen from the Clouds to get anywhere near the stage.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. I will make sure no one tries to harm you. We have all the firing angles covered. Nothing short of an artillery will be able to hit you.¡± Nox nodded, disguised as a secret service agent meant to protect Mornero. ¡°Sir, we¡¯re all good to go. Light capturers have been set up ¨C you may begin any time.¡± Mornero nodded, checking his suit and attire, patting down a few creases before following Kalian and Nox out into the open square, where there was a makeshift stage for his speech. The representatives of each city and town in Versia were also there to give their support, half of them already under his wing from the bribery of the industrialists. The crowd cheered and roared as Mornero waved with a wide smile on his face, striding up to the podium with confidence, grabbing the arctech radio that was linked to speakers and the entire capital¡¯s announcement system. ¡°For Versia!¡± Mornero shouted into the radio, pumping his fist out into the air. ¡°FOR VERSIA!¡± Many members of the crowd were nted by the industrialists, shouting back. The peer pressure and mob mentality began to affect most of the viewers, with many recalling the old chants of the revolution. ¡°For Versia!¡± Mornero pumped his fist a second time. ¡°FOR VERSIA!!¡± This time, the response was far more energetic, as though the entire city of Tenar was resounding in response to him. ¡°FOR VERSIA!¡± Mornero stuck out both fists, bellowing with all his might. ¡°FOR VERSIAAA!!¡± The crowd was in a near frenzy now, their full attention locked onto Mornero right now. Even the young children had their eyes locked on the visage of Mornero as they were hoisted high into the air above the sea of people. ¡°The people of Versia. I have grave news today.¡± Mornero¡¯s voice suddenly grew solemn. ¡°As of today, it is confirmed that the former president Johan has been assassinated by none other than Minister Dekar and his sympathisers.¡± A wave of gasps spread through the crowd, many of their faces stunned. Johan had been the face of the government for a very long time, elected as President time and time again. However, Mornero was no slouch either, having also done his rounds to meet the people. Nearly everyone knew about him, with only good impressions. ¡°I regret to inform you that due to his death, I, with a humble heart and humble mind, am now, by default, the Acting President of Versia.¡± ¡°Elections will be held in three months¡¯ time, where you can ce your vote of confidence either in me or against me.¡± ¡°BUT!¡± Mornero suddenly shouted out loud, his eyes scanning the crowd. ¡°I want all of you to know that I, I am a man of ideals.¡± ¡°The ideal that Versia can and will be a great state. By following in the footsteps of Johan¡¯s vision for our future, we can shape it to be better, to be more brilliant than it is now!¡± ¡°At such a critical time, only those who have proven themselves should lead the nation into prosperity. The hawks are at our doorstep ¨C The Yual Dominion seeks to control us while other countries on the other side plot our demise from afar. We must remain united in such a difficult time!¡± ¡°As your Acting President for the next three months, I want to promise you that this will be a government of action, not of mere words and cheap talk. There will be new changes, new policies that will all gear us to defend our mothend, the very soil on which we all call home!¡± The crowd cheered in response, screaming out and chanting his name. ¡°Despite all of that, underneath all of the government talk, in my heart, I am a simple man.¡± Mornero paused, pointing out to the crowd. ¡°I¡¯ve been in your shoes; I¡¯ve walked the same toil and grind; I¡¯ve scaled the same obstacles as you from the ground up. I was there when the revolution began. I know everything and anything about you. Because you, and me, and ALL OF YOU HERE. WE ARE VERSIAN!¡± ¡°FOR VERSIAAA!¡± The crowd roared back. ¡°Ask those who work under me; ask them! If you see them on the streets, ask them. I have never left the office until the work ispleted when all of the issues that themon folk face have been sorted!¡± ¡°And it would be like this in the future, where all Versian work together for a brighter future. And I swear that this country will be better.¡± ¡°BETTER!¡± The crowd responded. ¡°Stronger!¡± ¡°STRONGER!¡± ¡°FREE!¡± Mornero yelled. However, just as the crowd shouted back, arge explosion suddenly sent shockwaves through the air, the cloud of ck soot and metallic fragments already soaring through the air as hot pieces fell onto the crowd, who immediately began to panic. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is this fireworks? Is is part of the speech?¡± ¡°No, look! There¡¯s smoke in the distance ¨C that¡¯s the power station!¡± ¡°Are we at war? We need to get out of here!¡± The arctech radios and lights immediately went dark, the announcement system of the entire city going offline. Thousands of homes began to lose power, the engraving lines running from the power stationpletely inert, unable to sustain the city¡¯s usage. ¡°Protect the president! Get him inside now!¡± Nox yelled, immediately grabbing Mornero off the stage with a few other agents. Mornero noticed the light capturers were still online, prompting him to begin struggling against the agents. ¡°Let me go! The people need my help!¡± Just an agent was about to convince him otherwise, a whizzing sound was heard as a projectile smashed straight through two heads of the agents around him, the brain mush sttering onto Mornero¡¯s face. The projectile was near the speed of sound, with Nox not even being able to react to it. A sniper?! From where? Another projectile came in rapid session, with Nox immediately stepping in front of Mornero and blocking the shot with his body. It barely made a dent on the arctech armour underneath Nox¡¯s suit, the armour absorbing the impact and distributing it through its engraving like a fluid. ¡°Get into the pce, now!¡± Nox urged, before he drew a figure three with his finger, earning Mornero¡¯s nod. Nox continued to move with the president until he waspletely out of range and safe within the pce before dashing off into the streets, his agility unmatched. The whizzing sounds of projectiles continued to rain on the crowd, forcing them to scatter as only the representatives under Mornero were targeted. Their shocked expressions were stered permanently on their faces as they were shot through the heart and fell to the ground, the remainder scrambling for dear life and for cover. He leapt up from one storey to another, climbing onto the roof of an urban block as the crowd below stampeded in chaos. ¡°Watchers, report in,¡± Nox ordered on his arctech radio but only earned static as a response. He tried to use his vision to trace the trajectory of the projectile to triangte the location of the shooter. However, before he could make another move, the power was suddenly restored to only a few speakers. [The Ghost of Tenar hase. The Ghost of Tenar hase for all who betray the people of Versia. The Ghost of Tenar hase. The Ghost of Tenar hase for all who betray the people of Versia.] The same voice message was yed on repeat, spreading panic among the crowd as they scrambled to get home, not wanting to be caught up in the apparent crossfire. ¡°Whoever is still operational, find out where the fuck the source is! Trace the location of the radio!¡± Nox bellowed into his radio. [We¡¯re already on it, sir!] The rumour of the Ghost of Tenar was already beginning to spread among the masses, the message clear and direct as projectiles continued to be fired at the cowering representatives who crawled on the floor. Nox continued to leap across the rooftops,pletely certain that he had found the location of the sniper. It was fired from the walls, shooting all the way down the main street that led right to the government pce with an unblocked view. ¡°The sniper is in the watchtower; get him now! Surround the area and make sure he doesn¡¯t escape!¡± However, Nox could suddenly hear a loud wave of gasps and screamsing from the audience members who were still stuck in the main square, unable to leave fully. A lone masked man stood on the podium, dressedpletely in white robes, while his mask bore the symbol of Versia on it. In his left hand, he grabbed a snivelling representative who was terrified, gripping his head tightly. ¡°THE GHOST OF TENAR HAS COME!¡± The masked man bellowed. ¡°The Ghost of Tenar hase for all who betray the people of Versia.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything wrong, I swear! I did not betray them!¡± ¡°The voices of those you have forsaken, the homeless you have shunned into the catbs, the dead who cry for vengeance for your greed. The Ghost of Tenar shall now pass judgement onto you!¡± The Ghost of Tenar suddenly increased his grip on the representative¡¯s head, causing the representative to scream as the fingers began to fragment the skull. Like a balloon popping, the fingers of the Ghost of Tenar went straight through into the brain, gouging it out while the eyes of the representative lolled back and twitched violently, his body losing nervous control. ¡°Remember. The Ghost of Tenar hase for all who betray the people of Versia.¡± Chapter 85: Foreign Investment In a different section of the catbs, Kyle stood with Sir Tian and two other Clouds employees, waiting silently as the sewage water slowly surged along its path, leading far into the darkness beyond. ¡°The delivery iste,¡± Kyle remarked, tapping his finger. ¡°This was a rush order; don¡¯t you dare try to me us. We only had a day¡¯s notice.¡± Tian grumbled. He had already delivered the message and retrieved a weapon for Kyle from Raktor, it being the long-range railgun along with a few optical illusion suits that they used for the auction in the past. He got Dekar to wear it and snipe the targets from afar while he acted as the Ghost of Tenar in the centre stage, splitting up the Nest hitmen to prevent them from catching any one of them. The attack on Mornero had served its purpose, frightening the local popce as well as the representatives who were siding with Mornero. Kyle intended to create something close to a legend, equivalent to that of a bogeyman ¨C except this time, the bogeyman was real, and not even the government could have stopped him based on how ipetent their guards were. By ingraining a childlike fear into the hearts of the people, he could easily turn public opinion against Mornero and his supporting group. Already journalists and people were beginning to doubt the government. Unsurprisingly, the Ghost of Tenar did not kill a single citizen, only aiming for the representatives. Some of the nted audience members tried to act hurt, but their attempts at swaying the rumour were ineffective. ¡°The Ghost of Tenar, is he a man? Or really a spirit? Did you see his white robes?¡± ¡°He seems to be only targeting specific people. Why is that so? Could there be some truth to his usations?¡± It was small talk like this that began to sow the seeds of suspicion among the popce, with more and more beginning to question whether President Johan was really dead due to a foreign assassination or because of another hidden conspiracy. With this, Kyle could easily speed up the eptance of his revolutionary forces. The biggest hurdle in any coup was the reluctance of the local poption to ept the revolutionaries¡¯ viewpoints. But with the Ghost of Tenar acting as a focal point to embody and personalize the idea, it would be easier to find sympathisers or people who simply didn¡¯t care one way or another. Just as Kyle was about to give up on waiting, a small speck of light could be seen at the end of the tunnel, a lonentern at the time of arge sampan that was chugging, an arctech motor behind pushing the boat upstream along the sewage water. On it was two boatsmen, along with multiple boxes and five long human-size crates. The boatsmen quickly anchored the boat with a thick rope to a mooring point, stabilising the sampan on both ends. The employees helped to haul the crates out of the sampan first, with one of them shaking furiously with loud banging on the lid, nearly shaking off the hinges. Kyle quickly unlocked the crates, opening up to reveal Feldon, who gasped for air as he breathed deeply. ¡°By fucking Yual, what the hell is hap-urk!¡± However, the sudden stench of the sewage water finally assaulted his nostrils in full, the smell causing him to gag. Before Feldon could regurgitate whatever he ate for breakfast onto Kyle¡¯s shirt, Kyle quickly grabbed him by the neck and hung him over the sewage water, the vomit falling out of his mouth like a fountain. The other crates were opened, revealing five otherpany employees, all of them having worked in the goblin den in a simr situation as Feldon. ¡°Blerghhh¡­.¡± Feldon vomited even more before coughing violently. ¡°Where the fuck is this ce?¡± He managed to speak in between deep heavy breaths, ncing around. ¡°I don¡¯t remember Raktor having this kind of sewer!¡± ¡°Follow me.¡± Kyle ignored his questions, lifting Feldon by the cor and leading him to yet another secret safehouse, courtesy of Dekar and Zayin. While Tian and the Clouds employees unloaded therge sampan, Kyle exined Feldon¡¯s new role to him. ¡°What, this is the capital of Versia?! Build a factory here?¡± Feldon was taken aback, but internally delighted at the fact that he had been recognised by Kyle to have such skill. What he did not know was that he was thest choice Kyle had ¨C everyone else was too critical and could not be pulled away to Versia on short notice, having no time to prepare a sessor or a body double to mask their disappearance. In short, Feldon was dispensable andrgely not critical to the sess or day-to-day operation of the goblin kingdom. ¡°Specifically, it needs to be underground. It is not necessarily a factory but more of arge workshop area where I can have workers manufacture equipment and weapons. At least the basic equipment that would be enough to have an engraver work properly would suffice.¡± ¡°Well, I guess I can just duplicate what we¡¯re doing at the goblin kingdom now¡­ what¡¯s the deadline?¡± ¡°As fast as you can, but noter than a month.¡± ¡°What¡¯s happening here in Versia?¡± Kyle pulled out a handwritten note obtained via the Clouds, handing it over to Feldon, who read it with widening eyes. ¡°The Yual Dominion is preparing for an attack?¡± ¡°With the disturbances in the city now, along with the instability in general, Count Leon would most likely attack within a month or even faster. I need you and your five men to work fast and organise arge-scale manufacturing operation. More helpers will be on the way each day.¡± ¡°But where do we get the raw materials from? We don¡¯t have our own mine, and judging from the entire situation, it has to bepletely undercover.¡± Kyle nodded, pointing to a rough map of the city that was previously drawn by the former owners of the safe house. ¡°Right now, we¡¯re outside the city walls. The factory would be ced even further towards the outskirts, as we can¡¯t afford to be caught by the military. We have diversions set up in other parts of the catbs. For now, all of you will be based here; the raw materials will be shipped in via the same way you guys came as well.¡± ¡°So dig out arge enough area to have as many workers as possible to use workbenches to make weapons. Got it. How are we going to get the power supply?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll haul depleted arcite ore from the city¡¯s trashpile and set up a mechanical arcite regenerator in the river. I trust you know how to do this.¡± Feldon nearly gagged again at the thought. ¡°A waterwheel in a sewer¡­¡± The men got to work, with Kyle showing them where they would start. It was arge enough room, though it had to be expanded to epass the scale Kyle was envisioning truly. The crates ferried it had all the tools needed to dig out the surrounding walls as well as ce supports to prevent it from caving in. Kyle did not know the exactyout oryers of the catbs, nning to expand slowly and ce supports where necessary. Tools such as arctech pickaxes allowed the men to begin checking out the area, with their experience from mining in the goblin densing into y. Feldon quickly drew out a rough n of the area, allocating sections for different purposes. ¡°Over here will be the workbenches. Eventually, we need to have close to five hundred a day. Fifty of the workbenches will be specialised for the production of our custom mortar. On the opposite side will be the ammunition storage space. We need to make sure it is fenced off from the rest ¨C the workersing it will be untrained. Each workbench should be separated enough to prevent a fire from engulfing the entire area. For air venttion, we¡¯ll have fifteen people working the air pumps to pump air out towards the sewers¡­¡± Just like that, work began in earnest, with Feldon giving a list of the required equipment to Kyle. ¡°Arcia etchers, grinders, drilling machines for the barrels, wood for the stock, more tables¡­¡± Kyle nned out the schedule of deliveries with Tian, ensuring the operation would have a continuous supply of goods needed for the operation. ¡°Estimates on thepletion date?¡± Kyle asked Feldon. ¡°We¡¯ll do a trial run first with ten workers on what we have in three days¡¯ time, assuming the schedule is as follows. This should help us to identify any possible pain points. Once we¡¯re clear with that, we can begin production provided we have the correct parts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send an order to the goblin kingdom to begin making some of the easier parts and shipping them over.¡± Kyle envisioned the operation to be more of an assembly rather than manufacturing directly from raw materials. It was far too hard to bring some of the required machines, and it would be too immobile as well. ¡°The expansion of the area will continue while the number of workers will increase. My men and I will train the new workers individually. Assuming a training rate of three days forpetence, we can have a trained workforce of about a hundred within two weeks, and it should only increase exponentially as well.¡± Feldon was already nning to use the trained workforce to train even more workers, increasing the training rate. ¡°Good; make sure the standard operating procedure and the assembly guidelines for the weapons are as clear as day. No test fire is to be done in the workshop itself. Once you hit a hundred, you can begin to set up the next area as a backup. By the end of the month, we should have three separate areas going.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°You know, there will be a humongous bill after all of this.¡± Tian squinted his eyes at Kyle. ¡°Your payment is theplete removal of Nest from Versia, establishing your organisation as the number one in the ck market. Is that not good enough?¡± Tian could not really refute ¨C that was why he had joined forces with Kyle in the first ce after witnessing his sheer strength. Either way, if Kyle¡¯s entire revolution went south, it would be easy for Tian to jump ship quickly. He had no loyalty to Kyle nor Dekar nor any empathy for the homeless people. ¡°Oh, and one more demand. We¡¯ll have to ship food from Raktor as well. Send another message over.¡± Kyle added on, walking away from the fuming Tian, who somehow felt like he was getting the shorter end of the stick. Kyle was not too worried about a potential betrayal of Sir Tian ¨C as long as there were still clear benefits for Tian, Tian would not leave his side. Either way, with Clouds being the main focal point of the military, it was hard for Tian to run away without losing everything either. More importantly, therge workshop areas needed to be set up. No matter what he had nned to overthrow Mornero, the invasion of the Yual Dominion would throw a wrench into all his ns. He had half expected them, but not this fast, prompting him to speed up his efforts. The objective of the workshop areas was simple ¨C produce enough weapons locally to arm an entire battalion that could stall the invasion advance of the Yual Dominion. It was now a three-way battle for dominance over Versia: Mornero and the Industrialists, Kyle and Dekar, and Count Leon. The longer Kyle could stall Count Leon, the better chance he had at winning this three-way fight. If he did not produce the weapons and arm the battalion now, it would be near impossible to fight off the Yual Dominion. Mornero certainly would not be able to, given the level of unrest now present within his capital. Mornero must know about the iing invasion, whose timeline has been sped up as well. This means that he is going to start reallocating the budget to the military and his cronies ¨C no doubt they will want to defend Versia with everything they got. But it won¡¯t be enough due to the currentck of faith in the government. In a sense, Kyle had created his own problem. By undermining the authority of Mornero, he had egged Count Leon on to invade faster. However, as with every situation, he now had a winning strategy that could him the most profit as long as he yed his cards right. Soon, I will be the biggest winner of this war. Chapter 86: Rifling Three dayster¡­ [Reports of military build-up on the border of Versia have been reported by observers, though representatives of the Yual Dominion assert that this military exercise had been nned nearly a year ago and should not be cause for panic.] [Mornero has pledged to increase spending on military spending immediately, bolstering the military. ¡°It is exactly in times like this that we must stand united and remain vignt. Do not forget the sins of the past.¡±] [In other news, the military has been conducting raids across the city, with rumours of armed rebels hiding in the sewers, iming to be followers of the Ghost of Tenar. This movement is terrifying, as more and more citizens are being -] The news radio red out over streets, where the mood of the city was noticeably much more subdued. Fears of an imminent war and a generalck of stability were slowly overturning people¡¯s life. An entire power station had been knocked as well, with more than ten percent of the buildings in the city only receiving intermittent power supplies. This affected the local economy, causing the standard of living to plummet. Many businesses were unsurprisingly beginning to pull out of the city, though most of them still remained, part of the industrialists who now controlled the country through Mornero. This caused the unemployment rate to increase slightly, making people even more desperate. Mornero immediately took the opportunity to start a recruitment campaign at low wages for the military, enticing the homeless with promises of food, shelter and a liveable wage. Many fell for it, boosting the military numbers by the thousands each day. With the military fully under Mornero¡¯s control as Acting President and through corruption, Mornero¡¯s influence only grew stronger with each passing day. However, not all of them joined the military, having been disenchanted by how badly the government has treated the poor over thest few years. This caused an even bigger number of people to seek out the followers of the Ghost of Tenar, some even making their own movement from the ground up in other parts of the city as well. Kyle did not mind at all that others were forming their own independent group to fight against the government. It served as a good distraction, pulling the military away from dedicating too much to eradicating the Clouds or trying to hunt Dekar down. Dekar was now making his rounds around the city, trying to contact old friends and allies who would at least listen to him. He had already garnered a few supporters from both outside and inside the city, providing resources and food for the movement. Kyle was now in therge warehouse area, where the ten workers were now undergoing a production test. Feldon noted down the errors and issues on a clipboard while the continuous sound of digging could be heard as other workers used the vibration pickaxes to chip away at the wall. Tian had managed to secure a steady supply of steel blocks, though they came inrge sizes that were far too unwieldy to be utilised effectively on the workbench. Kyle had already ordered for a metal grinder saw toe in, but until then, it was up to him to prepare the material.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Vibration Cleaver (Basic)] Frequencies to slice the world Active Skill: Vibration (Basic) ¨C Vibrates the de slightly at a high frequency to improve prating power and pain Cost: 1 MP per minute Cooldown: Instant
Kyle began to use the cleaver to slice therge steel bar into workable chunks before using one of the workbenches to engrave references for the workers to follow. Arcia etching was fairly easy when one had a sample to follow from, so Kyle got to work engraving thin metal tes with the different engravings that he wanted to make. This time, instead of handguns, Kyle wanted to make a proper repeater rifle while still staying within the realms of the current technological progress. He had already made a prototype by copying the military smoothbore repeaters back in Raktor, but it was still filled to the brim with inefficiencies as well as unwieldy handling. First, I¡¯ll have to streamline the form factor as much as possible while making sure it doesn¡¯t blow itself apart. While it was not working on the principle ofbustion but rather an impulse followed by eleration engravings along the length of the barrel, the friction of the projectiles that would engage with the rifle grooves within could potentially break the gun if it was too thin. While Feldon was training the workers on the assembly of other parts, Kyle was working intensely on the development of this new repeater rifle. Let¡¯s start with the barrel first. The barrel was interesting, as it required multipleyers of metal, unlike a standard gunpower-based gun. Kyle had to design three separate barrels of increasing sizes, slotting them into one another with a tight tolerance before sealing them together by filling the gaps with adhesive. Each of the three separate barrels had eleration engravings, allowing for a far greater speedpared to a single barrel engraving. If Kyle had a more precise femtoscope, he could potentially engrave even more detailed engravings to imbue the projectile with even more effects ¨C though he himself did not know how arcia energy works when flowing through such a small trace. He then made a custom drill to thread the interior of the barrel, creating grooves along which the projectile would spin and hence stabilise itself during flight. He had already done something simr for his railgun, though he could hardly make the barrel as long. Close quarterbats require shorter barrels ¨C I can always produce a variantter. There was also the issue of the calibre, where despite the sheer amount of eleration he was providing, the projectile may simply not be big enough to prate certain armour. I¡¯ll figure that out in a test. Kyle continued working, focusing now on the loading mechanism. He needed the entire system to be automatic so that the entire magazine could be fired with a single pull of the trigger. Old kic rifles used a spring-loaded magazine to push the bullets into the barrel. However, my projectiles are far smaller. Theck of gunpower and requirement for a casing meant that the overall size of the ¡®bullet¡¯ was much smaller. As such, he instead decided to design a canister that was on top of the barrel, using gravity to let the pellets within fall into the barrel automatically. This way, the user just has to pull once to let out the entire stream. This could potentially be re-engineered into a machine gun if you continuously fed it arcia energy and a steady flow of metal pellets to serve as projectiles. However, he soon realised that the canister would block the user from utilising the iron sights. As such, he instead decided to have two canisters diagonally facing upwards like a V shape, bncing the gun along the middle axis to prevent the user from being jerked to either side. Using a default wooden stock and trigger that was delivered from Raktor, he quickly made a prototype of his tripleyered barrel design along with a top-loaded canister, assembling them together over two hours before finally being able to test it. Test #1 ¨C weight. Kyle lifted the rifle, feeling extremely light. I¡¯m not the one going to be using the rifle, however. He grabbed one of Feldon¡¯s men, using him to gauge the weight. The men could barely support it, aiming forward without using both hands and straining his face. ¡°This is too heavy!¡± Kyle went back to the drawing board, shaving off sections to reduce the overall weight. He also found certain parts of the canister that made itpletely unwieldy, reducing the dimensions and making the entire rifle more streamlined. He carved out the interior of the wooden stock, dropping the weight even further. The second prototype, made after another two hours, was much better received in terms of weight and usability, prompting Kyle to move on to the next stage of the test. Fire test ¨C I¡¯ll need a target. He nced around the workshop area, noticing an empty wall that had been partially carved out, the workers taking a rest and watching Kyle at work. He got Feldon to perform the fire test, marking the wall with a bullseye-like target. With more than enough pellets having been shipped in from Raktor, Kyle could perform a series of range tests. As Feldon pulled the trigger, the sudden strong recoil nearly knocked the entire rifle out of his hand, the pellet flying wide and nearly ricocheting off the walls, prompting the workers to scamper to a safe distance. Right then. Prototype three. Kyle got to work again, reducing the strength of the engraving by intentionally degrading it and adding imperfections. This should reduce the total energy imparted and, subsequently, the recoil. I¡¯ll save the powerful versions for the elite troops. Prototype three was a sess, with Kyle even manually dumping even more pellets in as Feldon held the trigger down. However, it was not an issue of whether or not there were enough pellets, but rather if the person had enough arcia energy inside. After thirty seconds of firing, Feldon was already knocked out cold, suffering from arcia exhaustion. Kyle considered ordering some arcite fuel packs through Tian but began to think about it clearly. The tubes of the fuel pack would present themselves as a weak point to be targeted ¨C a single bullet hit would damage the entire supply. If I can form a sort of arcite battery that can be embedded into the rifle¡­ This would be a project that may not bepleted in time, but he decided on another method to train them to have better arcia energy. ¡°Feldon, how much depleted arcite ore do we have right now?¡± ¡°Uhm, about half a ton. The waterwheel was just set up.¡± ¡°I need you to set up an entire mechanical gym.¡± ¡°¡­A gym?¡± ¡°Make mechanical treadmills or cranks, have those who are unable to learn arcia etching do thatbour. Once you have the arcite ore replenished and recharged, I need you to dedicate an entire chamber and stack it all around.¡± Feldon got to work immediately after Kyle exined the purpose of the arcite ore. The method of training arcia energy in a dense arcia environment was the main reason why the Yual Dominion was so powerful ¨C its mages have been training in even denser environments for decades. Kyle had no doubt that such mages would be present in the attacking force under Count Leon. Not that it really mattered to him. Mage or not, a barrage of mortar strikes should be enough explosive energy to weaken any defensive barrier. The rifle¡¯s development was finallypleted two dayster, with Kyle refining the manufacturing procedure and ironing out a few mechanical errors and tolerance issues. He had added a mechanism where one could swap the barrel out immediately, if necessary, as his rapid-fire test proved that the barrel¡¯s grooves would erode quickly with a high rate of fire.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Seven Snakes Rifle (Basic)] A rifle designed by the Seven Snakes, designed for automatic fire Active Skill: Fire (Basic) ¨C Fires five rounds per second Cost: 3 MP per minute Cooldown: None
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Arctech Gunsmith (Intermediate)] Death in motion Lots of Motion +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance to craft an intermediate gun when assembling
Not that fast, but certainly faster than most repeaters out there now. He was slightly surprised at the mana cost, assuming that it would have been much higher. Kyle had got many of the new workers to test out the rifle, noticing that they could only hold it for twenty seconds before suffering from arcia exhaustion. The sight of many of them rolling on the ground caused him to doubt the viability of his n. Do they only have 1 MP?! What?!
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 29 Max HP: 94(+0)(+0)(+0) Max MP: 65(+0)(+5)(+0) Max STA: 94(+0)(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] NONE
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Viscount of Vices
Sub-ss Arcia Mystic (Unique)
STR 135(+44)(+0)(+0)
DEX 219(+55)(+3)(+0)
INT 129(+60)(+3)(+0)
VIT 99(+4)(+5)(+0)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)(+0)
Free Points 0
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Intermediate)]: Control those who oppose you with fear. +60% Intimidation Sess Chance. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Twelve Hours.
[Penchant for Violence (Intermediate)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 60% for a short duration. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Seven minutes.
[This is My Turf (Intermediate)]: No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Two Hours.
[Designate Follower (Intermediate)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication. Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters. Limit of two followers now.
[Negation Field (Basic)]: Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius. Upgradable. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Three days.
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Intermediate)] Goblins tremble at the sound of your name +20 STR, +10 DEX, +4 VIT, +20% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Intermediate)] Death in motion. Lots of Motion +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance to craft an intermediate gun when assembling.
Chapter 87: Tensions Two dayster¡­ The door to the conference room swung wide open, with Mornero and his secretary Kalian entering with a brisk stride. ¡°Sit down, sit down.¡± Mornero motioned with his hand, prompting the entire cab of ministers, army generals and business leaders to sit. The cab was made up of mostly Mornero supporters, already having been put in ce years ago in preparation for this coup. None of them resented Mornero for taking over the position of Acting President, with the exception of a clearly missing seat that was for Dekar. Mornero sat at the head of therge round table in the middle, ncing over the people attending the meeting. ¡°So, it has been five days since I have assumed the role of Acting President till the next election.¡± Mornero began, his hands sped as he leaned forward. ¡°I have not shifted most of the cab, save for the missing position of Minister Dekar, who is still atrge. Despite this, we currently face two ring issues that should have been solved days ago, yesterday even.¡± Mornero continued, his eyes locking onto the army generals. ¡°Generals, can you please exin to the rest of us here what has happened so far?¡± The trio of army generals looked at each other, all of them slightly afraid to speak out, as the conference remained in silence for a few seconds. ¡°I did not expect the generals to be mere yes-men. Talk now, or I shall have to reconsider your current position.¡± One of the generals steeled his heart, grabbing a piece of paper and standing up. ¡°President Mornero, sir. As you are aware, the Yual Dominion has always been employing a policy of brinksmanship. Over thest fifteen years, more than fifty military exercises have been conducted near our borders.¡± ¡°I am well aware of that, yes.¡± ¡°However, of the fifty military exercises, only two of them have been a joint exercise between Count Leon and Count Rinas, who is in control of the adjacent county that also borders us. In both events, our diplomats were able to meet with the Counts¡¯ representatives to diffuse the tensions.¡± Mornero nodded, prompting the general to continue. ¡°Two days ago, our initial estimates ced the uing military exercise meant to be conducted in three months to be of that same level.¡± ¡°And¡­?¡± ¡°Well, military observations conducted at a range of two kilometres with optical telescopes have spotted numerous signs of increased habitation at our border with Count Leon, whiches in the form of visible smoke plumes and indications of forestry being used to clear-¡° ¡°Please, speak in in and simple terms for the benefit of the rest of us here.¡± Mornero interrupted. ¡°In fact, I¡¯ll like to talk to the observer who is the reason for this entire meeting. Is his handler here? Or is he here?¡± ¡°Yes, sir, that would be Sergeant Alison right here, sir.¡± The general motioned to another person at the table, who froze up as all the eyesnded on him. ¡°Good. Sergeant Alison, could you care to borate in in terms as to what you saw?¡± The sergeant stood up shakily, quickly defaulting to his instinct to salute the ministers and Mornero. Mornero gave a small smile: ¡°Rx, sergeant. Take a deep breath, and try to speak in a clear voice for us.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. A-at dawn today, my team of observers and I have confirmed that a third Count is participating in the military exercises as well, making it thergest ever exercise to date.¡± ¡°How many men are we talking about?¡± ¡°Enough to rival that of the first revolutionary war. I counted at least two times the number of troops, maybe eight divisions and even moreing.¡± ¡°How much more?¡± ¡°I¡­¡± The sergeant was at a loss, but another army general quickly took over, reporting to Mornero. ¡°Combining our observations with that collected by our intelligence department, there are more signs of military growth in all three counties, with marked increases in steel and weapon production. Raktor itself has geared nearly fifty percent of all factories towards one of these two industries at the behest of their barons.¡± The army general spoke with confidence, getting straight to the point. ¡°Is this true?¡± Mornero motioned towards the intelligence agency¡¯s director, who nodded. ¡°Recruitment for their armed forces has been steadily increasing in size. Count Leon has been purchasing and renting multiple light throwers for a publicity campaign advertising the military. We suspect he ns to utilise existing light throwers in the city to drum up support significantly in the future when heunches his war. Already anti-Versian sentiments are being spread in Raktor.¡± Mornero turned back to the trio of generals. ¡°What are our projections?¡± ¡°President Mornero, sir, we haven¡¯t yet had time to make urate battle simtions to judge clearly how the war would proceed. More observations and calctions would need to be done. If you give us four more days, we could ¨C ¡° ¡°Generals, I don¡¯t think you seem to understand the gravity of what has just been said!¡± Mornero raised his voice significantly, ring at the general as he rasped his fingers against the table. ¡°Do you know why I called for the meeting in the first ce? It was not to hear deflections or meandering talk from any of you!¡± Mornero stood up and paced the room. ¡°As former Vice-President and current Acting President, my job is to figure out the future of the nation and to chart its course. It is my duty to steer the boat, to navigate. However, you have instead elected to defer judgement on the path to take by four days. That¡¯s four entire days in which we could have mobilised, organised, trained, produced and assembled everything necessary to stem theing tide. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The generals nodded meekly. ¡°Now, from the top, General. What are our current estimates? No matter how rough.¡± ¡°Sir, based on extremely rough estimates ¨C the first strike begins earliest in two weeks,test a month; the total capittion of the Versian state in two months after that. Even with the activation of all reservists and conscription centres. Not even counting the numbers advantage that they have over us, in terms of equipment, they have us beat by a wide margin. If Count Leon manages to secure the services of the Duke¡¯s mage, our loss will be faster.¡± ¡°What about our two mages?¡± ¡°They have been in istion ever since the revolution, and will not exit till five yearster.¡± ¡°Can we get them to help us?¡± ¡°Not a chance sir, we¡¯ve tried on a few other asions.¡± The room fell into a subdued silence, with the ministers all having explicit expressions of fear and anxiety. Mornero himself took a deep breath, thinking carefully. ¡°Thank you very much, generals and dear Sergeant Alison. Please, sit down.¡± Mornero looked to the other end of the table, where the business leaders were seated. ¡°Harrison, please tell me you have something for us.¡± The business leaders sat represented the top yers of each major industry ¨C agriculture, engineering, construction, mining and transportation. Every industry rted to supporting the military in any way, shape or form was invited to this meeting. They were the industrialists who were supporting Mornero from behind, with Harrison as the current leader of them all, representing the engineering industry. However, despite their rise to power and having a seat at the table, most of them were unhappy, all fully aware of what the war would do to their business. Only Harrison seemed perfectly calm, as though he had already half-expected this to happen. He cleared his throat, standing up to speak. ¡°President Mornero, the industries have been suffering multiple setbacks recently, with the biggest being the entire destruction of the power station in Tenar. Our research and development teams have been working hard at producing new cutting-edge technology, but without sufficient funds as well as samples from the Yual Dominion, the progress will be slow.¡± ¡°How slow?¡± ¡°About three months, give or take. The prototypes still face multiple issues and are not fit for mass production.¡± ¡°How much do you need to speed up the development?¡± Harrison pulled out a few copies of a paper with the values calcted written on it. He passed it out across the table to the ministers, generals and Mornero. ¡°That much.¡± The ministers were shocked by the value asked, the most vocal being the finance minister. ¡°This is outrageous. Are you nning on war profiteering?! There¡¯s no way the government budget can handle this increase ¨C we would have to raise taxes across the board!¡± ¡°And what is the issue with that?¡± Mornero turned to face the finance minister. ¡°Mornero, you know this is far too much. If we modify the government budget right now, it will damage the trust that the people have in us. For a president who had only taken office in thest five days, this would be a radical change. We should instead do a gradual shift, maybe slowing dialling back our spending over the next month or so. The people are already beginning to doubt us for no good reason,rgely due to the Ghost of Tenar.¡± ¡°The Ghost of Tenar is the other ring issue I have yet to address. Now, if I made you do it right now, how would you do it?¡± ¡°Are you serious?¡± ¡°Humour me.¡± The finance minister sighed, ncing at the sheet of paper in front of him first. ¡°The current government budget can theoretically allow for this expenditure, but we would need to cut wages across the board first within the government itself. Following that, we would have to immediately phase out all social services and start diverting job seekers to the military or rted industries. We¡¯re talking about governmental housing, homeless shelters, ie subsidies, pensions and so on. Everything has to go.¡± ¡°Next, we would have to mp down on things such as luxury goods and services. Tax everything that is wasteful. All of this hinges on the fact that the people do not try to flee the country to escape the war. It will be a war economy within two weeks if you rush everything, which would slowly ramp up to its full potential in a month.¡± The finance minister concluded. ¡°Can you handle that, minister?¡± Mornero pointed to the minister ofmunications. ¡°It¡¯s doable. We can work with the intelligence agencies and the military to lock down the news outlets and restrict information. This would give us a good reason to stamp out the Ghost of Tenar rumour as well as any spread of the fake religion of Nona.¡± ¡°But President Mornero,¡± the finance minister interrupted, ¡°if you implemented the n immediately today or even within the next two days, you might spark outrage and riots across the city.¡± He was clearly incensed at the idea of tanking the economy, which went against his job¡¯s very nature. ¡°That¡¯s for me and the minister ofmunication to handle.¡± Mornero shrugged it off. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve made myself clear. What I am suggesting is a gradual increase rather than a sudden shock to the economy. The general¡¯s estimate of a first strike within two weeks at the earliest is still an estimate ¨C the war might not even happen at all if we do this. If you ignore my suggestion, you will immediately erode everything we have worked for in a single week.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°Do you really?¡± ¡°DO YOU!?¡± Mornero roared back, shocking the minister into silence. Mornero mmed the table: ¡°We are at war, gentleman. This is it! This. Is. It. It is a matter of survival, no more, no less. Do you really think the Count is simply going to back down and let us scale up within two months after all the signs and observations the people in this room have told us?! There is no turning back!¡± ¡°Everything about trust, morals, beliefs and ideals can be thrown out the window. Save that for the propaganda. Because I can tell you right now, Count Leon¡¯s troops certainly won¡¯t care if we treated the people nicely or not. And in war, you always prepare for the worst estimate. What would you say to the people of Versia when you lose? Hmm?¡± The entire cab fell into silence, fullyprehending the situation now. Even the finance minister could not find it in him to refute what Mornero said. ¡°I¡¯ve promised the people of a stronger Versia, and that¡¯s exactly what they are going to get whether they like or not. We shall do everything in our power to survive and win this war. Now here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do next.¡± ¡°Harrison, you will have your funds. Begin hiring anyone and everyone. Everypetent arctech designer should be in there. I¡¯ll put you in charge of organising the supplying of the military. Every resource meant for luxury goods that was being sold to the consumer, reallocate it for the military. ¡° ¡°General, I want those urate predictions, but for now, expand the boot camps. Work with the construction industry ¨C it does not have to be glorious; only make sure there is enough space to house and train the iing recruits. If estimates of our manpower fall below what is required, get back to me, and I will consider dropping the age limit. Increase border patrols.¡± ¡°Immigration, restrict people from moving out of the country for whatever reason. Stall as long as you can, dy any approvals and increase rejections. Work with transportation to put dys in the system. Use the guise of martialw aimed at the Ghost of Tenar to lock down Tenar. I don¡¯t want a mass exodus.¡± ¡°Finance, you will implement all the budget cuts and draft up the proposal by the end of today. All other ministers, prepare to sh services and wages.¡± ¡°Minister of Communications, work with the intelligence agency and the military. Increase recruitment across the board, and mp down on any news of a potential invasion. Shut down any rumour immediately. This means I want a dedicated department aimed at making sure I know exactly where the information is flowing. Frame the budget cuts as cutting off wasteful spending for now.¡± ¡°Director, make sure none of this and every subsequent move we make is not leaked to the enemy. And I want that Ghost of Tenar in chains in front of me in two days. Work with the military to organise a raid ¨C flush out the entire catbs. I want a full sweep operation immediately. Use anything in your arsenal. And I mean everything.¡± The weight of the situation was clear, everyone nodded in response to Mornero¡¯s orders and steeling themselves for work. ¡°Anyone unclear?¡± Mornero finished, ncing around the room. ¡°Good. We¡¯ll meet back in a day or earlier to check up on progress. Get to work.¡± Chapter 88: Full Sweep Kyle frowned as he read the message he had just gotten from Raktor. No activity from the Ardent Cretins nor the Violet Demons in attempting to attack us. Weird. He had half expected his businesses or at least his supply chain to be affected by the Ardent Cretins in some way or another. Sebastian theoretically should have begun to poke holes into the entirework that Kyle had built up. Simrly, the Violet Demons seemed to have given up attacking the Euria Seeds operation, simply letting it be. What was even more surprising to hear was that the conflict in the West Sector was beginning to die out, as though both major gangs were taking a rest. The inaction of the major gangs made Kyle wonder what the underlying plot was. Sebastian isn¡¯t dumb ¨C he must have an agenda for not attacking me. Heid out the motives of every group he could think of that was involved in this entire situation. First, Mornero and hisckeys wanted total control of the state. Kyle already knew they were militarising, though he had no idea how fast. Next, Count Leon was bound to attack Versia at some point or another. Kyle did not know enough about him to make a clear judgment call on his character, but the fact that the Barons, such as Cain, were prompted to build as many factories and supply lines as they could for a potential war led Kyle to believe that this was most likely a real possibility. He already heard of even more military build-up at the border. Finally, there was Nest, who was in cahoots with Mornero. He did not know what Mornero offered them, but it was more than enough to get them to offer more than five thousand hitmen to bolster the military in Tenar itself. Kyle did not find this tooplicated ¨C he had been involved in far worse diplomatic issues in the Gctic Era, especially when there were multiple criminal organisations involved. I don¡¯t believe for a second that Sebastian does not know what is going on here ¨C all of the major gangs should be aware of this imminent war. Are they stockpiling or reducing their movements? But for what purpose? The only reason Kyle could think of was due to the increased military build-up of Count Leon: perhaps the major gangs were afraid that if they acted out of turn, the Count would turn around and dere martialw on the sector. No gang wanted to face the military of the Count¡¯s head-on. As Kyle continued to ponder on the moves of the different groups, the sounds of manufacturing from the workshop area reverberated through the walls of his makeshift office chamber as hundreds of fresh recruits were being trained. This was not the only base they had, with multiple other separate bases set up. Suddenly, a Clouds employee barged into the chamber. ¡°Sir Greyborn, the military and Nest are attacking in synchronisation! They are nning on wiping us out!¡± ¡°Where are they now?¡± ¡°They are pouring through the ck market and sniffing out all our safehouses ¨C I also heard that there¡¯s an entirely separate force that¡¯s aimed at flushing out the catbs.¡± Faster than expected. Kyle quickly rushed out of the office, spotting Feldon, who was overseeing the production of weapons. ¡°Feldon, prepare evacuation n B. I want all essentials emptied out and moved to the backup base immediately. Get Dekar and Zayin to run diversionary tactics ¨C we already nned for this. Assemble all of your men.¡± The workers all were frightened, but under the calm leadership of Feldon and Kyle, they began to pack up the portable workbenches and tools, stuffing them into crates and ferrying them off on trolleys further out into the catbs. However, the amount of equipment was far too much, with the rate of evacuation slow-paced. Even after half an hour, there was still more than half of the equipment left in the workshop. Feldon continuously monitored the situation as Dekar and Zayin¡¯s troops and the Clouds observers reported on the enemy¡¯s movements. [Two 5-5s moving down Asha Street. Prepare ambush at Sector 4¡¯s candy shop.] [Lost contact with Sector 8B. Base raided. No news of survivors.] [Enemy squad entering catbs. Sector 17A moving to Sector 17B, expected five minutes.] [Performing diversion operation in Sector 28P.] [Sector 19C is under heavy fire, redirecting support forces to other sectors.] [Five squads spotted on 1D, entering catbs.] Dekar and Zayin had already implemented guerri tactics into managing the troops, but Kyle was sure that anything and everything could go wrong. They only had close to a week of training, which was far from enough to make them an efficient fighting force. The only saving grace Kyle had was the Clouds employees, who had some three hundred trained hitmen. By spreading them out among the squads and putting them in charge of a group of five recruits, it increased the fighting capability as well as cohesion levels. However, Kyle had yet to en-masse produce guns at scale to arm everyone, so it became an issue of equipment. With the military and the Nest being far better equipped, it was no surprise that any of his squads would lose head-on. There was also theck of an arcia energy training chamber ¨C half a ton was barely enough to fit more than ten people at a time, which would not be useful for a force numbering in the thousands. Kyle had already prepared for such an eventuality of a purge ¨C hence the evacuation n and diversionary tactics. If they are performing a full sweep operation, this means that considerable resources are being dedicated to eradicating us. The longer we survive like a cockroach, the better our chances of toppling the government. It was a fine bnce to manage. Kyle continued to assist with the evacuation while all of Feldon¡¯s men, that had been smuggled over from the goblin den over the past five days, geared up with their full armour and new prototype automatic rifles. Kyle counted them as he equipped himself, noting that they numbered only ten here with him now, with the other fifty or so being split up, working on establishing secondary bases. ¡°How many squads spotted?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°About close to seventy squads now. They are really full-sweeping the ¨C¡° While Feldon was talking, a sudden thud was heard as a metal spike tore through one of the chamber walls, embedding itself on the opposite wall. ¡°Shit! They are here! Get to-¡° The metal spike¡¯s engraving began to glow brightly before a loud shrill sound was continuously emitted from the metal spike, prompting the workers to cover their ears immediately, dropping their equipment as they winced from the pain. Sonar attack?! Kyle quickly lunged for the metal spike, stomping on it and breaking it while the entire chamber wall burst open with more than two dozen Nest hitmen entering, guns zing. Their repeaters immediately riddled close to a dozen workers and three of Feldon¡¯s men with holes, killing them instantly. The remainder of Feldon¡¯s men quickly flipped over crates and workbenches, taking cover behind them and anything else that could withstand the iing gunfire. Kyle himself rolled into position behind a pile of steel bars, peeking at the Nest hitmen who were entering in droves now. ¡°Deploying!¡± One of the Nest hitmen lugged arge block of ck metal as his allies covered him, dropping it onto the ground and plugging a tube from his arcite fuel pack into it. The myriad of engravings on the block began to brighten up, causing the block to unfold rapidly to form a chest-high defensive cover that began to shine brightly like a spotlight, blinding Feldon¡¯s men and Kyle from being able to see anything. Three more of the same cover were set up, with each five-man squad acting in synchronisation. ¡°Spread out and nk them!¡± That¡¯s far too high-tech for this technological era?! Where is Nest getting all of these? Kyle did not bother, hefting his own prototype rifle which was a farrger version than the mass-produced one and checking the canister.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Seven Snakes Rifle ¨C Heavy Variant (Basic)] Designed for strong users ¨C when it rains, it pours Active Skill: Fire (Basic) ¨C Fires ten rounds per second Cost: 15 MP per minute Cooldown: None Increased Capacity
The crossfire was immense, with Feldon¡¯s men controlling their arcia energy usage as they defended in a semi-circle, trying to pin down the Nest squads to prevent them from getting a nking angle around them. With no arcite fuel pack, it was hard to contest with the well-equipped Nest hitmen. Two grenades sailed through the air andnded right in the middle of the cover, exploding into fragments that pierced Feldon¡¯s men, wounding nearly all of them. The Seven Snakes armour set worn helped to relieve some of the damage, but it was unsustainable. ¡°Feldon, grab the bombs and st them!¡± Kyle ordered, himself popping out from cover toy down suppressing fire as Feldon quickly scampered across the room, heading for the ammo store that was further behind. Kyle held down the trigger, feeling his own MP drain as the gun unleashed a veritable storm of bullets, immediately riddling the chest-high defensive cover with holes and damaging the spotlight engraving, reducing the re. This finally allowed Feldon¡¯s men to fire back urately. He swept the area with his automatic rifle, firing for a good ten seconds before retreating back into cover. ¡°Feldon, ammo!¡± A metal tin can containing the pellets was rolled over the floor from the back while Feldon resumed arming the explosive mortar rounds that they had in store. ¡°Report to the boss: Kris Greyborn is here ¨C priority target number 1! Hold him here until the bosses!¡± One of the Nest squad leaders ordered. ¡°Suppress them!¡± Just as the squad membersplied and began to peek over their defensive cover, one of their heads was immediately knocked right in the face by an explosive mortar round, with Kyle holding the mortaruncher vertically like a rocketuncher. The explosive mortar round exploded into a brilliant me, engulfing the entire squad and killing all of them except for the squad leader, whose personal defence shield saved his life, but waspletely knocked out by the resulting shockwave and impact.
[System Message] Killed [Wolf-ss Nest Hitmen], +100 EXP
The remaining squads were shocked at the sheer firepower. ¡°Take him down, quickly! Throw everything!¡± That¡¯s my line, idiot. Kyle reloaded the mortar quickly before hoisting it up again on his shoulder, firing. The searing heat from the barrel of the mortar and the strong recoil hardly fazed him, with him using the Ne of Healing to heal the burnt skin on his hand and shoulder continuously as he anchored himself over a steel bar. Another squad was sted to smithereens, with the two remaining Nest squads focusing all their firepower on Kyle, making sure he couldn¡¯t step out of cover to fire off another shot. However, this freed up Feldon¡¯s men, prompting them to quickly dash out of cover and exploit the advantage, taking up new positions to surround the two squads. ¡°Pin them!¡± With their nks jeopardised, Kyle then had the chance to fire off yet another shot. However, while the round travelled in mid-air, a ck human shadow suddenly appeared in between, blocking it with his body as the round exploded. Despite the force of the explosion, the ck shadow was hardly knocked back, his feet firmly nted on the floor in a deep groove. The engravings of his interior chest te glowed, absorbing the kic energy impact and converting it into arcia energy. Kyle immediately recognised him as the first secret service agent to block his railgun shot. While he had not been aiming to kill Mornero outright, he had always been surprised someone managed to react to and block it directly without a personal energy shield. ¡°Why am I not surprised to find out you¡¯re Nest?¡± Nox ignored Kyle¡¯s remark, instead deploying his vambrace into arm shields that were designed in a shape of a kite, their edges sharp and deadly as he pointed them right at Kyle. ¡°Kris Greyborn. Where is Lady Yona?¡± Chapter 89: Chemical Kyle didn¡¯t bother replying, immediately dropping the mortar mounted on his shoulder and picking up his heavy variant rifle and firing straight into Nox. Nox¡¯s arm shields blocked his face, while the rest of his body was covered in armour that was all linked to the same engraving, absorbing the kic impact of the projectiles. The stopped projectiles all copsed to the floor like a waterfall. The two Nest squads took the advantage their boss gave them, attacking Feldon¡¯s men while they were distracted by Nox. ¡°Ignore him, kill the rest!¡± Kyle ordered as he, too, began to fire on the Nest squads instead, shredding anyone who was exposed. It was a basic spacebat doctrine to ignore the defensive bulwark ships. However, Nox suddenly rushed forward with the same speed with which he managed to intercept the explosive mortar round, dashing right at Kyle and jabbing with the sharp tip of his arm shield. Kyle was forced to use the rifle to block the iing hits, the sparks along the edge of the barrel dazzling from the friction. Good thing I made this rifle sturdy. He wielded the rifle as a short staff, parrying the hitsing in. Just as he blocked yet another forward stab, a hidden de from under the arm shield suddenly stabbed forward, slicing Kyle¡¯s cheek and earlobe before Kyle managed to push Nox away.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Status Effect
[Debilitating Poison] Unknown poison that numbs the body Allbat stats reduced by 10% Stack 1/10
What?! Kyle had never received a debuff before, but he had no time to think, with Nox capitalising on the shock to push his advantage, delivering a kick to Kyle¡¯s left knee to cripple him. However, Kyle¡¯s legs barely buckled, allowing Kyle to quickly backpedal and make some distance while the wound on his cheek and earlobe began to bubble with a greenish liquid, seeping into Kyle¡¯s bloodstream. Ne of Healing! The green aura surged around the wound and enveloped the green poison, but there was no notification of debuff removal. Already Kyle could feel his body being slightly more sluggish. I need to buy some time. ¡°Don¡¯t bother!¡± Nox yelled, immediately chasing Kyle as they fought through the length of the warehouse. I don¡¯t have an antidote vial on me ¨C I¡¯m at a disadvantage here. Kyle began to take thebat seriously, treating Nox as an equal foe. Kyle had never really faced someone of his own strength level before, and now he was seriously feeling the pressure. As Kyle blocked a few more hits and tried to counterattack, he noticed that the strength of Nox¡¯s hit was not as strong as he expected. Nox¡¯s reflexes on the other hand, seemed to be far beyond Kyle¡¯s own reflexes, easily dodging every stab and swing that he tried. Nox¡¯s fighting style was unique, using the sharp edges of the arm shield and the hidden de to slice and dice as he continued to throw punch after punch at Kyle, no longer trying to kick Kyle¡¯s legs in close-quarterbat. Just as Kyle swung the rifle at Nox¡¯s head, Nox ducked and crouched to the floor beforeunching his foot up towards Kyle¡¯s chest. Kyle quickly pulled back his rifle to block the hit, but another retractable de was hidden in Nox¡¯s shoe, firing outwards and lodging itself into Kyle¡¯s right shoulder between the gaps of the armour.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Status Effect
[Debilitating Poison] Unknown poison that numbs the body Allbat stats reduced by 10% per stack Stack 3/10
Kyle¡¯s mind began to falter, his thought process beginning to diminish as hisbat stats began to plummet. But Kyle immediately grabbed Nox¡¯s leg, before performing a body throw and mming Nox into the ground. The impact was absorbed right into Nox¡¯s armour, dissipating as Nox immediately twisted his body to deliver yet another kick with his free leg, forcing Kyle to let go of Nox and dodge in anticipation of yet another hidden de. Sure enough, the hidden de was fired, nearly missing Kyle¡¯s nose as he avoided it in time. ¡°Give up.¡± Nox was now sure he had a clear advantage, noticing Kyle¡¯s reflexes getting slower, the speed of the parry dropping fast. ¡°And here I thought you were strong.¡± Just as he stepped forward to deliver another stab, Nox¡¯s eyes flickered to the right as he quickly raised his arm shield, blocking an explosive mortar round that flew straight at his head. The st knocked both Nox and Kyle back and apart from each other. Feldon grunted as the recoil from the mortar knocked him back, his hands injured from thesh back. Penchant for Violence! Kyle¡¯sbat stats became higher than before, his mind clearing up as he recovered faster than Nox, allowing Kyle to quickly lunge at the fallen Nox and pin his limbs down with his knee in an expert martial artist move. ¡°Crazy!¡± Nox grinned, with sudden spikes sticking out from the armour and jabbing Kyle¡¯s knee and arm.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Status Effect
[Debilitating Poison] Unknown poison that numbs the body Allbat stats reduced by 10% per stack Stack 5/10
¡°Like that is going to stop me.¡± Kyle delivered a heavy-handed punch to Nox¡¯s face, smashing his nose and teeth in with a single hit. Underneath all that armour, Nox was not as tough as Kyle, allowing Kyle to hurt him easily. However, before Kyle could deliver yet another heavy-handed blow, the armour of Nox suddenly began to glow hot red, scalding Kyle¡¯s skin and forcing Kyle to get off. Nox quickly recovered, but his eyes were bloodshot as his nose waspletely caved in, with half of his teeth missing, blood flowing freely from his mouth. Nox panted visibly, with the engraving on the armour beginning to die down. That must have taken a lot of arcia energy out of him. Kyle prepared to counterattack, but instead of Nox facing Kyle head-on, Nox began to retreat to the remaining two Nest Squads, who were still locked in a fierce firefight with Feldon¡¯s men. ¡°Dei plo yh Ahent Blhack.¡± Nox tapped the shoulder of one of the Nest squad leaders, barely able to speak properly, with his nose and mouth heavily injured. ¡°Yes, sir! Protocol C!¡± The squad leaders ordered, with their men immediately taking out a ck metal mask, cing it on their faces and sealing their noses, mouths, and ears. Feldon was confused. ¡°What the fuck are they doing? Men, nk them now!¡± ¡°No, get out of here, quickly! Fuck the equipment!¡± Kyle¡¯s eyes widened as he understood what was going to happen. A Nest hitman unveiled yet another ck device, activating it. Immediately, a ck fog-like cloud began to spread across the room, expanding quickly from the pressurised canisters. Feldon¡¯s men did not react fast enough, assuming it was a simple smoke device. However, as they inhaled the smoke, their eyes began to water uncontrobly, along with their throats searing with pain, causing them to cough violently while they attempted to outrun the smoke. This is My Turf! Aero Shoes! Kyle immediately created an invisible barrier around him, sprinting towards Feldon and grabbing him. The skill allowed him to block the flow of air but allow those whom he recognised as an ally in, allowing him to protect Feldon from the smoke as they scampered for the side exit, with all of Feldon¡¯s men dying in writhing pain as they tried to w their skin out. Kyle quickly pushed Feldon into the exit tunnel, grabbing a nearby arctech pickaxe and mming the walls of the tunnel as hard as he could, blocking off all light and preventing the smoke from getting through. Tendrils of ck fog still continued to seep through the rock, with Kyle urging Feldon to continue running down the tunnel. ¡°This tunnel leads back to the main sewer, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, but with Nest Squads crawling all around, how are we going to get out?¡± Feldon understood the smoke to be some sort of chemical weapon. If the noxious ck gas cloud was now purging the entire catbs, it was unfeasible for any of Kyle¡¯s forces to fight back. ¡°Get on the arctech radio and ping them - we need to flee as deep into the catbs as much as possible. Abandon the bases unless we can seal them from the gas cloud.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Feldon spoke quickly on the radio as they moved with haste, jogging down the tunnel. The tunnel shook violently as yet another explosion rocketed through the catbs, Kyle unsure of the source. Their footsteps echoed through the tunnel, leading towards a T-junction. There was lighting in from the left, illuminating the tunnel for them. ¡°Left to the main sewer!¡± Feldon pointed out before Kyle grabbed him and pulled him back. ¡°What¡¯s on the right?¡± Kyle asked, noticing that the design of the passage on the right waspletely unique to the catbs. There were a few specks of green further into the passage, but Kyle could not see clearly. ¡°I don¡¯t know; we haven¡¯t explored it yet. We only dug this exit tunnel out two days ago.¡± ¡°Okay, go left.¡± Just as they turned out to the main sewer, they could see masked Nest squads along the length of the sidewalk, fumigating the entire area, the ck cloud expanding rapidly towards them. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s Kris Greyborn! Kill him!¡± ¡°Get back inside!¡± Kyle grabbed Feldon and flung him back into the exit tunnel before swinging the arctech pickaxe as hard as he could on the side of the walls. However, the walls did not copse fast enough, with the edge of the ck cloud beginning to reach Kyle. He held his breath and continued to smack as fast as he could, throwing rapid swings before finally managing to copse the entrance, preventing the Nest hitmen from chasing. Despite the rubble blocking the entrance, the gaps between the rock still allowed gas to seep through, with Kyle motioning to Feldon to run ahead towards the unique passageway. As soon as they reached the narrow part of the tunnel, Kyle quickly copsed it once again, blocking a good chunk of the smoke. However, Kyle still involuntarily inhaled a bit of the smoke, feeling his entire airway from his nose to his lungs burning as it seared his insides. His eyes began to water uncontrobly as he pushed himself, running with Feldon as far away from the smoke as possible.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Status Effect
[Agent ck] Highly corrosive chemical reagent that attacks the flesh Continuous Poison Damage
Ne of Healing! The green aura enveloped Kyle¡¯s body, but it failed to dispel the chemicals that were already in his body. All Kyle could do was to wait for his regenerated cells to continuously react with the chemicals in the violent reaction, which would eventually die out. Kyle was experienced withary and space chemical warfare, but he never expected it for Nest to deploy it so efficiently, as though they had been trained to do so for a long time. Who the hell is behind them? Feldon panted rapidly as heid down to rest, his chest heaving and muscles burning from the sprinting just now. Kyle sat down crosslegged, continuously channelling the Ne of Healing off cooldown while sipping on a health potion vial, trying tobat the chemical smoke within him. It took nearly ten minutes for the pain within Kyle¡¯s veins to die down, allowing him to finally breathe properly. Feldon had already recovered, his eyes wandering around the unique passage that they were in now. The green specks Kyle had spotted previously turned out to be luminous gemstones embedded at specific junctures between the walls and the ceiling. There were engravings everywhere that looked like paintings, like a grand epic that spanned the entire length of the passage. Feldon couldn¡¯t see the end of the passage, the darkness only being dotted by green specks that led into infinity. ¡°What in the world is this ce? Did the Versians build this area?¡± Kyle groaned as he stood up, the effects of the chemical smoke and Nox¡¯s poison still affecting him. He nced at the engravings, at first thinking it was arctech engravings. However, he soon recognised them, his heart nearly stopping as the realisation hit him. Just as he took one more step further to inspect further the carvings on the wall, a new System message appeared.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Dungeon Discovered
[Tomb of the Fallen] A fallen race lies in wait. Clear the Trials and be rewarded Rmended Level: 45
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 29 Max HP: 94(+0)(+0)(+0) Max MP: 65(+0)(+5)(+0) Max STA: 94(+0)(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] [Debilitating Poison]- Unknown poison that numbs the body. : Allbat stats reduced by 10% per stack. Stack 5/10. [Agent Body]- Highly corrosive chemical reagent that attacks the flesh. : Continuous Poison Damage.
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
Sub-ss Arcia Mystic (Unique)
STR 135(+44)(+0)(+0)
DEX 219(+55)(+3)(+0)
INT 129(+60)(+3)(+0)
VIT 99(+4)(+5)(+0)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)(+0)
Free Points 0
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Intermediate)]: Control those who oppose you with fear. +60% Intimidation Sess Chance. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Twelve Hours.
[Penchant for Violence (Intermediate)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 60% for a short duration. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Seven minutes.
[This is My Turf (Intermediate)]: No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Two Hours.
[Designate Follower (Intermediate)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication. Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters. Limit of two followers now.
[Negation Field (Basic)]: Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius. Upgradable. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Three days.
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Intermediate)] Goblins tremble at the sound of your name +20 STR, +10 DEX, +4 VIT, +20% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Intermediate)] Death in motion. Lots of Motion +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance to craft an intermediate gun when assembling.
Chapter 90: Tomb Dungeon? Kyle had never seen such a system message before ¨C not even when he entered the Oracleb in the goblin kingdom at Culdao Peaks. ¡°Boss?¡± Feldon stared warily at Kyle. ¡°Are you feeling better now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Kyle knew that he wasn¡¯t. He hasn¡¯t gotten a system message yet that the debuffs have been removed. The Debilitating Poison and Agent ck were still active in his system. He did not know the duration of the debuffs either, unsure if they wouldst forever. Agent ck was subsidising, but the Debilitating Poison was not, the same sluggish feeling still guing his body. Furthermore, Kyle¡¯s entire action n had just copsed on itself, with the deadly chemical weapon now sweeping across the catbs. He had half-expected such an incident to ur after interrogating Lady Yona and finding out about the full-scale of Nest but never anticipated such a fast reaction. The capture of Lady Yona and the military buildup on the border must have pushed their limits¡­ Kyle did n for evacuation, marking out bases that were much further away from the city centre, the old tunnels leading far away. However, he was unsure if he could even get out of wherever this was to regroup his forces. ¡°You don¡¯t look fine.¡± Feldon noticed the pained expression on Kyle¡¯s face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me ¨C let¡¯s focus on getting out of here and regrouping everyone.¡± ¡°Only one direction to head in.¡± Kyle nodded, walking slowly and conserving his energy as his body continued to suffer minor damage from Agent ck, each step¡¯s echo bouncing off the small passageway. He clenched his fist in anger as he thought about how all his hardwork had just been swept away, rage building slowly within him. Feldon did not say anything more, himself also solemn about his men dying. Kyle hated when things did not go his way. Usually, he would have a way to recover from such a setback, but this one was truly far beyond what he had expected and not ounted for. Fuck! The same hatred burned within him as it did when he first woke up in Raktor, fresh from the betrayal in his former life. I¡¯ve been far toocent. Thinking everything would go my way in a low-tech world. Kyle took a deep breath, the stabbing pain from the poisons still coursing through him. He knew being angry would have close to no effect - what he needed was to channel all of this energy into action, not resentment or regret. I must do better next time. Kyle began to contemte how on earth did this oue evene to be. He knew that Nox was not a transcendent, nor was he a system user - Nox was utilizing arctech engravings externally rather than called from within. His armour was top of the line in terms of functionality, something Kyle envisioned for himself in the near future.Yet Nox¡¯s armour went against the technological development of this world. Nest has far too much Gctic Era technology and concepts¡­ He did not truly believe when Lady Yona mentioned that Nest had transcendents leading them, assuming that she must have seen it wrongly or used another term for it. However, now that he had seen how much technology Nest had in control, he was much more inclined to believe Lady Yona was not mistaken. Transcendents were enhanced humans in the Gctic Era ¨C but not in a conventional scientific way, such as artificialbat enhancements or cybeic imnts. Instead, they were effectively superhumans, with abilities integrated into their body through natural training. Each transcendent was attuned to a unique exotic material found in the gxy, obtaining the properties of the exotics and further bending them to their will. It was hard to find them ¨C less than a billion of them existed when Kyle was still alive in the Gctic Era. It was immensely difficult to be transcendent, requiring dedication and training over multiple decades. Not even S-ss states could artificially create them, despite their advancements in gics. Now that Kyle consider it more carefully, the way that humans and goblins internalised arcia energy here seemed to border on transcendence. If I follow the assumption that arcite itself is an exotic material, does that mean that nearly everyone on this is a fledgling transcendent? Kyle could feel the truth of his resurrection as well as the history of the nearly at his fingertips. He just needed one more clue to pick a correct theory. As of now, there was still nothing concrete connecting all of the different threads that were hanging in front of him. A System that physically engraves arcia lines into the body, a researchb dedicated to improving the goblin physique, Gctic Era tech from ruins, and now a dungeon. What made it even more confusing was that the carvings on the wall were not of human make. Why are they here? The luminous green gemstones illuminated their path as they walked slowly. They travelled for what felt like an hour, though it was hard to tell the time when underground. It felt like an eternity before the passage began to slope downwards at a gradual pace, causing Feldon to worry slightly. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is going to lead us out; maybe we could use the arctech pickaxe to dig our way out.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll die of exhaustion first if we do that. Keep moving.¡± Kyle couldn¡¯t tell Feldon that this was a dungeon, which meant that there was clearly something of value within. Naturally, Kyle was not about to leave until he found out what it was. It should give me the final clue as to what exactly this is. As they walked further, the sound of skittering and mechanical limbs could be heard, slowly increasing in intensity. Kyle got Feldon to pause before taking stock of what they had on hand. ¡°We¡¯re not alone down here. You still got a handgun with you?¡± ¡°What? Yes, I do.¡± Feldon became warier as he squinted his eyes, staring further down the passage. ¡°Okay. How many pellets do you have?¡± ¡°Three magazines. What about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have one ¨C I dropped my rifle in the workshop area. Only got this.¡± Kyle checked the arctech pickaxe he was using, never really fully inspecting it while he was escaping the workshop.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Vibration Pickaxe (Basic)] Pierce the heavens with a resounding hit Active Skill: Active Skill: Vibration (Basic) ¨C Vibrates the de slightly at a high frequency to improve prating power and pain Cost: 1 MP per minute Cooldown: Instant
¡°Better than nothing, I guess.¡± ¡°Might not be enough for what we¡¯re about to face.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Stay behind me, and don¡¯t panic. Got it?¡± Feldon nodded. With Kyle taking the lead, the duo moved as silently as they could, approaching the skittering sound slowly. To their surprise, there was a dim yellow light shining out through a doorway, spilling out into the passageway. Kyle held his hand up and motioned for Feldon to stay behind while he crept up to the edge of the doorway before peeking inside. What the fuck?! Kyle wasn¡¯t usually astonished, but this time, the sight truly left him utterly confused. The room was a storage area, with shelves lined up as though it was a supermarket. However, nearly all of the goods that were meant to be disyed were already missing, with only a few remnants being left behind. Kyle spotted a few metal tins of preserved food rations along with ample packs of water. The dim yellow light was from a different gemstone, providing the bare minimum of light needed to see. He gingerly stepped into the room, keeping an eye out for any traps. For all he knew, this could be a trial of the dungeon, one that was aiming at using the rations to lure him. ¡°Is it clear? Can Ie in?¡± ¡°Not yet, wait.¡± Kyle continued to examine every nook and cranny, ensuring that there was no one else there. As he took another step forward, there was a nging metal sound, causing Kyle to freeze up immediately and hold his pickaxe at the ready, prepared for anything. Instead, it was an old rusted piece of metal armour, fallen off from a skeleton body. Kyle bent down to pick up the armour, noticing that it was of a simr make to that of the exosuits that he had found in the Oracle¡¯sb. Is the dungeon the work of the same A-ss state, or perhaps another one? He noted the skeleton¡¯s structure to be humanoid yet with clear signs of cybeic tampering, with a few bones having long spoiled imnts inside. The skeleton had a nerval jack imnted into the spine as well, but it was no longer usable either, rusted and degraded over time. Kyle took a few more minutes to scan the storage room, looking for anything out of the ordinary. He noticed the walls were heavily disfigured, with multipleyers of graffiti over it, though it was barely visible under the dim light. ¡°Clear, you cane in.¡± Feldon stepped in and was amazed at theyout too. ¡°What the hell is this, a store of some sort?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but what¡¯s more important is that we have food and water now. Let¡¯s rest for a bit first.¡± Kyle grabbed a can of the rations off the shelves, noticing that it was a tin of kaya butter. Weird. I don¡¯t recall anyone in Raktor or Versia eating kaya¡­ ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Something nice. You should try it next time when we get back to the surface.¡± Kyle tossed the tin to Feldon. ¡°Ka-ya¡­ what? Isn¡¯t this from Proco?¡± ¡°Proco?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a country on the other side of the Yual Dominion ¨C maybe you¡¯ve never heard about it before because it¡¯s so far, but my granddad used to be from there. Ex-wife too.¡± ¡°Interesting. What¡¯s it like?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know.¡± Feldon shrugged. ¡°Never been there before. Apparently, it takes close to a month of travelling to even get to the port; then, you got to take a ship across the channel. Too expensive for me. The fast residual current from the Great Waves makes it dangerous too.¡± Interesting ¨C perhaps I can trace back the origin of this tin to that location. Kyle decided to keep the tin on his body for now. They took a good rest, sleeping in turns as they rotated watches, keeping an eye out for anything moving out and down the passage.The poison began to decrease in intensity as it reacted with more of Kyle¡¯s body, bing a harmless chemical product. I just need to wait out the chemical reactions. Poisons don¡¯tst forever. After having slept for five hours each, Kyle and Feldon packed up what they could carry before moving out. Kyle already felt much better, with Agent ck and the Debilitating Poison no longer affecting him as much as they were before. However, they still had to find the exit. The skittering sounds could be clearly heard now, with Kyle and Feldon trying to make their footsteps as silent as possible. Kyle could see a white speck in the distance, a stark difference from the green light that surrounded them. Feldon spotted it as well, nearly jumping for joy. ¡°It¡¯s the exit! We¡¯ve made it out!¡± ¡°Stay vignt. If Nest are here too, we¡¯ll be dead in a minute.¡± Kyle did not have This is My Turf avable this time round, which meant he would not be able to block Agent ck if it was deployed here, too as well. As they reached the end of the passage, a vast looming cavern illuminated by clusters of white gemstones on the ceiling appeared before them. Theyout of the cavern was clearly manmade, with seven obelisksid out around a central square stage and staircases leading up to it. They exited the passage and hugged the wall, unwilling to go right into the centre of the cavern. Looks like a sacrificial altar. Kyle was even more confused now, as none of the architecture that he had seen so far matched the carvings on the passage. They don¡¯t build anything like that ¨C this is clearly a human design. ¡°What the hell are these holes?¡± Feldon suddenly pointed out, prompting Kyle to follow with his eyes upwards along the wall. Thousands of holes separated by a uniform distance could be seen pockmarking the entire cavern. Feldon stared down one of the holes, unable to see its end. However, as he stuck his head inside the hole, he could hear the skittering sound clearer than ever. ¡°Uh, boss? You hear that?¡± ¡°Get away from the holes. Now!¡± The intensity of the skittering sound picked up tremendously as Kyle and Feldon backtracked. Kyle¡¯s eyes darted around the cavern. ¡°Head back to the passage; it¡¯s easier to defend there than in this open cavern!¡± He ordered Feldon. Just as Kyle said that arge rock spider suddenly emerged from the passageway, blocking the exit. ¡°What the?!¡± Feldon eximed, brandishing his handgun and aiming it at therge rock spider. The three red beady gem-like eyes on the front of its head red at the two of them before one of the eyes glowed blue instead. ¡°MOVE!¡± Kyle roared, shoving Feldon out of the way as a blue energy beam mmed right into Kyle¡¯s chest, sending him flying and tumbling across the cavern, separating him from Feldon. As Kyle was knocked down on his back, he could now see a legion of rock spiders of varying sizes, all climbing out of their holes that were spread out across the cavern. Their red gem eyes all ignored Feldon, instead locking onto Kyle with clear intentions.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial of the Horde] The mother is displeased Clear Conditions: Survive
Chapter 91: Horde The rock spiders rushed at Kyle as a legion, their numbers overwhelming as Kyle quickly swung his arctech pickaxe at the nearest one, smashing through its legs in an instant. They were many, but they were easy enough to break as long as Kyle did not get swarmed. The tip of his pickaxe smashed through the weak rock surface, with the sound of ss shattered. Kyle did not have time to figure out why there was ss as he continued to swing non-stop.
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +500 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +499 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +498 EXP
Feldon yelped as he sprinted for a rocky outcrop near the walls of the cavern, using it as an elevated viewpoint. The sea of spiders was nearly about to engulf Kyle from all directions. Kyle also noticed where Feldon was. Good idea ¨C moving to the centre would have me swarmed in an instant. He began to back away to the walls of the cavern, carving his way through with a pickaxe in hand and a broken rock spider¡¯s leg in another, dual wielding wildly to stem the iing tide. Each kill gave him a system message, but he ignored it and focused on the task at hand. A jabbing pain arced through his body as a rock spider leg stabbed his thighs. Ne of Healing! The wounds and hits on Kyle¡¯s body began to build up tremendously, the small healing of the Ne unable to keep up. Feldon began to use his arctech handgun to fire into the spiders, but most of his arcia energy had yet to recover from the use of the mortar back in the workshop area, limiting his shots. The moment he fired at the first spider, who was still locked onto Kyle, the projectile tore through the weak armour but did not kill it. The spider immediately turned to face Feldon, lunging at him. ¡°AHHHH!¡± Feldon was not as strong as Kyle, using his armoured arms to fend off the hits of the spider that pounced on him. With a strong knee to the base of the spider¡¯s body, he barely managed to dent it while the spider¡¯s leg stabbed right at his face, forcing him to roll out of the way to dodge. His eyes darted around, trying to find the weak spot of the spider, but it waspletely encased in normal rock. If he were stronger, it would be a cinch to simply rip the legs off like what Kyle was doing. Instead, Feldon used the handle of the arctech handgun and smacked the joints of the legs once before blocking another leg strike with it, the force pinning him to the ground. With another targeted blow to the same joint, the leg of the spider gave way, revealing the interior where there was a ss-like internal structure with a pulsating red ss sphere inside. Feldon instinctively aimed the handgun right into the hole, firing a single shot that shattered the core and killed the spider immediately. Feldon heaved arge sigh of relief but still noticed that all the remaining spiders continued to ignore him while charging blindly at Kyle, who was slowly bing more injured.
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +443 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 29 ---> Level 30
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Announcement
[Race Upgrade (Level 30)] Race Evolution can now be selected Please wait
Like hell I am going to wait! Kyle was definitely not going to trigger the race evolution right now, as he suffered yet another hit from the rock spiders. Despite their weak armour, the tips of their legs were as sharp as a dagger, stabbing deep into his flesh. The adrenaline thrummed in his veins, the blood thumping in his ears as he dodged another three stabs and jabs, jumping on top of a spider while fending off the legs. He hopped from spider to spider, riding the wave as he continuously swapped out the rock spider leg in his hand, the tip worn out after a certain number of stabs. Kyle¡¯s instincts suddenly screamed at him, prompting him to duck low as a blue energy beam soared past where his head was, fired by therge rock spider who was still blocking the passageway and charging up for yet another shot. The rock spiders on the ground began to mber on each other, reaching up to Kyle and aiming for his feet. Kyle continuously leapt around, never staying still to let the spiders surround him. As he jumped up high into the air, he noticed that the spiders seemed to be avoiding the circumference formed by the seven obelisks. Weird. Why aren¡¯t they crossing through the centre of the cavern? Kyle began to make his way over while still dodging blue energy beams that wereing in. As he crossed the invisible threshold of the seven obelisks, a refreshing wave of energy enveloped him like a calm, soothing song.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Effect Applied
[Rest Area] Onlysts for a certain duration Do not overstay your wee Duration Remaining: Ten Minutes
The horde of spiders suddenly did not lock onto to Kyle, but instead turned to attack Feldon, who had still been lying low, trying to avoid attention. ¡°Shit!¡± Kyle rushed right out of the rest area, fighting through the wave to reach Feldon. Penchant for Violence! The burst of energy brought him near to his original strength, sprinting as he used his pickaxe to smash the rock spiders in his way, covering the distance with twelve long leaps beforending right next to Feldon, This is My Turf! The skill instantly shoved the rock spiders who were dogpiling on Feldon aside, allowing Kyle to quickly hoist him and run back to the rest area with the swarm hot on his heels. They entered the rest area again, with the rock spiders suddenly pausing and no longer trying to attack them. Instead, they spread out around the barrier, moving slowly as they kept an eye on the two of them inside the Rest Area.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Effect Applied
[Rest Area] Onlysts for a certain duration Do not overstay your wee Duration Remaining: Nine Minutes and Fifty-Five Seconds
So we can only stay in here for a while ¨C not forever. Kyle rechecked the trial conditions, which barely gave any information. Survive? But for how long? And until when? Feldon winced on the ground as he panted, the wounds on his body slowly healing up as the regeneration effect of the rest area took effect on him. ¡°Stay in here,¡± Kyle ordered, sprinting out of the barrier again, right for therge rock spider at the passageway. As soon as he left the barrier, the surrounding spiders all charged at him while therge rock spider began to charge up a shot. Kyle nocked back his right arm and hurled the pickaxe in a strong throw, the pickaxe spinning through the air as it hit therge rock spider right in the eye, disrupting the charging of the energy beam. With a lunge, Kyle stretched out his hands to grab the pickaxe to rip it out of the damaged crystal eye before pivoting to deliver a left swing to an iing front leg stab from the right, the fragments of rock ricocheting off the walls of the passageway as the leg shattered. The spider reared up, supporting itself on six legs while it used it¡¯s remaining front leg to swing at Kyle from the left, forcing him to jump to the right and perform a recovery roll before attacking with another right swing, targeting the body. Instead, the pickaxe swing was blocked by a small rock spider whounched itself into the air, taking the hit in a sacrificial move while therge rock spider fired an energy beam right at Kyle at point nk, impacting right onto his chest te and sending him flying back, the wind knocked out of his lungs when he smashed into the wall. The effects of the Penchant for Violence began to taper off as one minute had passed, with the debilitating effects of the poison returning. Kyle weaved and dashed around therge rock spider getting around to his back as he dodged a myriad of leg jabs from the rock spider, who could not turn fully in the enclosed passageway. Finally getting the nk, Kyle hoisted his pickaxe high before mming it right into the back of the rock spider, piercing through the core in one fell swoop.
[System Message] Killed [Large Rock Spider], +500 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Trial Update
[Wave One Completed] Boss defeated Wave 2 beginning in one minute
Kyle was about to try and return to the rest area but spotted a glint in the cracked rock shell of the deadrge rock spider¡¯s body. He quickly reached in to pull it out, revealing a warhammer with an arctech engraving along its entire handle and head.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Rock Pulverizer (Intermediate)] tten your foes Active Skill: Pulverize (Intermediate) ¨C Every hit can be followed with an instantaneous shock hit, causing fractures Cost: 5 MP per activation Cooldown: None
The smaller rock spiders were already beginning to pile up around Kyle, reminding him to rush back to the rest area. Swapping the pickaxe to his left hand while the right hand held the pulveriser, he charged outwards, swinging the pulveriser freely and smashing through the rock spiders apart easily. Making it back to the rest area, he panted as the poison still took its toll on him, though the regeneration effect began to heal his body rapidly. He could feel the arcia energy restored within him as well, albeit slowly.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Effect Applied
[Rest Area] Onlysts for a certain duration Do not overstay your wee Duration Remaining: Nine Minutes and Fifty-Five Seconds
Weird, the duration didn¡¯t decrease when Feldon was in here. It should be eight minutes now. Feldon was now crosslegged on the ground, patting his entire body over. He had never experienced full healing before, so the feeling of new flesh in his body felt unique. ¡°Feldon, you okay?¡± ¡°Oh yea, I feel even better than before! My arcia exhaustion ispletely gone too!¡± That¡¯s because you only have 5 MP. Kyle looked out beyond the barrier before picking up a pebble and throwing it out at the rock spider.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Warning
[Unauthorized Attack] Attacking from the safety of the rest area is prohibited Failure toply will result in the barrier being dropped
Right, let¡¯s not piss whoever owns this cavern off. However, Kyle realised that Feldon did not seem to be counted as a trial taker. The rock spiders had initially ignored him until Feldon attacked them or Kyle entered the rest area. Even when Feldon was alone in the rest area, the duration did not decrease, only decreasing when Kyle was within the rest area. ¡°Feldon, can you try shooting a rock spider now?¡± ¡°What? Are you serious? What if they start charging in here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle it if ites to that.¡± At most, we could run down the passageway now that we came from. Feldon wasn¡¯t convinced but still aimed his handgun at the nearest spider and fired a single bullet, the bullet hitting the rock spider right in the eye and killing it. Kyle nced around the seven obelisks that surrounded them, not receiving any notification at all. ¡°Fire five shots.¡± ¡°FIVE?! I don¡¯t have that much arcia energy in me!¡± ¡°Just do it.¡± Feldon grimaced as he squeezed the trigger, firing a few times before the arcia exhaustion started to kick in. As he stopped, the regeneration effect of the rest area kicked in, restoring Feldon¡¯s meagre arcia energy back up slowly. Kyle grinned, tossing the arcia pickaxe to Feldon as he lifted his new warhammer. ¡°Time to train.¡±
WELCOME TO RAKTOR, KYLE HAWTHORN
Level 30 Max HP: 97(+0)(+0)(+0) Max MP: 68(+0)(+5)(+0) Max STA: 97(+0)(+0)(+0)
[Status Effects] [Debilitating Poison]- Unknown poison that numbs the body. : Allbat stats reduced by 10% per stack. Stack 5/10. [Agent Body]- Highly corrosive chemical reagent that attacks the flesh. : Continuous Poison Damage.
[STATS]
Race Human
ss Crime Lord
Sub-ss Arcia Mystic (Unique)
STR 137(+44)(+0)(+0)
DEX 221(+55)(+3)(+0)
INT 131(+60)(+3)(+0)
VIT 101(+4)(+5)(+0)
CHA 21(+10)(+1)(+0)
Free Points 5
[EQUIPMENT]
[Ne of Healing (Basic)] +3 INT, +3 VIT, +1 CHA. Active Skill: Heal (Basic) ¨C Restore a tiny amount of health. Cooldown: Ten seconds.
[Magus Ring of Theorin (Intermediate)] +5 MAX MP, +25% Increased MP Recovery Rate.
[Projectile Defence Vambrace (Basic)] +3 DEX, +2 VIT. Active Skill: Point Defence ¨C Fires energy bolts to block up to twenty projectiles. MP Cost Per Activation: 3 MP. Duration: One minute or when twenty projectiles have been blocked. Cooldown: Five minutes.
[SKILLS]
[Intimidation Aura (Intermediate)]: Control those who oppose you with fear. +60% Intimidation Sess Chance. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Twelve Hours.
[Penchant for Violence (Intermediate)]: A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 60% for a short duration. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Seven minutes.
[This is My Turf (Intermediate)]: No one gets close to you without your word. Creates a selective domain, where enemies are unable to approach. Duration: One minute. Cooldown: Two Hours.
[Designate Follower (Intermediate)]: Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication. Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters. Limit of two followers now.
[Negation Field (Basic)]: Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius. Upgradable. Duration: Ten minutes. Cooldown: Three days.
[TITLES]
[Former Crime Lord] A bigshot in your previous life, so much for that, huh? +10 INT, +10 CHA
[Martial Arts Training] The best things between you and death are your fists +10 STR, +10 DEX
[Murderer] Everyone has to start somewhere +2 STR, +10% Increased Damage to Humans
[Usurper (Basic)] So, climbing the ranks huh? +5 STR, +3 DEX, + 10% damage to those of higher authority
[Potion Inspector (Intermediate)] It seems that you are somewhat of a scientist yourself. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined.
[Potion Crafter (Intermediate)] This title was supposed to be handed on sessful potions, but the failures are pretty hard to watch. +10 INT, Increased description of potions examined, +10% chance to craft an intermediate potion when using basic materials. 5% increased chance of discovering basic potion recipes per attempt, stacking. Resets on discovery.
[Healer (Basic)] This doesn¡¯t seem like the right way to use healing¡­ +5 INT, +10% healing effectiveness
[Martial Arts Instructor (Basic)] With great poweres great muscr bodies. +5 STR, +3 DEX, +10% teaching effectiveness
[Arcia Engraver (Intermediate)] Carving away like a madman is a good way to move up in the world +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance at improving quality of final Arctech Equipment.
[Torturer] Pain is the bestnguage to get someone talking. +5 INT, +2 STR, +2 DEX, + 10% torture effectiveness.
[Tracker (Basic)] Helps when those keys are always misced. +5 DEX, +25% Increased Vision and Hearing Range.
[Goblin Observer (Intermediate)] Entering the den of a goblin tribe alone is quite a feat +10 DEX, +50% sess at learning goblinnguage.
[Goblin Killer (Intermediate)] Goblins tremble at the sound of your name +20 STR, +10 DEX, +4 VIT, +20% damage to goblin-type enemies.
[Arctech Gunsmith (Intermediate)] Death in motion. Lots of Motion +10 INT, +6 DEX, +20% chance to craft an intermediate gun when assembling.
Chapter 92: Slovesa ¡°So, I just sit in here and keep shooting?¡± ¡°Yes. I will continuously fight outside, you back me up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have that many pellets!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you can find some lying around.¡± The arctech handgun did not require gunpowder, merely elerating pellets. Metal pellets performed the best, but stone pebbles could have the same effect as well, albeit at lower impact damage. Kyle quickly stepped out of the barrier, with the swarm of rock spiders all rushing at him once more. With the new warhammer, it was too easy for Kyle to perform a single swing, killing a few rock spiders at a time, while Feldon shot any spider that got too close.
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +328 EXP
This way, Feldon can continuously expand his arcia energy, making him more useful.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Trial Update
[Wave 2 Commencing] Prepare Yourself Survive
How many waves are there even? However, Kyle was notining. As long as he kept the rest area up and running, he could always take a breather before fighting back. Suddenly, three blue energy beams fired towards him, all of them hitting him right in the body from multiple directions. Kyle winced as he activated the Ne of Healing again while ncing behind him. On the ceiling, there were multiple blue-eyed ranged rock spiders, with their eye being much bigger than the standard rock spider. Each of them did not move too much, firing straight down at Kyle as he tried to dodge. ¡°Feldon, above!¡± ¡°On it!¡± Feldon fired a single shot, the pellet cracking the blue crystal eye as the ranged rock spider fell to the floor, writhing on the ground. Kyle continued to smash his way through the horde, killing yet another two dozen as he made it to where the ranged rock spidery, smashing down hard.
[System Message] Killed [Blue Rock Spider], +500 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 30 ---> Level 31
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
All I have to do is just farm them from EXP. This is too easy! The legions of rock spiders were no match for Kyle¡¯s new warhammer, allowing him to easily fend off any rock spider that got too close to him. With Feldon handling the ranged spiders, Kyle simply continued clearing out the spiders, losing count of the number of rock spiders he had smashed.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 31 ---> Level 32
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Out of nowhere, a giant rock suddenly fell from the ceiling right on top of him, nearly crushing Kyle as he dodged out of the way, rolling on the floor. The giant rock unfolded to reveal eighteen long rock limbs, except instead of being spider legs, they seemed more like tentacles. The rock tentacles whipped at Kyle, smacking right into his left arm and sending him tumbling towards the wall of the cavern. Kyle gasped for air as he struggled to stand up, using the warhammer¡¯s handle to block and shove away a few small rock spiders who tried to attack him. Kyle swung again, smashing the rock spiders before a rock tentacle lunged at him, his instincts screaming as he quickly raised the warhammer handle to block the attack, the blow of the force toppling him over. Before the tentacle could strike him again, he rolled out of the way and recovered before his eyes examined the multiple tentacles, all of which seemed to aim at him. Kyle was unfazed, rushing at the nearest tentacle and leaping right onto it before it could avoid him, running along its length towards the main body. The other tentacles swiped at him as he jumped from tentacle to tentacle, causing a few of them to twist around each other. As soon as he got close enough, he leapt down onto the main body with the warhammer held high above his head, mming it down onto the surface of the body. However, the impact was not strong enough, with Kyle¡¯s hands feeling thesh back as the warhammer was knocked backwards from the reaction force. Instead of backing off, Kyle quickly swung the warhammer down again, this time activating the Pulverize skill. A sudden jolt rippled through the entire body, cracking the surface and revealing the interior ss-like structure. Kyle noticed that it was like a honeb structure within, with a suspended core in the centre that pulsed red. Kyle sidestepped three iing tentacles, forcing him to back off before charging right back in, this time giving his all into the swing and activating the skill once again. The secondary shock impact by the engraving sent a wave of stress through the interior of the body, causing the ss structure and core to break into fragments, killing it instantly.
[System Message] Killed [Territorial Rock Defender], +1000 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Trial Update
[Wave Two Completed] Boss defeated Wave 3 beginning in five minutes
Good, I got some time to farm. Kyle blitzed through the remaining rock spiders, killing them by the dozens.
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +124 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 32 ---> Level 33
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
The EXP is diminishing the more I kill ¨C once I¡¯ve killed five hundred of them, they won¡¯t be worth fighting any longer. Kyle continued his rampage, clearing out all remaining spiders in the next three minutes, earning him two minutes of rest outside of the rest area. ¡°Hey,e in here! The regeneration effect will heal you!¡± Feldon hollered, cupping his hands around his mouth. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t want to reduce the duration he had for the rest area, unsure of how many waves there were left. As though in response to his query, an updated information table appeared in front of him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Trial Information
[Trial of the Horde] The mother is restless Clear Conditions: Survive Three waves left Increasing Rewards per wave
Rewards? Kyle examined his warhammer as he sat down and rested, taking note of the engraving. While Kyle couldprehend how the engraving worked thanks to his time spent reverse engineering and modifying engravings, he still noted that the warhammer seemed to bepletely mass-produced, clearly machined to perfection. Who the hell put the warhammer in the rock spider? Or did the rock spider ingest the warhammer? Kyle found the entire existence of the dungeon extremely weird. The subsequent waves over the next hour were of the same nature, albeit with increasing difficulty, though it was nothing Kyle could not handle.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 33 ---> Level 34
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Kyle even managed to buy some time by clearing the waves even faster, allowing him to rest for half an hour in total. Feldon himself had already lost all sense of tension, simply shooting as though he was in a firing range. He could now fire up to three times more, meaning his arcia energy had tripled. If I could retain this dungeon, maybe I could use this rest area as a training source. Kyle noted down the obelisk engraving, memorising its structure. The seven obelisks needed to be activated together to form the array, with Kyle spending the rest time studying the obelisks. The obelisks were nothing like the carvings he saw in the passageway, throwing him even further off. What in the world is going on? It¡¯s like someone merging three different alien races together.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Trial Update
[Final Wave Commencing] Prepare Yourself Survive
Just as the message appeared, the obelisk¡¯s engravings began to die down, with the regeneration effect disappearing. The prominent cluster of white luminous gemstones at the top began to crack, with fragments falling to the ground onto the rest area right on top of Feldon. ¡°Feldon, move!¡± Kyle quickly rushed towards him, grabbing Feldon by the cor and flinging him from beyond the rest area. The cluster burst apart in a brilliant fashion, the gemstones hurtling everywhere as arge queen spider emerged from within, dropping down right onto the central stage. Kyle tumbled down the staircase as the gemstones all along the surface of the queen spider¡¯s body began to glow green. Kyle could hardly see the top of the queen spider¡¯s body, the body being enormous and enough to upy the entire rest area. Instead, there were fifteen green gemstones facing his way, charging up and firing a barrage of energy beams at him. Kyle quickly grabbed a dead rock spider¡¯s body and used it as a shield, blocking the iing energy beams. The body was riddled with searing red hot marks within seconds, the intense heat from the energy collision melting it. Scampering between the piled-up corpses of rock spiders from previous waves, Kyle used them as cover, ducking and avoiding the slew of energy beams that arced all over the cavern, bombarding every angle the queen¡¯s body could view. ¡°Feldon, pass the handgun!¡± The arctech handgun sailed through the air, with Kyle catching it and immediately popping off a few shots at the exposed gemstones, cracking them as the queen spider recoiled in pain. Tossing the handgun back to Feldon, Kyle picked up his warhammer and rushed in, swinging as hard as he could with the Pulverise skill. Penchant for Violence! The boost in strength made the swing even harder and faster, sending a fracturing wave through the armoured surface and sting out through the other side. Instead of the surface cracking apart, the body exploded outwards, with the stone chunks right in front of Kyle smacking right into him. Before he could recover, three humanoid golems rushed at him, swinging their scorpion tails right at him. ¡°Slovesa?!¡± Kyle eximed in mild shock before fending off the iing tails. The slovesa were aliens from his quadrant, himself having fought many of them before. The carvings at the front of the passageway were theirs, but Kyle had not seen anything that looked remotely like them until now. To his dismay, they were not as strongpared to those he fought in the liberation war of his original country in the Gctic Era, allowing him to smash through each of them in a single hit easily.
[System Message] Killed [Middle-ss Slovesa], +1500 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 34 ---> Level 35
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Trial Information
[Trial of the Horde (Completed)] The mother has been in Conditions cleared
Huffing, Kyleid the warhammer on the ground, panting heavily as he wiped the sweat of his forehead. He nced down at the smashed slovesa, noticing their cores seemed to have been heavily modified. Someone here is using them as guinea pigs. Slovesa were core-based lifeforms that were able to grow or shrink in size by assimting material into their forms, the only organ being their core. Kyle had fought against them for decades as a General and as a Crime Lord too, but the three slovesas in front of him were a mockery of what a true middle-ss slovesa could achieve. ¡°What the hell were those?¡± Feldon eximed, having seen how the humanoid golems burst out from the interior of the queen¡¯s body. ¡°They were controlling the queen spider from within.¡± Kyle walked over to a few of the dead rock spiders, checking their innards for the ss core. The ss core seemed to be an imitation of the slovesa core, like an artificial organ. He headed back to the dead slovesas, reaching down into their body and grabbing their core. It was the most valuable part of the slovesa, being made up of all the exotic material that the slovesa has strengthened itself with over the years. Humans had been plundering their graveyards for centuries for this very reason.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Sturore Core] The heart of a slovesa A densely packed lump of a defensive exotic mineral
This would be perfect for crafting a defensive armour piece. If this can bebined with the current hardening arctech engravings, it will be one of the best armour out there. Kyle recalled how Nox¡¯s armour worked, wondering if he could make a full armour set himself. ¡°Are we done here? Was that it?¡± Feldon asked. Before Kyle could reply, however, his instincts screamed wildly again, prompting him to push Feldon away as a bolt of lightning nearly struck him from behind, forcing the two of them to dodge and hide behind the remnants of the queen spider. The bolt of lighting sparked against the far end of the cavern, the fizzle intense. Another trial? No, I didn¡¯t get a message. Kyle peeked his head out, noticing a lone man with two swords brandished walking to them from the passageway. Arcs of lightning ran up and down the swords as the lone man red at them with clear recognition. ¡°Think you can steal my dungeon and leave? That¡¯s not very nice of you now, is it?¡± Chapter 93: Transcendent ¡°Come on, show yourself! What kind of System user hides behind a rock like that?!¡± The lone man taunted in a clear loud voice while walking measuredly towards the two of them. Kyle¡¯s eyes narrowed. This was the first time he had heard anyone other than him talk about the System, maybe save for Lady Yona who mentioned she had seen transcendents before. ¡°Feldon, don¡¯t fight. I need you to hide and stay alive for as long as possible. y dead or run as far as you can if you have to.¡± Kyle whispered in a low voice, to Feldon. ¡°What? Why? Who is he? I can take him down easy.¡± Feldon hefted his arctech handgun as he crouched behind the cover, raring to strike first. ¡°No, I¡¯ll handle him, but I can¡¯t have you pulling me down. Remember, don¡¯t-¡± Before Kyle could finish, a lightning sword impaled through Feldon¡¯s lower abdomen with a splitting sound like the p of thunder, the de piercing through the flesh while the hilt knocked Feldon back and sending him to the far side of the cavern. ¡°Best to get all the useless chaff out of the way first. Judging from the way you¡¯re treating the unchosen¡­ Bekin? Is that you? Mother already told us not to bother with such meaningless things. Just walking bags of EXP.¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Kyle adjusted his voice into a more frightened tone, stepping out of the cover with his hands raised uppletely. ¡°We¡¯re just explorers who fell in the catbs! We never intended to offend you in any way!¡± Now that Kyle stood out in the open, he got a better view of the lone man. He looked like the stereotypical handsome blonde hair hero,plete with a rugged armour set that showed its age, though Kyle had no doubt that it was filled to the brim with arctech engravings as well. The man was clearly very young, with Kyle pegging his age to be in the range of neen to twenty-two. More importantly, Kyle noticed the man only had one lightning sword yet, the tendrils of electricity still visibly sparking brightly along the jagged edges of the sword. The man scowled as he came to a halt, no longer advancing as his wary eyes locked onto Kyle. ¡°Drop the act, cunt. I already got word there was a transcendent trying to muscle in on my operation here in Tenar.¡± ¡°Imagine my surprise to hear that a certain Kris Greyborn was trying to eliminate my preciously trained Nest underlings. I was half expecting it to be one of my siblings trying to undermine me, but now that I look at you, I don¡¯t recognise you at all. Whatever optical illusions you¡¯re running, you better stop it before I flood this whole ce.¡± The man raised his lightning sword at Kyle. ¡°I-i-I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about? What transcendent?¡± Kyle still feigned ignorance, trying to buy time as his eyes nced around the room, trying to craft a n to overpower the man. He¡¯s not attacking me yet for some reason ¨C he seems to be wary of what I can do. He looked around, noticing that there was another exit passageway that was now open, opposite the entrance. He spotted the man¡¯s eyes also darting around, noticing the three green-tinted slovesa cores lying behind Kyle. The man¡¯s eyes widened significantly, his face an expression of pure shock. ¡°Seriously?! Did you kill the final boss of the trial? What the fuck?! Why would you even do that? Who the hell gave you the System? My god, you just overturned my entire EXP grinding n! ARGHHH¡± The man rubbed his head roughly, messing up his hair as he stomped in frustration. ¡°What¡¯s the System? What¡¯s EXP?¡± Kyle tried to act timidly, trembling visibly. Weird, he¡¯s still not attacking me despite being that pissed off. The man¡¯s tantrum was interrupted by Kyle¡¯s question, who looked incredulously at Kyle before grinning. ¡°Look, stop ying. I can see you have the System in your body ¨C and it¡¯s near impossible to clear even the first wave of the trial¡­. Aha! I know who you are! You¡¯re a transcendent from beyond the Great Waves, no?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­¡± Kyle only furrowed his eyebrows, disying an obviousck of understanding and confusion. ¡°Even then, how fucking rude it is to crash into someone¡¯s dungeon! Did you not fucking check the notice board set up in the Council of Wardens?! What kind of etiquette has the other side been teaching you? I already clearly booked this dungeon for three years, startingst year!¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡­¡± ¡°Are you for real?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m just an explorer.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Without warning, the man lifted his feet, a lightning arc causing a shockwave p between his shoes and the ground and propelling him forward at an rming speed. The sudden sound caught Kyle off-guard as the man swung the lightning sword with a cross swing from the left aimed right at Kyle¡¯s neck, the dazzling white lights blinding Kyle. Penchant for Violence! Instead of ducking or stepping back, Kyle moved forward to avoid the de cutting him, instead positioning himself at the shoulder of the man and attempting to grapple his arm. However, as soon as Kyleid hands on the armoured sections of the arm, a fierce high voltage sent waves of nerve-numbing pain through his body, causing Kyle to uncontrobly twitch with his muscles cramping up. The man took the opportunity to grab Kyle¡¯s hand and fling his entire body overhead, mming Kyle into the ground with a single arm before pinning Kyle down with his foot and aiming the lightning sword right at the head. ¡°There are only three possibilities: one, you¡¯re a hostile transcendent from beyond the Great Waves. Two, a walking bag of EXP who somehow got lucky. Or three, which I find the most likely ¨C you¡¯re a rogue transcendent. Either I kill you, or I beat you to a pulp and drag you back to Mother to sort you out. How would you like it done?¡± ¡°How about neither?¡± Intimidation Aura! The effects took ce immediately on the man, causing him to step back and release Kyle involuntarily. With the Penchant for Violence still in effect, he rushed for the Pulverizer which was still on the ground, grabbing it before charging at the man. ¡°There we go! You¡¯re not just a walking bag of ¨C¡° Before the man couldplete his sentence, Kyle was already swinging the warhammer at him with full force. The man grinned as he confidently blocked with his armguard, the metal shing with one another in a resounding p that resonated through the cavern. ¡°Hah, that¡¯s noth-¡° The follow-up shock wave reverberated through the innards of the man, causing him to gag as his organs were shaken violently. Kyle pressed the advantage, pulling the warhammer again and throwing another swing at the man¡¯s legs this time. However, the man quickly recovered and leapt backwards, avoiding the sweeping action while hopping backwards. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s see how much EXP you¡¯re worth, you cocksucker.¡± The man grinned, wiping off the saliva from his chin from the shock. Suddenly, pure white lightning emitted from the armour,pletely enveloping the man. The high voltage arcs increased dramatically, with the contact points of the arc scalding the ground hot wherever the aded. The ps of thunders as the arcs split apart, the air particles continuously filled the cavern with a series of non-stop deafening booms. Kyle immediately pulled back, unwilling to go anywhere near the veritable ball of lightning. That skill can¡¯tst forever; I have to outrun him. More importantly, I have to pull him away from Feldon. He began to sprint out of the cavern with haste, aiming for the exit passageway. The man gave chase as well, with the two of them running down through the exit passageway. Kyle noticed that the man no longer had the same explosive speed as the first time he was attacked. That must have been a skill ¨C what¡¯s the cooldown? As Kyle ran along the length of the passageway, he sidestepped plenty of skeletons in destroyed and rusted exosuits crawling with moss. He noticed a long damaged steel rebar pole lying on the floor, and quickly bent to pick it up, continuing his sprint while dodging thencing arcs that tried to singe him. There must be something along this passageway ¨C if the dungeon is artificially created by an A-ss state, they must have this basic functionality! Kyle kept his eyes peeled as the arcs were deafening, the enclosed space of the passageway amplifying the sound to even greater heights. Kyle turned a few corners, skipping many rooms before finally spotting something in the distance that looked like a wall control panel, except it waspletely covered by overgrown underground vegetation that was feeding off the residue radiation. Good enough! With a hefty stab, Kyle smashed the rebar right into the control panel, the pole sticking out prominently while Kyle continued to run away, leaving it behind. As he took another step, suddenly, long lines of lights built into the passageway began to flicker on. Huh, it worked. Kyle turned around to see the man copsed on the ground, the white lightning being drawn in a continuous short towards the rebar and into the electrical system of the dungeon, immediately draining the man of energy as he was unable to sustain the high current. ¡°What the fuck¡­?¡± The man weakly grunted as the lightning died out, though he hardly looked injured. Before he could recover, Kyle was already in front of him, stabbing forward with the warhammer head right into his chest. ¡°Ugh!¡± The blow sent the man tumbling along the floor, crashing into a rusted exosuit. He quickly leapt out of the way as Kyle swung continuously, with the man earning a few blows. To Kyle¡¯s surprise, the armour of the man hardly showed any signs of cracks or fracturing despite the repeated hits of the warhammer and the follow-up shock. Before Kyle couldunch yet another attack, the same distinctive p could be heard, prompting Kyle to raise his warhammer handle to protect his neck immediately, barely in time as the de of the lightning sword sparked against the handle. The man was suddenly back to fullbat ability, striking out hard while forcing Kyle onto the defensive and retreating down the passageway. ¡°Thought I was fucked, huh?¡± The man taunted as he shed and jabbed. ¡°What kind of transcendent can¡¯t just simply stop their own skill? Do you really think that small-ass trick is going to take me down? ME?!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know who you are!¡± Kyle grunted through gritted teeth as his arms were going numb from the sudden increased strength from the man, his knees nearly buckling from the impact. Penchant of Violence is long over, and the Intimidation Aura has no more effect. Kyle racked his brains for a way out of this fight and kept his eyes sharp, watching for an opening. However, as soon as he tried to counterattack, yet another distinctive p could be heard. Kyle instinctively dodged ahead of time, with the swoosh of the lightning sword heard from behind him, nearly slicing through his shoulder. ¡°Haha! Look at your face! You thought I had a different cooldown!¡± The man grinned as he rushed at Kyle once more, swinging the sword downwards with fearsome strength, smacking the warhammer out of Kyle¡¯s grip while following up with a strong kick into Kyle¡¯s chest, knocking the wind out of him. Crashing into the wall, Kyle slumped to the ground, the pain stinging his every vein and bone as multiple fractures and bruises were all over his body. The Ne of Healing was hardly able to keep up with the number of hits he was getting. Before Kyle could try to get up again, the man already had his sword aimed right at Kyle¡¯s face, the edge just centimetres away from Kyle¡¯s nose. ¡°Don¡¯t bother. I¡¯ve already decided. I¡¯m going to drag you to Mother and let the Wardens deal with you.¡± Chapter 94: Exposed ¡°The Wardens¡­?¡± Kyle muttered weakly. ¡°You¡¯ll see them soon enough. But to make things easier, let¡¯s remove your limbs first. Don¡¯t worry, I consider myself to be pretty good at chopping things off.¡± The man nocked back his arm with the lightning sword. ¡°I consider myself pretty good as well.¡± Negation Field! Kyle nearly gagged as his own system began to flutter randomly, the poison beginning to rage even harder through his reduced stats. But he did not let it show on his face, putting up a facade that he had the overall advantage. The channelling of arcia energy through the lightning sword began to sputter out, as the flow wentpletely haywire and wreaked havoc within the man¡¯s body, causing him to stagger backwards and writhe in pain immediately. Good thing the passageway is tight ¨C if I had stayed in the cavern, it would be over for me. Before the man could recover from the recoil, Kyle mustered what he had left of his strength. He quicklyunched himself upwards, grappling the man and pinning him to the ground in an expert move. This time, as the man tried to activate his armour to push Kyle off, the arctech engravings failed to activate once again, the surge of arcia energy sending a bacsh again into the man¡¯s body, damaging his internal organs. Kyle rested his knee on the man¡¯s chest, preventing him from getting up while grabbing the lightning sword into his own hand.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Thunder de (Advanced)] Channel the power of electrons into each swing Active Skill: elerate (Advanced) ¨C Gain a burst of speed for a specific number of times per hour Number of Times: 5 Cooldown: One hour
Interesting weapon. Kyle hurled it as far away as possible, pre-empting a possible counterattack by the man. He quickly delivered a heavy-handed punch right into the man¡¯s face as hard as he could, but to his surprise, he could not break the nose and teeth out as easily as he did to Nox. The punch seemed to have shaken the man out of his stupor, prompting him to lift both legs upwards with his sheer core muscles and lock them around Kyle¡¯s neck, attempting to twist. Just like that, the two men were caught in a scuffle between them, each trying to get the upper hand on the other. Kyle held the advantage now, with him being on top and using his weight to pressure the man onto the ground and restraining his movement. However, Kyle¡¯s strength was diminished from the poison, allowing the man to find opportunities andpses in Kyle¡¯s judgement. A minute passed as they tried to smack each other into submission like a brawl in the pub, their bodies shuffling on the grimy surface of the passageway that still had residual light from the charging by the man¡¯s arcia energy. I can¡¯t hold the negation field for that long. Kyle instantly decided to attempt to kill the man, strangling him by the neck with as much force as he could muster. At first, the man was unwilling to surrender, his body thrashing wildly as he elbowed Kyle multiple times, but Kyle held on tight and continued to squeeze with every fibre of his being, oveing the base stats of the man with sheer grit and determination. Kyle pushed his mental strength to the brinks even as the poison ate into his flesh from within, forcing the man down and choking him. Soon, the man began to gasp for air, his limbs iling. ¡°S-s-stop! I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll talk!¡± The man dug his nails into Kyle¡¯s arms as he tried to wrestle out of the choke. ¡°Who are you? What is your name?¡± Kyle interrogated. ¡°Let me go first!¡± ¡°Like hell I will. Maybe it¡¯s time to find out how much EXP you are worth.¡± ¡°Soren, my name is Soren!¡± ¡°Soren. Nice to meet you. Who are the Wardens?¡± ¡°I¡­ I can¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°You seemed fine name-dropping them. Are you sure you absolutely can¡¯t tell me?¡± ¡°I really can¡¯t! If I do I¡­ URK¡± Kyle¡¯s grip tightened, choking the life out of Soren, who desperately tapped on his arms. ¡°Ready to talk?¡± Soren nodded his head vigorously as his face began to swell slightly from the continuous choke. Kyle released his grip slightly again, allowing Soren to talk. ¡°We¡¯re the association of System Users on the Continent of New Neadrsa!¡± ¡°New Neadrsa?¡± Kyle had never heard the continent¡¯s name before, but the idea that there was an entire organization of System users just like him and Soren irked him far more. It was not that Kyle was not expecting it, but if it was that difficult for him to take down a single member like Soren who was still young, how terrifying must be the older generation? Speaking of which¡­ ¡°Who the hell is Mother? How many siblings do you have?¡± ¡°Mother is Mother; what are you talking about? And I don¡¯t know the exact number ¨C I can only tell you how many I¡¯ve met.¡± Kyle¡¯s eyes squinted in obvious distrust. ¡°Fine, what is Mother?¡± ¡°Eh? She¡¯s a System User. She¡¯s the head of our n.¡± ¡°n? How many siblings?¡± ¡°Err¡­ five? Ten? Twenty?¡± ¡°Why are you unsure of the number?¡± ¡°I only know those at the same age as me! Which is five.¡± ¡°You¡¯re telling me your Mother gave birth to five children in the same year. Is this a joke? Maybe I¡¯ll just kill you now to save time.¡± ¡°WAIT WAIT! Isn¡¯t that the norm?!¡± It is the norm in the Gctic Era with artificial birth ¨C but not here. Unless¡­ Kyle decided not to press that issue any more, focusing on questioning. There was only so much time till the negation field ran out. ¡°Name all of the siblings that you know.¡± ¡°Bekin, Liyana¡­ I don¡¯t know the rest. I¡¯ve only seen their faces!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± ¡°Well fuck you the-GUK¡± Kyle tightened and loosened his grip again. Keeping one hand on Soren¡¯s neck, he used the other hand to beginning stripping out the armour pieces of Soren, dismantling them and tossing them as far as he could. ¡°Robbing me while I¡¯m still alive? Not cool, man.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯re past that after you tried to kill me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the protocol of the Wardens to capture or kill any rogue transcendents. Can¡¯t have System Users going wild around the continent.¡± ¡°Who is in charge of the Wardens?¡± ¡°For a rogue transcendent, you¡¯repletely out of the loop. Where the fuck have you been hiding? The Dreyfus pits? Some random ind in Proco? You¡¯re fucking insane.¡± ¡°Answer. The. Question.¡± ¡°OW OW! The Archivist, the Archivist! He¡¯s the leader?¡± ¡°Who the fuck is the Archivist?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know myself, I never met him! But no one has seen him for thest hundred years!¡± ¡°So he might be dead for all you know.¡± ¡°No no no, he¡¯s definitely alive. For sure.¡± ¡°Fine. How many System Users are there on the Continent?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ Five hundred? I really don¡¯t know the exact number, but we¡¯re usually spread out all over.¡± Five hundred ¨C that¡¯s a deadly force. ¡°What¡¯s the history of the Wardens?¡± ¡°You keep asking these questions that I don¡¯t know myself! What do I look like, some old fogey?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to look like one if you don¡¯t answer properly.¡± ¡°He won¡¯t need to.¡± Kyle suddenly turned to see a sudden kick aimed right at his head, forcing him to let go of Soren and roll away, avoiding the leg that smashed right into the wall, cratering it. He assumed a fighting posture to see a man dressed in a full khaki explorer style, taking a health potion vial and delivering it to Soren. ¡°Rayner, kill him now!¡± Soren screamed. ¡°My priority is your protection, sir. Your death will be untimely and most unfortunate. But I will try.¡± Rayner stood up to his full height as the health potion began to heal Soren slowly. Kyle quickly bent down to grab his warhammer thaty on the side, but he still had the negation field on. I can¡¯t use any of my skills now ¨C maybe I can- Rayner¡¯s fist was suddenly already in front of Kyle¡¯s face,nding squarely and smashing it in. Kyle was sent toppling to the ground, forced to drop the warhammer onto the ground which ttered with a loud crash. ¡°Mother will not be pleased to hear of your loss to such an untrained transcendent who can hardly use skills.¡± Rayner walked up to the fallen Kyle. As soon as Rayner got into range, the apparently injured Kyle suddenly roared back to life, recovering into a standing position and throwing a flurry of punches, all of which was parried by Rayner with ease. To Kyle, it felt like he was fighting one of those dummy robots that were prevalent in his Dynasty training. Then I know exactly how to take you down. ¡°Got you.¡± Kyle grinned as he lunged for the legs, catching Rayner off guard. Kyle hoisted him high above his head and mmed him down, the sound of metal cracking and circuits fizzing. The moment Kyle tried to lift him up again, Rayner¡¯s body suddenly twisted unnaturally, grappling Kyle from an impossible angle. Prosthetics?! Kyle was flung into the wall, the impact hitting him like a head-on truck as hended onto the floor, his eyes darting for anything that could serve as a weapon. Rayner stood up slowly, checking his back. ¡°Minor damage sustained. epta-¡° A lighting sword was thrown straight at Rayner, impaling him through the shoulder as the sword lodged itself into the wall along with him. Before Kyle could capitalize on the surprise attack, Rayner detached his arm without hesitation, the shoulder circuits chopping off cleanly and revealing the mechanical interior of Rayner¡¯s body. ¡°Recement for left arm needed. Mother will not be happy.¡± He charged at Kyle, counterattacking with his own follow-upbo. The strength of Rayner was even higher than that of Soren, with the mechanical prosthetics dealing much more damage to Kyle¡¯s arms as he tried to block, his bone nearly fracturing from the hits that wereing in faster than ever, straining Kyle beyond what he was capable of now. As Kyle was pushed further back, the negation field finally stopped affecting Soren, but Soren did not dare to activate his skills again in fear of a bacsh. I can¡¯t keep this up! Kyle had already been pushing his limits in the fight against Soren, fighting with the debilitating poison in his body and the minute amount of Agent ck still remaining. Granted, he had already gotten used to the poison through the clearing of the trial, enabling him to be more effective at the lower strength level. Kyle would have been able to fight off any cyborg singlehandedly if he still had his designer genes from his former life to enhance himself biologically. However, Rayner did not seem to hold the same arrogance as Soren did, focused on capturing Kyle by maiming his limbs with repeated strikes. Kyle intended to capture Soren, but with the appearance of Rayner, he might be the one getting captured instead. No choice then! Kyle attempted to counterattack, pushing back against Rayner slightly and earning a few direct hits. He finally managed to position himself where his warhammer fell, picking it up and swinging it hard at the passageway wall. ¡°Are you fucking crazy?!¡± Soren yelled at Kyle. ¡°Don¡¯t damage the dungeon!¡± Kyle didn¡¯t listen, avoiding Rayner¡¯s attempts to stop him and continued walking backwards, taking every opportunity to smash the passageway. Finally, one of the hits began to copse the entire passageway, the ceiling visibly about to fall in. Rayner immediately abandoned his attempt to capture Kyle, sprinting back towards Soren and carrying him out to safety through the opposite end. Kyle too, started running back to the original cavern, as the passageway behind him fully copsed, cutting him and Soren off. He realised how far he hade in the fight with Soren, having passed more than five junctions in order to get here. As he backtracked his way, he noticed that there were multiple doorways that seemingly led to other trials or were locked tightly, barricaded by a stone surface with an obvious high-tech metallic surface underneath. Feels like a fa?ade. Kyle deactivated his negation field, healing himself slowly as he winced with each step, the bruises and multiple bone fractures across his entire body hurting him immensely. But what hurt him, even more, was the knowledge that there was an entire organisation of System users out there ¨C and he had just been exposed. Could he defend against the next System user that tried to attack him? He noticed that Rayner did not use any special skills but was instead a cyborg. With the way he fought, it means that there is a Gctic Era factory somewhere on the continent that is able to manufactureponents for him. Whatever Kyle had nned for the Seven Snakes, Raktor, and Versia had to bepletely recalcted. Until I grow stronger ¨C I can¡¯t reveal myself as much any longer. Kyle needed raw strength and power on an individual level. Eventually, he would need it on an organisational level to ensure that his Seven Snakes would not be suddenly wiped out by the Wardens. Reaching back to the original cavern, he spotted Feldon resting against one of the obelisks inside the rest area, the sword still sticking out through his front. A puddle of blood surrounded him as Feldon weakly grinned at Kyle. ¡°Heya, boss. Did¡­ did you get him?¡± ¡°I did not. And don¡¯t try ¨C you¡¯re not going to die on me. I still have work for you to do.¡± Kyle immediately activated the Ne of Healing on him, relieving Feldon¡¯s pain. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to slowly pull out the sword, okay? Stay calm.¡± Kyle slowly inched the sword out, healing and ensuring Feldon still had enough blood to remain conscious. In a slow, excruciating five minutes, the lightning sword was finally pulled out, nging on the floor as Kyle poured a health potion vial directly on the wound. Feldon soon fell asleep, knocked out from the severe blood loss and numbing effect of the health potion, resting on the ground. Kyle carried him to a better location on the central stage, away from the pool of blood. Kyle let out a deep sigh, copsing to the floor as well as sheer exhaustion from the fight began to overwhelm his entire body. However, before he knocked out, there was onest thing to check.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Announcement
[Race Upgrade (Level 30)] Race Evolution can now be selected Please wait
Chapter 95: Race Evolution
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Announcement
[Race Upgrade (Level 30)] Race Evolution can now be selected Please wait
Feldon¡¯s peaceful snoring pierced the stillness of the air in therge cavern filled with the remnants of rock spiders and burnt marks of Soren¡¯s lightning arc scorching the ground. Kyle felt slightly exposed in the area, as exhausted as he was. I should find a safer area first instead of doing the race evolution here first. Who knows if another System user rushes in?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Terminal Located] Please proceed to the nearest terminal for racial upgrade Terminal Located at 500 metres at SD-X-3340-PT-1
Terminal? Kyle suddenly had a holographic arrow just above his vision, indicating the path to go. It led towards the exit passageway, which he had just returned from. Kyle surmised that it must be one of the locked rooms which he passed on the way while fighting off Soren. Better than nothing. Kyle hoisted Feldon on his back, carrying him down the exit passageway, but not before collecting the three slovesa cores that were dropped from the trial. The arrow led him to a heavily damaged metallic door, which was slightly ajar. Kyle ced Feldon on the ground before forcing the door open, its electronic movement long deteriorated with time. The room was fairly small, with a single human-sized chamber in the middle with multipleputers attached to it, none of which were powered on. There were minimal signs of degradation, albeit with a few tendrils of vines growing through the cracks in the metallic walls, feeding off the radiation that was emitted from the residual materials around. Dust coated the transparent monitors that were clearly linked to the chamber, with no sign of any mechanical keyboards or interfaces. Kyle sighed, knowing how much confidence the A-ss states had in their electronics to survive, some even iming they couldst a hundred thousand years thanks to extensive testing in a time anomaly. Except they never ounted for the fact that their power source might bepletely crippled. The chamber, too had no buttons whatsoever, only a single handprint groove on the side along with a single thick power cable leading to it. Kyle examined the room a bit more, but there were hardly any clues left for him to discover about the origins of the dungeon. Kyle noticed that the holographic arrow was very clearly pointing towards the handprint groove on the side of the chamber. But before he ced his hand on it, he readied his warhammer in the other, prepared to chop off his own hand in the event of an infection or a gic corruption. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time it has happened to him, either.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Terminal Inactive] Warning ¨C No functional terminal found in the next fifty kilometres Calcting energy usage
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Sufficient Internal Energy] Race Evolution can be selected now Would you like to proceed?
Not yet. Kyle meticulously scoured the room for anything active, along with any possibility of traps. He checked each crack to ensure that a rock spider would not suddenly burst through and kill him while he was unconscious. ying it safe, he unplugged every cable that was connected, breaking the connection between the chamber and the monitors, as well as the thick power cable. Don¡¯t want anything in this room suddenly powering up at all. Next, he lugged Feldon in and ced him in a nice corner before ncing around for a sharp piece of metal, using it to carve a message into the ground in front of Feldon. Otherwise, he¡¯s going to freak out and draw attention. Arranging the food and water that miraculously survived in Feldon¡¯s pockets despite him being impaled, he dragged the metallic door close to a small gap, supplementing the door by shoving the chamber all the way to the front, blocking anything from breaking through. At the same time, the air still flowed freely in the room. This was as much as Kyle could do now for now. He had no idea how long the race evolution would take, so he had to prepare for any eventuality. What he could not prepare for was Agent ck ¨C if the Nest hitmen were led here by Soren, it would be game over for him. Kyle finally sat cross-legged on the ground, ready to proceed. Chugging a copious amount of water, he mentally prepared himself. Let¡¯s do this.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Announcement
[Race Upgrade (Level 30)] Race Evolution choices will now be generated WARNING ¨C Irreversible Please choose wisely
Interesting, I¡¯ve never got that warning before. Does this mean my ss and subss are reversible? That¡¯s interesting. Kyle had already understood that the sses were more like arctech engravings that the System had engraved into his body physically. No doubt that if the System were to modify his race on a gic level, it might be pretty much impossible to revert to being a human. Finally, three races and their skills appeared in front of him, allowing Kyle to finally select the races.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Arimorph] A human variant designed by Werter Fluidics, it was ordered by the Bulin Principality in their efforts to improve the sess of espionage operations Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +2 CHA, +4 DEX, +3 STA, +3 INT, -1 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[You Can¡¯t See Me (Intermediate)] Blend into the crowd with a new face every day Twists the cellr structure of the outer skin and hair follicles Requires a sampled human Up to four temtes can be saved Duration: Three hours Cooldown: One Day
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Boneshifting (Intermediate)] Craft the skeleton you always wanted Skeletal structure can be modified at will to suit different body shapes Extreme calorie input is required Duration: Three hours Cooldown: One Day
Boneshifting already looks like a monstrous ability ¨C but I¡¯ll have to see if the others are better. While the second skill intrigued Kyle, the first skill hardly impressed him as optical illusions were already avable. Granted, it did not require arcia energy to channel and could be done nearly instantly without having to prepare different suits altogether, but Kyle was already nning to improve on the optical illusion engravings and bring them closer to Gctic Era illusion technology. Let¡¯s see the next option first before dismissing it.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Slovesa-Human Hybrid (Intermediate)] A human variant developed in the Loeric Empire, thisbines the best of both human and slovesa attributes Stats Increment Per Level Boost: -2 CHA, +2 DEX, +3 STA, +2 HP, +1 INT, +4 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Stoneskin (Intermediate)] Reject carbon, ept silicon Hardens the exterior skin to the level of a middle-ss slovesa Far more durable against outside influences Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: One Hour
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Energy Core (Intermediate)] Because one more organ couldn¡¯t hurt Passive skill Generates a flesh organ simr in functionality to that of a slovesa core, boosting internal energy as well as radiation resistance
Kyle was shocked to see the race appear. After all, he wasplicit in the creation of this variant, he himself being the biggest funder of the entire research project. Did the A-ss State that built this System steal the information from us? However, he was not enticed by the prospects of bing a slovesa hybrid ¨C he had seen the shorings of it in the various field tests and in the liberation war. Unlike a true slovesa, these hybrids can¡¯t survive in space, but they can¡¯t survive in a normal human environment as well without proper support. The energy core required intense radiation, making it such that the hybrids could only live on moons ors with low maic shielding or staying close to radioactive sources. The hybrids could also not integrate exotic materials in the same way that the slovesas could naturally. Kyle was not nning to limit himself in that way ¨C there were hardly any radioactive sources found here yet. Next.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Vicronoth] A stable human gic mutation that naturally urred during the Vicrophage Stats Increment Per Level Boost: -2 CHA, +2 DEX, +3 STA, +2 HP, +1 INT, +4 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Infection Vector (Intermediate)] Be the first horseman Releases infectious diseases in an area around you Up to five can be stored Note: Disease must be contracted by host first Duration: Two minutes Cooldown: Three Hours Infectionsts in target after duration
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Viral Immunity (Intermediate)] You merely adopted the vine, but I was born in it Passive skill Immune system boosted to be far more effective at restraining viral outbreaks and poisonous substances, sectioning them away from the main functioning organs of the body and storing them for use with the Infection Vector Major immunity boost to nearly all known diseases
The viral immunity is good ¨C it might work against Agent ck or the debilitating poison. However, I¡¯m not convinced that it is worth going down this racial upgrade path. The issue with the skills was that all of them could be obtained if he had ess to Gctic Era tech. If he had remained unaware of the Gctic Era factories that could produce recement parts for the cyborg Rayner, perhaps he might have ced the race even higher. The three races shown so far had promise, but Kyle felt were a bitcklustre. There are plenty of human variants designed for different environments out there ¨C I just need to find one that matches what I intend to do. Kyle needed a race that couldplement his aspirations to be thergest criminal organisation on the as of now and eventually off as well. If he were to return to the Gctic Era, he should consider right now how the race would affect that goal. There¡¯s plenty of discrimination among human variants to each other. A criminal organisation naturally does not care about that, but choosing a dangerous one like the Vicronoth would result in it being harder for me to establish diplomatic rtions in the future. Kyle was, of course, more than willing to resort to brute force, but if something could be achieved by a simple talk instead of expending resources that could be otherwise invested into other areas, he would naturally lean towards that route. Let¡¯s see the next few.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Announcement
[Race Upgrade (Level 30)] Race Evolution choices will now be regenerated WARNING ¨C Irreversible Please choose wisely
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Orisian] A humanoid alien race, with clear signs of telepathic and psychic inclinations Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +2 CHA, -4 DEX, -2 STA, +2MP, +1 HP, +7 INT, +1 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Overpowering Will (Intermediate)] Unleash your inner strength and dominate the others Throws enemy minds into confusion and despair, while inspiring allies around you +50% chance to cause confusion in enemies, +50% chance to boost morale of allies Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: Thirty Minutes
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Telekinesis (Intermediate)] One of the great mysteries of the Gctic Era Fling objects with just a thought Upgradable Note: Requires immense training to apply correctly Duration: Five Minutes continuous Cooldown: One hour
Telekinesis? Kyle was shocked. Humans had never really obtained the true power of telekinesis, even through gic maniption, when he was still alive in the Gctic Era. Just how far have I travelled into the future that an A-ss state is able to do it? He suspected this race might be aplete overhaul of the human genome. From what he recalled of the Orisians, they had a hidden requirement of having to stay near an equally psionic active exotic that seemed to work apletely unseen type of wave, analogous to how dark matter was viewed in Ancient Earth. Have they finally cracked the code? Kyle was a bit wary, not wanting to be solely reliant on the exotic. Every Orisian prisoner captured from their homeworld away from the exotics eventually went braindead even if they willingly left their home, but not before causing an absolute disaster with their raging telekinesis abilities. Let¡¯s keep this in view for now. Next! Chapter 96: Decision
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Type-5 Gctic Human] An average human, but better than those of Ancient Earth Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +2 CHA, +4 DEX, +4 STA, +4 MP, +4 HP, +4 INT, +4 STR
Kyle noticed that there weren¡¯t any skills for this race. As expected. However, the stats increment he would gain would be nothing to scoff at. As of now, with each level up, he was gaining a total of 3 for each main stat, with MP being 2. With the boost from the Type-5 Gctic Human race, the total stat points for the strength he would get per level up would be seven, overwhelmingly most of what the current titles provided. Let¡¯s keep going first. If I don¡¯t see any races that I really like, then this is the most general baseline.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Tharapon] A human variant created by the Poharos Corporation, it allows for shifting in the fourth dimension Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +1 CHA, +4 DEX, +1 STA, +2 MP, -2 HP, +3 INT, -1 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Dimensional Shift (Advanced)] A blip on the axis suddenly bes two Temporarily shifts in the fourth dimension for a split second, avoiding iing attacks instantaneously¡ªthree shifts per day Performing all three shifts in rapid session will result in extreme exhaustion
Only one skill? Kyle was intrigued by the skill but not too surprised. Dimensional defences were not unique in the Gctic Era ¨C starships got around by entering the fourth dimension; otherwise, humanity would have never been able to enter the gctic stage. It looked extremely useful, but it seemed that it would not be able to dodge chemical attacks like Agent ck or any skill that had a lingering effect in an area. If each attack counted for a shift, he would run out of shifts in the first three bullets of a repeater. Of course, he could bulk it up with a point defence engraving, but then the skill bes less critical to use. I¡¯m not really into this. If I could use it for teleportation, then yes. But as it is, it¡¯s teleportation on the spot, with no sign of there being an upgrade path. Kyle has not heard of any human variants that could teleport, not considering some transcendents. As such, he had little hope that the human variant Tharapon would be able to reach there someday. How many races can I choose from? Let¡¯s see the next three. So far, the variants have been ranging from good to mediocre¡­ I need one that can help me well.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Announcement
[Race Upgrade (Level 30)] Feedback noted Calcting best choices for final selection WARNING ¨C Irreversible Please choose wisely These are thest three options
Last three? Kyle counted the races presented so far, totalling six. He recalled that the subss had also shown a fair amount of choices, allowing him to pick one clearly. If anything, I might be looking for something that could manipte arcia better. Are there even any human variants that work with this exotic?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Gic Package 229-A-X Gctic Human] A designer gic package for the scions of A-ss nobility Increased necessity for energy in every form as well as controlled nutritional diet and gic stabilizers Stats Increment Per Level Boost: +5 CHA, +5 DEX, +5 STA, +1 MP, +5 HP, +10 INT, +5 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Enchancment (Advanced)] Push yourtent potential to the limits Passive Skill Increased muscle growth and regeneration Increased bone density and structural integrity Increased reflexes and nervous reactions Increased thought process Stats Increment will improve over time with training Unique Title will be applied at each stage
Kyle was bbergasted at the sheer number of stats. +5 for every level on top of the base +3, with a +10 for INT?! The Enhancement Passive was even more jaw-dropping, with hints that the per-level increment of stats could reach more than what was shown here. What was even more alluring was that the Gic Package 229-A-X was what he knew very well ¨C he himself was born as a designer baby with the 229-D-X variant, targeted for D-ss states. He owed it for his meteoric rise through society and eventual position as a Crime Lord, though he did upgrade to 229-B-X thanks to a hijacking of the samepany that sold him the gic package. He never did get his hands on the 229-A-X package, it being highly guarded and protected. The cost of the A-ss gic package could buy out an entire in a D-ss state. Maybe even the capital of a D-ss state. Before Kyle got far too emotionally invested in chasing what he failed to obtain in his previous life, he quickly looked at the next two races.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Voidwalkers] The first human variant to allow for full space habitation without an exo-suit Stats Increment Per Level Boost: -1 CHA, +3 DEX, +10 STA, +2 MP, +10 HP, +2 INT, +2 STR
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Into the Void (Advanced)] Not just electromaic waves, but particle radiation too Passive Skill Outer shell of the skin protects from all forms of iing radiation, converting it into internal energy and absorbing particles that can supplement the need to breathe or to eat Skin also protects against extreme temperatures Does not confer any physical defensive bonuses
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Energy Thrust (Advanced)] Be the propulsion system you always wanted to be Release particle radiation through any section of your skin, resulting in thrust in any direction Minimal useside Duration: Dependent on the amount of particles avable Cooldown: None
Huh. With this, I could actually just leave the myself. Kyle considered the race carefully. This would give him the best survivability not just in space but also on the ground, with him being able to absorb starlight directly, such as UV radiation and so on. But the second skill waspletely useless, save for the fact that it could irradiate and overwhelm electronicponents. However, most Gctic Era technology were already hardened for radiation on a general basis. In order to overwhelm the significant radiation shielding, he would have to generate more particles than a sunspot, all concentrated onto a centimetre square. That¡¯s not going to work. Kyle highly doubted his body would be able to fire harder than a particle cannon, which was effectively the same concept albeit they melted through the surface of whatever material they were touching. There was no way he could elerate the particle that fast ¨C the energy pulse seemed to be more of a sr sail effect rather than a rocket engine or a true particle ion thruster, with the general eleration being low but continuous. The first skill was still worthy of consideration. Being able to space walk without an exosuit was a critical one. But it still did not prevent one from getting shot at or blown up by a missile. Kyle internally fumed as he recalled how he died. Having such a skill would not have saved him in that scenario at all. Last one.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race
[Arcian] Remnants of a fallen alien race, torn by civil war No Stat Increment
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Arcia Reinforcement (Advanced)] The power of the flows through you Passive Skill Ability to use ambient or internal arcia energy to strengthen muscles and improve arcia energy capacity and handling over-time Unique Title will be applied for each stage of training and time Requires immense amount of arcite ore to reach final stage Performance reduced in non-arcia infused environment
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill
[Arcia Efficiency (Advanced)] Do not feel the fire; be the fire Passive Skill All skills cooldown reduced by 50% permanently Non-upgradable Overwrites all other cooldown modification skills
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Notice
[Negation Field Errata] Negation field will not affect these two skills Negation Field can be upgraded in the future to allow for targeted negation
While there are no stat increments, This has got to be the best race yet. Kyle examined carefully, reading the fine print of each of the skills. Remnants of a fallen alien race¡­ does that mean that there were native inhabitants of this that he was currently residing on? Who was he kidding ¨C humanity had purged countless alien races in the Gctic Era in the name of expansion and colonisation. Of course, humans were not native: it had even been postted that humans themselves were not native to Ancient Earth. Either way, the skills were too good to give, except for one caveat. Performance reduced in non-arcia infused environment¡­ That means space. Also means that if I ever get on a starship, I would have to bring along arcite ore. The supply of arcite ore was not an issue any longer. With his mechanical regenerators and light regenerators, he could revitalise arcite ore continuously, albeit at a low conversion rate of 15% and 22%, respectively. Better than nothing, but if I go down this route, I would need to find out how arcite ore was actually originally formed. Kyle summarised all of the racial options that he had now. The first three were Arimorph, Slovesa-Human Hybrid, and Vicronoth. Out of the three, he felt that none of them really matched the goals that he intended for. The Arimorph was effectively a spy-orientated race, with everything geared around shapeshifting. Boneshifting sounded intriguing, but it had implications that were too specific. Kyle wasn¡¯t nning on using bones as weapons. The Slovesa-Human hybrid was a clear no-go, with Kyle feeling like it had the worst of both worlds, while the Vicronoth simply did not align with how he fought currently. The Infection Vector skill would cause him to have to work alone or fight alone, which was good and all, but might inadvertently affect his subordinates in the heat of the battle. It felt that with the miraculous properties of arcia, he could easily imitate their skills with a few engravings and maybe the creation of his own exosuit. Or even better, find a working Gctic Era gics centre. The next three were the Orisian, Type-5 Gctic Human and Tharapon. The concept of telekinesis was interesting, but he had yet to find any hints nor mention of such a psonic exotic existing on the current, making it hard for him to lean towards the Orisian race. Type-5 Gctic Human was the most basic race with obvious minimal changes but all across-the-board boosts, except that it was far overshadowed by the Gic Package 229-A-X. The Tharapon race had an interesting skill, but the dimensional shift was far too unwieldy to put it to good use. Perhaps Kyle could see a use for it when he was fighting someone far beyond his capabilities, but he would be easily hurt by any lingering skills or environmental damage that was continuous. Lastly, the final three were Gic Package 229-A-X , Voidwalker and Arcian. Kyle had the most lingering sentimental attachment to the Gic Package 229-A-X, but he noted that having increased base stats would not help him ovee some of the more unique effects of arctech engravings. For the Voidwalker, it would be immensely beneficial had he been stuck on an asteroid or a moon. But for now,ary domination was his biggest concern ¨C and with the ¡®Wardens¡¯ now aware of him, he needed everybat advantage he could get. Sure, the first skill would allow him to survive in hostilebat situations and maybe even ignore chemical agents like Agent ck. However, Arcian still had the most immediate and long-term benefit, increasing his affinity with arcia energy here and now. Furthermore, the negation field would not inherently suddenly wipe out all of the benefits that he has derived from the race. The cooldown reduction wouldn¡¯t matter now if I used the negation field ¨C but in the future? Kyle could already envision himself bing a true powerhouse, albeit limited to arcia energy. Kyle wasn¡¯t too fazed about the limitation ¨C he could still eventually wear an exosuit and cover all of the deficiencies necessary in the future. Arcian it is. Kyle mentally selected the race, preparing himself for the eventual pain. Chapter 97: Grinding
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Race Obtained
[Arcian] Remnants of a fallen alien race, torn by civil war No Stat Increment
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Arcia Reinforcement (Advanced)] The power of the flows through you Passive Skill Ability to use ambient or internal arcia energy to strengthen muscles and improve arcia energy capacity and handling over-time Unique Title will be applied for each stage of training and time Requires immense amount of arcite ore to reach final stage Performance reduced in non-arcia infused environment
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Arcia Efficiency (Advanced)] Do not feel the fire; be the fire Passive Skill All skills cooldown reduced by 50% permanently Non-upgradable Overwrites all other cooldown modification skills
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Notice
[Negation Field Errata] Negation field will not affect these two skills Negation Field can be upgraded to allow for targeted negation
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Arcia Reinforcement] Unique Title Applied from Arcian¡¯s Passive Skill +0 STR, +0 DEX, +0 INT, +0 VIT, +0 HP, +0 MP, +0 STA +0% reduction in arcia activation cost +0% improvement in duration of arcia skills +0% affinity with arcia energy
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Congrattions
[Upgrade Path Unlocked] Due to Race Evolution, new functionality has been unlocked Sub-ss Upgrade at Level 40, ss Upgrade at Level 50, Second Race Evolution Selection at Level 60
The barrage of system messages was the first thing to greet Kyle as he stirred awake, apart from the grimy, sticky feeling he could sense all over his skin and ground, along with a putrid stenchposed of his own sweat, blood and pee from the race evolution. Thest message was of the most importance to Kyle, causing him to jolt upright and re-read it. Finally, I have a clearer path on what this weird System has in mind for my progression. At least I have a clear motivation to obtain levels as much as I want now. It was clear to Kyle that he was sorelycking in individual strength ¨C unable to fend off Nest entirely nor able to defeat a snotty brat and his servant in the form of Soren and Rayner. Soren was definitely of a higher level than him and far more advanced in terms of System upgrades and fighting skills. Kyle was only able to fight on par with the two of them thanks to the Negation Field, but he knew that by letting Soren and Rayner go, news of his ability would begin to leak, and the enemiesing for him would be more than prepared to ovee it. Angered with himself, the upgrades now served as his next main goal to improving himself. But this is not the only way. Kyle was not about to simply limit himself to just what the System gave him. With the three slovesa cores he had earned and the war looming on the horizon, there were plenty of opportunities to obtain far better arctech equipment or Gctic Era Tech to boost himself in strength significantly. I have yet to develop my own exosuit ¨C this will be a much higher priority as of now. That being said, Kyle was cognizant that they were still in the dungeon, with still no clear way out. He recalled the System¡¯s holographic arrow that seemed to have pointed him to the nearest terminal, so perhaps it could tell him where the exit of the dungeon was. How do I get out of here? Despite his consistent mental attempts, the holographic arrow never appeared. Kyle tried to get up, but his limbs felt slightly shaky, the effects of the race evolution still lingering on his body like a numb feeling that sent tingles down his skin and bones. Already Kyle could sense something different about his entire body, though without a mirror, it was hard to tell the full extent of the change. Wait, where¡¯s Feldon? Kyle quickly checked the corner where he put Feldon down, only to see a slightly cowering human with a few empty tins and half-empty water bottles in front of him, with one bottle being filled with a clear yellow substance. The human aimed an arctech handgun at Kyle shakily, his hands obviously tensed. ¡°By Yual, are you still Kyle? Or has the dungeon taken over you?¡± ¡°I am Kyle.¡± ¡°Really? Who¡¯s the president of the Golden Snake Construction Company?¡± ¡°Guang Hwa.¡± ¡°Who was the first person to act as Enforcer Man and the greatest theatre celebrity ever to live?¡± ¡°That¡¯s you, but you¡¯re not the greate-¡° ¡°How many fingers am I holding up?¡± ¡°Six on your right hand, two on your left¡­ wait, why do you have six?¡± ¡°Male or Female?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even understand what that question is supposed to be.¡± Feldon let out arge sigh of relief, letting the arctech handgun sink to the floor as he leaned back against the cold metallic wall. ¡°What the hell happened to you?¡± ¡°How long have we been here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know; I don¡¯t have a way of tracking time here. But it felt like a few days to me, maybe more, maybe less. Wait, don¡¯t try to deflect the question. I deserve the right to know what the hell you have transformed into. Are you a shapeshifter or something?¡± ¡°What? Why, what do I look like now?¡± ¡°You look like shit, that¡¯s for sure,¡± Feldon noted down the blood and grime still clinging to the back half of Kyle¡¯s clothes and skin. Right, got to find a ce to wash it off. Kyle nced downwards at his body, hardly noticing any difference. He did not feel any stronger with the new race ¨C the new title earned from the passive skill had yet to give any clear benefits. As for the cooldown reduction, he would feel it in the next fight. He checked through all his skills again.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Intimidation Aura (Intermediate)] Control those who oppose you with fear +60% Intimidation Sess Chance Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: Six Hours
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Penchant for Violence (Intermediate)] A good crime lord must be fluent in thenguage of the underworld Allbat stats temporarily increased by 60% for a short duration Duration: One minute Cooldown: Three and a half minutes
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[This is My Turf (Intermediate)] No one gets close to you without your word Creates a selective domain where enemies are unable to approach Duration: One minute Cooldown: One Hour
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Designate Follower (Intermediate)] Can¡¯t be a crime lord without underlings Marks any sapient being as a follower, enabling telepathicmunication Stat increase for each follower within five hundred meters Limit of two followers now
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Skill Obtained
[Negation Field (Basic)] Disable all engravings in an area around you Disable all engravings in a five-meter radius Upgradable Duration: Ten minutes Cooldown: One and a half days
The cooldowns had all been drastically reduced. Penchant of Violence now had a 28% uptime during fights, but Kyle would be happier if it became 100%. Good enough. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. Rations?¡± ¡°Sorry, I only have these three cans left. We can backtrack to the storage room to grab more?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ let¡¯s take a few hours to explore where we are first before backtracking.¡± Kyle shoved the chamber away from the metallic door before gingerly opening it and peeking outside, checking the passageway. There were no signs of any movements, footsteps or any skittering sound, with him and Feldon beginning to move further into the dungeon, thetter keeping a wide berth from the foul stench of Kyle¡¯s back. As much as I would like to leave the dungeon now, it would be best if I could obtain all the rewards here before leaving. Moving down the passageway, they soon came across a simr storage room, something Kyle had missed while he was busy fighting Soren. He did not have the time to nce at each and every room then, so he performed the same checks as he did for the first storage room. Theyout was exactly the same, but this time there was a clear piece of paper covering a few of the tins, with two clear arrows being drawn on it with the big, bold words ¡°ME¡± and ¡°YOURS¡±. This is Soren¡¯s stash? Kyle recalled Sorenining that he had booked the dungeon in advance for three years. It became clear that Soren had been farming this dungeon, though not continuously. Kyle also remembered Soren mentioning that he had rushed over the moment he heard about a transcendent wrecking things in Tenar through his Nest underlings. This means there are more dungeons beyond, and fairly close as well ¨C a week¡¯s distance at maximum, assuming he travelled on foot. ¡°Can we take this?¡± ¡°Take everything ¨C eat and drink as much as you want now. We¡¯ll camp here for a break before moving on.¡± Restored to full after a hearty meal at the expense of Soren¡¯s stash, Kyle and Feldon continued moving, eventually reaching a T-junction, in which Kyle recalled he went left instead of right when running from Soren. The burn marks of the lightning arc shed through the entire junction towards the left, while the right was clean. Kyle led Feldon to the right, moving carefully and watching out for any traps in the passageway. Soon, a simr white light could be seen in the distance, prompting them to stop. ¡°Another cavern? Are we going to get swarmed by rock spiders again?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hope not.¡± Kyle actually wanted more rock spiders to appear so he could test out his new cooldowns and earn some EXP. Maybe he could even hit Level 40 before leaving the dungeon. Come to think of it, wasn¡¯t the rmended level of the Dungeon 45? The first trial might have been manageable, but Kyle was afraid that it was only going to get harder. ¡°This time, you stay behind in the passageway,¡± Kyle exined to Feldon. ¡°There¡¯s no guarantee there is going to be a rest area this time.¡± ¡°Fuck no, I¡¯m going with you. What if a giant rock spider blocks up the passageway again, and I¡¯m left alone?¡± ¡°Fine. You still got projectiles left?¡± Feldon grinned. ¡°I got something even better.¡± He brandished the Thunder de that Soren had impaled him with. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you fight with a sword before.¡± ¡°Hey, I trained under Sasha and for many light capturer films, okay. I consider myself a connoisseur of fine martial arts.¡± ¡°Okay then.¡± They triple-checked their equipment. Kyle still had his interior armour tes on, along with his Aero Shoes and Pulverizer. The warhammer had proven quite effective so far, allowing Kyle to take most rock spiders head-on thanks to the follow-up shock. The two of them marched confidently out of the passageway. Instead of there being arge expansive area like the first cavern, there was a singr rocky outcrop in the middle. It was coveredpletely in a myriad of beautiful gemstones, sparkling like a kaleidoscope as the bright colours illuminated the entire cavern. Kyle noticed the rocky outcrop was shaped specifically like an egg of sorts, albeit slightly jagged. Furthermore, he noticed the same type of holes in the cavern walls. He tried to consider what kind of trial this would be at all. Kyle also noticed that there was a gap in the ceiling right above the rocky outcrop, with a gush of cool air drifting through. That might be an exit, but it¡¯s going to take some effort to leap out of the dungeon. ¡°What¡¯s the trial this time? Fighting against waves again?¡± ¡°Looks like it¡¯s another round of rock spiders, but there¡¯s something definitely to do with this outcrop.¡± Suspicious. ¡°Again?!¡± Feldon yelped. ¡°Let¡¯s take the centre this time ¨C we can use the rocky outcrop to get the high ground.¡± As they approached the outcrop, Feldon could barely crane his neck far back to see the top of the outcrop, being immensely high. Kyle ced his hands on the rocky outcrop, intending to climb up to the top before the trial began. However, when he ced his hands on the surface, a loud screeching sound suddenly burst forth from the outcrop, with the rainbow assortment of colours beginning to pulsate wildly, beating rapidly like a heartbeat under stress. The surface was hot to the touch, forcing Kyle to let go. The same skittering sound began to emerge from the walls, with a hundred rock spiders all crawling out and aiming right at them once more. Instead of being surprised, Kyle had a wide grin on his face, prompting Feldon to think that he was a masochist.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial of Persistence] The prince lies in wait Clear Conditions: Break
Chapter 98: Swarm Break? The entrance passageway was suddenly shut with arge rock door, locking them into the cavern. Before Kyle could even react, a rock spider shot a small spike from its mouth at his head, forcing him to dodge as it whizzed past, smashing into the crystal outcrop before ttering on the ground. Again, just like before, they targeted Kyle instead of Feldon. This time, however, the rock spiders did not charge mindlessly towards Kyle, but instead split up into groups and mbered all over the ceiling, forcing Kyle to dodge the rock spikes that were shot forward continuously. Blue energy beams also began tonce across the cavern as Kyle dashed around the rocky outcrop, limiting the angles from which he could be shot as he circled back to where Feldon was. Feldon immediately grabbed his thunder de and was about to rush out to kill the rock spiders when Kyle grabbed him by the shoulder. ¡°Get up to the top first!¡± Feldon nodded, with him immediately scaling the rocky outcrop while Kyle sprinted towards the cavern walls, not moving as fast as he would hope with the debilitating poison still in his body. The race evolution had failed to remove both that and Agent ck, causing Kyle to not be at his peak. Doesn¡¯t matter; I can ovee it with Penchant for Violence when needed. Despite the cooldown reduction, Kyle only used it where needed. He also considers the trial as training to get used to the lower stats. However, this time the rock spiders were not easy pushovers, an entire tier above the previous Trial of the Horde. Their intelligence and methods of nking Kyle were oppressive, cornering Kyle quickly into a corner at the edge of the cavern with the spikes. Kyle fended off a few iing spikes with the pulveriser, but some made it through and grazed him slightly, the pain barely affecting him. With no ranged weapon, Kyle was finding it increasingly difficult to fight back against the rock spiders. Fine. Kyle dropped the pulveriser and picked up a few of the rock spikes as he weaved around the edges of the cavern, flinging them back with the same force towards the rock spiders. The spike pierced right through the blue gem eye of a ranged rock spider, knocking it off the ceiling in an instant.
[System Message] Killed [Blue Rock Spider], +500 EXP
However, many of the other rock spiders were able to dodge, with Kyle and the rock spiders now in some sort of a throwing match. I need to cull as many as possible first. Penchant for Violence! Feldon nced over his shoulder only to see a whirlwind of actions, with Kyle continuously picking up rock spikes before flinging them back, leaping along the corners of the walls like an acrobatic movement. He really is a shapeshifter. Kyle spun as he threw the rock spikes at every angle possible, maximising the speed and rotational force by twisting and turning his body,unching them far faster than what the rock spiders could avoid.
[System Message] Killed [Spike Rock Spider], +500 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Spike Rock Spider], +499 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Spike Rock Spider], +498 EXP
The EXP was diminishing again with each kill, clueing Kyle into what Soren had been doing. If I¡¯m guessing correctly, he kills till the EXP tlines at zero, then somehow manages to exit the trial. Kyle would love to do the same grinding, except he had no idea how to leave the trial, with the original entrance passageway already long sealed. The clear conditions were to break ¨C but break what? Kyle tried to figure out the trial, while hurling as many rock spikes as he could in the one minute he had.
[System Message] Killed [Spike Rock Spider], +479 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 35 ---> Level 36
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
The invigorating strength of the Penchant of Violence began to taper off, forcing Kyle to focus far more on throwing technique rather than just raw strength. The rock spikes still attacked Kyle hard and fast, with his eyes peeled and reflexes at capacity, pushing his limits. ¡°Err¡­ Kyle? There¡¯s something weird up here?¡± Feldon called out from above. Kyle could barely reply; his entire effort focused on avoiding the rock spikes. However, a sudden yell from Feldon prompted him to quickly nce upwards, noticing Feldon was suddenly fighting off a weird tendril that had snaked in from therge gaping hole at the top right above the crystal outcrop. The tendril tried to grab onto Feldon, but the edge was sliced off with a swing of the Thunder de. What the¡­? As if on cue, the rock spiders stopped targeting Kyle but instead aimed at the gaping hole, firing the rock spikes towards Feldon instead. The rock spikes impacted against the tendril, resulting in a wailing scream that resounded through the cavern, nearly blowing out Kyle¡¯s eardrums. Temporarily deaf, Kyle quickly scaled the crystal outcrop with haste, climbing rapidly to reach Feldon. The Ne of Healing failed to alleviate the ringing sound in Kyle¡¯s ears, which meant he was nearly unable to react when arge flying ant suddenlynded right next to him and knocked him off the crystal outcrop, causing him to fall. This is My Turf! Kyle designated the ground as the enemy, shielding him from the fall as the invisible barrier caused him to bounce and roll off as though he was in a bubble. The reaction force from the impact still hurt him slightly, but half of it had been dispersed through the surface of the barrier, reducing the overall pain. Instead of chasing and attacking him, therge ant, which was nearly double the size of Kyle began to gnaw away at the crystal outcrop, apanied by a swarm of its brothers who began to flock here as well, charging in from the hole. The rock spiders hurled hundreds of rock spikes into the air, piercing through the armour shell of therge ants while half of therge ants began to rush towards them, resulting in an airborne fight between the two groups. What in the world is going on? He recovered to look at the top of the crystal outcrop, noticing that the tendril was now attempting to knock Feldon off of the crystal outcrop, throwing him off as well as he screamed. Kyle sprinted, pumping his thighs and muscles as fast as he could as he dashed and leapt to catch Feldon in mid-air, reducing the fall velocity and tumbling to the ground. ¡°HEY, WHAT THE FUCK IS HAPPENING?¡± Feldon yelled, himself deaf from the previous wailing scream. Kyle didn¡¯t bother replying with words, instead motioning with his hand for Feldon to defend himself. A fewrge ants were heading right for them, with Kyle running back to where hest dropped the pulveriser, picking it up and smashing it right into the head of arge ant that was chasing him, its beady eyes ring down at him. The follow-up shock sent a web of cracks through the ck shell of therge ant, with its grey mushy innards mmed out through the other side of its head, causing it to copse to the ground in a twitching mess.
[System Message] Killed [Mineral Ant], +50 EXP
¡°ARGH!¡± Feldon roared a battle cry as he swung his Thunder de like a fanatic, slicing off a limb of a mineral ant before its maw nearly snapped off his head as the training under Sasha kicked in. Kyle continued swinging the pulverizer, an unstoppable weapon that could crush multiple ants in a single blow if they were lined up right.
[System Message] Killed [Mineral Ant], +50 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Mineral Ant], +50 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Mineral Ant], +50 EXP
Wait¡­ they don¡¯t seem to be part of the trial. Kyle was utterly confused now, trying to make sense of everything. The crystal outcrop was nowpletely covered in mineral ants gnawing away at the surface, the fragments of the gemstones being consumed. Some of therger pieces of the gemstone was being hauled off by a group ofrge ants, who were immediately focused fire upon by the rock spiders. They are eating the crystal outcrop, and the rock spiders are trying to protect it. The resulting scene in front of Kyle was a veritable warzone, with even more rock spiders now crawling out from the holes in the walls to fight against the tide of mineral ants. Threerge rock spiders crawled out of the hole, firing energy beams at the ants that carved sizzling holes through the shells, the edges burnt with bright yellow streaks. The mineral ants were beginning to lose ground as the rock spiders held the advantage in ranged attacks, able to tear down the mineral ants by the dozens. Kyle still fought off a never-ending stream of ants who seemed to think he was an enemy, charging at him blindly as he smashed them with impunity.
[System Message] Killed [Mineral Ant], +50 EXP
Surprisingly, the EXP from the mineral ants were not decreasing. With the rock spiders no longer pelting him with ranged attacks, Kyle was now free to move across the battle zone. ¡°KYLE, WE SHOULD GET OUT OF HERE! MAYBE CRAWL THROUGH THE HOLES!¡± Feldon yelled. Instead, Kyle jumped right into the fray, unleashing a storm of swings, stabs and jabs with the pulverizer and his free hand, crushing everything he could get his hands on. The EXP began to rack up significantly, with him killing both rock spiders and mineral ants. Heid his eyes on one of therge rock spiders nearby, charging towards it while clearing a path. As he approached therge rock spider and was about to nk it from the back, it suddenly swivelled to face him, sting him point-nk with arge energy beam right in the chest and knocking him back. Immediately, three mineral ants swarmed Kyle as he tumbled on the floor, their maws snapping at him while he attempted to recover into a fighting posture. The moment he stood up and hefted his pulverizer in his right hand, he dodged to the left as arge ant lunged for his neck. Nocking back his right arm and delivering a full uppercut swing of the pulverizer, he mmed the warhammer¡¯s head into the guts of therge ant, breaking right through before crushing it down on another ant who was attacking from the left. The final mineral ant was easily squashed with a single unavoidable horizontal swing, them having no concept of retreat or dodging. A mindless hive swarm, it seems. Kyle targeted therge rock spider again, running towards it by jumping over the corpses of fallen rock spiders with shattered ss cores and avoiding the slippery, mushy innards of pierced mineral ants. Just before he reached therge rock spider, he braced himself once again to sidestep as it swivelled to aim at him again. Instead of firing, however, the red gem eyes began to flicker wildly while its limbs gave way, the body copsing to the ground. Kyle quickly took the opportunity to smash as hard as he could with the pulverizer, blowing out the armour shell of therge rock spider. He followed up with another swing,pletely fragmenting the interior ss core of therge rock spider, killing it.
[System Message] Killed [Territorial Rock Defender], +1000 EXP
Weird, why was it acting like that? The thought barely crossed Kyle¡¯s mind before his battle instincts screamed at him like never before, prompting him to jump out of the way while a gooey slob of acid was flung right at him, dissolving right into the ground as it ate away at the floor, reacting with it to form a noxious fume. In the air, there were what seemed to berge hos, except they were spitting highly corrosive acid globs at the rock spiders, dissolving right through their armour shell while the mineral ants rushed forward to eat at the innards of the dying rock spiders, apparently unaffected by the same corrosive acid. Kyle retreated as far away from therge hos as possible, confident that the acid would have knocked him out in a single blow. He went to help Feldon fend off the mineral ants, killing a dozen before they finally had some breathing space before the next group of mineral ants tried to charge them. ¡°Stay as far back as possible; keep a low profile.¡± Kyle told Feldon, urging him to head to the back. The rock spiders hardly cared about Feldon, which only left the mineral ants as the main threat to Feldon. ¡°If you don¡¯t touch any of the rock spiders or mineral ants, they won¡¯t bother you.¡± ¡°Okay, sure. But what are you going to do?¡± A small smirk appeared on Kyle¡¯s face, his eyes only seeing numbers. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill everything here.¡± Chapter 99: On the Go As much as Kyle wanted to rush into the fray immediately, he needed to take a slight breather first, chugging down a water bottle before resting for a minute, his eyes darting around the area whilsting up with an attack n. However, he could see a group of mineral ants in the distance numbering more than a dozen charging at him. Weird. Why are they aiming at me when they should be focusing their efforts on therge rock spiders? Kyle decided to evade to the left, intending to pull them away from Feldon when he soon realised that they were heading straight to Feldon instead, wings beating furiously as their maws clicked incessantly. Turning around, Kyle rushed back towards Feldon, nking the mineral ants who were beginning to assault the screaming Feldon. Feldon clutched on tightly to the handle of the Thunder de, parrying lunge after lunge while Kyle swung his warhammer and crushed them all with ease.
[System Message] Killed [Mineral Ant], +50 EXP
Feldon was now coated in gooey mushy innards, along with bits and fragments of the mineral ant¡¯s armour shell that clung to him like confetti. Kyle immediately walked right up to Feldon, checking his body and clothes visually. ¡°What did you take from the outcrop?¡± ¡°Huh? Nothing¡­?¡± Feldon¡¯s eyes shifted slightly, looking around for something to divert the topic to. ¡°Don¡¯t try. The mineral ants are obviously gunning for you. What¡¯s that in your pocket?¡± ¡°Nothing, nothing at all¡­ HEY, STOP IT¡¯S MINE!¡± Kyle pulled out an amazing stone that was embedded with what seemed like a thousand red crystals in an organic formation, the entire stone being translucent and allowing one to view the interior, a veritable maze of dazzling light.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Intermediate-Quality Crystalized Arcia] One of the purest naturally forming forms of arcia energy Unknown use
Is the entire crystal outcrop made of this? The outcrop seemed eerily simr to the ss cores that the rock spiders had internally, and with the mineral ants gnawing so ferociously away at it, he could only assume that they were digesting it for the arcia energy directly. ¡°I¡¯m keeping this with me. Go hide now.¡± ¡°You got to return that to me; I want to make it into a ring for my wife!¡± ¡°Save that for when you survive.¡± Kyle sprinted off, the next group of mineral ants alreadying in. As predicted, the mineral ants altered course and targeted Kyle again, leaving Feldon alone. Shoving the crystalised arica into his pockets, he charged headfirst into the iing squad, crushing them in a flurry of swings and kicks, using every part of his body to smash and pummel the mineral ant¡¯s shell. The moment he activated the pulverizer¡¯s follow-up ability, he felt a warm sensation stemming from the crystalized arcia in his pocket, flowing into his body and rejuvenating his arcia energy internally. He could suddenly sense the vastly different flow of arcia within his veins and nerves: highlypressed andminar, unlike his own internal arcia energy, which was sparse and had a rtively abysmal flow rate. Suddenly, from the edge of his peripheral vision, he could sense a build-up of arcia energy ¨C the flow in the air abruptly channelling into arge rock spider before an energy beam was fired right at him. The forewarning bought him time, allowing him to dodge with ease in advance. Kyle darted around the battlefield, killing rock spiders and mineral ants alike beforeing to a surprising realisation. I¡¯ve never been able to sense arcia energy before. Kyle had always fought using his five senses, never once knowing what would happen when the enemy activated the engraving. Most of the time, the activation would only be marked by the glow of the engraving. Is this a result of the race upgrade or a side effect of the crystalised arcia? He had no time to think, with three more energy beams sting at Kyle. Kyle focused his attention on the ambient flow of arcia energy, but was only able to detect the channelling performed by therge rock spiders. Even when the smaller blue rock spiders fired energy beams at the mineral ants, he was unable to detect it as well. It seems my sense has a limit as well. Just as he gutted out another rock spider with his pulverizer, a swopping ck shadow elerated towards him out of nowhere, mming right into him and sending him rolling on the ground in a cloud of dust,ing to a stop against a pile of dead rock spiders. Kyle¡¯s eyes widened as he quickly shifted his head to avoid a stab from a ck obsidian de, which was followed up by abo of slices and lunges from the new mineral ant variant, forcing Kyle to scamper on the floor to dodge. The variant stood on its hind legs, using four sharpened arms to target Kyle. Kyle swung the pulverizer with his back to the floor, smacking the mineral ant variant right in the arms as it lifted it to block, having to use three arms in total while it slid on the floor, the friction between its feet and ground sending sparks flying. Recovering into a fighting posture, Kyle hastily lifted his handle to parry another strike while backpedalling, unable to outmatch the four arms which were swinging wildly into a veritable murder machine. Intimidation Aura! An overpowering aura of fear suddenly emerged from Kyle¡¯s body, staggering the mineral ant variant for a split second ¨C but that was all Kyle needed. He immediately leapt forward, swinging the pulverizer right at the body of the mineral ant, the head impacting against the lower abdomen and causing it to crack apart like porcin, killing the mineral ant immediately as it twitched to the floor.
[System Message] Killed [Warrior Mineral Ant], +500 EXP
Instead of moving on, Kyle quickly used his hands to feel for a groove in the dead warrior mineral ant¡¯s body along the ck obsidian de arms, trying to find a weak spot. The moment he found it, he quickly mmed the pulverizer two times, breaking off the obsidian de as the mushy fluids dripped from the open wound. The sharpness of the ck obsidian de had astounded him, prompting him to try to use it as a weapon. However, the handle, which was the stump of the arm, was hardly rigid enough for him to deliver enough force through it. I need to find something sturdy to strap this to. His mind returned to the previously deadrge rock spider, deciding to try his luck there. While the sounds of skittering, corrosive acid hissing and energy beams sintering were all around him, he dug through the pile of corpses, trying to find something suitable. Soon he found it ¨C the leg of therge rock spider. With three hits of the pulverizer, Kyle broke off the straight part of the leg. He quickly stowed his warhammer behind his back, grabbing both ripped-off limbs and rushing to the nearestrge rock spider who was still alive. ¡°HEY!¡± Kyle roared, catching the attention of therge rock spider, who swiftly turned to fire an energy beam at him. Instead of dodging, Kyle raised both limbs in his hand and used them to block, connecting them at the base. He stood there and took five energy beamsing right in, the heat searing and melting the impact zones. Kyle quickly twisted off the stump of the arm, looking at his new creation while he now sprinted away. With the warrior mineral ant¡¯s ck obsidian de serving as the tip and therge rock spider¡¯s broken leg as the handle, Kyle now had a working sword of sorts, thanks to the high heat that had managed to fuse them in the middle.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Makeshift Mineral de (Intermediate)] Forged in the heat of battle, literally No Active Skill
I don¡¯t need one. Kyle now had two weapons, allowing him to charge through the frenzy with abandon, slicing and smashing by alternating the weapons he used, wielding each of them in either hand. Thebination of the Intimidation Aura and the intermittent Penchant for Violence turned Kyle into a veritable battle machine, carving a path out for himself. The notifications for killing rolled in non-stop, earning him level after level.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 36 ---> Level 38
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Despite killing hundreds of ants, Kyle noticed his level was not proceeding as fast as it did in the Trial of the Horde. The EXP required per level is scaling upwards. After ten minutes of continuous fighting, the mineral ants and rock spiders were beginning to avoid Kyle, treating him as though he was a natural disaster. Even therge rock spiders were skittering away from Kyle. However, the venom-spitting hos were unfazed, continuing to dominate the airspace while firing globs of acid with abandon, targeting every rock spider or human that was moving ¨C which meant Kyle. The acid was hard to deal with as Kyle was sure both of his current weapons would immediately melt from it, so he did not try to block. Instead, he lobbed the makeshift mineral de as hard as he could towards the closest ho, piercing it through while the weight of the de caused it to crash to the floor in a squirming heap. Covering the distance in five quick leaps, Kyle reached the fallen ho, reaching out to grab the handle of the de and pulling it out. With a follow-up slice, he decapitated the ho¡¯s head, with the body losing control of its acid nd, which leaked all over the ground, dissolving and forming a pit.
[System Message] Killed [Flying Mineral Ho], + 500 EXP
Kyle grabbed a few rock spikes and hurled them at the remaining hos, killing a few of them while maiming many, forcing them to retreat. None of the mineral ants nor warrior mineral ants attempted to attack Kyle any longer, keeping a wide berth away from him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Mineral Ant yer (Basic)] The hive speaks of your prowess +3 STR,+2 DEX, +10% increased damage to mineral ant type enemies, +5% intimidation sess
Been a while since I got a title. Kyle wondered why he got a title for the mineral ants but not one for the rock spiders, thinking that it had something to do with the nature of the dungeon. Capitalising on the fear both sides now had of him, Kyle headed for his prize: the crystal outcrop. If what was in his pocket was any indication, the entire crystal outcrop was a veritable treasure trove of arcia energy ¨C potentially being the densest he had ever seen. Kyle was not an expert on extracting arcia energy, but he estimated that the entire crystal outcrop could power the whole of Raktor for an entire week. Not even his regenerators back in the Culdao Peak could produce on such a scale for three months. The question was if Kyle could make use of the arcia energy within to boost his own capabilities. As far as he could tell, every time he utilised an arctech engraving or skill, the crystalised arcia energy would then surge into his body, replenishing his storage. As he scaled the crystal outcrop once again, with the makeshift mineral de clenched tightly in his mouth and the warhammer behind his back, the mineral ants cleared a path for him while he made his way to the top. He nced at the exterior of the crystal outcrop on the way up, noticing that none of the formations on the sides was as clear or pristine as the one that Feldon had nabbed from the top. Instead, the crystals that he grabbed onto with his hands as he lifted himself were murky and tainted with some sort of impurities, making them look more like arcite ore rather than crystal. mbering up to the top, the t top of the crystal outcrop was a veritable hive of mineral ants who were now feeding non-stop on the higher-quality crystals. Kyle went to town, immediately killing dozens of mineral ants in a whirlwind of devastation, the makeshift mineral de drenched in mushy innards as he shed non-stop. With each step he took, and each swing of the pulverizer, the crystals beneath his feet on contact released their arcia energy towards him, creating a sort of training cycle which allowed him to continuously expend and expand his internal arcia energy without worry. This is it! If I can train here, I¡¯ll be able to improve Arcia Reinforcement to a higher level! Kyle smiled to himself. But before he could make another move, arge tendril from the ceiling suddenly elerated towards him, wrapping around him in a constricting bind. Shit! It¡¯s the tendril that Feldon was fighting! Penchant for Violence! Kyle burst free of the tendril with a surge in strength, using his weapons to slice and wound the tendril. As he swung the makeshift mineral de and sliced off yet another chunk of the tendril, the same wailing scream as before resounded through the cavern, nearly causing Kyle¡¯s eardrums to bleed in response. The impact of the soundwave knocked Kyle off his feet, with four new tendrils appearing out from beyond the gap, grabbing each limb and pulling him to their source, his body disappearing into the darkness. Chapter 100: Arcia Insights The tendrils dragged Kyle up as he struggled against the restraints, all four of his limbs wrapped tightly. They lifted him above the gap, revealing a weirdrge overgrown tunnel whose walls were like the interior of a tree trunk. Kyle was surprised by the scale of the ¡®tree¡¯, noticing that he could not see the end of the ¡®trunk¡¯ on either way. Now¡¯s not the time to be amazed. Kyle nced at the source of the tendrils, noticing that it was a grotesque mass of flesh that seemed to be an amalgamation of the mineral ants, a weird bulbous creation that pulsated with a heartbeat of sorts. It was guarded by nearly five dozen warrior mineral ants and two dozen venom-spitting hos, along with a legion of normal mineral ants whose beady eyes were all locked onto Kyle. It looked something akin to a living brain, albeit it was covered in moss green along with a weird insectoid eyeball mounted on the side. Kyle was not too disgusted, having seen worse in the Gctic Era. Life has a way of¡­ making life. The tendrils flipped Kyle upside down, hauling him closer to the insectoid eyeball, who observed him intently, twisting and examining him from all angles. Kyle noticed traces of arcia engravings all over the interior of the translucent ¡®brain¡¯, pulsating like neurons while a continuous stream of mineral ants carried up chunks of the crystal outcrop, feeding into the gaping maw of the ¡®brain¡¯ at the top, a greenish-gas burping out with each convulsion. At the centre of the brain was a golden crystal that was brimming with arcia energy. Kyle assumed it served as the heart of the brain, a core of sorts. Forget about being a xenobiologist. The bigger question is, how do I get out of this mess? Both his weapons had been left behind at the crystal outcrop, leaving only the armour on his body along with the Aero Shoes and Ne of Healing.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Aero Shoes (Basic)] For swift feet +4 AGI, +1 CHA Active Skill: Sprint - Allows the wielder to move slightly faster MP Cost per Activation: 2 MP Duration: Fifteen seconds Cooldown: One minute
The moment Kyle felt the jerk of the tendrils twist him around once more, he activated the aero shoes, causing the spin to be even faster than expected while he used his teeth to bite at the nearest tendril that was coiled around his right arm. A jolt of pain arced through the nervous system of the brain, causing the maw to release an ungodly scream as one tendril involuntarily let go of Kyle¡¯s right arm, freeing it and allowing him to wrestle the tendrils free. Before he could get his left arm free, the tendrils suddenly mmed him to the ground, the three remaining tendrils keeping a tight grip on him as they swung him around, dragging him along the overgrown floor. Kyle spotted a sharp wooden branch along the floor as his face was mashed against the ground. He grabbed hold of it and used it to stab at the tendrils repeatedly, the blood in his brain pumping loudly in his ears as he was flung at high speeds. With a series of deep jabs, Kyle managed to free himself from the tendrils, prompting a dozen warrior mineral ants to rush at him in mid-air, attempting to tear him to pieces. As Kyle fell, he twisted his body to dodge an iing de strike before grabbing onto the body of a warrior mineral ant and using it as a tform. Memorising where the previous groove was, he used his raw strength to dig in deep to the warrior mineral ant who iled about in the air, unable to twist its arms enough to reach Kyle in its blind spot. Kyle used his other hand to continuously chop at the arm, hitting it four times in rapid session before pulling the de free and stabbing it right into the head of the warrior mineral ant, before using its body and jumping off it to the next warrior mineral ant. The next warrior shed violently at Kyle, forcing him to block with the new ck obsidian de and being knocked towards the ground, crashing into the pile as the normal mineral ants began to swarm towards him, every former sense of apprehension lost under the coercion of the ¡®brain¡¯. I have to take down the brain if I want the swarm to end! Kyle fended off the iing tide of mineral ants, stabbing ferociously as he pushed himself to the limits. The mineral ants were not particrly intelligent, unable to execute advancedbat moves and merely throwing their bodies towards Kyle, making it easy for Kyle to kill them in one single blow. With the experience learnt over thest twenty minutes of fighting, Kyle now knew exactly where to strike for an instant death to the ants. The bodies began to pile up around him, forcing him to change locations repeatedly to prevent being squashed by the numerous corpses. Each blow dealt meant that one ant died, allowing him to cull their numbers with ease as he danced and weaved through the legion, only stopped by the warrior mineral ants who intervened, along with the venom-spitting hos who tried to nail him head-on. By utilising proper positioning, he was able to always have a warrior ant between him and the iing acid, using their bodies to block the attacks. Slowly but surely, he began to carve his way to the brain. The moment he was within a meter, he could feel the same abrupt surge in the flow of arcia energy, all swirling towards the ¡®brain¡¯ that seemed to be charging up for somethinging from its maw. It¡¯s gearing up for another scream?! Kyle would not be able to handle that scream point nk, his eardrums already forced to be healed by the Ne of Healing. Like hell, I¡¯ll let you. Negation Field! As the negation field spread out in a radius, a warrior mineral ant that was diving towards him suddenly lost control of its wings, crashing to the ground while the ¡®brain¡¯ recoiled in pain, the arcia energy goingpletely haywire within its body, the flow now turbulent and trying to push against its constraints within. The golden core itself was showing signs of stress, the ¡®brain¡¯ unable to bear the pain. Every flying mineral ant in a five-meter radius around Kyle all nosedived, their wingspletely unable to function like before. I was beginning to think it was unnatural for them to be able to fly ¨C so they were relying on engravings on the wings. Kyle quickly reached the surface of the ¡®brain¡¯, immediately ducking as a tendril swiped at him. With a roar, Kyle thrust the de deep into the ¡®brain¡¯, beginning to run around it and dragging the de as it carved along the surface. He avoided swipes and stopped to punch a few mineral ants who got too close. The translucent innards of the ¡®brain¡¯ began to spill outwards, the gtinous blob deting as the tendrils iled crazily, even crushing some of its own mineral ants as it desperately tried to stop Kyle from attacking. Kyle reached the joint of the tendrils and chopped them off in one fell swoop, allowing him full reign. None of the venom-spitting wasps dared to fire their acid globs at Kyle ¨C the mineral ants were immune to it, but the ¡®brain¡¯ was not. As such, Kyle only had to fend off the warrior mineral ants, whose actions were heavily limited by the negation field preventing them from using their wings normally to approach. Kyle continued to cut at the surface and dug in deep, eventually chopping enough to reach the golden core in the centre. Plunging his hand in, he grabbed onto the core, yanking it out as visible pulses of arcia energy surged outwards through what remained of the ¡®brain¡¯.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Artificial Hive Core] Rule the horde with a single thought Active Skill: Control (Basic) ¨C Ability to control up to a dozen mineral ants permanently as long as wielded Improves their stats Cost: 5 MP per mark Duration: Permanent Cooldown: None
Cancel Negation Field! The negation field ended abruptly, allowing the warrior ants to regain flight once again and swoop in at Kyle. Penchant for Violence! Aero Shoes! Kyle¡¯s figure became a blur as he immediately rushed at the nearest warrior mineral ant on the ground, channelling the arcia energy into the Artificial Hive Core. Kyle did not know how the marking system worked just yet, so he simply had the core and his hands touch the body of the ant. A small golden streak of arcia energynced outwards from the hive core, the tendril snaking into the warrior mineral ant as its body violently shuddered and copsed to the floor. Kyle had no time to figure out if it worked or not, quickly avoiding three venomous spits that were aimed right at him. His feet squashed the remnants of the brain as he parried a few more warrior mineral ants, repeating the process on them. Even if it did not work, the golden tendril seemed to be a one-hit knockout, which was more than good enough for him. However, the MP consumption was dangerously high, with his internal arcia energy storage nearing depletion. Once I mark all twelve, that would be 60 MP. Kyle was about to give up when the first warrior ant he marked suddenly skittered back to life, automatically attacking the nearby mineral ants and gutting them with ferocity. With his method of marking confirmed, he marked a total of eight warrior mineral ants before riding one of them up to the venom-spitting hos, leaping onto them and marking them as well. Soon, he had four of them marked, all of them now fighting alongside him against the remaining mineral ants who werecking leadership and confused, the ¡®brain¡¯ no longer around to guide and control them. The mineral ants on the crystal outcrop began to lose coordination, quickly flying back out through the gaping hole in the ceiling while Kyle continuously killed as many as he could before they could escape. Not all of the marked ants survived, prompting Kyle to continuously rece them with those tenacious enough to remain behind or those dumb enough. Within minutes, Kyle had cleaned up the battle, with more than half of the swarm retreating down into the darkness far beyond what Kyle¡¯s eyes could perceive. Returning back to the crystal outcrop, which was now free of mineral ants, he rode the marked ants in, earning himself a barrage of rock spikes and energy beams. Kyle mentallymanded the ants, allowing them to quicklynd on the t top of the outcrop to avoid being exposed to all the spikes. ¡°Ranged, fire at the ceiling: target energy beam spiders. Warrior ants, deflect rock spikes now!¡± Kyle ordered as the familiar rejuvenation effect of the crystalised arcia began to surge through his body, replenishing the MP he had used. The rapid restoration expanded his internal arcia energy storage and affinity even further, allowing him to properly visualise it and feel it with even more intimacy than ever before. The stark contrast between his near-depleted state and his now refuelling state gave a new insight as to how much better and more efficient he could be in the management of his arcia energy. It was as though a sudden epiphany had struck him right in the head as the rock spikes and energy beams were deflected by the warrior ants who stood guard around him. His muscles felt invigorated while his senses were heightened closer to before the debilitating poison from Nox had hit him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Title Obtained
[Arcia Reinforcement ¨C Stage 1] Unique Title Applied from Arcian¡¯s Passive Skill +10 STR, +10 DEX, +10 INT, +10 VIT, +10 HP, +10 MP, +10 STA +10% reduction in arcia activation cost +10% improvement in duration of arcia skills +5% affinity with arcia energy
¡°Time to clean up this trial.¡± Chapter 101: Grand Exit Kyle picked up his dropped pulverizer and makeshift obsidian de, leaping off the top of the crystal outcrop into the dozens of rock spiders that were now fully aimed at him. Protect! Divert! Lift! The order was split up immediately amongst the controlled mineral ants, forming a vanguard formation around Kyle as one mineral andtched onto the back of Kyle, carrying him down while the mineral ants at the front deflected the iing rock spikes. A series of energy beams mmed into a controlled warrior mineral ant, the energy beam causing the surface of the armour to sizzle but it did not prate. The artificial hive core seems to boost their capabilities by a significant amount. Kyle was released right on top of arge rock spider,nding on the surface with a straightforward swing of the pulverizer, pummeling the surface in rapid session. Continuous shocks pulsated through the interior of therge rock spider, causing the internals to fracture and shatter from the high stress and sudden vibrations. One controlled venom-spitting wasp fired a glob of acid, which immediately dissolved right through a leg of therge rock spider, allowing Kyle to kill it easily.
[System Message] Killed [Territorial Rock Defender], +1000 EXP
Despite the overwhelming firepower Kyle now had with the dozen controlled mineral ants, the tide of rock spiders did not seem to abet, continuously having its number replenished.
[System Message] Killed [Spike Rock Spider], +298 EXP
I¡¯m nearly halfway through to the point of 0 EXP ¨C what was the trial clear condition again?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial of Persistence] The prince lies in wait Clear Conditions: Break
The previous Trial of the Horde had a unique vour text as well, rted to something about ¡®the mother is displeased¡¯. With the final boss being a queen spider, albeit controlled by three medium-ss slovesa, Kyle suspected that the trial might have something to do with the prince. When they say that it was lying in wait, does it mean that it is nning to ambush us? Kyle¡¯s eyes scanned the room as he continuously fought against the iing horde of rock spiders, unable to spot anything that could serve as an ambush point. He had already been ambushed from above by the ¡®brain¡¯, but he got a feeling that the mineral ants were not part of the trial. A few mineral ant stragglers still fought in localised skirmishes across the cavern, especially around the base of the crystal outcrop. A lone warrior mineral ant stabbed four des deep into a rock spider, gutting it before chopping away at the surface of the crystal outcrop, shovelling as many crystals as it could into its mouth now that it was no longermanded by the ¡®brain¡¯. Kyle spotted an unusual concentration of arcia energy in a general direction as the warrior mineral ant clutched its head; its body began to swell disproportionately as the crystalised arcia energy began to infuse it with even greater amounts. The ambient arcia energy swirled around it while it grewrger in size, towering up to four meters in height as it let out a hearty roar, the click of its humongous mandibles cracking like thunder across the cavern. Its greedy eyes looked towards the crystal outcrop, intuitively aware of the source of its newfound power and wanting more. Gripping his pulverizer tightly, Kyle was about to charge forward when suddenly a rumbling beneath his feet threatened to topple him over, the entire ground fracturing into tes like an earthquake with a significant bulge moving around underneath. Soon, the ground burst out right underneath the evolved warrior mineral ant, five sharp rock ws expanding before mping down right on the mineral ant, piercing straight into its armour shell like tofu. The ws pulled right back down into the ground, forcing the mineral ant to be mmed against the ground as it struggled against the ws, which were as rigid as diamonds. The ws continued to retract into the ground, crushing against it and squeezing its armour shell tightly till it was nearly about to burst. Like a balloon pop, the mineral ant burst outwards in two directions as the innards were squeezed right out of it, sttering the nearby brawlers and area in a coat of grey mush. Kyle squinted as he changed track, noticing something wrong with the w. If my newfound ability to sense arcia energy flow is correct ¨C the w originated from inside the crystal outcrop. Kyle began to slowlyprehend the objective of the trial: they wanted him to break it. A slight hesitation rose from within him. The crystal outcrop was an extremely dense source of arcia energy ¨C if he had ess to it, he could elerate his Arcia Reinforcement by leaps and bounds with no doubt. He did not know what the oue would be if he broke it. Let¡¯s grind for a bit more before ¨C The Arcian instincts in him now roared louder than ever, prompting him to jump out of the way as he avoided one of the rock ws that suddenly jutted out from the ground, nearly impaling him from below. Kyle swung the pulverizer with as much force as he could muster then, impacting the w to no effect as a ringing sensation sent waves of numbness through his limbs, his wrist on the verge of dropping the pulverizer. Yet another wshed out of the fragmented ground, with Kyle leaping from te to te, the entire cavern now a veritable mishmash of broken ground chunks that were angled randomly. At the back of the cavern, Feldon clung onto a piece of the ground, his legs dangling as he tried to mber onto the top. Looks like I don¡¯t have the luxury of grinding, then. Kyle did not assume he had infinite strength ¨C he still needed to eat and rest, forcing him to focus on cracking the crystal outcrop regardless. With a mentalmand, the same vanguard of mineral ants formed around him, lifting him up high above the ground as the ws tried to attack him, forming a chain of spikes that jutted out from the ground, impaling ants and spiders alike. Landing into a roll on the top of the outcrop, Kyle lifted the pulverizer as high as possible. Penchant for Violence! He mmed the head down, the shock reverberating through the entire structure, with loose arcia crystals falling off the side, sprinkling down to the ground in a brilliant shower. The straggler ants lunged for the free food that was falling while the rock spiders tried to deter them. The battle on the ground hardly mattered to Kyle as he delivered yet another blow, the intervals between hits decreasing as he sped up, eventually hitting a total of thirty times. On the thirty-first strike, he mmed down, forming arge crack line that stemmed from the centre and snaked towards the edges in opposite directions, cracking the entire crystal outcrop open like a fruit chopped in half. Where¡¯s the prince? Kyle quickly looked at the interior, noticing a single brilliant crystal that was covered in resplendent engravings that pulsated, thergest that caught Kyle¡¯s eyes. Kyle dropped down with the assistance of a mineral ant, quickly stretching out his hand to yank it out from the crystal outcrop.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Advanced-Quality Arcia Crystal] Not only pure but highlypressed due to geological processes unknown to man Unknown Usage
The crystal was the size of his hand, but Kyle could sense that this was nearly close to a thousand times denser than the one that Feldon had previously stolen. This is the jackpot! However, before Kyle could celebrate obtaining such a powerful energy source, he felt like something was slightly missing. If that¡¯s not the prince - then? The crystal outcrop crashed into the ground, its two halves toppling over and squashing any unfortunate mineral ant or rock spider too slow to get out of its way. The same earthquake as before rumbled through the cavern, prompting Kyle to order a warrior ant to hoist him up quickly. Move there! Kyle motioned towards the struggling Feldon, who was confused to see Kyle being carried by the mineral ants. He assumed Kyle had been captured by the enemy, brainwashed in some way or another. ¡°You were supposed to kill them all, not join them!¡± ¡°Shut up ande with me!¡± Kyle urged, just as he swerved out of the way as the frequency of w stabs from the ground began to increase rapidly. Another warrior ant grabbed Feldon from behind before he could protest, carrying him screaming as they ducked and weaved at high flying speeds, dodging the rock ws that were nearly the size of pirs now. Aim for the hole in the ceiling! Kyle was confident now that there was no chance he was going to beat that trial, with the sheer amount of rock ws protruding outwards now numbering close to a hundred. As they blocked a barrage of rock spikes and endured a torrent of energy beams, they soon made it back to the hole, soaring far above the now shattered rocky outcrop. The ground beneath the two fallen halves of the outcrop gave way, revealing arge worm-like maw with rows upon rows of jagged teeth that lunged upwards to consume the crystal outcrop in one single bite, the tip nearly missing Kyle as they flew above. ¡°WHAT IN THE FUCK IS THAT?¡± Feldon eximed as his legs dangled wildly, panicking. Bring us out to the surface! Kyle gave a generic order to the ants, hoping that they would know the way to the surface. Surprisingly, they began to move in an orderly fashion, with the warriors at the front and rear, along with the venom-spitting hos forming the centre guard, ready to engage at range. They zoomed down therge overgrown tree trunk, flying past lost ants who were jostling with others over scraps of arcia crystals, reaching a section of the trunk where there were multiple shafts leading upwards. As they rushed down one of the paths, continuously going up, Feldon had already passed out from the panicking and novel experience of flying with no control. Kyle did not mind, treating it as his own exosuit and using the mineral ant on his back to serve as the thrusters. The group moved in sync, controlled by Kyle¡¯s mind as he read their thoughts and instincts. It seems like they really do know where the surface is. ncing upwards, he soon noticed a small speck of lines as the vines and flowers that grew along the shaft was like a blur to him, the surging air around him only informing him that they were closer to the surface than ever before. The group finally burst out into the sunlight,ing out through the rotten trunk of a humongous tree, the interior having been long hollowed out. The wings of the mineral ant buzzed strongly, beating an air draft that buffeted the leaves of the trees. Instead of flying over the tree line, Kyle had the mineral ants drop them close to the floor of the forest, hugging the dense foge and myriad tree roots that snaked through thendscape. Feldon was dropped unceremoniously, the shock rudely awakening him as he choked on a glob of saliva, coughing violently. Kyle heaved heavily, exhausted from the non-stop fighting so far. He had barely managed to rest since the race evolution, which had taken quite a toll on him. That, coupled with the debilitating poison, dragged out the fight much longer than it should have. If I were at peak strength ¨C that crystal outcrop would¡¯ve been cracked in three hits instead of thirty. For now, Kyle¡¯s survival instinct was still running at full pace, his brain trying to figure out where they were now. Were they even still in Versia, or did the dungeon exit lead him apletely other direction? Instead of asking the mineral ant to fly him up high, he decided to scale the highest tree nearby he could find. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s watching the sky, if any. With the imminent war between Versia and Yual, if this is the border, I would be tracked down immediately. Peeping his head out from beyond the leafy branches, he saw the forest seemed to stretch for miles on either end. In the far distance, he could see slight signs of human civilisation, a small clearing in the forest where there were no trees and a few smoke chimneys that had white plumes soaring to the sky. Dropping back down to the ground, he quickly hauled the still coughing Feldon on the back of a mineral ant before mounting one himself, moving bynd towards the signs. ¡°Where¡­ where are we going?¡± Feldon weakly asked, his head still spinning from the flying. ¡°To find our allies and get what I was promised.¡± Chapter 102: Resurgence Hayden wiped the sweat of her brows with a well-used cloth slung around her neck, before putting on thick gloves and grabbing a pair of metal tongs, pulling out a searing hot long bar of steel. She quickly hefted it over to an empty anvil, cing it down and picking up a nearby hammer, whacking away at the bar as she attempted to shape the steel into what looked like a sword, tapering both sides evenly. The consistent hammer sounds were suddenly interspersed with a loud yell and a thud. ¡°Huh?¡± Hayden nced outside the window to the treeline, noticing two humans copsed onto of one another. What the? cing everything on a bench, she rushed out of the smithy, sprinting over to them. ¡°Hey? What¡¯s wrong! What happened?¡± As she neared, she noticed one of them had a gaping gash on his back, as though a warrior mineral ant had sliced it out. ¡°Drake! Get over here quickly!¡± Hayden yelled back towards the houses, prompting a few onlookers while a half-naked man rushed out of his home. ¡°Wait, why the fuck are you naked?!¡± ¡°What? You told me toe!¡± ¡°Yes, bute, you know, properly!¡± ¡°By the looks of it, if you want them to live, I won¡¯t have time for clothes. We have to haul them to my ce, quickly!¡± The two strangers were ced on makeshift fabric stretchers before being put down on the floor of Drake¡¯s house. Drake leaned over, examining the two strangers. The first one looked fairly unremarkable, though he seemed a bit familiar. Have I seen him in a light thrower theatre before? He inspected him, checking his pulse and his body for any marks or signs of infection. ¡°Seems just to be a concussion.¡± As he turned to check on the other stranger, there were already a few members of the vige who couldn¡¯t help staring at his face. ¡°I know I¡¯ve renounced Yual, but by Yual, his features are impable. Is he a noble or something?¡± ¡°No, he can¡¯t be; he¡¯s covered in blood with a tinge of piss. No noble would willingly stoop so low.¡± ¡°Maybe they are adventurers or something. Didn¡¯t the wound look exactly like a warrior mineral ant¡¯s? Do you think they tried to clear the hive nearby?¡± ¡°I doubt it ¨C no one cares enough about us to do anything. The Versian military has not even replied in thest two years.¡± ¡°Or¡­ they were sent by them!¡± ¡°Then they are pretty useless soldiers!¡± ¡°Would all of you stop your useless gossiping and let me work in peace?¡± Drake sighed, checking the pulse of the second stranger, who he honestly admitted looked far better than anyone he had seen before. ¡°Alright, back off, the show¡¯s over!¡± Hayden shooed the onlookers away, giving Drake a thumbs up as she returned to the smithy. Drake nodded, focusing on the task at hand and lifted the stranger¡¯s body, tilting him over to examine the gash. He noticed traces of poison that was present in the blood that seeped out of the scabbed gash, which still had chunks of exposed meat. Drake rummaged through his cab of herbs,ing across a few dried preserved leaves. The healing is being stunted by the poison, it seems ¨C perhaps this medicinal herb will help. As Drake ced a few leaves on the exposed parts of the wound, the second stranger yelped in pain as he shot right awake. ¡°Where-where¡¯s Feldon? Who are you? Where is my weapon? The ants areing!¡± ¡°Rx, calm down! You¡¯re safe here!¡± Drake tried to persuade the second stranger and restrained the body from moving too much in fear that the stranger might aggravate his own wound. However, the second stranger was surprisingly strong despite the injuries, nearly throwing Drake off. ¡°Fine, have a whiff of this!¡± Drake reached out to a nearby table and tossed a handful of bluish powder right at the second stranger¡¯s face, knocking him out in an instant, snoring peacefully as though nothing had ever happened. Drake rubbed his sore arms gingerly, aching from the amount of strength he had to use to hold the second stranger down in ce. The door to Drake¡¯s house swung open, with Hayden barging in. ¡°I heard someone yelling, is everything okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. He just had a panic attack.¡± Drake sighed, bandaging the wound up while pressing the leaves deeper into the wound. ¡°How are you able to be so aware of our surroundings? You always seemed to be the first to react and respond.¡± ¡°Ah? Haha, I guess my experience as an adventurer paid off.¡± Hayden smiled sheepishly. ¡°Since when were you an adventurer?¡± ¡°Since I moved here a year ago.¡± ¡°Now that I recall, you appeared here in very simr situations as well, nearly on the brink of death before I saved you.¡± ¡°And I¡¯ll never ever be able to repay what you and this vige have done for me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t say that. The weapons you make are of top quality. We would have never been able to survive out here without your help. So, learnt how to make weapons while being an adventurer? Sounds like quite the detour.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ I had a good mentor. And some education.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Drake and Hayden chatted a bit before Hayden went back to the smithy, the sounds of metal striking metal resounding through the vige once more. Drake smiled to himself, moving to ignite the firece to provide a warm environment for the two strangers. An hourter, the firece in Drake¡¯s house crackled as the logs fell on top of one another, with Drake tossing firewood to feed the me. He checked on the second stranger¡¯s wound, noticing that it was healing up at quite a rapid pace. Interesting. His vitality must be very strong, unusually strong. The arrival of the two strangers became the talk of the vige, with the rest of the day beingpletely focused on what were the origins of the two strangers. Many recalled how Hayden showed up here once before as well in a simr fashion. ¡°What do you think is happening out in the world today? Are they going to war again? Should we run?¡± ¡°No way the war reaches anywhere near us ¨C we¡¯re so far out of the way. Besides, the main attack wille from Raktor, which is more than a week from here, even if you took a wagon. Not that the forest has any proper roads.¡± ¡°The local authorities are building one now, though, haven¡¯t you heard? They areying down railway tracks along it as well. Some parts of the road are pretty close to us ¨C it¡¯ll only take us four hours to get there! Maybe we can go visit Tenar.¡± ¡°Bah, that¡¯s only for the industrialists, peasants like us will never ever get to use them.¡± Soon, evening neared as the vigers began to make their way home. Boys carryingrge baskets filled with fruit and herbsughed and chased each other, while men herded boars and chicken back into their wooden huts. The women called out to their children ying at the open clearing in the middle of the wooden lodges, the smell of fresh food and savoury soups drifting through the air. Despite that, Hayden had a solemn face, a far cry from her usual jovial attitude that Drake and the others knew. She flicked a lever on her anvil, revealing a heavy machine gun that fit her perfectly, arge canister of pre-loaded metal pellets already ready to go. They are already onto me ¨C I can sense it. It¡¯s time for me to go. Slinging a backpack onto her left shoulder, she cast a sad nce to her now empty smithy, thest of the embers flickering out in the firece. But as soon as she was about to turn and leave, a loud scream emerged, followed by the distinctive sound of an arctech rifle firing into the air as a warning shot. [Illegal squatters of the Keru Forest. Your offences are two folds.] A loud arctech radio speaker red out as Versian soldiers suddenly emerged from the forest, walking brazenly into the vige. [One. Illegal upation of an area that does not belong to you. Thend is under the ownership of Tenar Logging Incorporated. You will now be forcibly removed from the area. New housing will be provided at your new destination.] ¡°What the fuck are you talking about? I¡¯ve been here for over seven years ¨C this is the first time I¡¯ve heard of such bullshit!¡± One of the vigers yelled. ¡°The Keru Forest doesn¡¯t belong to any onepany!¡± [Two. You have been harbouring dangerous revolutionaries who plot the demise of the Versian Government, seeking to upend the stability of the people. Surrender them, and you will be granted leniency during your trial.] The vigers were in a panic as they were herded at gunpoint into the central clearing in the middle of the vige, surrounded by arctech repeaters. They whispered among each other, some ming the two strangers who had just entered earlier. ¡°Who¡¯s the leader of the vige? Come forth!¡± A sergeant yelled, prompting Drake to walk forward without hesitation, unafraid of the barrels aimed right at him that could take off his head in an instant. ¡°I am the leader. My name is Drake. May I know yours?¡± ¡°We have received reports that you are harbouring dangerous individuals that are active revolutionaries against the government.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why this backwater vige would have anything to do with trying to overthrow the government.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t y games with me. The eyewitness report stated that there were two strangers who entered the vige earlier in the morning. However, we have confirmed with the Adventurer¡¯s Guild and Explorer Guild that none of their registered members have entered the forest.¡± ¡°Do we count as the unregistered members as well?¡± ¡°The penalty for harbouring them is death. You are to show me where they are immediately!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have them.¡± The stoic reply from Drake earned him a blow to the back of his head, sending him sprawling onto the floor in a slight daze. The vigers gasped while a few children began to cry. ¡°You! The one who made the report.¡± The sergeant pointed to ady who was cowering with the rest. ¡°Where is the leader¡¯s house?¡± ¡°The third one on the right with the sign of a leave on its archway, you can¡¯t miss it.¡± Thedy replied hurriedly, earning stares of hatred and astonishment from the surrounding vigers. Before they could attempt to grab and attack him in a fit of rage, the soldiers pulled thedy out of the group before beating back anyone who tried to get past them. The soldiers fired shots into the air, frightening them into submission again and tempering their anger. ¡°Two of you, with me. The rest of you, make sure none of them are harmed. We need them in perfect condition.¡± Drake was hauled up and restrained with handcuffs as he was dragged along towards his house. His head lolled about, but from the corner of his eye, he could see Hayden crouching behind a house¡¯s wall, hidden from sight, while readying a machine gun. Drake¡¯s eyes widened, mouthing ¡®NO¡¯ to Hayden and shaking his head violently. ¡°Stop struggling. It¡¯ll be over once we find the two strangers.¡± The door to Drake¡¯s house was kicked down on its hinges, the wood splintering off into chunks that ttered onto the empty floor. There were no signs of the strangers nor any space for them to hide, only the brightly burning firece sending flickers of light across the wooden lodge and tables. ¡°Search the whole house! Check under the bed and the cabs!¡± The soldiers began to ransack the house, overturning the area while the sergeant squinted his eyes, trying to spot every nook and cranny. After a minute of searching on the floor for any trap doors, the sergeant was fuming. Drake, too, was at a loss, having seen the two strangers here right before the soldiers marched into the vige. Where in the world have they gone? ¡°Bring the damndy here who made the report!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Thedy was dragged in front of the sergeant. ¡°Supplying false information to the military is punishable by vebour and ten years in prison. Where. Are. The. Revolutionaries?!¡± ¡°I swear, I swear on my life I just saw them here ten minutes ago before you moved in. Drake himself was still treating them!¡± ¡°Soldiers, spread out and turn over the whole vige!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother; I¡¯m here.¡± A human figurended from the chimney into the firece, sting out the hot embers that sprayed onto the soldiers, causing scalding and screams while the sergeant quickly pulled out an arctech pistol from his leather holster, aiming it at the firece and fired blindly. The single shot barely grazed the edge of the human figure. The human figure dashed rapidly, his image bing a blur before he mmed his palm into a soldier¡¯s chin, causing his head to punch through the thick wooden log ceiling before grabbing the sergeant and hauling him out of the house. The remaining soldier tried to fire at him but was far toote as he was kicked right in the guts with full force, his spine breaking as he crumpled to the floor, his mouth choking with vomit and blood. Thedy screamed as she scampered outside, leaving the groaning sergeant on the floor to fend for himself. All he could see was a wooden mask with only two holes punctured through it, the brilliant eyes staring into his soul. ¡°The Ghost of Tenar hase for all who betray the people of Versia.¡± Chapter 103: No Love Lost Kyle grabbed the arctech handgun dropped by the sergeant and shot thedy, the projectile tearing through her windpipes before she could scream even more to attract attention.
[System Message] Killed [Informant Viger], +5 EXP
However, her initial scream had already attracted the attention of a dozen soldiers who were still herding the vigers at the open clearing in the middle of the vige. The gunshot startled them as well, prompting them to raise their repeaters in wariness. ¡°Hey, what was that?¡± ¡°It came from the leader¡¯s house! Where¡¯s the sergeant?¡± At the same time, Kyle knocked out the sergeant with a kick to the jaw, sending a concussion right up to his brain, before dragging him back into the house quickly. The soldiers had already spotted him, with five of them rushing out to the front of the house, their bodies hugging the walls to prevent being shot from within the house. The first soldier peeked through the broken-down door but was unable to spot anything other than a bloody mess on the floor. ¡°Don¡¯t bother hiding in there ¨C we saw you! Come out peacefully, and you will have a fair trial!¡± Nobody replied, but the soldiers who had their ears to the wall could hear the dragging of bodies on the ground. ¡°Thundercrackers, through the windows now!¡± One of the soldiers ordered, prompting them to brandish a metallic arctech orb. Before any one of them could toss the orb in, a loud gunshot ripped through the thin curtains of the windows and grazed the forehead of one soldier, who quickly ducked in response, his heart pounding wildly. A hand reached out from around the edges of the doorway, grabbing onto the soldier¡¯s legs firmly and dragging him inside whilst his headnded with a heavy thud from the sudden jerk. ¡°He¡¯s right under the windows! Get him!¡± Just as the soldiers were about to react, a whirring rotating sound could be heard behind them, before they felt sharp pain erupting all over their body. The machine gun¡¯s pellets tore through them like butter, a hundred pellets shredding them as their bodies became ragged. The pellets lodged themselves in the walls and pockmarked the curtains, tearing off chunks while all five soldiers died, slumped to the ground with the armed thundercrackers popping off like a loud banging noise with a white sh, blinding everyone who even slightly looked in their direction. The remaining soldiers at the central clearing were not unaware of what was happening ¨C they had just witnessed the five soldiers gunned down by a machine gun from a house opposite. ¡°Shit! How did they get a machine gun here?! What do we do? There¡¯s no way we can fight that!¡± ¡°Retreat, get back to headquarters to ask for more backup and equipment. Move!¡± ¡°What about the sergeant?!¡± ¡°Fuck him, he¡¯s dead!¡± Panicking, the soldiers beat a hasty retreat, running away from the middle clearing. However, two shots suddenly rang clear through the evening sky, boring a hole in the two soldiers forehead and prompting the rest of the soldiers to get off the road immediately and duck behind the houses, aware that the shot came from behind them. ¡°Where was that?¡± ¡°Behind, but angled high?¡± ¡°Huh? The highest is two storeys here!¡± ¡°The chimney, the chimney!¡± At the top of Drake¡¯s house, Feldon was still positioning himself at the edge of the chimney, his face straining as he fired another shot towards the soldiers taking cover. His body was precariously pushing against the inner walls while he propped himself up. A soldier spotted his head, firing back three shots from the repeater that whipped fragments off the chimney, nearly nailing Feldon right in the head. However, Feldon was unfazed, the cumtive effect of Sasha¡¯s training and the dungeon delving with Kyle hardening his senses. The return fire from Feldon was urate, blowing out the brains of the soldier as the repeater ttered to the floor with a loud echo. ¡°Fuck it, just sprint for the tree line! Once we make it there, we¡¯re clear!¡± The remaining four soldiers nodded and charged out, Feldon unable to pin them down any longer. However, they spotted ady wielding a machine gun standing at the entrance to the vige, the barrel aimed right at them. With a torrential roar of gunfire, the soldiers barely stood a chance, the bullets shredding them. The vigers in the open clearing cowered with their hands above their heads, protecting themselves from the stray bullets that swished overhead. As the red-hot barrel of the machine gun sizzled softly in silence, the remaining vigers came to the realisation that all the soldiers were dead. Hayden did not waste any time, quickly running past them and ignoring their questions. The sight of her hauling the machine gun startled them, making them start to believe that she was the revolutionary hiding amongst them. She hefted the machine gun barrel at the house, yelling out loud. ¡°Ghost of Tenar! Come out quietly. I do not wish to hurt you.¡± ¡°Then put down the machine gun, and we can talk.¡± ¡°Release Drake first.¡± ¡°What makes you think I am holding him hostage? In fact, I saved him from your gunfire. Did you think the wooden walls were enough to hold back two hundred shots at that range?¡± Hayden¡¯s eyes widened with a stark realisation, and ran towards the house. ¡°Drake!¡± As soon as she cleared the doorway, a knife lunged towards her neck, prompting her to lift the machine gun¡¯s still red hot barrel to block it. The body of the machine gun was grabbed with a strong grip before her legs were swept out from under her, her body falling to the ground as Kyle pinned her down, the knife pushing against her throat. Hayden nced around the house, noticing Drake was fine in the corner, albeit clearly shaken from the firefight he had just witnessed. She turned to re at the wooden mask of the man pinning her down. ¡°Don¡¯t bother hiding your face. You¡¯re the one with the mineral ant sh on your back. Is this how you treat those who saved you?¡± ¡°I believe I am the one who saved him first. Who are you?¡± ¡°I should be asking the Ghost of Tenar that.¡± ¡°Let me guess ¨C a cksmith carrying a military-grade machine gun around, coupled with fighting tactics simr to that of the Versian military.¡± Before Hayden could reply, a resounding crash was heard at the firece, with another person rolling out from it as the embers clung to his clothes. ¡°HOT, HOT!¡± Feldon screamed as he rolled around the house in a panic, putting out the fire. Drake quickly rushed to help him, smothering any stray me that threatened to burn down the entire house. ¡°Then let me guess your identity ¨C a disgruntled noble who wants to take back his country, acting as though he is fighting for the people. I¡¯ve seen your face.¡± ¡°I work for Minister Dekar.¡± Hayden¡¯s eyes widened slightly before she quickly controlled her reaction. ¡°And? That name doesn¡¯t mean anything to me.¡± ¡°And Zayin.¡± This time, Hayden was purely stunned. ¡°Who are you? Johan?¡± ¡°I am not one of the original revolutionaries ¨C but it seems that you are. We¡¯re on the same side here.¡± ¡°Then get the fuck off me.¡± Kyleplied, releasing Hayden as she gingerly wiped the small stains of blood off her neck, still ring at Kyle with anger. Already outside, the vigers were crowding around the deaddy¡¯s body, arguing with each other in a frenzy. ¡°How did she know we had a revolutionary here in the vige? And how did she tell the military in the first ce?¡± ¡°It does not matter ¨C we need to kick Hayden out of the vige right now, as well as those two strangers! The military will find out that their entire detachment has died, and they¡¯lle back even stronger!¡± ¡°Idiot, kicking them out won¡¯t do us any good. They already want to evict us for illegal upation! Why would kicking out the revolutionaries help us in any way?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want my children to get caught in the crossfire. We should surrender to the military immediately ¨C tell them who the exact revolutionaries are and negotiate.¡± ¡°This vige was built on trust and loyalty among us. If we are selling out our own people, what kind of vige is this?! I did not sign up to betray one of us!¡± ¡°Hayden is not one of us; she barely joined us a year ago.¡± ¡°And? You still use her metalware right now in your house ¨C don¡¯t forget the metal pots you use to cook for your children!¡± ¡°We should move away from here ¨C find another area. The Keru Forest is big; we¡¯ll definitely find another ce.¡± ¡°How the hell are we going to fight through the mineral ants hive and the other animals in the forest?!¡± The argument was heated, as the vigers were clearly divided on what to do. Not many participated in the argument, some simply heading home to check on their damaged furniture from the rough handling of the soldiers, while a few curious kids warily picked up a dropped repeater, examining it before their mother quickly snatched it away. It was the first attack on the vige in forever, with the mineral ants hardly evering out this far. It was the entire reason the vige had managed to flourish here ¨C though the forest was still a dangerous ce. Inside the house, Hayden and Kyle were still arguing with each other, Haydenpletely unintimidated by the Ghost of Tenar. ¡°You expect me to believe that mineral ants attacked you and your ¡®friend¡¯ here and somehow managed to find our vige when just a week ago you were killing representatives in broad daylight in Tenar? Do you even know how far Tenar is away from here?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how far it is from here. Mostly due to the fact that mineral ants attacked me.¡± ¡°Gah! Fine. I apud yourmitment to the Ghost of Tenar identity. It¡¯s clearly obvious that you are simply an imposter. You just managed to do your research on the original revolutionaries, namedropping them randomly.¡± ¡°Believe whatever you want to believe. But as of now, we have amon goal as revolutionaries.¡± ¡°Amon goal? Pfft, you are just an imposter? How would you everprehend what the goal is?¡± ¡°Says the one who was about to leave the vige earlier today without telling anybody. Is that a goal too?¡± Hayden stiffened up, noticing Drake¡¯s eyes staring at her in confusion as he was simply listening to the whole conversation while treating Feldon¡¯s burns. ¡°Drake, I¡­ I was going to tell you! I¡­¡± She stammered slightly as she tried to exin, but Drake had already turned away from Hayden¡¯s face, unable to meet her eyes. She turned to re at Kyle. ¡°Outside, now.¡± The two of them left Feldon and Drake alone in the house, with Feldon clearly aware of what had taken ce. ¡°Doctor, don¡¯t worry too much. My first wife pulled the same trick on me, too, packing up and leaving without telling me.¡± ¡°And she came back?¡± ¡°No, I heard that she¡¯s having a st in Proco. Married one of the mayors or something.¡± ¡°What? What are you trying to tell me?¡± ¡°Uhh¡­ all things work out in the end? I got a second wife no-ARGH!¡± Feldon screamed as Drake tightened the bandage far too hard before stomping out of the house, leaving the whimpering Feldon on the ground. The vigers noticed Drake leaving the house, quickly mouring around him and trying to convince him of their viewpoints. ¡°SILENCE!¡± Drake bellowed as loud as he could. ¡°Tonight, there will be a vige meeting in three hours after dinner. I expect all vigers to attend. The future is at stake.¡± Chapter 104: Civil Dispute Kyle followed Hayden back to the smithy, where the ce had obviously been cleared out of any belongings, with only the empty anvil and furnace left behind, along with a few obviously ruined rags of cloth and charred tongs that Hayden could not fit into the backpack. The two kept a clear distance from each other as Hayden tossed the machine gun onto the workbench, disengaging the clutch that held the damaged barrel in before she pulled another one out of her backpack and attached a new one. It was a bit of a shock to Kyle, not having seen a barrel change after a three hundred bullets fire. I would have only reced my corvette¡¯s railguns after maybe a year of continuous firing¡­ ¡±You don¡¯t seem too surprised by the machine gun, but yet I¡¯ve never seen you in the military before.¡± Hayden remarked, watching Kyle¡¯s reaction as she continued to repair the machine gun, checking the engravings in the machine gun. ¡°I¡¯m more surprised at the fact that you can handle such arge machine gun without the need for an arcite fuel pack.¡± ¡°This one doesn¡¯t require too much energy ¨C there are mechanisms inside to help.¡± Hayden cocked the machine gun, hefting it up and turning towards Kyle. ¡°So, you got three minutes to talk before I rip you to shreds for telling Drake of all fucking people.¡± ¡°I want to overthrow the government and install Minister Dekar as the head of the new government,¡± Kyle stated clearly, throwing Hayden off guard as to how direct the statement was. ¡°You¡¯ve seen my actions in Tenar and here ¨C even if I am an imposter, I am still against the military and the government.¡± ¡°Or you could just be a nt by them, acting like the Ghost of Tenar so they can slowly twist your image. Maybe this whole vige was just a show ¨C to be broadcasted at light thrower theatres around Versia to turn opinion towards the Ghost of Tenar.¡± ¡°Have you seen any light capturers around? It seems like there isn¡¯t anyone left alive to record this ¡®show¡¯ of yours.¡± Hayden couldn¡¯t refute Kyle¡¯s words, she herself having scoured the tree line to spot if there were any soldiers lying in wait. She knew very well that all the soldiers that entered the vige were dead for sure. ¡°Now that I have stated my goal, it is time to state yours. Why were you running from the vige before the soldiers arrived? Based on the machine gun, there¡¯s no way you made it here in the smithy. You must have stolen it from the Versian military.¡± ¡°I¡­.¡± Hayden hesitated for a moment. ¡°You¡¯re right. I left the military a year ago beforeing here to hide. I thought the Keru Forest would be safe ¨C it¡¯s been untouched for years save for a few towns and viges foresting the edges. This vige is right smacked in the middle.¡± ¡°But now Tenar Logging Incorporated is charging forwards.¡± ¡°That fucking bitch Mornero. I knew from the start he was a fucking fox, but Johan ignored all myints. Fuck!¡± ¡°So you ran away from the military.¡± ¡°Because how the fuck was I supposed to change anything inside the government? Before Dekar got framed, I thought he was part of the cronies under Mornero, snaking their way through the system to cripple us from within. I needed to get out before I was killed off like the rest of the original revolutionaries. I knew that they were cutting off every loose end, every person who could know about the origins.¡± Kyle recalled how shocked Dekar was when he met Zayin in the catbs. Mornero had been purging the old guard to establish his own legitimacy ¨C a valid move. ¡°I had to lie low in the vige for a while just to let the heat around me die down. I was chased for nearly two whole weeks before managing to shake them off my trail. But now that they know something¡¯s here¡­¡± ¡°This vige is doomed then.¡± ¡°And partly because of your arrival.¡± ¡°I think the fault can be thoroughly ced on the informantdy. But don¡¯t lie to yourself ¨C you¡¯ve been waiting for someone like me to arrive.¡± ¡°What the fuck are you talking about?¡± ¡°Because your only n to ¡®save the vige¡¯ was to run away. Your first reaction to the corruption in the government was to run away too. Yet you were one of the original revolutionaries who fought alongside Dekar and Zayin. Based on how spineless most of you are, I suspect that President Johan might be the only reason why any of you even bothered to rebel against the nobility fifteen years ago.¡± Hayden scoffed, hiding the shame and trying to rebut Kyle. ¡°And you¡¯re saying you can do the same.¡± ¡°I WILL do the same.¡± Kyle dered. ¡°And I need your help, Hayden. It¡¯s time to stop running around and make a stand.¡± ¡°Save the propaganda speech for the normal folks ¨C I¡¯ve heard enough over thest fifteen years. You¡¯re not going to convince me that easily. Any dumb fuck can dere to overthrow the government ¨C having enough power is something else.¡± Intimidation Aura! Hayden¡¯s heart suddenly palpitated, each beat loud and clear in her ears as a fearsome presence suddenly erupted, filling the room as Kyle slowly walked towards her. She gulped instinctively, her eyes immediately darting for a chance to exit the smithy. As her eyesnded on the door, the presence suddenly disappeared, with Kyle sighing behind the wooden mask. ¡°So, the first instinct of the great revolutionary Hayden is to run away to save her own life. I¡¯m surprised you even stayed behind to help the vige. This is a waste of time.¡± Kyle turned to leave the smithy. ¡°Hey, where the fuck do you think you¡¯re going!¡± Hayden yelled, indignant. ¡°To my friend. If I can¡¯t convince you to help me by words, there is no reason for me to try anymore.¡± Kyle stepped out of the smithy, his left hand held up and curling into a fist. What the fuck is he doing? Hayden ran outside with the machine gnun aimed at Kyle. ¡°Stop right now, whatever the fuck you¡¯re doing, before I shoot you down myself!¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be running now?¡± Kyle taunted as the whirring buzzing sound of mineral ants wings could suddenly be heard from beyond the forest. Before Hayden could even react, a dozen mineral ants burst forth from the tree line, the size farrger than the normal mineral ants she had been fighting in the forest. The group rushed past the two of them, ignoring both Hayden and Kyle and charging straight for the vige meeting that was being held in the open now. ¡°You! You¡¯re controlling them!¡± Hayden didn¡¯t really believe what she was saying. Still, it was the only exnation for why the usually violent mineral ants had ignored them and were now circling the screaming vigers, trapping them in a ring. At the same time, Drake quickly stood to defend the vigers. Hayden¡¯s eyes widened as she saw a mineral ant approached Drake, fury taking over her as she immediately fired a hailstorm of pellets at Kyle. This is My Turf! The pellets all impacted the invisible barrier, ttering to the ground with bright sparks. Hayden roared as she unleashed everything until the barrel melted, the molten metal drooping and preventing any more pellets from being shot outwards. Penchant for Violence! Aero Shoes! Kyle rushed forward, his speed faster than ever now that the debilitating poison had been removed. With one swift motion, he disarmed Hayden and kicked the damaged machine gun away before punching her right in the face, crushing her jawline. She was sent sprawling onto the floor, blood gushing out from her mouth as she groaned on the ground. ¡°Do I have enough power now?¡± Kyle left the whimpering Hayden on the ground, slowly walking towards the trapped vigers. The vigers had never seen the mineral ants act like this before,pletely still and only moving to block anyone who tried to sneak out through the entrapment. Drake spotted Kyle walking towards them, his mind instantly clicking. ¡°Why are you doing this?! Why are you attacking us?¡± ¡°This is not an attack ¨C it is an invitation. I am indebted to you for removing the poison from me.¡± ¡°If you are, then recall the mineral ants immediately.¡± ¡°I will in due time after I have made my offer. To those who are unwilling to simply sit back and be oppressed, I offer a chance at strength. I will give you the power to fight back against those who have wronged you and those who seek to enve you. You have until dawn to meet me two kilometres south of the vige. Bring along everything you need.¡± Kyle mounted the mineral ant, flying off into the sky with the other mineral ants. One mineral ant went to grab Feldon from Drake¡¯s house, the unwieldy handling aggravating his wounds even more as his groans could be heard from afar. The vigers were stunned by the entire sequence of events. First, they were attacked by the military, and now there were two strangers who could control mineral ants. However, the years of istion had made them extremely wary of Kyle¡¯s offer, with nearly none of them even seriously contemting it. ¡°Who the fuck was that? Is he a shapeshifter from deep in the forest?¡± ¡°He might be even worse than the Versian military ¨C at least the Versian military is human!¡± ¡°But they wille back to attack us; how are we supposed to justify what happened to their dead soldiers?¡± ¡°As rpense, we should turn over the captured sergeant and Hayden! That way, they won¡¯t treat us as badly!¡± An outspoken mother yelled out, earning many nods and agreement in response. A young teenager roared back in anger. ¡°Has everyone¡¯s brain turned into mush? The military will attack us regardless! We¡¯re already dered illegal upiers! If not them, then some private goons from Tenar Logging Incorporated woulde to evict us! We should follow the stranger instead.¡± ¡°Are you crazy? You don¡¯t even know what the stranger is?!¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you heard about the Ghost of Tenar? He¡¯s a legendary figure who fights for the people!¡± ¡°Now I think your brain has turned to mush!¡± ¡°We shall not be turning Hayden over to the military!¡± Drake interrupted the discussion. ¡°The vige never betrays one of their own! I am ashamed at any and all of you who even dared to suggest it.¡± The vigers fell into a contemtive silence, but the same outspokendy stood up, wagging her finger at Drake. ¡°You, you¡¯ve been infatuated with Hayden ever since she arrived! I will not have my children sacrificed blindly for harbouring a revolutionary! You don¡¯t deserve to be the leader!¡± ¡°What? No, I ¨C¡° ¡°Yea, she¡¯s right! You can¡¯t make decisions for the whole vige just based on your emotions. Think about what would happen to us if they find out we¡¯re harbouring Hayden. She has to leave now! Or we should capture her and turn her over!¡± Another man stood up, with a couple of others standing up in solidarity. ¡°Idiots! The military will wipe us own either way!¡± The young teenager tried to convince them, but it was far toote. The outspokendy had said what was on everyone¡¯s mind. ¡°I forbid you, as leader of the vige, from capturing anyone and everyone, including Hayden!¡± ¡°Shut it; you¡¯re not the leader anymore! Grab him!¡± The vigers broke out into a scuffle, with those on Drake¡¯s side fighting and brawling with those who tried to capture Drake, breaking out into a civil war. The two mobs shed against one another, though the side that was in favour of capturing Hayden had the advantage in numbers, with Drake¡¯s side only having ten. ¡°Calm down! This is not the way to have a proper discussion! Stop fighting!¡± Drake tried to control the people, but the fighting continued unabated. Soon, blood was spilt as the fighting became even more intense, even though Drake tried desperately to calm the people down while a stone was hurled at his head, knocking him down to the ground. Drake¡¯s supporters His supporters dragged him out, the mob chasing them down and throwing stones. ¡°Drake, what do we do?¡± The young teenager squatted next to the groaning Drake. ¡°We take the offer. Grab Hayden ¨C all of us will go! Now!¡± The escape from the vige was harrowing as the ten members tried to shake off the angry mob that was now hunting them down through the forest. They suffered injuries as they limped through the foge, the re of torches flickering in the distance behind them. Drake nced behind them, emotional from having been ousted from the vige that he had led for seven years. How did it alle to this? Why is this happening? As they made it to the two kilometres mark, they saw Kyle and Feldon standing there with the dozen mineral ants, waiting for them. ¡°Once you join me, you hold no allegiance to anyone else. Not even the vige who betrayed you. If you understand this, nod your heads.¡± The ten members looked back at the iing mob, hesitating a little. Drake too, nced back, knowing what was about to happen. However, he steeled his heart, nodding vigorously towards Kyle. ¡°Good.¡± Kyle motioned with his hand, prompting the mineral ants to lift off and swoop towards the vige. ¡°No point leaving those who know about me behind.¡± Chapter 105: Guerrilla Two dayster¡­ The rubble of crushed wooden walls and shattered ss fragments were crushed under Nox¡¯s boots as he stepped through the devastated vige. It was aplete scene of carnage, yetmon for those who had to deal with attacks from the creatures that lived in the Keru Forest. The bright daylight made the devastation visible to the naked eye, and the entire ce levelled. Yet the vige had survived for seven years up to this point. And on the very night, the soldiers came to arrest the vigers ¨C the mineral ants struck at the exact same time. Nox bent down to pick up a chipped-off mineral ant¡¯s scale, evidence of the vigers¡¯ desperatest stand against the attacks. There were no survivors in the entire vige, with no house left unturned. The long history of the vige has been turned to dust in a single night, now simply regarded as an evidence zone for Nox and his men, who scoured the area and picked apart the torn corpses to find any hints of external intervention. The corpses were already rotting, swarming and crawling with maggots and files as bacteria and mould began to take over the exposed decaying flesh strung from their bones. Thankfully, Nox did not have to endure the smell due to his gas mask that was sped tightly around the lower half of his face. The dead soldiers had also been discovered, though their bodies and uniformy in pieces strewn across the town, with a few sections missing. Nox noticed that only half of their equipment was left behind in the aftermath, but all of them were hardly working anymore, dented or bent over the course of the fight. Nox¡¯s suspicions grew even more when he had his men collect all the body parts,ying them out and matching them together. Soon, the central clearing was a collection of body parts arranged ordingly to whom they belonged. He did a headcount of every corpse, including the soldiers as well. The gruesome sight hardly fazed him ¨C it was nothingpared to the countless wars he had fought over the continent as a hired mercenary. This was a minor issue in that regard. ¡°What was the total number mentioned in the informant¡¯s report?¡± ¡°53 members, including the two strangers, reported to have appeared out of nowhere from the forest.¡± ¡°Yet there are only 39 here. We are missing quite a few members.¡± ¡°Sir, it¡¯s possible that other animals may have eaten the corpses here.¡± ¡°And coincidentally, all of the working military equipment were also kidnapped. It¡¯s almost as if the mineral ants had some form of sentience.¡± ¡°Boss, we found something!¡± Nox walked over to the hitmen who called it out, entering the abandoned smithy, which waspletely overturned and wrecked. In the middle of the debris, the hitmen pointed at a barrel that waspletely melted, trapped under a pile of rocks that they had been digging through. His eyes widened as he quickly ordered the men to dig it out before taking it to examine it himself in the daylight. ¡°Were the men issued with receable machine gun barrels?¡± ¡°No, sir ¨C none of the soldiers sent was rated to use one. They would not be able to handle the arcia consumption.¡± ¡°So, missing corpses, missing weapons, and now someone with enough arcia energy to fire a machine gun long enough to melt it¡­¡± Nox could already see the signs too clearly. The missing corpses could be attributed to scavenger animalsing in to eat the remains, but from the machine gun barrel, it was obvious that there was someone of significant capability in the vige. ¡°Call in more men ¨C it¡¯s time to hunt.¡± The mineral ants trudged along the ground, moving between the trees as the members of Kyle¡¯s new group rode on top of them. The young teenager sped tightly onto Drake, still unused to the sensation of riding on such arge monster. Hayden was currently leading the group with Kyle, heading towards a previous location that the revolutionaries had used before. ¡°There¡¯s a cave system about a hundred and fifty kilometres from here that we used to hide in. There should be ample food and water stored there, and maybe we¡¯ll be able to contact the old guard using the old channels.¡± ¡°What?! Going underground again?¡± Feldon groaned, his entire year so far having been mostly spent underground. First, it was the goblin den, then the catbs, the dungeon and now some dingy old cave system. ¡°It better have a sauna along with a nice plush bed.¡± ¡°You wish. Be prepared to sleep on the ground if necessary.¡± ¡°How far does the cave system extend?¡± Kyle interjected. ¡°Not too far. It¡¯s apletely enclosed system. After the first time, we flushed it out of monsters, and we never encountered another one. All the tunnels lead to a dead end.¡± Hayden replied. ¡°And how long has it been abandoned?¡± ¡°Uhm¡­ not long ago. Just after the war concluded.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fifteen years ago.¡± ¡°Yea, not long ago.¡± ¡°Sounds like enough time for an entire horde of monsters to enter and make it their new home.¡± ¡°Right, I didn¡¯t think of that.¡± Kyle internally groaned but showed an apathetic face as they continued towards their destination. They stopped to rest intermittently, taking a few breaks. Kyle used the time to help the members familiarise themselves with the new equipment. Each of them had a weapon, though there were only five repeaters and five pistols in total, not including Feldon¡¯s handgun and Hayden¡¯s machine gun. All of them were stolen from the soldiers¡¯ bodies, and the members knew exactly what had happened to the vige, knowing that everyone they had known for thest seven years had died. However, none of them protested against Kyle, knowing that he could wipe them out in an instant if he so wished. They were even surprised when Kyle began to train them in the use of the weapons, initially expecting to be enved and defenceless. Of course, Kyle was unafraid of them, even if all of them had machine guns. He no longer considered such grunts as his potential enemies anymore. After the fight with Soren and Rayner, he was now aware of a higher organisation that could most likely be hunting him down. ¡°Break¡¯s over ¨C we have to keep moving.¡± Kyle controlled the pacing,pletely sure that they would be eventually tracked. He did not have enough time to clean up the cepletely, and if any of the ten members had left traces of a trail in the forest without his knowledge, it could easily be picked up. If I had a choice, I would ss the entire area into g. But Kyle did not have such firepower yet, so he had to make do with every possibility. He had a mineral ant move off with a bloodied cloth, using it to try and create diversionary trails through the forest to mislead anyone who was tracking from the forest, along with bits and pieces of a soldier¡¯s uniform. That should buy us some time ¨C maybe a week or so before they catch up to us. As they took yet another break half a dayter, Kyle had to stop to let the mineral ants eat some of the loose rocks. The hungrier ones began to dig pits under the tree roots, burrowing deep into the ground to find any pockets of ore that their senses could detect. The mineral ants seemed to be able to eat any type of ore, though they vastly preferred arcite ore or arcia crystals such as the one Kyle stole from the crystal outcrop in the dungeon.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Advanced-Quality Arcia Crystal] Not only pure but highlypressed due to geological processes unknown to man Unknown Usage
Kyle knew that this arcia crystal might be the key to his exosuit project, which he had not forgotten about. Combining this with the slovesa cores that he had collected from the first trial, he had enough prerequisite parts to create an arctech exosuit ¨C but this would be something that he would need help with. Maybe Feldon¡­ He nced at Feldon, who was snoring loudly while napping against the base of a tree, a train of small beetles already snaking across his neck into his open mouth and feeding on the bacteria inside. A beetle identally fell into his throat, causing Feldon to wake up with a bulging choke, coughing violently as he swung his hands frantically, swatting away the beetles. Nevermind. He would leave the organisation of the members to Feldon, but the exosuit project was a highly personal one. Preferably, he should do everything on his own, but he would need the right setup and metal parts as well. He had yet to do proper measurements for his own body ¨C a suit¡¯s measurements and an exosuit¡¯s were vastly different, needing to ount for actuation and running as well. ¡°Hayden, any facilities in the cave system?¡± ¡°Well, if the monsters that supposedly moved in didn¡¯t wreck anything, then yes, there should be a few workshops inside that can be used to craft weapons and armour. That was what I was using in the past, though it would take some effort for it to get going again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± A day passed before they finally came to the supposed location, but there was hardly a mountain or hill in sight. Instead, it was just a dense forest all the way through. ¡°I don¡¯t see any caves here!¡± Feldon eximed as he tried to peer through the foliage and greenery that surrounded them. ¡°Are you sure you know the ce?¡± ¡°It¡¯s here, for sure.¡± Hayden leapt off the mineral ant that she was riding, walking up to an inconspicuous patch of fungi at the base of a tree and hacking away at it with a knife to reveal a small human-sized hole. ¡°That¡¯s not a cave; that¡¯s a tiny ass tunnel!¡± ¡°Do you want grand golden double doors, or do you want to hide? Hmm?¡± The hole could not fit the mineral ants, so the members entered the tunnel first, with Hayden first entering inside and checking. They had to crouch low and shuffle their feet, some feeling a bit ustrophobic as their shoulders were already touching the walls. Kyle didn¡¯t mind, having climbed through service tunnels on a destroyer before. He nced to the side, noticing certain points of the tunnel had small holes that allowed for one to observe the forest without being seen. Guerri tunnels - perfect. The tunnel eventually led into a medium-sized room that was extremely dusty, with the walls being made out of hardened mud. The tables and furniture had not seen use in forever, coated in a thickyer of dirt. ¡°This isn¡¯t the only room in the system ¨C there¡¯s some further down. We¡¯ll have to check them slowly, one by one. Maybe some poisonous insects might have moved in.¡± ¡°Are all the rooms this size?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Only the workshops are bigger, but generally, yes, they are all around this size.¡± ¡°Too small.¡± ¡°I agree, but what are we going to do about it?¡± Kyle followed Hayden¡¯s lead first, checking out the next three ¡®rooms¡¯. Each of them could only fit two people or so, preventing any single attack by an aggressor from killing all members immediately. Works well for the defenceyer, but underneath that, we will need an industrialyer to support the operations that I am nning for. ¡°We need to dig deeper into the ground. We¡¯ll leave the tunnel system as the main entrance and exit, but we have to expandrger.¡± ¡°What, you¡¯re expecting us to shovel? That¡¯s going to take months to do anything of that scale.¡± ¡°Should only take a day. Everyone, get out of the tunnel system.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± They reluctantlyplied with Kyle¡¯s orders, wondering what he was nning to do. As Hayden was thest one to exit the tunnel system, the mineral ants weremanded by Kyle to begin the expansion. Instead of going through the old tunnel system, Kyle mapped the location of the rooms and dug arge shaft straight down, with the mineral ants using their des and mandibles to carve away at the loose soil and underlying bedrock quickly. ¡°Now, where is that workshop you were talking about?¡± Chapter 106: Updated Plans The mineral ants were done in a day, having eaten to their hearts¡¯ content while creating arger cavern that sat at a loweryer, connecting them to the tunnel system. The new cavern started to look more and more like an underground hangar bay, with the mineral ants leaving to and fro while Hayden and the other members carried crates of supplies and piled them along the side. If I consider the mineral ants as the starfighters, then this would be a greatunch bay. Kyle considered how to integrate the mineral ants into his fighting force. Right now, he was manuallymanding them with the help of the artificial hive core, but if the ants could be trained or domesticated to takemands from their human partner, it would be as though he had suddenly developed an airforce of his own. This would give him increased operational capabilities, able to pull off more hits and move faster as well. However, the mineral ants were not invincible as of yet. Kyle was getting a bit too ahead for himself, so he had Drake, Hayden, and Feldon sit down with him to n while the rest of the members familiarised themselves with the area. The mineral ants also began to cover up the shaft they used to enter, forming pirs to ensure the cavern¡¯s ceiling would not copse on itself. Their natural instinct to construct hives under the ground wasing into full use here. Kyleid out what they had now:
  1. Eight warrior mineral ants
  2. Four venom-spitting hos
  3. Ten human members
¡°How are we doing in terms of food?¡± Kyle asked Drake. Drake had experience leading a vige, so he was far morepetent in ensuring the survival of the members. He also had a good rapport with the ten members, so Kyle nned to use him as the mouthpiece moving forward. ¡°Not good, we¡¯ll run out in a week. We can ration the canned food, but it¡¯s not going tost that much longer if we¡¯re nning to stay here long-term. We can try to forage around and see what we can find.¡± ¡°Water?¡± ¡°Water¡¯s fine; we got an old well we can use. The groundwater seems to have regenerated over thest fifteen years.¡± ¡°Okay. We got the basic needs covered temporarily. We¡¯ll have to work on weapons and armour next.¡± ¡°Before we move on ¨C I know we agreed to follow you. But can I hear the specifics directly from you?¡± Drake interrupted. ¡°I am marginally aware of how both you and Hayden seemed to be revolutionaries, but for what purpose? Can¡¯t we just live out our lives in a quiet, peaceful zone?¡± ¡°Drake, I ¨C¡° ¡°I¡¯m talking to him, not you.¡± Drake dismissed Hayden, obviously still slightly angry at Hayden¡¯s former intention to leave the vige without telling him. Hayden fell quiet, her expression gloomy. ¡°You¡¯ve seen the end results of what happened when you tried that route.¡± ¡°The vige wouldn¡¯t have been attacked if you didn¡¯t arrive. In fact, I suspect it¡¯s a ploy. You had been observing the vige for a while before making your appearance.¡± ¡°Wrong. I knew the military was going to attack you regardless; my arrival simply sped up the process.¡± ¡°Because we were ¡®illegal upiers¡¯?¡± ¡°Exactly. You did not have the strength to defend your rights; hence you were overwhelmed. If you lived in a world wherews were respected, then it¡¯s fine to be as pacifist as you want. But violence is necessary to protect the peace you so dearly seek ¨C something you forgot to wield when the Versian military showed up.¡± ¡°And you want us to fight back against the government with just us? None of us here are willing to sacrifice our lives for such a meaningless conflict. It only brews a cycle of hatred, one that would continue down the ages.¡± ¡°I want to fight back!¡± The young teenager interjected, eavesdropping on the meeting. ¡°Jaden, you have no idea what that means. You¡¯re talking about killing others!¡± Drake rebuked the young teenager. ¡°So, we just sit back and be killed when someone else doesn¡¯t like where we live?¡± Jaden shot back. ¡°I am a Versian, too; why does thepany suddenly get control over the whole forest!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like it too, but violence is not the answer. We can always talk it out peacefully.¡± ¡°That did not seem like how your vige meeting went.¡± Kyle pointed out. ¡°In fact, your peaceful discussion was easily overthrown by a single agitator.¡± ¡°Then what would you have us be? A dictatorship?¡± ¡°And what¡¯s wrong with a dictatorship?¡± Drake stared dumbfoundedly at Kyle. ¡°You want to rule Versia as a dictatorship?¡± ¡°No, I n to install Minister Dekar as the new head of state.¡± This threw Drake off even more. ¡°You are fighting for someone to be a dictator? What?¡± ¡°Dictatorships can go both ways. It all depends on the dictator. A ruthless short-sighted dictator can easily ruin the country, but a wise, benevolent dictator can easily uplift the entire country too. Look at how your vige meeting went. In your attempts to foster equal discussion, those who were more vocal and violent won instead. Equality never exists in a vacuum ¨C if you want such a discussion, you must have the force to ensure it.¡± ¡°Then what if the dictator uses force to suppress those who speak out against him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what rebellions are for. Ebb and flow. Go too far in one direction, and nature will reign you in, which is exactly what we¡¯re doing now. You made your choice when you left the vige to join me. You can leave if you want to.¡± ¡°Except you¡¯ll hunt us down.¡± ¡°Do you know what would have happened to you if I did not show up?¡± Kyle suddenly countered. ¡°The military would have enved all of you and had you work for Tenar Logging Incorporated, earning nothing. There is no middle ground here ¨C fight or be enved.¡± ¡°Or run away.¡± ¡°To where? Raktor? As an undocumented Versian? You¡¯ll be dead on the first day. The world runs on violence, and I intend to stay on top of it. You¡¯re not living in an isted ce any longer. Choose wisely. Hayden, with me.¡± Kyle left the meeting, motioning for Hayden to follow. The two of them walked away while Jaden was still arguing with Drake. ¡°Sorry, Drake is a pacifist at heart. I think he still hasn¡¯t gotten over how you killed the entire vige.¡± Hayden remarked. ¡°Yet he did not stand up for the vige norin.¡± Kyle scoffed. Pacifists were abhorrent to Kyle ¨C it was theplete antithesis of human expansion in the Gctic Era. Those who continued to reminisce about the past and advocated for demilitarisation were all fools to him. Simrly, those who preached the ideal of equality and that every human has a vote waspletely wed in their viewpoint. Kyle was naturally partial to technocracy and elected monarchies. The Gctic Era had long proven the concept of superior genes, that no human was created equal. A wealthy family such as Kyle¡¯s parents could easily purchase a designer gene package, creating a top-ss human. Education was also unequal, with cranial imnts and elerated learning disrupting the status quo. Only S-ss states had the resources to ensure equal advancement, but even then, they were ruled by only the smartest among them instead of a shared vote and referendum on every single decision. Why would Kyle ever give a vote to those who knew nothing about how a country works? It was like asking a specialist in forestry to vote on whether a shipyard should be built in a pr orbit or an equatorial orbit. Why would his vote even matter? As long as the limitation of time and expertise existed in all humans, true democracy could never work, only remaining as an ideal. Kyle had already lost track of the countless numbers of star nations that tried to implement such equal representation, only to eventually devolve into civil war and fighting between interest groups as the more dominant humans took over, subverting the original intention. Of course, most of this would have been solved by neutering human emotions, but that was illegal under the Council. ¡°Let¡¯s move on. Show me the workshop equipment.¡± The workbenches were old and rusted, with many exposed metals already corroded from the ambient water vapour reacting with it. Some of the steel bars were still usable, but it was hardly enough to make a full armour set or do any sort of equipment. ¡°So, the tools and materials are missing.¡± ¡°The furnace is still working fine ¨C I can get that up and running easily. But yes, we¡¯re missing nearly everything necessary to make anything steel rted.¡± Kyle felt a sense of dejavu, recalling the days of setting up the steel factory in Raktor just a month ago. But this time, he had a much bigger helper: the mineral ants. ¡°We¡¯ll use the mineral ants to source for the crude iron and coal; they should be able to mine a lot faster than our members. There might be a few small veins here. Where is the closest town?¡± ¡°Closest? If you¡¯re okay with another ten kilometres, there¡¯s Desham. We could probably get some supplies from there, but we would have to cover our tracks.¡± ¡°Not a problem, it might be better than having the mineral ants dig. Take a rest first; we¡¯ll startter.¡± Kyle dismissed Hayden, returning to n further. There were a couple of objectives that he had to hit now that he had a fairly stable base location. Even if the enemy found the area, Kyle was confident that he could easily defend the base given the widespread guerri tunnelworks. Coupled that with the airborne or underground nature of the mineral ants, it was as though he now had armoured vehicles that could do anything. The objectives were simple:
  1. Train the current members to fight in tandem with the mineral ants, using repeaters and handguns.
  2. Armour the mineral ants to make them highly resistant to external damage and allow for extended flight.
  3. Create a supplywork to allow for continuous manufacturing of weapons and armour in this new base
  4. Find his old allies, such as Dekar and Zayin.
  5. Create a personal arctech exosuit.
Objective five was a bit harder to obtain, seeing that he did not have a spine with him. However, he could make a simple prototype armour first that would augment his abilities even more. With the energy source of the advanced-quality arcia crystal, he could run the engravings on the armour at a far higher duration than normal. The most important objectives that were critical now were objective three and objective one. Kyle had to figure out how he was going to create the supply chain to the nearby town, where he could extort or upend a few local criminal gangs to gain ess to the ck market. Ten kilometres is a bit too far¡­ Kyle calcted how much his mineral ants would have to dig to clear that in a week. Or¡­ I could do the same method as the goblin dens. Kyle did not have any existing tunnelwork to work with, but he could split up the dozen mineral ants into different sections and have them dig together through the shafts. This way, each mineral ant would only need to dig about a kilometre each. The tunnel was only one part of the equation ¨C he would need to mask it and ensure that it was not obvious. He had no doubt that Nest would have some hitmen and operatives present in the city, so rooting them out would be the first order of business. Next would be to establish a powerbase and gather more followers, so he could ramp up his power base again. Kyle exined the n to Hayden and Feldon before leaving the tunnel system on a mineral ant, slowly flying through the trees before stopping two kilometres from the edge of the town. Already he could see the walled town beyond the end of the forest, where there were a few farms and paved roads leading beyond, with one or two arctech wagons rumbling across it. The town was not big, with Hayden having estimated the current poption to be a mere ten thousand people. But it was enough for Kyle to blend in as a traveller and to figure out the situation first. Chapter 107: Reunion The town of Desham was not particrly famous nor prosperous. Named for a particr herb that grew in the region, there was nothing else of note to the town, save for therge rolling fields that cultivated the same herb as a cash crop as promoted by the local council. Due to that, despite having more than enoughnd to be self-sustaining or even export-focused in food, they had to import nearly a third of their required food from elsewhere as part of a specialisation program fostered by the government. However, thanks to the looming war, more and more food supplies were being dyed, resulting in rationing being enforced in the town. The shuttered restaurants and bakeries immediately led to unemployment, with homeless beggars unable to pay rent filling the streets while haughty local soldiers scoffed at them. Dozens of jobseekers queued up in front of employment offices, hoping to get a job in one of the herb farms, but there were only so many farmers needed on a farm with a four-month cycle harvest. Many of them remained desperate, with a good chunk turning to leave for Tenar to join the military. Those who remained were the crippled, disabled or elderly who did not have the means to seek better opportunities, begging with makeshift wooden bowls stained with grime as they huddled under the shoddy clothes marked by age. Looming over all the poverty and suffering was a posh luxurious building, which was one of the few restaurants that could still operate without ration limits. The well-to-do of the town could still eat as much as they wanted, and the homeless knew it well. Just as a family with two kids tried to enter the establishment, they were stopped by a burly outstretched hand blocking their path right at the doorway. ¡°Could you please spare some change for me? I haven¡¯t eaten in four days¡­¡± The hooded homeless man pleaded. The father looked warily at the man, noticing his slightlyrge stature while trying to weasel his way out of having to donate. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t bring my wallet.¡± ¡°Then is your wife going to pay for the restaurant? As far as I know, the restaurant doesn¡¯t work on a tab.¡± The father flinched slightly before finally relenting and giving the homeless man a few Versian coins, grumbling to himself as he entered. Their daughter walked up to the homeless man, handing him a small doll. ¡°I don¡¯t have any coin yet, but maybe this would help.¡± The homeless man smiled under the hood, shaking his hand and shooing the girl away. ¡°No, that is far too precious. Keep it.¡± ¡°Marianne,e here right this instant! Don¡¯t talk to him!¡± The mother dragged her daughter away into the restaurant. Checking the number of coins he had been handed, the homeless man had a small smirk, hefting them in his palms before putting them away in his pockets, his eyes already locked like a predator onto the next family who was approaching. The prey was startled, their eyes darting around to try to find an alternate route into the restaurant. Before the homeless man could move, an employee of the restaurant came out, blocking his view. ¡°Mister, you¡¯re going to have to leave before I call the enforcers on you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to. I¡¯m sitting in a public space. Are Versian citizens not allowed to sit on the sidewalks any longer?¡± ¡°You are obstructing our business with malicious intentions.¡± ¡°How is begging malicious?¡± ¡°You are making our customers ufortable! Leave now, or-¡° ¡°Or what? You can¡¯t do anything to me. Get the boss out here or scram and let me live in peace.¡± The employee was fuming, instead blocking the homeless man from osting the next family who tried to enter. The homeless man hardly made a move, simply sitting still while the employee continued to stand between him and anyone who entered the establishment. ¡°Fine, you leave me no choice.¡± The employee stormed off back into the establishment. ¡°Remember to wag your tail when you call for the boss.¡± Soon enough, three employees and the owner returned outside, surrounding the homeless man. ¡°Useless piece of trash ¨C all you do is beg, eat rations and provide nothing of value!¡± The owner spat on the ground next to the homeless man. ¡°Even the workers on the farm do more for the economy than you! Now get off this sidewalk before I have you beaten up.¡± ¡°Try me.¡± The owner¡¯s eyebrow twitched. ¡°Fine. Get him!¡± Just as the two employees bent over to grapple the homeless man, the man himself gripped the two nearest ankles tightly, his burly hands nearly crushing their tendons as they screamed in pain and toppled to the ground. ¡°Shit!¡± Thest employee delivered a kick to the homeless man. Still, it was immediately dodged, with the homeless man rolled to the side and recovered into a standing posture before tackling him and mming him into the doorway. Thest employee gagged as his guts suffered the brunt of the impact against the wall while his head was grabbed and smashed against the pir, the blood trickling down the grainy surface and staining the opulent d¨¦cor. The homeless man looked around, noticing the boss had already run inside. With a sigh, he walked briskly into the restaurant,ing face to face with another two employees who had witnessed the fight outside, trembling as they readied their makeshift weapons of butter knives. ¡°Don¡¯t you daree in any closer! I won¡¯t hesitate to use this kniv-GUH!¡± The closest employee had their wrist grabbed and twisted into a mess of fractured bones and flesh, causing a piercing scream to leave his mouth and frighten the rest of the customers who were eating in the restaurant. ¡°Calm down, people. I just need a word with the boss.¡± The homeless man spoke as he sidestepped a knife stab from the remaining employee, the employee clearly being untrained with the knife. The homeless man grabbed the outstretched arm before delivering a brutal knee to the chest of the employee and tossing him to the floor, his eyes now hunting for the owner. At the far end of the restaurant, he could see the owner scrambling into the kitchen with clear fright on his face. The owner iled frantically as he entered the cooking area, his sweaty palms grabbing onto the nearest chef. ¡°Stop that man! Stop him now!¡± ¡°Wha¡­?¡± The chefs were all stunned. ¡°You have knives, don¡¯t you? Use them! Use everything to stop him, or you¡¯ll lose your job!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother.¡± The homeless man was already behind the owner, his arms reaching out and grabbing the owner into a chokehold. ¡°Now I have something of value ¨C your life. Perhaps we should have a trade.¡± ¡°Urggh¡­gah¡­ what do you want?!¡± ¡°What else? Bring out all the Versian coins you have.¡± The familiar crackle of an arctech radio could be heard from the dining area, with a few customers already dialling the local enforcers and soldiers toe. The owner, too, heard it, grinning even as his face bulged red. ¡°Hah, fu-fuck you! You¡¯re going into the mmer for-¡° He never finished his words, his neck twisted with a simple crack by the homeless man before his body slumped onto the oily floor of the kitchen, the chefs panicking and backing away from the homeless man. ¡°Now, I am on a tight schedule. Does anyone want to tell me where the money is held? Or do I have to ¡®provide value¡¯ again?¡± ¡°The office, the office! Through that door!¡± The homeless man followed the directions, carefully opening the door to make sure it was not a trap. Sure enough, it was the administrative office of the owner. The opulent d¨¦cor and tainted ss windows that nked the main office desk would have made for a nice rxing scene if it was not for a secretary within who held a handgun aimed right at the homeless man. Instead of being frightened, the homeless man simply held his hands up, walking slowly. ¡°Don¡¯te any closer! Or I¡¯ll shoot!¡± ¡°Sure. You can try.¡± The homeless man grinned as he approached the main desk where the secretary was standing behind. ¡°I¡¯m serious!¡± ¡°I know.¡± ¡°One more step and ¨C ¡° The secretary¡¯s finger squeezed, a loud bang erupting. Instead of the homeless man copsing, a point defence armour red into life, firing a green projectile through his cloak at the iing bullet. The secretary slumped to the floor, the unoptimised handgun taking out most of the arcia energy and causing her to suffer from arcia exhaustion. The homeless man did not bother with her just yet, ransacking the entire ce and turning every piece of furniture over before finally finding a safe in the wall. He turned back to the secretary, lifting her up and dragging her by the head over to the safe. ¡°Combination.¡± ¡°The owner will kill me!¡± ¡°He¡¯s already dead. And so will you be if you don¡¯t tell me!¡± The secretary quicklyplied, allowing the homeless man to get the safe opened, revealing an entire stash of Versian coins, enough to buy over an entire building if necessary. He quickly pulled out a sack, shovelling them by the hundreds into it before strapping it within his armour te. The weight of the coins significantly burdened him, but it made him happier than ever. ¡°Here. For your troubles.¡± A few coins smacked the secretary right in the face before the homeless man began to make his exit. As he reached the kitchen, where the chefs were still cowering under the tables, he soon noticed that the dining area was already cleared out of customers, with five fully armed soldiers with repeaters aiming at him. [Stand down immediately and release the hostages!] A soldier barked through a loudspeaker. ¡°n B.¡± The homeless man ran back into the office, stepping over the fallen secretary and jumping through the tainted ss windows, smashing through. Unexpectedly, there were already two soldiers outside waiting for him. ¡°There he is! This is your final warning to stand down!¡± The homeless man rolled onto the pavement before sprinting right at one of the soldiers, tossing a Versian coin at high speeds that hit the soldier right in the brow, knocking him over before the homeless man dealt a fearsome punch to the exposed chin. ¡°Chase him!¡± A mad chase between the myriad of alleyways and hidden streets began, with the homeless man continuously having to avoid arctech wagons and soldiers who attempted to encircle him into a single urban block. The homeless man ran past a group of squatters, tossing them a few Versian coins. ¡°Help me block them!¡± The soldiers were immediately harassed by the squatters, who used their bodies and makeshift tents to block and restrict their path, buying time for the homeless man. After a harrowing hour, he soon reached the walls of the town, running straight towards what seemed like an outhouse that was nestled in a haphazard maze of other slum houses and buildings. Hiding in there, his breath ragged from the chase and condensing on the wooden door, he watched as the soldiers desperately tried to find him to no avail. Eventually, he could hear an officer approach, talking with the soldiers. ¡°What did he look like?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know; I missed his face. He is definitely Versian. Big guy, for sure.¡± ¡°Big Versian guy? Do you know how much that narrows it down?! He probably is either hiding here, or he has already left town. Lock down the town until we catch him!¡± ¡°But sir, locking the town when there is already rationing going on will cause the people to-¡° ¡°Are you questioning my orders, recruit? Want to lose your job?¡± ¡°¡­ no sir.¡± ¡°Good. Now get to it!¡± Over time, the number of soldiers in the vicinity began to plummet as their search was inconclusive. The homeless man grinned to himself, knowing he had made it out easy. Now all I need to do is to buy passage out of the town, and I can start a new life over! However, the moment he opened the door of the outhouse and took one step outside, he suddenly flinched and threw a punch towards his left, where a man had appeared out of nowhere. ¡°What the, who the fuck are you!¡± The homeless man yelled out in shock, backpedalling out into the open street. ¡°Hello, Makoa. You haven¡¯t forgotten your master, have you?¡± Chapter 108: Makoa, Hero of Desham ¡°Kyle?! No no no!¡± Makoa tried to run, but the ve engraving on his chest began to burn, causing him to wince and double over as he rolled on the floor. ¡°Made a nice haul, I see. Thanks for the help.¡± ¡°It-it¡¯s fucking mine!¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Kyle flipped Makoa over, his hand reaching into the armour and pulling out the heavy sack of Versian coins. Well, that¡¯s the operational budget of the new base covered. I can use this now to buy resources on the ck market. Makoa was nearly on the verge of tears. He had thought he managed to escape Kyle¡¯s grasp, hoping to run to a town even further away from Yual Dominion. Why the fuck is he even here? Wasn¡¯t he in Tenar?! ¡°Don¡¯t be so emotional at our reunion.¡± Kyle smiled as he patted Makoa on the back. ¡°You look like you are about to cry.¡± Fuck you! Makoa did not want to antagonise Kyle right now, especially when he was exhausted from having to run away from the soldiers. Heid on his back as the burning sensation from the engraving began to die down, looking up at the sky andmenting his fate. Kyle did not bother with the emotional Makoa, instead estimating the amount of Versian coins in the sack. ¡°I heard the town is low on food overall.¡± ¡°Fuck you, I¡¯m not going to tell yo-GAAAH¡± Makoa flinched as the burning sensation on his chest returned. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°F-f-fuc¡ªI mean yes, yes STOP STOP!¡± Makoa held his hands up in surrender. He regretted not immediately removing the ve engraving, but he did not have the money to guarantee a proper removal. The removal would include having to carve away at his flesh to remove all traces, but how would he be sure that the remover would not kill him immediately, or put another ve engraving on him? Such was the nature of the ck market ¨C Makoa could not trust anyone to do a good job, even more so when money was involved. He had already tried stabbing and mutting the engraving, but apparently, the engraving was deep in the flesh, making it hard to remove. Fuck, fuck, fuck this Yual dog! ¡°Answer.¡± ¡°Yes, yes the town has barely any food left. Whatever rations areing in, the bulk of it goes to the wealthy people and restaurants. The rich people are stockpiling food to prepare for the eventual war.¡± A natural crack in society ¨C I can use this to my advantage. Kyle had already had experience using the homeless in Tenar to fight for his cause. However, he was slightly hoping that he could buy food from Desham instead, as his new base wascking in self-sufficiency. This meant that his n would have to be flipped around. Food was the main critical resource here, and the more he had of it, the more he could attract people to work for him. I can first attract them with some Versian coins, but if they are not even allowed to buy enough food due to the rationing, then it will be of marginal use. No one could eat coins, so Kyle had to reconsider how he was going to establish a supplywork. ¡°Where¡¯s the ck market?¡± Makoa led him begrudgingly towards another part of the sprawling slums that snaked all along the edge of the walled Desham. They snuck about between makeshift wooden shelters and corrugated sheets of metals, avoiding the watchful gazes of soldiers patrolling onto of the walls who scoured for the ¡®Big Versian Guy¡¯ Makoa thought carefully about his rtion with Kyle. So far, everytime I tried to fuck with him or get away from him has always ended up in a terrible state. If I want to survive, it might be better to stick with Kyle. He wasn¡¯t dumb: the war with Yual was all but assured, the effects already rampant as seen in this small insignificant town. I¡¯ll earn his trust, then and the end of the war, I¡¯m gone! I need to go somewhere far away, maybe even try my luck at the Great Waves or Proco. As Kyle followed Makoa through the maze of the slum, the terrible conditions that people were living in made him even happier. It was though he had found an entire untapped deposit of gold, all for himself. They soon reached the ck market, though it was hardly apparent that they were in one. It looked exactly the same as the slums before and after them. If it wasn¡¯t for the usual symbols and logos of the various organizations that had a branch here, it would be hard to tell otherwise. Kyle spotted the same Nest logo as before, warning him that it was possible for him to be spotted again. He was surprised they even had a branch in such a small town like Desham. The rats are everywhere ¨C is this some sort of franchising? Do they pay royalty just to get the name? Makoa brought Kyle to a rickety shack, tapping on it with a clear pattern. The door swung open to reveal a fiesty young girl, armed to the teeth with two handguns and a repeater. ¡°Hands in the air before I fuck you right up.¡± The girl aimed the barrel of the repeater right at Makoa. ¡°You got a lot of nerve riling up the entire town and thening right to my fucking doorstep.¡± ¡°I did not have a choice, you¡¯re the only one I know here.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s the new cunt?¡± She motioned with her chin towards Kyle, her hand already on the repeater¡¯s trigger. ¡°A potential client. He¡¯s rich.¡± ¡°Well why didn¡¯t you say so from the start!¡± the girl¡¯s attitude immediately changed, her voice bing unnaturally sweeter as she grabbed them in, mming the rickety metal door behind them. ¡°Please, have a seat, dear client. You¡¯re in the good hands of the best fixer in Desham!¡± The girl waved to one of the obviously worn leather chairs, the surface already half peeled. The appalling conditions of the room hardly fazed Kyle, him taking up the offer and plopping down onto the chair while the girl sat down opposite behind a rusted metal table, filled to the brim with trinkets collected from old enemies. ¡°So, what can I do for you today? Want to smuggle Makoa out of town? Or want to start a riot? Or you need ves? We got loads here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed. I would like to buy food.¡± The girl¡¯s enthusiasm diminished significantly, her eyes ring at Kyle. ¡°Are you not aware of the current situation in Desham?¡± ¡°I am.¡± ¡°Then you know just how impossible it is to get the food we need. People are starving here.¡± ¡°I was under the impression I was talking to the best fixer in Desham, not the one with the most morals.¡± The girl mmed her hand on the metal table, the trinkets trembling. ¡°My reputation will be at stake!¡± ¡°I do not care where the foodes from. Steal and rob as much as you want. Just give me a quote.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not from Versia, are you? I can tell from your ent. I don¡¯t ept rakels, you know.¡± ¡°Not an issue.¡± ¡°5 kilograms of preserved food ¨C 500 coins or more. Perishables are gonna cost way more, maybe up to three times more. I¡¯ll need time to urately judge the cost of the whole operation.¡± The girl smiled slightly. Kyle had already counted the amount of Versian coins in the sack. There were about 500,000 Versian coins, which could theoretically buy a literal ton of food. However, the price was exorbitant, considering a single stamina potion was worth far less than that. ¡°Then how much are you willing to buy food for?¡± Kyle asked. The girl¡¯s words were suddenly stuck in her mouth, aware that she had somehow shot herself in the foot. By stating the rough price for selling, it advertently reduced her margin for bargaining when it came to buyIng. ¡°Surely the best fixer in town would be able to get a good price for me.¡± ¡°What exactly do you want? I don¡¯t believe a Yual citizen would want to horde Versian coins. The currency exchange rate must be plummeting now.¡± The girl tried to wiggle her way out. ¡°I need raw materials ¨C wood, metal, coal, and arcite ore if possible. And an engraving tool.¡± ¡°How much food are we talking?¡± ¡°Enough. I¡¯ll have the food ready in three days. But I¡¯ll need the raw materials in advance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to need assurance. Down payment with 25,000 Versian coins first. ¡± ¡°Then looks like I¡¯ll take my Versian coins elsewhere and find the next best fixer in town.¡± ¡°WAIT WAIT! Okay, down payment ten thousand first.¡± ¡°Goodbye.¡± Kyle got up to leave, motioning to Makoa to follow. The girl red at Makoa with an obvious expression, but Makoa simply just shrugged, before making a hand motion with his hand. ¡°Fine! No Down payment, I¡¯ll get your materials in three days as well!¡± ¡°Tomorrow.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I need the materials tomorrow.¡± ¡°Grr¡­ fine!¡± The girl was fuming internally. If it wasn¡¯t for the terrible state of the town and the slow businesses. ¡°Pleasure doing business then, Ms...?¡± ¡°Diya.¡± With the deal set, Makoa followed Kyle back out into the ck market. They walked till they reached a different portion of the slums, where there were people gathered around a groundwater well, waiting in line. ¡°How are you going to get the food?¡± Makoa asked. ¡°The same way we always do. Why is a former sub-leader of the famed ¡®Ilysian Punks¡¯ asking me such an inane question?¡± ¡°Are you crazy? We have to lie low for a while!¡± ¡°It is exactly while you are still atrge that we have to strike, while your fame is still notorious.¡± Kyle grabbed a few coins from his sack, and suddenly tossed them out onto the street, the shimmering and ttering of metal against gravel causing everyone¡¯s head to turn. ¡°The hero has returned ¨C Makoa, chosen of Desham! He has plundered from the undeserving rich to give back to the people!¡± Kyle hollered, before covering his face with a hood ,leaving the utterly confused Makoa as the main person in in view, standing amidst a sprinkle of Versian coins. Those who were the nearest began to sprint and charge for the Versian coins, smacking each other and wing them up. They scrambled around the feet of Makoa, noticing that he was holding a sack of coins in his hands too. ¡°Please, good sir, I need it for my family!¡± ¡°My children are starving, please!¡± ¡°Do not worry, the great Makoa is generous!¡± Kyle called out again, acting like Makoa¡¯s servant. ¡°What the fuck are you nning?¡± Makoa whispered angrily to Kyle, but Kyle instead ignored him and reached his hand into the sack, grabbing more coins and flinging them further, spreading the crowd. ¡°Spread the word! The hero, Makoa of Desham, has returned to save the people!¡± Kyle hollered. The frenzysted until nearly all the Versian coins had been wasted. Rumours began to spread like wildfire through the slums and even through the town, the name of Makoa resounding in the streets. Naturally, the local soldiers caught wind of it and began to congregate on the slums, attempting to sniff out Makoa. However, the slums dwellers were more than willing to waste their time, distracting and obstructing them in anyway they could. The conflicts across the slum began to spread, as the soldiers had no choice but to force their way in, inadvertently beginning skirmishes with the locals. Just when I thought I could survive under Kyle, he pulls this shit?! Makoa groaned as he hid with Kyle. ¡°What is even the point of all of this! Are you trying to make the entire town your enemy?! You¡¯re going to get yourself killed!¡± ¡°Who said anything about me being the enemy? It is not my name being chanted now, is it?¡± Chapter 109: Pairing While Makoa grumbled andined about how Kyle seemingly was doing all of this on a whim, Kyle kept his mind set on the goal even as they were hunted down through the slums in the night, encircled by soldiers who were supported byrge blinding arctech spotlights from the walls. Their light swept across the corrugated metal roofs and reflected upon the myriad of skirmishes breaking out all over the slums as the soldiers were beset on all sides as well, harassed by the locals in any way, shape, or form. ¡°What¡¯s taking so long? Why can¡¯t we capture that rabble-rouser ¨C what¡¯s his name again?¡± The same officer in charge of the local soldiers fumed as he stood on top of the walls next to a spotlight manned by a soldier. ¡°Makoa of Desham, sir. We¡¯re having a hard time pushing through the slums; the people are highly supportive of his actions.¡± ¡°Is he even a local?¡± ¡°Not sure. His name does not show up on the list of residents, but we have quite a few undocumented slum dwellers.¡± ¡°Force our way through. And I want every coin stolen to be taken back from the slum dwellers. Do what you have to do.¡± ¡°But sir, they are using kids to block us.¡± ¡°And?¡± The officer turned to re at the soldier. ¡°Ry the damn order! Any challenge to our authority must be met with force! Not an inch will be given to these criminals!¡± The fighting in the slums got more intense as the soldiers were instructed to shove the slum dwellers out of the way. ¡°Obstruction of a military operation is a serious offence; back off now, or I¡¯ll be forced to shoot!¡± A soldier on the ground yelled as his squad members tried to force back a mob that was clogging up the entire main street. ¡°The money that Makoa of Desham has distributed is illegal!¡± ¡°Fuck off! You know nothing of our plight!¡± ¡°Get out of here! You¡¯re just dogs for the rich pigs!¡± Some of the soldiers partially agreed with the slum dwellers but could not disobey the orders from above without being punished themselves. Eventually, they took out simple metal sticks, beating up any slum dweller that got close. The beaten-up slum dwellers were robbed of their coins, legal or illegal. Once the soldiers no longer held back, the mob scattered like rats, hiding in the crevices between the dpidated huts and uncovered shitholes to avoid being captured. No one wanted to lose the coins that they had collected from Makoa, scampering away into the darkness. However, the local soldiers were more than adept at flushing them out, the spotlights easily revealing the slum dwellers¡¯ locations from above while spotters ryed their locations to squads on the ground. With the limited area of the slums only being about two dozen urban blocks, the soldiers simply began sweeping in from the edges, slowly searching and grabbing back the coins. Kyle and Makoa were still running as fast as they could, this time led by Kyle towards an unspecified location. ¡°I thought you would save them, considering how much you riled them up.¡± Makoa remarked. ¡°That¡¯s not the purpose. Over here.¡± Kyle motioned into a grim-looking square makeshift metal shelter, where an old man was lying down t on a ragged piece of fabric ced on metal that served as his bedding. If Makoa did not know any better, he would have assumed the man was dead. ¡°Thanks, old man.¡± Kyle grabbed the old man¡¯s hand and passed him three coins, prompting the old man to get off his ¡®bed¡¯ suddenly and push it to the side, revealing a makeshift tunnel right underneath. So this is how he got into the town¡­ Makoa was under the impression that Kyle had smuggled himself in like he did: through a smuggling service that had him packed tightly in a crate of Poair Leaves. The two of them quickly entered the tunnel, sliding down the sloped shaft as the old man covered the tunnel again, acting like nothing had happened. The sloped shaft was short and small, bottoming out into a tunnel where Makoa had to crouch and move. They shuffled in hunchback formation for what seemed like an eternity, the muscles on Makoa¡¯s legs and neck beginning to strain significantly. ¡°Where the fuck are we heading to?¡± ¡°Out of Desham, of course.¡± ¡°After throwing away all of our coins?! What?¡± Makoamented the hard earned coins that he had stolen from the restaurant. I staked out that ce for a week! ¡°We¡¯ll get them back easily.¡± Just as Kyle said that, a chittering sound could be hearding from within the tunnel, the vibrations getting louder with time. Suddenly, the loose rock wall in front of Kyle broke apart, revealing two mineral ants whose feelers began to graze his face. ¡°ARGH! WHY ARE THEY HERE!¡± Makoa screamed, patting his body for a weapon but soon realised he had none. However, Kyle seemed utterly unfazed, instead seemingly silent as the mineral ants entered a staringpetition with him. With a jolt, the mineral ants began to move backwards, allowing Kyle to step into the newly formed tunnel that was muchrger and allowed him to stand, albeit in a cramped vertical environment. His shoulders still touched the walls, but it was better than nothing. Makoa was bbergasted, following Kyle in astonishment as he watched the seemingly docile mineral ants respond to Kyle¡¯s orders. Kyle had ordered the mineral ants to focus on the first kilometre leading out of Desham, splitting up the eight warrior mineral ants and having them dig in parallel. Only now were the sections beginning to be linked up, each ant having dug about 125 metres in 24 hours. Extremely impressive. The tunnelling rate was dependent on the type of soil, and Kyle had the tunnel made fairly shallow, just a few meters underneath the farnds through the loosely packed soil. They soon reached the end of the first kilometre, the tunnel leading upwards into an abandoned pig farm¡¯s barn, the smell pervasive as horrendous. It was in here where the excavated soil and rock were being piled up, along with the eight warrior mineral ants waiting for Kyle in formation. Are you fucking telling me Kyle got even stronger after Tenar? WHAT? Makoa was at a sheer loss for words, unable toprehend how Kyle had even managed to retain control of the mineral ants. Makoa was no stranger to them, having participated in a few extermination campaigns during his service in the military. Kyle ordered the mineral ants to cover up the entrance with the excavated soil before motioning to Makoa. ¡°Get on.¡± ¡°Get on? Get on what?¡± ¡°This one.¡± Kyle patted one of the warrior mineral ants. Makoa had half a mind to call Kyle mad, but he was not sure if that was even an urate word to describe Kyle any longer. Either way, he was now stuck with Kyle, whether he liked it or not, so he begrudgingly got on top of the mineral ant, albeit warily as he slowly hooked his fingers around the crevices of the metal-like armour shell. Return to base. With the soldiers on the walls wholly upied with searching for Makoa within the slums, none of the spotlights mounted on the top was watching the farms outside for any monster incursion from the Keru forest, allowing Kyle to easily make it back to the safety of the forest treeline. They flew fast, covering the ten kilometres by swooping and swerving through the trees, with Makoa hanging on for dear life, his head nearly chopped off a few times by tree branches. Despite his prior apprehension, he had no choice but to hug the mineral ant, keeping his body low as the wind rushed over him. Suddenly, his heart felt a drop as they descended onto the ground next to a purple tree stump, where there was a small inconspicuous entrance about four meters wide, allowing the mineral ants to fly into it. It was Kyle¡¯s version of aunch tube, a fairly short one that was dug out for by the remaining venom-spitting hos, though they were not as efficient as the warrior mineral ants at digging. The mineral ants hovered over therge cavern that wasposed of the new base, the air drafts buffeting the dust of the ceiling while theynded smoothly. Makoa felt something rise up within his stomach; his face contorted as he stumbled off the mineral ant, dizzy. Kyle leapt off smoothly, walking up straight to Feldon, who was already waiting for him. Feldon gave Makoa a weird look, wondering who he was. However, he had long been used to Kyle bringing back new people, so he assumed Makoa was just another recruit Kyle had picked up from Desham. ¡°Boss, the mineral ants are a godsend, but we haven¡¯t been able to find any crude iron of the sort. We did find a good y deposit in a nearby river.¡± ¡°So, water and building materials are settled. I have a deal with a fixer in town.¡± Kyle exined the deal, with Feldon surprised. ¡°We don¡¯t have any food supply here; how are we going to uphold our end of the deal?¡± ¡°There¡¯s an entire forest five hundred kilometers wide filled to the brim with animals and monsters here ¨C I don¡¯t believe we can¡¯t get food. Bring any member here who is willing to hunt.¡± Feldon rounded up five members, which included Jaden, the young teenager who puffed out his chest as Kyle inspected them. Kyle examined their muscles and body builds, determining what role would be the best for them in a hunting party. But, first of all, a test. He held the Artificial Hive Core in his hand, wondering if he could delegate the authority of a mineral ant to another human individual. ¡°Feldon,e here.¡± Grabbing onto Feldon with one hand and a mineral ant head with another, he tried to activate the Artificial hive core in the same way that he used when he first converted them to his side. Your second-inmand will be this human! A golden strain shot out from the mineral ant, albeit a weaker one, and ran towards Feldon, who shivered as he felt the tingle run down his entire spine. ¡°What the hell was that?¡± ¡°Okay, give it a try. Use your thoughts tomand the mineral ants with a clear intention that it is an order.¡± The five members watched in confusion as Feldon¡¯s face strained, the veins on his forehead bulging slightly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to think that hard. Just let it be natural.¡± ¡°Oh, right.¡± Feldon simply looked at the mineral ant, raising his hand. ¡°Paw!¡± The mineral ant immediately shot out its front limb, cing it gently on Feldon¡¯s palm like a dog. Makoa nearly coughed out hisst meal upon seeing that. A hidden tamer n? What?! Kyle ignored the fiasco erupting around Feldon. ¡°Good. Each of you, repeat the same procedure with me.¡± He passed the second-inmand position to all of the five members, assigning them an individual mineral ant who became akin to partners. ¡°For now, you will familiarise yourself with themand of the mineral ant. Take a day to get used to it.¡± Kyle ordered. ¡°The final end goal is to have the mineral ant act as your weapon or a partner that can synchronisebat styles with you.¡± The five members all whispered excitedly as they stood next to their mineral ants, with Jaden being nearly ecstatic. ¡°I need the mineral ants to begin mining. Work closely with them to hunt for iron ore ¨C they need minerals such as those to eat, and loose rock and soil can only stave off their hunger for so long.¡± It¡¯s been close to four days since they left the dungeon, with Kyle not entirely feeding them directly anything. Kyle exined the direction to mine with the help of Feldon, who was experienced in expanding goblin dens and mining thanks to the operation in the Culdao Peaks. Leaving Feldon to it, he grabbed Makoa towards the makeshift armoury that they had now. Makoa was feeling slightly better now with his foot on stable ground,ing to terms with what was happening around him. ¡°So you¡¯re going to have them hunt for food using the mineral ants?¡± Makoa asked while Kyle picked out his repeater, checking the number of projectiles he had on hand before slinging it behind his back. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°Impossible; you only have two days to train them and one day to transport the food.¡± Makoa could tell the vigers were ill-equipped to work with the mineral ants, and some of them were far too weak to fight any of the monsters in the forest. Kyle sheathed the lightning sword used by Soren onto his waist while hefting his pulveriser up onto his shoulder. ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s time for me to hunt.¡± Chapter 110: Hunters Kyle did not bring Makoa along for the hunt, relegating him to manualbour in the tunnels under the watchful gaze of Hayden. Instead, Kyle flew out with a venom-spitting ho, leaving the eight mineral ants to assist in the hunt for crude iron or minerals in the vicinity. He had already gotten a rough description of the various nests and dwellings of animals. With the venom-spitting ho, he could fly as far as he wanted, but the further he went, the more time it would take to bring the food back as well. As for preserving the food well enough for transportation after bringing it back to base, Kyle already had a solution in mind ¨C the Desham herbs that the town was famed for. It was the reason why the herbs were still selling so well in the Versia market, to the point that the government and local town council advocated for it so well. Kyle had, of course, grabbed his hands on it while he was initially entering Desham, having to cross the fields filled to the brim with them.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] nt
[Desham Tuff] A domesticated strain from the wild ones found in the Keru Forest, the spice provides a pungent aroma coupled with a slightly spicy taste when paired with meat Kills bacteria and mould and allows for a longer duration of perishable food
Kyle was no stranger to spices ¨C The Gctic Era was filled to the brim with exotic spices from all over the gxy, traded like hotcakes everywhere. Farmers back then tried to find unique environments to grow them, while gicbs attempted to artificially create new spices that could sate the ever-demanding taste of both aliens and humans who were looking for new vours. He even recalled his favourite nutrient pack vours, jammed to the brim with an entire slew of ingredients that would not be able to fit on the small printed packaging. But for now, his solution hinged on having the Desham Tuffs on his food in order to preserve it longer. He had no idea how much longer it would be, but that was not the only part of his n. Get the food first; worryter. Kyle flew through the air on the back of the venom-spitting ho, searching for the rough locations that Hayden had marked out for him. Soon, he finally spotted it, arge group of feral swine, their snorts punctuating the ambient crickets as they used their snouts to sniff the ground, finding something to eat. Kyle might have likened them to pigs if it weren¡¯t for the fact that they were close to three times in size, nearly double the size of an average cow. More like a mammoth hog if you ask me. The hair on the skin of the feral mammoth hog was sharp and pointy, easily scraping the tree barks off as they shuffled through, the young of their kind moving along right under them in protection. Roughly estimating the size and using a simple form, he calcted that he could obtain about three hundred kilograms from thergest of them all, taking into ount the weight of the skin as well as the increased density and strength of the bone structure in order to be able to get to that kind of size. The skin looks very useful as armour as well. Is it metallic? Kyle spent a bit more time observing the behaviour and motions of the mammoth hogs as they moved in a group, therger adults on the outside protecting the young. This was not the only group he spotted in the vicinity as he continued to scout around, with three other groups of mammoth hogs spotted. Kyle noted down any simrities, creating a general pattern in his head as to their rough grazing pattern within three hours. The groups kept a wide berth of each other, being spread out more than three kilometres either way. As Kyle was observing one group, he noticed a unique tree that was a bit yellowish in colour, a bark pigment that he had not seen yet in the Keru Forest. Granted, Kyle had spent most of his time running through it, and the forest spreads for more than three hundred kilometres, so there was still plenty to discover. The yellow tree was even more unique in that it had no branches facing upward towards the sunlight. Instead, all of its branches drooped down into the ground, seemingly burrowing into the ground like a root as well. It was as though the bottom of the tree had been duplicated on the top. Hundreds of these branches were in a simr fashion. Kyle could also see something white at the base of the tree but was not close enough to see clearly. Kyle watched as an adult mammoth hog followed a trail with its snout low to the ground, each breathing out pushing away the dead leaves on the floor in a billowing vent. It soon came across the yellow tree, sniffing the bark closely before trying to take a chomp out of it. In a sh, a hundred branches suddenlyshed out at the hog, wrapping them around the spiky skin as it squealed in fright, flinging its sharp tusks around while retreating, tugging against the branches which held firmly. Two other adult mammoth hogs in the group immediately came to help, using their tusks and body to crush and snap the branches off. Instead of the branches being cracked off like a normal tree, a sickly pale white liquid spurt out instead, with the chopped-off end wriggling on the floor like a lizard tail. Freeing the first hog, the three hogs banded together and charged at the yellow tree, which continued its frenzy of whipping branches at them. While they were upied, the chopped-off ends somehow managed to slither their way under theirrge hooves, allowing them to reach the young that therge hogs originally protected. They wrapped themselves around the young hogs, ensuing in a bitter struggle against suffocation as the young hogs tried to shake them off in vain, unable to fight their way out of the stranglehold. The strong grip also ensured that they barely made a sound, which meant therge hogs were unable to react in time. As five young hogs were strangled to death, the entire top half of the tree suddenly shrunk in, retreating all of its branches and tunnelling deep into the base of its trunk, which actually turned out to be the hollow husk of another dead tree. A parasite? Or an animal that uses the dead trunks and burrows in? With it hiding deep underground now, therge hogs could only continue to take out their anger on the dead hollow trunk, along with the remnants of chopped-off ends that were still wriggling around and attempting to lunge at the younger hogs. The battle was soon over but at a clear loss to the mammoth hogs. They left the dead young hogs on the floor as they quickly vacated the area, unwilling to linger there any longer. Instead of following the mammoth hogs, Kyle stayed around the area, watching intently at the five dead young hogs who were still wrapped tightly in the chopped-off branches. After ten minutes, five branches reached out from within the hollow trunk out along the ground,tching onto the five corpses that had been caught and reeling them into the trunk, where the sounds ofrge mr teeth mashing and crunching the bones could be heard, the cracks and munching heard loud and clear. Interesting, very simr to other alien parasites. Kyle knew of one such parasite in the Gctic Era, which used dead humans or any humanoid form in a simr fashion. Corpse-catchers. He himself had used them to great effectiveness, allowing him to deter battlefield looting with ease. However, this version here in the Keru Forest might be useful for defending the base, though he would have to figure out a way to use them or at least work around them. For now, he returned to his main focus of hunting. The mammoth hogs respond fast ¨C the moment I attack one, the others wille to assist. I must catch them off guard as much as possible, and in one fell swoop. They don¡¯t seem to honour the dead just yet, so no signs of sapience. Kyle now had a n in mind. He quickly dropped to the floor, finding amon fruit in the forest and some tree sap before gingerly testing its fluid with his finger, ensuring that it was not poisonous. Once he had confirmed that no system debuffs had appeared, he quickly thered his clothes with it, masking his scent of a human as much as possible. As night fell, the mammoth hogs returned to their resting area, a small tiny clearing where the younger hogs suckled on the teats of their mother hog as she rested, the entire spiky skin heaving with each breath. The snores and gurgles of the mammoth hogs, as they slept, were easy enough to pick up once Kyle had heard them once. He observed them again, waiting until thest young hog fell asleep before he dismounted the venom-spitting ho, dropping to the floor quietly before sneaking in the midst of them, his footsteps careful. With his scent masked, therge mammoth hogs barely noticed him while he walked through them under the dim light of the night sky, allowing him to sneak up to one of the younger hogs. In a slow movement, he quietly unsheathed his lightning sword before immediately chopping off the head of a younger hog. As the blood began to spurt out of the neck onto the ground, the smell began to stir therge mammoth hogs slightly from their dreamy state. Kyle quickly chopped off another head before grabbing the two bleeding bodies and running off into the forest. Therge mammoth hogs finally woke up, aware of Kyle¡¯s presence as his heavy footsteps¡¯ thuds against the dead leaves crackled and shifted loudly. Penchant for Violence! Aero Shoes! Kyle was already long gone the moment therge mammoth hogs had already got up, making them confused as to where the unknown assant had suddenly disappeared to as the scent was no longer traceable. Instead, all they were left with was the heads of their two younger hogs, a loud cacophony of grunts as they tried to figure out what attacked them. Meeting up again with the venom-spitting ho, Kyle hoisted the two bodies to it before ordering it to drop it off at the base before returning. It was not the best of ns ¨C Kyle would have much preferred to have a silent kill as much as possible, but the strong scent of blood was a dead giveaway. He was definitely strong enough to strangle the younger hogs to suffocation, just like the branches, but he needed to dissect them first before assuming where their airways were. After witnessing the existence of the corpse catcher, Kyle was not about to make any assumptions about how to kill a mammoth hog just yet. The venom-spitting ho soon returned to pick him up, bringing him back to the base at full speed. Already the night shift members were at work, carving up the corpse as they sliced away sections of the meat. The former vigers were well adapted to butchering and hunting game in the forest, so it was nothing new to them. ¡°Did you catch this alone?¡± Hayden was surprised. Even if the venom-spitting ho was helping Kyle, it should¡¯ve been impossible to get past the adult mammoth hogs, much less outrun them. It usually took a hunting party of ten even to attempt getting anywhere near the mammoth hogs. Kyle nodded without replying, focusing on the now dissected corpse. The structure is simr to that of a pig, so suffocation through brute force should work pretty well. Twisting their neck cleanly should prevent any blood from spilling and also prevent them from squealing for help. ¡°Pack the meat into a sack and stuff it with the Desham Tuffs to preserve it. I¡¯m going out for round two. By the time Ie back, I need these parts made.¡± Kyle quickly drew out a simplerge cab for storage, but it was to be made out of threeyers ¨C steel, y and then wood, along with what seemed like a slot for arcite ore. Hayden instantly recognised the design. ¡°If you¡¯re trying to make an arctech cooling chamber to preserve the meat, we won¡¯t have enough power here ¨C we don¡¯t have any active arcite ore. Everything here is depleted.¡± She motioned to a pile of useless arcite ore that waspletely translucent, already drained of its arcia energy. ¡°That can be fixed. Once Feldon wakes up, tell him I want the parts of a mechanical regenerator ready to go.¡± ¡°Regenerator?¡± Chapter 111: Suppression The next day¡­ Diya grumbled as she tapped her feet impatiently, waiting in the same makeshift shelter where the old man was sleeping on the metal bed. In the shelter were another two of her workers, along with entire crates of crushed scrap metal as well as wooden beams ripped from houses. They were stacked up high, with nearly two dozen of them. ¡°Old man, you don¡¯t need to pretend. The entrance is right under your bed. Just move out of the way.¡± Diya tried to persuade the old man. The old man shrugged, scratching his bulbous chin violently before lying on the metal bed with no intention of moving. ¡°I swear, if this is a standup, I will use everything in my power to-¡° Just as she said it, a rumbling sound could be heard, along with a clear knocking sound rasping on the bottom of the metal bed. The old man quickly leapt off and shoved the metal bed out of the way, revealing Kyle and Makoa again, this time carrying what seemed to be sacks of meat as they mbered out of the tight tunnel. ¡°Advanced payment.¡± Kyle tossed the sack over to Diya¡¯s workers, who nearly copsed from the weight. Diya stared in suspicion, wondering what kind of food did Kyle manage to get. There were only mostly farms of Desham Tuffs around, so any food into the city had to be imported, which led her to believe that Kyle had hit a food supply wagon on the open road. ¡°Idiot, if you hijack the food rationsing in, the people here will suffer even more! The government is going to rain hell down on us!¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, it isn¡¯t the rations! Look!¡± The workers excitedly motioned for Diya to take a look inside the sack, which was filled to the brim with cuts of meat from mammoth hogs. ¡°What? Did you hunt that many mammoth hogs in a single day? How?¡± Diya eximed. ¡°Is the best fixer in Desham so curious? If you want to know the method, it¡¯s going to cost you.¡± Diya immediately kept herself in check, regaining her senses. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll buy it off you in the future. The materials you asked for are here.¡± Kyle examined the materials, opening a few crates to see the quality. The scrap metal can be easily melted down in the old furnace to remove the impurities, so not an issue. ¡°Good. I need a continuous shipment of this volume every day. Makoa, handle the transfer. Diya, a quick word.¡± Diya was a bit rustled at how arrogantly Kyle was ordering her around like he was the boss, but sheplied nevertheless, motioning to her workers to sort everything out. After all, Kyle was her main source of food now. She followed Kyle out into yet another empty metal shelter which only had long-rusted belongings of missing upants. ¡°You seem to be in trouble,¡± Kyle remarked. ¡°After yesterday¡¯s ¡®generous¡¯ event which overturned the entire slums? Yeah, I think that was trouble enough. Should have just given me the damn coins. Now the soldiers are sweeping every inch of the slums. We¡¯re even worse off now!¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good thing for you, isn¡¯t it? Yourpetitors are being overturned while you still retain a supply of food now.¡± Diya nodded, her head already swimming with the daydream of being the richest in the slums. She now had her own monopoly on food and could continue to build a power base. However, there were still many issues that would block her path to dominance. Being the self-proimed ¡®best¡¯ fixer in town did not mean she was the only one angling for the ck market. Nearly everyone with a brain was trying, fighting tooth and nail with each other to stay on top of the current conditions that gued the town. Sure, Diya did not need to worry about food any longer, but she still had to worry about those who would try to usurp her. However, Kyle was already thinking much, much further than Diya. The town of Desham is rtively small ¨C if I can grab control of it without rming Nest or the Versian Military, then it would be a safe base to move forward. I will need a figurehead. ¡°Diya, how would you like to be the Queen of Desham?¡± *** The officer mmed his fist on the table, the sergeants around him freezing up in response. ¡°TWO DAYS AND NO SIGN OF THE DAMN ¡®MAKOA¡¯. WHO THE FUCK IS THIS GUY?¡± ¡°AND YOU!¡± The officer roared towards an old man with a tattoo of Nest on his neck. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be the most useless Nest informant I have ever seen! Why am I even forced to work with you?!¡± ¡°Officer Gabriel, you must understand that I have limited manpower and observation capabilities in Desham.¡± The old man replied calmly. ¡°And? I believe I am the main client here ¨C I pay you to give me insights into the criminalwork here!¡± ¡°The payment is hardly sufficient to establish proper informantworks! Versian coins cannot be eaten, officer. Food is more precious than gold now.¡± Officer Gabriel grumbled but did not reply to the clear insinuation of the old man. He did not control the supply of food in the city ¨C the Governor and his councillors did. But right now, nearly fifty per cent of the food is stocked up in warehouses dedicated to the upper ss of Desham, with the remaining being rationed. This situation is not sustainable. Once the war begins, the chaos will be unimaginable. I have to suppress any rebellious elements before- Suddenly a corporal burst into the room, shocking the members inside. ¡°Corporal! How dare you ente-¡° Officer Gabriel started reprimanding the corporal, but the corporal shouted over him. ¡°Sir, it¡¯s bad! The people have started a riot, iming we have captured Makoa! They are asking to release him!¡± ¡°What? But we never caught him at all!¡± The soldiers in the local garrison quickly mobilised, reorientating their forces and efforts towards the riot that was now gaining poprity, numbering in the thousands as they swarmed the main streets. [Martial Law has been dered, please stay indoors, stay indoors.] ¡°Officer Gabriel, should we inform headquarters?¡± ¡°Like hell we will! I¡¯m going to squash all of them in a single day, and no one will even know anything happened! Get every man out there and disperse them in whatever means necessary!¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Officer Gabriel himself moved out in an arctech wagon convoy, filled to the brim with soldiers as they reached the first makeshift barricade made of deployable metal barriers, the rioters shouting and throwing any object they could get their hands on at the soldiers. ¡°RELEASE MAKOA, YOU SHAMELESS PIGS!¡± ¡°STOP RATIONING THE FOOD!¡± ¡°FREEDOM FOR VERSIANS!¡± The crowd chanted loudly while the soldiers desperately held the barricade firmly as the bodies of the rioters surged forwards, attempting to topple the head-high metal barrier. A few rioters mbered onto over the barrier, only to be immediately pinned down and arrested, cuffed by the soldiers. This is strange ¨C there are far too many people in the riot! It¡¯s only been two days since the appearance of Makoa, and it¡¯s a fact that we are still looking for him. Who is spreading the rumour and fuelling the riot? Officer Gabriel was sure that there was someone with an ulterior motive for sparking such a riot and false rumour. ¡°Sergeant, have some soldiers go around the edges of the riot and check for any signs of coercion. Someone must be funnelling people to join the riots through incentives. Stop them!¡± The sergeant had five soldiers go around each side, checking the connecting alleyway and arresting anyone that came into sight, cutting off the number of rioters that were slowly joining. Soon, as they reached the back of the riot, a strong, delicious smell of roasted pork began to surround them, the aroma enticing. Even the soldiers were salivating at the idea of the juicy, crisp skin of the roasted pork, with its fats and meat all to savour. Meat itself was extremely rare and only avable for the soldiers once every week, and even then, it was only in small portions, hardly enough to satisfy them. However, the soldiers did not dare go against their orders, even when they saw a lone human slow-cooking an entire nk of meat on a metal pipe over an open fire. The sanitary conditions were abysmal, but that was not a point ofint for the dozens of slum dwellers who were now queuing up. The moment a dweller got a skewer, he chomped it down quickly before running off to join the riots. The soldiers quickly moved in to stop the entire operation, but it only made the queuing dwellers even angry, most of themshing out at the soldiers and turning the alleyway into a close-quarter brawl, with the weapons being mostly chunks of scrap metal and fragmented wooden beams with a sharpened tip. While the brawls were erupting all over the edges of the rioting crowd, Officer Gabriel was still pondering as to what was the overall objective of the riot. Assuming the riot is not their main objective, then¡­ ¡°How many soldiers are there left back at the garrison barracks?¡± ¡°Sir, there¡¯s only a dozen of them left.¡± ¡°Have the wall guards move to the garrison barracks as well! Quickly!¡± Instead of hearing a ¡®Yes, sir¡¯, a loud explosion rocked the entire town, the air shockwave rippling through and shattering the tainted ss windows of the various apartmentplexes and office buildings. The weak structures of the slums easily toppled over in the st of wind, copsing on each other. Officer Gabriel could feel the thud in his eardrums, his ears ringing as every soldier and rioter immediately cowered in fear. He could only look back at the source of the explosion, seeing arge dust cloud billowing outwards from the garrison barracks into the sky. No one chanted any longer nor tried to push any more, merely staring in both surprise, curiosity and shock at what had just happened, not understanding anything. However, Gabriel understood very clearly what had just happened. We¡¯ve been sabotaged! ¡°THEY KILLED MAKOA!¡± One random rioter shouted from within the crowd, causing a wave of gasps to spread through. ¡°YEA, THEY KILLED MAKOA SO THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO RELEASE HIM! THEY WANT US DEAD!¡± Another rioter riled up the crowd even further, stirring up emotions. ¡°Fight back against oppression!¡± ¡°FIGHT BACK!¡± ¡°Fight back against oppression!¡± ¡°FIGHT BACK!¡± The crowd of rioters began to push once more against the barricade as the soldiers used their bodies to prop up the metal barriers, resisting the iing force. Morale amongst the soldiers had plummeted to an all-time low. With the garrison barracks destroyed, the military in Desham had suddenly lost all semnce of control over the local popce, as their once undefeatable image had now clearly been marred by the inability to defend itself. Gabriel himself knew this might very well be the end of his military career, staring at the ballooning dust cloud in shock. ¡°Sir, your orders? Sir! Sir!¡± A sergeant desperately shook Gabriel violently, trying to snap him out of his stupor. Gabriel¡¯s eyes turned towards the rioting crowd, his eyes locking with the bloodthirsty crowd, who would clearly have him quartered limb by limb if he allowed them to capture him. ¡°Mount the machine guns on the arctech wagons and wait for my signal. All of them.¡± Gabriel spoke quietly, barely audible over the din of the mouring crowd. ¡°Sir, you can¡¯t be serious! These are Versian citizens, squatters or not! Such amand would ¨C ¡° ¡°Do you want to be hanged and yed naked by them?¡± The sergeant¡¯s words were stuck in his throat, gulping. Every soldier here knew they would be immediately overrun by the rioting crowd and beaten to death. After all, that was what they had seen the original revolutionaries do to the nobility¡¯s soldiers during the first revolution. It was part and parcel of a riot. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°N-no, sir.¡± ¡°THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? I SAID: MOUNT ALL OF THEM!¡± The soldiers quickly hefted therge machine guns on the top of the driver cabin of each wagon, hooking up an arcite fuel pipe connected to the tank of the wagon. The soldiers who handled the machine gun and aimed down the barrel at the ravenous crowd were trembling, afraid of what would happen if they pulled the trigger. However, they were equally afraid of what would happen to them if they did not pull the trigger.¡± ¡°OPEN FIRE!¡± Chapter 112: Path of Blood The machine arctech guns fired rapidly, the engraving along the barrels glowing intensely as the storm of pellets showered the rioting crowd. Each pellet drove a straight hole through the sickly flesh of the malnourished slum dwellers, ripping through muscles, tendons and skin in a churn of blood and meat. Chants from the crowd turned to screams of horror as the rioting crowd immediately dispersed, but it was far toote for many of them. Many slum dwellers could only watch in shock as they ran, witnessing the zipping pellets turn their childhood friends into a ragdoll, the multitude of pellets drilling and lodging themselves into the bones. The machine gun fire stopped in ten seconds as the barrel began to overheat, but the carnage had already been wrought. Hundreds of bodies were now piled up on one another, with survivors desperately trying to w their way out of the pile. Others were suffocating under the immense weight, unable to move as theirst vision was only a glimmer of the bright sky, their vision murked by the streams of blood that flowed freely from the top. Some stumbled away, unaware of their own impending death as they tried to plug the holes from which chunks of organs began to seep out. One man carried his wife in his arms, trying to flee while dragging his shot left leg, limping. ¡°We¡¯re almost out, we¡¯re almost out!¡± he whispered to himself, unaware that his back was already riddled with pellet holes while his wife¡¯s heady limp, a gaping hole on her forehead with her eyes locked in a shocked expression. The sight burned itself into the minds of the soldiers, with many of the local garrison¡¯s soldiers having only heard about the first war but not fighting in it. Some of them retched out their meals on the sidewalk, while others began to tremble violently, unable to cope with the horrors in front of them. ¡°Arrest them. Shoot all who resist.¡± Officer Gabriel ordered, but none of the soldiers moved. Not even the sergeant dared to move. ¡°Sergeant, execute the order NOW! Or should I consider this as insubordination?!¡± The sergeant quickly snapped out of his hesitation; the years of blindly following orders from above drilled into him. ¡°Arrest them now! Move!¡± A good chunk of the soldiersplied, moving on instinct as they stepped over the barrier, their boots squishing against the strewn corpses that hugged the street, fresh blood streaming. However, there were three soldiers who refused to move, instead aiming their arctech guns towards Gabriel. Without hesitation, Gabriel immediately pulled out his handgun, executing all three of them in a swift motion. ¡°Insubordination is punishable by death.¡± He muttered, holstering his smoking handgun back into its holder. ¡°Sergeant, contact the wall guards and have them reorganise under me. We¡¯ll take back the garrison barracks now!¡± *** The old Nest informant was tossed screaming into the bottom of a shaft,nding in a tight vertical tunnel on piles upon piles of mortars, machine guns and repeaters. He quickly ripped apart his shirt, ncing down at the Nest engraving that was carved onto his flesh on his chest. The engraving glowed dimly before dissipating into nothing. A slight pain and contraction could be felt. Why is the engraving not activating? ¡°You¡¯re not going to die.¡± Kyle remarked as he dropped down next to him. The old Nest informant turned his attention to Kyle. ¡°You, you look like him, but not the same¡­¡± Kyle knew the Nest informant would have recognised him as Kris Greyborn, but after his transformation into the Arcian race, his facial and body structure had changed slightly, his features sharpened and better looking. He was slightly irked as it meant he was a tad bit ugly in the past, but he threw it to the back of his mind. I didn¡¯t choose my body either way. ¡°You know what I want, no?¡± ¡°You want to overtake the entire town here.¡± The old Nest informant was not dumb. After seeing Kyle use the mineral ants to clear out and steal all the weapons before detonating half of the ammunition dump, the informant was extremely clear on the n moving forward. ¡°So, I can offer you freedom from Nest ¨C in exchange; you must work for me and provide false information to Nest.¡± ¡°Providing false information would get me killed even faster! The leaders of the Versian branch won¡¯t let me go! She¡¯s cruel! Even if you can defend against her, you can hardly defend against the other two.¡± ¡°Oh, Lady Yona and Nox? I got them covered.¡± The old Nest informant¡¯s eyes widened, realising it was truly Kris Greyborn in the flesh. He was aware of the raid on the catbs, where it was reported that Kris Greyborn had gone missing, not dead. This man can fight toe to toe with Yona and Nox and still survive?! How!? ¡°And if you¡¯re referring to your transcendent leader, I know who he is. I¡¯ve already fought him.¡± At this point, the old Nest informant¡¯s head was already reeling. But he quickly snapped back to reality, his calctive mind whirring into action as he considered his position. ¡°I don¡¯t think freedom is enough for me ¨C I¡¯ll need a bit more than that.¡± A small grin appeared on his face, knowing he held the upper hand in the negotiations. It was necessary for the old Nest informant to provide information to the Nest headquarters regrly. Anypses in check-in would result in the headquarters dispatching members to investigate what happened. Of course, he knew that Kris Greyborn would not want the entirety of Nest toe down on his head. I hold all the cards here! ¡°Well then.¡± Kyle grabbed a knife from the stolen weapon pile that they were lying on, reaching out and aiming the tip right at the old Nest informant¡¯s chest. ¡°Wait, wait, what are you doing?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to remove the Nest engraving.¡± At first, the old Nest informant was overjoyed, but he suddenly stiffened up, realising the implications of having his engraving removed. It meant that he would bepletely cut off from the Nestwork ¨C they would hunt him down and have him killed in order to make sure he didn¡¯t spill any of their organisational secrets. He did not cry out yet in panic, simply holding a happy expression as though Kyle was doing something he exactly wanted. He hoped that Kyle would eventually back off, but soon he felt the cold metal tip begin to pierce his flesh, causing him to shake violently. ¡°NO NO NO WAIT I AGREE! I AGREE!¡± The old Nest informant tried to stop Kyle, his arms iling and attempting to hit Kyle off. Kyle immediately delivered a straight punch to his face, knocking out the weak informant in a single hit with a concussion. ¡°Stay still; who knows where the knife would go.¡± Unlike the time limit he had with Lady Yona, this time, the Nest engraving was a bit weaker, allowing Kyle some extra time to inspect the engraving carefully. The engraving was made up of three sections that were all interlinked to form an overarching engraving. Removing one of the sections would cause a spiralling effect, draining the body of arcia energy and converting it into mes and burning the holder immediately. Lucky for him, the old Nest informant¡¯s body was weak and did not have much arcia energy, to begin with. Combined with his Negation field, the Nest engraving barely had any energy to start the self-consuming loop. Section 1 here seems to trigger based on intention. So the holder would trigger this section immediately the moment he believes he had been captured by someone who was not Nest. Section 2 seems to be a sort of engraving I have never seen before. The functionality seems to be unknown. I should memorise this. Section 3 looks just like a ve engraving. No doubt, the Nest leader holds the master pair in order to enable direct control or direct punishment without initiating self-immtion. All three sections line up to form the self-immtion engraving. Breaking the connection of any single section would trigger it. Kyle was no stranger to ve engravings ¨C he had designed a cor for Guang Hwa, and engraved one himself onto Makoa¡¯s chest. The Nest¡¯s version was a bit moreplicated, but Kyle gleaned some insights as to how to improve his own ve engravings. There¡¯s a portion here where I can modify it to match my master-ve engraving. Kyle still retained the engraving that could control Makoa as a metal te in his pockets, so he began to carve away on the old Nest informant¡¯s chest, altering the engraving with great care to make sure he did not trigger the self-immtion too much, lest the body started to suffer from arcia exhaustion. The pain from the carving woke the old man up once again, shooting straight up as he nearly yelled out loud. Kyle immediately punched him again, aiming for maximum concussion by sending a direct jolt to his brain through the chin. The old man was knocked out again in aa, with Kyle continuing his work. An hour passed in near silence, with Kyle finally finishing his work. Time to do a short test. He activated the master te engraving he had, triggering the ve engraving on the body. The wracking pain felt like needles erupting all over the old Nest informant¡¯s body, causing him to writhe and convulse violently, jolting right awake again in screams. ¡°ARGGGHHH! I AGREE! I AGREE TO THE DEAL!¡± ¡°Good. Pleasure working with you.¡± Kyle dragged him through the tunnel away from the garrison barracks, which were now linked to the slums, barely only a few hundred meters long. As he exited the slums, he noticed that there were fights and shots being fired all across the city as the soldiers chased down the fleeing rioters who slunked back into the slums. He walked past a few who had suffered multiple wounds, all evidently shot by an arctech gun as they limped. No one recognised him, all of them too preupied with the harrowing experience they had just witnessed at the riot. Kyle brought the old Nest Informant to meet Diya, tossing him onto the floor of her office. Diya was solemn; her hands sped as she rested her arms on the table, ring at Kyle. ¡°You sacrificed the people for your benefit.¡± ¡°I did not anticipate the military to act so brazenly, but this is good for us.¡± ¡°Good? For US? Seems like it¡¯s only good for you! Don¡¯t lump me in with ¨C¡° Kyle suddenly lunged and grabbed Diya off her chair by the neck, mming her down onto the floor and pinning her down. ¡°Do not shout at me. I¡¯m starting to reconsider our working rtionship here. Surely the future Queen of Desham cannot be this hung up over such a small incident.¡± ¡°Small incident?¡± Diya spat through her constricted throat. ¡°Hundreds died today!¡± ¡°Which is nothingpared to the thousands of ves you trafficked every day for thest ten years. The path to power is paved on blood ¨C nothing more, nothing less. Tiptoeing around insignificant morals won¡¯t get you to the top. If you don¡¯t want to be in charge, I can find someone else with more guts.¡± Diya remained silent, unable to retort. She had definitely done plenty of shady crimes over the years. It would not be a stretch to say that she had exploited the people as well to her own benefit, ruing wealth at the expense of suffering. However, today¡¯s event was an eye-opening experience for her. Never before had she seen such arge-scale massacre happen right before her eyes, making her doubt her own path. Just because she did not see the suffering of the ves she trafficked did not mean it did not exist, and now she was confronted with it face to face. ¡°Which is better, slow starvation to death under the heels of oppressors or enduring small sacrifices to reach the top to ensure that this tragedy never happens again? With you in power, you can ensure no one under your rule would repeat the same massacre.¡± Kyle let go of Diya, who gingerly rubbed her throat, aware of the power hierarchy now. Kyle motioned to the old Nest informant. ¡°This man will be your second advisor. He will handle the Nest side of things. I will require you to ensure that the news of your rise to power is noticed more than my involvement. Is that clear?¡± Diya and the old Nest Informant nodded reluctantly at Kyle, who smiled. ¡°Good. Then, Queen of Desham, it¡¯s time to distribute some weapons.¡± Chapter 113: Revolt The tensions in the town simmered, mped down by the heavy-handed follow-up raids by the military. Desperate to retain control of the city and asset dominance despite having their main barracks blown up, the soldiers initiated yet another sweep through the slums, attempting to capture all those who participated in the riot. The streets were filled with the continuous sounds of arctech weapon fire and screams as the slum dwellers tried to evade arrest, hiding in every nook and cranny. Many soldiers were initially reluctant to perform such a raid immediately right after their barracks exploded, but Officer Gabriel persuaded them otherwise. ¡°They do not respect us! Our service to this town, our service to this country! They treat us lower than dogs, lower than even the ants that crawl on the pavement. We upheld justice and thew in this town, yet all we got for it was hatred and terrorist acts. Are you going to let them just blow up our living spaces and walk away scott-free?!¡± Officer Gabriel riled them up sessfully. The slum dwellers escted it first! With this thought in mind and a sense of justice still present in them, the soldiers performed their jobs diligently, spurred on by peer pressure as well as the words of their sergeants. It was only the higher-ups who knew that they were to me ¨C the local council for poorly managing the food supply and the military for their original suppression of criminals. Officer Gabriel was not oblivious. He understood very well that the tough conditions had given rise to more crime and more dissent among the local popce. However, it was far toote to back down. Conflict was like adder of escting violence between both parties: it was a matter of who was willing to climb to the higher rung to assert victory. By framing the slum dwellers as the ones who had escted it by their act of terrorism, Gabriel had more than ample reason to justify his actions of using the machine gun on the people to the local town council, who he stood in front of now, reporting the recent incident. The members of the town council nced at him and murmured among each other with worried expressions, having been called to an emergency meeting after the explosion and riot. ¡°They were responsible for blowing up the barracks?! This is outrageous!¡± ¡°Attacking when the governor is away on vacation, how despicable.¡± ¡°But we should be careful ¨C too much force, and it would backfire on us.¡± ¡°I say we strike harder than ever,¡± Gabriel spoke clearly, presenting his case. ¡°The size of the explosion was not some mere arctech bomb that blew up a single house ¨C this attack took out most our weapons and ammunition, along with multiple buildings.¡± ¡°I understand, Officer. I can see very clearly for myself the effects.¡± A member motioned to the shattered tainted ss fragments strewn on the floor, yet to be swept up. ¡°But even so, the explosion could have been performed by a small group rather than a concentrated effort by all slum dwellers to do so.¡± ¡°You seem to be suggesting that we let them go.¡± ¡°Carrot and stick. I still am apprehensive about your order to use machine guns on the rioting popce, which was far too aggressive.¡± ¡°You were not there ¨C my men¡¯s lives were at stake. I still believe I made the right judgement call. If I had to do it again, I would.¡± ¡°Are you saying you would massacre citizens of Desham again?!¡± A second member was outraged, wagging his finger at Gabriel. ¡°I would if they tried to attack, lynch, or kill my soldiers, much less blow up our home. Do you want a military that does not retaliate when attacked? What kind of army just let their enemies destroy their barracks and get away?! I do not want war, but I know war.¡± The second member did not retort, though obviously still incensed while the first member resumed: ¡°The point remains. The stick has been used ¨C instead of fostering more hatred towards us and the military, we should be appeasing them instead.¡± ¡°Terrorists should not be negotiated with. Your ¡®appeasement¡¯ would only let the wound fester and rot, spreading it and allowing the ¡®small group¡¯ of yours to recruit more dissatisfied people. All rioters should be captured and, if they resist arrest ¨C executed on the spot. I currently have my men sweeping the slums, but without the barracks, we cannot sustain suppression for long.¡± ¡°Execution on the spot is too far ¨C are you bloodthirsty?¡± The second member spat again. ¡°Do you have an agenda against the slum dwellers?!¡± ¡°Far from it. I have reason to believe that the riot was instigated by forces aimed at taking us down.¡± Gabriel motioned towards an apanying sergeant who brought in a prisoner shackled at his limbs, still wearing his shabby clothing. ¡°Exin what you were doing at the riot. Tell the truth.¡± ¡°I¡­ I was paid in food to get people into the riot! They had mammoth hog meat! Lots of it! An entire hog¡¯s worth, close to six hundred kilograms!¡± The apanying sergeant also brought out a few more captured rioters in sequence, all of which corroborated the first prisoner¡¯s statement. The council was stirred into a frenzy, their minds running wild. ¡°Mammoth hog meat? No one has domesticated them. Does it mean we have a rebel force in the Keru Forest?¡± ¡°Or could it be the Yual Dominion¡¯s military already trying to topple us from within?¡± Multiple theories were discussed for a minute or two before Gabriel interrupted again. ¡°Following the assumption that there is a hidden force attempting to overthrow the council and the military, I hope my suggestion will be taken seriously.¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking for a purge. A culling.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes to have peace in Desham.¡± ¡°¡­Thank you, Officer; the council will now deliberate on your suggestion.¡± Gabriel saluted and left the room along with his underlings, a satisfied expression on his face. He knew he had already won over the town council members, all of whom were made up of well-to-do people in Desham. The problems of the rich are everyone¡¯s problems; the problems of the poor are the problems of the poor. He knew the council would do everything to retain both their power and control, as well as influence. Which ruling authority would agree to let revolt foment without control within their own territory? Appeasing the locals would also involve them donating some of their hoarded wealth and food away, which Gabriel knew would never happen, seeing how mediocre their donations to the military were. Within a short hour, the final approval was given to Gabriel, allowing him full reign to capture or purge any hostile or rebellious elements in the slums. The updated order was ryed to the soldiers, who began to be much more aggressive in their hunt. Some of them revelled in the power they held, raping and looting whatever meagre wealth and items the slum dwellers had, rioter or not. The slum dwellers were in despair, running to wherever might save them. Arge crowd had gathered around the ck market deep in the slums, mouring for smugglers to get them out of the town as fast as they could. Some desperate mothers even willingly traded their freedom for their children to get out free, entering very under contract and earning ve cors. What they did not know was that even the smugglers could not get out of the town easily with the martialw in effect ¨C though they were more than happy to gain a ve for free, sometimes even multiple, if the children could performbour. Exorbitant prices and demands were listed as the cost of smuggling, causing even greater despair and depression in the slum dwellers. ¡°How are we to survive? Must we suffer like this for days, months, years?¡± ¡°We should fight back; we have nothing left to lose!¡± ¡°Look at what happened at the riot: how do we fight back against that with no weapons? We¡¯ll be killed in droves!¡± ¡°Where are the fuckers who sold us the mammoth hog meat? Where are they?!¡± ¡°I heard it was Diya who has the mammoth hog meat!¡± ¡°How dare she use us as fodder!¡± A small but growing mob began to surge towards Diya¡¯s office, intending on lynching her. However, she was already outside, guarded by ten well-armed bodyguards bought with food who were holding repeaters, courtesy of Kyle¡¯s appropriation of the military barracks. She stood on a crate, elevating herself above the crowd as though she had already been expecting them toe back to her. As the crowd approached, they noticed multiple tters made out of polished scrap metal of roasted porkid out along the street, with already some eating off of it. The survival instincts of the crowd took hold instead, with them scrambling and jostling for the tters. To their surprise, it was not necessary to fight for the food ¨C there was one tter of roasted pork for each of them, nearly three hundred having been prepared already. With each tter eaten, more came out from within Diya¡¯s office, served by workers hired by her. For a brief moment in time, they ate like kings, forgettingpletely about the military that was chasing them. Nearly all of them could hardly recall thest time they had such a spread in front of them, with their lives only filled with bread and other grains. ¡°This, this is the life!¡± The rowdy crowd was turned into a sit-down event, where more and more people were gathered, having a tter each to themselves as they shovelled as much as they could into their mouths. It was like an open-air restaurant, except the food was absolutely free. There was still a wave of dwellers who were attracted by the rumours and by the scent, streaming in. However, Diya was unfazed, having more than enough mammoth hog meat to go around, thanks to Kyle. As the first wave of dwellers were finally full from eating, leaning back and joking with each other, some of them suddenly recalled why they were here in the first ce, though they could not find much hatred in the hearts to direct at Diya. ¡°Are you satisfied now?¡± Diya spoke. ¡°Have you finallye to your senses? As to who the true enemy is?¡± ¡°You used us as a distraction! You got the weapons from the barracks!¡± One of the more astute slum dwellers shouted out, earning nods and agreements, as well as looks of hatred from those who had lost friends and loved ones in the riot. ¡°I gave you food!¡± Diya shouted back with force. ¡°I gave you purpose! Look at you now, eating your fill and onlyining. I gave you an outlet to voice your dissent to those who lord over us, to those who oppress us! Think about what the military has done for you over thest few months of rationing. Do you feel protected?¡± ¡°You got my wife killed!¡± Another shouted in response. ¡°I was not the one who fired the machine gun ¨C it is the military! I too am like you, a slum dweller. I have been here all my life, born and raised here. Yet instead of focusing on the true source of oppression, youe here to eat my food and then me me for what the oppressors have done?! Look beyond the veil ¨C the problems are because of the council, the military who care nothing of your needs. But I know you. I know everything about you ¨C because I am just like you. A dweller who is tired of the injustice. A dweller who is sick of the shame. A dweller who is looking for strength to fight back against those who would put us down! Are you going to simply sit here and wait for free handouts while the military purges the entire slums?¡± ¡°NO!¡± A few angry dwellers shouted, sessfully riled up by Diya. ¡°Are you going to surrender to the military, letting them imprison you for the ¡®crime¡¯ of speaking?¡± ¡°NO!¡± ¡°Are you going to submit to the council, who discriminate against you for where you stayed, where you were born?¡± ¡°NO!¡± The entire crowd roared back now, the peer pressure and frenzy building up in a rising torrent. ¡°I GAVE YOU FOOD; I GAVE YOU PURPOSE! AND NOW, I GIVE YOU STRENGTH!¡± Diya roared, with crates of weapons stolen from the barracks hauled out from the office. There were more than enough repeaters and handguns that were distributed around. ¡°Promised victory and an end to suffering awaits us,rades. WHO¡¯S WITH ME!?¡± Chapter 114: Grain Explosion The next day¡­ ¡°Hey, did you hear? The slum dwellers has got their hands on the weapons from the barracks!¡± ¡°What?! Oh shit, my cousin¡¯s in the garrison! I fucking told him¡­ wait what about us?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they won¡¯t evere here. As daring as they may be, there¡¯s no chance in hell that they are going to attack us. The military is pinning them down in the slums for now.¡± Two guards chatted as they patrolled a series of grain bins andrge arctech refrigerated containers in a walled area, the town¡¯s council storage of food. This was what the wealthy council members and other upper-ss citizens relied upon for their security of food. The walls were lined with barbwire, along with a few towers to spot anything suspicious lurking beyond and within the area. It looked more like a prison than anything else, if it weren¡¯t for the multiple arctech wagons that continuously ferried food in and out, each wagon checked thoroughly by guards. ¡°Are you sure? This entire fight started because of rationing ¨C the first thing on their mind must be food! Wouldn¡¯t theye here first? Maybe they¡¯ll attack us like they attacked the barracks!¡± ¡°Bah, we¡¯re on thepletely opposite end of the town. Any slum dweller holding an arctech rifle would be spotted immediately and caught on the spot. Besides, we got nearly a hundred guards here armed to the teeth.¡± ¡°What if they sneak in?¡± ¡°Then what? How are they going to transport anything out? Can they carry the entire grain bin?¡± A loud bell chimed across the walled food storage area, signalling a shift change. ¡°Guess it¡¯s our turn to do the check-ins. Better stay vignt, else your slum dweller friends mighte for you.¡± ¡°Stop it, you¡¯re making me nervous now.¡± Taking on the new shift at the entrance check-in inspection point, the first arctech wagon began to rumble towards them. Despite the joking attitude they held, each of them were on high alert, a underlying tension deep in their bodies as the wagon pulled up to them. It wasn¡¯t until they could see the driver through the ss panels of the cab that the first guard was relieved. ¡°Wee back, Gusto. Long trip? How¡¯s Tenar?¡± ¡°Oh boy, don¡¯t get me started.¡± The driver wiped the sweat of his forehead. ¡°Tenar is in a hot mess now. I cant believe there are still people in the catbs despite the military raid, they are still trying to revolt against the government! If President Johan was still alive, this would never have happened¡­¡± ¡°What about the war, any news?¡± ¡°Bah, the military keeps saying the Yual Dominion forces are going to make a move, but as far as I can tell, it really does seem to be a military exercise. Sure, they shifted it ahead by a month, but still no signs of movement yet. I haven¡¯t heard any rumours about attacks. In fact, I suspect the Yual Dominion funds the rebels in the catbs to destabilize us from within!¡± ¡°What? Really?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ hey, by the way, what¡¯s going on in Desham? Ever since I drove into town, everyone has been looking really tense?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exinter, you can meet me at the canteen. Just let me do the routine inspection and you¡¯re clear to go.¡± ¡°Not a problem.¡± The two guards opened the back of the arctech wagon, noticing tied-up sacks of grains and fresh vegetables direct from neighbouring towns. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ll be getting paid a ton today! How many towns did you visit?¡± ¡°Oh, I traded maybe five or six towns nearby. Desham always holds a special ce in my heart.¡± ¡°Har-har, nice try. Special because Eunice rejected you?¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± The arctech wagon was allowed through, giving the two guards a sigh of relief. ¡°Whew, really thought there would be a slum dweller hiding in the back or something. Could have hitched a ride halfway through.¡± ¡°You¡¯re far too paranoid, just take a deep breath and rx for a while, it won¡¯t be long until ¨C ¡° ¡°Hey, is that one of ours?¡± In the distance, there was another arctech wagoning in fast from the end of the road leading towards them. ¡°Weird.¡± They double-checked the list of expected deliveries. ¡°This wagon is supposed toe half an hourter, ording to itsst check-in.¡± ¡°Then why is it here now?¡± The two guards exchanged a knowing look, quickly calling up their boss. The entire area immediately went into alert, as two machine guns were aimed right at the wagon from the top of the walls, manned by two other guards. [Unidentified Wagon, stop all arctech operations right now or we will open fire!] The wagon speed did not change, barrelling towards the checkpoint withplete disregard for the warning. ¡°Shit, he¡¯s intending on ramming the checkpoint, get out of the way!¡± The two guards leapt as the wagon narrowly missed them, smashing through the barrier and tumbling out onto the ground, skidding to a halt as the wheels continuously spun, still powered by arcia energy. A senior guard immediately tookmand of the situation, ordering the guards to surround the arctech wagon at a safe distance, lest it was explosive. ¡°Guard the main checkpoint too, make sure no one exploits the open barrier!¡± While all of themotion was happening, the guards in the various watchtowers were also attracted by therge explosion sound. One guard leaned over the railing, looking down at the smoking arctech wagon. ¡°What is going on down there?¡± [Watchtower 1, Watchto-.] The senior guard¡¯s voice crackled on the small portable arctech radio, before cutting out. ¡°Watchtower 1 reporting in, all clear.¡± The guard spoke into the receiver. ¡°Hello?¡± He tried tuning the radio, but could not get a response. Weird. The guard also tried to tune into other known radio channels, but was unable to hear anything. Not even the usual music station could be heard on the arctech radio. What¡¯s going on? Suddenly, the guard heard a light thud, turning around only to see Kyle mbering over the railing, carrying a sack of what seemed to be metal balls. Before the guard could even scream, Kyle lunged and snapped his neck in an instant, killing him instantly. MG404: [System Message Killed: [Desham Guard] +10 EXP] Even a mineral ant was worth more than him. Maybe I should go back to the dungeon someday. Kyle quickly grabbed the guard¡¯s body, making sure there wasn¡¯t even a sound. He picked up the arctech radio, checking its functionality. Good, all the channels are jammed in Desham, just as expected. Kyle had managed to get Hayden to design a device that would broadcast on all radio channels, drowning out any receiver with pure gibberish and static. Communication ckout. Kyle stripped the guard down, wearing his uniform and climbing down thedder with the sack, entering the walledpound easily. He nced around the area, before sprinting straight to a nearby arctech refrigerator container. Aero Shoes! Kyle kept an eye out for anyone watching him, but so far, everyone¡¯s attention has been caught by the wagon that crashed, serving as the perfect distraction for him. As soon as he reached the arctech refrigerator container, he grabbed a metal ball from his sack and ced it near the main engravings, which were channelling heat outwards away from the interior. He repeated this action for all of the containers, before starting to head towards the grain bins. The moment he turned a corner behind a container, he ran straight into two patrolling guards, who eyed him warily. ¡°Hey, I don¡¯t recognise you. What the fuck were you doing, sneaking around here? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be on the watchtower?¡± The patrol guard questioned Kyle, noticing his uniform was of a different type. Kyle immediately attacked them, throwing two straight punches that took them out in an instant. Dragging their bodies to a hidden location that could not be seen from the watchtowers, the portable arctech radios on their belts began to crackle, but no voice made it through the continuous static as a result of Kyle¡¯s jamming device. Looking up at the watchtowers, he noticed a few guards trying to spot where the patrolling guards had disappeared to. He took out another metal te engraving from his pocket. channelling his arcia energy through it. Suddenly, another loud bang could be heard as the arctech wagon was blown up into pieces, the metal fragments sent spiralling high into the air and in all directions. Two guards who were already investigating the wagon were thrown out, the entire front of their body burnt from the searing heat. The wheels exploded as well, mming into the guards who were still lingering around. Other pieces and parts of the arctech wagon pierced the guards, injuring them as they lodged deep into their flesh, with an unlucky guard earning a shard of ss right into his left eye. Thepound immediately went into a frenzy, as stirred up as a beehive as they desperately tried to put out the fire, afraid that it might spread to the grain bins and start a chain reaction. ¡°Get the water pumps and arctech coolers ASAP! Set up barricades to make sure the fire doesn¡¯t grow in size!¡± That should be enough for a follow-up distraction. Kyle was nowpletely free to move, the watchtowers¡¯ guards eyes locked on the billowing me and rising pir of soot that went to the sky. The pir was visible from most parts of the town as long as one looked to the sky, which the council most definitely noticed as they nced out of their boarded-up windows. The members began to panic, calling the senior guard at the walled food storage area. However, there was no response whatsoever, only hearing random loud bursts of static. ¡°What¡¯s going on there? Why is there a fire?¡± Any attack on the food storage area would be disastrous for the town council, resulting in the inability to feed the citizens and, more importantly, unable to ensure food security for the upper ss. The significance of the food storage area became much clearer to them. ¡°Is a hundred guards enough? What if we suffer the same fate as the barracks?¡± ¡°We should send more men over. Get Officer Gabriel to allocate some soldiers to guard the food storage area as well!¡± ¡°I agree; it is far too critical! With the slum dwellers already possessing arms, it is paramount that we hold the food so as to starve them out!¡± ¡°But we can¡¯tmunicate on the arctech radios now, someone is jamming us!¡± ¡°Then send a messenger quickly!¡± The town council had withheld dealing out rations, intending to flush out the slum dwellers who had originally been eating them. What they did not know was that the dwellers were no longer reliant on the rations, instead relying on Diya and her food supply chain from Kyle for now. ¡°Just one more day, and they¡¯ll capitte immediately!¡± The members all nodded in agreement. ¡°Yes, they won¡¯t be able to fight for long on an empty stomach. Once they start to falter, we¡¯ll crush them all in one fell ¨C¡° As soon as he said that, a sudden bout of strong vibrations shook the building as the furniture and tableware trembled, nking against the hard wooden floor. Waves of heat could suddenly be felt in the air, followed immediately by a loud resounding boom, the shockwave of air finally rushing through the boarded-up windows, sting apart the flimsy nails that kept the boards in ce. The moment the members recovered, they scrambled to the window, looking out in the distance as their worst fears had just materialised. The same view could be seen by the military as well, with Officer Gabriel¡¯s heart plummeting. Impossible! There were nearly a hundred guards there, and it was still attacked?! The consistent sounds of arctech gunfire abated for a brief moment as both sides stared in shock at the ck soot cloud that was now spiralling out to the sky. Diya grinned as she saw it, knowing Kyle had done his part of the n. Now it was her turn to push the advantage. ¡°Comrades, victory is at hand! They now will suffer just as we did!¡± Diya pointed to the sky, with the dwellers recognising that the upper ss no longer had food to eat as well. However, thanks to Diya¡¯s food supply, they were more than secure in that regard, boosting their morale far above the soldiers that they were fighting. With the arctech radiowork out ofmission, Gabriel quickly lost control of his soldiers, some of them defecting to the slum dwellers¡¯ side and turning against their ownrades. The fighting became more intense as the entire town was plunged into amunication ckout, unable to contact the outside world. The remaining guards who survived the devastating grain explosion slowly regroup, trying to figure out what has happened. ¡°Who the fuck attacked us?¡± ¡°Spread out and find him!¡± Just as the guards began to split up, they all froze in ce as they watched a human figure approach them, amidst the burning pile of grain and meat that enveloped an entire urban block. Kyle smiled at them as he approached, his face half covered in soot while dragging a dead guard in his left hand by the neck. ¡°Time to clean up Desham.¡± Chapter 115: Evacuation The town council of Desham was inplete chaos, with frantic members running across the entire building which hosted all of their arctech phone lines, none of it which was working. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why can¡¯t we call Tenar for help?¡± ¡°Sir, the radios are working fine when tested at short range, but any long-rangemunication out of the city ispletely unusable!¡± ¡°Someone or something is interrupting ourmunications. Could it be-¡° ¡°Do not panic! Officer Gabriel will soon have the town under control and ¨C¡° ¡°Idiot! The battle is already lost! We need to evacuate before the Yual Dominion starts to invade us! We need to run!¡± The panic began to spread through all the members slowly, wondering if they were the first town to have been hit by the imminent war. Based on their location, they should have been well protected by the Keru Forest, serving as arge natural blocker. However, they could not ignore the fact that the Yual Dominion could easily send a force through to destabilise them first. ¡°Officer Gabriel was right about the external intervention! The Yual Dominion is riling up the locals and using them against us.¡± ¡°Our food supply has been crippled: soon, even the upper ss would turn against us!¡± ¡°We need to evacuate immediately! Send a messenger to Gabriel to lift the martialw at the exits!¡± ¡°But sir, that would defeat the purpose of the military encirclement of the slums. What if those responsible managed to evacuate with us ¨C¡° ¡°If you want to die as a prisoner of war, suit yourself!¡± The council began to execute their evacuation and emergency procedures prepared in the event of war, telling their family and loved ones to prepare. A messenger quickly sprinted out of the council building, running straight for thest knownmand post of Gabriel in the slums. Before he could even turn the corner, a burly man was standing right in front of him, machine gun in his arm. With a click of the trigger, a storm of bullets sted the messenger into pieces in seconds, while the burly man immediately ran off, disappearing from view. A mad rush to pack up and flee Desham as word of imminent war began to spread like wildfire, every citizen grabbing all their valuables and belongings. They ran out onto the streets, only to join a never-ending queue of arctech wagons which were stalled at the gate to beyond Desham. The wagon drivers at the front shouted angrily at the soldiers who were blockading the gate. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you letting us go? Do you want all of us to be captured by the Yual Dominion?¡± ¡°What? I never heard anything about that. There is martialw applied now; please return to your homes!¡± The soldiers never received the message due to themunication ckout, having stood guard at the exits for thest few days as part of the military encirclement. ¡°Shut up! I am a proud citizen of Desham ¨C I funded the council and military, and you¡¯re telling me you won¡¯t let me escape war? Fuck you!¡± ¡°Yea, we pay your sry! Let us through!¡± Another driver chimed in. ¡°Sir, if I flout martialw it will be punishable by death!¡± The soldier tried to exin. One of the drivers pulled out an ornate arctech handgun, aiming it right at the soldier. ¡°Well if you are not going to let us go immediately, then you can die here!¡± ¡°Sir, put down the gun now!¡± The soldiers at the gate reacted strongly, aiming their own repeaters and machine guns at the crowd. ¡°Put down the gun now or I¡¯ll shoot!¡± ¡°Just let us go!¡± The stream of evacuation refugees began to crowd around the main exits of the town, there only being three. Each suffered from the sameck ofmunication, resulting in misunderstandings and tensions between the military and the citizens. As they jostled and fought against the blockade, the sound of a whizzing projectile soared over the town¡¯s buildings, hitting the exit gate squarely and exploding. The soldiers cowered from the mortar strike as the arched gateway began to copse on itself, the wall guards on the time screaming as they fell and were dashed against the rubble of rock below, blocking off the exitpletely. A cacophony of screams erupted from the refugees as they fled from the ensuing copse of wall rock, some of which rolled and crushed them with impunity. As the copse ceased, the refugees turned and peered through the smog of white rock dust, only to see an insurmountable slope of pure rubble, one which they would not be able to clear out anytime soon. ¡°How-how are we going to get out of Desham now? We¡¯re dead!¡± ¡°No, there are still other exits! Let¡¯s go, quickly!¡± The refugees swarmed towards the other exits, but the same thing was happening at all of the other gates. Each of the exits was somehow systematically hit by the mortar strikes, copsing them in turn and preventing both soldier and citizen from leaving Desham. Even the military stairwells that led to the top of the well were suddenly upied by slum dwellers as they charged up, fighting the wall guards in a straight line fire-fight, battling for control. Gabriel stood in shock at hismand post, able to see the fighting spread onto the walls. Defeat? In my own town? When the war has not even started¡­? ¡°Sir! The slum dwellers are pushing our position! They¡¯ll reach us in five minutes at this rate ¨C we¡¯re running out of ammunition!¡± A sergeant desperately grabbed Gabriel by the shoulder, shaking him. ¡°Sir? Your orders? Sir!¡± In the distance, Gabriel could see the intense skirmish, arctech bombs and gunfire slung between two sides in a harrowing showdown, where blood ran through the streets as both soldier and slum dweller fell. However, with no garrison barracks left and their ammunition storepletely destroyed, there was no chance even to fight back. ¡°Sir? Orders, sir!¡± The eyes of the slum dwellers were ferocious, all looking straight at themand post as they pushed on relentlessly, undeterred by the suppressive fire the soldiers tried to put out. ¡°There¡¯s the officer! Kill him!¡± ¡°Lynch him!¡± The calls woke him up from his stupor, realising what would happen to him if he were to be caught by them. ¡°Sergeant. Have all the soldiers evacuate the town immediately. Use our secret tunnels immediately. Go now. Save everyone you can.¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± The sergeant was more than happy to get out of this hellhole, immediately rying the order. The soldiers began to retreat, abandoning themand post. However, Gabriel himself did not retreat, even as the slum dwellers got closer and closer, with Diya leading them. ¡°Sir, what are you nning on doing?!¡± Thest soldier tried to drag Gabriel along with them. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just go now!¡± Gabriel shrugged his arm off, motioning for them to leave. It burnt a memory into the retreating soldiers of an officer who was willing to fight for his soldiers as they left him alone. However, Gabriel was not going to be as noble. Instead of fighting, he pulled out a handgun and aimed it right under his chin. He did not want to let his soldiers see himmitting suicide. I will not let them have the satisfaction of capturing me alive! Before he could pull the trigger, a single shot pierced through his right arm, causing him to scream in pain and drop the handgun, the friction from the projectile burning his nerves. ¡°Nobody said you could choose when to die,¡± Diya spoke as she walked up to Gabriel, delivering a strong punch to his face and knocking him down onto the ground. ¡°You lost that choice when you chose for others. Tie him up! We¡¯ll need him forter.¡± The retreating soldiers attempted to use the secret tunnels, only to find out that a few council members in the know were already there, though they were moving extremely slowly due to the sheer amount of belongings that were being ferried by the servants down the tunnel. ¡°What the fuck is this?¡± One of the sergeants remarked as he noticed a servant of the council member carrying an opulent blue velvet carpet, attempting to stuff it through with his body in a small tight tunnel. ¡°This tunnel is meant for escape, not for all your stupid, worthless belongings!¡± ¡°Shut up! That carpet is worth more than your entire toon.¡± A council member rebuked the soldiers, causing them to be even angrier at what was happening. Officer Gabriel sacrificed himself for this cunts?! A knowing look was exchanged between the soldiers, prompting them to grab the council member by the limbs. The servants immediately brandished their knives but were stalled by the soldiers, who all held arctech repeaters. ¡°Do you really want to sacrifice yourself for this shithole of a master? Huh?¡± ¡°Let me go this instant! This is treason!¡± The council member struggled against the restraints. ¡°If you just wait half an hour, the tunnel will be free to use!¡± ¡°Like hell, I¡¯m going to wait!¡± The sergeant executed the council member on the spot with a gunshot right to the head. ¡°Clear out the damn fucking tunnel!¡± The soldiers fired shots into the tunnel, causing the servants who were still ferrying goods within to scream and speed up their pace, clearing out the length of the tunnel. ¡°Good, let¡¯s go. If we can get out of Desham and get the message out to the military, we can exact revenge for Officer Gabriel!¡± ¡°Yes, sir!¡± But just as they began to enter the tunnel one by one, a loud scream could be heard at the front, along with what sounded like the shing of flesh. The servants began to cry out in horror one by one, dropping the items they were carrying and running back, trying to squeeze past the soldiers. ¡°What? What¡¯s going on?¡± The sergeant in the lead stared at a bloodied servant who attempted to squeeze past him, only to notice a ck obsidian de suddenly jutting out of his guts before the servant was torn in half, the de slicing vertically upwards to reveal a warrior mineral ant. ¡°Shit!¡± The sergeants and the soldiers raised their repeaters on instinct, prepared to fire. ¡°It¡¯s just one ant! Fir-¡° The walls on the side of the tunnels burst, simultaneously copsing parts of the tunnel onto the screaming soldiers and running servants, while two more mineral ants burst out, overpowering the soldiers in an instant as they were no match for them in such tight, enclosed spaces. Not all the retreating soldiers moved to the tunnels, some groups having headed over to other parts of the city to loot and pige what they could, all led by the various sergeants. ¡°This town has gone to shit! We need to find a new base to entrench ourselves in, snatch all the food we can and hold out as long as possible!¡± Just like that, the various retreating groups became deserters, vying for scraps of what was left. Some of the stupider ones went straight for the houses of wealthy individuals, believing that they could use the luxuries to barter. The more apt ones headed straight for the food storage area, intent on salvaging what was left of the explosion and the raging fire that was still going, illuminating the sky with an orange hue. As they approached, they could hear blood-curdling screams and sounds of gunfire from within the grain storage area. ¡°The original attackers are still here!¡± Each group spotted one another, agreeing to band together to enter at the same time, though internally, they were already nning to betray each other for total control of the food storage area. Forming a temporary alliance, they rushed into the food storage area with guns readied, only to stop in fright. Not a single one of them could describe it as anything else other than utter carnage, with the entire main area between buildings littered with body parts, strewn flesh and a pool of blood. A single surviving guard was still hiding behind the corpses of his deadrades, firing wildly in fear at a lone man who was stained with blood all over his body. In one swift leap, the lone man pounced onto the surviving guard, punching him right in the face and caving in the entire front of his skull, killing him instantly.
[System Message] Killed [Desham Guard], +50 EXP
Kyle turned to see the new group of soldiers staring at him in horror. ¡°Idiots! What are you waiting for? Kill him!¡± The sergeants roared, prompting the soldiers to fire their repeaters at him quickly. The projectiles never made it to him, pounding the dead corpses with barely audible thuds as Kyle jumped and leapt through the messy battlefield, using every damaged crate, wagon and copsed building to serve as cover. ¡°Spread out! Surround him!¡± Chapter 116: Feast The soldiers were decimated in minutes, unable to fight against the sheer strength and prowess of Kyle. Kyle continuously moved through the battlefield like a shadow, picking up fallen weapons and using them at various angles, keeping track in his mind of how much ammo each position had.
[System Message] Killed [Desham Garrison Soldier], +50 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Desham Garrison Sergeant], +100 EXP
Kyle did not bother himself with questions of why they were so worthless, only aiming at killing everyone that came into the grain storage area to the best of his abilities. The groups of soldiers were merely the first wave, as other looters and thugs who saw the clear signs of anarchy began to flood in. When Diya arrived in force a few hourster, the entire area was practically a bloodbath, with Kyle standing alone in the midst of piles of corpses, not even exhausted after such a long period of fighting. With the alternating of Penchant of Violence and Intimidation Aura, Kyle was effectively a one-man force against weaker enemies who were easily influenced. His sharpshooting skills from the Gctic Era allowed him to decimate the soldiers and looters with ease. Kyle knew it wouldn¡¯t be so easy with the actual military ¨C this was just a town garrison whose barrack he had singlehandedly exploded. If they had ess to their mortars and machine guns in full, it would have taken me maybe an hour longer. Diya gulped instinctively; her public image as a dominant leader slightly shrunk as Kyle walked up to her. Her ardent followers that had gathered with her in the dozens all stared in awe, some trembling in fear while Kyle approached, a sort of aura afflicting them. The followers that Diya had now garnered were made up of the slum dwellers who were paid in food, the only currency that now mattered in Desham. However, many of them were already prepared to flee the moment Kyle attacked, fully recognising his strength. From another corner, a burly man approached the grain storage area as well, wielding a machine gun in his hand. Some of the followers gasped as well when they saw him. ¡°It¡¯s Makoa of Desham! The original hero!¡± Many knew that his name was what sparked this entire chain of events in the first ce ¨C a good reputation among them for stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. Though some had suffered at the hands of the military because of him, they recognised that their anger should be taken out on the rich and the military, not Makoa himself. ¡°Why is he here?¡± ¡°Is he here to help us? Or to stop us?¡± The seemingly three-way confrontation yed out right in front of their eyes as Kyle and Makoa both stood in front of Diya, who did not back down herself. Instead of a fight breaking out, Kyle and Makoa immediately ced their hands on their chest and bowed. ¡°Queen Diya, we havepleted our missions.¡± They said in unison, shocking the followers. Queen? Is she hidden royalty? ¡°Good. We shall now consolidate our control of Desham.¡± Diya yed along, fully acting out the image of apetent queen and motioning with her hands to her followers. ¡°Round up all those who tries to flee, and all those who loot what belongs to us! I will never forgive the sins of those who oppressed us! Never!¡± ¡°NEVER!¡± The followers chanted back. ¡°Never!¡± ¡°NEVER!¡± The followers roared in synchronization, lifting their stolen repeaters up into the air. The dead soldiers and guards were looted for all they were worth ¨C guns, ammunition, equipment and anything of value. Once fully geared up, they stormed towards the council building, intending to overtake what represented as the seat of power in Desham. As Diya, Kyle and Makoa led the charge in, Diya was surprised to see that there were still a few stubborn council members who refused to leave the city and evacuate. Under the n she and Kyle had crafted together, it was assumed that every council member would flee the city, leaving only looters and deserters. Of course, Kyle did not want any word of the revolution to spread. It wouldn¡¯t be good if Nox or Mornero got wind of a rebellion in one of their towns just before the war. He had to time to reveal while the Versian Government was upied with the war; thus until then he nned to send false information to deceive them otherwise. It was why he captured the old Nest Informant and modified his ve engraving, along with copsing the entrances and exits for everywhere in Desham. He even got Hayden to build arger version of his original arctech radio aimed at exploding handguns, modifying the engraving to nket jam allmunications. As for the outskirts, he had the mineral ants prowl around and kill anyone who tried to leave their farms or houses before they could even spread the word or send the message. Kyle would have to do a lot more work to ensure that any form ofmunication would not leak out ¨C traders would stille to the border of Desham and notice something wrong. ¡°Who are you? You¡¯re not a council member!¡± An elderly council member snapped at Diya as he sat on an arctech wheelchair, slowly moving towards them. The three of them ignored the council member, simply strutting past him while her followers immediately grabbed the council member and dragged him out of the building. ¡°We now rule this town under Queen Diya of Desham! Get out!¡± Despite the revolution against the nobility, the locals were not opposed to the system at all ¨C rather, they were opposed to the idea of them not being at the top of the system. The slum dwellers were more than happy to have the chance to establish a new ss hierarchy in the town, to let those who had gloated at their suffering feel their former pain. As such, the followers were more than happy to prop Diya up as the Queen, using her as a figurehead while they themselves looked forward to attaining new positions of power. Kyle also anticipated all of this, understanding that dictatorships can never run just because of a single person. Even during his time as a Gctic Crime Lord, it was only because of the benefits that he brought to those following him that they were willing to follow his orders and respect his authority as the unchallenged authority. No dictatorship can survive without its cronies, who have every reason to keep the system running. It was in this way that Diya¡¯s followers were slowly organised, with the more outspoken individuals taking up leadership in certain areas. Diya and Kyle entered the main meeting hall alone, closing the door behind them as they examined the aftermath of the council¡¯s members¡¯ panic. ¡°I never thought that within a short week, we could make it all the way here,¡± Diya remarked as she walked up to one of the borate chairs, plopping down into it and feeling its velvet surface. ¡°So, what would you have me do now?¡± Diya understood well that she was merely a puppet now, dancing along to Kyle¡¯s tune. However, after obtaining control of Desham, she felt like the deal with the devil was more than worth it, far better than her previous lowly station of slum dweller fixer. ¡°We will still need to clean up the city. The legitimacy of your reign is the most important right after a coup. Makoa and I will begin to root out all the looters and deserter groups from the city, but you will have to consolidate and convince the people of your right to power.¡± ¡°How do I do that?¡± ¡°Start with a few executions coupled with a few free meat banquets. Carrot and stick. Your supporters are the populous poor and those downtrodden ¨C show that you are on their side, and you would have earned more than half of the town¡¯s vote. You¡¯ve done a speech before; you can do it again.¡± Diya nodded, the two of them getting to work immediately. The idea of her being the lord of Desham motivated her greatly, pushing herself to her limits. The continuous fighting had taken a toll on both her and her followers, but the initial fervour was now running hot in their veins, and she did not intend to stop the momentum. ¡°Get me Officer Gabriel now!¡± Outside on the streets, the looters and huddled groups of refugees shouted and yelled at each other, despair and panic taking hold of their hearts as they saw no way out of the town, unsure of what was to happen to them. As the looters attempted to rip valuable goods and steal young daughters away from their families, a gunshot rang clear and through, causing everyone to turn their heads. When they saw figures in the distance of what looked like to be two dozen soldiers, the outnumbered looters immediately fled into the distance, unwilling to fight. At the same time, the refugees prayed that this group of soldiers would not be the same as those who refused to let them out of the city. ¡°Finally, soldiers who can help us!¡± ¡°Soldier! Help us!¡± The refugees called out, but their calls soon died out as it became even more apparent that it was the slum dwellers, geared up in the same equipment as the garrison soldiers, though in a slip-shod fashion. ¡°Under the authority of Queen Diya of Desham, all citizens are to report to the central square now! Refusal to attend is punishable by death.¡± ¡°Who the fuck is Queen Diya?¡± ¡°Why must we go?! Let us out of Desham now! Keeping us here is a war crime.¡± A man shouted, earning res from the slum dwellers. One of the dwellers recognised the man, his face grinning as he walked up to grab the man by the neck, dragging him out of the refugee group while his wife and children screamed, only for them to be beaten down by the butts of the repeaters by the other dwellers. ¡°You, I KNOW YOU!! That stinking rich cunt that levelled my entire slum for your stupid restaurant building!¡± The dweller gripped the man¡¯s head tightly, squeezing hard ¡°I, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about!¡± The wealthy man tried to deny it, but the other dwellers knew immediately that he was lying. ¡°Thrash all you want, but today karmaes to you! Round the rest of them up and drag them over¡± The wealthy man was tied up immediately, while the rest of the refugees were coerced at gunpoint. They moved to the central square, where a wooden tform was mounted in the centre with two men already tied to a pole - Officer Gabriel and the elderly disabled council member, who was still shouting at the crowd. ¡°Foolish peasants! Ignorant of what we have done to protect you! Release me this instant!¡± The elderly council member struggled against the rope that restrained him but to no avail. Instead of the crowd listening, they were instead happily having a feast, all of the slum dwellers able to eat for free what was left of the food storage area, along with mammoth hog meat. The dwellersughed and scorned the two prisoners, throwing bones and stones at them. Diya stood on the tform, waiting for the third man to be dragged up. The wealthy man screamed and thrashed as he fought against his captors, trying to break free. However, he was far too weak, immediately being tied to a pole as he continuously shifted his body, trying to get free. Over the next half an hour, more and more refugees and slum dwellers poured in, with the followers of Queen Diya sorting out those upper-ss citizens and capturing them on the spot, tossing them into a makeshift cage where they huddled with dozens of other wealthy businessmen and merchants, the indignant ones a rarity among the majority who were sobbing, knowing their time of execution would soon be near. ¡°Citizens of Desham! Heed my word!¡± Diya stood up proudly, holding a loudspeaker in her hand. ¡°The battle for freedom has been long and harsh, but we have prevailed!¡± ¡°YEAAAAA!!¡± Her followers shouted in joy, as did the slum dwellers who were clearly enjoying the free flow of food, eating like kings. ¡°We have toiled for years under the boots of our oppressors, but no more! Today, I dere that it is not them who is in control of Desham. Not the rich. Not the haughty. Not the greedy! And not even me!¡± ¡°For it is you! The people who are in control of Desham! I am and was just like you, a slum dweller living in shame and in poverty. Who among you can say otherwise?¡± ¡°I will be your mouthpiece! And the executioner of what the people believe in!¡± ¡°First in line ¨C Officer Gabriel, head of the local garrison who trampled on us, raided us, had his soldiers fire machine guns right into us. Kill or pardon?!¡± ¡°KILL! KILL! KILL! KILL!¡± Diya grinned, pulling out an ornate axe taken from the council building, a heirloom from the previous nobles of Desham. With a single swooping cut, she lobbed off the head of Gabriel, his head spiralling into the crowd as they cheered. ¡°Let the feast begin!¡± Chapter 117: Surging Currents The next day¡­ Not all the council members and sergeants of the military were executed, instead hauled in secret to the council building, awaiting trial under the new rulers of Desham. ¡°Why are we keeping them alive?¡± One of the newly-appointed leaders under Diya remarked with a tinge of frustration, earning a few nods from the gathered followers who eyed the former council members with clear hatred. ¡°It is a matter of survival. Imagine what the government would do when they eventually find out the council had been rebelled against.¡± Diya pointed out, sparking a short discussion among the leaders. They had entered themunication ckout for nearly more than a day now ¨C they would need to ensure that Desham looked fine from the outside. ¡°We¡¯ll use the council members as a fa?ade for now. The sergeants will also handle the military¡¯s probes if there are any.¡± The captured council members were extremely receptive to the idea, much preferring this positionpared to having their heads lobbed off in front of a ravenous crowd. Furthermore, their families were held hostage by Diya¡¯s followers ensuring theirpliance. ¡°Our next steps are to establish proper governance and fix up the city. There are still rogue elements contesting areas of the town.¡± Diya began nning out the restoration of Desham. She naturally did not want to rule over a ruined town ¨C lest the dissatisfied dwellers would suddenly turn on her. If she wanted to hold her position and establish her legitimacy, she had to do right by the people and uphold her promises. Diya coordinated with Makoa, thetter flushing out the entrenched deserters and looters, while she had her new leadership take control of the various aspects of running the town. However, due to theirck of education, they hardly had the qualifications nor the aptitude to hold the reins of the previous system. It was for this major reason that Diya and Kyle nned to keep the council members. Using them as a fa?ade was just a small motive: the real reason was to retain the expertise that they had umted over the years. ¡°All coups that seeded have three major failure points - legitimacy, corruption and ipetence,¡± Kyle exined to Diya. Revolutions were inherently damaging, as the power was abruptly handed to people who did not know what to do. Kyle had seen this y out countless times in the Gctic Era, and it was simple to stop it from happening here with him around. However, the bulk of his task was done ¨C what was left was simply to advise Diya and fuel the demands of the town, which was now primarily food. The locals may now be satisfied with the abundance of meat from mammoth hogs that Kyle had been ferrying from the Keru Forest, but it would take more than that to ensureplete sufficiency. Following that order, they used the momentum to seizend from the businessmen and thendowners who had been executed publicly, transferring them under control of the control of Desham. ¡°We will need to re-do the farm field and uproot the Desham Tuffs in order to achieve self-sustenance and reduce reliance on external food imports,¡± Diya exined to the followers. None of the followers disagreed, epting the orders and beginning to hirebourers from the town to do the work. ¡°If you still want mammoth hog meat, you¡¯ll have to work for it! The state now has openings for jobs at the farms! Do your part to ensure self-sufficiency!¡± It wasn¡¯t the only job avable, with Diya using the meat as a sort of living wage to direct the efforts of the people. Jobs were created to fix up the walls and the copsed gates again, while others were sent to build temporary housing with much more sanitary systems quickly. Kyle partially assisted, drawing up the town nning quickly. It wasn¡¯t his first rodeo setting up a town from scratch, so he could easily prepare a few extremely basic concepts for the followers to implement easily. Everything was designed to be manual, with an option to upgrade to an arctech-powered optionter. The work would not be done in a single day, with Kyle estimating that the town¡¯s reconstruction and consolidation would take more than two weeks. He had a few mineral antse in to help dig out sewage canals, expanding them to ount for future poption increases while linking them up. He also had workers under Diya demolish parts of the slum, clearing space for the construction of his new factory. It was exactly this that he was aiming for ¨C to have a stable base for manufacturing free of government and military intervention. The underground tunnel base in the Keru Forest was not going to be abandoned, as it was still necessary for hunting the mammoth hogs and serving as a fallback base. Kyle had already learnt his lesson from the encounter with Nest, not cing all of his eggs into a single basket. Drafting a simr concept to the steel and weapon factories in Raktor, he had Feldon take charge of the construction project. The new factory was to be built out of wood and scrap metal instead, Kyle not having ess to any steel foundries or manufacturers nearby. And yet again, I amcking in crude iron and coking coal. Kyle sighed but remained optimistic. The Keru forest was a five hundred kilometre wide forest area: with the mineral ants now scouting for the iron ore, he was bound to find it eventually. The backup solution would be to return to the dungeon. On top of that, Kyle knew that the current hunting was not sustainable in the long term, even with the poption significantly reduced after the revolution and general unrest. The only permanent solution he could think of was the gically modified seeds that Orisa, the A.I. he had found in the Culdao Peaks, was used to alleviate the famine of the goblins. I will need to make some cross-border deliveries again. Previously, he managed to have the leader of Clouds, Sir Tian, serve as his supplier, but now he only had a small controlled portion of Nest to rely on. It looks like they will have to do for now. *** The forestry factories of Tenar Logging chugged away in a continuous din of heavy arctech machines stripping away the branches of thick ancient trees, piling them into a storage area. Hundreds of workers scurried around in a hectic work pace, manning the machines and manually carving the small branches into more usable parts that wouldpromise a new rifle, fuelling the war economy. It was here where Nox and his men were stationed, still scouring the Keru Forest for traces of the missing vigers. Nox stood silent, examining a map intently as the manager of the area sighed loudly. ¡°Why do we care about some no-name vigers? I, for one, am happy that they are gone!¡± ¡°They might have ties or rtions to the rebels, and more importantly, the whereabouts of Kris Greyborn.¡± ¡°Bah, they must be dead by now. The mineral ants might have eaten their bodies for all we know!¡± ¡°Until I see the remains of their bodies for myself, I will continue to search.¡± Nox stared at the map of the Keru forest, marking out the areas that they had swept through over thest week. They had been following a trail, but it ended abruptly, leading Nox to believe that he had been diverted off the true path. He was now doing a sectional sweep, square by square, of the Keru Forest. There was another hidden reason why he needed to find the vigers. Our transcendent leader has not responded ever since hest stated he was going to the Keru Forest. Where is he? With so many events urring in the forest, Nox was far more inclined to believe that Kris Greyborn was here. He knew for a fact that Kris Greyborn was transcendent, which was why he reported the incident immediately to the transcendent leader in charge of the Versian branch. Did the leader lose against Kris Greyborn? Nox knew that was impossible ¨C he had personally witnessed the strength of the leader up close. Kris Greyborn was nowhere capable of achieving such a victory. It does not matter, I will continue to search. Suddenly, one of his men knocked on the door, requesting permission to enter. ¡°Sir, a report from the town of Desham.¡± ¡°Show it to me.¡± Desham¡­ a town that borders the Keru Forest. Nox grabbed the enveloped handed to him, unfurling the paper and reading rapidly. His eyes narrowed in suspicion as he read. Revolt by the slum dwellers suppressed by the local military? Town in shambles? Council currently weakened¡­ He did not know what to think about the report. By all ounts, he should have no qualms about it. With the Versian government switching to a war economy and shutting down all forms of welfare and social benefits, it was only natural that dissent among the poor on the outer towns would began to emerge slowly. This was to be expected. Then why do I feel like there is something amiss? Nox did not want to follow his intuition too much ¨C Desham was not the only town that bordered the Keru Forest; there was no reason to believe that Kris Greyborn was near there, especially when the military was able to suppress the revolt easily. If Kris Greyborn was there, the revolt would be unstoppable, and he would¡­ Nox¡¯s eyes widened in realization but quickly calmed himself down. It was irrational to divert all of his forces to check Desham suddenly. ¡°Have five men sent over to the Nest branch in Desham. Check the branch leader for any signs of engraving loss.¡± He recalled that Kris Greyborn was able to remove the engraving from Lady Yona, evidenced by theck of burnt remains. He might have subverted our hitmen and agents stationed there already, but until I know more, I won¡¯t move just yet. For all he knew, the revolt in Desham might have been apletely natural thing, resulting in him wasting resources if he focused his attention there. Yet he couldn¡¯t shake the nagging feeling that Kris Greyborn was both there and also not there. Feels like I¡¯m ying whack-a-goblin. Either way, the happenings in Keru Forest were far too coincidental for Nox to let go of the area. ¡°On top of the previous order, have a hundred more mene here and bolster the towns surrounding the Keru Forest. I want to hear anything and everything that goes in or out of the area.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Right away.¡± But before the hitman could execute the order, another hitman entered the room hastily. ¡°Sir, President Mornero is on the line!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take it in my office.¡± Nox walked briskly, shutting the door behind him as he sat into a personal office chair, turning on the arctech radio. [How goes the search?] ¡°Nothing as of yet. I believe I am about to catch onto the trail of Kris Greyborn, but he is still atrge. If you give me a week or two, I am sure I will be able to capture him.¡± [Forget him. I¡¯m ordering you to pull back all men to the capital. You will form a special force under the military and act as a separate unit following my directmand.] ¡°This is too sudden ¨C my men are still out on the field in the Keru Forest.¡± [Listen to this.] The arctech radio began to y the national anthem of Versia, confusing Nox slightly. [¡°Dogs of the Yual Dominion, hear this! We of Versia no longer tolerate your arrogance! As penance for your sins, we shall now execute General Xan ¨C Hero of your so-called glorious genocide of the Versian People!¡±] Chapter 118: Intrigue ¡°They killed our General?! But how!?¡± ¡°How dare those Versians do such a dastardly thing! We should beat them to a pulp!¡± Emotions ran high in Raktor, as the lightcapturer film of the execution of General Xan by two random Versian soldiers was publicised everywhere on the streets and in every theatre. Even the Seven Snakes¡¯ shopping mall was showing it on direct order by the Count. The news took the Yual Dominion by storm, spreading like wildfire. People were riled up by the tant assassination, calling for retribution on the ¡®foul Versian dogs¡¯. Versians working in Raktor were caught off-guard as hatred began to target them from all angles, their own colleagues and bosses turning against them, throwing them to the angry mobs that began to form all over the city, looking for a target to take vengeance on. ¡°Death to all Versians!¡± The mobs chanted as they stormed the streets, capturing known Versians who tried to hide in their houses or far away in abandoned buildings. Even those who tried to protect them were lynched publicly. The enforcers did not do anything, simply sitting back and letting the mobs continue unabated, bolstered even further by the major gangs in each sector who were also ying along, showing unified support for the war against Versia. The support of the major gangs was not a big surprise to the leadership of the Seven Snakes. They were well aware that this war was bound to happen in one way or another ¨C that was the entire reason why they had built the steel and weapon factory for Baron Cain. In the period that Kyle was gone, Baron Cain¡¯s prestige had only grownrger, with his new weapon designs winning a contract with the Yual Dominion¡¯s military, allowing them to earn massive profits as they continued to scale up the production, expanding the number of manufacturing lines that they had. The cheap ess to crude iron and coking coal from the goblin dens in the Culdao Peaks made the factory extremelypetitive, allowing them even to start to encroach onto the usual market share of otherrge weapon manufacturers in Raktor. But what was a farrger surprise to all of them was that the Ardent Cretins did not make a single move against them, instead ceasing all raid attempts on any of their shipments in the South Sector. What made it even more confounding was a recent message from Sebastian for a meeting with Kyle today. Keith pondered to himself as he sat in the office of the Seven Snakes shopping mall, trying to make sense of all of it. The war is expected - but what is Sebastian ying at? Does he want retribution for the degraded engravings? Just as Kyle had been angling to profit from the war, Keith had no doubt that Sebastian would be more than inclined to find the most benefits as much as possible. The entire Seven Snakes had been on edge, waiting for a potential strike. Both Damian and Niko had swept the gang members, trying to find any potential for infiltration or any form of espionage. Yet there were no signs at all of anything at all. It only made them even more unnerved, unsure of what was going on. ¡°No way, Sebastian just lets us grow unimpeded. He must know we are a threat to his position as a major gang, right?¡± ¡°He must be plotting something, I¡¯m sure of it!¡± Sebastian arrived at the Seven Snakes shopping mall for the pre-arranged meeting, only escorted by two fully armoured arctech knights. Guang Hwa was already at the front, nked by Damian and Niko, who were equally armed to the teeth, ring at Sebastian. ¡°What do you want?¡± Guang Hwa spoke in his best Kyle imitation, almost convincing Damian and Niko for a split second that he was really Kyle. The same coldness and self-confidence emitting from Guang Hwa were near impable. Sebastian stared at Guang Hwa before a small smile began to form on his face, slowly growing into a wide grin. ¡°Brilliant! Truly brilliant! You¡¯re a great asset to have! I always wanted a body double; perhaps you¡¯ll be open to working for me instead?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Guang Hwa kept up the act, unflustered. Sebastian¡¯s smile faded as quickly as it appeared, his own eyes staring deep into Guang Hwa¡¯s. ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me. If Kyle isn¡¯t here, I want to see Keith. Don¡¯t force my hand.¡± Guang Hwa gulped, ncing for a moment at Damian before quickly giving up. ¡°The real Kyle would never look to his subordinates for help,¡± Sebastian remarked with a smug face as he strutted into the shopping mall. The Seven Snakes guards were out in force, all armed with repeaters in the event of a fight, ready to take down Sebastian at any time, but yet he was unfazed, proceeding to meet Keith in the office. ¡°Get straight to the point. Are you here to take revenge?¡± Keith started straight. Sebastian stared at Keith for a moment, who was sitting in what should have been Kyle¡¯s seat. ¡°So, the Seven Snakes is held in good hands after all. While it is surprising to see you transform this much over the months, it¡¯s a shame you cannot hold a candle to Kyle. And revenge? Why would I be angry at you? It ispletely my fault for not checking the engraving thoroughly enough.¡± The Ardent Cretins had managed to fix the degraded parts of the engraving, though not to its full potential. With this, they were able to salvage their shopping mall, using the political and social capital that they had built up over the years to breathe life back into it. Now, the two shopping malls were tied for footfall, each serving half of the South Sector and entering a tenuous bnce in market share of the local residents¡¯ patronage. ¡°Then what are you here for?¡± ¡°You must have heard about the imminent war.¡± ¡°I have.¡± ¡°Count Leon will strike Versia in six hours.¡± Keith nearly choked on his saliva when he heard that. ¡°Six hours?! Can he even mobilise that fast?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a surprise attack. His forces are already prepared for it ¨C that is why the military exercise is being held so early. And he won¡¯t be attacking alone. The counts from Kregol and Persial are ramping up as well.¡± Keith was slightly shocked before he shook himself out of his stupor and focused back on Sebastian. ¡°Why are you telling me all of this?¡± ¡°There is a reason why I did not attack your factories or supply lines, even when Count Leon requested it. Instead, I used my considerable resources to ensure that the joint venture established with Baron Cain and you were well protected.¡± ¡°This is a joke, right?¡± ¡°Far from it. I have only the highest respect for what your gang has achieved in such a short time. From a measly twenty members, you have risen to challenge even our position.¡± ¡°No need for ttery ¨C we have less than a third of your members.¡± ¡°Still, the point stands. If a war were to break out between our two gangs, both sides would suffer tremendous losses. And to what end? To fight for the right to pay tribute to Baron Cain and Count Leon? For the right to a small slice of Raktor? What kind of a goal is that? Is that really the ceiling that we aspire to be? We are like chickens, trapped in a cage only to fight among each other while the audience watches on and cheers.¡± Keith¡¯s mind raced, trying to figure out what Sebastian was hinting at. Sebastian sighed sadly as Keith was still thinking. ¡°It seems you¡¯re too engrossed in the details that you¡¯ve failed to see the bigger picture. The conflict between the gangs, is it really worth it? I only hope that when the timees, the Seven Snakes will choose the right side.¡± Sebastian left the shopping centre, with Keith gathering the leadership and exining to them what Sebastian had said. ¡°Is he off his rocker? The whole time, we¡¯ve been fighting with him! He¡¯s the next obstacle to our total domination of the South Sector!¡± Niko urged. ¡°If he¡¯s nning on offering a temporary truce, we shouldn¡¯t take it ¨C he¡¯ll find a way to exploit us!¡± ¡°But even if he does offer a truce, what is its purpose? What does Sebastian stand to gain¡­? We should think from that angle.¡± Damian offered his opinion. What does Sebastian stand to gain¡­ Keith contemted as the various leaders of the Seven Snakes offered their opinions, though none of them could truly pin down Sebastian¡¯s objective. Keith tried toy all the pieces out in sequence. The war was known to be happening months ago, and all the major gangs supported it. Not every major gang is making weapons for the military, so how do they profit from the war¡­? *** The hallway was dimly lit by the glow of green LED tubes, a single blue carpet leading down, nked by stone pirs carved with a myriad of strokes. Some looked like blueprints, and others looked like a map of the stars, charting the coordinates of nebs, wormholes, debris fields and celestial bodies. A lone woman walked briskly down the hallway, her sharp heels tapping on the carpet, echoing off the expansive ceiling that stretched far above her. Covered in a dark navy-blue cloak along with sharppels entuating the various insignia pinned to it, her face remained stern and rigid as she marched towards the end of the hallway, her eyes glinting yellow through the intermittent darkness. She approached a set of double doors, pressing her palm against a groove that sent waves of arcia energy spiralling out of in a dazzling fashion, tracing along the carvings on the door and lighting up the ce. The doors rumbled as they began to swing slightly open, revealing Soren and Rayner standing outside, covered in snow. ¡°You have returned far too early. The deadline is not till next year.¡± The woman spoke softly, but her presence nearly terrified Soren, making Soren unable to look her right in the eyes as his head hung low in both shame and fear. ¡°Mother, I ¨C¡° Before Soren could offer an apology, his head was grabbed by the ¡®Mother¡¯s mechanical hand and mmed against the door, his face smashed in as the blood coated the designs on the door¡¯s surface. ¡°Useless.¡± The ¡®Mother¡¯ remarked as though she was looking at an ant, tossing his body into the hallway. Rayner did not react, fully expecting this to happen to Soren. He quietly followed the ¡®Mother¡¯ through the double doors, with it closing with a loud resounding crash behind them. The ¡®Mother¡¯ walked slowly up to the whimpering body of Soren, stepping right into Soren¡¯s waist with her heels jabbing straight through, puncturing the flesh as Soren screamed through his bloodied mouth, half of his teeth already knocked out. She turned to look at Rayner, noticing that he was missing an arm. ¡°Who did this to you? Was it the Nasai n?¡± ¡°No, ¡®Mother¡¯. It was an unknown transcendent who belongs to no n.¡± ¡°Such a thing is impossible. All transcendents must belong to a n.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid he does not.¡± The ¡®Mother¡¯ remained silent for a moment before speaking again: ¡°The Great Waves?¡± ¡°I am not sure, but that is possible as well.¡± ¡°So, the fallen rebels raise their head again. Have they not learnt their lesson? What of the dungeon?¡± ¡°The Keru Forest dungeon has caved in. It would take significant effort to restore it back to its original functionality.¡± The ¡®Mother¡¯ raised her right mechanical arm, revealing a multi-terminal that scrolled with information. ¡°Take two more and return to the dungeon. I want it to be up and running by next year for the next batch. Get yourself repaired first, and drag this useless scum to the medbay.¡± Rayner nodded, with the ¡®Mother¡¯ finally lifting her heel to the gasp of Soren. She leaned down and grabbed Soren¡¯s head up, lifting him to her eye level, where her fully cybeic eyes gazed into him, the yellow re striking. ¡°You are no longer fit for session in the Wardens. You will serve as a prize instead.¡± She mmed Soren¡¯s head into the ground again before turning to walk away. ¡°Rayner. One more thing. Arrange a meeting for me with the Archivist. Tell him that the enemy has returned.¡± Chapter 119: Version 0 Kyle furrowed his brows as he listened to the old Nest informant in the council building. ¡°Repeat what you just said, clearly.¡± ¡°The war has begun. Count Leon is on the move, having already crossed the border three hours ago. His forces are poised to attack Ocra in a day, and, subsequently Tenar. The other two Counts have joined him as well, attacking from the other borders.¡± Faster than expected. Kyle checked the date on a nearby calendar. It has not been two months since he first got the order to build the weapons factory for Baron Cain, and only two and a half weeks since he arrived in Versia. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°The information is spreading through the Nestwork. The Versian military had already been mobilising at Ocra as well, so all avable Nest hitmen are being redirected there at this moment to stem the main assault.¡± ¡°Okay. Keep me updated on the progress.¡± Kyle dismissed the old Nest informant, pondering to himself as he was left alone in the room, his new office arranged by Diya. Ever since he had reached Versia, he felt like he had been tossed about in a whirlpool of events. He had tried to make the best of it as far as he could, but the announcement of the war urring ahead of time truly threw a wrench into his ns. I had hoped I have a few more weeks to build up a stronger power base or even overthrow Mornero, but it looks like my hand is forced. He unfurled a map of Versia, noting down the location and strategic objectives that both sides would be angling for. Kyle was extremely clear on what Count Leon was trying to achieve ¨C a blitz attack on the capital of Versia before they could even react. The speed of mobilisation by Count Leon has been remarkable, nned months in advance in conjunction with the other count¡¯s forces, all of whom joined in hopes of sharing a slice of the pie. Ending the war between Versian and Yual too early was not a good thing for Kyle: the whole point of him entering Versia was to profit. With a surprise war and a fast capittion, Kyle would have no chance to make money selling weapons. A prolonged conflict would be the best for him, so he had to do everything in his power to ensure no two sides had the advantage. As of now, the Versian military was on the clear backfoot, outnumbered in Ocra despite having known about the military exercise in advance. Count Leon would still have to put in some effort to root out the entrenched defenders of the town, which may take more than a week. It¡¯s a race against time. If I can bog down Count Leon¡¯s forces and supply line as much as possible, I can weaken the offensive and drag it out into a protracted war. Kyle returned to the underground tunnel base, where Hayden was still working on utilising the old furnace to build a new one from scrap metal for the makeshift factory that was to be set up in Desham. Hayden was preparing to transfer all of the equipment over to make use of the new area allocated for them, thanks to Kyle¡¯s effort at subverting Desham. Hayden was initially pessimistic about Kyle¡¯s attempts to gain a foothold in Desham, but it was clear after the revolution that Kyle was no ordinary person. In fact, she began to feel as though he was a capable leader, albeit morallycking. Although I was no different during the revolution¡­ She worked with Feldon, joining up with the workers in Desham to set up the new factory, though they were still missing deposits to exploit. The mineral ants and their paired vige members were still hunting for ore deposits all over the nearby area, Kyle using their natural instincts to try and lock onto veins. Instead, he had only found deposits of y, granite and small pockets of iron ore and copper, hardly enough to sustain the operation that he needed. With Hayden and Feldon moving over to Desham, Kyle had Drake take over the search operation. Drake was well aware of what had happened to the town, having heard through the others what Kyle did. He still had mixed feelings about what Kyle had done to the vige as well as his aggressive actions in fomenting revolution. However, he was not against mining and sourcing food, leading the hunter pairs around the Keru Forest, herding mammoth hogs and foraging fruits and other fungi. With this, Kyle now had three groups working under him ¨C Diya controlling Desham, Hayden and Feldon working on the new makeshift factory, and Drake leading the hunter pairs for sourcing food. It will take more than a few days to get everything up and running. If Count Leon is going to strike within a week, then I must be prepared to fight alone. Kyle was nning to intervene in the war in order to even the scales, but as he was right now, it would be impossible to singlehandedly kill Count Leon¡¯s forces. Unlike the Desham guards and garrison soldiers, most of whom had not been involved in a real war or battle before, Count Leon¡¯s forces were well-trained and equipped. Kyle knew that, especially because his factory was the one that was selling the weapons and equipment to them. How ironic that I¡¯ve created my own obstacle. If he wanted to make an impact, he would have to be able to ovee his own Seven Snakes-designed weaponry. Lucky for him, his trip to the dungeon had only given him even more materials than ever to work with. It¡¯s time for my exosuit. Version 0. Kyle did not have the ancient exosuit spine with him on hand, it being in a vault in a Seven Snakes safehouse. What he did have on hand was the Advanced Arcia Crystal, the three slovesa cores made of concentrated Sturore, and an entire slew of old workshop equipment left behind in the underground tunnelwork. The nervalwork isn¡¯t necessary ¨C I can supnt that with arcia energy. Gctic Era exosuits were all dependent on a nerval jack that allowed for baseline humans to control the hydraulics and electronic devices. With the avability of arctech engraving, Kyle would have even more options at hand; the entire armour set able to bepletely covered in engraving. Just like an exosuit, any damage would impede the operation of the devices, sensors and motion. Kyle considered carefully how he was going to protect the critical engravings as much as he could,yering armour on top of them and making sure they were not easily affected. Arge dent in the middle of an engraving would mean that the entire te is effectively useless. Kyle began to n out the armour pieces one by one, jotting down what he needed while ensuring freedom of movement around his joints to maintain manoeuvrability. I don¡¯t know any flying engravings, but that won¡¯t be necessary, seeing that I have mineral ants to make up for that. He drew out the engravings that he wanted on each armour piece. Chestte and Legs would be Harden and Pain Nullification. vambraces Point Defence. Gauntlet, Dyed Assualt. Boots, Sprint. Kyle was utilising all the arctech engravings that he had to learn over the months, copying the equipment that he currently had. Lionel¡¯s neon red hammer¡¯s engraving was to be put onto the gauntlets, while the point defence vambrace he had obtained at the goblin den would be improved further. Kyle ted for twoyers of engravings on the chest te to maximise space. He continued nning and designing the helmet. I need the most information fed to me. Kyle engraved an arctech radio engraving into the helmet, allowing for seamlessmunication without having to pull a radio out. The helmet also had a Point Defence engraving on it, giving his entire armour set a total of three-point defence engravings. If he wanted to, he could stall an entire machine gun without having to dodge. Kyle began prototyping, creating the arms first, along with the shoulder guard and gauntlet. He got the help of Hayden to create the steel pieces, making custom moulds just for his vambrace and pauldrons. It was a slog, with Kyle and Hayden having to manually pour out the molten steel and separate g with long metal poles. If only I had a metal 3D printer¡­. Eventually, the first prototype was ready, with Kyle donning the armour pieces on his right arm and flexing his fingers in the new metal gauntlet, testing the range. ¡°Section A12 needs a rework; Fourth finger is too tight and needs to be reheated and tempered again. Section E65 has a weird deformation that¡¯s poking into my shoulder de. Entire surface is far too rough, and needs polishing.¡± However, there was no specialised equipment here for doing such fine work, prompting Kyle to use the lightning sword to grind away at the surface of the metal, sanding it down to a smooth glossy surface. Certain metal pieces were remade from scratch,bining again to form the second prototype. Kyle was satisfied this time with the fit, but he still had to etch the arctech engravings onto it. With an old rugged arcia etcher left behind by the former revolutionaries, he slowly carved away at the steel with tenacity and patience, working long hours to finish one arcia engraving to the best of his ability. He soon realised that there was not enough space for implementing the expanded arctech engraving that he wanted to implement on the vambrace. He had already gained some insight from his previous title of Arcia Engraver that he wanted to employ, but there was a limit to how big a vambrace could get. Unless¡­ Kyle considered the possibility of splitting up the engraving into multipleyers instead. He had originally always been working along the idea of a single engraving peryer, but this was a clear new direction. Simr to chip stacking. This may be feasible. Instead of making a brand new vambrace, Kyle tested the idea first on a few pieces of scrap metal. He drew out the entire improved point defence engraving on paper before isting and recognising key sections and modules that were present in the engraving. Fiveponents in the engraving ¨C I can stack them in a three-two configuration and have the arcia energy route through a few through-holes or a direct connection via metallic stubs. He got to work and performed a quick test on two tes of scrap metal. However, the arcia engraving failed to start up, making Kyle confused as to why it did not work. If I assume arcia energy is like electricity, then a single power line should be enough. Yet it was unable to power up the engraving¡­ Kyle examined the engraving carefully again, this time carving out the whole engraving on arger piece of metal and documenting its start-up procedure. He soon noticed that all fiveponents lighted up at the same time without dy rather than in sequence. Does this mean that I have to power all of them at the same time? Working on that hypothesis, he quickly redesigned the engravings, creating the same twoyers but having their entry point of the arcia engraving all linked together. cing the twoyers on his hand, Kyle focused as he channelled the arcia energy in at the same time, ounting for the difference in distance to achieve the same timing. As expected, the engraving worked as expected, activating with a low hum and glow. Perfect. With the new method ofyering engravings in ce, Kyle made a much more ambitious change to the blueprint of the armour, redesigning the engravings to theirrger form but separated into multipleyers. Hayden dropped in from time to time over the next two days, watching the armour suite into being as Kyle meticulously crafted each and every piece, testing each engraving¡¯s strength and durability before continuing. The slovesa cores were all melted with the steel, the Sturore merging to form a much stronger alloy, nearly unbreakable by conventional steel. The addition of the Sturore gave the armour a dark blue colour, the unpolished, raw surface full of grainy imperfections. Hayden inspected the engravings, shocked at the scale of some of the engravings. ¡°We don¡¯t have enough arcia fuel for this armour ¨C the consumption would be off the charts! Even with the regenerators, we would not be able to sustain this.¡± She could instinctively tell that if there were not enough arcia fuel to carry, the person would be unable to activate the armour, instead beingpletely locked inside. She herself could barely lift the armour with both hands, making her wonder just how strong Kyle was. The regenerators in the base were useful for keeping the furnace and basic equipment running but were not enough to sustain Kyle¡¯s armour. However, Kyle already had designed for that. Even he did not believe that his Arcian physique would be enough to sustain the entire armour. He designed a slot for an arcia crystal on the back of the armour. Slotting in the Advanced Arcia Crystal into it and covering it with thickyers of armour, Kyle¡¯s Version 0 exosuit waspleted after three days of work, the entire armour a deep shade of navy blue on a polished surface. Kyle activated the armour, taking the first step as the weight of the armour cracked the ground slightly. He threw a few punches, the air rippling from the sheer mass discement as he tested the mobility and range of the armour. With the weight, the armour was far from being mobile, clearly restricting Kyle¡¯s speed. But what it lost in reflexes, it made it up for defence and power, supported by the Advanced Arcia Crystals, whose yellow arcia energy surged under theyers of armour. ¡°Next up, the weapons.¡± Chapter 120: Stealth Ants A collection of both old and new weapons were in front of Kyle now. Kyle still had the lightning sword from Soren as well as the pulveriser that was a reward from the first Trial of the Horde.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Thunder de (Advanced)] Channel the power of electrons into each swing Active Skill: elerate (Advanced) ¨C Gain a burst of speed for a specific number of times per hour Number of Times: 5 Cooldown: One hour
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Rock Pulverizer (Intermediate)] tten your foes Active Skill: Pulverize (Intermediate) ¨C Every hit can be followed with an instantaneous shock hit, causing fractures Cost: 5 MP per activation Cooldown: None
The weapons were good as a melee fighter, but for stopping Count Leon¡¯s forces, who were all armed to the teeth with machine guns and arctech guns, he would need some long-ranged weaponry as well. Should I make a rifle? Kyle previously had his heavy variant, but now that he had a Race Upgrade to Arcian and a brand-new Version 0 Exosuit, he could support a much heavier weapon now. I¡¯ll need to make a railgun for long-range harassment. Heavy armour piercing. This time, he was going to make the railgun much more powerful, relying on the sheer weight of his armour to handle the recoil of the gun. Melting down the old gun barrels and remaking a new one, he created a simr railgun as the one he had in Raktor, albeit with a much betteryering of engravings along with stability. He needed to be able to engage at ranges of more than five kilometres, where necessary, to prevent being spotted or suffering a counterattack. The construction of the railgun was much faster than the Version 0 Exosuit, being only half a day as Kyle already knew the design inside out, just simply making itrger in scale.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Heavy Arctech Sniper Railgun (Intermediate)] Are you trying to snipe an entire building? Active Skill: Snipe (Intermediate) ¨C elerate arge projectile to ungodly speeds Cost: 25 MP Range: Three kilometres
The cost of firing the railgun hardly fazed Kyle, knowing that the Advanced Arcia Crystal in his exosuit could easily handle that. If he needed to, he could return to base and use the mechanical regenerators to recharge the crystal again, though he was not entirely sure of its discharge capabilities and tolerance. If it¡¯s anything like a battery, fully discharging it would damage it irreversibly. Kyle considered creating a smaller railgun to take out humans, but he decided against it. He would use the heavy railgun to take out key targets, letting the Versian military do the rest of the work where needed¡ªno need for me to go all out, lest I paint a target on my back. With the weapons and the exosuit now settled, Kyle had one major problem left. ¡°The distance from here to Ocra? It¡¯s about fifty kilometres.¡± Hayden crossed her arms, staring at the fully geared Kyle, who had the pulveriser strapped to his back while his arms hefted the railgun. Kyle was not too used to the new armour yet, so he walked around the base in it, trying to familiarise himself. ¡°Any tunnels leading there?¡± ¡°What? How could there be a tunnel that long? We were guerri fighters, not miners!¡± Hayden looked at Kyle like he was a madman. Does this guy only think about tunnels?! Kyle had no choice: he would have to head there either via wagon or by mineral ant. The fastest would be by mineral ant, which could easily cover the distance in an hour or so, faster if Kyle really pushed them to their limits. However, there wererge ins between them, with the Keru Forest not spreading towards that direction. Kyle would be fully exposed if he tried to fly over the farms and the ins, easily being spotted. ¡°There¡¯s no other choice; we have to go stealth.¡± ¡°Ste-alth?¡± Kyle chose a venom-spitting ho as his main ¡®vehicle¡¯, measuring the dimensions and preparing to work on the shell directly. I hope this works. He knew that the shell of the mineral ant was simply hardened minerals, so he was now carving arctech engravings on it, all of which were optical illusions copied from the goblin den. He had used a simr device during the auctionst year, but this time he would have to design it correctly. Passive stealth was not an option here: he would have to visually trick every onlooker or observer who so much as looked towards the sky. Such an active stealth implementation already existed in the Gctic Era ¨C interlocked honeb stealth panels. The concept is simple: given an input of light, output the same light in the other direction. This normally required massive calctions, but Kyle believed that he could design an arctech engraving that could do the same thing functionally by modifying the original optical illusion engraving. The original optical illusion engraving worked on an idea of a preset image that the original creator crafted. As such, the original optical illusion engraving will continue to show the same image regardless of the environment, making it one of very specific use. Kyle originally used it only to cover his face when he left the auction, allowing him to avoid the enforcer trail. Dissecting the engraving again, he pinpointed the parts where the optical illusion engraving took in the supposed configuration of light to show. He linked it to a smaller version of a light capturer, creating a supply chain of light into illusion. He worked through the night as he tried to fix the connections, as it was not a simple task to carve on the mineral ant¡¯s shell andbine the two. Instead, he eventually gave up and had to create twoyers to allow for proper tracing and routing of the information between light capturer engraving and optical illusion engraving. The result was hardly perfect ¨C the illusion was blocky and looked as though it was a series of jumbled-up monitors. There were clear seams between the illusions, with a disjointed replication of the scene behind. As Kyle walked around the now engraved venom-spitting ho, he spotted plenty of ws. If anyone walked up to within fifty meters of the ho, the illusion would be inly obvious. However, this was good enough for Kyle¡¯s purposes. No one else would be flying in the sky so that the closest observer would be at least a kilometre away. He had Feldon test the stealth functionality, putting Feldon on the venom-spitting ho and sending him off into the distance. Kyle squinted his eyes as he tried to keep track of the ho, but even his keen eyes failed to see when the ho was more than five hundred meters away in a straight line. With this, everything was equipped and ready to go. Kyle checked up on the progress of the three groups. Diya had sessfully gained full control of Desham in its entirety, with every looter and deserter rooted out by Makoa. The poption had declined significantly ever since the revolution. Still, jobs were being created and managed effectively by the former council members working with the workers, re-seeding the fields with new food crops that would take 3-6 months to grow. For now, Drake¡¯s group has still been continuously hunting close to five mammoth hogs a day, providing enough food for the poption. The fruits foraged and fungi collected also provided much-needed diversity in their diets, improving the living standard of the workers. Feldon¡¯s construction expertise came into y with the reconstruction of the town, along with the building of new temporary housing as well as factories. All the lessons he had learnt from the goblin dens were now utilised, creating sanitation systems and proper work scheduling. His time was also spent educating the newly uplifted slum dwellers on how to manage their new positions of power properly. There were still bouts of attempted corruption and greed, some of the dwellers wanting to hoard their own wealth or food away from others, a few even stealing from Diya¡¯s food storage. They were punished heavily and immediately executed without trial. This rapid response from Diya only served to entrench the legitimacy of the new leaders further, as the local poption truly felt that the leadership was working for them rather than against them. As such, security had improved dramatically, and the outlook for the future was a lot brighter than before. Even though it was clear that war had already broken out between Versia and Count Leon, the people of Desham were unfazed, feeling that the Count would not bother to attack them. Diya recruited some of the more patriotic citizens into a military force, Kyle preparing to use them in the future. However, as of now, they were hardly trained or prepared to fight in any war, most never having used a weapon in the first ce. Diya had some former military sergeants lead the training, creating a new force for fighting. Those that had former fighting experience or were former military were all sent towards the underground tunnel base, bolstering the numbers of Drake¡¯s hunting group and practising their fighting skills against mammoth hogs and the asional corpse catcher in the Keru Forest. As strong as Kyle was, Kyle knew he would not be able to singlehandedly stem the flow of Count Leon¡¯s forces into Versia. He would need his own fighting force, hence the regr training and battles against monsters in the Keru Forest. But until they were trained, Kyle would need to buy at least a few weeks of time. The old Nest Informant also kept Kyle up to date on the live movements of the Count¡¯s forces, though the information was sparse. ¡°We can¡¯t see exactly what theposition of their forces is and how they are split up as well. If we want to stall this conflict, we need to provide this information to the Versian military as soon as possible.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle that. Where are they now?¡± ¡°They are right at the border of Ocra now ¨C skirmishes are already breaking out along the edge of the territory.¡± ¡°Good. I¡¯ll bring back the information.¡± Kyle donned the Version 0 Exosuit, performing a rudimentary checkout of the engravings. The traces and routes on the internalyers glowed and pulsated as he circted his arcia energy through them, checking the flow of it while the waste heat energy hissed out of the shoulders. Hefting arge arcia fuel pack onto the venom-spitting ho to power the stealth engravings on its shell, he rode it and flew right out of the underground tunnel base, exiting through a tight shaft. With the wind rushing around him, he shot out from the ground, bursting through the treeline into the bright sky. ¡°Radio check 1, radio check 1,¡± Kyle spoke into his helmet¡¯s radio engraving. [Loud and clear.] Feldon was already on the other side, a map of Ocraid out in front of him with the old Nest informant. They were standing by to mark down the information that Kyle would ry to them. [Have you left the tunnel base yet?] ¡°I am already hovering over Desham.¡± Feldon stuck his head out of the window, trying to spot Kyle in the sky. However, the stealth engravings worked like a charm from afar, rendering it impossible for Feldon to be spotted. [Well, I can¡¯t see you, so I guess it¡¯s working. You only got five hours of fuel, so you¡¯ll have toe back in three hours.] Kyle looked down to see the entire Desham from above. No one on the ground even looked up at him as he hovered a kilometre above, the sound and resulting air draft from the wings hardly audible. He turned his head south in the direction of Ocra, noticing that there were already signs of fire and pirs of smoke far at the horizon. ¡°Understood. Beginning reconnaissance mission. Prepare for map marking. Start from Sector A1.¡± Chapter 121: Opening Salvo A bead of water rasped against the shoddy metallic helmet with a clear thud, prompting Masir to look up to the sky. Above him, a few tendrils of dark clouds drifted over, stemming from mountains of thunderclouds looming in from the horizon. ¡°PICK UP THE PACE!¡± The voice that had gued Masir¡¯s life ever since he had been captured by Nest bellowed out with force. The Versian sergeant marched down through the trenches and fortifications built just five kilometres from Ocra. Before Masir could even react, a heavy-handed p from the sergeant smacked him in the helmet, the dull shock rattling his head slightly. ¡°What are you staring idly at the sky for? Those Yual Dominion dogs aren¡¯t going to wait all day! Keep digging!¡± The rough jagged wooden surface of his makeshift spade reminded him what he was supposed to do. He grumbled internally but did not retort, instead focusing his attention back onto the slightly muddied surface, where there was a rectangr-shaped hole, dug out over thest few hours. This isn¡¯t a shell scrape ¨C this is my grave. The hole Masir had dug was no different from the other ve soldiers in his toon, all of them digging a simr size, equally spaced. Yet instead of a defence fortification meant to stall the enemy, the faces of despair and resignation began to make the ce look more like a cemetery. Masir grimaced as he dug again, his already sore arms¡¯ burning intensely as he struggled to continue shovelling. He grabbed every chance at taking a break in between, acting like he was shovelling whenever a Nest hitman or a Versian sergeant walked past. Even after he was done with the shell scrape, Masir¡¯s harrowing ordeal was still far from over. He had to dig two more and help out with digging out the trenches. As Masir stuck the de of the shovel into the mud and looked behind him, the town of Ocra was vastly different from how it used to be just two weeks ago. Ever since the observation of the military exercise was ryed to the government, the entire Versian society had shifted to a war footing, the defensive fortifications and garrisons of every border town and city with Yual boosted with fresh recruits just like Masir. Involuntary recruits. ¡°Rotate! 513 Third toon; you¡¯re up!¡± An order rang out, which only meant one thing to Masir¡¯s tired, famished body. Lunch. He shambled with the rest of his nine-man squad towards the trench behind, shuffling their feet through the tight corners where other soldiers were still digging out emcements for cannons and mortars and cing makeshift wooden fortifications. The trenches sloped slightly downwards, revealing an underground mess hall where there were already metal tins filled with what Masir could only call ¡®slop¡¯, but it was what he looked forward to every day. The men in his squad sat down in silence, eating the slop by drinking directly from the tin. ¡°Hey, give that back!¡± A young recruit wailed from another table as his own squad member stole his tin of slop. ¡°Fuck off, you scrawny twat. The food is wasted on you ¨C I¡¯ll do a much better job of fighting than you ever will!¡± Masir¡¯s eyes squinted in recognition, knowing that the kid was from Ocra as well. ¡°Anyone recognise the other guy?¡± He muttered to his squad members, all of whom were part of his original gang. They had all been subjugated once by Kyle, and a second time by Nest, enved to fight. ¡°No, boss.¡± Despite the obvious fall from power, the members were still loyal to the boss. Ocra boys stick together. Shrugging off the obvious muscle ache in his body, Masir stood up and walked over to the unrecognised soldier, who was stillughing as he ate happily from the young recruit¡¯s tin. With a swift grab, Masir mmed the head of the soldier into the tin, the corrugated edges of the tin jabbing right into the eyes as the soldier screamed out in pain, his face a mixture of gushing blood and slop with gravy. Immediately, the other members of the squad attacked and stood up in anger. ¡°Hey, fuckface! You think you¡¯re-¡° Without warning, Masir punched the closest one right in the face and kicked him right in the nuts, crumpling him to the floor. ¡°Come on, you twats!¡± The mess hall broke out into a fight, with the two sides of the rowdy brawl mostly being Ocra residents versus Versians from other towns conscripted to fight at the frontlines. The sergeants and military police soon came in to break out the fight, but they did not arrest anyone. There was no time for that ¨C the Yual Dominion was right on the doorstep; they needed every soldier they could get their hands on. ¡°BREAK IT UP! ANYONE STILL FIGHTING WILL HAVE FRONT-ROW SEATS!¡± The sergeants threatened, immediately causing the other Versians to stop fighting. No one wanted to face the full brunt of Count Leon¡¯s forces, reminding them of the impending dread and fighting that was about to break out. Masir spat out a glob of blood on the ground as he nursed a bruised cheek with an icepack, walking out of the mess hall. The sky was already half covered in grey clouds, the scattered water droplets increasing in number. His squad walked back in silence, gripping their muskets tightly as their boots trudged through the trenches, moving past machine gun emcements. Their trench was the first defence line ¨C two more trenches stood between them and Ocra, which was now walled and covered in defensive arctech engravings. ¡°Are they really going to attack?¡± One of Masir¡¯s squad members couldn¡¯t help muttering, the tension gnawing away at his heart. ¡°The weather is pretty bad ¨C maybe we¡¯ll get one or two more days.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t count on it.¡± Masir shook his head as he slumped against the wall of the trench, staring at the sky. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? We apparently executed the general. The light thrower film was out yesterday. Their forces have already crossed the border.¡± ¡°How the hell are we going to fend them off with just our muskets?!¡± Masir didn¡¯t know the answer to that either. Repeaters were already in the military, just that they could not mass produce enough to equip all the soldiers. Only the regrs got them, and Masir¡¯s squad was far from being a regr. The conversation was cut short by a sergeant walking briskly through the trenches, shouting. ¡°This is where the Yual Dominion forces will be held! We shall not give them a single town, a single city, nay, not even a single inch!¡± The motivational speech has started ¨C it means the enemy is approaching. ¡°The dogs of the emperor think they can subjugate the Versian spirit; well, we shall make them think twice! It is here that they shall be turned back! For Versia!¡± ¡°For Versia!¡± The soldiers chanted back softly. ¡°That¡¯s all you got? Scream with all your might! Today you live as men of Versia ¨C as free as the day you were born. FOR VERSIA!¡± ¡°FOR VERSIA!¡± ¡°FOR VERSIA!¡± The sergeant screamed once more, his face nearly red. ¡°FOR VERSIA!¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I like to hear! Now hold this ground unt-¡° Masir watched the entire scene y out in front of him, the sight of a mortar projectile hitting the sergeant right in the face as it exploded in a brilliant explosion, tossing and levelling the ground up. A fountain of dirt began to pelt Masir¡¯s face as the burnt body of the sergeant was blown to bits, along with the arm of a nearby soldier being caught in the st, turned into a scorched stump as his wailing screams pierced the air. ¡°GET DOWN!¡± The soldiers cowered in the trenches as a withering barrage of mortar strikes from afar wasunched towards their position, pounding the mud and dirt as the rain began to pick up in intensity. ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WAITING FOR? ACTIVATE THE POINT DEFENCE SYSTEM!¡± Masir roared at a stunned soldier who was still standing in shock. Instead of waiting for the guy to shake out of his stupor, Masir crawled over through the trench to him, shoving him aside and working the arctech machine shaped like a metal sphere, ced right in the middle of an open pit connected to the trench. Activating the machine, five spindly metal pirs jutted out towards the sky, the engravings glowing green. With a rapid pulsing sound, the point defence projectiles screeched towards the iing mortar strikes, causing them to explode in midair. The billowing smoke of interceptions filled the horizon as fragments fell from the sky; burning pieces of magnesium and iron sprinkled the trenches. Masir rushed back to the front-facing wall of the trench with his squad, all of them already propped up and aiming their muskets at the front. He nced at the strewn body parts of the former sergeant, noticing the arctech repeater had survived the st. Dusting away the strings of flesh and dirt coating it, he hefted it, noticing that with the death of his sergeant, the toon was in clear panic and shambles, with no one to coordinate them. ¡°Squad 1, man that fucking machine gun!¡± Masir bellowed out, earning a few confused stares from the squad. ¡°What the hell are you waiting for?! MOVE!¡± ¡°Squad 2, get on themunication radios and get ready to call out targets for the artillery crew!¡± ¡°Squad 3 and 4, shore up the frontline! Get all those ammo boxes opened and ready; I want non-stop fire, you hear me?!¡± Masir filled the spot of the deceased sergeant, issuing orders and helping the men to set up. Like hell I am going to die in this war! I still got a grudge to settle! The mortar barrage ceased as abruptly as it began, the Yual Dominion forces no longer testing the point defence capabilities of the defence. Instead, a low rumbling sound could be heard, the tremors spreading through the ground. ¡°Whateveres, we can handle it. Ocra boys stick together, ya hear?!¡± Masir roared. ¡°Yes, sir!¡± ¡°HERE THEY COME!¡± A spotter in Squad 1 yelled. From beyond the trenches through the spare forest that surrounded Ocra, Masir could spot a few specks of metal in the tree line. ¡°HOLD YOUR FIRE! WAIT TILL THEY COME IN RANGE!¡± Yet those specks of metal began to growrger andrger; Masir¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell is that? Out from the treeline burst forth five defensive barriers, seemingly pushed forward by a modified arctech wagon engine that rumbled on tracks. Yual Dominion arctech knights jogged in synchronisation with the speed of the defensive barrier, using it to shield themselves from the trench line. A machine gun mounted right on the top of the barrier fired with impunity, prompting the squad members in the trenches to take cover, the pellets singing above their flimsy helmets. One failed to take cover in time, earning a pellet that sheared through the side of his head, lobbing off an entire ear as he screamed. ¡°SQUAD 1, OPEN FIRE!¡± Masir ordered. The machine gun burst into life, a hailstorm of pellets attacking the barrier shaped like a snow plough with a deafening roar. The barrier began to be pockmarked with holes as a few stray machine gun pellets managed to get through and hit the knights behind. The storm of pellets also knocked out the enemy machine gun mounted on the top of the barrier. However, it could not get through the thick armour ting that the Yual Dominion soldiers had as well. Barrelling right towards the trench, the plough hit right into the trench, allowing the arctech knights that were attached to it to leap off and enter the trenches. Covered from head to toe in mud-camouged metal armour, the sight of the Yual knights induced fear and panic in the squads, prompting some of them to tremble and scream. Before their flight or fight response could kick in, Masir was already ahead of them, attacking the nearest knight with an entire clip of the sergeant¡¯s repeater. The flurry of pellets overwhelmed the knight¡¯s point defence system, immediately denting the armour and eventually piercing through, riddling the knight with holes. Masir gasped as his body began to feel the arcia exhaustion, the repeater taking a toll on his entire body. But his mind was focused on the fight, the adrenaline pumping through his veins. Only the screams of fighting and the screeches of artillery fire could be heard through the rapid thumping of blood in his ears; his eyes locked onto the dead knight as he screamed with all his might. ¡°FOR VERSIA!¡± Chapter 122: Warmachines Masir grunted as he blocked a bay strike from a Yual knight, the two of them brawling in the mud as the rain began to pick up, turning into a light drizzle. Pools mixed with blood and grime began to form on the floor, the contents sshing while the soldiers fought back hard, their morale buoyed by the bravery of Masir to attack the knights. We need to hold them here ¨C if they take down the point defence system and machine gun emcement, they can breach the trenches! Masir delivered a kick to the Yual Knight, sending him stumbling back before following up with a body flip, sweeping the knight¡¯s legs right under him. The Yual Knight gagged as he fell onto the ground, with Masir immediately pinning him down. Each of his soldiers was engaged in their own brawl along the length of the trenches. For a brief moment in time, there was nothing else in the world for Masir, only the sole intention of killing the person right in front of him. Even the sounds of rain sttering and battle cries could not distract him from the knight. He grabbed a knife from his belt and stabbed towards the knight¡¯s neck through the seams of the armour. The knight immediately grabbed the wrist of Makoa, crushing it under the tight grip of the metal gauntlets. Makoa winced, but did not flinch nor let go of the pin. Instead, he forced his wounded wrist even further down, leveraging his body weight to drive the knight towards the neck. The knife pierced the tip of the knight¡¯s skin, causing him to fight even harder and throw punches at Masir¡¯s waist. However, Masir had his knee on the knight¡¯s other free arm, rendering the knight incapable of stopping it. His eyes flickered with fear as Masir roared, pressing the knife down with all his might. With a sound barely audible over the dins of fighting and cannon fire, the knight choked on blood, the windpipes gurgling as he punched Masir repeatedly, each punch getting weaker as his brain began to lose focus and strength. Masir could barely stand up, the arcia exhaustion and the injuries suffered from the knight burdening his body. Every fibre of his being felt sluggish, his bones weak as he struggled to help his other soldiers. I must fight! He pushed through the pain, joining the fight again through the trenches. The brave soldiers of his squad were taking on casualties, not all of them as apt at fighting like Masir was. Five knights left. Masir nced at his remaining squad, noticing an entire squad had already been killed. The knights were now pushing towards the machine gun emcement, trying to take it down. They are the strike force ¨C meant to take down the defence to allow the main force to proceed uninterrupted. Masir was extremely clear on their objectives. As he stepped towards the fight, he walked past Squad 3¡¯s deadmunications radio handler, his arctech radio blurting away. [Section 4A suffering heavy damage! We can¡¯t stop the ploughs!] [513 First toon taking on casualties, we need reinforcements!] [Roger that, new soldiers being sent from secondary defence trench.] Just hold on ¨C just hold on. Masir repeated to himself as he limped towards the knights, who were unaware of him behind him, assuming their allies had already killed him. Gripping the bloodied knife in his left arm, Masir sneaked close enough before lifting the knife as high as he could, jabbing it down towards the neck of the knight from behind. The knight moved at thest second, the knife instead piercing through a gap in the shoulder pauldron and causing the knight to shout in pain. With a retaliation swing, Masir was knocked right back onto the ground, his vision only seeing the dark clouds as rain dripped onto his face. I have no strength left. Is this the end for me? Masir did not want to give up, but his exhausted body was hardly responding anymore, arcia exhaustion ravaging his internals. The knight raised a repeater, aimed right at Masir¡¯s head when suddenly the point defence system in the trenches fired arge green bolt in the sky. However, there was no sound of interception, instead a projectile shooting straight down from above and shredding through the knight from head to toe like a corkscrew, his organs and flesh twisted into a mangled form before crumpling to the ground in an explosion of dirt. The other knights were distracted, buying time for the Versian soldiers under Masir to regroup for a brief moment. Most of all, the Yual knights werepletely confused as to why there was an artillery strike. Before they could get their bearings, yet another green bolt was fired up, prompting them to instinctively duck. Sure enough, yet another projectile was pinpointed aimed right at them, kicking up a fountain of dirt and nearly missing another knight. ¡°The artillery is helping us! Fight back!¡± With a morale-induced counterattack, the Versians began to push back hard, capitalizing on the shaken senses of the knights. With five knights fighting against two nine-men squads, they were easily overwhelmed, the knights being killed in a brutal battle. Masir was lifted up, dragged into a small alcove in the trench walls where a medic from another squad was already treating the wounds. ¡°Grab the damn potions from the other squad!¡± The medic ordered, directing them to the fallen Squad 3. He stuffed a health potion down Masir¡¯s mouth, the minor healing effect restoring his body slightly, though Masir still suffered from arcia exhaustion. ¡°You need to recover. If we lose you, the whole toon falls apart. You hear me?¡± The medic lightly pped Masir¡¯s cheeks, checking for signs of sentience. ¡°I only got a few health potions, don¡¯t make it a waste.¡± ¡°Sca-scavenge the knights¡­¡± Masir weakly mumbled. ¡°We¡¯re already on it.¡± The same event was happening all over the first trench, with every toon experiencing some sort of pinpoint artillery strike that saved them at the right moment. [Good job artillery crew!] The artillery crew werepletely confused, as was the general in charge of the entire division. ¡°Who the hell fired at the trenches? I already ordered all of you not to fire on our own allies!¡± ¡°Sir, no one did! And even if we did, we would blow up the soldiers as well, yet all of them are reporting the artillery strikes were precisely on the knights and the ploughs.¡± ¡°The gods are watching over us.¡± A more religious Versian remarked. ¡°An angel! Someone who defends Versia!¡± With this, the reinforcing soldiers managed to bolster the first trench, pushing back the strike force. Some machine guns as well as point defence systems suffered damage, weakening the defence slightly. ¡°Get our engineers out there now! Repair them before the next wavees!¡± However, over the next hour, the ensuring barrage of mortar strikes resumed again, this time easily pounding the exposed areas of the trenches and breaking the defence line open. With the gap opened, another wave of ploughs and even more Yual knights charged forward, easily entering the trenches and fighting through. The general¡¯s face nched as the reports streamed in through the radio, with his clerks moving the markers on a wide table in front of him,id out in the same format as the defence lines around Ocra. ¡°We can¡¯t lose the first trench! We need to reinforce it immediately! If Yual gets a foothold, they can use that trench position against us!¡± The Versian garrison pushed forward in strength, sorting out to fight for control of the first trench. The area was filled with the whizzing sounds of pellets from scorching hot machine gun barrels, and the continuous sparkle and stream of point defence arcia boltsunched at the sky, blocking iing mortar projectiles. The battle soon entered a stalemate, although the fighting in the first trench was still fierce. The Versian side took far more casualties than the Yual Knights did, their recruits and soldiers far more experienced that those in Ocra. ¡°Section 4A request more ammo and arcite fuel for the point defence system! Needs health potions as well!¡± ¡°Give it to them, no rationing of health potions!¡± The general in charge understood how critical the first day of battle was, preparing to go all out to stave off the enemy¡¯s advances. However, it could not be held for long, as a new war machine emerged from the Yual Dominion forces, a fully armoured arctech wagon bristling with weaponry, machine guns and a cannon mounted onto it as its wheeled tracks dug through the mud, moving slowly towards the trenches. ¡°What?¡± Two Versian machine guns immediately fired at it, but the armour deflected nearly everything, not being as weak as the first wave of ploughs. The ckened armour glowed brightly with Harden engravings, resisting the torrent of machine gun fire. As soon as it approached the edge of the trench, three nozzels emerged from the front, suddenly spewing out liquid mes that surged and roared through the trenches, flooding the floor immediately. The soldiers who were nearby could hardly outrun the flood of fire, their uniform catching on fire as they screamed in pain, flesh melting off the bones. Four more such warmachines rushed the trenches, immediately pushing out all the soldiers of the trenches as they were routed, fleeing back to the second defence line in panic. ¡°Fallback! Fallback!¡± They abandoned the machine guns and point defence systems, being far too heavy to carry. Masir¡¯s squad carried him back to the second trench line with haste. As soon as the point defence systems were taken out, the Versian general ordered a barrage. ¡°Fire!¡± The slew of projectiles screehed across the sky as Masir groggily looked up at the sky, their smoke trails arcing through the heavy rain that drenched his men in soakiing wet clothes. They trudged aboveground, cowering from the storm and the gunfire that raged all around them. The blood-curdling screams of their allies burning into a sludge behind them did not turn their heads, instead helping to focus ahead, where their allies were already firing back at the monsterous warmachines. Mortar shells mmed against the thick heavy arctech armour of the warmachines, the warmachines not having any point defence systems. Instead, its tracks rolled right above the trenches, ignoring the ditchpletely, unfettered as it continued its murderous advance. The cannon of the warmachine locked onto an artillery emcement far behind in the third trench line, firing a straight shot screaming right above the second trench before exploding forward in a shower of smaller fragments. The point defence systems were turned into a frenzy, streams of green arcia bolts rapidly firing to cancel the fragments iing. The shot was ineffective, leading to many of the soldiers cheering as their own cannons fired back at the warmachines, enveloping it in residual smoke. Eyes widening, the general realized what the warmachines were trying to do. "They are trying to overwhelm the point defence systems! Stop them!" The sheer amount of fragments would drain and overheat the point defence systems, increasing arcia fuel consumption and damaging the engravings. There was a limit to the temperature rating, after all. The cheers of the soldiers soon died as it became more and more apparent that the point defence systems were responding slower and slower, some of the fragments eventually making it through and piercing fortifications as well as soldiers, earning cries of pain all over the trenches. Each of the four warmachines advanced at a different approach path, forcing the Versian artillery and cannon crews to divert their attentions. But weirdly enough, the artillery fire had stopped from the Yual Dominion, allowing the point defence systems enough time to recuperate and withold the firepower of the warmachines. The general remained wary, continously resupplying the cannons and artillery. The warmachines came to a halt, before suddenly retreating. "Sir, they are fleeing! We should give chase!" An ambitious officer remarked, pumping his fist in the air. However, the experienced general did not agree, his instincts telling him otherwise. "It is a trap. Wait for reports from the observers. Ensure it is encoded correctly with the right encryption!" However, arge boom resounded through the sparse forest, followed by a rapidly expanding ball of me that spiralled up to the sky in a dazzling disy, nearly overwhelming the gloomy sky like a spark of light. Soon, the reports from observers came in. "Sir, the Yual dominion forces are being attacked by an unknown force, by what seems to be long-range artillery!" Confusion struck the general and officers, as they quickly radioed in all nearby military units. "Did our artillery reinforcements from Tenar arrive that fast?!" "No sir, there¡¯s no reported artillery crews anywhere other than here and in Ocra." However, they were not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, a wave of relief and smiles spreading through the camp. "Quickly, reim the first trench and set up defences again! Hold out as long as it takes for our reinforcements to arrive!" Chapter 123: Sneaking
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Knight], +250 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Logistics Captain], +500 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Logistics Sergeant], +100 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Private], +50 EXP
Below Kyle, the supply logistic corps of the Raktor military was in mes. The storage area had been struck directly by Kyle¡¯s railgun, igniting the mmable liquid that was used by the war machines. Soldiers and engineers scrambled alike to stem the me, trying to prevent the ensuing wildfire from spreading through the camp despite the heavy rain. ¡°Who¡¯s attacking us? Get our observers out there ASAP!¡± ¡°Return artillery fire!¡± ¡°Which way?!¡± ¡°Get the extinguisher here!¡± One of the knights bellowed,manding his toon to hustle while other members of the supply logistic corps scrambled to save as much as they could. Pairs of soldiers lugged forward arge mobile wagon mounted with a cannon, which began to rattle violently as it chugged arcia fuel before sting water in high pressure, nketing the mes and starving it of oxygen in a single push. One of the wagons instead started to spray out a purple mist, leading one of the knights to smack a soldier on his helmet. ¡°Idiot! You¡¯re wasting our precious liquid! Swap it to water!¡± ¡°Ye-yes, sir!¡± Kyle hovered only just six hundred meters over the camp, ensuring his stealth engravings remained effective while he observed theyout of the Raktor military. This should be good enough for now. He wasn¡¯t nning on decimating the entire Yual Dominion camp ¨C he wanted the battle to stall here, not eradicate Count Leon¡¯s forces. Continuing his observation, he reported on the mapping of the sectors while flying slowly overhead. ¡°Sector 29K, Raktor Artillery Crew located. That should be thest sector.¡± [We have the fullyout now.] Feldon was back in Desham, marking out each of the brigades and divisions in the corps that Raktor had sent to Ocra. The scale of the sortie was significant ¨C sixty thousand men in a single corps, with each soldier at a minimum covered in some form of arctech armour. Compared to the grim state of Versian recruits, the Raktor infantry soldiers were much better equipped. However, this was far from the only corps from the Yual Dominion attacking: two more Counts had their corps on the march behind, amounting to an entire offensive of one hundred and eighty thousand, give or take. The scale of the battle was minuscule to Kyle, who has participated in wars spanning star systems. Millions had died around him in a single hour during his time, buried in metal coffins kilometres long that would drift for eternity until salvaged by an opportunistic crew. But for now, Kyle knew the Versian military was on the backfoot until it could ramp up its already significant mobilisation. The question bes whether Versia has enough effective weapons to gear all of their soldiers. Despite the height of the observation, Kyle could already spot a few of his own weapons that the Seven Snakes produced in cirction among the Raktor military. The new arctech guns that the soldiers sported were all rifled and far more lenient on arcia energy consumption, allowing soldiers to fire better and faster. The mortars had also been upgraded to their version, along with custom explosive projectiles designed by Eric Dicar. Kyle smiled slightly to himself, knowing that if he wanted the war tost anywhere near a year, he would need to beat his inventions. One invention that surprised him was the warmachine. It was effectively a tank, though its production cost was immensely high. The entire corps of Raktor only had twenty in store, with minimal spare parts seen around the base. It means it is a recent addition to the military. This would be a tough nut to crack. [Boss, you¡¯re nearing your three-hour limit.] ¡°Returning to base now.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t linger any longer, flying straight back as fast as he could. Reaching the underground tunnel base, hended in therge hangar bay, where the neers sent over by Diya were already hard at work, butchering the corpses of the mammoth hogs under the guidance by Drake. The hunters had been bolstered significantly thanks to that, increasing the rate at which food was being entered into Desham. Drake ran up to the dismounting Kyle, a sapling in a pot in his hand. Kyle noted that Drake was far more receptive to Kyle now after knowing that Kyle was doing everything in his power to stall the Yual Dominion¡¯s advances at Ocra. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Kyle examined the sapling as Drake handed it to him.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Poair Sapling] A wild sapling of a Poair Tree found in the wild Can be nted on fertile soil Requirements for Growth: ???
Kyle was internally excited, but he did not show it in his body posture, keeping still as much as he could while he kept up the act that he did not have a System telling him. ¡°Back in the vige, we used to cultivate this in small gardens. Boiled in water with a few pinches of Greis Powder can serve as a great stimnt.¡± ¡°Greis Powder¡­ do we have that?¡± ¡°Ites from rocks in the ground and is pretty abundant. The problem is filtering them out from other unwanted elements is pretty hard.¡± Kyle recalled Drake was a herbalist in the first ce, so he was not too surprised that Drake knew of a few basic potion recipes. We could begin pumping out Stamina Potions from here ¨C the Versian Military would love it. He quickly instructed Drake to work with Diya, reconstructing a simr factory process to mass-produce Stamina potions. Heading over to Desham itself, he joined Feldon in the war room, with the map fullybelled out now. The map of Ocra and its surroundingnds wasid out, with markers indicating the positions of the brigades at every sector, thanks to Kyle¡¯s observations. ¡°You might have to intervene once every day to stem the main attack, but the main issue is that we don¡¯t know where the other corps are.¡± Feldon pointed to the Raktor corps that Kyle just attacked. ¡°With two more corps missing, it is highly likely that they are going for a feint or they are nning to nk Ocra.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying they¡¯ll send a corps to cut off the reinforcements.¡± ¡°Yes. If they want to capture Ocra, they will have to put it into a siege.¡± Kyle pondered as he examined the map, with Feldon shifting the brigades around to represent what he meant. However, he could already see inconsistencies in the ¡®strategy¡¯ that Feldon was assuming. He did not me Feldon for it ¨C the man had no training whatsoever in military warfare. The objective of Count Leon is to storm the capital. This means he has to take it in less than two weeks. A siege on Ocra is very unlikely to be part of his ns¡­ The decades of military warfare lessons and practice in his former life kicked in, allowing Kyle to glimpse at all the possible attacks. ¡°He¡¯s nning to gas the entire city.¡± ¡°Gas?¡± Feldon was confused before his eyes widened in realisation. ¡°You mean the same gas that the damn Nest fuckers used on us?¡± ¡°Exactly. He¡¯s going to wipe everyone out in the city in one fell swoop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible ¨C the Versian military must be prepared for such a chemical attack themselves. The Nest hitmen we fought all had countermeasures.¡± ¡°Not if Count Leon has developed somethingpletely new that can circumvent that.¡± ¡°Then how the hell are we going to stop them?¡± ¡°Did you write down the reports of each sector?¡± Feldon handed him a stack of paper, with Kyle flipping through them, reading the notes quickly as he recalled all of the military elements he spotted. Warmachines sheds, food supplies, makeshift mess hall, heavy construction equipment for road building, wagons for logistics, extinguishers¡­ extinguishers? Kyle thumbed through the notes again, checking carefully. Originally, he had not specifically noted down the number of extinguishers wagons, but now that he saw how they fought the fire, there were a bit too many of them. The wagons seemed to work on the basis of arctech pumps, sting out vaporised liquid at high speeds. To Kyle, this was perfectly normal ¨C except for that one wagon that had sted out a purple mist instead. But none of the soldiers was affected even if they breathed it in, and the knight did not seem too flustered either. Unless¡­ Every chemical weapon needed a countermeasure: either a filter or a neutralising agent. Kyle became confident that the wagons were meant to neutralise the chemicals after they swept the city. If he let Count Leon gas the city, all his efforts at stalling the battle would go to waste in one fell swoop, allowing the Yual Dominion to upy Ocra and use it as a base for logistics. ¡°You¡¯reing with me.¡± ¡°Huh¡­? What?!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll exin in the air.¡± ¡°In the air?!¡± Kyle grabbed Feldon and rushed back to the underground tunnel base, ordering him to gear up with weapons. While Feldon clumsily put on an ordinary set of armour, Kyle brought along a few potion sks courtesy of Desham before removing his arctech armour. Such heavy armour would not be the right purpose. Equipping himself with the thunder sword instead and a few light pieces of non-arctech armour, Kyle attached a radio to his belt, ready to sortie. Kyle passed Feldon an arctech radio before the two of themunched into the air on the same stealth-engraved ho, the speed nearly causing Feldon to fall off as he grabbed on tightly. The ant soared through the evening sky towards Ocra, the former rain clouds long gone in recement of a pinkish hue. ¡°No, no, no, I didn¡¯t sign up for this! I¡¯m not going to sneak in!¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one doing the sneaking. You¡¯ll stay up in the air and coordinate, got it?¡± Kyle had a concrete n ¨C he needed to touch the neutraliser physically. He had an inkling that it was simr to a potion, and with his System title, he should be able to investigate exactly what it was made of with a simple distition method. Or the System could tell me the ingredients directly. If he could get in contact with the actual chemical weapon being used, it would be even better, but Kyle wasn¡¯t counting on it. Most likely, Count Leon has stored it away somewhere well-protected or inconspicuous. The day soon turned into night, darkness taking over thend as they soared above the forest, the arctech lights of encamped Raktor forces and Versian garrison glittering on the horizon. A few small isted fires were still raging, fought off by the Raktor soldiers. ¡°Which sector were the extinguishers reported in?¡± ¡°Last report was Sector 29K, but they came in from 25G.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Kyle directed the ho down to the ground, dropping onto the forest floor with a crunch as he stepped on leaves, his feet light without the armour. The lights of the Raktor camp flickered in the distance, with sounds of chatting andughter as the Raktor infantry had their meal in the night. ¡°Entering camp now. Keep an eye out for me for any big movement.¡± ¡°Got it.¡± Sneaking into the camp from tree to tree, Kyle kept himself hidden as much as possible, trying to find an entry point into the camp. Already he could see a few foot soldiers on patrol duty, their arctech spotlights casting shadows on the trees. Kyle kept his body low to the ground, avoiding their view while trying to map out their patrolling pattern. [The patrol pattern isn¡¯t the same as daytime.] ¡°Expected.¡± Kyle was not too fussed, having a rough idea of the night time patrol sequence, but he knew he was on a time limit. ¡°Found an opening.¡± Kyle took his chance, silently moving through the forest before aiming at the camp, leaping over the fence. Hended quietly on the other side, only to find one Raktor patrol guard skiving off behind the fence, clearly not following the patrol pattern, their eyes locked on one another. ¡°Shit.¡± Chapter 124: Espionage ¡°Wha-¡° Before the Raktor guard could even shout, Kyle lunged and crushed his windpipe in an instant, killing the man on the spot.
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Private], +50 EXP
He grabbed the body before it could make a sound, instead gentlyying it on the floor, his eyes darting around to check his surroundings. Luckily for Kyle, the guard chose a good ce to skive, hidden behind two makeshift rectangr tents. ncing around for a ce to hide the body, Kyle couldn¡¯t find any. ¡°Feldon, please tell me there¡¯s somewhere I can hide this body nearby. I¡¯m at Sector 29G.¡± [Sector 29G¡­ found you. The tent right in front of you was marked as logistics.] Good. No lights were visible through the thin fabric of the logistics tent, allowing Kyle to silently use the thunder sword to slice an opening, enabling him to enter. The tent was a storage area, filled to the brim with crates with no one inside. Kyle tapped lightly on a few crates, finding one that was empty before shoving the dead guard inside. He noticed a table in the very middle of the tent with a few stacks of paper on it. Just as he was about to walk to the tent, his arctech radio blurted out. [Boss, twoing!] Kyle reacted on instinct, quickly opening the empty crate with the dead guard inside and hiding in it, closing the lid. He breathed slowly, quietly exhaling while footsteps could be heard outside, along with an angry voice berating someone. ¡°What the fuck did I say about skiving? You¡¯re part of the damn military now, you understand? Not part of the skiving unit! This entire fucking row of logistics tents will be even more important than your wife for the next few days, you hear me?!¡± ¡°SIR, YES, SIR!¡± ¡°And don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know about Poe skiving off as well! You two better fucking make sure no one gets in or out through the entire night without my say-so, got it?!¡± ¡°SIR, YES, SIR!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even try to skive halfway through ¨C I¡¯ll be back.¡± Kyle grimaced as he pulled his legs in, leaning and squishing against the dead guard behind him in the crate. He quickly turned off his arctech radio to prevent Feldon from tipping off the two guards that were now entering the logistics tent. ¡°Man, fuck that sergeant. It¡¯s barely even the first day of the war, and he¡¯s being a fucking ass.¡± ¡°Why the hell are we even taking the k for Poe?! We should be the ones skiving instead of him!¡± ¡°Yea, wasn¡¯t he skiving behind this tent? POE! You bettere out, you fucking rat.¡± The two guards moved out of the tent, prompting Kyle to move as silently as he could without making a sound. As soon as he got out of the crate, he tiptoed out of the logistics tent, sprinting straight to the neighbouring tent, hiding in it. Except this time, the tent wasn¡¯t empty. Sure, the arctechntern hanging in the middle of the ceiling wasn¡¯t on, but it wasn¡¯t stopping a Raktor infantry soldier from masturbating behind the crates, his eyes staring widely at Kyle as he was caught right in the act. ¡°Sir, I can exin ¨C ¡° Kyle didn¡¯t waste any time, killing the man immediately in a simr fashion. None of the regr soldiers was a match for his speed, allowing him a clearbat advantage in such a scenario. Explicitly avoiding the dead soldier¡¯s boner, he stripped the uniform off before wearing it over his own, allowing him to blend in. He checked his name tag printed on the brownish uniform that was meant to camouge with the soil. Kerin, got it. Checking his unit badge, he noted down the toon and squad he belonged to. Shoving the dead body into yet another crate, this time he had enough time to check the table in the middle, his eyes darting around as he nced through the list of items written. Mostly support equipment and food supplies ¨C nothing essential. That was to be expected: nopetent military nner would ever put their critical supplies in a less-guarded section. It did not matter to Kyle, though he took note of another piece of paper which denoted the expected shipments that wereing in from the Yual Dominion. ¡°Feldon, record this down.¡± [What..? I don¡¯t have paper with me!] ¡°Memorize this.¡± Kyle recited the shipment timings as well as the city or town they wereing from, as well as wagon size, convoy length, the officer in charge and so on. Feldon recited it back, engraving it in his memory. The moment Kyle stepped out of the tent in his stolen military uniform, the two guards who were searching for Poe behind their tent came out and spotted him. ¡°Hey, Poe!¡± Kyle turned around, earning a look of confusion on the two guards¡¯ faces. ¡°Wow, when the hell did Poe get so handsome?¡± ¡°Idiot, that¡¯s not Poe! Private, report your name and unit!¡± ¡°Private Kerin, 180 Brigade Company 4 toon 4 Squad 2.¡± The two guards look at each other weirdly. ¡°Err¡­ okay. What the hell are you doing here?¡± ¡°I got lost; I don¡¯t know theyout of the base very well.¡± ¡°Fucking hell, didn¡¯t you do basic military training back in Raktor?!¡± ¡°Come on, man, cut the guy some ck. It¡¯s the fucking first day of the war. You wanna be a dick like that sergeant?¡± The other guard calmed the first guard down. ¡°Fine. Walk right down this row of tents and turn right. Past the mess hall. Your bunk is fifth on the left.¡± ¡°Got it, thanks.¡± Kyle turned and walked off, ignoring the weird stares of the two guards. As he walked briskly through the tents, he began to look for anything pertaining to chemical warfare, trying to spot the extinguisher wagons. He diverted from the direction the guards had told him, clearly avoiding any areas where other soldiers would be able to recognise him. Going back to the squad would be stupid ¨C they would know I am not Kerin in a heartbeat. The mess hall was rowdy, with the militarymanders ordering alcohol to be served to the soldiers. Many Yual Dominion citizens had not tried it before, drinking happily for the first time in their lives thanks to the prohibition back home. ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t this illegal?¡± ¡°Fuck if I know, we¡¯re not in Raktor anymore. This is Versian territory, which means beer for days! COME ON, DRINK UP!¡± Naturally, the soldiers were drinking not because they were alcoholics but mostly because they were nervous. The alcohol served as a good way of drowning out their fears, though some would get a massive headache the next morning. As Kyle delved deeper and deeper into the military camp, he hid behind tents, crates, pirs and stationary wagons, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible. Feldon whispered movements on the arctech radio at every avable interval, allowing Kyle to get a good view of everything around him. Something felt wrong about the entire camp. There doesn¡¯t seem to be sixty thousand men in the camp at all. More than a third is missing. He noted that entire brigades were missing for some unknown reason. Soon, he finally reached the extinguishers, heading straight to their container storages, where tons of the pressurised purple liquid were stored in metal canisters. Sneaking past the guard, who was already dozing off, he made it into the makeshift warehouse that had been rapidly set up, quickly cing his hand on the canister.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Compressed Invigorating Potion (Intermediate)] Boosts morale and positive emotions Rmended Dosage: One-tenth of a sk for an adult human male for one hour Ingredients: Poair Leaf, Greis Powder, ???, ???, Water Cooldown: One hour Warning: Overconsumption may lead to unintended side-effects
Wait, it¡¯s not a neutraliser?! Then there''s no chemical attack? Kyle waspletely confused, unable toe to terms with the fact that his assumption had been wrong, but soon Feldon¡¯s urgent voice came in over the radio. [[Boss, you got to move, there''s activity all over the camp!] "Have I been exposed?" [I don''t know, but everyone seems to be mobilising for something!] Kyle had no time to think, quickly finding an already used canister with lower pressure, opening the valve and filling up his potion sks. ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest exit?¡± The xons began to wail in the camp, shaking the drinking men out of their stupors while others who had turned in early were woken up, scrambling to get their equipment. [Alert: All units to fall into their designated assembly areas immediately or face disciplinary punishment.] [Go north of the warehouse; everyone is congregated towards the west!] Weird. I haven¡¯t been spotted, so why is the camp mobilising? Kyle rushed out of the canister warehouse towards the north, heading in the opposite direction in which he entered in. The spotlights that were originally aimed outside of the camp were all turned inwards, sweeping the tents as groggy soldiers rushed to their assembly point. Just as Kyle started to run through the tents, he ran across a sergeant yelling. "Form up, maggots! HEY, YOU! Why aren''t you heading to your assembly area?" A sergeant spotted Kyle running the other way, ring at him. "Sir, I left my rifle in my bunk." "Huh? Don''t fuck with me! Your bunk is the other way!" The sergeant examined Kyle''s uniform, knowing exactly which squad the guy was in. "Sorry, sir, I got lost. By the way, what was that announcement for?" The sergeant squinted his eyes. ¡°You didn''t attend the briefing?! Who the hell are you? You''reing with me!" Wait, he doesn''t know about me? Kyle was confused, but he had no time to think any longer. Penchant for Violence! In one single clean motion, Kyle punched the sergeant and knocked him out immediately before sprinting away as fast as he could, no longer worried about being spotted. Naturally, the unconscious sergeant was immediately found by other soldiers. "What, there is an intruder here?!" "Surround him!" The camp surged into a frenzy as the reports of Kyle''s location began to spread through the base, the spotlights all locked on his figure as he dashed wildly, moving so fast that even the trackers failed to keep up. "Where did he go? Left" "Shit, we lost him!" Kyle was like a blur, pumping his legs as fast as he could. The effects of Arcia reinforcement began to surge through his body, his ambient arcia energy boosting his muscle strength even further in an explosive st. Even Feldon lost track of him, unsure of where Kyle was until Kyle reported back on the radio. "Sector 1G, pick up there!" [Got it, Boss! But how do I contro-ARGH!] The venom-spitting ho immediately nosedived towards the designated meeting point, causing Feldon to scream wildly though it could barely be heard from a kilometre above. Just as Kyle reached the end of the military base, he spotted the armoured arctech knights that were already deployed along the perimeter, locking down the area. Brandishing the thunder sword, he rushed straight at three of them, having no time to waste lest he gets surrounded. Even he did not believe he could take on all sixty thousand men himself. More importantly, he didn''t want his face to be spotted. "He''s here! Shoot!" This is My Turf! The pellets never made it to Kyle, stopping and ricocheting off the invisible barrier as he charged at them, swinging the thunder sword at close range while activating its skill. elerate! In a blur, the sword arced forward like a lightning sh, elerating Kyle''s swing along with his entire body, boosting the speed. The sheer kic energy caved the armour of the knight in, cutting deep into the bone of the knight''s blocking arm. Kyle didn''t stay around to finish them off, utilising the one-minute defensive barrier he had to leap over the fence and sprint into the forest again. "Search the forest! Find out what he took!" The Raktor corps did not move out all at once, many staying behind to ensure that there wasn''t a second intruder. Arctech spotlights sted the darkness of the forest to oblivion, with hunting squads sent out to track Kyle down. However, Kyle¡¯s running speed was unmatched, allowing him to outrun the range of the hunting parties easily. [Boss, right ahead of you, keep running!] Within a minute, a shimmering blur coalesced like converging pixels in front of him in the distance, marking the stealth ho with Feldon waving at him in a distorted vision. Kyle rushed onto the ho and ordered it to take off immediately, soaring away up into the air and into the clear. "Did you get the neutraliser?" Feldon hurriedly asked as the wind howled around them. "I didn''t find it. I found something else." Kyle showed off the purple sk. "And the corps is ridiculously underprepared for chemical warfare. I don''t believe they are going to gas the city." He had misjudged Count Leon, thinking that he was simr to the generals of the Gctic Era that he had fought before. Despite the callousness of Count Leon, it seems that the nobles of the Yual Dominion still held a certain respect for the enemy. More importantly, Kyle now understood that Count Leon was doing this purely for respect and prestige. Enacting genocide on the people he was about to conquer was not a good look for both when he won and for his image as a noble in the Yual Dominion. Even his supporters may not be enthused to know he killed an entire city recklessly. At least I verified the capabilities of Count Leon''s forces. "Then what the hell is that purple sk for?" "We''re going back to Desham to find out." Just as he said it, arge explosion suddenly erupted in Ocra, the mes lighting up the night sky from a distance. Feldon''s face nched as the sounds of fighting began to erupt from within the city itself, rm bells ringing throughout the buildings. At the very same time, the military camp that was hunting for the intruders got ready, mobilizing out to re-engage the defenders in the trench lines. Kyle grimaced as he knew exactly what was happening, his eyes recognising the source of the explosion to be the same river port that he used when he travelled from Raktor. They are trying to st through from within! ¡°Bring me to Ocra. We need to stall the pincer attack!¡± Chapter 125: Wartime Sabotage The ho soared above Ocra, where the battle for the town was raging. Fighting in the streets spread like wildfire as Yual Dominion troops pushed in hard, ferried in by concealed boats that were only spotted at thest minute. Right now, the Versian garrison was scrambling to defend every inch of the town as much as possible, but they were now being pressured on both sides, with half of the Raktor corps pushing in from the front as well. Kyle had no time to get his heavy armour ¨C two hours would be far too long. He could already tell this would be the key deciding battle for control of Ocra. On the ground, the soldiers were locked in a perilous shoot-out, with the Versian garrison setting up rapid makeshift defences in the form of sandbags, crates and already torn-apart husks of arctech wagons. The armoured Yual knights stormed the districts as fast as they could, overwhelming the defenders and capturing as much territory as they could before the Garrison could fully mobilise to stem the flow. The alleyways were filled with individual squads on both sides, battling for control in a gruesome battle. Casualties began to mount rapidly within the first ten minutes of the fight. Kyle spotted a goodnding point, ordering the ho to swoop in fast and hard. They nosedived through the air, Kyle no longer caring about the visible range of the ho. They streaked down towards a five-men Yual infantry squad who was cleaning up the alleyway, stabbing their bays into barely unconscious Versian soldiers that a concussion grenade had knocked out. With a leap, Kylended knee-first into one of the Yual soldiers, crushing his corbone as the weight pummelled him into the ground. ¡°What the?!¡± None of them had been looking upwards, their attention now focused on Kyle, who was already moving, grabbing a bloodied repeater from the ground. He swung the barrel and aimed at the nearest soldier, pulling the trigger. However, the repeater was damaged, prompting Kyle to quickly prop up the Yual soldier whom he had crushed, surprisingly still alive. Before the rest of the Yual squad could dwell on the hesitation of shooting their ally held hostage, Kyle mustered all his strength. Penchant for Violence! Aero Shoes! Heunched the body of the hostage towards the squad, hurtling him at a surprising speed that caught them off-guard. The first soldier groaned as he caught the hostage in his hands while Kyle was already next to him, punching him in the face and grabbing the rifle in his hand.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Mass-Produced Yual Rifle (Basic)] A product of a joint venture helmed by Baron Cain and the Golden Snake Construction Company Active Skill: Fire (Basic) ¨C Fires two rounds per second Cost: 4 MP per minute Cooldown: None
My own factory¡¯s rifle. Perfect. A few shots were fired at Kyle, but his keen eyes and high dexterity allowed him to spot their action before the shot was even fired, allowing him more time to react and avoid getting hit. He also noticed that the soldiers were not armoured, unlike the arctech knights that had forced their way into the trenches earlier in the day. They were also not firing the rifle at the same speed as stated in the System message. They don¡¯t even have enough MP to sustain less than a minute, so they have to pace themselves. Kyle was not like them, however: his Arcian physique enabling to unleash a spray of high-speed pellets that nketed the entire alleyway, killing the remainder of the squad in one fell swoop.
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Private], +50 EXP
He finished off the first two Yual soldiers whom he had hit, before scouring the alleyway. It was now littered with bodies, giving him ample resources to find a way to intervene in the battle. I¡¯ll need to stop the Yual Dominion from establishing a beachhead. Once they entrench themselves, it¡¯s going to be nigh impossible for the Versian garrison to eke out a win. Kyle quickly disguised himself in the same uniform as the Yual soldiers, ignoring the sticky feeling of the blood that drenched parts of it. Hiding the original body by tossing it through a building¡¯s window, he aimed the repeater right at himself, firing three pellets at the parts that were bloodied, not even wincing as the pellet dug in deep into his flesh. He then did not make a move, pretending to be unconscious in the alleyway while he waited, letting the blood slowly seep out from his wounds. Sure enough, another Yual dominion squad moved past the alleyway, the frontline within the city slowly shifting. Theybed the squad, grimacing at the brutal sight before they noticed that Kyle was still alive. ¡°HEY, HEY! WE GOT ONE HERE; HE¡¯S STILL BREATHING!¡± ¡°MEDIC! GET A MEDIC!¡± Without any effort on his part, Kyle was soon ferried on a stretcher to the backline of the Yual Dominion forces, heading straight for the port where they had firstnded. The logistics and supply chain were being set up there, with more and more boats dropping off crates. He was carted into a medical tent, where there were already close to a hundred twenty others, all groaning and moaning in some form or another. Still gripping his rifle, Kyle peeked out from the corner of his eye, noticing the man on the makeshift bed next to him had his entire face burnt off, rendering him unable to speak. Medics scrambled around the tent, delivering diluted health potions and anaesthesia to them as they slowly recovered. Kyle noticed that all of the people sent here were not armoured, being mere privates and recruits of the Raktor forces. It looks like they saved all the good potions for the higher ranks. Soon, a medic approached to give him a diluted health potion. But before the medic could force Kyle¡¯s mouth open, Kyle grabbed the medic¡¯s wrist and crushed it. Twisting it into an arm lock, Kyle shot up from the bed while channelling the Ne of Healing, the pellets being pushed out of his wounds automatically. ¡°Wha- GUAR-¡° The medic could barely scream before his chin was mmed against the edge of the bed frame twice in rapid fashion, the brain jolt killing him immediately.
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Medic], +50 EXP
The fight was hardly noticed by most of the injured people, and even if they did they were too weak to shout for help. Kyle hastily searched the tent, tracing the arctech power lines that ran from thenterns hung above, leading towards a portable generator outside, chock full of arcite fuel. He disconnected the power before ripping out the fuel and letting it leak. He fired the rifle shot at the fuel pack, igniting it and starting a fire that began to envelop the back of the medical tent. The injured that were ced the closest could not even move to avoid thepping mes that began to sear their skins, their eyes only staring in horror at their impending death. Kyle quickly moved through the area, trying to locate the ammunition storage again as the fire began to be more prominent, attracting the attention of the Yual forces. ¡°There¡¯s a fire at the medical tent!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have the extinguishers with us!¡± ¡°Idiot, get the water from the river!¡± While the soldiers began to panic, Kyle was already weaving through the port as quietly as he could, though he did not need to put in as much effort thanks to the loud explosions and gunfire erupting all over the city, creating a consistent din. He soon reached the pier, where there was a constant stream of soldiers off-loading supplies from boats that were docked, creating a sort of ferry system between the temporary Yual military camp and here. If I can blow up the pier¡­ It would make it harder for the boats to dock, but what he truly needed was to sabotage their military supplies, even better if he destroyed their entire stock. For Kyle, it meant more than just stalling the war: it meant more money for the Seven Snakes as well, thanks to their factory being on contract to sell weapons. And also increase my chances of selling weapons to the Versian military as well. Kyle focused on the task at hand, still looking for the storage area. He soon spotted a returning squad, asking for ammunition and being directed to a warehouse that had been upied; Kyle recognised it as the ce where he was originally captured and held prisoner by Masir and his gang. Knowing theyout of the ce well, he found a side entrance into the basement, allowing him to enter quietly. The makeshift gang cells at the bottom next to the arctech fuel generator were not cleared out yet, littered with maggot and fly-infested corpses of those who wronged Masir, though there were two Yual soldiers guarding. Kyle did not bother with hiding too much ¨C now that he was in the warehouse, he resorted to direct attacks, immediately rushing at the two soldiers and killing them with his bare hands. Grabbing their magazines, he ran out of the basement into the ground floor, where there were multiple toons queuing up for their allocated weapons and ammunition. He snuck around, avoiding the logistic workers who were sorting the crates of mortar ammunition. Kyle soon came across a machine gun, designed in a vastly different way from the one Hayden and the Versian military had, but still usable. It was the one that was intended to be mounted to a war machine or a defence emcement, but Kyle had a better use for it.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Heavy Calibre Yual Machine Gun (Intermediate)] Designed for punching through armour Active Skill: Rapidfire (Intermediate) Fires ten rounds per second Cost: 20 MP per minute Cooldown: None
Finding the matching canister of pellets, he loaded it up before hefting it with both hands, abandoning the rifle. A worker heard the loud metallic noise as the machine gun rattled loudly, prompting him toe over and check. Before he even turned the corner, the familiar whirring sound of the machine gun ramping up as it guzzled its internal arcite fuel pack could be distinctly heard. In a sudden storm of bullets, the worker¡¯s body was ripped apart into shreds, with the bullets mming into the crates behind him that contained the mortar explosives. In a sh, the cratesbusted, creating a chain explosion that wreaked havoc through the entire warehouse. The shockwave hardly fazed Kyle as he took advantage of the disorientating surprise attack,unching his own hailstorm at the toons queued up and mowing them down.
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Private], +50 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Knight], +250 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Logistics Captain], +500 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Raktor Logistics Sergeant], +100 EXP
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Level Up! Level 38 ---> Level 39
[Stats Increase] All Stats Increase Bonus Free Points Granted
Even the armoured arctech knights could not fend against the machine gun, the prating power far too strong as it ripped holes in the metal, piercing their flesh while they scrambled for cover. The explosion soon rocked the entire warehouse, eating away at the weak infrastructure made of rusted metal, a loud creaking sound being heard. ¡°Who the hell is attacking us?!¡± ¡°Shit, the ce is about to copse on us!¡± ¡°Get out of here, quick!¡± The soldiers scrambled out of the obviously teetering warehouse. Still, Kyle did not leave just yet, quickly dropping the machine gun and grabbing a few more mortar projectiles from an unexploded crate as the residual fire of the first explosion raged around him. Penchant for Violence! Hurling them as hard as he could, he mmed the mortar projectiles into the other crates, blowing apart the rifles and other weaponry to render them unusable. The foundations of the warehouse begin to shake violently as the ensuing explosions rocked the rapidly weakening metal beams even more, indicating an imminent copse. Kyle sprinted towards the river unarmed, dodging falling metal tes that threatened to slice him in half. He grabbed the arctech radio on his body, speaking rapidly to Feldon. ¡°Can you pick me up at the pier?¡± [I don¡¯t think so! The area is too hot!] ¡°Then Sector 1A!¡± [WHAT?!] ¡°Go there, now!¡± Just as the warehouse exploded, Kyle made it out onto the road bordering the river, avoiding the brunt of it. But he was far from being scott-free, with three armoured knight squads already converging on him, the word spreading through the camp of an intruder. ¡°There¡¯s the Versian spy! Capture him!¡± A few shots aimed at maiming him were fired, prompting Kyle to instead jump into the surging river, plunging in and getting swept away downstream, easily evading the iing gunfire. His body was twisted and turned as he knocked against the riverbed, tossed around for a few minutes by the swirling water while he held his breath. Gasping for air the moment he broke to the surface, he quickly kicked as hard as he could, fighting against the current in order to push himself towards the shore. With a heavy pant, he finally made it, crawling out from the river with every hand grabbing on tight, wing his way out of the wet mud onto the riverbank. He had drifted far enough to avoid capture, allowing Feldon to quickly spot him and pick him up with the ho again. ¡°Boss, we¡¯re running low on fuel. We won¡¯t be able to stay airborne any longer!¡± Kyle would have wanted to do more, but he could now only hope that the garrison of Ocra would be able to cling on longer than expected. ¡°Head back. We¡¯ve done all we could.¡± Chapter 126: Potion Production Kyle immediately flew out of the tunnel base again once he refuelled the ho, this time wearing his Version 0 arctech exosuit, except it turned out that he did not need it. By the time he made it back to the battlefield, the Versian Garrison had already managed to push the Yual forces out of the city and back onto the boats. Now, the battle was locked in a stalemate, with continuous, consistent artillery fire lobbed at each other as they fought for the trenches. Kyle could also see that the Raktor forces were building additional fortifications opposite the defenders of Ocra, entrenching themselves. This only showed that Count Leon might have given up on a blitz attack, after the failure of the midnight nk attack. If it wasn¡¯t for Kyle¡¯s intervention in disrupting the supply chain, Count Leon¡¯s forces might have very well seeded. Reporting his observations of the state of the battle, he soon returned to Desham, taking a rest for a day while assigning one of the other ten hunters who had mineral ant partners to take the stealth ho and fly regr observations. The next day, Kyle began work on creating another stealth ho. However, there was a key issue that had been guing him for a while. As of now, he only had twelve mineral ants total, with eight being warriors and four being venom-spitting hos. How the hell do I get more? He inspected the Artificial Hive Core carefully, trying to get a hint. The ¡®monster¡¯ that he had snatched it from was able to control more than a thousand of the ants, so could he eventually reach the same height?
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Artificial Hive Core] Rule the horde with a single thought Active Skill: Control (Basic) ¨C Ability to control up to a dozen mineral ants permanently as long as wielded Improves their stats Cost: 5 MP per mark Duration: Permanent Cooldown: None
There did not seem to be any indication for Kyle as to its upgrade path. It was at times like this when Kyle realised he was really relying too much on the System. It has grown to be an integral part of me in barely less than half a year. Nevertheless, Kyle needed to find a way to bolster his burgeoning airforce. If he couldn¡¯t upgrade the artificial hive core, then he should think further. Maybe I¡¯ll build my own aircraft¡­ The resources required would be intense. For now, the eight warrior mineral ants were utilised by the hunters, using their airborne capabilities to herd groups of mammoth hogs into the waiting arms of ambushers,ying traps throughout the forest to fuel the food demand of Desham. With the battle at Ocra crawling to a halt thanks to Kyle¡¯s intervention, Kyle kept a close eye on the battle over the next few days while the factories for both weapons and potions were slowly built up from the ground. The powerbase Kyle was fostering grew stronger every day, creating a resilientwork from the ground up. The locals of Desham were more optimistic than ever, thanks to Diya¡¯s leadership, where she was fully focused on rebuilding the town to a self-sustaining working state. It was a far cry from her former position as a ck market fixer, being far too used to having her way done without the need for paperwork. Now, every action and decision she made had a farrger impact, making her wary about each step of implementation. Unlike her previous sessors, she consulted every facet of society that would be affected by any future changes, taking into ount their grievances and wants. This public consultation was taught to her by Kyle, who was slowly grooming her into a proper puppet leader. Even a puppet should have basicpetency in leading a state. Kyle did not want Diya to do so because he loved the people of Desham or that he cared for them; instead, it was to reduce potential bacsh or counter-coups beingunched against Diya and overthrowing all the hard work he had done. He needed Diya to build a solid reputation and amass enough goodwill, political capital and social capital to push through hard changes in the future. The exploitation of the local economy and the local workforce was not a one-time affair but rather a long game of bncing rewards. Too fast of an improvement in the standard of living, and the people willin when the going gets tough. Too slow of an improvement, people will begin to riot and ask for more. It was Kyle¡¯s and Diya¡¯s job to find that sweet spot, and Kyle had more experience than most to know how to do it. It was for this reason that the blueprints of the temporary housing built to hold the slum dwellers were marginally better ¨C just enough for the dwellers to notice a clear improvement, but not too much that their lifestyle was overhauled. This kept their standard of living low, and, subsequently their desire for consumer goods low. Already the dwellers were beginning to treat the mammoth hog meat as currency, but not as something necessary for survival. Human needs and desires evolve in step with the evolution of their environment, and Kyle needed to control that environment, lest he pays the price of having to satisfy the people continuously. Furthermore, there was nothing to exploit if the economy was in shambles either way. Kyle would have to build a proper economic base first before even thinking about trying to exploit it illegally. With the two main factoriesing online within a week in a prototype stage, jobs were created as workers were slowly trained under Feldon and Hayden. Kyle handled the training for the potion factory, which of now was still extremely barebones with no automatic conveyer belt system or anything of the sort, just a few workbenches, weighing scales, arctech stoves and sks. But before he could train anyone, he needed the ingredients in bulk first. Drake led the remainder of the workers in the tunnel base to nt the Poair Saplings while harvesting Poair Leaves from any trees they came across. As for the Greis Powder, Kyle needed to find a way to sort out the powder from crushed rocks that had been excavated from the tunnels that had been dug so far. Drake had given him a sample of the powder in a small bag.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Greis Powder (Basic)] A powdered form of an umon rock found in mountainous regions, it is touted to improve virility and sexual lifestyles Not for the faint of heart Do not attempt to snort
The Keru Forest was not exactly a mountainous region, which was why the Greis Powder could only be found in small batches mixed up with other rocks, unlike the usualrge deposits. He knew Greis Powder was soluble based on the potions that he had made in the past, so he threw the mixture of power into the water, filtering the denser particles that did not dissolve.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Slurry (Basic)] Mixture of minerals in water Unknown Components within
Kyle sighed, hoping the System would tell him at least how manypounds were present. Time for some fractional distition. He spent some time setting up a simple small setup, allowing him to boil at five different steps in a single fractioning column, using heating arctech engravings to control the temperature as best as he could. Boiling the mixture, he began to see the different solutes condensing on eachyer with a different temperature. After the experiment, he tested all of the rest, only getting dirt until he reached the fifth step of the fractioning column.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Crude Greis Compound (Basic)] Greis Powder with minor impurities inside Greis Powder with minor impurities inside
Kyle knew that he had locked the temperature range, but instead of further repeating the fractional distition process, he moved on to recrystallisation, aiming at getting the powder out. It was a far simpler process: he poured hot water into mixing with the crude Greispound, stirring it and letting it cool down. Once it was cooled, the powders began to crystallise slowly over time, allowing Kyle to filter out the water and obtain a higher purity. With the method now in ce, Kyle set about manufacturing therge production machines that would be able to handle continuous production of it. He needed it to be on scale and as automated as possible to reduce operating costs, drafting up a quick design in a single day for entire process. This would be the first job of the weapons factory, with Hayden leading the project in manufacturing. A first prototype at a smaller scale was made, with clear defects in the design and errors, but it did not faze Kyle. He never expected it to get it right the very first time, not having a cranial imnt like he used to in the Gctic Era. Optimising it, the second prototype was created at the same small scale, allowing Kyle to test the entire production process himself, dumping in rocks and watching the rocks be moved up a belt feeder powered by arctech engravings, chucking them automatically into a grinder that crushed them into powder. The powder was then dropped into a slurry of water, which was filtered into a secondary mixture. That secondary mixture was then piped through a winding set of tubes that had heating engravings wrapped around it, vaporising it into a gaseous form before the targetedpound began to condense on a fractional column level. Kyle had kept in the other steps in the design just in case, as he did not know what other minerals he could potentially extract from the tunnel as well. Finally, the condensed Greispound was reintroduced into a hot water tank, which was then carted off and allowed to cool slowly, the power crystallising inside. With the tank flushed of liquid, the workers could then enter and harvest the crystals from the inside, obtaining pure Greis powder. Kyle verified the entire process, approving the design to go for scale. Over the next five days, the new Desham steel factory burst into life as it slowly expanded its operations, with Hayden and Feldon continuously adding new machines and workbenches into therge floor area that they now had. Mistakes were made as the freshly trained workers were still uneducated, but Kyle shrugged it off, seeing it as a growing pain rather than a terrible oue. Soon, the new machines were ready for the potion factory. The fractional column was huge, towering close to three meters high and six meters wide for scale. The machines gurgled as churn as everything was automated, save for the potion-making and harvesting of Greis Powder. Kyle trained the workers in a simr fashion to what he had done in the Seven Snakes, assigning the workers to specific stations and having them specialise in that role. As the first batch of Greis power and Poair Leaves harvested began toe in, the production line kicked into action, slowly churning out more than five hundred handmade potions a day. Kyle knew he could scale up indefinitely. Right now, he could only make stamina potions, as the Yul¡¯s Tears werepletely out of reach, him not having seen it at all in the region. Still, he was sure that the stamina potions would be of great use to him and his workers. He first had Diya distribute the stamina potions, earning her even more goodwill from the people who loved it. Most of them began to rely on it as they carried out their back-breaking work in the farms, forest and construction. More and more dwellers who had originally been sitting on the sidelines became far more receptive to the orders of Diya, putting more control into her hands. The performance of the hunters was also significantly improved, allowing them to have a shorter downtime between each sessive hunt. With this, Kyle began to amp up the training of his own dedicated hunting force, joining them on hunts and sparring with them back at the base whenever he was free. ¡°So, what¡¯s the next step?¡± Feldon asked as they toured the two factories as well as the newly built temporary housing, which was simple generic houses with a basic foundation. ¡°We can¡¯t keep paying the workers in meat and potions.¡± ¡°I know. So let¡¯s make some money.¡± Chapter 127: Siege Economy + (Authors Story) The dry shattered ground cracked beneath the rugged sole of Masir¡¯s boots as he walked through the city, where the heat of day washed over his skin, the daylight ring. It was his ¡®day off¡¯, but the town of Ocra was a far cry from the morous tourist destination that it used to be. Instead of casinos, gambling dens and human trafficking rings, all that was propped up in its ce now were soup kitchens run by the local town council and long queues for old wells that had recently just been remembered. Children smiled and yed with each other while their mothers wearily carried water jugs, filling them up by hand from the manual well. He shuffled the strap on his rifle as he walked and scratched his itchy neck, already coated with a barely visibleyer of grime that he couldn¡¯t seem to remove no matter how hard he scrubbed. What am I even doing here? Masir had entered the city on a whim, hoping for something. Yet all he found was a strugglingmunity, with food and basic supplies running low. It has been more than a week since the first battle of Ocra. The Versian Garrison had no choice but to block off the river, cutting off an essential trade route that severely limited ess to the outside economy. They had slowly lost ground around their surroundings as well, being forced to give up the first trench line and retreat to the second one, creating a no man¡¯s zone. In the distance towards Tenar, ambient thuds marked the sound of cannon fire: Brigades from the Raktor Corps led by Count Leon had already moved forward by circling around the town, blocking off reinforcementsing in from the Versian capital and blockading Ocra, intending to starve it to surrender. Masir knew the general of the garrison would never surrender while they still had a fighting chance. The garrison still numbered more than ten thousand men, with more and more conscripts from the local poption bolstering the numbers even higher. However, due to the strict blockade by Count Leon, the city was slowly losing supplies, beginning to dip ever so close to starvation. It was for this reason that many of the luxurious hotels and fanciful restaurants had immediately closed shop and fled the city at the first sign of battle, not willing to be sacrificed. Masir continued walking, reaching his destination of a shoddy-looking wooden entrance marked with a sign befitting of a pub. The rusty bell rang as he swung the door open, where a few other soldiers on off shifts were there, drinking quietly as well. He nced around his old haunt, trying to recognise them. Only Ocra gang members knew about this ce, but at the end of the bar, he noticed a hooded man, one he did not recognize. For some reason, he felt that he knew him. ¡°Masir!¡± The female bartender waved at him while she was pouring drinks for another Ocra soldier. The other customers instinctively recognised him as one of the big gang leaders of Ocra, and they began to gossip about him. ¡°Hey, wasn¡¯t he supposed to be in Tenar?¡± ¡°Maybe he got conscripted or enved. Only reason why he would be in the army. Must be a fucking private too.¡± ¡°HAH! Little Private Masir.¡± ¡°It¡¯s toon Sergeant to you, rascal.¡± Masir smacked the gossiping soldier on the head, obviously overhearing the whole conversation. ¡°If you think I¡¯ve lost my touch, you can try me again.¡± The customers broke out intoughter, with even Masir having a smile on his face. He might have killed them and hung their corpses above the port for that jokest time, but right now, in war, there was a sense of unity among them. Everyone recognised that there was amon enemy right outside the door, so there was no time to hash out internal disputes. Ocra Boys stick together. ¡°Wow, toon sergeant, huh?¡± The female bartender teased with no sign of fear as Masir rested against the bar counter, taking off his rifle. ¡°What happened to Uncle Roy?¡± Masir asked. ¡°He fled. Fucking coward.¡± ¡°Must be good for you, though. Alcohol and potions should be in serious demand now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s assuming I can get past the blockade.¡± ¡°The old smuggling routes should be of use.¡± ¡°They got that covered too.¡± Masir¡¯s eyes squinted when he heard that. ¡°Someone leaked the information?¡± ¡°I would guess one of your men got caught by the Yual Dogs?¡± As if on cue, arge arctech loudspeaker amplified a voice from the lost first trench line, where the enemy had already fortified for themselves. [Vermin of Versia! Surrender now! Men should not die to starvation and gue, but rather inbat! Come out and fight!] Do they really think it will work? Masir groaned internally. The general would never relinquish the defensive advantage he had just to fight the Raktor forces openly. He turned his focus back to the conversation. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone who got caught.¡± Except Makoa. Where the hell is he? ¡°Well, they know exactly ALL of our smuggling routes. I tried a few myself to get out of the city beyond our defence line, and there were already permanent Yual dogs stationed there. Someone must have leaked the information.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t us. Pint, please.¡± Masir shrugged. The female bartender crossed her arms. ¡°What do you have to pay?¡± ¡°Put in on my tab.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous. Do you even know what kind of economy we are in right now?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to treat your cousin like that?¡± ¡°Says the one trying not to pay me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any Versian coins on me.¡± ¡°Arcite fuel, food or water would work. Some Desham Tuffs too.¡± Masir grumbled, reaching into his pockets for abat ration pack that he always kept on hand. If the battles over thest few days taught him anything, it was that he had to be self-reliant as much as possible. He even had all three meals covered, strapped to his waist and in his thigh pockets. ¡°Fine.¡± Masir pped abat ration pack on the counter, the female bartender grinning and grabbing it quickly before he could change his mind. ¡°That ration is valuable; it can¡¯t be just a pint, right? At least five.¡± ¡°Three pints. You think I make this swill myself? I got overheads.¡± ¡°You¡¯re sounding more and more like Uncle Roy.¡± ¡°Fuck off.¡± ¡°Fine, three pints then.¡± The rest of the off-shift drinking session passed in rtive silence, with soldiersing and going. Only Ocra residents knew of this ce, allowing them to secretly trade military rations and supplies in exchange for potions, the asional Euria Seeds pack and moonshine. Masir downed thest pint before ncing around the room, noticing that the hooded man had drunk more than ten pints, though he had yet to say a single word nor make any move, simply sitting down at his counter seat quietly. ¡°Who¡¯s that guy?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t know. He paid in food, though.¡± ¡°Rations?¡± Masir was surprised that the hooded man had ess to militarybat rations pack. A skimmer? ¡°No, he paid in mammoth hog meat. A whole nk.¡± ¡°Impossible. The closest is Keru Forest ¨C that¡¯s an entire day or more away.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me ¨C I¡¯ll take anything I can get. As far as I know, my kids are eating roasted pork tonight.¡± ¡°Any leftovers for a cousin?¡± ¡°Nice try.¡± Masir¡¯s interest was piqued now. He walked over to the hooded man, sitting down next to him. ¡°Hey there, I was wondering where you got the meat from.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± A familiar voice responded, leading Masir¡¯s eyes to widen in recognition. ¡°You!¡± ¡°Before you start screaming and activating the Nest engraving on your chest, think clearly before I lob your head off,¡± Kyle spoke quietly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you know what happens if it activates.¡± Masir quickly calmed himself down. ¡°Why the fuck are you even here? Weren¡¯t you caught in Tenar?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s worry about thatter. We¡¯ll move to a separate location.¡± The two of them moved into the basement of the pub, where Masir previously had all of his human trafficking cargo arranged here. Now there were only empty cages and empty barrels food used wholesale by Masir¡¯s cousin for the barter economy. ¡°What do you want? You don¡¯t control me anymore ¨C Nest already removed the ve engraving.¡± ¡°I am aware. You¡¯re only fighting in the military because of that.¡± Masir¡¯s brain churned slightly. ¡°You¡¯re saying you can remove it? Impossible. Five of my men died the moment they broke the engraving.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put me on the same level as your men. But in exchange for freedom, I want to cut a deal with you.¡± ¡°A deal¡­?¡± ¡°Your military is running low on equipment, both weapons, potions and ammunition. Your economy is suffering inck of basic food, water and arcite fuel. What¡¯s the use of holding onto all that Versian coin?¡± ¡°You want to profit off the siege economy.¡± ¡°I like to think of it as I am helping the localmunities build resilience.¡± Kyle shrugged. ¡°Right now, I am the only one able to smuggle it in. No one else can. If you don¡¯t ept my deal, I¡¯ll have to resort to other means.¡± Masir realised this wasn¡¯t even a choice. He knew exactly what Kyle meant by ¡®other means, he himself having personally seen it up close. ¡°I¡¯m not high ranking enough in the military to have ess to the coffers.¡± ¡°I can help you get there. Your promotion was no fluke.¡± How long has he been watching? Masir did not understand that Kyle was the one intervening in all his battles, saving him specifically. Kyle had long had his eyes on Masir since the first trench battle, focusing on building up his ¡®heroic reputation¡¯. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the engraving.¡± Kyle got to work, using his Negation field to disable the engraving. He modified it to his master engraving, already experienced from his previous modification of the engraving on the old Nest Informant back in Desham. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I¡¯m better than Nest.¡± From one master to another¡­ Masir internally shed a tear as Kyle carved away at his chest, blood flowing copiously. Once the modification was over, Kyle disabled the Negation field and healed him with the Ne of Healing, sealing up the wound. ¡°How are you smuggling in the items? All the old smuggling routes are blocked off. In fact, how did you even get in ¨C ARGH!¡± Masir winced as he clenched his chest in pain, the new ve engraving sending jolts into his body. ¡°Had to test.¡± Kyle led Masir out to the roof of a nearby building, where a stealth ho was already waiting with a crate of stamina potions. ¡°First delivery, free of charge. Sell them at whatever price you want ¨C as long as I get my cut.¡± Masir hardly had the time to be shocked at the existence of the mineral ant, as his money-focused brain was already calcting how much this venture could get him. I have a route out of the city now, thanks to him, and I no longer have to follow Nest. On top of that, I get a cut of how much I earn from Ocra! Versian coins still had value outside of Ocra, making Masir even more excited to work with Kyle. Kyle grinned, knowing he had both controls of Masir and hooked his motivation. The entire reason he had to get Masir isted was due to the negation field as well as ensuring Masir didn¡¯t start a ruckus and attract attention. Kyle wasn¡¯t entirely sure how many Nest operatives or informants were there in the city. He even assumed that the alcohol that Masir¡¯s cousin had been getting was through them. Kyle knew that every operational criminal group in the city would be looking to cash in on the town, which was why he leaked the existence of the smuggling routes to the Yual forces, prompting them to lock down the area further and restrict the other criminal groups. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t want anyone to flout their siege and feed the poption that they were aiming to starve. Lucky for him, he did not rely on the smuggling routes but instead on the airborne capabilities of the mineral ants. With Masir now in his pocket, he could begin to start increasing the number of goods ferried, earning back in Versian coins that were hardly used in the current economy. And Kyle was nning to get the lion¡¯s share¡ªa town of fifty thousand people and a ten thousand-strong garrison ¨C more than enough money to make. With a near-guaranteed monopoly on hand, Kyle was now set to dominate the siege economy. ¡°Now, how do I ensure a continuous supply¡­¡± Author Note: If You''re Not Reading on RoyalRoad - The (Author''s Story) can be read on RoyalRoad''s Post Author Note. Thanks. Chapter 128: Hovercraft Kyle returned to Desham, pondering over the question. Now that he had obviously found a market for the products of the factory, he needed a good way to fly them over, preferably stealth. While the venom-spitting ho was good, it had a limited range with a short flight time than what Kyle would like. It¡¯s ability to carry cargo was also already limited by the arcia fuel system that powered its stealth engraving. Furthermore, there was only a fixed number of mineral ants, meaning he had a hard limit on his fleet. Until Kyle figured out a method of upgrading the Artificial Hive Core, he had no way of increasing the number of mineral ants. He could not reorganise the remaining mineral ants ¨C ten were used for hunting, while he used the remaining two, now both modified with stealth engravings. Kyle did not n on wasting his time on trying to find the upgrade method when he already had a good understanding of an alternative solution. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not a tunnel again,¡± Feldon remarked in a meeting with Kyle and Hayden on this topic. ¡°No fucking way we¡¯re digging a tunnel that far! We wont even have enough base resources to build a support structure for it!¡± The weapons factory was running on scrap metal collected from the town and the former slums, but that pile would soon run out. Kyle had to work fast to get a buyer for the products, which was why this entire operation was nned. ¡°We¡¯re not miners, and we don¡¯t have any existing tunnels towards Ocra either. Its too damn far!¡± Hayden joined in. ¡°Stop talking about tunnels, I wasn¡¯t nning on making one. Instead, we¡¯re going to make an arctech hovercraft.¡± ¡°A what what?¡± Kyleid out the requirements for the machine, with Hayden immediately rejected as far too insane. ¡°You want to fly like a mineral ant and a wyrm? Are you crazy? The material cost would be insane! You¡¯ll need enough arcia energy to counteract the weight, control its vertical eleration AND push it horizontally.¡± Kyle ced the Advanced Arcia Crystal on the table. ¡°I understand. It¡¯s all a matter of energy. However, we do have a source for this.¡± Feldon shook his head rapidly as he soon realized what Kyle was nning. ¡°Nonononono, we¡¯re not going back there!¡± ¡°Back where?¡± Hayden was lost. ¡°Feldon and I know of an outcrop that has crystals just like this. If we can harvest all of them, we can create a corresponding amount.¡± Hayden examined the crystal that was nearly half the size of her forearm in length, but she was still unsure of how much energy the arcia crystal could hole. She knew that the crystal could power Kyle¡¯s railgun and arctech armour for days on end, but she had only seen one so far. ¡°But this time, we¡¯ll be going back with a full raiding party to mine it properly.¡± And kill whatever that thing is attached to. ¡°For now, let us design around the idea of a crystal that can store up arcia energy and move with that.¡± Hayden nodded, aware of the existence of the regenerators. They weren¡¯t exactly efficient, with the mechanical regenerators only having a fifteen percent efficiency, meaning it waspletely economically unprofitable to use animals to charge arcite ore, as there was still a food cost and limited stamina. Kyle continued drawing out his n on a piece of paper. ¡°The energy issue can be solved simply:
  1. We collect the crystals from the outcrop
  2. We use them in the hovercraft.
  3. We charge them using a watermill.
And this loop can be repeated infinitely. We can convert ambient mechanical energy in the environment to our benefit.¡± Hayden nodded, understanding the basic principles. While it was her first time using an arcia regenerator, she had used it in the past for automation purposes, using it as a sort of engine. ¡°Now, the requirements of the hovercraft.¡± Kyle pulled out another nk piece of paper, this one muchrger to serve as the main structural blueprint. ¡°It has to fly.¡± Feldon smugly pointed out, earning a stern re from Kyle. ¡°Altitude requirement, one-kilometre minimum. The entire surface must be stealth-engraved. Must be able to carry at least a quarter ton of cargo. Small form factor. Single controller. Mechanical interface for controlling engravings rather than rely on arcia energy from the user.¡± Generally, Kyle understood arcia machines to mostly rely on user internal arcia energy to send intentions into the system. Still, he wanted untrained individuals to be able to use it as well. Many of the locals of Desham had less than 1MP, some not even having any to speak of at all. If they flew for more than one hour in it, their arcia energy would be drained halfway. ¡°Distance, from here to Tenar. Flight time of eight hours continuous.¡± Hayden nearly choked on a water sk she was drinking, sputtering it. ¡°WHAT?! That¡¯s more than three hundred kilometres away! Not even a wagon can get there on a single charge!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s treat it as an ideal. The power budget can be changed anytime.¡± Kyle crafted the base design, with Feldon chiming in on whether it was possible for the current steel factory to make the parts. ¡°The fillet here would cause severe stress to the entire structure ¨C you should¡­¡± While Kyle knew the basic operational principles of a hovercraft, he did not know how to check for finite element stress and strain, as well as any point of repeated mechanical fatigue. He also could not verify the properties of the metal used, only having a rough gauge as to their temperature operating point. I used to have a free program on my multi-terminal for this¡­ On top of that, he wasn¡¯t sure how well engravings could work at a consistent temperature like what he intended. If everything went to n, his engines would be chugging air at a tremendous rate simr to that of a ramjet, providing thrust through eleration engravings. Thepression and high heat would melt most basic metals, as well as damage the engravings. Working through the night, he had two other hunters do the supplying and observation of the siege of Ocra, recognising that Count Leon had given up on attempting a frontal assault as the Versian Garrison was far too entrenched and fortified. If it was me, I would have nuked or gassed the city, but they have their own unspoken rules and honour¡­ It would take three more days of designing before the team reached an eptable first prototype. Hayden found it mysterious as to how Kyle knew about all the hidden applications and principles of flight. As far as she knew, this would be the first invention of a human-operated flying arctech machine. It was such a foreign concept to her, her life was only filled with the knowledge that birds, mineral ants and wyrms could fly in the sky ¨C not humans. The war on Versia did not remain static in the three days that Kyle was designing. The siege of Ocra had further deteriorated the economy, increasing the already inted price of goods that Kyle was shipping there. Masir had began to carve out his old gang areas again, dominating parts of the economy and setting his own prices ording to demand. Everyone was now buying from him, with him being the new king of the ck market. In other parts of Versia, the two other Counts had begun their assault, capitalising on the misguided focus of the Versian military who were attempting to break the siege of Ocra. Their troops were far fewer in number but attacked at other crossing border points,ying waste to bordering viges and smaller towns, and establishing two new war fronts. With the front split into three, the Versian military could no longer concentrate their forces, instead shifting divisions to protect other nks and prevent the three Counts from linking up. All of these only meant that the war wouldst even longer than expected. With Kyle¡¯s timely intervention, Versian military had kicked into high gear, their mobilisation now fullypleted with conscription on the rise. Count Leon had already lost the element of surprise. The war was now in a protracted phase. And that means more money for me. With the increasing destitution of the people across Versia, Kyle was nning to profit from everyone involved ¨C not just Ocra. He would have profited much more if Dekar was still in power and gave him the licenses for the mines, but Kyle was the kind to make do with the hand that he had been dealt. Soon the first prototype of the hovercraft was being manufactured, with parts continuously rejected due to quality control as well as safety concerns. Kyle didn¡¯t want the pilot to randomly drop out of the sky or crash into the ground, revealing its existence to the world. Kyle was the natural option for the test flight, but even he did not take any chances, wearing his Version 0 exosuit for protection. We¡¯ll need to design some safety gear for the pilots as well. The hovercraft was assembled over the next week in a small clearing at the Keru Forest, far away from prying eyes. Kyle ensured that everyone involved in the production only knew a part, with only Feldon and Hayden knowing the true configuration of the entire thing. Kyle used his Advanced Arcia crystal temporarily as a ceholder. Drake stood in awe at the unpolished raw metallic machine, which looked like a dagger with two oblong cylindrical tubes attached to its side via mounting shafts that could rotate. The dashboard was exceedingly simple for Kyle ¨C a simple joystick with throttle configuration to control the engine. As he flicked a switch, the twin arctech ramjet engines on the side swapped from their horizontal position to face downwards, preparing for a vertical takeoff. ¡°Ready for the first test flight.¡± ¡°Clear!¡± Hayden yelled, prompting Feldon and Drake to scamper away, avoiding the ensuing air st. Kyle increased the throttle slightly, the hovercraft¡¯s engine quietly sucking in air and pushing it downwards. ¡°5% throttle insufficient for takeoff, attempting 10%,¡± Kyle reported his actions into the arctech radio, with Hayden marking down each test checkpoint on paper. [Report on dashboard readings.] Her voice crackled through the radio, prompting Kyle to read off the indicators such as energy gauge, stealth engraving operation and so on. ¡°10% throttle now.¡± The hovercraft began to jerk slightly, the air sting the surrounding grass like a helicopter¡¯s air draft, swaying wildly in the rapid wind. ¡°15%¡± At this stage, the hovercraft began to rise slowly, ascending upwards. ¡°Activating stealth engraving.¡± Kyle flicked another switch as the hovercraft disappeared from view, the stealth engraving still equally pixted and blocky. Drake rubbed his eyes as though he was staring at different patches of the sky despite looking in the same direction. [Sound is quite noticeable.] Feldon remarked as the air draft was quite audible to him even as Kyle rose ten meters into the air. ¡°Nothing we can do about that. We just have tond in a less popted area.¡± Kyle could not control anything about the speed of sound in the air, nor did he think there was any arctech engraving that could mitigate the effect. The stealth hos had a simr issue as well when they flew with their wings beating rapidly. Suddenly, the left engine cut out randomly as Kyle hit twenty meters, causing Kyle to suddenly turn into a spiral as the right engine spun him around along the long axis of the hovercraft. Fighting the immense G-forces that threatened to squash his brain, his high G-force training from the Gctic Era quickly kicked in, flicking a switch to cut off the engine. ¡°Where¡¯s the ejection button?!¡± Kyle grunted through clenched teeth as his vision swirled. ¡°Huh?! What¡¯s an ejection?¡± Fuck me. The hovercraft nosedived into the ground, the metal parts flung and splintered as it crashed, digging up a trail of the soil beforeing to a half as the nose mmed into a tree trunk. Kyle shoved the broken metal tes away from him, panting heavily from the crash as he stood up shakily from the vehicle. Feldon and Hayden quickly rushed over towards him, but instead of checking whether he was alright, they sprinted past him, quickly salvaging whatever parts were left of the hovercraft. ¡°NOOOO! PROTOTYPE 1!¡± Feldon wailed as his hard work was all flushed down the drain in a single moment. Kyle was surprised that his body managed to stay awake during the high G-forces in the spiral. A normal, unmodified human would have fainted immediately, impressing onto him just how good the Arcian physique was. Not my worst crashnding either. Time for Prototype 2. Chapter 129: Dungeon Mining A weekter¡­ In a bombed-out section of Ocra, Masir waited with five other men, geared up in their full military gear and waiting in a clearing. Seven others were sweeping the perimeter, ensuring that no one else was within sight. ¡°All clear, boss.¡± ¡°Good. The packages should being soon.¡± As if on cue, five parachutes appeared from the middle of the sky just a kilometre up, attached to their respective crates as they slowed the fall, drifting slightly before they impacted the ground with a light bounce. Masir was slightly stunned, his men scampering to avoid the falling crates. Wait, wasn¡¯t he supposed tond with a mineral ant? Did heunch them into the air?! ¡°Quickly check the packages to make sure they are safe!¡± They inspected the surface of the crate, noting it was a reinforced wooden crate, though it suffered some cracks on the side during the impact. ¡°Boss, there¡¯s a note!¡± ¡°Hand it over.¡± Masir grabbed the piece of paper, eyes darting as he read quickly. ¡°Be prepared for three more drops¡­ Next delivery in three days.¡± Sure enough, over the course of the next six hours, three more simr airdrops were performed, increasing the supply of goods to Masir tremendously. Masir was at aplete loss as to how Kyle was doing this, his eyes unable to perceive the new stealth hovercraft. However, he did not care too much about how he got the goods, only if he got them. The more goods he had, the more leverage he held over the people. Even other soldiers were beginning to enter his sphere of influence, creating a disparatework spreading through the garrison, no one willing to rat out Masir. The other criminal groups have tried to, but Masir held the most social capital in Ocra, being one of the formerrge gang bosses. His reputation far preceded him, enabling him to develop a covert system and a ck market for goods. He had even managed to get a posting to the back end as a logistic officer, swaying those in power with bribes and a cut of the proceeds. People in Ocra did not care as much ¨C if it were not for the ck market, they would not even have ess to the goods at all. Masir did not rip them off as much as he would have in the past, knowing that if he pushed too hard, the people would revolt against him. Even the general was well aware of such a thing happening, instead electing to be involved in it rather than outright banning it. It was such a supply chain that would prove to be the breaking point between victory and defeat in his eyes ¨C more goods, and basic supplies meant that his garrison wouldst longer. As such, he had no qualms about using the Versian coins in his coffers to purchase weapons and ammunition. They were much higher than the average market price, but at least they could break through the blockade, unlike their own military, which was getting stalled by other forces. Just like that, Kyle had established his first war profiteering chain, with the weapons, potions and food being sold to the defenders of Ocra. With the new hovercraft that had been perfected in the second prototype, Kyle began training a select few individuals to pilot the hovercraft. He kept the circle of those who knew about the stealth hovercraft as small as possible. I will go once a week to collect my coins, but for now, I have to solve an energy issue. Kyle did not intend for the Advanced Arcia Crystal to be permanently used for the hovercraft ¨C he needed it to power the Version 0 exosuit. It¡¯s time for a raid. ¡°Do I really have to go back?!¡± Feldonined as Kyle grabbed hold of him, dragging him along to the hunting party as well. Kyle did not elect to bring Makoa along, as Makoa was still unable to fly properly, getting motion sickness far too easily. Kyle led the hunting party back to where they exited the dungeon next to the destroyed vige. He could already see Tenar Logging Incorporated expanding their operations, their lumberjacks moving further and further in. Avoiding their detection, Kyle had the hunters set up camp around the exiting tunnel of the dungeon while he wore the Version 0 exosuitplete with helmet and Advanced Arcia Crystal. This time, he brought along a heavy variant rifle, a near duplicate of the one he made in the catbs.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] Item
[Seven Snakes Rifle ¨C Heavy Variant (Basic)] Designed for strong users ¨C when it rains, it pours Active Skill: Fire (Basic) ¨C Fires ten rounds per second Cost: 15 MP per minute Cooldown: None Increased Capacity
It was nearly a machine gun but far more sturdy and resistant to continuous fire in exchange for its heavy weight. However, thanks to Kyle¡¯s improved Arcian physique, he could handle the weight just fine. No point using a lighter weapon ¨C it¡¯s time to fight head-to-head. Slinging his pulveriser on his back, he marched towards the tunnel apanied by the stealth ho. ¡°Prepare yourself,¡± Kyle ordered the men to gear up for the raid, making sure they had enough protection. ¡°Bring the mining equipment out.¡± Vibration pickaxes were all brought along for the raid, necessary to crack open the rock that held the crystals. Kyle mounted the stealth ho, which was now covered in metal ting that served as additional armour, almost like a steel steed. Swooping down into the tunnels, the ho followed its instincts, tracing the previous path that they took to enter the dungeon. The myriad of tunnels and hollowed-out tree trunks shed past him in a mosaic of moss and foge, Kyle¡¯s eyes scanning for any anomalies that he missed on the way out. If I can find another Artificial Hive Core¡­ Soon, they reached the same gaping hole at the top of the ceiling, looking down on the outcrop. The outcrop had been cracked open in halfst time due to Kyle mming it with the Pulverizer. But he wasn¡¯t here for the prize ¨C he was here for what remained. He could already see with his keen eyes that there was plenty of Intermediate Arcia Crystals embedded within the chunks split in half. ¡°You think thatrge rock w thingy woulde back?¡± Feldon asked. ¡°If it does, we can simply run away. It¡¯s a hit-and-run operation.¡± Instead of jumping down immediately, the hunting party took their time to walk around the hole. Kyle noticed that all of the mineral ant corpses were gone, as though they had vanished without a sign. The previous ¡®hive brain¡¯ was also missing, its body nowhere to be found. Kyle looked around for traces but could not find any. Where did they go? ¡°There¡¯s about thirty crystals down there from what we can observe ¨C maybe more embedded into the rock.¡± Feldon reported. ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll jump in and kill the rock spiders; you guys begin mining. Feldon, you¡¯re in charge of them. The moment you see the samerge rock w, get back out to the ceiling.¡± Kyle was much more prepared this time. Taking a deep breath, he mentally steeled himself as he entered the cavern with his hunting party, the dozen mineral ants swooping in like a air raid.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE] System Message
[Trial of Persistence] The prince lies in wait Clear Conditions: Break
A trial message again ¨C but I¡¯m ready this time. Kyle felt that he was getting a grasp on what Soren was doing in the dungeon and why he was so angry about Kyle killing the boss. It seems that he was resetting the trials, though I¡¯m not clear on the respawn cycle. Hundreds of rock spiders of all forms began to skitter out of the uniform boreholes on the side of the walls, withrger Territorial Defendersing out in force. Kyle counted the number, noticing that there was far more than before. Hended on the ground with his men, his armoured boots cracking the earth. Before he could even prepare himself, three blue energy beams from ranged rock spiders fired at him, their blue gem-like eyes glowing fiercely as the luminescent crystal outcrop brightened up the entire cavern. Time to grind. Penchant for Violence! With the increased Dexterity, the world slowed to a crawl around him. The energy beams were still as fast, but Kyle could see clearly the charge-up time of each rock spider. It reminded him of hisbat training back in the Gctic Era. Just like in the simtions. Kyle lifted up his rifle on hand, immediately firing back at the glowing eyes with pinpoint uracy, the heavy rifle¡¯s recoil and barrel shake muted by the firm grip of Kyle. He dodged while a torrent of energy beams nketed the ground, many hitting his armour directly. At the same time, the men began to fire back in response, earning a few retaliation energy beams. However, the Sturore-enhanced armour proved far sturdier than expected, only earning a few ckened spots as the energy beams failed to melt through. This made Kyle even more bolder, allowing him to rush through and decimate the ranged rock spiders with ease.
[System Message] Killed [Blue Rock Spider], +500 EXP
Soon, the normal rock spiders had already scaled rush them, with the hunters and their partner mineral ants beginning to fight. The majority of the rock spiders targeted him, lunging at him as he continued to kill them en masse, swapping to his pulveriser and smashing them with heavy-handed swings.
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +500 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +499 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Rock Spider], +498 EXP
He and the men fought for thirty minutes, decimating the rock spiders with ease while the venom-spitting ho chimed in, spitting globs of acid at therge Territorial Defenders and allowing him to easily kill them with a ranged hit, iming all the EXP for himself.
[System Message] Killed [Territorial Rock Defender], +1000 EXP
The first wave of spiders began to subside, with Kyle immediately ordering the men to mine. As soon as they got their hands on an intermediate crystal, they became new targets. ¡°Toss all the crystals to Feldon!¡± Kyle roared, aiming to concentrate the aggression onto a single person rather than spread out among all the men. The warrior mineral ants were no slouches either, protecting the hunters while they mined furiously. Sometimes, the hunters even swapped ces, letting the warrior mineral ants use their ws to dig away at some of the harderrge rocks. The chunks of the outcrop began to crack apart, with even more crystals revealed inside. ¡°My god, forget about thirty ¨C there could be sixty in here!¡± One of the hunters eximed while a screaming Feldon swooped past on a mineral ant, holding sacks of crystals as the blue rock spiders all focused on him. ¡°First batch, move up!¡± Kyle ordered, with Feldon tossing the sack to another hunter who immediately escaped the dungeon. Twenty crystals out now¡­ They continued mining, the cavern became an active warzone as the second wave of rock spiders began to rush in, their numbers far higher than even the first wave. The hunters and mineral ants were beginning to umte injuries. As strong as Kyle was, he could hardly defend all of the men at the same time without overwhelming firepower. The men were well equipped, but if they were shooting back, it meant that the mining had paused. ¡°Boss, we need to leave! The men can¡¯t mine properly anymore!¡± ¡°Agreed. Retreat!¡± Kyle and his men immediately flew out, grabbing whatever crystal they could get their hands out and leaving. They followed the same path out, with Kyle smiling to himself. Thirty crystals in total ¨C more than enough to create an airforce of hovercrafts. Just as they exited the dungeon into the surface however, Kyle¡¯s stealth ho was suddenly shot by arge cannon, the explosion sting it apart as Kyle was flung off, his back mming against the forest floor as he rolled into a recovering mode, confused. What the?! His eyes locked onto the camp that they had set up, with the first hunter that was sent up already dead, his body surrounded by three humans. Kyle grimaced as he recognised the first face, though he was internally shocked to see all three of them nearly identical, like doppelgangers. ¡°Orders are to restore the dungeon for the next batch. Which means it is off-limits to you and your men, Kris Greyborn.¡± Chapter 130: Warden Drones ¡°Get out of here now!¡± Kyle ordered his men urgently as Rayner raised his rifle, aiming at the others. ¡°We can figh-¡° Before one of the braver hunters could finish, Rayner fired a single shot, killing the hunter in the head immediately. ¡°No one leaves without permission from Mother,¡± Rayner spoke coldly, prompting the two other humans to start firing as well. One of the humans had a shoulder-mounted grenadeuncher ¨C the same one that sted him when he first exited. Kyle rushed the trio, firing everything in his current magazine as he weaved from tree to tree, the pellets screeching through the bark and torn leaves as they fizzled out on the personal energy shields. ¡°Feldon, take everyone and run!¡± Kyle turned tomand Feldon, but Feldon was already way ahead of him, ordering the hunters to pull back. Feldon had not seen Rayner before, but he got an inkling that it was rted to the transcendent that Kyle had fought in the dungeon. Rayner motioned with his hands, prompting one of the drones to give chase but was immediately fired upon by Kyle. ¡°You¡¯re fighting with me now.¡± ¡°The sequence does not matter. You die, they die.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± Kyle hid behind the tree trunk, but he knew Rayner could see him as clearly as day. Gctic Era drone. He was not about to assume that Rayner wascking certain equipment, instead operating under the worst-case scenario that he was fighting a fully military-geared A-ss drone or drone. He was not even sure that Rayner was human in any way. If the Council knew about this, they would have ssed the entire world immediately. The drones were equally armed as well, save for a different loadout, such as the grenadeuncher. In a practiced movement, the trio converged on Kyle, weapons ready with Drone A and Rayner at the front, Drone B hanging behind with the grenadeuncher. ¡°Mother would like to see you. Do not resist.¡± Rayner spoke clearly with a monotone ent. Kyle didn¡¯t reply, instead taking stock of his surroundings. The stealth ho had already been blown to bits, its mushy innards strewn across the forest floor. The camp was in slight ruins, but there were still a few pieces of equipment and items lying around. He had even brought along a few of the mortar projectiles, intending to use them as crowd control in case things got a bit too difficult. And here I was, nning to make multiple trips. ¡°Come out with your hands up.¡± ¡°Not here today with your friend?¡± Kyle tried to buy time. ¡°He is no longer fit.¡± Fit? Kyle was confused, but before he could respond, a devastating axe chop from a morphed arm of Drone A sliced through the tree with a fearsome vibration, nearly cleaving Kyle¡¯s neck. Rolling out onto the floor, Drone A and Rayner fired precise bullets, but they failed to prate Kyle¡¯s armour, earning only point defence projectiles. It did not deter them, as Rayner immediately swapped out a magazine on the rifle, firing again. This time, the outgoing pellet burst into multiple fragments before reaching Kyle, prompting the point defence engravings to work overtime, depleting their charges rapidly. I only have a limited number of times before the engraving skill has to cool down! Kyle fired back his own shots, attempting to break through the personal defence shield. However, despite the rapid-fire of the Heavy Variant Rifle, the prating power was far from enough. ¡°Weak,¡± Rayner muttered before firing another dispersal pellet. This time, Kyle voluntarily disabled the point defence system, preventing the engraving in the armour from overheating. By swapping to manual control, he could ensure that he still had a point defence system for the grenadeuncher that Drone B was still aiming at him. The fragmented pieces of the pellets mmed against the Version 0 exosuit directly, prompting Drone B to fire a grenade at him immediately. The sheer speed of it was akin to a rocket-propelled grenade, with Kyle immediately kicking into action. Penchant for Violence! Aero Shoes! His speed and strength increased, allowing him to dodge the iing grenade, which exploded in fragments as well that rasped on the back of his armour. ¡°Heavy armour detected ¨C switchingbat mode.¡± Rayner stowed his rifle, which was proving to have no effect on Kyle¡¯s armour, instead brandishing a spiked mace and charging right at Kyle. Drone A swapped as well to twin-ded arms, lunging at Kyle from a nk. Kyle parried the iing hits with his pulveriser, using the handle and his vambraces to block iing damage. The twin-ded arms screeched as they carved surface gashes on the armour, though it was unable to prate through immediately. Kyle however, did not parry the spiked mace, instead choosing to dodge it lest it crushes his armour. The physical brawl had them change positions rapidly, with Kyle continuously angling his body such that Drone B was not able to shoot at him while Rayner and Drone A had him pinned down. Kyle swung horizontally with the pulveriser, forcing Rayner to leap back while Drone A attempted to pierce his joint through. Vibrations from the tip of the des sent sparks flying as it grated against the chinks in the armour for a brief moment. As if on instinct, Drone A rolled out of the way, avoiding a downward strike from Kyle¡¯s pulveriser. Before Kyle could lift the pulveriser back up, Rayner was already back in the fray, swinging the spiked mace aimed at Kyle¡¯s helmet. Instead of still trying to lift his weapon, Kyle immediately dropped it and side-stepped the swing, grabbing Rayner¡¯s outstretched arm and twisting it hard. The hydraulic liquids flooded out in a burst as the pressure valve and motors were all crushed. The cybeic arm creaked and shed with electrical shorts as Kyle ripped it off in one fell swoop, kicking Rayner in the waist and sending him sprawling back. Just as Kyle turned to engage Drone A, who was attempting to stab him from the back, a grenadeunched by Drone B smacked right into his chest, exploding at close range and sending him flying. He toppled onto Drone A, who was behind him, also knocked off its feet due to the strong explosion. Kyle¡¯s front half of his chest piece was now damaged, slightly exposing the inbuilt engraving within as the firstyer of armour was stripped away. Drone A was being crushed from above as Kyleid on top of him, but instead of trying to wriggle free, Drone A wrapped his legs and arms around Kyle¡¯s body, locking him down and preventing him from getting up. Drone B fired yet another grenade, uncaring if Drone A died from the ensuring impact and only focused on incapacitating Kyle right now. This is My Turf! The grenade exploded against the invisible barrier, while at the same time, Drone A waspletely crushed down by the expanding zone, its electronics, metals and wires snapping and twisted into a deformed shape as it struggled to get up. Kyle used the reaction force of the ground against his barrier to prop himself up, but Penchant for Violence was beginning to taper off, the status effects diminishing. Instead of fighting Drone B, he turned around to ensure that Drone A had been finished off, grabbing the mangled limbs of Drone A and ripping them off. Another grenade wasunched towards Kyle, ineffective against the solid barrier conjured by his skill. He continued to punch Drone A rapidly, aiming and crushing where he expected the drone¡¯s main functionality to be. Following Gctic Era conventions, a drone¡¯s main processor would always be well protected in its chest rather than on its head. Creating a robot in human likeness doesn¡¯t mean the creators had to copy over the same inefficiencies. He stabbed his hand into the deformed chest armour te that guarded the drone¡¯s internals, tearing them off barehanded before reaching to grab whatever chips and wires he could get his hands out, crushing them with a strong squeeze.
[System Message] Killed [Warden Drone], +1500 EXP
Drone A¡¯s body began to glow red hot, signalling to Kyle of an imminent self-destruct sequence. The explosion was even fiercer than the grenades, using all of the remaining Drone¡¯s energy topletely disintegrate the Drone into small unsalvageable fragments. The st was strong enough to uproot the tree right next to it, flinging dirt and soil up into the air in arge plume of smoke that soared beyond the treeline. While the wind buffeted against Kyle¡¯s armour, the explosion did not affect Kyle at all, the barrier skill able to withstand the hit, though Kyle was aware that the duration was about to run out. Just as the This is My Turf skill began to falter, Kyle suddenly felt a piercing burning sensation from behind, with Rayner having already swapped to his other good arm and mming a spiked mace against his back armour. The spikes on the mace that had pierced through the armour suddenly ejected before blowing apart and cracking the Version 0 exosuit from within like a bunker buster. At the same time, Kyle¡¯s flesh was scorched by the bunker buster spike, a gaping hole appearing near his waist towards his spine as blood gushed out in copious amounts, streaming down the cracks of the Version 0 exosuit. Ne of Healing! Kyle quickly healed himself, but it was barely enough to regain his same range of motion; Rayner continued to smack him with the mace, blowing apart more chunks of the armour with each sessive hit. Before another swing could hit Kyle, Kyle quickly rolled out of the way, ignoring the screaming pain in his nerves and muscles as the adrenaline pumped loudly through his veins. His eyes darted around as he limped from tree to tree, fending off the attacks of Rayner while trying to retreat to the camp. Buy time! Buy time for Penchant of Violence again! Instead, just as he took another step back, a grenade shot at him, prompting him to activate whatever point defence system he had left. Arge green arcia boltnced forwards, causing the grenade to explode in mid-air. Distracted by the attack, Kyle could not react in time to the spiked mace mming against his helmet, sending his head ringing as he copsed to the floor, his body struggling to get up. ¡°You have fought well,¡± Rayner stated without a tinge of emotions before reaching down to ce a restraining mechanism on Kyle¡¯s arms, grabbing them tightly and trying to pull them together. Penchant for Violence! The sudden boost in intelligence helped to clear his mind while he forced his way out, twisting his body and breaking off Rayner¡¯s wrist cleanly as he faced upwards. Before he could deliver a kick to Rayner¡¯s groin, Rayner suddenly leapt backwards before grabbing his fallen cybeic arm. ¡°Retreat.¡± Rayner wasn¡¯t nning to hang around, cutting his losses immediately. Kyle grunted, trying to get back up and chase them, but Rayner and the remaining Drone B were far too fast, already disappearing into the forest in apletely opposite direction. He winced as he slumped against the tree trunk, his heart beating fast while he breathed heavily, continuously channelling the Ne of Healing to heal himself. He used the artificial hive core to send a signal back to the mineral ants, getting the hunters toe back. Kyle stood at his full height, putting on a strong front as they returned to him, witnessing the utter carnage that had been wrecked around the campsite. The self-destruction explosion had caused a sizeable crater to be formed in the ground while trees around were ckened. Kyle limped onto a mineral ant, taking it over and giving chase himself with the rest of his men, confident he could beat Rayner and Clone B now. However, despite travelling for more than ten minutes, Kyle was unable to find any trace of them. It was as though they had suddenly disappeared from the forest, either hiding in a tunnel or a secret cave. Or they have something simr to a stealth hovercraft¡­ Now that Kyle knew that there was a faction of system users who had clear ess to Gctic Era tech, he was even far warier about what was toe next. He recalled he had already damaged Rayner¡¯s arm once during the fight in the dungeon. If so, it means that there is a factory or a workshop capable of producing cybeic prosthetics. As they returned to base, Kyle¡¯s exosuit was seen to be shattered and stained with blood and flesh as they carried the dead body of the first hunter who was killed, giving him a funeral. Kyle did not look down on the procession, instead giving a few good words about the hunter despite only knowing him for less than a month. While other fellow hunters mourned about the loss of their colleague, Kyle¡¯s mind was gued with issues. What if theye back with even more? How strong is this faction? However, as far as he could tell, it was a pure coincidence that he and Rayner met in the Keru Forest. Desham was extremely far from the dungeon exit, which meant that Rayner might not know exactly where he was operating from. Even if he knew, I have no choice but to strengthen myself and my force as much as possible. To Kyle, that meant gathering enough resources and money to fund such a military force to deter any potential attack. I must step up my game. But he would need to gather enough money first. For now, Kyle had solved the energy issue of the hovercrafts, obtaining more than thirty crystals. This would allow the steel factory in Desham to begin production of other prototypes, though the Intermediate Arcia Crystal would be inferior in terms of energy usage. ¡°We have to increase the amount of money that we are earning, as well as the number of resources that we are generating,¡± Kyle exined to Feldon. ¡°If the aggressorse back, we need a well-trained military force to defend against them. Until then, we cannot hunt too far into the Keru Forest.¡± ¡°Boss, about that. We¡¯ve been selling food and potions to Ocra, but Desham itself needs them too. If we can¡¯t expand our hunting grounds, how are we going to cope? Transporting mammoth hog meat to Ocra has diminished our food supply!¡± Kyle pulled out a map of the route from Raktor to Ocra. ¡°We¡¯re not the only ones around here with a food supply chain.¡± Chapter 131: Smugglers War The seat in the driver¡¯s cab jostled as the arctech wagon rattled violently, the wheels rumbling over an uneven road. It was clearly made very recently, a simple road built through a small valley for convenience¡¯s sake rather than out offort for anyone using it. The wagonmander had already lost count of how many times the driver had to swerve to avoid potholes and slopes of mud, loose from the torrential rain. Suddenly, the entire cab jerked hard while the wagon came to aplete stop, , nearly causing themander¡¯s head to m onto the dashboard. ¡°Shit! Move!¡± The guards of each of the five wagons kicked into action, spreading out in a ring around the convoy, guarding it as themander stepped out to see andslide that had blocked the road. Machine guns swivelled to face the cliffs, mounted on modified wagons that served as the front and rear guards. ¡°Fix the road now! Radio in the engineers nearby!¡± Themander ordered two of the guards, who mbered into the back of the wagon, speaking rapidly on the arctech radio. He turned back to look at the size of thendslide, which had blocked nearly two-thirds of the road. ¡°Sir, they say it¡¯s going to take five hours for them to arrive!¡± ¡°Ridiculous, we have to make it to the Ocra forward camp in three! Start clearing out the rocks!¡± The guards quickly grabbed whatever tools were on hand, immediately beginning to shovel the rocks and shift them out of the way. They propped up the remaining section of thendslide, ensuring just enough space for an arctech wagon to move past. Throughout the next hour, themander remained tense, with a third of his men on a continuous lookout, scanning the ridge of the valley for any potential ambushes. There was supposed to be a patrol squad here guarding the valley¡­ where the hell did they go? ¡°Sir, the wagon can fit through now!¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s get moving!¡± The convoy rumbled into life again, the machine gunners keeping a tight watch for anything suspicious as they squeezed through the gap. The underlying tension permeated everyone, beads of sweat trickling down their face as they did not dare even to wipe it away, eyes focused ahead and around them. Soon, they were out of the valley, entering a spare forest that marked the beginning of Ocra¡¯s territory. ¡°We¡¯re one and a half hours away now; pick up the pace!¡± Themander ordered the radio but noticed that the arctech radio was crackling instead, with no response from the other drivers or guards in the convoy. Instead, the deafening sound of an arctech wagon blowing up rushed through the cabin of themander, prompting his driver to m the brakes, halting the wagon. Before anyone could even move, a barrage of pellets pelted all five wagons, sting them and riddling their metallic armour with holes. Yet another brilliant arcia explosion erupted as the fuel tank was ignited, the friction causing the arcia energy to burn wildly, its blue mespping while guards cowered in the cabin, hoping the wagon was sturdy enough to withstand the iing gunfire. The machine gunners tried to fire back but were sniped in the head with pinpoint uracy. ¡°Get out there and return fire, you idiot!¡± Themander urged the guards in his wagon. ¡°Those Versian cowards dare to ambush us!¡± The guards tried to fight back but were heavily outgunned and forced to take cover in the back of the wagon, unwilling to risk returning fire. ¡°This is Supply Corps toon 5, under heavy fire; request backup! Thirty kilometres south of Ocra!¡± Themander desperately spoke into his arctech radio, but there was no response nor any inkling of feedback. We¡¯re being jammed as well! Soon, the machine gun fire finally abated, prompting the guards to peek out from cover and fire back and the tree line. Instead, a fully armoured arctech knight toon bearing the insignia of the Versian Military rushed forwards, firing back with rifles and handguns. The fierce gunfight was harrowing, with pellets threatening to pierce right through their hearts. Morale began to plummet in the convoy, and many of the guards were unwilling to fight. There was a reason why they had been ced in the Supply Corps, but little did they know it was as perilous as the frontline. A shaken guard gripped his rifle tightly, flinching as another pellet pinged off the armour of the wagon, the sparks right next to his body. ¡°No, no, no, like fucking hell, I¡¯m going to die here in the middle of nowhere. My daughter needs me!¡± His squadmate pped his shoulder. ¡°Hey! Focus and cover your angle! Otherwise, we¡¯re all going to die he-¡° Instead of words spoken, teeth and brain tissue were flung out as a machine gun resumed fire, prating through the armour and tearing through the squad mate¡¯s head, ripping it apart. ¡°AHHH!¡± The shaken guard panicked, rushing out from the wagon in theplete opposite direction, hoping to escape the ambush. Instead, he earned himself five bullets in the body, his vision spiralling as he crumpled to the floor. The road was aplete mess, the wagons riddled with holes and with a pittance of guards left, the guards tried to convince themander to give up. ¡°Sir, we should surrender! There¡¯s no point giving up our lives!¡± ¡°And be taken prisoner by the vermin of Versia! Never! If you cowards won¡¯t do your duty, then I¡¯ll ¨C¡° A mortar strikended right next to him, blowing up his body and causing him to scream in pain, half of his body torn right out as the ends of muscles and tendons were scorched ck, his arm already sted to pieces. ¡°WE SURRENDER! WE SURRENDER!¡± The remaining guards waved whatever white cloth they had on hand, causing the gunfire to stop. A loudspeaker bellowed from the tree line where the armoured arctech knights were still waiting in cover. [DROP ALL YOUR WEAPONS NOW AND STEP OUT WITH YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEAD!] The sound of ttering guns was prominent, with the remaining guards allplying with the order. However, the moment they were exposed out front, they were shot in the head immediately with no hesitation at all, their brains drilled through by the spiralling pellets as they fell in shock, the surprise evident on their frozen faces. A squad leader from the Versian knights motioned forward with his hand, ordering the knights to secure the wagon convoy. ¡°Rece the mines in the road. Arm them once we¡¯re done shipping off the supplies.¡± As if on cue, a separate train of arctech wagons approached them, with workers leaping out from the convoy and grabbing the surviving supplies. The entire operation was done in just ten minutes, with the knights moving back out with the new convoy. Instead of heading towards Versia, the convoy was aimed at going back towards Raktor instead. They travelled down the same road and path, eventually leading towards the valley. This time, there was a Yual patrol squad on duty, watching the valley. But as they saw the approaching convoy that was clearly not the Supply Corps, they instead ignored it, allowing the convoy to pass through unimpeded. ¡°Who¡¯s that convoy? Why aren¡¯t we stopping them?¡± One of the newer members of the patrol squad asked the leader. ¡°Don¡¯t ask too many questions, boy, if you still got family back at Raktor that you want to see.¡± The leader remarked before his eyes were drawn to a shimmering re high up in the sky. It was like he was looking at apletely different patch of sky, but it was just this one blob. ¡°Weird. It looks like the sky is¡­¡± A metal projectile suddenly shot forth from the shimmering blob, impacting the front cab of the wagon and immediately killing the driver, the twisting projectile shredding through his spine as the wagon was knocked off course, spiralling and crashing right as it blocked the recently clearedndslide. It forced the entire convoy to stop, with the armoured knights immediately getting out and scanning the area. ¡°Where did the shote from?! Machine gunners!¡± The squad leader roared. ¡°Above!¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Suddenly, a human shape fell from the sky, crushing the rear-guard wagon and blowing up the flowing arcia fuel in an instant. The dazzling blue mes erupted andpped at the edges of the valley, bits and pieces of metal fragments tossed into the air while the human walked out of the fire, a heavy rifle in his hand aimed right at them. ¡°What the¡­?¡± The knights were all confused, with the squad leader squinting at the human that just fell from the sky, trying to examine his armour. The arctech armour was shoddy, and it looked like it had just been repaired recently. But how did he survive the fall? ¡°Fire!¡± The squad leader ordered first, following a modus operandi of shoot first, buryter. The knights surrounded the man and sted him with everything they had. This is My Turf! The bullets failed to reach Kyle, even a grenade that blew up right before him, nothing able to slow down his advance as he charged right towards them, firing rapidly with his own rifle. A machine gunner tried to swivel the mounted gun down to aim right at him, but instead a glob of acid suddenly fell onto him, causing him to let go of the rapidly dissolving machine gun. Additional globs of acids sshed across, totalling the wagon¡¯s enginespletely while avoiding hitting the supplies. Kyle brandished a lighting sword the moment he got close enough, shing and dicing through them with the elerate skill.
[System Message] Killed [Ardent Cretin Soldier], +500 EXP
[System Message] Killed [Veiled Angels Soldier], +500 EXP
What the¡­? Kyle didn¡¯t slow down to think, focused on wiping all of them out. The Yual patrol squad at the top of the valley saw the entire battle y out before them, watching as Kyle singlehandedly killed the entire convoy. ¡°We got to get out of here! Now!¡± The leader urged the rest of his squads, who had their gaze locked onto Kyle. ¡°Where do we go?!¡± ¡°Anywhere but here! If that man finds out, we¡¯re here; we¡¯re dead!¡± The leader frantically said as he tried to flee, but as he turned to face the forest, there was already another man there aiming right at them with another handgun, shooting them right in the head. The patrol squad that was caught off-guard was immediately killed without a chance to resist. ¡°All clear on the ridge, boss,¡± Feldon spoke through his radio as he used his feet to flip over the dead leader, checking his body. Down on the ground, Kyle already had the squad leader by the neck, choking him and checking his body for any self-immting engravings or any form of poison by which the squad leader couldmit suicide. ¡°Good work. Check their bodies for any signs of gang tattoos or rtions.¡± ¡°So they really weren¡¯t the Versian military¡­¡± Kyle and Feldon were already nning to hit the shipment but were soon aware that there was another force attempting to ambush them as well. Kyle lifted the squad leader up, who struggled against the grip around his neck. ¡°Who hired you? Who do you work for?¡± ¡°Fuck you twat. Don¡¯t even think about getting away scott-free.¡± Kyle punched the guy right in the chin, knocking him out and tying him up with whatever metal bars were around. A stealth hovercraft quickly flew in,nding in the middle of the valley while Kyle and Feldon loaded as many supplies as they could onto the hovercraft as well as both of their stealth hos, before flying back to Desham. So the major gangs of Raktor are ambushing Count Leon¡¯s supply chain? But why? Kyle left the bodies there while he held onto the restrained squad leader, his head already covered in a sack to prevent him from seeing anything. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re not the only traders profiting from this war¡­¡± Chapter 132: Suspicions Just like this, over the next few weeks, Kyle had been boosting his own food reserves by attacking Count Leon¡¯s supply routes, helping to stall the war. However, he was a man of equality ¨C attacking the Versian supply routes as well to ensure that he had a near monopoly of the ck market nearby. This way, he could control the amount of firepower and strength each party had. He did not hit too often, however, only striking when necessary. For the most part, he began to source food and other resources locally in the Keru Forest. He even had a few mining teams begin to head towards the dungeon, trying to utilise the existing tunnels of the dungeon and extract any metals. Ocra was not the only popted area under siege or under stress: countless smaller viges and minor towns were also facing shortages of supplies. Kyle established trading routes with them, building up his fleet of ndestine hovercrafts to service the area while avoiding detection. More and more began to know about this smuggling operation, relying on the ck market that was fully spreading between Desham and Ocra. Even business owners from the Yual Dominion¡¯s side of the border were eager to trade, wanting to get a foot into the lucrative war economy. They were the losers of the military contract, having been ousted by either the Seven Snakes¡¯petitive bid or a price war by other industrypetitors. Kyle was already on-hand to help them, but he was not the only one in the smuggling business. The major gangs, too, had their own methods of infiltration through the porous borders, allowing for many towns under siege to effectively circumvent the blockade set up by the Yual forces. Versian coins began to fill the coffers of Desham rapidly as the economy came roaring back, booming from the inted prices thanks to the suffering and devastation of other towns. Some refugees even began to hear about how Desham was unaffected by the war ¨C even prospering. Flocks of refugees fleeing the war began to make their way to Desham, increasing the workforce of Desham as a whole. However, Kyle did not ept everyone ¨C only epting those who had potential or were skilled directly into the city. He had Diya and Makoa filter each refugee, rejecting the disabled or sick. Kyle was extremely clear about the potential for a gue, so he forced the rejected refugees to set up camp outside the city under threat of armed force. The new security force trained by Makoa was now in charge of protecting Desham, controlling riots and protests as the refugees tried to force their way in. Unsurprisingly, the camp outside Desham became yet another slum, with the former slum dwellers who had now been elevated to positions of leadership now torn on what to do. The memories of the run-down conditions of the former squalor were still fresh in their minds. Many began to urge Diya to be morepassionate and gracious. ¡°We should not be like the richer ss of old ¨C it is our duty to help those like us who are in need. We all are Versians!¡± Diya faced long, harrowing meetings on how to handle the influx of refugees that threatened to strain the nascent economy. She knew that if she tantly let everyone in, there would not be enough food and housing to go around. The number of refugees already threatened to double the current poption of Desham. Cheapbour is good, but only if we can provide the support. If she did not help, she might earn the ire of her followers, who were under the impression that she was a gracious leader that fought for equality. Right outside the city gates, the refugees were getting more and more restless, attacking the soldiers as they tried to enter the town. ¡°Discrimination! Heartless!¡± They chanted up at the guards on the walls, hurling rocks and stones. However, not all refugees were united as a single entity, all in a mad scramble for survival. Those from the same vige stuck together, creating factions among the refugees. Some who already had family or rtives in Desham were able to smuggle goods out, hauling supplies over the wall. ¡°The refugees are a big problem ¨C we run the risk of a revolution if this continues,¡± Diya exined to Kyle in her office at the top of the Desham council building. ¡°If we don¡¯t control them, it will build into a riot.¡± If it were me, I would have killed all of them instantly. Kyle was used to decimating his enemies, blowing up escape pods with no mercy. Yet this was a different situation ¨C he had Diya¡¯s reputation to take into ount. Kyle pondered slightly beforeing up with a n on how to utilise the refugees. ¡°We¡¯re going to start a loggingpany. The entire Keru forest is ripe for the taking ¨C I think it¡¯s time we expand Desham.¡± He began to organise the refugees with the help of Diya¡¯s followers, creating a brand new corporate entity to handle the housing, feeding and scheduling of the refugees. The steel factory churned out low-quality axes, making them by the hundreds before giving them out to the refugees. ¡°Chop down every tree you see and uproot them! In exchange, you will have food, lodging and a minimum sry. Work for your survival!¡± With this, the refugee camp waiting outside Desham began to diminish significantly as desperate refugees no longer mbered for handouts. A few stubborn refugees or those who were unable to work were left behind, with the able-bodied men and adults of the camp forced to share their earnings with them. Tree fell after tree as thousands of refugees began to perform a mass clearing of the Keru forest over the week. Kyle and Feldon directed the effort, having the refugees chop in a direction away from where Tenar Logging Incorporated was working. In exchange, the wood that was collected was manually stripped of the branches and shaved by dozens, each trunk requiring two dozen workers to prepare it for use in construction. The timbre was then formed into makeshift houses, temporary housing that was far better and morefortable. Kyle transported in the harder-to-obtain supplies, such as bedding, cotton and general furnishing, buying them off greedy Raktor merchants who had no qualms about selling them to the enemy. With the Verisan war stuck in a stalemate, a new normal began to settle among the people, the constant news report about small skirmishes and frontline events reported on the national arctech radio. It has been a month since the war started, but observers were already reckoning that the war couldst much longer than expected. If Kyle had any say in the war, he would have it drag on indefinitely, allowing him to dominate. However, he knew the major gangs would not let this happen. The porous borders between Yual and Versia were now carved up, with Kyle aware that major gangs from both Raktor and Versia wereplicit in smuggling for the other two war fronts. This would increase the longevity of the war more than ever as well. This only made Kyle more impatient to bolster his forces. He recruited aggressively, taking in able-bodied refugees and training them to be hunters and soldiers under his directmand. The desperate refugees had already been pushed to the brink, having no hope in the government or armies of both sides to save their lives. As such, Kyle¡¯s personal force in Desham began to grow significantly, with more and more signing up to be mercenaries. It was a matter of survival in war, and many refugees who had seen the effects of war up close did not want to be caught unarmed again. They readily agreed to fight for Kyle, further increasing the strength and security of the ck market. Some of the workforces were also dedicated to river diversion, diverting the rivers that flowed through the Keru Forest towards Desham instead. He had the logs created converted into a wooden watermill, allowing them to mechanically regenerate depleted hovercraft arcia crystals. Just like this, Desham began to grow in strength over time, though Kyle still felt like there was something still missing from the bigger picture. The war can¡¯t be this simple ¨C there must be something else at y. He entered an interrogation cell in the underground tunnel base, where the captured Ardent Cretins squad leader had been heavily mutted, the wounds on his skin already scabbing over as he whimpered softly, hung up in chains. ¡°Ready to talk?¡± The squad leader nodded his head vigorously, even as each scar on his neck sent waves of pain through his body. Kyle stepped forward to heal him, relieving his pain by half. ¡°Where were you delivering the goods to?¡± ¡°B-b-back to Raktor.¡± ¡°To sell?¡± ¡°No, to use.¡± Use? ¡°For what purpose?¡± ¡°I-i-I don¡¯t know! I only know my boss told me to hijack the supply convoys!¡± ¡°How many such groups have you deployed? And why were there Veiled Angels in your group as well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a joint effort; I don¡¯t know anything; please let me go!¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to have to tell me something better. Where did you get the Versian uniforms and equipment from?¡± ¡°We, we¡¯ve met a few soldiers at the border. They had everything set up for us ¨C all we had to do was execute.¡± Kyle¡¯s brows furrowed slightly, the grander picture of the war unable to form in his mind. ¡°So, you¡¯re attacking Yual supply convoys acting as Versian military and then storing them somewhere else? Where¡¯s the drop-off point?¡± ¡°Just.. just outside Raktor. Please, that¡¯s all I know, really!¡± Kyle left the cell, ordering the guard to torture the squad leader again. Pondering over the information he had gotten, it was not looking good. The major gangs are working together to hit the supply convoys ¨C but to what end? Kyle could not wrap his head around why the Ardent Cretins were trying to stockpile weapons and also why they were working with the Veiled Angels. Kyle also recalled that the supply stockpile of the Ilysian Punks had notoriously gone missing as well. He had previously assumed that the Ardent Cretins were simply collecting them to bolster their firepower further, as evidenced by their attempts to raid Kyle¡¯s supply lines from the Culdao Peaks. However, he also noted that Feldon had told him about the Ardent Cretins not making a single move against the Seven Snakes. He had expected Sebastian to strike against his factory, or his goblin dens the moment he was gone, yet Sebastian did not do anything to him. What in the world is going on? Does Count Leon know about this? Is the Versian military already in cahoots with the major gangs of Raktor? He did not imagine that Count Leon would not be aware of this smuggling and hijacking issue, as it was in his best interest to secure his supply route as much as possible. So if Count Leon knows about all of this, why has he not made any moves to stem this? Kyle had a myriad of theories and posttions about all the possibilities. He did not understand Count Leon much, as he had never met him in person. This made it even harder for Kyle to predict, making it an unknown issue. This was not the only unknown factor Kyle had to worry about. There was also the threat of whoever was backing Rayner and Soren returning with an even stronger force that could threaten to destroy everything he had built so far. As much as he wanted to return to Raktor immediately, he needed to stay here to defend his burgeoning military force in order to groom it into a power with agency in the war. Kyle had already learnt his lesson once in the catbs not to underestimate enemy forces. Once his personal force had been built up tremendously, he would be able tounch his own raids, steering the course of the battle at his own will. For now, he decided to send messengers via runners, dropping them off via stealth hovercraft at the border. He needed to know what the hell was happening in Raktor before his next move. Chapter 133: Assassination ¡°For ying a significant role in stopping the escting violence in the West Sector, we hereby award you with the White Heart Medal.¡± A thunderous roar of apuse erupted from the audience gathered while journalists filmed the scene with light-throwers, getting every angle they could as Kitana bowed to the Bishop, letting the old man hang a sparkling white crystal. ¡°This medal goes to those who exemplify hard work, steadfastness, and most of all, dedication to the Sanctum of Yual and its precepts. As the only enforcer and inquisitor to receive this medal, I hope that you will serve as a guiding light for all those who adhere.¡± ¡°Yes, Bishop.¡± Kitana bowed once again, smiling genially as she recovered and looked right at the lightcapturer. [It is an achievement like no other,] A journalist spoke quickly towards the light-thrower, the scene of the award ceremony behind here as thousands chanted Kitana¡¯s name. [Just three months after she had been posted to the West Sector, she has be a legend for many who live in the city.] ¡°INQUISITOR KITANA, WE LOVE YOU!¡± A particrly ferocious fan club screamed, waving arge banner with clear enthusiasm. Kitana merely smiled and waved at them for a brief moment, but that moment was enough to excite them. [In particr, she has achieved a record number of executions, arrests as well as civilians saved. So far, her high intuition and instincts have enabled her to both kill and capture both low-level and high-level members on either side.] [The Veiled Angels and Violet Demons have now lost their former strength, with Kitana leading the charge and wing back districts from them. For the first time in a long period, we can finally begin to see districts free from gang control outside of the Central District.] The award ceremony was over now, with other enforcers also being presented with medals signifying heroic bravery and achievements. Most of the awards went towards Kitana¡¯s enforcers, who were now ardent followers of hers, willing to stamp out the rampant gang violence guing the West Sector. ¡°She must be an angel ¨C a vengeful angel who knows what the fuck is up. Instead of arresting these violent punks, they deserved to be put into the ground!¡± ¡°I fight for the day gangs no longer rule Raktor. And Inquisitor Kitana has my full support. Thew exists for a reason: these gangs are exploiting the locals for their own greed. Well, no more! We¡¯re putting our foot down!¡± Kitana¡¯s influence on Raktor was bing widespread now. Originally feared as the Mad Dog, she was now viewed as a force for good, thanks to her heavy-handed role in suppressing the two major gangs of the West Sector. As she left the award ceremony, the crowd moured after her, pushing and jostling to try to get in a word while her followers guarded her, holding back the crowd. ¡°Inquisitor Kitana, Inquisitor Kitana, a word if you may! You have liberated multiple districts from gang control ¨C are you nning to liberate the entire Sector?¡± A reporter held up an arctech radio, trying desperately to get a quip. ¡°Yes. I fight for the ability to rest without worrying about your children being caught in a gang war. I fight for safety when walking in the streets. I fight for owners, free from the threat of racketeering. Thew shall be upheld, ording to the Sanctum of Yual.¡± Kitana did not take any more questions, stepping into a prepared arctech wagon where the Bishop of the Central District was already sat in as well. The procession moved off, with the followers moving in wagons that guarded them as well, scanning the streets and high-rise buildings, their eyes peering into each and every window or balcony they could find. ¡°Brilliant work, Kitana. It is good to see how far you have grown since arriving. I still remember the day you arrived fresh from Tryas.¡± The bishop smiled gently. ¡°Thank you for your kind words, Bishop.¡± Kitana bowed. ¡°No need for the ceremony ¨C we are alone here. I wanted to talk to you about a potential promotion if you are willing.¡± ¡°A promotion?¡± ¡°Your arrival is unlike that of any other inquisitor that hase before you. Usually, the Veiled Demons and Violet Demons are particrly unreceptive to any form of enforcer intervention.¡± Kitana recalled the inquisitors that had been assigned to the West Sector at the same time as here. All dead. ¡°You have been able to reim control of more than five districts, which is a crowning achievement in itself in the face of adversity. Clearly, you have both the skill and talent to control the major gangs and reduce the violence in the Sector. Baron Weston has specifically requested for the current Bishop to be reced by you.¡± ¡°I do not wish to overthrow nor rece my superior.¡± ¡°We do not treat those who had served us well badly, Kitana. The Bishop will be posted back to Tryas or one of the smaller towns and cities across the Yual Dominion. He has done enough for us.¡± ¡°I still find myselfcking.¡± ¡°Far from it. Your reputation has already preceded you.¡± Kitana paused for a moment, before nodding her head. ¡°I am ttered by the proposal, but I will need time to consider it properly.¡± ¡°Of course. Perhaps you will be better suited to working the streets rather than locked away behind a fancy office. It has provided results, after all. Speaking of which, I do have a mission for you.¡± The bishop handed over a rolled-up message tube, where Kitana pulled out a map of the entire county of Raktor and pieces of paper with shipment timings. Clearly marked routes and red circles were marked all over the map, with numbers written in them. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°The military supply convoys have been getting hijacked recently. This was captured from one of the attempted ambushes. It documents theyout from soldiers of the Bolsh Legion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not privy to the major gang of the North Sector.¡± ¡°Look carefully. Multiple routes pass through the West Sector first before reaching the North. And some of the routes stop in the West Sector as well.¡± ¡°Meaning they are stealing from the Yual military directly.¡± ¡°The war presents a big opportunity: with less oversight and enforcement, the major gangs are bing bolder.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t seen any military gear been used openly yet.¡± ¡°Not since the fall of the Ilysian Punks, no. The ck market does not have any of these weapons as well. This all points to something very dangerous, Kitana.¡± Stealing weapons from the military and stockpiling them instead of selling them for cash¡­ ¡°They are nning a counteroffensive.¡± ¡°Indeed. With how hard you have been pushing the major gangs in the West Sector, it would egregious to suggest that they simply take it lying down. I will need you to ¨C¡° The Bishop¡¯s words were interrupted by the activation of the point defence system around their armoured wagon, firing green bolts towards the windows and rooftops of the surrounding buildings. ¡°Get down!¡± Kitana grabbed the Bishop¡¯s head and covered him, as the point defence system was quickly overwhelmed by the fragmentation pellets, allowing other projectiles to m the armored wagon. A mortar strike hit the driver¡¯s cabin urately, blowing up the front of the wagon while it flipped on its head, crashing and skidding along the paved stone road. The entire convoy descended into a frenzy as dozens of armoured gang members rushed out onto the street, engaging in a fierce firefight. The gang members deployed metal barriers to serve as chest-high covers, firing back at the enforcers and lobbing grenades. Civilians nearby screamed as they tried to flee the crossfire, some of them being gunned down in the open. Here?! In the middle of the Central District?! Kitana recovered quickly from the toppling of her wagon, but the Bishop was badly injured, blood leaking from a wound on his head. She reached down to her belt and tapped her arctech radio, only earning static. Jamming too; they are going all out. The morous and upper-ss neighbourhood was now transformed into a warzone, with pellets shattering sses of upscale fashion stores, tearing through silk and fabric and killing those who failed to hide. ¡°Protect the Bishop and Inquisitor Kitana!¡± Enforcers swarmed the wagon, creating a defensive position around the toppled wagon while Kitana crawled outside, leaving the Bishop in the armoured wagon. Better in there than out here. She grabbed onto a nearby enforcer who tugged her out and handed her a repeater rifle made by the Seven Snakes. ¡°How many?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Dozens ¨C maybe even a hundred!¡± Perfect. Kitana internally grinned, taking up position behind a makeshift cover and firing back. Eyes of Truth! Corners and objects turned into lines and geometry, her recent ss upgrade allowing her to see through with varying degrees of dissection. Each and every gang member was now visible to her, even as they cowered underneath a windowsill or a concrete wall. A hundred and twenty ¨C they are really going all out, huh? Surrounded on all sides by high nking buildings, the firefight was slowly bing one-sided, with more and more enforcers taking on injuries. Zealot Dominion! Kitana channelled a motivational aura, boosting the enforcers¡¯ morale to sky-high levels as they fought back with fervor. Most of the gunfire immediately began to focus on her, as though the gang members were already aware of this phenomenon in the past. Kitana swivelled her rifle, firing rapidly and killing any gang members that popped their heads out or that were hiding behind flimsy covers that could not block the shot. Every major gang is here?! Kitana was ttered, but not in a good sense. As she began to turn the fight singlehandedly, racking up her kill count, the gang members, too, became more aggressive, firing with impunity and no longer holding back. Machine guns, mortars and shoulder-mounted grenadeunchers were all used in the firefight, blowing out the pavement, arctech light posts and chunks of concrete. Bodies soon filled the streets as both enforcers and gang members fell under a torrent of gunfire, their point defence systems unable to withstand the sheer number of projectiles aimed at them. Kitana gritted her teeth, rushing out towards the nearest squad of gang members and shooting them point nk with the rifle and grabbing their grenadeuncher. She fired all of them in a frenzy, lobbing them and sting the gang members out of their cover. Her bravery and prowess awed the enforcers even more, standing up to the iing aggression. Kitana grabbed onto one of the gang members, noticing that he was a high-ranking soldiers of the Violet Demons. She mmed him into the floor behind cover as the pellets whizzed over their heads. ¡°Trying to assassinate me, huh?¡± ¡°Far from it. But you wouldn¡¯t know either way.¡± The Violet Demon¡¯s soldier grinned as his armour began to glow red hot, before exploding in a severe shockwave, sending Kitana flying and crashing into a nearby wall of the building. Even she was not invulnerable to hits like that, causing her to cough out blood as she could feel all her bones aching and muscles screaming from the sudden shock. She quickly rolled out of the way as pellets aimed at her lodged themselves into the wall while she scrambled back to cover and drank a health potion. As Kitana was still trying to recover, a series of deafening explosions could be heard around the city of Raktor, with swelling clouds of ash and soot soaring from the various sectors. The sights of the attacks, along with the previous discussion with the Bishop on the smuggling of military gear, led Kitana to an epiphany. This isn¡¯t just an isted assassination or attack on me ¨C they are trying to overthrow the whole of Raktor! Chapter 134: Choice ¡°¡­and so the enforcers will like to fund a research project on the development of light-thrower paintings onto paper or parchment,¡± Mason exined as Keith sat opposite him in his office chair, looking at the proposal. ¡°Are the rented light-throwers insufficient?¡± ¡°They are sufficient, but it is impossible to expect every enforcer branch in Raktor to be able to transfer suspects¡¯ information via light-throwers. Furthermore, having a list or book of wanted suspects is critical to identification on the streets. Our patrolling enforcers can¡¯t lug around such heavy equipment.¡± ¡°I will consider it. We currently do not have any rted research projects, so it might take a few years to be able to develop such an invention.¡± Mason chuckled slightly. ¡°Coming from thepany who invented the light-thrower in just a few months.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a few months: Professor Reese has been working on the lightcapturer and light thrower for years before we funde-¡° Keith noticed that Mason wasn¡¯t looking at him, but through the windows behind. He turned around quickly, only to seerge explosions rocking Raktor. The shockwave soon hit the Seven Snake¡¯s mall, rocking it slightly as the windows rumbled in their grooves, threatening to fracture. One of the explosions was nearby, right at where the Magda would normally be. Mason¡¯s face paled, frantically grabbing his arctech radio. ¡°Mason to Magda, Mason to Magda. Come in.¡± There was no reply, a sign of a city-wide jamming of all arctech radio frequencies. Even Keith failed to contact the rest of the Seven Snakes, stirring a slight panic in his heart. But he did not falter, immediately ordering the nearby guards to protect Mason as he rushed out to the rooftop, where they had mounted their ownrge arctech radio. It had been previously used to broadcast a city wide signal to disable all handguns, but Keith had re-rigged it to serve as a one-way announcement, seeing as the recipejt would not have enough power on the reply to ovee the increased noise floor due to the jamming. The lights of the mall flickered slightly while therge arctech radio was powered, taking nearly a quarter of the power consumed by the mall. The light-thrower audience were in a panic, the screen dimming significantly and causing the military propaganda show to cut off. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on out there?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t this just like the first day when the Seven Snakes was sabotaged? Is it another gang war?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be a part of this, let me out!¡± Keith spoke quickly through the arctech radio: ¡°All Seven Snakes members and associates, assemble at the mall immediately! Emergency n A!¡± Over the past few months, Keith and the leaders had been implementing backup ns, a series of procedures in the event of war. The backup ns were originally designed as a way to fight back systematically against the Ardent Cretins, but Keith now was not even sure who they were fighting. As the guards and workers in the shopping mall controlled the crowd, Keith returned to his office, where Mason was pacing the room, impatient. ¡°I can¡¯t reach anyone in the Magda, all the radios are jammed.¡± ¡°Is it a Versian attack?¡± ¡°Maybe. But I¡¯m more inclined to think that it is a attack on the enforcers directly by thugs. There was an award ceremony today.¡± Keith was startled, causing Mason to be suspicious, eyeing Keith warily. ¡°You knew this was going to happen.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t.¡± I only got hints from Sebastian ¨C is this what he meant by choosing a side? A clear tension settled in the room, with Mason¡¯s hand already reaching for his arctech pistol, eyes darting around while the guards also gripped their batons and swords tightly, instinctively fanning out to surround Mason and protect Keith. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare try to renegade on our deal, Seven Snakes.¡± Mason hissed. ¡°I am just as bewildered about the entire situation like you. Let¡¯s not make any rash moves here. If you calm down-¡± ¡°Like hell I am going to be your prisoner. You¡¯re already in cahoots with the Ardent Cretins.¡± ¡°After all the fighting between our malls and districts?¡± ¡°Probably just a show. I always wondered why Sebastian wasn¡¯t targeting you any longer or trying to drag you guys down. No major gang would ever tolerate another second gang rising in their sector ¨C unless they were already in a secret alliance.¡± So this was what Sebastian was aiming for¡­.¡°There¡¯s a big misunderstanding here ¨C you are framing us on assumptions.¡± ¡°Then prove it.¡± Keith motioned to the guards to stand down and back off, who were all confused. ¡°Sir, your safety is the highest priority!¡± The leader of the guards tried to exin, their weapons still brandished as they protected Keith. ¡°I said stand down. Mason is not our enemy here.¡± The guards eventually relented, with Mason also loosening up. He still remained cautious, his body continuously tensed up as he sat back down on the guest chair in the office. ¡°Until we know more about the fighting and why it is happening, there¡¯s no reason to jump to conclusions. The enforcers are more than well equipped to suppress the major gangs if pushes to shove.¡± Keith too sat back in the office chair, quickly ncing out of the window. Already there was a stream of Seven Snakes membersing in wagons, all congregating at the mall, ¡°What¡¯s going on out there?¡± ¡°Are we under attack by Versia? Shit!¡± ¡°Gear up! Gear up!¡± Emergency n A was kicked into action, with all of the hidden stored guns and weapons brought out on full disy. Mason had already expected the Seven Snakes to be well-equipped, but not to this extent. This only made Mason more worried about what was happening to the enforcers, and more specifically, how well armed the major gangs were. ¡°If the Ardent Cretins are as anywhere near prepared as you guys, they can go toe to toe with the enforcers easily.¡± Mason muttered to Keith as the two of them stood at the window. The shift in atmosphere of Raktor was too sudden for Keith, but it felt as though it had been nned from a long time ago. Soon, Adrian barged into the room, panting heavily. ¡°The major gangs, they are in an alliance! They are hitting all enforcers across the city!¡± ¡°Alliance?!¡± ¡°And I heard if we don¡¯t join them, we¡¯ll be next! The Wretches already got taken over by the Ardent Cretins!¡± ¡°Shit! Take up defensive positions!¡± Keith ordered. ¡°Tell everyone through the radio!¡± The Seven Snakes kicked into action, focusing their defensive efforts on the district around the mall while preparing for gurreibat in the urban blocks. At this moment, Keith¡¯s radio crackled into life. [Keith, the time is now. Choose your side.] Mason red at the radio, but Keith remained calm, slowly responding. ¡°What are you aiming for.¡± [Remember our meeting. Why are we fighting among ourselves when the biggest gang of them all is happily profiting off us?] ¡°You mean...¡± [The enforcers. Nothing wille out of you joining forces with Mason, Keith.] ¡°And what will I get in return for joining you?¡± [Half of the South Sector and beyond. The County will be split among all those deserving. If it weren¡¯t for Kyle I would not even make this offer. However, the offer has a limited duration. Make your choice now.] Keith took a deep breath, hesitating slightly. Joining the Ardent Cretins seems like the right move ¨C but how strong are the major gangs really whenbined? He nced at Mason, who red back at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare take up that offer, Keith.¡± Mason growled through gritted teeth. Keith suddenly realized something important. How does Sebastian know I am with Mason now? Keith nced opposite, staring right at a sniper mounted on the rooftop two blocks down. Shit! [I hate indecisive people, remember that.] ¡°GET DOWN!¡± A pellet smashed through the window as Keith rolled off the chair, the pellet narrowly missing him as it shredded through the wooden table in splinters. If Keith had not spotted the sniper beforehand, he would have very well been dead. The guards immediately rushed forward to protect Keith, but the sniper was already on the move, retreating into the building. Before Keith could even respond, the mall¡¯s point defence system suddenlynced out, hitting an iing mortar projectile. The projectile broke apart, only to reveal multiple small balls that overwhelmed the point defence engraving, filling the sky with streams of green arcia bolts that desparately tried to cover every possible trajectorying in. Explosions rocked the streets everywhere the small ballsnded, along with the mall¡¯s arcia energy system being depleted rapidly due to the overconsumption of the point defence system. ¡°Turn off all the useless engravings now! Cut off all temperature control and useless lights!¡± Keith roared to the office, prompting a guard to carry out the order. At the same time, armoured wagons rolled towards the mall, with hundreds of Ardent Cretins armoured knights leaping out, armed to the teeth with Yual military gear on par with their strike force. Even three warmachines were deployed towards them, moving past. Adrian had none of this observed, the city-wide jamming cutting off their connection with the informant and observationwork. Damian and Niko were already on the ground, firing back at the knights who began to slowly push their way towards the mall, fighting from block to block as both sides cowered in cover. The alleyways were blockaded or host torge brawls between squads of gang members, sting each other to bits with gunfire and melee weapons. Limbs and heads were torn apart, shredded by machine guns and mortars as every Seven Snakes member fought hard. The Seven Snakes member had the edge in equipment, but the Ardent Cretins were far more numerous andpetently equipped, resulting in a slow declining battle of attrition. ¡°This can¡¯tst forever ¨C we¡¯ll be wiped out eventually!¡± Keith¡¯s eyes quickly continued nning, using therge arctech radio to perform one-waymunication through the jamming. His coordination of the squads and various urban defence checkpoints werepetent ¨C but he was up against quantity of firepower and Sebastian, who slowly began to nk the mall, attempting to put it into a siege by cutting off all the streets that led into it. He¡¯s trying to starve us! Keith wasn¡¯t about to let it happen, trying again and again to get squads to break through the encroaching encirclement. The battle raged for two hours, with more and more injuries along with casualties building up. Haui worked overtime, cranking out potions with his store workers non-stop to supply the soldiers with enough health and stamina potions to keep the fight going, treating the injured as they came in. ¡°How long is this battle going to be?! We¡¯re running out of supplies here!¡± One of the store workers yelled to Haui, who shook his head. ¡°The battle willst until only one side is left standing.¡± Haui understood that this was a war of annihtion ¨C Sebastian wasn¡¯t the kind to tolerate having an opposing gang in his new territory. The office was now a warroom, with countless maps and markers indicating the various organized squads, with Damian and Niko leading separate forces to fight. Small scale skirmishes and scuffles erupted all across the district, resulting in devestation and destruction. Snipers ruled the battlefield, dominating entire streets and turning them into no man¡¯s zones, as squads from both sides crawled through alleys and copsed buildings, damaged from the consistent mortar shelling by the Ardent Cretins who did not care about civilians or not. The previously built-up distrct that the Seven Snakes had put so much effort into developing was now slowly turned into ruin in a few hours, damaging infrastructure, utilites and housing. Thousands of refugees began to pile up in the mall, seeking shelter from the crossfire. Keith couldn¡¯t abandon the citizens ¨C their entire economy and profit depended on them. Instead, he began to distribute arms to them, making them serve as milita to defend the districts. This helped to even the numbers slightly, but their poor training andck of experience made them easy targets for death. As the battle reached the three hour mark, the Ardent Cretins began to push in from all sides, exploiting the sparse defence of the Seven Snakes who were now scattered in all directions. However, Keith remained unfazed, even as Sebastian sessfully managed toplete the encirclement. A small little smirk appeared on his face as Sasha finally entered the room, nked by three evolved hobgoblins hefting machine guns. ¡°They think these are all the Seven Snakes members we have? Let¡¯s show this fuckers who are the true kings of Raktor.¡± Chapter 135: Encirclement Kyle¡¯s messengers never returned, throwing off rm bells in his mind. It¡¯s already been more than three days, and he had dropped them off at the border of the Yual Dominion. He had handpicked the messengers to ensure that they would return. People with family in Desham or the refugee camp outside, with a slight undertone of threat and ckmail if they did note back. He had sent more than fifteen of them, but all had not returned. Something has gone terribly wrong, or someone is cutting me off. Kyle would not entertain the possibility that all fifteen had betrayed him immediately. The rm bells still ringing in his head, he began to prepare his forces with more intensity, training them directly and improving their weaponry and armour. He established a simr arcite training chamber to the one he had set up in Raktor, which effectively doubled up as a storage space for arcia crystals as well. A week had already passed with no reply, fuelling Kyle¡¯s sense of insecurity. He had the belief that his underlings in the Seven Snakes would be able to handle everything, even an entire civil war. After all, if push came to shove, they had a direct tunnel system that allowed for the transportation of evolved hobgoblins directly from the Culdao Peaks, boosting the numbers of the Seven Snakes immediately. What did not sit right with him was how the messengerspletely disappeared off the map. The simmering sense of impending danger was heightened when a report of a missing stealth hovercraft came in. ¡°When was thest check-in?¡± ¡°About two hours ago.¡± ¡°The one that was doing the Fegram route?¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± ¡°Were there any known anomalies in the manufacturing of that hovercraft?¡± ¡°No, sir, nothing major noted.¡± Kyle furrowed his brows. First I lose my messenger, then my hovercraft goes missing. ¡°Prepare a search party. I¡¯ll lead.¡± However, as much as they scoured the area, they could not find it. It was as though it hadpletely disappeared into thin air. It was only when Kyle actually manually scanned the forest floor that the route flew over that he found traces of an explosion and a small fight. Blood was smeared on some of the forest branches, with dozens of footsteps leading in all directions. Feldon too was in the search party, checking on all the hints as he discovered another left behind part, embedded into a tree trunk. ¡°Someone knows about our stealth hovercraft AND can take them down.¡± This was disastrous ¨C with an entire stealth hovercraft missing, it would mean that the design had been leaked. Kyle had, as always, implemented a failsafe in all of his hovercraft, but self-destruction only urred upon tampering with the engravings. An astute arctech designer could still easily glimpse the concept of the stealth engravings without having even to touch the hovercraft. ¡°Have all subsequent hovercrafts fly at a higher altitude. We can¡¯t run the risk of being hit by surface-to-air attacks like this anymore.¡± Kyle ordered the pilots. He also redrew the routes, making sure the pilots moved in a zig-zag fashion in order to throw off whoever was attacking them. However, Kyle already had an inkling for which organisation was doing this to him. It can only be Nest. Ever since the war started, he had not heard much updates from the old Nest Informant, proving to be slightly useless in terms of keeping track on the positions and movements of all Nest hitmen and squads. The only thing of note that he recalled was that the boss, Nox, had formed a military division of his own, acting as a special task force. With Kyle already dominating the ck market supply in major towns, viges and residences in the region, it was inevitable that Nest would eventually catch wind of Desham being a hotspot. ¡°We need to prepare for an eventual assault. Nest is the one cutting us off slowly.¡± Kyle exined in a meeting. There were too many things to prepare ¨C repairing the city¡¯s point defence system on the outer walls, creating enough gas masks and sealed bunkers to protect against a chemical attack, enough cannons and machine guns to fire back at any assault. While Desham grew stronger with each passing day, Kyle continued to chart out his next move. Should I return to Raktor? Returning alone to Raktor was a dumb move in his opinion ¨C if the messengers were already annihted, it means someone or something had their eyes on him. If he was forced into another transcendent duel, it would mean that he would lose even more control. As he was nning in the underground tunnel base, a series of distant booms could suddenly be heard, shocking the workers and hunters. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Is someone testing a weapon? A bomb?¡± ¡°Are we under attack?¡± Kyle rushed out on the stealth ho in his Version 0 exosuit,unching up into the air to see an approaching military force in the distance, rampaging through the fields directly headed for Desham. Fourteen warmachines rumbled through the rolling fields of Desham Tuffs with the Versian Military banner flying high above, though they did not set the fields aze in any form of scorched earth strategy. The posture and the care with which the army moved forward only told him one thing. They are here to conquer Desham. [Citizens of Desham, under the authority of President Mornero, in ordance with use 4.08 of the War Economy Bill, all production facilities and output must be directed with the military as the highest output. You have found to be hoarding goods and supplies against the war effort!] Kyle didn¡¯t bother being upset about the obviously false deration, knowing it was just a pretext of invasion; a justification for their righteous suppression. ¡°Get everyone into battle state alpha. This isn¡¯t a drill any longer!¡± Makoa and Feldon kicked into action, gearing up the various forces under Kyle, with Hayden leading the mortar brigade in the city, calcting the distance to fire. Thirty arctech wagons from the enemy rushed forward, creating a parallel to the walls of Desham by establishing sturdy metal barriers that had been prepared beforehand. Arctech tools were used to dig out trenches, providing cover and fortified locations to begin a siege on Desham. [Boss, we should sortie now and break them before they get dug in!] Feldon suggested, knowing that once the division of the Versian Military had spread out into its four bridgades covering the cardinal directions, Desham would bepletely cut off from its farms, tanking its food supply. ¡°No, let them encircle. Continuously hit them with mortar strikes, but no one is to push out under mymand.¡± ¡°What about the refugee camp?¡± ¡°Ignore them ¨C they can stay or run. It¡¯s their choice.¡± Kyle did not care at all about the refugees who had refused to work for him or move to the Keru Forest to join the new loggingpany. He didn¡¯t have enough resources nor manpower to worry about protecting them ¨C Kyle wasn¡¯t one to protect strangers either way with no benefits in it for him. As such, Diya was left saddled with the hard choice, in the end electing to not do anything. The refugees mmed at the walls and the gates as they screamed out in panic, stampeding over their own people as they were split. Many began to run off into the forest to join the loggingpany out of fear, while others simply prayed to whatever gods they believed in, hoping that a miracle would save them. The Versian Military was equally ruthless, firing a barrage of mortar and cannon fire at the city. Cannonballs ripped through the refugee camp as it tore up makeshift tents and squashed people into unrecognizable corpses, causing widespread panic while the remaining refugees began to disperse, fleeing in every direction. Nox stood at the helm of the division, ncing in derision of the fleeing refugees. This was the special division, fullyposed of Nest operatives loyal only to him. Kris Greyborn thinks he can use refugees against me? Nox had zero qualms about killing Versian citizens ¨C to him, he had one objective alone assigned from President Mornero: control Desham. ¡°Surround the town! We¡¯ll perform continuous siege. Command Tent to be in the north. Each brigade covers a direction. Ensure no stealth hovercraft makes it past us!¡± As the encircelment proceeded as n into the evening, the Nest soldiers cowered under the withering fire from wall guards who tried to snipe them at range, though the prating power was low. The first parallel was ced at a significant range, close to two kilometres away. Under the pinkish night sky, the arctech digging machine rattled violently as a near hit almost took it out, soldiers ducking instinctively as the dirt of the fields were dug up all around them, showering them in fertilizer and soil. Yet they pressed on, creating a blockade around Desham to ensure nothing got in nor out. Yet as it continued on, Nox became more and more confused while he waited in the temporarymand tent, overseeing the entire movement on an arctechntern lit map as officers continuously reported in their observations. ¡°No sign of any enemy activity in the south!¡± Are they really not going to try andplete the encirclement? What are they waiting for? He had half expected his division to be bombed and attacked in full force while they were still undefended, yet he was almost given free-reign over the outskirts of the city. No matter what n they have, encirclement of Desham is still my best option. Nox still followed the standard military doctrine of the age, besieging it while creating a defensive position for himself. The moment they try to sortie out to attack us, I will- ¡°We¡¯re under attack!¡± One of his officers reported. ¡°They are pushing out of the city towards our south brigade!¡± ¡°Get the south to fallback immediately. Draw them in! Have the west and east immediately copse on the nks. North brigade to assault the walls now!¡± The division kicked into action, with each of the well-trained brigades executing the movements with confidence and rity. Sure enough, Makoa¡¯s troops were now out on the field, fighting hard as they rolled out their own form of cover, metal barriers shoddily made from the steel factory. As they were nked by the three brigades, the wall guards also supported them, suppressing the nking Nest soldiers who had to deal with converging fire. The entire south of Desham became embroiled in a fierce battle with bright pellets and green point defence bolts illuminating the night, with Nox dedicating all of his mortar resources and warmachines towards the effort. ¡°Annihte them!¡± However, just as the warmachines began to push out from the first parallel towards Makoa¡¯s forces, an unknown attacker mmed the warmachines with a direct hit, the projectile tearing through the armour and blowing up the liquid arcia me fuel inside. The burning crew screamed as they tried to crawl out of the hatches of the warmachine, only for the dazzling blue mes to consume them again into ashes. The brigades were unfazed by the sudden attack, immediatelyunching res from mortars that exploded in mid air, creating a kaleidoscope of colours that looked almost like fireworks. Except that now, the spotters of the brigade could clearly see the incongruity of the stealth engravings ¡°326, 88! Fire!¡± The mortar squads loaded airburst projectiles, forcing the stealth hovercraft to swoop in and out to dodge the burst rounds, their fragmentation pellets threatening to kill the ho with a direct nearby burst. Nox had a grin on his face, having already experienced fighting against stealth hovercrafts before. You think I don¡¯t know how to fight against Hwa Dynasty¡¯s airforce? He didn¡¯t know how Kris Greyborn, a herbalist from Raktor got his hands on such equipment, but Nox had prepared well in advanced, connecting the dots after his various branches told him about how unknown criminal groups were suddenly dominating the ck market through a severe blockade by the Yual Dominion¡¯s forces. He should only have a few hovercraft ¨C at most three. Including the one we took down earlier this week, there should be one more¡­Nox finally realized why they allowed the encirclement to happen: they wanted to spread out the troops away from themand tent. ¡°High alert! There will be a potential ambush here!¡± Nox roared to the officers, scaring them into action. Just as they scrambled to grab their weapons, the roof of the makeshiftmand tent burst apart, a rain of acid dissolving through the fabric and metal pirs, causing the foundations to copse around Nox. The officers and soldiers aimed up the sky, firing res and guns wildly, hoping to hit the hovercraft. As the first re from themand tent shot up to reveal the stealth hovercraft, Nox¡¯s jaw dropped as he watched close to twenty men drop from what seemed like two dozen stealth hovercrafts, except some of the shapes were different. Is that a fucking mineral ant?! Nox leapt out of the way, rolling and recovering as a huge arctech armour suitnded right ontop of him, smashing into the ground and kicking up arge dust cloud. Through the cloud, the engravings on the glistening steel armour shed neon blue and green, the Advanced Arcia Crystal powering the various enhancements as it traced through runic lines. The armour suit brandished a lightning sword, the arcs of energy crackling between the tip of its de and the earth as the wearer red right at Nox. ¡°Time for payback.¡± Chapter 136: Oversight Sparks erupted as the lightning sword mmed against the arm shields of Nox, causing him to stagger backwards from the sheer force. Kyle did not give any chance for Nox to recover, hacking away as he swung rapidly. The two fought across the raging battlefield, with the strike force under Kyle engaging in a brutal brawl with the guards and officers in themand area. Explosions and bonfires served as the backdrop as Nox desperately tried to block every single attack. This time, Nox could hardly find an opening for his poisonden tip to pierce through Kyle¡¯s armour, unable to inflict the same destabilising agent. He also noticed that Kyle¡¯s strike force had a simr set of armour, albeit less heavy with a more sparse engraving style. Each of them wore a mask, no doubt to protect themselves against chemical attacks. Parry and blows were exchanged, though Nox was slowly being pressured, countered by Kyle on every attempt he made to attack or to gain an advantage. The Version 0 exosuit was far stronger than Nox¡¯s armour, preventing Nox from being able to do any serious damage. This isn¡¯t the only trick I have! Nox activated his armour¡¯s self-heating engraving, causing the surface of his metal gauntlet to heat up tremendously. Concentrating the energy, Nox punched as hard as he could, with Kyle using his vambraces to block as well. The heat mmed against the metal, causing a sudden thermal shock due to the abrupt rise in temperature. The engravings hidden withinyers of the armour began to crack, disrupting the flow of arcia energy and reducing the efficiency of the armour. Kyle¡¯s eyes widened, immediately taking a step back as he focused on the burning fist of Nox, trying to avoid it. Nox grinned, knowing that he now had a threat vector. He lunged at Kyle, taking the offensive in the fight as he continuously tried to grab onto Kyle, relying on the thermal shock to create internal stresses within Kyle¡¯s thick armour, hoping to weaken it. Kyle had no choice but to block a few hits that he was unable to dodge, causing ckened marks to appear on his armour, where the steel had warped slightly. Each one represented a weakness in Nox¡¯s vision, with his follow-up punches targeting them again. Screams and shouts of fighting filled the atmosphere as the mineral ants under Kyle¡¯smand fought in tandem alongside their partners, allowing them to decimate the soldiers, who¡¯s rifles were inadequate for fending off such thick armour. The venom-spitting hos ruled the skies, using their globs of acid to target the mortars and anything that could threaten their air superiority. Mortars, machine guns, and additional armour meant for the war machines were melted down to a sizzling pool of liquid, the soldiers at a loss while their equipment was being ravaged. Despite Nox having the advantage, he could not seem to beat Kyle, who had overwhelming strength and equipment prowess. ¡°Kris Greyborn ¨C who exactly do you work for?¡± ¡°We can talk once you¡¯re in chains.¡± Kyle already intended to capture Nox, with him being the overall leader of Nest in the entirety of Versia. Just as he stepped forward tounch a counterattack, three grenades were hurled towards him by supporting soldiers, exploding on impact with his armour and enveloping him in a ball of mes. "Never said this was a duel." Nox grinned, grabbing a machine gun and firing with the supporting soldiers into the resulting dust cloud; the bullets red against the point defence system, which had far more handling quantity thanks to the sheer amount of arcia energy stored in the Advanced Arcia Crystal. Nox fired a total of two hundred rounds, all of which were intercepted by the point defence system. Before he could order a reload, Kyle had already burst forth from the dust cloud, charging right at Nox as tendrils of smoke clung to the edges of his rugged Version 0 exosuit. Penchant for Violence! Aero Shoes! Kyle¡¯s strength and speed increased significantly, time slowing down slightly as his brain thinking frequency improved, allowing him to register images much faster and in slow motion. Another grenade was hurled at him, but this time he narrowly avoided it, utilising his high DEX and INT stats to both move fast and react faster. Intimidation Aura! Capitalising on the frozen fear of the soldiers, Kyle swung the lightning sword hard, aiming right at Nox¡¯s neck. Nox was unaffected by the intimidation aura, ducking backwards and taking a step towards Kyle, entering his arm range before throwing a molten hot uppercut at Kyle¡¯s stomach, Instead ofmitting to the swing, Kyle quickly used his elbow to knock away the iing hand, before grabbing onto Nox and twisting him into a lock, a bear hug that threatened to squeeze Nox to death. ¡°ARGH!¡± Nox roared in pain as Kyle squeezed with all his might, attempting to crush Nox¡¯s bone in one fell swoop. However, the armour proved too rigid, making it difficult for Kyle to injure Nox this way. Nox channelled the armour¡¯s engraving again, forcibly raising the temperature until the surface of the metal became red hot and forcing Kyle to release Nox. Kyle quickly followed with a lightning sword stab, but Nox easily avoided it to the side, retaliating with his own leg kick aimed at Kyle¡¯s waist, mming sparks as it collided with the hardened steel surface. Grabbing the ankle, Kyle dragged Nox through the air in a spin before mming him down onto the ground with a loud cracking thud, the bones in Nox¡¯s body fracturing from the impact as Nox gagged, blood and saliva gurgling out of his mouth. Just as Kyle was about to m him for a second time, the ankle heated up significantly, causing Kyle to wince slightly as the heat scorched his metal gauntlet, transferring the heat to his palm. He dropped Nox onto the ground, who immediately scampered away, drinking a hidden health and stamina potion found in his armour by chugging the small vials. ¡°Retreat! Full Retreat!¡± Nox ordered, retreating with the remnant of the north brigade and hismanders. Kyle immediately gave chase, but was instead called back by Feldon. [Boss, Makoa¡¯s forces can¡¯t hold out much longer!] Makoa¡¯s forces were serving as the distraction, but the measly thousand soldiers of Desham¡¯s milita could hardlypete with the seven and five thousand strong enemy force,prised of three brigades. Even with Hayden¡¯s supporting artillery fire, Makoa was still fighting a life and death struggle. Cursing under his breath, Kyle decided to not chase Nox, as he was not confident that he could kill Nox in a short period. Otherwise, he would run the risk of losing all of his forces in exchange for the leader of Nest. Not an option. Kyle returned immediately, joining the battle in the South and annihting the enemy with his overpowering Verison 0 Exosuit and Heavy Variant Rifle, decimating dozens of soldiers himself. MG404: [System Message Killed: [Nest Soldier] +500 EXP] Most of the Nest soldiers were killed instead of captured, and those who tried to surrender were immediately engulfed by their own engravings, their bodies immted to prevent capture. Kyle only managed to use his Negation Field once, to capture as many Nest soldiers as he could. The battle was over within a few hours, ending near the middle of the night as bright white spotlights shined over blood-drenched trenches and fields, scattered with fallen bodies and weapons, along with the charred remains of Nest soldiers. Makoa grunted and winced as he bandaged himself, the town of Desham not having ess to any form of health potions. Yul¡¯s Tears were a rarity and not present anywhere in the Keru Forest or even the dungeon, so Kyle had no choice but to go around himself, healing them. Drake chipped in as well, his herbalist concotions providing a weaker form of healing that needed time to take effect. The anesthetia and soothing effect of the salves helped to calm down the injuried soldiers. While the medical section was filled with whimpers and silent screams of pain and suffering, the streets of Desham were brimming with joy and celebration. ¡°We won! We won against the fuckers!¡± ¡°Those damn Versian military cocksuckers think that they can just waltz in and take everything that we fought for? Fuck them!¡± ¡°Bring on the whole army ¨C we¡¯ll skewer them all!¡± A sense of defiance surged through the city, though Kyle was not surprised by this effect. They were former slum dwellers after all ¨C it¡¯s a given they hate the government and military. Kyle retreated into the council building, to perform a after-action report of the battle. Diya poured over the statistics of the battle, while Hayden gave updates on the amount of ammunition used as well as manpower remaining. ¡°The battle took a heavy toll on us despite the victory. Desham¡¯s milita has dwindled to half of its former strength, not including the refugees who decided to join us in the fight.¡± Hayden spoke. ¡°Have the refugees replenish the ranks. Begin the whole training procedure again.¡± ¡°We need a better source of medicine and healing. As long as we don¡¯t have healing potions, the bacsh from battles are always going to be severe.¡± Feldon pointed out. Kyle nodded, knowing that it was a detriment to his forces. In the Gctic Era, medbays would have always been avable to bring a soldier back up to fighting strength in mere days. Now with no health potions in Desham, recovery of injured people would take more than months, and they may never return to their former fighting prowess. ¡°We should be worried ¨C the Versian Military cane back stronger than ever. Now that they know we have weapons and technology, it¡¯s an open secret now. I will not be surprised if the government makes us their first objective, seeing as they are stalled on every other warfront.¡± Hayden continued. Right now, Kyle¡¯s forces were in no shape to take on another pyrrhic battle like that. He needed to buy time for his troops, improve weapons and armour and train them properly. ¡°What can we even do?¡± Feldonmented. ¡°The Versian military outnumbers us by more than a hundred times ¨C if they so much as concentrated just ten percent, we¡¯ll be squashed like flies.¡± ¡°Can we negotiate with them?¡± ¡°After how you saw the Versian military division just attack us up front like this? The government wouldn¡¯t be willing to talk to us at all!¡± Kyle furrowed his brows, thinking to himself carefully before he was suddenly interrupted by Makoa, who rushed into the room urgently. ¡°Boss, one of the messengers returned!¡± ¡°From Raktor?! Bring him in quickly.¡± The messenger stumbled into the meeting room, gulping instinctively at the sight of all the leaders staring at him. He quickly exined the entire situation in Raktor, as well as how the Seven Snakes were embroiled in a civil war across the entire South Sector, fighting alongside the enforcers and the various Baron¡¯s private troops. A civil war in Raktor?! Kyle knew now why the Ardent Cretins had been stockpiling weapons and resources for a long time now. Feldon¡¯s jaw dropped: ¡°Are they nning to revolt while Count Leon¡¯s forces are locked in Versia?!¡± The overall chain of events began to fall into ce for Kyle, as he rationalized the motives for each of the forces. ¡°The Versian military is supporting the major gangs to destabilize Raktor. Count Leon is now caught in a pincer movement ¨C move forward and he loses Raktor with low chances of capturing Tenar. Move back, and Versian military will begin to nk the other two counts attacking Versia, pushing them back. Or even worse, Versian military will begin to invade the Yual Dominion.¡± ¡°What in the world is even going on?¡± Feldon eximed. ¡°So Ardent Cretins and Versia has always been in cahoots?¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply, considering the implications of the n. He did not believe Count Leon was unaware of this possibility nor this chain of events. Yet if Kyle wanted the war to drag on as long as possible, he needed to support Count Leon as much as possible. ¡°Prepare the stealth hovercraft. We¡¯re going to have a meeting.¡± Chapter 137: Resurrection [A slew of riots and gang violence has erupted all over Raktor ¨C Enforcers are shing with major gang members all over the various sectors.] [Nobody knows the cause of this yet, but the civil unrest has been ongoing for more than a week, with more and more districts lost to gang control every day. We spoke to Bishop Vete earlier today for an update on the situation.] An interviewer appeared on a light-thrower film, thrown up on a screen in a quaint little upper-ss caf¨¦, the white painted wall serving as a good backdrop for the customers to watch. [¡°It seems that this is a losing battle for the enforcers, and you may soon have to cede control of the South Sector.¡±] [¡°Far from it. The enforcers are well-armed and poised to im back the city. This assault on our authority and the divinew set forth by the Emperor shall not go unchallenged.¡±] [¡°But yet you have been unable to curb the increasing violence and devastation that is now spreading throughout Raktor.¡±] [¡°The sudden uprising may have initially caught us by surprise, but we have more than enough resources and manpower to curb the major gangs. All they have achieved is their downfall.¡±] [In other news, a sudden uprising in the city of Creuliz has erupted into violence as well. A cult leader iming to be President Johan has been reported, with a military division sent to quell the rebellion. The government would like to remind citizens that tarnishing the name of our deceased great leader is a crime, and will be punished heavily.] The light thrower yed out in the background while customers were served tea and biscuits, chatting away. Many did not care about the war as much, it being some distant affair to the good lives they were living in the capital. A month of war and continuous daily reporting began to wear down on them, making them apathetic to most urrences beyond the city. However, the recent riots surrounding the cult leader in Creuliz were a hot topic among the citizens. One of the customersughed heartily as he heard the news. ¡°Someone iming to be President Johan? Well, I am his brother, too! Maybe I should start a cult here.¡± ¡°Wait, if you¡¯re starting one, can I be the second brother?¡± ¡°Of course, brother! Hahaha! It is far more likely that the cult leader is simply a rabble-rouser trying to capitalise on the reputation of President Johan.¡± ¡°Maybe it is a Yual operation to stir dissent among our outer lying cities to spark revolt. Looks like they can¡¯t have Raktor suffering on its own.¡± Just like this, the upper-ss members of society rxed in the caf¨¦; the cuts in social welfare hardly affected those who were already well-to-do, their lifestyle not changing much. Kalian, too, was in the same motions that he had always repeated ¨C a well-deserved break on the weekends rxing at the caf¨¦. Except he had brought along work, reading up on documents and proposals that he had failed to catch up on while working as President Mornero¡¯s secretary. Proposal to reverse-engineer captured war machines¡­ interesting. Kalian thumbed through the proposal, looking at the details and schematics of the war machines that had been collected from the battlefield, marvelling at some of the technology shown. As Kalian sat in silence alone, sipping away at a cup of tea every so often, a well-groomed old gentleman approached him, sitting down at an adjacent table. Just as the gentleman whipped out his Euria Seeds pipe, a waitress quickly rushed up to him. ¡°Sir, there is no smoking allowed indoors!¡± ¡°Ah, right. Sorry about that.¡± The old gentleman apologised with a genial smile, stowing the pipe back. ¡°Can I get a cup of Poair tea with a few cubes of rock sugar?¡± While the waitress returned to the counter, Kalian¡¯s demeanour had changed significantly, now ring at the documents but never turning to look at the old gentlemen. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you smoked now,¡± Kalian muttered. ¡°The stress is getting to me. Hard times for a man like me.¡± ¡°You¡¯re running a big risk here.¡± ¡°When have I ever not been running a big risk?¡± ¡°So, is this thest dying throes of a convicted man?¡± ¡°Far from it.¡± They did not converse any longer, with the old gentleman taking out his own newspaper to read,menting on the events. ¡°Raktor is in trouble, huh? Not sure how they got that much weaponry to even begin with.¡± ¡°For someone who is well acquainted with such corruption, I¡¯m sure you know the most.¡± Kalian retorted. ¡°Well, it is a good thing for Versia, then. Count Leon is stuck in a dilemma now.¡± ¡°That, I can agree.¡± Kalian held the utmost derision for the city of Raktor, which was a wretched hive of scum and viiny, ruled by a corrupt leader only interested in lining his pockets with fame and fortune. ¡°This would be a major win for Versia.¡± ¡°A major win for Versia or a major win for President Mornero?¡± ¡°President Mornero represents Versia ¨C they are one and the same.¡± ¡°To im that a single man represents an entire country, you sound like a Yual dog.¡± Kalian gripped his fist tightly, nearly crumpling the edges of the paper and wrinkling it. ¡°That ¡®single man¡¯ has done more than you ever have. He¡¯s the only reason why we are here today.¡± ¡°The Emperor of Yual has done more than me too. What¡¯s the difference?¡± ¡°You-¡° ¡°Fifteen years, Kalian. We have known each other for fifteen years. Worked side-by-side on multiple projects to elevate Versian society. You had all the time in the world to oversee what I was doing ¨C and I had always left you in charge of the finances. Do you truly believe there¡¯s only one side to the story?¡± Kalian did not respond, simply continuing to act like he was reading the proposal. ¡°Base 5, half from now. I¡¯ll see you there, for old times¡¯ sake. Route 3.¡± The old gentleman got up from his table, walked over to the caf¨¦ counter and cancelled his order. Kalian was left alone once more, brooding over what the old gentleman had just said. No, I must remain loyal to President Mornero¡­ but what if he is right? Kalian could hardly imagine that he was on the ¡®wrong¡¯ side: to him, the world was ck and white, and following Mornero meant he was doing the right thing. He had been working as his secretary for close to seven years now, having personally seen all the effort that Mornero had put in for the country. The sheer amount of logistics, projects and mary handling, with Mornero even spending many sleepless nights in the office, toiling away over the paperwork, made Kalian have even more respect for him. It is only natural that he was selected as the sessor for the Presidency. While there were supposed to be uing elections, President Mornero had already dered a state of war. No one disagreed ¨C it was clear when Count Leon attacked Ocra that this was not the time to spend the governmental budget to run elections or campaigns. The memory of the first war was still fresh in most people¡¯s minds, driving their support to fight back against Yual aggression. However, despite all of this, Kalian still felt the inclination to hear out the old gentleman. He needed to know the other side if there was even one. Ten minutes after the old gentleman had left, Kalian, too, left and walked down the street. The atmosphere was slightly gloomy, with a more militarised presence as soldiers patrolled the city in wagons, keeping an eye out for any Yual spies or infiltrators. Kalian was well aware that Desham and Creuliz had been infiltrated by Yual spies and subverted, though they could not publicly announce that to the citizens. It would be an immediate morale drop and may spark even more misgivings towards the current government. Route 3¡­ Kalian walked down based on his memory, seemingly wandering around in a random direction with no objective and turning around any corner. He soon found himself in a dark alleyway, where the old gentleman and three other men were waiting for him. ¡°You¡¯re not nning to kill me right here, are you? If you are, then you have fallen very far, Dekar.¡± ¡°Sorry, just making sure you were not tracked.¡± Minister Dekar apologised as the three men searched him for weapons and an arctech radio, finding nothing. The group headed down a side staircase that led to a basement, where Base 5 was left exactly the way Kalian had remembered it from the original revolution, albeit it had been cleaned up a bit. Kalian did not recognise any of the members there, save for Minister Dekar. However, he soon spotted a familiar individual, his eyes widening greatly. ¡°Zayin?! I thought you were in Ocra?!¡± ¡°Wow, they really went all in on this, huh?¡± Zayin grumbled, still sipping on a bottle of wine, clearly not sober, as he lounged on a couch. ¡°Please, Kalian, take a seat.¡± Dekar motioned. ¡°This must be a joke. You found someone who looked like Zayin to act like the original?¡± Kalian could not believe him. ¡°HEY! I am the one and only, okay? Punk, I never fucking liked you.¡± ¡°Enough! We don¡¯t have much time ¨C we can reminisce about the old dayster. Kalian, you need to understand that Mornero is the one spearheading all these changes. He ns to turn Versia back to the era of the nobles.¡± ¡°What a load of bullshit. Is that what you guys really think? He¡¯s doing his best for the Versia!¡± ¡°By giving away state licenses for weapons manufacturing, logging, agricultural and other industries to his cronies?¡± ¡°Versia is in a different state than it was before ¨C we need to harness the power of the private economy to fuel the war efforts. It is only right to reward those who arepetent.¡± ¡°Or those who had enough political and social capital to suck up to Mornero, so they can get a slice of the pie? Don¡¯t you see? The social welfare benefits cut, the rationing, the reduced standard of living ¨C it¡¯s all ying right into his hands of centralizing even more and more power. We founded the Versian society on equality; yet now it is turning into an oligarchy. What is the difference from the old Versia?!¡± ¡°President Mornero had no choice in the matter. This is war! Everything and anything must be sacrificed for it.¡± Dekar sighed with a feminine hand suddenly grabbing his shoulder. ¡°Your time is up. My turn.¡± Kalian¡¯s eyes squinted, recognising thedy. ¡°Lady Yona. Yet another wanted criminal hiding here. You¡¯ve really surrounded yourself with the best, Dekar. How long have you been in cahoots with Nest?¡± No one replied to him, with Yona only taking out a piece of paper and giving it to him. ¡°Recognize this?¡± ¡°What is-¡° Kalian¡¯s words were stuck in his mouth. ¡°Impossible, impossible. Mornero can¡¯t have signed this!¡± ¡°Oh, but he did. Did you not find the sudden disappearance and subsequent death of President Johan suspicious?¡± Kalian was at a loss with the damming evidence right in front of him. His entire worldview was shaken as he read the contract one more time, signed between Lady Yona and Mornero to capture President Johan alive. ¡°But it can¡¯t be! I saw the body myself when it was brought back for the funeral!¡± ¡°A body double. Well crafted by yours truly. One of my best works, if I say so myself.¡± Yona grinned. ¡°I-i¡­¡± Kalian re-read the contract a few more times, trying to find any sign that it was a forgery. But he knew Mornero¡¯s seal extremely well himself ¨C such a forgery would require stealing of the seal, but it was near impossible as it was always well-kept on Mornero himself. Kalian had witnessed Mornero using his seal on a near-daily basis, so any loss or theft would stand out to him. ¡°Then¡­ then who is the cult leader in Creuliz?¡± ¡°Who else? It¡¯s President Johan himself. We already broke him out.¡± Chapter 138: Enemies Count Leon fumed internally as he examined the war map. His generals were silent, afraid to antagonize the Count or fuel his rage any further. ¡°Exin to me again why we cannot pull back to Raktor.¡± ¡°Sir¡­ our forces are already locked in battle at the front-lines towards Tenar. Giving up the invasion and retreating means wasting all of the lives, ammunition and equipment used so far.¡± A general meekly exined. ¡°Has the Duke responded?¡± ¡°He is willing to offer three divisions to help quell the unrest, though at a¡­ cost. Of sorts.¡± ¡°A cost?¡± ¡°An increase in taxes paid to him on a yearly basis.¡± ¡°That fucking old scoundrel ¨C on his death bed and still wishing to fleece everything I have? I already pay more than a quarter of my earnings! Reject the offer!¡± ¡°But sir ¨C¡° Count Leon waved his armored hand, cutting the general off. ¡°He no doubt is going to utilize the incident to hold a favor over me, while increasing his influence within my own city. How fast can we push towards Tenar?¡± ¡°With the supply lines of Raktorpromised, we can¡¯t make any big pushes now ¨C the men would starve and run of ammunition as well as arcite fuel.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the update on the siege of Ocra? Have they starved to death yet?¡± ¡°No sir, in fact, there have been reports of increasing standard of living in the town. Some of our spies report that there is a burgeoning ck market in the town.¡± ¡°Is it by the same Versian special force that has been hitting our supply corps?¡± ¡°It is unclear sir, but whoever is behind it is able to evade our blockade with ease.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t we already blocked off all the smuggling tunnels, as well as controlled the river?!¡± ¡°Yes, we have¡­¡± Count Leon¡¯s anger soared even higher. Nothing was going right in this war ¨C it was meant to be a blitz. Based on his original estimates, he should be able to seize Tenar within the first two weeks. However, it had already been more than a month, and they were only halfway to Tenar, unable to break through the resolute defences of both Ocra and Tenar. ¡°Sir, there is one piece of good news.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°The tunnels under Ocra are nearlypleted. We should be able to take down the walls in one fell swooppletely.¡± Just as Count Leon was about to smile for the first time in a long while, a sergeant burst into themand tent. ¡°Sir, there¡¯s an intruder in the camp!¡± ¡°Intruder?!¡± ¡°Yes sir, but he¡¯s not attacking anyone. He ims he wants to meet with you alone.¡± ¡°How did he even get in?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing sir, we don¡¯t know either!¡± Count Leon and his entourage rushed out, only to see an armored exosuit, standing in the center of the camp, his hand grabbing an obviously tortured prisoner, wearing a Versian military uniform. The Raktor soldiers all aimed their repeaters at him, ready to shoot at a moment¡¯s notice. A general was bbergasted, quickly whispering to the Count: ¡°Sir, that prisoner ¨C he¡¯s wearing the same uniform as the Versian military unit that hit our supply convoy. The Versian special force.¡± Instead of giving the order to shoot, Count Leon¡¯s smile became even wider than it had ever been in thest month of the war. ¡°Stand down. All of you.¡± ¡°What?! But sir¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll meet with him alone in my tent.¡± The armored exosuit followed the Count, dragging the unconscious prisoner along the floor under the watchful eyes of his entourage, who all were extremely wary. Yet they could not help but feel a strange sense of danger ¨C as though if they were to attack the armored exosuit, they would die in an instant. As soon as the two of them were alone in the tent, Count Leon turned to face him, his hand on the hilt of his arctech sword. ¡°If you¡¯re going to try and assassinate me by using one of your fellowrades as a gift, I suggest you think twice.¡± ¡°Not here to kill you. To negotiate. I heard you have issue with your supplywork.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re the one running the ck market. Let me guess. Ghost of Tenar?¡± ¡°Astute.¡± The armored exosuit took off his helmet, revealing Kyle¡¯s face for the Count to see directly. The Count¡¯s eyes widened before a wide grin appeared on his face yet again. ¡°This should be the first time we¡¯re meeting face to face.¡± ¡°It is, Count Leon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard many things from Baron Cain about you and your gang.¡± ¡°I hope it is only good things.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡± ¡°The military contract for weapons was just business. I had nothing personal against you.¡± ¡°And what about the raids on my supply convoy?¡± ¡°A side-effect of the nature of war. Let¡¯s cut to the chase ¨C you¡¯re in trouble.¡± Count Leon red at Kyle. ¡°Thanks to a certain someone.¡± ¡°We both know I was not the only one targeting your supply convoys. Both the Versian Military and the major gangs had a hand in it too. The way I see it, there are four yers in this war.¡± ¡°You consider yourself a yer? You have nothing other than the prisoner to negotiate with. As far as I am concerned, I should have you killed right here and now.¡± ¡°Instead of fighting against each other, I can help you take Tenar in one single push. Before even any of the other Counts can follow through.¡± Kyle wasn¡¯t wrong ¨C the three Counts were effectively in a sort of race to capture Tenar or as much of Versia as possible. Each of them were invading from their respective borders, trying to gobble up as muchnd as possible before any one of them took over the capital. Naturally, this meant that the level of cooperation between the three of them was very light, with only information being shared among the generals who led the three separate warfronts. If Count Leon could rush forward and capture Tenar before the other two, he would have a de jure right to any existing territory, redrawing the borders to suit him. However, he remained skeptical of Kyle¡¯s proposition, who seemed clearly unbelievable and impossible. He scoffed in reply: ¡°Many of my generals have said that before. How are you going to do better than them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you are curious as to how am I getting into Ocra to supply the ck market while evading your blockade. What if I can do the same for your troops? Imagine your forces with unlimited supplies. You can wipe out the Versian military with a series of rapid strikes.¡± The alluring prospects tempted Count Leon slightly. It was true that he was currently stalled, with no clear way of pushing through the defenses of the Versian military. The inability to capture Ocra also made the supply lines tenuous at best, forcing Count Leon to divert resources to protect them. If what he is saying is true, then my troops will have the ability to fight harder than ever. However...¡°You must have made a lot of money from this war, with your profiteering for the ck market.¡± ¡°Only reason why I can stand in front of you now today.¡± ¡°And yet you are offering to end the very cause of your increased wealth.¡± ¡°I too am at my wits end, Count Leon. Just a few days ago, I was attacked by the Versian Military.¡± Count Leon racked his brain, trying to recall all the prior movements reported by the Versian Military. ¡°You... you were the ones who repelled the Versian military at Desham?¡± He had already known about this battle, himself being incredulous that a peasant uprising was able to thwart an offensive operation by the special Nest division of Versia. ¡°So I believe we havemon ground. Amon enemy. We are both taking losses in Versia and in Raktor, to abined alliance of Versia and the major gangs of Raktor. If we do not help each other, we will lose in totality.¡± Count Leon didn¡¯t want to admit it, but he had drastically underestimate the ambitions of the major gangs. He was already well prepared to face the Versian military, but he did not expect the major gangs to turn against him and be on par with the enforcers. ¡°What exactly do you want out of this alliance? What¡¯s your goal?¡± ¡°Survival. I too am being attacked on all sides. It is in my best interest, and perhaps yours as well, to unite our different strengths.¡± Count Leon pondered for a moment, silence filling the tent. ¡°Exin how the n would work.¡± Count Leon finally spoke, with Kyle grinning internally, knowing he had already hooked the Count. ¡°I will redirect supplies from the ck market directly to your troops. Food, water, basic supplies, potions, weapons, you name it, I¡¯ll get it to the front-line. I will also provide information and observation on movements of the Versian military in real-time, giving you a clear advantage.¡± Kyle exined. ¡°That¡¯s not going to be enough to crack the walls of Tenar.¡± ¡°I have people inside already that can assist in letting Yual soldiers infiltrate. You can capture the government buildings in a single raid, effectivelyting you a win.¡± ¡°Timeline?¡± ¡°In one single week. Starting from now.¡± Kyle stated. Week?!¡°That¡¯s ridiculous.¡± ¡°Not really. Your troops are only a few dozen kilometers away from the capital. Three victorious battles away from routing the military and having them retreat to Tenar. While they are scrambling in retreat, your infiltration squad will work with my insiders to overthrow the government.¡± Count Leon considered the n again, but until he saw tangible results, he was reluctant to put all his faith in Kyle. Kyle no doubt is seeking his own gain ¨C I can tell he is not one to listen to orders.He had zero trust in Kyle as a person, the two of them never having worked together at all. He did not even trust his fellow Counts; how could he trust a small-time gang leader? Though he admitted that Kyle seemed to be dependable. Count Leon had no doubt Kyle waspetent. He recalled that Kyle had only appeared in Raktor not more than a few months ago, and for a man to rise to this station to be a significant yer in a war, he had to be of certain aptitude. Count Leon also could not deny the military strength of Kyle, who was able to force a Versian military division to retreat. ¡°Fine. I agree to the n. But I will only execute it when the suppliese in ¨C not before.¡± Count Leon finally relented. ¡°Not a problem. You will have your supplywork ready by tomorrow.¡± They hashed out the smaller details, with Count Leon assigning representatives to handle the logistics and delivery timings as well as list of requested items. Count Leon knew that most of it was going to be simply things that were originally from his own supply convoy, stolen by Kyle. However, the alternative was a failure on either the Versian Front or the Raktor uprising. He needed to crush the Verisan state in oneplete move and swing back to quell the uprising. With Kyle¡¯s help, he could elerate the timeline and get out of this rut. Kyle soon left the camp, walking away into the distance and disappearing through the forest. The Raktor observers and scouts failed to catch Kyle as he picked up speed, shaking them off immediately. ¡°He must have some form of transportation ¨C a fast one that can traverse great distances without being caught.¡± Count Leon exined the details of the new n to the generals. ¡°Perhaps it is a wyrm of sorts, one that can camouge into its surroundings and be well hidden.¡± One of the generals wondered, but the others were far too excited at the military possibilities that this new supplywork would bring. It meant that they were no longer restricted to roads nor infrastructure to push the army forward, reliving the strain of logistics on their shoulders. Despite the infectious enthusiasm, they were still worried about Kyle himself. ¡°Sir, would he not turn around and betray us eventually? Once we capture Tenar and solidify your rule, the biggest thorn in your side will be him. Allowing him to grow will be detrimental in the future.¡± ¡°Of course it will be. Which is why once we capture the government of Versia, all of your orders are to kill him immediately.¡± Chapter 139: Johan The underground tunnel base of Desham was in a frenzy, with recruits gearing up and stocking up the stealth hovercrafts and mineral ants, preparing for the uing mission. ¡°Gas masks! Make sure you have your gas masks! Don¡¯t forget your drills!¡± Feldon bellowed as he oversaw the movement, with the irregr military force now being reorganised into their various squads and toons, bing something akin to a private militarypany. Many of them had been training since a month ago, ever since the revolution in Desham. Others were fairly new, having only joined more than two weeks ago as refugees. All of them knew exactly what they were signing up for: mercenaries for hire¡ªa private fighting force led by Kyle. Kyle did not hide anything from them regarding what they intended to do: they would fight anyone and everyone but themselves as long as it made a profit. Those who could not give up their conscience and morals were already not included, leaving those who only had loyalty to Kyle as long as they got paid. If Kyle had his way, he would engrave all of them with a ve engraving. Despite the ultimate control that it would bring him, it would foment dissent and hatred towards him instead. He would much rather win over them through an increased standard of living, higher goods, and assured victory in nearly every battle. The lives of the recruited soldiers under Kyle were far better than what they had before. Many were from the slums of Desham, while others came from war-ravaged towns and viges. All who join shared amon trait: they had a desire to be stronger or richer. And Kyle promised to deliver both. The steel factory of Desham churned and produced armour tes and parts for the stealth hovercraft over time, slowly increasing their fleet. Kyle now even had a heavy variant of the hovercraft, which was powered by five arcia crystals, serving as a dropship for troops. Rifles and swords were the main weapons, along with a few grenades and explosives for harder targets. Each squad had amunication pack and a machine gunner. No one in the force could fire a machine gun like Kyle could without an arcia fuel pack, so each squad had multiple fuel packs as well. Much of the equipment was partly thanks to Count Leon¡¯s supply convoys as well as the Versian military convoys, allowing them to leech off the military equipment without having to pay. On top of that, they had more than enough food and water collected from the surrounding viges which traded for other supplies. Kyle now had a stockpile of resources, enough to fuel both Count Leon¡¯s troops and his. With this, Kyle had assembled a small brigade of two thousand five hundred soldiers, with another hundred acting as logistical support and observation. This would serve as Kyle¡¯s power base, a far stronger force than anything he had assembled in the Yual Dominion. ¡°So we¡¯re going to airdrop everyone into Tenar?¡± Feldon asked in a meeting, where Kyle exined the n step-by-step. ¡°Not yet. We¡¯ll send a strike force in first to figure out the situation on the ground. If Dekar and the others are still within Tenar, then that will make the entire n easier ¨C but it¡¯s not a prerequisite.¡± He didn¡¯t need the former rebellious forces that he had developed: his brigade would simply have to focus on the governmental buildings, targeting all the critical infrastructure to overthrow the government. ¡°Are we really going to let Count Leon take over Versia and end the war?¡± Hayden red. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up to betray my country to you, Yual dogs. If this is the end goal, I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°Of course not. The war ending prematurely does not benefit me in any way, shape or form. Once the current government of Versia has been neutralised, we will kill off Count Leon¡¯s forces immediately. At that point, they will be overstretched, surrounded and exhausted from the week-long push towards Tenar.¡± Hayden was confused for a second before realisation dawned on her face. ¡°Then who takes over the government? None of us, not even me, have any form of legitimacy. We can¡¯t just walk up to the podium and dere we¡¯re the new kings of Versia? Building up popr support takes time!¡± The years of revolution nning was still fresh in Hayden¡¯s memories, having been part of the original revolutionaries group. She could not believe the timeline that Kyle was pushing for, sure that the people would begin to push back once they took over power, leading to further instability post-coup. ¡°Then the solution is simple. We find someone with legitimacy. Tell me how President Johan looks and acts like.¡± *** The city of Creuliz was calm and quiet. However, it was not because of any idyllic lifestyle or peaceful atmosphere. Instead, hundreds of soldiers marched around the streets, beating up anyone who flouted the curfew as spotlights and patrol squads swept the area at night. [Martial Law has been dered by President Mornero. All citizens are to remain indoors until further notice. Food and water shall be delivered to your doorsteps. The military reserves a warrant to search your houses.] Two patrolling soldiers walked down an alleyway under the night sky, searching every corner and feeling the walls for any hidden groves, trying to figure out if there was a hidden door as they slung their guns behind their backs, their boots squelching in the grime and sludge coating the floor. ¡°The tipoff must have been a ruse. I don¡¯t think the rebels are hiding here.¡± One of the patrol soldiers muttered as he flipped over a stack of old newspapers, only to see arge rat scurry away in fear. ¡°Rebels? More like religious cult members if you ask me. You¡¯ve just joined three days ago, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I know, I know. They im that President Johan had been resurrected with the help of the Goddess Nona. Who even the fuck is that Goddess? It¡¯s the first time I ever heard about that. To me, it¡¯s a ploy, a narrative used by the rebels to try and garner support.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing!¡± The soldier leaned in closer to his squad mate. ¡°No one else believes me, but I¡¯ve seen him.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve seen President Johan?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, in the flesh! I saw him three weeks ago, when he was first reported. I was part of the squad that saw him! The military and government has been mping down on the news.¡± ¡°Ridiculous. We all know President Johan is dead. There was a funeral and everything!¡± ¡°But what if the body in the coffin was fake? A double?¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about somebodying back to life. That¡¯s just stupid.¡± ¡°No, you fucking idiot. What if he never died in the first ce but was only being exiled or pushed aside by the current government?¡± The soldier paused as he contemted it. ¡°That sounds like a full-blown conspiracy. Are you sure you haven¡¯t been huffing Euria?¡± ¡°Listen, right? The best way to determine what¡¯s going on is ¨C who benefits the most from it. Do you really think the vice president was all ¡®oh my president died, guess it¡¯s my lucky day¡¯. And suddenly he takes over the government in one fell swoop, implement sweeping changes.¡± ¡°We¡¯re at war, idiot. If he didn¡¯t do the sweeping changes, we¡¯ve would have capitted by now.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s the speed and reaction of it. It was as though they were already waiting, knowing that anytime now, President Johan was going to kick the bucket. But why? The guy was barely forty years old.¡± ¡°Okay, now you sound more and more like a crazy conspiracy theorist. Is this why the othersughed at me for getting paired up with you?¡± ¡°Fine. Just don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you when shit hits the fan.¡± Suddenly, a violent gust of wind sted past them followed by a thud, with the two soldiers immediately hoisting their guns to eye level, scanning the alleyway. ¡°What in the world¡­ did you hear that?¡± ¡°Yea, what the hell? Sounded like something metalnding from high above the ground. I¡¯ll radio in for backup.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, idiot. Thest time I got spooked by a rat, I was ridiculed for days.¡± ¡°But what if it was really a person? Shouldn¡¯t we report everything suspicious?¡± ¡°Only if we can confirm that it was a person. Where did you hear the sounde from?¡± ¡°That way.¡± The two soldiers warily checked the alleyway one more time, before a young man hiding in cover suddenly lunged out at them in a frenzy, attempting to stab with a short makeshift knife. ¡°For Nona!¡± The first soldier reacted instantly, shooting the young man in the leg while dodging the iing strike. ¡°Shit, its one of the cult members!¡± ¡°Rebel, idiot. Restrain him, quickly!¡± They arrested him on the spot, tying up with metal handcuffs, though the two soldiers both felt a bit uneasy. ¡°You know, I swore the sound was metallic. There¡¯s no way this dude managed to make such a loud sound.¡± ¡°Maybe it was a luring sound of sorts.¡± ¡°Then where did ite from?¡± They continued searching, leaving the young man on the ground temporarily. It wasn¡¯t until they reached the middle of the alleyway that they saw a distinct footprint on the floor, clearly human-made. ¡°Now, can I radio in for backup?¡± ¡°Wait, look at the footprint. There¡¯s only two, and there¡¯s no trail. Where the hell did the guy go?¡± Suddenly, a human shadownded right next to the soldiers, grappling and twisting the neck of the first soldier immediately. MG404: [System Message Killed: [Creuliz Patrol Guard] +50 EXP] ¡°Wha-¡° Before the second soldier could cry for help, Kyle was already lunging right for him, cutting off his windpipe with a heavy punch, followed by a snapping of the neck. Let¡¯s find out who this President Johan is. Kyle was wearing a lighter version of his arctech armour, as the heavy armour was not good for sneaking around in a heavily militarised city. He freed the young man, who immediately scampered away, running far into the distance. "Observers, keep track on him. Let him lead right back." [Got it, Boss.] The observers on a stealth hovercraft flew high, peering down with a telescope and trailing the young man. The young man heaved and panted, covered in grime as he ran through a series of urban blocks, before making a sudden sharp turn and frantically rushing down a flight of stairs towards the basement of a building. Running up to a old rusted metal door, he mmed the knocker three times hard in a hectic fashion. The sliding peephole in the door opened with a ng, as a pair of eyes red at the young man. "Were you followed? And what the fuck happened to you?" "I don''t know, I almost died! Let me in!" "Fucking hell." The metal door swung open, revealing a burly man, acting as a bouncer as he held a tight grip on a rifle. He peered around the corner of the doorway, looking for any signs of someone following. "Get in, quick." As the door mmed in behind them, the bouncer groaned: "What the hell were you thinking, getting caught out there like that. Did you at least get it?" "I got it, I got it." The young man grinned as he pulled out an arctech radio, stolen from the military. "Well done, this should help us evade the patrols with ease. Get this to Johan." The young man walked through the small basement base, which was upied by a few dozen rebels. Many of them were remnants of the purge from Tenar, having escaped through the catbs. Some of them still suffered from lingering effects of Agent ck, having their limbs cauterized or decaying slowly, skin peeling off as they tried to rx on makeshift beds out of dirty clothes. A few members ran about, helping the sick and the wounded, while others loaded magazines and made pellets from scrap metal, the burning furnace''s heat obvious. In other rooms, leaders were nning out the next move, targeting specific locations in the city to control. "President Johan!" The young man called out as he entered a small head office. "I''m not President any longer, boy." A middle-aged gentleman spoke calmly, as he sat up straighter from his office chair, putting down the newspaper that he had just been reading. "What happened? Has Dekar returned?" "Not yet, but I got something even better." The young man ced the military arctech radio on the table. "This has full connection to the encryptedmunication lines. It matches all their engravings." "Brilliant work, boy." Johan nodded, but soon furrowed his brows, looking at the grime and the clear handcuff marks on the man''s wrist. "How did you get away from the soldiers?" "That''s the thing - there was a random armored person who was attacking the soldiers as well! He''s the one that saved me." Johan''s eyes squinted, but he immediately rang up the bouncer. "I''m assuming there''s an armored person at the door." "... Yes sir, how did you know?" "The boy was tracked. What does he want?" "Says he wants to meet you, face to face. ims to be from Desham." Desham? The town that fended off the Versian Military? Johan was intrigued. He himself was already nning to contact Desham, in the hopes of gaining support for his own movement. But for them toe and contact him first... "Let him in. Let''s see what he has to say." Chapter 140: Last Chance Johan stood outside the office and watched as the armoured man approached, escorted by two guards. He noticed the armoured man hardly even gave a nce to those suffering from the effects of Agent ck, as though he waspletely undeterred by such mdies. "Some water perhaps? We don''t have tea nor potions, sorry about this mess." Johan smiled as Kyle sat opposite him, the two of them alone in their office. "You seem quite calm about all of this. Are you not afraid that I will kill you immediately?" Kyle still had his armour and weapons on, along with a helmet that masked his face. "Wouldn''t be the first time someone tried it. I¡¯ve already been dered dead more than once." Johan chuckled. ¡°Though I can clearly guess you¡¯re not here to kill me. Not your first time seeing Agent ck as well, is it?¡± ¡°I have encountered it before, yes. Lets skip the guessing game.¡± Kyle took off his helmet, revealing his face. ¡°I am Kris Greyborn. I was working with Dekar in the catbs of Tenar.¡± ¡°Ah, I have heard about you from him. The Ghost of Tenar, you called yourself. An apt name. Your actions have already be legend, inspiring many others to find the truth. So, what does the Ghost of Tenar want with my ragtag bunch?¡± ¡°I n to reinstate both you and Dekar back into government. I will take down the current government in a week.¡± ¡°So Dekar can uphold his end of the deal? He isn¡¯t here right now, he is in Tenar.¡± ¡°Deal or not, I will get what I am owed.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t really care that Dekar was in power, as the basis of the deal had already been long thrown out of the window. What Kyle truly wanted was a puppet government ¨C and President Johan was going to be his force. Johan sat quietly, examining Kyle¡¯s demeanour and posture. ¡°You... you¡¯re a man lusting after money. Your only ideal is power. You want to use me.¡± ¡°That is the way of the world.¡± ¡°No, the world can be made better. The end goal isn¡¯t power, but how you use that power.¡± ¡°I did note here for a lesson in ideals or philosophy. I came here to strike a deal.¡± ¡°Why would I strike a deal with a man who has a bottomless pit of greed?¡± Johan scoffed. ¡°You have mebelled quite well, despite us having met for the first time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen many of your kind ¨C nobles,ndowners, businessman. They always strike a deal first, to lure you in. Giving benefits, gifts, discounts, subsidies. But once they have you hooked into their system, they immediately turn you into their next cash cow, and move on to the next sucker to hook. Am I wrong?¡± Kyle was slightly astonished, but had half expected this to happen. He had already known from Dekar and Hayden that Johan was a principled man, strong -will and unwilling to back down if he had a choice. A natural trait of all leaders. ¡°Are you sure you want to go this route?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bother trying to threaten me. I can already guess what your n was. You wanted me to act as a figurehead, to serve as a front for all the crimes and sins you were about to gue the people. I do not make deals with devils, Mr. Greyborn, Ghost of Tenar or not. I had high hopes that the Ghost of Tenar or the ruler of Desham would be far more idealistic, but instead all I see is a vulture, one who wants to take advantage of Versia.¡± ¡°Fine. Have it your way.¡± Kyle got up of his chair, preparing to leave when two guards suddenly entered the office, blocking the exit. ¡°Who say I was going to let you go? If there¡¯s one thing I¡¯ve learnt from this entire affair, is that corruption and evil must be snubbed at their root.¡± Johan pulled out an arctech pistol, aiming it right at Kyle. ¡°You¡¯ve caused in enough chaos in Versia ¨C now its time to pay up.¡± ¡°Observers, blow up the entrance.¡± Kyle spoke, seemingly to thin air. ¡°Huh?¡± The guards and Johan were confused, before suddenly a defeaning st and follow-up shockwave swept through the base like a raging wind, tearing up makeshift bedding and tents. The bouncer was incinerated, the flesh melting from his bones as the fires of the arcia bomb dropped from the stealth hovercraft swarmed the area, gulping at the air in the base while people screamed and ran. It was a clearly visible sight, with the military all across Creuliz having a clear sight of it. ¡°What was that? A bombing? Where is that location?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem to be anywhere important, sir, but it¡¯s near one of their suspected hiding areas.¡± ¡°Quickly, all nearby forces to investigate!¡± The soldiers began to swarm in on their position, heading towards the billowing cloud of smoke that began to choke out the basement, filling the air. Kyle immediately kicked into action the moment the explosion happened, his body already braced for it as he drew his lightning sword, stabbing it deep into the chest of the guard and skewering him through. Penchant for Violence! With a tight grip on the sword, he flung the body towards the other guard and instinctively ducked as he avoided three shots from Johan while rolling on the ground. Kyle kicked the backrest of his chair towards Johan, forcing Johan to dodge as well and allowing Kyle to recover. Kyle lunged for the rifle that the first guard dropped on the ground and immediately fired at the second guard, ramming him with a storm of pellets. The pellets tore through his face, ripping out his brain tissue and sshing the floor with blood. ¡°So you¡¯ve shown your true colours.¡± Johan grimaced as he took cover behind the office table. ¡°Don¡¯t you need me for your legitimacy n?¡± ¡°You seem to be mistaken about something, Johan ¨C I don¡¯t care what happens to Versia after the current government falls. My n doesn¡¯t revolve around you. All I want is what I am owed.¡± Kyle retorted, picking up the second guard¡¯s rifle instead now that the first was emptied. Johan¡¯s face nched, immediately imagining how Kyle would overturn the entire capital in a ze of fire, making everything Versia had achieved in thest fifteen years turn to rot. ¡°You dare?!¡± ¡°Are you willing to change your mind now?¡± Kyle smirked, aiming the rifle at the office table. ¡°The military will be here any minute.¡± Johan could already hear the xons of the military wagons ring in the distance beyond the raging arcia fire that the other members were desparately trying to put out. He could not run the risk of capture yet again ¨C he might never get out again, even if Dekar and Yona helped him. It might be years or even decades before he could do anything once more. Yet he could not forsake his ideal and partner with Kyle. He stayed true to his convictions, steeling his heart. ¡°You¡¯re assuming I can¡¯t get out of here.¡± ¡°Only if you get past me.¡± Johan didn¡¯t respond, instead using his body to ram the office table that he was using as cover, pushing it towards Kyle. However, Kyle was far too agile for it, leaping over the office table and immediately grappling Johan. ¡°Last chance.¡± Kyle spoke into Johan¡¯s ear as Johan struggled against Kyle¡¯s grip. Weak, far too weak. How did a person like this even be President? ¡°I will never surrender to evil, you fucker!¡± Johan¡¯s face turned red as he continued to elbow Kyle in the waist, ineffective due to the armour ting. Even if he managed to hit Kyle¡¯s skin, it was of no use ¨C Kyle was leagues above him in strength andbat ability. ¡°So be it.¡± Kyle let go of Johan, before lifting his rifle and firing every pellet he had in the magazine, taking great care to aim for the body instead of the face. The stalwart expression on Johan¡¯s face remained strong, even as he was gunned down in a spray of pellets, blood leaking from every hole carved into his flesh and organs while his body slumped down to the ground, dead. MG404: [System Message Killed: [ Johan ] + 5000 EXP] MG404: [ Level Up: 39 - 40 All Stats Increased Bonus Points Granted ] MG404: [Sub-ss Announcement Sub-ss Upgrade (Level 40) Congrattions, sub-ss will be upgraded now. Please wait.] ¡°Pick up at Sector GG83.¡± Kyle dismissed the messages as he retrieved the bloodied lightning sword, knowing he could hardly initate an sub-ss change right now in the midst of an active battle. [Copy that. Moving to position now.] As he stepped out of the home office, the members were busy fighting the fire, scrambling to find as much water as they could to put out the fire. The young man from before spotted Kyle, and noticed the copious amount of bloodstains on the floor, as well as Johan dead on the ground. ¡°What...? What did you do?¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply, instead raising his rifles and firing indiscriminately, killing everyone he came across. The members had little armour to no shielding, allowing each and every pellet to kill anyone whoid his eyes on him. The young man tried to charge at Kyle, only to have his head chopped cleanly off by a swing of Kyle¡¯s sword, the lightning searing through the neck like a hot knife through butter. MG404: [System Message Killed: [Versian Rebel] +50 EXP] This is My Turf! Kyle simply walked through the fire, escaping the base quickly and running through the streets, avoiding the military patrols that were all converging on the zing fire that dominated the city skyline at night. He soon reached a stealth ho that was parked on the top of the building, allowing him to quickly escape into air. ¡°All observers, retreat to Desham.¡± Kyle had initially hoped he would be able to leave peacefully, though Johan had first forced his hand by intending to keep Kyle prisoner. Kyle did not take no for an answer lightly, and certainly not threat of imprisonment. It would be a major setback to his first n of using legitimacy to stabilize the country under President Johan as the figurehead, but it was not the only way to run a coup. However, Kyle still needed someone to act as the facade, someone who was still rted to the government. That would be Minister Dekar. Kyle of course did not n to tell Dekar or any of the original revolutionaries that he was the one who killed Johan. Instead, he would pin the me on the military at Creuliz, who would no doubt begin to take credit for the death of Johan and the sessful stamping out of cults in the city. Dekar is in Tenar right now, so I can elerate the n. News of Johan¡¯s death will soon reach him, and I will appear at the right time. The moment Kyle reached back to the base, the soldiers under him were gathered in the main hangar bay, waiting for the pre-operation briefing that was jointly led by Kyle and Feldon. ¡°In three days time from now, we will strike Tenar with everything we have. The Nest Division are aware of our stealth hovercrafts and have deployed countermeasures before, so we cannot assume that Tenar does not have any defences.¡± ¡°As such, the n is simple ¨C we will re-enter the catbs from the dungeon¡¯s entrance, before establishing a forward operating base. We will deploy explosives on this marked locations: each squad will have their own designated objectives to nt them.¡± ¡°Once that ispleted, we will wait for Count Leon to approach the city with full force. On my mark, we will storm the government building and capture the seat of power. The final target is Mornero, current President of Versia. The ministers and other cronies are to be killed on sight with no hesitation. No one is to be captured alive or imprisoned.¡± ¡°By the end of the week, every government institution will be under our control. Versia will fall under us, and I will reinstate the former revolutionaries such as Minister Dekar and Hayden as rightful leaders.¡± M.G.Driver Same as Announcement on Chapter 122. Hey all. I know I have not uploaded for a very long time (about 20 days or so.) There is a personal reason because of this, and I don''t really want to go into too much details in a public space like this. Only Patrons and Discord members will know roughly what happened. Patreon chapter is now Chapter 201, which means approximately 60 chapters ahead. Please consider supporting me on Patreon as well, only if you have the extra cash: https://.patreon/mgdriver Chapter 141: Imminent Coup There were still a few stages in the n that had to be sorted, but that was the gist of it. Feldon and Kyle organised the mercenary force under them to sortie out. A new name was given to the force as well to show a sense of solidarity amongst the people rather than just pivoting around Kyle as the figurehead. ¡°ADCON? What does that stand for?¡± Feldon was confused. ¡°Anaconda Defense Contractors.¡± ¡°You really got something for snakes, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Have to stick to the naming convention.¡± It would take a while for the name to stick, but as long as Kyle kept the men well-fed and in high spirits, he believed he could eventually transform the mercenary group into a professional fighting force. I have all the equipment and weapons necessary ¨C I just need time. However, time waited for no one: He needed to strike Tenar within a week as hard as he could, based on his n and agreement with Count Leon. This was an opportunity he could not let up if he wanted to have any shot at making Versia a puppet. That had always been the end goal of Kyle, ever since he wanted to build a weapons factory in Versia with the help of Dekar. Making Versia a puppet would allow him near free reign to act like a warlord. Kyle was on the clock: if he did not make it to Tenar in time to make full use of Count Leon¡¯s frontal attack, then he knew Count Leon would retreat immediately to focus on Ocra and subsequently retake Raktor back from the major gangs who were now running the city like their own fiefdom. Kyle quickly set up the supplywork to Count Leon¡¯s forces, using the stealth hovercraft to airdrop packages onto designatednding areas for the troops to pick up, replenishing their supplies. As such, he needed to quickly enter the catbs and re-establish a forward base of operations. The only way he could think of entering was via the dungeon again, but there was a catch. ¡°If we go through the same way we left the dungeon, then the trial will activate again,¡± Kyle exined as they began to mobilise, the newly christened ADCON toons moving out towards the entrance of the dungeon. There was already existing infrastructure there set up, with Kyle having created a base of sorts to both train the ADCON recruits and act as a scouting base to warn of any signs of the Warden Drones returning in force. They had already been regrly making trips down to the same cavern, fighting against rock spiders in an intensive, gruelling training session over thest two weeks, hardening the ADCON recruits into experienced fighters, though only against monsters. Instead of clearing out the trial, Kyle plotted out the estimated map of the dungeon. ¡°We can use the existing tunnelwork that the mineral ants themselves has dug. Instead of entering the trial cavern, we should fly the other way and scout for an exit.¡± Kyle himself went to scout, flying through the hollowed-out tree trunk that served as arge corridor towards the expected location of the first cavern where he had previouslypleted the Trial of the Horde. Sure enough, there was a gaping hole near the expected location, where it led right down to the crushed rest area, the dead body of the queen spider and the three middle-ss slovesa still there. Kyle recalled the queen spider fell through the cluster of gemstones as well, so he had a slight expectation that he would be able to ess it through the top. Is the entire hollowed-out tree trunk a sort of emergency ess pathway? There would be time to investigate the formation of the dungeonter. For now, he got the mercenaries to begin the transfer of supplies here beforeying down rail tracks that went all the way down the passageway towards the original entrance that Kyle and Feldon entered by. The steel factory of Desham made a few rapid versions of railway tracks. They were not of the best quality, but Kyle didn¡¯t needfort ¨C he needed speed. The tracks wereid out quickly, aligned and locked into ce. ¡°Gas masks on,¡± Kyle ordered as they reached the end of the passageway, where they reached the copsed end of the passageway. He got two mineral ants to begin digging arge enough pathway leading back towards the old workshop area that Feldon had previously set up. The workshop was aplete mess, with most of the equipment already stolen by Nest. Only empty tables and crates were left behind, with the furnace even missing. The traces of Agent ck had already dissipated, making the air safe to breathe again. ¡°Begin the set-up. This will be our new base for the next week.¡± Weapons and equipment were hauled over, with squads beginning to fan out through the catbs, utilising a map co-authored by Kyle and Hayden, who still had a good memory of the secret channels used. ¡°If Dekar is still in Tenar, he most likely will be hiding in one of these thirty chambers,¡± Hayden exined. ¡°Either that, or he¡¯s hiding in one of the overground bases. There are ten of them.¡± As the squads began to move through the catbs, they began to deploy bombs positioned at the locations indicated. Many of them were structural, ced at seemingly meaningless ces. Hayden nced at the map of explosives, trying to figure out what Kyle was aiming for. Kyle had stolen the bombs from Versian and Yual military convoys, which could be activated via a wirelessmand. He had modified the engraving such that they worked on a specific frequency that would not be jammed once he deployed his own jamming radio. There were plenty of other things to prepare and take care off ¨C the most important being making sure the city had no anti-air defences. After his confrontation with the Nest Division, he had no doubt the capital would be well protected against stealth air infiltration. The various squads began to report back as they swept through the catbs, while Kyle crossed out the possible chambers Dekar could be in one by one. It wasn¡¯t untilter in the day that Dekar was finally found. When Kyle got over there, the squad that found the chamber Dekar was hiding in was in a stand-off with Dekar¡¯s followers, who aimed their rifles warily at them. ¡°Dekar, it¡¯s me. Stand down.¡± Kyle removed his helmet, revealing his face. ¡°¡­ Greyborn? Holy shit, you¡¯re still alive! How did you survive?¡± Dekar quickly ordered his men to stand down before inviting Kyle into the chamber as well. Kyle could hardly tell him he survived because of skills granted by the System, though it also made him curious as to how Dekar even survived Agent ck at all. As he entered the chamber, he noticed Zayin and Yona there as well. The atmosphere was noticeably depressive, with Kyle spotting a small little altar with candles lit up with a painting of the original revolutionaries mounted on it. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re still here ¨C I thought you would have ran away,¡± Zayin remarked, ncing at Kyle and his new ADCON squad. ¡°Dekar was pretty sure you were dead, but I was more confident that you had given up.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to give up until I get what¡¯s due. I¡¯m even more surprised by why Yona is even sticking with you guys.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be caught by Nest no matter where I go, Hwa Dynasty or Yual or Proco. Better to stick to others here.¡± Yona shrugged. More like using them as potential diversions to escape if needed. Kyle didn¡¯t press any further, instead asking Dekar again how did they survive. ¡°We ran the whole other way and jumped into the water to avoid the gas. We were swept down towards the outskirts of Creuliz.¡± Dekar exined. ¡°You jumped into the sewage water?¡± Talk about jumping into disease-ridden water to avoid a chemical purge. ¡°Why? Didn¡¯t you do that?¡± ¡°Nevermind.¡± Kyle dismissed the topic, and instead focused on what he came here for. ¡°Dekar, the deal is still valid to me.¡± Dekar scoffed. ¡°What deal? There¡¯s no way we can take down the current government within your original two months. If you followed your original timescale, you only have a week left.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll overturn Tenar in a week.¡± Dekar was about to retort, but he soon noticed the equipment of the ADCON squad behind Kyle, their weapons and armour seemingly manufactured of a different design, causing his words to be stuck in his throat. ¡°If you work with me, I can help you restore the government.¡± ¡°It¡¯s now impossible to restore the government ¨C Johan is dead now. The Versian military killed him.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re just going to give up?¡± ¡°Of course not!¡± Dekar snapped. ¡°If anything, I am even more motivated to push his ideals forward. I will not let his death be in vain. None of us will.¡± ¡°Good, because I need you to be the next head of state.¡± Dekar nodded. There was no point trying to act humble or defer to others ¨C Dekar knew he was the next in line, the sessor in terms of his previous governmental position. He clenched his fist tightly as he steeled his heart, ready to beat up those who had betrayed and killed Johan. ¡°What do we need to do?¡± ¡°We need to spread the word. I need a diversion before attacking the government building.¡± Kyle exined the rough gist of the n. ¡°That¡¯s doable. We can have Zayin lead disruptive attacks and riots on other sides of the city to draw the military and guards away. We can pull the attention of Nest as well far away from the centre.¡± Kyle brought Dekar, Zayin and Yona back to the main operating base. They sorted out assignments, with Kyle allocating a ADCON toon to Zayin. ¡°Make a ruckus. Let them know we mean business.¡± ¡°With pleasure.¡± Zayin grinned. They continued targeting key defensive locations, nning to disable anti-air cannons and spotters positions. Kyle did not tell Dekar and Zayin yet about the existence of the stealth hovercraft, simply exining it as a way of creating even more diversions. As they began to scatter to prepare for the imminent coup, Kyle eyed Yona warily from a distance, wondering about what her purpose was. She is not linked to Nest any longer ¨C if she ever tried to contact them, she would be dead on the spot, hunted down to the far ends of the gxy. Despite the obvious disassociation, she was a wild card in his ns, which could cause the chain of events to go off the rails very quickly. Just as he was contemting about killing her off, she approached him of her own ord to his surprise. ¡°I want to join your forces.¡± ¡°ADCON?¡± ¡°Yes. I can provide a much better informationwork as well as improve your current espionage protocols.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Kyle asked warily. ¡°I know my limits ¨C I¡¯m not the type that can survive alone. Until Nest dies, I will never be able to stand freely on my own.¡± ¡°I am surprised you are willing to work under me then.¡± ¡°I only have allegiance to strength and money. Lose either one of these two, and perhaps I might change my mind then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to live up to your standards then. For now, it is better you stick to Dekar. I need you to ensure he doesn¡¯t jeopardise the n.¡± Yona nodded. There wasn¡¯t a need for exnation ¨C Kyle was clearly nning to use Dekar as a figurehead and a puppet. Even Dekar knew about this: it was an open secret. However, it was an eptable deal: anything was better than having Mornero in charge. As they began to prepare, more and more ADCON soldiers came in from the dungeon, transported via hovercraft and then transferred to the makeshift railway tracks, barrelling down the passageway. Dekar and his followers dispersed through the city, spreading rumours of an imminent attack and causing the people to panic, raising tensions. The local military was now out in force, trying to mp down on the rumour and control stability within Tenar. Soon, the word came in through the observerwork Kyle had set up. ¡°Boss, Count Leon has begun to move forward. He¡¯s assaulting the frontline defence now!¡± ¡°Good. Operation is now in progress. Begin the diversion.¡± M.G.Driver I am currently doing shoutouts for authors who have stuck with me through the entire RR ordeal and gave me immense support that I needed. Especially those who didn''t just ditch me because I ''lost'' my worth, or took a shoutout from me on RR and ran away spreading baseless rumors about me. Here is one that still is a friend. Being ¡®in Vani¡¯ in a world that loves ¡®Dark Truffle¡¯ means you¡¯re royally f*cked. Cryptically being isekai-ed into a world of swords, magic, and mysteries was thest of Luke Raynott¡¯s worries. The moment he had witnessed the abysmally low numbers in his ¡®status window¡¯, his senses as a gamer and an average Joe started jingling like bells in a Christmas Carnival. That wasn¡¯t thest of it, as he ended up getting the ¡®Gunner¡¯ ss, a ss with close to no practical usage in this world that depended on magic. Will Luke be able to survive through the adversities and be stronger as an average person? Or will he be one of the cannon fodders of this erratically puzzling world? Will he ever find out the reason behind his transmigration? Or will it all get med on the almighty truck-kun? Join Luke¡¯s not-so-average life in a world where an ant can be bigger than an elephant, and a whale can be the go-to Pokemo¨C beast for traveling in the sea. Watch the tale of a ¡®Pew Pew¡¯ guy in a world of ¡®Abracadabra¡¯. As with every shoutout including subsequent ones, please only click if you are interested in the blurb. Personally, I found the story to be pretty well executed, and ites with even better stat tables than mine like: Chapter b1c: Book 1 Changelog + Update To all my dear readers, The series ''A ckMarket LitRPG'' has been signed to be published on Amazon sometime during May-July 2024. As part of the publishing efforts, a serious developmental edit has been performed (by myself) on Chapters 1 - 60. I will be performing this developmental edits in chunks of books (e.g Book 1, Book 2 and so on). In the edit of Book 1, the objective was to make it more logically coherent as to why the events are happening, along with more vibrant character dialogues to really establish them as distinct characters rather than mere sychopants to the MC. The antagonists are slightly smarter, but the general overall events remain the same. More foreshadowing is also set up for the Versian Arc, to reduce the jarring effect when the city was changed. Here is the overall changelog - I highly suggest you read it again from the start, and don''t forget to ''heart'' the chapters (or is it favourite? favorite? like? That heart icon at the bottom.) Spoiler Changelog ckMarket V2.0.1 Chapter 1: Chapter 2: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7: Chapter 8: Chapter 9: Chapter 10: Chapter 11: Chapter 12: Chapter 13: Chapter 15: Chapter 16: Chapter 16.5 Chapter 18: Chapter 28: Chapter 31 : Chapter 33: Chapter 38: Chapter 39: Chapter 40: Chapter 45: Chapter 54: Chapter 60: [copse] What''s Next? I am now working on Chapters 70 - 120 in order to streamline the Versian Arc, a point where many readers haveined about the non-stop tension and ever increasing stakes. I have attributed it to the fact that this is a normal issue every serialization face: for when the author writes it over two-three months, the reader reads it in a single sitting of a few hours, which means we experience the ''plot'' differently. More importantly, the Versian arc represents ack of agency on the MC part, which defeats the entire self-insert fantasy that I was aiming for. This isrgely due to his inability to ess the powerbase that he had worked so hard for in the first sixty chapters. I n to modify the Versian arc to create more agency for Kyle and a better chance. Initially I had designed events to ur such that Kyle would inevitably lose to Nest and the Wardens at least once. Failure is the mother of sess, after all, but such events actually cause readers to doubt where the book is going, which leads to specific outbreaks such as this on other websites: My greatest problem with the story is the pacing. It feels so rushed is vertigo-inducing. The MC has no chance to adapt and author just keep throwing bigger and more insane problems that the protagonist obviously cannot conceivably resolve. Like, okay let''s start from the weakest and shittiest gang, starting to fight with a middle-sized gang, just to f#cking throw him in a conflict agains the corrupt goverment officials and thergest gangs in the city, just to MC meddling in the middle of a f#cking war between two countries to (in the goddamn beggining of the war) make him face reincarnators robot-aliens Illuminati. I understand that the reader read the entire 130 chapters in approximately two hours based on hisments, so the pacing is definitely unfair to binge readers who are used to meandering CN novels. I aim to make the pacing much more paltable, with more side stories of the Seven Snakes back in Raktor to reduce the sinking feeling of helplessness that readers of Kyle faces, especially when he fights against Soren and Rayner. I believe the failure/losses/draws make Kyle a stronger person, and adds more relevancy to the enemies. I aim to also do proper buildup of antagonists against Kyle, with Harrison now getting far more screentime than he previously had. By setting the enemy into key characters, it makes it easier for the reader to stay invested rather than feel like he is fighting against a overpowering force. The war is also going to be redone to be far more realistic. I have been spending time researching the wars of the victorian era. You may find my research material on my discord as well (I have close to a hundred research papers and non-fiction books on crime, smuggling, war smuggling and so on.) I will also lengthen the stay of Kyle in Tenar, which I felt was far too short. This way we can still see Kyle perform his usual criminal actions, but in a new environment with new rules. Thank you all for reading again, and I hope you enjoy the updated Book 1 as much as I did. The Amazon release next year is my make or break for this fiction, and will be working hard in the next eleven months to make the story the best I can. If you have any suggestions,ints, grievances about the Chapters thus far from Chapter 70 to 140, please let me know so I can implement changes if reasonable. Chapter 142: Battle of Tenar (1) Riker fumbled his hands as he tried to pour the pellets into the canister from an ammo box, some of the pellets spilling out onto the floor. The small metallic pellets pinged off the rusted metallic sides of the machine gun, rolling towards a few cowering soldiers who held their helmets tightly. A series of distant booms could be heard, causing them to flinch on instinct, knowing that it was another round of artillery fire from the Versian Military. The sergeant in charge of the toon spotted the dropped pellets, pping Riker on the back and roaring into his ears under the heavy din of gunfire. ¡°PRIVATE! WE MIGHT HAVE SUPPLIES NOW, BUT THAT DOESN¡¯T MEAN YOU CAN FUCKING WASTE THEM, YOU HEAR ME?¡± ¡°Sir yes sir!¡± Riker nodded, focusing on reloading the machine gun. The current Riker was a far cry from the Red Lion thug in the past ¨C having been kicked out of the gang when he was transferred back from being a prisoner under Kyle. He did not mind it either, the torture and beatings he had experienced under Kyle scarring him. However, he had failed to find any other suitable job, and his anger always got the better of him. Even the various mercenary and adventurer guild did not want to take him in either. He The sergeant walked to the side of the machine gun emcement, where two engineers were desperately trying to fix a portable point defence system. They held a piece of syringe-like equipment, aiming the nozzle at the gaps of the engraving and filling them up with a temporary conductive material, before using an etcher to redraw the traces. ¡°What¡¯s the holdup? We have orders to push in five minutes!¡± The sergeant questioned the engineers as he squatted down into the mud as well. ¡°This one has been hit badly,¡± An engineer motioned to one of the portable devices. ¡°It would onlyst a few seconds once an enemy machine gun has its focus on us.¡± ¡°And the other?¡± ¡°Completely fried, sarge.¡± ¡°Goddamnit.¡± The sergeant scratched a rash on the back of his neck, contemting. It would be a death wish to try and push the frontline without a point defence system blocking at least a few of the shots. ¡°Sir! Loaded!¡± Riker yelled out, readying the machine gun and aiming it at the enemy frontline. ¡°Men! Ready yourselves! You¡¯re all professional soldiers ¨C you knew what you were signing up for!¡± The sergeant hollered as he walked down the trench, where the soldiers were desperately checking their equipment. The nerves got to a few of them, their hands shaking and trembling as they peeped over the trench, seeing a no man¡¯snd of a few hundred meters. With the fresh supplies provided by Kyle, Count Leon¡¯s forces were now about to break the stalemate that had been urring for over a moment, ready to push forward. The soldiers in the trenches were well aware that they were just numbers in a wargame. One of the soldiers clutched his proposal ring tightly, mumbling to himself in a chant to steel his own heart. ¡°I¡¯m going to propose if I survive, I¡¯m going to propose if I survive.¡± [All toons, prepare to charge on next artillery barrage.] The soldiers got ready, with some donning on their arctech knight armour, preparing themselves for the first push while the toon sergeant walked briskly through the trench, his once shiny boots already covered in blood and mud. ¡°Yual himself today is with us, gentleman. Do you see Tenar in the distance? There it is, just waiting for our final call of victory and triumph. Do you want to return a hero?! Or return a coward!?¡± The toon sergeant roared as soon as he heard themand on his arctech radio. He needed the morale of the soldiers to be high to prevent a rout once they were in no man¡¯snd. ¡°A HERO!¡± The soldiers chanted back in reply, the peer pressure beginning to seep into the forces, lifting their spirits. ¡°When your wife or fianc¨¦e asks you what you did in battle, would you say you ran with your tail between your legs?¡± ¡°NO!¡± ¡°What would you tell your children when they ask you about the glorious battle? That you fled like a coward, unwilling to push against the enemy?!¡± ¡°NO!¡± Even Riker was shouting along, easily influenced. ¡°Then steel your hearts and souls! For today, we return to Raktor as heroes of a new age!¡± A deafening volley of mortar and artillery fire wasunched from the Yual forces, shattering the weakening Versian point defence systems and mming their entrenched positions, limbs and dirt mixed in the air in the ensuing explosions. The soldiers¡¯ spirits were lifted even higher when they saw and heard the screams of the Versian soldiers on the other side. ¡°Look, their point defence system has been knocked out too!¡± ¡°Supporting fire, now!¡± Another sergeantmanded Riker. Riker steeled his body, anchoring his feet as he fired the machine gun, the recoil from the action-reaction force and transfer of momentum rattling his bones as he kept the gun steady, targeting previously spotted enemy positions and unleashing pellets on them, forcing the Versian soldiers on the other side to take cover temporarily. The toon sergeant grabbed a banner, the g of Count Leon. ¡°Soldiers of Yual! Come and seek your colours. Find your ce as a man! CHARGE!¡± ¡°YAAARGGGHHHH!¡± Across the entire trench line, the Raktor soldiers began to pour out like a swarm of ants, charging across the no man¡¯snd, capitalising on the suppressive fire of the machine gun emcements. Warmachines and armored wagons pushed forward as well, providing cover for the charging infrantry in abined arms attack. Versian artillery quickly opened blind fire on the charging troops. The shells levelled the ground, pummelling the troops and the thick armour of the wagon while the brave soldiers rushed under direct fire. The faster ones sprinted through the no man¡¯snd, covering the gap under a minute before reaching the trench, only to be immediately gunned down by Versian soldiers waiting in the trench. ¡°Grenadiers!!¡± The toon sergeant roared as he waved the banner frantically, the g already riddled with holes. A squad of soldiers flung a series of explosives right into the trenches, blowing up the hiding Versian soldiers and flushing out the trench in a blinding explosion, while the other squads quickly exploited, entering the trench and engaging in close-quarterbat. The war machines rolled right up to the edge of the trench, unleashing their liquid methrower and dousing the screaming Versian soldiers in mes, burning their flesh and bones in harrowing torture. Their mounted machine guns fired rapidly as well, gunning down swaths of cowering Versian soldiers who did not have the equipment to fight head on. Mines were tripped, with the weak underbelly of some war machines blown up, igniting the arcia fuel within and immting the crew within as well. The mes and smoke leaked out through the top hatch like a burning house; the same scene yed out all across the length of the trench line, which stretched for kilometres. Each section of the trench line was under simultaneous attack, with casualties and wounded increasing on both sides. The fierce onught soon broke the morale of the Versian soldiers, who began to flee towards Tenar, routed. Even the artillery shelling stopped, as the Versian generals frantically recalled them as well. Each artillery and mortar was a precious resource, and with the Yual soldiers within striking range and clear line of sight of the gun shes, they were not going to risk giving it up. [West nk of the trench is cleared.] [East nk cleared.] The observer reports came in rapidly, with camp aides pushing markers around on a map, denoting the positions of toons and brigades. The map was on a farrger scale, denoting the current division as the west division. ¡°Sir, the push is a sess.¡± An officer reported to the divisionmander. ¡°Good! We shall now send the fourth and third brigades to nk the other trench lines.¡± The trench line here was only part of arger defensive line of the Versians, with four other divisions under Count Leon pushing hard against the remaining two divisions. With the western nk of the defensive line broken, Count Leon now could have his west division swing around to trap and capture the Versian divisions. The Versian divisions soon began to retreat under a generalmand, with the nk exposed. ¡°Regroup at the second defensive line!¡± The generals ordered, organising the divisions to evacuate before they were surrounded on all fronts quickly. Count Leon smirked as he watched the fleeing Versian divisions scrambling back to Tenar, its stone walls a speck in the horizon. This was a major victory considering the stalemate of a month before, though he knew he had to contest with a second defensive line. ¡°Casualties?¡± ¡°Insignificant, sir. We still retain more than 90% of our fighting forces.¡± Most of the Versian troops managed to make it out, which meant that Count Leon would have to deal with a concentrated military forceter. Count Leon immediately gave chase to prevent the Versian military from regrouping, capitalising on Kyle¡¯s ability to provide supplies on the move. At the same time, Kyle¡¯s observers in the stealth hovercraft provided real-time updates on all military movements, tracking for any nks or ambushes. ¡°Push hard! Tenar is within reach!¡± The soldiers on the ground marched fast, lugging their equipment as the faster wagons trailed the fleeing Versian military. Nearly a day passed, with the chase even extending through the night. Count Leon¡¯s baggage train shifted forwards as well, moving quickly in a blitz towards Tenar. Battles and small skirmishes erupted all through the night, as stragglers and entire artillery squads were captured, far too slowpared to the fast-moving armoured wagons of Raktor. The two Versian military divisions were dispersed even more, as every soldier tried to live for themselves, unwilling to be killed. The Versian generals desperately tried to control their men, but it was far toote, as the chaos had already taken over. The originally orderly retreat had now turned into a full ruckus. Wagons, people and baggage were moving in nearly every other direction than towards Tenar, with many soldiers hoping to get out of the battle. ¡°Tenar is lost! We can¡¯t hope to stop them now!¡± The despair spread rapidly, with theck of cohesion making it even easier for Count Leon to catch them, earning him even more equipment and supplies. Soon, Count Leon¡¯s forces came to a stop, the towering stone walls of Tenar clearly visible from five kilometres away. The soldiers immediately came under artillery fire from the city walls, forcing them to stop and begin the entrenchment again. Finally, the grand prize. ¡°Any word from our supplier?¡± ¡°No sir, radio silence so far.¡± Count Leon waited for a few more hours, but soon, theck ofmunication began to worry him. What¡¯s going on inside the city? ¡°Is the infiltration force ready?¡± ¡°Yes sir. I¡¯ve selected the best of the best.¡± The infiltration force was made up of Count Leon¡¯s personal retinue of knights, having decades of training under their belt, including experience from the previous Versian war. ¡°Once entering Tenar, link up with the local rebellion. Quote Goddess Nona and the Ghost of Tenar to the locals, and create a forward beachfront for our forces to begin moving into Tenar. He immediately ordered the infiltration force to begin moving under cover of night, masking every form of light as they snuck towards a pre-determined catb entrance agreed upon. However, as they neared the entrance, they soon spotted a toon of Nest soldiers covering the entrance, patrolling the area. The infiltration force moved even closer, beforeunching a surprise attack on them. The Nest soldiers were not as well trained as Count Leon¡¯s knights, who easily massacred all of them in a swift manner. ¡°Gas masks!¡± The knights prepared their equipment, ready to enter the catbs. They dropped down the shaft with a loud thud, the catbspletely empty. They followed the sewage, tracing it towards the edge of Tenar¡¯s underground. Count Leon waited patiently as artillery fire continued to resound through the night, with both sides testing each other. Soon, a new observer report came in, causing Count Leon to worry slightly. ¡°The Versian military is retreating on the other warfronts?¡± This means that they are going to try and surround me. ¡°How long till they arrive?¡± ¡°In about a week, sir. Three days if they move fast.¡± ¡°Quickly tell the other Counts to give chase.¡± ¡°Yes, sir, right away!¡± Count Leon furrowed his brows as he rested his arms on the table with the map of Versia. He knew that the Counts would not give chase and would instead be happy to let the Versian military nk him. This made the capture of Tenar even more imperative. I must capture the city in a week! M.G.Driver Again, you don''t have to click if it doesn''t interest you - here''s the blurb: Imagine a Xianxia MC. Imagined? Good. You might think he fights other young masters, face ps them, gets the jade beauties that aren''t actually green, and bes an immortal. If you have imagined that, congrattions, but that''s not who I am. I''m apparently Demonic Sect Elder, Type A. Crippled, and in severe need of disciples. Help. A bit of a twist on the usual wuxia trope, and I quite like it. Not exactly the best, but a fun read nheless. Give a try if you''re interested in such a genre. Chapter 143: Battle of Tenar (2) Kyle too was aware of the tight deadline well beforehand. He was also receiving the same reports from his observers, ryed through messengers and arctech radios serving as repeaters. Generally, the Versian Military was smaller than all three Counts¡¯ forcesbined, but if they focused all their firepower onto Count Leon and surrounded him, Kyle would lose the momentum and run the risk of being targeted within the city, left alone without allies. Already his ADCON squads were engaging in skirmishes around the city, raising the alert level of the Nest division that had slunk back to Tenar after their defeat at Desham. Kyle would have been outnumbered if he only had the two thousand and five hundred soldiers of his brigade, but luckily for him, the seeds of revolution and discontent with the current government that he had sown in the past had been brewing over the past two months. The religion that Kyle had started as a ploy to gain more followers were building their own momentum, treating the Ghost of Tenar as a figurehead. The loyal adherents of the new movement grew in number over time, allowing Dekar to easily utilize them as new members and supporters. Kyle did not expect the religion to grow to such a wide scale that nearly every citizen in Tenar had heard about it, with the government attempting to mp down on the spread. The tight censorship on such rumors only led to even more citizens being dissatisifed with the government, even though they were in the midst of a war. This was building off the original assassination attempt of Mornero by Kyle, where only cronies of Mornero had been targeted. This already tripped rm bells in the minds of the citizens, who had already began to wonder about conspiracies within the governement. With such a censorship policy, the discontentment only spread even more hand-in-hand with the new religious movement. ¡°Mornero is not blessed by Goddess Nona ¨C he aims to suppress us all and fuel his own cronies for war!¡± The newly self-proimed leaders of the religion told their followers. ¡°When the Ghost of Tenar finally returns to exact his final revenge, we shall join him and return Versia to its rightful state, with no corruption!¡± Their dissent and disastifaction grew even stronger when Johan was discovered to be alive. Now with the Versian military iming that the ¡®cult¡¯ had been destroyed in Creuliz, the local rebels in Tenar were more riled up than ever. ¡°First they lie to us about Johan being dead, but now they killed him? They are unfit to be the rightful government of Versia!¡± ¡°Traitors, the lot of them!¡± With this, Dekar had even more supporters and followers, building up a strong case for his return to government. Regr protests had broke out in the past month, though they were quickly suppressed by the heavy-handed military. As such, Kyle had a willing base of followers and supporters to use as diversionary tactics, increasing his numbers nearly twenty times. With this, I can plunge the entire city into chaos while I go for the government heads. A simple decapitation strategy, but it hinged on Count Leon¡¯s frontal attack. The moment the observer reports talked about Count Leon¡¯s victory at the first defensive line, Kyle had his squads begin to sabotage the various military instations across Tenar. Supply warehouses, wagon bays, ammunition dumps, each of them were being blown up while Kyle waited for Count Leon to reach Tenar. This slowed down the Versian military¡¯s attempts to stall Count Leon, forcing them to divert troops and resources to mp down on the attacks. The Versian military was torn apart, having to fight rebels within Tenar while trying to organize a defence to push back. ¡°Who the hell are these soldiers? Where are the rebels getting these sort of equipment from?¡± ¡°It must be Count Leon¡¯s troops, they are supplying rebels with weapons!¡± ¡°The power station is under attack!¡± ¡°Forget that, protect the artillery emcements on the walls!¡± ¡°Just hold on ¨C if we can hold on for a week, we will be able to surround Count Leon and force him to surrender!¡± The Nest division began to sweep the catbs and hiding spots of the rebels, using Agent ck to flush them out again. However this time, Kyle and his forces were already prepared in advance, using gas masks and fighting toe-to-toe with Nest squads through the winding tunnels. The battle has begun. Kyle deployed all ADCON squads, sending his men supported by local rebels to attack their objectives, spreading the fighting through the city. ¡°Boss, are we not going to wait for Count Leon¡¯s forces?¡± Feldon asked. ¡°There¡¯s no time, Nest is already onto us. We need to strike out now before they surround uspletely and pull them away from our base.¡± On the other side of the city, Zayin was already leading a riot that was building in size, supported by the ADCON squads. ¡°Mornero is illegimate! He killed President Johan in Creuliz!¡± The rioters stormed utilities such as water treatment nts, power stations and arctech radio ry stations, forcing the military to engage them in a fierce gunfight that ravaged the urban blocks. Surprisingly, Kyle was not the only one who had followers on his side : Mornero too, began to rally the citizens in a presidental address a few hours after the first diversionary attacks on the outskirts of the city. [Fellow Versians, today, the war has reached the capital. Do not be swayed by those who im to love Versia, yet attack our city in our time of need. There is nothing to gain by fighting amongst ourselves while the enemy is at our gate! I call on every loyal Versian to stand up and defend our rights. Those who sabotage us wants us to be subjugated under the Yual Dominion! Stand up!] The general call to arms did not go unanswered ¨C patriotic citizens took up their personal weapons and guns to join with the Versian military, forming a temporary militia against the rioters and rebels in the city. ¡°Dogs of Mornero! You follow a false leader who is corrupting Versia from within!¡± The rebels hollered on loudspeakers, attempting to crush the morale of the soldiers and milita. ¡°Fuck you! You just want to see us under Count Leon¡¯s foot! If you like him so much, why don¡¯t you go and suck his dick?!¡± The shes across the city became even more violent, as the fighting spread even further than Kyle had anticipated. Good, chaos is what I exactly need. At the same time that the fighting was happening, secret ADCON squads moved near the walls, blowing up as many anti-air weapons as they could as well as re spotters that would prevent the stealth hovercrafts from entering the city. The squads had yet to take out all of them, but Kyle was already running out of time. Finally, Count Leon¡¯s infilitration force met up with Kyle at the base. Kyle counted them, seeing that there were close to two hundred and fifty armoured knights, all well trained and professional. The leader of the knights stepped forward, shaking hands with Kyle. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work. Count Leon insists that Tenar falls as fast as possible. If we do not capture the city in a week, Count Leon will retreat.¡± ¡°I understand.¡± Kyle nodded. ¡°We are already engaging the military at multiple locations at the city. In one hour, we will strike at the government pce.¡± Kyle prepared his own men for the uing operation, gearing them up as best as he could. He himself had allocated three hundred of his soldiers to the strike force, while he geared himself up in the Version 0 exosuit, hefting a heavy railgun. Time to storm the pce. Mornero gripped the arctech radio hard as he listened to the military general. ¡°What do you mean they can¡¯t move?¡± [It¡¯s exactly as stated ¨C the besieging force of Ocra is preventing the major gangs of Raktor from sending help. Even if they made it through, they would only be able to reach in a day or two.] ¡°Damn those criminals, I supported them from the beginning and they are just going to abandon me? Don¡¯t they know they would lose if I lose too?!¡± Mornero had been expecting a division to be sent from Raktor in order to assist Versia, but it turned out that the enforcers were fighting harder than ever, preventing the major gangs from diverting too many soldiers lest they lose control of their own districts in Raktor. ¡°How does Count Leon forces have enough supplies to make such a push?¡± [Sir, I believe they are on the verge of running out of supplies ¨C if we can hold on for a week more, they will be starving and eventually surrounded by our west and east armies.] Mornero nodded, just as another explosion exploded in direct view of his office, the plume of smoke visible for kilometers. ¡°I want a full lockdown of the city. Protect the government pce with everything you have on hand!¡± [Sir, we can only afford to divert so many troops. If we divert even more, Count Leon would immediately push up and take over the second defensive line!] A pincer attack ¨C infiltration from within with a forward threat from the front. Mornero grimaced as he assessed his situation. Originally the war had been going well for him. To his surprise, the three warfronts were entering a stalemate, partly due to his agreement with the major gangs of Raktor to work together. However, he was even more surprised of Ocra, who was still stable and not surrendering. They must have ran out of supplies weeks ago ¨C the sheer tenacity of the Versians in Ocra is remarkable. Of course, he did not know about Kyle¡¯s ability to supply the city through Count Leon¡¯s blockade, but he was at first feeling good about the state of the war. The major gangs would raid Count Leon¡¯s supply lines and hand a bit of them over to the Versian military. When the major gangs revolted in Raktor, Mornero had honestly thought that the war would be won in a swift motion. What threw him offguard was the sudden aggressiveness of Count Leon who immediately stormed the first defensive line, breaking through in a single day. He knew Count Leon was not a suicidal man, so he already suspected a n afoot, having recalled the Nest division and deploying them to protect Tenar. He had not forgotten about the rebellious elements in the city. ¡°The attacks in Tenar are random, as though it was a spontaneous effect. But it is clear that someone is fuelling them. Nox, what do you think?¡± ¡°I believe the enemy is aiming for a decapitation strategy.¡± Nox was standing next to him in the office, serving as the liasion for control of the Nest forces. ¡°For every sessful coup, the seat of power must be controlled quickly if the city is to be captured. As such, the attacks are a mere diversion, while the enemy prepares to kill you.¡± Mornero agreed as well, himself having pulled off a simr strategy when capturing President Johan and paying protestors to riot at the government pce. It was just that the positions were now swapped, and he had to y as the defender rather than the attacker. ¡°Pull as many forces as you can back to the government pce.¡± ¡°Already done, sir.¡± Just as Nox replied, the ss windows of the office shattered as a mortar round mmed through, blowing up on the ground and sting paper and weak wooden tables around in a swirling storm. Nox instinctively used his speed to quickly push Mornero down onto the ground as a few mortar rounds came in, the fragments screeching across the room and threatening to pierce Mornero, with Nox blocking a few stray ones with his tough armour. At the same time, the sounds of fighting had finally reached the pce, with explosions and gunfire rocking the area. [Sir, there¡¯s more than five hundred of them here!] ¡°Fend them off!¡± Nox hauled Mornero up to his feet, rushing over to the side of the room and pressing a button, revealing an elevator that led to an underground bunker. Nox did not enter with Mornero, instead sending Mornero down alone, while he readied himself to clear the pce. As he stepped out of the office and entered the main corridors, his men were already engaged in a fierce firefight in various sections of the pce. The once grand hallways of the pce withvish red paint were now riddled with pellet holes and residual soot of explosions, with the ck stain creeping onto the ceiling with every fight. The government workers screamed and cowered under their desks, hoping to survive the fight while other ministers were being led by security troops to the underground bunker as well. Nox helped to push back the attackers, killing the knights of Count Leon with his poison tipped arm-shields as he got up close and personal, piercing through the cracks and seams of their arctech armour. The fighting was eventually stabilized and controlled, with Nox leading a counterattack charge to force the attackers back to the main entrance. But just as Nox was about tomand yet another push, a pellet shot from a railgun hit him right in the chest armour, the kic energy nearly overwhelming his absorption engravings that frantically tried to convert it to arcia energy. The sheer force of the impact staggered him, forcing him to quickly duck behind cover as three more pellets followed up, with one tearing through the head of a Nest soldier, twisting his brain into a sickly mush that gushed out of the through-hole. Nox gritted his teeth as he grabbed a rifle on the floor, aware of who was targeting him. Kris Greyborn, it¡¯s you again! M.G.Driver Now the first chapter already has cool sci-fi tingles, and we all know I love sci-fi to death (gctic era and stuff, you know?) The intialization chapter was already such a great hook - not too much info dump, and really really really nice looking boxes. Even better than my tables, honestly. Here''s the blurb if you want to give it a try: Samantha should have known better than pushing to advance technology in a world of magic. Her people might have hailed her as a Saint for ushering them into an era of unprecedented prosperity ¡ª but the Mage Lords, powerful rulers of their own kingdoms, did not take kindly to her overthrowing the status quo. Now she is trapped inside the arcaneputer she has fabricated to save her friends from the Lords'' wrath, and only thest dregs of her divine Wish are keeping her alive. As Feral AIs and mind-corrupting viruses attack herst refuge, Samantha must figure out how she can escape this realm before it copses and buries thest of her hope with it. Chapter 144: Battle of Tenar (3) Pellets sang through the air, ripping and tearing through hanging curtains, shattered ss windows and opulent furniture used as temporary cover. The former grand entrance had now been turned into a warzone, with soldiers on both ends firing at each other from afar, their vision filled with smoke, blood and the intermittent shes of green arcia bolts, stopping pellets as they nged to the floor. An ADCON soldier heaved heavily into his full-face helmet as his back was against a marble pir, as he reconnected his arcia fuel pack with a backup tubing to the rifle. Only the grime and sweat could be felt on his entire skin, the humidity and tension of the battle building up on every pore as it trickled down, with intermittent shes of cold from the steel armour. His hot breath fogged up the helmet, making it impossible for him to see. He quickly removed the visor, revealing it to be Jaden, one of the survivors of the Keru Forest vige. A torrent of pellets suddenly mmed into the edge of the pir, causing him to instinctively flinch while he tried to wipe his visor with his gloves. His squad mates shot back over their own makeshift cover of cracked benches, solid wood tables, broken painting frames and even fallen chandeliers. Jaden had been working as a hunter ever since they moved to the underground tunnel base. He had personally witnessed how Kyle could turn and influence events around him even when the situation was dire. He never liked the atmosphere of the vige, especially when it all came to a head with the vigers threatening to sacrifice their own people. Power! Power is what I want! This was the reason why Jaden had be an ADCON soldier. Only strength and power can give him the opportunity to survive and not let anything bad happen to him again. Drake had tried to convince him otherwise, but Jaden could not tolerate the pacifist stance any longer. The world is a war-torn ce ¨C only through fighting is there a chance of victory! Kyle did not reject his application: anyone willing to fight for ADCON was epted as long as they knew what they were getting themselves into. No one had a delusion that they were fighting for a greater cause or a grand goal; it was all about the money, training and fame, nothing else. For such a time period of conflict, Jaden was no different from the others who had signed up, wanting to be protected or supported. Their equipment was far better than what the Versian military had, thanks to Kyle¡¯s designs. However, he was still young andcking in training. It had only been a month, which paled inparison to the amount of time Count Leon¡¯s knights and the Nest defenders had practised for. This would be their second real battle following the Nest attack on Desham. Apart from that, Jaden had spent most of the time hunting mammoth hogs in the wide Keru Forest or training in the dungeon against the rock spiders that seemed never to end. Despite his ambitions and goals, the subconscious threat of death still loomed over him like a guillotine, his actions measured as he ced his wiped visor back onto the full-face helmet. I survived rock spiders and Desham, of course I¡¯ll survive this too! ¡°Lob!¡± The ADCON sergeant roared, prompting Jaden to instinctively grab a grenade, the hand motions drilled into him over the weeks of non-stop training. The ADCON squad lobbed their fragmentation grenades over their covers, some missing their target but manynding behind the metal barricade covers of the Nest defenders. The ensuring series of explosions sent fragments piercing through everything in a radius, twisting through the exposed flesh of Nest defenders between the seams and cracks of armour as they yelled in pain, the hot metallic pieces digging into their skin and searing their capiliaries. Before the blood could even flow out of their wounds, the ADCON soldiers charged in, capitalising on the opportunity. Jaden roared as well as he rushed out of the pir, following his squad and rushing towards the enemy. The heat of the battle filled his veins and vision, the slow dull thumping of blood audible in his eardrums as each footstep sent thuds rumbling through his bones while he sprinted. The ferocity of the ADCON soldiers was unmatched, sharpened through continuousbat in the dungeon. They pushed through the Nest defenders like a spearhead, with the sergeant at the front leading the charge. Just like the drills. Jaden quickly filled his spot, rushing at a staggered Nest defender and immediately firing five pellets into his brain, the strength and impact of the pellets sting through the skull and cratering the floor with stains of blood and mush. His instincts suddenly screamed, but he was far too slow to dodge fully, forcing himself to lift his rifle to block as an axe bent the body and barrel, threatening to snap it. The impact force sent Jaden staggering two steps back, the area around him devolving into a chaotic brawl, everyone switching to closebat. Jaden tripped on a body, causing him to tumble down onto the floor. The arcia fuel pack on his belt did not break, a result of Kyle¡¯s new over-engineering. Before he could recover, the Nest axeman was already lunging at him, swinging downwards again. Jaden tried to roll out of the way but instead was blocked by the previous Nest defender he had killed,ing face to face with the dead vacant eyes. He frantically raised his vambraces to block the iing swing, but the arctech axe was far too strong, cleaving through the armour and lodging itself into Jaden¡¯s left arm. The cold piercing bite of the metal axe seeped right into his bones as his nerves screamed out, sending jolts down to his brain that nearly made his body writhe in agony. At that moment, intoxicating adrenaline kicked in and rushed through his muscles, with Jaden¡¯s life now on the line, as he watched the axeman about to step on him to pull out the axe. Instead of letting the axeman pull out the axe, Jaden gritted his teeth and grabbed the axeman¡¯s axe handle tightly, not letting go. He pulled hard while using his feet to kick the ankles of the axeman, causing him to topple onto the ground as well. Jaden quickly used his core muscles to lift his legs up, pivoting them to grapple the axemen onto the ground while using his body weight to pin him. Ripping out the axe from his own left arm with a wince, Jaden yelled a battle cry as he swung down with his right hand on the axeman¡¯s helmet before the axeman could retaliate. The first strike cratered the metal helmet, denting inwards as the man¡¯s head was slightly crushed. However, the axeman fought back, using his hands to grab both of Jaden¡¯s arms, stopping them from moving. It was a battle of strength, with Jaden being slowly overpowered by the older Nest axemen. The axemen¡¯s grip began to crush his left forearm as well, exacerbating the wound even further and causing Jaden to grit his teeth even harder in agony, bearing the pain. The tussle on the ground went on for a few more harrowing seconds, with the life-or-death battle being only one of many in the brawl. Just as the axeman was about to overpower Jaden and throw his lighter body off, a series of pellets mmed into the helmet of the axeman, killing him instantly as his limbs went limp. ¡°Get up, kid!¡± The sergeant roared as he focused his rifle on another enemy, helping out the others. Jaden ignored his limp left arm, grabbing a fallen Nest rifle and hooking up his arcia fuel pack tubes to the rifle. He began to support the other ADCON soldiers, nking their enemies. Soon, the battle was over, with the ADCON soldiers taking over the defensive position and firing at the reinforcing Nest soldiers who wereing in, creating a new gunfight. Jaden panted as he slumped behind a cover while the medic of his squad quickly treated his wounds. They didn¡¯t have Yul¡¯s tears to make direct health potions, so all the ADCON soldiers had was mixtures of Poair Leaves and Greis Powder applied directly in a herbal salve concocted by Drake to stem and close the wound up with a makeshift bandage. The radio chatter could be heard from the sergeant¡¯s belt as the sergeant returned fire as well, reloading using a Nest ammunition canister. [Reporting: Mornero is no longer in his office. He is in the underground bunker.] Lucky for them, the ADCON soldiers had the entire mappedyout of the pce, thanks to the former high position of Minister Dekar, who knew every nook and cranny. [Side Entrance A cleared, pushing into the second floor now.] [Back entrance cleared.] This main entrance was not the only entry point for the ADCON soldiers, though it was the most heavily contested. However, the morale of the soldiers was high despite some casualties. Even Jaden was smiling, despite his wounds and the close call he had just now. The rush of battle was permeating, lifting their spirits as more and more announcements of sectors cleared began to roll in while they upied their defensive position. The Nest defenders began pulling back, regrouping to concentrate their forces as they were besieged on all sides. Jaden and his toon began to inch forward, chasing their tails through the ckened pce. Soon, the ADCON soldiers and Count Leon¡¯s knights met up, pushing together in synchronisation through various corridors and clearing the entire hallway room by room. The skill of the knights was extremely impressive, far more professional than anyone in ADCON as they swept through each room with well-drilled experience, covering every angle and hiding spot. Any government worker or member of parliament spotted was killed immediately ¨C no prisoners were taken. The battle was fierce, with both sides mounting casualties. ADCON had lost a quarter of their original three hundred based on what Jaden was hearing on the radio. Soon, Jaden reached the main hallway that led to the President¡¯s office: the final stretch. However, a fierce firefight and melee brawl was underway, with countless bodies tossed to the side, the blood flowing freely and pooling in the inconsistent surfaces of what seemed like a corridor of death. Scores of Count Leon¡¯s knightsy dead on the side, nearly half of their force having been killed. Their veins were ckened, with dark capiries surging towards their now vacant expression, gaping holes in their waists and shoulders. There were still knights left, but Jaden estimated there weren¡¯t more than a hundred left. ¡°This is the final stretch, boys! Help our allies!¡± Jaden rushed in, reinforcing whatever ADCON soldiers were left in the brawl. ¡°Come on, men! You want to live forever!?¡± His sergeant screamed out before firing into the throngs of Nest defenders. However, Jaden soon saw a sh of ck, with the sergeant crying out in pain as the sharp tip of an arm shield pierced into his chest, the poison spreading quickly through his body up his neck while the sergeant gagged out blood. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s the leader!¡± The ADCON soldiers and Count Leon¡¯s knights tried to gang up on Nox, but he exploited theck of practice and coordination between the two forces, using each other to block firing angles and attack ranges, mming bodies against one another while he rapidly stabbed everyone near with his poison-tipped arm shields. Jaden too tried to help, but the Nest leader was far too fast, moving quickly through the corridor that was slowly devolving into yet another melee brawl as the two sides were entangled with one another. However, a sudden bang could be heard, with a railgun pellet the size of a marble mming into Nox, staggering him and forcing Nox to back off behind his soldiers. Jaden suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder; looking up to see Kyle in the Version 0 exosuit, the railgun still aimed at Nox. ¡°Stay back. I¡¯ll handle him.¡± M.G.Driver A new author with a story in the vein of Omniscent Reader Viewpoint (I love ORV, i read that stuff and even bought the premium edition from Korea) Do you like system apocalpyse? Did you like ORV? Solo Levelling? or any Korean apocalpyse webtoon, really? This story is right down that vein, with a bit of a Chinese twist. Super fun scenarios with a MC that grows over time (she is a bit pissy at the start, but it definitely gets better. Character growth, am I right?) Chapter 145: Battle of Tenar (4) Kyle cursed to himself as he fired another pellet at a separate soldier, only to be blocked by Nox¡¯s arm shields once again¡ªthat damn kic absorber. His railgun shots had only managed to take out three Nest soldiers so far, causing Kyle to decide to ditch the railgun in favour of his pulverizer, charging into the fray. He rushed up to Nox, who also ran forward to meet him, the two of them colliding in a flurry of blows and parries. This would be the third time they had fought, and it was starting to get onto Kyle nerves how often Nox would be around to block him. The moves felt repeated, as though they were going through the same motions as their previous duel. However, both of them had studied each other, recognizing feints and attack patterns while trying to exploit the habits of the opponent. The sh was not a duel ¨C ADCON soldiers, Count Leon¡¯s knights and Nest soldiers all tried to intervene, hellbent on killing the leader of the other side. However, the skill level of the two were far above everyone else on this battlefield, both of them killing each other¡¯s troops. Soon a circle formed around the two of them in the wide corridor of death. Nox knew he just had to hold on long enough for the military reinforcements to enter the pce and crush the infiltrating force. [Boss, the military are sending troops towards the government pce now!] Kyle furrowed his brows as he blocked another hit from Nox¡¯s arm shield, taking a step back and swinging the pulveriser right at Nox¡¯s head, who ducked backwards as well. Kyle knew he did not have enough time ¨C if he could not outright defeat Nox and overwhelm his troops in the next few minutes and capture Mornero, his remaining troops in the pce would soon be encircled. Time to test my new skill. Kyle activated his upgraded version of the negation field, obtained from his Level 40 Sub-ss Upgrade. The field expanded outwards, immediately disabling the engravings on Nox¡¯s armour as well as the Nest soldiers, reducing the arctech armour and weapons to normal husks of metal. The sudden jarring change allowed Kyle to rush forward, his Version 0 exosuitpletely unaffected and giving him aplete advantage over Nox. Nox¡¯s armour began to overheat itself, the stored arcia energy from sessive kic impacts being discharged as waste heat and sound energy, unable to be converted correctly due to the disruption in arcia flow. The armour refused to budge and locked up, forcing Nox to take the next pulverizer hit head-on. The follow-up shock reverberated through the armour and mmed Nox¡¯s organs, causing him to gag as he was sent flying into the wall, the force causing cracks in the wall while Kyle chased, not intending to let him go. Nox tried to activate everything he had on hand ¨C the heating of the armour, the small amount of Agent ck, but it all failed to trigger. A few Nest soldiers tried to rescue Nox, but were immediately killed by the arctech swords and guns of the ADCON soldiers and Count Leon¡¯s knights, who now had a superior advantage. Nox finally knew that his time was up, causing his Nest ve engraving to suddenly trigger, attempting to self-immte the body. However, the negation field destabilised the process, causing the arcia energy to bacsh. The rampant rogue surged through Nox¡¯s body like a rampant wave, tearing up his innards as blood began to seep from every orifice. I need to capture him! Nox was a critical source of information, and Kyle had no doubt that Nox knew many things about Soren, Rayner as well as the Warden Drones. He needed to get more information on the hidden organisation. Kyle quickly grabbed Nox and tore away the armour as fast as he could, finding the hinges that mounted each te. He exposed Nox¡¯s chest te while the ADCON soldiers pushed forward, forcing the Nest soldiers back, who were now retreating beyond the five-meter radius, their arctech weapon working once more. The fierce battle resumed with gunfire while Kyle quickly used his lightning sword to carve the flesh into which the engraving had been tattooed, digging deep. Kyle noticed that this engraving was a bit moreplicated, but the process was pretty much the same as how he did it for Yona and the old Nest informant in Desham. Activating his Ne of healing, he pinned Nox down to prevent him from thrashing too much while he carved the entire engraving out, not having the arcia etcher on hand to modify the engraving to his own master-ve engraving. Chunks of meat were tossed to the side as the ribcage of Nox was visible, with Kyle¡¯s healing constantly sealing up. He noticed Nox had a health potion stored in his armour¡¯s pocket as well, stuffing it into Nox¡¯s mouth and forcing it down his throat while Nox writhed violently. Soon, the job was done with a fresh raw piece of meat now taking ce over the chest instead of a Nest engraving. I wouldn¡¯t really call it surgery¡­ Kyle beckoned to two ADCON soldiers, prompting them to restrain Nox down. They extracted him out under cover, even as Nest soldiers tried to kill him to prevent a leak of information. As well-trained as they were, the loss of their leader was damaging to their morale. However, the Nest soldiers that were captured all began to burst into me as well and ignite the leaking arcia fuel scattered around the corridor of death, forcing the ADCON soldiers to kill them on the spot to prevent a spontaneousbustion. Eventually, the Nest soldiers were wiped out of the pce, with Kyle heading straight for the president¡¯s office. He only knew from Dekar that there was an elevator, but even Dekar was not privy to the exact location of the entrance. Count Leon¡¯s knights and the ADCON soldiers scoured the office, turning over every piece of furniture and bookshelf, checking the walls and seams for any hidden mechanism to reveal the esctor door. However, a subtle tension began to build between the two forces, both seemingly waiting for something. The alliance was after all, temporary. Both sides knew exactly what was going to happen but still acted like allies as they searched. Everyone knew the moment the president was captured, it would be a free-for-all for control of Tenar. ¡°Are you not going to call for Minister Dekar to assume office?¡± The leader of the knights asked Kyle while they broke apart the room hunting for the hidden esctor. ¡°Until we have Mornero in our hands, Dekar will remain in hiding.¡± Kyle replied without an ounce of emotions leaked. It was obvious that bringing Dekar out and exposing him to danger would jeopardize the entire n. ¡°Got it.¡± The leader didn¡¯t show any reaction, but Kyle already knew that the knights were nning to kill him and Dekar. It was just a matter of who struck first. The air remained as tense as ever, with both sides already readying their body, preparing to lunge as soon as a string snapped. Soon, Kyle spotted a weird switch on the wall, realizing it is the elevator mechanism. The very moment that he opened the elevator door with a pneumatic hiss, both sides immediatelyunched an attack on each other, devolving into a brawl. Kyle himself immediately brandished his lightning sword and sliced away at the leader¡¯s head. elerate! However, the leader parried it with his vambrace, the quality of his armour far stronger than Kyle had anticipated. The well-trained knights began to overpower the ADCON soldiers, their equipment and weaponry far superior in both make and strength. There was no need for words between the two, both knowing that this would happen eventually. Pellets, limbs and screams filled the office and turned it from its once pristine state into a ckened husk of itself, as ADCON soldiers shed against knights. Kyle focused his efforts on the leader, who was clearly well-practiced inbat skills as every single attack by Kyle was parried. Even though the leader was not as strong or as fast, his positioning and timing was impable, presenting no openings to Kyle to exploit at all. Penchant for Violence, Intimidation Aura, Aero Shoes! This wasn¡¯t the time to hold back, as the sounds of explosions and fierce fighting could be heard outside the pce on all sides as the reinforcing military troops tried to push against the ADCON soldiers and local Nona adherents who had taken up arms. However, the intimidation aura barely affect the knights, their strong willpower and defiance in the face of adversity honed over years. The leader dodged as Kyle lunged forward with a pierce, with the leader quickly backing off and chugging a quick sip of an advanced strength potion, allowing him to keep up with Kyle¡¯s increased stats. Despite the matching of skills, the leader was internally shocked at just how strong Kyle was, never expecting a wartime smuggler to possess such strength. It reminded him of his former training in Tryas, where each of the recruits of the knight order were monsters in themselves. Where did this guye from? Kyle didn¡¯t see a clear way for him to overpower the leader, the two of them going toe-to-toe with neither one able to im an advantage over the other. Instead, Kyle suddenly turned his focus to the other weaker knights, rushing through the office and ughtering them. The leader could not keep up with the pace, trying desperately to stop Kyle. However, Kyle¡¯s speed was unmatched, allowing the ADCON soldiers to turn the tides as Kyle killed even more of them in swaths, reducing their numbers. As well-trained as they were, eventually, the numerical advantage overwhelmed them. The leader considered retreating as their numbers began to dwindle, however Kyle now turned his attention to him, blocking him from leaving with his troops while his knights were in. The leader suddenly dropped his weapon, surrendering to Kyle. He knew he would not be able to overpower Kyle anytime soon, given the equality of duelling strength. The rest of the knights surrendered as well, their swords and guns ttering to the floor. Kyle quickly had the remaining ADCON soldiers restrain them, wary of a sudden attack from them. He saw the knights as a potentially valuable asset, but he needed time to break their former loyalty or engrave them with ve engravings simr to that of Nest. For now, he and ten other ADCON soldiers squeezed into the elevator, which led them down to the underground bunker where the rest of the ministers and members of parliament were hiding, desperately trying to make sense of the rapidly deteriorating situation. In the bunker room, everyone of importance was there including the highest ranking generals, protected by Nest soldiers and military soldiers. Mornero grimaced as he continued to receive reports of losses and damages across the city. How is this happening? I did everything right! He could not conceive the n that he had created for thest twenty years to fail, having even taken into ount a potential invasion by Yual. The speed and strength of the revolution far surpassed anything he had prepared for, his projections based on the speed of revolution under Johan. It took us more than five years to overthrow the former nobility, but I was overthrown in less than two months?! ¡°President, we lost contact with the pce guards!¡± A frantic voice yelled out as the various ministers kept track of what was happening aboveground. ¡°Damn it, fortify the entrance! Don¡¯t let any rebel get through the elevator!¡± Mornero shouted back. ¡°How long more till the military troops sweep the pce?!¡± ¡°President, the troops are being stalled at the entrances. The rebels are too well armed!¡± The head of the Versian army replied. Is it Count Leon? Was he the one instigating all of this? Mornero had tried everything in his ybook, even using Nest to purge the catbs and flush out the rebels. Every sign of inconsistency, he crushed. It all came falling after I tried to retake Desham¡­ ¡°Pull back every troop from the second defensive line.¡± ¡°But President, if we do that, Count Leon will be able to advance right up to the wall. We will be caught in a siege!¡± ¡°As long as we hold out for a week, there will be time for our reinforcements to circle Count Leon!¡± However, before the head of the Versian Army could ry themand down through encrypted radio channels, the doorway of the bunker room exploded open, cratered it by an explosive that folded the metal surface like paper. A barrage of pellets immediately filled the room, killing everyone who did not react fast enough. Mornero ducked under the table, grabbing an arctech pistol from his belt as the death cries of the ministers and generals resounded. Before he even could peep out from cover, a hand had already grabbed him by the cor, lifting him like a ragdoll and mming him against the wall. Kyle grabbed his right wrist, crushing it in his grip and forcing Mornero to drop the arctech pistol. The ADCON soldiers swept the room, killing everyone else with no hesitation. Mornero gagged,ing face to face with Kyle, though his face still remained defiant. ¡°So it was you, Kris Greyborn. Do it! Kill me!¡± He spat through bloodied teeth. ¡°After everything you have done to me? You¡¯re not going to get off that easy.¡± M.G.Driver Chapter 146: Battle of Tenar (Final) Kyle watched Dekar punch Mornero hard for the umpteenth time, with Dekar¡¯s knuckles already raw and Mornero¡¯s face bloodied while he was tied to a chair. ¡°After everything we have done for you, you dare to kill Johan and fuck over the whole country?!¡± Dekar roared while Mornero justughed happily through broken teeth, his jaw already crooked from the repeated punches. ¡°Stillughing?!¡± Dekar kicked Monero in the groin, causing Mornero to topple over. Dekar pulled him up again by the cor, but the impact had already knocked him out, making Mornero unconscious. Before Dekar could attempt to p him awake, Kyle grabbed Dekar¡¯s wrist, stopping him. ¡°Focus. Stabilise the situation first. You can interrogate him anytime.¡± The state of Tenar was still in flux, with the military troops still pushing, unaware of the demise of the head of the Versian military as well as the government. Kyle and Dekar needed to take control of the entire situation and try to turn around the army. Furthermore, Count Leon was still outside, pushing against the second defensive line. At this point, Kyle immediately enacted his second part of the n. ¡°Dekar, prepare to make a speech announcing your presidency; Yona, take overmand of the military temporarily. List down whichever general refuses the order ¨C we¡¯ll sort them outter.¡± Kyle turned to the ADCON soldiers. ¡°Cut off all supplies and observation report to Count Leon now.¡± He nned to turn the Versian military into allies now, pushing hard against Count Leon to force him back to Ocra. But first, he would have to rally the military again. The loss ofmand wreaked havoc among the various division defending Tenar, with widespread confusion. The generals and divisionmanders desperately tried to contact the head of the military to no avail, only to hear a female voice on the other end of the radio when themunication finally made it through. [All Versian military troops, prior orders to suppress revolts in the city are now revoked. All divisions to focus on holding the second defensive line.] The confused generals andmanders attacking the government pce were astonished, with some of the smarter ones immediately realising what had happened. Not every general in the army supported Mornero, only blindly following orders, but the supporters knew that they would be purged eventually, with the government having copsed. The final nail in the coffin came when the public announcement system was suddenly used by Dekar, announcing to the public and causing the riots and fights across the city to pause as they listened to the speech temporarily. [Citizens of Versia, the illegitimate government under Mornero has been toppled. The schemes of corruption have been exposed ¨C It was Mornero who originally captured and now killed the former president, Johan!] The revtion boosted the morale of his followers and the adherents of Nona, while the opposing side began to waver slightly. [The industrialists and Mornero have colluded to eat the system from within, attempting to wrestle power away from you, the people, under the guise of improvement and war. They have lied to you, time and time again, of their true intentions!] [But I am different. I am the true sessor to President Johan, and I will carry his will forward and return Versia to it¡¯s ideal state of equality and high standard of living. No longer shall the weak suffer, and no longer shall the poor tremble. All shall be supported, lifted up high and elevated beyond their station to work towards a better future together!] [However, the fight is not over! The supporters of Mornero are still within our midst, colluding with each other to profit over fellow Versians, aiming to squash you and put you under their feet. They think of you as dumb, useless scum that does not deserve the right to determine the course of the country.] [Well, tonight, all of you now have the power to do what is right! Fight! Stand up for your rights. Recall the golden days after the first war, where Johan and I strived to do everything for your sake.] [Even now, the enemy stands at the gate, wanting to oppress us once again. We have pushed them back before: We can push them back once again! Purge the enemy; glory to Versia!] ¡°Purge the enemy; glory to Versia!¡± Dekar¡¯s loyal followers chanted, pushing back at the military. The supporters of Mornero began to attempt to flee the city, knowing that they would die if they remained in the capital. ¡°All ADCON soldiers, don¡¯t let the traitors escape!¡± Kyle ordered, sending out the various squads who were now freed from their various firefights across the cities to encircle the fleeing military units. Those who listened to Yona¡¯s order joined forces with the ADCON soldiers, chasing down the supporters and killing them in a bloody massacre, with bodies filling the streets as formerrades fought against one another, their allegiances now in in sight. Not even the civilians who supported Mornero were spared, with the list provided by Kalian outing all of the rich business owners, with ADCON nabbing all of them and killing them on the spot, no prisoner taken. The entire city of Tenar underwent a purge, while previously diverted troops were now sent to the frontlines to fight. Kyle and Yona immediately tookmand of the Versian military, observing the situation. Count Leon¡¯s forces had already begun tounch a frontal assault, with Count Leon now anxious about a quick victory. News of the loss of his knight forces had yet to reach him, but as they missed yet another scheduled check-in, Count Leon knew that his n had already beenpromised. Kyle was aware Count Leon was now desperate, attempting to push his numerical advantage and overwhelm the Versian defenders. However, Kyle now had a secret strike force waiting to ambush Count Leon¡¯s forces. The stealth hovercrafts and mineral ants were waiting far in the backline, prepared to hit hard. ¡°We¡¯ll coordinate the strike now!¡± Kyle sent an order for all Versian soldiers to hold the line, while the ¡®airforce¡¯ prepared tounch their raid. Count Leon¡¯s soldiers were already pouring into the trenches, advancing under heavy artillery shelling while barraging the defensive lines themselves. Bodies began to pile up as the Versian military fought hard, knowing that if they lost here, the capital that represented the seat of power in the country would be gone. ¡°HOLD! HOLD THE LINE FOR VERSIA! DON¡¯T LET THE YUAL DOGS WIN!¡± The various generals yelled, motivating their troops. The idea that their backs were against the wall made them even more ferocious than an animal backed into a corner, triggering their fight response. On the Yual Dominion side, Count Leon¡¯s forces were also well aware that the prize was in sight. ¡°THERE IT IS! THE FINAL GLORY! PUSH! PUSH FOR GLORY!¡± Soldiers shed in a torrent of mes, smoke, explosions and mud as the soil was tossed non-stop, the mortar and artillery rounds smashing and pounding the ground into the loose dirt. Broken war machines burned furiously as they hit mines, with soldiers cowering in shell scrapes, waiting for their sergeant to order the next push. Despite the bravery and willpower of the Versian military, Count Leon¡¯s forces were slowly beginning to overpower them, taking over sections of the second defensive line. Just as the various Versian generals began to contemte retreating to the walls of Tenar, a blinding dazzling light erupted before them, with every soldier pausing to look at the sight in awe. A line of explosions blew up in a spectacr fashion, bombing the entire backline of Count Leon¡¯s forces as green arcia boltsnced upwards, trying to take out as many bombs as possible. The balls of me erupted in a row, killing the logistical crews and blowing up the armouries as well as ammunition dumps. Count Leon¡¯smand tent was blown to bits as well, the point defence systems failing to stop every single bomb. However, his own arctech armour blocked the brunt of the explosion, only being knocked over to the floor as he tried to stand up in a daze. ¡°Who hit us?! Versia can¡¯t have that many artillery guns here!¡± Count Leon roared, shoving a broken wooden beam off of him. A third of the supplies had been hit, with the point defence systems able to stop most of the bombs. However, the few that got through were devastating enough, immediately sparking mes that began to burn like wildfire, spreading through the camp. High-pressured arctech water cannons began to douse the entire area, sting away the mes and depriving them of oxygen. However, Count Leon¡¯s face paled considerably as his troops were already locked in the frontal assault. He had relied on his knights to kill off Kyle and his troops, sending the knights that he had the utmost confidence in. Count Leon had far misjudged Kyle, treating him only as a small-time gang lord who got a bit lucky. He even managed to defeat the leader of the knights ¨C I have no chance of winning Tenar now. ¡°Retreat! Full retreat now! Load whatever we have into wagons and rush back to Ocra! We¡¯ll take Ocra by storm and hold there!¡± Count Leon was unwilling to give up his position, but with Raktor under fire and the two nks of the Versian military still threatening to copse on his position, he had no choice but to retreat in order to save what he could. The morale of the Yual Dominion soldiers plummeted as soon as they saw the line of explosions that seemed to epass the horizon like a wall of fire, along with the subsequentmand to retreat. The various divisions formed into a line as they retreated, with the rearguard still fighting tooth and nail to suppress the Versian military and prevent them from catching up. However, instead of chasing, Kyle sent an order down to stay put instead, letting Count Leon get away. Dekar was indignant: ¡°Why aren¡¯t we chasing them down? We are winning!¡± However, Kyle did not feel this way. He did have a hidden motivation to keep the war going so as to maintain his smuggling economy as well as be an integrated part of the Versian economy, but he also knew that the Versian military was exhausted and would not be able to give chase after all the confusion that was happening. ¡°We need to regroup and reorganise the city before we push out against Count Leon as well. Don¡¯t forget that the other Counts are on the move as well.¡± Dekar realised that the other two war fronts were copsing as well because of the original order to retreat and defend Tenar. He quickly ryed the order through messengers, informing the various waterfrontmanders to turn around again. With this, Kyle had now sessfully gained control of Versia through Dekar, though he did not intend to y too much of a role in governance, unlike Desham. Over the next few days, Tenar calmed down, allowing Dekar and his followers to assume the role of the government quickly. Dekar¡¯s prior governmental experience made him the best candidate, allowing him to efficiently organise and manage the work needed to restore Tenar despite the war. The change in government did not sit well with some of the richer citizens, but the poorer ones who had been badly affected by the war economy were far more supportive, cheering for Dekar as he gave speech after speech, attempting to unify the poption once more. However, rebel activities still remained the vestiges of Monero supporters who were unwilling to ept this fall from power. The city was still breaking out into intermittent fighting, with Kyle¡¯s ADCON soldiers working to flush out the rebels. Already some of the rebel military divisions had made it out from Tenar, having escaped from the ADCON soldier¡¯s encirclement and fleeing to other towns with the help of industrialists on the outside, forming a counter-revolution to Dekar¡¯s government now. The economy began to falter as supplies dwindled rapidly, the various major industries held by the powerful businessmen refusing to supply Tenar any longer, instead hellbent on concentrating their own local power. Some even dered themselves as local authorities, further fragmenting Versia apart into different areas ruled by warlords. Kyle knew this split was inevitable, amon urrence in every sessful revolution. He himself was a ¡®warlord¡¯ in Desham under Mornero¡¯s government. But unlike Mornero, who had no experience in dealing with such a fragmented state, Kyle had far more experience from the Gctic Era, where he had unified the criminal organisations of the Melsura Sector himself, along with better technology. He recalled the days when he used to act as the shadow state behind multiple D-ss states, realising that Versia would constitute the first state to have fallen under his grasp. Naturally, Kyle wasn¡¯t about to let these warlords get away scott-free, iming essential resources critical to the war effort and threatening the copse of Versia. The first step to my empire of sin will be perfect! Chapter 147: Reorganization Kyle reorganised the ADCON soldiers, tallying up the casualties and injuries. Out of the two thousand and five hundred men that he had deployed, five hundred had died, a severe blow to his forces. Lucky for him, there was no shortage of willing fighters, many citizens of Versia having witnessed ADCON¡¯s prowess inbat and skill through the entire revolution. When the call for recruits came out, those willing to be a mercenary came in droves, bolstering their forces even more and swelling to four thousand. Kyle had them all sent to Desham, repeating the same boot camp as before while handling the promotion of the best performers of ADCON. Many previously assigned officers and sergeants were killed inbat, opening a whole slew of new awards and ranks awarded to brave soldiers. Jaden smiled widely as Kyle presented him with a new rank of sergeant, finally in charge of his own squad. Though he felt a tinge of sadness at the death of his former sergeant and otherrades, the victory of the battle still buoyed his spirits up high, causing him to dedicate more of himself to ADCON. In terms of the economy, Kyle had to rapidly take over the abandoned factories and industries left vacant by the purge of businessmen. Unlike a regr coup, Kyle knew exactly what do to do, assigning the correct people to carry out the work. Even experienced factory managers were brought in from Desham, to get the existing machinery up and running. Some of the factories were intentionally sabotaged when the industrialists left, but it was barely an issue when Desham¡¯s steel factory began to churn out replicas of the machines under the oversight of Hayden and Feldon. Hayden was over the moon, not expecting Kyle to have been able to restore order so quickly. Dekar quickly roped her in as his military engineer, using her to produce designs based on Kyle¡¯s weapon and updating the arsenal as fast as he could. Kyle¡¯s ck market system began to work wonders in Tenar, re-establishing old trade routes that were previously blockaded by Count Leon from the surrounding farms, viges and towns. However, the level of input was pitifulpared to the previous contributions of the industrialists, who were now bonafide warlords in their various towns, each of them converting the deserters from the Versian military into their own private armies. Dekar and Kyle began to n for a reunification campaign, to be only waged by ADCON soldiers. The Versian military did not have enough men to spare for a frontal assault, and only the ADCON soldiers were well practiced with the use of hovercrafts in their arsenal now. Kyle could finallyunch abined arms assault, utilizing the full power of air power superiority. Over the next week, Kyleunched multiple assaults out from Tenar, recapturing towns with blitz assaults, using the fast hit and run speed of the hovercrafts to take out heavy artillery emcements and walls before a infantry charge. However, the industrialists were no slouches, already having heard of the hovercrafts ying a big role in the victory at the Battle of Tenar, researching quickly to counter the new weapon. Harrison, the leader of the industrialists, was not a stranger to such contraptions, having seen them personally in use in the Hwa Dynasty. As such, he began to already design and produce counters, such as modifying current mortar rounds to be timed instead of exploding on impact, as well as re-engineered coloured arctech spotlights to shine across the sky, exposing the hovercrafts. This made the reunification campaign even harder for Kyle, as his advantage slowly began to wane as the various industrialist warlords began to share equipment with one another. The first few anti-aircraft guns were slip-shod and hastily put together given the short timeframe. However, the effectiveness began to ramp up over time as the various armed forces became more and more used to it. Kyle continuously changed up his attack pattern, sometimes hitting head-on, other times infiltrating the city himself and capturing the garrison from within. Town after town soon fell back under central government control, with the prestige of ADCON building up even further as a reputable private military force. Of course, the citizens of Versia knew that ADCON was hired by the Versian government, with some resenting the need of foreign mercenaries to help them. However, more and more people began to sign up due to the bleak economy. As much as Dekar imed about restoring Versia to its former state, the war had yet to die down just yet. While Count Leon had been pushed back to Ocra, the other two war fronts were still barely clinging on, with the other Counts recognising the weak state of the Versian military and pushing as hard as they could. ¡°Count Leon failed to take Tenar, which means he has already weakened the enemy!¡± With this mindset, the fighting intensified on the border, with more and morend lost to the enemy every day. Kyle worked against the clock, pushing his ADCON soldiers to the limit and rotating them out with fresh recruits to bolster the numbers. He personally fought as well, leading the ADCON force to strike at the various warlords. His kill count rose significantly as he continued to kill swaths of rebel Versian soldiers as well as any sympathisers. The levelling is a lot slower now¡­. Kyle of course did not expect the EXP required per level to be a linear increase, but it still felt bad to him. He recalled the previous system message he had received when he unlocked his race. Level 50 is the next target. Kyle used the current war to try and farm as much as he could, but he could not singlehandedly fight an entire army. It was also in his interest to provide battle experience to the ADCON soldiers, building up their strength in the face of consistent adversity. At the same time, Kyle received messages from Raktor that the city was under a constant state of civil war, but the fighting had stabilized into a new normal. Reminds me of a few states back in the Gctic Era. Kyle knew that economies could still function even though there was tant fighting out in the streets, but he was slightly surprised to hear that the Seven Snakes had managed to hold on to at least one district, where the shopping mall was located. He had previously sent an order for Keith to retreat to the Culdao Peaks, but Keith instead had the evolved hobgoblins transported over through the tunnelwork, bolstering the numbers of the Sevens Snakes significantly and allowing them to break even with the Ardent Cretins forces. The Seven Snakes were not the only ones fighting against the Ardent Cretins as well: the enforcers, too, had mobilised, the initial surprise attack wearing off as they quickly consolidated their chain ofmand. Baron Cain himself also mobilised his own private forces to quell the Ardent Cretins, not willing to lose control of the sector himself. He did not argue about having hobgoblins within Raktor, only satisfied to know that they were on their side. In such a violent, turbulent time, any form of allies was epted. Despite the three forces forming a temporary alliance to fight the Ardent Cretins, the Ardent Cretins were still slowly taking district by district, absorbing the Red Lions and the Wretches, leaving Seven Snakes alone in a sea of hostile districts. This severely restricted the supply lines into the districts, with the Seven Snakes suddenly bing the main supplier for the enforcers and Baron Cain in the area. The weapons factory was also heavily defended by evolved hobgoblins that were now trained to use arctech weaponry with armour. The agricultural boom in the Culdao Peaks, thanks to the hardy seeds provided by Orisa, helped to provide enough food and supplies to the fighters in the district, with the Seven Snakes shielding the loyal citizens from the aggression of the Ardent Cretins. Battles were continuously erupting all over the forest as Ardent Cretin forces attempted to assault the Culdao Peaks through the dense forest in an effort to cut off the supply lines and starve the Seven Snakes. However, it was to no avail, with Sasha working hard to continuously deter iing attacks. Kyle could now rest easy, knowing that Raktor was still stable for now. He did not have to rush back as he had originally thought, allowing him to focus more on stabilising Versia. Over the next month, the war raged on with seemingly no end as Kyle continuously moved back and forth between the various frontlines, intervening just enough to ensure that the Counts did not have a clear advantage in the war. The progress of war began to slow to a crawl on the war fronts as the defences of Versia got even better and better due to more and more machine guns and mortars being produced. Hovercrafts gave real-time updates tomanders on the ground, resulting in a stalemate. Both sides began to entrench further, the entire warfront marked with trenches that stretched for kilometres, with multiple tunnels in either direction. Sappers dug hard underneath each other, shing with enemy sappers in tightly enclosed spaces where dozens were buried under tunnel copses every day. Kyle made a killing supplying all of the various war fronts, paid out the government¡¯s coffers to facilitate and run the continuous logistical train. His weapons, potions and loggingpanies expanded quickly, with Kyle hiring even more workers and managers to boost their efficiency. Towns that were previously under the control of the industrialists were revitalised, with new agricultural farming methods as well as renewed factories churning out, the workers properly incentivized. Despite the terrible war at the frontline, the lives of the people in the back began to generally improved. Kyle had even managed to sneak in a few hardy Gctic Era gically modified seeds into Versia, spreading them to the various towns and upending the local farms with the rapidly growing crop that could reach maturity in just two weeks or less, albeit requiring copious amounts of water and nutrients. It wasn¡¯t a particrly unique thing to Versia, with farmers being well aware of such nts existing in other parts of the continent. However, they were surprised to see the seed be able to grow in nearly every condition, not requiring a specific temperature or humidity level. This generic crop immediately took the Versian economy by storm, providing a quick solution to the famine that was beginning to spread due to the revolution. The rapid introduction of such monoculture farms along help to alleviate the concerns of the citizens, further entrenching and improving Dekar¡¯s political capital, and building his reputation as a capable leader. Dekar continued to work to manage the economy, rebuilding defences and industries all over Versia and focusing them on basic needs. It had only been two months since the war started, but Versia was now entering a full war economy geared towards providing basic supplies while everything else was dedicated to the war effort. Luxury items like opulent furniture and jewellery began to decline in demand, and people able to ept a lower standard of living. The starving homeless and poor that were worked hard as ves or prisoners under Mornero¡¯s government were overjoyed, now having governmental support in the form of food and water, which no longer had to be rationed. This improved their productivity even further. On the other side, Raktor was inplete shambles, with nearly three-quarters of Raktor¡¯s production taken over by the major gangs, whose tendrils began to invade the neighbouring towns and viges as well, expropriating their resources for the civil war in Raktor. Just like that, a new normal for society had emerged, as though the constant war and multiple battles and skirmishes were perfectly eptable and normal. Citizens still went about their daily lives, the major gangs assuming the role of the government and managing the districts under their control. The informal economy became the main focus, with greedy traders exploiting the difference in prices between Raktor and other counties in the Yual Dominion. The coffers of Kyle surged tremendously, while the ADCON base in Desham only grewrger, with more and more recruits pouring in, seeking their fortune in battle as well. The boot camp over thest month had trained even more recruits, allowing Kyle to now field two brigades in battle. Soon, the secondst warlord stronghold had fallen to Kyle, with the veryst one being held by Harrison. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be easy,¡± Yona remarked as she pointed to the map of Versia, her finger resting on a mountainous region where the final city, Utul, was positioned at. ¡°Indeed, it will be hard to assault such a position. We cannot underestimate Harrison lightly ¨C he is the main reason why we have suffered so many losses over thest month.¡± Nox nodded. Nox was now working for Kyle, having no choice due to the modified ve engraving, free from Nest. Kyle of course, had recruited him to lead the ADCON soldiers, though Kyle still overrides his orders from time to time. Kyle pondered, looking over the other edge of the mountainous region. ¡°Which country is that?¡± ¡°Josei, a vassal under the Hwa Dynasty.¡± The Hwa Dynasty functioned unlike that of the Yual Dominion, instead having tributaries and vassals over the continent, forming its own power bloc away from the Yual Dominion, who represented a contiguous empire, where all territories directly fell under the rule of the Emperor, with no vassals. Kyle did not have any impression of Josei, instead focusing his attention on the heavily fortified city. The mountains served as a natural defence against a siege, with the tunnels and pathways leading through towards Josei unable to be cut off. Unless¡­ ¡°Ready the heavy variant of the stealth hovercraft. It¡¯s time to do an orbdrop.¡± ¡°An orb-what?!¡± Chapter 148: Retribution M.G.Driver One of the mistakes I made during the daily serialization was theck of proper introduction for antagonists and allies. They have been referenced since a long time ago, but have poor pacing in terms of reveal, motivation and so on. The re-edit of Chapters 70 to 120 should alleviate this, for now I ask that you understand that I am aware of mistakes, ludicrous plot pacings and irrevant increases in military technology. If you want to have a direct say in all of these uing changes, feel free to apply to be a core reader/beta reader for the rewrite. Free chapters without having to pay anything! ¡°We¡¯re willing to pay as much as is needed,¡± Harrison spoke calmly as he picked up his cup of tea, sipping from it carefully. In contrast, the Josei diplomat opposite him considered the offer carefully. ¡°I¡¯m already toeing the line by evening here.¡± The Josei diplomat remarked, his eyes wandering across the vastndscape the castle¡¯s office overlooked, the signature vast Versian ins under the towering mountains right behind. ¡°Even after fifty years of ¡®istion¡¯?¡± ¡°As long as the Hwa Dynasty practices istion, so will Josei.¡± ¡°Yet you require food, something Josei sorelycks.¡± The Josei diplomat red at Harrison. ¡°Do not push your luck. You may have familial ties with the Hwa Dynasty, but there are limits to what you can say.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s cut to the chase, Mr Yong: we are both border states, buffer states between two superpowers. Your economy and society heavily rely on the Hwa Dynasty for food, while you are exploited for your metal and arcia resources. We, on the other hand, have abundant food resources butck significant arcia mines. A natural partnership has already formed between our two states generations ago, but it was only in recent years that this ¡®trade route¡¯ has been cut off.¡± Yong Jun was slightly ruffled at being referred to by his first name instead of his official title, but he focused on the topic. ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± ¡°A closer alliance. Of course, the Hwa Dynasty shouldn¡¯t have to know about this.¡± Harrison slid a paper across the wooden oak table, handing it to the diplomat. ¡°You just want to drag us into your civil war because you are losing badly, and your original ploy to supersede the government has already failed.¡± Yong scoffed, not even ncing at the paper. Harrison was unfazed. ¡°We have already been trading in secret through smuggler¡¯s roads, whether you like it or not. And I¡¯m sure your traders and my traders have already lined your pockets enough to make it worthwhile. Please, have a look at the n.¡± Yong finally relented, taking a closer look. His eyes sparkled as he saw a few terms and the goods being traded. This, the profits will be immense. But before he lost himself in his enthusiasm, he coughed slightly, reining himself in. ¡°This amount of goods would not be easy to hide from the inspectors.¡± ¡°The ndestinework would be seen as a criminal organisation, not the work of the Versian state nor the Josei council. They may fault you forck of enforcement, but corruption will be impossible to trace. Everything we do is by direct handling of coins, no paper traces or bank slips.¡± The more Harrison exined the n, the more inclined Yong was to believe him. However, there were a few more catches. ¡°This entire n hinges on you winning the civil war. As far as I can tell, ADCON has been purging your allies effectively, leaving only stragglers. This could be said to be yourst stronghold.¡± It was apparent that the industrialists were on theirst legs to any external observers. Still, that fact did not seem to anger or panic Harrison in any way ¨C instead, his smile only grewrger than before. It made Yong carefully think about what could happen. Harrison is a genius: he must have a n up his sleeve. It wouldn¡¯t be wrong to ssify Harrison as such: the man had more than five dozen patents registered, and his affinity for innovation far exceeded everyone in Versia, allowing him and hispanies to skyrocket to the top over thest fifteen years since the revolution. He was one of the main reasons why the standard of living in Tenar had increased so dramatically, with innovations in construction and utilities spurred by his learnings and education in the Hwa Dynasty, allowing him to elerate the economy. His skill in engineering was only made more apparent when he designed countermeasures to Kyle¡¯s stealth hovercraft, improving with each iteration and levelling the battlefield. Harrison could be said to be the only reason why the remaining industrialists have yet to falter. ¡°We still have forces embedded all over Versia ¨C just because the major cities have fallen does not mean our supporters are missing,¡± Harrison replied. ¡°Dekar might have a strong following and popr support now, but that onlysts as long as their economy and society can hold together.¡± Yong immediately understood what Harrison was nning, nodding his head. Reassured, he continued to read the n, about to agree to it when he suddenly hit a snag on thest term. ¡°Impossible. No one has obtained his services for thest three decades.¡± ¡°I understand mages are precious strategic resources ¨C Versia too only has two mages, and they are in istion now as well.¡± ¡°Then what makes you think you can meet him?¡± ¡°I doubt the elder of the Cult of Nona would take kindly to heretics spouting sphemy in the streets of Versia, tarnishing the Goddess¡¯s name.¡± Harrison himself had not believed it was a real religion in the first ce, only having done his research after its original appearance, thanks to Kyle iming he was a messenger. ¡°You¡¯re nning to use him as a weapon.¡± ¡°Oh, not at all. Our goals simply align, and I see a potential for an alliance.¡± Yong furrowed his brows for a bit, contemting as he leaned back against the wooden backrest of his chair. ¡°The Hwa Dynasty tracks his movements regrly. If he finds out you and I are the reason for his intervention in Versia¡­.¡± ¡°The Hwa Dynasty would be more than delighted to im prestige when one of their mages sessfully overthrows a Yual invasion.¡± ¡°The new government is not a Yual invasion.¡± ¡°Ah, but Kris Greyborn is a citizen of the Yual Dominion. He is the entire reason why Dekar even got into power in the first ce.¡± Harrison had long marked out his true enemy, knowing that he would need to focus all his efforts on defeating Kyle. It¡¯s been a while since I had such an opponent. Yong nodded in agreement. ¡°If we can frame it as such, indeed¡­ this n may be feasible after all. But what if ADCON strikes Utul directly? Would you be able to handle the siege?¡± ¡°We will have more than enough countermeasures to deal with any threats, airborne or not. The real question is, will ADCON even dare to attack?¡± Kyle had forgotten slightly how hard it was to train soldiers for orbital drops. The man screamed as Kyle shoved them off the edge of the heavy hovercraft into the Keru Forest, though it was only two meters above the ground, a practice set up to let the men get a feel for stepping off the edge. What¡¯s the point of a surprise drop attack when you¡¯re screaming half of the way down? Kyle almost facepalmed in desperation, though he held his disappointment internally, continuing to train the newly formed airborne troops rigidly. The sight of the men panicking over such a small drop reminded him of the heavy gravity human variants in the Gctic Era, who had a natural aversion to heights for a good reason. As much as Kyle wanted to send both brigades right at Ulut to capture it immediately, he did not want to get bogged down in a siege indefinitely, especially when he knew that Harrison had already developed countermeasures to his stealth hovercraft. There was also the case of suppressing other supporters of Mornero in captured cities, as it has only been a month since Dekar took power. The city of Ulut was a natural fortress, making it hard for Kyle to see a way in. Harrison had developed its defences considerably: preliminary observations suggest it was even more heavily defended than Tenar in terms of weaponry and defence systems. Sneaking in would be almost out of the question as well ¨C he had already tried to send a few former captured Nest operatives inside, only for them to be killed on the spot. It was to be expected of such a situation, with tight immigration controls. More importantly, a few narrow passes through the mountain range were impossible to ess without going through Ulut or scaling an entire mountain. Kyle could theoretically do that, but supplying the troops would be near impossible in such a scenario, especially with Harrison guarding the airspace. Josei also remained a significant ck box, with Kyle having no knowledge nor understanding of the country on the other side of the pass. If they are trading, it means a blockade siege is not feasible at all. If Kyle were to take Ulut, he had to do it by storm and fast in a surprise attack. As such, the hovercraft needed to both go higher and be able to drop troops right into the city to disrupt the defence systems to allow the rest of the ADCON force to fight properly. While Kyle continued to watch the iling line of men jumping, Feldon reported updates on the ADCON troops to him. ¡°We¡¯re severely understaffed ¨C the major cities that we have been taking over have yet to fallpletely under our control.¡± ¡°It has already been more than two weeks for some of them. Have we not flushed all the rebel industrialists out?¡± ¡°There¡¯s simply too many, and their former stranglehold and political capital give them plenty of leverage and financial resources to lure mercenaries and deserters into their private forces. We only have two brigades worth of men for now.¡± ¡°How many recruits are in the training camps?¡± ¡°Close to ten thousand, but I suspect only half will make it by the end of this month.¡± ¡°The longer we drag on the civil war, the less advantageous it would be for us.¡± Kyle knew that his victories were mainly attributed to both the professional rigour of his ADCON soldiers, better equipment and fast strike times, catching the remnants of Mornero¡¯s supporters off-guard. However, he was cognizant that the enemy was not static either ¨C Harrison led the charge in innovation, which meant that Kyle was continuously losing the edge in terms of organisation. Kyle needed to strike hard as soon as possible, but as long as he did not have the requisite trained troops to assault Ulut properly, it was better not to rush things along until he had what he needed. Another factor that reigned in his actions was the Wardens. Kyle still had no idea when or where they were going to show up, which is why he has not yetmitted every single resource to a ¡®final battle¡¯ of sorts. Rayner had yet to appear for a month, making Kyle even more suspicious of what this mysterious organisation was. If I were the association of System Users, I would never tolerate another rogue System User taking over the Keru Dungeon just like that. Kyle would have expected them to send even more Warden Drones or three high-level System Users to purge him, yet none of it ever happened at all. Instead, only silence. Not even Nox knew much about the Wardens, apart from Soren taking control of them only justst year. ¡°I would have thought you were one of them as well,¡± Nox remarked when Kyle asked him about the Wardens. ¡°I was under the impression that a civil conflict was going on between transcendents.¡± ¡°Has there been one before?¡± ¡°Not recently, but there has been one in the folklore about the Heavenly War.¡± The Heavenly War¡­ Kyle recalled learning about it through the goblin kingdom in the Culdao Peaks. He knew that there had been a Gctic Era battle on this, but for what reason, between whom, and why, he did not know. The ¡®Oracle¡¯ did not have any information nor hints; the exosuits were all of a foreign make that he did not recognise from his past life. There must be a critical reason why the Wardens are willing to give up an entire dungeon. I would have assumed they would also want it for the EXP gain. It was this ambient threat that made Kyle focus on both improving his troops and resources. Kyle was now mining the dungeon, scavenging for other arcia crystals in the various chambers as well. On top of that, personal power was also a goal. Kyle had been grinding the dungeon, helping the workers clear out the rock spiders when he was not fighting in the field with ADCON. However, the EXP gain from the dungeon had significantly decreased. As such, he also had workers from Desham begin mining, clearing out the copsed passageway from when he shed with Soren to ess more trials for EXP gains. A well-trained force can only do so much. I need levels to counter whoever ising to kill or stop me. Kyle tried to think hard about the Wardens¡¯ overall objective and origins but could note to a conclusion. What exactly is their purpose? Chapter 149: The Wardens [Please ce your palm on the- Authorized. Wee, Ma*ria&# K*(¡°:] The pneumatic double doors hissed as they slid apart, revealing a glistening white corridor starkly contrasting the surrounding ckened rocks in the underground cavern. A colder gust blew forth from within, the positive pressure sting the dirty air particles outside, buffeting against the dark green stripes of a female exosuit. Her boots clicked in rhythm as she strutted through the corridor, the blinding bright white LEDs strips guiding her down while the doors mmed shut behind her, sealing instantly. She nced at the two automated turrets that hung from above, retreating slowly into their previously inconspicuous slots. In every corner, a tracking camera marked her every motion, the red re of its lens prominent while she ignored it, continuing to walk briskly past various rooms. Their ss windows revealed clean rooms, filled with humans carefully manufacturing small little electronic chips bristling with arcia energy as automated test chambers ran multiple sequences on them, pushing them to their breaking point. Another room featured various Gctic Era weapons, with a test firing range even for corvette cannons and point defence cannons, dummy targets made of reinforced aluminium or titanium mmed repeatedly by the automated firing system, with researchers watching scrolling screens of monitors, examining the results on recoil, elerations and angr momentums imparted onto a simtion of a spaceship. She was not the only one walking through the corridor, with various other workers moving past her as they ferried cybeic parts, nerval spines, armour tes and weapons to and fro between the various rooms, all encased in a controlled acrylic container. ¡°Matriarch, how good of you to finally join us. I was getting bored of being alone with these old farts down here.¡± A young man smiled as he stood in her path, his exosuit far dwarfing that of the Matriarch, with his battle-worn tes having clear streaks ofbat and carved marks signifying energy beam hits that seared through the topyer. His shoulders were far higher than him, protecting his head in the centre of the exosuit while his nerval jack controlled the rest of the hydraulics and actuation. ¡°I assume you are here to discuss your recent¡­ disappointment.¡± ¡°Far from it. Soren will find his ce in our society.¡± The Matriarch spoke dismissively, though her voice betrayed a tinge of irritation. ¡°However, regardless of how he has fared, your judgement on my n members is unwarranted. It¡¯s best to stick to your own business.¡± ¡°Fiery, just like your mother before you. I apologise.¡± ¡°epted.¡± The Matriarch would have much preferred to keep walking in silence, but the chatty young man was not letting her go that easily. ¡°I heard you¡¯ve also lost the Keru Forest Dungeon in Versia to a rogue user at that. What a shame, that dungeon was quite right for our next generation.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like it never happened to you. Need I remind you what your father decided to do?¡± ¡°I take no responsibility over my father¡¯s insane acts. His actions are not mine.¡± ¡°And likewise: Soren¡¯s actions are not mine.¡± The Matriarch snapped back. ¡°You can hardly expect a novice user to defend an entire dungeon. Either way, it is not over yet. I n to ask the Archivist for permission tounch an attack squad.¡± The young man lost his previously jovial mood. ¡°The Archivist will never agree to such a proposal. It is far too dangerous.¡± ¡°There is only one user to deal with ¨C the exposure will be limited.¡± ¡°I assume you have already tried to use the Warden Drones?¡± ¡°I stayed within the predefined limits.¡± ¡°If three Warden Drones were insufficient, then an attack squad would be overkill and expose us directly. The user must be well prepared in that case. Did hee from beyond the Great Waves?¡± ¡°I am unsure of his origin. The scouts have reported no signs of infiltration on New Nedrasa.¡± ¡°The scouts may be wrong ¨C if he is from beyond, then we will have to go back into hiding once more until the Archivist is ready.¡± Their conversation came to a halt as they reached their destination, arge conference room where there were a dozen seats, all centred around a holographic representation of the continent that loomed over the people seated. Various red marks were highlighted on the area, with each seat having its own personalised view of the continent. The other n leaders were all there as well, with only the Matriarch and the old man being thest ones. The two separated, heading to their own seats. The Matriarch saw the visualisation of the underground in front of her, with the multiple attack squads and marked enemy locations constantly changing and evolving. ¡°The quarterly meeting will proceed as per usual.¡± Another n leader spoke clearly as she led the meeting, swiping her hands in front of her as a holographic agenda appeared in front of all the members. ¡°First off, an update from the observation department.¡± An exosuit soldier appeared in front of them in a holographic video, seemingly a recording. [Reporting to the Archivist ¨C no signs of incursions from above, as well as no apparent signs of any movements from beyond the Great Waves. A general sensor ckout curtain is still applied.] The n leaders did not show any reaction: this was part and parcel of their meetings. None of them could even remember a time when the observation department had actually reported anything of note. ¡°Next, a report from the engineering department.¡± [Reporting to the Archivist ¨C progress on the nextunch is going smoothly, and we are taking extra precautions to ensure sess this time round. Additional shielding and weaponry are being tested. If this prototype is sessful, the design will be mass-produced, and we can begin clearing the low orbits. Estimated time to nextunch is two years.] ¡°Two years?!¡± The old man eximed with clear anger. ¡°I might die before I even see the stars at this rate! Why are we notunching any faster? With the amount of resources we have been monopolising, we should be able tounch in three months!¡± ¡°Zarich, restrain yourself.¡± The n leader who was chairing the meeting red at him. ¡°Underpany protocol, participants in the quarterly meeting shall not interru-¡° ¡°Company protocol? Do you know how ancient you sound, Remilia? I thought you would¡¯ve been better than your father. Now that you mention it, it seems that corporate runs in your blood. Are you sure you¡¯re not working with the enemy?¡± Before Remilia could retort, a sizeable whirring sound appeared from another side of the room, arge mechanical door creaking open to reveal a towering man, though his body was nearly entirely cybeic, with only a fa?ade of his humanity left in his face, though his nose and eyes had already clearly been reced with sensors, along with his jawpletely missing. The cyborg stood two heads higher than anyone in the room, his wed mechanical feet causing the metal floor to creak slightly under the immense weight. His red optical eyes swept the room, analysing the various n members as the gears and pneumatic controls in his body hissed from the movement of his legs and arms, each adorned with Gctic Erabat armour tes and weaponry that could annihte the entire room five times over. The n leaders immediately stood up and bowed, including the originally bickering Remilia and Zarcih. Remilia was the first to address the cyborg. ¡°Archivist, we were not expecting you to attend this meeting.¡± [I did not expect myself to attend as well. But I have received a message from Matrirach Yue about the enemy returning. You may proceed with the agenda for now.] A ghastlyputer voice echoed from his inbuilt speakers as he simply stood around the table. [Do not waste time bickering among each other ¨C there is work to be done. At ease.] ¡°Yes, Archivist.¡± Remilia shot a scathing re at Zarich as the n members resumed their seats. ¡°Next, we have updates on the suppression camp-¡° ¡°If I may ask directly, why is theunch of the spaceship dyed?¡± Zarich took his chance, asking the Archivist directly, much to the surprise of the other n leaders. The Archivist slowly turned his body, rotating about his waist as he stared at Zarich, ncing him up and down. [Ah, the son of Zerik. Your gic line is always fearless, something I must apud.] A gratingughter burst from the damaged speakers, the voice husky as the Archivist chortled. Suddenly, the Archivist lunged forward before Zarich could even react, the cyborg¡¯s metallic wed hands tearing into therge exosuit and ripping out one of the arms in a sickening twist, each rotation screeching against the metal within and squeezing the flesh out in a mix of suspension liquid, blood and flesh while Zarich screamed loudly, the pain unbearable. With a kick, Zarich fell under the feet of the Archivist as the cyborg tossed away the mangled arm, still encased in its metal cage and bleeding profusely, while Zarich continued to scream in pain. [As long as I am alive, thepany is alive. Do you understand, Employee Zarich? Your farce as a n leader is tolerated as long as you follow MY protocols.] The n leaders were all rooted in ce, reminded of the Archivist¡¯s overpowering strength. Even the Matriarch no longer held her arrogant expression, remaining quiet as Remilia continued speaking. ¡°Next on the agenda, updates on the suppression campaign.¡± The holographic continent view swapped to an underground view, where attack squads werebelled in the hundreds, fighting against what seemed to be enemy marks,belled with a red danger sign. ¡°We¡¯ve been slowly breaking the stalemate at various corridors and are iming more and more factories back. If we continue to bolster our efforts in pushing back, by our current projections, we will be able to crack the core zone within three years.¡± [We will not be increasing our resources. The suppression campaign shall only be used for training soldiers. I fear any more pushes and the core may retaliate in ways we have yet to prepare for. My predecessor made the mistake of rushing, and that has cost us dearly. It is in our best interest to gather significant strength in a full surprise attack.] The Archivist remarked. ¡°Yes, Archivist.¡± Remilia bowed once more. The n leaders all knew that the Archivist would not make any oundish moves until his current project wasplete. ¡°With that, the agenda of the meeting is nowplete. We shall move on to special items proposed by the members.¡± [Begin with Matriarch Yue.] Matriarch Yue nodded, standing up and clearing her throat. ¡°One of my newborns have encountered a rogue user. His origins are unknown, potentially from beyond the Great Waves.¡± [I know this already. Do not make assumptions lightly. The scouts have not reported any incursions.] ¡°Yes, but we cannot assume the scouts are always right. If the rebels have found a way to sneak in, then it is only right that we figure out how.¡± [How many Warden Drones?] ¡°Three, with one destroyed.¡± [Self-destructed?] ¡°Yes.¡± [Then it is impossible for the user to be from the rebels. They know all about the drones¡¯ self-destruct capability and would have put in measures to capture one alive. It has happened before.] ¡°With all due respect, Archivist, thest confrontation was over three hundred years ago.¡± [¡­ What are you proposing?] ¡°An attack squad. Three of my n members will capture him for interrogation.¡± An audible gasp went through the other n leaders, whispering among each other as the Archivist¡¯s eyes flickered, contemting the n. [What is the rogue user doing now?] ¡°He is currently amassing political and military forces in Versia. It would be fair to say that half of the country is under his indirect rule.¡± [Has he prominently stated that he is a user?] ¡°Not yet, no. Preliminary observations indicate that only a rare few know of his system.¡± [Then the proposal is rejected.] The Archivist dered. [I will not tolerate any distractions or wildcards during the final stages of my project. You are to not retaliate in any form that will expose us to the surface. Maintain observation on him for now. All updates are to be directly sent to me.] ¡°Yes, Archivist.¡± Matriarch Yue did not try to fight back against the Archivist¡¯s decision, though internally, she fumed slightly, being unable to rid herself of the mark of ipetence. Every other n leader was already looking down on her for being unable to even control a novice dungeon, irritating her even more. However, she did not show it on her face, remaining passive. The Archivist did not bother himself with the rest of the meeting, retreating to his own personalb in a separate part of therge undergroundplex. He marched pastrge hangar bays, where a modified corvette was being prepared forunch. The various workers immediately bowed when they saw the Archivist, their bodies trembling slightly as they watched the towering cyborg walk past them, a relic of the Heavenly War. In his personalb, the Archivist let out a huge sigh as theb doors closed behind him. His vision was filled with warnings of destabilisingponents, dropping synchronisation rates and invalid parts configuration. His very own cybeic body was ailing; the resources, exotics and procedures were no longer avable to maintain his specifications. The power he had demonstrated in the n leader meeting was to showcase his strength, lest they think him weak and attempt to wrestle control of thepany. He needed to keep thempliant until his project was finished. Any interruptions were uneptable ¨C the Archivist would not be able to handle a direct confrontation with anyone: the core, the rebels. Not even a rogue user would sway him when he was this close topleting his decades-long project. It would be foolish to start a conflict at this stage, which is why he rejected Matriarch Yue¡¯s n. If anything, that rogue user would only make it easier for me to take over. At the very centre of theb were five separate vats, each growing what seemed to be a fetus. However, their veins were brimming with arcia energy unlike anything seen before, yet the body was stable, not disintegrating. The Archivist jacked a cable into his nerval jack at the base of his neck, the series of biological information and readings from the five fetuses scrolling through his vision. He activated a series of tests, with mechanical arms prodding the fetuses, drawing samples of stem cells and blood for him to analyse. DNA readings flooded his brain, as the structure of the cell was maximised in his mind vision, allowing him to observe the integration of the ancient Arcian¡¯s DNA into the human cell, changing its energy sequence to half rely on arcia energy as well. The Archivist grinned, though his missing mouth did not show the expression. Finally, I will hold the ultimate power that my predecessors have all sought. I will be free of this metal cage and this ursed! Chapter 150: Mages M.G.Driver Mages are not very clearly defined so far. The first mention of a mage was in Chapter 12, and sprinkles subsequently. Hopefully this chapter shows a bit more of how mages operate in the world. In the rewrite of chapter 70 - 120, I aim to give far more context and foreshadowing to this role as well. The re of the arctech spotlights dominated the night scenery, Count Leon¡¯s camp a ring of light around Ocra as weary soldiers continued their daily routine, stuck in a never-ending back-and-forth loop. Commanders furrowed their brows as they poured over routines, attack ns and logistics routes. Every level of the army fought against each other, used one another of restricting supply, or intentionally not rendering aid during battle. The same tension was apparent throughout the camp, an unnerving result of the harrowing retreat from Tenar. Count Leon bore the brunt of the defeat, continuously working around the clock to stave and assuage his soldiers of eventual victory, though to little effect. Even his morale had taken a hit as he stood over in his personal tent, now permanently wearing his arctech armour as a precaution against surprise attacks. The army was still deep in Versia territory. Thest month had not been good for Count Leon ever since his forces retreated from Tenar. He had diverted about two-fifths of his army to Raktor in order to suppress the major gang uprising. Unwilling to give up thend that he has imed from Versia, he remained entrenched, besieging Ocra daily with cannons and sappers, attempting to breach the defensive trenches and walls. His knight retinue was heavily beaten as well, with nearly all of his well-trained knights wiped out by Kyle and ADCON within the pce. I had underestimated him¡­ Count Leon fumed as he tapped his gloved finger on the map of Ocra, where scouts continuously reported enemy movements to and fro. ¡°Sir, a report from one of our spies who made it in.¡± An intelligence officer saluted. ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± ¡°No signs of dwindling supplies nor starvation. Ammunition seems to be well-stocked as well.¡± ¡°Impossible. Haven¡¯t we been stopping ADCON hovercrafts?¡± The hovercrafts became a new mode of warfare, another dimension that Count Leon now had to take into ount. Already his best engineers had developed countermeasures, bright searchlights that could spot the stealth engravings. He had yet to capture a hovercraft yet, not having the right weapons nor equipment to knock them down, but he could at least deter them with timed explosives in the air, filling the skies with fragments. ¡°Yes, we have, but they seem to have a few underground tunnels that we have yet to cover.¡± ¡°Find them as soon as possible. Have our scouts scour the surrounding area. I don¡¯t care if the tunnel is five kilometres away ¨C we must find it!¡± The intelligence officer saluted, leaving the sighing Count Leon to ponder over the state of the war. He was now truly trapped in a dilemma, unable to both push forward and retreat. Either way he went, he would lose something. His current forces were far from insufficient tounch a frontal assault on Ocra, having suffered casualties and worsening morale from the retreat of Tenar. The major gangs¡¯ intervention in Raktor further exacerbated the supply lines of his troops, causing him to be forced to redirect even more resources to focus on securing them. The worse part about all of this? A major reason why Raktor was still stable was due to the help of the Seven Snakes, alleviating the amount of effort needed by the enforcers to stabilise the South Sector. The city was now in an uncivil state, where thews only applied depending on who controlled the district. Count Leon gripped his fist as he raged internally, instinctively unwilling to rely on the Seven Snakes for help. Yet he had no choice but to ept the help, though he swore to eradicate them from the future when he imed back Raktor. Just as he was about to m the table in an outburst of anger, a crackle on the arctech radio suddenly gave him a spark of hope. [Count Leon, the help the Duke has promised is here.] Fucking finally! Count Leon nearly couldn¡¯t stop himself from grinning, quickly marching out with his guards in tow, moving to the entrance of the camp where a small elite unit escorted a single arctech wagon. His enthusiasm paled significantly as he craned his neck, trying to spot if there were any other arctech wagons in the convoy. However, he could only see one such wagon, guarded closely by five elite soldiers decked in arctech armour equivalent to his knights. As the door of the wagon opened, Count Leon could feel the air ripple slightly while the man within took a step out, wearing a robe emzoned with the Duke¡¯s family crest, surrounded by a deep shade of purple that was only entuated by the red exterior linings that marked the edges. Unlike theck of reaction from Count Leon, his guards were visibly taken aback by the appearance of the man, who did not look more than twenty years old, yet had an aura of an elder. Instead of the reverence that the guards disyed, Count Leon showed an irritated expression, clicking his tongue. ¡°I specifically requested three demolition mages. Not a junior mage.¡± ¡°The Duke is currently upied with another matter.¡± ¡°A matter that requires more than two mages to be deployed onto the field?¡± The mage did not falter, fully stepping out of the carriage and standing to his full height. ¡°Mages are not to be used for small wars such as this. You may think this war of yours is paramount, but this is a but a small issue in the eyes of the Duke. There are far greater things beyond your pitiful position.¡± Count Leon wanted to retort but decided against pissing off the mage. While he himself could be considered a well-trained wielder of arcia engravings, mages were on apletely different level. They were considered national treasures, with every one of them achieving status far beyond themon folk, even beyond the Count. Only Dukes and above were allowed to have mages in their employ less the Heretical Wars were repeated again. ¡°The failure of this war will also reflect on the prestige of the Duke.¡± ¡°That is true. Which is why he sent me.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a reason why I asked for three demolition mages. The walls and defensive fortifications of Ocra are ¨C¡° ¡°Are carved with defensive engravings as well as point defence systems. I know. This is why I am the perfect mage for the job.¡± Count Leon was about to argue again, but the mage put up his hand, silencing him. The tattoos on the mage¡¯s hand were visible, his hand heavily mutted from the arcia carvings. ¡°Do not bother arguing. I am all you need. Prepare an infiltration squad. We will make Ocra fall tonight.¡± ¡°Infiltration? I was nning to have the demolition mages lead a frontal assault - ¡± ¡°I understand your views on how mages operate from the old wars, and I do not me you. However, mages can be employed in many forms. Do not restrain yourself to the old dogmas surrounding mages ¨C a new generation of warfare ising.¡± Under cover of the night sky, three Raktor soldiers snuck up to the walls of Ocra, hauling sacks on their backs. The sweat dripped down their faces as they panted, moving as quietly as they could, each keeping a lookout for any spotters. ¡°Where¡¯s the drop?¡± The soldier at the back hissed angrily. ¡°I was told this would be a quick job!¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t wake up the damn camp guard, we wouldn¡¯t have to wait so long!¡± The soldier leading the trio at the front whispered back. ¡°Just got to find the ck brick, and we¡¯re clear.¡± The soldiers hugged the walls, scanning for the sign of the ck brick while they continued to lug the sacks, the rugged texture rubbing against their long-blemished uniforms and eroding the fabric even further. A few minutes passed by to no avail, with no sign in view. The exhaustion and tension were slowly getting to them the longer they spent circling the walls. ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a good idea; we should head back! What if they were lying to us?¡± The soldier in the middle tried to convince the others to turn around, his eyes continuously darting to the top of the walls. ¡°Then what else are you going to do? Lose this war and return home empty-handed? For all I know, my house back at Raktor is already in shambles, thanks to the fucking gangs. Better to grab as much money and loot as we can before we return. Wait, here it is!¡± The ck brick was found, with the soldiers quickly tapping a rapid pattern on it. Instead of the sound of stone echoing, the surface was surprisingly wooden, painted to resemble part of the wall. The door began to swing slightly open, engravings activating the door, revealing a narrow spiralling staircase that led downwards. They hurriedly stepped into the staircase, rushing down into its depths where it led into a small underground cavern, revealing two thugs guards who wielded heavy vibration axes, ring at them as they blocked yet another door. ¡°Weapons off.¡± The soldiersplied, taking off their rifles and cing them on a small wooden table outside the door before the bouncers patted them down, checking for hidden weapons. Once clear, the door was opened, leading to a small little room where Masir and a few of his hired thugs were already waiting for them. Masir was now well-dressed and equipped, wearing a mix of arctech armour and luxurious clothing, courtesy of his newfound wealth thanks to being the overall leader of the ck market in Ocra. ¡°We got what you asked for.¡± The soldier at the front spoke while huffing, dropping the sacks on the ground as Masir¡¯s thugs moved forward to check the goods. Food, medical supplies and small containers of ammunition were in the sacks. Masir grinned as he saw the goods allid out at his feet. This was how Ocra had still been surviving for a month, despite Count Leon enacting a full blockade and even restricting hovercrafts from getting too close. High altitude airdrops, as well as turncoat Raktor soldiers, were what kept Ocra alive now. ¡°Well done, but there¡¯s still one more thing.¡± Masir motioned to the soldier at the front. ¡°Right, right.¡± The soldier pulled out a roll of parchment from his breast pocket, handing it over to Masir. ¡°Here¡¯s a copy of the shipment list.¡± Masir¡¯s eyes darted as he rolled it out, reading it carefully. His smile only grew wider and wider as he continued. The logistics seem to be cancelling every shipment past this week. That means¡­ ¡°Looks like the end of the war is in sight, boys! That damn Count is retreating in a week!¡± ¡°HELL YEAH! Fucking Yual dogs won¡¯t take an inch of Versia!¡± ¡°WOOOOOO¡± A rousing cheer went up among the thugs while the three Raktor soldiers smiled warily, obviously unnerved to be in the midst of cheering enemies. ¡°All right, we got you what you wanted. Where¡¯s the payment?¡± ¡°Right, sorry.¡± Masir motioned for a thug to bring forward a sack to the soldiers, who quickly opened it to check the contents. The dazzling brilliance of the opulent jewellery, handcrafted arctechnterns and other obviously luxurious items nearly made the soldiers¡¯ hearts jump in ce. They, too, couldn¡¯t stop grinning as they thought about how much all of this could go for in Raktor. ¡°Pleasure doing business with you.¡± The front soldier nodded his head, about to turn his head to leave, when he suddenly noticed the cheering thugs had been slowly surrounding them, cutting off their exit. A small unnerving tension began to fill the room as the soldiers¡¯ eyes darted around, their hands slowly reaching for their weapons. ¡°Wasn¡¯t this to be a fair and simple equivalent exchange?¡± The front soldier looked at Masir, who had lost his prior happiness and exuberance. ¡°It is, but only if you did not try to lie to me.¡± Masir snarled as a secret door behind him opened, revealing another Raktor soldier who was heavily beaten up, and dragged out by two guards. ¡°Now all you need to do is exin to me ¨C why is every soldier I am trading with copying a different shipment list?¡± The front soldier gulped instinctively, recognising the soldier to be one of his toon members. ¡°I don¡¯t understand ¨C I only copied what I saw at the logistics officer tent.¡± ¡°Then Raktor¡¯s education system must be going down the drain. Your friend¡¯s supposed copy of the shipment list ispletely different from yours. In his, Count Leon retreats in two days. The items are allpletely different too. In fact, every group that has traded with me tonight has given me different versions. Now you are going to tell me what the hell you Yual dogs are nning or I -¡± A loud scream erupted from beyond the door,ing from where the two bouncers were at the door. Frost began to spread significantly across the walls, stemming from the hinges as the wooden door froze over. Masir barely had time to order his men into action when the door burst apart in splinters of ice and wood, the fragments piercing through the air and impaling the thugs and Raktor soldiers indiscriminately. Automatic point defence systems built into the cavern kicked into action, but more icicles shot forth from beyond the door, overwhelming them. The three soldiers did not even get the chance to scream, their backs riddled with holes as they took the brunt of the explosion. Masir ducked quickly behind cover as green arcia bolts and iciclesnced across the room in a flurry of projectiles. He flipped a table to serve as cover while the thugs began to do the same, brandishing their pistols and rifles and firing at the entrance. As the pellets sted through the air, they were suddenly stopped by an ice wall that formed out of nowhere, blocking the entrance as a young, robed man stepped forwards calmly, his boots cracking the frozen limbs of the fallen Raktor soldiers into pieces. His piercing yellow eyes nced at Masir before he suddenly lunged forward towards Masir. Before Masir could react, a de of ice had already pierced through his stomach and the cover he was hiding behind, gutting him from within as his organs seared with pain, the cold chilling edge dominating his nerves as he screamed in pain. The thugs all attempted to shoot at the mage, but they were instead greeted by icicles, stabbing them right in the eyes with precision, drilling into their ocr nerves. Masir tried desperately to use the butt of his arctech gun to smash the de of ice, but instead the frost began to spread through his body rapidly, freezing his heart and organs over till he became nothing more than an ice block, his expression permanently locked in horror. ¡°Sa...ve me¡­¡± A weak moan came from the heavily injured Raktor soldier whom Masir¡¯s thugs had beaten up. The mage walked up slowly to the soldier, instead rewarding him by chopping off his head. ¡°Under Count Leon¡¯s authority, all collusions with the enemy are to be punished by execution.¡± The cavern was now silent, the prior rowdiness of the thugs reced with a chilling silence, the floor littered with dead bodies half covered in frost. Soon, the sound of boots began to enter the cavern, as more arctech knights and the mage¡¯s personal elite squad began to enter the cavern, preparing to infiltrate Ocra. The mage scoffed as he kicked the frozen block of Masir over, the human ice sculpture snapping in half as it smacked against the wall. ¡°Too easy. I wouldn''t havee if I knew it would be like this.¡± ¡°Sir, reneging on a contract will earn you demerit points from the Duke.¡± One of the mage¡¯s personal elite squad remarked as they cleared the room, making way for supplies as the cavern now began to serve as their forward supply base. ¡°I know.¡± The mage waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Get the sappers in here to break the walls immediately, don¡¯t waste my time. If they do, they better hope Count Leon is happy with a frozen city.¡± Chapter 151: Sleep Kyle hated sleep. Sleep was where a human was the weakest ¨C where his guard was the lowest than at any other point in his day. Kyle had always made it a point to sleep in a well-protected area and to always have a weapon on hand. Sleep was a small factor in Kyle¡¯s life. In fact, his newfound Arcian physique allowed him to go for long days without requiring sleep, so rest came far and few in between. Such an inclination stemmed from his former life as a designer baby ¨C where sleep time was also preupied with learning, dream immersion inbat scenarios, education about war history and politics, etc. The childhood of a Dynasty kid was never free. Every hour and minute was precious. It was also the point where Kyle had zero influence over what happened in the real world around him. He hated that. Having no control or no power over events happening. If he had a choice, he would never sleep for the rest of his life if he had the option. Kyle could hardly recall thest time he had dreamt. His gene package in the Gctic Era ensured his sleep pattern would be as restful as possible, leaving close to no avenue for the brain¡¯s subconscious to disturb his rest. So, while Kyle knew he was in a dreamlike sequence, he did not bother with trying to wake himself up, instead revelling in the novelty of the lucid nature of his dream. It was a newfound experience for him, only afforded due to his ¡®new¡¯ body thanks to his ¡®reincarnation¡¯. He had heard themon saying that it was hard to tell dreams apart from reality said among other humans but could never rte to it. As far as he knew, it was extremely simple to tell them apart¡ªespecially this dream. Because my wife and children would have never been this happy to see me in real life. It was a weird scene that Kyle had never envisioned before nor experienced in his former life. Here, he was just a simple dad, leaning into a floating chair with his son on hisp as the chair spun around the holo room, the holographic movie ying in a 360 degrees, spanning across the entire dome in a sphere. The movie imparted only a sense of entertainment to Kyle even as he watched it, though he could not figure out the story, meaning or purpose behind anything he watched. Is this what it is like to dream? The movie plot waspletely incoherent, but Kyle felt a weird sense of excitement and contentment, simply letting the absurd scenes wash over him. Instead, he focused his attention on his son in front of him, who was stillughing and giggling at the holomovie, his small little hands tapping the surface of the chair¡¯s holster to navigate the movie. There was another reason why Kyle knew immediately that this was a dream. I never saw him till he was eighteen. Kyle was infertile in the Gctic Era ¨C designer genes meant that any excess biological energy or unnecessary functions were ripped out and removed. He still retained his reproductive organs, but his entire body was geared towards intellect and strength. It was not crucial to Kyle either, as he was trained from a young age to ignore all of that. He didn¡¯t need to be fertile to have kids as well: genepanies would simply splice a portion of the father¡¯s and mother¡¯s genes to form a new human. A simpler and less messy way of having children, with the bonus of rooting out any mental or health disabilities from the start. With Kyle¡¯s bearing as a Crime Lord, he could hardly afford to have the kid publicly in the open or next to him. It would weigh him down too much ¨C there was so much more to do, more territory to expand, more enemies to takedown. There was simply no time for him to babysit or protect a kid. Thus, he had the kid born and trained in apletely different state as a legal orphan, only keeping tabs throughpanies that served as a front. The best resources were given to his son: education, lodging, training, and internships. Only when he was eighteen was his son then forcibly relocated to Kyle, with Kyle intending to have him take up the reigns on specific parts of the criminal empire. Kyle assumed the familial bonds would be enough to create trust between him and his son. His father in the Dynasty had done the same thing for him. He never expected he would have to kill his own son five yearster. ¡°Daddy, daddy! Watch another one!¡± The innocent, na?ve eyes of his son looked up at him with hisrge hazel eyes, tapping his thighs fervently. Kyle smiled instinctively at the sight of his son, losing a bit of his lucid control of the dream as his mouth spoke automatically: ¡°Not now,ter after lunch, alright? Your mom and sister is just about done cooking.¡± ¡°A, but there¡¯s still three more minutes to go! And that¡¯s hardly considered cooking ¨C I¡¯ve seen Ancient Earth¡¯s videos to know! Sis won¡¯t know jackshit about it.¡± ¡°No swearing! And you can¡¯t even boil a packet of nutri-paste to save your life, you don¡¯t get to say that about your sister.¡± Kyle lightly smacked his son on the back, earning a ¡®Guh!¡¯ The holomovie began to wind down, revealing a pure white enclosed dome now illuminated by lights, with the chair slowly floating to the ground. Kyle¡¯s son leapt off hisp and sprinted off. ¡°Slowpod!¡± His son taunted as he raced off towards an opening door leading to the rest of the space habitat. ¡°No running in the dome and the corridors!¡± Kyle shouted, but he did not give chase, instead slowly walking as he watched his son happily bounce through the low-gravity corridor, barreling through the air. [Sir, your son is exceeding the speed limits ced in this habitat. Shall I ce a restraining field on him?] ¡°Let him go. Just drop a warning to my wife about a rogue asteroid.¡± [Size of a human boy?] ¡°Sounds about right.¡± As Kyle¡¯s body automatically moved towards the dining room, seemingly controlled by the dream, Kyle was reluctant to meet his wife. She never forgave him for killing their son, and their rtionship soured for decades, only meeting once every two years after that. He was not afraid of her, but it was that he simply did not have time to deal with such a problem. Not that was any real love between them either. He only married her because she waspetent and was well-to-do as well. Kyle had nearly all emotions neutered, saved for anger and a small bit of happiness. Emotions clouded judgement, and Kyle made an independent decision to undergo surgery to modify them. A crime lord had no time for such mundane feelings that would jeopardise both his empire and the livelihood of the millions that worked for him, or the trillions of humans that lived in his territory. Now that I have a second life, my emotions are not neutered¡­ It has been barely a year since he woke up in Raktor, and his life has been aplete rollercoaster of events, mostly induced by himself. He was still going through the same old motions, caught up in chasing his old dream. Being the crime lord of a star sector was far from enough, he needed more. Always more. Always chasing the top. ¡°Hey, honey.¡± The soothing sound of his wife¡¯s voice suddenly distracted him from his train of thought. She smiled gently as sheid out the dining table, serving the food while his daughter struggled to carry therge tray over, fumbling against the lower gravity. At the same time, his son was still rolling about the ceiling, his body bouncing against a child-safe energy field that the A.I was continuously deploying as it kept track. ¡°I told you to let the A.I do it.¡± His wife chided as she reached out to grab the tray, but his daughter pulled the tray away, pouting. ¡°No, I wanna do it!¡± ¡°Melissa Yue Jing Yi! You¡¯re going to put down that tray now!¡± ¡°NO!¡± Kyle smiled instinctively again but was far more focused on what was on the te than his daughter¡¯s antics. The vegetable was like a tiny potato, except it had twelve tentacle-like vines growing out of its bottom like roots, but much more alive, though they moved in a lethargic method as though it had been drugged. A face shaped like a pig¡¯s was on the main body of the nt ¨C the ¡®potato¡¯ ¨C and it had an eerie smiling face as well. ¡°Is that tentagloo?¡± ¡°Oh, I found it at the local trading post today!¡± His wife grinned in obvious pride. ¡°It¡¯s a delicacy from Athen, one of thes from your old home state. I thought you would like it. Help you take your mind off work.¡± ¡°I love it,¡± Kyle spoke unnaturally, sitting at the long dining table, ready to eat. The sightpletely astounded him. He could hardly recall thest time, nor any time his family had sat down to eat at one table. He had no time to waste in his former life, only sipping on nutri-paste packets while strapped into speed crafts, chasing down errant criminals or fighting against enforcement forces at the border. They say all dreams have meanings, so what is this dream trying to tell me? The science behind dreams was far from established, though scientists already knew how to block dreams. However, they have yet to figure out how to predict what dreams a human would get each night, remaining one of the unsolvable mysteries of the Gctic Era. The scene at the dining table unnerved him. As much as this warmed Kyle¡¯s heart, this was not what he wanted. It would be nice to have, but Kyle was never one to sink into mediocrity. To him, being human was all about reaching the pinnacle of power, where you have to answer to no one and fear nothing. But is having a loving family a sign of being mediocre? Kyle couldn¡¯t help but think that his subconscious was trying to tell him something. But before he could ponder any further, someone suddenly grabbed him from behind, choking him quickly and stabbing him with a coated de, the de piercing right through his heart. "Enjoying your dinner? Might be yourst." XANIUS! The shock of the stab woke Kyle right out of the dream sequence, yelling angrily at the top of his lungs. He immediately lunged out of his chair and grabbed the nearest person by the neck, about to punch the face in with his other fist, when he finally stopped as he realised who it was. Kyle quickly let go of Hayden, who coughed violently as she stumbled backwards, ¡°Why the fuck are you in here? I said I was not to be disturbed for five hours.¡± ¡°Ugh¡­ what the hell what happened to you? You also said to inform you if anything happened.¡± Taking deep breaths, Kyle purged himself of his lingering emotions from the dream, though he found it harder to do so than before. ¡°And¡­?¡± ¡°Ocra is currently under attack. Raktor soldiers have infiltrated the city once again. They have already breached the outer wall.¡± The sudden information flushed any remnants and lingering emotions of the dream out of his head like a cold bucket of water. ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°The fighting started more than three hours ago.¡± Kyle already began to regret the decision to sleep. This is what I meant by not having control. If I was awake, I could have responded in an instant. However, his forces were nowhere near Ocra. ADCON was now spilt up and in charge of suppressing the industrialists, while the bulk of his force was gearing up to assault Utul to flush out Harrison once and for all. Already fortifications and siege trenches were dug up around the city¡¯s perimeter, just out of range of the city defenders. Kyle was ramping up for an assault but was now stuck in a dilemma. If I retreat now to Ocra and defend, it will take me more than a day to make it. The only ADCON forces he had near Ocra were the recruits and trainees still back at the Keru Forest and Desham, which would be hardly sufficient to break the siege at Ocra. This meant that even Kyle could not make it back in time. The Versian military was also significantly upied by the other two Counts, who had be far more brazen, some of them even supporting remnants of the industrialists to destabilise the fronts. It would not be too far of a stretch to say that Versia was the definition of a clusterfuck now, with variouspeting parties all vying for their own interest. The only way forward is to utterly eliminate one enemy at a time. Kyle set his eyes on Harrison, the leader of the industrialists. Crushing him would lower the civil unrest of Versia, allowing Kyle to dominate more of the economy and the war. ¡°We have to elerate the timeline. Prepare the men for an assault on Utul.¡± Chapter 152: The Siege of Utul (1) The morning bell chimed loud and clear across the apartments dominating thendscape, surrounded on nks by towering ice-capped peaks. The city of Utul slowly stirred into life, the arctech trams belching out waste gases as they chugged along. Factory workers swarmed the depot, mbering onto moving trams hoping not to get a pay cut for beingte. Under the incessant noise of industry and economy that reverberated around his t, Jakub poured himself a cup of Poair tea, sighing as he sat down next to his wife in a dingy old dining room, the walls barely painted and the furniture creaking. ¡°Long day at work today?¡± His wife ced her hand on his. Jakub sighed, thinking back to the old days of their life in Tenar. ¡°Same old. I won¡¯t be back for dinner.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the job so far?¡± ¡°You know I can¡¯t say, but it¡¯s going well.¡± ¡°For the number of hours that you¡¯ve been putting in, they could at least afford to put us somewhere nicer. Aren¡¯t you a big shot?¡± His wife motioned with her head towards the dpidated stoves and furnishing of the house, the d¨¦cor slightly off-putting. ¡°You know everyone is working hard, if not harder than I am.¡± Jakub shook his head. ¡°How was your first day at work?¡± ¡°Pretty simple. Basic factory stuff. Sewing bandages.¡± His wife mumbled, her eyes staring off into the distance. ¡°I wish we¡¯ll never have to use it.¡± Jakub returned his wife¡¯s grip tightly. ¡°We won¡¯t have to. I¡¯ll make sure of it.¡± Before he could lean in for a light peck on his wife¡¯s cheeks, one of the doors¡¯ in the apartment creaked open, revealing a young girl not more than seven, obviously still groggy as she rubbed her sleepy eyes, grabbing a small ragged plush toy while she stepped through the corridor¡ªher only memorial of Tenar when they escaped. ¡°Daddy!¡± Jakub¡¯s daughter screamed as she recognised him, running up to tackle him in a bear hug around his neck. ¡°I didn¡¯t see you for thest three days!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you haven¡¯t been waking up on time!¡± Jakub grinned as he ruffled his daughter¡¯s hair. ¡°If you did, you would have seen me every morning.¡± ¡°But why don¡¯t I see you at night? Mommy says its dangerous out at night.¡± Jakub nced at his wife, who yed innocent. ¡°What? It¡¯s true.¡± His wife shrugged. ¡°Well¡­¡± Jakub was temporarily at a loss for words. ¡°Daddy is out making sure that it isn¡¯t dangerous for us at night! I¡¯m working hard to protect both you and Mommy.¡± ¡°So the same thing at Tenar won¡¯t happen?¡± The words choked right in Jakub¡¯s throat, unsure of what to say next. How could he tell his daughter that yet another imminent battle was guaranteed? Already word was spreading through the city that the rebels were on the move, preparing to assault Utul. The morning bell rang again, indicating the half-hour mark. ¡°Time for me to go. Don¡¯t worry, little bunny. I got an off-day tomorrow, so we can go down to therge batteries and see them in action; how¡¯s that?¡± ¡°YAY!¡± ¡°Alright, alright, let go of my leg!¡± Jakub finally wrestled himself out of his family t as he put on a thick cloak, greeted by the same bleak atmosphere that dominated his and his wife¡¯s minds while the cold winds of the mountains brushed against his bristles. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can put up a fa?ade for my daughter¡­ Pushing the thought out of his mind, he focused on getting to work, joining the throng of workers who, too, began to pour out of their apartments, dressed in a simr cloak. He blended in nicely, moving in unthinking motion, his muscle memory pulling him towards his workce. Daylight slowly spilt onto the paved streets, illuminating the pedestrians as they walked past towering flywheel generators and gravity batteries far above them, close to sixty meters high. Such technological innovations were the norm in the city, the birthce of the renowned inventor Harrison. Posters heralding his genius were all over the city, him being the sole leader of Utul. Even the university was named after him - the Harrison Innovation University. Yet, as Jakub walked past its small, constrained campus, it waspletely devoid of students. Instead, it was used as a makeshift assembly nt, with workers and refugees from other industrialist-controlled territories assembling rations and medicine for wartime. Utul still served as a major hub for shipments, a major trade route towards Josei on the other side of the mountain range. However, Jakub knew that they were slowly being cut off from the rest of Versia, with ADCON soldiers blockading supplies. He could already feel the squeezeing, with more and more rationing implemented across the city. The only thing that he was d about was that he no longer had to serve as abat arctech technician at the front lines. He had spent enough days fighting in both the current and previous wars. When he received an offer from Harrison while he was in Tenar, he immediately snatched the opportunity. A small tap shook him out of his usual morning routine, his colleague greeting him, dressed in a simr cloak. It was almost like a uniform, but it was more because of ack of fabric and a result of mass production. The textile factory could only produce so many variations. ¡°Mornin, Jakub. Think you can get that tolerance issue fixed?¡± ¡°Not sure. I think we need to change the material. Any thinner and the entire frame of that section won¡¯t be able to handle the weight.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. That¡¯s the only thing blocking us right now. Every other department is almost done with their functional testing!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see any other options; otherwise, the pilot will simply have to live with it.¡± ¡°Boss Harrison isn¡¯t going to like the sound of that.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an engineer too, he¡¯ll understand.¡± They continued walking in silence, the loud nging of steel factories and weapons being crafted surrounding them as they walked deeper and deeper into the factory area, the crowd slowly thinning out. Soon, it was only just the two of them, walking to an inconspicuous warehouse that looked like just any other. It even had a logo of a stone processing nt on it, but Jakub knew that beyond its wallsid the foundation of Harrison¡¯s technological advancement. The moment he entered through the side door of the warehouse with his colleague, he was greeted by a military guard holding an arctech scanner, the air rippling around him automatically as it checked for any reaction from hidden engravings that were not regted. ¡°Cleared, move along.¡± Jakub and the colleague walked down a narrow aisle, windows above them on the second floor with guards peering down, confirming their identity before entering the main work area. Instead of a stereotypical warehouse or production line, arge humanoid colossus loomed over them, taking centre stage as dozens of researchers and technicians poured over the metal hulk. It was clearly a remnant of a long-lost era, perhaps even an alien race. What Jakub did not know was that it was a robot, a relic of the Gctic Era. However, the sight of the advanced technology no longer amazes Jakub ¨C he had already lost the initial excitement after a month of work here. This was the source of the advancement in recent years, with new inventions continually springing up from this broken-down husk. The robot had no weapons that could be seen, but it provided a wealth of insight and a glimpse into a future technological path. It was already more than enough to leap multiple eras ¨C if only they knew what they were looking at. He immediately headed to his desk, where his team of engineers were already at work, some of them having never even left the research area. Sleeping bags and rations dominated the floor in a haphazard fashion while they scribbled down their findings on paper. ¡°Did you even sleep, Po?¡± Jakub nced warily at the clearly sleep-depriveddy next to him as he plopped down into his chair. ¡°No, I still haven¡¯t figured out how does the robot not operate on arcia energy. It¡¯s fascinating. It¡¯s a whole new form of energy that we have yet to discover and exploit. I can feel it, we¡¯re so close on the edge¡­¡± She muttered to herself as she continued peering at the paper in front of her, a drawing of the assumed inner workings of the robot. ¡°Get some rest, Po. We¡¯ll have the team meeting so-¡° Suddenly, the rm xons in the building began to re out loud. At first, the researchers carried on per usual, thinking it was a false trip. Only when the rm went on for more than ten seconds did they start to look at each other warily, some of them trying to shrug it off. ¡°Really, a contamination drill now? Haven¡¯t they tested us enough on counteracting Agent ck?¡± ¡°Come on man, they are interrupting my work! How do they expect me to finish on time if they keep making us do this stupid drills?¡± However, the mood instantly changed when the guards began to pour into the work area, escorting the researchers out. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s going on?¡± Jakub asked the guard who approached him, but he was already afraid to hear the answer. ¡°We got word ADCON is on the move. We¡¯ll need to bring you to the shelter for your safety.¡± ¡°What about the relic?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll dispose of it.¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Po raged as she shot straight up from her chair. ¡°You can¡¯t destroy that ¨C it¡¯s our only shot at evolving society far beyond whatever we are now!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t let the enemy have it ma¡¯am. Orders are orders.¡± ¡°Well, you can tell Harrison to fuck right-¡° [Warning: All military personnel to defensive stations. An unidentified object was spotted in the sky. Potential ADCON stealth hovercraft.] The arctech radio blurted out on the guard¡¯s belt, confirming Jakub¡¯s worst fear. My daughter! ¡°I¡­ I left a confidential document at home. I need to bring it back.¡± Jakub lied to the guard with a straight face while the other guards restrained Po, who was throwing a clear tantrum. However, the guard did not falter, instead grabbing Jakub by the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re to proceed to the evacuation shelter here. Your family will be taken care of. We promise you.¡± The tant lie clearly did notnd with Jakub, who immediately grappled the guard down to the ground and twisted his rifle out of his hands. He quickly ran out towards the entrance, sprinting past the guards who were all caught off-guard. ¡°Shoot him!¡± ¡°By that order, are you fucking crazy! He¡¯s one of the managers!¡± With the guards conflicted, Jakub found enough leeway to push past the guards and run out of the warehouse, pumping his legs as hard as he could as he ran back to the house. He did not care about his duty, his job or his work any longer. All he cared about was his family. Fuck the war! Fuck the rebels! I¡¯m not about to let my daughter suffer again! Not after Tenar! The warning sirens red across the city as defensive emcements whirred into life,rge custom-made arctech cannons swivelling to aim at the sky. Thunderous ps erupted as each cannon shot towards a nearly invisible target in the sky, timed explosive projectiles bursting into a cloud of smoke and high-speed fragments. As he reached the centre of the streets, soldiers were already assisting with the evacuation procedure, but the panic was beginning to get out of control. He fought his way through the crowd, pushing against the flow of people as he watched for his wife and daughter. His eyes darted rapidly, yet he did not see any of them as he approached the apartment. My wife must not have left for work yet; she should still be at home! Jakub kept a low profile, hiding his stolen rifle as he shoved the desperate citizens aside, keeping out of view of the evacuation soldiers. However, soon the crowd began to slow down a bit, instead looking up to the sky. ¡°Do you see that? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± The more observant ones did not look any further as the point defence systems of the cities began to fire indiscriminately at the falling objects, their smoke trails streaking across the bright daylit sky in a kaleidoscope of colours, painting against the sunrise. The streaks spread far above Jakub as he too, looked up in curiosity, more than three hundred such streaks stemming from a source in the middle of the sky. And all of them were heading for the city. ¡°MOVE! MOVE! GET TO THE SHELTERS!¡± The soldiers quickly urged, inducing yet another wave of panic. But it was far toote, as the first of the objects mmed straight into an apartment, tearing through the concrete as stone and ss were crushed, shattered and ground into powder. The impact was deafening; the cloud of dust kicked up imposing as soot drifted across the streets. The people ducked and fled in any direction; those who were not confident in making it to the evacuation shelters in time quickly spread out across the district. Only one man fought against the tide, struggling to make it back to his apartment, his daughter. With the dispersing crowd, Jakub¡¯s face was clearly recognised by a few of the soldiers, as word of his escape had already begun to spread. ¡°Manager Jakub!¡± Ignoring their cries, Jakub sprinted as hard as he could, ignoring the burning sensation in his thighs as every footstep ached, the thuds thumping in his ears as the screams and sounds of panic erupted behind him. He did not turn around to see what happened, instead focused on getting home. As he turned the corner, he finally saw his apartment, where his wife and daughter were out of the house, just starting to evacuate the apartment. But before he could even wave at them, the apartment was immediately broken in half by yet another object impact, this time copsing the structure in a split second. Jakub stoodpletely still, utterly dumbfounded at watching his wife and daughter crushed into nothing by a b of concrete and furniture, jumbled and burnt by the ensuing fire, a result of torn-up arcia lines and fuel tanks, the blue mespping up against the now destroyed apartment. A veritable scene of hell stood before him, rendering him stunned even as pellets whizzed past him. ¡°Manager Jakub! Get down!¡± A soldier who managed to catch up to him grabbed Jakub by the neck and pulled him down to the ground, avoiding a sudden hailstorm of bullets as armoured ADCON drop troopers appeared from the hefty metal drop pod, bursting forth in violence as they shot everything that moved with impunity. A heavy arctech armoured man stepped out of the drop pod, clearly the leader of ADCON as his engravings glowed brighter, the armour far thicker than the regr troopers next to him. ¡°We need him for the project, bring him back quickly! Don¡¯t let ADCON capture him!¡± The soldiers urged. Jakub did not react to the restraints of the soldiers, even when they hauled him away from the battlefield as fast as they could, loading him into a wagon that sped off. Despair hadpletely taken over him, even as his eyes stared at the sky full of streaks, markings of every drop pod that delivered death and destruction all across Utul. Hatred began to build within him, seeping through his bones as he sat up with clear determination, his eyes burning with rage as he stared at the plumes of smoke, results of ADCON¡¯s wanton destruction. His mind locked onto thest image he saw of the leader. I know that person. I saw him at Tenar! I swear I''ll kill you if it''s thest thing I do! M.G.Driver Chapter 153: The Siege of Utul (2) Kyle cracked his hands as he surveyed thending site. A plush toy with a human hand still attached peeked out from below the b of concrete, but he paid it no mind, instead focusing on the battle. Already the drop-troopers were spreading across the city, taking advantage of the surprise attack to storm the city. Kyle too, kicked into action, targeting the nearest cannons with his drop squad that apanied him. His helmet continuously blurted out radiomunications from various ADCON squads. [Anti-air cannon 44B taken out.] [Heavy resistance at Sector 2A. Requesting backup.] [Advancing towards walls now. Neutralising enemies.] The trained ADCON drop-troopers were the cream of the crop, filtered from the tens of thousands of soldiers and recruit that Kyle had received over thest month or so. Only those who could survive plummeting more than five hundred meters in a padded metal coffin was chosen, the pods built on short notice thanks to Hayden. As such, the remnants of the industrialist soldiers were no match, caught off-guard by the sudden drop attack. Kyle did not me them ¨C he had chosen to attack in an hour when no one expected it in broad daylight. Have to move fast. ¡°Kill anyone who fights back. No prisoners.¡± Kyle ordered the drop-troopers, none of whom baulked at the order. Urbanbat was a disaster, and all of them knew how bad it could get after having fought through the streets of Tenar. Every human was a possible enemy, and none of them was about to let themselves get backstabbed. He sprinted down the streets as more and more drop pods began tond all around him in various locations, creating localised battle zones that forced Harrison¡¯s troops to spread out even more. Kyle exploited the gap and rushed thergest emcement nearby. The anti-air cannon was guarded by more than two dozen soldiers, an assembly point for Harrison¡¯s forces. However, Kyle did not care about strategy nor tact, quickly charging head-on and using his Version 0 exosuit to deflect the iing gunfire. Penchant for Violence! Kyle became a veritable storm of death, mowing down the soldiers with his heavy variant rifle and warhammer in a brutalbination of closebat, shredding through all of them in a single instant. The EXP he gained from the kills was now barely a drop in the ocean, the next level up far away. The ADCON troopers who followed him barely had to do anything with Kyle this strong, instead focusing on capturing the anti-air cannon. Instead of aiming the cannon upwards, the ADCON troopers swung the cannon down and aimed it right at the walls, where other artillery cannons were mounted. ¡°Take them down!¡± Harrison¡¯s wall guards were taken by surprise when the anti-air cannons within the city began to st at them instead, chipping off the top of the walls and damaging the emcements. ¡°Nox, Feldon, push up the troops now!¡± [On it!] The main attacking force of ADCON began to push forwards towards the walls of Utul from the front, war machines and wagons rolling in while hovercrafts escorted them from above. Kyle¡¯s diversionary tactic was working, forcing the military to split their resources to defend the city from the drop-troopers as well. Kyle and the ADCON troopers continued their rampage, sting through the various districts. However, Harrison¡¯s forces mobilised quickly, immediately deploying reserves to stem the damage. As professional as the drop-troopers were, they were unable to fight against such overwhelming numbers. Only three hundred of them had dropped into the city, including Kyle, while they were up against close to a division¡¯s worth of soldiers. Instead of shing head-on, it became a guerri fight, with each ADCON squad hiding in the depths of the mountain city, picking advantageous fights and ambushing soldiers who strayed too far away from their reinforcement allies. It was only Kyle¡¯s squad that continued unhindered, pushing all the way through to the factory zone. Kyle was aiming at neutralising the military production capability of Harrison¡¯s forces. Even if he did not capture Utul today, he would ensure their resupply strength would be heavily diminished. Unsurprisingly, Kyle began to face more and more resistance the further he pushed into the factory zone. Soon, even his exosuit could not keep up with the constant barrage of pellets and high explosives, with even mortars and cannons being used against him. War machines sted his position as he took cover in a bombed-out factory, hiding behind the husks of brick walls along with his ADCON squad. The firefight was furious, the air continuously filled with pellets, the loud rumbling sound of the warmachine¡¯s engine and the screams of fallen soldiers. Kyle continuously fired back, keeping his ADCON soldiers alive as much as possible. He could not save everyone, but Kyle wasn¡¯t about to let his precious trained soldiers go to waste if he could help it. ¡°Sir, that warmachine got us pinned down!¡± An ADCON soldier yelled to Kyle, who nodded as he dropped his heavy-variant rifle. Aero-Shoes! Grabbing his warhammer instead, Kyle rushed out in the midst of the gunfire, moving fast in the heavy exosuit. The speed caught the soldiers off-guard, them half expecting the heavy armour to be lumbering and slow. The warmachine began to spew out a torrent of liquid me, intent on coating Kyle, but instead Kyle leapt forward, lifting his warhammer high over the sea of fire beforending on the top of the warmachine. With a roar, Kyle mmed the warhammer as hard as he could, the impact and the arcia skill reverberating and cracking the internal engravings in a single hit. The warmachine faltered as the vibration caused the liquid to leak and catch fire, setting the interior aze while the crew screamed and scrambled to get out of the cabin, their skin already melting from the third-degree burns. Just before Kyle could rx, a sudden explosive screamed towards him, forcing him to jump off the warmachine and roll to the side of a factory. Instead of recovering to a standing position, his instincts continued screaming at him, before the entire wall backing him burst apart, arge metallic leg the size of a tree mming into him and sending him flying into the air. Kyle gagged as his body crashed into a pile of stone debris, the Version 0 exosuit clearly dented from the strong impact that came out of nowhere. He nced at his attacker, his mouth nearly agape as he watched a twenty-meter tall mech mber out from the factory, tearing apart the roof and walls with brute strength. ¡°What the fuck is that?¡± The ADCON troopers were equally shocked, immediately shooting at the mech. The mech barely registered the pellets pinging off its tough armour, instead standing up to its full height as it was fully deployed, towering over Kyle. At its feet, dozens of researchers scrambled away, slinking into the underground shelters. Kyle would have called it a mech, but the shape and design of it hardly fit the Gctic Era¡¯s idea of a mech. Instead, Kyle noticed that it looked like a cybeic war form that had a crude human interface attached to it. The entire centre of the mech was exposed with wires along with its interlocking ribcage-like metal frame., though most of the wires were already cut off. Doesn¡¯t look like a weak point. He could clearly see a central sphere-like dome in the middle of the frame, where the silhouette of a man was controlling the entire mech with what seemed like a makeshift neural helmet hijacking the control system of the entire thing. Kyle shrugged off the impact, standing back up and immediately jumping out of the way as the mech¡¯srge arm swooped across where he had just been standing. Kyle began dodging as fast as he could, noticing that even with his Penchant of Violence and Aero Shoes, he did not have the speed to avoid iing hits easily. The moment Kyle entered within range of the mech, a sickening ck fog began to spurt out from hidden nozzles in the mech. Agent ck! Kyle and the ADCON troopers immediately activated their filters in the helmet, already prepared for the chemical attack. He was aware that Harrison would have chemical weapons thanks to Nox informing him about who produced Agent ck in the first ce. Kyle could not remove his exosuit now, lest he wanted his skin to be eroded by the chemical agent. Brandishing his trusty warhammer and rushing forwards in a head-on attack, he sidestepped clumsy attempts of the mech to hit him, the arms moving far too slow now to matter. Charging right at the base of the mech¡¯s legs and weaving through the iing fists, Kyle swung the warhammer as hard as he could, mming it right into the joints of the feet. While the hit rang true, the warhammer did not damage the joint as much as Kyle would have expected. Backing off slightly and dancing across the battlefield, Kyle examined the mech, who continued to try and grab him. Interesting that this mech has no direct weapons at all. This doesn¡¯t look like a Gctic Era creation. The design choice is weird as well. It is as though it was designed to be big for no other purpose than being big¡­ A series of explosions suddenly erupted across the mech¡¯s chest piece, sting it apart slightly and exposing the sphere. The anti-air cannons had a clear line of signs to the obvious metallic giant standing above the factories now. While the mech was slightly distracted, Kyle decided to target the human sphere directly, running up a pile of debris and leaping onto isted pirs in order to make it up. He ran along the copsed corridors of second floors as the mech smashed everything around, killing both friend and foe alike. Finally reaching a good height, Kyle sprinted and leapt onto the centre of the mech, using his free hand to catch onto the ribcage-like frame before pulling himself up into the slightly damaged centre. Immediately identifying the neural link, he used his hands and ripped out the wires, disconnecting the control of the mech in an instant and powering down the mech. The mech turned off halfway through an attack, causing it to falter and stumble, crashing to the ground in a loud impact, cratering the ground. Kyle braced himself, holding on tightly to the frame as the crash rattled his bones. As soon as the human sphere¡¯s exit door popped out, Kyle was already ready, lunging at the pilot who tried to exit and grabbing him by the throat. Instead, Kyle was sted back by an unknown repulsive force as Harrison stood out of the sphere, wearing a golden exosuit that was clearly fully functioning. ¡°Didn¡¯t expect usmon folk to know how to use your stuff? You transcendents are not the only ones who know the truth of this world!¡± Kyle¡¯s eyes widened as he recognised the exosuit to be of Gctic Era technology,plete with its exotics and weaponry. Harrison flicked his own arm, triggering a de coated with energy before charging at Kyle, fighting in the chest cavity of the fallen mech. The tight quarters barely allowed Kyle to dodge and avoid the swings, forcing him to parry with his warhammer. However, his handle started to show signs of wear and tear as the high temperature of the energy de began to sear its way through the shaft. Kyle could hardly keep up with the zing strength and speed of the Gctic Era exosuit, the technology overpowering his stats. His exosuit began to creak at the seams as he suffered yet another kick from Harrison, mming him into the side of the metal frames, his leg dented in. He was now at aplete loss at how to deal with Harrison, though he continually kept an eye out for any hints. If the exosuit is from the same time period as the ones I found in the dungeon and the Culdao Peaks, it¡¯s impossible for the battery to have survived this long. Kyle fought back harder than ever, using every moment to examine and decipher the inner workings of the exosuit. He could not believe that Harrison knew how to generate and recharge electrical batteries of the Gctic Era, when electricity had not yet been exploited on an industrial scale in the region. Soon, he finally found a hint, a glint of an arcia crystal embedded into the back of the exosuit. He¡¯s using arcia energy as a power source! Negation Field. The golden exosuit suddenly faltered, the arcia crystal¡¯s power output dropping rapidly as Harrison immediately became locked, his limbs no longer having the strength to fight through the suspension and hydraulic systems. ¡°What¡­? What did you do?!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you know how to use our stuff?¡± Kyle smirked as he could still move in his heavy exosuit, the Negation Field being targeted only on Harrison. He quickly disabled the exosuit by ripping out the spine, damaging the control system. The golden exosuit hissed as Harrison flopped out of it, dragged out by Kyle¡¯s hand on his neck. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; I won¡¯t kill you. We have a lot to talk about.¡± Instead of being afraid, Harrison¡¯s grin only got wider. ¡°You can talk to me after you get through him.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Me.¡± A voice suddenly appeared behind Kyle, prompting him to swing violently behind him. Instead, his hand was caught by a tight grip from an old bald man wearing what seemed to be a pure red robe. His eyes glistened with energy, and arcia energy seemed to ripple underneath his skin. Kyle quickly attempted to spin his body outwards to kick, but the old man immediately twisted Kyle¡¯s arm into an arm lock. The strength was overwhelming, unlike anything Kyle had experienced so far in this world. Harrisonughed at the sight of Kyle squirming and attempting to break free. ¡°That¡¯s right, Kris Greyborn. This mage is going to kill you!¡± However, the old man suddenly extended his hand towards Harrison¡¯s face, the engravings on his palm lighting up and shooting forward a bolt of pure arcia. The bolt instantly tore through Harrison¡¯s face and head, killing him immediately. Did he cast arcia energy through my Negation Field? Kyle knew the skill was still active but did not expect there to be people who could ignore the effects of the skill. ¡°I detest those who try to use me. His survival was not part of the deal anyway. But there is one more thing I detest. Heretics who use the name of my Goddess in vain, spreading false lies to others and misleading them. Are you a heretic?¡± M.G.Driver TL;DR Hiatus from now till 16th October 2022 Discord and Patreon members would have known about this from July, so I apologize for theck of information thus far. My wedding ceremony has always be ted to be on 22nd September, and originally I thought I could handle doing daily chapters up to that point. I have already been married for two years, and originally nned not to have a wedding. Unfortunately, both rtives, family and friends have put consistent pressure on what i personally consider banal stuff, basically non-stop stress for virtually no reason other than ''oh my god you haven''t done anything'' like rx, all i got left is choosing a song, and it''s done, easy. Regardless, this means I cannot upload chapters to scribblehub for the next month. Right after my wedding I am going on a honeymoon, one of my first trips since COVID began and some quality time with my wife. Having written 5k-6k words per day starting from 1st april until 1st July, I had been on quite a streak, which allowed me to build 200 chapters in less than half a year. The pace was fine, but the Royal Road incident was a double whammy. During this period, I don''t expect to reply anywhere else other than Discord, so you can stay in contact with me there. I will still endeavour to have book 2 out by 22nd September (e.g all scribblehub chapters reced). The new book 2 rewrite should have about up to ten more new chapters of content to better soldify Harrison, Mornero and the devestating oue of the war. Desham would have proper effects and consequences, and Kyle would have been seen to have a much better grasp or ''control'' of the situation, where he profits off the misery. I think the main reason for the burnout or the high drop rate of book 2 is all due to the numerous number of setbacks, as well as Kyle''s continued personal intervention. I aim to reduce his personal battles, increase delegation, and show his direct impact on the Versian economy even in the pre-war phase. The entire sequence of the war would be overhauled as well, but for thising week I''m aiming to focus on Chapter 70 - 120 for cleanup. After my honeymoon, I do not forsee any furtherplications, and will strive to maintain daily chapters once again. It''s been a month since the RoyalRoad incident, and theoretically I should have gotten ''over it'', but emotions aren''t that easy, isn''t it? Anyway, I''ve beenissioning art for ck Market in preparation for its amazon debut next year. Here are some of the work-in-progress art. If you''re an artist as well, feel free to draw any fanart of ck Market. Regardless of the quality of your art, I will feature your art in relevant chapters etc including your social links. If you''re looking forissioned work, I''m open to discussion as well, just ping me on Discord. Also, I''m looking for trantors that are willing to trante ck Market into othernguages. I am willing to support with raw chapters as well as HQ cover art and such. If you''re interested, please drop by my discord, or drop me an email at [email protected] Thank you all for reading. With thepletion of the siege of Utul, we now return to Raktor for the final showdown between the Seven Snakes and the Ardent Cretins (after i return from my honeymoon) Chapter 154: The Siege of Utul (3) Instead of despairing as any sane, normal man would, Kyle began to grin the instant he recognised whom the old man represented. ¡°Disciple Greyborn greets Elder Huang!¡± Kyle quickly shouted, catching the old man off-guard. However, the old man did not let go yet, though his brows were clearly furrowed in confusion. ¡°Disciple Greyborn¡­? I don¡¯t recall having a disciple with this name¡­¡± ¡°I was guided and taught by Disciple Salos in Raktor.¡± Instead of rxing, the old man tightened his grip, causing Kyle to wince as his arm was twisted against his back unnaturally. For all his stats and system buffs, even the Arcian physique did not bend that way. ¡°Salos, that dirty little rascal!¡± Elder Huang fumed, arcia energy rippling through his hand uncontrobly as it was slightly affected by the Negation Field, turbulent and pulsating outwards. A few tendrils seeped into Kyle¡¯s skin, absorbed by his body automatically, with Elder Huang immediately noticing. Weird¡­ ¡°You¡­ who are you?¡± This is My Turf! An invisible force pulsed forward, knocking Elder Huang back and forcing him to let go of Kyle. Kyle quickly recovered, but instead of going into a fighting posture, he sped his hand together and bowed ever so slightly. ¡°Disciple Salos has told me great things about you, Elder Huang. It is my pleasure to meet you.¡± Elder Huang recovered as well, surprised at the sudden force that seemed to erupt from nowhere, though it was not the first time he had experienced such a skill. With a sudden burst of speed, the old man lunged forward, his fist aimed straight at Kyle¡¯s face. Kyle did not dodge, allowing the fist to be deflected by This is My Turf. However, the forcefield acted as a bubble instead, knocking Kyle backwards as the fist mmed into it, the air rippling. His feet grating against the metal cavity of the fallen mech with sparks flying, Kyle attempted to stabilise himself. The elder raised his hand in the air as he observed the irregr flow of arcia energy coursing through his veins and capiries. ¡°An interesting trick. Might work against fledgling mages, but not against those who are more experienced.¡± Is he talking about the negation field? Kyle wielded his warhammer warily, staring at the elder who seemed preupied with the effect of the Negation Field. ¡°I do not want to fight you elder. I believe there is grounds for cooperation.¡± ¡°What cooperation is there to be had with a heretic?¡± The eyes of Elder Huang red with arcia energy. For a brief moment in time, Kyle lost sight of him immediately, the elder appearing behind and delivering a kick to the forcefield once more. Kyle grunted as he bore the reaction force, but a follow-up arcia st from the elder knocked him over. Kyle was bounced around the interior of the mech like a ping-pong ball, though he suffered no injuries. The forcefield suddenly dissipated as the duration ran out, causing Kyle to panic slightly. Can I take the elder¡¯s hit head-on? Can I even defeat him? The ADCON soldiers that were following Kyle all leapt into the copsed cavity, intending to back up Kyle. However, the elder immediatelyunched a series of pure arcia bolts towards them, the bolt tearing and twisting through the weak armour and gouging out their innards, killing them on the spot as the point defence systems failed.. The elder turned to face Kyle, his expression enraged. ¡°Do not think I am not going to kill you. Fight!¡± Elder Huang roared,unching a furiousbo head-on aimed straight at Kyle. The brutal impacts from each punch and kick fragmented the exosuit that Kyle was wearing, the armour being chipped off heavily despite the Sturore augmentation. The elder weaved in a few sts of energy bolt, attempting to blow through Kyle¡¯s exosuit. Kyle¡¯s eyes spotted the buildup of arcia energy beforehand, using his inbuilt point defence engravings to cancel the bolts, deflecting them as theynced across the destroyed mech, burning holes through the metal. Kyle activated every skill he had on hand to defeat the elder, yet he could only muster a meagre effort to fend and parry every iing hit. The back-and-forthsted more than two minutes, as the two danced a furious battle of strength and will across the metal cavity, their footwork impable as they avoided debris and sparking wires in a fluid movement. I can¡¯t keep up ¨C Penchant of Violence onlysts so long, and Intimidation Aura hardly affects him! Kyle knew there was still a minute left on the Negation Field, but it seemed to have no effect on the elder as every punch and kick was still arcia-infused. Through his racial ability to be Arcian, he could see the surface flow of arcia energy swirling along the edges of the elder¡¯s skin, the fine control limiting the turbulence effect of the Negation Field. The elder is adapting to the constant force applied to the Negation Field. What I need to do is to switch it up! ¡°Elder, do not waste your energy. You cannot kill me; neither can I kill you!¡± Kyle huffed as he parried yet another hit, the arcia-infused strike bruising his arm. The elder immediately took offence, his eyes ring in the same pattern as before when he teleported. Now! Kyle immediately turned off the Negation Field, allowing the arcia energy to flow back as per normal. The sudden change in flow caught the elder off-guard, resulting in the skill¡¯s attempt to be aborted while the rampant energy burst out of the elder¡¯s pores, causing him to bleed all over in a split second, the blood barely visible as dark blotches on the surface of the red robe. ¡°Guh!¡± The elder staggered backwards as Kyle took the offence, immediatelyunching his own attack with the warhammer, swinging it right at the elder¡¯s head without hesitation. Instead of turning the elder¡¯s bald head into a stter, the elder suddenly disappeared again for the third time. Kyle instinctively continued the swing behind him, expecting the elder to teleport to his back, but there was no one there. Unexpectedly, a punchnded straight onto his helmet from the front, sending him sprawling through the debris, his warhammer flung off to the side, and his helmetpletely cracked apart. ¡°Give up, heretic.¡± The elder spoke calmly as he walked towards Kyle, apparently having ¡®teleported¡¯ in ce. ¡°No one can escape the judgement of Goddess Nona, not even false messeng-¡° The elder suddenly paused, noticing that Kyle had a slight smirk on his face. ¡°That was yourst shift, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°How-¡° Kyle ripped off the vestiges of his helmet, bursting out in fury at the elder who was already injured from the previous destabilization of arcia energy. With a singlemand, Kyle unleashed all of his point defence engravings right at the elder, the green arcia bolts barraging the elder directly. The elder attempted to deflect as many of the bolts as possible, using his hands to sway and direct the iing bolts. However, some hit him right on the legs and body, causing him to weaken even further as Kyle charged right in barehanded, ¡°You!¡± The elder barely managed to utter as Kyle quickly pressured the elder into a stalemate while using the Ne of Healing to self-heal himself. The elder did not dare to use his pure arcia energy bolt as he did not know if Kyle would activate the Negation Field again, potentially causing a bacsh in energy. However, the elder was no easy foe, even with basicbat skills ¨C immediately using his overpowering strength and control to force Kyle backwards. The clear difference was the utilisation of arcia energy: the elder was clearly a master of infusing arcia energy with each strike and parry, reinforcing his own body, while Kyle could only rely on the quickly deteriorating armour of the Version 0 exosuit. I need to learn how to infuse my hits with arcia energy as well! So far, Kyle has been relying on external engravings and inbuilt system skills to utilise arcia energy. Seeing the prowess of the elder gave him a new insight into how to use arcia energy properly through the body. Is that what the Arcia Reinforcement skill is about? Kyle put his focus into channelling a small amount of arcia energy, taking one step at a time. The tendrils of arcia energy that leaked beyond his skin were noticed by Elder Huang, who was even more surprised at his stunning learning speed of Kyle. The intensity of the fight picked up as the elder tried to kill Kyle before he could match on par. However, the Arcian physique of Kyle allowed him an increasing learning efficiency, with Kyle eventually being able to consistently imbue a tiny amount of arcia energy into his skin to serve as a defence enhancement, though he still winced under pain of each impact. His arms and legs were already badly bruised, only buoyed by the minor healing effect of the Ne of Healing. ¡°Roach, just die!¡± Elder Huang spat through gritted teeth, having not expected to take this long to kill Kyle. The battlested for more than seven minutes, with Kyle only increasingly bncing the scales. If I knew he would have been this hard to kill, I would have kept Harrison alive! Kyle knew he could notst forever as well ¨C his body, too, had a limit, and there was nearly no chance that the elder would falter before him. ¡°No reason to fight, Elder!¡± Kyle shouted as he threw another fist which was caught. The two of them grappled, attempting to flip the other to the ground to pin them down, grunting and staggering over the fray of wires and metal even as sounds of fighting and explosions rocked the city of Utul. ¡°I am willing to take the Prophet¡¯s Trial as penance!¡± The elder immediately stopped fighting, leaping backwards to create some distance between himself and Kyle, his face bbergasted at what Kyle had just said before he quickly wiped the confusion away. ¡°Do not try to divert my attention with mere sayings. You know not of what you speak.¡± However, the elder no longer tried to kill Kyle, instead examining Kyle warily. Kyle smirked, knowing he had caught the elder. This was why he had used the Goddess Nona as the main message to rally the people in Versia. His original n was to use the message to lure the cult members into helping with his rebellion while promising to do the Prophet¡¯s Trial. It was a sound n at that time, as Kyle had no supporting factions within Versia. ¡°Even if you consider me a heretic, I am still afforded the right to attempt the trial.¡± ¡°Every participant who has entered the ravine has never returned.¡± ¡°Except the founder.¡± ¡°You darepare the founder of the sect to you? You¡¯re but a whelp!¡± The elder bristled, about to fight again. ¡°Given enough time, I will be able to clear the trial. Even I was able to counteract your Dimensional Shift skill.¡± The elder¡¯s eyes widened as he was about to retort before thinking carefully about Kyle¡¯s unique abilities to disrupt arcia flow. He knows of my secret skills and can learn through battles extremely fast. Perhaps¡­. Before Kyle could react, the elder lunged forward and mmed his palm right into Kyle¡¯s neck, nearly choking Kyle out. The palm struck seared his skin with terrible pain, as a malicious arcia energy seeped into the depths of his body. ¡°Fine. The Trial is not open till six monthster. You will have until then to prepare. Attempt to run, and I will chase you to the ends of the continent, even beyond the Great Waves, if you dare. Don¡¯t even bother hiding ¨C I will find you wherever you go.¡± With that, the elder fluttered his robe as he turned around. ¡°One more thing before I go. That was not myst shift.¡± The elder disappeared from view in a violent, turbulent flow of air, teleporting to somewhere unknown. Kyle grimaced as he grunted, massaging his pained neck. He was originally not nning to take the Prophet¡¯s Trial, intending to use the words only as a stopgap to buy time for him. Kyle would have loved to subjugate or even kill the elder, but right now, he was far too weak. He tried to peek into his body using his Arcian physique, hunting down the malicious arcia energy that had gonepletely dormant in his body. However, due to his low level of arcia control, he was unable to see it at all. I¡¯ll try Negation Fieldter to purge it out. The battle for Utul proceed as normal save for Kyle¡¯s harrowing fight with the elder, the rest of the ADCON forces easily overwhelming the defences of Utul both from within and outside. In eight hours, most of the city was pacified, save for a few pockets of fierce resistance. [Boss, what do we do with the captured leaders?] Feldon asked over the radio, having the industralists leaders all tied up and gagged in a row. ¡°Haul them all over to Tenar. Let Dekar sort them out. For now, scavenge every arcia ore and military supply we have. Prepare for our return to Raktor.¡± Chapter 155: A New Normal In a dimly lit alleyway, a small hand pried open a t tin-like case, the surface rugged from pellet dents. The hand¡¯s grimy fingernails filled with soot found its purchase in the grooves, popping it open to reveal a rare find ¨C crushed and fragmented Euria Seeds. The owner of the hand smiled as he rested the tin on hisp, using his now free hand to gingerly pluck the fragments up and dropping them into his pipe¡¯s opening, packing them carefully to the brim. Just as he was about to use the residual fire of a burning pile of trash next to him, another boy snatched the pipe away from him. ¡°Hey! It¡¯s mine!¡± The original owner shouted but didn¡¯t stand up to make a move. ¡°You¡¯re not even 14 years old, Ollie. Not allowed to smoke.¡± B grinned as he let the arcia mesp over the pipe slightly, the edges charred before he inhaled, letting the smoke fill his lungs. ¡°If you put it that way, you can¡¯t smoke either!¡± Ollie scoffed, standing up again to try and wrestle back for the pipe, but before either of them could even begin, a stern man interrupted, cing his burly hands on both of their shoulders. ¡°Time¡¯s up. Stop ying around. Didn¡¯t I teach you not to get addicted to your own supply?¡± The man grabbed the pipe away from B, his re fierce and intimidating. ¡°Y-yes sir!¡± Ollie and B immediately saluted, not wanting to antagonise the cobra in charge of them. The two of them were former workers in the hyper mall of the Seven Snakes, working at the public bathhouse to escape being a homeless squatter. Still, due to the epassing war that took over the entirety of Raktor, they naturally became associates of the Seven Snakes despite their young age. Nearly everyone rted to the Seven Snakes was now. As the two teenagers hastily grabbed their equipment and donned their armour, the cobra in charge of them walked up to an alert hobgoblin that was clutching an arctech rifle tightly in its grasp, its eyes alert and scanning the roads. It barely nced at the cobra even as he approached. ¡°Alex. Work?¡± ¡°Yep. Escort duty.¡± Alex huffed on the pipe, taking a deep breath. ¡°Get the others.¡± ¡°Ya bos.¡± The four of them marched out onto the gravel-filled streets, the former splendour and opulence of Raktor already long lost to constant back-and-forth warfare, urbanbat and general explosions. Destroyed buildings dominated the scene, yet life continued, the city''s citizens still living and working. The initial assault by the Ardent Cretins had already caused many residents to flee the city in any way possible, but arge chunk remained, not having the money to finance their smuggling out. Instead, they lingered on stubbornly, clinging to life and adapting to the new conflict-ridden environment. Kids yed in the rubble and tossed wasted pellets at each other in their new form of a yground while famished people queued up in front of soup kitchens run by the Seven Snakes, getting their daily rations. A few victims of gas attacksy miserably on the side as they whimpered and uncontrobly shuddered; no one could afford the resources to help them. As Alex led his associates down the street, the hobgoblin let out a loud whistle that resounded through the urban blocks. Two more squads just like his popped out from hiding, moving along with Alex, though on opposite sides of the streets. The squads did not bunch up together ¨C that much they had learnt in thest month of brutal urbanbat. Instead, they instinctively hugged the walls of the buildings next to them, their eyes naturally observing the window sills that had a line of sight on them, wondering where the next sniper would shoot from. Ollie¡¯s sweaty hand gripped his rifle¡¯s handle tightly while B¡¯s arm was already twitching, ready to deploy their defensive barrier the moment he spotted even the slightest glimmer of metal sticking out from the buildings around. This constant tension of potential warfare dominated the Seven Snake¡¯s associates¡¯ minds, even as they walked through a district which they ¡®controlled¡¯. Alex¡¯s boots crunched against a fallen sign of a pub that was cracked in half, the clear markings of the Red Lions¡¯ gang insignia stered over the former Ilysian Punk logo. Alex¡¯s heart slightly clenched at the sight of the Ilysian Punk logo, recalling the harrowing death of his wife during the war with the Ilysian Punks. He shook his head slightly, clearing his thoughts as he focused again on where he was, keeping a sharp eye on his surroundings. They marched past scores of homeless tents and squatter settlements that sprung up even more as a result of the bombardment and discement. However, many of the temporary lodgings were empty, devoid of humans. Instead, they were mostly queuing up in front of five white tents set up in the middle of the bombed-out streets that Alex could see clearly. They numbered in the hundreds, forming a veritable swarm as they waited quietly in line. Many of them were male, some as young as nine years old. A few desperate widows also queued up, wanting to get extra rations to feed their children. A clerk stood at the front, clearing his throat as he spoke clearly into an arctech radio, his voice amplified to reach the end of the queue. ¡°I got bad news. Fifteen workers, two enforcers and one Seven Snakes associate were killed yesterday during a skirmish at the frontlines. Ardent Cretin anti-personnel mines.¡± A wave of murmuring spread through the workers. ¡°Shit, wasn¡¯t Carlo there?¡± ¡°Maybe he survived. Who knows.¡± ¡°Yea he better, cunt owes me money for his Euria addiction.¡± Despite the harrowing news, the news basically washed over the workers, who were already used to this sort of information. It was worse at the start. ¡°Good news? Fifteen high-hazard pay positions just opened up at the frontline. Step out to the side if you¡¯re up for it.¡± Immediately, more than half of the workers stepped out, with them being recruited on a firste, first-serve basis. Even the nine-year-old kid stepped out to the side, though he was quickly rejected for being far too weak. ¡°The rest will be low-hazard pay. Backline defence and factory work.¡± The clerk called out as they began to sort the workers, arranging them into different groups. Alex and his team moved past the workers, heading straight for the back of the white tent where Monica was overseeing the entire organisational effort, a clear map demarcating the various fortifications and logistic lines to support the ongoing conflict. The Seven Snakes had been branching out, pushing back against the Ardent Cretins district by district. With the help of the enforcers and Baron Cain¡¯s private forces, the battle for the South Sector had been a slow grinding mill of flesh and blood save for the initial blitz assault, with casualties on both sides mounting every day. Raktor had been effectively split into self-controlled areas, the enforcers having limited to no authority in gang-controlled territories. The Seven Snakes were not the only ones who supported the enforcers. Many other smaller gangs also took up arms against the major gangs, seeing this as an opportunity to gain new favour with the enforcers ¨C assuming they won. ¡°Reporting for duty.¡± Alex gave a brief salute. ¡°Anything?¡± ¡°Nothing so far. Didn¡¯t spot any Cretins sneaking. No signs of residents revolting either.¡± ¡°Good. Team 27 will rece you.¡± There was always the risk of infiltration and espionage, which was why Alex¡¯s team had been split up into the alleyways of the district in the first ce. ¡°What¡¯s the escort job?¡± ¡°New shipment from the mall. The first batch of guns and ammo from Culdao.¡± ¡°Shit, they actually managed to set up a weapons factory there?¡± ¡°I take offence.¡± The hobgoblin interjected. ¡°Right, sorry.¡± Alex apologised. The weapons factory in Raktor had long been destroyed, annihted in a surprise attack by the Ardent Cretins. The battle between the two had even spread into the Culdao Peaks, with the town and surrounding forest also embroiled in consistent firefights and attempts by the Ardent Cretins to breach the goblin kingdom. Having a new weapons factory set up again in the Culdao Peaks meant that they could start recruiting and training again, though that would take time. As far as their alliance went, King Sahusa was still reluctant to dedicate that many hobgoblins to the war effort in Raktor. ¡°Frontline needs that ammo as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Please tell me I at least have a wagon.¡± Monica shook her head. ¡°All the wagons are upied now. We need them for construction, and there¡¯s no way in hell we will expose them to enemy fire, not when they are in precious demand. You¡¯re going to have to do this on foot. You¡¯re not the only team I have moving them, so don¡¯t worry too much.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Alex left the tent, signalling with his hand for his team to follow. The conversation between them was clearly overheard by his associates, who all grumbled among themselves. ¡°Seriously? On foot? That¡¯s going to take one whole continuous day, and that¡¯s assuming we walk non-stop!¡± ¡°It¡¯s going to be more like three days; we¡¯ll probably only move at night.¡± However, the associates did not try to argue against the order. They knew the mission¡¯s importance ¨C if the frontline copsed, this entire district would also be threatened. ¡°The faster we move, the faster we¡¯re done with the job. In and out. Let¡¯s move.¡± Alex picked up the pace, walking briskly back towards the hyper mall with his associates in tow. Ollie struggled to keep up with the brutal pace, his legs already tired after thirty minutes as his feet became sore with each step, his toes grating against the interior sole of his boots while his thighs burned with muscle fatigue. It was made even harder as they had to step over piles of rubble. After a gruelling hour of non-stop walking, they finally returned to the hyper mall, where guards quickly scanned and checked them at a checkpoint on the street. The street still bore the marks of war, with copious amounts of sandbags, cannons and machine gun emcements serving as a strong defence and deterrence. The hypermall was the headquarters of the Seven Snakes operation, and the Ardent Cretins tried to bombard it nearly once every few days, keeping the guards on their toes. ¡°Quick rest. One hour, and we move out. B, with me.¡± Alex motioned towards the supply depot where wagons were loading up food and materials transported through the secret tunnels. Ollie sighed as he walked through the hyper mall, which was still intact, but the d¨¦cor and furnishings had already been covered in soot and damages, scars from the initial assault that managed to nearly breakthrough. The hypermall was a far cry from the glitz and morous outlook it once had on opening day, bing a battle-ridden, tough and durable building, having survived multiple direct bombardments that made it past the point defence systems. If it weren¡¯t for the hobgoblins¡¯ intervention, Ollie was confident that he would have died that day. There were hundreds of other associates like him, all taking a break as they sat in dimly lit restaurants, eating rations and makeshift food, some sleeping on chairs and tables stacked together haphazardly. Haui¡¯s potion store had been fully converted into a medical clinic, where Haui and his employees continuously worked round the clock to treat wounds and poisons. An arctech radio mumbled radio reports of the frontline inaudibly, Ollie barely able to pick it up. The weapons utilised by both sides were equally brutal ¨C no rules of engagement limited what they could use. Every trick in the book that one could think of was executed with efficiency: chemical attacks, mines, mortars, and sonar disruptors. Ollie knew more than a few here had already lost their hearing, relyingpletely on sight and hand signs to fight. Of course, potion recipes that could cure such afflictions were present, but they hardly had the materials to create them, especially those that could not be grown in the Culdao Peaks. Ollie and the rest of the associates were already satisfied that they had a continuous supply of fresh food, even if most of it was vegetables that were quick-grown. Such was the new reality of Ollie¡¯s life, with the dull thuds of mortars explosions thumping in the distance from other sectors. He found an empty bench and sat down to rest, using his rifle as a support as he dozed off nearly immediately, a skill he learnt over the days of continuousbat, where every minute of sleep and rest was precious. At the top of the hypermall, Keith rubbed his tired eyes, the month-long war starting to take a toll on his mind. He had spent nearly every waking hour nning, coordinating and protecting the newly captured districts. The workers he hired with food and supplies were used to build fortifications to create a buffer zone slowly. Every time they cleared a street, Keith had them immediately set up sandbags and blockades, preventing the Ardent Cretins from countering even through intense bombardment. [Keith, escort teams on their way to resupply the frontline.] ¡°Finally. Thanks, Monica. Adrian, any new updates?¡± [I¡¯m not sure about the validity of this rumour, but it seems that the Ardent Cretins have been receiving supplies from another Sector.] Keith¡¯s heart sank the moment he heard that. ¡°Which sector?¡± [It seems to be from the Violet Demons.] ¡°Aren¡¯t they still fighting the enforcers?¡± Keith recalled Kitana was still there, fighting strongly against the Veiled Angels and Violet Demons. However, she was only one enforcer and was not invincible either, unable to stop the major gangs¡¯ advances from every direction. [They are, but their control of the sector is growing stronger and stronger. They also have the neighbouring towns under their control.] Keith furrowed his brows, his hand massaging his head. If the Ardent Cretins get resupplied, they might try again for a push. I can¡¯t have my men killed like that again. The initial assault was not easy. More than a third of the Seven Snakes had died in the confrontation, with Keith himself nearly being assassinated. Keith knew that if any one of the Sectors ever fellpletely to a major gang, it would result in a domino effect for the rest of the Sectors. And the Seven Snakes would be eradicated from Raktor. He double-checked the positioning of the frontline, knowing that Niko, Damian and Sasha were manning each of the three war fronts. The Ardent Cretins were not the only adversaries they faced ¨C the remnants of the Red Lions as well as the Wretches who sided with the Ardent Cretins, were still atrge, fighting tooth and nail for their lost districts. Keith had the bulk of his force target the Red Lions and Wretches first, nning to eradicate the smaller targets first, but it was proving difficult as the Cretins continuously threatened their defences, forcing him to be limited in operational movement. No matter. With the weapons factory online in Culdao Peaks now, as long as Sasha, Damian and Niko hold the line, we can- Suddenly, Sasha entered the room, stunning Keith into confusion. ¡°Sasha, what the fuck are you doing here? The frontline is about toe under attack anytime soon!¡± Keith was a bit peeved; his prior thought of Sasha holding the frontline was already vited. However, before Keith could continue to berate Sasha, Sasha quickly slid over an envelope that was sealed with a Versian seal. Keith still didn¡¯t know signnguage, but he could hardly control his excitement as he tore open the envelope, reading its contents. The relieved smile on his face as he read only grew more prominent, and by the end of the letter, he was beaming from ear to ear. ¡°Rally the men. It¡¯s time to take back what we¡¯re owed.¡± Chapter 156: Planning The hovercraft soared above the vast forests of the Culdao Peaks, the icy caps of the mountains glistening in the horizon. Kyle himself piloted the hovercraft, steering it towards the valey where the goblin kingdom was first held. He made the trip back to Raktor alone, leaving Feldon in charge of ADCON. To ensure thepliance of Nox and Makoa, Kyle also made a copy of the master ve engraving, handing it to Feldon. As he sped through the air, he noticed the scars of battle had already reached the town of the Culdao Peaks. The Ardent Cretins were not stupid ¨C they knew the Seven Snakes were hiding deep in the forest and were using the town now as a base tounch their multiple probing attacks. However, thanks to the evolution chamber as well as the introduction of arctech guns, the hobgoblins were no longer the simple enemies of before. They were far more deadly than ever, trained in sneak attacks and forest defence with military assistance from the Seven Snakes. Yet, the Ardent Cretins were not easily deterred, continuously waging a war of attrition and slowly carving up territory in the Culdao Peaks. Kyle could already see signs of increased activity and fortifications around the town. The stealth hovercraft flew over with no incident, easily reaching the goblin kingdom where there was a ledge in front of the pce, already cleared for Kyle¡¯s arrival. An honor guard of hobgoblins stood firm, decked out in new upgraded arctech armour and guns that were forged right here. Kyle stepped out of the hovercraft, noticing that all his vipers and subordinates have already gathered in ce, waiting for him. ¡°Wee back, boss!¡± The hobgoblins and Seven Snakes bowed in unison. Kyle nodded in response, d to see that all of his followers were still alive. It would be a waste if they died ¨C training the sessor would be problematic. Taking a deep breath, Kyle nced around the area, noticing the stark difference from three months ago, when he first left for Tenar. The terrace farming project had already expanded all along the length of the valley. A singlerge river coursed through the bottom, guided by artificial canals that snaked through an increasingly industrialized area, popted with new brick and mortar buildings whose foundation was derived from the excess rock from iron and coal mining. Wood processing factories as well as smithies dotted thendscape all the way up to the grand wall that shielded the valley, upgraded with machine guns and artillery emcements to deter any invaders. The interior of the valley had also expanded, allowing the kingdom to amodate far more goblins than it could have before, almost reaching a hundred thousand in poption. Under Queen Orisa and King Sahusa¡¯s guidance, education has also been revamped, helping the goblins learn more advanced skills, enabling them to develop the economy even further from just a terrace farmingmunity. While the warlike nature of the goblins was hard to convert in just a mere three months, the famine and revolution had shaken them deeply, making them even more determined to ensure this would never happen again. Riding this momentum, the kingdom managed to redeveloped their original market to even greater heights, with even glimpses of luxury goods appearing as well. Kyle was led into the pce by his subordinates, who were all slightly startled by his presence. ¡°There¡¯s something different about him, but I can¡¯t quite put my finger on what.¡± Damian muttered to himself, while Niko too pondered as they walked through the hallways. ¡°It seems to be the same feeling I get when I enter a dense arcia mine¡­ maybe Kyle has found something special in Versia?¡± Must be rted to the Arcian race selection. Kyle could hear them whisper, but chose to ignore it anyway. The moment they reached a meeting room, Orisa and Sahusa was already inside, waiting for him. No one wasted any time mingling or small talking with Kyle, immediately taking their seats. There was still a war to be won ¨C they could chat all they wanted after winning. Kyle quickly exined what he had achieved in Versia, being able to be the main dominator in terms of economy and military of Versia thanks to his established ck market supply as well as mercenarypany in the form of ADCON. ¡°The sameworks now can be used to intervene or prolong conflicts whenever we like, which also means there are millions of people now reliant on our services. As Versia rebuilds over time, we will also use thoseworks to increase our economic strength and delivery routes.¡± Keith and Monica nodded, understanding the implications of what Kyle was saying. With ADCON now in charge of the supplying and restoration effort in Versia, their ability to distribute illegal goods like drugs, humans and weapons was unparalleled. The Nest branch waspletely dismantled, and with both Nox and Yona now working for him, Kyle could be said to be thergest shadow ruler in Versia. ¡°Wait, wait wait.¡± Niko raised his hand in confusion. ¡°What happened to the weapon factory? Weren¡¯t we just going there to sell weapons to the government?¡± The rest of the attendees ignored Niko, continuing the agenda. Kyle internally agreed that the Versia war did have a few unexpected events, but Kyle was never one to simply give up on an opportunity to earn bigger. ¡°However, the war in Versia is still not stabilized yet. Intense fighting in the city of Ocra itself means it could fall within the next week or so.¡± Kyle was still cognizant that there was a mage leading Count Leon¡¯s charge, most likely one borrowed from the Duke. He already had a few ADCON brigades move to Ocra to support the Versian¡¯s military counteroffensive, which was the very reason why Kyle was so hasty in defeating Harrison and securing Versia. ¡°Now, Keith, please exin the situation in Raktor.¡± Kyle motioned. Clearing his throat, Keith stood up and pointed to a map of the county on the wall. ¡°There are primarily two sides to this conflict. The major gangs against everyone else. Their weaponry and support seems to be a mix of weapons stolen from the Yual¡¯s military as well as supplies from the Versian military. Ever since Kyle overthrew the government a month ago, the supporting in from Versia has dwindled significantly.¡± ¡°What is the objective of the major gangs?¡± ¡°Independence of Raktor.¡± Keith stated. ¡°The major gangs want to dominate the city as a council and expel all the Yual nobles.¡± Keith continued exining, indicating the outer regions of the county on the map.¡° The fighting is not only within the city ¨C it is the entire county as well as spilling even further beyond. Everyone in this room should be aware of the other two Counts as well that border Raktor. They too have a vested interest in the oue of the battle in Raktor. Both of them are also supplying the major gangs with the basic supplies necessary, as well as providing information on the movement of Count Leon¡¯s troops.¡± ¡°Their intentions?¡± Kyle interjected. ¡°Unclear. I do not know much about politics, but I reason that they stand to gain far more influence in the duchy if Count Leon¡¯s Raktor was to suffer a major setback. I believe that they do not sincerely want the major gangs to win. Instead, they are aiming for destabilization, a way to knock down the economical lead that Raktor has over their own counties.¡± Kyle nodded, knowing that it was a basic strategy that countries and states have yed since Ancient Earth. He too destabilized Versia during the war in order to achieve his own goals, so he could assume what the other two Counts wanted. ¡°The Ardent Cretins have already absorbed the Red Lions and the Wretches, controlling a near twenty-five districts in the South Sector. It is the same situation in the other Sectors as well, save for the Central Sector, where the enforcers are defending the hardest from incursions.¡± The richest citizens of the Yual Dominion lived in the Central Sector, which also meant that it was the juiciest target. Even if all the major gangs were in a temporary alliance, Kyle doubted that the leaders would be willing to simply carve up the Central Sector. ¡°It seems that they are going for a divide and conquer strategy, while keeping tabs on each other.¡± Keith nodded. ¡°Each major gang has agreed to not step into each other boundaries, only supporting each other with excess supplies or information on enforcers. The Culdao Peaks are being attacked by two separate forces currently: the Violet Demons and the Ardent Cretins. However..¡± ¡°They are not working in sync.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Got it. Monica, our logistics?¡± ¡°With the tunnelworks being expanded since you left, we have been able to get supplies into the city easily. However, the outer lying goblin dens do not enjoy the same protection as this valley does, meaning that they are far more vulnerable to attacks. I believe the Ardent Cretins already have a lock on the locations of all our operations, only just that they are still ramping up for arge expedition force to take us all down.¡± ¡°Adrian, where are they assembling?¡± ¡°The town of Culdao Peaks. Sasha and her troops have tried to breach the fortifications a few times, but they have too much firepower. Coupled that with the support that they are receiving from the neighbouring County, it seems pretty much impossible to cut them off. We would have to invade across the border to stop the flow.¡± Adrian pointed four trails that led towards the town, stemming from the bordering County. Kyle rubbed his chin slowly, thinking over everything that has been presented to him. There was still one final missing piece that he could not figure out why. ¡°As I understand it, any form of dissent or revolution would be immediately put down by a military force dispatched from the capital. The First Versian war was of a simr nature as well.¡± It did not make any sense to Kyle. He would have expected either the Emperor or even just the Duke to immediately dispatch his troops to quell the major gangs. The Duke¡¯s troops would easily overwhelm whatever the major gangs could muster together, military equipment or not. How is the Duke just letting all of this happen? ¡°We don¡¯t have any concrete answers, but from my dealings with the enforcers and Baron Cain, the capital and the Duke have both been silent. Rumours even state that Count Leon requested for three mages, and only got one.¡± Kyle tapped the table in frustration. ¡°We need to get more information. Set up a meeting for me with Baron Cain three days from now.¡± ¡°Yes sir.¡± With all the informationid out in front of him now, Kyle had to make an choice on how to proceed. It was not going to be easy, but being a crime lord never was. As long as he made the right moves and adapted where necessary, Kyle believed he could make the best out of the worst scenario if given the right information. Instead of keeping the decision to himself, Kyle decided to exin it to his subordinates. They were the ones who were fighting on the field and were far more aware of the ongoings in Raktor now more than him. ¡°There are four options for us to choose from moving forward.¡± Kyle stood up, pacing the room. ¡°Before you consider the options, recall that Count Leon bears a grudge against me, specifically, for usurping his n to take over Tenar.¡± While their former temporary alliance was always tenuous at best, Kyle knew Count Leon would be outraged at not being able to kill Kyle right there and then in Tenar. He had no doubt that Count Leon was using him now to stall the loss of Raktor to the major gangs. ¡°Now, our first option is to fight as hard as we can and support the enforcers, and restore Raktor to Count Leon. In order to prevent Count Leon from returning to eradicate us, we must entrench ourselves so deeply into Raktor that it would be far too costly for him to remove us.¡± This was the current path that the Seven Snakes were on. It was a necessity for survival and pride, teaming up with the enforcers to stave the forceful subjugation of the Ardent Cretins. If they did not do so, the gang would have been entirely dismantled. ¡°Our next option is to leave.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Damian blurted out. ¡°After all we have done?¡± ¡°Calm down. We now control an entire country in the form of Versia. Raktor may be equivalent in twice the economic potential of Tenar, but we could easily develop it to be something far greater. It will take time, and yes, we will have to give up everything we have built in Raktor and Culdao Peaks.¡± Kyle wasn¡¯t a stubborn idiot ¨C if the time came to cut off his losses, he would happily do so in a heartbeat in order to save resources for a better opportunity. It was a game of profit and loss, not a battle for ignorant pride and empty ideals. However, he also recognized the potential loss of morale among his men and the goblins. They would have to evacuate the Culdao Peaks as well and migrate to the Keru Forest, which would sting terribly as giving up their homnd. Kyle could not guarantee that even King Sahusa would be able to keep the various tribe leaders under control. He could already see Sahusa about to retort. ¡°Listen to all the options first before you say anything. The third one, is to coborate with the major gangs.¡± This clearly stirred emotions among his subordinates as they had been fighting tooth and nail against the Ardent Cretins. A cycle of hate had already begun, but none of them dared to show an outburst of anger against Kyle. They too knew he was simply listing options. ¡°In terms of our manpower, even if every single goblin child was mobilized, we will not have enough to fight all the major gangs in Raktor head-on. Even we will lose a war of attrition. While our numbers have been steadily increasing thanks to the desperation of the residents in Raktor, the death toll is still far too high.¡± Despite the justification, none of the gang members wanted to be subordinate to someone like Sebastian. They knew Kyle would never choose this option himself. ¡°And the fourth?¡± Damian asked, knowing Kyle had another possible path. ¡°The hardest one. We take the South Sector for our own.¡± Chapter 157: Defectors Three dayster¡­ The atmosphere in the Central District was tense. Thousands of refugee camps had been erected, civilians fleeing the conflict zones of the other sectors into the safety of the enforcers and the four Barons¡¯ private forces. It was truly a time of instability, with every party in the city out to get a slice of the pie themselves. Despite the obvious danger, many impoverished citizens and others afflicted by the war and increasing taxes flocked to Raktor, seeking both fame and fortune through joining one of the sides. Or, if they were far more daring, creating their own factions and hoping to sneak undetected from both the major gangs and the enforcers, profiteering off the dire situations. This did not mean that the economy was inplete shambles ¨C rather than that, the warring parties made efforts to protect their own and stabilized their controlled areas. Farms, viges, towns around Raktor pledged allegiances to gangs in exchange for protection, creatingpetitive economies to fund and supply the war. In such an era of open conflict, everything was up for grabs in Raktor. Looters and thugs roamed the outskirts where the major gangs and enforcers could not afford to allocate security, causing bandit kingdoms to prop up incessantly. This furtherpounded the insecurity of the area, yet provided ample opportunity for upstart mercenaries and adventurers to make a name for themselves. The ck market flourished like never before, with the merchants, smugglers and traders from both within the County of Raktor as well as other Counties exploiting the price difference to their own gain, feeding off the desperation of those unable to muster up the cash to flee the conflict zones. The supply routes too were not free from hijacking ¨C both side mustered forces and mercenaries, drawingpanies of men-at-arms to fight for them. Everyone with a bit of ambition in their hearts were here in Raktor, dreaming of themselves standing at the top, or climbing through the ranks of either side. Hopeful enforcer recruits and fresh gang members shed frequently in skirmishes, targeting facilities, factories, distribution centres and even housing to both destabilize and hamper the morale of the enemy. Despite the obvious flourishing of the ck market, Raktor¡¯s economic activity as a whole had begun to plummet significantly, though it still remained a powerhouse in the region. The economic activity was slowing being seceded to other counties, as fearful legitimate traders unwilling to risk war fled to the bordends of the county. The worst hit were the Barons, who originally derived their tax revenue from the various Sectors, as well as tribute from the major gangs. With their original source of ie cut off due to the revolt, they fought tooth and nail to restore the status quo to no avail, unable to even make a dent in the major gangs¡¯ slow encroachment of the city. Baron Cain sighed as he entered a meeting room with two of his bodyguards, where the other three Barons were already waiting for him, agitation clear in their tone as a heated argument was in full swing. The air was solemn, no one in a joking mood. The war had taken a toll on all of them, forcing them to the brink as they were now burning through their mary reserves. ¡°We can¡¯t keep on fighting like this ¨C we simply do not have financial reserves to fund the enforcers and our private forces for another month!¡± The West Sector¡¯s Baron wagged his finger with obvious vigor, clearly infuriated by the ongoing conversation. ¡°That is what bonds are for in the first ce. We can simply borrow from the middle ss and upper ss now. War bonds, if you will.¡± The North Sector¡¯s Baron shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s if any of them even has trust in our ability to win the conflict. Everyday, we are losing both ground and territories to the major gangs and even cocky upstarts! Justst week, I lost close to 15% of my farms to the Veiled Angels!¡± ¡°If you had thepetency to keep them in check a year ago, we wouldn¡¯t even be in this position!¡± ¡°You dare?!¡± ¡°Enough!¡± The East Sector¡¯s Baron interrupted. ¡°We are fighting amon enemy, not each other! We all want to return to the status quo. This meeting is not for the two of you to squabble over past grievances.¡± Baron Cain took his seat, slightly amused at the West Sector¡¯s Barons furious expression, though he did not show his own derision outwardly. ¡°I assume you have called this meeting because the Duke has finally responded?¡± He asked the East Sector¡¯s Baron. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. In fact, this meeting is called because of the very fact that the Duke nor Tryas had yet to respond to us.¡± While the East Sector¡¯s Baron did not continue speaking, the implications were immediately clear to the other Barons, even if they did not show it on their face. Something is happening in the upper echelons ¨C something that is worth more than intervening in Raktor. ¡°What of Count Leon?¡± ¡°Count Leon is still attacking Ocra. While they have breached the walls, the Duke¡¯s mage had immediately returned after his assistance, leaving Count Leon unable to return his troopspletely.¡± ¡°Is the Duke doing this on purpose to weaken us?¡± The North Sector¡¯s Baron scoffed. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first time it has happened.¡± It wasmon among the nobility to weaken their subordinates so as to ensurepliance. Nothing is worse than having a subject that is far stronger than you. Baron Cain knew that if Count Leon had immediately captured Ocra and returned to control Raktor, he would be the most powerful Count under the Duke immediately. It was this ambition and understanding to which the rest of the other Counts conspired to drag Count Leon down. Of course, Count Leon was well aware of this, but believed he could mitigate the sabotages. However, he had never expected the major gangs to be so upfront and direct with their bid for independence. And as the Barons were subordinates of the Count, they too suffered the consequence of failure. The Barons knew that the other Counts were indirectly involved as well, as both greed and jealousy at Raktor¡¯s economic dominance grewrger over the years. To climb the ranks, one simply has to pull down others. ¡°Assuming the Duke is not responding on purpose, does this mean that he is favouring other Counts over Count Leon? Has he dispatched mages to support the other two Counts¡¯ attacks?¡± ¡°No, he has not. In fact, he has not responded to anything save for Count Leon¡¯s call for demolition mages.¡± Weird, far too weird. Baron Cain pondered, rubbing his hands slightly. ¡°Never mind the Duke. I am more worried about Tryas not responding. How can the Emperor allow such a civil conflict to ur in his Dominion?¡± The West Sector¡¯s Baron pointed out. ¡°The Emperor did not sit by idly during the Versia War.¡± No one at the meeting room could answer him, each of the Barons slowly thinking to themselves. Baron Cain was sure that even if one of them knew the answer, they would keep it to themselves as a form of informational advantage. ¡°For now, we shall assume that we are on our own. No help is going toe from outside, unless we expend resources to hire mercenaries and men-at-arms. The fact of the matter is this: our territories are dwindling, our revenue is plummeting, and the morale of our troops is at an all-time low.¡± The East Sector Baron summarized. ¡°So?¡± The North Sector¡¯s Baron shrugged again. ¡°There is nothing else to it but to fight. Unless¡­?¡± He raised a brow at the East Sector¡¯s Baron. ¡°I would like to propose apromise. A peace deal. This war¡¯s economic toll is far too harsh. Any longer and we will be carved up like an opal whale in Proco, gutted for all to see and ravage.¡± ¡°And you want us to buckle first? Insane! Even considering this option is grounds for treason against the Yual Dominion!¡± The North Sector¡¯s Baron scoffed. ¡°Then what? Do we fight incessantly until we run Raktor down into the ground, a husk of its former glory? Even if we win three monthster, the damage done would take years or even decades to restore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a matter of pride. Nobles should never bow their heads to lowlife criminals, no matter how many potion-addled brains follow them!¡± Baron Cain did not speak even as the argument went on between the North and the East. He of course, was extremely reluctant to submit to the major gangs. He could already imagine Sebastian¡¯s gloating face looming over him, causing anger to rise within him. ¡°You call my actions treasons? The Duke refuses to help us. The Emperor ignores us. The Sanctum of Yual has all but forsaken us, leaving their enforcers here to perish in vain. If anything, it is the Emperor who has failed us!¡± The East Sector¡¯s Baron pushed back. ¡°You have gone too far, Baron Namor.¡± Baron Cain finally spoke up. ¡°It is one thing to say that the Duke is ipetent, but to say that Yual himself has failed you can be very well considered heresy.¡± Namor nced at Cain, obviously incensed. ¡°Fine. We will continue fighting to the inevitable death. Perhaps this may be the dying thrashes of Raktor as it slinks into depravation and never-ending conflict.¡± With that, he stood up and left the room, his armoured bodyguards trailing behind him. The three other Barons too began to disperse, leaving separately in their convoys of armoured wagons, heading back to their own districts. Despite their supposed alliance, Cain was well aware that the Barons were anything but united in vision or goal. It was already hard enough to share information, resulting in tactical failures whenever they tried to enact a joint pincer attack. Forget the other Counts trying to pull down Count Leon, even the Barons are trying to pull down each other. Cain calcted as he was transported back to his mansion in the armored convoy, mulling over what has been revealed so far. As of now, the biggest worry of him was Namor¡¯s final words. If Namor decides to defect to the major gangs, it would be a devastating blow to us. The entire East Sector would bepletely lost, serving as a new staging ground for attacks into the other sectors. It would be a chain of dominos falling, as Cain was reliant on the other Barons doing their part in stemming the loss of districts and supply routes to the major gangs. Suddenly the wagon screeched to a halt, the brakes mming as Cain was nearly thrown forward. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Why did we stop?¡± ¡°Sir, the road ahead has been blown up. We will need to take a detour.¡± rm bells in Cain¡¯s head began ringing. ¡°No. We¡¯ll head back to the Central District. The detour is a trap.¡± ¡°Yes, sir.¡± The convoy began to turn around, but just as the front wagon¡¯s driver turned his wheel, a explosive round mmed right into the wagon, causing it to flip in a brilliant pir of mes, the blue arcia mes erupting violently. ¡°Sir, keep your head down!¡± Cain crouched immediately as the windows were pummelled by pellets, streaking through the cabin and killing one of Cain¡¯s bodyguards who used his body to protect the Baron. ¡°GET US OUT OF HERE!¡± Cain roared to the driver. The driver mmed the pedal, the arcia engine churning as the wagon sped up down the cobblestone street, avoiding the burning husk of the front wagon and heading straight back for the safety of the Central District. Cain fumbled for his arcia radio, testing it with a few clicks before finding out that there was a jamming applied. Before he could ask his remaining bodyguard to hand him a gun, the front of the wagon blew up as a mine exploded underneath, tossing the wagon up into the air. The world seemed to spin in slow motion for a brief second, Cain seeing the horizon flip before the wagon came crashing down on the street again,pletely upside down. The wagon was still intact thanks to the heavy armour, but Cain was now a sitting duck in the cabin, scrambling for the arctech gun on his dead bodyguard¡¯s belt. ¡°Stay here, sir!¡± His remaining bodyguard urged as the bodyguard peeked out of the shattered windows, his arctech handgun aimed right at the sky as he loaded a special pellet in. Firing with a single squeeze, the special pellet shot up towards the sky, streaking in a single red line of smoke up to the clouds like a re. ¡°Enforcers should be here in a few minutes.¡± ¡°A few minutes isn¡¯t enough. Help me tear the seat out!¡± Cain ordered, his hands digging into the leather of his chair, ripping it to shreds to reveal three arctech rifles already pre-loaded, marked with the logo of the Seven Snakes. Equipping themselves, Cain could hear shouts and screams, along with gunfire as footsteps approached the wagon. But just as a hand reached out to grab the door, another loud explosion was heard, the wave of sound and dust buffeting the wagon violently. ¡°What the?¡± Cain¡¯s ears was ringing as the sounds of fighting intensified, with harrowing yells of pain and the sinister twisting of bone and flesh. The pings of pellets bouncing off armour continued as Cain heard the wrenching of his wagon door. The door of the wagon was slowly ripped out, with Cain immediately opening fire the moment he saw a glimmer of armour. The pellets were immediately negated by a point defence arcia bolt, the door sted open by two assassins. The bodyguard roared as he lunged out, only to have his neck sliced by the assassin¡¯s sword in one fell swoop. ¡°Target confirmed. Proceeding to kill.¡± The assassin raised his handgun, aimed right at Cain¡¯s forehead. Before Cain could even flinch or fire again, a warhammer swung and hit one of the assassins right on the head, crushing it into a meat paste that slid across the rugged surface of the crashed wagon. The other assassin swung his sword on instinct, his arm immediately grappled by ady who flipped him onto the ground with a terrifying m. Thedy punched the assassin in the face, her fist already dripping with blood as she continued. Behind thedy, five other assassinsid groaning, their limbs twisted in unnatural ways while they were still clearly alive. Cain¡¯s eyes widened as he recognized the wielder of the warhammer, who unexpectedly was his saviour. ¡°You? Since when did you get back?¡± However, his eyes were suddenly attracted by a mark on the back of the assassin¡¯s neck. This¡­ this is Namor¡¯s special forces. He tried to assassinate me?! ¡°Seems like you need better friends.¡± Chapter 158: Aerial Observations Baron Cain pped the barely conscious assassin with force, his palm already stinging from the previous ps. ¡°Why does Baron Namor want to kill me?¡± The assassin merely smiled, not saying a word. He hasn¡¯t yet over thest hour of torture in the basement cells of the Baron. The smile infuriated the Baron even further, but before he could p the assassin again, Kyle intervened, standing between the both of them. ¡°Let my men handle this. We¡¯ll make sure he talks.¡± Sasha already had two other Seven Snakes associates on hand, carrying high concentrations of Euria-Infused water. ¡°Force-feed him for seven days.¡± Kyle ordered, leaving the torture cell with Baron Cain. Instead of returning to Baron Cain¡¯s guest room, they instead lingered in the basement for security reasons, as the Baron slowly became suspicious of everything around him. Only those in my circle knew the exact route I was taking. One of my security detail has already beenpromised¡­ This wouldn¡¯t be the first assassination attempt on the Baron¡¯s life either, so Cain was far from being shaken. ¡°Thank you for saving me.¡± Cain nodded his head towards Kyle in gratitude, though slightly unwillingly. Kyle¡¯s timely intervention was far too suspicious, and he still harboured a small grudge from the auction against him. However, the mark on the assassins were unmistakable ¨C clear indication that they were the special forces of Namor sent to kill him. Only a special arcia engraving knife could make such a mark, so Baron Cain was equally convinced that Kyle did save him from a real assassination attempt. ¡°It is my duty as a Yual citizen to protect others.¡± Kyle smiled, before sitting down on a small wooden chair, leaningfortably. ¡°However, it seems that the Barons are not as united as I would have hoped.¡± Cain was slightly irked internally, knowing that Kyle would im his due for saving him. Cain could easily decide to oust Kyle, but he currently had a good rtionship with the Seven Snakes. If it were not for the food and ammunition supply provided by the Seven Snakes, as well a suspiciously seemingly infinite source of arcia ore, the enforcers and mercenaries under him would have copsed weeks ago. Turning away Kyle now would be like cutting off his own lifeline, so Cain decided to entertain Kyle for the time being. ¡°Indeed, I never expected Namor to act almost immediately after the meeting.¡± ¡°So Baron Namor has already betrayed the others?¡± ¡°Perhaps he only switched sides today¡­¡± Baron Cain recalled the contents of the meeting. ¡°Or maybe, he has always been in cahoots with the major gangs.¡± It was not too far-fetched of an assumption. If the Barons had agreed to apromise, there was a good chance that Baron Namor would receive a far more preferential deal than the others, causing both his power and prestige to be even higher. Raktor was now truly a free-for-all, having all the markings and signs of a warlord era. Baron Cain himself did not feel any different, no longer having the intention to work with Baron Namor after such a tant assassination attempt. ¡°But you should not be in Raktor. A kill order has gone out from Count Leon for your head. Were youplicit in the battle of Tenar?¡± Cain remarked, not knowing the truth of the matter as to why Kyle was being targeted by the Count. Count Leon did not tell the world that Kyle of the Seven Snakes had gotten the drop on him ¨C which prideful noble would ever admit to that? ¡°Plenty of others want my head too. Tell him to get in line, assuming he even manages to capture Ocra.¡± Kyle smirked with a knowing gaze. ¡°I am legally obligated to carry out my orders.¡± ¡°Are you? Even when no one from the capital nor the Duke ising to help you?¡± ¡°Then you know helping me is tantamount to signing your own death warrant. If order is restored to Raktor, my hand will be forced against you once Count Leon returns.¡± ¡°That is assuming, Count Leon is still in power.¡± ¡°¡­. What do you mean?¡± ¡°Surely you can¡¯t have only the ambition to be a lowly Baron for the rest of your life? A minor noble, unworthy of ruling a county. Forced to listen to the whims of the Count ruling over you.¡± Cain thought carefully at what Kyle was suggesting. It took him a few seconds, but he finally pinpointed the crux of the suggestion. He wants to use me as a figurehead to rule Raktor. Cain¡¯s pride was obviously wounded at the mere thought of being used by a lowly gang lord. Yet, the suggestion was tantalizing to Cain. It was true that he had been a Baron for quite some time, and left without reinforcement from anyone above him. Why should he even pledge allegiance to those who had disregarded his calls for help? He had no loyalty to Count Leon or anyone above him now, especially after the assassination attempt on his life. ¡°You will not be a puppet. Instead we will share Raktor between the two of us only.¡± Kyle continued exining. ¡°You rule the surface, I rule the underground.¡± ¡°This implies that all other Barons and major gangs will be removed from Raktor. This would take months, or even a year. By that time, Count Leon would have returned and suppressed everyone, including Baron Namor.¡± ¡°Then we simply have to ensure that by the time Count Leon returns to us, the cost of fighting against us is unbearable.¡± ¡°Did the Baron agree?¡± Keith asked as Kyle and Sasha returned to the Culdao Peaks, the two of them walking through the newly built marketce that served as the centre. Countless stalls selling all types of grown food, armour, weapons and supplies were here, with the richer goblins enjoying a luxurious shopping spree. Not every goblin was immediately part of the King¡¯s army, as they were not considered to be in full-scale war. ¡°Not yet.¡± Kyle replied. ¡°We will need to prove our strength first before he can seriously consider us as a true ally. Right now to him, we are simply a small scale supplier with minimal forces, nothingpared to the Ardent Cretins.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not wrong ¨C if we fought head on we would be outnumbered three to one.¡± Keith nodded. ¡°Even we brought the whole of ADCON in, Baron Cain allying with us means that he would have to fight against the rest of the city and maybe even the enforcers themselves.¡± ¡°It is not possible to bring ADCON in now, they are needed to hold Count Leon at bay.¡± Kyle had ADCON return to Ocra to defend alongside the renewed Versian Military. However, the civil war with the industrialists had taken its toll on the military, leaving ADCON as the main force fighting Count Leon. Despite the obviously significant numerical disadvantage, Kyle was convinced that he could easily take down the Ardent Cretins. He headed to a brand-new building, built specifically for Adrian¡¯s information gathering outfit, specializing in observations. ¡°Boss, the hovercraft is a miracle. With this we can conduct far better aerial observations. Take a look at our preliminary data.¡± Adrian showed the results of their light-capturer, which record the aerial view around Raktor. ¡°Before the hovercraft, our informantworks were limited to word-of-mouth and close quarters intelligence. However, here we can clearly see farms, viges and other towns that are within the control of the Ardent Cretins.¡± The aerial shots were grainy, reminding Kyle of a museum he attended as a kid that disyed the history of Ancient Earth. What he could only make out was the outline ofpounds, factories and other temporary encampments that served as checkpoints in the supply route for the Ardent Cretins. ¡°So is it confirmed that the Ardent Cretins are getting supplies from the neighbouring County?¡± ¡°We will need to fly lower on our next observation pass. Flying from one kilometre up is hard for our light-capturers to capture any specific details.¡± ¡°Rejected.¡± Kyle waved his hand. ¡°In fact, I am nning for the hovercraft to ascend to three kilometres above ground.¡± This is to reduce the chances of being shot down or exposed. Kyle was aware that residual weaponry and concepts from the civil war in Versia have been giving various forces ideas on how tobat air vehicles. From rumours through the ck market, multiple militaries have begun serious research into utilizing the air domain, including Count Leon himself. As such, it would be no surprise if the major gangs were also nning to dive into the next major development of military technology. Kyle would need his hovercraft to stay ahead of the pack in order to keep up, as he himself did not know what contraptions others mighte up with thanks to arcia energy. ¡°But the lightcapturer will not work at such a height!¡± Adrianmented. ¡°Then we simply have to improve it. Where is Reese?¡± Reese and Gordon were overseeing the brand new weapons factory in Culdao Peaks, where thousands of goblins worked day in day out to produce weapons for battle. Not every rifle was immediately donated to the Seven Snakes, with more than half of the production dedicated to the armoury of the goblin kingdom. ¡°Improve the lightcapturer? But how?¡± Reese scratched his head. ¡°Isn¡¯t the light we¡¯re capturing just a simple beam?¡± Kyle nearly blurted out that they could simply build an electromaic sensor in the pico scale, but realized they hardly had the tools to even make electronics or silicon wafers. If I can¡¯t improve the sensor or the light collector itself, what can I do to increase resolution? He quickly drafted up a rough concept, an erged version of the lightcapturer that was only meant to be mounted on a hovercraft. However, as he tallied up the cost of the materials, he realized it would be too expensive and significantly challenging to change production types. The lightcapturer factory that has also been relocated to the Culdao Peaks would take months to be able to ramp up production of theserger lightcapturers. A way to use only the smaller existing lightcapturers to improve quality¡­ Kyle racked his brains, trying to recall as much as he could from the Gctic Era. However, without the help of an A.I or an cranial imnt, he could not recall the exact methods that humans usedst time. Even Orisa was of no help, only limited to information regarding agriculture and goblin evolution due to the data wipe. A few hours passed as Kyle, Gordon and Reese threw ideas around. ¡°Maybe the solution is to simply improve the stealth engraving of the hovercraft. If we can make it better, then there would not be an issue with flying lower.¡± Gordon pointed out. ¡°No, if the other major gangs begin to develop their own aircraft, the stealth engraving would be easily visible the moment they enter range. We need to maintain altitude dominance as far as possible.¡± Kyle shook his head. If he had the option, he would buy an off-the-shelf moon observatory post coupled with a few tungsten rod rockets to serve as hisary bombardment options. Or maybe just buy a brand new moon outright. ¡°The sound of the hovercraft gives it away as well. We don¡¯t have an arctech engraving that can absorb or reduce the sound engraving as well.¡± Reese mulled. The closest form of engraving the three of them knew of was the sonic grenades used to stun enemies. The three of them eventually took a break, with Kyle and Reese taking a walk through the goblin city again. It reminded him of his criminal ports, where aliens and humans intermingled without worry about race or looks. He watched as a few human kids yed with goblins over the bridges built around artificial canals. Many Seven Snakes associates were given the option to have their families moved here for safety while they fought in Raktor. ¡°I spy a rock!¡± A young boy shouted as he leaned over the edge of the bridge¡¯s railing, looking down onto the riverbed. ¡°Oh yea? I spy a fish! Over there!¡± ¡°I spy a destcress kelp, here!¡± Reese chuckled as he watched the kids. ¡°Maybe if we have them on the hovercraft, they could help us spot wagons and people on the ground easily.¡± He could already imagine a hundred kids crowded on the ship, shouting ¡®I spy¡¯ incessantly. Kyle obviously was not going to put kids on the hovercraft, but the idea stuck with him. A hundred kids¡­ I got it! Chapter 159: Kregol A young girl grunted as she swung a pickaxe into the dried earth again for the umpteenth time, the sound of metal hitting rock incessant. She wiped the sweat off her face with her already stained sleeve, smudging soil and soot against her forehead while the hot Raktor daylight dominated the sky. She was not the only one in the sloped mine on the hill ¨C dozens of other kids like her worked tirelessly, swinging their pickaxes nonstop into the sides of the mine as the hill¡¯s surface was relentlessly dug out by hand, extracting useful metals in the form of ore. As the young girl swung the pickaxe again, she finally found purchase, the sound different. A sliver ore was cracked open beneath the soil, fragmented into chunks the size of his hand. The find immediately put a smile on her face as she immediately reached out to grab it, inspecting the colourful brilliance in the myriad of features within the ore itself. There was a weird blue pulsating force within that the young girl didn¡¯t quite understand, but it seemed to have slight tendrilspping out towards her wrist the longer she held it. Instead of tossing it like the rest of the metal ores she had found into her basket, she decided to keep the ore, hiding it in her pocket as she continued mining, picking up the remaining fragments and stowing them away as well. ¡°Hey, Mari! Time for lunch!¡± Another boy called out to her as a group of them walked past, smiling at her. ¡°No thanks, Gideon! I¡¯m skipping today¡¯s one.¡± Mari waved back. A wave of feigned shock appeared in the group of miners. ¡°Mari?! The infamous glutton wants to skip lunch? What is the worlding to?¡± Gideon joked, invokingughter among their friends. ¡°Suit yourself, we¡¯ll see youter!¡± Mari nodded, before returning to focus on her mining. For some unknown reason, she felt like her entire body was brimming with energy, as though she had rested for twelve hours straight with a full belly ¨C something she had not experienced for months. She swung her pickaxe with force again, hoping to find more of the mysterious blue fragments. The strength of her pickaxe became even stronger with each sessive blow, Mari not aware of the blue energy slowly coursing through her muscles. All she knew was that she was on cloud nine, feeling great. She was far from the only one mining ¨C others who wanted to earn more, or did not want to increase their debt to the owner for lunches continued working hard, mming against the rock incessantly. Mari soon found another arcite ore, this one evenrger than the one before. Instead of taking it, she covered it up with the excess loose soil, masking it and moving to another spot. Weird. My luck today is amazing! What even is this ore? Mining at another random spot as she moved around, she found arcite ore once again for the third time, shocking even herself. Is this entire hill made out of arcia? Did I just get lucky? Pondering to herself, she began to run a series of test on her own instincts, moving over to where Gideon and her friends were already mining. As she approached the area, she could somehow feel that Gideon was mining the wrong spot. ¡°Hey, you mind me mining that area?¡± Mari asked Gideon, who was already sweating buckets. ¡°Eh? I already checked that area ¨C doesn¡¯t seem to be anything good.¡± ¡°Maybe you just haven¡¯t dug deep enough.¡± ¡°Sure, I ain¡¯t going to put in that much effort to dig that deep. Better to justb the surface first.¡± Mari got to work, digging even deeper than where Gordon had tried. Like clockwork, her pickaxe struck arcite ore again, this time the sound ringing clear. Her friends immediately noticed the weird sound, rushing over to check what Mari had found. ¡°Wow, it¡¯s beautiful!¡± ¡°Hey, isn¡¯t that arcite ore?¡± Another kid pointed out. ¡°Oh shit, its what they use to power the grinder and the wagons! But I don¡¯t recall ¡®arcite ore¡¯ being on the payment list.¡± ¡°Bah, then its useless. Can¡¯t even pay off our debts.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen this being sold before!¡± Gideon piqued up. ¡°In the town nearby, at the market ce. They were selling it by the wagon. If the owner isn¡¯t buying arcite ore, then we can sell it at the market! If I recall correctly, it was worth close to ten thousand rakels per kilogram now.¡± ¡°SERIOUSLY?!¡± Mari blurted out in astonishment. Her mind raced as she did a few simple calctions. If I can gather five kilograms of arcite ore, I can pay off my debts! A small grin appeared on her head as she created a n. ¡°Gideon, you helped with transportation of food right?¡± ¡°Uh yea? Every other day. One wagon.¡± ¡°Alright, here¡¯s the n¡­¡± The arctechntern illuminated the gravel streets in the night, but the town was far from empty. Instead, it was a hotbed of activity, with traders from Raktor buying and selling goods by the wagons. At a small alleyway, Gideon and Mari huddled close as they hefted a backpack filled to the brim with arcite ore, avoiding the sight of the town guards roaming the market. ¡°Are you sure this is going to work?¡± Gideon whispered. ¡°What if we got robbed right now?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll just ditch the arcite ore and run. We¡¯ll find another day. What we need to do now is find a buyer.¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t know anyone in this town!¡± ¡°We simply have to find where the arcite ore is being sold.¡± Mari pointed to a stall that was advertising tons of arcite ore to buy and sell. The stall was currently entertaining a single customer, who was buying arcite ore as well. The seller ced a sack on a scale, weighing it before handing off to a servant of the customer, who hauled it off in a wheelbarrow. The prices were clearly listed on the stall, Mari seeing that the price was a bit lower than the ten thousand Gideon had im. Better than nothing. ¡°The seller isn¡¯t going to be happy if we steal their business.¡± Gideon warned. ¡°Idiot, we¡¯re going to sell to the seller!¡± Mari handed a piece of arcite ore to Gideon. ¡°Now you are going to exin to him to meet us alone at this location, and don¡¯t bring anyone! Got it?¡± ¡°Okay! You got your knife?¡± Mari unsheathed a butcher¡¯s knife, stolen from the kitchen back at the mines. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me, I can handle myself ¨C now go!¡± Gideon took a deep breath as he stepped out on the streets, though no one barely gave him any attention, him only being a young boy far shorter than the throng of customers swarming the market. He snuck in through the legs, shoving his way through before reaching the seller. The seller noticed Gideon sneaking up to the stall, slightly intrigued in what the kid was trying to do. Gideon locked eyes with the seller, quickly clearing his throat. ¡°We got the stuff.¡± Gideon blurted out on ident, causing confusion in the seller. ¡°The.. stuff?¡± ¡°I mean, the arcite ore. We¡¯re selling.¡± ¡°To me? You¡¯re just a kid, how could you have arcite ore?¡± Gideon showed the piece of arcite ore in his hand, handing it to the seller. ¡°We have it.¡± The seller inspected the arcite ore, his face curious as he checked it. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± This kid must be a front for bandits that have raided a shipment. However, the formation of the arcite ore doesn¡¯t match any of the known mines¡­ There was a unique hue of blue to the ore, far different from the ones he usually sold from within the county of Kregol. ¡°If you follow me, we can trade.¡± Gideon kept up a false bravado, causing the seller tough. ¡°Like hell I¡¯ll follow you. You are going to bring the goods here, and we¡¯ll negotiate fairly.¡± ¡°Uhm¡­¡± Gideon was at a loss, confused on what to do when a hand rested on his shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I got this.¡± Mari remarked as she heaved the backpack onto the floor. ¡°Your sign says you¡¯re buying for eight thousand per kilogram.¡± ¡°Do you have a license to trade in arcite ore?¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Mari was confused. ¡°Only traders with the license to deal with arcite ore is allowed to sell them. If you don¡¯t have a license to sell, I might have to report you to the town guards¡­¡± The seller smirked as he leaned over the stall¡¯s counter top, eyeing the backpack of Mari with obvious greed. ¡°¡­. Fine. Seven thousand.¡± ¡°Three thousand.¡± ¡°Three?!¡± ¡°Haggle too long, and the guards might just swing by, girl.¡± ¡°¡­ Five!¡± ¡°Three. You don¡¯t have the upper hand in the negotiations here dear. Take it or leave it. I¡¯m running a risk too for buying from an unlicensed seller.¡± Mari was about to retort when Gideon quickly patted her on the arm, pointing towards two town guards who were leisurely walking over. ¡°Fine! Deal!¡± Mari tossed the backpack onto the scale. The weighing scale rocked slightly as the scales tipped. The seller quickly tossed a few bnce weights marked with the insignia of the Yual dominion onto it, levelling it out and taking the rtive weight. ¡°That¡¯s five kilograms.¡± The seller whistled as he reached out to take the backpack, but Mari snatched it back quickly. ¡°Let¡¯s see the rakels first.¡± ¡°Feisty are we?¡± The seller smiled as he took out three bag of coins, tossing it to Gideon who nearly fumbled it. Gideon quickly opened the pouch, nodding to Mari. The two immediately dropped the backpack off and hurried into the alleyways once again, just as the town guards crossed the stall without incident. Despite the obvious low-ball in terms of pricing, Mari couldn¡¯t stop grinning, as did Gideon. ¡°We¡¯re rich! We¡¯re going to be rich! If we keep up the pace, we can pay off our debt in just a month!¡± The thought of being free dominated her mind as they snuck back to the wagon, where the mine workers were still loading up the food. No one barely noticed their temporary disappearance, too busy focusing on their work. They were soon prepared to head back to the mine, eager to start the next day¡¯s work like never before. Back at the stall, the seller was grinning to himself as he inspected the ores in the backpacks. ¡°Those dumb kids, this isn¡¯t even normal arcite ore ¨C it¡¯s an arcia crystal! Though it¡¯s not a good quality, the price would be way higher than ten thousand. Hah! What a steal.¡± The seller did not attempt to fleece the kids too much, as he knew the kids must have had a source for these low quality arcia crystal. Now that he had paid the kids in an ¡®honorable¡¯ deal, the kids would be more likely toe back to him to sell him even more, at the same price or so. Even if they went to another arcia stall, he could just keep a look out for them. Just as he began to salivate over the potential profits, an armoured hand mmed the counter top, shocking him out of his daydream. ¡°Wha-¡° He quickly stopped himself, immediately ncing with wary eyes at the group of armoured mercenaries that stood in front of his stalls, frightening the nearby customers. ¡°I heard rumours you got your hands on a few special arcia ores¡­ we would like to buy them.¡± The leader of the mercenaries spoke clearly. ¡°Of course, of course. I¡¯m selling for eleven thousand per kilograms.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make this hard for me. I know you just bought it off them. I¡¯m offering five thousand for them.¡± The leader smirked with clear derision. ¡°You bought it for three, didn¡¯t you?¡± The seller cursed under his breath. ¡°Fucking pushy, huh? Well I¡¯m not obligated to sell to you just because you want it. Why would I want to sell it to you guys at such a low price?¡± ¡°Hey, if you don¡¯t want to sell it, you don¡¯t have to.¡± The leader raised his hands in mock surrender. ¡°It¡¯s a free society, do what you want.¡± ¡°And I will not be selling it to you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, not an issue. But hey, you heard about that weapons shop, Granger Metals?¡± ¡°Huh? Yea, what about them?¡± ¡°Think the boss never made it back after his business trip to Raktor. Had a bad run in with some people in the South Sector¡­. Made some bad business decisions¡­ if you know what I mean.¡± The leader¡¯s voice trailed off as he eyed the town guards, who were still unaware of what was happening. The seller immediately read between the lines, a bead of sweat trickling down his neck. ¡°¡­F-fine, five thousand then.¡± ¡°Perfect, great doing business with you.¡± The leader motioned for one of his group members to grab the backpack, before tossing a single bag of rakels over. ¡°Hey, this isn¡¯t what we agreed on.¡± ¡°I said five thousand, not five thousand per kilogram.¡± The seller wanted to retort, but already knew that this group of mercenaries were under the Ardent Cretins. Fucking gangs, spreading their tendrils into Kregol! As the leader walked away, he inspected the backpack, marvelling at the arcia crystals with his members. ¡°Boss, this is legitimate. If we get control of this mine¡­¡± The leader grin only grew wider. ¡°First things first ¨C let¡¯s find those kids.¡± Chapter 160: Mari ¡°When I get out, I¡¯m going to run away from here as far as possible.¡± Mari daydreamed out loud as she toyed with a bag of rakels in her hands as the wagon rumbled across the open roads back to the mine. The weight was far more satisfying than the paltry amounts of ¡®debt¡¯ that she paid with each iron ore. If anything, this was the first instance of her holding hard-earned rakels directly, rather than seeing her debt decrease on a small piece of paper. ¡°Where to though?¡± Gideon wondered. ¡°Anywhere! If we can make it out as a group, we can set up shop anywhere on the continent.¡± Mari was already overconfident in her luck. If everything goes well, we could even set up our own mine. I could be the owner! Just as she imagined herself sitting on a throne of rakels, the wagon reached the walledpound of the mining operation,ing to a screeching halt as it was stopped at the gate by two guards. Gideon¡¯s eyes widened in panic as he peeped out through a silt in the wagon¡¯s fabric cover. ¡°Shit, the owner¡¯s here!¡± Mari¡¯s heart skipped a beat. ¡°What are we going to do?¡± ¡°Uhm.. just stay in here. I think he just wants to inspect the food. Hide as best as you can!¡± While Gideon disembarked with the rest, Mari scrambled through the cargo boxes, finding one to hide herself behind as a bright arctechntern soon swept across the back of the wagon. But it was to no avail, as a guard immediately boarded the wagon and grabbed her by the cor, dragging her out. The owner was a fat pudgy man, his buttoned shirt barely able to restrain his bulging tummy in as he red at Mari. ¡°Who assigned you to food collection?¡± ¡°I¡­ errr I wanted to help out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me. You were trying to sneak out of the mine, weren¡¯t you? Don¡¯t you know you owe me close to a hundred thousand rakels? Running away while stockpiling that kind of debt wouldn¡¯t be good for you, dear. And you ¨C¡° The owner turned to face Gideon, who was standing meekly with his head bowed. ¡°You¡¯re off the food detail. In fact, the both of you are to be on cleaning duty for the next three weeks as punishment!¡± Mari¡¯s hopes sank like a stone as soon as she heard that, her face crestfallen. Before Mari could even try to give another excuse, the owner had already turned his back. The owner hardly gave a shit, instead motioning to the guards to drag the two of them back to their dorms. He interrogated the rest of the workers, asking them what Mari was doing in town, but none of them knew anything at all. Suspicious. What was she doing in town? The owner pondered as he walked back to his office, immediately questioning his secretary in charge. ¡°Why the hell were kids allowed on the food detail?¡± ¡°Sir, you said we didn¡¯t have enough money to hire another adult worker to do so.¡± ¡°Well fuck that ¨C no more kids allowed on any wagons heading to town. It¡¯s too dangerous now.¡± The owner scratched his shoulder, clearly nervous. ¡°Any news?¡± ¡°Nothing. My informants in the Sanctum say the enforcers arepletely unaware of our mining operation. However¡­¡± ¡°However?¡± ¡°Do you know of Granger Metals?¡± ¡°The metal processingpany? Yea, what about them?¡± ¡°Apparently there was a hostile takeover by the Ardent Cretins.¡± ¡°Here, in Kregol? What?!¡± The boss eximed. ¡°Aren¡¯t they a Raktor gang?¡± ¡°Their operations are obviously expanding ¨C they seem to be specifically hunting for suppliers that can help fund the war. I¡¯ve already heard rumors of more and more of them pouring into the vicinity.¡± ¡°Goddamn it! When did you hear that?¡± ¡°Just today. Apparently a merchant was threatened in the open.¡± Why is everything falling apart today?! The bossmented internally as he copsed into his office chair, sighing heavily to himself, stressed out. First we nearly leaked our unlicensed mining operation because of the kids, next the gangs are spreading to us¡­. Huh? Something clicked in the boss¡¯s mind. ¡°Have the guards increase patrols now. I want everyone on high alert for the next three days. And send a message to the Ravens in Kregol, tell them we need backup.¡± Suddenly, the arctech radio on the secretary¡¯s desk crackled into life, a guard speaking rapidly on the other end. ¡°Uh, sir. There¡¯s three wagons approaching the mine. Are we expecting a new investor?¡± Shit! The owner nearly eximed out loud, quickly calming himself down. Starting a fight with the Ardent Cretins will be dumb. ¡°Get every fucking guard out here now!¡± The guards scrambled into a frenzy, some wondering what the fuck was going on. Smuggled guns from the Versian industralists flowed like water, three dozen guards equipping rifles and light armour before moving out to the perimeter of the walledpound. Mari stared out of the windows of their dorm, able to spot the specks of light approaching the mine from the distance. ¡°Hey, guys, someone¡¯sing!¡± ¡°Who is it?¡± ¡°Is it a new batch of workers?¡± Gideon too was looking out of the window, watching the guards sortie out towards the gate, taking up positions next to machine guns mounted on the top of the walls. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like it¡­ shit, look! Even the boss ising out!¡± The three specks of light soon became clearer as it approached, revealing themselves to be the bright headlights of armoured wagons, each equipped with their own machine gun as well. The wagons came to a stop right in front of the walledpound, an air of tension palpable under the dark night sky. The owner of the mine stood warily at the gate, wearing his own armour that could barely hold itself together, while he wielded a single arctech pistol, gripping it tightly as his guards protected him from the front and back in pairs. Arctech spotlights on the walls swivelled to shine directly onto the wagons, illuminating the mercenaries within that were disembarking. The leader walked up without a worry, decked out in arctech armour that covered nearly his entire body save for his face. He smiled as his eyes darted around the walls, marking the machine guns and guns aimed at him. ¡°Quite a wee party for a visitor.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± The owner snarled. ¡°I wanted to see the mine before buying it.¡± ¡°This mine isn¡¯t open for viewing, nor is it for sale. If you wanted to buy the mine, you should have dealt with the office in Kregol.¡± ¡°Ah, but you don¡¯t actually have an office, do you?¡± The leader grinned as he toyed with a handcannon in his right hand, causing the guards to tense up. ¡°Why is everybody on edge? I¡¯m just a potential buyer.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t fuck with me. This ain¡¯t Raktor, pal, you got no power or backup here. Fuck with me and you¡¯re fucking with the Ravens.¡± ¡°The Ravens? You mean this bitch?¡± The leader motioned with his hand, prompting a mercenary to drag forward a heavily injured man, tossing him onto the ground in front of them. The owner gulped instinctively as he recognized the man ¨C his contact through which he sold the collected ores to. ¡°Now, we can do this nicely, or the hard way. Five million for everything.¡± Arge sack of rakels was dumped on the ground. ¡°Right here, right now. Leave everything behind, you walk away with your guards. A fair deal.¡± The owner scowled, knowing that was a low-ball price. His mine could make that in less than a year ¨C it was a pitful offer. There¡¯s only a dozen of them ¨C I outnumber them three to one. If I can stave this attack, the Ravens from Kregol wille to defend¡­ ¡°And what if I want to take my workers too?¡± The owner shouted back, while his other hand was already giving signals to the guard behind him, who immediately began to ry it down the line, prompting the remaining guards to get ready. ¡°Oh? Then here¡¯s my offer.¡± The machine gun on the armoured arctech wagon immediately fired towards the walls, the fire rate faster and immediately shredding through the paltry point defence systems in an instant. The guards on the wall were torn to bits as pellets riddled their bodies. The loud sounds of gunfire and screaming reached Mari¡¯s dorm, with the kids trembling in fear as they watched some of the guards fall off the walls into thepound, blood oozing from every pellet hole. Instead, Mari was excited, knowing a once-in-a-lifetime chance hase. ¡°Quick, we have to get out of thepound!¡± ¡°What? Now? There¡¯s a firefight going on out there!¡± Gideonined. ¡°Exactly! While the guards are upied, this is our chance to be free!¡± The kids finally realized what Mari was talking about, but not all of them agreed. ¡°It¡¯s too dangerous out there, what if we get killed?¡± Before Mari could reply, the other worker dorms already burst into life, with adult workers even beginning to flee the walledpound, grabbing everything of value on the way. The remaining guards tried to stop them, but they were far outnumbered by the workers and equally distracted by their fellow colleagues fighting at the walls. ¡°Get back in your dorms now!¡± A veritable scene of chaos and panic gripped thepound. ¡°Now! It¡¯s now or never!¡± Mari urged, before grabbing Gideon¡¯s hand and running right out of the dorm with no guards to stop them. The more daring kids followed Mari¡¯s lead, sprinting right for the hill where they knew there was no walls on the other side. ¡°Once we make it to the other side of the hill, we¡¯ll be free!¡± Mari exined as they ran non-stop through thepound. However, as soon as they got to the mine, the sound of gunfire began to die down, the firefight seemingly ending as soon as it started. ¡°Did they win?¡± Gideon turned to look back, but couldn¡¯t make out anything save for a copsed gate. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, keep moving!¡± They mbered along the side of the hill, running along the slope before they soon reached the other side of the hill, the taste of freedom already in their mouths. However, to their dismay, there were already a squad of Ardent Cretins waiting on the other side of the hill, with the dead bodies of other adult workers crumpled on the ground. A Cretin nced at the group of kids from afar, motioning towards them. ¡°Catch them!¡± ¡°RUN!¡± Mari screamed as they sprinted off, but there was nowhere to hide on the vast open mine, the trees having all been cut down before. The kids panic and ran in every direction, while Mari and Gideon kept running straight ahead, trying to make it past the Cretins who gave chase. The blood thumping in her ears, Mari could only hear both their footsteps in rhythm, thumping through the open ins as screams and shots filled the air behind. Neither of them looked back, focused on keeping up the sprint. Gideon was a much better runner than Mari, eventually overtaking her. Suddenly, Mari tripped onto a small pothole, her ankle twisted unnaturally as she fell into a short tumble through the dirt and grass. She could only watch on as Gideon kept running ahead, unaware of her having fallen behind. Before she could shout, a hand grabbed her from behind. ¡°Got you, you little bitch.¡± The Cretin grunted as he used a short rope to tie her hands up, but Mari fought back hard, punching and kicking at the arctech armour. The Cretin punched Mari right in the face, before grabbing her head and mming it into the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck, bitch. Fight back again and I¡¯ll make sure you can¡¯t walk for life.¡± Before he could tie Mari up, a loud yell distracted him, with Gideon¡¯s feet crashing right into his helmet with a flying kick. ¡°Guh!¡± The Cretin was knocked onto the ground, with Gideon quickly recovering and punching the Cretin¡¯s exposed neck with as much force as he could. ¡°Gideon!¡± Mari eximed, trying to get up but the pain in her ankle red up heavily, forcing her to crawl on the ground. The Cretin gagged, allowing Gideon free ess to his belt. Gideon spotted an arctech pistol, snatching it for himself as he aimed the barrel right at the Cretin¡¯s head at close range. But before Gideon could pull the trigger, his own heart was pierced by a trio of bullets, the blood spurting on the ground like a fountain as he copsed. ¡°GIDEON!¡± Mari screamed as she watched the leader and two other Cretins approach the two of them. ¡°Haha, look at you man. Beaten up by a kid, what a joke. You¡¯re lucky we¡¯re low on manpower, else you¡¯ve been kicked out.¡± The leader grinned as he stepped over the quivering Gideon, before delivering a brutal kick to the downed Cretin. ¡°Can¡¯t even capture a girl for Yual¡¯s sa-¡° A st of pure arcia suddenly erupted from Mari¡¯s hand, the energy rippling through the leader¡¯s armour and shredding theyered metal tes in a furious torrent. Mari was no longer screaming, instead her eyes zed with arcia energy, furious to the brink. The leader was knocked back onto the ground, a gaping hole in his armour though it failed to pierce his chest. ¡°Shit, take her down!¡± Another Cretin quickly shot his handcannon at her three times, blowing out three chunk of flesh at her waist and shoulders. The shock knocked Mari out of her trance, causing the arcia energy to dissipate rapidly as she copsed once more, unconscious. ¡°By Yual, she¡¯s a fledgling!¡± The leader eximed as he stood back up, patting the hole in his armour. ¡°So do we kill her?¡± ¡°Are you fucking dumb? She¡¯s a national treasure! If the Ardent Cretins have our own mage, we¡¯ll be fucking unstoppable anywhere! Haul her back to the wagon and have her treated immediately, but keep her sedated!¡± But before any of the Cretins could act on the orders, a rushing gush of wind buffeted them furiously out of nowhere as a stealth hovercraft suddenly appeared right over them, with Kyle dropping to the ground with a loud thud in the midst of them. In a split instant, only the crackle of residual lightning remained as the thunder de carved through the Cretins like a flowing stream, the Cretins having not even a single chance to react as their neck was sliced through cleanly, the high voltage incinerating the flesh to a crisp. In a finishing move, Kyle killed the downed Cretin, before spinning around and chopping off the wrist of the leader who had his handcannon raised. ¡°ARGHHH!¡± The leader screamed in agony before Kyle punched him right in the nose, the fierce impact sending him sprawling with a bloodied face. Kyle took a deep breath, before heading over to the fallen Mari and checking her vitals. Still alive. He quickly channelled his Ne of Healing, restoring the lost blood and flesh by a tiny amount. She¡¯ll need intensive care for a while. [Sir, the rest of the mine is being taken over.] Adrian spoke from the hovercraft. ¡°The mine isn¡¯t going anywhere. Land the hovercraft immediately; we got ourselves a mage.¡± Chapter 161: Observations As the hovercraft sailed through the air, Kyle tied up the leader tightly, before heading over to the unconscious Mari and checking her breathing. Still alive, but better to heal her once more. The moment Kyle¡¯s hands touched Mari¡¯s shoulder to activate the Ne of Healing, the Ne activated itself without warning, the green arcia energy already surging away from his control towards her body. Interesting¡­ Kyle recalled something of a simr effect when he was fighting against the elder of the Goddess Nona cult, but back then he was the one doing the absorption. Perhaps it is the concept of osmosis. Whatever theory Kyle had in mind, it would have to wait till they got back to the Culdao Peaks. ¡°Sir, returning home?¡± Adrian asked as he controlled the hovercraft in the pilot¡¯s seat, his neck craning back to peer into the cargo hold. ¡°No, continue the trial observations.¡± The two of them had originally been flying around near the border of Kregol to test the new setup of the lightcapturer, which was simply just a dozen lightcapturersbined together to form a sort of array. It was a prototype attempt by Kyle to create something simr to the sensors of the Gctic Era. By funing each of the lightcapturer to only have a limited view but higher focus, he could then stich all the separate images together to form arger cohesive aerial observation film with high resolution. The film could then be even further improved with multiple flybys that will superimpose the images, though Kyle doubted the hovercraft could achieve such continuous precision. A slight shift in the trajectory will cause the superimposed image to look terrible, so he was not counting on that. For now, the lightcapturer array worked just fine, but he has yet to improve the hovercraft altitude to three kilometers. That would take a few more days. ¡°Are we just going to let the Ardent Cretins take over the mine?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s observe a bit more of what¡¯s happening in Kregol first before attempting anything.¡± Kyle knew the key to winning Raktor was to slowly carve and chip away at the supply lines of each of the major gangs, starting with the Ardent Cretins. With the Baron nearly in his pocket, he now just needed to slowly wage an economic war against them, both aboveground and underground. Economic disruptions are a surefire way to stop arger enemy. The more mouths they have to feed, the more reliant they are on the supply chain. It was pointless to have so many men, but zero supplies to fight with. As the Seven Snakes did not have enough forces to meet in a head-on battle, the n has shifted from mere defense of territories to small-scale precise strikes, targeting every logistics that the Ardent Cretins needed to survive. However, the cross-county nature of the logistics made it even harder to do so due to ack of knowledge on the yers in Kregol, and how the Count who had a vested interest in the copse of Raktor would react to Kyle¡¯s actions. Thus, this trial observation run was the first of many aimed at collecting enough information before acting tantly. While Kregol was not as economically significantpared to the behemoth that is Raktor, they still served as a great agricultural and mining sector, though slightly more impoverished and technologically backwards. The hovercraft continued onwards, tracing the border of Kregol with Raktor as far as its range allowed. Maybe I will need to create a new variant of the hovercraft for better range. Kyle¡¯s to-do list was only getting longer. Add onto that the sudden lucky appearance of Mari during their trial observation run when they were tracing the movements of the Ardent Cretins, Kyle could already tell he was not going to sleep for a good while toe. ¡°Boss, running low.¡± ¡°Alright, head back and we¡¯ll process the lightcapturer results together.¡± The flight back was nearly an hour long, covering about a hundred and fifty kilometers. The top speed of the hovercraft was not exactly the best, only on par with extremely old nes in Ancient Earth, but considering its vertical take-off capabilities, Kyle was satisfied for now. He had plenty of time to think over the implications of everything he has seen now. The appearance of Mari now gave him a chance to have further insights into the nature of the. Following my previous deduction of the being one big transcendent experiment, Mari must be either a nted or natural result. Kyle had seen with his own eyes how Mari was able to conjure a pure bolt of arcia energy out of her own hands. If she had a miniaturized fission reactor in her heart along with a cybeic arm armed with a sma cannon, he might have believe it. However, to Kyle, that entire incident was pure magic, simr to how the elder was able to kill a few of his ADCON soldiers with such bolts. He originally assumed the elder must have had a system of sorts, or an tattoo engraving that he was unable to see. But in the case of Mari, it was extremely clear that she had no training nor engraving whatsoever, nor was there any evidence of a simr system existing in her body. I might have to have Orisa examine her in one of the evolution pods. He knew that the system remodeled the flesh within the body to create an engraving flow that mimic a proper arcia engraving, creating the illusion of an inborn skill that can then be casted. But for Mari, the arcia bolt came naturally to her, being a eruption of emotions and arcia energy. Kyle had already learnt that mages were extremely rare, with barely a hundred on the continent. Naturally, with such a prize already in his possession, he was not about to let go of it easily. Suddenly, Mari¡¯s body began twitching, her breathing slowly bing morebored. Kyle quickly tried to heal her, but could feel not just the Ne¡¯s own ambient arcia energy being drained, but even his own internal arcia energy was being depleted at a rapid rate. Shit, what¡¯s going on? ¡°Sir, the hovercraft is starting to lose power! We won¡¯t make it back!¡± ¡°Turn off the stealth engraving!¡± Kyle urged, aiming to conserve as much power as possible. ¡°Go full throttle!¡± The hovercraft streaked across the forest of the Culdao Peaks, roaring loudly as its engines were pushed to the limits. As soon as they got back to Culdao Peaks, Kyle handed the captured leader off to Sasha and the others for interrogation, while he rushed Mari into the Oracle Chambers, where the A.I avatar of Orisa was already waiting for him. ¡°Any free pods?¡± Orisa shed a ceiling light to indicate a pod in another room, where it was originally upied by her own body. Kyle quickly ced Mari inside gently and attached a breathing mask to her face, before the pod filled up with liquid, keeping her in stasis. The pod monitor began to show her vitals, though her heartrate and brain activity waspletely irregr. ¡°Orisa, I want a full deep analysis of her body.¡± [That would require both blood and flesh samples, as well as electromaic scanning.] ¡°Not a problem.¡± Before Kyle could rx, the pod monitor flickered wildly, while the lights flickers randomly, unable to control the sudden drop in voltage. [Warning: Unknown power drain detected.] Orisa spoke through the A.I speakers, her voice garbled as well. Not just arcia energy? Kyle quickly ordered for Orisa to cart in as many arcite ore as they had on hand, he himself bringing in close to half a ton¡¯s worth of arcite ore. Finally, Mari¡¯s vitals began to stabilize as the arcia energy bypassed the ss of the pod, seeping into Mari¡¯s body in tendrils that Kyle could only see thanks to his Arcian physique. He checked the cameras in the Oracle chambers, noticing that none of them could see the arcia energy tendrils, even in different spectrums. That¡¯s a major w. Kyle realized that it would be a major benefit if he had a device that could remotely observe arcia flows in the air. He had a suspicion that arcia energy was flowing all around him ¨C he just could not see most of it unless it was in clear concentration like it was with Mari. Long spindly metal needles poked Mari slightly across her skin, drawing a bit of surface blood as well skin samples to examine. [Preliminary results are in: body age noted to be sixteen years old. Heritage unknown, but genes indicate ancestry that are able to manipte arcia energy directly. Metabolism is also directly dependent on the abundance of arcia energy ¨C anyck thereof will cause rapid destabilization of cells and organs.] Kyle recalled the warning he had received from the Arcian race evolution, where he would not be able to survive without arcia energy as well, though Mari¡¯s assessment sounded far more extreme. He did not view as such a big problem, thanks to his invention of the mechanical and radiation arcia regenerators. Even when on a spaceship, we can simply convert sr radiation into arcia energy and permeate the air. That was a problem forter. ¡°Keep observing her. The moment she wakes up, call me. Do not let her out of the pod until I arrive. Collect as much data as possible.¡± The crisis was averted, but Kyle could hardly rx yet. There was still a city to win, so he headed over to Adrian where the lightthrower film was already processed. As enhanced as his body was, he could not see with ultra-high resolution at distances of over one kilometer for now, unless he went cybeic. Keith was also here as well, tracing supply routes from the observation. ¡°This is much better that the single lightcapturer, I can even see the individual wagons as more than just a square now!¡± Reese and Gordon also admired their new handywork, working to point out hotspots of economic activity, tallying with officialpany registers to figure out who¡¯s what. Kyle estimated the resolution to be about 10 cm per pixel, which was more than enough to see a person, but not his face exactly. Maybe an array of 144 lightcapturers? Over the next three hours of investigative work, the result was hardly surprising. ¡°Everypany operating near the border is involved in illegal trading with the Ardent Cretins, save for a few that are allied with the Ravens in Kregol City itself.¡± Adrian concluded. ¡°On top of thepanies, it¡¯s clear that there are a lot of thug gangs that are operating illegally in mines and forests to extract resources without regtion. We will need to do a few more flybys to determine their rtionship with the Count, Ravens or Ardent Cretins.¡± As the lightcapturer array was only a specific point in time, Kyle would require continuous observation over a day or even a week to determine movement and events. ¡°Not a problem, we can piece the information together over time.¡± He began to give out orders to the various subordinates that were already here. ¡°Adrian, have your men do more flybys and have informants enter Kregol City. We need to find out how the Count is involved in the major gangs, as well as the Ravens. See if they are a target for a potential alliance.¡± Adrian nodded, understanding the hidden implications behind Kyle¡¯s word. ¡°Got it, will return with a report on finances and manpower strength as well as inclination.¡± Kyle turned to Keith. ¡°Has the Baron replied yet?¡± ¡°He¡¯s agreeable to the deal, but he wants us to knock the Ardent Cretins a notch first before he ispletely onboard.¡± A proof ofpetency. Kyle was slightly irked at the Baron¡¯sck of trust, but this was something important to fostering an alliance. Kyle needed the Baron in order to gain a legitimate figurehead to take over the city, as well as stave off a potential revenge plot by Count Leon. ¡°Reese and Gordon, I need you two to get to work on improving the hovercraft for a higher altitude as soon as possible. I¡¯ll work with you closely.¡± Kyle knew they had no contribution during the design and manufacture of the hovercraft, so a bit more effort would be necessary in bringing them up to speed on the concept. ¡°Sasha will handle the interrogation of the leader to figure out what the Ardent Cre-¡° Before Kyle could finish, a low rumbling boom could be heard, reminiscent of a mortar explosion off in the distance. Adrian¡¯s arctech radio immediately burst into life, the forest scouts on the other end talking rapidly. [Sir, they are attacking with arger force than ever!] ¡°The Ardent Cretins? Impossible, I just got a report from Raktor that they are still in the city fighting the enforcers.¡± [Not them, sir! The Violet Demons!] M.G.Driver Sneak Peek for something I''ve been working on Chapter 162: Mobilization Another mortar round sailed across the air far above the Culdao Peak forest before mming into the walled defenses of the first goblin den. As soon as the cloud of dirt and smoke dissipated from the strong wings, the reinforced walls of the goblin outpost still stood strong, bearing the brunt of the attacks. ¡°Where are they attacking from?¡± [They areing from - ] A sudden splitting screech interrupted themunication, their arctech radio jammed by a wide range disruptor. Adrian quickly shut down the radio, before trying the backup channels, all of which failed. ¡°Get Sasha up in a hovercraft now! Maximum altitude observation! Mobilize every fighter!¡± Kyle ordered, not moving just yet until he got a clear picture of what was happening. He did not know if the attack on the first goblin den was diversionary in nature, a ploy to get him to move. Is this rted to me interrupting their mine takeover? Kyle felt that this was far too big of a movement to be a counterattack ¨C it had been nned since a long time ago. ¡°Where¡¯s thest known positions of the Ardent Cretins?¡± ¡°Still in Raktor as of one hour ago, sir.¡± Adrian quickly replied, before continuing to delivermands to goblin clerks, who passed them down the chain. ¡°Supplies?¡± Kyle turned to ask Keith, who was still in the same room, trying to contact Damian and Niko back in Raktor. ¡°Not enough tost a continuous siege. If the Violet Demons upy us long enough, we might start to lose ground in Raktor.¡± The number of able-bodied fighters and weapons the Seven Snakes had was limited after all. Allocating men to defend the Culdao Peaks would result in less going to Raktor, as well as guns and ammunition sent to the enforcers. ¡°Not a problem. We knew this wasing eventually.¡± Kyle replied, knowing that the Culdao Peaks had continuously been under probing attacks ever since the war in Raktor started, all defeated by Sasha. Yet he did not expect the Violet Demons to be the primary force attacking him. If two major gangs hit us with everything they got, we won¡¯t be able to survive for long. He knew the Ardent Cretins were still being held up by the enforcers and Baron Cain¡¯s private forces, but if the West Sector¡¯s Baron had truly given the Violet Demonsplete free-reign, then it would make it even harder for Kyle. A domino effect¡­ He recalled the assassination attempt by Baron Namor. Has the West already fallen? [Sir, climbing to altitude now.] Sasha spoke to Kyle via their ¡®Designate Follower¡¯ skill, the telepathic-likemunication bypassing the strong jamming signals. ¡°Good. Primary observation to focus on the Culdao Peaks town. Run the lightcapturer.¡± ¡°Sir, shouldn¡¯t we be focusing where they are attacking?¡± Adrian asked. ¡°The fastest way to stop an invading army is to starve them of resources ¨C I suspect their supplies areing from the town.¡± [Sir, at five hundred meters now. I can seerge convoy movements throughout the town. Anti-air weapons have been spotted as well.] ¡°Stay out of range as much as possible. Estimation on numbers?¡± [Close to a division¡¯s worth in total. That¡¯s a third of the Violet Demons!] Kyle¡¯s heart sank slightly, before relying the message to Adrian and Keith. ¡°An entire division? What?!¡± Keith eximed. ¡°No time to be surprised ¨C who¡¯s in charge of the first goblin den?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still Merissa and Gk.¡± ¡°Get the tunnelwork prepped for mass transportation. I¡¯ll talk to the goblins.¡± Kyle headed straight for the pce, meeting with King Sahusa and Orisa. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Who¡¯s attacking us?¡± Sahusa asked in a panic, already gearing up in his armoury. ¡°The Violet Demons, they are trying to cut off the tunnelwork at the first goblin den. I need you to rally the troops now.¡± Sahusaplied immediately, ordering his servants to mobilize the troops, with Qatu taking charge of the entire army. Qatu was far different from he was before ¨C his new evolved hobgoblin body already siginifcantly stronger than when he was defeated by Kyle during the goblin kingdom¡¯s takeover. The goblin horns red loudly, resounding through the ravine as its echoes bounced off the terrace farming slopes, prompting a flurry of movement among the goblin army, now wielding arctech guns and prototype arctech armor while they assembled into their various squads of a dozen each. Kyle and Orisa had reorganized the army into squads rather than a rigid brigade or divisionyout despite having enough to do so. The main reason was due to therge expansive nature of the Culdao Peaks forest, where squads had to be fiercely independent in the event of an skirmish. In each squad, yhe evolved hobgoblins stood heads taller than their counterparts, though they both served their purpose inbat, with the original goblins far more nimble and agile. Thisbination allowed a squad to perform multiple roles, acting as a independent military unit that can make decisions on the ground without having to rely on centralmand as much. Sahusa roared into the royal specter, his voice amplified across the goblin city. The goblin troops yelled back, standing at attention as they looked up at their king and queen, standing above them at the ledge of the pce. A deafening chant rose up from the ranks, the goblin troops stomping their feet against the ground. ¡°A tenth goes into the tunnels to support the first goblin den ¨C the rest to spread out. Form a defensive perimeter across the entire mountain range and all our territory. Face towards the Culdao Peaks. Do not advance nor retreat until either signal is given.¡± Kyle exined to Qatu while Sahusa continued his speech. Kyle did not expect to have the ability to control each squad uniquely ¨C he would have to simply hope for the best. It was hard to performing signalling through the dense foge of the Culdao Peaks forest, and the goblin army was hardly trained for it as well, only having been recently re-trained by the Seven Snakes a few months ago. Better to stick to the goblin horns that they know for now. As the goblin troops kicked into action, Kyle raced back to Adrian and Keith, who were still waiting for observation reports from Sasha. [Currently right over the town of Culdao Peaks. Two brigades are besieging the first goblin den on both the main entrance and the side entrance. Our forces have already retreated into the den.] ¡°Where are the other two?¡± [One is defending the town with an Ardent Cretin garrison. As for thest brigade, I do not have eyes on it¡­] Even with the hovercraft, it was near impossible to peer through the trees and spot individual humans moving through the undergrowth, so Kyle did not worry too much. ¡°Okay, begin observation sweep of the following Sectors.¡± The four of them got to work, Adrian and Keithying out the markers on a spread-out map to visualize the enemies position, updating it in realtime as Sasha continued to move back and forth. Due to the nature of the Designate Follower, Kyle had to stay here to ry the telepathicmunication. Of course, using the lightcapturer array, they could do the same thing by having the hovercraft do a single sweep before returning to hand over the light-thrower film. However, that would result in a response time dy. Theck ofmunication irked Kyle significantly. He called for Orisa over, asking her directly. ¡°Any workingmunicators left behind by your previous owners in the chambers?¡± ¡°Per Protocol 138D, allmunicators and device capable of transmission has been destroyed automatically. Kyle grimaced, thinking quickly on whether he could retrofit a quickmunicator using scrap metal and leftovers from degraded exosuits. If I made a simple morse-code device, the receiving end would still have to be trained to read it. And it would take far too long to design a receiver that can trante the morse code into a visual disy. Computers and binary storage systems have yet to be invented in full yet, so disying such technology right out of the gate would be catastrophic. The Wardens had yet to catch onto the existence of the Oracle, and Kyle preferred to keep it that way as much as possible until he learnt more about the enemy. He racked his brain, trying to think about who else was able to perform long-rangemunication that could circumvent the current jamming. Kyle examined Orisa, realizing that she was still linked to the A.I. core despite being out and about. ¡°You mentioned you had a radio range of ten kilometers. How are youmunicating with your A.I. core now?¡± ¡°This body is imnted with inbuilt cybeics that can receive and decode radio signals. However, I do not know the design nor am I able to manufacture new cybeics.¡± Orisa replied. ¡°Is this your only body?¡± ¡°I have fifty more avatars, though they are not of the hobgoblin nature, but rather a simple goblin.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I need you to activate some and have them serve asmunication points to ry information. Can you do that?¡± ¡°Affirmative. I can infer that you want me to perform hovercraft observation. However, my clone will no longer be able to operate out of range.¡± Orisa pointed out. ¡°Can your bodies act as repeater rys?¡± Orisa remained silent for a while, before nodding. ¡°It is possible, but each body can onlymunicate in a ten-kilometer radius.¡± ¡°Not an issue.¡± Kyle quickly calcted the distance from here to Raktor. Fifty kilometers from the iron ore deposit to the factory, and roughly twenty kilometers from here to the Culdao Peaks town. ¡°Activate fifteen for now.¡± While Orisa prepared her clones, Kyle continued mapping out thebat area, getting a full detailedyout of the battle now. ¡°They must be holding the supplies in the town. If we can cut them off from Raktor, we will be able to stall them immediately.¡± Adrian pointed out. ¡°Cutting them off won¡¯t be enough. They will still be able to keep up a siege for a week or even more, and then we will be trapped fighting to maintain the blockade.¡± Kyle shook his head, calcting what he had on hand now. I only have two hovercrafts ¨C one being retrofitted by Reese and Gordon, the other used by Sasha. Orisa soon showed up with her clones. Kyle quickly ordered one of her clones to head towards the first goblin den, moving with the first batch of reinforcements. ¡°Sasha, return back now. We have a recement solution.¡± As soon as Sasha returned, Kyle reced her with another of Orisa¡¯s clones, having her perform the observation instead, while attaching two more of Orisa¡¯s clones to the goblin squads and spreading them out to cover the Culdao Peaks¡¯ forest. Another ten of Orisa¡¯s clones were sent into the tunnelworks, ounting for the possible attenuation of the mountains. Kyle did not want to use all of Orisa¡¯s clones just yet ¨C they were irreceable, so Kyle had to use them sparingly. The new clones were also far weaker than the hobgoblin avatar that Orisa used as her main, meaning that they could be killed easily as well through their arctech armour. As such, Orisa became the mainmunication ry system, reporting observations to Adrian and Keith with precise uracy. Kyle went over the first batch of aerial observation captured by the array, examining them closely. His eyes widened as he zoomed in on one of the anti-air weapons mentioned by Sasha. What is that sensor? The weapon had four machine gun barrels aimed up at the sky, something that seemed like a 20th century version of a C-RAM, albeit with arctech weaponry. Kyle did not know anything about its effective range, but decided to y it safe anyway. Kyle was now freed up, quickly heading over with Sasha to the goblin factory where Reese and Gordon were retrofitting the hovercraft to a higher altitude ceiling. ¡°Boss, it¡¯s going to take more than a week to get this hovercraft to a higher altitude.¡± Reese shook his head in disappointment. ¡°Never mind that, there¡¯s no more time. Fit as much frontal armour as you can on the hovercraft, along with point defense engravings. Remove the stealth engraving panels.¡± ¡°But that will drop the altitude ceiling! Everyone would be able to see you clearly and shoot at you!¡± Kyle walked over to a workbench in the factory, hefting a triple-barreled machine gun, a modified version of Hayden¡¯s design, but upgraded closer to what Kyle could recall of the Gctic Era. ¡°Who said anything about not shooting back?¡± Chapter 163: Occupation The inn at the Culdao Peaks Town had long lost its previous jovial mood and cozy d¨¦cor. Now, it had already been overtaken forcefully by the Ardent Cretins and the Violet Demons, both of whom had strongarmed the entire town into submission, appropriating their buildings for logistics and housing for their own soldiers. Both the gangs were working together in an alliance, sharing the town as a base of operations. It¡¯s been a month since the takeover, and the local residents have been living under upation. Market stall owners kept their heads low as Cretins tossed them trinkets in exchange for food, wood and other supplies, while mothers reprimanded their children for staring at any Violet Demons. Even the town¡¯s mayor, a mere figurehead at this point, was unwilling to go against the new authorities. What made it worse was the upier¡¯s numbers were far more than the local residents themselves: an entire brigade was controlling them. Despite the heavy-handed treatment, the locals were able to survive, albeit with meager subsistence far below their prior living standards. The ones affected badly were the business owners, who had their assets and property wrung from their hands directly. However, even they were better off than the two man currently being crucified in the middle of town, nailed in various parts of their bodies to rotten pieces of wood, left out to dry under the heat. A cargo worker flinched instinctively as a gut-wrenching cry of pain and torture erupted from the man, causing the worker to nearly fumble the crate. As soon as he ced the crate down, stacking them on top of others, a burly hand smacked him right in the back of the neck, causing him to stagger forward slightly. He instinctively turned around to fight back, only to immediately cower in deference as a Violet Demon soldier grinned widely. ¡°Better focus on your fucking work, if you don¡¯t wanna end up like him. Unless you¡¯re a filthy enforcer too?¡± ¡°No, sire. I will focus.¡± The worker bowed fervently. The Violet Demon soldier leaned in menacingly. ¡°Good, cuz if I find you fucking with our ammo while we¡¯re out ¨C you can say goodbye to Mary and your kids, bitch.¡± Another defeaning thud resounded like a crack across the mountains as yet another mortar round was lobbed in the direction of the goblin den, sting apart the Euria Trees that surrounded the mine. The Demons¡¯ artillery crew continued to load the next round, eager to st even more goblins hiding in the treelines. Before the worker could respond, the soldier pped him on the back again with force. ¡°Now keep working!¡± The worker grimaced as he continued his task, unloading boxes upon boxes from arctech wagons slowly but surely. The work was back-breaking, and he had no idea what was in the boxes, nor did he want to find out as well. As soon as the job was done, he was marshalled to another part of the town, forced to march alongside other workers past the whimpering men still nailed in the centre of the town. The central market was no longer the main attraction, but instead a tall spire close to seven stories dominated the center point of the town, glistening with green arcia engravings along the surface that trailed towards arcia power generators, heavily guarded by permanent Violet Demon squads. It was not the only spire around, with a few other smaller ones spread out across the town, obviously to defend against enemy attacks. The worker also knew that the spires were designed to suppress the local poption as well, ensuring any attempt to revolt would be immediately neutered by the point defense engraving systems. A soldier guarding the power generators spat on the worker¡¯s foot as the worker was caught staring at the generators for too long. ¡°Whatchu you looking at, huh?!¡± The worker hastily looked away, keeping his eyes on his feet as they trudged along, heading to another restaurant which had been transformed into a temporary ration and supply packing office. As much as he wanted to spike the food with as much dirt and grime as he could, it was hard to do so with a solider clearly observing them, waiting for the slightest mistake so they could nail them up as well. Life was grim now, but the worker kept pushing on, telling himself it was for his wife Mary and his three kids. y it cool, there will be an opportunityter. He knew that a war was happening now, so all he could hope for was the fatigue to slowly set in before the locals could muster up enough strength to rebel. The biggest problem was those arcia power generators that kept the spires running ¨C they needed to take that out first before doing anything else. Suddenly, just before his lunch break, the incessant inaudible chatter on the arctech radios suddenly became a lot more hectic for some unknown reason. Even as the worker walked past the soldiers on his way to their mess hall, none of them spared him a nce at all, obviously worried about something. An air of tension had suddenly gripped the Violet Demons. ¡°What¡¯s up with them?¡± The worker whispered secretly as he held his bowl up, soup scooped into it by another local. ¡°You hear anything on your cleaning rounds?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too clear, but while I was walking past themander¡¯s quarters, they seemed to be flustered about a missing scout squad.¡± ¡°Scout squad?¡± ¡°Yes, they are sending out more men to defend the town now.¡± The word spread rapidly through the ranks of the locals, some of the more brave ones having a glimpse of opportunity. ¡°We should strike now. Rush one of the spires, take control and fight it out.¡± They discussed while eating, keeping their voices low as Violet Demon soldiers watched them from afar. ¡°And end up like Fred, nailed to that shit? Fuck no. We should wait longer.¡± ¡°Yes, this could be a ploy. Maybe that widow is helping them rat us out. Aiden knows everything about how we work. He might have turned her. We shouldn¡¯t even try to save Fred, he used to be our oppressor!¡± ¡°Sarah is one of us! How dare you say that about her?! And Aiden doesn¡¯t know jackshit about us, he left five years ago.¡± ¡°Look, I may not have liked Fred ever since that priest moved in. He was always a bitch of an enforcer.¡± The worker sighed as he ced down his bowl, ncing behind him and checking for any soldier walking past. ¡°But he had his heart in the right ce, even if the Sanctum of Yual¡¯s methods were fucked up. He¡¯s still one of us, born and bred here. He isn¡¯t going to survive long on that nk.¡± ¡°So what, we strike now?¡± ¡°First we verify, then we n. Nobody moves yet, got it? Keep this within ourselves for now.¡± They continued the rest of their lunch in silence, each one of them a mix of emotions ¨C some nervous, others excited. All of them still kept a wary eye out for any soldiers passing by to check on them, making sure no one approached. However, as soon as the worker left the mess hall, he was immediately stopped by the soldiers, who grappled his arms. ¡°Hank, no need to verify anything. You¡¯reing with us.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The worker feigned ignorance, knowing that the soldiers could not have overheard them. His excuse only earned theughter of the soldiers. ¡°Idiot, of course we didn¡¯t hear you ourselves. You got a rat!¡± The worker cursed under his breath as he was dragged up to themander¡¯s quarters, bound tightly by his wrists and tossed onto the floor. His lips kissed the wooden floor of the inn¡¯s former main office, which had been converted into a centralmand system. ¡°Hank, not the first time we have met.¡± The young Violet Demonmander sighed as he stood up from his chair, his metal soles causing the wooden nks to creak with each step. ¡°We used to have a good rtionship.¡± ¡°I would hardly call that good. Not since you came back.¡± Hank defiantly responded, earning him a kick to the head, the metal tips bruising his temples as he tumbled on the floor. ¡°I gave you a choice. All of you, a choice. You could have been here, standing with me. Yet you chose to throw it all away for a measly eight hundred people who hardly gave a shit about you. In fact, you were chased and hunted down by the enforcers themselves. Don¡¯t you know what we¡¯re fighting for?¡± ¡°Fighting for yourself. I¡¯m not the same as you, Aiden. I didn¡¯t turn against my birthce.¡± The boot crushed Hank¡¯s left ankle, causing Hank to let out a ear-piercing scream as his tendons ruptured, the cartge and bones snapping under the weight of Aiden¡¯s foot before being bent terribly, the blood immediately pooling under the skin to form a dark hue. ¡°What makes you think this fucking shithole who done nothing for me deserves my ¡®undying loyalty¡¯. Hmm? You think I¡¯ll remain a ve to the town for the rest of my life? There¡¯s more to the world than this rotting carcass of a town. I¡¯m a lieutenant in the Violet Demons now.¡± ¡°You mean in cahoots with the same forest bandits who used to raid us.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t act like you¡¯re all above thew and shit. You smuggled alcohol under Fred¡¯s fucking noses for months too. And now you want to fuck with me?! Seems like I have been going too easy on you guys. You got onest chance, Hank. Join the Violet Demons.¡± Aiden threatened. ¡°You can go and eat shit all you want, no need for me to join you.¡± Hank smirked in defiance. ¡°YOU TWO!¡± Aiden roared to the soldiers. ¡°Nail him up right next to Fred, and drag his family out to watch. Make sure their eyes are open.¡± Aiden marched out with Hank being dragged along the floor, earning the stares and res of everyone around, locals and soldiers alike. ¡°FOR CONSPIRING AGAINST THE VIOLET DEMONS, YOUR PUNISHMENT IS CRUCIFIXATION TILL DEATH.¡± Aiden bellowed while Hank was ced onto a wooden nk. Hank thrashed back, fighting against the soldiers but they held him down firmly, aiming a rusted nail at his wrist before hammering it in with impunity. The sharp cold metal pain overwhelmed his nerves, causing him to yell out and fight back harder, only to earn a punch to the face. It was even worse when his already broken ankle was pierced again, leaving nearly out of breath as he was hoisted up high, the weight of his own body pushing against the nails while he struggled to breath. Every movement on his body caused the nails to scrap against his inner flesh, the pain wracking his body as he heaved hard. His eyes watering from the pain, he could barely see his family being dragged out of their house, tied up and forced to kneel on the floor. ¡°Anytime, Hank. Just say the word, and all of this can go away. The door is always open to you.¡± He could already hear the distinct crying sounds of his wife and eldest son, while his two younger children were still unaware of what was happening. His youngest did not even recognize him any longer, the blood and grime and long hours at work. His heart clenched with pain as sweat dripped down this forehead, trickling down his face. On his left, Fred was on the verge of dying, yet Hank could tell he was holding steadfast, his determination keeping him alive. Fred¡¯s wounds had already scabbed over, forming around the nail. Ironic. The smuggler and enforcer tortured together. ¡°Yual, save me!¡± The other crucified man cried out for the umpteenth time, earning theughter of the soldiers looking on. ¡°The Emperor does not care about Raktor, foolish priest!¡± Aiden taunted. ¡°He has abandoned you, all of you!¡± ¡°Then kill me! So I may return to the bosom of Yual himself!¡± Before Aiden could continue to make an example of the three men, a soldier ran up to him, whispering quickly into his ear. ¡°What?! Mobilize the men, quickly! Anti-air defences now!¡± As the soldiers kicked into a flurry, a low humming sound could suddenly be heard in the distance. Aiden immediately retreated to his quarters, while soldiers dragged out turrets aimed at the sky, mounting them on the roof of buildings. Hank was utterly confused as to what was going on, until he could see a ck dot appear in the horizon,ing from the mountains. A wyrm? Impossible, I haven¡¯t seen one here in ages. The ck dot grew bigger and bigger, flying low over the treeline. A torrent of pellets and mortar rounds fired from the turrets sting towards the ck dot. Instead of turning the ck dot into mash, the ck dot shrugged off all the iing attacks, metal chunks flying out and spiraling into the forest. In response, a sudden hailstorm of pellets erupted from the ck dot, damaging the turrets and injuring the soldiers manning them. The spires glowed fiercely as the green arcia boltsnced across the sky, attempting to counteract the pellets but instead being overwhelmed. Hank could see a spire overheating as it fired more than two hundred arcia bolts before petering out. ¡°NOW, MY BROTHERS! NOW IS THE TIME!¡± He roared with all his might, his voice spreading out as far and wide as he could. The workers noticed the same thing, quickly kicking into action and assaulting the nearest soldier next to them, hampering their reaction to the now visible armoured hovercraft closing in on them. As the armoured hovercraft sailed over the town, the frontal armour already gged by the anti-air weaponry, two portholes opened on the side, revealing two machine guns. The hovercraft tilted to the ground, immediately unleashing a withering storm of fire that grounded the Violet Demon soldiers to sickening twisted corpses riddled with holes. Hank momentarily forgot about his pain, having never seen such devastation before with his own eyes as dozens fell in the street. From the back of the hovercraft, an armoured exosuit leapt out onto one of the rooftops,nding right between three Violet Demon soldiers, the surface of the armour glistening with blue and green engravings interlocked between the seams, tracing all long the metallic ck surface before culminating in a spine of arcia energy. Before the soldiers could even react, the head of a warhammer pummelled all of them, cracking their skulls with impunity. Hank had long heard rumours of a monster that destroyed the forest bandit camp, alleviating one of the town¡¯s many woes. The scene he witnessed in front of him was exhrating as the exosuit charged through the town, mming his warhammer into the spires and causing them to tumble spectacrly, a cloud of white marble dust billowing into the air. Only the glow of the engravings on the armour could be seen as the exosuit marched through the smoke, warhammer in hand and rifle slung at the back. ¡°Sasha, Qatu,mence assault. Time for some payback.¡± Chapter 164: Feint Kyle focused on the remaining spires, ones who were still recharging and could potentially threaten the hovercraft as well as his forcesing into the town. With him now in the center, the Violet Demons could hardly regroup fast enough to deal with him. Aero Shoes! His speed increased, though it was still weighed down by his repaired Version 0 exosuit that had been damaged in the Battle of Utul ¨C each individual engraving had been improved as much as he could, creating an even tougher armor set that could survive a bullet storm if the point defense engravings failed. However, as strong as he was individually, it was impossible for him to fight off two thousand men in a single battle. He needed help to take down the spire, so instead of running right for another spire, he charged towards the three men who were crucified in the center of the town, killing any remaining Violet Demons in the area that tried to stop him. Many of the workers who still waiting at the sidelines immediately leapt into action the moment Kyle cleared the area, recognizing the opportunity to save Hank, Fred and the priest as well. Kyle grabbed one of the workers by the shoulder. ¡°Armory?¡± ¡°Over there!¡± The worker pointed towards a warehouse that had obviously been appropriated, the oak barrel sign above burnt and damaged. Already the Violet Demons were spreading out in front of the armory, deploying metal covers in a semi-circle, with all guns aimed right at him. ¡°Bring all your able-bodied fighters there!¡± Kyle urged. The worker was about to retort that the armory was heavily guarded, but Kyle was already sprinting towards it, rushing the panicking defenders who charged fired back at him. The pellets did nothing against the green arcia bolts that Kyle¡¯s exosuit shot out ¨C those that made it through did not dent the armor at all as well, the Sturore alloy seemingly imprable. Compared to Nest, these Demons are too easy. Kyle barely gave a thought as he swapped weapons to his heavy variant rifle, returning fire with precision even as he moved from burning wagon to copsed building, nailing each soldier in the head. He ducked under counter fire, using a fallen bakery sign to deflect the pellets. [Sir, take cover. Artillery fire ready!] Sasha reported over the telepathy channel. ¡°Clear!¡± Kyle shouted back. The mortars under Kyle¡¯s forces fired volleys into the town, utilizing the rapidmunication between Orisa¡¯s clones high up in the observation hovercraft coupled with Kyle¡¯s direct observation. ¡°Shell Sector 178CE.¡± Kyle ordered, watching six mortar roundsnd right onto the designated spire, sting into half. Dozens of Violet Demons suffered injuries as explosions wrecked havoc across the town. Coteral damage was unavoidable as well, locals suffered death and destruction all around them as buildings and wagons were blown to bits by the withering barrage. The hovercraft¡¯s massacre continued unabated as well, shredding ground forces and forcing the Violet Demons to take cover in the buildings. However, for all the destruction Kyle and his troops had wrought, the death toll was nowhere near enough to wipe out the brigade. [Sir, three spires left ¨C they are charging up again!] The spires began to cooldown again all across the town, the soldiers ordered to quickly dump water onto the base to cool it off. Green arcia bolts and remanent anti-air turrets shot towards hovercraft, therger bolts incinerating a hole in the makeshift retrofitted armor of the hovercraft. ¡°Retreat for now! Stay out of range until the spires are down!¡± Kyle ordered the pilot of the hovercraft, prompting the hovercraft to retreat, smoke seeping out of its internal structure as it limped back across the forest. ¡°What¡¯s the status of the first goblin den?¡± [They¡¯ve broken through the first line of defences ¨C they are in the mining tunnels now!] ¡°Not a problem ¨C once we cut off this logistics resupply point, we can encircle them easily.¡± He returned his focus to the armoury, which still had a dozen soldiers outside protecting it doggedly. Before he could even peek around the sign that he was using as cover, a mortar shell flew straight towards him from above, mming directly into the sign. The ensuing st would have sent Kyle flying, if it were not for the exosuit that kept him grounded even as the rush of air swelled around him, his free hand pressed firmly against the sign. The makeshift foam within the armour absorbed some of the shock and vibration, preventing Kyle from being concussed from the near hit while his metal boots carved into the floor with sparks, both him and the sign being pushed back centimeters. ¡°Shell him! His armour is too strong for small-arms fire!¡± Penchant for Violence! Kyle slung his rifle behind him, and with a grunt, he began to lift and charge with the sign, his ramming speed increased rapidly before mming it right into the deployed metal barriers of the Demons, knocking the first three over and pinning them down with the sheer weight. They were the lucky ones, as a Demons who had narrowly avoided the collision on the left immediately had his wrist grabbed by Kyle, twisted into an armlock to be a hostage shield. His eyes widened as he yelled : ¡°Don¡¯t sho-¡° but it was already toote, his allies sting him into oblivion. Before the hostage shield was turned into mincemeat, Kyleunched the iling corpse forward right at the other defenders, before immediately delivering an elbow strike to a brave Demon who tried to backstab Kyle from the right with a knife. The Demon¡¯s chin was crushed to bits as he staggered backwards, buying Kyle time to pull out his heavy variant rifle again, firing with impunity. In an instant, five other Demons were killed on the spot, Kyle¡¯s pellets spiralling through their vitals as the air swirled around their paths. The remaining Demons tried to fight back, pelting Kyle¡¯s exosuit to no avail. However, Kyle could see yet another squad of Demons in the armory from beyond the entrance, the barrel of arge cannon facing him directly. His instincts kicked in the moment he saw the engravings on the cannon light up, grabbing the nearest defensive barrier with his hand and using it to protect himself. The shockwave from the projectile sted forward knocked the cannon backwards slightly, mming right into Kyle¡¯s defensive barrier. But instead of trying to stop the explosive force as he was pushed back, he spun around, utilizing the momentum to fling the defensive barrier towards the cannon like a frisbee. The Demons ducked as soon as they saw the barrier fly over them, knocking the cannon back even further and crushing the legs and arms of the cannon crew who were in the vicinity. Before any of them could recover, Kyle was already sting through them in a whirlwind of death, annihting them as he leapt over their covers. Even the remaining squad in the armory was of no consequence to Kyle, his exosuit far superior to anything they had in store. He retrieved his warhammer, before searching the armoury for something to support the workers. He quickly found a crate of arctech rifles, lifting them up and sprinting back to the central area where the workers were still gathered, albeit near the buildings where they took cover from the Violet Demon¡¯s reinforcements that had nowe from other parts of the town, the entire brigade slowly being mobilized. Hank was still unconscious on the floor, weakened even though his friends had taken him down, with his family still crying next to him while he was surrounded by locals as explosions rocked the flimsy walls. Kyle examined the reaction of the workers, noticing that they were in despair. This guy is the key. Putting down the crate, he shoved his way through the crowd, none of the workers daring to go against him after seeing him mow down dozens of Violet Demon soldiers. Ne of Healing! While the green arcia energy surged through Hank¡¯s body, healing his wounds slightly, Kyle opened a metal pocket on his armour, revealing a stamina potion vial that he forced into Hank¡¯s mouth. The potion caused Hank to instinctively gag and swallow, forcing him to wake up as he inhaled sharply, his eyes widened. Kyle grabbed the same worker he asked for directions. ¡°The armoury is clear! Get the spires down now! Else the Violet Demons are going to kill all of you!¡± Kyle did not stay around to see the effect his words had, instead immediately leaving them on their own and heading straight for the nearest spire. The spires fell easily as long as Kyle got near, but Kyle was not clearing them fast enough. [Sir, two spires left.] Sasha reported through her telepathy channel, utilizing Orisa¡¯s clones as a ry to the observation hovercraft far above. [The workers are now attacking spire 5, but are facing heavy resistance. Qatu¡¯s troops are approaching the town soon.] ¡°Get Qatu to push through the areas without spires now!¡± The remaining spire was still hard at work, sting the iing mortar rounds out of the air, the Violet Demons now manually controlling the spire to handle the special fragmentation rounds meant to deplete the point defence engraving. Need to be faster! Kyle recalled the new albeit infant method that he had learnt during the fight with the mage, channeling the arcia energy to his feet and giving him even more impulse. He began to leap instead of running, the air rushing through the seams of the armour as he flew over dozens of Violet Demon soldiers,nding right next to another spire. ¡°What the hell? How did he jump that far?!¡± A Demon eximed. ¡°Shut up and kill him!¡± ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t blow up the spire!¡± The confusion gave Kyle enough time to m his warhammer into the base of the spire once more, the follow up impact cracking the spire from within and causing its foundation to crumble in a cloud of smoke. In the midst of the chaos, Kyle was like a hunter, killing wantonly through the dust kicked up by the copsed spire. ¡°Final spire down.¡± [Hovercraft resuming attack run.] The artillery barrage of the town ensued again, this time with full strength. The information asymmetry allowed Kyle free reign in the town, able to pinpoint target groups of soldiers before annihting them himself, earning tons of EXP in exchange. Soon, Qatu¡¯s troops began to push into the town as well, spreading out across the buildings and fighting from door to door, clearing out each and every single nook and cranny. It was a tedious effort and took the better part of three hours before they managed to flush out all of the Violet Demons. Not every Demon was killed, with more than eight-tenths of them still alive and retreating down the main path back to Raktor, led by Aiden. Aiden had immediately begun to n for a retreat the moment Kyle appeared, making Kyle wonder if it was all a ploy of sorts. Kyle inspected the remaining equipment left behind the Culdao Peaks town. Weird, there isn¡¯t enough here to sustain a siege in the first ce. [Sir, all the other brigades are retreating as well! We won!] Sasha exuberantly rejoiced, but Kyle was of a different mind. This was far too easy ¨C there¡¯s no way Sebastian wouldunch an attack without any gains. ¡°Sasha, reorganize the troops and prepare to ship off to Raktor. This might have been a feint attack to draw our attention away while they attempt to take down the Baron.¡± [Yes, sir.] Kyle was starting to think that this was also a probing attack to determine the actual capabilities of his troops, but before he could order his troops to reorganize and begin their counterattack at the first goblin den, a deafening rumble unlike any explosion Kyle had heard in his new life thus far erupted from deep underground. He nced towards the mountain where the first goblin den was, seeing the mountain and trees visibly shake as the ground trembled, cracking apart in some ces as a devastating avnche began to rumble, the signs of a massive underground explosion. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± [We lost contact with the Orisa clone sent with the first batch of reinforcement!] ¡°Find out what happened, now!¡± Kyle quickly ordered for the armoured hovercraft to pick him up, flying straight for the first goblin den. Instead of seeing a reinforced walled outpost with heavy defenses, it waspletely copsed in, covered in a triggeredndslide with the interior tunnels filled to the brim. Kyle soon knew what was happening, realizing the objective of the entire attack. They blew up a third of the damn tunnelwork! Chapter 165: Detector ¡°How long will it take to drill our way back?¡± Kyle asked Raksha the next day, as hundreds of goblins began digging furiously, trying to find any survivors in the copse. ¡°It is loose rock, so maybe a month or so.¡± Raksha sighed at the sorry state of the tunnelwork. He had been working in the iron and coal mines in the goblin kingdom since his original hire, paid for by Kyle. A month is too long. Kyle feared that the war in Raktor woulde to a conclusion before he even had a chance to intervene. As of now, Kyle¡¯s troops were now all protecting the entirety of the Culdao Peaks, forming a standoff between thebined troops of the Violet Demons and the Ardent Cretins who were attempted to blockade them. Both sides dug in deep, preparing defense fortifications on opposing sides. The edge of the Culdao Peaks was turned into a warzone, albeit one that was in a stalemate. The Cretins and Demons definitely had enough men to warrant a direct push, but Kyle¡¯s upgraded machine guns and air support avability made any possible victory pyrrhic at best. On Kyle¡¯s side, he simply did not have enough men and goblins to push, especially when pushing up across the open ins just outside of Raktor. The goblins were trained to fight in urban and forest environments ¨C open insbat would be a meat grinder that Kyle simply could not afford. Much to Kyle¡¯s dismay, the first goblin den¡¯s explosion was not the only one ¨C the tunnelwork had beenpletely exposed, leading to the Cretins digging down inbetween the Culdao Peaks and Raktor and intercepting the tunnelworks. Kyle grimaced as he watched the mashed up meat and crushed bone fragments lodged in between the boulders as goblins continued to dig hard, none of the bodies recognizable. He knew that Merissa and Gk was still fighting here when the explosion was here, though he had long lost hope that they were still alive after 24 hours of searching. The tunnelwork being copsed in meant that supplies would no longer flow freely into Raktor. Sure, the Seven Snakes had enough supplies tost a while, but it meant that the major gangs now held the upper hand. If Namor is already working with the major gangs, their supply is basically guaranteed¡­ The whole purpose of Kyle performing the aerial observations was to map out and strike Cretin supply lines, but he did not fully anticipate a direct assault, and from another major gang no less. The odds were now fully stacked against him. But even then, Kyle remained calm, having been ced in worse situations before. He returned back to the observation center, examining the results over thest two days. Orisa¡¯s clones had been transported into Raktor, forming a permanent stablemunication line between the Seven Snakes and the goblin kingdom in the Culdao Peaks. ¡°The tunnelwork copsing is not the end of the world ¨C we can still ferry goods and supplies directly to the hypermall using the hovercraft.¡± Keith pointed out. ¡°The amount of goods per day will be far less than the tunnelwork, of course, but it would still help alleviate the blockade. We can see here from the aerial observations that the city is not yet filled to the brim with anti-air weapons just yet: we will be able to sneak things in, or out.¡± ¡°That would mean using the observation hovercraft, or re-fitting the armoured hovercraft back to a stealth one.¡± Adrian replied. ¡°That¡¯s easy, it¡¯s just fitting the panels back on. More importantly, close to half of our mechanical arcia regenerators were taken out in that explosion. It would no longer be trivial to refuel our arcite and arcia crystal consumptions at this current pace.¡± Gordon exined. ¡°What¡¯s even worse is if the hovercraft runs into an ident, we¡¯ll only be left with one. We simply need more if we really want to establish air superiority.¡± ¡°We can make more, but that is going to take a week.¡± Kyle knew how to build the hovercraft, and it would be simple to have the much more established factory in Culdao Peaks with far more workers than Desham to push out three hovercrafts in a single week. The issue was that Kyle did not bring over enough arcia crystals, nor could he afford to as well. As far as Kyle knew, the dungeon was the only source of arcia crystals that he has found. Right now, he had no known method of discovering or even figuring out where arcia deposits were. Arcia energy and its maniption is our main limiting factor. He knew that the way to improve one¡¯s strength when manpower was limited, was to increase the quality of the soldiers themselves. The evolution of goblin to hobgoblin was one, but that was simply an increase in strength, not an increase in arcia energy maniption, which was the main element that victory in battle was determined. Kyle was no stranger to arcia training chambers, but he needed onerge and dense enough to elerate the growth of his soldiers to form elite squads. This way, his shocktroopers would be able to shove aside anything the major gangs could throw at them. Furthermore, it would allow him to deploy small squad operations to take out the supply chain. With his now dominant air superiority, if he could get enough hovercrafts up and running along with elite strike teams within two weeks, he would able to immediately start harassing logistical lines from the get-go. One solution would be to simply bring over ADCON soldiers, but they were currently upied fighting Count Leon forces¡¯ directly. If Kyle allowed Count Leon to return, he could forget about taking over Raktor himself. The next would be to improve his weapon technology to be even more devastating. However, that would also imply that he already had the raw materials all avable. Unfortunately, many of the technological weapons such as sma guns, prism annihtors and shields required specific exotics to be found ¨C none of which was here in the Culdao Peaks as far as he knew. Another would be to simply make himself stronger than ever ¨C and he knew just exactly how to do it. ¡°Reese, Gordon, get on the hovercrafts now. I want three functional hovercrafts within a week ¨C you already have a reference and the design blueprints. I know you don¡¯t have the requisite machines to mass produce it, but just make them by hand for now. Form a production line using goblins if you have to.¡± ¡°Raksha, keep digging out the tunnel. Any possible shortcuts around, take it immediately.¡± ¡°Adrian, continue observations. Cycle between the warfront and their supply train. I want to see where all their resources are flowing from first as well. Let me know when the informants have a clearer picture on Kregol. We need allies as soon as possible.¡± ¡°Keith, manage the supplies. If the mall or the Baron asks for it, highest priority, but do not neglect our own troops. Any slipup on either warfront will mean disaster for us.¡± ¡°Sasha, select the best two hundred soldiers. One-on-onebat trials. Requirements is high arcia energy. Have them fire the machine gun non-stop at the firing range.¡± ¡°Damian, Niko, Guang Hwa ¨C as soon as the Cretins increase their aggression, let me know immediately.¡± Orisa¡¯s clone next to him nodded in response. ¡°They have agreed to do so.¡± With the meeting adjourned and everyone moving off to their various tasks, Kyle headed back to the Oracle Chambers, where Mari was still sleeping peacefully, arcia energy running freely through her veins. ¡°Orisa, updates.¡± Kyle spoke into the emptyb, causing lights along the walkway and monitors ahead to flicker on, the electronics whirring into life. [Sir, body scan is iplete ¨C the unique exotic known as ¡®arcite¡¯ is interfering with most of the micrometer-level scanning. Preliminary data results from samples show that Mari is only 60% human.] The data was nothing new. Immediately at first nce, Kyle could already tell that the girl was not a standard human - that much was obvious with her ability to manipte arcia energy to such an extent. Furthermore, Kyle himself knew that when he chose his Arcian race, he would no longer be human as well. The interference of arcite was not special as well. Kyle himself had tried to scan his own body to find where the System was located, but to no avail. Arcia energy seemed to interfere with anything above the ultraviolet range in the electromaic spectrum, attenuation increasing with density. ¡°Tell me at least something new you have learnt.¡± [I have observed Mari¡¯s inclination to freely absorb arcia energy, and notice that her body instantly reacts the moment shees into contact with high density arcia energy sources.] ¡°rify.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t understand. My human body reacts to high radioactive sources as well ¨C by disintegrating its molecr bonds. [A unique biological reaction on the surface of her skin allows her to determine if an arcia energy source is within range, even if the arcia energy is ambient.] Kyle decided to do an experiment, bringing out one of his intermediate Arcia Crystals that had just been recharged, while attuning his own eyes to watch the flow of arcia energy. He did not see anything special, yet he could tell Mari¡¯s body was already reacting to the presence of the crystal. Weird. The arcia crystals give off so little energy that it is hardly detectable by my own senses even when I am the one holding it, but yet Mari can sense it through her stasis liquid and her pod¡­ Kyle suddenly reached an epiphany, realizing Mari held one of the keys to solving his current issue. ¡°Orisa, you must have a scan of Mari¡¯s surface skin at least in detail?¡± [Affirmative. Disying now.] Mari¡¯s skin was amplified to the nano-meter scale, allowing Kyle to see clearly the differences inyout of her skin cells. It¡¯s like someone modeled her to be a circuit board rather than a normal human. The format of the cells was vastly different, each individual cell clearly thriving off arcia energy instead of biological digestion and transfer of oxygen. Kyle had seen such a gic process before ¨C it was how the Voidwalkers even got their name, sustaining themselves purely through radiation and particle energy collected from stars and ambient radioactive sources. The concept was not too different, but Kyle focused more on theyout. ¡°Zoom out. Zoom out. Wait, no, enhance. Magnify Sector 46. Zoom out a third. Focus.¡± Kyle moved the hologram around, trying to learn as much as he could. He did not think he could crack the code on how to make an arcia transcendent right off the bat, especially when so many before him has failed. Instead, he was looking for something specific. His eyes focused as he traced a single row of cells that seemingly were interconnected, tracing along the skin on the micrometer level before performing a angled turn. ¡°Orisa, match all cell patterns like this one in the vicinity. Mark them yellow.¡± A series of yellow lines began to ovey the current magnified sector of skin, forming an engraving of sorts. Kyle immediately copied down the engraving onto a nk piece of paper, before ordering Orisa to save this to her database. The Oracle Chambers did not have any metal manufacturing capabilities, forcing Kyle to head over to the factory to utilize an empty workbench. The sounds of nging metal as hobgoblins and humans alike rushed to manufacture the hovercraft elerated. Kyle forced the sounds out of his mind,pletely focused on his new project now. He began to etch a prototype of the engraving onto a basic piece of metal, albeit an erged version of Mari¡¯s skin cells. Immediately as hepleted it, the engraving was automatically activated with no one interfering nor powering it, a dim glow present. Kyle ced the crystal next to it, causing the glow to be brighter as he brought it nearer. The implications of such an engraving was already known to Kyle. Wireless arcia energy. So far, all engravings had to be connected directly to a source of arcia energy, like a humanoid, machine or fuel generator. Kyle theorized that the dim glow he was receiving was a result of the ambient arcia energy present in the air around him, much like how a radio transmitter would receive cosmic background radiation when tuning for stations. However, Kyle was not too focused on making wireless power ¨C he wanted to use the engraving to find arcia crystals. As of now, the precision of the engraving was far too crude: luminosity was a terrible measurement scale, especially for the untrained mine workers who would eventually have to use such a contraption. The goal is to make an arcia crystal detector, one precise and able to detect minute fluctuations along with triangting it. Kyle carved out another prototype, this time slightly smaller. Right now, he was simply grasping in the dark, his Arcia Engraver title not helping at all nor giving him any hints. The smaller size did nothing to improve the luminous scale of the engraving. The increase in luminuousity was not linear at all, causing a big headache for Kyle as he leaned on the workbench, looking around the workshop for inspiration. It has only been eight hours since the meeting, but Reese and Gordon already had the frame for the first hovercraft done, now waiting to be welded together. The vibration arcia saws and grinders easily cut through the processed steel tes, before they were warped through a roller that gave them a sleek curved shape. Looking at the vibration saws, Kyle got yet another inspiration, quickly turning and drawing two additional traces in the engraving. Mari can sense the crystal using this engraving because of the resulting heat and senses ¨C her nerves are especially attuned to the result of this engraving. However, I now have it on metal, so I need to connect it to a better sensor that can tap into the arcia current flowing through the engraving. This was when he hit another roadblock. How the hell do I know the amount of arcia energy currently used in an engraving? Arcia fuel generators had indicators, but they were mostly used for how much fuel was remaining, not an indication of the consumption of the engraving at that instant in time. He decided to do a quick experiment, attaching a miniaturized version of a wagon shaft to the output of Mari¡¯s engraving, allowing the shaft to turn freely. With the crystal extremely close, the shaft turned slowly but gradually, providing a constant torque motion. Good, I can get the energy out. Kyle attached a metal arm to the side of the shaft, making it push against a metal block mounted on a spring. He then did the same distance experiment, bringing the crystal closer and further, noting thepression on the spring. The force exerted on the spring and the movement of the block should then tell me exactly how much energy had been converted from the ambient crystal. Repeating the experiment multiple times, Kyle eventually established a proper non-linear scale for the detection of the crystal, tuning the strength of the spring to allow for even the slightest amount of arcia energy. He then replicated the engravings,yering all of them ontop of one another in separate tes and linking them to the same shaft. With this, the stacked engravings amplified the torque the shaft experienced, which in turn increased the reading even further. Kyle even had one of Orisa¡¯s spare clones hold the arcia crystal further and further away, until the entire setup was tuned to be able to detect the crystal from more than a kilometer away, even with other disturbances. Finally, Kyle duplicated the setup before integrating all of it into a cube-like sensor the size of a mini-fridge, with analog meter readings denoting which direction had the strongest reading. Arcia Crystal detectorplete. No title upgrades? Kyle was slightly disappointed, expecting a reward for his efforts. Before he knew it, it had already been an entire day since the meeting, and the factory was already done with the hovercraft assembly, the stealth engraving tes etched using Kyle¡¯s design and copying the existing hovercraft, making the process extremely fast. ¡°Sir, the first hovercraft is ready for inspecti-.¡± Reese approached as Kyle was just touching up the sensor, though he was bbergasted by the weird device that Kyle had just built. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± ¡°Our next money maker. Let¡¯s get the first brand new hovercraft ready.¡± M.G.Driver Merry Christmas everyone, hope you all enjoyed your holidays. Been working on Book 2 quietly, and its looking to be a near overhaul. Pacing will be much more measured, less hectic, with new characters and some changes (like overpowered hovercraft with no inciting incident - Kyle not first to invent it.) We''re looking at approximately 60 new chapters of content between Chapter 60 and start of Versian-Raktor War. A shoutout to an author who''s been supporting me for a while now "As the end of her journey loomed and a pleasant future wasid out before her, Cal was left with but one question to grapple with: Should she should ept the generous offer from the Deities and be one of their Champions? She hoped that she''d find answers that would help her make that decision on the final leg of her journey around the world, where she''d fulfill one of her long-time dreams to see the world beyond the isles where she was born. Whatever the result, she knew that the choice she made would be her own, made without regrets. For all she knew, an ending to one story might well just be the prelude to another..." Four books in the series, and an absolute banger. Check it out! The first book in the Series is Blood Demons Retirement: To See A Beautiful World Also, as a side treat, the cover for Book 1 is almost done, discord members would have gotten to see it earlier in the #art channel. Thanks to all who stuck through so far, greater things toe in 2024. Chapter 166: Combination The hovercraft hovered slightly over the ground, the air draft buffeting the workers in the clearing a safe distance away from the factory. They were now testing the flight of the hovercraft, but Kyle added on something new to the checklist. As the pilot hovered in midair, Kyle cracked open his Arcia Detector, tweaking the springs with spares that he had brought, trying to tailor the sensor to treat the hovercraft¡¯s own arcia energy flow as background noise. However, the hovercraft was far too overpowering, causing Kyle¡¯s hopes to be dashed. He had intended to ce the detector on the belly of the hovercraft, before doing a low pass over the area to find any arcia crystals deposit. The hovercraft would require a farrger detector than what I have now, something much more powerful that can pierce through the ground. Kyle however decided not to chase that rabbit hole now. He instead turned his focus back to the checkout of the hovercraft, having the pilot performbat turns, as well as continuously power cycle the stealth engravings. After a two hour check, the hovercraft was cleared forunch, making Reese and Gordon slightly happy. They had done it in just a single day, though there was not much brain power involved especially when they already had done it before once. ¡°Get ready for the next hovercraft ¨C we¡¯re going to do it faster!¡± Gordon ordered the workers, with him arranging them into three shifts across the day, ensuring the factory was always working 24/7. More and more goblins joined the factory as extra helping hands, trained by their more experienced seniors and human managers to build faster. Kyle brought the detector to the underground, travelling along what was left of the tunnelworks. Along the way, Kyle had already noticed that there were a few clear readings within the tunnelwork itself, him taking note of the locations before returning back to base and gathering a mining team. He brought them to the closest location, one that already had an existing underground tunnelwork, carved out by eroding underground rivers. He held up the detector to the walls as the rushing sound of water enveloped the entire cavern, the reading stronger than ever. Looks like it¡¯s just right beyond this wall. They got to work immediately, all the goblins experienced over the past month in digging out new deposits, immediately deploying structures and hacking away at the walls while Kyle continuously read the detector, hoping it was not a false reading. Within a short three hours, the first crystal was found, the goblins marvelling at the beauty of the crystals. Kyle took it in his hands, examining the item. Kyle¡¯s heart sank slightly, knowing the energy storage capability of the crystal was not as good as the ones found in the Keru Forest dungeon. There might be a way to upgrade the crystals, but that¡¯s a job forter. Right now, these crystals can already assist enough. Despite having excavated the one arcia crystal, the detector reading was still going strong, indicating that there was arge deposit here. Another five crystals turned up, all of which were basic quality. Kyle handed the detector to the mining team, heading back to the factory to test the energy storage capability of the basic arcia crystal with Reese and Gordon. They pumped it to the brim with an arcia regenerator before having it turn a shaft without restrictions, the energy slowly draining out. They calcted the time it took, having already measured the intermediate and advanced storage capabilities of the crystals Kyle brought from Keru. ¡°Right now, it can only hold a hundredth of what an intermediate arcia crystal can.¡± Reesemented. ¡°Even an arcia fuel pack would be better than it.¡± Despite the disappointing results, Kyle knew the arcia crystals were morepact and easier to wield inbatpared to the fuel pack, whose tubes were toorge of a weakness. Good enough for the strike team. With the crystals now in hand, Kyle turned his attention to thebat trials Sasha was running. A mix of humans and goblins had signed up, eager to be the best of the best. The trials were gruelling, with Sasha putting all of them through their paces. Already the cutoff requirement of firing an arcia machine gun non-stop for twenty seconds had eliminated many of the applicants, resulting in only three hundred surviving out of the thousand that applied. Many of those who cleared the task had been training with Sasha from day one before they had even subjugated the goblin kingdom, bearing a wealth ofbat experience. Kyle nodded at the promisingbat skills of the applicants as he watched from above, peering down at a cavern where fivebatants were fighting tooth and nail with captured prisoners from the Cretins and Demons, the prisoners promised freedom if they killed all fivebatants. However, none of the prisoners ever defeated the applicants, with all three hundred making it out, holding no qualms about ending the prisoners¡¯ lives. Such a use of prisoners of war would be a warcrime under the Council, but Kyle was hardly one to follow suchws anyway. Kyle began to see glimpses of a perfected strike force, honed through the months of continuous skirmishes in the Culdao Peaks. If only I couldbine this with the best of ADCON, they would truly be an elite force to be reckoned with. Soon, the final task was at hand ¨C a one-on-one duel with Sasha. It was here that nearly half of the applicants were cleanly knocked out, Sasha aplete master at utilizing her tattoos to her advantage, along with her monstrous self-regeneration. It caused Kyle to think about his previous tattooing experiment, one where he had yet to apply onto himself. The sess rate was abysmal at that time ¨C does that mean Sasha is more attuned to be a mage than I thought? His thoughts also wandered to Damian, who had also survived the tattoo procedure out of sheer will and determination. Kyle did not watch the duels any longer, satisfied in Sasha¡¯s ability to deliver only the best of the best. ¡°Sasha, once you have the final selection, split them into squads of five and have them runbat duels against each other, non-stop until I¡¯m ready.¡± [Yes, sir.] Kyle could feel the ning together ¨C his troops strength was increasing, his arcia crystals production was stable and the informants were still gathering information in Kregol. Damian and Niko were still holding on well, though they were slowly losing ground day-by-day through the regr reports. The Cretins and Demons have already tried to break through the new defensive line of the Culdao Peaks again, with sappers attempting to copse the defensive formations of Kyle¡¯s troops. However, the defensive line still held strong, though the amount of ammunition and energy expended was staggering. With everything stable for the meantime, Kyle still had one thing left to do. I¡¯m not strong enough. As powerful as Kyle seemed to themon individual, he was still weak inparison to many of the big yers out there. He knew that Ares, the leader of the Ardent Cretins, was still a major threat that had yet to fully show his strength inbat. Kyle did not have any gauge on exactly how strong Ares was, but he knew their fight would be inevitable. Kyle did not have anyone save for Sasha who could potentially put up a fight against Ares. The clearest path of improvement for him was improving his exosuit. The repaired Version 0 exosuitid at the back of the factory now, dismantled into its various pieces along with its Advanced Arcia Crystal. Kyle could tell that his exosuit was a hodgepodge of engravings, made at a time where he needed every engraving he could get his hands on. Harden, Point Defence, Arctech Radio Communication were all done in multipleyers of armour, but the engravings themselves were not the best use of the Advanced Arcia Crystal, which Kyle had yet to charge even once. I need to find an engraving that can utilize the full power of the Advanced Arcia Crystal, else the Crystal could be considered overkill. Kyle went through all of the various engravings he could think about ever since he reincarnated. He began toy out the skills that were simr in nature. The first that came to mind was Thunder de¡¯s elerate and Aero Shoes¡¯ Sprint. Both of them increased the movement speed, but Kyle wondered if they were rted in anyway. Arcia energy converted directly into kic energy ¨C the engravings must be rted. Five hours of studying the engravings allowed Kyle to finally see the simrities, noticing the clear difference in quality. He oveyed the engravings on pieces of paper and held them up to an arctechmp, allowing him to see the unique patterns in the engraving. If I am not wrong, the engravings can bebined. Kyle had neverbined engravings before, usually onlyyering them ontop of one another. This would be an ambitious project, but something told him that this was how he could push his equipment to the next stage. He even drew out the engravings used for his rifle, noting that the eleration engravings on the barrel bore simrities as well to the other two. There is a pattern here! As soon as he began to etch a prototypebination onto the metal, the Arcia Engraver title kicked in, his mind filling in the nks and his hand guided almost automatically. It was as though he had read thirty research papers, fully ingesting andprehending it. What was originally murky in his thoughts suddenly became as clear as day. The first prototype engraving waspleted, Kyle amazed at what he even managed to create as he held the piece of metal up in his hands. Kyle ced his hands onto the prototype piece, channeling his arcia energy into it to activate the skill. How strong is this burs- Before Kyle could even finish thinking, the te sted off the workbench, sailing up high into the air and breaking through the ceiling of the factory. As the curious factory workers looked up at the gaping hole in the ceiling, Kyle was already grinning to himself. The applications of thisbination arcia engraving was numerous and the title he had received was even better than ever. Keeping the momentum going, he worked onbining the other engravings, trying to find any other simrities. If only I knew how to duplicate the engravings of my ss skill¡­ Kyle did not linger too long on that, focusing on the others. The next he had in mind was his warhammer¡¯s Pulverizer effect. Repeating the same process bybining the Red Lion¡¯s hammer Dyed Assault from Lionel and Reinforcement from Riker¡¯s metal pipe, he found the simrity again, distilling down the essence of how arcia energy was creating the impact follow-up. Doing up the prototype again over the next two hours, the time taken to study far less thanks to his new title, he produced yet another engraving, this time one he dubbed a bunker buster. Kyle quickly ced the te on the ground, channeling the skill to test, though this time he tested outside the factory to not disturb the workers. Even as Kyle could feel the arcia energy leaving his body directly, he did not see any results, making him wonder if the System¡¯s description was wrong. Weird, the description is usually never wrong. However, as soon as Kyle turned to leave and fix the prototype, the ground rumbled slightly before bursting outwards, a crack developing across the floor as a pir of dirt and soil sted high, along with the residual of arcia energy. The dirt showered Kyle, coating him all over, but he ignored it and began working on his new weapon,bining everything he knew about arctech engravings into one single unique powerhouse. Once I¡¯m done, this- this will be the strongest weapon I have yet! Chapter 167: Detonation There was still one morebination left to do - a defensive one. Kyleid out all thebinations rted to defense ¨C Pain Nullification, Harden, Heal and Point Defense. Point Defense was not really rted to the other two, but Kyle wanted to see if there was a way to utilize the concept into his newbination engraving. However, as Kyle continued to dive deeper into deconstructing the point defense engraving, he soon came to realise that the point defence engraving itself was abination as well. Point defense automatically fires at anything flying in at fast speed, tailored by the engraving itself. But how does it measure the speed of an iing pellet? Kyle did not know enough to figure out, noting that Point Defense could hardly be integrated into the other two engravings. However, the concept could be used. Kyle also recalled Nox¡¯s armour who could absorb kic energy into arcia energy before releasing it in a burst, though he did not have the time to fullyprehend it. The armour only absorbed at a specific point rather than everything around, otherwise the armour would have absorbed even gusts of winding in. Kyle yed around a bit with the Point Defense engraving, trying to eke out a basic version of the module that allows the point defense systems to track iing pellets. Soon, a crude copy of the extracted module was written onto a piece of paper, before being etched onto another prototype te. While the engraving itself was obviouslyckluster, Kyle could already see the potential applications. He repeated the same process as he did for the otherbinations, eventuallying up with a new engraving, though it took him even longer this time. The consumption of the engraving was monstrous, but Kyle was not flustered at all, knowing the Advanced Arcia Crystal would be able to handle all of this consumption and even more. With thisbinationpleted, Kyle now had the trinity of engravings ¨C movement, impact and defense, all of them uniquely created by himself. However, he still knew that there were deficiencies in the engraving, such as their consumption cost as well cooldown for the movement. If it were not for the crystal, this master engravings could be considered close to useless for the purpose of building his exosuit. Kyle began his Version 1 exosuit in earnest, utilizing everything he had learned over the past months to make the best arctech armour suit he could. He even took inspiration from the rusted exosuits left in the Oracle Chamber, extracting any form of Sturore that he could find within. With the new engravings, he did not have toyer as much, save for the point defense engravings that he failed to improve. Movement engravings were ced at every joint to allow forplete axial freedom, while impact engravings were ced on the fist, feet, knees and elbows, allowing Kyle to strike with his bare hands as needed. The new exosuit was even sleeker than before, discarding the crude steel that he previously had to work with in Desham. With better quality metal mixed with the remanent exosuit¡¯s Sturore along with extracting it from Version 0, Version 1¡¯s exosuit was far lighter and manuverable, while boasting the same amount of defence as long as the Advanced Arcia Crystal was functional. Kyle of course did not rely solely on the Arcia Crystals, cing an additional four smaller slots for basic arcia crystals in the event of failure, providing a small and brief auxiliary backup energy system. Furthermore, Kyle himself had some MP as well, though he would not be able to sustain the enormous consumption rates for long. The exosuit took the better part of two days, with consistent reports from his subordinates pouring in. The intensity of the skirmishes in Raktor was picking up again once more, as the Cretins and Demons regrouped after the battle of Culdao Peak. Kyle knew a devastating strike was imminent, as he would expect Sebastian to capitalize on the loss of the tunnelwork to take out the Seven Snakes and Baron Cain once and for all, capturing the whole of the South Sector. He did not know when this strike would be, but he would not sit by idly and let it happen. Orisa¡¯s clone in Raktor would immediately let us know of any attack, and I can reach in a moment¡¯s notice. Until then, Kyle did everything in his power to further polish his exosuit to the best of his ability, even bringing Reese and Gordon in to boost its efficiency further. While Kyle had a better grasp on advanced Gctic Era technology, the two of them still retain clear talent for arctech engineering, spotting out problems and issues that Kyle had missed in the production phase. Kyle let the two of them perform the finishing touches to the exosuit, while he focused on making his new weapon that he believed could be the strongest. The key was to be unstoppable, and while his Version 1 exosuit afforded him that speed and defence, he needed something that could annihte even the strongest armoured enemies in a single blow both from afar and up close. I¡¯ll leave the massacring for the machine guns. Before he could implement his idea, Kyle headed back down into the mining tunnels to check on the result of the detector. There were now thousands of crystals dug up, apparently forming enmasse deep under the mountains, though all of them were of basic quality, with not even an intermediate one in sight. While theck of higher quality crystals meant that they were limited in hovercraft and armour capabilities, the abundance of arcia crystals gave Kyle the confidence needed to implement his idea, working quickly. A few prototype for weapons were juggled about, but Kyle needed something that could excel in both melee and rangedbat. The result was surprisingly mediocre ¨C five heavy spears embedded with up to ten basic arcia crystals along its shaft and its head, looking more like a harpoon than a normal spear. However, Kyle was more than satisfied with the result, especially a sixth spear in which his title¡¯s effect had triggered, improving the quality tremendously. Kyle headed over to the firing range, hefting one of the spears up before arming it, the engravings on the spear activated. The moment he flung it towards one of the trees, the spear elerated, pushed forwards by the burst skill that triggered, consuming the arcia energy within the shaft. The head of the spear pierced into the tree, lodging its head in before it sted open in a furious storm of blue arcia mes, the arcia crystals exploding in a chain reaction. Reese and Gordon ran out of the factory to see the resulting chaos, as the explosion engulfed the nearby trees in a raging ball of fire. ¡°What the hell?!¡± Reese eximed as a gust of wind buffeted them from afar, the explosion¡¯s sound echoing through the valley. Kyle decided not to throw another one. As abundant as the arcia crystals were, it still took time and effort to find them as well as charge them. Saving them in storage, Kyle held the upgraded spear in his hand, the one that had received the bonus effect from the title. It was his first Master quality equipment, and the feeling was impable. Kyle had seen plenty of well machined and handcrafted weapons, both traditional and modern during his time as a Crime Lord. He could tell this one was notcking at all in quality, slightly impressed with his own abilities. Mostly with the help of the System. However, the cost was astronomical if Kyle hit at full force, nearly taking out half of his own base arcia energy pool if he used it. It also constituted one basic arcia energy crystal entirely, which was the reason why he had embedded slots all along the spear to ount for the increased usage. Naturally, Kyle resolved to never through the Spear of Defiance like he did for the Detonation Spears ¨C this spear would be his main weapon for the uing war. Nevertheless, he decided to test it on a tree, mming it hard while activating the maximum impact force. The tree practically disintegrated from within after two seconds, the wooden splinters sting outwards in a dazzling array, the fragments cutting Kyle¡¯s skin. He quickly ejected the depleted arcia crystal from the spear, the sizzling surface melting the grass as it ttered to the floor. Five crystals in the shaft, so I got five shots. Theoretically, thanks to the abundance of arcia crystals, Kyle could strike indefinitely as much as he wanted. However, the Spear of Defiance could not work at range, being a drawback. For the purpose of the war, Kyle needed as many Detonation Spears as possible, ordering Reese and Gordon to begin mass production. At least the Detonation Spears can be used by anyone. The source of the detonation came from the arcia crystals themselves, so Kyle was effectively using them like bombs. Three days left. Kyle had spent four days in the Culdao Peaks so far, and everything has been going smoothly thus far. He moved over to inspect the squads of five that Sasha had assembled for the elite strike force, checking them over. As expected, they were mostly Sasha¡¯s direct subordinates, well-trained and experienced in battle. Fifty of them were lined up, all grim and stoic as Kyle walked through their ranks. ¡°Each of you will be directly reporting to Sasha, who will give you your targets and objectives. The overall goal is topletely cripple the supply line of the Cretins, and eventually all major gangs to achieveplete control. If we cannot capture it, destroy it.¡± Kyle exined to them. There was no reason to leave abundant resources behind for the enemy to take back again ¨C scorched earth tactics worked for a reason. ¡°Every squad has a hovercraft allocated to them ¨C we have not produced enough, so rotation is necessary. Timing is of the essence, as everyday we dawdle, the enemy will strike back even harder as they regroup. We must hit them all over the county, force them to spread out their forces before taking back the South Sector in one fell swoop when they are starving.¡± ¡°Sasha will now provide you with your first mission objectives. Two squads will be deployed first, one with me and one with Sasha. Get your gear and move out.¡± The elite force immediately kicked into action, with five squad members following Kyle from behind towards the hovercraft. His Version 1 exosuit was already waiting for him, cleaned up by Reese and Gordon. ¡°Time for a test run.¡± Chapter 168: Ravens A pellet pinged off the brick wall, marking a notch on the red y in as the ricochet nearly took out a man in hiding, causing him to instinctively flinch while he took cover under a flipped circr table, the wooden surface already riddled with holes. His partner ducked as well behind a buffet table line, cursing under his breath as he fumbled the pellets in his handgun, his hands trembling. ¡°When the fuck is the backuping?¡± The man whispered urgently to the partner. ¡°I don¡¯t fucking know! If you would just stop asking me and focus on staying alive, maybe you¡¯ll be able to see them arrive.¡± The partner shot back. When did the Ravens fall this low? The manmented as he peeked out from his cover, looking across the pub that was now filled with the whimpers of innocent diners cowering behind their chairs and the dead bodies of his fellow Ravens. Fuck! Where are the town guards I bribed for thest three years?! ¡°Step out Garreth!¡± A loud voice bellowed from the front of the restaurant, stemming from a group of mercenaries. ¡°You don¡¯t rule this town anymore!¡± ¡°Just because the Cretins are backing you doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re a big shot, cocksuckers.¡± Garreth scowled, gripping his own handgun tightly. He nced at his partner, who finally reloaded his handgun and nodded his head in response, their eyes locking. ¡°Better than your dead boys. You¡¯re losing your grip, old man! Soon, the Ravens won¡¯t even exist anymore once we¡¯re done!¡± The leader of the mercs grinned, motioning for his men to move forward. They inched forward carefully, moving from table to table and slowly surrounding the two remaining Ravens. Garreth held up three fingers, slowly closing each one of them in a countdown. Now! Both of them burst out in a furry of pellets, nailing the three closest mercenaries and tearing through their armour. The previously tense restaurant burst once again into a fierce firefight, pellets dominating the air while diners suffered wounds from ricochets, some even being killed by the fanatical shooting of both sides wildly aiming. Garreth ran from pir to pir, avoiding the iing shots while firing back his own. He aimed his handgun right at the head of the leader, about to pull the trigger when he heard a wail erupting from his partner, whose body was already now seeping blood from various new holes and crumpling to the floor. ¡°Shit!¡± Before he could react, the remaining mercs had already surrounded him, holding him at gunpoint. ¡°End of the line, Garreth. But I rather keep you alive so you can watch me takeover the rest of your dumbass Ravens.¡± Garreth was tied up to a rope attached to a wagon, humiliated by the mercs in broad daylight as his body was dragged along the gravel streets of the town, while the leader of the mercs shouted out his victory. ¡°The Ravens aren¡¯t the biggest fuckers in town now ¨C I AM! And soon, I will be the king of Kregol!¡± The sight was a shock to many of the civilians who watched behind barricaded windows, many too afraid to leave their houses now as instability reigned in the town. Everyone recognized that it was a hostile takeover, and no one dared to stand up for the Ravens either. Not against such firepower.e Once the leader was satisfied with the humiliation of Garreth, he dragged Garreth back to their safehouse, tossing him into a concrete cell, his lips kissing the dusty stone floor. His body was severely bruised all over, his skin raw and torn, bleeding. ¡°Look! The supposed district leader! Grovelling in a cell like a dog!¡± The leader taunted, earning theughter of his fellow mercenaries. ¡°You¡¯re the dog.¡± Garreth spat back. ¡°Sucking the toes of your Cretin daddy. How you like that Raktor dick, huh?¡± His insult earned him a steel capped kick to the face, gashing his forehead as his head whished back, his neck injured. ¡°And right now, you¡¯re sucking my toes. How does that make you feel?¡± The leader pulled out a pouch of rakels, waving it in front of Garreth¡¯s bruised face before tossing it in. ¡°Here. I got more than enough from the Cretins. You¡¯re going to need it. Maybe share it with your boss as well once you join him in hell. HAHAHAHA!¡± ¡°You dare - !¡± The door mmed shut onto Garreth¡¯s cell before he could defend his boss¡¯s pride. Garreth was left alone in the cell, groaning as his body ached all over, the wounds exposed and tingling as a cold air blew across them, causing his face to twitch in both anger and pain. Fucking Ardent Cretins! The Cretins were attempting to dominate the Kregol underworld as much as they could, and Garreth had long been aware of it. All of the Ravens¡¯ district leaders were. He had tried everything in his power to stop the local thugs and mercs from rising up, attempting to dominate them and prevent the Cretins from shoving their way into the pie. However, asrge as the Ravens were in Kregol, they were but small friespared to the major gangs of Raktor, especially the Ardent Cretins under Sebastian and Ares. They had subjugated every other small and medium sized gang in the county,bining them to form a loose alliance aimed at taking down the Ravens. This led to a three month long erosion of prestige, reputation and dominance. The Cretins had been working at conquering Kregol even before the Raktor war started. Loss after loss of outlying farms, viges, towns and resource deposits all culminated in a decline in respect within the district Garreth was supposed to be in charge of. Every business decision made by any owners in the area used to go through him, but slowly but surely, more and more the district became opaque to him, their loyalties obviously shifting. Now, the Ravens were but a shadow of themselves, shrinking over time to be no more than thirty thousand men across the county. They were stillrge, but the county was big, andpared to their peak of sixty thousand men, all of their former enemies wereing out of the woodwork, capitalizing on their slow death. The assassination of their leader recently did not help as well, causing the Ravens to fracture internally. Garreth could only think back to the golden era, when the Ravens could do anything and everything they wanted in Kregol. As he continued to reminiscence, he suddenly began to hear muffled inaudible voices shouting with clear agitation outside of his cell. He crawled over to the opposing wall, cing his ear against the cold concrete. ¡°Hey! Who the fuck are you! Don¡¯t you know the Cretins are protect-¡° A sickly squishing sound could be heard, the man¡¯s voice cut short before sounds of fighting and tables cracking could only be heard with intermittent grunts and gargles of blood. The fight onlysted a minute, before the door to Garreth¡¯s cell was suddenly ripped open, revealing three armored soldiers, though one wore an armour suit that was clearly distinct from the other two. All of them were coated in copious amount of bloods, the result of what looked like a ssh. Before Garreth could react, a green arcia energy surged forth from the first soldier, healing him slowly but surely. He already felt better, his bleeding stopped for the time being. ¡°You two, sweep the town with the other three. Don¡¯t let any stragglers get away ¨C kill all of them. Save the Ravens.¡± Save the Ravens¡­? He began to slowly slip away into unconsciousness, until he was pped right in the face by the first soldier. ¡°District Leader Garreth?¡± The first soldier asked. ¡°¡­w¡­who¡¯s asking?¡± Garreth weakly replied. ¡°An enemy of the Ardent Cretins.¡± Enemy? Gareth didn¡¯t recall any other enemy of the Cretins within Kregol itself. However, the hidden meaning was clear as day to Gareth, who quickly realized who the first soldier was. ¡°Tell your leader that I want a negotiation by the end of today, in this town. Got it?¡± Garreth nodded immediately, already willing to take any lifesaving chance he could get his hands on. The first soldier left quickly, leaving Garreth alone in the cell once more. Thanks to the healing, he could finally walk once more, stepping out of the cell only to see a ghastly scene in front of him. The former mercenary safehouse was now turned into a stter of meat and flesh, as though human bodies had been exploded from within. My god, what the hell happened here? The sheer power of the soldiers frightened Garreth deeply, making him rush to the nearest Raven safehouse with haste. The streets were no longer filled with customers and stall owners, all having gone into hiding to avoid the skirmishes that were breaking out all over town. As he approached the safehouse, he noticed a pile of bodiescoating the stairwell that led downwards, a small waterfall of blood trickling down to the entrance. Garreth recognized them, knowing that they were small-time thugs bought out by the Cretins as well. Is every gang in this town attacking us now? Just outside the door was a young Raven soldier, panting as he gripped a handgun tightly, his face covered in grime and sweat. ¡°Garreth! You¡¯re alive!¡± The young Raven eximed. ¡°What happened here? Did you kill all of them?¡± ¡°I wished ¨C there were two other strangers in full armour that helped me. Did you hire mercenaries?¡± Garreth didn¡¯t know what to say, but nodded his head for the time being. ¡°Let me in, I need to call the boss now!¡± The safehouse was filled with the groans of injured Ravens, with barely any medical treatment as they simplyy on the floor, pus oozing out of their wounds. Garreth strode past all of them, quickly heading for the office where an arctech radio was directly connected to the leader. The moment the call connected on the other side, Garreth spoke rapidly into the radio. ¡°Put me through to the boss, now!¡± [Sir Garreth, you know that it has not yet been determined who will inherit the mantle yet.] ¡°You and I both know who the sessor is. Put him on the line now!¡± [I¡¯m listening.] Ady¡¯s voice responded. [Speak.] Garreth exined everything that he had seen and heard, also passing on the message of the negotiation. [Who are the strangers who helped us?] ¡°I¡­ I do not know. But they have saved the Ravens in this town, while eliminating the other minor gangs. They seem to be at war with the Cretins.¡± [So, another major gang from Raktor? Were they not all united together? This could be a ploy by the Cretins to get me out for another assassination attempt.] ¡°I truly believe this is our way out. Right now we cannot hope to fight against a Cretin-backed alliance. If we can find our own allies who would support us, then we can climb back to power!¡± [My father was adamant about not sumbing to others. Ravens have their own pride, Garreth. I see you have lost yours.] ¡°Damn this pride if every men and women dies under mymand!¡± Garreth shot back. ¡°We are at a war for survival ¨C every chance and opportunity has to be snatched! I called for backup, yet none arrived.¡± [Our manpower is spread thin. You are not the only town under attack!] ¡°Then it is exactly why it is time to find allies! We cannot hold on indefinitely forever!¡± Thedy did not respond immediately, remaining silent as Garreth fumed to himself. ¡°Be a better leader ¨C think of the people under yourmand! Only with power can you afford pride!¡± [Indeed. The two doe hand in hand. Tell the strangers that I will meet them tonight at the town, but not alone.] Chapter 169: Turning Point Kyle sat with his five soldiers around a circr table within a conference room at the Raven¡¯s main safehouse, led there by Garreth. The dried blood stains on the armour gave the surviving Ravens who seen them in action an air of uncertainty, even though they far outnumbered the soldiers. Yet Garreth knew numbers would not do anything ¨C Kyle had already proven that by wiping out nearly every straggler in the town in a single day, eliminating the foes that Garreth himself had struggled to weed out over thest three months. This¡­ this is true power. What Garreth didn¡¯t know was that Kyle had a second squad led by Sasha chasing down anyone who tried to escape the town, using a hovercraft to clearly track movements and hunt them all over. Kyle even had Sasha swap out squad members to let the elite force have some more experience. [Sir, Raven convoy detected moving into town.] ¡°Got it.¡± Soon, the door opened to reveal the leader of the Ravens, a well-dresseddy in a ck suit, her boots clicking on the wooden floor as she walked confidently into the room. nked by four bodyguards, she did not look any older than twenty, but Kyle did not underestimate her, examining her closely. A clear haughty prideful demeanor, the leader took her ce at the head of the circr table. ¡°As leader of the Ravens, I thank you from the bottom of my hearts for saving my men.¡± The leader bowed sincerely, as did her bodyguards and Garreth. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to waste on small talk.¡± Kyle waved his hand dismissively, getting straight to the point. ¡°I want to form a working alliance with the Ravens to fight against the Cretins.¡± The leader did not waver, obviously already expecting this as she took her seat carefully, staring right at Kyle. ¡°With your capabilities, I hardly think that you would need us in this fight.¡± ¡°Killing a few hundred men and killing an entire major gang is different.¡± ¡°So you want cannon fodder.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be left wanting ¨C the whole of Kregol will be given to you on a sliver tter if you want it.¡± Kyle retorted. ¡°That¡¯s only as long as you survive your own war in Raktor. I heard the Seven Snakes took a fairly bad beating in the Culdao Peaks. How long can youst?¡± Kyle squinted at the insuination, though he was not particrly personally offended. This was simple business - a powery between the two of them, trying to establish who needs each other more in this alliance. It was obvious that the Ravens were not going to back down that easily. The best scenario would be to have the entire Raven gang subjugated, but it would create a whole host of other problems that Kyle could not afford to deal with. Otherwise, he would have just killed the leader right here and now, iming authority for himself. Better to have them willing work with us than against us. The leader noticed Kyle¡¯s hesitation, pouncing onto the opportunity. ¡°You need men and basic supplies, more than you currently have. The Ravens need protection and equipment to stabilize our control in Kregol and push out the Cretins. Yet, if we work separately, the Seven Snakes will die in a month¡¯s time when you¡¯re crushed by all the major gangs, while I willst longer. As strong as you are, you can¡¯t fight all five major gangs alone.¡± Despite the obvious disy of strength in the town, the leader was not afraid of Kyle killing her ¨C she knew she still had value. Smart, her predecessor must have trained her well. Intimidation Aura! The air suddenly grew heavy, the bodyguards immediately kicking into defensive mode and aiming their guns right at Kyle, who still sat quietly in his exosuit armour, not moving a single inch. The leader began to gasp for air as her heart palpitated, the intimidation aura clearly affecting her. Even the veteran Garreth who had seen his fair share of death could feel the scythe closing in on his neck, his pulse increasing sharply. ¡°Perhaps you should see it the other way.¡± Kyle replied while the leader gripped the table for support. ¡°In spite of myck of manpower, support and power, I was able to hold out against a major gang for two months without faltering. Even when a second major gang attacked me, we still held strong and even pushed them back.¡± ¡°Yet for the Ravens, in spite of your dominance, your advantage in manpower and your reputation, you have been continuously losing ground to small-time thugs and no names. You might have not been appointed leader yet, Victoria Raven. But even if you were, you may not be leader for very long.¡± Kyle stood up. ¡°Regardless of whether the Ravens work with us or not, we will be eliminating every Cretin-controlled business in Kregol. The only choice you have to make is whether it will be the Ravens taking over what¡¯s left, or the vultures all around who are simply waiting to see what rots.¡± He tossed an arctech radio onto the table, before leaving Victoria breathing sharply as she tried to catch her breath, the domineering pressure finally gone. As Kyle walked through the safehouse, he kept the intimidation aura on, frightening the surviving ravens who had all gathered in the main room shitless, some of the more inexperienced ones even pissing themselves on the spot. The moment Kyle left the safehouse, the fear suddenly lifted like a veil over the surviving Ravens, as they began to discuss among themselves. ¡°Who the fuck was that? It felt like he was going to kill all of us in an instant!¡± ¡°There¡¯s no way we can go against that kind of monster! It¡¯s like fighting a giant!¡± ¡°What did he talk about with our boss to warrant such a reaction?¡± Victoria could clearly hear themotion outside through the door left agape, before Garreth quickly closed in, everyone in the room calming down. It wasn¡¯t her first time meeting a gang from Raktor either ¨C she was there when her father had met with Ares and Sebastian in a simr negotiation. Her father had refused immediately on the spot, earning himself a bullet to the head two monthster, leaving her alone in a session war. As much as she wanted to take Kyle¡¯s offer, she knew she did not haveplete control over every single Raven. Most likely, our ranks have already been corrupted by those working for the Cretins. Both Garreth and Victoria knew there was not much of a choice to make, being eaten from both inside and outside. She immediately picked up the arctech radio, turning it on. ¡°I ept the offer. The Ravens will work with the Seven Snakes.¡± [Good.] Kyle¡¯s voice came back over the radio. [Our first order of business is to reorganize. We¡¯ll start from the rims and slowly consolidate Raven control.] ¡°I do not have enough men to begin a cleanup operation right away ¨C you must give me a week.¡± [No need. Give me a list of targets, we¡¯ll handle the rest. Just make sure you have enough bodybags.] Three dayster, in Raktor¡­. The Ardent Cretins¡¯ war-room was a flurry of action. It was here that everymand and order was processed and delivered, all under the watchful gaze of Sebastian who monitored everymunication line. ¡°Is the regroupingplete?¡± He asked one of his subordinates. ¡°Almost done, sir. We¡¯ll be ready to hit the Seven Snakes with everything within a day.¡± Sebastian nodded in response, nning to strike while the iron was hot. With the tunnelwork of the Seven Snakes now copsed, he already increased the intensity of the skirmishes, forcing the defenders to deplete their supplies before heunched a direct assault. However, a nagging feeling at the back of his head told him that it was not going to be this easy. Dealing with Kyle never was. Walking around the war-room, he headed towards his logistics department, who were all obviously in a panic. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Sir, thirty convoys has gone missing in Kregol, with no survivors found. Mines that were previously under our control as well as farms are slowly being overtaken by the Ravens once again.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t we send response teams after the takeover of the town?¡± ¡°Yes sir, but none of them have replied back. Our spies tell us that the Ravens are still in control, and everyone we had sent over had been wiped out.¡± ¡°By who?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t know as well - our spies are currently in hiding due to a purge operation.¡± ¡°What happened to the assassins we sent after Victoria?¡± ¡°There hasn¡¯t been any word from them yet, but with everything we¡¯ve been seeing so far, we are being cut off from Kregol!¡± Sebastian furrowed his brows, massaging his temples ¡°Sir, the supplies are still stable for now, and we will be able to purchase them from the other major gangs if needed.¡± The subordinate pointed out. ¡°But if we lose all ess to Kregol, our supply of both food and basic supplies will be cut in half.¡± ¡°Understood. Hand me the report.¡± Sebastian poured over the documents and collected data, a list of all the missing mercenary groups and convoys who had missed their hourly check-in over arctech radio. How are the Ravensing back in force? They should bepletely disorganized after I assassinated their leader, yet they seemed to be working in tandem. He noted in the report that his informants within the Ravens were also missing in action, causing rm bells to ring in his head. He had worked hard to establish supply lines from Kregol to Raktor to fuel the ongoing war, but now they were getting cut off, falling like dominoes one after the other. The worst part was that he waspletely in the dark as to how the attackers were overwhelming his defences. He had equipped his men with the best military equipment he could get his hands on, a mixture of Versian industrialists leftovers and Count Leon¡¯s equipment. Could it be the Violet Demons? As allied as the major gangs were, it was still a tenuous one ¨C one where everyone eyed each other like a hawk, looking for the slightest hint of weakness present in the gangs. Even though Sebastian sat at the head of a major gang with Ares, he now felt that his position was vtile at best, able to fall with a single mistake made. No, the Violet Demons aren¡¯t good enough to pull off such a rapid response. It must be the Seven Snakes. Sebastian gripped the paper tightly, nearly crumpling the edge of the report. The Seven Snakes had been a major thorn in his side ever since the war started, doggedly resisting with the help of the enforcers and Baron Cain. Originally he had let them off easily when they built the hypermall, expecting the Seven Snakes to join in revolution when the time came. It was why he allowed them to build their powerbase and economic strength, hoping they would serve as a potential ally. Naturally, he had countermeasures in ce as well, immediately whittling down the Seven Snakes to a single district and destroying their weapons factory in one fell swoop at the beginning of the war. Yet the tunnelwork proved imprable, continuously supplying the Seven Snakes and Enforcers and forcing the Cretins into a war of attrition, unable to break past the ardent defences. It was only with significant concessions that Sebastian had managed to get the Violet Demons tounch a full assault on the Culdao Peaks, yet even with the tunnelwork copsed, the Seven Snakes were still determinedly holding on. Even if I win the fight against the Seven Snakes and control the South Sector, I will be severely weakenedpared to the other major gangs. He was well aware of the East Sector brokering peace with Baron Namor, inducing more refugees in the Central District to flock there for added safety and economic opportunities. To Sebastian, the war in Raktor was not a simple ¡®us vs them¡¯ but was instead a free-for-all, where every interested party would be fighting for the top dog position. The original n of being a council of gang leaders ruling over Raktor had already been flung out of the window the moment Baron Namor came into the equation. Right now, Sebastian began to doubt the viability of the original n that the major gangs had agreed on, and whether the Ardent Cretins could find their ce in the council. Sebastian spent the next hour calcting their losses due to the skirmishes in Kregol, and the numbers only pointed to a terrible scenario in the future. Instead of being upset, Sebastian only began chuckling to himself, knowing that Kyle was only doing to him whatever Sebastian had been doing in return. You won¡¯t enjoy cornering me, Kyle. ¡°Call the troops, tell them to speed up preparations. We strike in an hour. Send Ares first.¡± Chapter 170: Love An eerie silence hung over the air in the streets of the South Sector. There was a certain feeling ¨C a tension so tight one could reach out and pluck it like a string. Even the kids who used to y among the piles of debris, mimicking fighting with their guns, were nowhere to be seen, hidden away by their parents in bomb shelters dug deep into the ground. ¡°Shhh, dear. Just let the storm pass.¡± A mother whispered to her baby, both of them covered in grime and sweat umted over the weeks:ck of ess to proper utilities and water exacerbated their already worsening situation. As they hid in the basements under the street, only the tiny pitter-patter of footsteps from afar could be heard through the walls: signs of imminent war. Wherever the soldiers went, the fighting would soon follow. Daylight soon broke into streams, piercing the murky air rift with soot and dust. The beautiful yet bleak scenery fell onto Alex¡¯s eyes as he slowly moved as quietly as he could on the street, each step measured and silent, the soles crunching against loose rubble and broken toys. They hugged the walls of the copsed apartment, keeping a sharp watch on any vantage points looking down on them. Soon, Alex reached one of the rare few standing doors, knocking gently on the door in a pattern. ¡°It¡¯s Alex. I¡¯m here for your resupply.¡± Alex whispered urgently through a gap in the door, light from within evident through the splinters. The door quickly swung open, with Alex motioning his squad to get in as he scanned the area with his rifle, covering their entry before closing the door behind them. ¡°Took you a while to get to the front.¡± A young female Seven Snakes fighter remarked as she led Alex and his squad into the main dining room. ¡°Was about to run out of pellets to shoot.¡± ¡°It was harder this time. Had a few roaming Cretin squads trying to probe past the frontline.¡± Alex shrugged while his squad mates dropped off the heavy backpacks they were carrying, filled to the brim with explosives, arctech equipment and ammunition. ¡°So I¡¯ve heard. They¡¯ve be more daring in the past week.¡± Alex merely nodded his head, understanding what she was referring to. The copse of the tunnelwork has emboldened the Ardent Cretins, resulting in far more skirmishes. Even stricter rationing has been applied, causing morale to drop significantly. Both of them knew the end wasing, but had no way of knowing how it would go. All they could do was follow their instructions and hope to Yual that everything works out. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll call the squads in now one by one. The first one will be here in fifteen minutes, I¡¯ll sign off, and you can go.¡± She left his squad to their own devices, heading upstairs. Alex agreed, taking a seat in the dpidated dining room, a husk of a former loving family. He could see where the bombs and fighting had eroded the paint, shaking off the flimsy wallpaper. Cupboards filled with memories shattered on the floor, a picture of the family stained by water and dirt. He couldn¡¯t recall thest time he saw his house; that district had already lost to the Ardent Cretins. He nced at Ollie¡¯s panting face as his squad sat down; the fourteen-year-old kid was clearly exhausted from the long trek from the hypermall to the frontlines. ¡°Hey, get him some water. Just a cup.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Ollie waved his hand as he took a few deep breaths. ¡°Just need a breather.¡± Alex sighed, pulling out his own water sk and tossing it to Ollie. ¡°Don¡¯t waste a drop. It¡¯s hard enough getting some around here.¡± ¡°Stop acting tough in front of Ellie, bossman, it¡¯s too obvious!¡± B interjected, causing the squad tough out loud as embarrassment filled Alex¡¯s face. ¡°Shut up, idiots,¡± Alex murmured as he nced around, seeing if Ellie had returned from upstairs. A metal-wrenching sound suddenly erupted from the kitchen next to the dining room, almost causing the squad to whip out their weapons. Alex rxed the moment he saw that it was the hobgoblin who was attempting to work the tap. ¡°Roca, stop destroying the house!¡± Ollie groaned,ining out loud. ¡°If you want water, there¡¯s a working pipe up here!¡± Ellie¡¯s voice wafted down from above, with the squad members all turned to immediately look at Alex. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alex squinted his eyes. Why are they acting so weirdly? ¡°Idiot, this is your chance! Show off your charm!¡± B nudged Alex with his elbow, his brows raised in an obvious hint. ¡°Seriously? We¡¯re at war now?¡± ¡°And we will be for the next few fucking months at this rate ¨C it¡¯s now or never!¡± Ollie followed up, nodding his head vigorously. ¡°Weren¡¯t you dehydrated just now?¡± ¡°Watching my boss squirm is a far better form of hydration. Now go up before she starts to wonder!¡± Alex groaned as he got up from his seat, irritated by the obvious shit-eating grins of his squad. Even the hobgoblin had the widest smile on his face, one Alex had not seen before. ¡°Fine, fine.¡± ¡°While you¡¯re at it, flex your muscles!¡± Ollie joked even more. Alex carefully stepped up the stairs, avoiding the broken wooden panels before reaching the next floor where Ellie was in a room, handling the radiomunications. Consistent audible chatter could be heard across the various channels while Ellie took note of every single one, even those ovepping as she jotted down quick notes in short form. [District 27 small skirmish. Requesting backup.] [Frontline Section E low on ammo. Requesting resupply.] [Spotted a warmachine in use by the Cretins ¨C moving down Monto Road.] ¡°Not looking too good for us,¡± Alex remarked as he looked at a map hung up on the wall, marked by Ellie, who was listening to the consistent reports. She served as a frontline radio coordinator for the various squads now at the frontline, fighting tooth and nail on a daily basis against the Cretins while shoring up defences, entrenching themselves. ¡°Yea, it isn¡¯t. At the rate we¡¯re going, we¡¯re going to lose everything we¡¯ve gained in thest month. Theck of supplies certainly doesn¡¯t help. However, I heard rumours that we secured more supplies from Kregol, and they will be arriving soon if we can hold out long enough.¡± Ellie turned, her short blonde hair trailing in the air as she turned to face Alex. Despite the grime and soot on her face, Alex was still enamoured by her beauty, evident even through the unttering uniform. Her visage and smile reminded Alex of a time long past when he still had a happy life with his wife. ¡°Alex? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°¡­ uhm, sorry, I was thinking about the blockade just out of Raktor. The Culdao Peaks ispletely cut off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the boss will find a way to route the goods in. We¡¯re a gang, remember?¡± Ellie chuckled slightly, with Alex instinctively smiling in response. ¡°Yea¡­ yea. You¡¯re really good at this.¡± Alex murmured embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his head. ¡°I spent a lot of time listening to customerints back then. Finally, could put it to use now, I guess.¡± Ellie smiled, almost instantly brightening up Alex¡¯s world. ¡°Oh, right. The water! Come, let me show you.¡± Ellie got up and grabbed Alex¡¯s hand, leading him into the toilet. ¡°Behold, one of the real tourist attractions of the South Sector ¨C a working shower!¡± The sight of a working tap out this far from the mall nearly made Alex forget Ellie was still holding his hand. ¡°By Yual, how the hell did you get it to work? I thought the entire water distribution system was down?¡± ¡°Well, I guess we got lucky to find a house that was still working!¡± Ellie presented the shower again with a flourish, in a ¡®ta-da¡¯ sort of movement. ¡°Wow¡­¡± Alex murmured to himself, before he finally realised that Ellie was still holding his hand tightly, not letting go. As he gripped back firmly, a soothing, calming feeling fell over him, one he had not felt in thest two months of war. If he had the power to, he would stop time right here and now, savouring the moment. I must be out of my mind, falling in love at the front lines. An awkward silence fell between the two of them, Alex unsure of what to say. He wasn¡¯t a novice in rtionships, but right now, he felt like he was ten years younger, back to his teenage years. ¡°So¡­ is this the part where you show me your muscles?¡± Ellie teased. ¡°Fuck, you heard that?¡± Alex couldn¡¯t stop grinning as the two of them got closer to each other, more than just their hands touching each other. Before Alex could take his chance and lean in for a daring kiss, seven sharp bursts of statics erupted from the radio room loud and clear, startling the both of them out of their trance. ¡°Shit, I need to get that.¡± Ellie wore a sad smile on her face as she left Alex alone in the toilet, rushing over to the radio room with haste. Alex didn¡¯t begrudge her for that ¨C seven bursts was the indication of an emergency order frommand. He followed her over, wanting to see what had cockblocked him, but the sight of Ellie¡¯s crestfallen expression as she held the receiver to her ear quickly wiped away that thought. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°We just lost the whole of Section A.¡± If Alex had a mouthful of water, he would have spat it out inplete shock. ¡°The whole of Section A?! How the fuck is that possible? We had the most people there! What do you mean lost?¡± ¡°No one knows, we¡¯re still trying to confirm what happened. But if Section A is down¡­¡± ¡°Means we¡¯re exposed on our left nk.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have enough men to handle that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll sort it out. Got seven men below ready to go.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not equipped for it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make do.¡± Ellie red at Alex sternly. ¡°If this is some false bravado aimed at impressing me, it¡¯s not working. I much rather you alive than dead.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll all be dead if we don¡¯t fight. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be right back. Tell vin I¡¯ming.¡± ¡°You can say hi over the radio yourself.¡± Ellie tossed an arctech radio to Alex. Alex returned to his former persona, a grim-faced squad leader as he barreled down the stairs. The shit-eating grins on the squad¡¯s faces were still apparent, but the obviously somber mood of Alex shook them out of their stupor. Ollie was about to crack a joke, but decided against it, reading the atmosphere of the room. ¡°Get ready, the fight ising to us. Our left nk has beenpletely wiped out.¡± Alex ordered, picking up his gear and weapons before preparing to head out. ¡°Boss, are you serious? We¡¯re just a runner squad ¨C not a frontline!¡± Bined. ¡°Idiot, the frontline ising to us whether we like it or not. And I like to choose my battles. Move, we¡¯ll group up with vin!¡± Alex got them to take some of the ammunition they brought ¨C grenades, mines and other explosives. The squad moved out of the house, this time picking up the pace while still maintaining their formation, the rearguard hobgoblin watching their backs. Already Alex could see artillery rounds streaking across the sky, green arcia bolts intercepting them and exploding into a shower of fragments. ¡°Shit, the Cretins are really attacking for real this time!¡± Ollie gasped in shock as he clutched onto his oversized helmet, unable to avoid his eyes from the dazzling disy in the sky. The thunderous booms and roars of explosions from far away dominated the soundscape, like a raging parade all around them. They crossed broken buildings and derelict streets; corpses left unburied from weeks ago and burning wrecks of stalls damaged from the consistent shelling. Alex soonid eyes on the building where vin was supposed to be entrenched in. The sounds of gunfire and fighting could be heard, getting closer and closer by the minute. ¡°Boss, we¡¯re sitting ducks out here!¡± ¡°I know! I¡¯m on it! vin, you copy?¡± Before any reply could be heard from vin, a shell mmed right into the building, taking out nearly a quarter of it in andslide that kicked up yet another cloud of dust. The resultant shockwave and tremor caused the squad to fall to the ground, scrambling from cover as more shellsid waste to the open street. ¡°BOLA, GET THAT DEFENSE SYSTEM UP NOW!¡± Alex roared as he motioned with his hand, prompting his squad to split up along the crevices of the street, covering both sides. ¡°On it!¡± B crawled rapidly behind a fallen sign, pulling out a deployable device filled with point-defense engravings. With a grunt, he threw it out onto the street with all his might, the device exposed in the middle as it immediately began to shoot at the iing shells, forcing them to explode in midair, shattering whatever was left of the windows in the nearby shops and apartments. Alex peeped around the corner, watching as a shock trooper squad of two dozen Cretins began to advance towards them, their ck arctech armour was prominent under the clear daylight. Behind them, a warmachine moved with them, instilling Alex¡¯s squad with dread. The top of the warmachine was mounted with an anti-air turret, something that threw Alex off-guard as he had never seen such a contraption before. ¡°Boss, what now?!¡± Ollie signalled urgently across the street, panicking from the threatening visage of the four-barrelled turret scanning the sky. Alex motioned with his hands for them to move into the buildings and ambush the warmachines. The squad kicked into action, skulking through the debris and copsed buildings to get a good vantage point, each of them splitting up to reduce detection. They formed a crossfire between elevated buildings, with B arming a few grenades to throw down on the street. They waited patiently with bated breath as the shock trooper squad moved forward slowly. Almost in range¡­ almost¡­ However, the shock trooper squad suddenly stopped, before hurriedly splitting up into the buildings, one of which was exactly where Alex was waiting. Shit! Before the shock trooper could ascend the staircase towards the upper floors, Alex lobbed a grenade of his own down the stairwell, prompting a scream from the Cretin as the grenade exploded into fragments piercing the ck arctech armour, leaving the Cretin maimed and whimpering in the stairwell. ¡°There¡¯s a Snake here!¡± ¡°Get the warmachine aimed at him!¡± Alex¡¯s heart plummeted, wondering how he was going to survive. If the warmachine shoots at me¡­ Ellie¡­ He nced out of the broken windows, but instead of seeing a warmachine aimed right at him as hisst scene, the warmachine had begun to reverse instead of advancing, its anti-air turret aimed towards the sky before suddenly firing with a sound Alex could not describe. It was like a never-ending stream of pellets and destruction allbined into one, the glint of the pellets under the daylight streaking upwards to the sky. A small dot could be seen falling from the clouds, somehow shifting rapidly as it avoided the turret fire. Other anti-air turrets from other buildings in the Cretin-controlled area began to fire at the dot as well, but all of them failed to catch the dot, who was erratically moving through the sky like a fly. For a moment, Alex thought there was a problem with his eyes, causing him to rub it before he soon realized the falling object was an armoured man, armed with five spears strapped to his back. As the man fell, a single spear was retrieved before being hurled like lightning towards the Cretin-controlled buildings in the distance. The spear moved through the air faster than the turrets could track,nding right into the buildings with nothing to show for it. Huh? Alex was confused, but soon a slowly increasing rumbling sound emerged, as an entire ten-storey building copsed on itself in a terrible burst of arcia mes, the blue shining pulses enveloping the surrounding area in a ghastly destructive liquid that consumed everything it touched, searing anyone who was still alive in the impact. Before Alex could even exim out loud at the terrible sight, he noticed that the armoured man was flying right for them. ¡°Take cover! Take cover!¡± Alex urged his squad over the radio, but it was far toote as the armoured man swooped towards the warmachine in a dive. For a brief moment, Alex could swear he saw the man stop in mid-air for a moment just before he collided with the warmachine. The man floated around the warmachine in a rapid fashion, stabbing the armour of the warmachine three times before he was suddenlyunched backwards, his armoured boots sending sparks flying along the ground uponnding. Before the warmachine could turn its cannon to st the man apart, three sudden implosions wreaked havoc within the internal structure, causingrge holes to erupt from within, and the metal warped in an outward burst. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s the Seven Snakes leader! Kill him!¡± The shock troopers attempted to fire at him, but it was far toote ¨C his exosuit too fast to aim at with just the human eye. His movements were unnatural, impulses firing on all angles and axes to perform defying actions that ughtered the shock troopers in droves, his spear thrusting wildly in all directions. The shock troopers¡¯ internal organs were all sted apart, none of their armour able to block against the implosion effect of the Spear of Defiance. Within a minute, the source of Alex¡¯s squad¡¯s fears was wiped outpletely, leaving only the stragglers to deal with. Alex quickly rushed out to the building where vin was supposed to be in, checking for survivors. ¡°vin?! vin!¡± ¡°H¡­hey¡­ over here¡­¡± A weak reply came out from beneath the rubble. Alex quickly rushed over to help, grunting as he lifted the rock, though his muscles could not bear the weight. ¡°¡­a..alex? Weren¡¯t you making out with¡­ cough¡­ ellie?¡± vin smiled, his face already half crushed by the debris. ¡°Stay with me, vin. We¡¯re going to make it out.¡± Alex gritted his teeth, about to pull with all his might, when suddenly the weight was gone from his hands. Instead, the Seven Snakes leader had lifted the rubble with one hand, tossing it apart and crouching next to vin. The armoured hand ced on vin¡¯s chest began to heal vin slowly, his wounds slowly scabbing over. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to die, vin ¨C we have an enemy to kill.¡± Chapter 171: Charge ¡°Sir, Kyle is Raktor now. Landed just beyond our frontlines.¡± A Cretin officer reported to Sebastian, making Sebastian grin. All part of the n. ¡°All the traps in ce?¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Mage hunters waiting for yourmand as well.¡± ¡°Julia, you copy?¡± Sebastian asked over the arctech radio. [No one fucking said anything about a long-range explosive attack!] A female voice grunted in response on the other side, as the sounds of fire-fighting could be heard in the background. ¡°He must have gotten his hands on something new.¡± [This means we will have to revise the n. No way I am going to let my men die due to ack of information! You need to put him through his paces, make him show everything he got. We might need more relics on hand.] ¡°Not a problem, you¡¯ll have ess to the entire stash. You, send the first two battalions in and corner him now. Don¡¯t fullymit, just focus fire on the others around him for now.¡± Sebastian ordered the Cretin Officer, who saluted in response. ¡°Yes, sir. What about Ares?¡± ¡°We won¡¯t need him for now. Move him to the other end of the battlefield and have him whittle down the Seven Snakes. I¡¯ll make sure Kyle is locked down right here.¡± Kyle thrusted the spear forward, killing thest of the shocktroopers before flicking off the blood coating the tip, the stter painting the rugged ground. ¡°How many squads left here?¡± ¡°Just us, sir.¡± Alex motioned to the squad behind him that was gathering, Ollie and B dumbfounded at the sight of Kyle¡¯s new exosuit. ¡°Shit, I never seen arctech knight armour like that before! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Ollie eximed in obvious excitement, trying to get a better angle of Kyle. ¡°Spread out back into the buildings, prepare for a fight.¡± Kyle ordered quickly, causing the squad to quickly split up. Alex grabbed the healed vin, entering a broken building while Kyle stood alone on the street, walking around the warped wreck of the warmachine, where the crew within had been impaled by the outburst of metal within, a ghastly way to die. Something¡¯s wrong ¨C I didn¡¯t get any kill notifications from the Detonation Spear. Kyle could not believe that no one died in the attack, having seen an entire building copse and burst into mes with his own eyes. The whole incident put him on guard, making him wonder if the Ardent Cretins had countermeasures. Sebastian wouldn¡¯t be dumb, he would have prepared countermeasures for people like me and Sasha. Mages were a known phenomenon, and with the power Kyle had demonstrated in the Culdao Peaks Town, he was confident that Sebastian had something nned: he just did not know what it was. Right now, he had Qatu lead the troops from the Culdao Peaks to sh against the alliance of Violet Demons and Ardent Cretins, preventing the Ardent Cretins from reinforcing their homebase in the South Sector. Now, his elite squads were spread out in the city, along with Sasha holding other parts of the frontline. [Sir, two Cretins battalions pushing towards your location right now! One straight ahead and the other from your left!] The observer in the hovercraft spoke rapidly in Kyle¡¯s helmet radio engraving. ¡°Get one elite squad and backup squads to my location now!¡± Kyle urged, picking up an Ardent Cretin rifle and checking the remaining amount of pellets. As strong as his Detonation Spears were, he could not use them infinitely. He only had four remaining, and he had to use them only when necessary. Kyle quickly took cover behind the wreck, gripping the rifle tightly. As strong as his own armour was, he had not tested the fatigue cycles nor the durability of the exosuit, and he was not nning to test it duringbat either. Best to stay out of line of sight as much as possible. It would also reduce his Reactive Armour engraving consumption, allowing his exosuit to run longer. His exosuit also had a detector installed within, telling him the remaining strength of his Advanced Arcia Crystal. For now, it was still at its highest possible value, but Kyle still kept an eye on it to manage his energy uses. [Artillery!] The observer suddenly barked into the radio engraving, forcing Kyle to look up only to see a hailstorm of sharp fragments hurtling down towards him,unched from a mortar fragmentation round. The fragments pierced into the concrete of the buildings and the floor, while Kyle ducked into the warmachine itself, using what remained of the armour as a defensive te, the force of the impact sending vibrations through his body. Before Kyle could recover, a cannonball fired from another warmachine from afar mmed right into the wreck, throwing Kyle backwards in a tumble as the warmachine skidded backwards from the head-on collision. ¡°Move up! Move up!¡± A Cretin officer yelled as the ground troops moved up, providing covering fire and suppressing Kyle in the warmachine with pellet fire. Penchant for Violence! Kyle dug his hands into an armour te of the warmachine, ripping it out before using a single hand to toss it right at a nearby Cretin squad, the te immediately crushing their bones and guts through the middle of their body. The firefight broke out in earnest as Alex and his squadmates began to fire down on the Cretins in the streets, shooting over distances of two hundred meters or more. Pellets sung through the air as Kyle escaped the wreck, moving into what remained of a clothing store, the colorful fabrics stained with dust umted from the constant shelling. ¡°He¡¯s in that building!¡± ¡°Forget about him, kill the fighters at the top!¡± Not a chance. Kyle ran through the clothing store, nking through the alleyways to attempt to get the drop onto the advancing Cretins. However, there was already three Cretins, each of them wielding tower shields and handguns, immediately firing at Kyle. The pellets pinged off the armour of Kyle¡¯s exosuit as he leapt up along the walls of the alleyway, firing back with his stolen Cretin rifles. The tower shields proved imprable, prompting Kyle to throw away his rifle and brandish his Spear of Defiance again, mming the tip into the tower shield. ¡°Hah, your stupid spear can¡¯-¡° Before the Cretin could finish his taunt, the inner surface of the tower shield burst apart, cracking it in half and allowing Kyle deliver a follow-up jab right into the chest te. The subsequent implosion twisted the Cretin¡¯s innards, his face scrunched up in indescribable pain as his body crumpled to the floor. With two more lunges, Kyle made quick work of the remaining Cretins, killing all of them with two blows. ¡°He¡¯s in here! Move back!¡± Another Cretin spotted him from the ends of the alleyway, immediately sprinting away. Move back? Kyle was confused about why they were retreating, but he wasn¡¯t about to let them get away that easily. He snatched one of the dropped handguns before charging right out of the alleyway, only to see a warmachine right around the corner. Without hesitation, the methrower on the warmachine sted forwards, threatening to engulf Kyle. This is My Turf! The liquid mes split apart into two waves thatpped the ground up, allowing Kyle to move straight to the warmachine and pierce it with the Spear of Defiance. A single jab ignited the mmable liquid storage, causing it to blow up in a brilliant ball of fire. Kyle quickly activated his impulse engravings, thrusting himself backwards while skidding along the floor, friction throwing sparks. The sheer destructive power that Kyle showed now raised Alex¡¯s squad morale to unimaginable heights, a far cry from the despair and fear they felt before. ¡°We can win! We can actually fucking win!¡± B screamed out, firing wildly into the Cretins. To their credit, the Cretins still fought valiantly, and more and more of the Cretins were beginning to pour into the area. ¡°Where¡¯s my elite squad?!¡± Kyle asked with a hint of urgency as he noticed he was starting to be outnumbered, even as he shot another Cretin in the head with his stolen handgun in the street. [Almost there! Backup squads are arriving soon!] ¡°How soon?¡± [Two minutes!] I don¡¯t have two minutes! Kyle grimaced as he grabbed another Detonation Spear on his back, arming it. His eyes darted around the firefight,nding on a tall ten-storey building that overlooked the entire battle. With a grunt, he flung the Detonation Spear right at the base of that building, the spear lodging itself into the pir. Before the surrounding Cretins could evacuate, the spear blew up, fracturing the structural integrity of the building from within as one of it¡¯s main pir waspletely shattered apart. ¡°Shit, it¡¯s copsing! MOVE MOVE!¡± The building toppled with gravitas, crashing into the ground with a thunderous roar as the resulting air shockwave buffeted Kyle even while he hid behind cover. A billowing cloud of dust, smoke and finely grounded rubble sted outwards, covering the street in a dense fog. The copse hardly stopped the firefight, but the chaos was amplified even further as allies could hardly see each other through the fog, with only pellets making their mark as they tore tunnels within the smoke. [Sir, the residual smoke is blocking my vision, I can¡¯t see anything!] ¡°Update Keith on Cretin movements elsewhere ¨C I got this!¡± Kyle charged out from the cover, his engravings glistening as he killed each isted Cretin squad like a predator hunting in the mist, the prey unsuspecting and blindly firing, making them easy targets. The ughter was horrendous, and by the time the dust settled, only a slew of dead Cretin soldiers were lying on the pavement, their blood filling long-clogged sewers, with only Kyle standing alive. Such carnage was not new to Alex¡¯s squad, but the intensity far surpassed any skirmish they had fought thus far as a logistics squad. ¡°By Yual, what am I looking at?¡± Alex felt that whatever inkling of strength he thought he personally had had been tossed out of the window by Kyle¡¯s disy of power. Like a god amongst men. The Cretins on the opposing side felt the same too. While Kyle had only killed a fraction of their battalion, the show of force was more than enough to weaken their resolve. As such, when the officer called for a hasty retreat, it was followed immediately, the survivors scrambling to return back. Even the nking pincer attack by the battalion on the left was called off, both of them retreating as quick as they arrived. [Sir, backup is approaching now!] ¡°How¡¯s the rest of the troops doing?¡± [The main force is being mobilised now.] ¡°Good! All squads form up behind me! We¡¯ll form the first wave and establish a breach first!¡± Kyle led the charge as the Seven Snakes formed up behind him, three hundred men strong. Buoyed by Kyle¡¯s dominant leadership at the front, they rushed in with him, picking off the stragglers in a brutal firefight that spanned the entire street length towards the Ardent Cretins¡¯s territory defense line. It was a death chase, filled with screams of agony and dying whimpers as the fleeing Cretins attempted to evade their pursuers, but Kyle was not about to let anyone go, not even the deserters who were trying to make it to the Central Sector. To him, it was a statement to the rest of Raktor that the Seven Snakes were far from weak. However, when the Seven Snakes attacking force saw the first defensive line of the Ardent Cretins, they took a step back instead, finding cover as a slew of machine guns and warmachines fired right down at them, threatening to mow them down with withering fire. ¡°Where are the other Cretin forces? When is the second waveing to help us?¡± Kyle asked the observer. [Two battalions are attempting to nk you right now! Twenty minutes until the main force reaches you!] I don¡¯t have twenty minutes. ¡°Prepare to push once I break the blockade!¡± Kyle roared, earning the nods of the men around him as the order was ryed down by those who could hear of the din of gunfire. Penchant for Violence! Kyle took cover as well, grabbing yet another Detonation Spear, flinging it towards the blockade and expecting it to blow up just like he had done with the building. The force with which he threw the spear was far too fast even for the Cretin¡¯s point defence systems to react. But just as the spear was about to reach, a sniper shot from afar suddenly deflected the spear, causing the spear to be knocked off-course, instead blowing up another building instead of the blockade. Before Kyle could react, another sniper shot took the head of a Seven Snakes soldier clean off, tearing through his skull instantly. Snipers! Chapter 172: Bait Instead of rushing out into the street, Kyle charged through the building, leading the elite squad and other soldiers through the alleyway where the sniper did not have a line of sight. The Ardent Cretins also had fortifications there, though the haphazardyout of the buildings ensured that they could not be sniped from long-range. Kyle had an idea where the sniper was shooting from based on the deflection of his spear, but he focused on clearing out the alleyways between the buildings. Makeshift barricades and walls erected by the Ardent Cretins were easily demolished by his Spear of Defiance, allowing him to immediately nk the blockade. The defenders were thrown into chaos the moment Kyle jumped out from behind them, his Seven Snakes soldiers immediately gunning down whoever was caught off-guard. However, Kyle and his troops did not expose themselves on the street, instead firing from the windows and the rooms of the adjacent buildings, unwilling to expose themselves to the buildings. ¡°Stay indoors ¨C don¡¯t let the snipers get eyes on you!¡± Kyle ordered, with the troops beginning to snake through the Cretin-controlled buildings. Many still had some civilians residing in them, workers who fled in panic into the open streets as Kyle cleared the buildings one by one, not leaving any stone unturned. Some of the Cretins were hiding among the civilians,unching ambush attacks that killed a few of Kyle¡¯s men. This made them far more wary of the civilians, making them kill a few innocent due to suspicious movements. Kyle did not care how many civilians die ¨C only that he wins the battle against the Ardent Cretins. To him, the civilians were the reason why the Ardent Cretins were still alive: there can be no power without supporters. Kyle intend to show clearly that the Seven Snakes were not to be fucked with, a disy of power and force to carve into the people¡¯s mind. Kyle had his men form a semi-circle around the breach, expanding outwards and capturing defensive fortifications to prepare for the main force attacking. [Sir, Section E is under attack!] The other side of the frontline? ¡°Damian, are you defending?¡± [Yes, sir. But they are pushing hard. We might not be able to hold on.] ¡°Have a third of the main force split. We need to force the Ardent Cretins onto the defensive. Only the elite squad follows me in!¡± Kyle nned to pierce through the Ardent Cretins like a spear, diving straight for the heart in a decapitation strategy and hoping he could kill Ares and Sebastian. However, he did not expect to be able to break in alone as well. ¡°Sasha, bring two elite squads and reinforce me from behind!¡± [Got it!] Leaving the three hundred men behind to hold the breach, Kyle and the elite squad pushed forward through the buildings, taking great care to not expose themselves to the sniper. He calcted the location of the sniper from the previous two shots, aiming to sneak his way through. If I can take out the snipers, I can use their sniper rifle to take out the others in the area. With the snipers in y, he could hardly expect his men to be able to advance faster. Soon, he reached a five-storey building where the sniper was expected to be. ¡°Breach on my mark,¡± Kyle ordered as they formed up against a side entrance, listening to the voices inside of Cretins arguing. Kyle counted down with his fingers before stabbing the door with his Spear of Defiance. The metal door creaked violently as it bent inwards unnaturally, shredding itself into pieces as an elite squad member tossed an arctech sphere in. The sphere rolled into the room filled with Cretin soldiers, earning a short scream before the sphere burst into a flower of deadly spikes, impaling everything in the room. The spikes ripped through flesh and bone, some piercing through the roof of mouths up to the brain as they were caught mid-scream. Kyle and the elite squad moved in, clearing the first floor and blockading the entrance to stop reinforcements from nking them. They then hurriedly moved up the staircase, taking advantage of the surprise attack. Kyle rushed up the stairs first, blocking many of the pellets shot by panicking defenders. A frenzy of carnage raged through the building, death delivered to dozens of Cretins on each floor as they cleared it one by one. Soon, they reached the fifth floor, but instead of seeing the snipers in their respective vantage points, it waspletely empty, with no sign of there having been any snipers. What? A sudden rumble erupted from beneath their feet, throwing all of them off bnce as their five-storey building began to crumble from below, copsing the flooring as Kyle free-fall, losing his grip on the Spear of Defiance. It¡¯s a trap! He mmed into the rubble with a thud, the tiles of the roof and ceiling crashing into him and weighing down his exosuit. His head swirled from the sudden disorientating fall, and before he could recover, a sharp ear-splitting sound erupted from all around them. Kyle felt that his eardrums were being wrenched apart as he clutched his own helmet in pain, trying in vain to block out the sound. His elite squad was no better, already unable to get up from both the fall and the sound. Cretins soon began to surround them from all sides, aiming their rifles at them. ¡°Capture the leader!¡± Like hell! Kyle¡¯s eyes darted quickly, trying to find the source of the sound, when he spotted a directional speaker mounted to an arctech wagon aimed right at him. With the needle-sharp pain in his ear almost throwing him off, he quickly fired his stolen handgun at the wagon, only for the pellets to be blocked by a point defence system. ¡°No point fighting back, boy.¡± A female voice spoke, though Kyle could hardly hear her over the ear-wrenching pain. However, Kyle was not about to give up that easily, instead removing his exosuit helmet temporarily and allowing more of the sounds to immediately attack his eardrum directly. ¡°What the fuck is he doing?! Capture him now!¡± The female voice spoke more urgently, but Kyle couldn¡¯t hear any longer with his eardrum fully ruptured as he put back his helmet. Only the dull thumps of his heartbeat, adrenaline and his footsteps could be heard as he rushed straight for the wagon, using his Detonation Spear as a normal weapon and slicing the neck of the Cretins he passed. With a jab, he mmed the head of the Detonation Spear right into the directional speaker before chopping downwards into the wagon, breaking the frame in half. Ne of Healing! The green aura began to surge towards his ear, healing the eardrums once again and restoring his healing, the piercing pain nowpletely gone. Suddenly, Kyle felt a weird attractive force, his exosuit being tugged to the right. He tried to move, but his exosuit suddenly would not budge, instead skidding along the floor as it was dragged by a maic force towards what seemed like a nk metal te held like a shield. Kyle attempted to throw his Detonation Spear, but his arm could not even move, the armour bing a metal coffin as he was maised, mming into the shield in a locked position. ¡°Well, that wasn¡¯t too hard, was it?¡± The same female voice taunted. ¡°I told you this would work.¡± ¡°Only as long as the battery in this relicst. We need to move him quick.¡± A young man holding the shield grumbled. ¡°Grab the damn coffin!¡± Two other soldiers, clearly wearing a different uniform than the standard Ardent Cretins, lugged a heavy ck coffin forward, lined to the brim with what seemed to be depleted arcia crystals in the dozens. Kyle could suddenly feel his body weakening as the arcia energy seeped out of his body and even his exosuit¡¯s Advanced Arcia Crystal. The arcia energy is flowing from high concentration to low ¨C if I enter that coffin, I¡¯m dead! Kyle instinctively grasped the purpose of the coffin: it was a tool to capture mages. He could already feel he was starting to lose control of the exosuit¡¯s engraving. Even the impulse engravings were stuttering, with not enough arcia energy to power them. The owner of the female voice appeared next to him, smirking as she twirled an engraving staff in her hand, her reddish gloves entuating her dark purple suit. She looked like a professional hitman, and Kyle was sure that she was an assassin specialising in taking down mages. Or a yer hunter. ¡°Not so hot now huh?¡± Thedy used her staff to stab the helmet. ¡°Interesting suit of armour you got there. I¡¯ll be asking Sebastian to lend it to me. Might be useful in the next hunt.¡± ¡°You seemed well prepared.¡± Kyle spoke as his eyes darted around, looking for a way out. The ¡®relic¡¯ must be a Gctic Era tech ¨C so was the directional speaker. , ¡°Of course. You mages always walk around like you¡¯re the cocks of the town.¡± Thedy smirked. ¡°I always say, the more arrogant they are, the harder they fall.¡± ¡°I like to think of myself as humble.¡± Kyle could feel something pressing against his back, his armour not exactlypletely even against the maic shield. How many Detonation Spears have I thrown out of the five? ¡°Sure, whatever you say. By the way, nice spear you got there. Real innovative. You can hand it over now; you won¡¯t be needing it anymore.¡± She whacked the Detonation Spear out of Kyle¡¯s hand, causing it to tter onto the floor. ¡°Gave us quite a few headaches. Not many have.¡± ¡°Looks like you¡¯re about to have one more headache,¡± Kyle smirked under the helmet, sending as much arcia energy as possible to thest Detonation Spear on his back, which was also maized, triggering the arcia crystals to explode. The resulting explosion was far more powerful: abination of both the basic arcia crystals embedded in the spear along with the added arcia energy of Kyle. The st knocked everyone in the vicinity over, even the Cretin soldiers fifty meters away. The ck coffin was caught in the explosion as well, knocked out of the way. Kyle did not leave unscathed; his exosuit¡¯s back armour was severely damaged but still working. The maic shield had been torn to shreds by the explosion, and the body of the owner was missing. He did not stick around to find out, immediately casting his impulse engravings as he raced back to where he first fell, picking up the Spear of Defiance and freeing his elite squad members who were trapped in the rubble. The elite squad were battle-hardened, immediately starting a firefight as they sted the nearby Cretins with impunity while splitting up to find cover around the copsed building. ¡°Fucking shit!¡± Thedy cursed as she rolled on the ground putting out the arcia mes that had engulfed a third of her face, causing her arm, shoulders and cheek to suffer from terrible burns. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for that, you fucking cunt!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± Kyle lunged back at thedy, intent on finishing her off. Before Kyle could reach her, thedy tapped her staff on the ground five times, causing a torrent of vines to emerge from the ground that whipped andshed at Kyle. Impulse! Kyle immediately dodged the vines darting in, pulling back as he unleashed a flurry of jabs, the implosion sting apart the vines. Kyle realised he recognised the vines, having seen something simr before. The corpse catchers in the Keru Forest. They could strangle a whole baby mammoth hog, and Kyle was not entirely sure his exosuit was up for such a test after the close-range explosion. Thedy continued to tap her staff in a fury, her half-burnt face violent. ¡°Thought I didn¡¯t have a backup n, huh?! I have the whole ce seeded, idiot!¡± With each tap of the staff, arcia energy shot out from her body into the engravings of the staff, beforencing through the ground to a seed. The seed then glowed brightly, bursting in rapid growth while targeting Kyle. The vines also targeted his elite squad members. However, they were no match for the more vigorous vines who crept around their armour and strangled them, releasing barbed spikes that injected poison into their flesh, incapacitating them within ten seconds. Thedy grinned as a vine dropped off the unconscious squad members behind her as she pointed a burnt finger right at Kyle. ¡°You¡¯re next!¡± Chapter 173: Ares Kyle did not try to hang around, instead immediately leaving the area. I can¡¯t fight in an area she has seeded ¨C she has too much of an advantage there. However, thedy was cognizant of what Kyle was trying to do, immediately summoning a wall of vines to block off his escape. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving until I say so.¡± ¡°Fine. Have it your way.¡± Kyle immediately turned around, charging right at thedy while fending off the iing vines. They came in from all directions, forcing Kyle to stay vignt of even the ones creeping on the floor or those climbing on the walls. The ce began to transform into something like an overgrowth, with roots and vines erupting everything and aiming for Kyle in a never-ending cycle of growth. The vines soaked up the blood from the corpses of fallen Cretin soldiers, enhancing their strength even further. Kyle parried an iing hit with the shaft of his spear, nearly knocked backwards as a vine grappled his feet. Impulse! With a burst of momentum, he spun out of the grip, the vine torn apart by the rotation as he jabbed relentlessly all around him. This is endless! He could tell thedy was waiting for him to tire out, and Kyle could not reach thedy without fighting his way through the vines. He was now out of Detonation Spears, and even then he believed he might not be able to break through the dense defences. ¡°Give up, idiot! Even if you break out, Sebastian¡¯s elites are still waiting in the wings. I¡¯m just the starter.¡± Thedy grinned, taunting Kyle to lower his morale. No choice, then. Kyle lifted up his Spear of Defiance before plunging it right into the ground through a few roots, to seemingly no effect. The vines immediately wrapped around Kyle, strangling him on all limbs and attempting to force his arms away from the spear. However, he held on tightly, waiting until he could feel a sudden rumble appear from beneath the ground. Thedy could also feel the tremble, immediately ordering a vine to protect her in the event of another explosion. Unbeknownst to her, the ground began to crack apart as an even bigger explosion urred underground, churning what was left of the sewers into a whirlpool that exploded upwards in a fury around Kyle like a cataclysmic event. A drained arcia crystal popped off the Spear of Defiance¡¯s shaft, spent as all its energy was now shown all around Kyle. Vines and roots were dug up from the ground, thedy tumbling from the mini-earthquake and losing all control of the vines. With the arcia energy connection broken, the vines quickly withered and dried up, bing a former husk of itself that could be easily broken apart by Kyle even with his bare hands. Before Kyle could pounce on the incapacitateddy, three bs were flung to Kyle from all angles at high speed, catching him off guard. Unable to activate the impulse engravings in time, the bs looped around him and sent a high voltage shock through each of them, tasering him through the exosuit. Kyle felt sharp pain arc through his body as his muscles contracted violently, unable to control his nerves any more as the bs continuously emitted high voltage like a taser. Gctic Era relics again! While he was not surprised at Sebastian having such weapons, he was still taken aback by the amount that was prepared just for him. As his convulsing body copsed to the floor, the voltage nearly making him unable to think, ten ck armoured arctech knights approached Kyle, immediately restraining him in tight engraving ropes, preventing him from even moving a single inch. ¡°Seven Snakes leader sessfully captured.¡± [Good work. Please bring Kyle to his new amodations.] Sebastian¡¯s taunting voice rang clear over the arctech radio. ¡°Good, bring me closer to you.¡± Kyle shot back in response, knowing Sebastian could hear him. [No need for false bravado. I knew you would rush in head first ¨C that has always been your style. It was simple enough to devise a trap for you and get some outside help.] ¡°The mage hunters, I assume?¡± [Oh yes, they specialise in taking down people like you, overconfident in their own strength.] ¡°Then I guess you never expected this.¡± [Boss! We¡¯re here!] Sasha¡¯s voice rang clear through the telepathic channel as she sprinted across the rooftops with the Aero Shoes equipped and a bag of spears slung behind her back, leaping down onto the ten arctech knights. With a brandish of the Thunder de in her right hand, the lightning arc sliced cleanly through the shoulder gaps of one of the knights, causing him to yell in pain. Before the knights could fight back, a hailstorm of pellet fire erupted from the two elite squads following Sasha from behind, forcing the knights to leave Kyle on the ground and take cover. More Cretin soldiers poured out from a distance, but on Kyle¡¯s side, the three hundred men previously assigned to defend the breach were pushing up as well, the main force had finally joined them. ¡°Save the boss!¡± Alex roared as they charged into the fray, fighting through the streets as gunfire dominated. Kyle himself was caught off-guard, only expecting Sasha and her two elite squads to be the backup. ¡°Are you guys crazy?! What happened to defending the frontlines?¡± Kyle roared at vin, who ducked behind a corner nearby. ¡°If the boss dies, we all die. What does the mall fucking matter to us? We can always rebuild again with you! Without you, we would still have been slumming in the gutter!¡± vin grinned, firing back blindly over the corner. The remainder of the Seven Snakes did not disagree, all fighting tooth and nail with the Ardent Cretins. [Don¡¯t worry boss, I can handle this! Take down that damn Sebastian!] Damian roared over the arctech radio, fighting hard with Niko on his end. For many of the Seven Snakes, they had been recruited through the soup kitchens when they were down and out, unemployed with nothing left to lose. It was the Seven Snakes that gave them purpose, the friends and rtionship they had formed over time. While Kyle himself did not interact much with the members, he still held the position of the undefeatable boss. Without him, the gang would crumble in an instant, unable to regroup nor achieve the same level of technological prowess Kyle had spearheaded. Sasha quickly ran over to Kyle, shing thes and b restraints apart with the Thunder de, sending another high voltage current through the conductive armour and causing Kyle to yelp. He was dragged to safety, as Sasha passed him a health potion, forcing him to drink. For a brief moment in time, Kyle wondered what had happened to his criminal organization after he had died in his former life. Did they splinter apart? Did Xanius take over everything? Or did everything continue as per usual, like normal? It wasn¡¯t the first time Kyle had experienced loyalty from the men beneath him ¨C when he was a General in the Loeric Empire, he too had loyal admirals and men willing to die at hismand. Back then, I treated my men like simple numbers. Kyle took a good look again at the men willing to give up their lives for him. Sure, he had done ceremonies and given benefits all in the idea of instilling loyalty. It was a deliberate move from him, but yet, he couldn¡¯t help feel something different in his heart. Something he hasn¡¯t felt since he had his emotions and dreams neutered. This time, I¡¯ll do right by them. He waved Sasha away, regaining his stance and cracking his limbs. ¡°Time to end this.¡± Grabbing his Spear of Defiance, he marched out onto the street without a care for the gunfire, the Cretins all locked onto him. Intimidation Aura! The surge of fear washed over the Cretins, none of them able to tear their gazes away from him as they watched him somehow berger than life, a predator aimed at taking their lives. ¡°Stay strong! They are not even a major gang!¡± One of the more tenacious knights roared, shaking some of the Cretins out of their stupor. ¡°SEVEN SNAKES!¡± Kyle roared as he raised his spear, aimed right at the enemy line in front ¡°ATTACK!¡± Before all of the Cretins could regain their stance, Kyle was already charging towards them with Sasha and the elite soldiers. One of the elite soldiers held Kyle¡¯s old railgun, firing it at close range and tearing through any machine guns that tried to open up fire. The street devolved into a fierce melee brawl, with guns firing wildly into the sky and air as soldiers wrestled each other, the fighting spreading even further into the various districts. ¡°Aim for their headquarters!¡± Kyle ordered, him and Sasha forming a spearhead through enemy lines. [Stop him here, hold him for five minutes!] Sebastian¡¯s urgent voice came over the radio, prompting two dozen elite Cretin knights to charge at Kyle, brandishing heavy melee weapons and shields. Kyle and Sasha fought with vigour, slicing and dashing through the groups of enemies. He mmed the spearhead into a knight''s armour with a single jab of the Spear of Defiance, expecting it to implode. However, instead a thick energy shield erupted, absorbing the implosion energy and preventing the spear¡¯s effect from going past the armour. Gctic Era energy shields? Really? His instincts screamed as he spun to block a heavy vibration axe, the arctech engraving causing the spear to shake violently as sparks flew. Instead of holding on, Kyle let the spear fall to the side, making the axe wielder stumble forward before mming his armoured palm into the wielder¡¯s chin. Shoving the wielder of the axe back into his allies, he ducked as a glowing red hot sword sliced across, yet another arctech weapon threatening to cut through his exosuit like hot butter. The elite knights were no pushovers, armed to the teeth with both arctech and Gctic Era relics. Sebastian must be loaded. As high as their morale was, the Seven Snakes soldiers began to feel the discrepancy in their equipment and numbers, outstripped in both areas by the Ardent Cretins. Slowly, Kyle began to lose men as they fought non-stop, the casualties mounting significantly on both sides. ¡°Sasha! Spears!¡± Sasha undid the strap of the bag, tossing it to Kyle, who immediately retreated and armed all of the five spears in the Bag. Triple Impulse! Before the knights could catch onto him, his exosuitunched up into the air twenty storeys high, allowing him a clear view of the battlefield. Penchant for Violence! His arm swelled as he gripped the spears one by one, charging the impulse engravings on the spears beforeunching them towards thergest concentration of Cretins. The resulting devastation was immediately apparent, as blue arcia mes mixed with the death throes of engulfed Cretins became the main sound of the battlefield. He threw all five within ten seconds as he began to fall. Just before he hit the ground, he activated the exosuit¡¯s impulse engravings again, slowing his velocity atnding. The kill notifications surged across his screen en masse, though a level-up was still not given. However, he noticed one of the Detonation Spears had not gone off. Instead, he noticed the spear thrown high in the air, falling back towards him and his men. What?! Impulse! In a panic, Kyle leapt upwards, knocking the iing spear to the wayside towards the Cretins again. I don¡¯t recall throwing the spear upwards ¨C who threw the spear?! As the spear was about to hit the ground, a burly hand caught it in midair before a bellowingughter erupted from the other side of the battlefield, Kyle could hear it clearly even as hended back on the ground. I know that voice. Kyle gripped his Spear of Defiance tightly, preparing himself for what could be the turning point of the fight. But when he squinted his eyes to try and spot where the man who caught the spear was, he was already gone. Instead, he could feel a presence dropping above him, forcing him to leap out of the way as the area where he was previously standing was instantly cratered. Ares cracked his neck as he recovered to his full standing height, only wearing a regr button shirt and pants, though it could barely hold in his muscr figure, each muscle on his arms clearly defined. If anything, Kyle was far more impressed at the ability of the clothes to fit such a body size, with Ares towering two heads above him, even with him in the exosuit. Is he a half-giant? ¡°So you¡¯re the runt who took over Ulon. Did he ever tell you who dethroned him as the champion of the South Sector?¡± Chapter 174: Duel At the West Sector¡­ ¡°They called out Ares?!¡± A booming voice echoed through therge chambers in what seemed like an underground temple, filled to the brim with candles long melted, merging into the ground in a pile of wax that still had wicks burning. Aiden shuddered instinctively as he nodded towards a robed man while on his knees, his skin chaffed and ripped with wounds. The robed man ced the bronze chalice he held in his hand down on the top of an altar, behind whichy the beating heart of what Aiden could only call a monstrosity. He had never seen anything like it, almost as though it was a biological abomination, spawn out of hate and sins. A unsettling low whimper was slowly emitted from the ¡®thing¡¯, like a ghastly melodic tone. ¡°So you were right about the Seven Snakes.¡± ¡°Yes, Sir Preta.¡± Aiden bowed with his head low to the floor,plete respect given to the leader of the Violet Demons. ¡°Then it seems your punishment was unfair. If even Sebastian had to mobilize Ares to fight against Kyle, it would not make sense for you to be able to hold onto the Culdao Peaks Town.¡± Preta spoke calmly as he turned to face Aiden, walking slowly. ¡°Do you know what this ce is?¡± ¡°I¡­ I do not, sir.¡± Aiden decided not to lie. It was never good to lie to Preta. ¡°The name Violet Demons is not just a moniker. Others may see it that way, but our origins are far deeper and greater, more than you can possibly imagine. Not many members of the Violet Demons couldy their eyes on such a marvel, a miracle.¡± Preta motioned with his hand towards the pulsating monstrosity behind him. For a brief moment, Aiden swore he could see the marks of a screaming face in the mesh of flesh. ¡°The human body is weak,¡± Preta continued on, walking around Aiden while preaching. ¡°It is extreme folly for ordinary people to believe they are the masters of this world, when we have yet to conquer the skies nor even the Great Waves. We rely on technology ¨C arctech, in the hopes that it would elevate us to greater heights far beyond our pathetic capabilities.¡± Is he referring to mages? Aiden thought in his head, looking up at Preta¡¯s hidden face only to see what he could only describe as a demon¡¯s face, nearly causing him to scream out of terror. ¡°Good, if you had screamed, I might have reconsidered.¡± Preta grinned, baring his fangs widely. ¡°Instead of burdening ourselves with the restraints of metal and stone, we seek to fly free with our own bodies. It is our foundation, our bearing that we must improve first before we are able to ascend as literal gods. And if remaining human limits us, then there is no reason to remain one.¡± Aiden gulped instinctively, staring at the chalice that had a purplish liquid within, clearly extracted from the monstrosity. ¡°You lost to Kyle because of strength. And instead of running from your mistakes, you faced them head-on and returned to me.¡± Preta praised. ¡°Not many humans can make such a choice, putting you far above them. Today, you shall be one of the true members of the Violet Demons.¡± The chalice poured over him, an immediate stinging sensation covering him entirely as the viscous purplish liquid was instead a throng of tiny worms, squirming and wriggling. They bit into Aiden¡¯s pores, forcing him to grit his teeth in endurance as the pain wrecked havoc in his body, the worms massing all over his body. Preta motioned with his hand towards the entrance of the chapel, prompting two guards to enter. ¡°Make sure the transformation isplete and not a single worm is wasted.¡± ¡°Yes, sir. Bezul is waiting for you above.¡± ¡°Understood.¡± Preta walked up the underground spiral staircase, his face morphing back into a palpable human visage before exiting into the office, where his chief of staff was waiting for him already, tapping her clipboard in her well-manicured nails impatiently. ¡°Do you really have to go through that wish-wash everytime we induct someone new?¡± Bezel groaned, obviously frustrated. ¡°It helps in the transformation.¡± ¡°Maybe, but right now we¡¯re still fighting a war. Without our main troops fighting, it¡¯s going to be hard to adhere to the defence contract we¡¯ve signed with the Ardent Cretins. Our defensive line around Raktor is iling terribly.¡± ¡°Cancel the contract.¡± Preta waved his hands dismissively. Bezul narrowed her eyes at Preta, who had turned into a handsome man with long sliver hair, his features immacte. ¡°Sebastian won¡¯t be happy if he survives.¡± ¡°Kyle is out for blood, and he won¡¯t stop until Sebastian dies. If Ares had to be called out, it means the Seven Snakes are far too weak now. Redirect all our forces to begin capturing the Cretins¡¯ outer lying resource deposits, before the Veiled Angels grab it first.¡± Bezul didn¡¯t argue any longer, nodding her head as she began to ry orders through a radio. Despite the alliance of the major gangs, anyone who showed enough weakness would be ravaged immediately by the others, a form of consolidation. The first movers would be the one to get the bulk of the loot. ¡°Pull out all troops from the defensive line ¨C let Sebastian enjoy hisst death throes. And once the Cretins have been wiped out by the Snakes, the Snakes will be far too weak to mount any sort of resistance. At that point, the South Sector will be ours.¡± [Sir, the Violet Demons are retreating!] Kyle tried to reply, but he had no time as another deadly punch mmed into him, blocked only by his wavering arms holding the Spear of Defiance. Ares grinned as he quickly followed up with yet another punch, this time sending Kyle skidding backwards. The battle still raged all around them, but both sides left Ares and Kyle to their own duel, neither wanting to get in the way of the two destructive superpowers. Kyle¡¯s helmet had already been fractured, his head nearly crushed in an iron grip from Ares. Kyle eyed his opponent warily while circling, spitting out a glob of blood as he suffered from internal bleeding, continuously healing himself with the Ne of Healing. The adrenaline pumping through his ears and heart overwhelmed his senses, his vision locked onto the half-giant Ares, who seemed hardly flustered, only smiling at Kyle. ¡°That all you got?¡± Ares taunted, motioning for Kyle to attack, but Kyle didn¡¯t fall for the trick, analysing his opponent carefully. That level of physical strength is impossible without gic modification ¨C he seems like a hybrid variant of a human. Attuning his eyes to arcia, he could see that Ares¡¯s physical strength was buoyed by arcia energy, exining the increased explosive movements and energy. ¡°If you don¡¯te to me, then I¡¯lle to you!¡± Ares grinned as he lunged, his feet sting apart the surrounding debris in mini-craters while his body flew towards Kyle faster than Kyle could anticipate. Impulse! Kyle¡¯s exosuit thrust to the side, allowing him to side-step and throw a jab of the spear, intent on imploding Ares¡¯s body. Ares spun on one foot, dodging the spear hit before attempting to grapple Kyle, who leapt backwards again to avoid once more. The exchanges so far have been part and parcel for the duel that has been going on for more than fifteen minutes now, both sides unwilling to show off all their hidden abilities. Kyle kept his skills close to his heart, not willing to use them unless absolutely necessary. I need to find a sure-killbo that can take down Ares in one hit. Kyle considered using the negation field, but this meant that he would have to be within five meters of Ares for it to take effect. He was unsure of what the effects would be on Ares¡¯s body, but any misuse of the Negation Field meant that he would have to wait for a long cooldown. Aresunched another attack, pressuring Kyle as Kyle¡¯s mind raced, trying toe up with the perfectbo to take him down. Four crystals left in the Spear of Defiance. Six-tenths charge left in the Advanced Arcia Crystals. Passable. Kyle countered with a spear jab as always, with Ares anticipating it and dodging. However, the sudden thrust on the side of the spear engraving jerked it sideways, skewing the trajectory and allowing the spearhead to pierce right towards Ares¡¯s body. Got you! However, just before the spear was about to touch Ares¡¯s skin, the spear suddenly stopped, blocked by some invisible forcefield. Kyle¡¯s eyes widened for an instant, before he channeled his arcia energy into his exosuit to give him as much thrusting force as possible. Penchant for Violence! The two of them skidded in the same direction as though they were connected, Kyle still unable to break through the forcefield. Does he have a simr skill to This is My Turf? ¡°Don¡¯t be too surprised. A champion of my stature always have a trick or two up their sleeves.¡± Ares smirked before his hand reached out to grab hold of the spear. Shit! Before Ares could grip on, Kyle quickly channeled a single basic arcia crystal worth of energy to the tip, creating the implosion effect in midair and forcing the two of them back away from each other. He quickly checked the damage to the spear, noticing that the surface had been eroded violently, as though it had been weathered for nearly a hundred years. The weakened surface showed signs of crack, threatening to break the spear in half. That doesn¡¯t make sense ¨C Ares did not touch the Spear yet. Kyle racked his brain, trying to figure out what was Ares¡¯s unique ability. His eyes darted around even as Ares chased after him, the two of them dancing and shing over the battlefield. Kyle did not spot any Gctic Era devices on Ares, nor did he see any arctech weaponry. Does this mean he is a system user as well? Kyle barged into a derelict building, with Ares quickly following in. With a violent spin, Kyle turned and attempted to stab Ares once more, this time using the same bending trick to catch Ares off guard. However, before he could even cast the impulse engraving, Ares¡¯s hand had already grabbed a hold of the Spear, his handpletely touching the spear. Kyle watched with his own eyes as the spear¡¯s shaft warped and twisted with an ear-splitting creaking sound, the entire Spear of Defiance broken into half. Instead of using the spearhead, Ares tossed it to one side, continuing to keep within melee range of Kyle as they fought hand to hand, Kyle still wielding what was left of the Spear of Defiance. ¡°Come on, show me what you got!¡± Ares roared, before delivering a flurry of punches, forcing Kyle to parry and block every hit. His exosuit vambraces rattled violently with each strike, the armour already bing fragile from each hit in a simr fashion to the spear. A decay ability? The Ne of Healing could not keep up with the damage being inflicted, Kyle pushed to his limits as his body fought harder and harder, the exosuit¡¯s Advanced Arcia Crystals¡¯ energy beginning to seep into his body. Infuse! Kyle instinctively channelled arcia energy into his muscles and bones, strengthening and hardening them, allowing him to fight on par. Ares finally became much more serious as he felt his own fist go numb when hitting Kyle¡¯s body head-on, no longer in a yful taunting mood. Kyle¡¯s vision expanded once again, reminding him of the time he fought against the elder from the cult of Nona, but this time he could see the flow of arcia energy much more clearly, while the ambient arcia energy dwelled in the air all around them like a dense fog, some being clearly absorbed into Ares¡¯s skin. Just like Mari. An epiphany appeared out of the blue in Kyle¡¯s head, as he could feel his senses and affinity with arcia reach a new height. Every single bead of arcia energy was now apparent to him, a part of reality just as much as the beads of sweat clogged in his pores that stuck to his inner clothing, as he threw another arcia-infused punch, this time hitting harder than ever, even activating the impulse engraving on his elbows to give him more thrusting force. Just like the spear, his armoured fist stopped right before touching Ares¡¯s skin, unable to proceed any further, though Kyle could tell that Ares was struggling a bit more to fend off the fist. I have a chance! Kyle did not wait about, immediately pulling back and delivering an arcia-infused kick to Ares. But this time, his leg could not even move; his exosuit suddenly locked into ce though his exposed head could still move freely. Another maic pull? Kyle looked around for a simr device but saw none, assuming that it was in the ground. However, with no spears left, he could not do anything about it anyway, though he noticed the arcia energy surrounding his exosuit was condensing, forming something akin to a human hand grabbing onto him. Ares¡¯s eyes were ring with energy, grinning widely as Kyle¡¯s exosuit was picked up and flung wildly, smashing between multiple walls and rooms beforeing to a halt. The violent impact dealt significant damage to Kyle¡¯s internal organs, causing him to gag as heid in a pile of rubble, his exosuit on the verge of falling apart. His mind could not understand what had just happened, but he could only liken Ares¡¯s ability to one thing as Ares¡¯s half-giant body floated towards where Kyle had fallen. This guy has telekinesis! Chapter 175: Duel (II) Before Kyle could figure out a way to circumvent his power, his exosuit was suddenly lifted up again before being mmed back down into the rubble, the force of the hidden human hand made out of arcia energy holding him down. ¡°Don¡¯t you know who levelled Section A of your frontline?¡± Ares chuckled as he floated towards Kyle. Kyle didn¡¯t need to hear the answer, knowing it was Ares who had destroyed the entire block. Telekinesis was unique to the Orisians, and Kyle had seen the option during his race selection. No known race has unlimited telekinesis. Kyle was sure that Ares didn¡¯t actually have such an ability, more like a different maniption of ambient arcia energy in the air. He could see with his Arcian eyes that Ares was now floating on another disembodied human hand holding him like a giant avatar, who gently let him down onto the ground. One weakness that Kyle knew about the Orisians was that they were extremely physically weak, something that could be exploited if you could get past the telekinesis effect. However, a single nce at Ares already told him that Ares had long ount for that weakness, able to handle meleebat anytime. ¡°No more tricks?¡± Ares grinned as his eyes red once more, controlling the two disembodied human hands to crush Kyle, threatening to tten the exosuitpletely into the rubble. The reactive armour engraving triggered continuously, healing Kyle and nullifying some of the pain. However, the energy storage of the Advanced Arcia Crystal was dropping rapidly the longer Kyle waited. Do I use Negation Field now? Kyle was hesitant to use it ¨C defeating Ares was far from the end. He still had to contest with Sebastian¡¯s elites and Sebastian himself, who only Yual knows what powers he had hidden as well. Using the Negation Field now meant that he would not be able to use it for the rest of the battle unless he retreated. Instead of relying on the Negation Field, Kyle gritted his teeth and channeled the point defence engravings, firing a stream of green arcia bolts right into the human hands holding him down. The disembodied human hands dispersed, a seeming war of control over the ambient arcia energy as the green arcia bolts shot towards Ares. The hands quickly moved to form a skin-level shield around Ares, blocking all the iing shots. So that¡¯s why my spear couldn¡¯t make it past. Kyle finally figured out that Ares was created apressedyer of arcia energy around his body so dense that nothing could pierce it. With the pressure of the hands gone, Kyle leapt out of the rubble in his exosuit, fighting against Ares with arcia-infused punches once more. This time, his own Arcian eyes looked out for the iing human hands, dodging them before Ares could grab onto him. ¡°Oh ho, you can see arcia?¡± Ares eximed. ¡°Impressive.¡± ¡°I can do more than see arcia.¡± Kyle grinned. Intimidation Aura! The ambient arcia energy suddenly came under Kyle¡¯s influence, restricting the movement of the disembodied arcia hands and even reducing their sizes as it became a battle of control over the arcia energy. Kyle could only liken it to a robot receiving two separatemands of equal authority, unsure of which one to execute first. Instead, the arcia energy became a mismash ofmands, bing a turbulent flow that buffeted them. Kyle took advantage of the chaos, pummeling Ares before the disembodied arcia hands could form apressed defenseyer again. This time, Kyle¡¯s armoured fist hit home, the arcia-infused punch mming right into Ares¡¯s white buttoned shirt and ripping it apart in a devastating twist, the skin below ruptured as Ares was sent flying back through another building, causing the three floor aboves to copses shakily. Before Kyle could follow up, the air suddenly shifted once more, his intimidation aura suddenly unable to control the ambient arcia energy once more. Ares rose up from the rubble, levitating as his eyes and capiries burnt blue with arcia energy surging, dominating the area. Looks like he is really an Orisian variant. Kyle continuously dodged and weaved as Ares¡¯s strengthened arcia hands mmed and threwrge pieces of rubble at him. Any onlooker unable to see the arcia energy battle would only see Kyle seemingly fighting against ghosts, dodging invisible monsters that threatened to tten him. He can¡¯t cast that forever. Kyle decided to buy time, skirting around the edges of where Ares could still see him, hiding behind building covers. The hands continued to chase him, even as he ran into the alleyways. Pipes, drains and leftover bricks were torn to shreds as the hands bulldozed everything in their path, almost invincible. Kyle could not think of anything that could damage nor destroy the hands. Even if he sliced the arcia energy apart, Ares could just take control of a new batch of ambient arcia energy around, controlling it freely. Such a pain in the ass. He looked around for options, still seeing his troops battle against the Cretins. Their duel space had now erged thanks to the destruction wrought by Ares and Kyle, both sides not wanting to interfere or be killed in the crossfire. He spotted Sasha fighting Sebastian¡¯s elite knights nearby, one of her elite squad soldiers still carrying a bag of Detonation Spears. ¡°Sasha! Spears left?¡± [Only two!] ¡°Hand them over!¡± A spear was flung through the air, allowing Kyle to catch it out of midair before tumbling and avoiding another crushing grip of the arcia hands. As he recovered and took bearing of where he was, he noticed the withered vines and demolished building, marking the ce where he fought the mage hunters. His eyesnded on where the first mage hunter was supposed to be, obviously carried away to safety. However, the ck coffin that threatened to drain arcia energy was still there, giving Kyle an idea. Despite the dangers of losing his own arcia energy, Kyle ran straight for the coffin, picking it up and throwing it right to Ares before the coffin could drain all of his energy away. ¡°Idiot, you think that lump of trash will-¡° Ares¡¯s words were caught in his throat as his arcia hands failed to catch onto the box, the ambient energy unable to hold together the moment it came into contact with the coffin. The coffin hit Ares head-on, causing him to fall with the coffin from his levitating height towards the ground. Now! Chance! Kyle gripped his Detonation Spear tightly, using the exosuit¡¯sst movement burst to cross the distance before Ares could hit the ground. Calcting the falling location, Kyle himself leapt up high into the air, before mustering all his strength and flinging the spear towards Ares with everything he had. The spear exploded in mid-air as it hit Ares straight on, the blue arcia mes bursting out in a brilliant ball of mes, sparks spat out and soaring across the sky with tendrils of smoke. Before Kyle could celebrate, the arcia mes were suddenly sucked in, absorbed by the coffin who vibrated violently, attempting to consume all the energy around. The coffin filled up in an instant, the ambient energy returning to normal as the crystals embedded along the side of the coffin was glowing brightly again. Aresnded with a soft thud, tossing the coffin that he had used as a shield to the side before summoning yet another arcia hand to lunge at Kyle. Kyle cursed under his breath as he could no longer avoid the hand in midair, his exosuit running out of impulse engravings. The cooldown is in ten minutes, I just have to hold on! Kyle braced himself as the hand mmed him onto the ground, before dragging him through the broken buildings and crushing him into concrete walls over and over again in a circr pattern. This is My Turf! The invisible forcefield forced the hand away from Kyle, allowing him to tumble to safety before rushing at Ares, charging it once again for a round of meleebat. However, Ares was no longer ying around, instead expanding the hand to berge enough to pick up Kyle¡¯s forcefield like a ball. Despite the invulnerability of it, the forcefield did not attack anything that got close to it, allowing Ares to toss him around. While he did not take any damage, the disorientation of being flung about wildly and the high elerations forced him to steel his brain, fighting to stay conscious. His high-gravity turn training from the Dynasty kicked in, allowing him to retain awareness even as Ares¡¯s hand shook him violently. Kyle suddenly noticed that Ares had only summoned one hand instead of two. He¡¯s weakening! He could feel the hand slowing down in motion as well, no longer as vigorous as before. Seeing his chance, Kyle cancelled the skill and punched with his fist outwards, breaking apart the weakened hand. Ares could be seen panting, his forehead dripping with sweat as he tried to muster another hand, but Kyle was already fast approaching him. Kyle delivered an arcia-infused punch to Ares, right in the stomach, Ares unable to summon the defensiveyer in time. The punch lifted the half-giant¡¯s body by nearly half a meter in the air, before Ares crumpled to the ground, struggling to get up. ¡°For all your muscles, it looks like you need work more on your stamina.¡± Kyle remarked as he grabbed Ares by the head, mming his face into the ground. But instead of hearing the satisfying crunch of the nose and face along with a blood squish, Ares¡¯s face stopped just a centimeter off the ground, a smile on his face. ¡°I got you.¡± Kyle quickly backed off, realizing Ares was feinting. But it was far toote, with Ares having conjured six hands that sealed off Kyle in all directions in a cage. Kyle threw punches and kicks at the disembodied arcia hands to no avail, the hands density stronger than ever. ¡°Thought I could only use two?¡± Ares taunted as he stood up, patting the dirt off of his shirt as it became apparent that the punch to the stomach barely made a dent, though it did damage the shirt and buttons. ¡°That was fun, but ytime is over.¡± The hands tightened, blocking off the flow of air as well into the space within as Kyle began to feel breathless, oxygen failing to reach his lungs. ¡°Everyone needs to breath.¡± Aresughed, his eyes still focused on holding the cage in ce until Kyle was unconscious due to theck of air. Kyle could feel his vision swirling, but unlike the other times in the Gctic Era when he had truly lost air in his space exosuit, he could still feel energy entering his body in the form of arcia energy, delivering power to his muscles, organs and even brains, keeping the human body functioning. However, it was slightly inefficient. Seems like eventually I might not even need air to survive. ¡°Last chance to surrender, Kyle. I¡¯m willing to keep your men alive in respect of your strength.¡± Ares offered, stepping closer to the cage. ¡°Fuck you.¡± Negation Field! The flow of arcia energy suddenly reversed, no longer stable. The hands immediately dissipated, with Kyle charging right into Ares. Ares was truly caught off-guard, unable to understand why he could not summon the hands any longer. Defensive Layer! But it was far toote, as Kyle this time grabbed Ares¡¯s face with a tight grip and threw him to the ground with force. Kyle bellowed as he delivered a raging course of punches unlike anything he had delivered before, but it was unable to fully damage Ares¡¯s strong physical body as well. Power! I need more power! Kyle instinctively drew more energy from the Advanced Arcia Crystal into his fist, infusing it stronger than ever and far beyond even his own internal MP capacity. His veins glowed hot yellow like a fists of a god before mming down into Ares. The Negation Field wreaked havoc within Ares¡¯s body, which had been long used to deriving energy from the ambient air. His body weakened significantly, disrupted by both the Negation Field and the strong arcia punches delivered by Kyle. Ares tried to fight back, using his muscles to fend off Kyle and push him back. Despite Ares¡¯s sheer muscr strength, Kyle had the clear advantage with the Negation Field, able to still rely on his armour and skills to fight. They shed again and again, but over the minutes, Ares was clearly weakening, unable to keep up with Kyle¡¯s punches and kicks. With a final battle cry, Kyle punched in Ares¡¯s face as hard as he could, before following up with a brutal kick to Ares¡¯s shin, bending his knee inwards and causing Ares to fall to the ground. Before Kyle could stomp on Ares¡¯s face once again, a loudspeaker suddenly blurted out from the forces of Cretins, even reaching Kyle¡¯s ears. [The Ardent Cretins surrender.] Chapter 176: Peace Negotiations The next day¡­ Kyle thought it was a ruse, but the Ardent Cretins were truly surrendering, allowing them to be upied by the Seven Snakes. He still remained wary, keeping his exosuit on even as he headed to the Magda, the designated location for the peace negotiations. The men couldn¡¯t believe it ¨C two months of continuous fighting alling to a head in a single battle between the leaders, even before the enforcers or Baron Cain¡¯s forces coulde into y. But they had seen with their own eyes just how strong Kyle was, able to go toe to toe with Ares and even take him down directly, building a new legend among the civilians and gang members of the South Sector. ¡°Ares isn¡¯t the strongest man in the South Sector any longer ¨C it¡¯s Kyle!¡± ¡°The Seven Snakes are going to take over the entire South Sector!¡± The local residents were torn as to support the Seven Snakes or not, but most of them did not really see much of a difference: to them, it was just yet another gang taking over the area. The main concern was whether they would be far more brutal than the Ardent Cretins were. While both sides¡¯ troops had stopped fighting both outside Raktor and within Raktor itself, there were plenty of Cretins who did not agree with the order, splintering with their own men and forming new deserter groups. Kyle sent Sasha and the elite squads to suppress the remnant dissidents, but it would not be done so quickly. ¡°Boss, this might be a trap. Sebastian might be nning to kill all the leaders here in one move.¡± Damian warned as both he and Keith followed him to the negotiations, serving as Kyle¡¯s entourage. ¡°It could be. Stay on guard.¡± Kyle nodded in agreement. As the trio entered the main entrance of the Magda, a long table with chairs assigned for him had already been ced, while the rest of the parties involved were present with their own guards: Baron Cain and Bishop Vete, with the Inquisitor Mason standing behind Vete. On the opposing side were four of Sebastian and his elite knights. All of the parties turned to look at Kyle entering, recognising the new dominant powerhouse in the South Sector. Even if the Seven Snakes were still rtively small andcking in manpowerpared to the others, no one here could say that Kyle was weak. ¡°Good; now that Kyle is here, you can begin exining why the fuck the major gangs are even fighting back in the first ce. Are you not afraid of retribution from the capital?¡± Bishop Vete immediately began questioning the moment Kyle took his seat. ¡°Bishop, I am here to negotiate a peace deal, not answer such simplistic questions.¡± Sebastian tapped his finger on the table, smiling as though he was still controlling the entire flow. He does not give off the aura of a man who has lost everything ¨C something is up. Kyle carefully watched Sebastian¡¯s bodynguage, trying to pick up any hints of lying or false bravado. Yet he could see none, only seeing Sebastian smiling in his direction, aware of what Kyle was trying to do. ¡°There¡¯s no negotiation ¨C youunched a unteral attack and deration of war on the Sanctum of Yual and my people.¡± Baron Cain began. ¡°The surrender of the Ardent Cretins will be unconditional. You and Ares will be arrested and hauled to the prison in Tryas, while every single Cretin will be disarmed and imprisoned here.¡± ¡°Here is my counter-offer: you let the Ardent Cretins go scott-free, and we will retreat to our original ten districts while the Seven Snakes gets control of the rest. On top of that, we will provide you with a crucial piece of information as well as form an alliance.¡± Sebastian replied. ¡°Ridiculous!¡± Mason barked. ¡°After everything you¡¯ve done in thest two months, you think you can just return to normal?!¡± ¡°Consider this: the Ardent Cretins have been sorely weakened, the fightinging to a head in the South Sector and every party here at the table depleted in both manpower and fighting strength. Who stands to gain the most out of everything?¡± Keith leaned over to Kyle¡¯s ear. ¡°Boss, we just got a report that the Violet Demons are sending men into Kregol and fighting for resource deposits and town controls. Victoria is requesting for assistance.¡± Is this what Sebastian means? Kyle already knew that the alliance between the major gangs was tenuous at best, simr to the Barons. But he did not expect the Violet Demons to turn on their ¡®allies¡¯ so rapidly the moment the battle was lost. Baron Cain obviously got the hint from Sebastian, himself having been nearly assassinated by Baron Namor from the East Sector. ¡°You¡¯re saying the other Sectors will attack us.¡± ¡°The uprising of the major gangs was an attempt to oust the nobility while Count Leon is out at war, a period to allow for further growth and unhindered expansion. But as the major gangs reach the limits of their expansion, it is apparent to anyone that the other major gangs are also a hindrance.¡± Sebastian exined. ¡°As we speak, the Ardent Cretins¡¯ surrender has triggered an attack from the Violet Demons, them absorbing our deserters and controlled territory both outside of Raktor and beyond.¡± ¡°Is the crucial piece of information rted to why the major gangs thought their uprising would have a chance?¡± Bishop Vete asked. ¡°¡­a chance? Bishop, I would say the uprising has been a roaring sess. Look at the East Sector, where Tu¡¯Da¡¯li has negotiated with the Baron on equal grounds. The major gangs have expanded far beyond their pathetic bickering in small districts, into wide control of the countyside and even other counties. Even the Ardent Cretins at this stage is two times bigger than it was two months ago.¡± Sebastian shrugged. Kyle could see the political puzzle starting to form together. It¡¯s a period of consolidation. Every party is out to take as much as they can for themselves. With Raktor in such turmoil, even the Barons are no longer united, attempting to kill each other for more gains. ¡°And one more thing ¨C we never intended to be independent of the Yual Dominion. We wanted to rece the Barons.¡± Sebastian pointed out. ¡°You¡¯re not of noble blood.¡± Baron Cain spat. ¡°And so was your father. Did you not learn your father became a Baron in the first ce?¡± ¡°Enough distractions. Your counter-offer is rejected.¡± Baron Cain shot back, ¡°Bishop Vete, arrange for a transfer of prisoners to Tryas.¡± ¡°Yes, Baron.¡± ¡°Oh, spare me the act. When was thest time you had contact with the Sanctum of Yual in Tryas?¡± Sebastian groaned, rolling his eyes in irritation. ¡°You could not even get a single additional inquisitor toe even if you offered them rakels.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll imprison you locally.¡± Inquisitor Mason threatened. ¡°Not a big deal either way.¡± ¡°I highly doubt you have enough cells to fit all of us. Thanks to the Baron¡¯s budgeting.¡± Sebastian mocked. Baron Cain kept a stern expression, but deep down, he knew he did not waste money on building prison cells here in Raktor. Most high-profile prisoners were transferred to the capital, so he saw fit to invest in more lucrative ventures than concrete rooms holding gang members who paid him tribute. ¡°One more use to add to the offer.¡± Kyle suddenly spoke out for the first time. ¡°The Ardent Cretins must be subservient to the Seven Snakes.¡± Sebastian¡¯s mocking expression changed rapidly, his eyes ring at Kyle. ¡°Some animals are and always will be feral, no matter how much you try to keep them as pets.¡± ¡°Then I just need a bigger stick.¡± Kyle retorted. ¡°Domestication takes time, after all.¡± The two gang leaders stared each other down, an air of hostility rising again, prompting everyone in the room to instinctively reach for their weapons, ready to brandish them at a moment¡¯s notice. ¡°If we fight to the death, the vultures all around will simplye to pick up the rotting pieces,¡± Kyle warned. ¡°Exactly why I am offering an alliance instead, to unite the South Sector as one against the others. The East has already been consolidated, and there will be a race to capture as much as possible of the other sectors.¡± Sebastian replied. ¡°An alliance that you will break the moment we control Raktor?¡± ¡°It depends on how much bigger the stick is than the carrot.¡± As much as Kyle was acting strong, he knew he could not suffer yet another war with the Ardent Cretins. His elite squads were already having a hard enough time chasing down the split factions still fighting against him, and his manpower and equipment were depleted. The tunnelwork had also yet to be cleared out, needing another three weeks to get it done. All in all, Kyle¡¯s forces and even himself were not in the right state to entertain having to fight to the death. Even he knew Sebastian had gleamed all of his abilities, meaning he would likely have to face more countermeasures. Instead of immediately agreeing to the counter-offer by Sebastian, Kyle motioned to Baron Cain, asking for an adjourning of the meeting. They retreated to their own private room, where only the four of them discussed openly. ¡°We can¡¯t afford to have another fight.¡± Bishop Vete immediately exined. ¡°The enforcers have been far too weakened over the course of thest two months. All of us have. While Kyle has managed to take the Ardent Cretins down a peg, they are still stronger than all three of usbined. If Sebastian truly wanted to fight to the death, he could have thirty thousand men spread across the districts, waging a guerri war that wouldst even longer.¡± ¡°Then why did he surrender? Is he really afraid of being attacked by the other Sectors?¡± Inquisitor Mason asked. ¡°There seems to be a ploy, but I can¡¯t figure out what it is.¡± ¡°He is already under attack,¡± Kyle replied. ¡°The Violet Demons are already attempting to utilise the confusion to grab control of what the Ardent Cretins have outside of Raktor.¡± ¡°So it is a choice between mutually assured destruction or a temporary alliance¡­¡± Baron Cain muttered to himself. ¡°Even if we ept the counter-offer, we need to weaken him enough that he doesn¡¯t dominate negotiations again. Strip his ws.¡± Bishop Vete responded, throwing Kyle a sideways nce. It was painfully obvious to Kyle that even though the four of them were working together as of now, the Bishop was always looking to suppress all and any gangs. It was hard for her to act against the Seven Snakes now. Kyle had been her main supplier in the war ¨C without him, the South Sector would have been long lost to Sebastian. It was a miracle that they even managed to bring Sebastian to the negotiation table. Mason recalled him and Kitana having to kill close to a few hundred of his men before he was brought out to talk, and even then Sebastian got the advantage. ¡°Why do I feel that we¡¯re the ones losing if we ept the counter-offer?¡± Masonmented, scratching his head. They discussed a bit further before realizing it was a simple question of how much they were willing to lose. Neither side was willing to sacrifice even more resources and troops to battle, only to be picked off at the end. Even among the four of them, a power-y was happening ¨C the enforcers, Baron Cain and Kyle all seeking to gain the upper hand. The Bishop remained adamant that Kyle should not be allowed to control twenty districts, instead handing them back to enforcer control. Kyle did not try to fight, knowing that he did not have enough men to control such arge area as well. It was better for him to consolidate power and improve quality rather than go for maximum area control. Easier to focus my defenses too. The peace negotiations resumed once more, with Baron Cain leading the negotiations again. ¡°We ept your offer, but the Ardent Cretins will be reduced to five districts of control instead of ten. The Seven Snakes will control ten, and the remaining fifteen districts will be free of gang intervention, under enforcer control.¡± Sebastian nodded and agreed to the change in conditions, much to the surprise of the Baron, who would have expected Sebastian to be apprehensive to losing district controls. What Kyle and Sebastian knew was that even if the fifteen districts were returned to enforcer control, there was always a way to sneak a tendril of crime in. After all, all districts in name were under the Baron¡¯s control, yet here Kyle and Sebastian were. ¡°Now what is that crucial piece of information?¡± Bishop Vete hurriedly asked. ¡°It better be good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the Barons and even the Count has been wondering as to why all messengers and messages sent to the Duke and to the capital has not received any reply.¡± Sebastian spoke clearly. ¡°It is this very reason why the major gangs saw a chance to revolt, where there could be no possible military intervention from the Duke nor the Emperor.¡± ¡°How could you know more than a Baron can?¡± Baron Cain was suspicious. ¡°Perhaps this piece of information is fake.¡± ¡°The ck market never lies when you have enough power and money. And while Raktor may be our main base of operations, I have always seen fit to keep track of events happening beyond the county that may affect us.¡± ¡°Out with it ¨C stop beating around the bush!¡± Mason retorted. ¡°I suggest that only the relevant parties remain in this room.¡± Sebastian motioned his head to Mason, Keith and Damian. ¡°The spread of this information would be¡­ problematic in the best case scenario.¡± ¡°And in the worst-case scenario?¡± Baron Cain asked. ¡°Lethal.¡± Mason was about to scoff when the Bishop suddenly turned, motioning with her head to Mason to get out. Damian and Keith left the room as well, as did the other bodyguards, leaving only the four of them in ce: Kyle, Sebastian, Baron Cain and Bishop Vete. ¡°There, all cleared. Now, what is the information?!¡± Baron Cain urged. ¡°The Emperor of the Yual Dominion is dying.¡± Chapter 177: Funeral ¡°Take that back now.¡± Bishop Vete red at Sebastian, with obvious fury. ¡°If this is a joke, it¡¯s taken too far.¡± ¡°Why? You cannot believe that your ¡®living god¡¯ is dying?¡± Sebastian smirked. ¡°Whether or not you ept the information is not up for me to decide. I have delivered the information.¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible.¡± Baron Cain retorted. ¡°Such a big event would be made known immediately to me!¡± ¡°Really? So you can do what? n a revolt once you know that the Yual Dominion might very well shatter in the next three years?¡± Sebastian chuckled. ¡°Why would the nobility in Tryas want every single Baron under them to be aware of such a cataclysmic event?¡± Baron Cain immediately understood why the news would not spread. The Yual Dominion will be embroiled in a session war.¡°Then why does a no-name leader of a small gang in Raktor know this?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a trade secret. You¡¯re going to have to re-negotiate if you really want to know.¡± The information was a big shock for the three of them. Bishop Vete was clearly refusing to believe the rumour, her faith vignt. ¡°It is impossible for the Emperor to die. He is immortal!¡± However, Kyle was starting to put the pieces together. That¡¯s the reason why the capital and the Duke is not responding to the civil war in Raktor. Everyone is conserving their strength as much as possible. Kyle could tell that Count Leon did not know about this news, seeing as he and the two other Countsunched an attack on Versia. But something doesn¡¯t add up. The Duke would want to conserve his troops, so he should have stopped Count Leon. However, the feudal contract signed between the Count and the Duke was not fully restrictive ¨C Counts were still allowed to wage war unterally against foreign nations. It was for thisx agreement that the Yual Dominion even managed to achieve this scale, spanning nearly half of the known continent. Has Count Leon fallen out of favor from the Duke? Is that why the Duke is willing to weaken him so as to renegotiate the feudal contract? ¡°I don¡¯t have time to fight over faith.¡± Sebastian sighed, rubbing his hands together as he leaned back. ¡°Our main focus should be on ensuring our South Sector is not encroached upon by the others. I am already under attack by the Violet Demons, and I¡¯m sure Kyle will begin to see probing attacks by the Tu¡¯Da¡¯Li and Baron Namor in theing weeks.¡± Kyle didn¡¯t reply, but understood what Sebastian meant. Now is our weakest period ¨C we¡¯ll need to have a demonstration to really showcase our strength and capabilities. He needed to convince the East Sector that starting a war right now with them would be pyrrhic at best. The meeting was over, with a tenuous alliance formed between the various parties. Bishop Vete was infuriated, leaving the meeting in a rage, while Baron Cain and Kyle remained behind. ¡°Sebastian¡¯s information does not exin why the Duke has not intervened. It is in his best interest to maintain Raktor¡¯s power and economic strength as he gathers tribute and levies from it.¡± Baron Cain scratched his chin, pondering. ¡°Any weakening of the Count also represents a weakening of the Duke.¡± ¡°That all depends on whether the Duke and the Count are aligned. My current suspicions are that Baron Namor has the Duke¡¯s Favour and is poised to rece Count Leon.¡± Kyle exined. The two of them were now allies, and Kyle needed Baron Cain to be on the same page as him in order to ensure sess. ¡°Then our n to take over Raktor and make a case for ourselves is in jeopardy. Baron Namor in power will mean that he will suppress the both of us terribly.¡± ¡°Not necessarily. If I were Baron Namor, the offer that I would have made to the Duke is both higher tribute and higher levies. What we need to do to preventplete suppression is to bolster our strength and wealth so much that they can hardly ignore us. Any attempts at starting a war with us will put his offer to the Duke at risk.¡± Both of them knew that they were simply making assumptions here, as neither of them had the Duke¡¯s personality pinned downpletely. Baron Cain had only seen the Duke a few times himself, only speaking to him once after he had taken over his father¡¯s role, and never again, clearly not interested in making connections. ¡°This is a stretch on my part, but I believe the information was leaked by the Duke to the major gangs.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Baron Cain was startled. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make any sense. The Duke is fomenting uprisings in his own Count¡¯s territory?¡± ¡°That is one way to get rid of a disloyal or unaligned subordinate, or to rece it with a better underling in the form of Baron Namor.¡± It was simply an unfounded theory, but Kyle found it to be one of the better exnations for what was happening in the city. He wouldn¡¯t put it past the Duke to know exactly what was going on. So the Duke has calcted that eliminating Count Leon is far better than the current status quo. ¡°So if Count Leon captures Ocra¡­¡± Baron Cain spoke slowly. ¡°The Duke may very well eliminate him and his family with assassins even before he returns to Raktor, allowing Baron Namor to rece him.¡± Kylepleted the sentence. They were now in a dilemma. Should I then save Count Leon and kill Baron Namor? Or would killing Count Leon be the better option? Kyle realized that this n has already long been in motion, and he may not have a chance to intervene any longer. He did have the ADCON forces fighting in Ocra right now against Count Leon¡¯s troops, but protecting Count Leon was another question all together. Saving Count Leon will still result in a kill order for me. If he returns to Raktor, he would focus on eliminating the Seven Snakes first for the betrayal at Tenar. Baron Cain too wanted a chance at bing a new Count ¨C with Count Leon still alive and his family in line for session, he would have no shot at climbing up the noble ranks. While Baron Namor bing the new Count would hardly be considered ideal, it is far better than Count Leoning back to suppress all of them once again. With this consideration in mind, the two of them knew both of them hade to the same conclusion. ¡°It is interesting that every side is out to kill him.¡± Baron Cainughed at the tragedy. ¡°Originally poised to be one of therger Counts in the region if he captured Tenar, yet now he loses everything he has.¡± Kyle nodded, wondering if it had been the same scenario for him at his betrayal. Perhaps at that point, the entire organisation had already turned against me. Just like how even the Duke has turned against the Count. It was all still mere spection ¨C Kyle did not have enough information to verify his assumptions, only making the best of what he knew on hand: he was not omnipotent after all, and for all his experience in the Gctic Era, human politics remained a diverse and fresh area for him, no two situations being exactly the same. ¡°The next step for us is to rebuild and develop. It is now a race between us and the East Sector to see who can rebuild the fastest and achieve economic dominance over Raktor.¡± Baron Cain pointed out. ¡°They have a headstart due to them achieving peace earlier, so we will need to double our efforts and dissuade them from attacking all together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have my men figure out what to do next.¡± Kyle nodded in agreement, the two of them leaving the Magda separately. Kyle rejoined Keith and Damian outside, walking back through the streets. The districts were aplete mess, but the locals remaining were stubborn, some semnce of life returning to the demolished streets. However, the vast majority had no work to do, and business owners had long fled to the Central Sector or to other counties. ¡°Well done, Damian and Keith, for holding out this long.¡± Kyle recognized that he did not y a part in the two-month long defence, meaning that the Seven Snakes had somehow held on without him. It was a testimonial to the prowess and determination of the men that he had gathered around him. ¡°I won¡¯t give up what I¡¯ve built that easily. Not after we havee so far.¡± Damian grinned, with Ketih nodding his head as well. The two of them were there from the start, having witnessed Kyle grow the Seven Snakes from a small time gang of twenty members to an organization able to go toe to toe with major gangs. If they were counting ADCON and the amount of economic influence Kyle now had in Versia due to his ck market supply routes, it nearly rivaled an entire county. Perhaps a Count Kyle in the future? Neither of them could have believed that they made it this far. Damian recallednguishing in mediocrity under Ulon for what seemed like ages. It was Kyle that motivated him to do better, pushing him to his limits along with increased responsibility. He may not be as strong, but as the underboss of the Seven Snakes in Raktor, he was not going to give up without a fight. Keith too cherished the wealth they had umted from themselves, building a kingdom out of nothing. He was nowhere as strong as the other members of the Seven Snakes, not even being able to fight properly with his young body. Yet he yed an essential role in managing the day-to-day operations. All of the Seven Snakes members did, and it was invigorating to be part of a growing organization that only showed more and more promise day by day. ¡°First things first. We honor the fallen.¡± Kyle ordered, focusing on remembering the fallen. They headed straight for the site of the battle, where Kyle himself rolled up his sleeves and carried dead bodies, his fallen men shot to hell or missing limbs and cing them into makeshift coffins. The losses were tremendous ¨C Kyle had lost half of the Seven Snakes¡¯ men since the war began two months ago, a terrible death rate. They had won, and for a brief day, the men were overjoyed. Yet now, as they saw all theirrades lined up in their various coffins, with their wives and daughters crying over in a cacophony of wails, they began to wonder whether it was all worth it. Kyle worked tirelessly, using his strength to clear the debris and retrieve the bodies under exploded buildings or fallen rubble. As he cleared the building, he noticed a familiar face, his heart clenching slightly as he saw the corpse. He¡­ he shouldn¡¯t have followed me in the charge. Kyle had not kept track of the fighting during his duel with Ares, not knowing who had died and who had survived. Damian was right next to Kyle, his face saddened at the ghastly sight of Alex¡¯s corpse. ¡°He was a good man. A good father. Damn good fighter too. Fought harder than any of us.¡± ¡°How many kids?¡± ¡°Two daughters. Wife was killed by the Ilysian Punks.¡± Kyle¡¯s heart clenched even more, his body emotional as he thought about how would his family be affected by his death in his former life. Probably hunted down to prevent session. The thought gripped him tighter than ever, something he never felt when he neutered his emotions. In my pursuit for power, my men has always suffered. I never once felt anything for them. Is this what it is supposed to be like? ¡°Make sure they are treated well. All of them.¡± Kyle spoke softly, with Damian nodding. Suddenly, they heard a shuffle below Alex¡¯s corpse. Kyle quickly lifted Alex¡¯s corpses, revealing a nearly dead Ollie below, the kid¡¯s left armpletely crushed and severed under the rubble, his lips chapped from the dehydration. Ne of Healing! ¡°Get water now!¡± Kyle urged Damian, prompting a nearby rescue team to quicklye over with potions and bandages while Kyle pulled Ollie out slowly, the healing aura mending his body but not his missing left arm. Ollie¡¯s head lolled back unconsciously as Kyle ced him on the stretcher to be brought back to the hypermall for treatment. The rescue work continued for a day, with the workers taking shifts while Kyle worked non-stop, not taking a break. The sight of their leader on the ground personally saving them was a sight to them, especially the newer Seven Snakes who had joined during the war and after Kyle left for Versia. ¡°Have all the bodies brought back to the mall for a funeral. The families can decide where they want them to be buried. Those with no families will be buried in the Culdao Peaks. Give me a list of all the names of those who died in battle.¡± Kyle ordered. A few hourster, The coffins lined up at the square in front of the hypermall, the defense fortifications shifted slightly to make way for the procession. Every Seven Snake member attended the funeral, a sombre tone holding them as they remembered therades they had fought with and the people they had lost along the way. ¡°Nature has life and death. The universe is a cycle of it. Each and every sapient living organism has to contest with the fact that one day, it might die.¡± Kyle began his speech, standing in the midst of the coffins, their families standing next to them. ¡°When one signs up to be a Seven Snakes associate, the life was never going to be easy. Death was always around the corner ¨C one crime away from failure. One mistake away from never being able to see your loved ones again. It was a risk, that everyone who joined understood.¡± ¡°Still, this does not cheapen nor simplify the meaning of their deaths. For them and for all of us, battles and wars are never senseless. The difference between a human and an animal, is that we can choose when to die ourselves. That we can willingly choose to risk death in the hopes of something greater.¡± ¡°Their deaths are a shout, a roar of defiance to the rest of society thatmon folk like you and me shall not be ignored. That we shall not be subjugated and treated like cattle under those better off than us, waiting to be ughtered like animals. No, for these men here who have passed on, they died heroes.¡± ¡°They fought to rise up against a brutal society, to fight against the chains that shackled both themselves and their loved ones. If given a choice tonguish in the slums or to seek greater fortune and wealth, who would me them for chasing their ambition? Do not begrudge them for their deaths, but be proud!¡± ¡°For unlike animals, they chose to fight for a better tomorrow. A better future! Not one where you will be forever a ve, unable to seek your own destiny. They fought for freedom and a better life, for all of us. They shall forever be immortalised as heroes of the Seven Snakes who had made the bravest choice to fight for their sessors, their future generation. For it is the greatest who nt trees, knowing that they may never sit under its shade.¡± ¡°And I, as leader of the Seven Snakes, vow to always remember their dedication and efforts. Their loved ones shall forever be taken care of by us, never forgotten nor thrown to the side.¡± Kyle then personally spoke each and every name of those who had fallen, bowing to their families. While it was clear that he had memorised the list, the direct effort he had put into doing so made the families much more appreciative. Not every family was happy with Kyle, some evenshing out the moment he got close. ¡°It¡¯s your fault! It¡¯s your fault that my son is dead! All the words you¡¯ve spouted are mere gibberish, nder to my son¡¯s death! He died for nothing! Only for your gang¡¯s sickening ambition and greed for power.¡± A crying mother shouted in anger. Kyle did not respond, not arguing with the mother but instead bowing his head in apology. The crying mother eventually lost steam, turning into a sobbing mess as she hugged her son¡¯s coffin, tears streaming down the makeshift wooden cover. The funeral was long ¨C nearly two hours as Kyle took the time to express his sincerity for each and every coffin, even those with no families left such as orphans who had joined. The moment he was done, he returned to his original position. ¡°Their deaths only serve as a stark reminder that without power, anyone and everyone outside can and will suppress us. Only through bolstering ourselves can we prevent such a tragedy again. The peace that we now have was one that they have sacrificed for ¨C and I n to make it count.¡± Kyle nodded to Damian, who hollered out. ¡°SQUAD, PRESENT ARMS!¡± A funeral firing squad that had been hastily assembled lined up with their arctech guns Kyle noticed a girl in the line-up, tears streaming down her face as she could hardly break away her gaze from Alex¡¯s coffin. Still she gripped her rifle tightly, her arms outstretched. Their practice was clearlycking, but the sincerity could be felt, the squad made up of all the people who knew those who had fallen personally. Even Roca, the hobgoblin of Alex¡¯s squad was in there was well, a tear streaking from the corner of his eyes. ¡°LOAD!¡± Damian roared again, prompting the guards to shakily load a single pellet into the rifle. ¡°AIM!¡± The multitude of rifles aimed up at the sky. ¡°FIRE!¡± A barrage rang out clear and true, as many of the families broke down once more, sobbing even harder than ever. The firing squad fired three times, the number of pellets fired representing each soul that had passed on. ¡°Today, we mourn our losses ¨C but those who had given their lives for us would not want us to remain stationary forever. The better future that they believed in for all of us would not exist if we stood by idly!¡± Kyle began to speak once more, motivating the men. ¡°Think of everything we have achieved so far ¨C think of where you havee from to get to this point, to stand on top of everything else despite all the hardships we have endured!¡± ¡°The Seven Snakes has now risen to be a major gang: the dominant force in the South Sector! And by hook or crook, I swear on my name that we will rise even further, even greater, and burn even brighter than any gang that hase before us! Our name will spread all over the continent and even beyond, and no one will dare stand in our way! WHO ARE WE?!¡± Kyle shot his hand into the air. ¡°SEVEN SNAKES!¡± The firing squad roared back with Damian in the lead. ¡°WHO ARE WE?¡± Kyle shouted again. ¡°SEVEN SNAKES!¡± The other members chanted back as well with force, shouting with all their might. ¡°I CAN¡¯T HEAR YOU! WHO ARE WE?!¡± ¡°SEVEN SNAKES!¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!