Chapter 073
Our next target was the Black Pig Gang’s Base of Operations.
Since we had to go back into the village, we decided to split up and avoid the eyes of the Village Guard.
We had already laid out the operation in ticulous detail, including our route of movent. Even if a few of the n got caught by the guards, it would not be enough to cause serious trouble.
Having Guard Captain Womoff in our pocket after slipping him money not long ago was reassuring. If any of the mbers were caught, they would only be detained briefly before I used Womoff’s influence to get them out.
We moved in pairs as a rule, and agreed to gather in front of the place we believed to be the Black Pig Gang’s Base of Operations.
“Boss. The subordinates have all departed. I think it is about ti we moved as well.”
Kalmond reported to .
Only the three of us remained now: Kalmond, Eluna, and . The surroundings were quiet. It seed the Village Guard still had not noticed the commotion that had taken place here.
I spoke.
“We move together. As quickly as possible.”
“Understood. I will guide the way.”
Kalmond took the lead, and I removed the Iron Mask before pulling my hood low over my face. Then the three of us ran toward the village.
Kalmond already knew the patrol routes of the Village Guard by heart, so although it was close, we managed to reach our destination without being discovered.
We hid against a wall and waited for a while, and one by one the others began to appear. Since our forces had taken no losses, all twenty-two n, eleven pairs, should arrive.
“Eluna. Order the n to wait and keep them hidden.”
“Yes, Master.”
I told Eluna to prepare for battle, then called Kalmond over and asked him,
“What do you think the mood will be like at the base?”
“Since so of them made it back alive, they will have prepared for battle. The Black Pig Gang is not an organization that rose through the Underworld overnight, so they will resist to the bitter end. From what I have heard, they have one particularly skilled fighter.”
“That’s a relief. I was worried the ga would end before I even got to warm up. Still, a skilled fighter...... Well, a large organization like this was never going to collapse that easily.”
Kalmond looked at with puzzlent as he watched enjoy the situation. If I were him, I would be curious too. I would probably be wondering what kind of monster a man had to be to act like this.
Normally, avoiding battle would have been the right choice, but I had no intention of doing that.
This was a world where strength and power were everything. Without strength, you could do nothing but get trampled. Where I had lived before, the law guaranteed at least the bare minimum for survival. This place had no such thing.
So what that ant was simple: when you had the chance to stomp on sothing, you had to stomp hard enough to make sure it never rose again.
As I had said before, I had no intention of writing a fairy tale.
I intended to survive here thoroughly, and to enjoy the new life I had been given.
“Master. All the n have gathered.”
Right on cue, Eluna returned with good news. I gave a firm nod.
“Good. Have them all remain on standby. I’ll lead the way.”
“That is dangerous! There may be traps. I should go first.”
“This is exactly why I waited until everyone got here. Hans, Jero, Durahan, and Edin are founding mbers, so they know what I can do. The others don’t.”
The newer recruits would surely have doubts about my ability. What was the point of hearing praise a hundred tis? Showing them once was best.
Kalmond seed convinced and nodded as he drew his weapon. Eluna pulled out a rapier instead of her bow. Of course. An elf with a rapier just felt right.
I pulled out the Mana Pistol from my waist and loaded it.
Click!
I had already inspected it beforehand, so there was no issue with firing it. I took out the Iron Mask, put it on again, steadied my breathing once, and then rushed forward.
“Wipe them all out!”
At my command, the n moved quietly and swiftly.
There was no rallying shout to raise morale. If there had been, the Village Guard might have co swarming over. The principle of this operation was to keep everything as quiet as possible.
Crash!
At the front, I kicked the door open and charged inside. Just in case, I grabbed one of the shattered fragnts of the door.
“Enemy!”
“It’s an ambush! Everyone, arm yourselves!”
As expected, they had already finished preparing. The mont I entered, I saw two n at the far end of the hallway aiming crossbows at .
Thunk! Thunk!
Their reaction speed was faster than mine. The bolts split the air as they flew toward .
But I had already finished all my preparations.
I poured Mana into the broken piece of door and used it like a shield, blocking every bolt that ca at . The bolts sank into the wood with a chilling sound.
“That’s quite the welco. Now it’s my turn. Reloading crossbows is a bit troubleso, isn’t it?”
I set the Mana-output lever to dium and fired imdiately. There was no need to aim. The laser pointer had already marked their chests.
Bang! Bang bang!
“Hrk!”
“Aagh!”
The two n fell together, screaming like good friends to the very end.
A few days earlier, I had raised the power of the Mana Pistol by another level. My Mana cultivation had advanced, and I could now control stronger Mana than before.
Thanks to that, the firing sound was far more satisfying than before, and a single shot was enough to completely crumple the Light Armor they wore and rob them of their fighting ability.
In the past, it would have ended in bruises. Now, their bones were probably broken.
The reason I could charge in without fear, despite not knowing the internal structure or what kind of chanisms they had in place, was simple. The Protective Aura I had developed from an earlier idea had reached a certain level.
Now, even things like flying Concealed Daggers or arrows could be deflected without my needing to block them directly. And even if they were not deflected, I could still wrap myself in a barrier strong enough to avoid a fatal wound.
After dropping the two n, I ran straight ahead.
Tap!
At that mont, I felt sothing catch under my foot.
Is it a trap?
A chill ran through . The Mana around my heart reacted automatically, and my kinetic vision caught sothing.
I instinctively raised a hand to block.
Shushushushushuk!
Sharp needles shot out from the wall. A few passed by, but the ones aid at my body failed to sink in and were all knocked away.
I looked down at the needles scattered on the floor. They were fairly large, and judging from the green liquid sared on their tips, they were poisoned.
“I almost ended up as a pincushion. Brutal bastards.”
It was a good thing I had not sent Kalmond and Eluna in first. In that case, I might as well trigger every trap myself before the n behind entered.
I deliberately made broad, exaggerated movents as I pushed deeper inside.
In the process, several chanisms activated and ca for my life. Crossbows, poison needles, spears, and all sorts of other weapons rained down, but they could not touch a single hair on my head.
Bang bang! Bang!
And the ones who tried to block my path beca sacrifices to the Mana Pistol.
After dropping around ten n, I paused to catch my breath.
Behind , the battle was in full swing. This place was laid out like an anthill, a maze of corridors and rooms, and that ant ambushes everywhere.
“The battle won’t end just by taking down the boss.”
Even in a crisis like this, soone would still be directing them, and if I killed that man, there was no doubt the rest would go down much more easily.
So I kicked hard at the door to the room at the very end of the hallway.
Crunch!
With Mana in my leg, the kick shattered the door and tore it off its hinges, and I ca face-to-face with a bald man holding a huge butcher’s cleaver, the kind you would expect to see in a slaughterhouse.
That sent a chill down my spine. I had never seen a weapon like that before.
“Oh! Fresh at!”
It looked like a scene out of so ga. The giant with the cleaver gave off the exact feeling of a butcher boss monster as he drooled at the sight of .
“Which part shall I carve up first?”
“Enough talk. Are you the one in charge? You already know your main force has been wiped out by now. So while I’m being polite, have your n disarm and surrender. Do that, and I’ll spare your life.”
“Spare my life? Hah! You crazy bastard! I can’t even trust the Knight Order, and you want to trust the words of a bunch of back-alley trash? Fuck off!”
He swung the cleaver irritably.
Whoom!
The wind from it reached all the way to . He really was skilled. Cold sweat trickled down my back. The man grinned and dragged his tongue along the blade.
“Heh heh heh. I don’t know how the boss got done in, but I’m different.”
“So words won’t work.”
I raised the pistol. At the sa ti, the giant charged at .
Bang bang!
I fired two light shots first. Then sothing unbelievable happened.
Ting!
One shot was deflected by the cleaver he swung. The second hit him in the chest, but instead of collapsing, he rely frowned.
“What?”
Was he so kind of physical monster? How could a human body be harder than steel plate?
In the anti, he had already closed the distance.
“You think you can challenge Lord Butcher with a child’s toy? Die!”
“Damn it!”
More shocking than the fact that his actual title was Butcher was the sheer ferocity of his attack.
I could not hide the alarm on my face.
His shadow fell over , and I threw my body to the side while drawing my Mana up to its limit.
With a whoosh that tore through the air, the cleaver grazed my cheek. If I had been even a little slower, my head would have split in two.
With that kind of power, I could not be certain whether my Protective Aura would hold.
When the outco was uncertain, it was better to dodge whenever possible. Of course, if I had to take a hit, then I had to take it.
“All your bosses were frail little things, so why are you this strong?”
I asked because I was genuinely curious. Fortunately, he was willing to play along.
“Because I’m the joker of this organization. Kahahaha! There are already hundreds of fools who looked down on us and died by my hand. You’ll be joining them soon enough.”
“We do have sothing in common, then. I like that kind of strategy too.”
As I got to my feet, I flicked the Mana-output lever to High.
Click.
With the power raised another level, a direct hit should have done more than just break bones.
But he did not fear the bullets. His body was so absurdly tough that even when he was hit, he barely seed affected.
Could this bastard be an Aura User?
For now, I pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Clang!
With a sharp report, he casually knocked away my shot like a cleanup hitter batting in a ho run derby. Then he began walking toward at a slow, steady pace.
“Heh heh heh. So this is the limit of your little tricks? How boring. Then I suppose it’s about ti......”
“It’s not over yet. You think you’re the only joker? I’m a joker too, you bastard.”
I pulled out a fresh Magazine with my left hand and held it between my teeth, then took out another one and gripped it in my left hand. At the sa ti, my right hand kept squeezing the trigger without pause. This was going to be a battle of volu.
Bang bang bang bang bang! Bang bang! Bang bang bang bang bang!
Click! Click click!
I was out of bullets.
I swapped in the Magazine in my hand at once and poured out another stream of shots. As the firing continued in rapid succession, the bastard finally started to stagger.
“Graaagh!”
A large body simply ant a broader target. I fired almost like a spray, hitting not only his arms and legs, but even the rod between his legs.
“Cough! Ghk! Uwaaak!”
At last, he coughed up blood.
No matter how sturdy his body was, the accumulated impact had clearly damaged his insides.
Now then, ti to finish this.
I swapped in my last remaining Magazine and emptied it cleanly into him.
Thud!
At last, he fell.
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