Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Capturing the Bounty Target (4)
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Splish-
Splish-
Splish-
Splish-
Clang-!
Clang-!
The sewer, where all the city's sewage converged, was thick with humid air, and puddles always pooled on the floor, creating wet, squelching sounds with every step.
Even using black magic couldn't mask the loud echoes bouncing through the entire sewer due to the old iron grates scattered along the path.
Because of that, Alistair and Hewitt—executives of the Kell Free Independence Army—fled as far from Oliver as possible, matching his pace.
'It doesn't seem like they're just running away. More like they're waiting for something. What could it be?'
Oliver focused his eyes, probing their emotions as he pondered.
They seemed burdened by his presence yet fled as if they saw an opportunity.
Reinforcements? Or a trap?
Either way, it was fortunate for Oliver.
That was exactly why they hadn't fully escaped this place yet.
For Oliver, who had roughly pinpointed their location through their emotions but hesitated to pursue rashly due to the complex internal layout, it was something to be grateful for.
Flutter flutter flutter... smack!
A centipede as thick as two human fingers emerged from the flowing sewage and approached Oliver.
The moment he spotted it, Oliver smashed it dead with his quarterstaff.
Even in the sewage, the centipede showed tenacious vitality, writhing before slowly going still.
Purple, green, and black fluids—mixed bodily secretions—oozed from under the quarterstaff where it had crushed the centipede's head.
No one had taught him, but Oliver knew instinctively that it was poison.
Not natural poison, either—something man-made.
A voice echoed from somewhere.
It came from the wall at the bend ahead.
A black magic circle drawn in blood adorned the wall.
One capable of transmitting voices from afar.
'But that's not all there is to it.'
Oliver focused his eyes, scanning the surroundings as he replied.
Due to the high humidity and abundance of nutrients, countless tiny bugs and creatures teemed here.
And amid them, beings with powerful life forces were closing in.
'Spider webs have increased too. Faintly infused with mana.'
"Sorry, but I can't do that, Mr. Alistair."
A brief silence passed—a flicker of agitation.
[...You're willing to risk your life for money?]
"Money's part of it, but it's also a promise. I already told the intermediaries I'm working with that I'd bring you in."
As soon as he finished speaking, a massive water column erupted from below, and something burst forth.
It resembled the frog-crocodile hybrid he'd seen earlier, stretching out a dull red tongue aimed straight at Oliver's face.
Smack-!!
The polluted creature was fast, but fortunately, Oliver was faster.
By a hair's breadth, he ducked low to evade the tongue, then swung his quarterstaff to slice it clean in half.
"......!!!"
The polluted creature let out an indescribable screech and tried to dive back into the water.
The problem was, Oliver was just a bit faster again.
Right before it fully submerged, he fired a Hate Bullet from his index finger, striking its head.
Splat—thud!!
A fist-sized hole punched through the beast's massive head, pink flesh and parasite-riddled brain spilling out to float away with the sewage.
It would probably drift all the way to the great Sem River crossing Randa.
But complacency was forbidden.
Alistair, attacking with his tamed polluted creatures via black magic, felt a surge of panic in his emotions—but soon steadied himself.
He'd decided to fight.
Ping!
Oliver ducked his head.
A bug blending mosquito and scorpion traits hung from the ceiling, stabbing at him with its tail needle.
Thwack—!
He swung his quarterstaff to swat it away; it spewed dark green fluids as it shattered. Then, beastly footsteps echoed from three passages.
Judging by the excited emotional state and footsteps, they were polluted lifeforms under Alistair's control.
"Impressive. Mental manipulation is supposed to be quite difficult."
Remembering how Oliver had stolen his polluted lifeform, he replied in a displeased tone.
Moments later, the polluted creatures swarming from each passage came into view.
A hairless rat with scales, a dog with tentacles for a nose—no, a massive mole—charged from three directions.
Just as the documents described, he handled a truly diverse array of polluted lifeforms.
Using this talent, he'd tormented the kingdom's army countless times...
'No wonder the bounty is 110 million.'
A question arose alongside that thought.
A net navigator capable of net sailing was valuable manpower, sure—but was Hewitt's bounty higher than Alistair and Daemon's combined? He doubted it.
And that wasn't the only oddity.
Alistair's current emotional state was suspicious too. He wasn't just trying to take Oliver down; he was desperately protecting the magic hacker Hewitt.
It didn't seem like mere admiration for talent. There was a more specific reason.
'Hmm... then I can't use this right away, can I?'
Ice magic would be perfect for subduing the humid environment and the polluted lifeforms approaching from three sides, but Oliver decided to save it for something more crucial.
One lesson from his fight with Merlin: raw firepower had limits.
A hard-earned truth after being toyed with repeatedly by those ice clone spells.
Decisive tools for decisive moments.
Besides, he had other options.
Oliver cast black magic on the polluted lifeform charging from the right.
It felt like he could seize control, just like before.
Then pit it against the one from the left to buy time, dash straight to the center, and pursue Alistair.
In the current situation, they couldn't flee alone—so narrowing the distance took priority, even if it meant wandering a bit.
But the plan unraveled from the start.
The moment Oliver cast his black magic, the polluted lifeforms' muscles swelled, veins bulging grotesquely as their reason evaporated.
Eyes rolled back, foam at their mouths—only destructive instincts remained.
Looking closely, each wore a collar blending syringe and drug vial, like a dog's.
Who'd have thought they'd counter theft like this.
Another lesson learned.
'That's that, and this is this. What now?'
Fortunately, the drugs had blown away even their minimal minds, so they turned on each other first. Oliver seized the moment and charged the central passage's polluted lifeform.
In his Black Suit, he was confident against most physical attacks and germ contamination.
'But why didn't they drug those ones?'
He soon learned why.
As if reading his intent, the massive mole with the tentacle nose from the central passage suddenly exploded.
"...Ah!"
Oliver realized it in that instant: a bomb strapped to its body.
Not overwhelmingly powerful, but enough to collapse the aged sewer ceiling.
Rumbling, rotten bricks and dirt poured down. Alistair shouted loudly.
"Who knows? They're pretty strong in their own right, so maybe not."
Oliver replied, activating Shadow Tentacle.
The shadow tentacles shot out in an instant, halting the collapsing ceiling momentarily.
A temporary measure, but sufficient for Oliver in his Black Suit.
Pop—!
He channeled black magic into his legs, kicked off the floor, and slipped through the gap held by the shadow tentacles.
Injured, berserk polluted lifeforms pursued from behind, but as he retracted the tentacles, the fallen ceiling debris blocked them, leaving only their howls.
Kahaha—!
Screeech!!
Squeak squeak!!
Grrrrr!!
Croak!
Squeak—! Squeak!
The drug's effects lingered; the howls soon turned to fighting sounds.
Just a hunch, but they'd probably annihilate each other soon.
Not Oliver's concern, though.
'Focus on what's ahead first.'
Oliver concentrated his eyes.
Narrowing the range to right in front of him revealed thin... very thin spider webs infused with mana.
A question arose.
Spider webs laced with mana?
Was there a mage? Even so, it was odd.
According to Forrest's intel, only about three could use magic, and none like this.
'More importantly, not webs made of mana. Webs infused with mana.'
Not certain, but Oliver started walking.
Invisible thin webs brushed him with each step, adhering in tiny amounts.
No real damage to the Black Suit, but they accumulated steadily.
Still, Oliver stayed vigilant, subtly drawing out mana from his pocket.
Splish.
Splish.
Splish.
Splish.
Splish.
With each step on the wet floor, more webs clung to him, drawing him closer to the polluted lifeform tamer Alistair and the magic hacker Hewitt.
They weren't fleeing. Instead, like hunters who'd set a trap, they calmly held their ground with resolve.
Oliver approached, hoping his guess was right.
Navigating the twisting, maze-like paths, he reached the end.
Two men were there.
"Are you Mr. Alistair and Mr. Hewitt? I—"
"—Blow it up!"
"Yes!"
The older man shouted to the younger one.
The mid-teen boy yanked a stick-like device, igniting a brilliant light.
Oliver's shadow was engulfed, shrinking under the intense glow.
"Ho..."
"Parker! Pull!"
With those words, the webs on Oliver's body wove together like rope, binding him in an instant.
Rip-!
A sharp tearing sound rang out as Oliver, in his Black Suit, was yanked airborne, arms splayed like a penitent.
"Well done, Parker!"
Oliver spotted the entity called Parker dangling from the ceiling.
It bore a human name, but it wasn't human.
Lobster? Scorpion? ...Spider? An indefinable massive monster.
Its tail arched like a scorpion's, extruding countless spider webs; beside its maw, lobster-like claws replaced front legs—no, more like human hands. Five claw tips per limb busily wove threads.
Locking eyes with Parker's eight orbs, Oliver thought:
'Chimera? Polluted lifeform? A hybrid?'
As he pondered, his body moved instinctively.
The cunningly woven webs bound him like steel, refusing to yield.
He strained, but astonishingly, the Black Suit couldn't snap them. Incredibly tough webs.
"Surprised?"
The orange-curled man asked through gritted teeth. His emotions shone with exhilaration, joy, satisfaction.
"Honestly... yes, I am."
Oliver admitted sincerely. He'd half-expected something, but the spider and webs were quite the shock.
Research-worthy, even.
"A polluted lifeform? Chimera?"
"None of your business. You're a skilled black mage, but this one's been mine since it was young—your mind control won't work. Plus, your shadows are powerless in this light. You're done."
As Alistair finished, the giant spider—spinning webs and tightening bindings with claw hands—approached Oliver.
It seized his face with human-like claws and thrust a massive stinger from its tail end toward him.
Victory assured, Alistair yelled excitedly.
"Uh... those aren't emotions?"
With that, Oliver unleashed the mana in his hand, invoking the ritual to activate his spell.
Suited for the damp sewer.
"[Freeze]"
⟨ Freeze ⟩
With the incantation, intense cold spread in all directions, freezing everything around.
Not even the steel-tough, rubber-elastic webs were spared; brittle now, they shattered like glass.
Snap-!
Under the fierce chill, the spider called Parker curled its legs and arms, entering hibernation and plummeting to the floor.
'Gotta grab that.'
"You bastard, what the—"
—Thwack! Crack!
Oliver swung his quarterstaff at Alistair and Hewitt, knocking them out.
As expected, they weren't tough; one hit flipped their eyes back as they collapsed unconscious.
Checking the fallen pair, Oliver suddenly recalled something.
"Oh... I meant to ask why you're protecting Hewitt. Slipped my mind. Whatever, doesn't matter now. Work first."
With that, Oliver gathered Alistair, Hewitt, and the spider Parker.