Chapter 184
Chapter 184
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 184
Chapter Title: A Changed Standing (1)
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Randa's outermost outskirts. Deep in a forest designated as a no-development zone.
A small skirmish was unfolding there right now.
Thanks to the barrier set up to conceal the bootleg liquor factory, nothing was visible from outside, but there was no doubt a fight was raging.
Well, it wasn't anything impressive.
It was just one of those commonplace turf wars that broke out in Randa every other day.
The only problem was that we were losing.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!"
Boom! Kwang! Boom!! Bang! Bwoom! Bwoom!!
Edri, the owner of the bootleg liquor factory and a former Magic Tower student, muttered as he watched the defensive installations, barracks, and magic liquor production machines get blown to smithereens.
My heart sank. All of that was debt.
How the hell had things gone so wrong?
Everything had been going smoothly, for sure.
Starting with the prison break, we'd been cracking down on Randa's back alleys like rats in a trap, putting most of the gangs on lockdown. Edri had timed it perfectly to quietly set up the bootleg factory here.
The business item was solid too. Magic liquor was all the rage lately, not just in Randa but everywhere else.
With a proven product, investors came knocking fast. Money rolled in, and so did the underlings.
Trash who would sell their bodies for a few coins were a dime a dozen in Randa.
Everything had been smooth sailing...
Until these raiders showed up.
Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat! Da-da-da-da-da-da!! Clang! Clang!!
"Argh! My eyes!!"
"Fuck, someone turn on the floodlights! Can't respond in this darkness... gah!"
"Take cover! Take cover!! That bastard shoots like a pro!"
The underlings defending the main gate couldn't pin down even a single intruder and were scrambling for cover, yelling their heads off.
I wanted to call them idiots, but the intruder was no ordinary foe.
He'd blasted through the main gate and already dropped over a dozen with gunfire alone. No way to stop him.
Somehow, he was firing multiple guns at once, unleashing firepower equivalent to a squad, and every shot was dead on.
The bodies crumpling with each gunshot were proof.
'Too dark to see properly... mutant? Golem prosthetic user?'
A few underlings flipped on the floodlights, illuminating the area, and the intruder's form came into view.
It was a mutant with multiple arms sprouting from its body.
A grotesque, twisted abomination that turned the stomach just to look at.
But unlike its appearance, it seemed highly intelligent, immediately sniping the bulbs to blind everyone with impressive reflexes.
Clang! Clang! Da-da-da-da! Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat!
Bang! Bang! Pop! Bwoom! Bwoom! Boom!
The lights shattered in just two seconds, plunging the area back into darkness.
The underlings with lanterns only painted targets on themselves.
Then another explosion rocked the place.
"Gaaah! My leg!"
"Fire! Put out the fire here!!"
"Can't see! Can't see ahead! My eyes-!"
The bombs infused with black magic energy didn't just wreck the facilities—they tore into the reinforcements too.
The first blast, and now this one... they were precisely targeted.
Of course, some made it through unscathed.
A few had superhuman strength or basic mana manipulation and pushed back the intruder for a moment.
But that didn't last.
The intruder lobbed mana-infused bombs, unleashing massive flames that flipped the situation in an instant.
The eerie blaze shattered even their basic formations.
The intruder seized the opening, gripped sawn-off shotguns in both hands, charged through the fire, and unleashed hell.
Boom!! Boom!!
The sawn-off shotguns packed cannon-like punch, even snuffing out the roaring flames, as they pulped Edri's panicking goons like tomatoes.
More like handheld artillery than guns.
The intruder let out some eerie, joyous cackle amid the firepower, and the already demoralized gangsters finally broke and ran.
"Eek...!! Monster!!"
"This wasn't in the story...! It wasn't!"
"Mom... Mommy..."
It was over.
Once fear like that spread, no containing it.
Especially among back-alley bottom-feeders.
Edri moved to his next course of action immediately.
Fleeing.
He could have fought, but the stakes were too high.
From what he'd learned in his Magic Tower backroom deals, it was time to bail.
Edri descended from the central watchtower office and spoke into the communicator.
"Enemy's too strong! I'll link up—everyone fall back here!"
Static crackled from the device, followed by a chorus of voices.
Terrified ones, emboldened ones, skeptical ones.
Didn't matter.
Whether they bought it or not, gathered or not, Edri planned to run.
Fine if they fled; fine if they came here.
Either way, it'd draw the enemy's attention.
"Yeah, this is just a setback. Has to be. I've always got a plan."
Edri muttered like he had when his family disowned him, stuffing the magic bag he'd swiped from the Magic Tower with magic liquor recipes, potion formulas, herb cultivation guides, scroll-making primers, pure mana school texts, research logs, cash, and more.
The investors wouldn't be happy about losing the factory, but screw it. Like he said, he had a plan.
He'd hole up with the richest, most powerful investor.
Work under him a few years to make up the losses, and he'd surely get protection.
Greedy druid who loved money and women.
'Above all, he values talent... so he can't ignore me!'
Edri strode to the door with conviction.
Crunch!!
The moment he opened it, he sensed danger and instinctively deployed a shield.
A mana armor suit clad his body just as something slammed into his chest dead-on.
"Guh...!!"
Edri flew back like he'd taken a cannon shell to the face, crashing into the wall and crumpling.
He looked up to see a bald brute wielding tonfa in both hands, radiating immense vitality and mana.
'Mana hypertrophy??!! Where's the corridor guard? All dead? When?'
High-caliber fighter, by his guess. But Edri was Magic Tower alumni too—pure mana school. He didn't panic, conjuring dense mana chains and whipping them out.
Seemed simple, but it was his specialty: attack and restraint in one.
The chains snagged the bald intruder's arm—only for the brute to sharpen mana into his opposite tonfa and shred the mana links.
"...!!!"
No ordinary tonfa.
Thwack!!
The intruder closed the gap in a flash, pummeling Edri wildly.
Edri blocked with his pre-equipped mana armor, but the blows were too fierce—the shock pierced right through.
Countering was tough; the assault was too flashy, too unpredictable.
Punches, tonfa strikes, elbow smashes, knee kicks, sweeping tonfa swings, roundhouse kicks.
Clang! Clang! Clang!!
Each hit like an iron hammer—lethal.
Edri tried close-quarters techniques from his school, but he was outmatched.
"Ngh!"
Finally, he triggered the magic item hidden on him.
Saved for a true do-or-die moment.
Months of accumulated magic shields etched a 3D spell array in the air, forming a cubic barrier around him.
The dazzling mana repelled the intruder. He swung his tonfa at the shield.
Clang!
Clang!
'Ha, this shield's packed with months of my mana. Think a few whacks will break it?!'
Edri smirked triumphantly, gathering and compressing his mana.
He'd planned a quiet exit, but the pressure left no choice. Not meant for a mere crisis like this, but a massive explosion spell anyway—
"Hm?"
Edri spotted the bald brute channeling all his mana into one hand and tonfa.
'Gonna smash it? ...Fine, I can hold!'
Calculations done, Edri shouted.
"You think that puny effort will shatter this shield?!!"
"No..."
The brute replied with an awkward, grotesque grin, like a puppet's face forcibly twisted—utterly repulsive.
Then another four-armed intruder emerged from the shadows, infusing the bald one's arm with black magic.
"...Huh?"
That dumb utterance was Edri's last.
Before he could even yell "wait," the bald brute swung his black magic-wreathed fist into the shield.
Splat!!
The barrier warped like torn space, splitting horizontally and cleaving Edri's upper and lower body apart.
The sensation of hot organs hitting cold air defied description. For the few seconds he clung to life, Edri savored it while staring up at his two killers.
The reality was too unbelievable for anger, hatred, or sorrow.
Just numb shock.
...Huh?
On the verge of death, Edri noticed something off.
His killers weren't human.
Masterful makeup had fooled him at first, but gazing into their vacant eyes, he realized.
Too late now, meaningless.
Edri, former Magic Tower student dreaming of back-world dominance via magic liquor, faded to black.
Forever.
Watching the bootleg factory via his minions, Oliver muttered with one eye squinted.
"It's over."
Oliver finished jotting notes on the battle, then grabbed the factory blueprints from Murphy.
Thick defenses could've been a hassle, but Murphy's preemptive blueprints made it smoother than expected.
Using them, he positioned minions linked to his eyes, scouting enemy numbers and movements.
Then deployed Wrath Boom-fed minions and zombie puppets to seize the factory in a flash.
No real heavyweights, but overwhelming nearly a hundred foes? Excellent results.
Above all, the zombie puppets could fight independently now, not just assist.
Especially the zombie puppet—sniper.
Low expectations for it, but it proved a stellar combat asset.
With guns and backup weapons to enhance marksmanship, it boasted high firepower and versatility.
Storming the gate solo and crushing dozens was proof.
'But Second's showboating firepower needs reining in. Ignored orders last time too. Not bad, but could complicate jobs.'
The zombie puppet—black mage and Duncan's performance intrigued him too.
Paul's sync rate in Duncan was sky-high, nearly replicating the original's moves for stunning combat prowess.
Overpowering a Magic Tower alum solo.
'First in the black mage synced well too.'
Slipping in back and silently assassinating foes proved it.
Overall, highly satisfactory.
Energy drain on life force, emotions, mana was high from fighting, but in a pinch, Oliver could form a full team with them.
Expanded operational scope for jobs.
"Kikiki..."
Child-Third let out a small whine from its tube.
Seemed bummed about sitting out.
Oliver pulled the tube from his pocket and assured it not to fret.
Promised a zombie puppet body soon.
Perfect timing—plenty of materials now.
Passing wrecked barricades and defenses to the central factory, the material-gathering sniper greeted Oliver.
"Guns! Many! Materials! Lots!"
Oliver calmed the sniper and welcomed Duncan and the black mage descending.
They carried bisected corpses.
"Gift..."
"Kyahaha... gift!"
They dropped the bodies.
Oliver pulled a black-and-white photo for facial confirmation.
Edri, the ex-Magic Tower student threatening Murphy's magic liquor biz.
Magic Tower dropout, but highly educated talent.
Oliver drew Bigmouth from the leather case at his waist.
"Gurgle?"
"Bigmouth. Gather intact corpses, including this one. As many as possible."
Bigmouth started to complain but deflated when Oliver's attention shifted elsewhere and got to work.
"Grrr..."
"Kyahahaha."
The moping Bigmouth and the sniper cheering it up.
But Oliver's focus was on the black mage's magic bag haul.
One bag was jackpot enough, but inside: bundles of high-denomination cash, pure mana school grimoires, magic liquor recipes, potion formulas, herb guides, etc. The handwritten research log stood out most.
Lightning mages, Edri—mages loved documenting in writing.
Very promising.
"Hmm..."
Oliver hummed over the log. Better contents than expected.
"Good call delegating this."
After checking spoils, Oliver assessed the mission.
Time to head back.