Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: A Close Call! (2)
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Oakwood's mayoral residence blazed like daylight.
Under the massive crystal chandelier pouring light from the banquet hall's ceiling, fine wine swirled blood-red in every glass.
"Krahaha! Aren't you looking forward to tomorrow morning?"
Mayor Goldman stood by the window, leisurely swirling his wine glass. The red liquid spun in a vortex.
He wore an expression like he was already savoring the sweet honey awaiting at the end of the uproar to come.
"The script is perfect. Once the monsters rampage through the city streets, the terrified citizens will cling to our feet, wailing. That's when our waiting guards and military police swoop in like saviors to clean up the mess."
"As expected of the mayor's keen eye!"
The merchant guild master, buried deep in the sofa, chimed in with a greasy smile.
"Those adventurer scum yapping about material costs and mana stone prices were such an eyesore. Feels like finally yanking out that rotten tooth. Now that we've got the monopoly on trade, as long as you honor those shares you promised..."
"Don't worry. I'll stuff your pockets till they overflow!"
Goldman was convinced. His plan was flawless.
The guard captain rubbed his hands together, flashing a servile grin.
"Monsters are just beasts anyway. One whiff of gunpowder, and they'll piss themselves running. The dungeon's riches belong in the hands of you noble folks here—not for lowlifes swinging swords for scraps."
"Haha! Exactly my thinking."
What if monsters flooded Oakwood's streets?
A few residents would die or get hurt. But the kingdom army had guns.
The city guards and the military police waiting outside could suppress it in no time.
After blocking the monsters, pin the blame on the necromancers locked in the city jail and the greedy, incompetent adventurer guild.
In return, the city authorities' approval ratings would skyrocket for driving them out.
With that justification, expel the adventurers, install obedient puppets, and set up the dungeon development company. Done.
"The dungeon profits are now fully ours—Oakwood Resource Development Company's!"
"A toast! To the new masters of Oakwood Dungeon!"
Clink! The cheerful chime of crystal glasses rang through the air.
Before that sweet toast could slide down their throats.
Screeech!
The heavy banquet hall doors swung open with a nauseating groan.
His mood shattered, Mayor Goldman scowled and turned.
Standing at the door were men in gray robes—the mercenary mages he'd hired.
Behind them stood guards with troubled expressions.
'Damn it, protesting for more pay? Vulgar trash.'
Cursing inwardly, Goldman smoothed his face into a stern mask and demanded,
"What is it? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be commanding the site by now?"
"Commanding? Oh, you mean that?"
The lead black mage smirked, yanking back his hood to reveal a scarred, vicious face.
"The party's already started. Only difference is... it'll be a far grander show than you bargained for."
"What..."
Before the mayor could finish, the black mage snapped his fingers.
Snap!
A dry crack echoed, and the banquet hall's shadows writhed to life. Black tendrils erupted from the floor, stretching like tentacles in all directions.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Gahk!"
In an instant, the darkness whipped like lashes.
The guards waiting outside and the escorts inside had their necks snapped or slammed into walls before they could scream. The crunch of shattering bones filled the hall.
"Y-You mad bastards!"
The mayor's secretary, dignitaries, councilors, and merchants recoiled in horror.
No escape. The black mage's shadow tentacles slithered like snakes, swiftly coiling around their ankles and torsos.
"Guhk!"
In seconds, the mayor and elites dangled like carcasses in a butcher shop.
Mayor Goldman's face flushed crimson with terror and rage as he bellowed,
"Do you know who you're messing with? We're the king's proxies! The rulers of this city!"
"Rulers? So what? Think that badge saves your neck?"
"You arrogant scum! The military police won't let you get away! The kingdom army won't stand for it!"
The bound guard captain, legs trembling, yelled to mask his fear.
"Think this is the old days, you bookworm tower rats? You think stirring a monster flood changes anything?"
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"Regional battalions are coming. Heavy cavalry and cannons—what can you do against that? Even swordmasters from the capital! You'd be crushed under army boots like the trash you are!"
The powers-that-be invoked their greatest weapon: state authority. The black mage dismissed their fury like barking dogs.
"Foolish mortals."
"Urk!"
The black mage seized the mayor by the hair, dragging him roughly to the window.
"Kingdom army? Artillery? Heh heh heh... We've awakened an ancient archdemon. Think scraps of metal can kill an immortal?"
Beyond the window, an ominous aura rippled.
Crimson mist surged like a tsunami from the outer forests and abandoned mines.
Amid the darkness, thousands of red eyes gleamed like stars.
What should have been mere monster mayhem had twisted into apocalyptic prelude in moments.
"What, we'll let you watch the city swallowed by the demon's maw—from the VIP seats. Alive."
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
Gagged like luggage, the mayor's entourage was hauled to the underground wine cellar and dumped.
Thus, the castle built on greed crumbled from within first.
Same time, Oakwood Adventurer Guild hall.
"Cough, cough... Thanks. I'd be dead without you."
The rescued guild master slumped in a chair, heaving ragged breaths.
Days of captivity had left him ragged, but his eyes burned fierce.
The hall held our party, Mace's White Skull, and adventurers roused from sleep.
Of course, the adventurers looked uneasy.
Not just from being woken. White-robed Camilla and her crew stood among them.
Misunderstandings cleared, but past grievances lingered.
Pent-up adventurer frustration burst like a dam.
"We get you're Pantheon Temple investigators. Guild master's orders too! But why act like Lich Clan scum all this time?"
One adventurer jabbed a finger, sparking shouts everywhere.
"Yeah! Investigators should investigate quietly—why lock down hunting grounds?"
"You swept everything, left us scraps for weeks!"
Camilla crossed her arms shamelessly, tilting her head.
"Oh dear, sorry about that. But what choice? To infiltrate, we had to play greedy Lich Clan to the hilt. Those black mages suspected us nonstop. To fool villains, we had to out-villain them."
"Even grabbing junk loot's too much!"
"Yeah! Mana Stone Beetles dried up! Your hoarding tanked prices!"
I burst out, tail thumping the floor in rising ire.
"Exactly! Know how hard I worked?"
Camilla's eyes widened at my outburst.
"Scoured all day for scraps, then your skeletons broom-swept everything. How heartbroken was I?"
Camilla poked my cheek, flustered.
"Oh my, our cute little one's a victim too... Sorry, sis feels bad. Such a precious kid suffering."
"Feelings don't pay bills. Where's my meal money?"
"Hmm, tricky."
As Camilla grinned awkwardly, a male necromancer from her group piped up meekly.
"Um... that wasn't just acting."
"What?"
"Rushed deployment, no expense approval... We were short on funds. Gotta eat too..."
"..."
Silence blanketed the guild hall.
Outraged adventurers' faces shifted slowly—to utter bafflement.
"What... it was about money?"
"Even clerics go rogue on delayed pay."
"Y-Yeah. Survival first, right."
I let out a hollow laugh. Guardians of continental faith turning budget Lich Clan? Brutal reality.
Adventurers softened a tad.
"Fine, not villains. Hunger's no crime."
"Still, investigators—wrap this up and leave quick."
Camilla's eyes sparkled at the reply.
"Promise. Just one more day to scrape travel funds..."
"What? More looting? True to Lich form—ruthless!"
"Oh? That's blatant discrimination."
As tension eased, the guild doors flew open. A bloodied scout adventurer stumbled in.
"Big trouble! Monster hordes from east forest, Glowing Cave, Ancient Disguise, west abandoned mines! Ten times normal numbers! Hitting in an hour—no, thirty minutes!"
The hall erupted into chaos.
"Ten times?"
"Flood! Real flood's here!"
I pictured the map in my head.
East forest, west mines. Glowing Cave, Ancient Disguise—surface surrounded.
But wait, was that all? Something clicked.
"Not just surface."
Eyes turned to me.
"Their first flag was sewers. They'll infiltrate underground too. Monsters could pop up downtown."
"Damn... We're rats in a trap!"
"Where's the guard? Military police!"
Mace replied exasperatedly to the outcry.
"Don't count on 'em! Checked barracks—all drugged out. Military police dispatched outside. Only us here can defend this city!"
Despair hung heavy.
No regular army. Adventurers alone against a massive flood?
"Can we hold...?"
Murmurs spread like plague through the hall. Then the guild master's roar thundered as he staggered up.
"No panic! Gonna wet yourselves over a few monsters?"
He tightened his bloodied bandages, glaring down fearful adventurers one by one.
"We're adventurers! Lived thrusting swords down monster throats! Look out there. That a disaster?"
Pointing outside, he grinned.
"Hundreds? Thousands? Scary?"
"...?"
"To me, they're walking moneybags."
Adventurer faces twitched oddly.
"Think about it—when's your next shot? Hides, mana stones, byproducts! Survive tonight, you're set for life! No chickening out! Your skills can devour 'em!"
His boisterous yell thawed their frozen eyes.
Disaster? Nah—cash.
Crass, but the surest motivator for adventurers.
"Hell yeah! Sword-for-hire life's gonna kill me anyway!"
"Moneybags? Love it!"
Weapons gripped tighter everywhere. Nodding at rising morale, the guild master continued.
"That's our way. But insurance for 'what ifs'."
He approached the dusty telegraph behind reception.
Someone shouted,
"Guild master, postal lines are cut!"
Ignoring it, he pulled a fist-sized premium mana stone glowing red from a drawer.
Slotting it in, the massive magic telegraph hummed awake.
"Emergency line, no wires needed. Costs dozens of gold per stone—thought I'd never use it... Ahem. Startup phrase."
The machine glowed red, powering up.
[Startup phrase confirmed.]
All swallowed dryly, watching his lips.
A city's fate hung on this— what sacred top-secret code?
The guild master intoned gravely,
"[I want fried chicken for dinner tonight.]"
"...Pardon?"
Sena blinked blankly. Me, Mani—even Mace snorted.
The machine responded flawlessly.
[Startup phrase approved. Direct line to capital guild HQ connected.]
Deadpan serious, he transmitted,
"Oakwood emergency. Massive assault by black mages and demon worshippers. City at risk of falling. Request immediate reinforcements. End."
Hiss!
Soon, paper spat out.
[Receipt confirmed. Mobilization orders to regional battalions and nearby guild branches.]
"Hope they hurry."
Mace sighed.
"Won't be bones left by then."
"Relax. Intel's sent."
The guild master turned to us firmly.
"We won't let their plot succeed. Reinforcements will come."
Gawking Camilla thumped her staff and stepped forward.
"Guild master? Holding won't cut it. Black mages are ritualling somewhere local—using the flood as fuel. Cut that, or demon descends. It's archdemon Dragosius."
Her necromancer allies sobered, faces grim.
What's Dragosius that has them spooked? Ask Rodentia later.
"Worse, Inquisition intel pre-Oakwood: demon worshippers researched boosting summoned demons against divine power. Worst case... shells, holy magic—ineffective against it."
"Then what? Don't even know where!"
"I do."
I shot up my hand.
"Interrogated a black mage from the mines with Mace. Their base: Ancient Disguise Dungeon, deepest—under Empire's Pillar."
"Yeah, old man. They're there. Closer than you think."
Hope lit guild master and Camilla's faces.
"Good. Battle plan."
Mace took charge on the spot.
"Defense team! Main force holds walls and sewer entrances. Evac civilians, buy max time!"
"Aye!"
"Strike team! Me, White Skull, you Lich... er, investigators, and..."
Mace grinned at me.
"Reti party comes with me. You sniff mana best, right?"
"Naturally. Stinky mana detection's our specialty."
Roles set, we gripped weapons and charged into predawn dark.
"Let's go! This city's ours to save!"