Emergency Mission (3)
Emergency Mission (3)
West of the Crane Kingdom.
The Viscountcy¹ of Bothaman.
To get to the Western Front, which was at war with the Kingdom of Ravino, one had to pass through the Viscountcy of Bothaman.
This led to the development of roadways to facilitate the rapid transportation of supplies, which naturally attracted large numbers of people.
Worthy of a hundred generations.
From his castle at the center of it all, Viscount Bothaman looked out over the city, then turned his gaze to his office.
A slightly dark office.
On a luxurious couch, a man in a black coat sat with his legs crossed, a greedy grin on his face with a bit of a pot belly.
"I heard a toad was causing a ruckus inside Magnes, and that must be you."
"If you don't have the capability, then you shouldn't be in leadership, and I only won it on my own strengths."
Viscount Bothaman scoffed.
In Burning Hell, he worked as the head of operations department and was called the "Golden Line" and has now joined Magnes.
He took down one of the three commanders with the criminals and guards he had brought. He is truly the one who causes chaos in the ecosystem.
"Can I call you poison toad?"
"I'm Terry, but you can call me that if you're comfortable with the nickname, because I kind of like it."
"I'll call you by your name."
Terry shrugged and fumbled in his coat pocket. Pulling out a small flask, he unscrewed the cap and took a long swig.
"Mmm... delicious. Would you like a taste? It is the finest wine made in the Kingdom of Resha."
A drink that not even members of the nobility can afford.
At least being a Count would give one the chance to buy it, but Viscount Bothaman simply refused.²
"You eat a lot by yourself."
"Yeah. Well. So what's the reason you called me?"
Gulp.
Watching Terry sip his drink, Viscount Bothaman turned back to look out over the city. Somewhere out there is Terry's hideout.
The old city, to be precise.
Where the Magnes Organization used to have a hideout, back when the territory was still the Eleanor Territory and not under Viscount Bothaman.
He knew about Terry's activity there, but he left it there for one reason.
To use it when he needed it.
"You do realize that Burning Hell is rounding up nobles with ties to Magnes, right?"
"Of course. It's a lot of fuss, and a lot of scrambling... all over the place... Heheh."
Nobles in league with Magnes were everywhere on the continent, and they were shaken by what had happened.
But he couldn't show any signs of being bothered, because that would mean admitting that he had joined forces with Magnes.
"Is that why you called me here, Viscount Bothaman, I guess you're a bit nervous too."
Terry prodded.
Viscount Bothaman was not particularly upset.
"Surely you have a plan, right?"
"Well. I'm trying to do as much as I can. But this isn't the easiest thing to do.."
"What do you need?"
"Forget the money. I want data on the Oberg Imperial laboratories that existed in ancient times."
Viscount Bothaman nodded.
He doesn't need to know why they want it. If there's something they want, find it for them, and if they ask him to work, then that's it.
"I'll try to contact some of the nobles."
"As expected. You're still cool, so I guess I'll have to show my appreciation."
The corner of Terry's mouth twitched.
"Let me show you one just to give you a taste."
Terry pulled the communication bead from his pocket and spoke a command into the brightly lit sphere.
"I want you to kill two of the guys we caught and hang them in plain sight of Brule Port."
* * *
A night where one can see the stars.
He arrived at Brule Harbor³ by ship.
“Aaaahhh!”
"Ughh, Th-There's a dead person here!"
He moved toward the source of the disturbance.
He pushed through the crowd and peered into the center of the commotion, where the bodies of two prison guards lay on the ground.
These were the prison guards who had been kidnapped.
Underneath their cold bodies were words written in red blood.
[You'd better not provoke us].
It's obvious who sent it.
The new captain, who is probably the most active on Magnes right now.
Terry the Poison Toad.
A belligerent, bloodthirsty psychopath who is more than a common criminal. He's doing this to solidify the position he currently holds within Magnes.
"Hmmm...."
If they've already killed two.
That leaves a total of three people.
Two of them are Seria and Heather.
If she were alone, Redin wouldn't worry about it. She survived a similar situation in the original game story.
The problem was Heather.
Redin doesn't know how his presence will play a role in this event. He must move before something unpredictable happens.
He turned my gaze toward the crowd.
The scene will be cleared by other prison guards. He needs to find the members of the Magnes organization that are hiding here.
In the distance.
There were two people slipping away, taking advantage of the chaos. He pushed through the crowd and moved to follow them.
Redin climbed up the building and followed quietly.
[Using the Mask of the Dead].
[Transforming into Harde].
Redin could feel the muscles in his face and body twitching and changing in real time. At the same time, details like Harde's speech and behavior entered his brain.
The transformation took 3 seconds.
He didn't bother to change out of his clothes, as he was wearing plain leather and not a uniform.
He flung himself off the building and gasped.
The men in front of him reacted quickly, spinning around to draw their swords, only to stop when they saw his face.
"Mr. Harde?"
"You ungrateful bastards."
"What?"
"If you heard I was captured by the prison guards, would you have considered rescuing me, not simply leaving me for dead like that?"
Then the two guys waved.
"We didn't even know you'd been captured."
"We really didn't know anything."
Harde and Lanto are poison toad lines.
If these two underlings of Poison Toad don't know, it means that he hasn't gotten this information yet either.
"Okay."
“But are you really Harde?”
The one next to him tossed an ember.
Like Brassel's password that he told Seria about, Magnes has a password. This is what Harde would have done.
He reached out and slapped the questioner on the cheek.
Smack!
"This bastard, who do you suspect, you want to get fucked?"
"S-Sorry..."
"Okay. What about those bodies?"
The guy who got hit replied, rubbing his cheek.
"This is an order from Terry. Send this to Burning Hell as a warning..."
"The rest of them."
"They're still in the hideout."
'It seems like he's still alive.'
“Let’s just kill them together. Tsk.”
"He said we'd take care of the ones who don't join the organization by lunch tomorrow."
"Really?"
Lunch is plenty of time.
A rough plan formed in his head.
"But... What about Mr. Lanto?"
"He's been caught."
"Then how did Mr. Harde manage to.."
He quickly unsheathed his sword and slit their throats.
Swish!
[The target was killed.]
[Harvested a damned soul]
[The target was killed.]
[Harvested a damned soul]
[You have harvested 3 souls, slightly increasing the mask's abilities].
[You can look into parts of the soul's memory].
Then he saw Seria and Heather, trapped somewhere in what appeared to be the basement.
A recently dead man standing in front of them.
He looked at the three living captives, including Seria and Heather, and smiled.
'Do your best to think about it.'
Then he slung the slumped captive over his shoulder and walked out. As he turned around, his gaze caught sight of a house.
The old town of the Bothaman territory.
A chimney house with a green roof.
The hideout of Magnes came into view.
“There will be no need to get lost.”
* * *
Using a teleporter, Redin traveled to the vicinity of the Bothaman Estate, where he found the traces left by Harris.
A special code used only by the Special Task Force.
You can find the code by flowing mana through your ID card. He felt the slightest vibration, and saw where it intensified.
The code was written.
After decrypting it and finding Harris's location, he erased the cipher and moved on. Entering the Bothaman estate, he found a tavern on the outskirts of the castle.
[Let's drink and die].
When he opened the door and stepped inside, he was greeted by a loud crowd of drinkers. After quickly scanning the area, he made his way inside.
There was a staircase leading up.
When he got to the second floor, he found the room number on the cipher and knocked on the door.
knock!
knock!, knock!, knock!
knock! ...... knock!
After a few moments, the door opened.
Redin could see Rebecca through the crack. She checked to confirm it was him, and then opened the door all the way.
The inside of the room was just plain.
There was one bed and one chair, just enough to sleep on. He went to the chair, sat down, and asked.
“What about Senior Harris?”
"He's out for a while gathering information."
"What's the situation?"
Rebecca crossed her arms and leaned against the wall.
"We have information left behind by the other missing Task Force. Magnes, or rather Terry the Poison Toad, has been gathering information about the ancient empire."
"Oberg?"
"Uh."
The Ancient Empire of Oberg.
The main stage of the First Season of the Bern Continental Age. A hero raised by the creator goddess Berthia. A country founded by Emperor Rudkal.
With his actions, players fought the Demonic Cult and fought the Second Demon War.
Then, at the start of Season 2, dubbed the Dark Ages, Oberg falls.
The fall of an empire and the birth of six kingdoms.
Each of the kingdoms that divided up the empire's territory had vestiges of the empire: the Imperial Laboratories, the Emperor's Training Grounds, and the Imperial Gardens.
The Imperial Laboratory is what the Poison Toad is after. Among the many laboratories, the Laboratory of Super Magic Bombs in the Kingdom of Crane.
A powerful magical bomb they called a nuclear bomb.
Once found by the Toad, it fell into the hands of the Demon Cult after the fall of Magnes, and the Demon Cult used it to destroy the Crane Kingdom.
But that's not going to happen this time. Because Redin intends to catch the toad before he finds the lab.
“Was there any other information?”
Rebecca nodded.
"All we know is that Terry is trying to find something from the ancient empire, and that's all the last trace the Task Force member left behind."
"okay?"
He waited for Harris in silence, and when he hadn't heard from him in quite some time, he made his move.
"I'm going to take a look around in case there's a problem. You stay here."
"Alright."
Just as he's about to leave the room leaving Rebecca behind.
knock!
knock!, knock!, knock!
knock! ...... knock!
Rebecca moved quickly to the familiar beat. He raised his hand to stop her and snapped his fingers, signaling her to be quiet.
He drew his sword and hid by the door.
'Open it.'
He signaled with his mouth, and at the same instant she opened the door, Harris's body collapsing onto Rebecca.
A cloak that has been torn to pieces.
His cloak was stained with cuts and slashes. Rebecca picked up Harris and dragged him into the room.
When he saw that, he grabbed his sword and ran out of the room.
Redin checked the area for any traces left by Harris, but he was clearly a veteran and didn't leave anything for his opponent to track.
He lurked around the building, just in case, but didn't sense anything.
Returning back to their room.
Redin walked up to Harris, who was lying on the bed, gasping for air.
"Senior, what happened?"
Harris gritted his teeth.
"It's a trap, we need to get out of here now."
** ** **
TL/N:
1. The status and any domain held by a viscount is called as Viscountcy
2. Bern Continent Hierarchy
King > Duke > Marquis > Count > Viscount > Baron
3. Port is a commercial water facility used for ships and their cargo.
Harbor is a section along the coastline where the ship and other water vessels are parked or stored.