Chapter 163: Damn It!
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 163: Damn It!
The whistle echoed through the night sky like the screech of some bizarre creature.
Compared to the drifting whistles the Hyena Gang used for signaling, this sound was far more resonant, carrying a chilling aura of slaughter—it was the signal of an approaching war.
"This... this is the Guard Corps!"
Schulz let out a terrified cry. The side effects of his drugs magnified his fear to the extreme; this old man, who usually killed without blinking, was now deathly pale.
The stray dogs roaming the outskirts had long since sensed something was wrong and fled at top speed. As his words fell, the heavy thud of footsteps and the rhythmic clatter of hooves suddenly erupted from the ends of the streets.
Guards in black uniforms flooded into this nearly abandoned district on the edge of the city like a rising tide.
They erected large shields at every intersection, and half-man-high ballistas were rolled out. The sharp tips of the bolts glinted with a cold light that remained terrifyingly clear even in the pitch-black night.
Shing!
Blinding lights suddenly flared to life.
Mages within the Guard Corps conjured focused beams of light, starkly illuminating the elites, thugs, and rats trapped in the center—as well as a certain dull, disguised face hidden beneath a black robe.
Who am I?
Where am I?
What the hell is happening?
Wasn't this supposed to be a perfect dog-eat-dog operation? Why is the Guard Corps here?
"Listen up, everyone inside! You are surrounded!"
A pot-bellied guard, wearing a uniform clearly several grades higher than the rest, poked half of his fat face out from behind a large shield. His voice, amplified by magic, instantly boomed across the entire block.
"We have received reports of illegal trading, theft, robbery, and even mass solicitation! Drop your stolen goods immediately, put your hands behind your heads, and squat against the wall!"
"You have one minute to consider. If you do not cooperate, we will use forced measures. I repeat, we will use forced measures!"
Creeeeeak—
The tooth-gritting sound of bowstrings being cranked echoed as the massive ballistas were cocked, their giant bolts ready to fly.
These weren't the little toys the "rats" carried. These ballistas were usually only found on watchtowers and city walls; they were powerful enough to pierce the hearts of magical beasts or punch through stone walls meters thick!
Yet, such terrifying engines of slaughter were being deployed now, aimed at small-time crooks who only dared to operate in the Lower District!
A sense of absurdity washed over the crowd, as if a giant had suddenly stooped down to glare at the tiny insects by its feet.
"Wha... what's the situation?"
Lorenzo, who prided himself on having seen it all, was stammering. He turned to his confidant and roared in fury, "What the hell is this? Didn't you say the Guard Corps was already paid off? Why are they here? Why didn't we get any word of this? And what the hell are those bullshit reasons? Illegal trading, theft, and robbery I can understand, but mass solicitation? Do you bring out those things for solicitation? Did we accidentally solicit the precious daughter of some Great Noble without even knowing it?"
"I... I don't know..."
The confidant wiped cold sweat from his pale face. "I definitely paid off everyone I needed to! The Deputy Governor of the Guard Corps personally guaranteed it to me!"
"Are you sure? Look at the one who just shouted. Does he look like your Deputy Governor?"
"What?"
The confidant cautiously peeked out from behind a wall. Sure enough, he saw the Deputy Governor—the same man he had been drinking and laughing with not long ago, discussing whether mature women or young girls were more to their taste—standing behind a large shield, bowing and scraping as he spoke to another balding, middle-aged man.
"That bastard! I'm going to expose his pedophilia the moment I get back!" the confidant hissed, trembling with the rage of the betrayed.
"Goddammit!"
Lorenzo couldn't help but curse as well.
Then, a heavy, wordless silence fell.
The three gang leaders looked at each other again, their expressions grim beyond belief.
The atmosphere turned awkward once more.
In all their years in the underworld, they had never encountered something so bizarre!
"We have to leave!"
Rat King Sam’s beady eyes darted around. He was the most familiar with the noble lords, and thus the most sensitive to the unusual scent in the air.
He cast a lingering, reluctant glance at the metal container in Ariel's hand and said with a dark face:
"Move, now. I'm afraid the Guard Corps' target isn't us at all. Some big shot must have set their sights on the Ancient Dragon Heart Blood, and all those 'crimes' are just a smokescreen. Otherwise, it wouldn't be the Guard Corps here, but the Knight Orders! Those heavy ballistas are probably just for show!"
Sam didn't hesitate any longer. He led his men in a swift retreat, clashing with the guards waiting in the shadows as the sounds of fighting gradually drifted into the distance.
At the front, the countdown continued. It had gone from sixty down to twenty-five and a half. The ballistas hadn't fired yet; that one minute felt exceptionally long.
"We're leaving too!"
Seeing the Rat Society depart, Lorenzo gritted his teeth and spoke with eyes full of resentment.
"But, the Ancient Dragon Heart Blood..." the confidant hesitated.
"No 'buts'! Our lives come first. We'll worry about the Lord's mission later!"
Though his heart was bleeding, Lorenzo gripped his long blade firmly. He turned and led his remaining elite forces into the darkness, breaking through a flank where the blockade was noticeably thinner.
As for the Hyena Gang... the thugs had scattered and fled at the very beginning. Schulz’s exquisite top hat lay abandoned in the dirt, a pathetic casualty of the chaos.
Only Ariel remained, shivering in the overlapping beams of light that were so bright she could barely keep her eyes open.
"Wh... why did it turn out like this?"
Ariel’s wide, bewildered eyes blinked, her mind filled with confusion.
"Where did it go wrong? Why did the Guard Corps suddenly show up? I specifically chose such a remote location! Have those tax-wasting parasites ever been this reliable before?"
"Sigh..."
Her Master’s sigh echoed in her ear.
"Give it up, Ariel. It seems you and this Ancient Dragon Heart Blood simply weren't meant to be."
"I won't!"
Ariel shrieked in fury, her hands nearly crushing the metal container. She clenched her teeth and muttered to herself, "This thing is already in my hands! There's no way I'm giving it up! Master, do you want me to ruin my one-hundred-percent success rate in underworld hijacking?"
"But this isn't a simple hijacking anymore. The Guard Corps is clearly here for that item. If you don't let go, you'll find it hard to escape."
"Not a simple hijacking..."
As if struck by lightning, Ariel jolted.
She remembered. She remembered that guy she had looked down upon.
[I have other ways.]
[The Ancient Dragon Heart Blood will definitely be mine.]
Those two sentences, which she had scoffed at, now rang in her ears again.
Ariel suddenly understood. She understood everything.
This was the "other way" that noble young master spoke of!
This wasn't a hijacking at all. This was the Guard Corps, after a night of hard work, finally cracking a major illegal trade case! This was a glorious victory for justice, a heavy blow dealt to the underground forces of Belland's Lower District!
Ariel could almost see that bastard now, standing amidst the applause of the masses, draped in a commemorative banner, talking grandly about how he used his courage, wit, and decisiveness to lead the Guard Corps, crush the dark conspiracy, and finally return the Ancient Dragon Heart Blood to its rightful owner!
Rightful owner my ass! In the end, it's just going to end up in your hands!
And you didn't spend a single cent!
Not a single cent!
Seeing someone else make a profit was more painful than losing money herself!
"No—!"
At the thought of this, Ariel couldn't hold back her grief. she collapsed to her knees, pounding the ground with her fists in agony.
Though it was only late autumn, in this pure night, it felt as if heavy snow were falling around her, accompanied by the faint, ethereal strains of some tragic BGM.
"Why? Why is this happening? Why has nothing gone right lately? I failed to find a bargain, and now even my hijacking failed... Damn you, Muen Campbell!"
"Why bring him up?" her Master asked, puzzled. "This shouldn't have anything to do with him, right?"
"I don't know..."
With tears in her eyes, Ariel looked up at the sky in righteous indignation and screamed:
"Even if it has nothing to do with him, I just feel an overwhelming urge to curse him!
—Damn you, Muen Campbell!"