Chapter 210: Money Power
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 210: Money Power
Muen felt as if he had stepped into another world.
The night was thick, devoid of even a single flicker of lamplight. The entire city seemed to have been cast into a sunless abyss; everywhere he looked, he saw the vague, hideous silhouettes of ghastly shadows.
The rain continued to pour. Thanks to the city’s excellent sewer system, it hadn't caused a disaster yet, but the water in the alleys already reached past his ankles.
Muen walked through these unfamiliar streets as if traversing a kingdom of the dead.
Occasional explosions echoed in his ears, and distant flashes of fire flared up only to be instantly swallowed by the oppressive darkness.
The Silence Bureau’s general offensive against the evil cultists was proceeding as planned. Had the Evil God’s movements not suddenly accelerated, those cultists might have been caught off guard, their schemes crumbling into nothing.
But this was the Evil God’s plan, after all; it wouldn't be thwarted so easily. In fact, the Silence Bureau had suffered an initial setback because some of its internal members had been unknowingly corrupted by the Moon.
Fortunately, they were a specialized agency dedicated to dealing with Evil Gods. They handled the corruption with practiced ease. After a cold, brutal suppression, this violent organization—which had been acting with uncharacteristic restraint in Belland lately—finally bared its cruel fangs.
Despite the rain, Muen could almost smell the thick scent of blood in the air.
He had no idea how many corpses would be dumped into Belland’s sewers tonight, or how many would be reduced to ash by a sudden blaze.
However, Muen had no time to worry about the fierce battle between the Silence Bureau and the cultists. If anything, he was grateful for the chaos they caused; it allowed him to slip deep into the heart of the cultists' headquarters with ease.
The chilling aura in the air grew denser. The bone-deep cold was enough to make even his current, enhanced physique shiver involuntarily.
"Looks like I'm heading in the right direction."
Muen tugged down the brim of his hat and quickened his pace.
But before he had gone far, he came to a halt. He couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
"As expected, it wasn't going to be that easy, was it?"
At the edge of the alley, the once-charming little bridges and streams had been transformed into raging torrents by the torrential rain.
Suddenly, a hideous, clawed hand thrust out from the murky water, gripping the stone bank that could barely contain the flood. With a violent heave, the creature pulled itself up.
Leaving deep gouges in the bluestone, a monster covered in scales like a lizard slowly emerged from the water.
The monster shook its head, its cold, vertical pupils locking onto the only living human in the alley. The sheer ferocity radiating from it was enough to send chills down one's spine.
A Moon Beast.
It was small—both in size and strength, it was far inferior to the worm the Banshee had prepared for him back at the Red Fire Gang.
But... there wasn't just one.
As Muen scanned his surroundings, more monsters slowly emerged from the darkness. Their deformed appearances—looking as if the Creator had accidentally sneezed while crafting them—didn't make them less threatening. On the contrary, they inspired a primal dread.
"I see. So these are the 'things that crawled up from below' that Teacher Mela mentioned?"
A flash of realization crossed Muen’s eyes. He finally understood how the cultists were holding out against the Silence Bureau’s overwhelming assault.
These Moon Beasts... there weren't just a few in front of him. This entire district had likely become a nest for these monsters.
No wonder the atmosphere here felt so wrong. With these creatures around, the residents of this area had probably already...
"You're really making things difficult for me," Muen muttered, irritably rubbing his spatial container.
"We couldn't just let you pass so easily, could we?"
In the alley where only the sound of rain should have been heard, a sharp voice like scraping sheet metal suddenly rang out. Muen showed no surprise as he looked toward the shadows across from him.
A withered figure shrouded in a black robe stepped slowly out from among the monsters. He held a lantern that swayed back and forth, casting an eerie blue light.
"Who are you?"
"You may call me... the Beast Tamer, Muen Campbell."
The figure pressed a hand to his chest and bowed, performing a comical, half-baked aristocratic salute.
"It is a profound honor to stand before the legendary son of the Duke in person."
"I thought the Banshee would be the one to show up," Muen said expressionlessly.
"Such a trivial matter naturally doesn't require the Priestess to act personally." The Beast Tamer looked up at Muen, a hint of mockery appearing on his ugly, sunken-eyed face. "It is more than enough for me to wait for you here."
"Oh? So confident?"
"Heh heh, confidence naturally comes from strength. I have studied you, Muen Campbell."
"Studied me?" Muen finally lifted his eyelids.
"That’s right. Studied."
The Beast Tamer spread his arms, the blue light of his lantern flickering as wildly as his expression.
"Through your combat records at St. Maria Academy, and the skills you displayed when you slaughtered those Red Fire Gang members, I have gained a crystal-clear understanding of your strength and fighting style. That is exactly why I am here.
—Muen Campbell, I am the person whose abilities counter yours the most."
"You scared me. I thought you were going to say something like 'I am your shadow' or some other nonsense..."
Muen shrugged nonchalantly. "Counter me? How so?"
"Keke..."
The Beast Tamer let out a classic villainous cackle.
"It’s simple. Your moves, your skills—every single one of them was designed to kill humans. One can tell just by looking at those two weapons of yours.
Therefore—the one who came is me, the Beast Tamer."
The Beast Tamer swung his lantern. At his silent command, the Moon Beasts moved, surrounding Muen before he even realized it.
As products of Moon corruption, Moon Beasts were generally brainless creatures. However, when these monsters—born purely for slaughter—were given a commander, they became a completely different threat.
"I see. It’s true that I’m not very good at fighting monsters."
That was the truth.
From the very beginning, Muen’s practice partners—from assassins to adventurers—had all been human. And his weapons were indeed ill-suited for fighting massive creatures.
Not to mention, with this many Moon Beasts, even if he were an expert at monster hunting, he would inevitably be ground down by their sheer numbers.
This "Beast Tamer" fellow talked a big game about "studying and countering," but his actual plan was just to overwhelm Muen with numbers.
No matter how one looked at it, for a lone man like Muen, this was another dead end.
But—
"Do you really think you've got me?" Muen asked with a half-smile.
"Keke, why don't we find out?"
The Beast Tamer licked his lips, his gaze burning with fervor.
"Muen Campbell, I will turn you into one of my prized collections. Keke, I’ve never had a collection of such high status. It’s truly exciting."
"Collection?"
The Beast Tamer didn't speak. Instead, a massive Moon Beast stepped out from behind him.
On the monster’s deformed body—which defied comparison to any known creature—Muen saw faces of despair embedded in its flesh, weeping piteously.
The sight triggered a foul memory, and Muen’s expression instantly turned cold.
"It seems you didn't bother to ask your Priestess for advice before coming here."
"Advice?" the Beast Tamer asked, confused.
"That’s right. Advice. Because if you had, you wouldn't have spent all that time 'studying' me only to overlook the most important thing."
The corners of Muen’s mouth curled into a cold, emotionless arc.
"Do you really think that as the son of a Duke, I’d be stupid enough to risk my life fighting you monsters in a fair duel?"
As he spoke, two round objects slid from his sleeves and rolled to the Beast Tamer’s feet.
The Beast Tamer looked down. Sensing the terrifying, imminent killing intent vibrating within those two spheres, his confident smirk froze.
What the hell were these?
"This... what is this?"
"A grenade. Or rather, in the terminology of this world, a Cluster Explosive Magic Instant Magic Missile."
Muen toyed with several more small spheres in his hand, asking curiously, "Haven't you seen them before? They're little toys from the military, specifically designed for dealing with large numbers of enemies. They're expensive to make, but, well, it's not hard for me to pull out twenty or thirty of them on a whim."
Muen pursed his lips and gave a playful, mocking smile.
"It’s fine if you haven't seen them. Here, why don't you broaden your horizons?"
Before the words had even finished echoing, and under the Beast Tamer’s horrified and desperate gaze, the grenades—no, the Cluster Explosive Magic Instant Magic Missiles—detonated instantly. A thunderous explosion roared, and searing flames swept out, incinerating every bit of flesh they touched.
What followed was hell.
In the first wave of the explosion, the Beast Tamer used his quick reflexes to force the monsters beside him to absorb all the damage. By sacrificing one meat shield after another, he finally survived the onslaught of the missiles.
Looking at his "collection" which had been reduced to charred husks in the fire, his face twisted into a hideous snarl. He swore he would make Muen Campbell suffer ten times this agony.
Keke, maybe I’ll just turn him into a Moon Beast. From a high-born noble to a lowly, disgusting monster... the thought alone is enough to make me—
But before he could even finish the fantasy, and while he was still reeling from the aftershocks of the explosion with no chance to reorganize the remaining Moon Beasts... he saw Muen pull out something new.
Scrolls.
Magic scrolls.
Magic scrolls that even the Tamer knew were incredibly precious—items that were always in high demand but short supply on the market—were being tossed out by Muen like they were worthless scraps of paper.
Spells activated one after another. In this single street, flames soared one moment, violent winds howled the next, and thunder crashed down after that, creating a scene of absolute apocalypse.
While the Beast Tamer was being caught in the magical crossfire—his hand even being blown off—a scroll happened to hit him right on the head, instantly healing his injury.
Muen Campbell was even throwing around healing scrolls at random!
But he wasn't done.
Magic repeating crossbows.
Alchemy bombs.
One-time-use magic devices.
Under that insane "Money Power," the swarm of Moon Beasts the Beast Tamer had so confidently brought to trap Muen was being decimated at lightning speed.
Finally, Muen pulled out a Magic Cannon that was terrifying enough to make a man piss his pants. He skillfully operated it, firing three consecutive shots that nearly leveled half the block. Then, without a hint of regret, he kicked the now-overheated and ruined cannon into the river...
The Beast Tamer, now a commander without an army, finally couldn't help but shed tears of pure, paralyzed terror.
You motherf—... you don't play fair...