“It’s fine. This is the time to clean them out once and for all, and if we miss this chance, who knows if it will come once again. By the way, which Department is it operated by?”
“The Drugs Trade Branch.”
“Then it’s in a bit of danger zone. A couple of days ago Lakyus attacked one of the villages harvesting the drugs. If we don’t act quickly, they might flee.”
“What…? Marquis Raeven, so can you act immediately?”
“It would be difficult. I have my own list of nobles who might not be with the Eight Fingers. Even then, the only nobles we can completely trust are about two. I need some time to convince them. There’s also one other problem.”
“What is it, Marquis Raeven?”
“It might not be enough with just my household troops.”
Certain strong adventurers can sometimes take on an army alone. There were several theories why so many Adventurers were stronger than an average human being. The most likely theory was that when the body is in danger, the brain kicks into overdrive, producing effects similar to accelerated healing and ability boosts. Other theories included blessings from the gods, absorbing mana from monsters, but the common factor in all theories was that there is a sharp increase in mental, physical and magical abilities. This effect is more likely to occur when facing a strong opponent, so adventurers who have met all sorts of monsters would likely be stronger.
Against opponents like that, simple soldiers stood no chance.
“But if it’s your personal guards, wouldn’t it be enough?”
Marquis Raeven swayed his head at Zanack’s question.
“Indeed, they are all retired adventurers who were ranked higher than mithril, but the enemy is even stronger. The ‘Six Arms’ of the Eight Fingers. Every single one of them is able to stand toe-to-toe with an adamantium ranked adventurers. If they appear, it will become very dangerous. Though it would be a different story if only one shows up and we can overwhelm that person with numbers.”
“A-Adamantium…”
Zanack’s stuttering was understandable. The peak of adventurers, the adamantium ranked, were strong enough to take on thousands of men alone.
“Then we’ll ask Lakyus that each member of Blue Rose take on one place. I doubt more than two of the Six Arms will be at each place.”
“…Isn’t Blue Rose a five member party? The opponent has a total of six members, is it really wise to split our forces like this? There is no guarantee they will be in the capital either.”
“We want to get them all in one strike, but it will be difficult.”
Renner’s intercepted message mentioned seven different places. Including Zanack’s location, the total came to eight. However, there wasn’t enough manpower to spread it so thin.
“It’s a shame that we’ll have to leave three places untouched… but there is no other way.”
“How about sending those who finished their attack immediately onto the next three locations?”
“That seems to be the best option, your highness. However, freely moving soldiers about in the capitol will be a problem. How will we solve this?”
“I’ll try to talk it over with father. Worst case, we’ll have to give it up. Perhaps I’m being too greedy…”
A knock sounded at the door.
“He’s here.”
Normally it was a maid’s job to get the door, but since there was none, Marquis Raeven stood up to grab the door. However Renner motioned him to stop and opened the door herself. After confirming who was there, Renner looked towards the two men with happy face.
“He is the one who will help us with the sixth place.”
Despite being uncomfortable, the man who came in guided by Renner was the Royal Warrior Captain, Gazef Stronoff.
Part 3
Climb held a black mass in his hand. It wiggled ever so slightly. The black mass was solid, but took on the shape of an extremely soft object that was being pulled by gravity. Climb smashed the strange looking bead against his armour. The bead burst against Climb’s white armour with liquidy noise and splashed black spots all over Climb’s armour.
Some would have suspected that there was black ink inside the bead. The effect of the bead did not end there. The black spots started wiggling and then started to spread throughout his armour, covering the surface with black substance. In mere seconds Climb’s shining white armour turned pitch black.
The bead Climb used was a magical item called ‘Magic Dyes’. High class magic items would often confer additional heat or cold resistance but what Climb used could only change colours. The reason he used this item was obviously because of his flashy white armour.
Lakyus called the leaders of every group and Climb went over to her. The one who stood in middle was a female warrior with all sorts of equipment. First in sight was the famous magical sword Kilineiram. The sword was about the size of a bastard sword and was sheathed, so he could not take a look at the famed blade which supposedly reminded the observer of the night’s pitch darkness. Even just the grip was beautiful. Inside the black sapphire that was embedded into the pommel was a brightly burning flame. The armour she wore radiated in a way that implied it could not have been made with materials any lesser than platinum and gold. It was an armour with unicorns carved all over it and it was said that only virgins can wear them and that it would never tarnish — the ‘Virgin Snow’.
Compared to her ornate and flashy armour, her cloak seemed to be made from simple grey materials. This item was called ‘Cloak of Rat Speed’ and increased movement speed, agility and evasion. It was an unimaginably powerful magical item, considering its appearance. She didn’t seem to have activated her famous magic item ‘Floating Swords’ yet. The reason why Lakyus still had her flashy gear on was because she could disguise them at any time with her own magic.
Those who stood beside her were all faces he already knew. The members of Blue Rose, and Gazef Stronoff. Standing side-by-side with them, Climb could only think that he did not fit in there.
Lakyus explained the plan for attacking the Eight Finger’s eight buildings. However, since there were only seven groups, the plan was revised so that as soon as a group finished subduing a place, the leader of that group and Marquis Raeven’s personal guards — all former adventurers who had been ranked above mithril — would rush to the last target and the remainders would mop up their originally assigned place. The goal was to neutralize and capture everyone if possible, but killing them if they resisted was authorized as well. Lakyus continued and warned everyone.
“Your opponent is the force controlling the underworld. There might be traps or unexpectedly strong opponents. Never let your guard down.”
Climb’s body shuddered. It was not because of fear, but due to the crucial role he had been assigned. Compared to the other groups’ leaders, Climb’s skills and abilities were extremely lacking. The only reason he had been assigned as one was because he was not an average soldier, and his personal helper would support him. Even the Marquis Raeven’s only team of former orichalcum ranked adventurers had been assigned to him. Under these circumstances it had been impossible for him to refuse.
Plus, the moment he realized why he had been chosen as a group leader, he could not simply sit around. Blue Rose, Marquis Raeven, Gazef Stronoff, and in case of something went wrong, Prince Zanack, too. There was nobody who represented Renner. Thus, by making Climb one of the group leaders, she wanted to show that she had a large part in the plan as well.
It seems to be the work of Prince Zanack and Marquis Raeven, but why would they do that?