Chapter 143

RMSBS – Episode 143 . Tracing the Attack (8)

Desir called out and gathered his companions before sharing the information he had obtained from Totlina .

Adjest was the first to respond .

“To clear this quest, we have to kill that foreigner . ”

Romantica followed up .

“And in order to get rid of the man, we must break through the castle defenses where he is staying . ”

Excluding Adjest, who always maintained an expressionless face, everyone looked dejected at the scale of this upcoming task . Everyone knew just how difficult it would be .

Although Desir’s Party had so far raided several facilities, most of them being known for extremely tight security, they were on a whole different level to a royal palace .

The place where the king of a country stayed . It was clear that such a place would be so strong that it would be incomparable to anywhere they had ventured in Shadow Worlds before .

They were only four people, regardless of how strong their party was . It was absurd to even imagine contending with an entire country’s culmination of power .

“Since we blew up the lab a few days ago, the patrols have been greatly tightened . It’s almost as if these are the defenses they would deploy during times of war . Look at the soldiers walking around all the time . Outsiders like us can’t even freely move . ”

Romantica glanced out the window .

She could see a cold street . Soldiers patrolled in pairs and the citizens walked the streets carefully, glancing sideways at anyone they crossed paths with . The number of soldiers on patrol seemed to be triple the usual amount .

“Get off me!”

They could hear a faint voice from an alleyway on the other side of the street . Romantica locked the window, clicking her tongue in annoyance .

“Altea has changed a lot in just the short period of time, obviously, since we destroyed the lab . ”

“I feel responsible . ”

“They’re imaginary beings after all . You don’t have to feel guilty about the people here . ”

After the second lab was destroyed, the Magic Kingdom began arresting and locking up wizards for various reasons .

If someone showed any sign of disobedience, they would immediately be overpowered and taken into custody . After losing their experimental test subjects again, they were now abusing their power as a country to collect other test material by force .

This was a country of wizards . Wizards were numerous and there was no better place to collect subjects than here .

‘The problem is that we’re mercenaries . ’

Most of those who were taken into custody were socially disadvantaged and the weakest largely chose to become mercenaries .

Desir theorized that mercenaries were often targeted since they had no one to vouch for their identity and most of them would not be missed by others . As a result, foreigners like themselves could not venture out recklessly . The city had become so quiet that even the airships that could usually be spotted flying overhead every ten minutes had disappeared .

“In addition, they’ve blocked all borders with neighboring countries . Inside the city, they’re checking everyone thoroughly and the encircling net is narrowing down . They’ll find us here soon . ”

They paid the innkeeper a small fortune to keep their secret, but frankly they couldn’t tell how long such an arrangement would last .

Pram seemed a little worried .

“It’s really violent . Even if they’re a mercenary, if anyone is even the smallest bit suspicious, they’ll be taken into custody . Thanks to that, the mercenary guild is starting to form a resistance movement . There must be a lot of tension brewing . ”

“Which means it’s not time to show an indecisive attitude . ”

Desir drank the water on the desk . The lukewarm water had a disgusting taste .

“It’s so obvious . Taking as many mercenaries away as possible gives them a large selection to pick the best test subjects from . ”

Wizards over Third-Circle were not that common . Pureus had not even been able to find an experimental test subject at a level of at least the Third-Circle, even after conducting his research over such a long period of time .

But that’s because Pureus had been limited to working on his research in secret . With a nation state backing him openly, he would have definitely gotten his hands on such material . He would have discarded a safe future though .

But the person who now led the Homunculus manufacturing effort no longer seemed willing to conduct their research from the shadows . They were hauling in experts from the mercenary guilds without any pretext what so ever .

Adjest didn’t understand the behavior .

“If it’s done in this manner, there’s definitely someone who will find it suspicious . A Homunculus may be exposed to the outside world as a result . ”

“There must be a reason why they have to take such a risk and complete the Homunculus in five days . ”

“No matter what they think, what we have to do isn’t going to change . So, how are we going to proceed with the quest in this situation?”

Desir answered Romantica’s question .

“The only way forward is to get Kei’s help . ”

Grand Master, Kei Hazmaryun .

He was a very powerful warrior and a senior member of the army . He also led quite a few troops directly .

This current situation would be a bit easier to manage with his help . But Romantica immediately expressed skepticism towards such an option .

“There’s no reason for Kei to help us . What would you think from his point of view if we, who are foreigners, suddenly asked for assistance in entering the royal castle? He’d rather take us in for questioning . ”

Romantica’s opinion was absolutely right . As she said, a hasty approach would have led to rousing Kei’s suspicion .

“Yes, but he is by no means a man that would accept the present situation . ”

It was Kei’s holy spirit that Desir banked on, after witnessing it for himself during his stay on the airship .

“We’ll contact him as mercenaries in the name of protecting the citizens . He’s more than neutral in terms of favor with us . He won’t refuse and he won’t have any reason to doubt . ”

“That’s a good plan . And then?”

Adjest responded .

“Then it’s never too late to think about our next move once we hear what he thinks of the current situation . ”

Desir concluded .

“For now this is the best path we can take . ”

* * *

“I know of the situation you are faced with . ”

It wasn’t that difficult to find the mansion that Kei was staying at . He was a very prestigious figure and most inhabitants of the capital knew where his mansion was .

On the contrary, it was more difficult to avoid being caught as mercenaries while traveling to the Grand Master . In fact, they were almost caught twice .

“It is true that soldiers have recently arrested wizards like you in the country . Under the royal edict, innocent mercenaries are arrested, and all those who help them are severely punished . It’s obviously unfair . And I don’t think that’s right . ”

“That’s why I’m asking for protection . We’re facing a serious threat and we need help . ”

When Desir asked him for protection, he agreed without hesitation .

“Of course, I’ll help you . I truly know that you guys are innocent . ”

“Thank you . ”

“Please stay here until things calm down . The soldiers won’t approach my mansion . But I don’t know when this will end . ”

Desir felt relieved in his mind . Up to this point, it was as expected . Now he had to check the authenticity of his assumption about how Kei truly felt .

Just as Desir was about to open his mouth to test Kei, Kei spoke first .

“But you can make a choice . Whether you’re just going to wait for this to end, or follow me and end this mess yourself . ”

Desir questioned Kei’s sudden suggestion .

“I don’t quite get what you mean . ”

“I’m currently gathering people to correct this wrong situation . ”

Kei was speaking calmly, but what he said was not just a simple matter .

“Do you mean to provoke rebellion?”

“In a way, that’s what it would be . But I understand that you are mercenary and mercenaries don’t care about the right or wrong of a given task . ”

“Of course you’re right, but I don’t think this is a simple matter to be reckoned with . Why would you ask us for help?”

“Because I trust you guys very much as mercenaries . ”

Kei had once been impressed by the return of Desir and Romantica . He didn’t know them personally, but he felt he could trust them as mercenaries .

‘This is an opportunity . ’

There was no need to make excuses and persuade them . Kei had originally planned to attack the castle .

With his aide, they could attempt to clear the Shadow World naturally . Desir nodded assiduously .

“No matter how much mercenaries are driven by money, they don’t accept requests that are destined to fail . What’s the exact request?”

“To protect Your Majesty and punish those who call themselves prophets and mislead him . ”

Exactly in line with the purpose of Desir’s party . There was no reason to refuse .

“Please be prepared for a reasonable price . ”

Kei, who had received Desir’s reply, spoke with a delighted look covering his face .

“You’ve made a good choice . I’ll make sure to bring you guys back alive . ”

—-

Chapter brought to you by John S .

???: …

ED2: Purplemen101

TLC: N/A (this could be you!)

QC: Dr Lock