by Cobyboy
Scattered throughout different lounges within Sechua City, the group of 30 mercenaries had separated themselves into groups of six with five members each. They were fairly cautious as they made sure that their locations had a fair amount of distance between them. At the same time, they made sure they were still within walking distance, in case they needed to help each other out. It just goes to show that their leader was indeed a veteran in this kind of 'business'.
It was fairly quiet this evening. The leader of this group had taken the initiative to keep the one and only piece of 'loot' that they have gathered during this whole 'unpaid' operation. It did not bear good fruit, but they were pretty sure that this magic weapon would cost quite the hefty fortune. But only if they could find the best buyer that is, and they could only find one within the black market.
That was their top priority. It would be the first thing they would handle in the morning. Staying stagnant within this city is a big no as they would likely be tracked down sooner or later by the golem-commanding man, and it was a danger they do not dare provoke. Placing it within a sack that was tightly sealed, the leader of the group placed the Demonic Carbine beside him as he hugged it tightly like it was his woman.
'This smelly human... Why have you forsaken me? Oh, my human Feihren...' The Ancient Demon Lord sobbed as he remembered the time when he had attempted to escape right in front of Feihren, it was definitely the 2nd worst decision he had made in his entire life. And now... He was with these ugly thugs that he doesn't even want to talk to. He was just too high and mighty for these insects to comprehend. Besides, he could obviously tell that they have no idea how to 'use' him in the first place.
'I just hope that you'd come and try to save me human...' The Ancient Demon Lord could only mutter in silence. It had never crossed his mind that he would actually rely on a human to 'survive'. The inside of this metallic non-ambulant body was only an eternal prison for this demon lord...
...
Inside an ordinary room within the Sechua city lord's mansion.
The City Lord's mansion was indeed an attractive sight to behold within the affluent district. An expensive mansion placed atop an artificial hill within the city walls was quite trendy.
A young man was hurriedly moving the beads of an abacus back and forth as he intently tabulated everything from multiple parchments. His active movements contradicted the tired expression that his face reflects as stress was evident in the lines of this man's body. The single source of light within the room illuminated the tiny portion of the table where those collected papers were gathered.
Allen Romeo, the Lord of Sechua City, was tirelessly tabulating the taxes for the week. At his young age of 17, he was now handling the responsibilities of running an entire trade city. This was even harder due to the fact that the entire city is being dragged down by the rooted corruption amongst the rich. They were ruining the growth of the city by exploiting the system through the means of illegal trades and businesses that do not contribute anything to the city's development.
This has been giving Allen headaches ever since he had become the city lord. He was the prominent son of the previous city lord and thus had been passed such a heavy responsibility even at his young age. His brothers and sisters had all been married or had moved to different neighboring kingdoms, leaving Allen by his lonesome self to handle the entire legacy of their family.
"If I could just throw all these damnable pests out of the city... I could make this place a better one for its citizens."
Frustration was apparent of the face of Allen as he gritted his teeth. He was indeed the city lord, yet within a city that was basically pumping blood from the money these corrupt businessmen make, Allen could only take all this to heart and hide. There was nothing he could do that would not cause the fall of this city...
...
The slight shaking of the ground had awoken a few of the mercenary members as they had immediately checked their surroundings. At the same time, Allen, who had slept on his desk within his work room, was suddenly awoken by the sudden commotion.
The city was as quiet as ever. Even though they were sure that it hadn't been their imagination, the mercenary group had awoken and checked their windows to see if there was indeed some ruckus on the streets. They could not find any trace of what they had felt.
"Maybe it was just a slight tremor? ...We are being too vigilant. It's taking a toll on us. We should be a bit concerned about our well being. Let's just relax and sleep for the night. We'll go to the black market in a few hours"
Their leader had calmed their nerves as he dismissed his members.
Allen, who ran outside his mansion, was sure that something was definitely going on.
"The streets are way too quiet..." Allen, who keenly stared out over the city, muttered. "Then... was it the black market?" He already has a rough idea of where the location of the 'hidden' black market was, but he had zero courage in taking immediate action. He was too afraid that destroying something like that would immediately cause a backlash due to the sheer amount of rich people that 'control' the merchants, trades, and other businesses within the city.
He was still 'too young' for the cruel reality of the world. The strong eat the weak. This was something that Allen was already aware of, yet he could not wrap his head around it. He was simply too naive even though he was renowned for being a genius. This was simply the truth he couldn't swallow.
The sun shone brightly in the cloudless morning sky. It was a brand new day for the Sechua City, and for the 'illegal' parts of it to continue working. Although it seems that the city was a bit less active than usual, the group of mercenaries had gathered and gone to the only entrance of the black market.
The Adventurer's Guild.
Chapter 56: Pit of Hell
"It seems that my brother is having a good time with his 'business' huh,"
A middle-aged man with an odd looking mustache and a stumpy beard could be seen holding an outlandish looking key outside one of the buildings in the Sechua City. The building he was standing in front of is the headquarters for the Adventurer's Guild of Sechua City.
The man was a bit suspicious as the 'magic lock' inside the building didn't seem to have been touched even once throughout the night, which was odd. He himself had left the building around midnight. It should at least have some signs that people were leaving from one to six in the morning.
This building itself was the only exit from the underground black market. They did it this way so that the city lord could never find out where it really was. Only his brother could undo the seal from within and open the door from inside, leading the 'privileged guests' outside after their purchases.
The head of the Adventurer's guild just assumed that his brother was a tad bit busy and that everything was probably just fine. Besides, it's literally none of his 'business'. The man laughed as he proceeded towards his private room within the building.
...
The tavern on the first floor of the building, which also serves as the main office for the Adventurer's Guild, has already opened even though it's only six in the morning. It was indeed a bustling business as people from different races would come in and out of this place either to grab an inexpensive meal or just straight up drink some cheap beer early in the morning. Some would directly go up the second floor either for registration to be a new adventurer or just checking the board for any quests that they could do in exchange for money or specific rewards.
There were other things that were remarkable within this crowded place, and most of the adventurers that know the rogue and misaligned ways are aware this secret. The passageway behind the main counter led straight to the black market. A crude 'door', which was only a white satin cloth, covered a really wide room that had nothing but empty walls and a gigantic ironclad door.
Thirty adventurers clad in black robes walked into the tavern, and weird glances were thrown at them. Some avoided making eye contact with these people while some were showing off
a hostile aura, as if they were trying to provoke the group on purpose.
This is just the casual reaction from the people within the guild.
Since many types of people gather here, people with an arrogance that could reach the heavens are common. They generally flock to the pub as if it was their territory and would shoo away those that would dare act tough. It had already become common for a random fight to break out suddenly without a moment's notice.
The group of mercenaries had totally ignored the intense gazes from the onlookers and immediately attempted to go upstairs. A tall muscular man, who was a little over two meters in height, suddenly threw his giant ax towards one of the black-robed mercenaries. The leader of the group, who was actually at the back, immediately reacted as he precisely jumped and threw a clean kick towards the hilt of the flying ax, flinging it towards one if the wooden posts in the tavern.
A dagger was suddenly thrown from within the sleeve of one of the other robed mercenaries, ultimately hitting the forehead of the ax thrower. The dagger only inflicted a shallow wound, yet the man started to shake intensely as saliva was starting to bubble from his mouth. The huge man fell flat on the ground while still twitching from the sudden poison. It did not take long for the poison to take away his life.
The other people within the pub fell silent as they now avoided looking at the group of mercenaries, minding their own business. It was definitely too early for them to be digging their own graves.
The group of mercenaries then proceeded to the empty room behind the counter, only giving a slight glance to one of the receptionists. They were immediately allowed passage as they were 'regulars' in this place.
The iron-clad door was then dragged open as a metallic ladder could be clearly seen going down through a really wide hole. The ladder led to the concrete staircase within the tunnels that would direct them to the black market.
"Boss, can you smell that? It smells like something is rotten in this place..."
"Eh? It's probably just a dead beast that they were unable to sell and was then killed. The stench of beast's blood is stronger than the smell of ours. It could possibly have wafted all the way up here."
"But, why does it feel so eerily silent boss? It's not like the black market has closing hours right?"
"Ah, wouldn't that be even better? The black market shouldn't be too crowded at this time. That's why I specifically chose now so we could get the better bargain."
The boss smiled as they continued their way into this slightly illuminated tunnel.
...
Stepping into the black market, the mercenaries were suddenly attacked by a hideous stench of blood that made their stomachs turn inside out and made some of them start vomiting. Although they were adventurers, and were rather used to the smell of blood, the concentration of the smell within this underground place was much higher. It was so rotten and vile that they were starting to tear up from just from being within the smell.
Some of them, including the leader, had barely stomached the smell as they inspected the black market. There was nothing but rubble and destroyed tents and shelves. It was as if a brutal war had occurred under the city that nobody had even noticed... noticed...
This jogged the memory of some of the mercenaries, there was indeed some commotion last night that had awoken them, but they couldn't pinpoint what or where that was. It seems that it was indeed the black market.
*Clap! Clap! Clap!
A figure suddenly appeared beside them. The crimson red silhouette of this man was carrying a devilish aura as the eyes, flickering with the colors of his eldritch flames, glared at them intently. The choking aura of the approaching figure was so suffocating that some of the female mercenaries started squeaking, just barely holding themselves back from full on screaming. Even some of the men were holding back the urge to shout out from the fear.
"Ah, it seems that you're the group of people that stole my weapon huh..."
The seemingly normal speaking voice of the man contradicted the terrifying alien look that he was revealing. Removing the helm that was 'obstructing' him, Feihren revealed himself to the group.
"I-It's you! How? How did you find us?" The leader had spoken up in shock as Feihren jokingly replied.
"Similar to blood, rats have a distinct smell too, you know?"
The terrified group of mercenaries immediately changed their attitude to that of great hostility as their killing intent started rising. They had checked the surroundings and it seems that this man hadn't brought his pet golem with him.
"We took you down once, and we can do it again..."
One of the mercenaries spoke as he glared intently at Feihren. He pulled out a dagger similar to what he threw back then in the woodlands.
"Oh, I know, I know. Although, you people are not the only ones who can do petty tricks. Look up." Feihren then replied with a grin appearing on his face.
Dangling from the ceiling with several chains, a gigantic boulder spanning with a diameter of over 10 meters was directly above the group of mercenaries. The boulder was actually being supported by the weight of the mercenaries as the flat ground they were stepping on is the holster point for the chains. It was akin to a gigantic mousetrap. Only if one attempts to move out of it, the rest would get squished.
Feihren was not really into all this. Although learning the proper art of torture was necessary in order to gain important information so that they could always gain the upper hand against any enemy back when he was in the military, Feihren had always avoided doing so, up until now.
The mercenaries gnashed their teeth. They were being played around with by a single man.
One of the mercenaries threw his dagger that contained the same exploding [Sleep Powder] towards Feihren.
Feihren smirked as he kicked the dagger to the side. The powdery mist exploded quite a distance away from him this time though.
"Come on now, you think I'll fall for the same trick?"
The rest of the mercenaries started shooting spells and throwing their weapons at him. Since he was not really that far away, they were fairly certain that they could hit him.
Making sure that these things were not a threat to him, Feihren sat cross-legged as those weapons clashed with his skin and were ultimately destroyed.
"If I were you I'd stop throwing weapons. It's just making you lighter..." Feihren coldly said.
The chains that are attached to the platform moved slightly as the boulder gradually lowered. The gradual loss of the weapons' weight had made the trap move slightly.
"Instead of throwing useless things, you should just give me my weapon back. I might even consider releasing you."
Feihren added as he stood back up, moving even closer to the mercenaries.
"Here, take it!"
The leader had decided that there was no point in fighting back merely out of spite. It was useless. Their lives mattered more than any items they could have. Feihren then opened the sack as he heard the familiar voice of the Ancient Demon Lord.
"Human... I apologize... And, thank you for not giving up on saving me... This Lord sincerely thanks you"
"Now, release us!" The leader of the mercenaries screamed towards Feihren.
Feihren turned his back as he walked towards the place where he had first entered the market. It was now a bit wider as it was where he had taken the gigantic boulder that he used as a trap from. It was also so that the other beasts could actually fit through and escape from this place. Without uttering one more word to these mercenaries, Feihren left the place.
"No... No! I can't stay stuck in here!" The leader of the group had bloodshot eyes from the despair that he was feeling... "No... I do not dare accept this!" He turned towards the entrance and without a care for his members, he dashed past them as some of them started knocking each other down in their haste to escape.
A few others also tried sprinting towards the entrance as well, but the platform then grew lighter... ultimately squishing most of the mercenaries.
The leader, however, barely managed to escape this gruesome situation, although it was very barely...
One of his legs was squished flat by the boulder... Screaming in agony, he tried to bite off his own leg as a cracking sound could be heard from his spine, which was forced into a very uncomfortable form. He had turned his upper body too much in order to reach his leg...
His leg was successfully severed, yet his fractured spine wouldn't even let him to crawl properly and move his limbs... The leader was doomed to die in anguish as he despaired... before slowly perishing.
Chapter 57: Parade of Beasts
"Can you also communicate with the other beasts?"
Feihren asked the Alpha Spirit Wolf as he led all the creatures that he saved from the black market towards the alternate entrance.
