111(1) – Zenyo! (VII)
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PART 1 – The beginning of chaos!
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As Verna and Lina predicted, the Orc and Human factions, the least affected, quickly became the target of scrutiny and suspicion from the less intelligent. One can't expect much intelligence from bandits.
Naturally, it took the two factions a while to realize that, of all the groups, they were the least affected. Not because they seemed to have been left out, but simply because they still had some warehouses with valuable goods, while others had everything taken.
By the time they realized this, it was too late. The other factions knew they were scapegoats, that's obvious, but they still fell for it and used that as justification.
They painted the two factions as criminals and conspirators against the peace of the Neutral City. Within hours, deaths and conflicts began.
The Beastmen faction was left to deal with the Orcs, who had the fewest resources. They took everything from them so they could breathe a little easier. The Warlord, however, was decisive and took everything from the Humans.
The Warlord didn't try to negotiate; he's too angry that everything has been stolen. Decades of his effort, taken by a stranger, and now he has to watch the city he worked so hard to build burning.
In the city center, there is still control and peace, but it won't last long, as the conflicts on the outside are only escalating.
Humans and Orcs are not letting themselves be killed. The two groups have joined forces to resist the Beastmen and other smaller groups. There are attacks from all sides.
What do they gain by exterminating them? Besides the resources already being taken, slavery. They are captured to be sold as slaves. The slave market is one of the most lucrative.
They will do anything to reduce their losses. Not to mention that the conflict has spread to the "ordinary" people, who are neutral. The city is composed of all kinds of criminals and individuals who wish to operate and negotiate without the eyes of the authorities.
Now they are killing each other. The first to act were the various Bounty Hunters, who patiently awaited their targets to leave the Neutral City to kill them; now, in the chaos, they took advantage.
Furthermore, it's noted that countless people possess numerous space storage items. Unknown resources and riches; anyone seen with such an item immediately becomes a target.
Chaos rises, and the Warlord is ignoring it all. He's letting everyone kill each other, as he's more focused on discovering who stole from him and trying to recover everything as quickly as possible.
He works with dangerous deadlines and clients; if they discover what happened, he will certainly die!
……
Verna watched the city burn and the conflicts spill over into the center.
A strong smell of blood assaults Verna's nostrils; slowly, a dark-skinned figure emerges from the window, crouching and smiling radiantly, its long, pointed ears twitching in joy.
“I’ve already collected the most valuable heads from the outside, I haven’t invaded the center yet. I haven’t found all the targets, they’ve probably already been killed and their heads collected. There are many groups leaving the city, I heard that the two factions that were targeted, their remnants have joined forces and are fleeing, the Beastmen are chasing them.” – Lina said calmly as she entered and tossed Verna a bracelet.
Verna glanced at the bloody interior, many heads scattered about. – “Good!” – Verna clapped her hands as she returned the bracelet and said. – “Now it’s my time to shine!”
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PART 2 – Warlord!
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Alonso Rivel, Warlord of this Neutral City. He is a slender, tall, and handsome man. Long blond hair, pointed ears, but not too long, as one would expect from a Half-elf.
At this moment he is in pure despair, rubbing his forehead and even tearing out parts of his silky blond hair.
Just a few hours ago he took everything from the Human Faction; even all the goods and slaves aren't enough to fill the space between his teeth. Right now he has people torturing the leaders to discover their secret vaults, as that's where the highest quality goods are kept.
He has also put people to investigate the leaders of the other groups; he wants to know anything suspicious and prepare to take everything from them, leaving nothing. He needs to recover his losses as quickly as possible. But even all the wealth in this city, if taken and all the inhabitants sold into slavery, wouldn't compensate for even 1/10 of what he has lost.
But what drove him to despair wasn't just the loss of merchandise; it was the fact that this information had already reached the ears of his business partners and masters.
Alonso is merely a hunting dog, a disposable fighter. They use him to steal and kill anyone who bothers them, he receives a few treats and promises as a reward, then he's sent on another dangerous mission, receiving all the consequences and danger.
And now his employers have discovered the major robbery, in which all the goods in his possession that are "theirs" were stolen under his supervision.
Now Alonso has only a few hours to find the stolen goods or he's a dead man. But that's easier said than done.
Looking at the documents on his desk, they are reports of everything that has been discovered about the witnesses. They saw a short person, apparently a woman, at the crime scenes on more than one occasion.
Drawings have been made and are being spread everywhere; they want to uncover the smallest possible detail. Several individuals who fit the description have already been investigated and subjected to Truth Spells, but no one knows anything.
Furious, Alonso threw the papers aside and began pacing in circles, trying to figure out what to do, how to reverse this if he couldn't find the thief.
“This wasn't a simple robbery. They knew the detailed locations of the surface and underground warehouses. Even some secret vaults were looted. It means there are many spies, people who sold information.” – Alonso said coldly while his subordinates listened.
“I want you to create a new set of questions to be asked under the effect of the Truth Spell, so order everyone to go through it. I want to know who was sold information about our depots and warehouses, regardless of how insignificant the news may seem!” – Alonso growled fiercely.
His subordinates obeyed.
“I don't think that will be necessary.” – A calm voice sounded, and Alonso's hair stood on end. His body froze, and his heart skipped a beat. The next instant, he turned, conjuring a magic sword that slashed toward the voice.
Clang~ BOOM!
A sudden metallic shock resounded, followed by a dense explosion that shook the entire structure, cracks appearing in the floor, walls, and ceiling. Alonso's eyes were serious as his sword was stopped by an axe wielded easily by one hand.
Alonso narrowed his eyes at the beautiful human woman before him. Tall, with long brown hair and white skin. A calm gaze, and she didn't seem the type of person capable of such perfect stealth that it deceived even his senses.
He only discovered her because she spoke. Not to mention that there were several subordinates ahead, none of whom reacted to this enormous woman behind him.
“WHO ARE YOU?!” – Alonso roared, but he already had an idea.
“You’ve been looking for me for the last few hours, I think you must already know who I am.” – She said with a cold smile.
Alonso growled, but she is indeed familiar.
“Verna, mercenary. She was hired by the Thorn Family!” – Suddenly one of the subordinates spoke. – “She arrived in town yesterday!” – He added.
“So this is the work of that tiny family?” – Alonso growled. – “How much did they pay? I pay 10 times more!”
Verna smiled and said. – “Unfortunately for both of us, what they are offering me is something that money can’t buy. Another misfortune for you is that I’m not so low as to betray my employer for someone who pays more. I have to have integrity.”
“Where are the stolen goods?!” – Alonso roared and attacked, but Verna easily blocked the attack, and another sonic boom sounded, further shaking the building's structure.
Verna smiled and opened her arms. – “It's me!” – She laughed. – “My own heart is a magically modified organ that becomes a Storage Artifact, sustained by my power. I'd say I could easily store this entire city.”
Alonso growled.
“You know what's funny?” – Verna laughed mockingly. – “I'll never get rid of these items, and if I die, which won't happen, my heart has self-destruct functions, meaning that upon death, everything inside is destroyed.”
Alonso frowned. – “What do you want?” – He understood that this wasn't about negotiation, but about demands from the other party.
“Me? I already have everything I want. I only needed to take the goods they stole from the Thorn Family and inflict some severe harm upon them as a message. But I saw so much treasure piled up; I couldn't leave it all in your possession when it would be much better in mine!”
Alonso growls and says, “Congratulations, Verna, you delivered your message. The Thorn Family will be able to maintain their dignity, and you will become a target of the forces that support me. You can keep what belongs to them and the other groups, but return what you took from my underground warehouses. These are extremely important resources and goods for those who command me, which I don't even wish to provoke or dream of betraying.”
Verna smiles and nods. “I'm here to take your head, darling. It's a waste; you're quite handsome and must have a lot of information and treasure, but unfortunately, your head will greatly increase my reward.”
At the end of Verna's words, Alonso was abruptly enveloped in a shimmering golden armor that closed around him, covering him from head to toe. There were no openings or gaps.
Verna sensed a massive amount of magical power, which seemed to grow steadily.
“Is this one of those Combat Armors? There are so many names and rumors about it, but it seems to be true. You must be almost at the level of a Demigod with this armor,” Verna said calmly.
She had read some information about Combat Armors; from what she understood, it's a combat suit similar to Iron Man's armor. Except it's a magical armor that needs to be fused with the wearer's blood, resonate with their vitality and mana, and when worn, it amplifies their power ridiculously.
Mages who use this armor can go toe-to-toe with Warriors of the same level or even surpass them.
…
A cold glint appeared in Alonso's eyes as he bent down and drew his sword, which had been replaced with a type of katana with an abnormally long, straight blade. The blade's edge itself was made of pure, almost crystallized energy.
The blade shot out, and Verna wasn't foolish enough to block; she dodged the blow by mere millimeters. The blade grazed her nose, and only its vibration and radiation slightly burned her facial hair.
This was surprising, as even if she plunged into lava naked, her body hair wouldn't be damaged.
But she wasn't admiring the fact that this blade was indeed dangerous; she closed the distance mid-Alonso's attack and landed a fist on his torso.
BOOM! Boom~
A loud bang followed by a softer one resounded, and Alonso's body flew, cracks covering his armor and Alonso's blood-curdling scream reverberating.
Verna holds Alonso's lightsaber, noticing it has lost all its magic. She tried injecting Mana, but the lightsaber doesn't respond to her. – ‘This isn't just Forging and Enchantments… it looks like engineering and robotics…’
She frowned, noticing concepts that seem to have come from Earth. She wouldn't have suspected it if it weren't for certain similarities. The lightsaber's internal structure is very futuristic, not something rustic or aesthetic; it was structured to be this way.
Suddenly, Alonso appeared beside her, bent over, both hands holding sharp daggers that seem to be made of the same technology as the lightsaber.
Clang! Clang!
The metallic clash echoed, and Alonso's eyes widened, his blades unable to pierce an invisible layer of defense around Verna.
“Interesting…” – Verna's eyes gleamed. It turns out her clothes in the area of impact were damaged, and she felt a slight warmth in those areas. It shows that technology can somehow overcome your defenses.
It's the first time in her life she's encountered something weaker, capable of penetrating her Internal Energy Barrier. Even in Murim, she'd never seen or heard of anything like it.
Verna's smile widens, and she decides to stop playing around. Her finger shoots at Alonso's head; an impact occurs, it seems simple, until…
Blergh!
A vomiting sound echoes from within the armor, Alonso's entire body trembles vigorously, and thin lines of blood begin to trickle from the cracks in his chest.
To avoid further damaging the armor, Verna simply killed Alonso, focusing all the damage on his body and not the armor.
'Great technology for penetrating barriers, but not for protecting against similar attacks,' Verna thinks as she stores the corpse and the armor, along with the weapons.
Soon her gaze falls on her subordinates, and drawing her axe, Verna slowly walks towards their terror.