Chương 89: Making A Mess
The screen displays an entry for something akin to Wikipedia, and the current page is about Wurk, who is our target. The fact that he has his own page is already bad enough since it means that he's some sort of known figure, and he might have a lot of influence.
But, as if it wasn't bad enough, he's also one of the top executives of the local Enforcer organization.
So we accepted a request to assassinate one of the most well-guarded people on the entire planet. I'm sure that everything will be fine and that the upcoming battles won't result in massive amounts of casualties and Rewinds.
It's nice to dream, isn't it?
We are already in deep shit since I doubt that the Enforcers are dumb enough to not check the sewers or to have some sort of surveillance system in the unreachable tunnels that are just under the city. But if they are so oblivious to overlook such a glaring flaw in their security, then it would ensure the success of our mission.
Honestly, I wouldn't put it past them if they are even as half as arrogant as the Enforcers on Earth.
"So, how bad is it?" I ask the Goblin who is taking deep breaths while massaging his forehead.
"What do you think?" the bitter shopkeeper sighs, "That bastard is the chief of security for the entire Enforcer organization. Wurk is living in the most secure building in the entire planet, not to mention that he's protected by the best soldiers the Enforcers have at their disposal."
Of course, everything has to be harder than it should be. Krognar couldn't have problems with a cashier or something. No, it had to be one of the most influential people on the planet.
I'm a bit used to it by now, I always expect the worst, but it turns out that reality is still worse than my expectations.
Maybe it's the price to pay for abusing something as abnormal as the Rewinder. But I somehow feel a bit cheated considering that people who are freely wielding magic seem not to get as much shit thrown at them compared to me.
However, there's still hope. I doubt these people are used to our way to wage interdimensional warfare, and there's nothing that should be able to withstand a continuous barrage of our special artillery shells.
...I jinxed it, didn't I?
I turn towards Krognar, "As I told you before, there's nothing that can stop us. So where is our target hiding?"
The fugitive sighs, "Your confidence is impressive, but it's impossible to even put a scratch on the building. There's nothing that could-"
"Sorry for interrupting, but Prometheus created costless interdimensional teleportation by himself. You should really believe him when he says that he can do it." Cynthia interrupts Krognar.
I wasn't expecting her to be intervening like this. I thought she was more of the timid type. But it looks like her timely intervention changed the mind of the old Goblin, who takes a deep breath and turns towards me.
"...You know what, I'm way too old for regrets. I've never been so close to making Wurk pay for his crimes, and you already proved to me that you could make the impossible possible, so I'll trust you for now. " Krognar declares while clenching his fists. He grabs the tablet-like device and taps his mechanical fingers on the device at a tremendous speed before showing the screen to me.
"All the higher-ups are holed into what they call the Tower of Justice," he explains. "It's a bit ironic if you ask me, that place is probably the biggest hive of corruption on the entire planet."
I examine the image in more details. The tower, which is made of silver-colored concrete covered in glowing engravings, is truly massive. The large circular base is as big as a couple of football fields, and the gigantic building goes beyond the clouds. I wonder how durable that material is if it can endure so much pressure, but my attention then shifts towards the large and menacing spike covered walls that surrounds the tower. The defenses look very tough, not to mention that the fully armored soldiers are carrying lances that are similar to the weapons of the ones who attacked Krognar look to be as durable.
"I bet there are a lot of traps in that place," I say while pointing towards the flat fields between the tower and the walls.
Krognar nods, "You bet, there are so many that people have theorized that if someone would be foolish enough to attack and set off all the traps, then the resulting explosion would be visible by the entire northern hemisphere."
Holy shit, if that's true, then that tower is even tougher to attack than I first thought.
"But I doubt it's true, an explosion of this magnitude would wipe out a lot of surrounding cities. I doubt the tower would be harmed, but the Enforcers can't be arrogant enough to make such a thing." Krognar says.
Oh boy, if only you knew. The Enforcers on my planet nearly resurrected an ancient demon because they disliked each other, so I wouldn't put it past them to condemn millions of people to their death for a mild increase in security.
"But wait, there's more. It's only rumored, but I'm convinced that the top of the tower, which is said to reach so high that we can see the curvature of the planet, is the home of a secret super-weapon capable of glassing half a planet in less than a minute." The shopkeeper continues.
I need to get my hands on that weapon if it's real, we could reverse-engineer it and make smaller-scale versions. I mean, turning half a planet into a wasteland seems overkill for now, but something like a city block or a small town would be enough for our current needs.
"But something like this is impossible. I once ran the calculations when I was bored, and the numbers are too high to make any sense. No materials in existence could generate such a powerful explosion, not to mention that the instability would be so high that the bomb would explode in the middle of the enchanting process." Krognar adds.
It's true that it seems too good to be true, but it wouldn't hurt to check the top of the tower if we can, just to be sure.
After all, impossible things tend to gravitate around me.
"All right, so we can expect very heavy resistance. I assume there's also a powerful barrier around the entire compound." I ask.
"Yes, and it's beyond what I can make. The effects are somewhat like the barrier I sold to you, which feeds false information to people who are trying to look through it. But even that effect is amplified. When the barrier is running at full capacity, the tower can't even be seen with the naked eye." he continues.
"All right, and I assume that piercing it is also hard to do?" I say.
I didn't know that the barrier around my old home had this effect, but it might explain why nobody knew about the Order.
"Hard to do? You're kidding. It would take weeks for even a massive army to put a crack on it." The Goblin chuckles.
"We'll sEe AbOuT tHaT." I grin when I remember the Barrier Breaker and the penetrators.
"Now I'm a bit curious, but I guess we'll see what will happen when the time comes." The shopkeeper declares.
"Tell the Fabricators to ready the Hammer of Prometheus, I believe we'll need a lot of ammo, and they also need to prepare a couple of Barrier Breakers," I say to Cynthia via the communication device. She nods and warns the Order. It's nice to have subordinates, that way I don't have to handle everything myself.
As a side note, the Hammer of Prometheus is how the Fabricators named the M777S capable of teleporting their payload. I couldn't think of a better name, so I allowed it to become the official name.
"So where is this tower?" I ask the Goblin.
"The Tower of Justice is located in the middle of the capital, but it's quite far away. I reckon we could flee the city through the sewers, but we'll have to find a way to cover a lot of ground without your method of teleportation. It's true that it's beyond my imagination, but it simply spews too much mana in the air. The Enforcers would find us in a heartbeat, even in the sewers, so we need to find another way." Krognar replies.
Shit, that was unexpected. We can't teleport, and the portals are too small to transfer vehicles.
"I do know a few discrete teleportation spells." Mary intervenes after a few moments of silence. "I should be able to transfer us all without hassle, and the magical signature should be kept to a minimum."
"Got it, then how much time do you need to cast the spell?" I ask the draconic woman.
"That's the thing. The best spell takes a bit of time if I do it alone, not to mention that I need to know where am I going. If only there were someone with a lot of power who could help me..." she says while lowering her head after glancing at me.
I think your expectations of what I can do are somewhat skewed. I can only do a bit of a light show and nothing else.
"I can help with that if you would let me read your mind. Then I should be able to replicate the spell." Sarah says. "As for the location, I already got everything I needed to know from Krognar's head."
I mentally thank the mind-reader, she just saved me from finding a good explanation for why I can't help her.
"..All right, do what you have to do." Mary clicks her tongue and opens her palms. "I'll provide the power while you do the fine-tuning." She says with her eyes closed. The air around her distorts as it gains a slight red tinge. Krognar, and everyone for that matter, slightly recoil when the wind reaches them, but it seems to envelop my body rather than just smashing against me.
This is weird. Maybe it's yet another side-effect of long-term exposure to the Rewinder?
"This is something else..." Krognar mutters under his armor.
I also can't help but be impressed by the display. Large arcs of energy travel from Mary to Sarah and the mind-reader's limbs tremble as she shapes the power into an elaborate ritual.
It only lasts for a couple of minutes, but the results are still impressive. The floating circle of magic power is almost as big as the tunnel, and the complexity of the runes is enough to give me a headache. Once again I realize how foolish I was to call myself an enchanter, I'm nowhere near what a competent enchanter can do.
"Everyone, please step into the middle of the circle," Mary says while Sarah lowers her arm. Her breath is ragged, and her steps are slow compared to before.
If I had to guess, then having that much magic power go through your body must be a rather unpleasant experience.
At least I'm glad that I will never experience something like this since everything that enters my body seems to be erased from existence.
"Everyone, get ready for anything. We don't know what might be waiting for us on the other side." I say to my group and the shopkeeper.
We all huddle in the middle of the spell and Mary snaps her fingers. A ring of light envelops us and the scenery shifts.
...Daredrick's PoV...
"What do you mean by 'gone' ?" I ask the merman in front of me with narrowed eyes. He wipes his forehead with a trembling hand, "I-I'm sorry sir, but they were simply wiped off the map. We detected a few large magic signatures in the area then there was nothing. We even lifted our no-communication policy to make sure that the unit was still operational, but nobody answered us."
I clench my fist. It can only mean two things: They were either wiped out, or they deserted. I doubt they fled since I have all their families in my grasp, and they are smart enough to know what would happen to them if they disobeyed.
But the other option is also improbable. That unit was a special one composed of elites, not to mention that their equipment was the best the Empire could offer.
"Are you sure about this? You can't have lost such a large unit, could you?" I ask, and the Merman almost faints from a single glance.
"N-No, of course not..." he replies, "We have no idea what happened. Their last known location shows large-scale destruction, but there isn't any debris anywhere, and there's no bodies or destroyed equipment."
I grit my teeth; this sounds like a new sort of Strategic Spell. Are the Families finally waking up? It's too late to rebel against us, what are they thinking? And I never heard of anything like a Strategic Spell capable of such damage without a magic signature so large that half the continent could feel it.
This unit was sent on a secret mission to take care of a disrespectful parasite, and it's simply impossible that this coward is responsible for this. It must be from one of the Families, or it could be a warning shot from the other Councils?
How arrogant of them, don't they know they are opposing the rightful monarch of the area?
Either way, I need to find the ones responsible for such an insult. The only local Family who could have been a problem were the Wolfheart, but they imploded and were taken over by some rebel group. Their might is pitiable, and the majority of previously Wolfheart territory is now ours, the rebels are holding onto a small unimportant patch of land that I'll soon take over.
But this reminds me of another attack that one of our compounds suffered. The aftermath of the attack was eerily similar, everything was wiped out, and everyone was killed. Not even the decorations were spared.
Could the attackers be the same people?
It could be, but it could also be a coincidence.
John Thomson is obviously out of the picture. There hasn't been any activity near his home, and I'm starting to believe that he merely fled the planet when he realized what he had done. I want to say good riddance, but I need to confirm it.
The Freedom Movement, as they like to call themselves, are also not a possible attacker. They are too disorganized, and they don't have the resources to pull off operations of that magnitude.
So it only leaves me with rebellious Families or other Councils.
I dismiss the Merman and turn towards the window. This development is quite unfortunate, I planned to crush the other Councils from the start, and we already have contacts from other Councils who are willing to join us in exchange for good positions in the Empire.
If they are worthy, then I'm happy to help them. If they aren't, then the army is always in need of fresh blood.
But I am still preparing the Empire for large-scale wars. As of right now, we could probably take one entire Council. But the cost in lives, resources, and money would be beyond crippling, and another Council would quickly finish us off. I need to find a way to stall the upcoming war, at least until we are fully prepared.
The various fortification projects are going to be finished soon, and our research team has shown some promising results. Not to mention that the Empire is the home of formidable craftsmen capable of making powerful equipment for our elite soldiers.
But it's not enough. We need more resources, and that means we need to expand even more. Our territory is already bigger than anything that the Families ever held, but it's not enough. The days of costly conflicts for little to no gains are long gone, our policy is either peaceful annexation and integration or complete extermination.
Not being held back by Council politics is a game-changer, and I wonder why there hasn't been anyone else who got rid of these self-imposed shackles.
It's probably because I'm one of the best leaders in the history of the world.
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Onch
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