"All right, let's go with your plan." I finally say after one last second of hesitation.
I'm well aware of what this entails, but I like to think that our intervention will yield positive results for both sides. We'll get our soldiers, and they'll get a better life.
Or at least that's what I'm telling myself.
"Great, then I'll prepare the Legion! As for the plan, I would suggest that you already start to act in the Shard, that way we'll be able to directly transition to the second phase once the Fabricators finish what they have to do. Of course, I don't want to impose anything on you, so please tell me if you have something else planned." Terrence says, and I nod in silence.
*His plan isn't a bad idea, and I don't have anything else to do anyway. It isn't like I can do anything to stop the bounty from increasing, and I still have no clues about who the requester might be, although I'm almost sure that it's an Enforcer Family.*
Either way, I would not be able to barge into their base even if I knew. Doing that would give them a good reason to go all out against me, and I can't handle that.
Speaking of Enforcer Families, the two Wolfheart brothers have been surprisingly silent. Riley or Steve would've warned me about any potential action taken by their mother one way or another, and I'm confident that her promise will not hold for too much longer once she deals with the fallout caused by my actions. I giggle when I think about it; it must be a nightmare to make all those petty and greedy Families agree on how to distribute the immense wealth of the Scalebound Family.
But let's get back to the task at hand, mainly trying not to die. It is a lot harder than you think, especially when hundreds of mercenaries wants you dead.
"Those Legionaries will accompany you to the Shard in question." Terrence declares while two cultists enter before kneeling in front of me.
Their hoods hide a good portion of their faces but from what I can tell these two are in their late twenties. I'll admit that the look of reverence in their eyes creep me out, but I think I'm slowly getting used to it.
"Raise your heads," I say while trying to sound as ominous as possible. The two Legionaries do as they are told and look at me with barely contained fanaticism. "Can one of you tell me where is this Shard located?"
One of the black-haired cultists nods and explains how I can reach this particular Shard, something flash in my head when he finishes his explanation.
What he's describing sounds a lot like the Shard I passed through back when I first went to see Krognar. It may be a coincidence, but who knows. It doesn't matter either way; the gangs the cultist described shouldn't be a match against even a single Legionary, let alone me.
I enter the coordinates of the hidden entrance of the Shard before creating a portal on the wall. I activate my armor before ordering the cultists to grab my extended hand, and we step through the blue tear in reality.
Our sudden arrival in the dirty and isolated back alleys earns us the ire of the passersby and the drunks leaning against the walls. A particularly adventurous and sleazy looking Centaur walks up to me and starts to speak with a slurred voice that I cannot decipher. But from the way he looks at me, I can deduce that he doesn't have any friendly intentions.
*I bet this guy reeks of alcohol...*
The cultists behind me have already racked the charging handle on their rifles; they'll turn the drunkard into paste if I don't intervene. It's not that I particularly care about this random person's well-being but shooting everyone we meet might set a dangerous precedent, and this is an excellent opportunity to impress the Legionaries.
I stop the cultists by raising my hand and clench my fist before punching the drunken Centaur directly into his dirty face. The effects are immediate, and my shield groans for a brief moment before the hulking figure of the magical creature is sent flying straight into a pile of garbage. The foam that formed at the corner of his mouth and his unmoving body confirms that he's knocked out. The shock was stronger than expected, but I'm sure that he's fine.
Dealing with the Centaur sobered up the other drunks; they quickly shuffle out of the way while the other people look at us with a mix of fear and awe.
I'm sure we made an excellent first impression.
Looking around and double checking the coordinates reveals that we're in a completely different area of the Bazaar, so the Shard we're going to take over must be different than the one that I already visited.
*The description matched the other Shard perfectly, so misery in the Shards must be even more common than I first thought.*
We head towards a rusty iron door guarded by an impassible green-skinned humanoid with two large yellowing teeth protruding from his mouth. The armor-clad figure looks imposing, but he shouldn't fare too well against a voLLeY oF bUllEts.
I'll act like I didn't hear that.
The bouncer looks at us with narrowed eyes; his gaze briefly stops on the weapons that the cultists are holding, and he squints. It's almost invisible, but a small magical circle forms around his retina, and he grunts before opening the door once he scanned all of us. "All right, just put your weapons away before entering."
I don't know what's he was looking for, so I ask one of the Legionaries. "He was probably looking for unusual magical signatures, but he found nothing. The Order rarely acts in the Bazaar, and we never leave any traces."
Only looking at magical signatures seems a bit lax to me, I bet he wouldn't have let us in if he knew just how powerful the weapons we carry are.
My thoughts are interrupted when we finally reach the end of the cramped and damp corridor; we arrive at a rundown bar that has seen better days. Our matching bright red apparel earns us a few curious glances from the patrons, but they quickly lose interest and dedicate their attention to the content of their glass.
One of the Legionaries guides me towards an upstairs area, where another bouncer waits. The Legionary produces a piece of rough blue stone from one of his pockets; the bouncer nods as soon as he sees the rock and step to the side. We go up the stairs, and the first thing that I notice is the change in the surroundings. This part of the bar looks like its maintained, and it's even clean in certain spots! The patrons are also wearing more high-class clothing and armors, but it isn't hard considering that some people downstairs are wearing dirty rags.
Our arrival once again earns us the scrutiny of the patrons, and their curious pairs of eyes linger on us for a more extended period. However, nothing else happens, I guess seeing a bunch of armed cultists is something that happens all the time here.
We walk towards yet another bouncer and this one carefully examine our stone before snapping his fingers, causing the floorboards in front of us to liquefy before a Gate rises out of the liquid.
*This entire setup is beyond impractical, but let's not dwells on that too much.*
We step through the Gate under the vigilant eye of the green-skinned bouncer. The description provided by the cultist didn't do this place any justice since it's even worse in reality.
The people either look malnourished or diseased, and their haggard glances don't even register us as we emerge out of the gate. An elf-like old man yells some incomprehensible gibberish and rushes towards the unguarded Gate, I ready my pistol if he decides to attack us, but it soon becomes evident that his target is the Gate.
A happy smile appears on his face as his hand touches the red film that we stepped through earlier... then he turns into ashes. I can't believe my eyes and Rewind to make sure that I understood what happened, but there are no mistakes possible. One of the Gate's features is to kill the residents if they try to escape.
*Holy shit, that's brutal. I understand why the Gate isn't guarded on that side now...*
These gangs are genuinely heartless, and I shake my head in shame when I realize that I compared the Order to them. I'll have no remorse when we massacre every single one of those gang members.
This revelation also reignites my hatred even more: It's not hard to draw a parallel between the situation in the Shard and the one on Earth, what's happening in the Shard is just a glimpse of humanity's grim future if we allow the Enforcers to stay in power.
I turn towards the Legionaries, "Kill on sight! I want every single member of those shitty gangs dead!" I shout and the two cultists grin.
It's time to PuRgE!
The shuffling of the two rat-faced figures leaning against a wall didn't escape my vision. If their matching faded yellow sets of leather armor and looks of utter contempt are anything to go by, it's evident that they are members of said gangs.
Oh boy, I wonder what these fine gentlemen will say to us!
"Oi, you three red bastards over here!" one of the thugs says with a sneer. "We overhead your conversation and we think we should go to a quiet place together, or else..."
"Or else what? How dare you look down on us, especially in the presence of the great Prometheus!" One of the cultists roars and aims towards a rat-faced man while the other already has the head of the second gang member in his sights.
As it turns out, the two thugs don't like being insulted, and their faces become red with rage. "You pieces of shit! Disrespecting us is disrespecting the Boss, so die!"
The first Ratman pulls a short white needle-like sword from his waistband and charges towards us. I don't say anything and carefully watch the cultists; they should be able to handle something at this level.
The cultist stays impassible and fires a single shot into the Ratman's head, causing his entire body to explode. Silence falls upon the battlefield, and the last gang member stares at us with his jaw wide open.
"W-What the hell?!" he shouts with trembling knees. "W-Wait until the Boss hears about this, then you'll-" However, a bullet when through his skull before he could finish his sentence.
I look around, and there are no traces of the Ratmen left. The only indication that they were ever here is their crude and ineffective weapons lying into the muddy soil. The rest of their bodies turns into a fine crimson rain that soaks into the wet ground.
This battle was even easier than I thought, and the cultists handled the situation well. However, we shouldn't stay here for too long. The gunshots must have alerted the other gang members. We could face hundreds of them if they are at the level of the Ratmen, but it might be a bit difficult if they send someone who knows what he's doing.
Furthermore, our objective requires us to stay in the shadows, so I turn towards the cultists and nod, "Good job, but we need to get out of here, or we might attract too much unwanted attention."
"Yes, Sir! I would also like to add that your rifles are truly extraordinary... We didn't release a single speck of mana, so we don't need to waste time and energy with setting up stealth measures. This weapon is truly the product of divine intervention!" one of the Legionary says with extraordinary enthusiasm.
I refrain from voicing my thoughts since it would undermine my image, but the EGBs are nothing extraordinary. They are just two beginner's runes crammed together; the intricate part of the weapon is the runes responsible for the insane acceleration of the bullets.
And this particular design isn't even my own; I just copied it.
But the Order doesn't need to know that.
We head towards a dark alley, away from the prying eyes that probably watched the battle unfold. I have no clue about what I should do to find someone in danger, and I feel like asking the cultists would undermine my credibility. Walking around would undoubtedly work since the public order in the Shards is non-existent, so we're bound to find someone at some point.
My lifeforce scanner should be helpful in that regard, but it still feels like there should be a better way of doing things.
...Daredrick's PoV...
"Sir, the update you requested on the matter with the new vassals." My scribe says before handing me a piece of magical paper.
I scroll through the document and can't help but smirk, this latest batch of underlings doubled the amount of manpower available to the Stonecrusher Family. This also substantially increased the bounty on that rogue Outsider but it's not the point of this venture, it's just a nice side-effect.
Truth to be told, I'm not too worried about the Outsider. Our suppression campaign worked wonders, and the people who are supporting him are just posturing on the HiddenNet. We found nobody who's foolish enough to assist him in his doomed rebellion. However, his barrier is a bit hard to break through, and I had to recall my scryers for now since we needed them for more critical tasks.
But I'm sure it's okay to let him be, because what can a single human possibly do?
Instead, I focus on more important matters, mainly the reorganization of our newly acquired forces. Centralization of military might was something that I always wanted, but couldn't correctly implement because of our position and relative strength compared to other Families.
But the Beelzebub Incident changed everything.
The influx of weakened Families into our camp was a boon for us, and despite our losses during the Incident we still have a relatively large army. So the first Families that responded to my call had no other choice but to give me direct control over their troops, thus effectively cementing their places as servants for the next decades. This snowballed and gave us more authority, therefore the larger Families that became pariahs after the Incident were forced to bend the knee.
I can hardly suppress a chuckle: Gone are the days of haphazard, and often conflicting, tactics and doctrines. No longer will we have to delay critical military actions because of the ego of the leaders of other Families, or have to bribe them to join a conflict.
Instead, we'll rely on a single and well-oiled chain of command that obeys a sole authority.
And that authority is me, Daredrick Stonecrusher!
The influx of new troops and reorganizing the commanding structure will take some time, and we also have to make sure that they are carefully deployed, so a disgruntled Family doesn't betray us. But it's not an impossible task as long as we aren't disturbed or attacked while we set everything up.
I'll have to thank our talented diplomats for this; they are doing an excellent job at stalling the negotiations for the partition of Scalebound assets. As a bonus, we are slowly wrenching more and more concessions from the decaying Wolfheart Family. It pains me to see what my comrade in arms has built with great efforts crumble into nothingness, but I'll keep his Family alive out of respect for his memory.
Of course, not as a leader but as a vassal.
We are quickly ascending as a regional power. And once the military reforms go through, then we will have tripled the size of our territory without shedding a single drop of blood.
Of course, we aren't the only ones who are using the Incident as an opportunity to increase our influence, but as far as I'm aware we are the sole Family who is taking steps to unify our forces properly.
*See Alice, that's what a capable leader can accomplish.*
I can't help but grin as I reach for a bottle of mana-infused brandy and pour the purple liquid into a glass before sipping the thick drink. It's rare for me to enjoy the pleasures of alcohol, but this occasion is worth celebrating.
My wits and quick-thinking, as well as my strategic acumen, transformed our Family into a significant power almost overnight.
And I don't intend to stop here!
I'm not foolish like Erdis, and I'll not make the mistake of putting all my faith into a single superweapon. He would have succeeded at the start of his campaign, but it shows that his understanding of inter-Council politics was laughable at best.
He was hoping to conquer everyone with the help of his chimera, but it's evident that the other Councils and neighboring Families would have banded together as a temporary coalition as a result of his aggressive expansion.
A calm and diplomatic approach like mine is the best way to increase our Family's influence and power. Our unified and robust army, as well as our guarantees of prosperity, will ensure that the smallest Families will accept our offer in a heartbeat, thus furthering our power. As for the disgruntled powers who will not like us encroaching in their sphere of influence...
Well, I mentioned a unified and robust army before, didn't I?
I finish my glass and sigh, everything has gone smoothly for us ever since the Incident, and the future looks beyond bright for us.
At this point, it would take some divine intervention to stop our rise to power.