PAK.
PAK.
PAK.
The sewage system emitted a putrid odor as Oliver navigated through it, carrying Hewitt and Allister, as well as the giant spider known as Parker.
Oliver faced an obstacle when the way back was blocked by the bombing, but he was able to find a new path through the labyrinthine sewer system by utilizing his enhanced vision to locate the position of his group.
‘What happened?’
As Oliver assessed the dozen emotions that suddenly surfaced among Joe's group, who were visibly exhausted, he realized that they did not pose any threat.
Joe remained cautious, but the individuals in question exhibited no hostile intent.
Oliver concluded that they were not enemies.
‘There’s one person I know.’
Despite this, Oliver couldn't let down his guard.
He quickly made his way back to where Joe and his group were located, carrying the catch on his shoulders without overexerting himself.
The sound of his footsteps echoed through the dark and damp sewers, and he finally returned to the spot where Joe and his party were.
"What happened?" he asked, surveying the area which showed signs of intense combat.
Joe, who had already exhausted all of his energy, was overjoyed and relieved to see Oliver, and attempted to stand up, but stumbled.
He was about to fall, but [Warlock] supported him with a bizarre cry.
"Kirrkirrkirr."
Oliver approached Joe, putting everyone on his shoulders, including Hewitt and Allister, on the floor.
"What happened?"
"Sigh…a little too much. If I explain it, it'll be a little longer."
At that moment, a familiar third voice intervened.
"It was real. Well, maybe it was a given? ….But I didn't expect you to collaborate with these guys. I guess that's one of your talents."
A massive man emerged from an unidentified armed group, equipped with advanced prosthetic Golem limbs on both arms.
It was Stone Fist Arthur, whom Oliver had previously met and fought alongside in a contaminated zone, and later with Murphy.
Despite initially having doubts, Oliver recognized him.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. Arthur," Oliver greeted him.
Arthur, flipping his rugged hair with his upgraded Golem arm, replied,
"Likewise. Though it's unexpected to meet in a place like this, you don't seem too surprised."
"No. I was surprised, too. But I saw Mr. Arthur when I was a little further away.”
"You saw? Ah… Yeah, because you're a Warlock. You have good eyes."
"I think so."
Arthur smiled nonchalantly, but inside he felt a sense of relief, as if he had narrowly avoided a major mistake.
Joe, still struggling to catch his breath, explained the situation.
"If I hadn't told him that I was working with you as soon as I saw him, he would have killed me, Sam, and Owen and stole what we caught,"
Joe said, gesturing to Damon whose face was badly injured behind him.
Arthur denied the accusation outright, saying
"Oh come on buddy, I told you it was a joke."
Joe retorted,
"What kind of joke is showing up with a gun after I knocked that guy down?"
Arthur just grinned and said
"Didn't you tell me to come out?"
Joe just snorted in disbelief, clearly having had experience with such situations before.
Arthur then turned to Oliver, saying
"I hope you don't doubt me. We've worked together twice."
Oliver replied, grasping Arthur's hand,
"I don't doubt you. Even if you did that, there must be some reason for it… So, just act as you always do, I won't doubt or feel uncomfortable."
Oliver said this to assure Arthur that he held no grudges, but for a moment, Arthur's expression hardened, and a mix of displeasure, fear, and relief passed across his emotions.
"That sounds just like you," Arthur said.
Realizing he may have made a mistake, Oliver quickly changed the topic,
"So, how did you get here?"
"I took on the same job as you.”
“Kell Liberation Army?"
"Liberation Army….. That's a grand name for those losers. They're just a bunch of stupid rebel bastards. I wiped out some cockroaches that were trying to contact these guys, and while I was at it, I came to catch them. Although I'm a step behind,"
Oliver turned and looked at the Kell Liberation Army remnants they had caught, wondering what had happened to Damon, who was now dead.
‘Well, we'll be able to identify him with blood magic or something, so it's not a big deal except for a reduced bounty,' Oliver thought.
He then looked at Arthur and said,
"Yes. We were lucky enough to be a step ahead."
Arthur nodded in agreement.
"The number of people we caught was only half of you guys, but man, you hit the jackpot. Damon, Allister, and the magic hacker, Hewitt. I don't know how much it's worth altogether."
Oliver replied,
"If you add those three together, it's 560 million. If you add other people together, it could be 600 million close… But, I don't know because Mr. Damon died."
Oliver's innocent answer stirred the emotions of some people behind Arthur, albeit fleetingly, with greed.
600 million was a huge amount of money in Landa, where many people die without seeing 100 million.
Oliver wasn't the only one who read the emotion, Joe too stood up to fight even though he was exhausted. [Warlock] and [Sniper] also took a pose.
In response, Arthur’s party also readied their weapons.
Arthur quickly calmed his colleagues,
"Ah, what's wrong with you guys? Why? People will think we're really here to take their rewards away. Everybody, put down your weapons."
Tensions dissipated as everyone lowered their weapons at Arthur's command, showing he had proper control over his colleagues.
It turned out that some of them were familiar faces, like the female sniper in a silk hat, man with machine arms and goggles, and men armed with exoskeleton gloves, whom Oliver had met in the contaminated zone.
However, their weapons and combat uniforms were better than what he had seen before.
The flow of mana also indicated that these were not normal items.
"Everyone seems to be wearing better equipment than when I saw them before. You must be earning well,"
"Hmm? Ah… Well, it's not easy for a Solver to change their equipment with their own money,"
"Really?"
"Well, the Solver job pays well, but it's not always the case, and most of the decent equipment is expensive. It's not as easy as it sounds to save money sincerely and change equipment," Arthur explained.
"Then how did you change it?” Oliver asked.
"We met a good owner."
"Owner?"
"In that sense, can I suggest something? How about doing a big job with us?”
Arthur suggested with a meaningful smile.
⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩ ⏩
[Is this for real?]
Oliver, who came out of the sewage treatment plant, spoke into the communication device.
"Yes, Mr. Forrest. We caught the disease-type Warlock Damon, the contaminated creature tamer Allister, and the magic hacker Hewitt. Mr. Damon died, and his face was completely crushed while trying to subdue him."
[That's not a big deal. What about the other two?]
"I just knocked them out. But……"
Oliver tried to ask a question but unlike his usual self blurted out his words.
[What's going on?]
"…No, nothing."
Oliver’s uncharacteristic attitude felt strange even for Forrest who was hearing on the other end of the communication device.
But he didn’t pry on it anymore, he went back to work.
[What, okay, how many others?]
"We also caught about 21 other ordinary soldiers who were on the wanted list. By any chance, do we get a reward for soldiers?”
[In principle, the reward will be paid only to those who had a bounty, but I will persuade the city to accept it. Even so, it would be just around 1 million]
Forrest said it as if it was nothing, but Oliver was rather pleased.
Even if it was a million, it would be 21 million if you add all the soldiers together. So, Oliver would get a little above 10 million.
"Thank you for that."
[You don't have to be thankful. I know how to use the City when I need it. Of course, it's because you caught three executives. So… you've caught 29 people altogether.]
"And, we can't take them all by ourselves, so can we get some help?"
[Sure. Bringing them here is rather not a problem… Can you wait 30 minutes? I'll contact the broker's union and send someone to hand over the wanted criminals to the city.]
"Yes, I’ll wait. By the way, is there such a company for transporting people?"
[It's not just this, there's a mercenary group that has built up trust by doing business with the brokers union. We have to pay some of our shares, but in the current situation, they are necessary. Then, is that the end of the report?]
"No, there's one more."
[Is it? What is it?]
"It's a long story, do you know Arthur? Stone Fist Arthur."
[Yes, it's a settlement contractor with N, the broker in District N. A former veteran, strong on his own, but more capable when combined with veterans like himself. What's wrong?]
"We just met in the sewer. They too followed the remnants of the Kell Liberation Army.”
[It's not that weird. Arthur must have gotten the job from the city as well. Well, it's common for the lines to overlap….. Is there a problem?]
Forrest asked cautiously.
The Landa Sewer was another space cut off from the ground, so they could have done anything.
"No. Rather, it was settled smoothly."
[So, did he want something else?]
"Yes, to be exact, he said he wanted to do a big job with me."
[Bigger than this? That means he's going to catch a big shot. Is he going to catch Willes?]
Willes.
It was a name Oliver knew.
As one of the leaders of the Kell Liberation Army, he was a person who volunteered to join the Liberation Army even though he entered the Magic Tower’s School of Element Magic through a disguised identity and learned magic, and became a big figure.
In addition, it was said that when he joined, he immediately gained a reputation not only for his magical abilities, but also for his strong physical abilities and close combat skills that were unique to Northlanders, and he quickly became a formidable figure.
It was said that a large army was dispatched to catch this one person, and five War Wizards were also deployed.
It was dealt with a big blow, and as a result, Willes was lost, and three war wizards who participated in the battle also died.
Anyway, he seemed like a great man in many ways.
"Is the reward 1.2 billion?"
[Right. It seems like a lot, but it's not necessarily so. It's not just a lie that he received support even within the School of Element Magic, he knows how to draw the big picture, so he's pretty dangerous.]
"Big picture?"
[It means he knows how to read the political situation and the trend of the times. That's more dangerous than just being strong. In fact, people with strong fighting power can be found anywhere, but people with the ability to know when to hide power and the ability to find opportunities by lowering oneself is not common.]
"You know pretty well."
[I'm also one of those guys who are not common, right? It's interesting anyway. I thought Willes didn't evacuate Landa… So, what did you say to Arthur?]
"I said I would answer after talking to Mr. Forrest. Arthur was willing to accept it.”
[I see. It looks like he wants your help so bad. I don't think it's just because of the money.]
Then Oliver remembered one fact and opened his mouth. Instinctively, he thought this could be a hint.
"I don't know if it'll help, but the equipment of Arthur and his group has been changed to a very good one. Above all, Arthur's prosthetic arm has changed a lot, too.”
[Is it that much of a change?]
"Yes, I can tell by the flow of mana."
[Amazing. Good equipment is a must for Solvers, but it's not as easy as it sounds.]
"And he said, he met a good owner."
[………]
Forest was silent. It was not silence from confusion, but a silence that occurred when he realized something.
After a while, he said,
[He got the City as his backing]
(To be Continued)
OR
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