With their bodies covered in sticky mucus Oliver, Kent, and Bigfist descended into the trash can.
Their clothes were so sticky and smelly that despite being a beggar, they have to throw away their clothes, but that wasn't the big problem right now.
The smell of the sewers under the ground was much worse than the smell on Oliver, Kent, and Bigfist.
As Oliver slowly started to get a headache from a sore nose, he released the spell [Sensitive nose].
The smell was still bad, but it was much better than before. At least it didn't feel like his head was going to break.
“Argh…Not again, I never thought I would see another secret sewer.”
Kent spoke as if he had seen a familiar place, and Oliver upon hearing these words asked.
“Is there another place similar to this?”
“Uh… Although Landa suffered major destruction in the past, it was still a city with a long history. It was also an outpost created by the ancient empire and has since served as an important city and stronghold. Over the years as the empire evolved, they developed the underground system, from the ancient sewer systems to the medieval sewer system and modern sewer system. So there are two or three sewers."
"Um…"
"That's why they say there's a city underneath the city of Landa. Usually, it is used by gangsters, solvers, and some big shots of the underworld."
“Um…don’t the beggars use it? It does smell bad, but it’s warm, so it looks good to use, isn’t it?”
"That's a good point. But the beggars don't use it. Most of the sewers are connected to each other, so if you make a mistake, you may encounter a vicious group. A beggar dying is not a big deal for the people, but it's a big deal for the beggar."
“Um… Then, how is the Freckle gang using this place?
“…it’s either they’re out of their mind, or they have reliable someone backing them.”
“What if it isn’t a reliable someone?
“Well…they have a lot of brains, so they should either be more confident or they have a deathwish.”
"I see."
While the pointless conversation between Oliver and Kent continued, Bigfist who was following them cut into the conversation.
"Wait… Oliver, you…!"
"Yes?"
“How do you know there is a secret passage here?”
“Um, can I tell you later??"
“No, answer me now. You are very suspicious.”
“Um, that’s……”
Seeing Oliver having a troubled look, Kent said.
“For now, let’s talk about that later.”
"Kent?"
“The important thing now is to rescue Harmonica. It doesn’t matter how he found this place?”
“No, no matter what…”
Bigfist tried to argue with Kent, but as soon as their eyes met, he shut his mouth and bowed his head.
Oliver could see the anger boiling within him, and it looked like it was going to explode at any moment.
“Oliver, do you know where Harmonica is right now?”
Oliver nodded.
Oliver released the [Sensitive Nose], not because of the smell, but because he reached near the location, and [Sensitive Nose] wasn’t needed anymore.
Oliver began to concentrate with his eyes.
Soon, his further strengthened Warlock vision got activated, and various emotions shining in the dark could be seen.
Deep inside the sewer, he could see 10 adults guarding some children.
“Over there.”
“… that’s good.”
“And, there are other people besides children.”
Probably, the guys who kidnapped the children.
As if he had expected it, Kent spoke while holding his quarterstaff tightly.
"I don't care. Guide me. Be as quiet as possible."
Oliver nodded and began to walk cautiously.
Though it was dark everywhere, it wasn't a big deal for Oliver who moved with his warlock vision.
Kent followed perfectly as if he was familiar with the place, and surprisingly, the one who had a hard time following them was Bigfist.
It was like he couldn’t get used to the darkness.
“Oh, don’t worry about me.”
Bigfist whispered in a low voice.
His face showed annoyance and shame, but strangely, his emotions had more of a snake-like craftiness than a bright light.
It was as if he had a different idea, but Kent didn't notice that, so he ordered Oliver to keep going, and Oliver went deep into the sewer as instructed.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
As they got closer, they could hear the faint sound of footsteps.
Kent grabbed Oliver's shoulder and stopped him, then he put a finger to his mouth signaling to be silent.
The sound of footsteps soon became clear, and even the sound of words they spoke could be heard.
“Ah…damn it. How long do we have to keep an eye on these sh*ts?"
“Why the fu*k? We can make money by just monitoring these bastards. It’s not hard.”
“I get annoyed whenever I hear the sound of the children crying, it makes my head throb…”
"Is that why you gave a beating to them a while ago? Keep it in moderation…. Didn’t you get scolded by Henry the other day for that? Don’t damage the products.”
“I didn’t hit them that much. Aren’t children supposed to be raised by hitting them? More than anything, I just hate being in a place that smells like this.”
“Get used to it already.”
“It’s not something you could get used to.”
"Ah, stop complaining…. By the way, where are they going to sell them?"
"Well? Maybe they're going to be sold to a factory or a farm?”
“What about those girls?”
"Ah! That’s troublesome. With those ugly faces, they can’t even be sold to a brothel."
At those words, the person next to him started to laugh.
Oliver looked at Kent.
His emotions were burning with hatred and anger, but he still kept his composure and did not do anything reckless.
He quietly placed his finger on his lips.
Then he pulled a knife from his pocket.
Holding the long quarterstaff in one hand and knife in the other, he slowly approached them, silently like a cat that was about to catch its prey.
Kent was as quiet as a beast, but when he got close enough, he thrust the quarterstaff and stabbed one of them deep in the throat while he struck the other with the knife in the neck.
"Urg…!"
The man who got hit by the quarterstaff opened his eyes and tried to resist.
But Kent didn't panic, he twisted his knife to put an end to one, and immediately thrust it into the back of another beggar.
His movement was as natural and uninterrupted as a flow of water.
What was even more surprising was that there was not a single scream even though the two were killed at the same time.
It wasn't that difficult to achieve it through black magic, but Kent accomplished it with his hands.
It was something new for Oliver.
“Can you help me clean it up?”
At Kent's request, Bigfist hid the body in a place where no one could find it.
The group moved forward again.
The deeper they got, the more the magic lamps had been lightened up.
It was hard to move because there were too many people, but with Kent’s skill, they were able to sneak in.
Soon, they reached their destination.
There were beggars armed with sticks, blackjack, and the children were crouching to one side in fear.
“Damn…”
Kent muttered in a low voice as he looked at their faces.
"What's wrong? Kent.”
“There’s Harmonica over there.”
Bigfist looked ahead and asked Kent.
"…They got quite the numbers, what are we going to do?"
"Well…"
“We’re outmatched, wouldn’t it be better to go out and come with others?”
“… Nah, I don’t know what will happen on our way out, and I have already killed two of them. We have to solve everything right here and right now.”
“Ah, but.”
"I'll go ahead and draw their attention. You and Oliver get out of here after rescuing Harmonica. Let the other kids follow you when you escape."
“Other kids?”
“Yeah, even if all of them cannot escape, some of them may manage to escape…can you do it?”
“…… Yes, I can.”
“Then please.”
With those words, Kent took the knife and went forward as before.
Then he threw the knife at the beggars to catch them off guard, and surprisingly, the knife pierced a beggar's neck with just one shot.
“…!”
"What?"
“… What?"
Everyone got flustered.
Kent didn't lose the momentum and went straight into the center of the beggar's group and began to swing his quarterstaff.
He did not just simply swing the wooden stick, his every move had a standardized technique, and Oliver who had never seen such a thing looked at every detail of the skill.
The quarterstaff was both his weapon and shield, Kent slashed and pushed the approaching enemy with the staff.
"Fu*k! Where did he suddenly come out from…"
“Surround him! Surround him!”
"Damn it! This fu*king bastard!"
The enemy beggars also tried to resist by swinging the clubs and bats, but they failed to take advantage of the numbers due to their lack of strength and skills compared to Kent's quarterstaff.
When surrounded, Kent invariably swung his quarterstaff vigorously breaking the siege, and started knocking down the beggars one after another.
Even though he was alone, he overwhelmed many enemies, and at that moment…
BANG!
A gunshot rang out, and everyone's eyes turned towards the direction the gunshot came from.
A beggar wearing a fedora hat appeared.
“Henry.”
When Henry appeared with the gun, the beggars around Kent ran away, fearing getting hit.
“Hm…ah! I remember you. You were the one who got beaten up by me recently.”
Henry became furious at Kent's provocation which had scratched exactly where it hurt.
He shouted angrily while swinging his gun like a sword.
"You motherfu*er…! You're acting strong until the end. Let me see if you can act strongly with holes in your body. Huh?!"
"What? Do you want to shoot? I don't think you know how to shoot properly, do you? You'll be more embarrassed if you miss the shot. You’re trying to attack a limping old man with a gun – That’s very masculine of you.”
Kent slowly closed the distance with those words, and Henry pointed the gun at Kent's forehead and said.
“Oh, don’t worry about that. Everyone has their own beliefs.”
Henry said with a strange smile on his face.
Kent felt something was off and looked back.
Then, his eyes met Oliver.
To be precise, he saw Oliver who was captured by Bigfist.
“What the…”
Henry laughed mockingly.
"It's a bit off the plan, but it doesn’t matter… I thought there were only morons under you, but I was wrong, there was also a pal who belonged to this side. A pal who could see the bright future ahead of us.”
Kent asked while looking at the Bigfist who had betrayed him.
“…why are you doing this?”
"Kent… thank you for supporting me until now, but just for that, I don’t want to look after those fu*king beggars for the rest of my life. I don't want to live under you as a beggar for the rest of my life. I'll do anything to get out of this sh*thole! So throw away your weapons now."
Bigfist threateningly shouted at Kent and his voice resounded in the sewer as if he was possessed by evil.
Kent dropped the quarterstaff he was holding onto the floor while emitting a surprisingly fragile but pretty light.
‘……..why?’
Tang-!
At the lonely sound of the quarterstaff falling, everyone broke out into laughter one by one.
“Fuhahahaha… what a loser, he let go of his weapon for a useless beggar!"
“Hahahaha…if you asshole die then everything will be over. You know what? Your gang must be already dead by now! That was the original plan. Ah! Our gang would have already reached there by now!"
Oliver looked at the scene without saying a word.
The one who gave up his weapon because of him and the kidnapper who laughed at him for his action.
To be honest, Oliver felt the same way as the kidnappers.
The act of Kent abandoning his weapon was not a reasonable action even in Oliver’s eyes.
Oliver wondered why Kent was exposing his life to danger for someone who had nothing to do with him.
No, it was rather like a thing that Kent would do.
After all, he was the one who helped Oliver without any motives and brought him to the beggars union.
Consistent but incomprehensible self-sacrificing attitude, altruism… Oliver wanted to know the reason for his action right at this moment.
“Fu*k…. I want to bully you for a few more days because of my personality, but as you can see I’m also busy here. So, I will finish it off soon.”
Henry said as he took a few steps while pointing his gun, and then he pulled the trigger.
BANG!
“…. What?"
Everyone made a dumbfounded noise.
They looked at the mysterious black curtain that suddenly appeared and protected Kent.
At that moment someone spoke.
“I’m sorry, but there is still something I want to ask him.”
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.
They saw Bigfist who lay dead getting pierced by black spikes, and Oliver who was standing in front of him.
Everyone looked at him without saying a word while trembling in fear.
(To be Continued)
