Defeat Gargan?! Was that even possible?!
Everyone in the Mermaid Kingdom wanted to know who this terrifying seahorse was. Still, he sure had great timing, arriving right before the war with the humans began.
Destroying a Noble —> Shock Factor!
Now there were even plenty of civilians that were clamoring for Gargan to lead them, some even wishing for him to replace the Empress. The strong were often worshiped…
Then came the coup-de-grace. Jack received the news that a couple of Noble-Blood Mermaids had already changed camp, joining the tyrannic being.
With every second, the man's faction would grow until it became an utterly unstoppable monster….and then it would be game over for him.
"Gulp! Commander, what now?"
His troops were anxious, some urging him to flee the City and hide on a beach or something. The villain would come for him; the smart thing to do was to leave ASAP.
"Run? I can't, not yet.' Jack categorically refused.
After all, he had to find Pumpkin Girl first. As long as she was safe, then he wouldn't mind evacuating this god-forsaken underwater realm ASAP.
Step 1: Save Her
Step 2: GTFO!!
Step 3: Profit!
Meanwhile, his troops were staring at him in awe. Whenever they remembered Gargan, they lost control of their nerves, yet Jack wanted to fight him head-on?! How fearless!
"All of you, could you help me to—"
"Of course, Commander!"
Jack couldn't help but give a wry smile: he hadn't even shared his plan just yet! Then again, it didn't matter because they believed in him more than they trusted themselves.
"All of you… we'll overturn the Mermaid Capital! I want it to shine so brightly that it blinds our enemies' eyes. Now, move out!"
He sent them on what seemed like the most pointless mission ever…and yet they didn't even bat an eye. Before long…
— BOOM! SPARK! CRACKLE! —
Fire rained on Mermaid City as explosions echoed all over. "WHAT?! We're under attack?!" Countless bystanders cried in fright, only to look perplexed a second later.
There was something wrong with the "assault". There were so many explosions and yet barely any damage. What kind of weird effect was in play here?!
It was all done with cheap "fireworks", but it did serve to capture everyone's attention. The bright colors were the perfect diversion!
[Successfully Caused Chaos!]
[Upcomming Quest: Survive Gargan's Wrath!]
Tch— Talk about intrusively annoying for a guy that wasn't anywhere near at that moment! Better make himself harder to find!
Jack turned a corner, reappearing slightly different. His skin was now green-bluish, and he had scales adorning his face. Lizard parts + Primitive Glue = Great Disguise!
[This Only Makes The Host More Conspicuous!]
Many looked at him strangely, for he really was scaly. But so what? He didn't mind being seen as long he wasn't recognized. Weird Scaly Guy ≠ Human-Looking Commander
Thus he not only didn't run away, but he delved deeper into the City. It didn't take him long to reach the most bustling trading area of the entire Mermaid Kingdom!
All around were vivacious traders advertising their wares while would-be customers went from shop to shop trying to find something interesting.
The place was even livelier with the flashes of light in the distance. As for what brought him here….information! In fact, it only took him a while to find the perfect target!
A well-dressed merchant, wealthy enough to have lots of power, but not exactly a Noble. He'd also twitch slightly every time "Noble" was mentioned: he didn't like them!
"Hey, friend, how is it going? Also, what's up with those Pumpkin Cookies being so popular? "Jack "innocently" asked the man.
"Pumpkin? Scoff! Forget those. I'll sell you algae cookies instead. Now, those are the real deal, not some foreign product brought by an outsider!"
"Outsider? Tell me more!"
"Ah! A slip of the tongue, that's not what—"
"Don't worry. We're on the same side here. It's unnatural for our people to be eating that crap. Any idea where one could find the one responsible for it. You know, for a "visit"…."
0_0 Gulp!
Could this guy possibly be a terrorist?! The merchant suddenly felt his back laden with cold sweat. The logical thing was to report the guy, but merchant greed quickly took over.
Give Info —> Strange Guy Deals With Competitor —> Sales of Seaweed Cookies Increased —> $$$$!
A large smile grew on the NPC's face.
"Third street on the left, then you…." He proceeded to give detailed instructions, so precise that it was clear a sabotage plan had crossed the man's mind.
— Obtained Vital Clue! —
Find the source of the Cookie, and find Pumpkin Girl. As one said, all he had to do was follow the crumbs! But this wasn't something he'd do alone.
It didn't take him long to find his eternal companion….
"Woo!" (Nice Disguise!)
Except the little one was utterly alone. Apparently, the eel had joined the local merchant guild in search of information...pretty pointless in retrospect.
"Ah, whatever, let's leave him be. We have an urgent meeting here…."
"Woo?!" (You found her?!!!)
What were they waiting for! It was time to bring her back home! The little wolf was already sprinting, following Jack's directions. Their destination was on the outskirt.
[Reached Little Mansion in the Wood!]
"Woo?!" (Is it really here?!)
Before them stood a pretty modest mansion…if it weren't for the deadly water formation protecting it. The magic created a turbulent stream that would reduce any invader to shreds.
"Tch— Guess we'll have to enter through the front gate. Still, this will be a pain…."
The place was swarming with guards. Then again, there was a peculiar air about them, as if they were worried about the interior too. Guards? Nope, prison jailers!
"Security's so damn tight. There's no way we're gonna deal with so many of them at once…."
"Woo!" (Let's charge in! We can do it!)
The little wolf couldn't take it anymore, ready to pounce on the guards at any moment. It had already classified them all as bad guys for kidnapping Pumpkin Girl.
"Don't you dare! Listen well. We CAN NOT be seen. Do you understand? That's the only way we can keep her safe as we leave the place." Jack sternly warned.
Moon Moon couldn't help but gulp. It had almost committed an unforgivable mistake! But now it was puzzled. How were they supposed to sneak in?!
"Baking requires ingredients. We'll use that to our advantage…."
"Woo?! (How?! Cut their supply?)
"Hehe, the opposite."
A bewildered Moon Moon simply followed Jack around as they went on a quest to find whoever supplied the place with ingredients, quickly finding the guy in charge.
Bribe? Beg? Intimidate? He felt like all options were so risky. What if he accidentally tipped off the NPC, the latter warning the jailers that he was coming?
Hard mission —> Failure!
No, he had to act with tact here. That's why he introduced himself as a general merchant, the kind that would sell anything he coincidentally got his hands off.
"I have high-quality Pumpkins here. Some soldiers got them from a surface raid, and someone told me you could take them off my hands. How about it?" Jack proposed.
"2 gold each."
"5 gold, they're so plump!"
"2 gold is plenty for produce."
"Sigh…3 gold?"
"Fine."
It didn't take long to conclude their business, Jack casually mentioning how quickly Pumpkins turned bad. There was no way for a fish person to know better anyway.
Fearing value depreciation of its new product, the merchant hurried to organize a shipment toward the manor. This was their ticket in!
The two conspirators didn't take long to sneak their way toward the transport wagon. A few preparations later, the two happily plunged into the flour bags that were all around.
"Stand perfectly still!"
"Woo!" (Stealth!)
Of course, Jack made the necessary preparations.
+ Added holes to breathe from
+ Added basic magic concealment formation
+ Picked bags that would be the less likely to be searched.
Before they knew it, their flour sack-stowed-away journey began. They felt every bump in the road, and the wait was excruciating, but they held on, not making a peep.
Then after what felt like an eternity…
"Halt! Identify yourself!" An authoritative voice stopped their cart.
It didn't take long for guards to board the cart, their clawed feet tapping on the floorboard. — Tap! Tap! — Oh god, it was coming closer!
Then there was a ruffling sound as a few random sacks were opened to check their content, a voice of suspicion resonating.
"The next shipment wasn't planned for another week. What's the meaning of this?"
"I managed to acquire Pumpkins through a secret channel of mine, look! We better bring them in ASAP for them to keep their freshness!" The merchant radiated pride.
Nice! His arrogance had just helped them a bunch!
Calling it "his" secret channel gave it legitimacy, the guards not even thinking of digging deeper into the story. They'd never hear about the suspiciously random Pumpkin seller.
"Alright, fine. Let him through y'all!"
The cart entered the premises, and people were called to bring the ingredients to storage. Just like that, they had passed the first layer of security.
[Managed to Infiltrate Mysterious Mansion!]
[Personalized Quest: Find "Pumpkin Girl"!]
After a while, silence returned.
"Woo?" (What now?)
"Now we wait…."
This would be one hell of a night, and not just for them…
While the two infiltrators bid their time, Mermaid City quickly rounded up all the troublemakers, aka Jack's unit.
"You all, what do you have to say for yourselves?! Such disturbance deserves death!" The Thousand-Arms General berated them all loudly.
That's when they all gave the most innocent smiles, perfectly remembering what Jack had instructed them to reply.
"That was a training drill, Sir!"
"What for?!"
¯_(ツ)_/¯
"..." -_-
