When Vicente got up to save his group, he made a slightly different armor than before.
As he ran, previously non-existent structures appeared on the metal frame of this armor, with new patterns here and there.
Vicente detected some changes and noted the difference because of the training he had just done.
'It feels more solid now... Hmm, perfect. Even without me focusing on it, my powers have naturally developed something of a higher quality.' He thought as he already had his face covered and ran over the rooftops of this part of the city.
The improvements to the structure of his armor were not critical enough for him to be recognized as a genius for designing it. But it was a significant improvement for him, and if Benson saw him now, he would be pleased.
Any small improvement would make a big difference to someone at Vicente's level!
Vicente kept this in mind, becoming more motivated to continue his progress before the forge. But as he moved and felt some disturbing sensations, he couldn't keep thoughts about the forge in his mind.
As he walked dozens of blocks away from his organization's headquarters, Vice could already see a different glow in that part of Millfall and smoke rising into the sky.
Millfall had a relatively large area for a city of 60,000 citizens. With an area of almost 400 square kilometers, the city's center was a few minutes away from the outskirts.
Vicente's territory was in one of the outer areas of the city. Yet, even from afar, he could see that something was happening.
The chill of the late evening and some strange sounds that one would hardly hear at dusk reached him and made him frown.
'Shit! I have to hurry!' He thought as he sensed his group was in danger.
Suddenly, he controlled some of the metal in his body, forming a large but very thin blade.
He jumped onto it and flew!
As he did so, he felt strange for a moment, for he had never flown, let alone been familiar with carrying his own body. But manipulating this blade followed the same principles as manipulating the metal artifacts he usually used to attack enemies.
Instead of using enemies, he used the points in front of him to make the blade fly while supporting the weight of his own body.
Under pressure, he found a new way to use his powers!
By stopping running and starting to fly on the blade, Vicente increased his speed by 50% after his first test, moving faster towards his property while flying near the rooftops of that part of the city.
Just in case, he didn't increase his altitude too much, afraid of attracting too much attention or falling from a great height.
Magical or not, his body was still that of a mortal.
...
Ten minutes after leaving his house, Vicente finally reached his headquarters!
Standing only a block from where Rory and the rest of his people were supposed to be, Vicente found a small battlefield around such a site.
Nearly every window, door, and balcony on his property had been shattered. At the same time, holes of various shapes and sizes were ripped through the front of the building.
Gunfire was coming from inside, from fewer positions than expected in an attack like this.
In front of the building, a group of 15 magicians was scattered around, launching attacks or protecting themselves while waiting for the rest of the group to take over the place.
The front door of this headquarters was destroyed, so Vice immediately thought that his headquarters had been invaded, and it was only a matter of time before these enemies took over the place.
'Shit! Who are these people?' He noticed several dead Apprentices and even level 1 Acolytes on the outskirts of his place, probably those who had died in the initial moment of attack by his armed men.
But as expected, the Acolytes, prepared to defend themselves against firearms, were not in danger from Vicente's weapons!
Vice clenched his fists as he saw the group of level 1 and 2 Acolytes standing in the area, who were waiting for the men inside to take over the survivors.
But not only Vicente's enemies had perished. From what he could sense, at least 6 of his men had died in the area, and several others were wounded.
The attacks of these enemies had not only damaged this property but had also created fragments that surely hurt many people.
'Fucking bastards! I will kill you all!'
With such a thought, he flew down and quickly appeared behind the group of enemies who were watching the area with smiles.
Touching the ground with his feet without drawing attention, Vice immediately expanded his senses to the maximum.
His Red Magic Pentagram glowed as it circled near his dominant hand, allowing Vicente to feel all the metals in the area, including the armor and weapons of some of those men.
There was no need for him to ask who these people were. He would not waste his time with useless questions and would simply use these enemies' own items against them.
"Aaaaaagh!"
A level 1 Acolyte felt his armor tighten around his body and screamed as cracks ripped through his chest.
Half of the men outside the mansion felt similar things, some more than others, as Vicente's ability to simultaneously affect all of them with the same intensity was still limited.
"What's that?" A level 2 Acolyte screamed as he felt the gauntlet of his right hand clenched.
Gulp!
Swooish!
But as the stronger or less affected in the area turned to see who acted against them, some weaker men attacked their allies from behind!
"You..." A level 2 Acolyte felt the blood rise in his throat and looked back to see a level 1 ally holding the sword that had suddenly pierced him in the back.
"Boss..." The other man said without understanding as the piece of armor on his right arm forced his arm into that position.
Boom!
Suddenly, an explosion erupted, and reddish brains splattered across the area, covering several of those men with the remains of that person.
"You attacked me for no reason. Time for all of you to die!" Vicente said, the blood of his enemies dripping down his mask as he appeared next to one of the three level 2 Acolytes there.
Vicente jumped into the air, and an axe-shaped weapon formed in his hands. Then, he brought it down with full force on the enemy.
"Damn it!" The person screamed but couldn't move as he felt something grab his feet.
He tried to raise his hands in front of his body, but he couldn't, feeling something preventing that part of himself from moving as well.
All that remained between him and this strange enemy was the armor on his chest.
Unfortunately for him, that armor simply melted over his chest, giving way to the fearsome blade of the axe as it rapidly approached him.
Cold sweat dripped down the man's back as his body turned as white as a sheet of paper.
"Aaaaaaaaagh!"
Vicente struck the man's left chest hard, making a sound of crushing flesh as the bones of his victim's left rib broke.
By raising his forging abilities earlier, Vice had raised the quality of not only his armor but all the artifacts he could create.
Vicente was already strong enough to fight against low-level Acolytes of ordinary magical talent and forms. But by adding better weapons, he could do a mortal wound with this move!
As strong as magicians were, the most important thing about them was not the strength or endurance of their bodies but their magical skills and spells!
In the face of a deadly attack, nothing could save that man, even with the level difference between the parties!
