Overwhelming Firepower

Before Lucen fired a single shot of the Aerial Arsenal that was aimed at Cael and Alexander, the Martial God spoke.

”This spar is over.”

Hearing what the Martial God said, Lucen deactivated the skill. Cael closed his eyes and sheathed his weapon; Alexander sighed as he lowered his sword.

”Hmph, that was a pretty good technique. It was similar to that b*stard’s thousand-blade technique.” The Heavenly Demon praised openly.

”The Thousand-Blade Technique?” Alexander, who was learning from the Martial God, could not help but ask.

”It’s a technique that basically summons countless swords, and then he controls them without using his hands.”

The Heavenly Demon pointed his thumb toward the Martial God. ”That b*stard can make every sword move differently. Some attack, some defend, while others wait for an opening before stabbing you in the back. It is an irritating technique.”

The Martial God remained silent as the Heavenly Demon kept on ranting about how irritating the technique was. After the Heavenly Demon was done ranting, the Martial God spoke.

”Now that you two have had sufficient rest, it’s better to start today’s training.”

***

While Lucen’s group was training, many events started happening. There had been several attempts to kidnap Durik and Robert.

There had also been rumors going around that the blueprint for the creation of rifles had been stolen. The rumors were partly true.

The blueprint for the creation could not be stolen, as the idea itself was from Lucen’s mind. Each person creates a part of the rifle; not a single one knows how to build every part.

Still, if you acquired one, it was possible to reverse-engineer the rifle. That was precisely what had happened.

Several weeks earlier, a group of unknown people had ambushed a patrol near the border. The Norvaegardian soldiers defeated them, but when the bodies and equipment were counted afterward, a few rifles were stolen.

Of course, even though there was no indication to link them to any group, most nobles suspected that these people were most likely from the kingdom of Inevir, dressed up as bandits.

However, suspicion and evidence were entirely different matters.

The attackers carried no insignias, identifying documents, or weapons unique to Inevir. Even the armor beneath their clothing had been purchased from several different nations; Norvaegard could not openly accuse Inevir without proof.

The stolen rifles posed a serious threat, but not an immediate one. By dismantling one of them, a skilled smith could eventually understand how its mechanism worked. The barrel, bolt, firing pin, and trigger could all be studied and reproduced.

Unfortunately, the bullets were going to be quite a problem to reproduce. Not to mention, even if they were somehow able to replicate it, the product they made would still be inferior without the dwarven rune engravings.

Even so, an inferior rifle was still capable of killing an ordinary soldier.

The dwarven runes reinforced the weapon and allowed it to perform far beyond what its materials should have been capable of enduring.

A copied rifle without those engravings would be less durable, less accurate, and more likely to break after repeated use.

***

Nowadays, Robert and Durik were always being protected by either members of Thornefang or the Stellhart knights. Neither of them was particularly pleased with the arrangement.

”I don’t care if you follow me around, but don’t get in the way of my experiments!” Robert shouted as the knights thoroughly searched every corner of the workshop.

One of the Stellhart knights opened a cabinet filled with mana crystals, metal containers, and several unfinished magical devices.

”Close that.”

”We have to inspect everything.” The knight reached toward one of the metal containers.

Robert immediately appeared beside him and grabbed his wrist. ”Unless you want to lose that hand, I suggest you stop touching things you do not understand.”

”Sorry, but no matter how much you threaten us, we will continue to do what we must.”

Robert clicked his tongue and let go of the knight’s wrist. ”Tsk, it’s not like I can’t defend myself. I was the one who defeated the last wannabe kidnappers.”

”We cannot afford to give the enemy any chances,” The knight responded.

”Then you’d better do better in finding those enemies before they reach me, instead of bothering me like this.”

The knight could not entirely disagree with Robert’s complaint. However, finding the people behind the attacks had proven far more difficult than defeating the kidnappers themselves.

”The men we captured knew nothing. They were hired through several intermediaries, and their instructions were left at different locations. Even their payments used coins from several kingdoms.”

”Tsk, that’s not my problem. Just do your job elsewhere and stop bothering me.” Robert once again complained. Yet despite his complaints, the knights simply continued what they were doing.

***

In a certain hidden location, several communication orbs were placed on a table, and men wearing masks appeared.

”It would seem another group has entered the playground. They have already stolen several of those guns, but I’m guessing they must also be having problems reproducing the so-called bullets. Which should be why they’re trying their hardest to kidnap Robert Duskwell and Durik Mudrock.” A person wearing a wolf mask was the one speaking.

Another figure, whose face was concealed behind an owl mask, leaned closer to their communication orb.

”The most obvious culprits would be from the Kingdom of Inevir.”

”Does it matter which kingdom they come from? In my eyes, it doesn’t matter; we can use them to cause more chaos and get things done without eyes focused on us.” The clown mask spoke while grinning under the mask.

The wolf-masked man did not immediately respond. The clown’s suggestion was dangerous, but it was not entirely without merit.

”Creating chaos is easy. Making certain that chaos benefits us is another matter.”

The clown-masked man chuckled. ”You worry too much.”

”Why do we need to bother doing such roundabout things? Let’s just deal with all of them at the same time already!” The man wearing a horned demon mask spoke with a roar.

The owl-masked man turned toward the communication orb displaying the horned demon. ”Deal with all of them? Are you an idiot? Oh right, you are an idiot; sorry, I forgot. If we could do that, we would not have bothered hiding in the shadows.”

”Kakakaka! As expected of the demon mask! To have come out with such a fun way to die.” The clown-masked man cackled.

The image within the demon mask’s communication orb trembled as his aura and killing intent started to leak out.

”Say that again.”

”You are an idiot,” the owl mask repeated without hesitation.

The clown mask laughed even louder. Before the demon mask could respond, the one wearing the skull mask spoke in a deep voice.

”Enough.”

The demon mask’s killing intent disappeared almost immediately. The clown and owl masks also fell silent.

”We did not gather here to watch children quarrel.”

”He insulted me,” the demon mask responded with a softer tone but sounded like he was growling.

”It does not matter. We shall continue with the meeting and stop provoking the demon mask.” The skull-masked man spoke to the one wearing the clown mask.

The clown mask lifted both hands as though surrendering. ”Fine, fine. I will stop teasing our hot-tempered friend.”

The skull mask ignored him and turned toward the wolf mask. ”The clown is correct about one thing. The appearance of another faction gives us an opportunity.”

The wolf mask nodded. ”Norvaegard already suspects Inevir of stealing the rifles and ordering the kidnappings. Every action they take will draw more attention toward themselves.”

”Then we will force more attention to them. This will lighten the eyes set on our own activities, making it easier to move around again,” the skull-masked responded.

”... It’s obvious that Inevir is planning to start a war now. Will this affect our own plans?” The owl mask asked.

”It doesn’t really matter. Whether it is Norvaegard or Inevir, in the end all will be devoured,” The skull mask answered.

”Kakaka! That’s true; in the end, all will be devoured.” The clown mask laughed heartily as the grin on his face, hidden behind the mask, widened even more.

The skull mask did not bother to look at the clown mask as he continued speaking. ”Until that day arrives, we will allow the two kingdoms to weaken one another. Owl, monitor Stellhart’s knights and identify openings around the workshops. Demon, start attacking a few unrelated workshops and make sure not to leave evidence you did it. Wolf, spread information linking Inevir to every attack that will be made.”

The clown mask pointed toward himself. ”And what role will I play?”

”You will do what you do best. Spread confusion, create false trails, and ensure no one knows which attacks are truly connected.”

”Kakakaka! Now that sounds entertaining.” The clown mask licked his lips as he spoke.

The skull mask looked toward every communication orb. ”Do not become careless. Our purpose is to clear the path forward for the future conquest.”

Despite their differences, the masked spies all agreed to that statement and nodded their heads.

”Then let us begin.” One after another, the communication orbs went dark. The masked men had remained hidden since their last failure. Now, they began moving in earnest once again.