Chapter 299: Assassination Plot (1)

“I think you’re underestimating the scale of this operation.”

Donovan turned his gaze, quickly scanned her attire, and nodded.

“…You’re from Cybrid Echo. Do you think my words are mistaken?”

“Passive responses like merely wishing to avoid risk aren’t enough. We need to think further ahead.”

At her cold words, Donovan subtly rose from his seat.

The woman paid no mind to his reaction and continued.

“If this operation succeeds, we’ll receive spoils like the Defense Force’s military equipment and mobile fortress resources as incentives.”

The woman, who had replied resolutely, finally turned her head and met Lennok’s gaze.

“Are you planning to hand over all those incentives to just that one wizard?”

“It’s premature to say such things when we haven’t even started the operation.”

Donovan cut her off.

“After the operation, we can negotiate and split a reasonable share, can’t we? I believe the important thing is to first handle the task at hand.”

“But it’s clearly inefficient.”

The woman silently scanned the faces of the people in the meeting room as she spoke.

“If we hand over all the rewards to Adamant Thunder, people will start focusing less on their own tasks and more on whether he’s earning his share.”

“…”

“What’s more, what if it ends in failure?”

In the silent meeting room, only the woman’s voice echoed.

“Regardless of Adamant Thunder’s skill and strength, concentrating all of the team’s capabilities and investment on one person is an incredibly foolish choice. At least, we don’t work that way.”

“I agree.”

The young man chewing gum grinned and raised his hand.

“It’s fine for a few to make sacrifices to encourage the participation of powerful individuals, but I hope it’s not forced upon all of us.”

He said that, then pointed at the woman in turn.

“At least I’d rather bet on this logical woman than that wizard guy whose thoughts I can’t figure out.”

As if the young man’s words sealed it, others one by one began to voice different opinions than before.

Just being here implies willingness to participate. There might be no reason to hand over all the rewards. How about we discuss it again after the operation is over?

Lennok offered no particular reply, quietly observing the chaotic meeting room.

“Things are taking an odd turn.”

Panua tilted her head slightly towards Lennok and whispered.

“Normally, Van, you could have taken command of this operation without lifting a finger.”

“Councilman Meyer won’t be the only one interested in this operation, you see.”

Lennok replied.

“It must be the result of other council members intervening, those who don’t want to take responsibility but want a piece of the Defense Force’s power.”

The Defense Force’s current military power and the very existence of the mobile fortress are undoubtedly covetable resources.

Even if they can’t acquire them immediately, if they can create a suitable pretext to privatize them, they would become highly appealing assets.

It was, in a way, natural for other council members to co-opt those gathered here and make their moves beforehand.

“Will it be alright?”

“Hmm… I actually prefer their proposal over Donovan’s.”

“…What?”

It seemed Meyer and Donovan intended to concentrate all resources on Lennok and have him spearhead the breakthrough of this difficulty.

Lennok had not found that proposal appealing from the start.

The important thing is to conclude this situation as quickly as possible before the Eyes of Blue’s summons are issued. That means reducing unnecessary time investment in the process.

Rather than struggling to lead these uncooperative people, it seemed there was far more he could accomplish by acting alone.

To be honest, Lennok no longer felt that even with most skilled individuals, their presence would be of significant help.

Unless they had a clear grasp of their own senses or specialized fields, it was fortunate if they weren’t a hindrance.

Unless they were specialized sorcerers like Asi, or veterans with the senses and experience of Manson, Dylan, or Mila, cooperation offered Lennok few advantages.

Of course, those gathered here were also hardened veterans of the underworld, but would the results achieved by cooperating with them significantly differ from when Lennok worked alone?

Lennok’s solo achievements so often overshadowed those of everyone else that Meyer’s proposal seemed to hold little meaning.

[Master.]

While Lennok observed the situation, thinking thus, Davi softly called out to him from within his coat.

Following the transmission, Lennok subtly glanced down at his phone, then naturally rose from his seat.

The moment he grasped the doorknob of the meeting room, the waiting attendants politely blocked Lennok’s path.

“Where are you going?”

“The restroom.”

“…May we accompany you?”

“I don’t care.”

Thus, Lennok, with all eyes on him, set out in search of the restroom.

“…”

Despite dozens of bodyguards standing without gaps, the corridor was filled only with heavy silence.

Lennok, heading towards the restroom at the end of the corridor, naturally turned towards the emergency exit stairs.

The attendants moving with Lennok, far from stopping him, followed him quite naturally.

The 11th floor of the building.

A small garden arranged on the rooftop. The attendant, who had followed Lennok up to its entrance, naturally stepped back.

“Over here.”

Meyer, seated amidst the shady tree trunks, waved a hand towards Lennok.

Lennok naturally sat down beside him, letting out a small laugh as he spoke.

“Isn’t this too old-fashioned a way to secretly call someone out? Others must have noticed long ago.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

Meyer replied leisurely, resting his chin on his hand.

“In fact, I’d prefer them to see it that way.”

A small wireless earphone was clipped to Meyer’s ear as he answered.

He was probably eavesdropping on all the conversations inside the meeting room through this earphone.

And when things started to feel like they were going awry, he immediately summoned Lennok to the rooftop.

“It seems you chose too honest a decoy.”

“…”

“Instead of Donovan Whyte, it would have been better to recruit the fellow chewing gum.”

“You saw that far ahead? I had a feeling, but I guess I can’t fool you for long.”

Meyer said that, then slowly shook his head.

“Even if I had pulled some strings beforehand, it would have still proceeded this way. There aren’t just one or two city council members interested in this operation.”

“…”

“Rather, it’s better for them to gradually reveal their influence this way. The only important thing for me is to absolutely succeed in this operation.”

His tone was quite anxious, considering he’d called Lennok aside to tell him this. Lennok silently watched him, then asked.

“Did you make a gamble?”

Meyer, frowning slightly, nodded.

“Something like that. It’s a council seat I gained by minimizing the city government’s losses and taking all the responsibility upon myself…”

“…”

Somehow, the speed at which he rose to city councilman seemed excessively fast.

Regardless of Meyer’s abilities, a city councilman position is a critical role that one cannot reach without suitable connections and regional ties.

To defeat other competitors and secure the council seat, Meyer had resorted to a somewhat extreme form of deal-making.

“At this rate, it would be impossible to even approach the core factions within the city council. Rather than that, I thought I should use this crisis to make a gamble.”

“Don’t you think it’s reckless?”

“I can endure falling to rock bottom as much as needed.”

Meyer’s eyes glinted sharply.

“If I’ve touched it once, I can challenge it again and again. I won’t stop until I reach the top of this city.”

“Not a bad mindset.”

Lennok chuckled.

Lennok knew full well that John Meyer was not a good person.

However, the intense greed burning within his aging body and his astounding decisiveness, enough to surprise even Lennok, were by no means ignorable.

If a person disregards pride and honor and so desperately aims for the city’s summit, wouldn’t they at least reach its threshold?

It would be a lie to say he wasn’t keeping in contact just out of curiosity for what fate awaited this man.

That image of him rushing towards his goal, without even considering his own circumstances… was a familiar sight to Lennok as well.

“By now, the others have probably realized that I deliberately called you out.”

Meyer said.

“From there, we’ll reset the board. If you, Van, wish to act alone in this operation, it would be best to put Donovan in charge and form a team.”

“That’s fine, but… we’ll need to be more careful with background checks.”

Lennok, fidgeting with a cigarette in his coat, replied.

“If it’s impossible to prevent other council members from interfering due to the circumstances, there might be many more strings attached. Perhaps even far more extreme methods—”

The moment Lennok turned his head as he spoke, an unfamiliar presence suddenly began to be felt from high in the sky.

“…”

He hadn’t paid it attention because it hadn’t entered the area, but the presence was steadily closing the distance.

It wasn’t a normal life sign. It was far heavier, and more sluggish…

Lennok turned his head.

“Does the council use helicopters for city councilman security?”

“Hmm? That’s right. They use hovering to reduce wind and noise, and provide firepower support from close by. But how did you know?”

“It’s descending from up there.”

Meyer tilted his head, watching Lennok look up at the sky.

“That’s odd. In an urban area like this, there should be guidelines to prevent them from descending below a certain altitude while in optical camouflage. Unless it’s an extreme emergency…”

“…”

Meyer’s voice rapidly trailed off. The two, meeting each other’s gaze, simultaneously stood up, but.

Whooooom!!

Immediately after, something that rapidly descended to directly in front of the building’s rooftop swiftly blocked the two’s path.

Shedding its optical camouflage, it revealed itself as a large, dim black-painted flying craft.

Instead of rotor blades on top, its streamlined body featured wheel-like hovering engines on both sides, making an impression.

The thick gun barrels protruding from beneath the engines glowed ominously.

Meyer swallowed hard upon seeing the pilot’s eyes through the window, completely rolled back, leaving only whites visible.

The moment the other attendants cried out and rushed forward, the flying craft’s muzzles unleashed fire first.

Tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!!!

Lennok didn’t hesitate, wrapping one arm around Meyer’s shoulder and throwing his body backward.

Thump!

“Ugh!!”

Ignoring Meyer, who was screaming in terror, he activated his sensory field to its limit.

Lennok, seeing the flying craft immediately surge forward and continuously heat its barrels, quickly deployed a shield behind his back.

Dududududu!!

Hundreds of bullets, as if stopped by a solid wall in mid-air, halted behind Lennok.

Catching the reverse wind, Lennok tapped the inside of his coat.

“Ready?”

[Of course.]

Screeeech!!

He cast a levitation spell on his coat, bringing his speed to a halt.

The coat, woven with shadow magic, rapidly absorbed mana and unfurled like black wings.

Beneath it, as if on cue, a jet-black monster bike burst forth and caught the two.

Thump!!

“H-huh…!!”

Meyer, who had landed on the bike’s back seat, repeatedly looked back with a look as if his soul had fled.

The moment Lennok twisted the throttle, the jet-black bike instantly shot forward.

Vrooooom!!

With a heavy whirring sound, the bike sped quickly, beginning to exit the dense downtown area.

Meyer, belatedly regaining his senses, startled and grabbed Lennok’s shoulder.

“W-where are we going?!”

“We’re escaping to a place with fewer people.”

Lennok replied leisurely.

“It’s not that difficult to blow up that flying craft, but… then it would be hard to figure out who planned this operation, wouldn’t it?”

“That’s…”

“Only by retreating as if we’re waiting for them will they call in their other friends.”

If he put his mind to it, he could have caught all hundreds of bullets fired by the craft and sent them right back.

But instead of instantly destroying the flying craft, Lennok chose to flee without hesitation, intending to draw out the mastermind behind this operation.

“This opponent is willing to cause a disturbance by even touching a city councilman’s security personnel. They probably didn’t intend for this to end here from the start.”

With the aid of a riding assistance spell, Lennok freely shifted gears, rapidly exiting the Sector 10 area as he spoke.

Screeeech!!

The bike’s thick tires slid relentlessly across the road surface, leaving skid marks.

Lennok, lowering his head slightly, his eyes turned cold.

“And if they confirm that their target is fleeing without hesitation like this… they will surely follow us to ascertain our intentions.”