Chapter 307: Mock Drill (2)
The clue about Translocation obtained from Palgung Fortress.
Even after successfully internalizing that sensation as his own, Lennok continuously researched its applications without rest.
The crucial point was that as the spatial area involved in the Translocation increased, the mana consumption also increased exponentially.
He had continuously researched to maximize that efficiency, but even now, moving his own body still consumed nearly half of his mana.
Yet, Lennok continued to rack his brain to utilize this spatial movement ability.
If he couldn’t use this ability with his own body immediately, he would find other ways to harness its power.
[Preparing for Hexahedral Cubic Space Jump.]
Click!
[Coordinate setup actualized. Movement path confirmed. Jump space secured. Activation initiated simultaneously with firing.]
Bang!!
The sniper rifle spat fire, and simultaneously, the bullet that shot forward vanished from its spot.
As he fired, he pushed and transferred a space the size of a fingertip.
The bullet, thus pushed and displaced, traced an unpredictable, lethal trajectory from an entirely different position and angle.
Thwack!!
Two archers, who had been darting to escape the net of lightning, were simultaneously thrown backward as if bounced off.
[Yenis, Pam!!]
[Ugh…!!]
[Both suffered complete destruction of upper body protection, combat impossible!]
The two writhed on the ground in pain.
It didn’t end with just one.
Every time he loaded the rifle and pulled the trigger, bullets arrived from completely different timings and trajectories, consecutively sniping agents fleeing throughout the city streets.
Bang!!
Hiding in narrow alleys, escaping into sewers, or ducking under cars meant nothing.
The bullets, pushed across space, leaped through the air as if such obstacles and evasions were meaningless, finding and following the optimal trajectory.
[Aargh!!]
[Damn it!! It’s impossible to grasp the trajectory!]
[The speed itself is similar to a regular rifle, yet why…!!]
A strange phenomenon where the sequence of firing actions clearly existed, yet the result and process didn’t align.
The moment Lennok raised his rifle, no matter how much they resisted, they couldn’t escape its range.
Only after half of the rear agents were instantly retired did the remaining ones begin to sort out the chaotic communication network.
[The shot that just knocked out Eugene was an impossible trajectory from Adamant Thunder’s coordinates.]
[Simply bending the trajectory wouldn’t achieve this level of accuracy. Adamant Thunder hasn’t wasted a single bullet.]
[…A magic bullet, then.]
Everyone fell silent at someone’s words heard over the comms.
The pinnacle of designated firing, which, once a target is set, will pursue it even by twisting its trajectory.
Because the agents also knew the rumors that such a miraculous bullet and technique truly existed.
[Are you saying that wizard has reached such a level even with marksmanship?]
[If not, how do you explain that absurd sniping ability now?]
[…]
No one present realized that Lennok was applying the powerful ability of spatial jumping to his marksmanship.
Because the spatial magic Lennok created by peering into the world’s rifts was fundamentally different from generally known spatial spells.
The agents pondered the cause of this phenomenon in their own ways, but could offer no other interpretation than a magic bullet.
[As expected, they haven’t noticed.]
“If even veteran agents from Vulcan’s underworld can’t figure it out, there won’t be much trouble going forward.”
Lennok reloaded his rifle, replying to Davi’s words from within his pocket.
Click!!
“About half left. It’s about time they make their move…”
The rear agents were also veterans, having gained experience on various fronts.
Although they had instantly lost half their strength, bewildered by Lennok’s new technique, they must have quickly realized that a sniping battle like this offered no chance of victory.
“Shall I give them some time and wait?”
[Is there any need for that?]
“If I crush whatever move they make head-on, the rest will be much easier to deal with.”
Bang!!
After firing one more shot, Lennok pulled out a magazine from his pocket and replied.
“Let’s pretend to reload and give them time to think.”
[That’s a nasty idea.]
“This training was half over the moment I dealt with the vanguard. No need to drag it out.”
Click, click!
With his back to the mana thread dummies strung up like traffic lights, the wizard, a cigarette in his mouth, incessantly loaded rifle bullets.
That unnatural scene itself proved how formidable Lennok’s skill and artistry were.
Due to the overwhelming skill gap between them, there were surprisingly no major casualties.
All sorts of lightning, chains, shockwaves, and ice pillars erupting from his slender body directly knocked out even skilled warriors, rendering them unable to fight.
The bullets fired from the rifle unfailingly lodged themselves in their targets without a single miss.
It was astonishing that he handled the entire series of exchanges without a single error, but even more shocking was the fact that Lennok hadn’t used any high-firepower magic yet.
Against the dozens of field agents gathered there, Lennok had not felt a single moment of crisis or the need for more firepower.
A brief interval, neither long nor short, for reloading bullets.
It didn’t take long for the decisive move pushed in from the rear to arrive.
Whoosh!
Lennok saw the agent who had suddenly appeared before him and smiled faintly.
“A face I saw on the way to the Claronis.”
[…]
During the time he honed his combat senses through sparring with Evelyn Marcia.
He was one of the agents who had watched their duel from the side and gained many insights.
He appeared to be a manipulation-type spellcaster, so if he stepped forward himself, he must have a plan of his own.
[I won’t be taken down so easily…!]
The agent said, extending mana threads pulled from between his fingers all at once towards the sky.
Whirrr!!
Immediately after, arrows shot by the rear archers from all directions soared high into the sky,
and the mana threads extending overhead precisely gripped the fletchings of the arrows rising from all sides, changing their direction.
Their aim was to concentrate the power by gathering the exploding arrowheads in one spot, piercing Lennok’s defenses with a single-point breakthrough.
Simultaneously, all the remaining rear agents rushed towards Lennok, disrupting his shield concentration and disturbing his senses.
[Here I come!!!]
The agent gripping the mana threads let out a full-throated cry, like a scream. A battle cry filled with fitting determination resonated loudly through the comms.
Immediately after, a massive wave of explosive flames surged and erupted in all directions across the street.
Rumble!!!
A vibration so intense it shook the entire simulated training ground.
Hina and Pallard, who had been watching the situation from the control room, both sprang to their feet simultaneously.
“Damn it, this is unexpected.”
“Marie’s manipulation spellwork has become much more advanced than before. Didn’t she forcibly detonated the arrowheads at the last moment to resonate the explosion…?”
Because Marie had been with Lennok near the Claronis, her actions were even more decisive.
If she was going to act, it had to be definite and powerful. She had to move swiftly and resolutely, to the point of being irresistible.
She, more than anyone, knew that even throwing such a decisive move didn’t guarantee victory.
Hina, standing with a tense expression, cast a worried gaze, but fortunately, what the two had worried about did not happen.
Lennok appeared unharmed amidst the street, where the crimson wave of explosive flames had washed away.
“Haah, haah…!!”
Other agents lay collapsed, panting heavily, amidst the scene.
They seemed to have taken considerable damage, inadvertently caught in the explosion they themselves had created together.
Lennok looked down at the exhausted face of Marie, who had spearheaded this explosion using mana threads, and spoke.
“Gathering the exploding arrowheads to create mana thread resonance wasn’t bad in itself, but you chose the wrong moment to attempt it.”
“Ugh…!!”
“Even if you all rush me at once to confuse my senses, it only increases the spellcaster’s opportunity to sweep you all away at once.”
No matter how powerful an explosion was created, it meant nothing to Lennok.
An explosion of mana erupting right before him. That was, in other words, merely an unregulated release of mana without any manipulation or restriction.
For Lennok, who already possessed mana manipulation abilities beyond human limits, deflecting its direction and heat slightly was not difficult at all.
In fact, with an explosion detonated indirectly like this, it was even possible to turn its ill effects back on the enemy.
Lennok, looking down at the faintly trembling Marie, turned his gaze to the other side of the street.
“Realizing you couldn’t gain an advantage in a sniping battle and deciding to commit to close-quarters combat was a good judgment in itself.”
Click!!
Lennok, raising his reloaded rifle again, grinned and said.
“Then it’s time to hunt down the remaining designated marksmen.”
A situation where they were constantly on the move, unable to settle in one place, pursued by lightning wolves and nets.
In that process, could they possibly draw Lennok’s attention, avoiding his sniping, and endure until their mana ran out, replacing the vanguard that had been annihilated?
At this point, most of the vanguard agents and rear archers were already eliminated.
No breakthrough was visible anywhere.
[Damn it….]
A curse quietly resonated through the comms.
It was no different from someone’s lament, foreseeing the future and its outcome.
“Good job.”
“You don’t look too happy.”
Lennok let out a small laugh at Pallard’s sullen expression as he emerged from the training ground.
“…Well, honestly, it was unexpected.”
Pallard reluctantly nodded.
“Even if the leaders of each field response team didn’t participate in the training, I never expected it to be this much…”
It was merely an excuse to siphon off a suitable amount of combat power, avoiding the city council’s oversight.
Therefore, fearing the training would become too intense, the leaders of each armed response team were not allowed to participate.
But even considering that, the results of this simulated training were nothing short of shocking for all the agents.
Every single one of them was a skilled individual of Level 5 or higher.
Even with Level 6 agents who had awakened to Property Transformation among them, their sheer numbers meant nothing.
Beyond simply being unable to counter Lennok’s offense, the sight of archers and marksmen eventually being hunted down by Lennok himself was a great shock to Pallard as well.
Lennok also realized the meaning of his words and quietly shook his head.
“Lately, I’ve had many opportunities to face off against unit-level forces. I’ve become quite accustomed to fighting against large numbers. I was lucky.”
Facing off against the Ibon Family, one of the Eight Families of the Fortress, repelling an attack by the Defense Force’s special unit, and defeating the Bardiche Brotherhood.
After successively performing group combat of this level, one can’t help but become seasoned in fighting multiple opponents alone, whether they like it or not.
What’s more, Lennok was a wizard who meticulously organized and theorized his combat experience, striving to internalize it.
It was no exaggeration to say he had already mastered suppressing many with the power of a single person.
In fact, dealing with the agents in this simulated training was, in some ways, even more challenging.
This was because, until now, when Lennok suppressed the momentum of many with his individual power, he actively exploited their fear.
He had unhesitatingly swept through areas and crushed enemies, trampling on their emotions, but it was difficult to act so resolutely even in training like this.
However, the faces of Pallard and Hina, who were listening to Lennok’s words beside him, turned even stranger.
“…Generally, that’s not what one calls being lucky.”
“…”
Lennok realized he had added an unnecessary personal comment and fell silent.
There was no need to explain here that for Lennok, who had survived as a freelancer in Vulcan’s back alleys, luck was merely that much.
“Alright, fine. I get it now. With that kind of mindset, it’s no wonder a monster like you emerged from that hellish place, right?”
Pallard, quickly summarizing the situation, clapped his hands and immediately patted Lennok on the shoulder.
“Anyway, thank you very much for today. With this kind of evidence, it won’t be difficult to tell those old geezers on the City Council that they were injured during training.”
Pallard’s eyes, as he spoke, shone sharply.
“We can’t let this organization run according to those old geezers’ whims. If we can set aside this much available force, it will certainly become a variable when things get chaotic.”
“Even if it means becoming enemies with the City Council?”
“Of course not. But finding this or that excuse and bowing your head isn’t actually that difficult.”
“…”
“It’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission – that saying actually applies in this city too. Of course, I can’t avoid taking some responsibility… but am I going to be so afraid of that that I just watch missiles fall on District 13?”
“I see.”
Lennok nodded.
Pallard’s words and actions clearly showed he was seasoned in politics and tightrope walking.
But that last remark made it somewhat possible to gauge what kind of person he was.
There must be a reason why Evelyn Marcia, who has considerable interest in the city’s order and security, is still with the Agents.
At the very least, the future this man envisioned didn’t seem more desolate or bleak than Lennok had thought.
For this matter, merely confirming that was enough.
“Get some good rest. Let’s meet the day after tomorrow at dawn. By then, we’ll have finished our necessary preparations and gathered our people.”
[Personally, I don’t quite understand.]
“What do you mean?”
[Your reason for stepping into this matter, Van.]
[…]
[It’s ridiculous that the Defense Force generals are holding civilian lives hostage now, but we need to assess the situation calmly. This situation is more likely to benefit us than harm us.]
Virgil, one of the Cartel’s executives, now having risen to the forefront, spoke leisurely from the other end of the phone.
[It’s unlikely the City Council will just stand by until District 13 is bombed. Would those old men just let something that affects their own safety happen? If you had waited until the City Council yielded to us, you could have reaped considerable profits.]
“I understand what you mean.”
He generally understood what Virgil meant.
The City Council would try to reach out everywhere before District 13 was attacked, and Virgil thought he could just subtly get involved then and make a profit.
“But some of the city councilmen seem to have other ideas.”
[What do you mean…?]
However, for Lennok, who had directly received internal City Council information through the Agents and Meyer, this was a completely unsympathetic perspective.
Contrary to Virgil’s words, some city councilmen were actually planning to use the attack on District 13 as an excuse to lift the Prohibition Edict.
It’s hard to say that the Cartel’s intelligence network had become loose.
Because information that the City Council, which should prioritize the city’s safety, might actually be waiting for the Mobile Fortress’s bombardment was not easy to handle.
“As you said, if the City Council starts to act, their methods and process will be quite different from what the Cartel expects.”
Saying that, Lennok put down the receiver and stood up.
“And that’s why I’m moving now.”
[Wait, Van. Surely, a split in the City Council—]
Click!
There was no need for a long conversation with Virgil.
Now, if the Cartel intervened in this matter, it would only complicate things further.
Virgil and the other executives were formidable individuals whom even Lennok couldn’t easily ignore. If uncontrollable forces were to intrude on the operation, they would more likely hinder it.
Especially for this operation, which involved the theme of the Prohibition Edict.
Jenny, who had been waiting right beside him for the call to end, spoke.
“Are you really going to move alone?”
Inside the bar, where the shutters were down after closing hours.
Inside the darkened bar, over a dozen superhumans stood, all looking at him alone.