He was a bad-looking man with a cut on his face. Even Ab, who had an objective gaze, must have thought of the illegal act in his mind the moment he saw him.
With a sharp long sword over his shoulder, he reacted indifferently to A.B's officer uniform.
“… officer?”
Criminals don't even make eye contact with an officer. From the power given to the authority, it is impossible to even compete with an officer.
However, the man with the ferocious impression in front of him didn't look frightened at all when he saw the officer. On the contrary, he even put on a defiant smile.
“Hey, officer Nari. That guy is ours. I'm sorry, can you give me some concessions?”
Abby nodded stiffly.
“He is already dead.”
“haha. know. We just need his body more than his life. They were our comrades, so we thought we might have a funeral.”
A chuckle of laughter is heard immediately.
They did not show any signs of mourning over the death of their comrades. He is just watching with greed as if it were a treasure chest.
“It’s a pain in the ass to run away and get lost… hurry. I want to hand it over before I can't use it all. Can you keep it out of the way?”
As long as she's already a corpse, there's no reason for A.B to care, but that doesn't mean she has to accept the demands of the suspicious.
Abbie refused.
“I refuse.”
“Kek. why?”
“I am under no obligation to answer you.”
“Gosh. okay. That's what our officer said.”
sarcastic speech. There was not even a speck of respect for the officer there.
The man stretched out his long sword threateningly over his shoulder.
“Well, I’m not afraid. Even as an officer. There's only one person… . And it’s so common that if you’re a captain, you’ll end up on the roadside.”
A subordinate who stood by the man's words carefully pointed out.
“I, my brother. The captain is a bit high. Next is the Major.”
“Don’t interfere, you bastard!”
The man who screamed, quickly aimed his long sword at Ab. He probably didn't know the meaning of aiming a sword, but even if the opponent was an officer in the military, he didn't seem to care.
“And what about Captain? Don't you have a knife? Or not through the gun?”
The subordinate pointed out this time with caution.
“The gun doesn't work. If you are a lieutenant colonel, the first thing you need to do is learn Bantan Qigong.”
“It’s not too bad! Hey, you go first!”
The man who had been pointed out twice became angry and pointed the knife at the subordinate who was beside him. His subordinate, who was about to be stabbed by his sword, shuddered in fear.
“Yes Yes?”
“Even if bullets don’t go through, the blade won’t lift! Go and stab it! And get rid of that bastard's belly too! Before I can't use it!!”
The man violently swung his sword and shouted. Other subordinates who were close to her began to approach A.B. as if they were being chased.
I don't know if it's better if the blank sheet meets, but fear and fear definitely get better the more they meet. Whether the teammates working together were strong, the gang members gradually gained strength.
Ab, who sensed hostility, warned them in a low voice.
“warning. You are now acting intimidating to the soldiers of the military. Stop immediately. This is a command. If you violate… .”
However, Ab's shrill voice did not pose a threat. The monsters snorted and grew even stronger.
“What are you going to do? Are you going to beat us all alone?”
“Come on, let’s see that the skin of a handsome officer doesn’t even go through a knife.”
Abby was in a predicament. I don't think they even recognize the officer and attack him.
It is a military government that handles murder cases against ordinary citizens quite seriously. Even if it were known that an officer had been ambushed and killed by criminals, he would immediately dispatch a military police force without any respite or mercy.
A unit that has the right to pour its military power on its own people carries out some discriminatory attacks on its own people. Even the outlaws will not be able to stand it.
But threatening an officer without thinking about the future, unless you plan to call the military police… .
no way.
Abby muttered.
“… Perhaps, that was the purpose of this?”
No one answered Abby's self-talk. The assailants walked towards A.B., holding each of the blades tightly.
“haha. I wonder if the officer's blood is the same color as ours… .”
number is seven. Everyone is armed with blades. Even in the skinny man who looked like a captain, the level was not very high, but traces of qigong were felt.
“Warning, trouble… .”
To overcome this difficulty, it is reasonable to use a golem, but that is an act of exposing the identity of a signal operator. Only self-determination remains before him.
Should I do melee? But it is rocking with eggs. AB was not a professionally trained combat manpower.
kill and die do you just die
Will you use the golem to defeat them and kill yourself, or will you fall into their hands like this?
It took a long time to ponder, but the moment of choice came. As the street lamp dimly lit the street, the blade of the knife flashed coolly.
A black blade that will cut a hole in Ab's body and pour out red life… .
It was when Aby clenched his fist after he had made up his mind.
“These crazy bastards!!”
put on
Dozens of people poured into the streets. They attacked the assailants who were about to attack Ab without saying a katabuta. The assailants were swept away by the crowd.
Screaming and Abigail. And the threshing sounds one after another.
Even those with cutlery had no business in the face of the violence of numbers. Even more so if they were all armed with long weapons.
“Have you lost your cowardice? From magicians to officers. All of the beehives called beehives are stinging around! If you want to be stung by bees, tap dance naked in front of the beehive! Don’t sting around and run around!”
A virtuous middle-aged man beat the man in front of him and shouted. Embarrassed by the sudden attack, the man with the knife cut raised his long sword and rushed towards the middle-aged man.
“You guys, it’s the market! Smugglers don't even know the subject… !”
The man with the knife cut left the knife with a qigong. A knife with a qigong that cuts through flesh and splits bones. Even a middle-aged, virtuous body wouldn't be able to be healthy if it was hit by a sword with qigong.
The middle-aged, however, withdrew with an agile movement that did not fit her size. The bright blue tip of the sword barely passed in front of the middle-aged man.
“Hey! This rotten bastard even cuts a knife!”
What the fussy middle-aged took out was a large crowbar with a split end. The middle-aged man inserted his man's knife into the cleft of the crowbar. The flow of the series was so natural that the two seemed to fit together.
Suddenly, the blade caught between the levers. A look of embarrassment flashed on the face of the man with the knife cut.
As the middle-aged man twisted his hand in that state, the long sword caught between the crowbars bounced off. A middle-aged crowbar exploded over his man, who had lost his weapon by the principle of the lever.
“You're the one who doesn't know the subject! This is our territory, you bastard!”
fast.
The sound of breaking bones could be heard from the man's skull with the cut. Now his face was left with crowbar marks in addition to the knife marks.
It is not known what kind of feelings the man expressed about him. The reason was simply that he passed out.
His eyes twinkled, and his skinny body fell to the ground.
“Baby. I'm making the liver go down… .”
The middle-aged man, who took a deep breath, hurriedly approached A.B. Before A-B could even warn him, he bowed his back and clasped his hands as he came out as the author.
“Oh my, Captain. This is not meant for our entire district. Those guys are weird. These guys are crazy people who call themselves the shadows of the military. It's very difficult for us to run rampantly, so we're going to die… .”
From Avi's point of view, the group that suddenly appeared and suppressed them was also suspicious.
However, unlike the gangsters who were holding menacing knives, most of them were familiar objects such as crowbars and pokers. Even if it blends into our daily life as it is now, there is no problem.
Maybe it's because the tools created a mild atmosphere? Abby relaxed her vigilance a bit and said.
“… question. What else is your identity?”
“Ahh. You should have introduced yourself first!”
The middle-aged man who was fussy introduced himself, sweating profusely.
“Yes, yes. My name is Krin, who is in charge of managing common warehouses for merchants in all markets.”
Markets have to bring goods in, and warehouses are needed to store them safely.
But this place is a paradise for scumbags. You never know when a thief will appear at any moment, but you can't be reassured with just a warehouse and a lock.
Market merchants united with each other to safely store and transport goods, and even deliverymen and workers were intertwined to grow and establish their own power.
“So, in a nutshell, the Merchant Guild… No, not even this. He is just a person who protects the goods of the merchants. It’s a warehouse keeper.”
Krin spoke in a low voice, but Abby felt something daunted by the name.
Clean. store manager. market.
Obviously, he mentioned it when he caught the pickpocket kid.
“… Clean manager? Are you the head of a group called Hook Market?”
Then, Krin foamed his mouth and shook his head.
“No, no! What is the brain! It's just a face-to-face! It's a kind of horizontal relationship united to protect the things in the warehouse! As flat as still water!”
It was clear that he was an unusual person, considering the movement he showed a little while ago and the qigong that he unfolded with a crowbar. Krin lowered himself thoroughly and lowered her head.
Instead, he only resented the person who was not here with a small voice that no one could hear.
“Magician bastard, what nonsense were you talking to the officer… !”
There weren't one or two suspicious corners, but Abby didn't ask any more. Because it was not a sin to learn qigong or perform unusual movements.
“Accept. The main building has something to ask about this situation. Please cooperate with the main building.”
“Of course! Isn't that the duty of a good citizen?”
Clean, standing stiffly, waited for A.B's words. Abby organized the information for a moment, and asked the most curious questions first.
“The shadow of the military, what is it?”
Krin replied as if he had been waiting.
“It’s a criminal organization that suddenly appears in the fortress military and runs rampant.”
“Criminal gang? Or is it the Resistance?”
“Ah, no. The resistance at least shows the feign of asking the citizens for cooperation. they are… . They are just outlaws.”
“If there is a military law, how can an outlaw be able to walk around proudly?”
At the question of A.B., Krynn gave a big response.
“So it is. We, too, were rotting our heads. These guys, aren't they afraid of the law, they've been running rampant in all directions lately. Robbery, looting, arson, even murder. It's just that we're in trouble because they're running around in small groups and doing weird things.”
“Didn’t the authorities take any action?”
“Isn’t the fortress military a bit busy? About three months ago, a large-scale ignorance check was already conducted. I wonder if it's not getting colder yet.”
A.B suddenly remembered three months ago.
About three months ago, there was an escape from Tantalus. As soon as AB observed the fact, it immediately reported it to the home country, and the home country responded immediately. While he imposed martial law across the country, he tried to recapture the escaped criminals through massive checkpoints.
However, the escapees from Tantalus did not show whether they ascended into the sky or fell to the ground. Instead, unlucky bastards were caught on a large scale.
“… It’s a grounded story.”
Perhaps, the current situation may be the detriment of enforced checkpoints even though the security has not deteriorated.
“But, well, if it gets worse, high-ranking people will come out and fix it! ha ha ha! Common people like me only trust the people of the country!”
Krin, who was laughing out loud, immediately lowered his voice and said softly.
“That, that is. Later, when speaking from above, tell us that our people are innocent. If we get caught together because of those idiots, it will be unfair and we will not be able to work.”
Just looking at Krynn's sublime attitude, it seemed like he was asking for a favor. Abs instinctively felt rejected, but there is no problem in terms of content.
Abby nodded her head.
“Positive. In this case only, if an opportunity arises, I will report it to the upper level.”
“Gosh! Thank you, thank you, Nari!”
A proud smile filled the lips of the manager, who bowed his head politely. However, at Abi's next words, that smile hardened.
“The second question.”
“yes? Second… ?”
Krin's eyes trembled slightly in embarrassment. Despite her reluctance, A-B asked without heeding.
“Who the hell is the magician?”
Those who claim to be the shadows of the military are deliberately disturbing the public order. Their actions lacked a kind of rationality.
In other words, there is a slightly bigger conspiracy behind this one.
Abbie realized that fact through the intuition of a signal operator.
If so, who was the magician who hunted them down?
“A magician? ah, that. What should I say?”
Krin continued to stare at him, sweating profusely and then responded.
“haha. just what All of the handy people you see in back alleys are collectively called magicians. Whether you're sloppy, shuffle your hand in a card game, put on a puppet show, or surprise people with your craftsmanship. People who do that.”
“Are they still there?”
“Gosh. Almost none. The horses are magicians, but they are actually scammers and tazza-like guys, but if the country is in good shape, how are they going to get around? Almost all disappeared. Almost everything.”
Krin raised his hand and raised his eyes slightly and asked. For a moment, his raccoon-like eyes gleamed with anger.
“But why are you looking for a magician? .”
Abby answered the truth.
“I just mentioned that the one who fell in front of the main building was a magician.”
“… Is that the end?”
In response to the returned question, Avi turned her head and asked.
“You. I warn you. If you know anything more, testify immediately. If you don't cooperate, you too will have doubts.”
At A.B's response, Krin was startled.
“Oh, no. What did I do?”
“How did you get here?”
Krin, who returned to the low position again, looked around as if afraid that anyone would hear it, and answered in a low voice.
“Actually, I came here on a call as a magician. They showed up in our area and they told us to catch them.”
Avi nodded her head sharply.
“Magician is a word that refers to an individual. Has confirmed.”
“… haha.”
Krin, who seemed to be smiling, seemed to avoid saying more than that. Avi nodded her head and looked around her once.
While the two were talking, the merchants in the market were tidying up their surroundings. They were in the middle of arresting the fallen, picking up the fallen objects, and erasing the traces of the scuffle as if organizing things. Soon the street became clear.
“Leave the cleaning up to us. I will take good care of it.”
“Give it to the officer. They must be punished by the military law.”
“Is there any possibility?”
“The main building will report it to the officer in the area. Please note that actions that you personally sanction are not permitted.”
“… Is there any possibility?”
Abby left them behind and walked away.
Shadows, magicians, and the military.
She was a soldier loyal to the military and at the same time a deadly signalman.
During the brief probation remaining for A.B., killing the 'shadow' and uncovering the magician's identity will be the last loyalty he will give to the military.
In addition, creating a safer military would be a gift for Anna and Hughes.
It will be busy from tomorrow. A.B. was walking down the street.
And let her disappear beyond the darkness. Krynn, who had kept her head bowed, kicked her tongue and straightened her back.
“… I've done my job, magician. A sibling comes over suddenly and makes me do something like nothing.”
A few hours ago, Krin ran into 'he', who appeared as if springing up in the middle of the market.
If the market's base wasn't a secret space in the middle of a huge warehouse, and only Krynn's aides didn't know how to open it. Krynn would have been kind to him, too.
In other words, Kreen didn't like him at all.
A magician who carefully read the details of the contraband that was secretly hidden in the market. He greeted Krynn as if he were the owner when Krynn returned.
In that moment, Krynn knew he would be threatened and would play in the magician's grasp.
His intuition worked surprisingly well.
– There's trash in this area. I've seasoned it properly, so why not go and clean it up?
Krynn immediately took the power and set off.
Hit the magician? Krynn is not a guy who gambles like that. No one knows the true power of the magician, and there is no way that she can defeat the magician by gambling in the first place.
and.
“Let the madman fight the madman. There is no need for me to intervene.”
The shadow of the military is a strange group whose purpose is unknown. It seems a bit self-destructive.
Inevitably, you will have a conflict with the magician. Every time the two collide, blood will flow in the back alley.
It's unclear who will win, but Kreen knew the end of the conflict in the back alley.
Bankruptcy Swordsman, True Sword, and Pyro.
All of them who had a conflict with the magician died.
The magician didn't kill it, but it was always the magician who survived.
How about this time?
“Ah, I don’t know. do it yourself I just have to do my job.”
As Kreen grumbled, a confused head, one of his staff bubbled and pointed to the dead body.
“Manager! What do you do with a corpse that wraps up golden dung?”
According to the magician, there is a rare spice in its stomach, nicknamed “Gold Powder”. Selling it would be a lot of fun.
But Krynn waved her hand.
“Just bury it. If you touch something like that, you will get bad luck.”
“It’s close.”
“shut up. How do you know if that's true or not? Even if it's real, how do you sell the stuff that went into your stomach? Just think of it as stepping on the poop.”
“okay.”
A staff with a tongue-in-cheek muttered as he put the body in a cloth.
“Sheesh. Selling is good too. There will be no shortage of money in the afterlife.”
“Bury him and write on the tombstone that he is the man with the most expensive autograph in history. Your name may go down in history.”
Krin exhaled and pulled out a cigarette made of magic vinegar. A red flame stood out in the street illuminated only by dim streetlights.
Whoa. With a deep sigh, magic candle smoke rose. The white smoke billowing from under the spreading street lamp looked just like the scorching sun and clouds.
The magic herb, the cause of the timid Krynn's dealing with smuggling, soothed his weary heart and gave him the meaning of life.
While Krin was enjoying the slightest happiness, another employee spoke to her.
“Are you drinking again? Your health will deteriorate.”
“It’s a balance, kid. The body is too healthy for the mind.”
After soaking up the magic vinegar again, Krin murmured while looking at the clearer streets with hazy eyes.
“You have to lie down for a while. There will be a riot.”
Shadows, magicians, and even officers. The situation is growing like a snowball.
Although Klein has been through hardships over and over until now, it was hard to predict what kind of ending this event would bring.
The night was as deep as Krin's sigh.