by Yoo Seong
“I’ll show you what an old man can do!”
Kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwang, kwa kwa kwang!
Mellin ran around and caused explosions all over the square. The chaotic users were already damaged by the soldiers’ attacks so the bombs instantly killed a lot of them. The other pioneers noticed and started becoming more aggressive. This was a battle situation. However there were some disadvantages to this massacre.
“An equipment!”
“The first person who picks it up will be the owner!”
The chaotic users were dying and dropping all kinds of items! Everybody was striking recklessly so it was hard to tell who had the right to the loot. Therefore pioneers flocked like hyenas every time an item fell. This was where Hegel, the youngest of the Royal Guards showed his skill!
“Item detected!”
Hegel shouted as his eyes became even bigger. This was Hegel’s special ability to detect items that he learnt from Heksu of the Silver Hand! He had the ability to spot even a loose screw that had fallen from the body.
“……Collect the loot!”
Hegel flew to where the body of chaotic user was riddled with bullets. And while the body was falling……the pioneers hadn’t even noticed the loot had dropped before Hegel swept it up with swift hand movements. His speed at picking up items even surpassed Ark! That scene made his reassess the value of a Scavenger. Of course the other members weren’t just watching.
Tu tu tu tu! Tu tu tu tu! Pepeng!
They had navigated numerous battlefields under Ark’s leadership. Berad and Ralph were the main attackers while Cupa, Hedro, Reben and Konsed supported them with gunfire. Meanwhile Kalliben and Beleol acted as snipers.And leading them was Ark who was 200% stronger than usual!
“Dark Eden! Make the formation and burst into enemy lines! If you spot any hit by the special soldiers then take care of them! Mellin, Hegel, continue demonstrating the skills that the Silver Hand taught you! Pick up the items pouring out. Don’t worry about doing anything else. Look in every corner and collect everything you can! This is a chance to solve S-20’s economic problem!”
“Ohhhhhh!”
The Royal Guards cried out and continued moving through the battlefield. His overwhelming leadership and actions unintentionally branded the name ‘Ark’ on those watching. Anyway, it was a one-sided battle. There were 4,000 special division soldiers present in S-20. They alone would’ve already decided the chaotic users’ fates. When combined with the pioneers burning to make money, the 2,000 chaotic users didn’t stand a chance. They couldn’t even escape.
“Damn, I’m going to give up!”
“I’d rather run away since my odds of living will be higher!”
Some tried to escape in the chaos. However…..
Kwa kwa kwa kwa! Kwa kwa kwa kwa!
The shells dropped down from the airships. Any chaotic users that sneaked out of a certain range were turned to rags by the shells. Water was still flowing in the dungeon so they couldn’t hide there again. 20 minutes after it began, the sound of gunfire gradually stopped. Water also stopped pouring out. Finally all the chaotic users had been wiped out.
“T-this…..unbelievable……”
There was only 1 person from the other side still alive. The one surveying the corpses of the chaotic users was Bain. The only thing that differentiated friend from foe was the chaotic marker. Bain organized his situation but he hadn’t PKed anyone so his name was normal. Thanks to that he was able to survive……
“Now what shall I do with you?”
Ark grinned as he headed towards Bain. Bain stared at him with horrified eyes before shouting.
“I-I don’t know! I don’t have anything to do with these guys!”
“Do you think I will believe that?”
“I don’t know anything!”
“This bastard still hasn’t come to his senses!”
Berad threatened him with a hammer.
“What, what the? Were you about to hit me? I’m not the culprit! I’m a director of the Laius company! Are you going to kill me with the federation soldiers watching?”
“This bastard!”
“Aren’t you going to hit me? Huhuhu! Of course not! I’m not a criminal! And of course the Laius company doesn’t know anything about this! Y-yes! They stormed into the research centre and threatened me. That’s it! I’m not saying anything else. Call me a lawyer! That is the law!”
“Damn that guy……”
The pioneers and special soldiers looked at him with outraged expressions. But like Bain said, he wasn’t chaotic. A general NPC couldn’t be convicted in a court of law if they weren’t chaotic. If someone tried to kill Bain then they would become chaotic.
“Damn, I can’t stand it! Hyung-nim, I have to kill him even if I become chaotic!”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Ark interrupted Berad and shook his head. He smiled and passed something to Bain.
“Yes, I understand what you’re saying. The law is the law. By the way, is that yours?”
“Eh? This is…..heok! T-this…..!”
Bain checked what Ark handed him and screamed. He was holding a grenade in his hands. The grenade had the safety pin removed. Bain freaked out and the grenade exploded near Ark.
“You asshole…..what are you doing?”
“Is this the time to be saying that?”
Ark smiled and lifted his arms.
“You hit my arm with the shrapnel from the grenade.”
He pointed to the blood on his wrists and said to Croc.
“As you can see he just threw a grenade at me. What would happen if I kill him now?”
“It would be self-defence.”
Croc grinned and replied. Under Galaxian law, he wouldn’t be penalized if the opponent struck first. They completely ignored the fact that Ark was the one who handed Bain the grenade. The fact that Bain’s name turned grey was evidence of that.
“Then I have no choice.”
Ark’s approached Bain with his lightsaber.
“T-this is ridiculous! It was your grenade! You tricked me! You all saw it! He is trying to kill me!”
But nobody responded. Ark kept on stepping forward. Bain winced and fell flat on the ground while shouting.
“S-save me! I’m not a pioneer! I really will die! Please spare my life! I just obeyed the orders from above! Really! I have evidence! I’ll tell you everything just don’t kill me! This…..”
Pajijijik!
There was a static noise and the 3D image disappeared. The atmosphere felt several times heavier than before. Jyubel and the Vice President’s faces looked like they were constipated. They kept an eye on the place where the video disappeared. Ark hit his Nymphe with a shifty expression.
“Eh? What is this? Wasn’t it a HD ultra-sharp image?”
“Huh! What happened to the data? I called some busy people here but I can’t even show them the most important part?”
Marquis Martin bowed to the two of them and said.
“I’m sorry. Please wait a moment and we’ll correct it immediately.”
“There is no need to go through all that trouble.”
“Don’t you want to see the more interesting parts?”
“No, right now it is sufficiently interesting.”
Marquis Jyubel said and nodded.
“I understand the reason why Marquis Martin called us. That is definitely a fascinating video.”
“So I was thinking about showing a few more people. On TV as well as being shown in the central parliament. This friend is in a difficult situation these days. The copyright income for this video should help him settle these funding problems. Well, that’s only if this friend manages to recover the data.”
“I said there is no need.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, that is enough.”
Marquis Jyubel looked at Ark who was fiddling with his Nymphe. If he had a gun then a hole would’ve pierced Ark’s smiling face.
“It was an interesting
video so I’m thankful. You seem to be in quite a difficult situation so I’ll give you a little help in return. I have a lot of power so I can be quite helpful. The Laius’ Vice President-nim also thinks the same thing. Isn’t that right?”
“Yes…..that seems to be the case.”
The Vice President responded with a rotten expression. Then Jyubel’s eyes shifted towards Marquis Martin.
“I promise. I will make you more profit. And I would also like to express my sincerity to Marquis Martin-nim……”
“We can talk about that later.”
“I think that would be great. Then we understand that the video won’t be screened. If you have no other requests then excuse me. I have to process the reward to give to that friend. Vice President-nim, let’s go.”
Jyubel stood up and the Vice President quickly followed. He grabbed the doorknob and was about to leave. Marquis Martin lifted his mug with a relaxed expression and said.
“This is my personal opinion but…..if it is slightly difficult to handle the important matter then you can use my subordinate.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
Marquis Jyubel replied in a low voice before leaving the room. Ark stopped messing with his Nymphe and looked at Marquis Martin.
“Why did you talk about a difficult work?”
“You don’t need to worry about those words.”
Marquis Martin laughed and continued.
“Anyway, this is more than I expected.”
“It is all thanks to Marquis Martin-nim. But I’m also slightly astonished. I never imagined that the 1st special division would show up.”
“That is the only possible way without Jyubel interfering.”
In fact, that was something he had been most worried about. Ark had noticed Bain’s plan one day before the event. Ark immediately boarded the Silver Star and flew to Tatuine to meet with Marquis Martin. There was no meaning in evacuating the dungeon of pioneers. However that wouldn’t solve the fundamental problem. If the chaotic users attacked then the population would decline again. Ark thought of the Water Cleaning strategy by connecting the lake to the underground tunnel but there was a significant risk with that.
‘Will that stop those guys?’
Of course, if they invading the sector then he could request help from the federation. But if he contacted them after the trouble happened then the sector had no choice but to receive damage. That’s why he requested Marquis Martin’s help in advance. But there was a problem. Marquis Martin was being monitored by Jyubel. The situation hadn’t happen yet so Marquis Martin had no justification to move troops to S-20 and Jyubel would notice. If Bain cancelled his plan then Marquis Martin would be the one embarrassed.
That’s why Marquis Martin thought of the 1st special division. Unlike other federation units, the 1st special division was stationed at Tatuine and could move straight away. Marquis Martin used the excuse of a training exercise to move the 1st special division. The success was shown on the video.
“But is this okay?”
“The fact that we didn’t reveal the video until the end?”
“No, I’m aware of the reasons for that.”
Ark had cut the video right after using the excuse of self-defence with Bain. Bain had confessed who was behind the incident. It was evidence that implicated Jyubel and the Vice President of Laius in this event. He knew that he might be thrown away after the work was finished so he secretly collected evidence. And it was all stored in Ark’s Nymphe. Despite that, there was a simple reason he stopped the video. The important thing was that Jyubel and the Vice President knew that they had evidence. There was no reason to reveal the details.
They knew there was evidence but they didn’t know the extent. That would pressure Jyubel and the Vice President even more. In addition, the two of them might become even more dangerous if they were cornered. So it was better to compromise at an appropriate level. Ark’s thoughts were the same as Marquis Martin’s in this regard.
“But they didn’t clearly promise anything.”
“It is enough.”
Marquis Martin laughed and continued.
“If they replied differently than they would be admitting to the crime. So they used the word reward. And you don’t need to worry about the size of the reward. The damage the Laius Vice President received from this event is difficult to predict. So obviously they will give you a satisfactory return. Of course, I’m also expecting some rewards.”
Marquis Martin’s careless words made Jyubel seem pitiful. Marquis Martin looked at Ark and said.
“There is another problem.”
“Another problem?”
“Like I mentioned before, the galaxy is investigating the magic circle. It is a disconcerting matter. As expected, the Aschulat and Rama investigated the matter. All 3 powers are organizing agents to investigate so the situation is heating up.”
That was something Ark expected. The same quest was given to all agents in the galaxy. If they completed that quest then the reward from their respective power would be staggering. Fierce competition was a natural process. Marquis Martin said the competition was heating up but it was no different from a war
‘Well I don’t care what those guys are doing but……’
He was worried about Irina. She was investigating something that other atrocious pioneers were. He couldn’t feel comfortable thinking of Irina being surrounded by enemies.
“The federation has decided to send a 2nd intelligence battalion to assist the first one. I would like you to join the team.”
In other words, Marquis Martin wanted to take the initiative. Ark had no intention of refusing.
“The problem is that place.”
He was worried about Irina and it was a main quest so Ark had to participate. He would also be backed by Marquis Martin. However there was no guarantee when this mission would end once he started. He still needed to clean up the remnants of Jyubel and Laius’ plan. Ark had to remain in S-20 until that was taken care of.
“I’m not telling you to go straight away.”
Marquis Martin also knew about it and nodded.
“Parliament will require a bit of time to determine the agents. The future results are unknown so all nobles are eager to get involved. So they are all eager to nominate their agents for the 2nd investigation unit. It should take at least a week to arrange. You have until then to finish all your preparations.”
‘A week……’
That wasn’t a lot of time. But he had no choice.
“Understood.”
“Then I’ll see you in one week.”
Marquis Martin laughed and lifted his teacup again.
“I want to finish this so you can leave first. Everything will probably be organized by the time you reach your sector. Because Jyubel doesn’t have a very laid back personality.”
———————————————————————————–
Martin Marquis said.
“Ark, check this out!”
Mellin came rushing out as soon as Ark arrived in S-20.
“The auditor and a staff member of the Laius company just visited. And they gave me these forms. Look. Here. Now all our problems are resolved!”
Mellin extruded 2 pieces of paper with an excited expression.
This is a notification stating that the Laius company will be taking responsibility for all of S-20’s facilities.
Under the order of Marquis Martin, Minister of Domestic Affairs has ordered that the audit of S-20 has been tentatively postponed. And Laius will take care of S-20’s security, disaster prevention and sanitary facilities.
This was the document that the auditor brought.
S-20 has been chosen as a sector that will receive Laius’ support.
Laius often gives financial support to small or medium sized sectors that are struggling. Researchers had judged that S-20’s development is richer than other small sectors and will receive Laius’ support.
A
ll privileges from Laius’ research centre will be rented to Administrator Ark-nim for an indefinite period. And any facilities demanded by the Domestic Affairs Department will be funded by the Laius company. Finally, the Laius company will pay for all damages caused by the stolen airship without going through the insurance company.
All of this support won’t have any conditions attached.
I hope for the continuous development of your sector.
This was the document an employee of the Laius company brought.
“They hope for continuous development of the sector……”
The Vice President probably wanted to add ‘ㅜ_ㅜ’ after it. Like Marquis Martin said, Jyubel’s processing speed was LTEx2. He pretended to be unconcerned in the meeting room but he had actually been uneasy about it. Yet the compensation was more than Ark expected. All of S-20’s problems would be settled in one shot and he would also obtain the funds from the Laius’ research centre. The paper also said it was an indefinite lease so it could last forever! It was like they handed over the research centre for nothing.
‘I wouldn’t have obtained this if I was too greedy.’
That’s why Marquis Martin hadn’t directly asked for compensation. Not stating anything specific meant he could get everything. Jyubel and the Vice President gave him as much privileges as possible. He wouldn’t have obtained this if he had been too greedy. Of course, Ark never would’ve done such a foolish thing. He had no intention of missing a chance like this. Luck and timing was also a skill!
‘This is perfect timing!’
That’s why Ark……
-The administrator of S-20 has applied for an extension.
This message was sent to the sector administration department.
‘The research centre is mine but it is situated outside the sector. If thieves storm if then I can’t ask the federation for help. And I don’t have the troops to prevent a large scale raid. I can only rest assured if the research centre is included in the sector.’
This was the first reason. And the second reason was the security facilities. The equipment required for the