A Black Market LitRPG

All the inquisitors could see in the morning was a smoldering wreck of a wagon, crashed into a building. No bodies could be found, and if there were, they were all burnt to a crisp, apparently dying after the wagon’s arctech engine caught on fire.

“The Seven Snakes are definitely not playing around…” Mason remarked as he inspected the scene, which was now cordoned off by the enforcers. The fight was more than a few hours ago, with the enforcers finally responding to reports of loud explosives and shockwaves in the area.

“Dynamite bombs, sir?” Kitana queried. The wagon’s engine was clearly blown out, with the blackened body of the driver still lifeless over the steering wheel.

“Perhaps. Seems that the Seven Snakes know how to make their own chemical explosives. Either way we’re long past worrying about guns – if the Ilysian Punks has the shipment, we’re looking at an all-out conflict.”

“Sir!” An enforcer ran along the street towards the two inquisitors, saluting. “We’ve found the crates mentioned. It’s definitely the military guns that was stolen from the factory.”

“So Kyle is serious about this alliance after all… Cordon off the entire block. I want every enforcer to scour this entire area to figure out how the hell the Ilysian Punks managed to get their hands on it.”

Makoa panted as he jogged down the alleyway, having ran more than two districts. He had not been directly injured in the fight, so his mind remained clear, continuing to ponder over what the hell just happened. It was nearing daybreak, the glimmer of the local star peeping out from just below the horizon.

Shit! I just lost a raid against assassins hired by the Seven Snakes! Makoa grimaced internally. He would very much prefer to keep the loss of his base and hostage a secret from the higher-ups, but he knew it was a futile effort – they always found out in the end.

Thus, Makoa made a beeline for the main base: it was better if he turned himself in. As he approached the lobby of a luxurious hotel owned by the Ilysian Punks, the two guards were taken aback by the soot and grime-coating parts of Makoa’s body.

“Stop ogling with your mouths open and get me to the boss, NOW!” Makoa roared.

The guards quickly escorted him into the lobby and into an arctech elevator, which chugged slowly up to the highest floor. The doors slid open to reveal an only-glass room, providing a panoramic view of the South Sector and beyond. The height of the hotel was a mere ten storeys, but it was enough to give a sense of awe.

Makoa shrugged off the two guards who tried to support his arms, walking by himself into the centre of the velvet-carpeted room, facing an empty desk and chair. He sat down on one of the sofas, catching his breath as he waited. He locked eyes with a butler who was standing at the side nonchalantly.

“You look terrible.” The butler remarked.

“Shut it.”

“You better have a reason for disturbing my sleep.” A low voice wafted in from behind Makoa, to which Makoa immediately stood up and bowed towards the source.

“Good morning General Javel!” Makoa performed ninety degrees bow, before recovering into a standing posture and saluting.

“Relax. We’re not in Versia anymore.” General Javel chuckled, the wrinkles on his old face scrunching upwards as he wore a gentle smile on his face. “So, I assume you got hit by the Red Lions?”

“No, sir,” Makoa shook his head as he watched Javel stroll over into his office chair. “It’s the Seven Snakes; they hired assassins to hit our district.”

“For what reason?”

“I… I was trying to find the source of the missing gun shipment that we hijacked. It was last seen at the Seven Snakes’ district, so I’ve been performing probing attacks for the last few weeks.”

“And let me guess. You follow the doctrine of stealing a valuable hostage to pressure them.”

“Sir, I did not expect the Seven Snakes to be able to hire that many assassins! They also had a sort of cannon that could precisely target me from a far distance away.”

“How far?”

“I did not see the shooter myself, but I estimate five hundred meters, or even more.”

Javel’s eyes squinted at Makoa as he ran his hands over the velvet chair. “That’s a tall claim, Lieutenant Makoa. Five hundred meters is double the range of any known rifle in existence now. Are you sure?”

“I’m confident.” Makoa nodded vigorously.

Javel scanned Makoa’s face, before sighing. “I trust your instincts. Alejandro, how soon can we move?”

The butler bowed in response. “Sir, we can spare one hundred fifty men to attack the Seven Snakes immediately. However, they are the reserves for our continuing conflict with the Red Lions and the Wretches. Tapping into this resource may weaken our stance against them.”

Javel pondered, thinking carefully.

“Makoa, you will be in charge of the counterattack force. Prepare yourself. We launch in two weeks. Continue the probing attacks.” Javel ordered, to which Makoa complied and hastily left the room. Granting a chance for revenge is a simple method of motivation.

Javel sighed as he glanced out of the glass windows, overlooking the city. Alejandro walked up next to him, also looking at the view. “Sir, what are you thinking about?” Alejandro asked.

“I’m thinking there is a ploy afoot. I don’t know who the mastermind is yet, but we’re about to enter a total state of war. A small gang suddenly appearing with advanced technology mere days after the shipment of weapons were intercepted? It’s too coincidental.”

“Indeed. The recent auction in the Central Sector seems to be part of this same chain of events.”

“Who do you think is behind it?”

“Either the Wretches or the Red Lions. We have been in a stalemate for a year now, no doubt they are looking for additional avenues to attack us from. Enlisting the help of smaller gangs is a valid tactic.”

“Reasonable. But what if it is the small gang that is the one instigating all of this? The Seven Snakes, did they not just have a fight with the Red Lions recently? They also had a change of leadership.”

“That’s a bit too far-fetched. They lost the fight against the Red Lions, and a ‘change of leadership’ is hardly enough to pull that gang out from the gutter that Ulon dropped them in.”

“But yet none of Makoa’s probing attacks worked, and they even hired good assassins to rescue the hostage.”

“I will confirm with the Nest on who hired them, if any. However, I am more inclined to believe that the Red Lions are propping them up as a puppet gang of sorts. They are simply a scapegoat.”

Javel frowned for a moment before nodding in agreement. “Agreed. Set up a defence-in-depth plan for our front against the Red Lions’ attack. Lure them into our districts and ensnare them while our counterattack force deals with the Seven Snakes.”

“Yes, sir.”

Wrent’s face was confounded as he stared at the message he had just received. It had been an easy last three months, with his reputation in the Red Lions slightly increasing, thanks to his position as the main potion supplier for the entire gang.

Due to the contract with Kyle, Wrent was now purchasing potions in bulk, allowing the Red Lions to have an easier time fighting the Ilysian Punks and the Wretches. He still remained as a sub-leader, though he was now fully in charge of logistic issues instead of fighting on the frontlines.

However, the message he received was shocking.

Order from the Mane of the Red Lion:

Left Paw of the Red Lion is to attack the Ilysian Punks with every available force in fourteen days’ time. There has been verified intel that the Ilysian Punks are planning to raid the Seven Snakes with a large force in three days. Utilize this gap to take control of one more district.

“HAH! FUCK YOU, KYLE! YOU FINALLY GET WHAT YOU DESERVE!” Wrent shouted out loud in his office with glee, nearly jumping up in joy at the thought of his hated enemy being utterly destroyed.

Sure, the Red Lions had a non-aggression pact with the Seven Snakes, but it was not a defensive one. Wrent would be more than delighted to take advantage of the situation. However, Wrent took a closer examination of the letter, noticing it did not have a seal nor a mark representing the Mane of the Red Lion. Weird, but maybe Leo did not have the time to mark this properly.

Wrent immediately called his top subordinates into the room. “Round up the men; prepare for war against the punks from Versia in fourteen days!”

Elsewhere in the district, the patrolling Red Lion squads received the order via their arctech radios, slowly pulling back towards the base. A lone squatter kid eyed the movements of the Red Lion squads before running off into the alleyways.

The kid turned the corner to meet Adrian, who was already talking to other squatter kids. “Mister, the Red Lions are pulling back to the base!”

“That means the letter worked. Thank Yual Wrent is a gullible idiot.” Adrian let out a sigh of relief before tossing a few rakels to the squatter kid, much to the whining of the others. “Stop whining. If you want it, you gotta work for it!”

Adrian utilized the squatter networks to track the various movements of the gangs, as well as to spoof the Red Lion letter. In truth, it did not matter even if Wrent checked its legitimacy with the main base. It was a verified fact that the Ilysian Punks were attacking the Seven Snakes.

[Adrian, are you done?] Kyle’s voice crackled over the arctech radio.

“Yes, sir, everything has been set up.”

[Good. Maintain visuals of Ilysian Punks and Red Lions. Both sides should be well aware of what is happening.] Kyle ended the communication, leaning back into his office chair.

“Sir, the Ilysian Punks must be watching the Red Lions’ movements intently as well. With such a mobilization, it will send a warning sign to the Ilysian Punks.” Monica offered her opinion. The vipers were gathered in front of Kyle.

“Exactly.” Kyle nodded. “If they attack us, the Red Lions will take a huge bite out of them. If they don’t, that buys more time for us. Our objective is to stall any major conflict as long as possible to buy time. Every day helps us to close the gap. Don’t forget it’s only been six days since our associates received their equipment.”

Niko and Monica nodded in agreement. Kyle dismissed them as he began to readjust his battle plan for the upcoming conflict, drafting up all possible scenarios. He then took a tour of the various bases, where the associates were divided up into different groups.

He spotted Damian desperately training hard alongside them, struggling to activate the arctech equipment while sparring with other associates. “Grh!” Damian grunted as he felt his body screaming out in fatigue due to the low amount of arcia energy he had internally.

Damian was the only one attempting to push his limits, while half of the associates were mostly resting, too tired to continue. The original training routine, as stated in the textbook Kyle had was to expend and use arcia energy to train resilience continuously, but at the rate it was going it seemed that the Ilysian Punks would attack them before they were ready.

He had already attempted multiple keywords on the associates, trying to see if the holographic interface he had could help him see their MP. However, much to his dismay, the System did not react at all. Kyle had already long suspected that others do not have the same system as he did, but he was not about to assume that he was the only one in the entire world.

Kyle decided to pay Haui a visit at his alchemist store, which had its security and layout much more improved. The agreement between the two of them had enriched Haui, making him a very wealthy individual.

As he entered the newly expanded alchemist store, Kyle immediately headed to the basement in silence, where Haui was working on creating new recipes. Haui barely turned around to greet Kyle, simply continuing with his work.

“I need a potion to restore arcia energy and improve training of it.”

“I don’t have a recipe for that.”

“You have health potions and stamina potions; why not arcia potions?”

“Would you like to drink arcia fuel directly? The fact is that such a high-level recipe that doesn’t involve melting of the human stomach is one of the utmost secrets of the Alchemist Guild, and I myself am not privy to it.”

“So there’s no way to speed up the training of arcia energy?” Kyle frowned.

“I’ve heard of mages training in the arcite caves near Tryas, but otherwise, no. If you had enough money, maybe you could buy a ton of arcite ore and line the walls with it. I don’t think you’ll be stupid enough to do that, right? Right?”