21 Expansion
[Black Bear City], [Black Serpent Headquarters], [Sewers]
The sewers were filled with rats. During rain seasons, it would be filled with water, but the Greenhill Kingdom almost never experienced long seasons of rain. Most of the time, it would be filled with some sort of putrid mud. With such intense stench, anyone with even weak smelling senses would find it hard not to puke.
As for beastmen, they would not be able to support it.
Several shadows gathered. Although none knew litteracy three months ago, they were slowly starting to learn how to write and most already knew how to read. It was a rare sight among commoners, not to mention for people on the streets.
Of course, Arthur could not be bothered by this kind of tasks now that he had become the leader of hundreds of men and women. However, Emma and John were taught how to read and write better several years ago. Thus, Emma had accepted to take upon her the task of educating shadows.
With education and knowledge, even a dumb man would be able to achieve great things.
Tools without critical judgement had little room for growth and initiative.
As for ambition, Arthur did not feel threatened by his subordinates at all. As an acolyte, he was seen as an S-rank existence.
Yet, despite being so strong, there were still mishaps during expansion of large, underworld organization. The Blood Cult no longer was a threat, but mercenaries possessed strong pride. They were used to be respected in every city they went, for they possessed strength. However, the strength they could display was only incredible in the eyes of average men. Against shadows who sparred with Arthur, John and Emma, mercenaries looked like amateurs.
The [Silver Eagles] were a force to reckon with. They were the strongest, and most reputed ones.
And they crossed the line.
Despite the shadows' warning, two more mercenaries from the [Silver Eagles] decided to go to the Old Blacksmith Peter's shop. This time, they were armed and threatening. Shadows reacted promptly under Arthur's orders, and the two mercenaries never came back whole. Both lost their right hands, as well as their gear.
While it might not seem like much, a mercenary gear was equivalent to his life. Without a sword, a sellsword had no value. And a full gear could not be made in a single day. Even the old Peter would have to spend a whole day to make one. A full gear cost roughly 1 gold coin. If you wanted high-quality gear, then you would have to pay twice, or even thrice this amount.
The [Silver Eagles] never caused trouble again.
"Emma, how is the wine tavern growth going?", Arthur asked
After taking over the Western and Southern Districts, Arthur received countless gifts from inhabitants. Most of them were bottles of wine, and he now possessed more than enough stocks to start a business.
Of course, there was no way he could take over the alcohol business with just that, but he simultaneously signed contracts with dozens of farmers through rats, agreeing to supply him with high-quality wine for the next couple of years in exchange for protection.
Although protecting farmers was a bit out of his authority if they were ever attacked by bandits, just the name of [Black Serpent] would make anyone in the region think twice before raiding a farmer. So the odds of bandits making a fool out of themselves was highly unlikely in the first place. It was an incredible deal.
The more businesses he possessed in the city, the more influence he wielded.
The more influence he wielded, the bigger Black Serpent would grow.
The bigger Black Serpent became, the more resources and information he would earn.
The more resources and information he possessed, the faster his growth as an acolyte would become.
Black Serpent was just a tool for him to become stronger.
'Is it time to meet with Greem already?', Arthur thought as he finished reading the reports of shadows.
"Emma, please take care of the rats again, gather any information of value and record it in the [Black Serpent Information Grimoire]. When that is done, teach the shadows how to write and spar with them. Tell John that he is to take five shadows with him and warn the Eastern District by patrolling on the borders. Karl is to do the same with the Northern frontier"
After issuing orders, Arthur disappeared in the shadows, and moved fast. Jumping from roof to roof like a ninja, he realized a presence behind him
*SPLASH*
Before he could react, an arrow reached his shoulder.
[Beep! Danger! You have sustained mild injuries on your shoulder! Immediate treatment is required to avoid infection!]
[Beep! Poisonous mixture has entered the body's system! Would you like to detoxify the mixture?]
'YES!', Arthur thought aggressively.
With great influence, comes great danger.
Unknowingly, he had become a target of hatred for many.
'Body Scan'
[Beep! Targets scanned]
[Name - Werewolf | Age - 16 Years Old
Attributes:
Strength - 2.6 (0.7) | Agility - 1.5 (1.0) | Vitality - 1.7 (0.6) | Magic Power - 0.6
Status: Hunger (Werewolf Curse)]
[Name - Werewolf | Age - 14 Years Old
Attributes:
Strength - 2.0 (0.4) | Agility - 1.6 (1.0) | Vitality - 1.4 (0.3) | Magic Power - 0.5
Status: Hunger (Werewolf Curse)]
[Name - Werewolf | Age - 20 Years Old
Attributes:
Strength - 2.2 (1.0) | Agility - 1.5 (1.0) | Vitality - 1.6 (0.6) | Magic Power - 1.0
Status: Hunger (Werewolf Curse)]
Three werewolves, visibly fully in control of their shapeshifted form, had surrounded and successfully ambushed him. Unlike the previous werewolf, they did not seem to be nearly as strong. However, they possessed better control over their body.
'I guess the control over their body has to do with how close we are to a full moon. Since there was one a couple of days ago, they can fully retain their intellect even when they shift', Arthur analysed, 'As for physical attributes and magic power, it seems correlated to age, and most likely how much human flesh they consumed in their lifetime. Being much younger, it is only natural for them to have only preparatory knight level strength'
Any data about werewolves was good to earn.
Now that Arthur had identified his opponents, their strength and potential threat, he no longer feared the ambush. It could have been difficult if the archer possessed experience and aimed for his throat. However, trying to face an acolyte with long-range attacks was hardly a good idea.
'SHADOW BOLT'
Without hesitation, Arthur had used the momentum of their successful ambush to cast the new spell he had learned: Shadow Bolt. By focusing immense amounts of mana in a small ball, he could launch a terrifying attack that would corrupt anything it came into contact with.
*SPLASH*
Hitting the youngest werewolf, the other two beasts were shocked to see their brother die so helplessly, in an instant. An enormous hole was dug in his belly. Recovery was impossible, even for werewolves, who possessed enhanced regeneration.
Using the surprise to his advantage, Arthur rushed towards the nearest werewolf, and unsheated his knives. The werewolf was awaiting contact, but instead Arthur retreated a step back, and threw his knives on his opponent's thighs, crippling his movements.
'Body Scan', Arthur thought in a rush.
[Name - Werewolf | Age - 20 Years Old
Attributes:
Strength - 2.2 (1.0) | Agility - 0.5 (1.0) | Vitality - 1.6 (0.6) | Magic Power - 1.0
Status: Hunger (Werewolf Curse), Thigh Injured (Agility decreased by 1 point)]
With not even a quarter of his opponent's agility, the werewolf didn't have a chance.
*SPLASH*
Moments later, the head of the oldest werewolf flew in the air.
The last werewolf was afraid, and started to run, but its head was eventually blown off.
[Beep! You have successfully cast [Shadow Bolt]. Estimated degrees of damage: 12]
[Beep! Target is dead!]
Arthur sighed. It seemed like the streets had become more dangerous than he anticipated. He had preferred to travel alone to avoid alarming werewolves, but it seemed like those wild beasts possessed better tracking abilities than he expected, and waited for him to approach before attempting to ambush him.
'Unfortunately, their ambush revealed a weakness', Arthur analysed, 'This werewolf pack is not a monolith with clear hierarchy, or else, I would not be standing here almost uninjured. The werewolf head failed to attack me with his whole pack. They lack communication, and these three werewolves acted out of their own accord'
Even if the whole pack attacked him, Arthur had confidence in surviving. After all, as long as he caused a commotion, his shadows would come rushing towards him. With nearly 200 rats on the streets, not a single theft went unnoticed by his subordinates, not to mention a fight.
As expected, a couple of minutes later, several shadows came in a rush.
"Should we transport the bodies to your base?", Karl said in a worried voice.
He knew how strong a single werewolf could be. They were classified as [A-rank Magical Beasts]. In bigger cities, there would be subjugation missions rewarding hundreds of gold coins regarding such dangerous beasts.
Yet, Arthur had single-handedly killed three of them.
"Yes", Arthur spoke, "We will treat the head of the werewolves so that they don't rot. Tell John to hang the heads of werewolves on spike while they patrol to grow our influence in the city"
"Yes, sir!"
