Chapter 410: – Guerrilla Unit

Zzziing!!

With a harsh, jarring sound, the Black Suit-clad Quarterstaff spun mercilessly grinding down the elephant’s head.

The Elephant-Man thrashed in agony, screaming horribly. But, due to the Targeting attached to both its head and Oliver’s foot, it couldn’t shake it off. Meanwhile, the Quarterstaff bored into its head.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere.

This dirtied Oliver’s clothes, but without hesitation, he strengthened his grip and pierced straight through the elephant’s head.

Wooo… BANG!

With a sound akin to unclogging a blocked drain, a massive hole appeared in the elephant’s skull.

Oliver deactivated the Targeting on his foot, twisted the Quarterstaff, and shattered the Elephant-man’s head into pieces.

Shattering sounds followed as blood, flesh, bone fragments, brain matter, and eyeball remnants fell to the floor.

Honestly, it felt a bit too much, a bit too focused on killing, and visually quite unpleasant.

Still, Oliver thought it was necessary.

After all, even after pulverizing the head like this, it didn’t die and started to heal.

Flash.

Despite its head being shattered into fragments, the Elephant-Man didn’t collapse. Instead, it raised its enormous hammer, aiming it at Oliver.

And that wasn’t the end.

“You let your guard down!”

“Did you think that would work on all of us?!”

From what seemed to be a secret passage entrance, black magicians armed with cleavers and hammers emerged.

The massive cluster of emotions, magic, and life force they carried indicated they were subordinates of the Flesh Cook.

Using their inherent physical abilities, they approached Oliver and surrounded him from three sides to attack.

Whish!

Swoosh!

Thud━!!

Oliver effortlessly dodged their attacks.

“…!!”

The Black Magicians were obviously shocked.

They were not only proficient in black magic but also confident in close combat.

Yet, Oliver had evaded their attacks so easily.

But it wasn’t all that surprising.

Since forming a cooperative relationship with Millieu, Oliver had been training in close combat with Kevin, Terence, and even Yareli.

Whenever he got the chance.

They were all excellent instructors, so Oliver had noticeably improved his movements.

‘Though it hurt a lot to get beaten up every day. But it wasn’t bad.’

Thinking this to himself, Oliver rapidly stabbed the Grind-enhanced Quarterstaff twice.

“Damn━!”

The panicked Black Magicians rushed to defend but couldn’t fully react in time, and each of them lost a side of their torso, sustaining fatal injuries.

With their tenacious life force and regenerative abilities, they weren’t dead, but their movements were now restricted. One of the panicked Black Magicians shouted.

“Elephant! Smash it down!!”

Even though its head hadn’t fully regenerated yet, the Elephant somehow understood. As the Black Magician commanded, it raised the hammer high to strike again. Although, before it could, it was impaled by a high-density spear thrown by Kevin.

Crack━!

The spear, compressed of earth and stone to the limit, had enough power to lift the 4-meter giant body into the air.

Oliver didn’t miss that opportunity.

Clack.

Oliver deactivated Grind and used the Quarterstaff to support the falling Elephant-Man. Then, using Targeting, he combined the Elephant with two other Black Magicians and threw them into the secret entrance, using the falling force.

That’s right. A 4-meter giant and two well-built men.

They couldn’t do anything but tumble down as their heads and torsos were blown off, and Oliver retrieved a crimson tree branch from his pocket. Imbuing it with both black magic and regular magic, he threw it towards them.

Thud!

Although the branch fell deep within the tunnel beyond visible sight, Oliver could see through the Black Magician’s eyes that it had pierced an enemy.

And that the branch started to absorb their emotions, magic, and life force.

[Ice Thefts]

Oliver chanted. Immediately, using the branch as a medium, which had absorbed the power of dozens, an intense ice explosion erupted.

The icy blast was so powerful that the cold air and frost reached right up to the entrance, bringing an unexpected chill. But Oliver didn’t stop there. Using the Black Magician’s eyes and his Magic Sensing ability, he engulfed the Black Magicians in the secret underground chamber with ice.

It wasn’t difficult. Since Ice Theft(奪氷) used the target’s emotions and magic as fuel, it could continuously expand its attack range indefinitely.

Thus, Oliver froze the underground while the ground above blazed.

***

Click! Click!

In the frozen underground room, Oliver and Kevin descended together and took photographs of the surroundings.

The evidence to be submitted to Loculi University and Gallos Central Police mainly consisted of hundreds of wine bottles, dozens of oak barrels, and tens of tanks filled with blood.

‘How do they collect so much blood?’

Oliver wondered as he took the photos.

The maximum a grown man could donate was 5L. So, blood was a resource that was difficult to collect and challenging to preserve.

Even in a world where people were plentiful, the amount of blood in this underground room was unsettling.

But pondering wouldn’t provide answers. Oliver shook his head and spoke to Kevin.

“Professor, I’ve taken all the pictures.”

“Good job.”

Kevin responded.

Oliver nodded and handed the camera to Big Mouth, which was gobbling up the evidence from one side of the room: wine bottles, oak barrels, blood, and various tools.

“Grooook…”

Big Mouth, which had been devouring boxes of bloody wine, frozen allies of the Flesh Cook, blood tanks, oak barrels, and various tools, swallowed the camera that Oliver handed over.

With that, this area was wrapped up. Just as they were about to leave, someone appeared at the entrance.

Terence and Yareli, who had gone to attack the human trafficking organization connected with the Flesh Cook, had arrived.

“You finished quickly.”

Terence, wearing thick armored vests and pants, with a large revolver and shotgun slung on his belt, remarked.

All of those were military-grade, magic-enhanced gear, radiating a formidable aura.

Kevin confirmed Terence’s identification and responded to his question.

“Looks like you finished quickly too.”

“It was easier since we were just dealing with the dealers. The magic Oliver taught us also helped a lot, right?”

“Yes.”

Yareli answered.

The magic Oliver had taught them wasn’t simple cold magic, but a technique adapted from the Fire Magic used by Wallace.

The idea was to have the magic itself absorb surrounding mana instead of a caster keeping it going by injecting their mana.

While somewhat risky to use, it was the perfect tool for dealing with the Flesh Cook’s faction, who were overflowing with mana.

After receiving close combat training, Oliver also shared this technique and its tips with Yareli and Terence.

“That was a huge help. Thanks.”

“I’m glad it was helpful.”

Oliver responded sincerely, feeling genuine happiness at Yareli’s thanks. Achievements, whether his own or others’, brought him joy.

“We dealt with the Flesh Cook’s subordinate who was protecting the human trafficking organization. We tried to capture him, but it didn’t work out.”

“That’s okay. We all knew that might happen.”

Having raided dozens of establishments before, Kevin replied. Indeed, the subordinates of the Flesh Cook had an unprecedented level of tenacity.

They were fiercely resilient before, but their fanaticism had become even more pronounced during this period of relentless assault. It was almost at the level of fanaticism that even some at Loculi University, who were reluctant about the war, could understand.

“The remaining human traffickers who surrendered have been handed over to the police, along with the kidnapped people.”

“Good work then. Let’s head to the next site immediately. It seems like Lucian’s advice is starting to show results.”

Lucian. A collaborator currently providing information and head of the Murat Family.

Lucian had advised that the only way to resolve the current stalemate and for the Tower of Magic to take control of the war was through fierce offensive action.

He also mentioned that the elders at Loculi University, who were wealthy and cowardly like him, would want to end the war safely now that satisfactory results had been achieved.

To prevent such an outcome, Lucian suggested that the only way was to keep pressuring the Flesh Cook and forcibly escalate the conflict.

It was a rather extreme position, but it wasn’t unreasonable.

At Loculi University, many scholars, by endorsing caution, were actively undermining the war effort.

Therefore, Kevin accepted Lucian’s data and opinions and negotiated with the hardliners within Loculi University, obtaining official authorization to conduct guerrilla raids on the Flesh Cook’s businesses to pressure him.

To empower the hardliners within Loculi University and firmly establish the Tower of Magic’s presence.

And the strategy seemed to be gradually producing results.

“But now it seems we need to return.”

Terence said as he took out a communication device.

A direct communication device provided by Loculi University before they started their guerrilla operations.

“What do you mean?”

“Something has happened in Ravely while we’ve been away. They say a giant and a dragon have appeared in the forest.”

“Neither of which exist in this world, so it’s nothing serious.”

“They’re also saying a werewolf has appeared in the city.”

“The werewolf, that was thought to be extinct?”

“Yes, and there are reports of a sack-carrying old man kidnapping children and rats the size of dogs running around the slums. They say zombies are swarming the graves, and packs of crocodiles are emerging from the sewers.”

“Did they all drink together or something?”

“It sounds crazy, but they say it’s true.”

Terence waved the communication device again to emphasize it wasn’t his fault.

Kevin understood it wasn’t Terence’s fault but still asked with a stern tone.

“It’s unfortunate, but what’s that got to do with us going back? You know we have to keep this going if we want this kind of attack to mean anything, right?”

“Of course, I know. So I asked… They say the Populist Faction is encouraging people to rise up. They’re claiming that Loculi University and the police have called in foreign invaders to attack them.”

“…Foreign invaders?”

Oliver instinctively reacted to this term. It was a reflex response.

Seeing Oliver’s reaction, Terence seemed used to it and made a circle with one hand while holding up an index finger with the other, ready to explain.

“This is a sheep, and this—”

“—How about finishing the story first?”

Yareli, unable to bear it, interjected. Her eyes shown with cold contempt.

“Sorry! That was inappropriate in front of a lady. My apologies… Anyway, the Populist Faction is openly slandering us. They’re calling us looters who came to kill them.”

On hearing Terence’s words, Kevin’s expression revealed both a sense of admission and self-blame, realizing it was a more troublesome situation than anticipated.

Oliver, still unclear, raised his hand again.

“I’ll tell you what ‘foreign invaders’ means later.”

“I’m curious about that too, but there’s something else I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“We’re not here to attack the Populist Faction, we’re here to fight the Flesh Cook. So there shouldn’t be a problem, right?”

“You’re right, that’s true.”

“But the problem is, who’s going to believe us?”

Terence agreed with Kevin’s cynical answer.

“People tend to be more suspicious, especially when strange rumors spread. Their suspicion and aggression increase severalfold during uncertain times. And above all…”

“…What?”

“…The people of Gallos dislike the people of Seland, and vice versa. Convincing anyone under these circumstances won’t be easy unless we save them from some monster.”

Terence said with some exaggeration, and Kevin and Yareli nodded in agreement.

Oliver, understanding roughly what they meant, nodded as well, though he didn’t know why the people of Gallos and Seland disliked each other.

“Honestly, I didn’t think about this.”

“Indeed… Could this be the Flesh Cook’s doing?”

Kevin shook his head, unsure.

“Not sure, there’s no information about that, so it’s hard to say. But the timing is impeccable. If we mess this up, the Tower of Magic might lose any chance to intervene.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Though what the Flesh Cook did isn’t insignificant, the class conflict in Gallos is a bigger issue. If this tension escalates, it’ll naturally overshadow the other issues.”

At that moment, Oliver understood why the Flesh Cook chose Gallos as his base.

If it was on purpose, then his skill and strategy were truly remarkable.

He’d brought in another major problem to overshadow the current one.

Terence asked Kevin what they should do, and after some deliberation, Kevin answered.

“…For now, we’re pulling out.”

“You mean retreat?”

“Yes. It’s unfortunate, but if we’re not careful, we could end up in even more trouble.”

Kevin wasn’t just saying this. He genuinely felt regretful. He had been pushing hard for days, demanding efforts not just from himself but from everyone else too.

Given his strong sense of responsibility, retreating like this must be something he really didn’t want to do.

“Hmm… Professor, then how about I visit it alone?”

Oliver pulled out a map from his pocket as he spoke. It was a map of the Ravely outskirts, already marked with many symbols.

Oliver pointed to the only spot that hadn’t been marked with an X.

It was a logistics center that Lucian mentioned might be related to the Flesh Cook, though he wasn’t sure.

“If they’re unsure, either it’s nothing, or the security is just that tight. So, how about I check it out alone? It’s the only business left in this area, and we might find something useful.”

After pondering for a moment, Terence replied.

“That might not be a bad idea. It would indeed feel wrong to leave it alone. If we get questioned, we can just come up with an excuse.”

Kevin nodded in agreement.

Just as they were about to finalize the decision, Yareli interrupted.

“Then, I’ll go with you.”

“You too, Yareli?”

“Yes, it’s better to go in pairs than alone… Also, I have some questions about the technique you taught us.”

Yareli displayed the magic technique that Oliver had taught her