Chapter 506: Road Gang

“Interesting.”

Oliver said as he shoved a Calorie Bar into his mouth. Derek, who was watching him, murmured.

“Didn’t expect you to be the thrill-seeking type.”

“Ah, it’s not that. It’s something else.”

Oliver explained.

Although Oliver found it interesting, it wasn’t the current situation that amused him. Well, maybe it was a little interesting, but that wasn’t what had caught his attention. It was actually the equipment the Road Gang was using.

“Agreed. Modded trucks aside, the bikes and those weapons… it’s not something you’d expect from a gang that’s been beaten down.”

Unner commented as he looked at the submachine guns the gang members held and the heavy machine guns mounted on the sidecars.

While the equipment wasn’t impossible to obtain, as usual, the problem was money. This gear wasn’t something a gang that had lost in competition should be able to afford.

“Are we sure they’re really beaten down?”

Derek answered Unner’s question.

“As far as I know… though, I could be wrong since I’m not in that industry.”

“I trust you, Derek.”

Oliver said, making Derek look at him silently.

“I’ve seen how diligent you were while working as Professor Kevin’s researcher. So, it must be true. If that’s the case, there can only be one explanation. Someone has backed the Road Gang… and it seems the payment is to attack us.”

Oliver speculated. Considering the ambush along this isolated road and the number of people lying in wait, it was the only conclusion Oliver could draw.

‘Or is there another?’

Oliver wondered while looking at the devices attached to the gang members’ temples, shoulders, and chests. There was a faint magical power emanating from the devices.

Click.

Suddenly, the Road Gang members, who had formed a perimeter, loaded their guns. They then began firing a barrage of bullets at the vehicle Oliver was in.

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat!!

As the bullets rained down amid the fierce gunfire from all directions, Oliver pressed another button on the center console.

With a clatter, magic surged from the vehicle, coating the thick armor and bulletproof glass like a shield.

This technology utilized the magical defense shield of military exoskeleton armor, and the barrage of bullets was repelled by the shield coated on the vehicle.

The only damage was the wave patterns rippling across the magical shield.

Derek admired the car’s performance.

“How much would this cost?”

“I’m not sure. It was a gift. I’ll ask later.”

As they exchanged words, the gunfire began to die down. Because they fired all at once, they all ran out of bullets simultaneously.

Seizing the moment, Oliver spun the car around 180 degrees, turning it from reverse to forward, and simultaneously fired the machine guns mounted on the hood.

The gunfire hammered the air as the machine guns on either side of the hood spewed flames.

Gray gunpowder smoke lingered in crescent shapes as it sprayed the Road Gang members within range.

But surprisingly, the damage to the gang was minimal. Oliver had expected them to be entirely mowed down on at least one side.

It seemed the gang members had sensed the car’s rotation and moved off the road to dodge the gunfire. Only two bikes were hit.

Oliver was impressed.

“Are they always this skilled at driving?”

“Well, they are highway raiders, so their driving must be good, but not to this extent.”

The Road Gang members who had escaped the machine guns returned to the road and began firing at Oliver’s vehicle again. The magical coating on the vehicle rippled like a pond under heavy rain as it absorbed the bullets.

Honestly, this wasn’t a good situation. The defense using the magical coating was effective, but it consumed a lot of fuel and had a limited duration.

The more attacks it blocked, the quicker it weakened.

At this rate, not only would the magical coating fade, but the car might also come to a stop in the middle of the road.

“Ah, I wish we could reconcile.”

“Enough with the jokes, unlock the car doors.”

“Why do you need the doors unlocked?”

Some of the gang members on motorcycles moved to the front of the vehicle to throw a bomb as Oliver calmly asked.

Bang! Bang!

As the bombs exploded, the car shook with a deafening roar. Due to the vehicle’s weight and high defense, it wasn’t a significant threat.

Derek checked the gang members surrounding the car as he answered.

“We’re going to get overwhelmed at this rate. I’m going to climb onto the roof and take them all out.”

Derek volunteered to become a cannon. It wasn’t a bad idea. His fire magic, with its area-of-effect and persistent nature, could probably wipe out the surrounding gang members in one go.

“But I’m against it.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s dangerous.”

Oliver stated it as though it was obvious. Because, well, it really was dangerous.

A wizard could wield magic with enough power to rival, or even surpass, a weapon, but in the end, a wizard was still human.

In an unfamiliar situation, like standing on top of a car surrounded by gang members holding guns, a wizard might end up dead from a cheap lead shot costing no more than 200 Randa.

“Are you saying you doubt my skills?”

“No, it’s not that I doubt your skills, Derek. I trust your talent and dedication.”

“…But?”

“I’m just saying there’s no need to fight in a place where the enemy has the advantage. Why unnecessarily increase the risk?”

“…Then what do you propose we do? We have to do something!”

Derek suppressed his temper as he asked. As he said, they had to do something.

With bullets raining from the sides and rear, and bombs thrown from the front, the magical coating was weakening.

If the coating failed, the car could be damaged directly, and they might even run out of fuel and be forced to walk the rest of the way.

That last outcome had to be avoided. Walking for a long time would be tough given their injuries.

“Hmm? What’s that?”

Oliver spotted a motorcycle crossing in front. Flames were shooting out of its exhaust pipe as it sped up recklessly, and there was a man with a strange appearance standing on the attached sidecar.

The man was wearing a patched-up protective suit and carrying a tank filled with a sinister green fluorescent substance on his back. In his hand was a valve-gun connected to the tank by a hose.

It seemed like the device was designed to spray the ominous liquid inside the tank.

Hisss.

As the green fluorescent substance leaked from the valve, the sidecar began to smoke and slowly corrode.

The man in the protective suit, struggling under its weight, aimed the device at Oliver.

Chachachack!

Just as he was about to pull the trigger and spray the toxic substance, Yareli focused her gaze, and the man’s valve gun froze.

It was the power of Iceye Family’s unique magic, the Evil-Eye.

The man in the protective suit was startled, and Oliver didn’t miss the opportunity. He pressed the acceleration button on the gear shift, instantly speeding up.

The specially ordered vehicle from Company B lived up to its name. Flames shot out of the exhaust pipe as it tore forward at an unbelievable speed.

Boom!!

In the process, the two bikes that had been messing around in front, throwing bombs, and the motorcycle that was about to spray toxic substance, were shattered to pieces.

The shattered remains of the gang members and their bikes even hit some of the following gang members, hindering their pursuit, while Oliver used the opportunity to widen the gap.

Oliver thanked Yareli.

“Thank you for your assistance, Yareli. The driving may get a bit rough from here on, so please bear with it.”

After seeking her understanding, Oliver checked the Road Gang’s position through the rearview mirror.

Caught off guard by the sudden distance, they desperately tried to close the gap, flames spewing from their exhausts.

50 meters, 30 meters, 20 meters, 15 meters, 10 meters, 8 meters, 5 meters, 3 meters…

At that moment, Oliver activated the vehicle’s rear smoke grenade feature.

Black smoke that appeared to be toxic spewed out from the pipe installed next to the exhaust and engulfed the gang members pursuing them, causing the weaker ones to lose their sense of direction, and some even collapsed, vomiting blood as they were torn apart on the road.

“You said it was a smoke grenade?”

“It is. I just added a bit of disease-related black magic to it.”

“…Why?”

“I wanted to try it. By the way, could you handle the rest?”

Without waiting for a reply, Oliver manipulated the steering wheel and gears, making the car spin 180 degrees again.

The tires, already spewing smoke due to the acceleration, now caught fire, and Oliver charged straight into the toxic smoke.

Screeeeeech… Bam!

As the car hurtled through the smoke, the incapacitated gang members couldn’t avoid it and collided head-on.

The gang’s motorcycles, which were focused on speed, smashed like brittle glass against Oliver’s tank-like vehicle, and the gang members riding them were thrown skyward, their necks, and spines snapping.

Some of them had their bodies split or their skulls shattered from the impact, scattering the contents of their heads like pudding.

“Oh my…”

Oliver wiped away the blood and pudding pieces from the windshield with the wipers, revealing a heavily modified truck charging toward him.

Oliver fired at the truck with the machine guns mounted on the hood.

Ratatatatat!

It seemed the truck was using even better armor than before, as the machine guns couldn’t tear it apart, only punching small holes.

If this continued, they would collide head-on. Oliver quickly took out an emotion-filled vial from his vest and activated black magic.

[Bless]

Marie’s original black magic.

As he chanted, the emotion in his hand transformed into something halfway between mist and light, rapidly spreading throughout the interior and exterior of the car.

Oliver gained control of the vehicle. Using that, he maneuvered the car like a circus acrobat, lifting one wheel off the ground and narrowly avoiding the truck.

Hoooong!!

The truck, missing its target, roared furiously as Oliver spun the car around, chasing behind the truck, and returned it to its original stance.

“Is everyone okay?”

Oliver asked Derek, Yareli, and Unner. Their faces had turned pale, but it was probably just a trick of the light.

Screech—Bang!

Just as Oliver had caught up behind the truck and was about to fire a mortar round, a powerful magical energy surged from the truck’s cargo area, and a massive harpoon shot out, piercing both the magical coating and the car’s bumper.

“My car…”

Oliver muttered as he looked at the harpoon impaled in his bumper.

At the end of the harpoon was a thick chain, and at the end of the chain was a lift connected to the truck.

Creeeaaak.

The lift began pulling the chain. Its output was strong enough to drag a vehicle the size of a tank.

This made it difficult to move freely, and at that moment, a gang member wearing mechanical armor that looked like a scaled-down exoskeleton stepped forward.

The armor had a steel helmet, a chest plate mixed with springs, a pipe, and an engine emitting blue steam attached to his back, and mechanical frames on his legs with giant mechanical gauntlets on his arms.

Another device that Oliver hadn’t seen before. But Yareli was the first to recognize it.

“Magical Mechanical Armor? How in the world…”

The gang member in the mechanical armor didn’t respond but instead slightly bent his leg wrapped in the mechanical frame and kicked off the ground.

The force was so great that it shook the massive truck, and the gang member soared high into the sky before landing on the hood of Oliver’s car.

Bang!!

If it weren’t for the tank-like car, the hood and front tires would have been crushed completely.

The gang member fixed himself to the car using the sharp end of his right gauntlet and then drew out a huge blade, charged with magical energy, from the left gauntlet to slash down.

The car’s front windshield shattered as everyone held their breath… including the gang member holding the blade.

“Oh, that was close.”

Oliver remarked as he stopped the blade with his bare hand.

Indeed, he had stopped the massive, magically-charged blade with pure physical strength, causing the previously confident gang member visible through the steel helmet to visibly waver.

And rightly so, as it was as if a withered twig of a young man had stopped a car barehanded.

Feeling terror from the surreal scene, the gang member tried to pull the blade back, but Oliver didn’t let go. He had something to borrow from the gang member.

The panicking gang member increased the output of the mechanical armor.

Psssh. Psssh. Psssh…! Blue steam surged from the pipes on his back as the springs creaked and groaned. The power of the steel was palpable.

But Oliver kept the blade firmly in his grasp, unchanged.

[Ptah’s Assistant]

As Oliver chanted, several magic circles formed in the air, and mechanical arms made of magical power emerged, starting to dismantle the mechanical armor with precision.

The first thing to be dismantled was the pipe on his back.

The pipe, which had been emitting hot blue steam, ceased functioning as soon as the mechanical arm touched it, and the once powerful mechanical armor quickly turned into a restraint that crushed its wearer.

The gang member collapsed under the weight.

Oliver moved his left arm and grabbed the steel helmet worn by the gang member and crushed it, taking the device attached between the temple and ear.

It was something that had caught his attention earlier. The cylindrical device, which was about the thickness of a finger, had a lens resembling an eye in the middle.

Oliver silently gazed at the lens.

“…”

***

“Any word yet?”

In an old building in the woods by the roadside, a rough-looking man asked as he sharpened a large knife.

Road Gang. BIG WHEEL’s leader, Hogg.

A fat subordinate replied.

“Not yet.”

“Tch…”

Hogg clicked his tongue. He had vaguely anticipated this, but now that it had really happened, it was frustrating.

‘Should I have declined?’

Hogg briefly regretted as he considered his situation. However, he knew better than anyone how pointless it was.

He was certain that even if he went back in time, he would’ve made the same choice.

After all, how could he refuse help when a ton of gangs were attacking from Randa, taking over territories, and leading to his gang’s downfall?

The support they offered wasn’t just a small amount, it was enough to rebuild. Even if it seemed suspicious, he had to take it.

It was like drinking seawater despite knowing that it would only worsen one’s thirst.

His subordinates knew this too, which is why they accepted this suspicious job that had no clear motive: to attack magic tower brats.

The client promised to provide a tremendous amount of magical weapons upfront just for taking on the job. With those weapons, they could not only regain their original territory but even expand their power.

Who knows? They might even become as big as the Freight Brotherhood.

‘Yeah, we couldn’t have refused. How could we refuse when they offered advance payment?’

Hogg rekindled his long-forgotten ambition, rationalizing it as something inevitable.

How could he give up after finding an opportunity?

Hogg looked at the black magic item—the Human-Skin Armor—underneath his clothes and thought that he couldn’t let this chance slip away.

“Start the car.”

“What?”

“I’m going in personally this time. If they managed to escape, I’ll track them down and kill them. If they’re on the verge of dying, I’ll finish them off myself. They gave us a massive amount of weapons upfront, so we’ll definitely get the rest of the payment too. We’ll use that to take back our original territory!!”

The subordinate, who had been uneasy, brightened up at his boss’s ambitious declaration.

As gangs poured out from Randa, the once-weak boss was now back to his old self.

The subordinate happily responded, eager to relive their past glory—

—Crash!!

Suddenly, a tank-like vehicle broke through the wall of the building.

Unluckily for the subordinate, he was thrown far away after being hit by the car.

Hogg froze in shock. The driver’s side door opened, and Oliver stepped out.

“Greetings.”