Chapter 174: Heist Preparations

****(POV)

How long had it been since he had come here? The Pirate Conqueror could be seen slowly strolling the streets of Metropolis-C. 

This old nickname had followed him for so long. He wanted nothing more than to be worthy of it again. For that goal, he was scouting the area. 

He could feel the itchiness of the skin mask he was wearing. It was an incredibly primitive method, but it would work for now. Of course, he'd be busted if he went near any facility with higher security. 

He could feel the tension in the air. Nothing looked out of the ordinary but there were barely any people on the street. It should have been full considering this was District B. They had probably heard about Gene Corp and were staying home safe. 

But then, a few civilians came swaggering toward him. There was something awfully peculiar about the way they were moving. Their shoulders bounced from side to side as they took extremely quick steps.

They were carrying tools too: shovels, hammers, metal bars, and even sticks. Then, one of them approached a U-Bot that seemed to be turned off for some reason before swinging heavily. 

CLANG! 

CLANG! 

CLANG! 

Why would these guys hit a U-bot? The answer should have been obvious, for fun. But there was something terribly wrong with this scene. There was no trace of joy to be seen in their dull and lifeless eyes. 

The U-Bot suddenly came back to life as it began fighting back. Sadly, there seemed to be a problem with it as it didn't activate its combat mode and only did light slaps.

Civilians kept getting thrown in the air but barely suffered any damage and eventually defeated the bot. It lay on the ground, nothing more than a piece of scrap metal. He almost expected them to charge at him, but they dashed toward a nearby shop instead and began ransacking it. 

ALARM! ALARM! 

The sound of an intruder alarm could be heard. Then another and another. In the distance, he could hear the low blaring noises merging to create this irritating background cacophony. How was this not the only incident?! 

Yes, everywhere on this street and the others too, people could be seen power-walking to various objects to beat them up. Some were even punching metal walls while unarmed. How desperate were they?!

Perhaps people had gone crazy, no, perhaps the world itself? Great! This was fucking amazing! He couldn't wait to go back and tell the good news to his boys. Surprisingly there were many pirates that had made their way over here. 

There were about 200 of them. This was almost as much as the number of soldiers in the Black Legion. Of course, the quality was world's apart too. At least, they had somehow managed to avoid being recognized. 

Just as he was celebrating internally, it happened. 

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The sky lit up akin to fireworks on a festival. He couldn't help but blankly stare as he watched Arcadia in the distance be engulfed in flames. The propulsion units had been reduced to charcoal as the ship slowly began losing altitude. 

Then it glided straight toward the Tower. Somehow he could hear the screams even from his position. Climbers did have powerful voices. 

CRASH! 

TREMBLE!

The ground trembled, and an intense screeching of metal on stone was heard. Even then, the civilians just kept vandalizing. There was definitely something wrong with them. 

"Oh my god." It was so beautiful. He couldn't thank enough whoever or whatever had caused this. But he would soon learn of their identity. 

The various hologram projectors on the street all activated at once, even the previously inactive ones. A silhouette appeared, one that was nothing more than a shadow. It then spoke with a deep robotic voice that was obviously the result of a voice changer. 

"It is time for a change!" 

"This world that we are in, Atarxia, is getting weaker by the second. Our courage is what made us strong! We used to be proud, and we used to be masters of our own destiny. When did this all change?" 

"The Climber world is decaying. Only the rich can afford to Climb easily. What's the point of having Climber schools if the only good ones cost credits? These were initially supposed to be free. What happened?" 

"Proof of this downfall is the harder Tower difficulties. Many fear hard while all are scared beyond belief of Hellish. What happened to humanity conquering challenge after challenge valiantly?"

"The worst is the increased rate of summoning of the Fallens. As long as we keep sacrificing the humans of other worlds for our benefit, we will remain weak. There is no honor in cowering behind someone else's back!" 

"This is a revolution. Wake up and take control of your own destinies! It is time to Climb. It is time to protect this world. This will cause a period of upheaval and turmoil, but it is necessary. Look at the screen for a list of our demands:"

1. We want measures to be taken by the MTA: make the resources for Climbing available for Newcomers and abolish the many extra private Climber schools. 

2. We want the discourse on Hell mode to change. We request the information on this difficulty be made readily available to the public. Rewards should be given to whoever brings in new valid information about it. 

3. We request the immediate abolishment of Fallen summoning. From now on, we demand summoning others to be deemed illegal and punishable by law. 

"As long as the people of our world are still lazy and relying on others for survival, we will never progress. Think carefully before pushing that button on Floor 25. For every Fallen summon, we will cause destruction. Should the MTA fail to comply with our demands, we will unleash Hell."

"This is non-negotiable. We will be watching. Arcadia was only the beginning."

That is when the holograms went down, leaving anyone nearby either in shock or in the same mindless, violent state they were in before. What kind of craziness was happening here?! 

"HAHAHA!" He laughed heartily. This was great, so great! 

The pirate quickly went back to district-H, where his crew members awaited in an empty commercial building. Since opening a business here had lots of regulations, these tended to remain unoccupied for a while. 

He could already hear them bicker with the other pirate groups as he pushed the door open. They were all getting restless as they were in enemy territory. As he appeared, the quarrels stopped instantly. 

He was impressive enough that just his presence was enough to shut them up. To be fair, he used to be a legend in the circle. His Tyrannic Legion had been true to their name for a very long time. 

All the ones that had tried to overthrow him had ended up dead. He even had a bounty on his head for a while. Yet even the assassin board had been too scared to choose him as their mark. 

Actually, what was up with the league of assassins? Were they dead? They had temporarily closed for restructuring when the Tower appeared. Naturally, the pirates had never gotten the news of it opening back or not. 

Then again, did it really matter? They had fallen from grace. They weren't worth having a bounty anymore and definitely couldn't afford to post one. That's when he spoke up. 

"Get ready for operation Revival. The entire city is in chaos. If we play our cards right, barely anyone will restrict us. We have to be lightning fast. If the guilds get involved, it's game over. Is that clear?" He stared at each and every one of them authoritatively. 

"YES, BOSS!" All the members of the Tyrannic Legion answered energetically. 

"Fine, but we aren't staying if things turn to shit." said one random allied pirate. 

"If it turns to shit, you'll be dead. Idiot." Scoffed one of his men. 

That's when the Pirate Conqueror grinned happily before announcing: "Our target today will be Ouroboros, the auction house in the Business District!" 

Instantly the entire room choked as they became silent. They all stared at him as if he was a madman. 

"That's crazy! They are a goddamn Rank-S guild!" one shouted. 

"Exactly, their defenses are clearly extremely strong. But they've never been the target of a full-scale attack either. This is bound to brew complacency. Right now is the only chance we'll get." The Boss uttered. 

"What if they aren't?! What if we get there and they are ready for us?!" another random shouted in concern. 

"Watch your mouth!" One of his crewmembers defended him. 

"No worries. Now is perfect the timing. After today's events, their guard will be up for sure. The whole Metropolis is already burning. There's been a terrorist attack. If you guys don't want to participate, we'll go alone. It's fine." 

His own men all rose up instantly, ready for action. On their faces that were flushed red with excitement, small smiles could be seen. 

The others all looked at him perplexed. He was ready to proceed with the 40 men that were loyal to him?! Was he an idiot or just that confident? They hesitated only a second before they remembered the old him. They would believe. 

He turned around to depart, quickly followed by 200 of them. Well, they did separate into smaller groups. 

"Remember, if anyone asks what you guys are up to, we are heading to the B district to help public order!" Everyone nodded. 

They all made their way to their destination with eyes as big as saucers. There were alarms. There were shouts. There were even random fires. No wonder their leader was that fearless! 

Seriously, what the Hell was happening to this place?!

Soon, they made their way to Ouroboros. The swimming serpent welcomed them. In it, they could see their future, one filled with wealth and new beginnings.

"Alright, let's do this! It's time for a heist!"

Creator's Thought

Sometimes I wonder who the Hell thought it was a good idea to take down Arcadia. If you ask me they should have stolen it instead. Their goals were somewhat worthy, but their means were definitely questionable. This was officially the first public appearance of Shadow. We would soon get sick of seeing him.