Chapter 52: Ambush

Leyton breathed slowly as he lay flat under a shrub, the dense foilage masking his presence save for a small little opening through which his eyes peered outwards, overlooking a sandy road long weathered by wagon wheels.

He gripped the arctech radio tightly, checking the volume dial on it. Setting it too loud might spook anyone nearby, and he couldn’t talk loudly either. His left hand remained on a military-grade repeater carbine next to him as he continued observing any movements.

Suddenly, a loud roaring sound was heard next to him, causing him to tense up immediately. He soon realised it was the snoring of his partner, who was dozing off while both hands were still holding onto the rifle.

“Idiot, wake up!” Leyton hissed softly. “The fucking Seven Snakes will be coming past anytime soon!”

The partner did not wake up until Leyton smacked the back of his head, jolting him awake. “What, where?! Are they here?!” He asked frantically in a low soft tone, his eyes darting around.

“Shut up! If Grey finds out you’ve been sleeping on the job, you can forget about getting promoted next year.”

The partner rubbed the back of his head gingerly, wincing slightly as he relaxed. “Pah, you really believe the spiel Sebastian gives every year? They won’t promote us – they need foot soldiers like us to do the dirty work. Ain’t complaining; the pay’s pretty good, and look at the slick weapons they gave us!”

Leyton didn’t retort, knowing that there was truth to what his partner was saying. It’s been a while since they left the slums three years ago to join the Ardent Cretins. Back then, their naïve eyes and attitude made them feel like they were kings of the world. Until they met the higher-ups and realized they never even made a dent in the social ladder, barely even moving up a rung.

Still, Leyton would not return to the slums willingly. He was far too addicted to the standard of living of a gang associate. That’s exactly why they were here.

Suddenly, the distinctive sound of an arctech wagon began to loom from down the path coming down from Culdao Peaks Town. The partner grinned as he clenched his rifle tighter, aiming down the iron sights, but Leyton didn’t move yet, observing with his keen eyes.

The wagon soon came into clear view, chugging along slowly as it rattled down the sandy gravel path, bouncing with each pebble the wheels rolled over. The partner took aim but was blocked by Leyton quickly.

“Stop, don’t shoot yet!”

“What? Why? I thought we were supposed to shoot!”

“Not at every wagon that comes by, you idiot! We only want the Seven Snakes one – you want to be the reason we start a war with the Violet Demons?!” Leyton pointed to the edge of the wagon, which had a cryptic rune indicating that the merchant operating the wagon was under the protection of the Violet Demons.New novel chapters are published on

“Right... sorry.” The partner sheepishly smiled.

Leyton turned on his arctech radio, speaking softly into the receiver. “One sinner heading to Raktor.”

[Copy that. Any signs of snakes?]

“No sir, nothing south.”

[Roger. Keep looking.]

Leyton heaved a sigh of relief as he watched the wagon go past, before he scowled at his partner. “Next time, wait for me to make the call first, alright?!”

“Alright, alright! I’m sor-“

Letyon quickly grabbed the partner’s mouth, shutting him up. “Shut up and listen. You hear that?”

The partner’s eyes widened with confusion, trying to hear as well before he shook his head. He grabbed Leyton’s hands off, spitting out a glob of saliva. “What are you hearing?”

Leyton glanced around his surroundings, looking up at the tree branches. “It sounded like footsteps of humans...”

The leader dropped the repeater immediately and threw a punch at Sasha, who blocked it with her left arm as she took a step back to avoid tripping on the dropped repeater, before lunging again with a kick from the right, nailing the leader right in the waist.

Sasha winced from the pain erupting from her shin, which impacted against the military armour, allowing the leader to recover and retrieve a small knife out, stabbing and slicing towards Sasha.

“Men! Split up!” The leader roared, still intending to retreat. However, he could see from his peripheral vision that all his soldiers were already knocked out by the sheer number of goblins. He could see from the branches that there were nearly fifty goblins.

“Shit!” The leader cursed as he tried to sprint away, only for a barrage of arrows to be fired towards him, piercing his flesh from behind as he screamed in pain.

Sasha walked up slowly to the injured leader, bending over to grab him by the collar and lifting him up. She inspected the military armour, noticing that it was similar to the ones the Seven Snakes had hijacked from the Ilysian Punks. This... could be a problem.

Haui smiled as he looked around his new store, right smack in the middle of the shopping centre facing the front lobby. The workers were busy setting up the shelves to display all sorts of potions, while he pointed out where some of the equipment should be placed in the back room.

“Liking your new store?” Kyle asked as he entered, shaking hands with Haui.

“Indeed I am. Sometimes I wonder why I have been hiding in that dodgy old little hut for such a long time.”

“But you’re not giving it up yet.”

“Of course. A man of my intellect can surely handle two stores, can’t he? I do have a few apprentices under me that can handle the more mediocre potions and their production.”

“I was under the impression you were against selling potions at a cheaper rate to the ... common folk.”

“Let’s just say I’ve been enlightened by your methods. There is merit to sheer quantity after all.”

Kyle nodded in agreement. He had specifically invited Haui to set up a potion store here, with the potions aimed at being sold at a more affordable price than his previous store. The reason why Kyle could not outright sell the potions was that he did not have a license from the Alchemist Guild.

Thus, Haui was the simple solution. With this, Kyle would have yet another reason for people to come to the shopping centre, boosting the footfall yet again. By creating as many amenities in one place as much as possible, he could reinvent the entire nearby area as an economic hub under his control.

“I noticed you had a few issues with arcite fuel recently. Will I have to deal with intermittent outages?”

“The arcite fuel issues are sorted right now. However, there is still the issue of traders not willing to sell basic goods such as food and ingredients to us.”

“I can solve that easily.” Haui smiled. “There may be black market traders who are afraid of earning the ire of the Ardent Cretins, but there will also be enemies who are more than willing to see the Ardent Cretins fall. And also those who just want money regardless.”

“Then I thank you in advance.” Kyle was aware of Haui’s deep network and ties to the underground. After all, Haui brews all sorts of poison for assassinations and hitjobs illegally – such ingredients would not be easy to get legally.

“Perhaps you can thank me with a bigger tithe of your profits from the potion business.”

“Your tenancy here is already free.”

“Well, it was worth a try.”

Kyle bid farewall to Haui, walking around the shopping arcade. The roof of the building was now plastered in concentrating mirrors, while a consistent flow of arcite ore from the Culdao Peaks was guarded by Monica and other associates. Depleted ore was then funnelled to the goblin den and to a few lightconverters placed around the districts they owned, with Gordon provided the leftovers from the factory production lines. If the tunnel to Raktor was completed over the next month or so, it would be even better, with him being able to shift half of the goods underground.

The supply chain was coming together, and with Haui now helping him to solve the other issues, the shopping arcade was now back into full swing. Now that they were in the clear, his eyes were set on the companies that had previously refused to sell to him.

You wanted an economic war? You’re going to get one.