Chapter 367: Slaughterhouse.

Chapter 367: Slaughterhouse.

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“All right, next please.”

“Is this really necessary?”

“If you don’t go through the search you can’t enter the establishment, those are the rules.”

“Fine.”

A disgruntled man stood in place while another larger man moved a strange medallion towards him. The medallion inquisition was covered in strange symbols that the person standing there didn’t recognize. After a moment of waiting these symbols began shining in a sort of pulsating pattern. It was very slow and also produced a chime each time the glow was the brightest.

“You’re clear, please go in.”

“Hmph.”

The man that had to wait grumbled but due to the scary look on the other man’s face, he didn’t want to say anything. After fixing his clothes slightly he stepped forward through the door that was previously closed. Before he could go in the larger man smacked the metallic entrance twice while speaking out. The sound of locks popping open was then heard before it finally opened.

“Finally...”

A small cloud of smoke escaped from the room behind this door but it didn’t keep this man from going in. He was somewhat used to the environment and his eyes were already glued to the bright lights and revealing flesh inside. After he stepped through the door was slammed behind him and the next person from the queue stepped forward. Just like the man before him, the medallion was presented but there was a visible and audible difference this time around.

“W-what? I’m clean, that thing must be broken...”

The large man looked at the glowing symbols there were flickering widely the closer he brought his item to the man’s pockets. He was not the only person guarding this entrance, there were three other men of similar size and demeanor. The moment they saw their detection device reacting like that two of the men grabbed this person and didn’t let him flee.

“What the fuck are you bastards doing, let me go!”

“Stop squirming if you don’t want to die...”

Quickly they started going through the area where the medallion reacted the most. The man continued to squirm around but the strength of the two men holding him was not something he could handle. After rummaging through his pocket they discovered a strange item. It was the one that their detection device was reacting to and was quickly taken away.

“H-hey give that back, do you know how much that cos...”

Before this person could finish speaking a fist connected with his face. His nose was instantly broken and if he was not getting held in place by these people his body would have gone flying into the distance. The group of people that were standing in the line started inching away but still continued to remain in the vicinity of this act. Even after the three men continued to beat the person they did not shy away from remaining in the line.

“Bringing in magical items such as this one is strictly forbidden! These are the rules, if you don’t like them then don’t even attempt to come here. If you do, then you will end up as this bastard here.”

The doorman shouted out not only to the man that was getting smacked around but also to the people in the queue. All of them were standing in front of a big building with bolted-up windows and smoke coming out from the cracks.

“I... I’m s-sorry... p-please...”

“You’re sorry? It’s too late to be sorry, our boss told us to take good care of idiots like you. Take him to the back, you know what to do.”

Two of the men that were there nodded as the main doorman instructed them to take care of the issue. Soon the man was hit by a fist that caused him to pass out and the two large men dragged him into a secluded alleyway to the side of the building. There they continued until they arrived at an entrance behind a bulky grate. After knocking on it several times another person appeared before them.

“Oh? Who do we have here? He looks a bit thin, what do you want me to do with him?”

“The usual.”

It was a large man that size was quite enormous. It wasn’t the height that made him large but the belly around his waist that was pushing against the grate and making it screech. After a moment the man opened the grate door to accept the gift from the two bouncers. The passed-out individual was hoisted up by the fat man’s strange limb that had a bloody hook on it.

After attaching this hook to the man’s clothes he started dragging him inside while the two men returned to their work. The man’s thick size made closing the grate behind him quite a chore but after a few attempts, he disappeared inside the dark corridor. He arrived in a dimly lit room with a strange smell around it. It was produced by the strange pile of flesh in the corner that was swarming with flies.

‘I guess instead of sending a message to cheaters, they just remove them from the customer pool entirely. Did they take the saying, “Once a cheater, always a cheater” to heart?’

The result of this practice against disturbers was quite gruesome. The man that Mary saved got away from it with just a small bruise on his ankle but this could not be said for the others in this ‘slaughterhouse’. He could see various faces from within those cages, some of them were missing limbs while others had multiple ones attached to their bodies for an unknown reason.

‘What’s the point of placing those limbs of people... Was this guy just a psycho or is there some meaning to it?’

Now that the man was dead he couldn’t really ask him any questions. Mary did quick work of his head with those strings of hers. Her new class gave her a strange skill called ‘Umbral Threads’. It allowed her to create these threads from nearby shadows and they were razor-sharp. They were even strong enough for her to stand on top of them which could be mistaken for floating. Inside a dimly lit room, they were practically invisible but they lost some of their potency when it was bright.

“I wasn’t expecting to find something this soon, it will take some time to get the soldiers ready. I’m afraid you’ll have to wait there for a while...”

“You want me to wait in this smelly room?”

“Just keep the mask on, it is able to filter the air and should protect you from any poisonous gasses. If you activate the runes, it will protect your entire face.”

“I didn’t mean it like that... why should I stay here? We have enough of that evidence that you wanted, can’t we just come back later?”

“They might notice that something happened and clean the whole place up before we return with the guards, it would be better if you remained there and kept that from happening...”

“But...”

“Haha, Mary just listen to Wayland.”

Arthur, who had access to the line, interrupted his Maid who didn’t want to stay there. Roland’s actions were a bit silly in her eyes. A noble like Arthur didn’t need a justifiable cause to raid a gambling den. For her, this whole event was a big waste of time as they should have just gone in through the front door with full force.

“Wayland isn’t wrong if people from the outside see firsthand what these people are capable of. Just as he said, my favorability rating with the commoners will go up! If I don’t present them with anything palpable, they will start seeing me as a tyrant.”

“If Lord Arthur wishes it, then I will carry out the command.”

“I’m sure that you won’t have to wait long, Right Sir Wayland?”

“It shouldn’t take longer than an hour, I already contacted the guard captain.”

“Splendid, this is a night our city will not forget!”

Roland was still a child of the modern world, his morals were a bit different. The people from his world always presented the public with some insights into their workings. Even if they skewed things to fit their agenda it was better to give the populace something. If they didn’t then soon news of Arthur trying to bully people out of their money would start spreading. Gambling in itself wasn’t illegal but if everyone knew of what was happening behind closed doors, then their public image would prosper.

‘There will be a lot of civilians there, I need to be careful not to cause any collateral damage.’

While Mary remained in the grotesque room he emerged from the secret chamber under the Valerian estate. His plan of setting Arthur up as a just noble was starting. The place they were going to raid was one of the largest gambling dens in the city. It was even possible that Ivor the boss or some other guild bosses would be there. The more people they could apprehend the better but possible problems could arise from their actions.

‘I wonder what that mysterious guild master of theirs will do. Even that baldy didn’t know much about them...’

They would be infringing on Thieves Guild territory by their actions and needed to also be ready for possible counterstrikes. This was the first step into an unknown dispute, something that Roland was not accustomed to. Instead of running from problems he would be finally starting some himself with a group that he didn’t really know. However, after witnessing second hand what these people were capable of, he was content with his decision.

“Knight Commander.”

“At ease, Captain. Are the men ready?”

“Yes, Sir!’

He looked at the group of fifty armored men before him. They didn’t compare to the wooden soldier army he led into battle during his trial but they would have to do. Taking down criminals in the city was their duty and this would be their first official mission.

“Good, I’ll lead the way, keep up.”

“Sir, yes sir.”