Chapter 31: The Counterattack of the Black Mountain Army
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“What are you doing?”
Gennis was startled and tried to stop Robin, but it was already too late.
There was still blood on her face, and when she rushed over, she nearly frightened Robin into stepping back.
“Pull it out quickly, or it’ll get infected!” Gennis said anxiously.
“It’s fine. I need to make use of the magic crystal’s energy.” Robin’s voice was somewhat hoarse.
Robin had held back, not daring to use all his strength. He was afraid he might stab himself to death.
He had driven it into the site of his original gunshot wound, since that made it easier to insert. Now he had only made the injury worse.
“Make use of the magic crystal’s energy?” Gennis stared blankly.
Matthew frowned slightly as well. He had never heard of anyone being able to use the energy of a magic crystal. At most, people used them to awaken their abilities.
Could Robin have misunderstood what I meant?
All he had to do was make a small cut on his hand and place it on the crystal. Did he think this would be faster?
Good grief. Had running for so long scrambled his brains? Couldn’t he have asked one more question?
In an instant, Robin felt an unfathomable energy enter his body and spread throughout it.
His mind became exceptionally clear. He could sense the flow of magic and feel certain changes taking place within his body.
It was as though a shackle had existed inside him all along, and Robin had now broken it with a gentle touch.
[Extraordinary Trait: Mechanical Heart — Awakening Complete]
Robin clutched his abdomen and leaned against the pipe.
“I didn’t bring a medical kit. You…” Gennis grew frantic. “What are we supposed to do?”
“I have some medical supplies…” Jennifer spoke up.
Only then did Gennis notice the small bag slung over Jennifer’s shoulder.
Jennifer took out a few medical supplies. There was not much, but it was enough to treat Robin’s wound.
Matthew could not help feeling surprised when he saw Jennifer step forward to help Robin.
The woman had originally been intended for use as a hostage, yet Robin had somehow managed to bamboozle her completely.
By helping Robin now, wasn’t she practically counting the money for the person who had just sold her?
Matthew had never before been helped by a hostage in his life. For a moment, he found the situation rather amusing.
“Don’t worry about me for now. I need to make sure we can survive what comes next.” Robin drew a deep breath and entered a meditative state.
The two girls looked at Matthew simultaneously.
Matthew nodded.
At present, they had no choice but to trust Robin.
He regretted it even more now. When Robin had first wanted to rescue those people, Matthew should have used a mental suggestion on him and forcibly taken him away. Then they would not have ended up trapped in such a desperate situation.
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Damn it. The intelligence hadn’t even been sent in full yet. Who knew whether headquarters had received enough of it…
………………
Robin closed his eyes. When he abruptly opened them again, he was still inside the pipe, but his companions had vanished.
In their place was a large assortment of machines surrounding him.
“How was that? Your brother came through, didn’t he?”
“Gie gie~ Use me again sometime!”
“Buddy, why’d you run off after using me just once?”
These were all machines Robin had used along the way.
Among them were elevators, mechanical doors, and even the sonic transmitter that had been blown up.
Every machine he had operated, even briefly, had now appeared within his mental sea.
The thirty-meter restriction simply did not exist for Robin!
However, because he had operated them for such a short time, he would probably only be able to maintain contact with them for less than three hours.
“You’re not dead?” Robin asked, somewhat astonished, as he looked at the sonic transmitter.
“Of course I’m not dead.” The sonic transmitter rocked its enormous body. “I’m not human, you know.”
“As long as our cores remain intact, we cannot die. Even if someone converts me into a different machine, it’s no more than undergoing reconstructive surgery.”
Robin had no time to investigate such matters. He hurriedly asked, “Which of you has people nearby, and which of you is unattended?”
“Oh, there are plenty of people around me.” The sonic transmitter swayed its massive body. “Some are standing guard, while others are rummaging through the rooms.”
“Honestly, I hate those untidy creatures.”
“No one’s here around me. They just passed by with a dog, and the dog even peed on me. I’m furious!” said some unknown machine along the route.
Robin recognized most of the machines only vaguely. He had operated each one in passing and barely managed to memorize their locations.
“System!”
Within his mental world, Robin awakened the system and opened the map.
He assigned numbers to the machines in his mind, then used the map’s marking function to place each number on it, confirming the locations of the enemies.
After that, he would have to play a little game of hide-and-seek with them.
………………
While Robin was fleeing, the Black Mountain Army was not idle either.
After contact was lost, Matthew’s superior, Damien Ritchie, immediately went to find Balbo, the Grand Duke’s chief adviser.
“General Balbo, Matthew sent back intelligence from the Roland Atelier. He also said that everything was planned by Robin.” Damien looked like a thin, middle-aged man. At only five feet six inches tall, he stood out sharply among the broad-shouldered soldiers of the military camp, like a child who had wandered into a gathering of adults.
Yet no one in the camp would ever question his shrewdness.
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“Oh? I thought your student had finally amounted to something.” Balbo was somewhat deferential before the Grand Duke, but in front of everyone else, he was the lofty foremost adviser among the Grand Duke’s left-hand counselors.
“They seem to have run into trouble. The message appears to have been cut off before it was complete,” Damien continued.
“Hmm. The intelligence we have is sufficient. Begin the operation!”
Balbo set down the documents Damien had handed him.
“Turn Volcini City upside down!”
“What about Robin and the others?” Damien asked.
“We can only leave it to their luck.” Balbo let out a long breath. “I’ll mobilize a team and see whether we can help them.”
………………
Two hours after Matthew began transmitting the intelligence, in Volcini City:
“Has a Group of Painters Become a Spy Agency? How Do They Gather Intelligence? Their Painting Skills Make People Look Inhuman!”
“If the Roland Atelier can become a spy agency, then isn’t the Peace Hotel a nest of spies as well?”
“During the election, is Delos still intent on making enemies abroad? Have those newspapers been kicked in the head by curly-haired baboons?”
“The newspapers claiming that the Roland Atelier is a spy agency have no professionalism whatsoever. At the very least, they should find some actual evidence.”
“Shocking! Stage Actress Jonny Willy’s Unspoken Stories with Three Directors for the Sake of Her Film Career!”
“Famous Singer Julie Revealed to Have Been Kept by a Businessman!”
This was Marquis Hyde’s method of handling the situation: first cast doubt on the newspapers’ claims, then distract the public with news about female celebrities.
Compared with rumors of political intrigue, people cared more about actresses and the entertainment industry. The tactic had always worked well.
Moreover, the reports about the Roland Atelier had all come from minor newspapers. No major publication had yet expressed an opinion, so Marquis Hyde had temporarily managed to stabilize the situation.
Unfortunately, this was not Marquis Hyde’s one-man show.
“Marquis Hyde’s Army Disguised as a Renovation Company in the City—What Are They Trying to Hide?”
“Marquis Hyde Wants to Gag Us. The More He Doesn’t Want Us to Know, the More Obvious It Is That Something Is Wrong!”
“The Anzio Disaster: The Unknown Secrets Beneath the Roland Atelier”
“If the Roland Atelier Has No Spies, Why Won’t They Let Us Search the Place?”
“The Secret Door of the Roland Atelier”
“Marquis Hyde Makes Huge Concessions on Tariffs—Is He Trying to Appease Delos?”
“Signal Flares Over the City! Marquis Hyde Claims Nothing Is Wrong at the Roland Atelier While Frantically Arresting Journalists Who Speak Out for Justice!”
“Damnable Army! They Forced a Group of Righteous Journalists into the Sewers!”
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