Chapter 94. SIEG Industry (4)
"Wha, what are you talking about?"
April's eyes widened as she asked blankly.
Not only her, but the other two who were listening behind her also wore expressions as if questioning his sanity.
"Wipe them out? We're going to wipe out the Scavenger follow-up force?"
Visibly flustered, April argued.
"D-Don't be ridiculous! Didn't you hear that SIEG Corporation's PMC were all wiped out just now? With just our personnel and strength here, how...!"
But April instantly faced Enoch's gaze from under his hood and unknowingly inhaled, holding her breath.
Hesitating for a moment after seeing Enoch's eyes, she looked around cautiously and babbled.
"Th-That's it! To survive here, there must be a better way than that...!"
But Enoch was already moving his steps.
"If you don't want to, I'll do it alone."
Anyway, there wasn't time to explain everything one by one, and it would be difficult to expect them to understand.
If that were the case, it was better to instill confidence with resolute answers so they would follow as much as possible. Just as Enoch had done until now.
As expected, the reaction came quickly.
"H-Hold on, wait! Do you have a plan?"
April, who had spoken, perhaps thinking that I was leaving because of her, quickly followed behind him in short steps and shouted.
"Anyway, we're all probably targets for the Scavengers, so it's better to act together!"
Arcato and the other female freelancer were already following silently behind him.
Arcato also seemed to agree with Enoch's plan and muttered in a low voice.
"If they really wiped out the PMC in one strike, it's only a matter of time before they catch up to us anyway. Then does this mean you'll take the initiative in engaging in combat?"
"Yes."
Enoch, walking, added from the shadow of his hood, his dark blue eyes shining coldly.
"If we completely smash the follow-up force that ambushed the PMC, we won't have to worry about them chasing us until we get out of the Outskirts."
"That..."
April, whose mouth hung open at the words, glared at Enoch as if asking if he was serious, but realizing she couldn't see his face or expression due to the mask and hood, she simply dropped her head in resignation.
"Then, what do you think about the possibility that they might have a Tier 10 mage?"
"If I thought I would lose, I wouldn't have chosen this method."
Enoch glanced over his shoulder.
"Well, there's one person here who's close to Tier 10, even if not Tier 10."
April, who was following behind, was slightly agitated by Enoch's words. The person he subtly pointed to was the female freelancer who had been the most taciturn so far.
She was silently looking at me, holding a short wand-like metal magic gear stained with blood in one hand.
A woman wearing a loose shirt, a thin harness crossing her chest, and short pants.
Compared to April, who had been chattering away, she had spoken little, but she was a freelancer Enoch had noticed.
She was quite a skilled individual when he had seen her earlier.
"Stealth-type magic. Is it a unique magic of the perception-inhibiting type? It doesn't seem to have reached the Tier 10 level, but the magic is highly perfected."
Enoch had clearly observed her movements during the previous fight with the gang members.
Her quickly deploying perception-inhibiting magic on herself from behind cover in the alley, and her moving to flank the enemies faster than anyone else to attack their blind spots.
She simply nodded.
"Did you recognize me during the battle? That's surprising."
"Somehow."
"Wow, how did you see that?"
April, who was looking at me as if slightly exasperated, paid no mind, and she introduced herself calmly to Enoch.
"I am Skia. I'm asking for confirmation, but did you really see me?"
"You defeated the enemies who were attacking where Arcato was taking cover, injured. I even saw you go to deal with the Scavenger who first sniped the van alone. Was I wrong?"
At those words, the mage named Skia widened her eyes in surprise. It was the undeniable truth.
In fact, the reason Enoch could discern the mage named Skia during the battle was obvious.
No matter how much she erased her presence, the mana she used for magic wasn't concealed.
Unless she had reached the level of a completely perfected unique magic, it would be almost impossible for her to completely erase her presence from Enoch's sight.
Skia, who had introduced herself, subtly held up the blood-stained wand in her hand.
"...That's right. It's surprising that you saw that far."
"What. So the old man did nothing?"
April shot a glare at Arcato from the side and said gruffly.
"Slacking off during work. You can distribute that much of your pay to us later, old man."
However, even under her disdainful gaze, Arcato just chuckled, glancing at his bleeding arm.
"Alright, alright. Please, I'm begging you, stop looking at me like I did nothing. Don't you pity a poor middle-aged man wounded by an ambush?"
Enoch replied in a calm tone.
"Well. I don't know about pity, but there's something to ask."
At those words, Arcato, who had been feigning nonchalance, sensed something intuitively and his eyes flickered as he looked at Enoch.
"I learned something from the ambush earlier."
Staring at him calmly, Enoch asked.
"You know quite a bit about the Scavengers, don't you?"
"..."
At those words, the atmosphere around them stiffened for a moment.
Enoch slowly opened his mouth and added.
"When we were suddenly sniped from the vehicle earlier, you reacted at an unbelievable speed despite not deploying any particular magic. As if you already knew where the sniper would attack from."
A very minor detail that Enoch could catch thanks to his excellent dynamic vision and ability to see the flow of mana.
However, he could infer a lot of information from that.
"Did you know the Scavengers' sniper points?"
For example, that Arcato knew more about the Scavengers than just being a simple illegal taxi driver and Underworld freelancer.
"...I don't know how you knew. But you're right. It's not something I need to hide anyway."
Arcato took the cigarette from his mouth and replied.
"I knew that the Scavengers placed mages at sniper points in their territory. Of course, they obviously kept their identities hidden, so I didn't expect to be ambushed like this during transport."
"You know things about the Scavengers?"
"I just got involved with them while working for money before."
He shrugged calmly.
"All I did was help with the Scavengers' logistics distribution inside the Outskirts. I learned about their sniper points by planning the distribution routes back then. There's no relationship beyond that."
"It doesn't matter. That's the information I needed."
Enoch nodded.
"The Scavengers will probably assume we'll try to get out with the cargo as quickly as possible and will pursue us via the shortest route. That makes it easier to predict their movement path."
Enoch looked down at him calmly and said.
"There must be a shortest route from the point where communication with the PMC was cut off to here. The Scavengers' follow-up force will come that way."
Arcato scratched the back of his head at Enoch's words.
"Ugh, that's not wrong, but..."
"We'll ambush the ones who ambushed the PMC. And if there's a Tier 10, I'll handle it."
"Then. You're planning an ambush?"
"It doesn't seem like a more complex plan is needed."
Enoch said that and slightly tilted his head.
"From there, you can handle it yourselves."
"..."
The others who heard Enoch's words sighed silently. But no one said they couldn't do it in the end.
To begin with, a company like SIEG Industry wouldn't recruit cheap, random people when hiring freelancers if they needed them.
They were likely individuals who were somewhat well-known in this field, freelancers with high reliability and relatively clean records, so it was perhaps natural.
April was the first to move.
"Annoying. I thought I'd get some easy money for once because the pay was good for the job, but what is this...?"
April grumbled with a pouty lip, but she seemed to have judged that what she had heard was doable. She followed behind Enoch and manipulated her rifle.
She pulled the bolt-action lever back to open the chamber, snatching the brass cartridge that sprang out with a clear sound, checked the enchanted magic, and then naturally inserted a new round into the chamber. She added in a low voice.
"Well, still. If I just take hits, I'll feel bad. So I guess I'll just have to console myself like this."
Dealing with just ordinary gang members would probably be enough even with a roughly made plan.
Enoch glanced at Arcato. He seemed to agree with the plan Enoch had just stated and was nodding.
"If there's a place I can guess they'll come through, I'll guide you. If we're really planning to ambush them, I guess we should lay a few trap spells."
As Enoch walked past the van, which was stuck in the wall, rattling and emitting black smoke,
The three freelancers followed silently behind him. They were already looking deep into the Outskirts, where the darkness of midnight had fallen.
April said in a low voice.
"Since it's come to this, let's finish it quickly. There isn't much time left for transport."
Thus, led by the figure in a black robe with a sword tied to his waist in the darkness,
The freelancers, checking their magic gear and finishing their combat preparations, moved their steps into the deep throat of the Outskirts.
Both Enoch and they were individuals who accepted this job to gain profit through thorough rationality. As such, they would simply perform their task perfectly.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the darkness.
From now on, it was time for the counterattack.
***
An abandoned building in the Outskirts.
It was quite a large and spacious building, perhaps used as a warehouse once. Perhaps because of the holes in the exterior walls here and there, ventilation was good, and the smell of dust wasn't as strong as expected.
April, who was lying prone behind a windowless window on the 5th floor of the abandoned building, aiming her rifle-type magic gear and looking through the scope, quickly turned her head.
"...So, is this right? Really?"
She recalled the plan Enoch had mentioned earlier.
"Hit the front of the enemy vehicle convoy with an enchanted opening shot to stop the line, and then provide covering fire for the engagement. That's incredibly reckless."
Just below them, a wide asphalt road unfolded.
A path they absolutely had to pass through to take the shortest route to chase them out of the Outskirts. That was the stage for ambushing the gang's follow-up force.
Enoch tilted his head slightly and said.
"It should be possible with firearm-type magic gear."
Firearm-type magic gear, like April's magic gear, had quite clear advantages and disadvantages depending on its structure and type, besides its incredibly expensive accessibility.
Therefore, it was a magic gear that combat mages definitely had personal preferences for, depending on their taste.
However, as someone who knew the power that it could unleash when wielded by a mage of some competence, Enoch didn't think it was impossible for April to carry out that level of operation.
"I didn't say it was impossible, but..."
She still grumbled, seemingly dissatisfied.
"Oh, I don't know. If things go wrong, Arcato and Skia, let's just run to the extraction route we talked about earlier. I'll cover you as much as I can. This is what happens when you jump at any job that comes along."
Hearing her speak in a voice half-tinged with anxiety, Enoch calmly watched the road ahead, which was submerged in darkness.
Indeed, Enoch also thought it was strange.
The freelancers here, including April, would likely not be able to match the skill level of Sirocco or Lien, whom he had seen fight beside him until now.
Yet, he didn't feel that this operation would necessarily fail.
In the first place, Enoch's goal wasn't just the success of the request, but also included gauging his own growth in a real combat situation. It would have been a problem even if they had followed him.
Just as Enoch was thinking that far.
He suddenly realized that April, who was lying prone, was looking at him with a curious gaze.
"By the way. I've seen plenty of mages who fight in close combat with incredible magic, but this is the first time I've seen someone like you who just relies on a single sword."
"You're unnecessarily curious."
April spoke with a slight hint of caution.
"Ah, don't worry too much. At least among the freelancers in District 37 Outskirts here, it's an unwritten rule not to disclose details about their colleagues' work methods to employers or others."
"An unwritten rule, huh."
"Even among freelancers, there are rules to follow. If you don't follow them, you'll lose all jobs. You'll have to be prepared to lose your life too."
Enoch lightly nodded. He knew this already, so it wasn't a lie.
Although he had guessed it, it seemed unlikely that the fact that Enoch used a sword would reach Elena through the freelancers.
April shrugged.
"But I've never heard of a skilled colleague with that characteristic among fellow workers so far. So it's only natural to be curious."
"Why?"
At that, April subtly glared at him.
"Heh heh, you're definitely not a freelancer, or you're a novice?"
She said, her eyes sparkling slightly.
"Well, the reason is obvious. If a skilled colleague appears in the same city, they sometimes steal jobs. You wouldn't be a freelancer if you didn't know that. Honestly, if you were a freelancer, I think your name would already be well-known everywhere."
Enoch stared at her blankly for a moment. Only after hearing her words did he realize that April had been subtly probing him while chatting cleverly.
Was he somewhat outplayed?
However, since things had come to this, perhaps it would be good to continue the conversation with April a little longer.
Anyway, if he could figure out what she knew about him, it would be quite helpful for his future activities while concealing his identity.
"Is my fighting style that unusual?"
"Well, it's just that there are so many other named freelancers who have strong magic and individuality. So yes, it's unusual."
She said, looking at the sword at Enoch's waist.
"I don't even know what kind of magic you're using, whether it's unique magic or something else, and I don't know your exact identity. Are you even a mage?"
She glanced at him and added as if joking.
"Besides, it seems like you have no hesitation in eliminating attackers, but you also listen patiently to a freelancer's chatter like this, so I wonder if you're not a bad person after all?"
Enoch, thinking April's words were getting a bit too long, subtly changed the subject.
"Seeing you talk about jobs so much, you must need the mission pay quite badly."
"Of course! Actually, I need to earn mission pay with this rifle and send money back home?"
She said with a serious expression, rhythmically tapping the trigger near her index finger.
"My family is incredibly poor, and I have a younger sister I have to support? And on top of that, my parents are sick? And what, I have to pay for school fees too? So..."
She kept rambling, stuttering as if making things up on the spot, and raising the end of her sentences.
Enoch looked down calmly at her, who was lying prone in a shooting stance on the floor, and said.
"If you're going to lie, don't make it so long."
"Heh heh. You're right, it's all a big fat lie."
April looked back at him and smiled playfully, as if she had no intention of deceiving him from the start.
"It's simply that I like money. If I save up a bit, I want to live in a better place than that cramped rented room in the Outskirts. Who in this world doesn't like money?"
She said, turning her gaze to the scope.
"And for good measure, working as a relatively clean freelancer and cleaning up things I don't like is even better."
"The Scavengers seem to have quite a bad reputation."
"...I trust you're not asking because you don't know. They're famous for treating non-mages forced to live in the Outskirts like livestock for slaughter. If you slightly displease the gang, they'll kill innocent people indiscriminately."
"Livestock for slaughter, huh."
Boom!
Around the time Enoch was muttering that.
Breaking through the silence in the darkness, a loud noise finally began to be heard from the road far away.
"Speak of the devil...!"
April cut off the small talk and said calmly.
"Approaching from 650 meters ahead, multiple vehicles. Three trucks and ten escort bikes. They're being noisy."
She maintained her prone shooting stance and kept her eyes on the scope, calmly briefing him while identifying the vehicles' markings.
"They're Scavengers. Follow-up unit mark."
"Alright."
Enoch slowly placed his hand on the hilt of the greatsword at his waist and added with a calm gaze.
"Get ready."
April placed her finger on the trigger.
Mana condensed from her fingers, and the metal trigger of the rifle began to glow subtly with her pink mana and heated up.
Kiiiiing—
And with the loud sound of engines filling the asphalt road, which was submerged in darkness, the headlights brightly illuminated the surroundings.
Buwooooong!
April slowly held her breath.
The line of vehicles was rapidly approaching.
The acrid exhaust from the speeding vehicles stung her nose, and the fierce engine noise vibrated through the abandoned warehouse.
Soon, the line of bikes and trucks driving on the road began to pass in front of the abandoned warehouse building, lifting the curtain of midnight darkness.
And at that very moment,
April pulled the trigger.