Chapter 144
Robbery Complete
Sponsored Content
Claude got back up . He'd fallen back into the alley as a result of being forced back by the thug . Fortunately, that was the end of the alley and it was more spacious, giving him more space to duck around .
He really couldn't afford to underestimate anyone, not if even a common thug could push him so far . Had he not risked using Magic Missile while on the ground he might not have survived .
He wasn't a true battlemagus, after all, and only had a single true combat spell . While it could take care of the thugs without a problem, he didn't know how useful it could be against a real magus . He couldn't do much against the bearded magus that had attacked him in the small forest . He would have lost if the enemy had had combat spells of his own .
Claude would always reflect on his actions after every such occurrence . That was one advantage he had . It wasn't any different this time . He felt he was becoming too reliant on a single spell and thinking he was invincible against Blacksnake with it . So, he became too careless and even declared he would rob them .
Even if he used Projectile Barrier before challenging them, he shouldn't have dropped the handaxe when two ranged weapons were raised against him . He could've parried the close-range attacks had he not . Fortunately, the alley was wide enough to get out of the way .
Currently, all six Blacksnake thugs in the yard were beaten down, at least four of which were dead . Claude wondered why there wasn't any commotion from the ruckus, however . Not one person had popped their head out of a window to check . If something with up, he had to be careful .
He cast another Projectile Barrier on himself, and entered the yard . He made his quiet way to the tree with the Shark bodyguards . One was faking an injury . Claude gave him a light kick .
"Get up! I know you're fine . I'll make it so you don't have to fake it if you don't get up now . "
The guard immediately sat up and kneeled .
"Lord Magus, please spare us . We are not with them . We are victims just like yourself . Just look at how they beat my face . . . "
Sponsored Content
Claude had to admit the man had not been spared blows . His eyes were only just barely still open, and he bled from numerous lacerations all over his scalp . He'd been surprised to see a Shark so badly beaten, but the young man's voice had revealed his inexperience .
Claude pointed at the six bodies in the yard .
"Find anything valuable on them . "
The beaten-up guard didn't expect the magus was there to rob Blacksnake and didn't immediately react . Claude snorted an unresponsive second later, however, and the guard dashed off as best his aching body would let him .
Claude kept his distance and watched as the latter made his practiced way around the bodies . Lacking in combat experience or not, he was a superb pickpocket, Claude decided .
Unfortunately no skill in pickpocketing could take what wasn't there, and what there wasn't, was money . Between all of the bodies there were just a single riyas and four sunars in copper .
Claude shoved his chin in the direction of another nearby corpse, and soon it was searched as well . Even with the other corpses' money, however, he only had three thales . Claude motioned his chin to the other corpse . Soon, the other two injured and three dead thugs .
He sighed and glanced at another pair of recently deceased in a further corner .
"There . Two more . "
"They're Sharks, Lord Magus . We're not your enemies," the guard said, surprised .
"True, but you're not my friends either . And it's not like they will need any of it . Get a move on! I can put you to sleep if you don't want to . . . "
Sponsored Content
"I-I'll search them," the guard answered quickly .
"I'll have you things as well . Didn't I say I was going to rob all of you? All of you . "
The guard had to fight the urge to bang his head open against the ground, and finally believed the magus really was there to rob them .
The final two corpses and unwilling victim finally satisfied Claude somewhat . Blacksnake may be bigger, but Shark clearly had all the money . The victim alone had three thales and ten coppers . One would never have expected such riches to come from one wearing such meagre clothing .
"What are you looking at me for? Can't part with your money?"
"N-no . . . Lord Magus . . . "
Claude stashed his loot and smiled . He had 15 thales now . His mood much improved, he decided to spare his poor victim some consolation .
"Think of it like this . If I hadn't come to rob you, you would've been dead . All you've lost instead, is a couple thales . A cheap price for your life, no?"
The guard didn't answer, his face an awkward mask of obeisance . If that was how the thief-magus was going to soothe his conscience, so be it . Whatever got him out of there as quickly as possible .
"How many people are there in the house?" Claude asked .
"At least a dozen came, and at least a couple went in . "
Sponsored Content
"T-there's their second-in-command, Fatbull Bowen, and his four guards . . . Jerad, Kesline, and Kefnie are inside as well, and one of my friends, Ablonk . . . "
So nine, Claude thought . Why did he hear nothing from inside then? He did sense breathing in the building, he might have thought nobody was home if he hadn't though . The entire house was pitch black as well . Bowen must have noticed the commotion and decided it was best to make things dark . They were probably waiting in ambush by the door .
"Does it have a backdoor?"
"No . No windows on the ground floor, either . There are two on the first floor, but it's six metres straight down through them . "
"So this is the only way in?"
"Yes . "
Claude raised his voice .
"The lights inside are all out . You think it'll be fine as long as you hide? With me doing the robbing, none of you can escape . "
He pointed at the guard and then at the wooden door, motioning for him to open it .
The guard pointed at himself, stupefied .
Claude nodded sagely .
The man gulped, then headed for the door . He stepped over a Blacksnake corpse, then stopped and picked it up, dangling it in front of him .
Claude approved of his ingenuity and decided he was probably an okayish guy .
The door opened with a creak and the dead body was struck by several blows at once . The guard shoved the body into the black and rolled away from the door as quickly as he could . The corpse landed face-up, its forehead split, but no blood leaking from the wound . His chest had been split by four throwing axes, and three swords had also rooted themselves in his torso . Its left leg was completely severed and rolled around on its own .
The house was still pitch black inside, and the corpse was entirely swallowed by the darkness . Claude didn't need his eyes to know what was going on inside, however . He could sense the roughened breaths of the corpse's murderers and he could sense they'd relaxed some, thinking the corpse had been something else before their attacks .
Claude's finger pointed in the door's direction for a moment, then a flash of bright light dashed out of the top of it and shot into the house and illuminated the interior .
There aren't any useless spells, only useless magi .
In that moment, Claude couldn't agree more . A spell didn't have to kill to be deadly, one just had to know how to use it . Luminous Pearl, for example, sealed the bastards' in the building's fate merely by stripping them of the cloak of darkness, rather than doing any direct physical harm to them . The sudden presence of a miniature sun blinded the people inside for several moments, and it was just long enough for Claude to take action .
He darted in through the doorway and pumped Magic Missile after Magic Missile into everyone he saw . All-in-all he let go with five, felling one with each, leaving the house void of enemies . In fact, it left the house void of all signs of life . Where were the sisters and the boyfriend?
Claude turned around, and found them tied up in the room's further corner . They stared into the blinding light of the pearl, trying against the odds to catch a glimpse of what was going on in the room . They're eyes eventually fixed on him, filled with terror . A corpse lay in front of them, chest gouged open by knife cuts and axe strikes . It was probably the friend the guard had mentioned .
"You, come in and continue," Claude ordered .
The guard slid into the house, his eyes narrowed . Even for him the light was blinding .
The four guards were all as poor as the ones before . Fatbull Bowen was the only exception . And quite the exception at that . He had five crowns and ten more thales . The night was finally worth it .