Chapter 1060 – #252_Hunters – DeepL
#1054
1.
Our base of operations was Dorothy’s workshop near the Dominican Republic.
True to Dorothy’s word, the view was spectacular, with jade-colored waters and white sandy beaches.
This wasn’t just a case of selling memories.
According to Siu’s information, the Lejar Group’s main locations are as follows
In North America, all of Mexico.
As far as Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, which are bordering Mexico due to the recent flooding.
Most of Central America, including Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador, the bridge between North and South America.
South America, which has a history of notoriety, includes Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Peru.
In short, it’s an hourglass of activity centered on the Central American continent.
In this situation, a workshop in the Caribbean, which can be moved up and down at any time, is a clear geographical advantage.
It also has the advantage of being less publicized than other locations, having been the Nawabari for Dorothy and her arms trafficking organization until recently.
That means less scrutiny.
After his first hunt and returning to his workshop, which could only be described as a luxury vacation home, Shiou headed straight for the bathroom.
-Shoot!
Keeping the water temperature as cold as possible, he runs it over his head.
“Fuhu….”
This isn’t about grabbing a poop foam.
I can feel a physical burning sensation throughout my body.
It’s a terrible pain, like hot water rushing through my veins.
I can feel a pulse pulsing along my temple, and the nausea and tingling that are the side effects of the distortion field make my fingertips tingle.
“I’ll look it up….”
Xiu’s plan was to be as stealthy and behind-the-scenes as possible, but he was still a Dokgoda, fighting in the middle of enemy territory.
There were inevitable constraints.
One of them is that it must be a short battle.
Prolonging the fight would mean being caught by surprise or attracting unwanted attention.
In the worst case scenario, you’d be surrounded by a horde of witches.
If it’s just a few witches, that’s fine.
However, if there are two or more Archdemons, you will most likely lose.
That’s why Xiu went all out early on.
She activated her Angelic Ring to the maximum and maxed out the power of her Red Branch.
With its destructive power, the Red Branch is a risky weapon.
Wielding such an object at full power at all times would put a tremendous strain on his spiritual body.
It’s literally a race against time.
“A little better.”
After about 10 minutes under the cold water, the rash that had been coloring my skin faded.
My legs were wobbly, so I just sat there and washed myself in a daze for a while.
Like a movie replay, I could see Nili’s final moments clearly.
The end of the two witches, who had been taken by surprise, was also shown.
I silently contemplated their fate.
Surprisingly, I don’t feel much guilt.
Somewhere in my chest, I feel a dull foreign sensation, like an awl pushing through thick fabric, but it’s not enough to bother me.
The deaths of the three witches have filled the lotus only slightly.
The correlation between rank and lotus charge gauge is unclear, but at this rate, I’ll have to fight ten more battles like this today.
It’s too early to be sleeping in exhaustion already.
I cleaned myself up and headed for the hangar.
The factory-like building with the short runway outside the villa is the control tower for the plan.
The hangar, which normally houses private planes, was empty.
Instead, the fruits of Xiu’s labor lined one of the wide walls.
Spread across the wall was a large map of the Lehar Group’s territory.
It wasn’t just a map.
Like props in a detective drama, pins, photos, collected data, and threads had been used to create a spiderweb-like diagram.
It was a spidery diagram of pins, photos, data, and threads, like a set piece in a detective story.
The diagrams are organized by agendas that have been vetted and cross-checked many times.
If it looks chaotic at first glance, it’s because the pins and threads are color-coded according to importance and reliability.
Xiu walked over to the photo pinned above Medellín, Colombia, and crossed out three X’s.
With that, Team Nili was done.
“We don’t need this anymore.”
He burned the stack of papers on the table that he had read over and over again until last night.
The stack of papers, about the thickness of a booklet, was a sort of “Operation Plan for Team Nile,” designed based on the information we’d learned so far.
It contained operational objectives, target information, timelines, risks, countermeasures, and even escape routes, which were very helpful in our imagery training.
The most important thing I worked on was the engagement tactics.
I kept track of the overall flow of the battle and anticipated how the opponent would react to certain actions.
In case I was wrong, I’d break it down into bite-sized pieces and have a different response for each quarter.
It’s not a “plan A or plan B” situation.
An overwhelming win that went according to plan.
A dominance with a few twists.
A close loss due to an unexpected bump in the road.
A deficit due to many variables.
A defeat where you have to resign yourself to losing.
Like an astute hunter, I wrote several scenarios with all the possible variables.
The first ambush eliminates the two troublesome henchmen.
Allow Nili to open up Ma’an gradually, but not from the front.
In his impatience, Nili’s third Ma’an is met with a head-to-head fight, and he blindsides him, sealing the Ma’an.
This is roughly what happened in Xiu’s board game.
It took Xiu two weeks to build this board.
“5 minutes, 38 seconds…. Over.”
Against Team Nili, the time estimate was 5 minutes and 30 seconds from ambush to exit.
To be precise, three minutes would be devoted to combat and two and a half minutes to absorbing the Lotus.
However, the process of the lotus absorbing the stigma and souls was slower than expected, so they lost eight seconds.
“I’ll have to incorporate that into my next plan.”
I took the marker and revised the approximate time it would take for the lotus to complete its absorption.
Improvisation is certainly important in battle.
But it’s suboptimal.
The best you can do is to mold your opponent into a box and keep them within your expectations.
“It’s the least I can do.”
Xiu hates gambling.
The information gap has widened slightly.
Ideals that have the advantage of striking first.
As long as it’s not just one man’s life on the line.
There is no need to fight the enemy fair and square.
“…….”
We’re not done organizing yet.
I had to tweak the diagrams to organize the information Nilee had left in her will.
I don’t have a degree in criminal justice or criminology.
Nonetheless, a series of refinements framed my next move.
Some of the pins representing key points are moved, and the colorful threads connecting them are repositioned accordingly.
Death doesn’t make people honest.
But pain and abandonment do.
Nili’s confession was highly reliable.
It didn’t contradict much of the existing information, it sounded good, and the monkfish fit snugly.
As I mechanically organized her words and fiddled with the giant board, my next arrow naturally pointed to Team Betelgeuse.
“There are four of us….”
The leader of the team, Betelgeuse himself, is ranked 20th, the same as Nili.
Just one head taller.
There are no archwitches other than the team leader, but one more head means more variables.
For example, if one of the four runs off in the middle of the night, you’ll be in a lot of trouble.
The fatal flaw of the Lehar group is that they don’t normally communicate with each other.
Now they’ve taken the initiative when no one expected them to.
It’s a golden moment when the hunter doesn’t realize he’s the hunted.
The fog of ignorance will blind them for at least three or four teams, and the deadline is a week.
Within a week, within three or four raids, we’ll have to deliver the biggest fucking gift we can.
In the meantime, no fugitives.
Not a single witness is to be spared.
Xiu pulled a copy of the Great Betelgeuse Team Tactical Plan from the bookshelf.
“Pierce.”
He replenishes his half-used magic with a multiplier.
He conjures up a magic circle in his mind and unfolds his armor.
The tactical and strategic simulations are ready.
Now it’s time to modify the magic to draw it out efficiently.
For example, in preparation for Nili’s Golden Ma’an, I wrap a red-branched distortion field around the front of my armor.
The red energy spreads through the armor like a vein.
Disassemble and reassemble the magic you’ve built up.
I recreate the magic to kill Betelgeuse, the maximum power of this objective.
Alas, magic is a beautiful thing.
Just as mathematics deals with and interprets the natural laws of the world, I am overwhelmed when I meditate on the transcendent mysteries that touch the apocrypha of the universe.
Her slave’s toil was transformed into a scholarly curiosity, and she pondered and contemplated magic in her daily life, even when no one asked her to.
Why so many witches are enamored of magic.
It’s no wonder so many are drawn to it, some to the point of destruction.
-Chulcuk Chulcuk
Dismantle the structures of Ain.
The golden towers of wisdom, so intricately woven and harmonious that they are difficult to tear down, let alone rebuild, are dismantled to their bones.
The materials are magnetic enchantments with different properties.
The magic is reassembled step by step according to the fractal shape of the skeleton.
Sometimes golden particles scatter across the black space like flurries of snow, other times a massive wave resonates that threatens to topple Samrahman.
“No, this isn’t it.”
Muttering to herself, she builds, builds, builds the magical structures she’s just destroyed.
With a violent flair, she performs feats that any witch would say are impossible.
For the most part, Xiu’s magic is driven by a scholarly curiosity or intellectual quest.
Even in combat, it was a struggle against injustice, or a struggle for survival.
Thus, the one piece that was lacking found its place in vengeance.
For a quicker death.
For a clearer death.
For a more rational death.
For a more efficient death.
A piece that must accompany it.
The name of that piece is murderous intent.
