House Finde, Howard's private reception room.
Having inherited the position of family head and gained all the assets, the new young count set aside all his affairs and raised his glass.
"Nimrod, thank you for your help this time."
Nimrod raised his glass and clinked it against Howard's.
"Nimrod, you've already made a name for yourself. The Hive City's gold-medal Lawyer lost to you in court. I think you should abandon the factory. The Mars Credits earned from a single noble case would exceed all your profits from the dome."
"More importantly, Lawyer is one of the highest-status professions available to Hive citizens. You could even attain an extremely high political standing among the Hive City's upper class."
"I'm not interested in being a Lawyer for long."
Nimrod knew that in peaceful times, lawyers and other legal professionals produced the most politicians. But Vostonia—even the entire galaxy—was about to enter the magnificent era of the "Great Crusade."
Now that the role of "Lawyer" had been completed, he would not seek political capital anymore. The "Barbarian" would flip the table, and plans for a violent revolution were already brewing in his mind.
As for Howard, after spending this time with him, Nimrod greatly admired the sixteen-year-old nobleman's capability and breadth of mind.
"Then I won't force you. Come with me to the treasury and choose your reward."
Howard set down his glass, rose to his feet, and led Nimrod onward.
As they crossed the gleaming red brick floor, Howard noticed that Nimrod's gaze did not linger for even a moment on the luxurious decorations, priceless paintings, or exquisite furnishings.
As always, his expression remained calm as he followed behind Howard at an unhurried pace.
A moment later, a Logis-Engine appeared before them, with something humanoid standing before its control panel.
It was a Servitor, an automated device created by removing portions of a human's brain and modifying the body.
Nimrod realized it was no ordinary Servitor, but a sentinel.
"This was a gift from Magos Kivior to our ancestors when House Finde was established. Only someone of the family's bloodline can activate it."
"The Artificer Power Armor named after him that I wear was also a gift from him at that time."
Nimrod nodded. House Finde has close ties with the Tech-priests.
The sentinel turned its head toward them, and an amber iris lit up within one of its eye sockets.
With a piercing shriek, it opened its jaws.
Its jaws were far wider than those of an ordinary human, and its mouth was filled with sharp metal fangs.
The fangs pierced Howard's skin and sank into his flesh. Several drops of dark red blood flowed into the sentinel's throat.
Then came the hum of Servo Motors starting up and mechanical pumps turning, while the Logis-Engine's visual display flickered continuously.
The heavy metal doors opened with a thunderous roar. Nimrod followed Fender into House Finde's treasury, and his superhuman vision took in all 513 display cabinets within the 2,300-square-meter vault.
He walked over to a display case, and Howard introduced its contents.
"This stone is solid, yet it seems to contain a stormy sea. Because of this trait, the sixth family head collected it."
"It came from an ocean-covered world, a planet also within the Vostonia System. Magos Kivior named it Oceanic Movement."
"When seawater strikes this stone, it emits a shriek like that of a siren."
Nimrod nodded. The stone before him was called Siren Stone on the Blasphemy Slate, the main ingredient for the Sequence 9 "Sailor" potion.
After fully digesting the "Lawyer" potion, he returned to the Kingdom of Disorder and found that his Source Essence authority had not increased. However, six new Sequence 9 potion formulas had appeared on the slate, with "Sailor" being one of them. At the same time, he had confirmed that the Chainsword was an auxiliary ingredient for "Warrior."
However, Nimrod had no intention of choosing the Siren Stone. A "Sailor" would have no room to shine in landlocked Vostonia, and one of the main ingredients listed on the Blasphemy Slate could not be found either.
He continued onward, passing more than a dozen kinds of potion ingredients before finally stopping in front of a round black stone.
Howard continued, "This stone was discovered on Vostonia's moon. Magos Kivior once said that the moon was very similar to Terra's moon in the Sol System, where humanity's homeworld lies."
"I'll take this one."
This stone, called Moonstone, was the main ingredient of the "Sleepless" pathway. As for the other potion ingredients, Nimrod had already gathered them all.
With the Moonstone in hand, Nimrod had assembled all the ingredients needed for the "Sleepless" potion.
After returning to Magneto Steelworks, he placed the Moonstone into a long, narrow silver case and then sent it to the Kingdom of Disorder.
At that moment, the short-range communicator rang, carrying Rawlslev's excited voice.
"Boss, we've found the biggest Lung Spider in the Lower Hive—the giant spider called Black Widow."
The boss always rewarded merit. This time, Rawlslev would get to drink some fine Las-Vault again.
"Wait for me in the control room."
A moment later, Nimrod arrived in the control room. Besides Rawlslev, he saw a brown-skinned, blue-eyed boy who looked eight or nine years old.
The boy looked at Nimrod with eyes full of reverence and admiration.
"Boss, he's the one who found Black Widow."
The thought of claiming all the credit had only lingered in Rawlslev's mind for a few seconds before he crushed it.
The boss seemed to know what everyone was thinking. He had no desire to try deceiving his wise and mighty boss.
"Boss, I'm Bukayo."
Suppressing his excitement, the boy smoothly introduced himself to his boss.
"Very good. You did well. Lead the way now. I want to see this big fellow."
"Yes, Boss."
Bukayo led the way, while Nimrod brought fifty more men with him as they headed toward the Lung Spider's nest.
The group included two rat-catching squads. They had honed decent fighting skills while hunting Giant Rats, but today, they would be hunting the most terrifying predator around the dome.
After the group traveled four kilometers along dripping metal pipes, Nimrod's ears twitched.
About a kilometer behind them, a group had been following his team through every twist and turn, never falling behind.
They're coming for me.
After walking a little farther, Nimrod reached a relatively open fork in the passageway. With a glance from the corner of his eye, he clearly saw those trailing them.
The most eye-catching were five huge, muscular men. Each stood over two and a half meters tall, making everyone around them seem unusually short. The largest among them was three meters tall.
Nimrod's attention was then drawn to the two people leading the Ogryn squad. They gave him a familiar feeling.
He searched his memories and immediately identified them.
Dimitrov's men.
Hm? Arbites wouldn't be stupid enough to send men after me on his own, and he doesn't have the power to command Ogryns.
The Ogryns were sent by Estupinian. Excellent—they've come to deliver the main ingredient for "Barbarian" right to my doorstep.
Nimrod did not attack immediately. Instead, he spoke softly.
"Bukayo, take me to the nearest narrow passage."
The two people behind Nimrod froze upon hearing that, but Bukayo reacted quickly and covered his mouth with his left hand.
"Understood, Boss."
The boy gripped his dagger tightly in his right hand and kept walking without showing the slightest abnormality.
When they were still two kilometers from the dim passageway, he sensed the tunnel, which was only 3.6 meters in diameter.
After entering the passageway and advancing 380 meters, Nimrod issued his order in a low voice.
"Kill the lights! Spread out along both sides!"
The gang elites who had grown through the conquest of Khanty-Mansi Dome reacted immediately, spreading to both sides and pressing themselves against the metal walls.
At the same time, gunfire rang out.
Thanks to "Lazy Reader" for the reward.
Before you continue