Nimrod arrived at the center of the Khanty-Mansi Dome with two subordinates. Two guards holding weapons stood before a three-story gray building.
"Are you Nimrod?"
"That's right."
The two guards glanced warily at the lasgun behind him.
"You may enter alone, and you can't bring any weapons."
Nimrod cooperatively removed his lasgun and chainsword and handed them to his subordinates.
The two guards relaxed. The one on the left spoke.
"Lord Dimitrov is waiting for you in the Arbitration Hall on the third floor."
Everyone they passed along the way stared at the boy in surprise.
"Is he the one who killed Vulture?"
"Vulture must have been drunk to get killed by a child like that."
"I heard he's an incredible shot, even more accurate than the guards beside King Boleslaw. Every shot goes straight through the enemy's eye."
"..."
Nimrod clearly heard the murmurs around him, but he calmly made his way to the third floor.
The entire third floor, more than four hundred square meters, belonged solely to the Judgment Hall. After the two guards at the door checked him again for weapons, they allowed him inside.
Nimrod entered the Judgment Hall. Standing by the window with his back to him was a figure in a gray uniform, his left arm replaced by a steel prosthetic.
"Woof, woof..."
The Chem-Dog, raised on chemical drugs, stood as tall as an adult and as broad as a tiger.
The Chem-Dog darted in front of Nimrod. Its green eyes fixed tightly on his black ones as its long tongue licked toward his face. The pungent stench was so intense that it even rushed out through the doorway.
"Yogane, come back!"
Dimitrov turned around. The large dog spun around, returned to its master's side, and wagged its tail.
The Arbites stroked the dog's fur and looked at Nimrod.
"I heard the one who killed Vulture was a boy. I thought that was an exaggeration, but you're even younger than I imagined."
"Yogane, don't scare the child."
Dimitrov deliberately stressed the word "child."
"There's a saying on Old Terra: heroes need not be judged by their age."
"If your dog doesn't behave, I don't mind teaching him a lesson. For example, tearing off his head."
Dimitrov narrowed his eyes and looked the boy over from head to toe. Once he confirmed that Nimrod carried no weapons, a confident smile appeared on his face.
Ever since becoming an Arbites, he had raised Yogane. On top of Vostonia's traditional formula, he had added many enhancement drugs.
No matter how vicious a Lower Hive criminal was, once the Chem-Dog set its eyes on them, they would be torn to pieces.
If Nimrod had a gun, Dimitrov might have been somewhat wary. But an unarmed boy could only be slaughtered at will.
Of course, it would be a terrible waste for such an outstanding boy to die.
"This beast does deserve a lesson. If you can tear off his head, I won't blame you."
"But if he knocks you down, it means you're too young and need training. You'll come learn at my side."
After saying that, he slapped the Chem-Dog's head. The large dog immediately seemed to go mad, leaping high into the air and pouncing on Nimrod.
Nimrod's black eyes fixed on the Chem-Dog. Through its thick brown fur, he saw its throat, where the fur was faintly yellowed. That was Yogane's habit.
After drinking chemical drugs, the Chem-Dog liked to hold them in its mouth and savor them for a while. Years of corrosion had made its already vulnerable throat an even greater weakness, though it was concealed beneath its thick fur.
When facing it, enemies would also be intimidated by its massive body and choked by the pungent smell of the chemical drugs.
The primarch shifted slightly to the side, and the Chem-Dog missed its pounce, crashing headfirst into the ground.
Nimrod clamped both arms around the Chem-Dog's neck, gripping precisely along that yellow line. His legs locked tightly around the large dog.
With a crack, the Arbites watched in shock as the boy twisted the Chem-Dog's neck apart.
Dimitrov stared at the boy as though looking at a humanoid beast. Someone had actually snapped a Chem-Dog's neck with bare hands.
"I'll be taking this dog's head with me."
Nimrod only needed its tongue, but he took the entire head to conceal the most important potion ingredient for Lawyer.
"Mm..." The Arbites stared at the bloodied dog corpse. "Foundry D-46 is yours. Everything will continue as usual."
"Fine."
Nimrod immediately turned and left. He had not sensed any killing intent from Dimitrov, and he had no desire to challenge the old order of the Khanty-Mansi Dome yet.
After leaving the Judgment Hall, he took out a Rope he had prepared beforehand, tied up the dog's head, and slung it diagonally across his body.
Everyone they passed recognized the Arbites' Chem-Dog and stared at the boy in astonishment.
Nimrod walked over to his subordinates. "Take me to the Hive Giant Rats."
"Yes, Boss."
A short while later, the two subordinates brought him to a long, narrow passage.
"Boss, this passage is the largest Hive Giant Rat colony among the hundreds of passages surrounding the Khanty-Mansi Dome."
"Let's go."
"Boss, just the three of us? Shouldn't we go back and call the others?"
The subordinate with a gray rat head tattooed on his left arm asked in shock.
"Boss, you don't know this, but there are tens of thousands of giant rats in this passage. Your shooting may be miraculous, but even you can't withstand a tidal wave of giant rats."
"I have my ways." Nimrod looked at the two men. "Do you want rat meat, or do you want pelts?"
The two men looked at Nimrod, who held his sword in hand, their eyes full of doubt. Even if their boss's swordsmanship was as exceptional as his marksmanship, his body had not fully grown yet. Every giant rat was bigger than him.
What was more, those giant rats were fast, their teeth could bite through steel plates, and most terrifyingly, there were so many of them. In a place like this passage, they could drown all three of them in an instant.
If they had a choice, neither of them wanted to go. But they did not dare refuse.
Nimrod killed without blinking, one shot per person. They had both seen it.
The two exchanged glances and immediately understood the bitterness in each other's eyes. They spoke at the same time.
"Boss, we'll go with you."
The two followed Nimrod into the dark passage, wide enough for ten people abreast, and immediately saw their boss activate his chainsword.
Its roar was especially piercing within the passage.
The passage immediately began to tremble. The endless squeaking made their scalps tingle, and the countless pairs of scarlet eyes made their legs shake.
They had no time to stop him, and it was already too late to run. They sighed inwardly.
[We're definitely dead this time. We thought we'd followed a powerful man, but he turned out to be an arrogant child.]
At that moment, Nimrod moved.
Each swing of his blade killed a giant rat.
As the two men's eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, they widened in shock. The boy ahead of them was like a merciless killing machine.
Suddenly, they saw a giant rat nearly two meters long pounce down at Nimrod from above the passage.
"Boss, watch out!"
Nimrod moved faster than their warning. He leaped sideways, avoiding both the ambush from above and the giant rat charging at him from the front.
The two giant rats collided. The ambushing rat squealed, and the smaller rat immediately froze. It was bitten to death in a single bite.
Just as it was about to lift its head, Nimrod appeared beside it and kicked it in the head.
The giant rat was immediately knocked unconscious. All the other giant rats stopped, then turned and fled.
The subordinate with the rat-head tattoo slapped his forehead.
"Boss, you caught the Rat King. The rat swarm ran away because you scared them."
Nimrod slung the chainsword over his back. "You two, carry two giant rats each. When we get back, I'll reward you with meat."
"Thank you, Boss. Boss is mighty and wise."
"Boss is the King of the Underhive."
The two eagerly flattered their boss. Now they knew that following him meant a bright future.
Nimrod hoisted the unconscious giant rat onto his shoulder. "Let's go."
The two men each carried a giant rat about a meter long. Rodents were relatively light; each one weighed only around thirty kilograms. Sixty kilograms was merely somewhat strenuous for men like them, who lived by the blade.
Nimrod did not return to the Foundry immediately. He first exchanged one one-meter-long Hive Giant Rat for two thousand milliliters each of black, gray, yellow, and green Las-Vault.
He only needed the black Las-Vault. Exchanging for all four types was merely to conceal the potion ingredients.
[Once I return to the Foundry and pull out a piece of Wire Grass, the potion ingredients will be complete.]
Before you continue