Arcane Era-Chapter 50: Prison Break (Part 2)

Using the grease Armament from their deceased opponent, both Theo and Arlet managed to free themselves from the shackle braces.

For most low-tier Armaments, one could use their base or simple functions without knowing their names, and knowing true names only helped to activate its true form which usually only improved the effects of the basic Arcane Abilities one could already use. As a result, the group was able to utilize the Armament without much difficulty.

Besides, if Armaments were artificially engineered—like what Kaycee did for his friends—then they most likely didn’t have any true forms or names to be exploited, and their functions were limited to their design.

The group also robbed the other corpses of their Arcane Instruments. Despite being weak, they could still be helpful in certain instances, so it wasn’t to their detriment to have them.

Plus, having an Armament was better than having none.

After hiding the bodies as covertly as possible, so they wouldn’t be found out too quickly, the group advanced and made their way to the inventory that Arlet spoke about. On their way there, they passed by many cells, and walked past the many who were trapped inside.

Liyah was especially tempted to help them, but considering the gravity of their mission—and the many complications that could arise from such careless action—they decided against it. A few guards were scattered within the underground dungeon, but the group had no problem getting past them.

Just as Liyah and Kaycee said... the Mercenary Crew had spread themselves too thin.

The Outer Court alone was as large as a small city, so taking over it would require a lot of manpower. Since prisoners were powerless and posed very little threat to them, it was only natural that their resources would be less focused on the dungeon and more on capturing the rest of the structures that weren’t under their control.

"They plan to advance to the Middle Court once they’re done swallowing the Outer Court." Arlet calmly explained to the rest of the group, divulging the details of all he heard while he was trapped in the Event Hall.

"The Middle Court has far more security than the Outer Court. Even without the Zenith or Lord Shen, it’ll still be difficult." Theo retorted. "But... I’m sure they’ve already accounted for that."

"Yeah. The Supreme Grade prison they used against Lord Shen rapidly drains the Ne’sh in his Armament. The Mercenary King said it would finish its task by sunrise, and that’s when he plans to kill Lord Shen and the other members of the Zenith. My guess is that the Mercenary Crew plans to use their Armaments to take over the Middle Court."

"That’s not a bad plan..." Theo mumbled, realizing how deadly Shen Ak’ashi’s Arcane Instruments, in particular, would be if they fell into the wrong hands, and how immensely powerful the Mercenary Crew would grow as a result.

The Supreme Lord of Tyranny became especially revered and feared because he possessed the most Arcane Instruments of all the Supreme Lords of Trae’h. Other Supreme Lords had only one Supreme Grade Armament, but he was known to possess two.

He also had a host of other Grand Imperial and Imperial Grade Armaments in his possession.

’If those fall into the hands of the Mercenary Crew, and they refill them with Ne’sh, they’ll be unstoppable!’ Theo shuddered.

They had to stop them before that could happen.

"We have no idea what the exact time is right now, but it’s been over half a day since we’ve been on the run, looking for you." Liyah turned to Theo. "That means we’re somewhere around midnight... a few hours to dawn."

"That’s very little time." He replied with an understanding nod.

They had to hurry.

And hurry they did. They traversed the dungeon, carefully maintaining their disguise as they pretended to patrol the area.

Until, finally... they reached their destination.

"Over there... That’s the place." Arlet pointed to a particular area where several guards—nearly twice the amount they had encountered throughout their journey—congregated.

There was a room just beyond, and no one dared step inside.

Among the men, and very few women, who paraded all around the door, four were dressed differently from the others. They wore trench coats, having symbols of hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs respectively etched behind their attire and on their breast pockets. They appeared to be the superiors, giving off a stronger ominous aura than the other lackeys around them.

"Those must be Intermediaries." Liyah muttered. "What are their numbers?"

Theo narrowed his eyes and stared at the small numbers etched beside their symbols. Since he had the best vision among the group, he naturally took on the role and quickly realized that they had the same figures.

"10. They’re all 10."

"That means they’re the weakest Intermediaries." Liyah beamed with relief.

Since she and Kaycee had been sneaking around for half a day, the both of them were able to learn some very important information, including the hierarchy that existed within the Mercenary Crew.

There were cadres: starting with the Mercenary King at the top, and his three Generals—Ace, Joker, and Jack—directly under him. After them were the Head Intermediaries, who governed each Symbol. They possessed the Number 1 figure, and the remaining 9 under them were numbered 2 to 10.

As for the other men in hooded vests, they were at the bottom of the food chain, known as Apprentices or Prospectives. They were the foot soldiers, not considered a true member of the Mercenary Crew until they could prove themselves and become Intermediaries. The low-level mercenaries that the group had encountered behind the warehouse that night belonged to this category.

"Naturally, the Grade of Armaments rise the higher the level of the members, and since those are Intermediaries, we should be expecting some pretty powerful Arcane Instruments."

"They’re Number 10, so they shouldn’t be that strong. Still..." Theo narrowed his eyes. "I’d say they’ll have Standard Grade Armaments at most. The ones we faced either had Junk Grade or barely standard Grade Armaments. If these ones are a step higher, I’d say they have proper Standard Grade Armaments and nothing more."

"Really? No possibility that they could have something higher?" Arlet frowned.

"I doubt it. In the first place, Armaments are very rare and expensive... and so, for a large-scale operation like this, even if they had years to prepare, it would be difficult to arm low-level members with any Armament beyond Standard Grade. Besides, if they had Regal Grade and above, wouldn’t they be outside conquering the Outer Court with the others, so they can be more useful to the Mercenary Crew?" Theo stated.

"That’s true... but—"

"With the recent acquisition of a stockpile of Armaments that could prove instrumental to their battle, it’s possible that they’d be able to equip their members with more weapons that they can use... but since they have no idea the effects of most of these Armaments, they’d either keep them for future use, or use them as backup supplies in case the Ne’sh of their Armaments run out... and it’ll only be exclusively used by those who are out conquering the Outer Court... not the people watching over the prison." He continued, narrowing his eyes as a worrisome thought flashed in his mind. "If they are keeping these as backup weapons, it means they have a channel to deliver these to the people outside. We have no idea what kind of channel it is, so it’s a bit risky to assault it."

What Theo feared most was that Intermediaries with higher numbers could enter the underground dungeon so they could transport the stockpile of Armaments that they required for their tasks in the Outer Court.

If that happened, then would they be able to stand against them?

Theo wasn’t very sure.

’Either way... we have to hurry and get what we want.’ He turned to his allies, and they all nodded in agreement.

Their opponents numbered nearly fifty, but since most of them held very weak Armaments, Liyah’s teddy bear could take them. Even against four proper Standard Grade Armaments, it could still hold its own.

"We’ll use it as a distraction while we sneak inside. But... how do we get in if it’s locked?"

"I’m great at picking locks?" Theo smiled, pulling a piece of metal resembling a pin.

"I-Is that—?" Liyah’s eyes widened, realizing Theo had taken one of her hairpins.

"Yup!"

"You—!"

"Fair enough." Arlet interrupted the two with a sigh. "Liyah, please focus on covering Theo with your Armament. It’s best if you draw them away from the entrance, so after Theo is done picking the lock we can get in without much effort."

"Sure..." Liyah mumbled, signaling to Theo that their conversation was not yet over.

He chuckled excitedly, rubbing his hands together while Kaycee simply shook his head at the whole thing. Despite the eerie atmosphere, Theo always managed to keep things relatively lighthearted.

’Is this his way of making things easier for us...?’ Kaycee couldn’t help but wonder.

"Let’s go!"