Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 185

Lapis nodded at Renok’s words.

“That’s right. Although our observers and the sorcerers who came for sightseeing are helping, the situation isn’t good.”

“What is the Autonomous Region military doing? They’re not holding back in this situation, are they?”

It was Seonmyeong, an observer leaning on a spear behind Lapis, who answered Grisha’s question.

“Most of the military forces, including the battleships, have set out to break the barriers installed throughout the Autonomous Region. They can’t be reached at the moment, and due to the sudden strengthening of the updrafts, it’s difficult to approach the floating islands from the outskirts of the Autonomous Region.”

“What terrible timing. Do you think all of this is a coincidence?”

“Of course not.”

Seonmyeong shook her head with a cold expression.

Lapis answered instead.

“There are a few high-ranking officials who were in charge of the rainmaking rituals that strengthen the updrafts. Perhaps one of them colluded with the Drug Lord and timed all of this…”

“So, the only forces that can calm this situation are the observers from the lighthouse and the outsiders who haven’t fallen to the Drug Lord.”

Even so, to be able to orchestrate all of this from the opposite side of the continent, thousands of kilometers away, he must be an incredible man.

Moreover, judging from the conversation I had with the Drug Lord back then, he was unaware that Lapis and the Azure Eye had returned to the lighthouse.

In other words, he created this perfect encirclement on the spot, purely with the forces he had established in the Autonomous Region.

Was it pure luck that allowed him to orchestrate all of this, or was it due to his vast vision as a businessman, allowing him to see an impossibly distant future?

Perhaps the view he sees at the end of all these plans is also something so immense that others would find it difficult to imagine.

The other observers also seemed to feel similarly, even if they didn’t fully grasp the situation, as their expressions darkened.

“Let’s sort out the situation,” Grisha said, chewing on her pipe.

“The observer forces remaining at the lighthouse have almost all left their posts to stop the heteromorphic species [creatures of unusual form] that have appeared throughout the Autonomous Region. But at this point, when we don’t know where these heteromorphic species are coming from, we need to figure out the Drug Lord’s tricks to solve the problem at once.”

Kooong!!

“And according to Evan, this monster bastard knows the answer. Can you start explaining what you’ve figured out?”

Only then did the others’ gazes turn to the two men Grisha had brought down.

“These people are drooling even though they’re conscious.”

“Are they twins? There’s no reason to bring them back alive…”

Instead of answering, Renok nodded at Lapis.

“It would be best to see it with your own eyes before we talk. Check it out.”

Although it was an urgent situation, Lapis didn’t argue with Renok and immediately activated her Thousand Eyes ability, looking down at the men.

“This is…”

It didn’t take long for her to gasp and turn her gaze to Renok.

“Evan knew. This isn’t a living thing.”

“What do you mean?” Seonmyeong asked, and Lapis replied.

“They appear to be alive and conscious, but their biological makeup is completely different from that of humans. Moreover, there’s no trace of metabolism, which is something that living things should fundamentally have.”

“If anything, this is closer to a golem. That means…”

She stopped there, as if suddenly realizing the answer, and turned her gaze to Renok.

Renok responded in kind.

“That’s right. The Drug Lord plans to appear directly in the Autonomous Region using homunculi [artificially created beings].”

From here, I have to choose my words carefully.

The important thing is to convince everyone that the technique the Drug Lord uses is an ancient alchemical art and to explain its characteristics.

I needed to make up a plausible explanation for how Renok found out about that fact.

The explanation didn’t take long.

Everyone easily accepted the fact that a tycoon like the Drug Lord had spent a fortune to obtain an ancient art.

And when they saw the piece of homunculus flesh that Renok had scraped off turn into a sticky black goo, they didn’t even doubt Renok’s words.

“I see… If he used that technique, I can understand the origin of the heteromorphic species that have spread throughout the Autonomous Region.”

“He probably scraped off pieces of the homunculi beforehand, stored them separately, and then released them into the floating islands’ water pipes or reservoirs to cause large-scale damage, right?”

“It’s truly a devil’s drug… He was mass-producing such absurd things with the money he made from selling drugs?”

The other observers around them began to murmur in shock.

Although the Drug Lord’s notoriety was widespread throughout the continent, it seemed this was the first time they had directly experienced how he tamed his enemies.

“If we connect it to the giant mass of flesh that Evan and Grisha encountered in the government building’s basement, the conclusion is clear,” Lapis declared with a cold expression.

“Dominic Cabarro intends to transfer not only his voice but also his entire consciousness using these homunculi. The fact that there was no reaction even when the vault was completely emptied means that he has something important that requires him to buy time…”

“That means…”

“At least, it seems that his claim that he would come to the Autonomous Region himself wasn’t a lie.”

Only then did the observers, realizing the hidden meaning in Lapis’s words, begin to feel a chilling tension.

The fact that he had infiltrated Pilenom so secretly while they were away from the lighthouse was terrifying enough, but the fact that their enemy was such a bold and daring gambler, willing to throw away all that foundation just to buy time, made their bodies freeze.

However, Renok knew that if the timing hadn’t been so perfect, he might never have been able to face the Drug Lord.

Back when he was collaborating with the Dyke Corporation, he had directly captured and killed Paul Ackerman, one of the Drug Lord’s subordinates, at the port in District 49, and the Drug Lord hadn’t even reacted.

It meant that he was making an effort to completely eliminate any danger approaching him from the start.

This meticulous nature had helped him rise to his current position as a tycoon, but… not this time.

The moment Renok realized that the technique he was using was alchemy from the First World, the information gap was practically nonexistent.

After learning that the Drug Lord had somehow obtained alchemy, Renok had managed to roughly deduce the whole story.

And even how he planned to fly to the opposite side of the continent, thousands of kilometers away.

The moment he sensed that, Renok roughly figured out how to solve this problem.

‘All that’s left is to move the Azure Eye and set the stage… and that’s impossible without this woman’s help.’

Renok thought that far and glanced at Grisha.

The other observers could help sort out this chaotic situation, but Grisha was absolutely necessary for Renok’s plan.

Having made up his mind, Renok slowly opened his mouth.

“I have an idea where the Drug Lord is hiding the homunculi.”

“…What?” Grisha turned her head sharply.

The other observers also turned their gazes to him at once.

Ignoring the gazes, Renok reached out towards the map in front of him.

“He wouldn’t have had the time to make the homunculi elsewhere and move them here. So, we need to find a place that’s large enough to hide the infrastructure to make homunculi and that has already slipped past our awareness once.”

“Then…!”

The eyes of the other observers, who had confirmed the place marked on the map by Renok, widened.

“No way… Is it that close?”

“If that’s true, it’s a blessing that we evacuated the people beforehand.”

“Could it be that the evacuation order for the 2nd and 3rd floating islands was for this moment…?”

“Check the ledger for the medicinal herb warehouse that we found in the Drug Lord’s warehouse. Among the places where the herbs were recorded as being taken out, this place should also be included.”

As Lapis found the place Renok had mentioned in the ledger, she exclaimed.

“That’s right. There’s definitely overlapping information.”

“It’s exactly the same method as when he occupied the old history museum. Were you predicting the Drug Lord’s behavior?”

“I had some idea.”

Renok said that and turned his gaze to Lapis.

“You’re right. Regardless of whether we found out where the Drug Lord is preparing, it’s already impossible to completely stop his scheme.”

“That’s…”

“Even if we pour all of the Azure Eye’s forces into the place I just told you about, wouldn’t he have prepared for that? It wouldn’t be strange if we just wasted time.”

“Let’s quickly get to the point.”

Her tone was stiff, unlike usual. She understood why Renok was stating the answer himself and then throwing cold water on it.

“Do you have another method in mind?”

“I have a plan. And we need to prepare.”

“…”

“I would like all the observers to cooperate with me in this process.”

Renok said that and quickly explained the plan he had devised to the observers.

To be precise, it was a single, desperate measure he had come up with to capture the Drug Lord in this place.

A gamble that targeted the inherent compatibility between alchemy and homunculi.

However, it was an extreme solution that he could never achieve alone.

Silence fell.

There was no one in this place who didn’t understand what Renok was saying.

If Renok’s guess was wrong, or if things didn’t go according to his plan, the Azure Eye would waste all of the organization’s power in vain.

But the fact that it wasn’t an impossible story, nor an impossible task, was conversely convincing them.

Everyone’s gaze turned back to Lapis.

Very slowly, her mouth opened.

* * *

The lighthouse courtyard.

All of the remaining wingboats leave their positions.

With only the minimum number of people left to maintain the lighthouse’s celestial arts, all of the observers begin their operation.

Renok spoke to Grisha, who remained behind with a complicated expression, looking up at the sky.

“This is something only you can do. Can I leave it to you?”

For Renok, asking for someone’s cooperation in battle was an awkward thing, but this was also a process he had to adapt to.

A sorcerer like Grisha could handle things that Renok couldn’t.

That meant that Renok could directly realize an operation that he wouldn’t have even dared to consider before.

But Renok was certain.

The secret of the updrafts he had observed while traveling through the Autonomous Region.

The reason for the existence of the floating island cluster.

And if he considered the celestial arts used in the lighthouse-

He could definitely sink the Drug Lord’s consciousness into the sea from here.

Grisha’s stiff lips opened.

“Did you deliberately talk to Lapis and get her answer for this moment?”

“…”

Renok didn’t deny it.

Grisha silently looked up at the sky.

“The old woman left a message for you, and maybe that was for this moment too…”

She muttered blankly.

A clear focus returned to Grisha’s eyes, which had seemed to be recalling distant memories.

“Tell me what I need to do. I don’t care about anything as long as I can screw that drug addict bastard over.”

“…”

It was a slightly uncomfortable thing to hear for the drug addict, but Renok endured it.

The task ahead was far more difficult than that.