Genius Wizard Takes Medicine [EN]: Chapter 307

Drey and Weyan. Kidel and Ike. Mad Manson, Suryeon, and Asui. Panoa and Killian from Dyke, and even the face of the blood mage, Ryan Eiter.

Every single person gathered here was either a level 6 equivalent military-grade superhuman or possessed a special aptitude in their field that was no less impressive.

Rather than coordinating with those gathered by Meyer’s call, it would be much easier to take them and cooperate in this matter.

Especially Drey, who knew that his former comrades were involved in this matter, had a rather complicated expression.

However, Lenok, fully aware of this, shook his head.

“When the operation starts, there’s a high possibility that the outer districts will become more chaotic. It’s better to leave some reserve forces within the company in case of an emergency.”

“That’s not wrong, but…”

“The agents and Councilman Meyer’s side have also hired freelancers for this operation. If they’ve planned the operation and chosen suitable members, there’s no reason not to use them.”

*Click, click!!*

Lenok said, placing the disassembled rechargeable shotgun on the bar table and quickly assembling it.

With Lenok’s terrible dexterity, it wouldn’t be strange if he lost a dozen parts, but fixing the shotgun while using mana was not difficult.

Lenok nodded, looking at the shotgun that had been disassembled and reassembled in an instant.

Jenny, who was watching him, sighed deeply.

“I don’t want to argue with the decision you’ve made, Ban… Haa, I don’t know about this one.”

She swept her curly hair back and frowned.

“All I can do is gather information on Gearside and the nearby members of the Devil’s Den. I hope everything goes well without any problems, but…”

“That’s enough.”

*Charrrrk!!*

He cast a shrinking spell on the shotgun again, and the shotgun, which had instantly shrunk to the size of a finger, was tucked into the sleeve of his coat.

Lenok, having finished checking the last piece of equipment, immediately got up from the bar.

“The Antares Office will also start moving separately for this matter. Considering their forces, it won’t take long.”

As he stepped out of the bar, seeing off by the others, the cold morning air greeted Lenok.

Watching the breath escaping from his lips, he took out a cigarette from his pocket.

Lenok, sitting on the bike parked in the empty lot behind the bar, immediately lit the cigarette and gripped the throttle.

*Wooooooong!!*

The intense engine sound that made his stomach tremble.

Lenok took in the noise that echoed through the morning air and slowly lowered his posture.

At the same time as Davi wagged its tail in Lenok’s arms, the AI interface activated and drew a map.

[Shall we go?]

*Buaaaaaang!!*

The new bike transformed into a streak of light and shot straight out of the road.

* * *

The operation to eliminate the Defense Force special forces members who had infiltrated the city.

The operation devised by Hina and the agent operation team, in consultation with the councilor’s secretariat, was simple.

They analyzed the composition of the Defense Force uniform fibers secured during the previous battles and classified only the high-grade materials that were not easily used in the outer districts.

Using the classified fibers as a medium, they activated a large-scale spell.

They gathered all the sorcerers who could be contacted within the megacity and connected artificial links created by magic to the outer districts.

It was impossible to pinpoint the location of each individual within the vast 40th and 50th districts with just this, but it was possible to observe the noise patterns generated when the spell made contact with the target, thereby estimating their approximate movements and narrowing down their paths.

They succeeded in narrowing down the whereabouts of the Defense Force special forces members to the vicinity of the 48th and 52nd districts after investing about 30 hours.

They organized the underworld figures who had decided to participate in this operation into several groups and made them search each district.

*Tatatang!!!*

“Found them!”

“Track them immediately!!”

*Thud!!*

“Don’t let them get away!”

From the intelligence unit’s perspective, there was no way they would miss the opportunity to have those who were originally data acquisition targets come to them on their own.

The members, unaware that an operation was being carried out against them, naturally started fighting, and their locations were immediately transmitted to a few individuals.

“Buy some time!!”

“If we hold out a little longer, someone will come!!”

[Wait, could it be that they were aiming for support from the start…!!]

*Buaaaaaang!!*

Before the member, who belatedly realized something was wrong, could urgently spread the word, the heavy wheel of a bike that suddenly appeared next to him crushed the member’s body and splattered blood.

*Ujijijik!!*

[Kkeuaaaak!!]

The member, who was still conscious and struggling, tried to escape and plan for the future, but was only turned into mincemeat by the flash of the shotgun that erupted from the bike.

*Taang!! Taang!!*

Lenok, having silenced the other members who were desperately firing two more shots, finally turned around.

“Did anyone escape?”

Donovan, who was holding a heavy weapon, immediately answered at that murderous momentum.

“There were five when we found them. Two probably escaped.”

“Two, huh.”

*Dududududu!!*

Lenok said, gripping the throttle.

“I have a rough idea of who they are.”

Two presences were moving away in different directions from the nearby sensory range.

Did they realize that sticking together was a problem in this urgent situation?

Lenok did not hesitate and immediately drove his bike out of the narrow alley.

The other freelancers, who were blankly watching his departure, let out a hollow laugh.

“He took down those guys who were struggling so fiercely with just a bike and three shotgun shots…”

“There’s a difference in skill, but I didn’t think it would be this much.”

Just now, they had been engaged in a back-and-forth battle during the process of capturing and tracking five intelligence unit members who were moving as a group.

The soldiers, who showed a clear advantage in not only handling firearms but also in close combat with martial arts and hand-to-hand combat, were demonstrating the strength of a trained superhuman.

Yet, they were unable to resist Lenok’s attacks and lost their lives.

However, instead of being surprised, Donovan calmly checked his hand cannon and said,

“Instead of saying that, look at our communication network now.”

“What?”

“If you check the performance reports that are coming in now, you’ll understand who this operation was centered around from the beginning.”

Upon hearing that, they immediately took out their phones, scrolled through the communication screen, and slightly opened their mouths.

[Three members killed in the 50th district. Two tracked: Ban]

[Five members killed in the 52nd district. Three tracked: Ilya]

[Two members killed in the 49th district. Eight tracked: Lundell]

[One member killed in the 50th district. One tracked: Lundell]

[Two members killed in the 51st district. Four tracked: Ban]

[Two members killed in the 51st district. Three tracked: Ban]

[Three members killed in the 51st district. Moving: Ban]

[One member killed in the 51st district. Moving: Ilya]

……

The names on the performance reports that were constantly appearing on the phone were almost exclusively those of three people.

Donovan also stared at his phone and muttered,

“It’s a tactic of concentrating information on three people with overwhelming skills and expecting results. In other words, we are the buoys that provide that information in this operation.”

However, even so, the fact that Lenok, a mage, was keeping up with the mobility of the other two, who were physical powerhouses, was absurd.

Donovan knew well that such performance reports could not have been possible without his godlike bike riding skills that seemed to ignore distance.

“Well, Ban is one thing, but Ilya and Lundell are also amazing.”

“I’ve never heard of either of them… Are they not from the freelancer background?”

“That’s right.”

Donovan nodded with a serious expression.

“Rather, the biggest problem in this operation is that very thing.”

* * *

51st District. A parking lot of an abandoned building filled with trash.

Lenok was sitting on his bike, lighting a cigarette.

With the rechargeable shotgun on his shoulder, he quickly scrolled through the phone communication screen with one hand.

The names visible in the performance report section, which was automatically recorded on the screen, were only three, including Lenok.

[All tracking signals near this area have disappeared. The member in front of me is the last one.]

“The progress is faster than I thought. It seems like we can finish it within half a day and move on to the next stage.”

“Ugh…!”

Lenok gripped the handle of the shotgun, looking at the member who was lying injured.

*Click!*

[Auto-reload]

[Trajectory correction]

[Rapid charge 300%]

[Shotgun focus]

[Single shot]

*Weeeeng!!*

In the blink of an eye, a pale magical light flowed from the barrel of the shotgun, which had accumulated more than five auxiliary spells.

Just as he was about to pull the trigger towards the fallen member’s head.

“…Wait.”

Lenok’s eyes flashed sharply.

[Master?]

“The color of the epaulet on his shoulder is slightly different. There’s no big difference on the surface, but it’s enough to be noticeable in the dark.”

“Eek!!”

He put away the shotgun and immediately pulled out his mana thread.

“I need to take him alive. He might know some other information.”

Just as Lenok was about to bind the struggling member’s body with his mana thread.

*Swaaeeek!!*

A streak of high-speed light that flew from behind pierced the member’s head.

A spear blade emitting an alien glow. Although it clearly had the shape of a blade, its appearance was not clearly visible.

The javelin, which was fired at high speed, pierced the member and vibrated violently, scattering his blood everywhere.

*Parrrr!!*

“Keok…!!”

The member, who groaned in pain beyond his limits, died on the spot. Lenok’s eyes turned cold as he confirmed his death.

The way the member died was not normal, not only because of her sharp eyes and quick hands that took advantage of the brief gap when he used mana.

The javelin itself was vibrating violently, completely destroying the internal organs of the person it hit.

It was beyond martial arts or techniques using mana; it was something that was difficult to do without completely modifying the equipment itself.

*Pshooook!*

At that moment, the javelin that had pierced the member’s body floated into the air and began to return to where it had flown from.

Instead of staring at it blankly, Lenok turned the mana thread he had already extended and quickly grabbed the javelin.

*Charrrrk!!*

“This is…”

Only after stopping it in mid-air and checking its appearance could he roughly gauge its shape.

An abnormally long blade, about half the height of a person.

There was no handle or blade guard; it was an extremely simple appearance made solely for remote control.

Even now, as he held it with his mana thread, the javelin itself was vibrating violently, maximizing the destructive power it had created.

Davi, who had quickly scanned the blade, pulled out the answer from the database.

[It’s a remote-controlled specialized spear created by combining single-molecule cutting and super-vibration cutting technology. It’s made by combining several rare metals with good durability to maximize mana conductivity.]

“Super-vibration cutting, huh…”

[Even assuming the technology of the workshop has reached this level, it’s a very high-quality item. It’s an artifact that was artificially created, but it’s made with so much care that it’s hard to believe. It seems like it would be impossible for an average mana user to even control it.]

It was an item that was densely packed with the technology of magical engineering rather than just spells.

As if in proportion to that, Davi’s explanation continued endlessly.

*Kagagagak!!*

The spear, which had been violently resisting while bound by the mana thread, broke free from Lenok’s restraints.

As a result of maximizing the cutting power through tremendous vibrations that could not be counted with the naked eye, it was not enough to hold it with a few strands of mana thread that he had pulled out to capture an injured member.

The spear, which had raced through the parking lot, flew up the inner wall of the building in an instant and returned to its owner.

Lenok’s gaze naturally followed it upwards.

A woman was hanging like a spider on the uneven inner wall of the building, at a vertical height of what seemed to be more than a dozen meters, looking down at him.

With her strange, glossy hair hanging down, her appearance, clinging to the wall, was so alien that she didn’t look like a human.

Behind her, who was looking down at him with a visor that hid her facial expression, five spears of the same shape were floating.

“…”

The gazes of her, hanging on the wall, and Lenok naturally met.

They knew who each other was without having to exchange words.

Ilya, from Cybrid Echo.

She was the very person who had been monopolizing the performance report window with Lenok until just now, killing Defense Force members, and appeared before Lenok.

She was the one who had stopped Donovan’s attempt to give all the rewards for this operation to Lenok and had reversed the atmosphere of the meeting, and she was also a key figure suspected of being under the influence of another councilor other than Meyer in this operation.

“I thought we decided to report them alive instead of killing them.”

Lenok said, watching Ilya jump down from the wall and walk lightly towards him.

Despite falling from a height of more than a dozen meters, her movements seemed as light as a feather.

“If you don’t intend to keep the pre-agreed terms, what’s the point of the operation?”

“I only carried it out because I judged that it was an issue that would not cause any major problems even if I killed him.”

*Jiiing!*

There was not a hint of agitation on Ilya’s face as she lifted her visor.

“He’s a case I’ve never seen among the members we’ve encountered so far. He might have been a team leader or had a direct line to the command headquarters.”

Lenok glanced at the corpse of the member who had died.

“Because you turned the body into mincemeat, it’ll be hard to find anything even if we search his belongings.”

“…”

“It almost looks like you were trying to destroy the evidence rather than carry out the operation.”

The two’s gazes sharply clashed, and the air around them instantly turned cold.

Lenok’s statement was tantamount to questioning Ilya’s fundamental reason for participating in this operation.

It was a statement that seemed extremely aggressive at first glance, but it was something that had been mentioned in advance before the operation began.

Palad and Hina had also demanded a firm response to the suspicious behavior of those suspected of being under the influence of other councilors.

If Ilya was planning to interfere with this operation under the influence of another city councilor, it would be wise to cut her off here before the fortress capture operation began.

Lenok sharply watched Ilya’s face, who did not answer.

‘Five super-vibration spears. Considering her combat style of remotely controlling all of them, she might be surprisingly vulnerable in close-range combat.’

He had already gauged her weapons and power in his head and calculated how to take the first move.

‘I’ll hit her with high firepower right in front of her and decide on the next move while watching her reaction. Considering the weapons she uses, I also need to think about drawing her deep into the parking lot to narrow her range of movement…’

Considering her mobility that allows her to freely cling to walls, her strangely powerful cutting power, and her precise spear control ability, she would be a style that would be most effective when there was plenty of space.

Of course, her combat ability wouldn’t drop significantly just by changing the environment a little, but at this level of skill, minor variables and psychological factors can never be ignored.

While Lenok was figuring out how to defeat her on the spot, Ilya, who had been staring at his face, quietly shook her head.

“The Defense Force intelligence member I just killed. Even if you had interrogated him, you wouldn’t have gotten any significant information.”

“What do you mean?”

“The fact that he was wearing an epaulet that can only be identified at night means that he was an information officer in charge of transmitting data through the magnetic storm of the megacity, which weakens at night… It would have been impossible to obtain meaningful results from a transmitter who only sends the secured data to the command headquarters.”

“…”

“Killing him as quickly as possible is a way to prevent the collection of combat data.”

An explanation that was too specific. It was an impossible story unless she knew about the Defense Force’s purpose and methods.

To be precise, about the mastermind behind this incident, hiding behind the Defense Force headquarters.

Lenok’s gaze deepened.

“Do you know why the Defense Force is collecting data like this?”

“I have some guesses. It’s a method that those at the forefront of the machine city, the pinnacle of bioengineering, once tried and failed.”

“…”

“Gearside… We must prevent the technology of the heretics who split from the machine city of Machina from being used in the wrong way.”

Ilya continued, looking at Lenok with an unwavering gaze.

“That is the duty given to us, Cybrid Echo, who received the blueprints for the Ascension Gate.”