Chapter 326: Subterranean Diplomacy (1/2)

“He controls this town by himself? How is that possible? He is not even on the power Ladder,” Mr. Trang said with some suspicion after hearing the inscriber's proclamation.

“Wealth trumps over power,” the inscriber said. “Anyone who tries to cause trouble will get blasted by his various treasures or arrays. I doubt even the Super Brother-Man would dare to cause a ruckus in the Underworld Nexus.”

Zac slowly nodded, remembering Ogras’ words. With enough wealth it was possible to completely ensconce yourself within your sphere of influence, buying layers after layers of defensive and offensive structures. Of course, while it was entirely possible to smash your enemies with piles of money it was also true that wealth couldn't trump over supreme power.

“So he’s not part of any force?” Mr. Trang asked curiously. “Seems like he would be better off joining this Union.”

“He has his own company, Dragonwing Enterprises, and many underlings here in the city. I work for Dragonwing Enterprises for example,” the inscriber explained drawing a glare from the guard.

“They only recruit locally though,” the Ishiate hurriedly added. “So how about it? Shall we head to the Union? Or if fighting is more your style, I actually have some friends working for the Council as well.”

Zac didn’t immediately answer but instead went over what they had learned. He knew they might only have scratched the surface, but it still felt like they had a good enough understanding of the underworld to get to work.

The splintered forces had generally clumped together into larger groups, but it seemed there were no individuals strong enough to become sole leaders. Instead, councils were formed where power was shared. The only exception was this Smaug character who seemed solely to control this town by virtue of wealth rather than strength.

Now that they knew who the players were and what kind of place they had arrived at there was no longer any need for subterfuge. Zac never meant for them to keep their anonymity forever, as there was no point in doing so. They needed to speak with Smaug, and the quickest way to do this was to explain who they were. Mr. Trang seemed to be of the same idea, as he shot a glance at Zac who made a small signal with his hand.

“I am afraid that we do not plan to join any force,” Mr. Trang said with a smile at the Ishiate, before turning toward the inscriber. “We would like to meet your boss.”

Both the ishiate and the inscriber looked a bit startled at the quick change in demeanor before the beastman let out a guffaw.

“Are you crazy? Do you think just anyone can just walk in here and act as they please?” the guard laughed derisively. ”I am being nice enough to help you out, but you better smarten up before something bad happens.”

But the inscriber’s eyes thinned as he glanced at Zac’s party, and he seemed to take the situation seriously even though all of their auras were completely restrained.

“Who are you?” he asked.

“We come from the surface, and we represent the Super Brother-Man,” Mr. Trang said, hiding nothing. “The forces of the surface world all tried to reach this place the moment the hunt ended, but currently it is only the Super Brother-Man who possess the capabilities needed to reach this place.”

“Oh, the Super Brother-Man, is it?” the Ishiate laughed even harder. “I forgot to introduce myself, I am Starlight’s long-lost brother, and this inscriber here is the cousin of Thea Marshall.”

“That’s enough Terre-“ the inscriber said, but his words got caught in his throat as an aura as heavy as a mountain spread out, suffused with killing intent.

The whole cavernous room started shaking and the two men both were unable to move. The Ishiate had fallen down on his belly and was crawling toward the door with horror in his eyes. The inscriber was not much better off as he had fallen back into the pile of empty tokens, his face white as a sheet.

It wasn’t Zac, but rather the snake who peeked out of Verana’s sleeve that was emitting the dense aura, proving that it was another E-Grade beast under her command. In fact, the aura it emitted was even stronger than those of Grub and Lulu, making Zac wonder if Verana held back during their fight.

“The Super Brother-Man has closed multiple incursions in the past week, but there is far more to do. He sent his right-hand man and a general to close the incursions down here, and help the people stuck here,” Joanna explained when the snake finally crawled back inside Verana’s sleeve and restrained its aura.

“Are you… truly from the surface?” the inscriber said, clearly starting to believe their words. “Then why have only you arrived and no one else? We have waited for so long for assistance. And do you have any proof you’re with the Super Brother-Man?”

“It is simple. Most of the people on the surface believe that our new world consists of one huge continent, but that isn’t true. There is, in fact, a second continent, but it is separated by a vast ocean. The Super Brother-Man is the only one with a fleet powerful enough to cross the ocean and survive the leviathans of the sea,” Sap Trang explained.

“Shortly after we set up our outpost we noticed this place appearing now and then on the teleportation panel,” Joanna added. “And as for proof? The force of the Super-Brother-man is Port Atwood, which you should know after the hunt.”

The next moment both her alignment from her status screen appeared, and her current position on the ladder.

“Atwood Valkyrie… a ranker!” the inscriber said with shock. “Are you his right-hand man? Or General?”

“No, I am not strong enough for that yet,” Joanna said, looking a bit pained before gesturing at Zac and Verana. “It’s those two.”

The implication was clear, and the inscriber immediately understood what she was getting at. Not even low rankers were strong enough to become generals under the Super Brother-Man.