Aiden raised his gun and fired through the bars, systematically shooting through the dominant hands of the pirates holding firearms. Once a magazine was empty, he unhurriedly reloaded and continued firing.
Screams echoed one after another as pirates clutched their bleeding hands. Their guns couldn't fire; in this "gunfight," no matter their numerical advantage, they were nothing but live targets.
"You really could have just used my divine word," Qimora said, standing beside Aiden, taking a drag from her slender cigarette holder.
"No need," Aiden replied between shots.
Before revealing himself, he had invoked the "Return" divine word effect. Within the duration and range of the divine word, the pirates' guns instantly reverted to their pre-firing state the moment they were fired. Because in Aiden's eyes, anyone within the prison other than guards—be they inmates or outside invaders—was forbidden from possessing and using weapons.
Seeing the invading pirates utterly routed, the female inmates who had escaped with them were already pale with terror.
Some quietly retreated towards the cells, hoping to slip back into their rooms unnoticed amidst the chaos.
"Everyone stand still! You think you can just leave your cells and pretend nothing happened?" Aiden suddenly called out. "Prepare emergency defensive measures."
The black magic runes carved around the main block gate suddenly lit up. Several trap mechanisms designed to fire crossbow bolts and corrosive liquids also armed themselves, all aimed at the pirates and escapees in the corridor.
After the prison's operational funds became abundant, Aiden had also slightly renovated and updated the defensive measures of the Core Block cells.
These newly added counter-attack measures, besides triggering automatically when the main gate was breached, could also be freely deployed by Aiden through manipulating the wards, given his command authority over the entire prison.
Of course, for the red-level inmates in the prison, if they could use their powers, they could probably find ways to handle both the gate itself and its defenses.
But for this mob of small-fry female inmates escaping together, let alone being currently suppressed by the wards, even without restrictions, they couldn't possibly deal with the prison's automated defenses.
At this moment, the escaped female inmates finally recognized the reality: Aiden could execute them all collectively right here with a mere thought. The Warden was, after all, still the Warden.
"Give up hope. I've already noted down all the inmates who left their cells without authorization. No need to beg for mercy either. If begging worked, what would be the point of guards?" Aiden said while unhurriedly reloading his pistol. "I believe I already gave you a chance yesterday. Since you made your choice, you must bear the consequences. And you, Inmate 3677, you are the main culprit of this mass escape."
He finally fixed his gaze on Anne, his tone as flat as if discussing the weather, yet it sent chills down the spines of the escaped inmates. Each click of a bullet being loaded into the magazine sounded like a countdown to execution. Anne Drake, stared at by Aiden like this, felt her entire body stiffen.
But after reloading, Aiden lowered his gun.
"However, I'm no demon either. Escapes aren't exactly rare here. I won't go so far as to round everyone up and shoot them. The workshop needs workers too. I'll try my best to let you return to your cells alive," Aiden showed a "kind" smile. "But... for the inmates who obediently stayed in their cells, I should probably give them some reward, right?"
The escaping inmates looked at each other, reading fear in each other's eyes. Aiden's "but" clearly indicated he wouldn't let them off easily.
Aiden cleared his throat and announced loudly: "Notice to all inmates remaining in their cells: you are now authorized to assist the guards in subduing all escaped inmates and repelling the invading jailbreakers. The only requirement is to capture them alive if possible. This is a rare opportunity for meritorious service. I hope you all strive for it... Inmate 3005, 3100, 3110, 3397, for the aforementioned inmates, partial spellcasting permissions unlocked."
His voice reverberated down the Core Block corridors. Simultaneously, Ophelia, who had previously informed on the plan, along with Dailey, Arsena, and Priscilla—the three who had signed demon contracts with Aiden—felt the magic suppressed by the wards surge back to life within them.
"Heh!" Ophelia, whose cell was closest to the gate among the group, immediately dashed out, heading straight outside.
"Capture the escaped inmates..." Evangeline also rushed out upon hearing the command, already accustomed to acting on Aiden's instructions.
"Fuck! Don't steal my kills, ya little brat!!" Carmilla from the opposite cell violently kicked her door open and charged forward.
"Hey, the fighting power of those three who just went out is already ridiculously overkill... Should we still go?" Priscilla was already starting to pity the escaping inmates.
"Doesn't matter. Consider it spell practice... The Warden said 'capture alive if possible,' which means anything goes as long as we don't kill them," Dailey pulled Priscilla out of the cell.
Not just these red and orange level powerhouses, almost all inmates scrambled out of their cells, rushing towards the escapees and pirates trapped by the gate. A new carnival began in the Core Block corridors, only this time, it was interspersed with numerous terrified screams.
Aiden calmly watched the escapees and pirates being beaten black and blue by the powerhouse inmates emerging from the Core Block. He nonchalantly opened the Codex Anomos and wrote a line on it with a fountain pen: "Theft is forbidden. Violators shall suffer corporal punishment."
This way, the Codex Anomos wouldn't be easily stolen or snatched from his hands.
If Navia Drake had also written this sentence on it, Aiden could never have used Qimora divine word power to steal the Codex.
However, the fundamental job of pirates is theft, plunder, and seizing others' property. Even if Navia normally wrote this sentence to prevent the Codex from being stolen, he absolutely couldn't use this rule when engaging in his usual trade.
This Pirate King, wielding an artifact and acting invincible, ultimately fell due to the very crimes he committed.
"Such powerful Authority... this, this probably isn't just an ordinary item imbued with Divinity, right? Could this be..." Qimora eyes widened as she examined the codex in Aiden's hand. "Oh my, Warden, for petty matters like stealing, you could have totally let me handle it!"
"Let you handle it? Once you got your hands on it, wouldn't you either keep it for yourself or exorbitantly raise the price?" Aiden turned his face and smiled at her. "Regardless, thank you for your help this time. Pleasure doing business with you."
"Pleasure indeed. Having obtained such a fine item, don't you think you should reward such an excellent partner with a little more Divinity?" Qimora sidled up smilingly, linking her arm with Aiden's familiarly.
"Don't even think about it," Aiden instantly pulled his arm away. "I'm a man of my word. Whatever price we agreed upon beforehand... is exactly the price."
Comments
Post a Comment