Chapter 112
Left Hand of God 4
-:-
Later that day
In a certain city in Eldorado
Eldorado was an interesting country to say the very least.
Though not in the top 10 like the Commonwealth, Zifang or the Jade Empire, Eldorado was still an incredibly wealthy country.
It has tons of natural resources right in its border ripe for exploitation.
It had a strong manufacturing sector with a decently sized low skilled labor that could be used for mass production.
And while Juno had a very deep dislike to humans with the exception of a small group, she found that a lot of the Eldorado natives to be very vibrant and very entertaining to be with.
But just like any country, Eldorado had a fair share of negatives that often destroyed most of its positives.
The main filth that stained Eldorado was the massive illegal drug industry.
Large swaths of land were dedicated to producing marijuana, hashish, heroine, opium, cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine and so much more.
Drug lords gained money and political backing strong enough to twist the government's arm.
Just like any country, Eldorado’s government and upper echelons were as corrupt. Like bloated leeches, the vampires of society grew fat and arrogant at their perceived ‘power’
Eldorado was just like any other country which was capable of becoming so much more, but was dragged down by its own people.
And Juno preferred it this way.
The corrupt were powerful but were surprisingly easy to control
The lunatic leaders that simply killed people they didn't like could be negotiated by brutally ripping their entrails out of their stomach and forcing them to eat it with a dinner fork. The yes-man that would be replacing his predecessor was then forced to watch it all in order to ‘instill a sense of loyalty’.
As for those who think themselves as cunning schemers and shrewd tacticians, Shale was the one that handled these negotiations.
He followed a very simple mathematical formula that netted many successes.
(Mad Regeneration + Hot Metal Rods) x X number of days = Very Convincing Argument
And this formula didn't even have to be applied to the person in question.
Their loved ones were a good enough substitute.
Now you’re probably wondering…
‘Why doesnt Juno just use her Book of Shackles to enslave those whom she negotiated with?’
The answer was simple.
Because it took out all of the fun for the rest of her troops.
Quite a lot in her group (Juno included) were bloodthirsty madmen that took great pleasure in killing and/or torturing people.
Those who were shackled were the ones that she needed to live. Those who weren't were the ones that Juno prayed that they would rebel in hopes of gutting them in front of their men.
Those who were shackled did not rebel against Juno… and that was not fun at all.
Thus the current situation
At the moment, Juno was in the 51st floor of a fancy hotel with Hector, Yasami and Maya Saiga.
Normally, she would be joined by a more combat save group, but she decided that she deserved a little bit of fun in her current boring life.
‘But what about the troll from yesterday’ you ask?
Such a short battle could not even be remotely considered as fun.
At the moment, Juno was by the window, silently looking down on the insects littering this world.
“Juno, I understand you have a very short fuse, but please stay your hands. We need his cooperation to proceed with that mission of yours.” said Hector
“~sure. Whatever you say, father~” replied Juno in a lighthearted manner
Hector and Yasami sighed in defeat while Maya (the relatively innocent newcomer) didn't understand what was about to transpire.
A few minutes passed where Hector tried to explain to Juno the ‘plan’ which she would eventually ignore.
Eventually the door opened and approximately 10 people walked in like they owned the place. Odds were that they really did.
8 were bodyguards armed with guns and magic weapons. Fairly standard affair
2 of the 10 were clearly the leaders of this merry band
The first one was a horizontally large man in his early 50’s with a thick beard and a clean suit. This was Miguel Baroque, a senator of the Eldorado Parliament and one of the hidden hand that controls Eldorado’s government
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Juno didnt like the senator because he was a good man and a patriot.
While Juno had no problem slaughtering the innocent and the guilty alike, she did often think ‘What would the Machine God do?’ whenever she did anything.
And it goes without saying that Theo would have never hurt such a man of honor.
Juno was a bit annoyed that she’d have to do that would clearly displease Theo…. But she’ll do it anyway.
The other person was a woman approximately the same age as Hector Saiga with a fancy navy suit and an evil glint in her eyes. This was Maria Dolores, the highest ranking officer in the Eldorado Navy and was to go to person when illegal activities needed doing. From human trafficking to the drug trade, she had a hand in all the illegal pies.
Juno liked Dolores quite a lot.
As the bitch of the drug lords, she was someone Juno could torture to high heavens without any repercussion from Theo.
“Hector Saiga. Long time no see.” said Dolores in an arrogant manner.
“Dolores” replied Hector with a bow.
“I must say, I’m very disappointed that you suddenly no longer allow my clients to transport their ‘products’ (drugs and slaves) through your property. While I personally don't mind, my clients will not appreciate this.”
“I apologize for that. There have been some…. complications” replied Hector while throwing a quick glance at Juno
“Oh my oh my. It seems that father dear is trying to get the help of Dolores. Very good! It’s been boring as of late. Now I have a reason to hurt him really really badly!” thought Juno as she maintained a calm facade.
“Are you sure you want to talk about crime on my watch?” asked Miguel Baroque in a stern manner.
“What are you going to do about it? Prosecute me? Ha! Go ahead and try!” replied Dolores
Miguel could only grind his teeth in frustration.
Despite being higher up in the ladder, Miguel’s authority was miniscule compared to Dolores who has the entire criminal underground behind her.
She could easily wipe out Miguel’s grandchildren with a phone call.
In a sense, Dolores was untouchable in Eldorado
Satisfied with putting down Miguel, Dolores walked in front of Juno with confidence.
“So…. Juno Saiga, right? And you want to borrow one of our aircraft carriers?” asked Dolores while sizing Juno up.
“Correct” replied Juno
“You know that’s not cheap, right?”
“Of course. I’m willing to pay any price for it.”
“Any price you say? You’re in luck then! Quite a few of my clients have expressed interest in bedding you, and you did cost them a bit of money by sticking your nose into daddy’s business. Why don't you use your body yo-” said Dolores as she grabbed Juno’s breast.
And as expected, she lost a few teeth as Juno backfisted her.
“Dont touch me you filthy whore.” said Juno in a manner of an adult speaking to a child.
“YOU BITCH! KILL HER!” roared Dolores
And thus, the battle began.
Hector, Yasami and Maya Saiga dove for cover while Juno lunged at the nearest bodyguard with a violent dropkick to the face.
In order to get as much fun as she could from this battle, she decided to use the power available to a normal human being.
It was a decent enough handicap that can make the battle last a little bit longer
There were 8 bodyguards. 5 of them had magic weapons while 3 had guns.
The first one she went for had a pistol.
Quite unfortunate. She wanted to make the magic weapons her own.
For now, she used the man's gun and blew his brains on the floor with a point blank shot.
Contrary to popular belief, even she won't miss at such a close range.
“Oh my god! You killed Kenny! YOU BASTARD!” roared one of the bodyguards as the 2 gunners open fired
Juno swiftly moved from cover to cover while using her newly acquired pistol to fire back.
Much to her embarrassment, she missed every shot.
The sound of the empty clicking emboldened the melee bodyguards. They rushed to Juno in the hopes to surround her.
The first one to arrive was an axe wielding bodyguard.
He swung down to cut Juno in half.
Juno dodged with little effort before shoving the pistol into the bodyguard’s eye socket, which she then drove in deep into his skull with a violent open palm strike.
She took the bodyguard’s axe and cleaved another bodyguard’s head in half.
Juno used the 2 corpses as shield while she slowly pushed towards the 2 gunners.
The 3 magic weapon wielders lunged forward to intercept
A spear wielder stabbed through his fallen comrades in hopes to skewer Juno behind them.
This was a mistake because Juno saw it coming.
She dodged the spear by moving ever so slightly to the side. She grabbed the spear and pulled it, causing the spearman to tumble slightly forward.
The spearman didn't get a chance to regain his balance as an axe lodged itself in his brain.
Juno used the other body to block a mace that was coming from the right while jerking the spear upwards to block a halberd.
She used all of her strength to kick the halberd wielder in the nuts before pulling the spear completely out of her meatshield and skewering meatshield #2 and the mace wielder in one go.
She grabbed the mace and, while dodging gunfire, bashed the halberd wielder’s skull in.
Dual wielding the halberd and the mace, she lunged at one of the gunners and sprayed the walls with her blood by cleaving her in half before bashing her brains in.
Unnecessary brutality, but very good food for the soul.
She turned to the last surviving gunner bodyguard only to find him using the terrified Maya Saiga as hostage.
“Drop your weapons or miss big tits here gets it!” said the bodyguard who was clearly shaken by how quickly Juno wiped them out.
“Pfhahahaha! Of all the hostages you could have used, you had to use THE MOST WORTHLESS TO ME!” roared Juno as she charged towards the 2 with weapons drawn.
As Juno was about to run through Maya, a peculiar thing happened.
Juno and her weapons became transparent and phased through Maya, stabbing the last gunner in the gut and impaling him into the wall.
And just like that, the battle was over.
“Hmm. I guess that was kind of fun.” said Juno as she bashed the last gunner’s skull with her mace.
Maya approached Juno as she was about to ‘play’ with Dolores.
“T-Thank you for saving-” said Maya before Juno grabbed her by the throat
“You made me use my power, little cow. Normally I would have killed you for making me waste energy, but I’ll let this one slide since this is your first offense. Next time you displease me…. I’ll leave it to your imagination. Comprende?” said Juno
The terrified Mayaa silently nodded in response.
“Good girl. Now take care of my dear parents will you?”
Juno released Maya and lunged Dolores who had a gun aimed at her.
Juno easily deflected the bullet with the mace and cleaved Dolores’ hand with the halberd.
She then mounted Dolores and proceeded to beat her with her bare hands.
“Please! Stop! I’ll do whatever you want! Dont hurt me anymore!” pleaded Dolores
“You misunderstand, filthy whore. Whether I hurt you or not, you’ll do what I want regardless!”
Juno proceeded to shower Dolores with blows until her face was no longer recognizable.
Juno has healers standing by outside the hotel. Dolores will be good as new later.
But for now, she had to finish her real aim in this meeting.
Cowering in a corner of the room, desperately trying to make himself look as small as possible, was Miguel Baroque
As Juno calmly walked towards him, Miguel Baroque prostrated himself in front of Juno.
“Please! Dont hurt me! I have grandkids to support! I beg you!” said Miguel in clear desperation.
Juno gently stepped on his head and lightly tapped it with her sole.
“You know your place. Very good.” said the amused Juno. “I want you to answer a question. Lie, and I’ll chop of your legs. Understood.”
“Yes! I’ll answer with nothing but the truth!”
“Good… now here’s my question. When I make you the president of Eldorado, how much of the criminal masterminds can you wipe out in your first term?” asked Juno
“Eh? Huh?” replied Miguel in confusion.
“I will make you the president of this filthy nation. I want you to clean it up. How much progress can you make in one term?”
Though confused, Miguel decided to answer as honestly as he could.
“That depends on the firepower available to me. The police and the branches of the military are filled with corrupt officials, so...” said Miguel
“Then you’re in luck. I am the Left Hand of the Machine God and I offer you a very lucrative proposition that will benefit us both.”
And just like that, the seeds have been planted that would cause an entire country to fall into the Machine God’s clutches.
But that is a story for another time.