In normal circumstances, a Constable's usual uniform consisted of the armored coat and pants I once wore on that raid against the Black Traders smuggling group. However, tonight was not a normal circumstance. Tonight, I was going to raid a den of degenerate pedophiles with the intention of luring elite assassins who carried poisons strong enough to kill elephants with a single drop.
Hence, my uniform for tonight's raid was a bit more nuanced. Gleaming platinum armor covered every inch of my skin except for the area around my eyes, ensuring maximum protection from all directions. Teal-colored lines of power snaked all over the armor, faintly glowing with magic as it strengthened its durability. From the helmet that protected my noggin to the codpiece that safely ensconced my balls in their firm embrace, everything was enchanted to become resistant against physical and magical attacks.
Even my axe was brand new. Instead of the simple durability-enchanted steel axe I once owned, I now had a double-edged axe enchanted for maximum durability and weight. The weight of the armor and axe combined was heavy as fuck, but my immense strength could take it.
For this mission, Camille essentially turned me into a walking tank, and I liked it very much.
“This is fucking awesome,” I said, my voice ending up muffled inside my helmet. I was currently walking along the streets of the red-light district, my heavy clanking steps echoing between the buildings. “I bet I could jump into a volcano in this thing and come out unscathed.”
“Don't be stupid. Only the strongest enchantments stand a chance against forces of nature,” Warner's voice replied, but he was nowhere to be seen. That was because he was currently hiding inside my shadow, which was part of Operation Siren Tears.
The plan was actually simple: I raid the brothel seemingly alone, when in reality, Warner was hiding inside my shadow waiting to ambush the assassins once they arrived. According to him, he also had several of his fellow shadow agents stalking the area, ready to reinforce when necessary.
“Now focus. You may feel invincible now, but that armor of yours is far from impenetrable. Poison gas could still seep into the gaps, and knowing who our enemies are, expect them to use it in massive amounts.”
“Don't worry, Camille gave me antidotes for that possibility,” I said, patting the small pouch at my belt that contained several dozen pills designed to counteract the anti-healing poison that the tentacled bastard used against me.
“Anti-healing poisons aren't the only ones capable of killing you,” Warner said. “You better hope they don't have life-eater poison because that thing will use your regeneration against you. You will die in seconds.”
“How does it work?”
“It converts your flesh into a corrosive acid that melts your insides. And it spreads, so as long as you're alive, it will continue turning your own body into acid.”
“Whoever made that shit is fucking messed up.”
“Let's just hope that they don't have it,” Warner said. “Life-eater poison is a heavily-illegal substance. The Imperial military keeps a tight grasp on their production to keep criminals from getting their hands on it.”
“But they are produced?”
“Of course they are. How do you think Imperial interrogators get answers out of tight-lipped criminals?”
That's one more fear to add to my list, I suppose.
As I continued marching down the street, bystanders watched me curiously. One would think that seeing a heavily armed and armored warrior would send people scurrying away in concern. On Earth, my presence in the red-light district was the equivalent of an elite tactical team marching down a mall in full combat gear, and it would be understandable if the mall-goers went running away in panic.
But for some reason, the people around here didn't give a shit. Heck, some were even pointing at me with awed faces. “People around here don't give a shit even if a juggernaut walks around here, eh?”
“That's because of their trust in the Governor,” Warner said. “In the years since she took on her father's seat, the city has known only prosperity. Their trust in her to protect them from bad actors is at an all-time high, so they don't see you as a threat at all. They probably think you're some visiting knight.”
“Is that trust gonna stay for long after this, though? First, there was the smuggler's den under the city. Now, it's a brothel engaging in child prostitution. Not exactly the perfect environment to promote safety. This is probably the last time we'll see such carefree faces,” I said as people watched my passage. Several prostitutes lounging on balconies even called out to me with offers of a fun night. Too bad I was currently on the job.
I took the final turn that would lead to the Siren's Call, and the brothel in question immediately became visible at the end of the street. Calling the building lavish wouldn't be enough to justify its appearance. Consisting of multiple three-story buildings, it was more apt to call the Siren's Call a compound instead of a simple establishment. Two-meter-high walls enclosed an area that must've been at least a thousand square meters and contained various stores and dormitories.
The Siren's Call was also the most well-lit area in the entire red-light district. Warm yellow lights illuminated the whole compound, allowing the customers a clear view of their products: the prostitutes. Beautiful women leaned out of windows and balconies, enticing the rich men below who came to have a fun time.
Well, too bad for them, because I also came for some fun times. It's just that I had a different definition of a fun time.
I arrived at the compound's front gate where several guards were already waiting for me, wary. They must've seen me from afar.
“Stop right there!” the lead guard barked out. “This is a place of pleasure, warrior, not of blood. Why do you come armed?”
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“It's showtime,” I muttered before raising the magic device that Camille gave me to my mouth. It looked like a magnifying glass but without the glass, just the circular thing with a handle. Any sound that went through the circle would be amplified.
“ATTENTION, WORKERS AND PATRONS OF THE SIREN'S CALL. YOUR ESTABLISHMENT HAS BEEN FOUND TO CONDUCT ILLEGAL PRACTICES OF CHILD PROSTITUTION AND IS THUS SUBJECT TO THE FULL PUNISHMENT OF IMPERIAL LAW. AS THE DULY APPOINTED CONSTABLE OF SHIELDHOLD, I AM PUTTING EVERYONE INSIDE THE ESTABLISHMENT UNDER ARREST. GET YOUR ASSES DOWN ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD. MOTHERFUCKERS WHO DO NOT COMPLY WILL BE CUT DOWN WITHOUT DUE PROCESS. TO ANY BYSTANDERS IN THE AREA, PLEASE VACATE AT ONCE. I AIN'T ASKING TWICE.”
The entire red-light district went quiet after my announcement. Even the guards at the gate looked unsure after hearing my words, except for the lead guard. The man frowned as he spoke to an amulet. Probably coordinating with people inside.
I unstrapped the heavy axe from my back and held it with two hands. The guards took a step back.
“I already told you, didn't I? Get down on the ground or I cut you down where you stand,” I said. Still, the street was quiet as both bystanders and guards looked at me with disbelief. What the hell were they doing? I expected the guards to either run or fight me as soon as I made my announcement, not this staring contest. Maybe they still couldn't believe I was trying to arrest them.
Well, works in my favor. “Don't tell me I didn't warn you.”
I lunged forward, my axe swinging down on the nearest guard's head. I didn't even feel any resistance as the axe completely bisected the bastard down the middle and crashed on the paved ground with a loud boom.
Holy shit, this axe was fucking next level.
The first dead guard seemed to be the catalyst that finally snapped everyone out of their shock and disbelief. Some woman in the distance shrieked, and the guards shouted in alarm as they raised their weapons.
In a span of a few seconds, chaos descended on the red-light district. Bystanders started running away as they screamed, and behind the line of guards advancing on me, I could see the patrons and workers of the Siren's Call looking at me with fear.
Suffice to say, nobody heeded my instructions to get on the ground at all. Everybody inside the compound started gunning for the other exits.
Meanwhile, the guards finally came into my striking range. I swung for the fences, and they easily dodged my attack and darted in for a strike of their own. Unfortunately for them, their blades simply skidded off my pristine armor, and I took that opportunity to grab one of the guards' arms.
The guard tried to stab me in the gaps of my armor as I drew him in, but he missed. I struck him in the neck with my axe as I pulled him, and I didn't miss. His head went flying off into the sunset.
[You have slain a Lv. 18 Swordsman. Experience gained.]
“Darell!” one of the guards screamed in despair as his fellow guard's corpse fell to the ground. He gave me a murderous glare. “I'll fucking kill you!”
“Try your best, bub.”
Darell's friend broke formation and charged at me with a war cry. I performed an overhead swing at him, a powerful move that eschewed all attempts at defense and focused all my strength in a single attack. I saw Darell's friend raise his shield in an attempt to block me, as well as the guard leader who took advantage of his subordinate's idiocy by flanking me.
My axe which must've weighed at least a hundred kilograms descended on Darell's friend, and it utterly obliterated both shield and man into the ground with sheer force.
[You have slain a Lv. 23 Swordsman. Experience gained.]
Before I could recover from my strike, the guard leader struck at the side of my neck with his spear. The strike was so fast that his weapon was nothing but a blur as it struck at the very thin gap at my neck covered only by a thin unenchanted chainmail. The spear penetrated into my throat, but Hard as Fuck ensured that it didn't pierce all the way through to the other side of my neck.
“Not so tough now, are you?” the guard leader spat as he pulled his spear out from my neck, causing blood to squirt out. I pretended to fall to my knees as he approached cockily. “So you're the Constable that the boss wants dead. He put quite a bounty on your head, you know? For a man who trounced the Shadow Guild several times, you were a disappointingly easy kill. It looks like I'm going to be the one to get the bounty after all—”
I grabbed the bastard's foot when he came close enough. He struck out with his spear again, but it bounced off my gauntlet harmlessly.
“You talk too much,” I said as I stood up while pulling his foot off the ground, causing the leader to fall down. His spear turned into a blur again as it struck my neck several times in a span of a single second, but I simply harnessed the pain into strength and stomped hard on his helmeted head, crushing both metal and skull.
[You have slain a Lv. 31 Elite Spearman. Experience gained.]
When I looked up, the remaining guards looked at me with fear. I took a single step towards them, and the fuckers ran off like cowards.
“There goes my experience,” I muttered.
“Focus,” Warner scolded. “Get moving, we're on a time crunch. We don't know if Carmen is going to transfer the slave children out of here to cover his tracks. You need to get to the main building as soon as you can.”
“Orders received, boss.”
The plan was actually to just attract the assassins, not to save the children, but it seems like Warner was a softie for kids. Not like I'm complaining. I was all for it.
I rushed into the compound, my huge figure heralded by the loud clanking of my armor. When the people saw me, they scurried away from me screaming like they'd just seen a monster. In their defense, my axe and armor were dripping with blood.
More guards arrived to try and stop me, but all of them were in the mere first tier of their Classes. To be fair, I was also in my first tier, but I was an outlier. The guards realized that too when I ripped them apart easily.
[Congratulations! You are now Level 23.]
I smashed my way into the main building and found myself in a lavishly-decorated lobby. The air smelled sweet from all the incense burning nearby, and the ambiance would've been quite nice if not for the prostitutes shrieking their lungs out as they ran away from me.
Ma did say that I'd one day have women shrieking at the sight of me. I just thought they'd shriek because they were charmed and not because they were terrified.
As the rest of the women ran away, one of them was still sitting on the couch, frozen and trembling as I approached. The girl couldn't have been older than eighteen, but I suppose that to people of this world, she was already of age.
“Good evening, ma'am. I have a few questions,” I said as I stood a few meters away from her to keep her from outright having a meltdown. “Do you know where they keep the slave children?”
“B-B-B-B-B…” The woman tried to speak, but fear seemed to have gotten a hold of her. However, she was repeatedly pointing at the ground.
“They're underground? Basement?” I asked, and the woman quickly nodded. “Alright, thanks for the tip. You should go now, lady.”
After the lady left with trembling legs, Warner spoke up. “The building is enchanted to suppress sensory abilities so I can't pinpoint the hidden entrance that should lead underground, but the best place to look would be the manager's office.”
I began searching for the manager's office, and along the way, several more guard teams tried to stop me. I bulldozed my way through them, not even bothering to kill them all as I prioritized finding the manager's office first. I found it soon enough, and I charged at the door. The door was made of thick wood reinforced with iron, but pit against more than a hundred kilograms of man and metal charging at a high speed, the door lost.
As soon as I went past the room's threshold, squiggly lines on the ground suddenly lit up an ominous red. I heard Warner shout it was a trap moments before the entire floor exploded violently. Fire and heat consumed my entire body, and as I was coming to realize, my armor had a limit to how much damage it could take, and that limit just got broken.
I was cooked alive inside my armor like a Thanksgiving turkey inside an oven.