Flander was sitting in his office when an urgent knock came from outside his door.
"What's the matter?" he asked when his subordinate came in.
"Bad news, Warden. We suspected there was a prison riot."
Flander shot up to his feet and slammed the desk.
"Are you kidding me!?"
"I'm afraid not, sir. We had lost all contact with Lady Serena, and there were many traces of blood on the main floor."
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Why did this have to happen to me? Seal off the premises and don't let anyone escape. Your main priority is to ensure Lady Serena's safety. Otherwise, both of our heads will roll. Do you hear me?!"
Flander became anxious when he thought about the consequences of this event. It wasn't the prisoners he was worried about but the background of the lady visiting the place. Because of her prestigious family, she had to act like the proper lady in society.
But with all that pretense, there was a need to vent her sadistic desires. And her go-to place was the prison under his management. If there truly was a prison riot, he needed to quickly settle it, or he would risk the lady's dissatisfaction. In worse cases, he might have been held responsible and removed from his position.
"Let's hope the prisoners weren't crazy enough to touch her or we will have hell to pay."
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"Hey, did you hear? We caught an infamous pirate group."
"Did we? Is that why we suddenly got so many new prisoners?"
"Yeah. You should have seen it. They are truly unruly."
"How so?"
"Many of the members are mentally disturbed, and what's worse, they have the power to act on those desires. Just take their Quartermaster. He's a big fellow with an obsession for cannons. When he sank many of our ships, he had the most sinister grin on his face."
"Dang!"
"And that's not the end of it. There's the captain as well. He surrendered without a fight, so it's strange how he's still a captain. He had a lot of gold, but I find it odd that the crew didn't revolt. I would even say he's the weakest of the bunch."
"You seem to know a lot about the group."
"Of course. I was personally there to confront the group. Their captain was incredibly cowardly. If he wasn't with the pirate group, I would have thought he was the heir to some noble. Even their swabbies, responsible for cleaning the ship, put up a better fight. Especially that one guy with a flintlock and dagger. He was ferocious."
At this moment, 7156 realized why the descriptions of the pirate crew sounded familiar. Isn't that last guy himself? Then it all started to make sense.
"That must be the background for the group. If so, the captain would be..."
"So what happened to the captain?" 7156 asked abruptly.
"I sent him down to the bottom floor. He will stay there to rot for-"
At this moment, the guard realized something was wrong. The person who asked him that question wasn't his partner for the shift, but an unfamiliar voice. He was too caught up in his own bragging to notice, but he realized his mistake when his partner pointed his spear at the intruder.
Yet what greeted him was a sword at his throat. 7156 kicked the man down and turned to the other guard.
"Keep talking." 7156 ordered, holding the sword to the guard's neck.
"Uh. Who. How?"
The pointless question caused the edge of the blade to dig into his flesh, drawing blood.
"Where is this captain?" 7156 questioned.
"On the b-bottom floor."
"And the key?"
"In the warden's office."
"I see."
"What do you mean by that?"
7156 didn't answer him as blood started gushing down the guard's neck. He gave the dying man one last look before turning around and continuing his descent.
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Genji blocked the single door to the prison as more guards flooded the place. Since they had made the place so narrow, only two people could fit through at once. It was honestly easy, given how many guards there were.
"Hey, deadweights! Head down to the next floor unless you want to fight these guards yourselves because I'm retreating."
Genji fought the first two guards for a few more minutes before he started falling back. There was no point in killing these weaklings when more would take their place. When he got down to the next floor, Genji tossed some weapons at the prisoners.
"You people can hold them off. I'm resting."
Genji then found a seat in a cell and started meditating. The other prisoners looked at this scene and became speechless. Wasn't he way too relaxed for this situation?
'I hope 7156 finds River Stream soon. I don't know how many people will flood this place, so trying to get out later will be hell. As well as this place is to defend, that fact works both ways.'
"Ahhhh."
Genji looked over to see a prisoner had been impaled through the stomach. He shook his head at their incompetence and got up.
*Foosh.*
Genji stabbed the two guards at the chokepoint, grabbed their weapons, and threw them to the prisoners before retreating again. Right now, he needed to conserve as much stamina as possible to break out.
"Take turns blocking them. And for those unlucky enough to be killed, throw their bodies at the doorway. It'll serve as a blockade for some time."
Then Genji pointed to a person in the back.
"And you. Go downstairs and try to unlock the other cells. Don't think I didn't notice your lockpicking skills."
After stabilizing the situation, Genji returned to his meditation.
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Hours passed as the battle developed into a stalemate. Since neither side could break through the other party's defense, they stopped fighting. At this moment, the prisoners occupied the 3rd floor and below, while the guards blocked the exit from the 1st floor. The second floor had become an empty buffer zone as neither party was willing to go on the offensive.
It was a mess that Genji was happy to prolong. The longer he delayed, the more time he bought for 7156. As for the guards, they were content to follow since they could get more reinforcements. The only one who might be anxious was Flander, the warden of this place.
At this moment, he paced around the ground floor, trying to find a way to end this stalemate.
"Dammit. Who the hell designed this place, anyway?"
"You did, sir."
"Shut up. Did you think I was asking? Shit! We need to find Lady Serena soon."
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His aide hesitated at that mention.
"What is it?" Flander noticed and asked.
"There's something I don't know if I should tell you."
"Spit it out already. I don't have all day."
"Well, sir, we found 3 bodies on the second floor."
"And? Why should I care? There are plenty of bodies there," Flander asked impatiently.
"We suspect the bodies to be Lady Serena and her guards," the aide said quietly, but Flander still heard him, instantly whipping his head around.
"Did you just say what I think you said?"
"Yes." The aide didn't know how to appease the warden, but he knew things just got worse.
*Groan.*
"Now I wish you hadn't told me that."
"So are we still going to stall?"
"Stall? Stall your mother! Why the hell would we keep stalling when they killed the hostage?! Go. I want all these fucking criminals dead. Dead, you hear me?"
"Yes, sir."
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On the other side, Genji saw 7156 come up with a few other teammates and River Stream.
"Glad to see you made it," he greeted them.
"Hmm."
"Hey, boss? We've got movement," a prisoner keeping watch shouted.
"What going on?"
"The guards. They seem to be preparing to attack us."
"I see. Then let's greet them."
Genji turned back to the members of his party and pointed to a few weapons on the ground.
"Take those. Now that we found River, it's time to break out of this place."
"I couldn't have it any other way," Logan grinned and took a shield.
Genji got up and started walking up the stairs with the others following him.
"What's the situation?" Genji asked the prisoner.
"They're approaching," he replied, pointing to the middle of the cell area.
"Then let's go."
Genji stepped out with his spear and walked out to meet them. The other prisoners only looked at this with confusion. Aren't they going to defend the doorway? Why are they attacking? And why did those people follow him? Are they crazy?
Genji pierced one guard and pushed the body to the ground before he jumped into the air. Then pivoting on his spear, Genji flew above the row of guards and kicked.
His energy circulated and his bare feet mangled the faces of the receivers. Then he let go of the spear and pushed off the shoulders of the guard. Seeing Genji run down the hallway on the shoulders and heads of the guards, his teammates' jaws dropped. Was this something they were able to do?
"He's worth the price." Logan flashed a thumbs up are 7156 and River Stream.
7156 rolled his eyes and jumped into combat against the demoralized group. On the other side of the hallway, Genji jumped down from the shoulders of the guards and twisted his body to avoid an incoming stab. Genji grabbed onto the shaft of the spear and forced it out of the guard's hands before giving him a hard kick.
Then Genji continued to dodge the incoming attacks as he started a massacre among their ranks. If possible, he would toss the bodies of the people he slew at the doorway to slow down the advancement of the reinforcements. With this support, the people behind him were able to clear out the remaining guards in the hallway.
"In hindsight, retreating so deep might be a mistake." Genji shrugged off the problem and looked at the others. "Ready to continue?"
"As ready as we will ever be," Logan replied.
"Then let's go."
Genji ran up the stairs and used the spear to jump around anyone trying to stop him. Then he would either kick them down to the teammates following him or kill them. When they stepped out onto the first floor, they realized the gear of the guards had been upgraded. Instead of the wooden shafts with metal tips for spears, the guards now have a shield and short sword.
"They must have realized spears are useless down there."
In this case, Genji decided to stay in formation rather than rushing ahead to disrupt the backline. With the shorter reach, the guards will be able to react much faster and there's a chance he gets cut.
With his healing items sealed, becoming wounded could become problematic so he transitioned to a frontal fighter.
Genji swept his spear out and hit the shields of the guards at the front. They stumbled back slightly as the force of the collision was beyond their capabilities.
Logan then took this chance to stab one of the unbalanced people and knock someone on the side, allowing 7156 to slit the throat of the remaining person.
Although the trio had never worked together before, they were able to cooperate together remarkably. Genji would create opportunities for others with his skillful wielding of the spear while his party members took the chance to make a kill.
Then, they would snatch the weapons dropped by the guards since a sword and shield are much easier to use than a long spear.
As for River Stream, he had one person guarding him as they followed behind the veteran fighters. Little by little, the line of defense got pushed back.
The warden tried his best to fight back, but the members of the party had overwhelmed the opponents in stats. These are all people around the 4th and 5th world so their stats are somewhere around Genji's.
Don't take Genji as the standard for stat gain. Typically, it would take multiple worlds for someone to gain the number of stat points Genji gets in one world. Just take Logan for example.
Despite him being in his 7th world, he still hasn't conducted his talent molding. And don't even mention talents. Unless you're a Champion ranked member, it's very rare to awaken a combat talent.
That's what talent molding is for, to make your talent more suitable for your uses. For example, there was one person who awakened a talent related to musical instruments. It's as useless as it sounds for a place like EverRealm.
That is until she conducted her talent molding to change it into a combat type and developed it. From then on, her music inflicts true damage on anyone who hears it.
The group of prisoners stepped out onto the ground floor to prepare for the last push, but this segment's difficulty spiked. Since they are no longer in a narrow hallway, they are not shielded by walls anymore. As a result, the group was instantly surrounded by heavily armed guards.
"Make some room to let the other prisoners out!"
Luckily, Genji prepared for this. The reason he made the effort to free the other prisoners despite the lack of help so far was for this moment. As more prisoners flooded the place, the guards would have to focus on them more than the party.
This would then allow them to break through the encirclement and make their escape easily. A human meat shield basically.
The group of realm members increased their output and burst out the gate of this place, leaving a trail of blood and bodies behind them. Many prisoners took this chance to slip away, but more reinforcements were on their way.
"Run!"
Logan made the call and led the way. The rest of the group followed as they didn't have any better options. The small group of 8 ran through a few alleyways and other twists and turns before they came across the docks. While this was happening, the city guards got news of this breakout.
"What do you mean there's a prison break!"
The commander of the guards yelled at Flander. Spit flew everywhere but didn't dare move. Lowering his head, Flander answered the angry commander.
"Exactly what I mean. Somehow the prisoners escaped their cells and started a prison riot. Many of the guards on the premises were killed. We suffered heavy casualties."
"How many escaped?"
"Very few as the city patrol managed to detain most of the stragglers. The problem is the strongest of the group, part of the Stream pirates escaped."
"Shit! Those guys were brutal when we fought them. Call the ships. We're sealing off this island. And increase security around the docks. We can't allow them to escape and wreak havoc again!"
"Sir!"
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Genji peered out from behind a corner at the dock, scanning for any possible getaway options. After a few minutes of investigation, the group spotted a boat that appeared ready to set sail. Weights were being raised as sails started unfurling. Preparations were being made as the last passengers boarded the large vessel.
Genji turned to the others and inquired, "So, did we try to board or continue hiding?"
"I said we get on," Landis, one of the teammates replied.
"I disagreed. It might be easier to escape on land."
"But what about the other teammates?"
The team quibbled for a few minutes before Logan clapped his hands.
"Okay. Enough. Let's take the escape while we can."
With that decision made, the group walked over and got in line. But as they were boarding, a few guards stopped them.
"Could we see your identification?" one of the guards asked, eyeing them suspiciously, as they appeared more like beggars than passengers who could afford the voyage.
This sudden inquiry caused the group to tense up as they considered killing the guards and forcibly boarding the ship. But before they could do anything rash, Genji stepped up.
"Certainly, but I must ask. Why were you singling us out? I saw plenty of others who passed without trouble."
"Because you looked shady," the guard answered bluntly.
"How rude. I'll have you know we were gentlemen inside. And the fact that you were judging us based on our appearance said a lot about your morals. Or could it be that everyone in this place was like you, abusing their position for their own gains?"
"W-what? Shut your trap and explain why you had weapons on you!" Genji's denouncing of their morals flustered them, but they quickly found another shady point.
"Oh, this? We were a group of mercenaries who made a living by taking on random jobs. As you can see, we had been through some tough times, so we used the last of our savings to find a new home. Now could we board? If you delay us any further, we will miss our trip."
The guards exchanged glances before nodding. They couldn't afford to deal with the consequences if this group launched a troublesome complaint. "Fine. You may pass."
They stepped aside but watched the group closely. Genji shrugged and began walking, but he didn't sense anyone following. He turned back to the group and waved.
"Are you guys coming? You might be willing to waste the money we spent, but I'm not. If you are, you might as well cancel the tickets and treat me to some 'special' events. You know I always had my eyes on Lady Esbenteth."
He wiggled his brows and gave them a knowing smile. This crude act lowered the guards' suspicions and snapped the group out of their daze.
"Of course, we won't," Logan played along and followed Genji.
As they lined up, River Stream couldn't help but ask, "How did you get away with that?"
"Get away with what?" Genji asked back without turning around.
"That!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about." Genji continued to feign ignorance, forcing an annoyed sigh from River Stream.
"Fine. How did you convince them to forgo the identification check?"
"What identification?"
"Excuse me? Can you stop playing dumb?"
"I'm not. Let me ask again. What identification?"
Hearing Genji ask for the second time, the group felt that there was a hidden meaning behind it.
"What do you mean?"
"We were in the pirate era so what kind of identification was there? At best, there were some papers issued by important figures or vouchers by other people. Both of which were unreliable the moment I put the time constraint on them."
Hearing his explanation, the other members grew wide-eyed at his quick wits.
"How did you figure all that out so fast?" River asked, causing the remaining members to strain their ears to hear the answer.
"I didn't."
Huh? What do you mean you didn't? You clearly explained everything so what are you talking about?
"That was what I figured out in hindsight. As for the actual encounter, it was all about confidence."
"Confidence?"
"Yes. Now I want you all to walk on like you own the place. Acting fidgety would only increase your suspicion. I'm talking chest high and not looking around like you have ADHD. Understand?" Genji said as they reached the front.
Then without waiting for a response, Genji waltzed past the person checking the guests and onto the ship.