Volume 4, Chapter 3 – The Syndicate, Oil, and Island Annexation
Operation "Not a Word of French." 06.05. 05:20:16.
I walked for five hours. Slowly, unhurried, as if testing my new life with this new burden on my shoulders and the responsibility I'd taken on in the city. Around me — only night and dense forest, through which the road led to the next city before the capital at last!
But maybe she actually listened to my... ugh... "wisdom" and really went home and went to sleep — or whatever she does at night. I don't want to think about it at all. I don't want to face everything that happened and everything that might happen solely because of my stupidity.
What's reassuring is that we weren't in an open field, and the other mages simply didn't notice who to worship — because I'm sure if they'd seen the source, instead of just one Uyana, all the mages in the city would have fallen at my feet. And I definitely don't need that.
——
——
A bunker in an unknown location.
A young man quickly ran from the magical map lying on a table in a large bunker, filled with magical apparatuses everywhere.
"Sir. He has arrived. Two aura flashes were detected. One at ten kilometers, the second at fifty kilometers, in the city... Hutzin. In the Kingdom of Ruma," the young man reported. "There were also a couple of flashes before that in the Silent Silence, but we thought they were errors and creature activity."
A tall man with rough stubble and bruises under his eyes spun around sharply and ran to the map.
"What color? I hope it's Archon Azuy. Was the color red?"
The young man shook his head.
"Archon Kuribal? Black?"
The young man shook his head again.
"And not green, Archon LiuHia..." — the young man locked his gaze on the man. — "Dark blue..."
"Wh-what..." the Man froze, stepping back toward a chair and collapsing into it. "That's impossible. There are only three of them..." — the man calmed down and looked at the young man. — "Send two Archmages to that city to search for the new Archon."
"Understood!" — and the young man ran off to another room of the bunker.
——
——
Democracy of Silence. 06.05. 05:22:10.
Headquarters.
Four cats ran around headquarters, jumping onto the clerks' keyboards — the clerks swaying peacefully in their chairs, watching monitors and constantly coordinating three active operations around the world and global restructuring within the country. Building a new location for the Capital, cutting through mountains, and scaling up C-1-FF to handle the influx of ores from fifty quarries that had already been developed.
"Activity near Seraphim," the Radio Operator said, raising his head. "Drone thermals show twenty professionals moving on Seraphim's tail. What are your orders?"
The Strategist took a sip of tea.
"How far is the E-4B?"
"Five minutes."
"Then have Lelik deploy from it and report the tail to Seraphim," the Strategist ordered, calmly sipping tea and watching two operations on two islands on the screens. Both proceeding successfully.
[CUB]: Lelik. Report the tail to Seraphim — twenty. [Coordinates].
[Lelik]: Base. Guys! I've got a hundred peasants on board with a preacher Archmage. When are you going to pick them up?
[CUB]: Lelik. You literally don't have to be there. Radio silence. Over and out.
The Scientist burst into headquarters with a flask.
"Esteemed gentlemen. Please welcome," he solemnly held out the flask. "Oil!"
The Strategist smiled.
"Oil... Gentlemen, we're moving to Operation 'Someone Said OIL?'"
And Delta Group on Strykers with fuel trucks moved toward the caves, where they began lightning-fast killing of Argo and pouring liquid by the bucket into the fuel trucks — liter by liter, step by step, they advanced deeper into the caves, disabling creatures with rapiers, and as the creatures turned into liquid, they quickly poured it into the trucks, filling them to the brim. And the fuel truck set off toward C-1-FF across the wastelands, approaching the monumental structure with huge columns of smoke rising from dozens of pipes, the entire perimeter fenced with rapiers driven into the ground and threaded through their eyelets.
The fuel truck pulled up to the platform, where military trucks constantly moved, bringing ore and taking away finished metal ingots.
The entire plant was divided into six blocks, four dedicated to metallurgy, and two that hadn't operated until today. And nearby, two more blocks were already being built for metallurgy — and now a new project was introduced: ten more blocks for the refinery.
The fuel truck drove into a compartment where the liquid was poured into a container filled with depleted uranium rods, instantly converting the liquid into Argo-2. And since Argo-2 is lighter, it flowed into another compartment through a grate of rapiers that prevented the regular sludge from entering. And Argo-2 continued through the impurity removal process, while the Yellows, under the supervision of the Scientist and the Strategist, began building the final compartment that removes everything unnecessary.
——
——
Operation "Not a Word of French." 05:30.
I kept walking and finally emerged from the forest, where I caught a turtle-slow sunrise. The sun slowly, barely, reluctantly crawled out from behind the horizon, already lighting my path a little. And... What?
On a country road among the fields, I saw?!
"Lelik?"
"Yo! Dude," he jumped up from the ground and quickly started putting on his shoes.
I don't understand anything at all.
"Hey! I said I'd do this task myself, without anyone," I protested, walking up to Lelik.
He yawned and finally put on his sneakers.
"COMMANDER, I know. But the tadpoles asked me to report that you're being followed."
(Followed?)
And ten sharp blades were aimed at Lelik from people in black clothing that seemed to absorb light. Behind them stood another ten, arms extended, ready to attack — and I was being pushed away from Lelik.
(What's happening?)
"Hey! Gentlemen," I grabbed one of the swordsmen by the shoulder and spun him toward me, aiming my rapier at his throat. "Who are you?"
"Ohoho!" — Lelik knocked out one of the black-clad men with a spinning kick and, drawing his rapier and pistol, aimed at two more — then took down another one standing behind him in passing. — "Guess it was worth flying here after all."
"Stand down!" — I shouted in unison with... Uyana?
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!" I snapped, pulling Lelik by the scruff from the agent he'd pinned and was flicking on the forehead.
(Who are these twenty black-clad people? Why is Lelik here? Why is Uyana here? Which part didn't they understand? I told one group not to interfere with my mission, told another to forget me, and the third group I've never even met.)
All twenty agents lined up. And Lelik decided not to waste time — he activated the Angry Sergeant while I was distracted talking to Uyana.
"And how am I supposed to understand this? Didn't I tell you to live your own life?" I pressed her, stepping closer and closer.
"Absolutely correct. I am living my life and doing everything the way I want," Uyana parried impassively, watching Lelik make her agents do push-ups with him on their backs.
"So..." — I looked at the agents. — "You're some kind of local syndicate?"
"I am the syndicate. The 'Emerald Scion,'" she continued impassively, watching Lelik jump and smack each agent on the back of the head mid-air.
I looked at the agents again.
"Lelik, come on, do push-ups too. (Lelik: Aw, boss...) Come on, come on."
"And you too, do push-ups," Uyana added, and her agents also started doing push-ups.
I walked up to Uyana and sat her down on the ground, sitting across from her.
"Let's try again. Repeat after me. I (Uyana: I). Will not (Uyana: Will not). Worship (Uyana: Worship). Archon (Uyana: Archon). Seraphim. (Uyana: Azuy). Stop. No! Wrong!" — I sighed, covering my face with my hands.
I lay down on the cold ground and looked through myself at the sunrise.
"So I take it I'm unlikely to find an argument you won't turn in your favor, right?" — I fully surrendered.
"Absolutely," Uyana stood up, adjusting her black corset and skirt.
(I see... But what do I do? In any case, I can get rid of her when I fly back to the Silent Silence — she can't get in there at all. Maybe while I'm gone, she'll forget me? And for now... Let her come with me.)
"Fine... Tell me about yourself and your syndicate," I said, still lying tiredly on the cold ground while twenty-one people did nonstop push-ups.
"My name is Uyana Shirvani, I'm thirty-two years old. From the capital of the Kingdom of Ruma. I've been active since I was seventeen, when I first monopolized the school bathroom. I currently own six headquarters, with five captains, twenty managers, and three hundred agents under my command. We handle—" she raised her hand and started counting on her fingers. "—murder, racketeering, surveillance, data theft, contraband transport, document forgery, and counterfeiting. I think... that's all."
Heavy footsteps came from the forest, and two knights on cheetahs ran out onto the road.
They ran up to us and stared in surprise — at me lying impassively on the ground, at calm Uyana standing nearby with her arms folded into her sleeves, and at the twenty-one people still doing push-ups in the background.
"I am Knight of the 5th... Oh, sorry! Uyana Shirvani," the Knight on the cheetah froze and immediately stepped back.
"What happened?" she asked impassively, crouching down next to me. And I was just darting my eyes between her and the knights. (Of course — a syndicate is a syndicate, even in the Middle Ages. How would we manage without bribing the authorities?)
"Two Archmages have arrived in the city and started a full search, looking for someone. They ordered a search of the entire surrounding area and to stop all suspicious individuals," the Knight reported.
"I see... Well, as you can see, there's nothing suspicious here. Morning exercise. (Lelik: I'm literally dying!) So have a good day," Uyana dismissed the knights.
"Oh, by the way! And bribery of officials."
"I noticed."
(Inhale... Exhale...)
I got up and just started walking toward the capital.
"Lelik, you can stop," I waved my hand, and he collapsed to the ground, then quickly recovered, snorting at the agents.
Uyana quickly gave instructions to her agents and hurried after me.
—
The sun had risen, and I reached a new city — which I passed through without wanting to linger and find myself new fanatics. Uyana followed calmly behind me, arms folded and hidden in her sleeves. Step by step, wherever I went — she followed.
"Hey... How did it happen that you started believing in me? What happened?" I slowed down a bit, letting her catch up.
We were walking along a wide road leading to the capital — guards patrolled everywhere, and carts and riders passed by.
"I saw your aura... It was so powerful it consumed everything within the city's radius in an impenetrable dark-blue density," Uyana admitted, walking beside me. "And I felt all your feelings... And I understood that this was my life's purpose — to become a shield for you in this world."
"I have plenty of shields, and swords too," I quipped, but mentally I was trying not to explode from shock — realizing that my flipping of the toggle was literally turning the entire city into a testing ground for nuclear weapons.
Uyana suddenly appeared in front of me, raising her emerald blade to my throat, her other hand behind her back, legs in an elegant pose.
"You can never have too many shields," she parried.
I tapped her blade with the hilt of my rapier, without wanting to bare my weapon. And walked past her.
She appeared in front of me again, raising her sword before my face.
I sighed, unwrapped my rapier, and simply cut through her blade like butter.
Clang.
"Archon..." she stared in shock at her stub, while I walked away.
She quickly caught up.
"What metal is this, Seraphim? Can I hold your weapon?"
"I don't recommend it — it's dangerous for mages."
"But... I'm a shield first, and a mage second," she reproached, straightening her back and tossing the stub into a trash bin as she walked.
Knights ran past, watching this "battle" in surprise, unsure whether to arrest us for fighting on a state road — or was it not a fight? Then arrest for damaging a weapon? But it was personal property, thrown in the trash without any violation. In the end, they just watched us go.
"Here," I held out my hand — and a carriage flew past on the road, lifting Uyana's hair into the air.
She slowly, carefully touched the hilt, and...
"Ow!" she quickly handed the rapier back, examining a severe burn on her palm and her unsuccessful attempts to regenerate it with magic.
And now Uyana walked beside me, trying again and again to heal her hand with magic — all in vain. The burn was physical, cutting through her layer of magical protection, destroying skin tissue and removing magic particles from it, turning it into an ordinary wound that couldn't be healed by magic. It was like trying to fill a colander — she kept pouring new magic into her perforated hand instead of wrapping it in cloth and forgetting about it. But no. After twenty minutes, she finally figured it out, tore cloth from her sleeve, and wrapped her palm.
"How do you see an aura?" I decided to ask while the atmosphere was favorable.
The noisy road and bright day were atmospheric enough for such a conversation, and the endless fields on both sides gave a sense of calm.
"All mages have this ability from birth. And no one can turn off their aura," she answered impassively, walking along the road's edge like a red carpet with paparazzi. "Only Archons can turn it o—"
"Yeah, I know, I know. Archons. But why can't I, as this... Archon," — I spat the word out, — "see my own aura?"
"No idea," she said. "Maybe so you can see what's happening around you? Because if you saw your own aura, you'd be blinded."
(My world is pretty strange... I became an Archon and I'm walking next to my own believer — and this woman doesn't even go to church. All she does is murder and a whole list of other crimes. How did it happen that a person who literally doesn't need faith became like this?! Why does my... Aura... Work exactly this way.)
"What if..." I thought. "What if I told you to stop doing murders?"
"I'd stop doing murders. But it depends on how you phrase it," Uyana clarified deftly.
(Hmm... If I made the syndicate stop killing, wouldn't that be good? But it would completely close off her former life — and I don't want her living as my "shield"... A dilemma... Save others but completely destroy her, or do nothing...)
I sat down on a warm stone by the road, watching the traffic pass, knights running behind me.
(No. I won't interfere. She's been doing this since seventeen — it's her life. The ones who care will deal with her. What bothers me now, much more, is what I did to her, not what she does.)
"By the way. How does your cloth not tear from the rapier's blade?" she asked, leaning over me.
[This is a crutch. The author didn't figure out how to cover the material that literally cuts everything. There were ideas with DU (depleted uranium), but the rapier would cut through that too. There was an idea not to wrap it in cloth, but then Seraphim could accidentally cut a person in half or destroy the corners of houses along the way. So — just cloth, and specifically on the blade, that cloth works as protection — everywhere else, it's just ordinary cloth.]
"I see..." Uyana replied.
"Yeah..."
And we continued toward the capital. Along the stone road, between fields, we walked and walked.
——
——
Operation "Oh God, Villain!" 06.05. 07:12
Composition:
Officers: Pex (starts personally, then via Bravo Group), Paladin.
Archmage in a soldier's body.
100 Yellows in soldiers' bodies.
Pex with Bravo Group (150 soldiers) and 2 HMEEs.
2 CH-47 Chinooks, filled with a mixture of Argo-2 and cement.
1 E-4B.
—
Rugun Island.
The morning sun illuminated twenty-seven houses, seven of which had burned roofs and soot-covered facades. Bravo soldiers walked the streets with rifles hidden in cases, carefully scanning every corner of the houses.
Silence. The quiet sound of surf hitting the island from all sides.
Inside the houses stood metal cages the height of a human — sometimes sized for children — with slop in huge vats everywhere, clouds of flies hovering above them, glinting green and blue in the rays piercing through the small windows. The cage doors were torn off, and everything looked abandoned. Only a hundred Yellows in Soldier-function bodies sat on the shore in rags — some without rags at all, emaciated (CUB had specifically chosen Yellows with that physique). Their faces bore wounds, hair carelessly covering their faces, leaving an unpleasant greasy trail of dandruff.
[CUB]: Paladin. Whalers in twenty minutes.
Paladin stood up and slung his rifle into its case — then they began applying makeup to him, making him look like he'd just walked out of a slaughterhouse.
"Bravo Group, form up," Paladin ordered while scars were being applied (with a real blade).
The soldiers quickly formed a line on the central narrow road beside the catapults. And a ringing silence fell — no one spoke. The "prisoners" sat on the shore, waiting for this event to end.
——
——
Meanwhile, fifty km from Rugun Island. The destroyer Arleigh Burke Flight III. Peacefully anchored amid the endless sea, occasionally creaking with metal.
In one of the compartments, five mages sat under guard, while Arleigh talked to one of them in another cabin.
"So, tell me what you saw?" Arleigh asked, kicking her feet up on the table and sipping a smoothie.
Before her sat a mage shackled with DU bracelets — his palms pressed against a rapier hilt, stripped of his magic. He sat calmly, rocking on his chair.
"I saw two sky dragons attack my village. And then faceless spirits emerged from it. And I'm a defender!"
"Cough!" Arleigh choked. "Oh really! You're a defender!" she exclaimed, jumping over the table and kicking the mage in the stomach. "So I'm the villain, then? Or what am I? Don't forget it was your state that declared war on us. And it was your state that killed the envoys."
Arleigh sharply lifted the chair with the Mage.
"If Malevych decided to kill, there was a reason," the Mage parried stubbornly. "I'm loyal to the Duke. You're nothing."
Arleigh smirked, sitting back down in her chair and sipping her smoothie.
"Of course. It's always the ones who disobeyed some bigwig who are to blame," Arleigh was offended, drinking her smoothie with displeasure. "What do you even value in life? Why did you choose to live on an island with nothing?"
"I was sent to serve on this island and defend it!"
"And what will the Duke do to you when he finds out you failed?"
"Give me a second chance!"
"Naive... He didn't even react to the death of forty-eight riders. What's so valuable about you?"
The Mage thought, stopping his rocking. He hadn't even known about those deaths — and how could he trust a monster and an enemy of his state? This could just be an attempt to break him, while in reality the Duchy had already liberated the island and was searching for him — he just needed to hold out in this monster on the water.
"You're trying to break me. The Duchy will catch up to you soon! And its wrath will be enormous!" the Mage began to threaten.
Arleigh laughed, adjusting her red curls and tucking them behind her ears.
"Let's do the math... The Duchy has lost over a month and a half, forty-eight riders — officially declared war a couple of weeks ago — and what's changed?" Arleigh parried. "They don't even know the island has been captured."
Knock-knock.
"Come in!" Arleigh shouted and looked at the Mage, who was trying to find answers both here and within himself.
The Scientist entered the cabin with two suitcases.
"Arleigh! Greetings. As soon as I heard you had mages, I flew right over," the Scientist happily jumped to the table and looked at the Mage, who was lost in thought. "By the way, Arleigh. We have oil."
"OIL! Fill my tanks! All the ships!" Arleigh sang and started shaking the Scientist.
"Easy... It'll all happen," the Scientist smiled. "And now, we need some privacy..."
Arleigh quickly nodded and vanished.
The Scientist opened his large suitcase, which contained DU, a rapier, various syringes, vials of different liquids — and even Argo-2, A-3, and Oil.
He opened the second, small shockproof case, took out glasses made from the Alpha's eyes, and put them on.
The Scientist nearly squeaked. He saw the mage's aura — a centimeter-wide white outline flowing upward, burning like fire.
"Beautiful..." the Scientist stared, mesmerized, selecting an instrument from the first suitcase.
——
——
Rugun Island.
Two whalers sailed toward the island at full speed — they looked like Hanwha Ocean Future Destroyers, only magic-propelled, with the cannon covered by a tarp, sailors circling it bareheaded.
The mages on board began casting — and a glass gangway appeared to the shore, along which sailors quickly ran with swords and magic ready. The second whaler remained on patrol, circling the island.
"I am Viktor Utsan, captain of the 6th whaler, arrived for an independent assessment of Rugun Island under the article of the International Royal Assembly," Viktor reported, walking up to Paladin.
Forty sailors quickly formed up behind him.
"I am Paladin. Officer of the Democracy of Silence," Paladin replied and extended his hand.
Viktor shook it and looked at Paladin again.
"Good grip. Where did you serve?"
"I serve in the Silent Silence," Paladin answered calmly.
Viktor frowned slightly.
"Yes. I heard from my superiors that you're based in the Silent Silence... And that it was you who noticed the atrocities on this island. But I still can't understand how you settled there," Viktor replied calmly and looked around. "Anyway, that's not what this is about," — he changed the subject. — "Shall we begin the investigation?"
Paladin nodded, and Viktor and his sailors spread across the island, observing and recording everything they noticed. The sailors began talking to the "residents." Viktor carefully entered the houses, seeing horrific scenes. Dog bowls by the cages, with days of captivity scratched into the walls with blood — up to a year.
The captain lifted ladles of slop from the vats and grimaced at the smell and contents — everything from seaweed and chicken feed to pieces of animal and fish bones.
Bravo soldiers (spirits, to the sailors) reported what had happened and how they provided first aid to the residents, while Paladin and the Captain continued walking through the village. The officer showed photos again and again of what the "defenders" had done, saying they had decided to destroy the entire village once they realized they'd been exposed — but the Democracy of Silence stopped that horror.
Viktor sat down on the steps of a nearly burned house, examining a stack of photographs.
"I've seen this invention before. Your delegation gave one to the Monarch, and he passed it to the RVRR — and the Ruma Navy got it almost by accident. There were people from RVRR during the whaler transfer, and our captain managed to get that photograph. According to RVRR, it's a fragment of stopped time — like a painting," Viktor explained why he believed these photographs.
Paladin nodded and suggested they go meet the residents and hear what they had to say — since they'd lived here all their lives, while we only saw part of the picture.
And Viktor and P. headed to the shore, where the sailors were taking statements from the residents.
The Captain froze, carefully examining the poor residents — their bones sticking out from how little they ate, arms all bandaged, scars on their faces.
"Permission, Captain!" a sailor ran up.
The Captain nodded.
"According to the residents, this town engaged in illegal slave-holding and murder. Residents were locked in cages so they wouldn't interfere and couldn't tell anyone. According to them, ships under Malevych flags brought about twenty slaves to the island for 'correction' — and then they were resold by the shadow fleet through the syndicate 'Emerald Scion.'"
The Captain nodded and walked up to a woman sitting on the shore with torn-out clumps of hair.
"Hello..." the Captain sat down carefully across from her. "How long did this last?"
The woman turned, revealing a pale face and a bloodshot eye.
"I... I... I..."
The sailor ran up.
"She suffered the loss of a child — you can't talk to her right now," the sailor warned, having learned this from other residents, who had literally rehearsed their roles 30/7 for a week.
The Captain nodded, carefully examining all the residents, squatting while the sun lightly blinded him — and around him, only beaten and tormented innocent lives.
"You said there was an attempt at destruction," the Captain stood and walked up to Paladin. "Where are the attackers?"
"They're on our ship, awaiting a decision on what to do with them," Paladin explained.
"Good... And how did you get here?" the Captain continued digging.
Paladin crossed his arms over his massive chest.
"The Duchy of Malevych officially declared war on the country of the Democracy of Silence. We're obligated to patrol the waters for reconnaissance and to react quickly in case of Duchy warships heading to attack our lands," Paladin answered calmly, gazing at the horizon.
The Captain thought, pacing around the island. Everything looked so authentic. Everything suggested the Duchy cooperates with the syndicate — and perhaps that's why they have such a trade position in the world?... After all, our state is far more magically developed in all directions, yet the Duchy surpasses us.
The Captain walked along the soft sand, examining every detail and thinking. But why would Malevych leave only six defenders here? If slave transit happens here — and even when our fleet intercepted contraband, they were better protected than this valuable piece of land in the shadow world...
"And what's this..." the Captain was surprised, finding the runway. "Officer Paladin!" he shouted.
Paladin quickly walked over and saw the strip.
"We noticed it too. But found no purpose for it — possibly wyverns were stationed here."
The Captain nearly gasped. Seeing pieces of hide pressed into the strip. Wyverns? Those are military animals of Rekhilon — their theft is punished with the utmost severity.
"Understood! I've reached my verdict. The Duchy of Malevych has violated more than five laws of the IRS (International Royal Assembly). As an investigator of Rekhilon, I will report this to the Monarch," he headed slowly toward the ship. "Under the rules of war, I will report the liberation of this island to the Monarch and its transfer to the possession of the Democracy of Silence."
"Understood. We'll handle the restoration of the residents and their return to the mainland," Paladin added. "As for the prisoners, we're ready to arrange an exchange with the Duchy of Malevych."
"You can negotiate an exchange with the Duchy?" Viktor asked.
Paladin wiped his scarred face.
"I doubt it. Before declaring war, they attacked Seraphim — and when we tried to send people with white flags for a truce, the Duchy killed them ten times over," Paladin decided to tip the scales, adding another war crime to the pile.
Viktor stopped, emotions shifting on his face like a kaleidoscope.
"I'll report to the Monarch — we can become an independent party," Viktor headed up the gangway. "I hope the Monarch sends us as 'volunteers' to help the Democracy of Silence," he muttered under his breath.
And the whalers nimbly jumped over the waves, accelerating their magic engines — then, picking up speed, their bows pressed into the water, sharply cutting the sea.
And Paladin finally exhaled — he'd been speaking the whole time with CUB's prompting.
[Paladin]: Base. Annexation complete.
[CUB]: Paladin. Copy. The sheep will be transferred to the carrier until the war with the Duchy ends. Work on reconstructing houses for a repeat inspection of "improved" conditions.
—