The Druid Who Swallowed Mother Nature - Chapter 97



Only Noblemtl

Episode 97. The Sheriff (2)

Phage crackle!

“Ugh, uhk!”

The feeling I got when I swung my fist was like hitting a sturdy sandbag.

A dazzling electric spark flew into the air centered around the fist.

This is the old man’s defensive technique, the force field.

Even in the midst of all this, didn’t he take a step forward to save his own life?

No, it’s more like something that’s imprinted on the subconscious.

“Heh, heh heh heh!”

The old man who had screamed soon realized that he was not dead and showed a faint sense of superiority.

Crackle!

“… … !”

It didn’t take much effort to tear that lump apart.

A green aura emitted from the tip of my fingernails pierced through the force field and reached the old man.

The old man’s facial muscles were contorted with horror, anger, and despair.

“You’re not even a sheriff, where did this monster come from… …!”

Bam!

The old man’s head snapped sharply sideways and then sank downward.

I threw the old man’s broken cane far away.

“You talk too much. If you like to talk, do it at the police station after you wake up.”

The impact was enough to break the cane, but the sensation in my hand was dull.

Perhaps he instinctively used another defensive technique.

I don’t think he died.

There were a lot of stories to hear, so it’s not like I didn’t control my strength.

“then…….”

I took out my phone and looked through Taylor’s contacts.

If you hand yourself over to the police, they will use any method they can, including using a confession drug or magic to brainwash you, to extract all the information from your head.

It was the moment I put my finger on the call button.

Kiiing!

Sound waves beyond the range of human hearing were heard.

Something you would never normally hear.

This was possible because the synergistic effect of doping and synchronization elevated my senses to the realm of the beast.

It was the rooftop of a building with its backlight against the western sky where the sun was setting.

The eagle’s eyes caught a single flash of light emanating from there.

Cookies, cookies, cookies, cookies!

The flash struck the ground, turning the earth upside down.

The shock wave that burst out after being condensed caused dust to rise up in a cloud.

In the air, ripples followed the trajectory of the flash like contrails.

The old man’s body, hit directly by the flash, was literally obliterated.

Only a wrinkled face lay broken on the floor like a fallen watermelon.

“The World Tree shrinks from the heat.”

The whip that protected the old man was also not in good condition.

The cross-section of the round, hollow hole was charred as if it had been burned by a torch.

The overwhelming impact force and the subsequent heat produced by the subsonic speed.

It would not be an exaggeration to call this a bombardment.

Crunch!

It’s just hard to believe that the object that fell at the center of the impact was a warhead.

I turned my gaze back to the top of the building.

What was visible in the place where the flash was blocking was a gun and a woman.

‘Sniper rifle, this power is close to artillery fire. I see.’

I realized the other person’s identity.

‘Are you a sheriff?’

The pinnacle of the police force’s pride and joy was there.

***

widely!

The woman who had been sniping from the rooftop landed as suddenly as she appeared.

Despite jumping from the roof of a 10-story building, he moves with ease.

In a world where magical power exists and backward relics such as magic, cold weapons, and martial arts prove their strength, these are the ones who enforce law and order with just a gun.

As special as their guns and talents were, their physical abilities were also beyond human standards.

Cheeeee!

I clicked my tongue at the old man’s scalp, which was beginning to melt in the geothermal heat.

‘Even if we bring a high-level necromancer, it will be impossible to save him.’

The hostage we barely managed to find and capture was turned into trash in an instant.

It was disappointing, but not shocking enough to make me angry.

‘I also expected that the terrorist group would take action to prevent the hostage from being given up.’

Fortunately, the terrorist group the old man belonged to was not that thoroughgoing.

‘I didn’t know I would be sabotaged by my own side.’

I observed the woman carefully.

The woman was carrying a guitar case on her back, bound together with a chain.

He’s probably storing the sniper rifle we just saw there.

Her jet-black hair reached down to her waist and swayed with every step she took.

The cold face, along with the pale pigment in the eyes, gave the impression of being emotionless.

“Hazel Wilnut, Sheriff of the Sheriff’s Department.”

The woman standing five steps ahead of me said.

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

Then he becomes silent.

In the strange atmosphere, I finally noticed the part she had omitted.

‘Since you did it, are you asking me to introduce myself too?’

Then at least nod your head.

I, who had been waiting for the rest of the story, answered with a sigh.

“I’m Allen, the contractor.”

“Allen.”

Hazel nodded with satisfaction, wondering if it was the right answer, and muttered my name several times as if chewing on it.

It was a natural gesture that made one forget that just a moment ago, this was a battlefield full of life.

A unique atmosphere flowed, as if one were isolated from the secular world.

“This is a city government checkpoint. There are orders to punish any private disputes severely.”

“… … ?”

“Don’t you understand? Just follow me. I killed that old man because I had a bad feeling about him… … but I won’t kill you.”

I stared blankly down at the handcuffs she held out.

After reviewing the conversation, I was able to figure out where this series of conversations went wrong.

“Haven’t you heard that the police department is using contractors to conduct search and seizures?”

“I heard.”

“I am the contractor.”

Hazel tilted her head.

“This isn’t a security checkpoint.”

“We were in the process of discovering and capturing members of a hidden terrorist organization.”

“… … Oh, those guys?”

“okay.”

Hazel’s brow furrowed.

A clear expression appeared on the face with little emotion, so even small movements of facial muscles gave off a serious vibe.

She pounded the old man’s head and the mangled corpses of her disciples.

The act of groping around with one’s hands and searching silently was far from collecting evidence.

It was an escapist act to hide one’s mistakes.

“He was a skilled wizard. He must have had a high position in the terrorist organization. If we captured him and brought him to the police, there would be a lot to hear.”

“… … .”

“Do you understand? You ruined something that could have been easy.”

Hazel couldn’t raise her head.

He stopped fiddling with his fingers with an embarrassed look and scratched his cheek.

“……sorry.”

The apple was as bad as an apple.

But it would only hurt me if I took out my frustration on the sheriff.

How to bend your arms inward.

The sheriff’s office will not admit to the sheriff’s mistake.

I would rather have my achievements be undervalued.

‘That was unlucky.’

That’s how Hazel appeared on the scene among the numerous sheriffs.

‘He is absolutely not a person fit for a sheriff who is supposed to be multi-talented.’

All the personal details of the sheriffs active during this period were in my head.

Among them, Hazel was a very unique character.

This is evident from the titles used to refer to her.

‘The police department’s most powerful gun.’

It’s both praise and ridicule.

‘It just means it’s a powerful tool.’

The tool has no head.

Her talents were too good to ignore, and she moved the police department to appoint her as sheriff.

This is an opponent that you will only lose if you fight it.

It would have been wiser to use this as an opportunity rather than create unnecessary emotional harm.

“There’s nothing we can do about what’s already been done. Just in case, contact the police first.”

Even though the skin on the old man’s face had melted away, his brain remained.

Even in that state, there would be a way to extract information.

It is an open secret that the reason the Magic Tower retrieves the corpses of dead wizards from outside is to prevent their visions from being stolen.

“If we had captured him alive and handed him over, we would have received great credit for it, but… … .”

When I glanced at her, Hazel avoided my gaze by pushing her hair to the side.

Then, unable to bear the pressure of the gaze, he mumbled.

“I think I owe you something.”

I waited for those words.

“I think the debt is repaid by visiting only one place.”

“Is that okay?”

“It won’t hurt you either.”

I picked up something that had fallen on the floor.

There were more than one or two.

Fortunately, the old man’s disciples’ corpses were in a mess, but their belongings were still intact.

“I think I know where these guys got their supplies.”

Doping drugs used by the elderly.

It was the exact same product that Bordon had demonstrated at the retail outlet.

***

The police immediately dispatched personnel.

It was a quick action that was unusual for an organization that was known to be arrogant and act rashly, as if they knew that they had been making empty promises all along.

Frontline officials, including Taylor, took care of the elderly man and a cordon was placed on the area.

People might say that he was just beating the drum after work was over because he was afraid that people would think he was a civil servant, but I had my own rational reasons.

It is a world where magic exists and can be felt on a daily basis, and where wizards are the main class of society.

Traces of magic yielded a lot of information under the examination of professional investigators.

‘It’s like a fingerprint.’

The information that can be extracted from there is beyond what the average person can imagine.

And the police department was a group that employed many experts in the field.

In addition to the information that could be extracted from the old man’s body, there would be much more that could be deduced from the scene.

“I understand that you have achieved great things. But why did you come to me?”

Cromwell asked, seeming curious about my visit.

“The agent who brokered this request was not me, but Reina. If you came here to report, you’ve come to the wrong address.”

“You speak as if I have forgotten such basic things and come here out of habit.”

“Isn’t it?”

“no.”

Humans are animals of adaptation.

I’ve also adapted somewhat to life in this city.

I used to live on edge 24 hours a day, but now I’m living a life where I’m a little more relaxed.

However, he was not the type of person to let his guard down while carrying out a request.

“Reina described herself as a military broker, and you described yourself as a corporate broker.”

“It is what he is claiming to be.”

“I need information about the company.”

Cromwell didn’t seem to like what I said.

“It seems that the request from the police department was easier than I thought. Even though your reputation has increased, the risk inherent in the request has not disappeared. If you focus on just one thing, it won’t be enough, and if you look around here and there, you’ll end up destroying the tower you worked so hard for.”

“It’s about the request from the police department.”

“Are you saying that corporate background checks are related to the crackdown on terrorist organizations?”

“I’m not sure. That’s why I’m going to find out on my own without informing the police.”

“hmm.”

Only then did Cromwell relax his expression and stroke his beard.

“I guess you don’t want to just skim through the surface.”

“Yes, we have to strip away even the information that only insiders would know.”

“That’s not hard if the conditions are right. But you just have to have enough money, and it shouldn’t be at the Megacorp level.”

“Fortunately, neither.”

“So, which company is suspicious?”

“Bolder Beer Industries.”

It was definitely that name.

“It’s a terrorist organization linked to a corporation. If it’s true, the city will be turned upside down.”

“It’s going to turn around.”

But is this really the sword of purge aimed at corporations?

‘That has never happened.’

As far as I know, corporate influence on the future of this city has never diminished.

Rather, it has increased.

That was the story.

‘So it’s suspicious.’

The goal of the terrorist organization is chaos in the city and the collapse of the system.

But the real result was not a collapse of the system, but a change.

The reason was to investigate the front business of the terrorist organization that caused this uproar.

***

Galaga City is a city that promotes freedom but actually promotes debauchery.

Here, businesses grew explosively without any legal regulation or sanctions.

This was a unique feature of Galaga City compared to other cities.

That being said, no one ever said that the owner of Galaga City was a corporation.

Even in cities, there existed a top-level power group that could bow its head to corporations that had infiltrated the lives of citizens and exerted omnipotent influence.

It’s a city government.

As the ruling class that reigns over the city’s systems, they enjoy power equal to or greater than that of Megacorp.

It is an absurd privileged group where each individual member of the National Assembly is comparable to a large corporation.

So the ultimate goal of the company was nowhere else.

Rising above the city government.

And according to the story line, the company later came close to making him happen.

A reversal of authority and power between corporations and city governments.

The trigger that made this possible was the rise of a terrorist organization.

‘All the organizations that the city government has stepped up to the plate, including the police department, have been wiped out.’

The terrorist organization’s clutches have reached even the members of Congress, and they have failed to come up with any specific solutions.

The authority of the city government, the ruling power in the city, was shaken and administration was paralyzed.

In such a chaotic situation, the weight of the company came to the fore.

The company’s own security force was there to clear up the confusion.

A sort of vigilante system was introduced.

As companies increased their military spending under the pretext of maintaining public order and peace in the city, even lawmakers had no choice but to watch closely.

As a sheriff in the Sheriff’s Office, I watched the process closely.

‘There’s a reason I can’t recall this right away.’

This is because it was assumed that the incident had been solved in the past due to the active intervention of the police.

Since the premise is wrong, the result has to be wrong.

This was a major incident that has been a concern for city governments for at least a dozen years.

I was standing at that first crossroads.