90 Towering Might

"Are you alright?" Cynthia asks Alex, who is feeling nauseous and is leaning against a wall. Mary's spell almost made me vomit, but I somehow held it in. After all, vomiting inside my armor wouldn't be a fun experience, and cleaning it would take forever.

I still don't know why this is happening; the portals don't cause any nausea.

"Get a grip," I say to the sick Legionary. We are under enemy territory, so we have to keep moving even if I want to let him recover. I turn towards the shopkeeper, who seems to be unaffected by the teleportation. "Do you have any idea where we are?"

The Goblin nods, "I recognize the area, and look at those markings." he points towards a certain part of the wall, I narrow my eyes to discern some faint scribbles on the surface. "Those are markings made by smugglers who use these sewers for trafficking."

"How do you even know that?" I ask as we keep progressing into the maze-like sewers.

The Goblin chuckles, "You may be surprised to hear that, but I wasn't exactly the most law-abiding citizen."

What a shocking revelation.

"I used to contact smugglers when I wanted actual weapons, not the regulated crap that the Enforcers peddle to the civilians." he continues.

"The Enforcers are selling weapons?" I ask with a raised eyebrow. They would never do that on Earth, so I'm curious about why they are doing such a thing here.

"Yes, but weapons isn't the proper term, they are more like ineffective toys compared to what you're used to seeing. First of all, you need to register them to the Enforcers so they can confiscate them at a moment's notice. They are also the sole authorized manufacturer of weapons on this planet, and the crap they churn out has a built-in failsafe. The failsafe makes it so it can't be used against an Enforcer or anyone they don't want to be harmed. Not that it makes a big difference, the weapons available here are so shit that a sharp stick is often the better solution." He says while clicking his tongue.

I see. The situation here is worse than I thought, the Enforcers are ensuring that nobody can threaten their tyrannical rule.

"But what about the Bazaar? The people could buy better weapons there." I ask.

"As if the Enforcers would let anyone go off the planet. It's banned for regular people, and their propaganda in the education system ensures that nobody even knows that there are other places outside of this shithole." The shopkeeper replies.

Holy shit, the Enforcers of this planet are even worse than the ones on Earth. This kind of grim, hopeless future is what awaits my home planet if the Enforcers organize.

But I woN't LeT tHaT hApPeN.

The Stonecrusher Empire will be crushed, and the Families eradicated. They had their chance when I announced my independence. Now it's time they face the consequences of their arrogance.

However, I need to complete this mission before I can put my grander plans in place. Mass production of the Spell Jammer is a crucial element if we want to win our wars, and it's the only feasible way to defeat the Empire without massive casualties.

But we need Krognar if we want the Jammer. I don't know who this Wurk is, and I don't care how well-guarded he is. He's the only obstacle blocking the survival of humanity, and I won't stop at anything to end his life.

"So how did you even get out of here in the first place?" Alex asks.

"It's a bit of a long story, but we have time, so I'll tell you. I didn't only use my contacts to acquire illegal weapons. They also brought me some banned materials and tooling. I always had a knack for making things, so I used my free time to learn enchanting and eventually reverse-engineered the weapons I bought. I sold the copies to the smugglers for half the price they would have normally cost, so we developed a profitable enterprise." Krognar recalls.

"But that was the beginning. I used the funds from the weapons to buy better equipment and materials, as well as the knowledge I needed. I made my own secure HiddenNet receiver after a lot of trials and errors, and it changed my life forever. I learned about other planets, other dimensions and the seemingly infinite amount of new technology available. And that's when I met her." He says with a trembling voice.

"I used to work in a mine, that's where I met my smuggling friends. They are all dead now, so I'd rather not think about it too much... But one of the women who worked in the kitchen took a liking to me. We started to see each other, and it soon became a bit more than mere attraction. It happened at the same time that I became more wealthy thanks to my weapon-making business. I quit my job at the mine and moved to a better area for my business. Some time passed, and she moved to my place. She was unaware of what I did for a living, but she was smart enough to not ask too many questions. Everything was fine until that fateful day." Krognar takes a deep breath and looks into the distance. I glance toward Sarah, and she confirms that his story is true.

"She was leaving my place to get some groceries, and that's when she encountered Wurk. That bastard was drunk and made some advances to her, she refused. So he blasted her." The old Goblin grits his teeth while the others stay silent.

Stories like this are why we fight. A group of power-hungry assholes like the Enforcers must be taken down no matter the cost. If we let them take root like on this planet, then the future that awaits us is going to be horrible.

"He tried to cover it up. But I discovered what he was doing, and planned my revenge. My contacts became good friends over the years, so they accepted to help me after they learned about the situation. I was young and impulsive back then, and I was blinded by rage, so we attacked without a good plan. Wurk as at a restaurant, we stormed the place. He wasn't alone, spells flew everywhere, and it was a mess. That's when I lost my arm and my friends... That bastard used his comrades as shields and smashed me into the ground while I was encircled." The shopkeeper's story continues.

I nod while looking around. The sewers look to be more taken care of, and the traces on the ground shows that there are a lot of people going through this place. I pay a lot of attention to my lifeforce detector since we could encounter smugglers, and from my experience sewer smugglers usually attack on sight. My companions became silent as soon as the old Goblin started to narrate his story, I can't decipher their expression through their armor, but I can read their body language. Mary seems to be the most affected since she keeps looking at her left hand and sighing.

Cynthia looks to be shaken by the contents of the story while the two others are not affected.

I can sympathize with the draconic woman. We both lost a lot because of the Enforcers, so we understand Krognar's pain very well. Mary lost her freedom and her family, and I lost any chances of living a normal life devoid of continuous violence along with my sanity. I also became a target that will be hunted down as long as the Families are still standing.

Krognar recalls the rest of his story, "That bastard paraded me around, claiming I was a big criminal out for blood. The people treated him as a hero, and I even saw my old coworkers in the crowd cheering Wurk for his good deeds. Nobody knew about the woman I loved, nobody even remembered her. Her family was probably 'silenced' so they wouldn't ask questions. My friends who survived were executed soon after our arrest. Wurk visited me every day, he insulted me and gloated about what he did. He was so proud that he got away with his crimes, he was also promoted! I couldn't let that slide. I swore that I would kill this bastard and destroy everything he holds dear even if it cost me my life."

"So how did you escape?" I ask, "I assume that they didn't let you cast a teleportation spell."

The shopkeeper nods, "Of course not, but I had a plan. I kept the cutlery from my few meals, if you can even call them that, and turned them into makeshift tools for engraving. My cell was made of very resistant material, so it took a long time to engrave my enchantment with bent metal utensils. Luckily for me, I had a lot of free time. Weeks passed, and they finally decided that enough was enough and that it was time to execute me. They prepared all the bells and whistles. Every media outlet was here to film the execution of 'the worst criminal of the era.'"

Krognar chuckles, "And I bet they didn't expect what happened to them! I activated my spell, which caused a focused beam of energy to pierce the nearest Enforcer. I took his weapon and turned the smug journalists into a paste before wreaking havoc. I opened a lot of cells, and soon a full riot was ongoing. My goal was the warden of this section of the prison. I only spotted him once or twice, but I saw that he was carrying a device that would open the teleportation gates for me. The riot worked better than expected. The surprised guards couldn't react in time, so the prisoners killed them and stole their weapons. I knew it wouldn't be long before the rest of the guards would take them down, so I had to hurry. I found the warden and, after a long battle, I stole his identification card. I was almost killed when I reached the prison's teleportation gate, but I held my guts into my body with my remaining arm and activated the gate."

Damn, Krognar is more hardcore than I first thought. Not a lot of people would be able to do what he just narrated, and I certainly wouldn't be able to be as brave as him if I didn't have the Rewinder as a backup.

"I didn't look at the destination," he says, "I just wanted to escape this hellhole so I jumped into the gate as soon as I could. But not before rigging a little something, I just rewired a couple of runes, and the gate should have exploded a few seconds after I left. That's when I first arrived in the Bazaar. I will skip the details, but I eventually healed up and found that Shard where I opened my shop, and I have been living there peacefully until recently."

"Don't worry. We'll get the bastard for you. And we'll make sure that hE sUfFeRs!" I say to the Goblin. "We don't want any more events like these to happen; the Enforcers have to pay for their crimes."

Krognar nods, "Boy, I don't know how to say this, but... Thank you. Not a lot of people would help someone like me, especially against someone like Wurk."

I smirk, "What? So now you believe that we'll succeed?"

Krognar chuckles, "Of course not, I'm not an idiot. But I'm looking forward to what you have in store. You're not ordinary, so I think you can at least scratch the paint on the Tower."

Scratching the paint? Oh boy, he's in for a surprise.

"We should be here," Krognar says. "The sewers have changed a bit since I last used them, but this gate over our heads should allow us to arrive near the Tower without being seen."

"You heard him, get ready for anything," I say to my group, and they nod. "We will soon experience an intense battle, and I know that some of you are not accustomed to magical warfare. Cynthia and Sarah will stay in the back, Alex will protect them while Mary and I will handle the frontline. If things get too dangerous, you have to retreat back home. Understood?"

Losing Sarah or Cynthia would be disastrous, they are too valuable to be on the battlefield, but I needed them for this operation.

"Affirmative, I'll do my best," Alex replies as we emerge from the small manhole cover.

I look around with my pistol pointed in front of me, but it seems that we are alone in a dimly lit street. A single passerby goes out of his house, but he reenters his home when he sees us.

"We don't know how much time we have until the Enforcers will try to stop us, so we need to reach the Tower as soon as possible." I raise my head and stop for a moment. The tower is truly massive, I didn't realize from the Goblin's explanation but seeing it in person is something else. The building is so large that it dwarfs Mount Everest, not to mention how sturdy it looks.

I hope the Hammer will take down this monument to the arrogance of the Enforcers. How much money did they use for building something so extravagant?

"Is everyone ready to begin the operation?" I ask everyone, and they perform a last minute check on their equipment before nodding.

A quick check on my Portal Gun shows that the barrier of the Tower stops me from teleporting inside, which is to be expected considering the tight security. But nothing prevents me from teleporting near the Tower.

I create a portal on the wall in front of me and turn towards the others, "GO!" I shout before jumping into the portal.

We emerge on a sizeable populated plaza. The panicked Goblins are fleeing the area while some curious onlookers are peeking at us from windows and street corners. I'm not worried about the civilians, so I focus on the group of scrambling guards on the walls in front of us.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?! I order you to stay still while we-" the guard is interrupted by the usual light show. However, it's less effective than I thought. The soldiers, who are surprised and scared for a moment, quickly go back to their senses.

These Goblins are well-trained, the coming battle might be a bit more difficult than I anticipated.

My shield stops the first salvo of what appears to be scaled-up versions of the lances used by Goblin soldiers. The power is nothing to scoff at, but my equipment can handle it for now.

I grin and turns towards Mary, who is waiting for my order to throw the condensed fireballs waiting in her hands. "I think you're going to like this!"

"Really? Then please show me what you have in store!" she says while getting closer to me.

"Boy, what are you doing! Do something!" Krognar, who is firing ineffective beams of yellow energy towards the walls, scream at me. In the meantime, the rest of my group is huddled together behind an earthen wall that Sarah raised.

I whistle as I grab a small device from my belt. The small item is innocuous. It's just a tiny white plastic cylinder about the size of my hand with a screen embedded in it.

Everyone tense up when I point the small cylinder towards the walls and the Tower...

And nothing happens.

At least for now. I press two buttons on the screen, and the pointer beeps. I then raise my hands in the air and shout, "Prometheus is delivering DiViNe PuNiShMeNt!"

This tiny little device was given to me by Alan. It's a way to automatically activate the Hammer of Prometheus by selecting what you want to fire, and the device contains a laser pointer that gives coordinates to the aiming system. As a side note, the Barrier Breakers have been added to the Hammer since the software can easily handle the terrifying weapons.

"Don't bullshit me!" One of the guards shouts. "What can you do with such a-" he stops talking when the first portals appear in the sky.

These Enforcers feel so safe behind their barriers; they think they are invincible.

But I bet they didn't expect the very advanced tactic of beating it with a giant hammer until it breaks!

I'm such a tactical genius, it's incredible.