Chapter 81 : Getting Prepared (Patreon)

As soon as he had stepped into the Black Bloc, James had been fully aware someone was following him. That was the plan, after all, and why he appeared as Silhouette in the first place rather than his more discrete self, doubly so since he had completed the underground tunnel connecting the shop to the sewer lair. With his enhanced senses he quickly noticed the small kid that had begun to shadow him, and it didn't take a genius to realize that it was probably one of Guy's protégés. They were supposed to stay clear of all matters related to Silhouette, but it wasn't all that surprising that there would a straggler who went against the orders. James also noticed the strange burly men that followed the child, and although it wasn't exactly how he had intended to accomplish his objective James still took it as a win, soon enough Runar's men would try something and James would have an excuse to deal with them and cement his group as another faction worthy of respect instead of a bunch of misfits and monsters. Hopefully, the other gangs would see things this way.

Once he was in front of his shop James took the time to pause to let his followers catch up to him, but also used this opportunity to truly take in the changes the building had gone through since its acquisition. Technically Maviza still owned it, but considering the profits they were bringing in rent would never be a problem, at least not before they established a new base in Zalcien proper and at this point, it would be wise to consider relocating. Once he had the right permits to sell all of his self-defense stuff, of course.

Infusing the entire building had been a pain, especially since he had to keep pausing to scare off nosy locals and animals, and not only that but he had to take care of the facade nearly all at once to cover the infused black bricks with a coat of white paint to not arouse suspicion as to how a building became black all of a sudden and to avoid spooking potential customers. Going from a damaged facade to a pristine one in a single night was admittedly also weird, but since they had bought the white paint at a nearby store and the smell of fresh paint was still hanging around by the time morning came people hadn't been all that curious, aside from wondering why they had painted the building in the dead of night.

The sudden appearance of the black shingles on the roof technically could be seen as strange too, but if anything it was easier to cover up. James just had Mark and Jeffrey take down all of the ones still attached to the building while Barry and Larry went to buy some more to fill the holes left by time, and then he had just infused each and every one of those shingles before letting his men place them back. Once that was done James made use of his ability to roughly control infused materials to ensure they were properly attached to the rest of the structure. Admittedly James cheated and used tentacles to make the process faster since even with the large shingles of the local area it should have taken multiple days to do everything, but people in the slums weren't used to buildings getting renovated and probably had no idea of how long shingling a roof took.

Using infused glass was a given. After careful testing in the lair, it had turned out to be bulletproof and to be see-through on one side. Something to guarantee safety and privacy while still letting some light in was always nice.

The new layer of black paint on the bottom of the facade was new, but Barry and Larry had informed him of their plan when they had asked for some infused paint. Not only did it give the shop a unique look but it caught the eye and might attract new customers, not only that but since it was infused James could use it to watch over the building. Technically he could just use the bricks in the walls or the shingles, but an unobstructed view at ground level was appreciated. The tentacles on the wall however were a surprise. He would need to have a word with the duo later on.

After making sure the people following him had caught up, James had entered the shop and immediately warned all of his employees and the handful of customers that were present that an attack was incoming and they'd best be ready for a fight. The customers initially took the announcement as a threat until they realized Barry and Larry - now wearing complimentary black and white suits with very nice ties - welcomed James and treated him as their superior. The dastardly duo promptly reached under their shared desk and each pulled out a unique weapon that had yet to be put on the shelves, an electrorifle each. As could be guessed from the name, it was simply the rifle equivalent of an electrogun - though, in all honesty, it was closer to a blunderbuss - and since those models were meant to guarantee the safety of the shop James saw no problem with infusing both of them, he trusted Barry and Larry enough to let them wield those with infused batteries too, bringing out the full potential of the weapons.

Mark and Jeffrey on the other hand had to rely on regular electroguns, but they had also been equipped with infused knives - or more accurately daggers after their transformations. They had been pretty loyal and obedient ever since he had recruited the ratkin and lizardman after the failed raid, but they hadn't fully earned his trust yet. Maybe he could check with Barry and Larry afterward to see what they thought of their ex-rivals helpers.

His employees warned, James had chosen to make use of the infused paint to check on the thugs' plan, but sadly they had been cautious and had put some distance between them and the shop. They quickly dispersed with two of them staying around and approaching Guy's protégé while two others went away and the last one returned near the shop, though he quickly left the Black Block and appeared to be trying to attack the shop from the back.

James didn't like letting either of the two leaving thugs go, but the one trying to sneak in was a bigger problem. The thug himself didn't look that remarkable, but it was entirely within the realm of possibilities he carried some kind of bomb or maybe a portable portal or anything really that could pause a threat without needing a strong user. Tracking the man was easy, confirming he was one of Runar's men only took some roughening up, and he quickly confessed to what each member of the group was supposed to do - which is where things went downhill. As soon as he had learned how the group planned to learn more about him, he dragged the thug onto the Black Block and forced him to call for his friends. Soon after Gonch came by to help Gronko and swung at James before he simply blocked the attack and bonded the man in more tentacles, this time being more forceful to extract information as he was in hurry. The inhabitants of the slums were used to violence and so just gave James a wide margin as they went on about their day while he fired a shadow bolt into Gonch's leg to make him talk.

A little while later and here James was, taking care not to harm the feebled and bruised frame of the child he carried in his shadowy grasp with a lone appendage growing from the ground as he left the infused thug and his wounded friends behind to rush back to the shop. He would have preferred to bring the kid to Doctor Drake as soon as possible but he couldn't leave his men behind in his shop while an unknown armed force with some kind of elite fighter was on their way. He rushed to the shop as fast as he could without risking worsening Guy's protégé's situation, and as soon as he was back in the building he hurried to put them down in the back of the storage room. They didn't have any blankets sadly, and the child had to lay on the cold black tiled floor. An oversight he would have to fix for any similar situation in the future.

"Mischief."

A group of tiles in a corner of the room rose, lifted by a large black rat with purple highlights in its fur that emerged from the tunnel between the shop and the lair. Although no one should be able to use this tunnel without passing by either of the two guarded and secured locations, James preferred to have a few members of Mischief patrol it, just in case. Considering how many infused rats were currently obeying Polisson, rotating small groups of three individuals or so every hour wasn't that big of a deal.

"Go warn your closest companion, we're soon going to be under attack and we may need reinforcements. As soon as you delivered that message, come back here and watch over that child."

The rat nodded before scurrying away, letting the fake floor fall back and cover the tunnel once more. James was tempted to stay in the room and make sure no more harm would befall the kid and maybe check on their condition, but he knew he couldn't afford to put his men in danger just for the sake of a child none of them knew.

Soon James joined back with his four employees, each one as armed as they could be. It was strange to see the once dirty slum dwellers wearing more fashionable black and white clothes, with Larry and Barry going out of their way to wear opposing ones. James briefly wondered if it was why Barry had mutton chops and Larry a goatee, but it would be a silly thing to ask - especially now.

"Are you all ready?"

"Sure thing, boss. It ain't the first time some bloke thinks they can walk in here and act like they own the place."

"I made sure to evacuate all of the customers, and none of them tried to steal anything too!"

"They're probably waiting for thisss place to get blown up to sssalvage the wreckage."

"Hey, Mark, happy thoughts!"

The tall lizardman rolled his eyes but kept his mouth shut. It appeared his temperament had improved, not so long ago he would have belittled Jeffrey for his optimism. But now wasn't the time to appreciate introspection and personal development.

"From what I have learned, we should be dealing with a simple group of thugs, some may carry runic or enchanted items, and they could also be led by some sort of magic user or knight, possibly both or groups of them."

"Bosssss, no offenssse, but even I could tell you that about Runar's guys."

"Maaark..."

"I said no offenssse, Jeffrey. And I was trying to be helpful."

"I appreciate the change of attitude, Mark, and your help in this development Jeffrey, but now we must focus on how to get rid of them."

"We asked our customers about stuff they heard or learned, and according to some weird old harpy the mages that work for Runar write stuff with weird letters to make stuff happen, but she told me you could interrupt them if you stopped from writing. She said her grandson picked a fight with one but since he kept punching the guy in the face he couldn't do anything."

"Barry, people can't do much when they're getting punched."

"If it works, it works."

"You two, how good are you when it comes to handling your weapons?"

"Oh, we blasted a few things away!"

"Regular thugs shouldn't be an issue, boss. We even got rid of a few Cored. No idea of what they can do against runic or enchanted stuff, though."

"If what happened with Grover is of any indication, a fully infused weapon with infused batteries should be able to handle some of it. I do not know how strong his armor was, but it was destroyed by a single electrogun shot."

"So, as long as they aren't sending in the big guns, we should be fine then? Good enough for me."

James was getting ready to respond when he heard a sound and felt something spreading through the ground. A rumbling. Stomping.

Before long, James and the others could see through the large one-way shop window a group of at least thirty men and women with various weapons approaching them, led by five people in brown robes with hoods covering their faces and with a book and a feather attached to a cord at their waist, as a well as a group of three knights in plate armor - and the leader's was covered in gold.

"SURRENDER NOW, SILHOUETTE! OR FALL TO THE BLADE OF PIERCE EVIL!"