Chapter 155: Influence

By this time, Isaiah, leader of the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps, was in utter disarray. Just moments ago, a super-large transport ship escorted by the Blade of Freedom had been preparing to leave the Naan City spaceport when the military stopped it.

After contacting the ship’s captain, he learned that the military was conducting a random inspection.

However, judging by the thoroughness of the inspection, it would take at least ten days to examine the entire transport ship.

Isaiah needed hardly any thought to realize that the military was deliberately making trouble for the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps.

He was not worried that the transport ship might be carrying contraband. The cargo aboard it consisted of premium fruit grown in Naan City.

Although certain preservation measures had been taken, many of the fruits required special storage and could not be kept for ten days. If the transport ship were truly detained for that long, the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps would suffer enormous losses.

The losses would indeed be severe, but Isaiah was even more concerned about the corps’ relationship with the military. They had only recently managed to ease tensions with the military—how had something like this happened again?

And that was far from all. In Naan City, the Blade of Freedom’s reception office had been visited in succession by officials from the taxation, security, and public health departments. The guests who had come there to discuss business with the mercenary corps had all been frightened away.

At the same time, the police department had issued arrest warrants to the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps. The names of dozens of its members appeared on the warrants.

Mercenaries spent most of their lives away from civilization, and it was common for them to commit crimes large and small.

In the past, the Naan Chamber of Commerce had intervened to mediate such matters. The police department had merely turned a blind eye, so long as the offenses were not committed in Naan City.

But now, without issuing any warning, the police had produced a whole stack of arrest warrants.

One incident might have been a coincidence. But with so many things happening at nearly the same time, Isaiah knew that someone was targeting the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps.

Only a handful of the major figures in Naan City possessed the influence to accomplish something like this.

What Isaiah could not understand was how the Blade of Freedom had offended one of those powerful figures so badly that the man was willing to spend such a tremendous amount of personal influence to ruin them.

The Blade of Freedom was no minor mercenary group. Across Rock Star, it ranked among the very best. Moreover, it was backed by the Naan Chamber of Commerce, which had a Transcendent of its own. Very few people dared move against the Blade of Freedom.

After hesitating for a moment, Isaiah activated a name on his identity wristband. He straightened and waited for the other party to respond.

“Isaiah, I already know what happened. I’m asking Lord Hadley to help mediate the matter.” President Hume’s image appeared above the wristband as he spoke in a solemn voice.

President Hume was the head of the Naan Chamber of Commerce and one of the few people at the pinnacle of power in Naan City.

“My lord, how did this matter alarm Lord Hadley?” Isaiah asked in shock.

How could he not be shocked? The Lord Hadley mentioned by President Hume was the Naan Chamber of Commerce’s Transcendent. It was precisely because of Hadley’s existence that the chamber could stand alongside the other three major powers in terms of supreme combat strength.

If Hadley had been alarmed, then whoever was targeting the Blade of Freedom had to possess a status comparable to that of a Transcendent.

“Isaiah, the Blade of Freedom has performed well under your leadership. But some time ago, you offended the military, and now you’ve attacked Lord Garen’s disciple. The chamber has connections, but we cannot continue cleaning up after you. Once this trouble is resolved, step down and take a managerial position in the chamber.” President Hume’s voice held a faint indifference.

In truth, if the Blade of Freedom had not been so important to the Naan Chamber of Commerce—if it had not been one of the chamber’s principal fighting forces—President Hume would not have wanted to clean up after them again.

The last time, when the mercenary corps attacked military soldiers in Pelan City and plunged the city into chaos, President Hume had used a vast amount of his influence to obtain the military’s forgiveness.

This time, the Blade of Freedom had gone even further. They had ambushed David, Lord Garen’s disciple, in the underground network beneath Naan City.

Although David’s status as Garen’s disciple had never been publicly announced, who in the highest circles could possibly be unaware of it?

“My lord, I still don’t understand what this is about.” Hearing that he was to step down as commander and become a manager in the chamber, Isaiah’s face turned deathly pale. He forced the words out with difficulty.

The positions of commander of the Blade of Freedom Mercenary Corps and manager of the Naan Chamber of Commerce were worlds apart.

Although the Naan Chamber of Commerce was one of the four great powers of Naan City—and indeed of Rock Star—it was, in reality, an alliance of several financial groups.

The chamber itself possessed little real authority. Even President Hume was merely a chief coordinator elected by the various factions, a leader in name only. If Isaiah became a manager, he would be little better off than an ordinary office employee.

“Where have all the intelligence funds spent by the Blade of Freedom every year gone? Do you still not know that David is the disciple Lord Garen has recently taken?” President Hume finally lost control of his anger and shouted.

Such an outburst was rare for him. As the head of a chamber of commerce, he seldom grew angry. He had always believed in the principle that harmony brought prosperity.

“David is Lord Garen’s disciple?” Isaiah’s mind went blank.

Now he understood what this was about. Recalling the plan he had arranged, he realized that David should have had no way to escape. He had already forged a mortal enmity with Lord Garen.

But then Isaiah immediately realized that if David had truly died, President Hume would never have left him any way out.

“Could President Hume be trying to lure me back so he can hand me over to Lord Garen to vent his anger?” The more Isaiah thought about it, the more alarmed he became.

Then he remembered that Horatio had sent him a communication request earlier. Isaiah had failed to answer only because the situation on his end had been so urgent.

He glanced at his identity wristband. Horatio’s request was still ongoing.

“How did it go? Is David dead?” Isaiah typed and sent.

Horatio, who had been no less anxious, was delighted to receive Isaiah’s reply. At last, they were in contact.

When he saw Isaiah’s question, he quickly sent over a full account of everything that had happened.

Isaiah silently read through Horatio’s report. Shock flashed across his eyes.

David had single-handedly wiped out an elite squad of armored soldiers, driven away the reinforcements, and emerged without a scratch.

At this, Isaiah’s heart finally settled somewhat. So long as David was unharmed, there was still room for reconciliation. It also meant that President Hume intended to protect him rather than sacrifice him.

As for what Horatio had encountered at Shelter C117, Isaiah had no intention of asking about it. He was no longer the commander, and in any case, it was Horatio’s suggestion that had brought matters to this point.

If Horatio had been standing before him, Isaiah might even have killed him.

Isaiah assumed that President Hume already knew the entire sequence of events, so he did not pass along the precise intelligence he had received from Horatio.

“Break the energy shield!” Helena ordered her seven subordinates in a low voice.

The seven armored soldiers, each wielding a second-grade war hammer, charged straight toward the energy shield surrounding Shelter C117 without hesitation. The hammers in their hands came crashing down again and again.

The underground network was filled with interference from kryptonite ore, rendering energy weapons unusable. But the attacks of seven armored soldiers wielding second-grade war hammers were no weaker than energy weapons. Under the relentless assault, the energy shield trembled violently.

David shifted part of his consciousness into the Shadow Servant. The Shadow Servant then flew into the energy shield, allowing him to see that only five soldiers in exoskeleton armor remained in the shelter’s square. Everyone else had retreated into the rooms.

Ordinary people could not take part in battles between armored soldiers. The only thing civilians living here could do was wait for the fighting to end and allow the victorious side to determine their fate.

After more than ten minutes of bombardment, countless crystalline points of light scattered through the air. The energy shield finally shattered, leaving Shelter C117 completely exposed to everyone present.