Chapter 281 Darkness and misery
"How's the production going?" the bearded man inquired, glancing at some documents.
A professional-looking woman standing beside him smiled and responded, "There has been a 20% increase from last month."
The middle-aged man was taken aback by this revelation, leading him to inquire, "Really? Is there a specific reason for it?"
The woman glanced at the holographic screen in her hand, casually tucking the strands of dark hair behind her ear as she replied, "You see, we have ample production equipment capable of increasing our output by a whopping 100 percent. The primary hurdle was the raw materials, but we've made acquiring them much easier recently, thanks to the peasants we've brought on board."
The man's smile widened initially, but upon hearing the last part, it took on a slightly bitter note. He gave the woman an annoyed look and spoke in a stern tone, "Julie, they work for me. Even if they were real peasants, I wouldn't tolerate any disrespectful words towards them. Don't let me hear any derogatory remarks from your mouth again. Disrespect towards them is disrespect towards me."
Julie appeared a bit afraid as the man began to reprimand her, but as he continued, she smiled, "And that includes you, as you are also my subordinate."
"I understand, Director Shina," she nodded with a smile, and her boss reciprocated with a nod and a smile, saying, "It's good that you understand. If there's nothing else, you can excuse yourself."
"There's one thing, it's about recruiting more fighters," the woman mentioned in a slightly hesitant tone.
"What about them? I believe there's enough in the city to recruit from," the man replied, not considering it important enough to demand his attention. However, his assistant had a different perspective.
Shaking her head, she explained, "There is enough, but not all of them qualify. Plus, not many are joining our hunting teams, and the ones who do are weaker. This problem could resolve in three to four months when the word about the city spreads, but I was thinking of making it happen faster by going to a nearby city to recruit some cultivators. You can think of it as an advertisement event."
The man pondered upon hearing this, and after a couple of seconds, he nodded and said, "Sounds good and fast. Just make sure to emphasize the dangers. We want to expedite the process, but not at the cost of their lives, as we might need them after regaining the darkness and his misery."
The woman felt excited upon hearing her boss's words, but he himself appeared frightened. However, Julie, caught up in her excitement, failed to notice it.
As the controller discussed the impending changes to the worlds, those whose lives were on the brink of transformation fought desperately. It had been over two months since Kevin had joined the hunting parties of the Loviataro Emporium, along with his family from Den.
Since their arrival, they had been engaged in constant battles every day, including the ongoing one.
"I can't stand these creepy-crawlies..." Keith panted, blood oozing from a nasty scratch on her face, and a bunch of other nicks and cuts all over her body.
With Kevin having her back, they both grumbled while watching the spider-like foes. "Why does the captain want these things dead? They're not even guarding any herbs," Kevin questioned.
"Let's just take 'em down... on three, shift," Keith suggested. She tightened her grip on her sword, and Kevin did the same with his yellow blades, just as a six-legged monster lunged at them, roaring through its bear trap-like mouth.
Its sharp legs, matching Kevin's height, lunged to stab him. However, the leg shielded its body, guarding against any projectiles from his side. Kevin had encountered this tactic before, causing the monster to lose one of its six eyes. As the creature leaped into the air, Keith and Kevin swiftly shifted positions, making Kevin grin as this one hadn't shielded its body.
Seizing the opportunity, he hurled both of his blades towards its eyes, scoring four hits out of six. Retrieving more purple ones from his space ring, he dashed forward while the monster remained in a stunned state due to the effects of his yellow lightning blades.
Keith, though not as quick as Kevin in swapping opponents, still had an advantage. She had to block the initial strike from the monster, but catching it off guard meant the creature didn't put much force into the attack. It was focused on stabbing Kevin with its other two legs. Seizing the moment, Keith didn't wait after blocking the first blow. Instead, she forcefully slammed the flat sides of her sword against the monster's legs, producing a loud sound that pushed the creature back. The painful noise escaping from its mouth indicated that it had taken some damage.
The shock also caused Keith to stumble backward, but quickly regaining control of her balance, she seized the opportunity to create an opening for an attack. With her sword raised high, she dashed forward and brought it down between the monster's eyes, extinguishing the life from all the remaining five eyes.
Turning to Kevin, who had just finished dealing with the other opponent and was retrieving his blades from its head, she informed him, "Three incoming." Kevin's expression turned grim upon hearing this, but swiftly recovering his blades, he approached her. "How many more? This was already my seventh..." he complained, eyeing the three additional spiders approaching.
Glancing at the other members, all engrossed in their battles, he suggested with gritted teeth, "I'll hold off the two, can you quickly take care of the third one?"
Keith, without uttering a word and clutching her sword's hilt tightly, nodded. Observing her determination, Kevin grinned and swiftly headed towards the monster in her path. "Let me make it a bit easier..." Holding the blade with two fingers, he threw it at the monster Keith was supposed to engage. The lightning blade landed directly in the monster's eyes, stunning it for a moment and creating an opening for Keith. Capitalizing on the opportunity, she increased her speed and went in for a killing blow, while Kevin moved to intercept the others and prevent them from attacking her.
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