A pair of eyes blinked open inside a small dark room.
Gaud groaned as he stretched before grabbing and rubbing his abdomen slightly before finally removing the special virtual reality helmet from his head.
As soon as he removed the special helmet, his 7 subordinates switched on the lights in the room as they silently looked at him and waited for him to speak.
Unlike the Gaud that was bleeding just a few seconds ago, this one was not bleeding and he was not wearing a blue attire either. This middle-aged man at this moment was wearing a black vest and was completely uninjured.
Gaud rubbed his aching neck. "They actually injured one of my VR avatars".
"I have to admit, they are really strong mystic warriors. That Rex surprised me the most, he has abilities that are not publicly known". His eyes narrowed.
"I was injured even when the Kamaitachi and Dark Mist Spider are not around, I definitely met a strong fort this time, so annoying". He frowned slightly.
"If the whole Berserk Gang is put into the equation, and with the fact that he would now be more cautious against an ambush, my chances of secretly assassinating the 2 young masters are literally less than 10% now".
Gaud's frown grew. "I must finish this task in a week's time at most or else…"
Just thinking of the consequences of his actions if he was discovered made his face turn cold, but Gaud was never out of options all his life.
He finally turned to face his 7 subordinates. "Wait for me here, make sure this location is not discovered until I get back".
Without waiting for a reply from his subordinates, Gaud stood up and looked through the window. "To succeed, we need help".
…
Inside the territory of the Bat Gang, the Bat labyrinth…
Gang leader Beastmare had a serious look on his face as he sat before this stony-faced Advanced Mystic Warrior. Unlike when he spoke with Rex and his companions, this time, he recognized that he was speaking with a superior.
His hands were constantly on his weapon as despite being in his territory, he was careful and alert for any sudden ambush from this mystic warrior.
Gaud had a nonchalant look on his face as he looked back at him. After thinking through his circumstances thoroughly, Gaud decided that the Gang leader of the Bat Gang was the best candidate to further his objectives.
Not only were the Bat Gang and the Berserk Gang now allies and knew much about each other, their Gang leader already met the gang leader of the Berserk Gang also. Knowing your enemy was the first step to victory.
In the Gundam Shelter, there was nothing as sweet-sounding as loyalty. Every alliance worked in a basis of win-win benefits.
If better benefits are placed as a stake, alliances could break anytime.
Gaud did not beat around the bush as he went straight to the point. "I want the leader of the Berserk Gang dead".
Gang Leader Beastmare narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
"I mean what I mean". Gaud replied with all seriousness.
"Let's plan and attack him together. If the Gang Leader of the Berserk Gang is dead, you can easily annex them, this is a prime opportunity to expand".
From Gaud's serious face and his strength, this Gang leader had no choice but to take his words seriously.
Besides, Gaud's mode of entering the Bat Labyrinth definitely demanded attention. This powerful warrior literally ignored all the defenses of this gang base and infiltrated directly to the room of the leader.
This was enough for the Gang Leader to respect him, Beastmare looked at him with narrowed eyes. "What is in it for you?"
"You don't need to know, once he is dead, I'll naturally get what I need".
Beastmare still had a lot of doubts but there were hidden rules in a criminal society. So long as I can benefit and you can benefit, no one is hurt, there was no pressing need to know the intention of either side.
"Deal?" Gaud presented his hand for a handshake.
Beastmare extended his hand for a handshake. "Deal".
Despite previously having misgivings against it, after seriously thinking about it and the mysterious identity of this strange Advanced Mystic Warrior, Beastmare decided to trust his instincts.
In the blink of an eye, the deal was concluded. This was how things worked in the Gundam Shelter, this was the normal here.
…
"What? That was just a VR avatar?!" Rex asked aloud with a red face.
He still could not believe the facts that these 2 Elden descendants were spitting before his eyes. The fact that after putting in so much effort to injure him, but he ended up only injuring a VR avatar irked him to no end.
This once again showed him the reason why he wanted to go to the Great Shelters. The technological level of both sides of earth was just too vast.
Besides the embarrassment of having put in so much effort just to injure a VR avatar, Rex's face was now grave as he recognized the increased danger.
Gaud was not just your typical Advanced Mystic Warrior. This guy came with gadgets and mystic weapons that they still couldn't comprehend most of them, this alone gave Gaud and his party such an overwhelming edge in this struggle.
Having fought against Gaud also, Princess Elanor and Aragorn were silent as they mentally replayed the scenes of the previous battle.
After playing the scenes, they discovered that they were still vastly unprepared to face this warrior. If a VR avatar alone was already this hard to take on, they shuddered thinking of facing the real warrior himself.
This time, Aragorn being the eldest of the trio finally stepped up as he spoke with an absolutely serious face. "To stand a chance of survival, we need adequate and swift preparations".
"Since the enemy already has so many advantages over us, I think we should also prepare our first advantage which is to let the battle take place in our home ground no matter what way they come in".
"Apart from the home ground advantage, we also need to work on ourselves, we are definitely not ready to take on the real Gaud".
"Rex, do what you do best, be a genius, train and improve".
"Elanor, do the same, I'll also go back to focus on my machines, it's best if I become an Advanced mystic warrior before the showdown". Aragorn said as he remembered the few times when he clashed against Gaud.
Ater addressing them, he finally turned to face the 2 Elden descendants. "As for you guys, welcome to the Berserk Gang".
"Max, you are now officially the custodian of the Berserk Gang".
"A position will be arranged for Stark".
"Rex, inform the gang, we have a strong enemy ahead of us. Put them all at high alert, they should be ready for a large scale battle any moment".
Aragorn's eyes narrowed. "From this little encounter with him, Gaud is someone who loves keeping things simple and taking care of things efficiently".
"If I'm right, he'll try to use the simplest way to take care of us, we need to be prepared for any eventuality, even a betrayal from our own warriors".
"Get to work, get to work!" Aragorn clapped his hands for emphasis.
As the others left and as Rex left, his system lit up a notification.
[You have killed a mechanic Intermediate Mystic Warrior: VR Avatar!]
[You have gained 50 mystic energy points!]
[You have gained a mystic mech core!]
Rex paused. "A mech core?"
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