I Own A Brothel In Another World (Ch. 1-196)

Chapter 165 - Mission Impossible

Making sure that we still remain unspotted, we circle the entire settlement once more to find the best way to approach this ugly thing. It's really kind and generous to use words like settlement or village when describing this gathering of mud heaps of various sizes. I don't think anyone would even dare to bring out the term reef here.

But, such trashy architecture suits this waste of an aquatic race well. At first, I was really wondering if things wouldn't suddenly turn around when we would discover some greater cause for their military campaign, or even a simple, logical reason involving two or more sides, but I'm glad that they are just bastards with a superiority complex. They have clearly been evil even without Umbra's influence.

Thanks to that, I don't need to feel that bad about them. It certainly helps.

Therefore, we can give our all here without any worries. I'm pretty sure that even meeting their leader won't change anything. I have a feeling that he isn't really controlled or brainwashed by the evil goddess but is following all the orders of his own volition. It would have been a different case if that dude was forcing all his subjects to fulfil that grand plan of theirs.

So, after finishing our last scouting attempt, we pick the safest route and approach the first line of ugly clay huts. There are no walls or defences and it's quite obvious why. What help would they be when the entire thing is underwater? Unless they surround their settlement with a dome-like shield similar to the one at the Merfolk town, the enemy can approach from literally any angle besides the ground level.

Meru leads the charge while I follow after her with Cornelia, making sure that my loving magician wife can keep up with the quick pace. Safi and Emi swallow Neira for the moment and slither over the seabed like a sapphire-emerald river that has picked up a body with its strong current. Thanks to everyone's efforts, we manage to slip between the buildings before anyone notices our approach.

Letting the Dark Elf lady out of their slime, my jelly companions start looking around to watch our surroundings and the rest of us gather in one place.

"What's the plan now? Are we going to split and divide their attention so that you can have an easier time getting to the ugly bastard?" Cornelia asks while fixing her diving suit a bit.

"I don't think that will be wise in this case." Neira rubs her chin while pondering.

"I agree." I nod. "Most of their forces are certainly out but that doesn't mean we can underestimate them like this. We don't know what kind of tricks they are able to pull to defend their capital and the palace. Plus, some platoons might be stationed in the area. We can't end up withdrawing or we won't have a second chance to take him down."

"That's true. Their security won't be ever as lax as right now. They might have heard about us but they shouldn't yet consider our guerilla group as dangerous to their operation, not to mention their main settlement. We need to avoid detection at all costs and reach the palace without getting spotted. Only then do we have a chance to assassinate the emperor," Meru joins in.

"What if we don't find that prick in there?" Cornelia glances at her.

"If he is any similar to the common Sahuagins, then the chances of that are close to zero. I wouldn't expect the strongest person in their tribe to move an inch from their grand throne unless something critical happens. They would much rather order the weak subjects to do everything in their power to achieve that," Meru replies.

"So, unless we are extremely unlucky, things should be fine." I brush through her dark hair. "It's not like we can comb through this entire mess in search of a single entity. The risk of getting discovered is too high. Betting on what Meru said is our best option. If we don't stumble on that bastard in the palace, we will then see what can be done. We'll either wreck this entire place or try to lure him out somehow. Time will be against us from the moment our presence is made known."