Free Web NovelChapter 300: Chapter 300 After all, I’m Not a Demon_1
Aiden raised his gun and shot through the railing, piercing the hands of the pirates who were holding guns one by one. As soon as his magazine was empty, he calmly replaced it with a fresh one and continued firing.
Screams rose and fell in succession as the pirates clutched their bleeding hands. Their guns were unable to fire, and in this sort of "exchange of fire," no matter how much they outnumbered their opponent, they could only ever be living targets.
"You could have just used my divine incantation," Qiqimora said, standing beside Aiden and taking a drag from her thin cigarette holder.
"There’s no need," Aiden replied during a pause in the shooting.
Before making his move, he had uttered the effect of the divine incantation "Return." Within the time and range of the divine incantation’s effect, the guns in the pirates’ hands would revert to their state before firing the instant they were shot. In Aiden’s eyes, no one in the prison aside from the guards, be they inmates or external intruders, was allowed to possess and use weapons.
As the pirates who had come to break the prison fell like dominoes, the female inmates who had followed them out were already scared witless.
Some of them quietly retreated toward the cells, hoping to blend in and sneak back to their rooms unnoticed.
"Stand still where you are, don’t move. You think you can act like this never happened if you just slip away from your cells?" Aiden suddenly declared. "Emergency defenses, prepare."
The black magic runes etched around the entrance to the cell block suddenly lit up, and several traps poised to fire crossbow bolts and corrosive liquids were also ready to spring, all aimed at the pirates and escaping inmates in the corridor.
After the operational funding for the prison had improved, Aiden had also taken the opportunity to renovate and upgrade the defenses of the core area cells.
These new countermeasures, besides being automatically triggered when the main gate was breached, could also be freely activated by Aiden, who had command over the entire prison by manipulating the barrier.
Of course, for those inmates rated as "red level," if they were able to use their powers, they could find ways to cope with both the gate itself and its defensive measures.
But for this group of assorted female inmates banded together for a jailbreak, let alone now while still sealed by the barrier, even without any restrictions, they had no way of dealing with the prison’s automatic defenses.
At that moment, the female inmates present finally came to a stark realization: the current Aiden could execute them all with just a thought. The warden was, after all, still the warden. ƒreewebηoveℓ.com
"Give up all hope. I’ve already taken note of all inmates who left their cells without permission. Don’t bother pleading with me either; what’s the use of having guards if begging would suffice?" Aiden spoke as he leisurely reloaded his pistol. "I seem to have given you all a chance yesterday. Since you made your choice, now you must face the corresponding consequences. And you, inmate 3677, you’re the ringleader of this collective escape." freeweɓnøvel.com
His gaze finally settled on Annie, his tone as casual as if discussing the weather, yet to the escaping female inmates, it carried a bone-chilling coldness, with each bullet loaded into the magazine sounding like a countdown to execution. Annie Drake stiffened all over under Aiden’s gaze.
But after filling his gun with bullets, Aiden set it down.
"However, I’m not some kind of demon. Prison breaks aren’t uncommon here, and I wouldn’t go to the extreme of executing every single person—workshops need laborers, after all. I’ll do my best to ensure you all live to return to your cells," Aiden said, revealing a "benevolent" smile. "But... the inmates who stayed quietly in their cells, I should give them some reward, shouldn’t I?"
The escaped convicts looked at each other and read a hint of panic in one another’s eyes, Aiden’s "however" was clearly not going to let them off easily.
Aiden cleared his throat and announced loudly, "To all inmates within the cells, you are now permitted to assist the jailers in subduing all those who have fled the prison and to counter those attempting to breach the jail. You are to capture them alive if possible. This is a rare opportunity to earn merits, and I hope everyone will strive for it... Prisoners 3005, 3100, 3110, 3397, your partial spellcasting privileges are hereby unlocked."
His voice echoed through the corridors of the core prison area. At the same time, Ophelia, who had previously informed on Aiden, as well as Daili, Asenna, and Presia, who had signed a demonic pact with Aiden, felt their magic power, suppressed by the barrier, stirring back to life.
"Hey!" Ophelia, whose cell was closest to the main entrance, immediately charged out toward the outside.
"Capture the escaped convicts..." Avansa heard the order and rushed out as well, long accustomed to following Aiden’s directives.
"Damn it! You little brat, don’t compete with me!" Camila from the opposite cell kicked the prison door open with irritation and sprinted forward.
"Hey, the three that just left are already overflowing with combat power... do we still need to go?" Presia was already feeling pity in her heart for those convicts who had broken out.
"It doesn’t matter, let’s consider it spellcasting practice... The warden said ’try to capture them alive,’ which means anything goes as long as we don’t kill them," Daili said, pulling Presia out of the cell.
Not only these convicts of red and orange levels but nearly all prisoners desperately rushed out of their cells towards the escaped convicts and the pirates blocked by the gates. A chaotic carnival erupted in the corridors of the core area, only this time, it was interspersed with many screams of terror.
Aiden watched calmly as the bigshots who emerged from the core area pummeled the escaping convicts and pirates into wails. He opened "The Wordless Code" and wrote down with a pen, "Stealing is forbidden, offenders will be punished by corporal punishment."
That way, "The Wordless Code" could not easily be stolen or snatched from his hands.
If Navi Drake had written down the same phrase, he would never have been able to use the divine power of Qiqimora to steal "The Codex."
However, the pirate’s main job is to steal and plunder, seizing others’ property. Even if Navi usually wrote down the phrase to protect "The Codex" from being stolen, he wouldn’t be able to apply this rule when returning to his old trades.
This pirate king, who held the Divine Artifact with undisputed pride, ultimately fell due to his own crimes.
"Such incredible power of authority, this couldn’t be just an ordinary object endowed with divinity, could it? This couldn’t possibly be..." Qiqimora’s eyes widened as she scrutinized the codex in Aiden’s hand, "Aye, warden, for something trivial like theft, I could have easily done it for you!"
"Have you do it? Next thing I know, you would have taken it for yourself or jacked up the price," Aiden turned and smiled at her, "Regardless, I owe you one for this time, pleasant cooperation."
"Pleasant cooperation. It’s rare to get such a fine item; don’t you think you should reward such a good partner with a bit more divinity?" Qiqimora sidled up with a smile, hooking her arm through Aiden’s in an intimate gesture.
"Don’t even think about it," Aiden swiftly withdrew his arm, "I’m a man of my word. We agreed on the price beforehand... and that is the price."
