Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

---Muir Empire---

Adam really couldn't complain.

Of course, there were a lot of things that had gone wrong in his life up to this point. Like being turned into an Artificial Druid and losing most memories of his life before that.

But right now, sitting on a luxurious sofa with two subtle, well-endowed merman ladies in his arms, he really had nothing to complain about. They fed him some sweet foreign fruits while his hands were free to wander.

He had to admit that Prince Mur knew, how to enjoy life. He definitely took a risk when struck a deal with Mur who came out to really be a capable but unwanted heir to the throne. As their council of elders tried to get rid of him, Mur mastered the life of debauchery.

And Adam was given an ample taste of these benefits that came with their deal. With the skills and abilities he had developed after he woke up in that underground laboratory, he had lived the life of a rebel leader and guerrilla warrior because the situation asked it of him.

But who didn't want an enjoyable and easy life? Especially if it came with revenge built in. It had now been a few weeks since they came to the capital of Muir and Adam was allowed to freely use the Prince's VIP access to the most illustrious establishments of the red light districts and high society.

While the artificial druid was given a well-deserved and much-needed holiday, Mur would join him once in a while in between preparing their coup to get rid of the council.

However, the druid didn't just enjoy his time. Although the prince had not asked him to, he was working on setting up his own network with his skills. One in the shadows of the Muir Empire's capital and even past its borders. After living in the war-torn beta it was almost a Habit.

Since the social structure of mermen was based to a big part on the mental power and ability to make others submit to one's will. Adam didn't know what they had done to him in that laboratory, but his own power easily rivaled royalty and could even overcome it, if he put his mind to it.

The door of the VIP suite flew open and prince Mur walked in energetically. He threw himself on the opposite sofa and grabbed the bottle of wine from the table between them. The prince looked tired as he emptied the bottle with long, well-practiced gulps.

"Had a hard day?" the druid asked as he had fun with the ladies.

He was originally human and had already mastered his transformation, but he found that these mermaidens were not bad at all even when he still preferred humans.

Mur sighed.

"Yeah, but the preparations are finally finished. All that is left is for you to move accordingly and we can start taking over" he answered his question.

"Don't make me ask for everything. What's the first step?" Adam asked interested.

He enjoyed his time here, but he didn't forget that he came for revenge. Mur sat up and looked at the girls.

"Dears, could you two get us some more wine and a few more of your friends?" the prince spoke to the girls Adam was currently having fun with.

They understood the hint, nodded, and hurried ff to get more women and alcohol. With them gone, the princess finally spoke.

"Well, I will give you a list of nobles and their relatives. Some to get rid of, some to kidnap. I think your little network you built should be more than fit for this. With their backing, we will drive the council into a corner and then..."

The druid kept listening attentively as Mur explained to him his plan to take over the Muir Empire. It became quite obvious that he had put a lot of thought into this over the past weeks. Adam added a few points here and there, but other than those the plan was good to go.

After a while, a group of girls returned with more drinks and they kept partying deep into the night, until they separated, each with their own handful of girls.

---Y-City---

The silent darkness of Y-City's night was broken by the blaring of of sirens as explosions shattered the barriers of the special defense department.

A crowd of people surged towards the building with incredible speed. Their skins were of a dark-red hue and steaming, while their eyes were empty. Animalistic roars and spittle left their throats. Their hands were empty, with claw-like nails. The smooth, almost elegant-looking cloaks, gave a stark contrast to their bestial behavior.

Shortly after their charge started the cracking of shots exploded into the night and bullets rained on the mob. Even though they were sieved by projectiles, unless they were shot in the heart or head, the berserkers wouldn't stop.

"Where is the director?" one of the leaders called out.

"I don't know. We can't reach him." his subordinate answered seriously.

As the soldiers were trying to get the situation under control, an invisible figure sneaked past them. It did not sneak inside but came out.

Holding its side that was bleeding profusely, the figure traveled through the city unseen. Only stopping for a moment to drink a healing potion.

The city round it changed as it ran all the way to the edge of the safe zone. While the center was almost unharmed the buildings became more damaged, worn, and empty towards the edge.

Although it was still in the "safe zone" these were the slums where the bare minimum of adventurers and hunters patrolled. It was the place where the shady business mt the lawless ruins past the safe zone's border.

Cheap bars, clubs, and questionable brothels had filled these parts where the incarcerated and unfortunate struggled to carve a life out for themselves. The figure walked through a dark alley where he took off the hood and became visible.

After the short man could be seen again, he mixed in the pedestrians on the street. The wounds had healed and nobody saw the blood on his dark suit. He stopped before a crater in the road. It was almost like a sinkhole or the tunnel of something.

Walking down a huge slab of the street at the rim that led down to a door, he passed the queue standing in front of it. With the flip of a small card the bouncer let him in and he entered the exclusive club through the VIP entrance.

This club was not very special. There were many clubs that had been opened in the abandoned subterranean parts of the district.

They were a lot safer in case of a sudden break. Officially, authorities put up with them because they also hindered more dungeons forming in these unused underground passages and shelters. Unofficially, there was a lot of money flowing into some pockets to keep these clubs running.

Coming up a luxurious flight of stairs he reached the VIP room where he faced a single stoic man sitting on a couch. He looked as if someone took all the measurements of a human and multiplied them by 2-3 times, except the height.

Despite being a boulder of a man he wore a perfectly fitting well-tailored suit that made him look like a businessman and less like a bouncer or a troll. The chunky rings on his fingers would have been armlets for the short man,

"Is it done?" he asked with a deep rumbling voice.

He didn't even look up at the man as he was polishing something small and delicate in his massive hands,

"Yes, Sir," the assassins said before putting a bloody dagger and a severed hand on the table.

"It wasn't easy. Even when he couldn't see me, the illusion was very tricky,"

The giant man looked at the dirty things with slight disgust before he sighed.

"As long as you succeeded... the Lady will be happy. With this, your role ends,"

"So I am finally free?"

"...Yes. You will be ...free."

Suddenly, the invisibility cloak that had protected the assassin's life until now started constricting around his neck. He tried to resist, he tried to take it off using the system, but he couldn't. He knelt down and was slowly strangulated to death as the big man watched unperturbed.

At the same time, the same thing happened to the surviving berserkers that had attacked the defense department. Their collars constricted a killed anyone that could have become a witness.