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american comcis _ tales of caltiveter _chapter_0157_part_01
Chapter 277
chapter 0157 part 1
## Chapter 157: Blood Shadow, Intimidation, Countdown
"Mr. Urnos, is there really no way to dispel that black mist outside?"
The Troll City Lord shifted his obese body restlessly in his sedan chair. As he moved, the solid wood chair beneath him creaked loudly.
Anxiety was etched on the Troll City Lord's face, so fat his eyes were almost invisible. This Troll Black Market had been passed down from his Great-Great-Grandfather, who was said to be an atavistic Two-Headed Troll Wizard.
Having two heads brought even more powerful Mental Power.
This Great-Great-Grandfather could communicate with and borrow the power of the Lord of the Dark Dimension using this Mental Power, which was why he could retain such a large area in the newly built New York City to serve as a Black Market.
The reason the Troll Black Market had stood in New York's Underworld for so many years was the Wizard Barrier left by his Great-Great-Grandfather, which kept this area hidden from humanity.
Many Dark Creatures came here to trade, drawn by the Troll Black Market's reputation for safety.
Now, the strange black mist outside and the people dying one after another were all telling him that the Black Market's reputation, on which the Troll Race depended for survival, was collapsing.
The Troll City Lord anxiously rubbed his fat hands. As they moved, the ten fingers glittered with jewels and gold. Each finger wore a thick gold ring.
These gold rings were specially custom-made according to his size; the thick bands were so wide they could be worn on a child's arm as a gold bracelet.
Each of the ten large gold rings was also inlaid with various gemstones: ruby, sapphire, cat's eye. Every single one was pure in color and crystal clear. Even in a Jewelry Store in the Human World, these gemstones would be top-tier luxury goods, calculated by the carat.
It could be said that just from the gemstone gold rings on the Troll City Lord's ten fingers, one could see how much wealth this Black Market had brought to the Troll Race.
"Master, if you can help us solve the trouble outside, our Troll Black Market is willing to bear the full cost of the witchcraft materials you need!"
The Troll City Lord naturally couldn't just watch this Black Market, passed down from his Great-Great-Grandfather, collapse.
Seeing Urnos remain silent, he thought the Black Wizard was trying to extort him by asking for an exorbitant price, so he simply spoke up directly.
Thinking of the items Urnos had purchased in the Black Market, and then thinking about the price of those items, the Troll City Lord felt a pang of heartache.
But when he looked up and saw the black mist Outside, reason reminded him that without the help of Urnos, this Black Wizard, if these deadly black mists couldn't be resolved quickly, his cash cow would be close to bankruptcy! Urnos turned back and glanced at the Troll City Lord. Two clusters of phosphorescent fire flickered under his pitch-black hood:
"Zangiel! This isn't about compensation. Your Troll Race is in Big Trouble!"
Big Trouble? The Troll Black Market's Leader, Zangiel, heard Urnos's words, which didn't sound like a joke.
Seeing that Urnos clearly had no intention of helping, he turned back and whispered a few words to a Troll who served as both sedan chair carrier and Bodyguard beside him.
The Bodyguard nodded and quickly ran towards the interior of the Black Market.
After a short while, the Bodyguard returned with over twenty fully armed Guards.
These Guards responsible for the Black Market's safety were nearly a head taller than ordinary Trolls. Compared to their obese kin, their bodies were covered in bulging muscles, and their arms were so muscular they were thicker than an adult's waist.
Even the most robust Bear-men and Lion-men among the half-orcs appeared much thinner when compared to them.
In terms of equipment, these Guards wore specialized leather armor all over their bodies, some of which were covered with an additional layer of human bulletproof vests.
Although these largest bulletproof vests looked like tight-fitting undershirts on them, coupled with the weapons in their hands...
The voices of the half-orcs gathered at the entrance lowered by several degrees.
Looking at the heavy machine guns, black and thick, held by this group of Trolls, and the long brass ammunition belts wrapped around their bodies, even the Elf Prince pulled his long spear back a bit.
To avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Mr. Urnos, times have changed. We are no longer the Troll Race from hundreds of years ago who only knew how to charge with great axes and flails!"
Having strong and well-equipped Subordinates helped the Troll City Lord Zangiel recover from his anxiety. He extended a thick finger towards Urnos and pointed to his head: "It's no longer the Middle Ages. We have machine guns, artillery, and even anti-aircraft missiles and tanks in my Troll City!"
"No matter who it is, anyone who dares to cause us trouble will pay the price!"
Over twenty Guards holding heavy machine guns stood behind the Troll City Lord Zangiel, seemingly adding more persuasiveness to his words.
Boom!
Zangiel's smug smile hadn't lasted long before a sound of heavy objects falling to the ground suddenly echoed from behind him.
Zangiel slowly turned his head.
"Hard fist, huh! Iron fist, huh!"
On the shattered wooden frame, a red-skinned, broken-horned demon was pressing a giant ape wearing armor against a pillar and frantically hammering its face.
Along with the thudding sound of heavy fists smashing into the face, the red-skinned, broken-horned demon kept cursing.
The poor giant ape's face was already bruised and swollen from the beating, blood was gushing from its nose, its eyes were somewhat askew, and it was hanging one arm, dazed and taking the beating—
"Wink!"
Anu gritted his teeth and sucked in air, enduring the pain of his teeth being knocked out, while pressing the giant ape's head in front of him with one hand and wildly swinging his fist upwards.
"Anu, be careful!"
The Elf Prince's furious voice and Abe Sapien's reminder sounded simultaneously—
A long spear cut through the air, stabbing towards Hellboy's back—
Anu, alerted by Abe Sapien, spun around and grabbed the Giant Ape Wink in front of him, using it as a shield.
Buzz! The vibrating long spear stopped in front of the Giant Ape Wink's chest, the sharp spearhead less than three inches from the giant ape's heart.
The transition of the long spear from high speed to stillness was done smoothly by the Elf Prince, without any strain.
Prince Nuada held the spear shaft with one hand and looked back with unfriendly gaze at the fishman in the crowd who had given the warning.
Abe Sapien the fishman instinctively shrank back into the crowd.
"Red-skinned monkey, let go of Wink!"
Prince Nuada turned his head back, slightly raised his long spear, and aimed it at Hellboy.
Anu grabbed the giant ape by the collar, using its body to block Prince Nuada's long spear again, while giving Prince Nuada a defiant glare.
"Pretty boy, it's fine, just stab away!"
Anu lifted the dazed giant ape with one hand, pulled a thick cigar from his pants pocket, and put it in his mouth.
Then he pulled out a lighter, lit the cigar, and provocatively challenged the Elf Prince while smoking the cigar with a somewhat smug expression.
Prince Nuada looked deeply at him, twirled his spear, retracted the long spear, and turned to look at the Troll City Lord.
"Zangiel, those two are investigators from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). They are investigating your Troll Black Market. You deal with it yourself!"
After speaking, Prince Nuada walked to the side, revealing the group of Half-orcs and Trolls behind him who were glaring menacingly.
"Look who it is! The famous Hellboy from the Bureau for Paranormal Defense, the only Dark Creature in the Underworld to receive the Honored Human title!"
## Chapter 157: Blood Shadow, Intimidation, Countdown
"Mr. Urnos, is there really no way to dispel that black mist outside?"
The Troll City Lord shifted his obese body restlessly in his sedan chair. As he moved, the solid wood chair beneath him creaked loudly.
Anxiety was etched on the Troll City Lord's face, so fat his eyes were almost invisible. This Troll Black Market had been passed down from his Great-Great-Grandfather, who was said to be an atavistic Two-Headed Troll Wizard.
Having two heads brought even more powerful Mental Power.
This Great-Great-Grandfather could communicate with and borrow the power of the Lord of the Dark Dimension using this Mental Power, which was why he could retain such a large area in the newly built New York City to serve as a Black Market.
The reason the Troll Black Market had stood in New York's Underworld for so many years was the Wizard Barrier left by his Great-Great-Grandfather, which kept this area hidden from humanity.
Many Dark Creatures came here to trade, drawn by the Troll Black Market's reputation for safety.
Now, the strange black mist outside and the people dying one after another were all telling him that the Black Market's reputation, on which the Troll Race depended for survival, was collapsing.
The Troll City Lord anxiously rubbed his fat hands. As they moved, the ten fingers glittered with jewels and gold. Each finger wore a thick gold ring.
These gold rings were specially custom-made according to his size; the thick bands were so wide they could be worn on a child's arm as a gold bracelet.
Each of the ten large gold rings was also inlaid with various gemstones: ruby, sapphire, cat's eye. Every single one was pure in color and crystal clear. Even in a Jewelry Store in the Human World, these gemstones would be top-tier luxury goods, calculated by the carat.
It could be said that just from the gemstone gold rings on the Troll City Lord's ten fingers, one could see how much wealth this Black Market had brought to the Troll Race.
"Master, if you can help us solve the trouble outside, our Troll Black Market is willing to bear the full cost of the witchcraft materials you need!"
The Troll City Lord naturally couldn't just watch this Black Market, passed down from his Great-Great-Grandfather, collapse.
Seeing Urnos remain silent, he thought the Black Wizard was trying to extort him by asking for an exorbitant price, so he simply spoke up directly.
Thinking of the items Urnos had purchased in the Black Market, and then thinking about the price of those items, the Troll City Lord felt a pang of heartache.
But when he looked up and saw the black mist Outside, reason reminded him that without the help of Urnos, this Black Wizard, if these deadly black mists couldn't be resolved quickly, his cash cow would be close to bankruptcy! Urnos turned back and glanced at the Troll City Lord. Two clusters of phosphorescent fire flickered under his pitch-black hood:
"Zangiel! This isn't about compensation. Your Troll Race is in Big Trouble!"
Big Trouble? The Troll Black Market's Leader, Zangiel, heard Urnos's words, which didn't sound like a joke.
Seeing that Urnos clearly had no intention of helping, he turned back and whispered a few words to a Troll who served as both sedan chair carrier and Bodyguard beside him.
The Bodyguard nodded and quickly ran towards the interior of the Black Market.
After a short while, the Bodyguard returned with over twenty fully armed Guards.
These Guards responsible for the Black Market's safety were nearly a head taller than ordinary Trolls. Compared to their obese kin, their bodies were covered in bulging muscles, and their arms were so muscular they were thicker than an adult's waist.
Even the most robust Bear-men and Lion-men among the half-orcs appeared much thinner when compared to them.
In terms of equipment, these Guards wore specialized leather armor all over their bodies, some of which were covered with an additional layer of human bulletproof vests.
Although these largest bulletproof vests looked like tight-fitting undershirts on them, coupled with the weapons in their hands...
The voices of the half-orcs gathered at the entrance lowered by several degrees.
Looking at the heavy machine guns, black and thick, held by this group of Trolls, and the long brass ammunition belts wrapped around their bodies, even the Elf Prince pulled his long spear back a bit.
To avoid unnecessary trouble.
"Mr. Urnos, times have changed. We are no longer the Troll Race from hundreds of years ago who only knew how to charge with great axes and flails!"
Having strong and well-equipped Subordinates helped the Troll City Lord Zangiel recover from his anxiety. He extended a thick finger towards Urnos and pointed to his head: "It's no longer the Middle Ages. We have machine guns, artillery, and even anti-aircraft missiles and tanks in my Troll City!"
"No matter who it is, anyone who dares to cause us trouble will pay the price!"
Over twenty Guards holding heavy machine guns stood behind the Troll City Lord Zangiel, seemingly adding more persuasiveness to his words.
Boom!
Zangiel's smug smile hadn't lasted long before a sound of heavy objects falling to the ground suddenly echoed from behind him.
Zangiel slowly turned his head.
"Hard fist, huh! Iron fist, huh!"
On the shattered wooden frame, a red-skinned, broken-horned demon was pressing a giant ape wearing armor against a pillar and frantically hammering its face.
Along with the thudding sound of heavy fists smashing into the face, the red-skinned, broken-horned demon kept cursing.
The poor giant ape's face was already bruised and swollen from the beating, blood was gushing from its nose, its eyes were somewhat askew, and it was hanging one arm, dazed and taking the beating—
"Wink!"
Anu gritted his teeth and sucked in air, enduring the pain of his teeth being knocked out, while pressing the giant ape's head in front of him with one hand and wildly swinging his fist upwards.
"Anu, be careful!"
The Elf Prince's furious voice and Abe Sapien's reminder sounded simultaneously—
A long spear cut through the air, stabbing towards Hellboy's back—
Anu, alerted by Abe Sapien, spun around and grabbed the Giant Ape Wink in front of him, using it as a shield.
Buzz! The vibrating long spear stopped in front of the Giant Ape Wink's chest, the sharp spearhead less than three inches from the giant ape's heart.
The transition of the long spear from high speed to stillness was done smoothly by the Elf Prince, without any strain.
Prince Nuada held the spear shaft with one hand and looked back with unfriendly gaze at the fishman in the crowd who had given the warning.
Abe Sapien the fishman instinctively shrank back into the crowd.
"Red-skinned monkey, let go of Wink!"
Prince Nuada turned his head back, slightly raised his long spear, and aimed it at Hellboy.
Anu grabbed the giant ape by the collar, using its body to block Prince Nuada's long spear again, while giving Prince Nuada a defiant glare.
"Pretty boy, it's fine, just stab away!"
Anu lifted the dazed giant ape with one hand, pulled a thick cigar from his pants pocket, and put it in his mouth.
Then he pulled out a lighter, lit the cigar, and provocatively challenged the Elf Prince while smoking the cigar with a somewhat smug expression.
Prince Nuada looked deeply at him, twirled his spear, retracted the long spear, and turned to look at the Troll City Lord.
"Zangiel, those two are investigators from the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense (B.P.R.D.). They are investigating your Troll Black Market. You deal with it yourself!"
After speaking, Prince Nuada walked to the side, revealing the group of Half-orcs and Trolls behind him who were glaring menacingly.
"Look who it is! The famous Hellboy from the Bureau for Paranormal Defense, the only Dark Creature in the Underworld to receive the Honored Human title!"
