Chapter 164: Violet Obelisk

Nyx raised a dark eyebrow, genuinely intrigued. The Eclipse Syndicate was a terrifying force, even on the lawless docks.

"You want to hit the Violet Obelisk," Nyx deduced, tapping her cigar over an iron ashtray. "It is located in Warehouse Forty-Two, right on the edge of the deep water harbor. But you are out of your mind if you think you can just walk in. The Syndicate stationed a Tier Two Enforcer there, and they brought some very ugly pets."

"I specialize in killing ugly pets," Seraphina interjected, dropping her hood to reveal her fierce, aristocratic features.

Nyx frowned, recognizing the silver-haired noblewoman immediately. "The Silver Lioness. This just became a highborn political mess. I don’t bleed for noble causes."

"You are not bleeding for a cause," Leon interrupted, closing the distance to the desk. He leaned over, planting his large, calloused knuckles onto the scarred wood.

He locked his intense midnight gaze directly onto the mercenary captain, projecting a wave of raw, magnetic authority.

"You are bleeding for me. Because if you guide us to that warehouse, I will ensure the Blackwater Company gains exclusive, untaxed control over this entire river once I seize the capital."

The sheer audacity and undeniable dominance of the offer left Nyx momentarily speechless. She stared up at his striking face, a hot, thrilling spark of adrenaline rushing through her veins.

"You are a very arrogant man, Leon," Nyx whispered, her husky voice dropping an octave.

"I can back it up," Leon murmured darkly.

Before the tense, chaotic negotiation could continue, a deafening, inhuman roar shattered the fragile peace of the docks.

The wooden walls of the tavern shook violently. Screams erupted from the main bar area, followed by the sickening sound of tearing flesh and shattering timber.

"They found us," Valeriana gasped, drawing her hidden dagger.

Leon did not hesitate. He spun around, drawing his heavy dark blade from his back with a sharp, metallic ring. He kicked the beaded curtain aside, stepping back into the main tavern.

The scene was absolute carnage.

The heavy wooden front doors had been violently smashed inward. Pouring into the tavern were three massive, grotesque horrors.

They looked like giant, mutated wolves, but their flesh was a sickly, mottled gray, and their eyes burned with the same erratic violet light as the corrupted beast cores. Thick, corrosive acid dripped from their jagged jaws, burning holes straight through the wooden floorboards.

These were the mutated vanguard Lady Morgana was breeding.

"Hold the line!" Leon roared, stepping directly into the path of the leading beast.

He didn’t rely on flashy magic. He channeled a massive surge of his raw physical power, swinging his heavy blade in a brutal, sweeping arc.

The blunt steel collided with the mutated wolf’s skull with the force of a swinging boulder. The sheer kinetic impact shattered the monster’s jaw, violently launching it across the tavern where it crashed through the wooden bar.

But these beasts were terrifyingly resilient. The monster scrambled back to its feet, shaking off a blow that would have instantly pulverized a normal animal.

A second mutated wolf lunged at Leon from the flank, moving with unnatural, blinding speed.

Leon pivoted, bringing his blade up to block, but the creature’s jagged claws managed to graze his left shoulder. The corrosive acid coating its talons instantly burned through his dark tailored coat, biting painfully into his flesh.

Leon grunted, the sharp, burning agony proving that he was not invincible. He couldn’t just brush these creatures off. He had to rely on pure, tactical brutality.

He ignored the burning pain, stepping aggressively into the creature’s guard. He drove a devastating, kinetic-laced knee directly into the wolf’s chest, snapping its ribcage. As the beast staggered back, Seraphina vaulted over a shattered table, bringing her broadsword down in a blinding arc of crimson fire, cleanly severing the monster’s head from its shoulders.

"Thanks for the assist," Leon murmured, gripping his heavy weapon tightly as the remaining monsters circled them.

Captain Nyx stepped out of the back office, her twin cutlasses gleaming in the dim light. She looked at the dead, headless beast bleeding corrosive acid onto her tavern floor, and then turned her predatory smile toward Leon.

"You fight like a demon," Nyx praised, licking her scarred lip. "Alright, tall man. You have a deal. Let’s go kill an Enforcer."

---

The mutated beasts were brutal, aggressive horrors, but they lacked the tactical intelligence to survive a coordinated strike team.

Leon, Seraphina, and Captain Nyx moved through the ruined tavern with lethal synchronization. Nyx was a whirlwind of violence, her curved cutlasses slicing through the thick gray hide of the remaining corrupted wolf with flawless, acrobatic precision.

Seraphina provided devastating covering fire, utilizing concentrated bursts of her Tier One crimson mana to incinerate the corrosive blood before it could melt the floorboards.

Leon finished the fight, delivering a crushing, kinetic-infused stomp that completely shattered the final monster’s spine.

He stood amidst the wreckage of the Salty Leviathan, breathing heavily. The burning pain in his left shoulder throbbed with a persistent, nagging ache.

His boundless vitality was already working to neutralize the acidic venom, but the wound was a stark reminder that Morgana’s creations were genuinely dangerous.

"These things are unnatural," Nyx muttered, wiping thick, dark blood from her cutlasses using a torn bar rag. "The Syndicate has been sneaking them through the lower docks for weeks, hiding them in the deep storage units."

"They are ritual catalysts," Valeriana explained, stepping cautiously over the shattered timber. "If Morgana releases a full pack of these into the merchant districts, the city guard will be slaughtered in minutes."

Leon rolled his broad shoulders, ignoring the stinging burn in his arm. "Then we make sure she never gets the chance. Take us to Warehouse Forty-Two, Nyx."

The mercenary captain nodded, leading the group out of the ruined tavern and into the freezing, foggy labyrinth of the smuggler’s docks.

They moved quickly and silently, avoiding the main thoroughfares. Nyx guided them across sagging wooden bridges and through narrow, flooded alleyways that smelled strongly of rot and stagnant seawater.

They arrived at the edge of the deep water harbor.