Chapter 414 - 278: The Source of Fear is Insufficient Firepower (4)

Chapter 414: Chapter 278: The Source of Fear is Insufficient Firepower (4)

"I doubt it’ll come to that."

"Oh, it just might."

Zog patted the researcher’s shoulder, looking as if he had high hopes for him. "Remember, it’s one type of restriction for each type of Devil. The higher the tier of the Devil, the more difficult the restriction, and thus, the more expensive."

Zog was already thinking about how to fleece Asmodis for another sum.

"But back to the topic at hand, how are we going to solve the problem Deepwater City is facing? Any ideas?"

"Move the Inferior Demons away. That’s the simplest solution."

"Is there a more cost-effective way?" Zog didn’t want to resort to that measure unless it was absolutely necessary.

If the Inferior Demons were moved, he’d first have to find a place for them. Given the current situation, he might have to send them back to Hell. Then the Factory would have to shut down—for several months.

’Earning less is a loss!’

"Then, how about we clear out the nearby Magical Beasts?" Yuno proposed a second plan. "According to our estimates—though it’s not certain and needs further experiments—the range of the Inferior Demons’ fluctuations should have a maximum radius of about three hundred kilometers. In other words, we just need to clear the wilderness within a three-hundred-kilometer radius."

If you can’t solve the problem, solve the Magical Beasts causing it.

"Isn’t that a rather large area?"

With the combat units Zog possessed, completely clearing a three-hundred-kilometer radius wasn’t very realistic. Besides, what if more migrated in after they cleared it once?

"Is it possible," Zog thought of what he considered the ideal solution, "that the Inferior Demons’ presence only causes the Magical Beasts to go berserk? Not all of them will charge toward Deepwater City. Over such a large area, only a small fraction should overlap with human-inhabited zones."

"That should be the case."

"Then can’t we just kill or drive away the Magical Beasts that stray into Deepwater City’s territory? We can maintain a constant patrol around the city until a method of restriction is developed."

"Do you have enough Beastmen and Zor for that?" Yuno asked in return. "If the workers are left to fend for themselves, they have little hope of fighting off the Magical Beasts."

"Okay, I don’t."

Zog had always followed a doctrine of elite forces. The Beastmen and Zor under his command were primarily high-end combatants, not numerous.

"Hey, what if we lend them Magic Items for now?" Zog asked. It wasn’t like he was short on powerful Magic Items.

But he quickly dismissed the idea himself.

Magic Items usually required the user to have Magic Power. The kind that were powerful in anyone’s hands were extremely rare.

"How effective are the guns against Magical Beasts? I’m talking about that new model, the one that’s easy to reload."

"You mean that Beastman tavern toy gun? If you’re shooting a large wild boar with that thing and don’t hit a vital spot, you can empty a full magazine and still not stop it."

Zog scratched his head in frustration.

How to increase the power of guns had always been a difficult problem.

Some Mages had tried to apply Enchantments to guns, but no matter how they did it, the Magic wouldn’t transfer well to the bullets.

A large part of an Enchanted Bow’s power came from the secondary Enchantment applied to the arrow when drawing the bow, or from simply enchanting the arrows themselves, since arrows could be retrieved after use.

But enchanting individual bullets...

The cost would be astronomical. With that kind of spare cash, you might as well just buy a more powerful weapon.

"I... my gun might be able to fight Magical Beasts."

Just as Zog was pondering his dilemma, a hand shot up in the corner of the lab.

Everyone turned to look.

Zog thought the person looked familiar.

He was sure he’d seen him before. If he recalled correctly, it was that lovelorn young man from outside the Tiefling labor recruitment event in Twin Tower City.

"Oh, that’s Peter. He was originally working at the construction site by the harbor. The person in charge there noticed he was good at making things and recommended him for an internship here at the institute. The kid’s pretty smart," Yuno explained.

"Your gun?" Zog asked.

"Yes, I made it myself," Peter replied.

’Making his own gun? What kind of super kid is this?’

"It’s not a toy gun, is it?"

"Of course not. I’ll go get it." Peter then brought over a piece of junk.

That thing could only be called a piece of junk.

It was as crude as a piece of industrial scrap, jury-rigged to be barely functional, straight out of a post-apocalyptic wasteland movie.

"Are you sure this thing works?"

"Of course!"