Chapter 5: Twisting Off a Dog's Head
Nimrod led two of his men to the center of the Hantexi Dome. Two guards holding weapons stood before the three-story gray building.
"You're Nimrod?"
"That's right."
Hearing this, the two guards warily glanced at the lasgun on his back.
"You can only go in alone, and you can't bring any weapons."
Nimrod cooperatively took off the lasgun and chainsword and handed them to his men.
The two guards breathed a sigh of relief. The one standing on the left said, "Lord Dimitrov is waiting for you in the arbitration hall on the third floor."
Everyone they encountered along the way looked at the boy with surprise.
"Is that the one who killed 'Vulture'?"
"'Vulture' must have been drunk. How else could he have been killed by a kid like that?"
"I heard his marksmanship is incredible, even better than the guards beside King Bolesław. Every shot pierces the enemy's eyes."
"..."
Nimrod clearly heard the whispers around him, his expression calm as he walked to the third floor.
The entire third floor, over four hundred square meters, was occupied solely by the arbitration hall. After the two guards at the entrance reconfirmed that he had no weapons, they let him in.
Nimrod entered the arbitration hall. Standing at the window with his back to him was a figure in a gray uniform, his left arm replaced by a steel prosthetic.
"Woof woof..."
The chemical dog, grown on chemical concoctions, was as tall as an adult and as broad as a tiger.
The chemical dog swiftly bounded in front of Nimrod, its green eyes fixed intently on his dark pupils. Its long tongue lolled out towards his face, the strong, pungent odor even reaching outside the door.
"Yogane, come back!"
Dimitrov turned around. The large dog turned and came to its master's side, wagging its tail.
The arbitrator stroked the dog's fur, looking at Nimrod.
"I heard it was a boy who killed 'Vulture.' I thought it was just an exaggeration, but you're even smaller than I imagined."
"Yogane, don't scare the child."
Dimitrov emphasized the word "child."
"There's an old saying on Terra: 'A hero is not judged by age.'"
"If your dog is disobedient, I wouldn't mind teaching it a lesson, like tearing off its head."
Dimitrov narrowed his eyes, scanning Nimrod from head to toe. After confirming that the boy had no weapons, a confident smile appeared on his face.
From the moment he became an arbitrator, he had begun breeding Yogane, adding many strengthening potions to the traditional Voss-Torian recipe.
No matter how vicious the underhive criminal, once targeted by the chemical dog, they would be torn to pieces.
If Nimrod had a gun, he would still be somewhat wary, but a bare-handed boy could only be slaughtered.
Of course, it would be a great pity if such an excellent boy died.
"This beast indeed deserves a lesson. If you can tear off its head, I certainly won't blame you."
"If it pins you down, it just proves you're too small and need training. You will come to my side and learn."
Having said that, he patted the chemical dog's head. The large dog immediately went berserk, leaping high into the air and pouncing on Nimrod.
Nimrod's black eyes were fixed on the chemical dog. Through its thick brown fur, he saw the slightly yellowed area on its throat—Yogane's habit.
After drinking the chemical potions, the chemical dog liked to hold them in its mouth for a moment to savor the taste. Years of corrosion had made its already fragile throat a weakness, though it was concealed by its thick fur.
Enemies facing it would also be intimidated by its massive size and choked by the pungent chemical odor.
The gene-sire slightly sidestepped, and the chemical dog missed its pounce, crashing to the ground.
Nimrod's arms clamped around the chemical dog's neck, precisely at the yellow line. His legs tightly locked around the large dog's body.
With a "crack," the arbitrator watched in astonishment as the boy twisted the chemical dog's neck.
Dimitrov stared at the boy in shock, as if looking at a humanoid beast. How could anyone break a chemical dog's neck with their bare hands?
"I'll take this dog's head with me."
Nimrod only needed the tongue, but he took the entire dog's head to conceal the most important ingredient for the "Lawyer" potion.
"Hmm..." The arbitrator's eyes were fixed on the bloodied dog corpse. "Foundry D-46 is yours. Everything will remain as usual."
"Good."
Nimrod immediately turned and left. Sensing no killing intent from Dimitrov, he didn't want to challenge the old order of the Hantexi Dome just yet.
After leaving the arbitration hall, he took out a rope he had prepared beforehand, tied up the dog's head, and slung it across his shoulder.
Those he encountered along the way, recognizing the arbitrator's chemical dog, looked at the boy in astonishment.
Nimrod walked up to his men. "Take me to find hive city giant rats."
"Yes, boss."
Moments later, the two men led him to a narrow passage.
"Boss, this passage is the largest giant rat nesting ground among the hundreds of passages surrounding the Hantexi Dome."
"Let's go."
"Boss, just the three of us? Should we go back and get your men?"
The subordinate with a gray rat head tattooed on his left arm asked in surprise.
"Boss, you don't know, there are tens of thousands of giant rats in this passage. Even though your marksmanship is godlike, it can't withstand a tidal wave of rats."
"I have my own way," Nimrod looked at the two. "Do you want to eat rat meat or rat skin?"
The two men looked at Nimrod holding the chainsword, their eyes full of doubt. Even if the boss's swordsmanship was as superb as his marksmanship, the boss's body hadn't fully grown yet, and every giant rat was bigger than him.
What's more, those giant rats were fast, their teeth could bite through steel plates, and most terrifyingly, there were so many of them. In a place like this passage, they could be instantly overwhelmed.
If they had a choice, the two naturally wouldn't want to go, but they didn't dare not go.
Nimrod killed without blinking, one shot for each person. They had all seen it.
The two exchanged a glance, immediately understanding the bitterness in each other's eyes. They spoke simultaneously.
"Boss, we'll go with you."
The two followed behind Nimrod, entering the dimly lit passage ten people wide. They immediately saw their boss activate the chainsword.
The roaring sound was particularly harsh in the passage.
The passage immediately began to vibrate. The squeaking sounds made their scalps tingle, and countless pairs of scarlet eyes made their legs tremble.
The two didn't have time to stop him, and they didn't even have time to run. They sighed inwardly.
[We're definitely going to die this time. We thought we were following a strongman, but he turned out to be an arrogant child.]
Just then, Nimrod moved.
Each time he swung the blade, he killed a giant rat.
The two men's eyes gradually adjusted to the dim environment. They stared wide-eyed as the boy in front of them was like a ruthless killing machine.
Suddenly, they saw a giant rat nearly two meters long pounce down on Nimrod from above the passage.
"Boss, be careful!"
Nimrod's movements were even faster than their warning. He leaped to the side, avoiding both the rat ambushing from above and the one lunging from the front.
The two giant rats collided. The ambushing rat cried out, and the other, smaller rat immediately dared not move, and was bitten to death by the larger one.
Just as it was about to raise its head, Nimrod arrived beside it and kicked it in the head.
The giant rat was immediately knocked unconscious. All the other giant rats stopped in their tracks and then turned to flee.
The subordinate with the rat head tattoo slapped his forehead.
"Boss, you caught the Rat King. The rat swarm was scared away by you."
Nimrod slung the chainsword over his back. "You two, each carry two giant rats on your backs. I'll reward you with meat when we get back."
"Thank you, boss! Boss is wise and mighty!"
"Boss is the king of the underhive!"
The two men vied to flatter their boss. Now they knew that following him meant a bright future.
Nimrod hoisted the unconscious giant rat onto his shoulder. "Let's go."
The two each carried a giant rat about a meter long. Rodents were relatively light, each weighing only about thirty kilograms. For them, who lived by the blade, sixty kilograms was only slightly strenuous.
Nimrod didn't immediately return to the foundry. He first used one of the meter-long hive city giant rats to exchange for 2000 milliliters each of black, gray, yellow, and green Lhas-Felt.
He only needed the black Lhas-Felt. Exchanging for all four colors was just to conceal the potion ingredient.
[Go back to the foundry and tear off some wiregrass, and the potion ingredients will be complete.]
(End of this chapter)