As I approached the battlefield where Bul and Pikachu were raging, I almost felt sorry for their opponents for a second. All covered in soot, dirt, and wounds, they could barely dodge my pets' strikes thanks to movement artifacts, and from their looks, it didn't always work. At minimum, these terrorists had lost their armor, and soon their lives... unless I intervened, of course.
But did I need to? They're no use for intel; they all give spiritual oaths. Sure, maybe find a spirit mage who works with memories. But first, they're worth their weight in gold, booked months or years ahead.
And second... what could these weaklings know? If we'd captured my dear uncle, that'd be different, but here... And even with uncle, problems could arise. No, they definitely would. Not from his power, but because all high-ranking Black Church members' minds are programmed to self-destruct if memory reading is attempted. Naturally, only if their defenses are breached.
Anyway, I'm sure if I capture them, Tang Yue will get a bonus, so no choice there. I think that bonus will be great compensation for her. And they might stop bothering her at work. I don't know what's going on, but she's clearly very irritated lately. But finishing such a big case and catching so many Black Church members should smooth things over, and she'll walk happy again.
Having decided, I looked back at the battlefield where one of the gradually dying quintet suddenly unfurled "Wind Wings" and tried to fly away. Pikachu could shoot him down with lightning, but I ordered him not to; time to test my new toy.
Summoning the curse artifact bracer I took from my would-be killers, I checked its charge level. It had only about a quarter left of full capacity. Fine, enough for my purposes; I'll recharge it later in peace.
Aiming the bracer at my test rat, I activated the embedded spell "Extension of Ten Thousand Accusations" and imprinted the thought that I wanted to deprive the target of wind element magic use.
Needless to say, when his wind wings vanished, he flailed his arms hilariously trying to mimic them? It looked funny, but didn't stop Bul catching him just above the ground, when he'd already said goodbye to life. A special attraction for this terrorist—a leap of no faith.
Beating the remaining four was no trouble for us three. They were already on their last breath after playing with my pets, and then I joined in. Anyway, tying them all up, I turned to check on my girls, but they finished at the same time as us and were already dragging their blue-robed catch our way.
A minute later, the students finally bothered to finish off the surviving Black beasts, followed by the predictable joyful roar. Too few dead for them to feel grief; their souls, worn by the trap set against them, demanded celebrating their triumph.
Then, emerging from the shadows, Tang Yue appeared before me in her battle gear. Specifically, a black tunic with a red artifact cloak over her shoulders, embedded with a High Tier fire element spell—"Heaven Flame Funeral." As she told me, a gift from her uncle for her breakthrough.
"Heh-heh, we got them! A huge cell of several hundred people and we nabbed them all! This will be one of the biggest Black Church arrests in history! The whole world will talk about us!" She ranted, then spotted the six bound blue-robed deacons.
"Ooo! You're giving me gift after gift today! At this rate, I'll promote you from scum to trash—you're growing!" Tang Yue slapped my shoulder, then started binding the captured deacons.
"I killed three more; their bodies should be in the docks, send someone to pick them up." Ignoring her jab, I gave her the important info.
"Hmph, send nine High Tier mages and over a thousand Black and Cursed beasts... The resources spent on this op were no joke. And involving a strong Warlord... They clearly meant to see it through. But you stopped them. Second time in my memory. Won't give me your informant's number?" Tang Yue batted her eyelashes. Apparently after such a successful op, her emotions were surging, letting her act like that in public.
"No, he's very shy. And lately he's been cut off from key people, so his info might be false now." I covered myself in case of canon changes I didn't know about.
"Yeah, right. I feel like next time I hear Black Church mentioned with you, you'll have saved a whole big city from them. You're clearly escalating." Tang Yue snorted, and I nearly choked on saliva. Is she a prophet? I really was planning to save Xi'an...
"Forget it, better really send someone for the bodies before they're swiped. And call healing element mages; lots of students are wounded." I nodded toward the huge crowd sprawled on the ground. Plenty of impressions for them today.
"Any count on our side's dead?" Calmer now, Tang Yue quietly asked me so the students on the edge of nervous breakdown wouldn't hear. No need for extra shocks.
"...I counted about a dozen. But could be off by a couple; not much left of some." I whispered back.
"Got it, that's still a very low number. Bet the internet will say a stove explosion would've done more damage." Tang Yue gave a crooked smile, knowing how people downplay tragedies not hitting them.
"Main thing is Black Church gets another loser label, letting me hope fewer people join them this year." I sighed. Didn't want to jail or kill former classmates later.
"You've already done a lot here, Mu Bai. More than anyone. I'll definitely push for you to get an official award. You fully deserve it." Tang Yue unexpectedly praised me. Her mood swings sharply today. My girls hugged me after her words, congratulating.
"Won't refuse; glory is never too much, especially for an ambitious mage. But include them in the award too. Without them, way more deaths." Nodding, I didn't refuse the deserved reward and hugged the girls back. Finally, we can rest a bit and spend time together.
Though, slippery topic honestly. Without my changes, this attack might not have happened... But overall, counting people I've saved, I'm way ahead of canon...
If only my conscience let me turn human lives into mere numbers... But you get used to it over time... unfortunately.