The figure of a clown holding bazookas and fluttering midair looked like something right out of an anime. The men of the Roraima State Army were also flabbergasted, staring at Joker with their mouths open.
“Hola! Muito prazer! (Hello! Glad to make your acquaintance!)” Joker greeted before pulling the trigger in midair.
Rockets flew from the two bazookas resting on his shoulders and blew up the whole barricade. Joker then fell not-so-gracefully, right in the water.
“HYA HA HA HA!!! The recoil was stronger than I’d thought!”
Joker’s makeup had half disappeared, and his suit was drenched, but he seemed to be in a good mood. His underlings were crossing the river one after the other and lunging at the State Army soldiers. Although Joker’s troops were few in number, each man was worth a thousand warriors. A hundred Rank B goblins were also thrown into the mix.
“Boss, please go change your clothes.”
“Yeah, I’ll leave the rest to you.”
Joker’s little show, aimed at Gamerica and the rest of the advanced countries, had just ended. It was time for them to begrudgingly realize how valuable adventurers could be to an army.
Joker put on another suit and quickly fixed his makeup. After efficiently cleaning up the remaining troops, Joker and his men continued their way to the city on foot.
✦ ✦ ✦
[United States of Gamerica — Pentagon]
The experts who had gathered at the Pentagon were using satellite imagery to ascertain the military potential of Joker’s Legion. However, the numbers they were getting from the observational data they had at hand were absolutely ridiculous.
“Is this some sort of joke?” one of them finally asked after a long pause. “His results are right out of a comic book or a science fiction movie! What are we to do with this?!”
“His running speed is over fifty miles per hour. He can jump several dozen meters at a time, is able to evade bullets, and can stop a tank bare-handed... How ridiculous... We’d be better off fighting those huge robots that show up in Japanese cartoons.”
After a long discussion, the military experts came to one conclusion. If Joker became even stronger than he was now, the current military balance of the world would collapse. Their recommendation was simple: Joker ought to be eliminated before it was too late. Thus, a secret agreement between Gamerica and Brezil was born.
“We have the Brezilian government’s approval. Our only chance to strike is when Joker leaves Boa Vista and heads south.”
“There are only two roads to Manaus. He’ll either continue down the BR-174 along the western bank of the Branco River or go to the east bank and follow the BR-432. No matter which road he picks, he’ll go through Vila Nova Paraíso and will have no choice but to continue south on the BR-174 from there.”
“We’ll fire a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile from an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer and go for a pinpoint strike. If we use Block 4, it should be possible...” They paused. “But won’t Joker be able to intercept it if he materializes some wyverns?”
“The situation is very different now. There are barely any civilians around the BR-174, unlike when he was on the coast. We can fire as many missiles as needed. Now is not the time to look at numbers. No matter how many dragons he has under his command, I doubt he could intercept dozens of Tomahawks.”
The TWS—or Tomahawk Weapons System—was the pride of the Gamericans. As the speed of computer calculations had improved, the TWS had become incredibly precise. The latest system, which had been nicknamed Block 4, made use of both satellite monitoring and communication systems, allowing missiles to precisely hit a moving target over a thousand kilometers away.
Ronald Howard, the president of the United States of Gamerica, had made up his mind and decided to attack Joker after receiving a plea for help from the Brezilian government.
Currently, the Gamericans were mostly preoccupied with the ongoing presidential race, with Howard himself in a very precarious position. Striking Joker down at this juncture would boost his popularity and allow him to get reelected. In the end, Howard was making a move out of self-interest.
“Keep tracking the trucks heading south from Boa Vista, and keep in communication with our allies in the field. We need to know which truck Joker’s in!”
Finally, the strongest military in the world was baring its fangs at the Legion, which had so brazenly challenged the current world order.
✦ ✦ ✦
[State of Roraima — Boa Vista — Joker]
This city, whose name meant “good view” in Portuguese, was located around seven hundred fifty kilometers to the north of Manaus, the capital of the State of Amazonas. Boa Vista had once flourished, thanks to the mining industry. Now, it was an agricultural center that mainly produced soybeans and rice. Tens of thousands of immigrants had poured in due to the insecurity in Venisuela in recent years, and the citizens had been worried about the deterioration of public order.
Right now, however, was no longer the time for mere worries. The advance of the Legion had forced some citizens to flee the city while others had locked themselves inside their houses. The Civic Center Square, located at the heart of the city and usually bustling with activity, was deserted. Several roads converged at the Civic Center itself, but not a soul could be seen on any of them.
<Aah. Mic check. One, two... Hya ha ha! Hello dear citizens! My name is Joker! This city is now under the control of the Legion. I have something extremely important to tell you, so listen closely, okay?>
Joker broadcast his announcement all over the city. He spoke in Spanish, though, which meant that most citizens could not understand him. A few seconds later, the voice of the mayor could be heard, and the citizens were finally able to grasp the situation.
<My dear citizens. The men of the Legion have declared that they have no intention of oppressing us. Anyone who is still worried is free to flee toward Manaus. The Legion also asks that every shop and restaurant resume their business as usual. They have promised not to loot or rob anyone. They will swiftly punish any individual who dares to commit such acts. I have been discussing the current situation with Joker for several hours, and I can now tell you that I trust his word on these matters. Please do not panic, and continue on as usual...>
Naturally, Joker had already put a Slave Collar on the mayor’s neck. However, Joker’s men still exchanged Gamerican dollars for Brezilian reals, paying cash each time they bought whatever they needed. Some hoodlums had tried to make use of the Legion’s advancement to loot shops, but the men of the Legion hanged them all. They even decorated their corpses with little boards hanging off their necks on which every single one of their sins had been dutifully written.
Scare the people. However, do not hurt them physically.
That was the very basis of Joker’s rule. He made sure Brezilian laws were respected and had the citizens carry on with their lives as usual, resuming their economic and civic activities.
One thing changed, however: the destination the goods produced in the city were shipped. When selling anything, the citizens had to prioritize the Venisuelan government over the trading companies of advanced countries and major multinational grain companies. Then again, as the selling price did not change, the farmers were not particularly dissatisfied with this new obligation.
“Hya ha ha... The futures contract market is going through one hell of a ride. Well, the wealthy have enough money to play around with investments. I’ll squeeze whatever I can out of them,” Joker said, laughing happily as he looked at his computer screen.
He sipped his coffee. He had borrowed one of the rooms of the Civic Center but was actually sleeping at a nearby hotel and dished out over ten thousand dollars a day.
“Boss, we’re done loading the trucks. We have secured clothing and food. Are we departing soon?”
“Let’s wait a bit longer. Some people are currently heading south, running away from us. They may get caught in the cross fire if we advance now. Eight hundred kilometers... They should be there in three days at most. We’ll leave then.”
Gamerica could ignore Colombian, but they’d never watch Brezil fall without making a move. Brezil was the biggest agricultural country in the world. If their beef export stopped, the fast food restaurants that represented Gamerica would be ruined in an instant. If the price of coffee beans, soy, corn, and other such goods suddenly rose, almost every country in the world would suffer as well. To stop all this from happening, the only solution was to get rid of Joker. However, Gamerica wouldn’t get into a large-scale military conflict in the middle of an election, which meant they’d try to fire a missile without getting close to the fight.
At the very least, that was what Joker himself would have done.
“It’s very likely that a missile will come flying at us from the direction of the Atlantic Ocean when we head South. That’s the high-and-mighty Gamerican’s favorite tactic, after all. When that fails, the Gamericans won’t be able to show their faces anymore. I’ll get Howard’s blood pressure to rise so high a blood vessel will pop right in his little brain. HYA HA HA HA!!!”
Joker laughed in delight before taking another sip of his strong coffee.