Chapter 193:Sixteen vs two.
Silver slowly brought the car to a stop roughly thirty meters from the barricade. The engine continued idling quietly. Neither he nor Ravenna made any sudden movements since they didn’t want to alert any of them.
For several seconds, both sides simply watched one another. The abandoned town had fallen completely silent. The wind rustled through vines that had swallowed the old buildings, while loose sheets of rusted metal creaked somewhere in the distance. This just made everything more eerie than it should have been in this situation.
Silver’s eyes swept across the men standing around the roadblock. There were more than he had initially counted. Some had remained hidden inside the surrounding buildings, only revealing themselves after the car stopped. There were around sixteen of them, and most carried firearms. Several had swords or machetes strapped to their waists. Their equipment varied wildly, but one thing was immediately obvious.
These were experienced killers; men who had made a living preying upon others.
Silver quietly studied their posture. The way they spread out, the way they covered one another, and the way several rifles already overlooked possible escape routes. This wasn’t their first robbery.
Ravenna spoke softly enough that only Silver could hear.
"...Three Rank Twos."
Silver gave an almost invisible nod. He had noticed the same thing. Three of them stood with a confidence that the others lacked. Their physiques were sturdier and breathing calmer; even the way they held their weapons suggested far more experience.
The remaining thirteen were likely Rank One contractors, dangerous individually and even more dangerous together.
The driver’s door opened, and Silver stepped out first. His sword remained sheathed, his handgun resting securely at his hip.
Ravenna exited from the passenger side a moment later, closing the door quietly behind her. She deliberately remained half a step behind him, allowing Silver to take the lead.
One of the men laughed.
"Look at that, they’re just kids; what a score... hahaha..."
Several others chuckled. Another spat onto the cracked road.
"They always look scared, the best kind of prey."
The largest man among them finally stepped forward. He easily stood over two meters tall. His thick arms were covered in scars, and a massive iron hammer rested across one shoulder as though it weighed nothing.
Unlike the others, he wore an actual contractor jacket beneath pieces of beast hide armor. The jacket’s Association emblem had been torn away. His bald head reflected the afternoon sunlight as he smiled; it wasn’t a friendly smile.
"I’m guessing you’re heading toward Checkpoint Fifteen."
Silver answered calmly.
"We are."
"Good." The giant nodded approvingly. "Then this saves us some effort."
He planted the hammer on the ground with a heavy thud.
"You know how this works?"
Silver tilted his head slightly.
"I’ve never been robbed before, unfortunately."
The surrounding men burst into laughter. The giant grinned wider.
"Simple. You hand over your cores, weapons, supplies, and vehicle."
He looked toward Ravenna.
"...And maybe the girl, she’ll entertain us enough."
Silence followed. Ravenna’s grey eyes became noticeably colder while Silver’s expression didn’t change. The giant mistook his silence for fear.
"If you cooperate... We’ll make it quick. If not..." He shrugged carelessly. "The Green Zone is dangerous; people disappear all the time."
One of the bandits lifted his rifle casually.
"Nobody asks questions."
Another pointed toward the surrounding buildings.
"There are enough beasts around here to explain a couple of bodies."
More laughter followed.
Silver quietly sighed.
"I have a question."
The giant seemed amused.
"Go ahead."
"How long have you been doing this?"
The question clearly caught him off guard.
"What?"
"This." Silver gestured toward the barricade. "How long?"
The giant scratched his chin.
"About four years, business is good. This is our turf, you know." He laughed loudly. "Fresh contractors leave every Sanctuary thinking the Green Zone is safe. They lower their guard and travel alone while carrying expensive equipment."
His grin widened.
"We simply collect the tax."
Several bandits nodded proudly.
One of them even added, "The Association never bothers looking. Too many roads and much wilderness."
Silver understood. This was exactly why checkpoints existed. Once outside Sanctuary protection, the world belonged to whoever was strongest. Sometimes, that wasn’t the beasts.
The giant pointed his hammer toward Silver.
"Enough talking, drop your weapons."
Silver looked at Ravenna. She gave the tiniest shake of her head. He turned back toward the bandits.
"I’m afraid we can’t do that."
The giant sighed dramatically.
"I was hoping you’d be smarter."
"So was I," Silver answered honestly. "You outnumber us and could’ve simply demanded a toll; instead..." He glanced toward Ravenna. "...you threatened my partner."
The giant laughed again.
"What? You planning to fight?"
Silver slowly rested one hand on the hilt of his sword.
"If necessary."
The giant’s smile disappeared.
"So be it."
He raised one massive hand, almost instantly...
Click.
Click.
Click.
Rifles were aimed. The surrounding buildings came alive. Hidden bandits emerged from windows and rooftops.
Crossfire.
Silver had expected it. Ravenna drew her sword, flames dancing quietly along the blade.
The giant’s eyes narrowed.
"Fire element."
He looked toward Silver.
"And you?"
Silver drew his own sword, steel ringing softly.
"I use a sword."
The giant snorted.
"Then die."
His raised hand chopped downward.
"Kill them."
Gunfire erupted. The deafening roar shattered the silence of the abandoned town. Bullets rained toward Silver and Ravenna from multiple directions.
Silver reacted instantly.
"Move!"
He and Ravenna split apart. The bullets tore through the space where they had stood moments earlier, smashing into the abandoned car behind them.
[Short-Step Lv2 Activated. ]
His body blurred. He reappeared several meters away behind the wreckage of an overturned truck. Ravenna dove behind another abandoned vehicle as bullets sparked across the road.
"They’re coordinated!" she shouted. "I noticed!"
Silver peeked briefly. There were too many rifles; charging directly would be suicide. The giant barked orders with practiced confidence.
"Keep them pinned! Don’t let them close!"
Several Rank One bandits immediately repositioned while others maintained suppressing fire.
Silver frowned.
They weren’t acting like ordinary criminals; they fought like a trained militia. One rifleman leaned too far from cover.
Silver’s sword moved.
[Space Slash Lv2 Activated.]
A nearly invisible distortion crossed the street, and the rifle split cleanly in half. The bandit stared at the ruined weapon in disbelief before diving back behind cover.
"...What was that?"
Silver ignored him. His head throbbed faintly. Using Space Slash repeatedly against moving targets would become expensive very quickly. The giant noticed the destroyed rifle.
His expression sharpened.
"...Interesting. So you’ve got an ability."
He immediately changed tactics.
"Spread out! Don’t bunch together!"
Silver’s eyes narrowed. They were very fast; this man adapted almost immediately.
Ravenna suddenly burst from cover.
Fire Step.
She crossed nearly twenty meters in a heartbeat, her flaming blade slashing toward one of the riflemen. The man barely managed to block.
Clang!
The impact threw him backward into a ruined wall. Before Ravenna could finish him, another Rank Two intercepted her. A curved saber met her sword with explosive force. The collision sent sparks flying.
The woman bandit smiled coldly.
"Your opponent is me."
Ravenna immediately realized her mistake. This wasn’t someone she could overwhelm casually. The woman moved with remarkable agility. Their swords blurred together as flames and steel clashed repeatedly.
Meanwhile, Silver found himself facing the giant. The hammer crashed downward.
Boom!
Concrete exploded around them. Silver barely escaped using Short-Step. Chunks of broken asphalt flew through the air. The sheer force made his arms tingle despite not blocking the blow directly.
"...Heavy."
The giant laughed.
"You won’t survive a single clean hit!"
Silver silently agreed; he wouldn’t, not from that hammer. Before he could counter, a rifle cracked from somewhere behind him.
Silver twisted instinctively. The bullet grazed his shoulder instead of piercing his chest. Pain flared from the wound.
His eyes narrowed.
This wasn’t a duel; it was sixteen against two. One mistake... Would be fatal.