After pulling some distance between him and Code I - the Iron, Mwana once again took to the air unleashing a version of the [advanced bicycle kicks]. This was a 5 kick combo!
Each kick was so fast that it heated up the air from the friction alone!
If not from the rain and wet atmosphere, Mwana's clothes would have already burned up.
This time, the Iron Breaker truly broke Iron!
The large man was blasted back like an exploding bomb before crashing right before the leader's feet. When his body landed on the ground it kicked up a storm of dust despite the rain that had already soaked up the soil.
The heat and friction from the attack had literally caused some of the mud to dry up into regular soil and dust!
After witnessing the terror of his men getting destroyed and receiving broken bones one after another, the leader could not help but berate them, "Attack him all at once, why are you going one by one?!"
Everyone that was still conscious at the scene was shocked by this order. However, they were shocked for a completely different reason.
"L-leader, we are all attacking together." The feeble voice of the large man, Code I - the Iron, came from near the leader's feet.
Although the entire battle had looked as if the men were attacking one by one, that was not the case! In fact, it was Mwana's actions that forced the men to effectively fight him one person at a time.
Instant Movement: Circling Steps – this was a type of footwork within the [100 Steps in an Instant] basic movement technique that allowed warriors to circle around and handle multiple opponents.
Mwana's first thought when he resolved himself to fight against over a dozen men was to first get his opponents lined up. This way, when he applied his techniques to one opponent, the others did not get the opportunity to harm him or disrupt his rhythm.
At the start of the group altercation, Mwana picked one opponent to engage based on their position. He then circled around them so that the other opponents were directly behind his first target. Whenever those behind tried to step around to engage Mwana in battle, he would circle in the same direction as his opponents making it so that one of them was always between Mwana and the others behind. When facing two opponents, this technique naturally reduced the chance of the two working together to double-team you. However, for multiple opponents, things were obviously much harder. If not for Mwana's exceptional speed and acrobaticism, he would not have been able to pull it off.
While the men sprawled around the street were grumbling about their leader failing to understand their predicament, they still got back up and rushed back into the fight.
Seeing this, Mwana could not help but commend their tenacity.
The first man who arrived before Mwana was Code D – Demon Hand also referred to as "the Demon". In their previous clash, Mwana had already shattered one of his hands.
"You won't be able to get rid of me so easily this time!" The man said as he leaped towards Mwana aiming to grab him only to be met with a powerful kick.
Crack!
"You should have stayed down." Mwana was not shocked that his attack had broken the Demon's other arm.
However, the man whose hands were broken just maintained an uncomfortable smile on his face. In fact for the usually stoic man, this single unnatural smile was probably more facial expressions than he had ever shown in the whole year. Even with all the pain, he still kept his broken hand tightly clasped around Mwana's outstretched foot after the earth shattering kick!
Shockingly, the Demon had actually sacrificed his arm in order to grab Mwana's leg. Before Mwana could retract his leg from the Demon's grasp, his opponent tugged at him and pulled him through the air horizontally.
It was at this moment that someone came from the side bringing a powerful machete swing crashing down at Mwana's torso!
This attack was aiming to split Mwana in half at his stomach!
The change in the battlefield was too fast almost to the point that Mwana failed to react. However, who was Mwana? Even with a fraction of a second to react, he still managed to evade the machete. As for how he did it, it was a move that left everyone at the scene questioning the laws of physics.
When the blade came crashing down, Mwana actually did a mid air sit up!
By pulling his head and hands until they touched his knees, the machete only brushed past Mwana's butt.
In the same motion, Mwana grabbed the Demon's broken arm and easily extricated himself from his opponent's grasp. However, while he had gotten out of the risky situation, he was still shaken since he had only managed to dodge the oncoming machete by a hair's breath! Literally.
The attacker with the machete did not give Mwana any time to rest. The blade quickly approached Mwana's back once again. With the machete approaching the back of his head, Mwana turned to face it and then leaned back to avoid it. This time the weapon passed right over his nose tip!
While he did not even lose a scrap of skin, the purple tips of his black locks were not so lucky. Part of his hair was shaved off and sent flying into the distance. The attacker did not relent on his attacks and continued to chain one attack after another while carrying the momentum forward. This time Mwana had no option but to guard with his arm.
Kaching!
"Moon Bracelet Armguard Mode!"
Even though it was currently hidden below Mwana's Dambe wrappings, the Moon Bracelet was extended transforming into an armguard that blocked the machete head on.
The man behind the machete was Code M, the Machete. He was an expert at Tire Machete. Code M also liked calling himself "Papa Machete" but frankly, he was nothing compared to the real deal.
The real Papa Machete was not only a martial arts legend, but also the creator of the secret martial art of Tire Machete. This machete fighting style was developed with the sole purpose of helping slaves win against their enslavers.
Even as a young village kid, Mwana had already heard about the legend of Papa Machete dancing with the blade. That was how popular the legend was.
The machete was a brutal slashing weapon where a good slash to the arm could easily disable or amputate an opponent. Naturally, Mwana would neither take the weapon nor the fighting style lightly. Against Code M's attacks, Mwana kept his hands safe by repeatedly knocking the opponent's weapon away.
With Code M tying Mwana down, the other goons finally found a chance to encircle him again. However, Mwana would always randomly shoot off powerful kicks to the side that sent some of the goons flying.
As they rushed back to attack, the goons witnessed Mwana perform a strange action. He actually did a handstand! With his arms down on the ground and his legs up in the air, Mwana actually started rotating like a break-dancer!
"What martial art is this?!" Someone could not help but exclaim incredulously.
However, the spinning quickly got faster. It was gaining momentum!
At this point, no one could get close. Mwana's spinning had a lot of rotation built in. At the expert level, this technique could actually create a twister or tornado of fire because of the accumulated speed and power.
This attack was named:
"[Sun Twister] Iron Breaker variant!"
Although Mwana was still limited in his mastery of this technique, his attack had a lot of rotational power and its impact was even more shocking.
Everyone was sent flying, bones were broken, and tendons were snapped!
Others went down but surprisingly, Code I – the Iron was still standing!
Even though the attack shocked him, the Iron still charged straight at Mwana aiming his iron cap at Mwana's forehead.
"You are too slow to even race my grandma," Mwana said to this man. While the Iron's defense was impressive, his speed was atrocious.
"Iron Jaw, get him!" Some of the thugs could only shout empty encouragements while sprawled on the ground.
However, it was Mwana who landed an attack on Iron Jaw first. The attack was a flying Superman punch. However, the punch did not even faze the Iron.
He was still standing!!
Seeing this, Mwana could not help but complain internally, 'What is this guy's skull made off!' He proceeded to perform a [master bicycle kicks] with several kicks thrown while suspended mid-air. The last kick was even thrown right before Mwana's feet touched the ground. This was a feat of extreme speed especially since this was the master bicycle kick. Unlike the advanced version that had 5 kicks, the master version had 8 kicks!
However, after these attacks landed on the Iron, the result left Mwana flabbergasted.
Once again, the Iron was still standing!!!
Seeing the man still on his feet, Mwana could not help but exclaim in pure disbelief, "Oi, you are truly sturdy!"
It was like fighting a literal wall of iron.
After withstanding Mwana's attacks, the Iron could even retaliate! With two punches aimed downwards at Mwana, the Iron smashed everything in their surroundings. This was a double fist ground smash. However, with Mwana's speed, he was able to easily evade this attack by rolling sideways. Using that momentum, Mwana threw another kick to the Iron's face before transitioning into an advanced bicycle kick. However, this time the 5 bicycle kicks were so fast that Mwana's legs blurred into one line!
Even then, the man was still standing!!!!
"He tanked that?!" One of the goons exclaimed in shock.
"I knew he would not fall." Another remarked.
"Prepare yourself brat!" Seeing that their comrade still had juice in the tank, the other goons shouted at Mwana. They were already convinced that in a battle of endurance, the Iron had Mwana beat.
In their eyes, it was time for the brat to finally face the fire.
Bang!
It took everyone a moment to compute the source of the sound.
The man who had been standing all along just fell down unceremoniously.
Seeing this, a smile crept up on Mwana's face as he asked the remaining thugs, "Prepare for what?"
Of all the thugs who had ganged up on Mwana on this night, only their leader who was yet to fight was still standing.
'After taking care of the chaff, I guess it is time for the main course,' these were Mwana's thoughts as he looked at the leader of these men who was standing a distance a way from him.
"Enough of this charade!" This voice started in front of Mwana but by the end of the statement it was actually behind him!
A smooth, shiny, cold blade was then placed on Mwana's neck!
Gulp!
Mwana heavily swallowed his saliva. He was yet to believe what was happening.
"I did not sense him at all even when I had been focusing on him the entire time. Even while looking straight at him, I did not see how he moved! Is this the legendary…No Breath State?!"
The leader had finally acted!
This man was Code A – the Apotheosis. The culmination of divine wrath!
Mwana's Book of Knowledge
Bonus Notes 5: Assassin Proficiencies
Every assassin has their own proficiencies depending on their talents and the kind of assassin they are. The proficiencies can possibly be endless but the most well-known ones are:
- No Face State [a face not worth remembering]
- No Aura [complete erasure of one's presence]
- Everybody [easily blending in among people]
- Daylight Assassin [can erase their presence in broad daylight]
- Extreme Speed
- Extreme Precision
- No Breath State [controlling one's breath is key for assassins]
- Shadow Realm [mastery of Shadow Steps and Assassin's Shadow techniques]
- Born Assassin [someone who naturally exists in NoS – The No State]
Bonus Notes 6: The Codes
The Codes of the 15 Red Hawk gang members that Mwana battles are:
A – Apotheosis
B – Barracuda [Storm Barracuda]
C – Cipher
D – Demon [Demon Hand]
E – Egalitarian
F – Forlorn [Forlorn Knight]
G – Grappler
I – Iron [Iron Jaw]
M – Machete [Papa Machete]
P – Phantom [Phantom Hands]
R – Raze [Raze-fire]
S – Skylark | Scorpion (a unique shared code)
T – Time-bolt
W – Willow [Willow Battle Wizard]
Z – Zero
There are obviously more who were not present as there are 26 Codes in total. The letters do not represent strength; instead, they represent rank. Each Code has their own specialty.
Apart from the Codes, other squads such as the Numbers, the Indomitable Bandit Unit, and the Beasts of Burden among others do exist within the Red Hawk Gang.