This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.
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CH67: GOOD SOLDIER
"That's much better." Korede said as he sheathed his sword before resting it on a pillar. "Now, we're even."
He raised his hand and hooked his finger in a 'come' gesture at both the Merc leader and Chike before taking a fighting stance.
The Merc leader and Chike looked at each other. They could see the trepidation in each other's eyes. This was the first time they had gotten a good look at the man since he started killing their men.
Army green tank-top on black jeans. A lightweight combat body armour. And finally, the most eye-catching thing was a mask with the image of a skull on it.
As always, Korede got the mask from the NDI armoury. He decided that for whatever reason he chooses to build an armoury, he would get the designer of the safehouse armoury to design and build one for him.
It was from the mask he got the name, 'Ghost', he gave to Jonathan. Actually, with his bad naming sense, he would have gone for 'Skelly' or 'Skull' if not for Aon's quick intervention.
Such was the naming sense of members of the Balogun Family.
Luckily, Aon was able to save the world from such a horrendous event.
Imagine an honoured Master-level practitioner nicknaming himself 'Skelly'.
The Merc leader and Chike were not in the mood for such considerations, however. The man in front of them killed twelve men in mere moments before anyone could react.
'Who is this guy? How much did Jonathan piss off the Military that they sent this incarnation of Death?' The Merc Leader thought.
He stared at the man in front of him unblinkingly even as sweat filled his forehead and flowed down.
'How come I've never heard rumours of an Eagle that uses swords? With his level of skills, he should be famous, not only among Eagle Squad commandos but also in the military.'
As these thoughts passed through the Merc leader's mind, Chike, on the other hand, didn't have many thoughts. To him, their situation was simple.
Fight this man and win, they live.
Fight this man and lose, they die. That simple.
None of the two sprouted nonsense about how it was unfair to fight 2V1. After sharing a short look, they attacked Korede together with their fists.
For people who just met, and used vastly different styles, they coordinated well. Even though Korede was able to dodge or parry most of their attacks, they landed some good hits on him. He was quickly forced into a defensive position.
Due to him wanting to make sure his sword could cut through the guns, Korede had empowered his sword with his second Will Technique.
Sword Intent!
The intent that cuts through everything.
As long as Korede wields a bladed weapon/ object, he can use his Sword Intent to cut through anything. He had once used a butter knife to cut through a steel ingot in one clean cut to demonstrate it to Grandmaster Hattori Hanzo and Master Miyako Hanzo. This was why the old man believed the Will Technique is Korede's Will Manifestation.
Of course, the downside of the technique was that it consumed an amount of Will strength corresponding to the likelihood of the blade cutting the material. In the case of using a butter knife to cut the iron ingot, a vast majority of his Will strength was consumed to the extent that he was almost knocked unconscious.
So, after using the Will Technique, Korede's current Will strength was at 20%, making it difficult to use any other Will ability.
'What luck. Both of them are Specialist fighters.' Korede deduced from their fight. 'But there's a minute difference.'
The difference in their professions reflected in the fighting styles of both of Korede's opponents.
Chike was a straight-up Streetfighter. His moves were all vicious and meant to inflict as much pain as possible.
The Merc leader, on the other hand, was a soldier trained to kill. His attacks were cold and calculated. They were intended to inflict fatal damage or, at least, a crippling one.
While Chike targeted body parts that felt the most pain, the Merc leader target joints, arteries and even Korede's injured leg.
'I've seen enough.' Korede thought as he disengaged from the fight.
"You won't escape!" Chike shouted as he charged at Korede, believing him to have retreated seeing he was losing the fight. Thus, he tried to press the advantage.
The Merc leader had, however, stopped. He had a bad feeling. The way they had forced their opponent on the defensive from the beginning of the fight was too easy and didn't make sense.
'For him to challenge us to a fistfight, he must have been confident in his skill.' the Merc leader thought as he fell back behind Chike, using him as cannon fodder to see what Korede was up to.
As Chike's punch flew towards him, Korede suddenly stopped moving back and caught the arm flying at him. He used a small amount of force to shift the angle of the punch. At the same time, he gripped the arm. Because Chike was still moving forward, the force was transmitted to the arm leveraging on his elbow.
With Korede's sudden stop of the arm, the force behind the punch was pushed back to the elbow. Two forces acting opposite directions crashed into each other at the relatively weak joint, shattering it.
Due to this and the shift in the punch angle, Chike was unbalanced and brought to his knees by another movement of Korede's hand on the caught arm.
All this happened in one swift and smooth motion.
With Chike on his knees in front of him, Korede clenched his free hand into a fist and delivered three very fast and heavy punches, all delivered a little over a second.
Chike was knocked out instantly.
A fourth blow, which was relatively slower, hit the poor fellow's throat thereby shattering his neck. Korede released his grip on the arm and Chike's lifeless body fell to the ground.
This sequence was a result of Korede learning Tuidi from Okinawan Karate to bridge his Grappling and Striking skills.
Everything happened so fast that the Merc leader couldn't react in time. One second, Chike was charging at Korede. The next he was caught. After that, he was punched. Within three seconds, Chike was dead. He couldn't react in time to save him.
Now, the Merc leader had to face Korede alone.
When Korede turned his attention to him, the man knew he was in trouble. His earlier suspicions were proved right. However, he wasn't happy at all. He wished he was wrong.
To his surprise though, Korede didn't attack. Instead, he asked, " Now that we're alone, it's time you tell me what section of the Military you're from. Why is a soldier helping a crime lord who sells weapons to terrorist and our enemies? Why you would help a man who had a hand in the death of four of our brother-in-arms?"
The Merc leader, however, just sighed.
"No comment." He said. "Let's just fight and get this over with."
Korede frowned.
He knew this guy was a soldier. He suspected as much from the way his group breached the mansion. He originally hoped they were sellouts who became mercenaries but from the reaction he just got, it was not so. Thus, Korede drew two conclusions.
This person was a serving member of the Nigerian Military. He also wasn't doing this for money.
Though Korede had many questions, he knew the man wouldn't answer them even under enhanced interrogation techniques. He had chosen death.
'Since he has chosen death, let's just get this over with. There're plenty ways of finding out what I want to know.' Korede thought.
"From one soldier to another, I'll give you a quick death." Korede said to the man.
This time, Korede didn't use any tricks. As the man punched at him, Korede also threw a punch. As their fists passed each other, Korede nudged his shoulder a bit and his arm slightly touched the Merc leader's fist, shifting it off target.
The trajectory of Korede's fist was, however, not affected. His punch landed squarely on the man's chest, shattering his ribs into his heart. The man's fist, however, narrowly passed Korede's face.
Blood flowed from the man's mouth as he fell to the ground face first. More blood continued to exit his mouth.
Korede knelt beside the dying man's body. He asked, "Are you a good soldier?"
The man looked like he could still comprehend the question as he struggled to answer.
Korede forcefully activated his {Life Communication} to the highest activation level. He did this so that he could understand what the man was trying to reply.
His internals was currently filled with blood. There was no way he could make a tangible sound. It was already a miracle he was alive.
However, Korede got a response to his question. It was one word.
'Yes.'
Are you a good soldier? Yes.
Korede's expression became cold.
In the military, what was the definition of a good soldier? Simple. Someone who followed orders without questioning it, being loyal and faithful.
This meant that this man was following the orders of his superior.
For the man to go this far to protect the person's identity at the cost of his life, the person must be high up in the chain of command.
A high-level military officer was colluding with a crime lord who sells weapons to elements hostile to the military. It doesn't take a genius to see there was a conspiracy afoot.
Korede shook his head as he could only put this to the back of his mind for now. He picked up his sword and made for the study.
He kicked the door open.
He saw Jonathan Duke in the front of an old-school record player.
The man put the pin down and a song started to play. It was 'Palava' (Trouble) by Fela Kuti.
The man poured himself a cup of scotch. He turned to Korede and asked,
"Do you want one?"
"No, I don't drink." Korede responded with a shake of his head.
The Duke nodded in understanding. He bent down and brought out a juice box from the fridge. It was a new one. He opened it and poured a cup for Korede into another glass cup.
He took both cups and brought them to the study desk. He put the cup of juice in front of the visitor's chair while he sat down in his chair.
Korede walked up to the chair and sat down. He picked up the cup of juice and both men drank from their cups while enjoying the music of the Afro-beat legend. The song was rather long, but the two listened in silence.
Finally, the song ended. The two had also finished their beverages. They had placed the cups on the table.
"Even with the mask, from your voice, I can tell you're young. I'm surprised someone from the younger generation can enjoy old music like this." The Duke commented.
Korede chuckled.
"I grew up listening to Fela's songs. My father was a very big fan. Besides, you would be surprised by how many people in the 'younger generation' enjoy his songs. No matter much time passes, the classics will remain timeless."
The Duke nodded in agreement.
He placed his elbow down on the table as he interlocked his fingers.
"I'm surprised you dared to drink what I offered you." He said.
"If you dared to turn your back to a man carrying a weapon who obviously came to kill you, Why shouldn't I dare drink?" Korede replied.
Korede mostly dared to drink because he had something to back him up. His third Will technique.
Immunity. (a)
The Technique wasn't like Zone or Sword Intent that developed/formed as a result of Korede's constant practice or activities. Immunity just appeared on its own. Korede still didn't understand the full scope of the Technique.
For now, Korede was reasonably certain he was immune to most common toxins.
How did he know?
Simple. He tested it.
Korede had tested his 'immunity' against most common toxins he could find in controlled experiments. As a medical graduate, it was relatively easy for him to design such a controlled dosage experiment with minimal threat to life.
All experiments showed a high level of immunity to most of the common toxins. To 'normal' toxins, he didn't show any symptoms. To more 'exotic' ones, he showed very mild signs. Irritations at best.
Of course, he wasn't crazy enough to try toxins without an antidote. He only used those that did.
Since he believed that Jonathan Duke couldn't get his hands on such dangerous toxins, he confidently drank the juice.
"Hmph… Is that so?" The Duke said.
The two engaged in a staring contest until finally, the Duke said,
"Since you sold me the video, I'm guessing you're the one behind this Gang War or, at least, it's related to you. Am I right, Ghost?"
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]
AUTHOR'S NOTE/RAMBLING.
a Korede has three Will Techniques.
Zone- Slow down Korede's perception of time, allowing him to take in more information and make the right decisions in key moments. An active type
Sword Intent- Allows Korede to cut through anything as long as he wields something bladed. An active type
Immunity- Makes Korede immune to ingested substances. A passive type.
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]