Onobu city, outsider area
[3rd POV]
In the outsider area, 2,000 people gathered, spears, guns, bows, and arrows were all equipped. Jun scanned through the faces of each of them, they were full of hope. After more than a day of fighting, they had successfully repelled the onslaught of city soldiers, now with the arrival of Teigu, legendary weapons, that poured even more fuel into the flame of victory. However, their leader Jun wasn't naive enough to believe it. He himself knew that the chances of the revolt ending up in failure were still higher than half. The reason why they won so far was very questionable, a large armed group of rebels attacked the city but the city soldiers' force was too few. As a revolutionary soldier active in the city for many years, Jun was well aware of the existence of an elite guard and many special assassin squads under Alan Gurrag, the fact that none of them showed up showed Alan was up to something. However, Jun still wants to believe that he could win. After all, there was no other way, the battle had been fought, the blood had been shed, there was no turning back. The only way was to forward and hope.
There was no use thinking too much, rather at the moment there was another problem that Jun needed to solve. He looked at the middle-aged man in front of him.
" Commander, we shouldn't attack right now. Something was wrong with the city army, we won too easily. I fear ahead of us will be an ambush."
That was exactly what he thought, it wouldn't be strange if someone noticed this but the man's next words made Jun raise his brow.
" Instead of jumping into their traps, I think we should attack the paths out of the city, especially the sewers. There are many smuggling lines in the sewers. We will have one group to distract the guards while another leads the women and children out of here."
Jun smiled, he stared at the man. He recalled the words of an old acquaintance about an hour ago:
" Jun, there are spies in your force, someone else who wants to know the location of the Teigu. They will try to convince you to change your plan."
Jun already realized what was hidden behind the middle-aged man's mask. However, his words were not without foundation. Jun still wanted to hear if he was up to something.
" Hah. Assuming we can get out of here, where are we gonna go? Are you saying we have to leave our possessions behind and run away? Then there's no guarantee that Alan won't pursue us, then we'll be deers in the middle of a hunting ground."
" With 4 Teigu I believe we can hold off the guards long enough for people to escape, there are 3 villages in the suburbs that can be used as places to rest. Just reach the southern town about 5 days of walk away from here. We'll be beyond the reach of Alan Gurrag."
" Hahaha. You believe we can hold out for five days."
" I'm not sure because I haven't seen the legendary weapons, the Teigu's abilities, but I believe that plan has a higher chance of succeeding than running to Allan Gurrag's trap."
Whispers began to spread in the crowd, it could be seen that although they can sacrifice themselves to fight the Onobu army, their first priority was still getting their children and family out of the city. Jun felt the change in the atmosphere around him, he nodded approvingly to the man.
' Swoosh!'
The cold metallic sound rang through the air, a few strands of white hair floating in blurred sparks. Jun's sword was only inches from the man's neck, it was stopped by another sword.
" Caught you! You damn cockroach!"
Jun swung his remaining sword towards the man's stomach but the man pulled out another short sword and blocked it. His hand didn't move an inch when it took full of Jun's force. The situation immediately put Jun on alert, he immediately activated his Teigu.
" Akaikiba!" (Red fang)
Jun's heart was beating so hard that it could be seen from the outside, adrenaline was rushing through his body. Blood oozing from his hands caused the blade of his swords to turn red. The man instantly deliver a kick to Jun's chest and jump out dodging the slash, but on the man's right hand was a shallow cut that was bleeding. With a speed almost invisible to the naked eye, Jun disappeared.
The sound of metal colliding resounded in the night, making the onlookers dumbfounded, the movement speed of these two exceeded the limit of humans, their shadows kept switching places. Some of the rebels tried to aim their guns at the middle-aged but they were afraid of accidentally hitting Jun so all they did was quickly get out of the way and cheer for their leader. Jun attacked was getting faster and faster, several injuries appeared on the man and the situation turned in his favor but Jun always kept his mind calm. This was not yet his maximum speed and strength, but the perfect speed for executing swordsmanship. Jun becomes extremely cautious not only because of his opponent who can still withstand all attacks even when he uses Teigu but also because his 6th sense tells him that he absolutely couldn't let this man land a hit on him.
At the same time the man - Haruki in disguise, was calmly analyzing the situation. Jun was a lot stronger than he thought and it seems he still hadn't used his full ability. Haruki's wounds were very shallow but for some reason, it was bleeding more than usual and he couldn't feel the wound. He felt his blood drawn to Jun's blade with each clash of their blades. Haruki was well aware of the abilities of the Teigu in front of him, a weapon made from the fangs of a legendary vampire that sucked the blood of the user and enhanced their physical strength, that was all he knew. However, Teigu's information could change depending on the wielder and it was clear that in Jun's case he had the ability to control the blood not only of himself but also of his enemies.
' It's not good to continue this fight.'
Haruki used his full strength on his next attack, which would have cut a normal opponent in half along with the sword but it only pushed Jun away a few meters, still enough time for Haruki to increase the distance between him and Jun. He jumped onto the roof of a house, several shots followed, but in a bat of an eye, Haruki disappeared like a ghost.
" Tsk!"
Jun clicked his tongue, his hand was still a bit numb from the attack earlier. His confidence was shaken a bit when he saw the strength of the opponent he was likely about to face.
' No, next time I'll definitely win! I'm not alone, there's still Quan and the others.'
Jun clenched his sword, the flame of determination burning in his eyes.
" Don't let the spy's words sway you. Brothers, we will continue the assault!"
" Whoaah!"
The shouts of thousands of people rose, with Jun's leadership the rebels swept into the city in 4 directions. Their goal was to capture 4 special important strongholds and would regroup at the city hall for the final battle. At the same time in a different place in the city, Musui was looking at his watch.
" Look like our captain has failed. Moving on to the next plan."
The 6 shadows quickly split in three directions and rushed swiftly through the dark night into blazing flames.
Onobu, Northwest barracks
More than 600 melee soldiers, 200 archers, and 100 gunmen, although the number of people in the outsides area only accounts for 20% of the total population of Onobu, it was still an overwhelming number for the city soldiers. Sweat ran down the face of Gelman, the colonel in command of this northwest barrack.
" Don't hesitate, they're just a bunch of lowly robbers! Keep shooting!"
The gunfire resounded like thunders on both sides. As Gelman said, the rebel despite having overwhelming quantity but was lacking in quality. The rebel gunman's messy, imprecise shots were no match for the city guards who had trained for many years.
The gunfight between the two sides only lasted a few minutes, the rebel began to be pushed back. When the smile of victory just began to form on the face of the city soldiers. The gunfire suddenly became less and less, but not from the insurgent army but from the city guards. The explosion caused Gelman's ears temporarily went deaf. When he was able aware of the situation, gunfire from the lucky survivors was pouring down at one point. A slim, small figure jumped out of the smoke. A Chinese-looking woman with her hair tied in two braids, wearing a qipao, the woman who didn't seem affected by the rain of bullets, not even a scratch. She was like a devil heading straight for Gelman, the surrounding soldiers tried to stop her but as she passed by them, their limbs and neck were twisted 180 degrees.
Fear enveloped Gelman, he didn't want to end up like those soldiers. He pulled out a handgun and aimed at the woman, shooting while running. The woman's hands moved so fast that Gelman could only see vague after images. He could understand that all the bullets he fired were deflected by her hand. After a moment Gelman suddenly felt cold in his chest, red liquid spreading across his shirt. He tried to get his breath back but couldn't because something damaged his lungs.
' Why? All I want to do is to ensure the security of this city—'
Gelman's train of thought was cut short and the last thing he heard was the desperate gunfire of the guard.
Quan smiled when he saw the terrified look on the guard's face, the bullet should have hit her in the head, but the one who fell was his commander. His legs were shaking so much that he couldn't even stand. He then dumped the entire magazine at her screaming like a wild animal.
" Sakasagawa (reverse river), water flow dance."
The scene in Quan's eyes was like a slow-motion tape, she could feel the flow of every movement in space, on her hands were two ivory gloves emitting a strange blue aura. The bullets seemed to be sucked into her palm, when they touched the glove, instead of piercing through, they slid out. Quan moved rhythmically as if dancing, in the blink of an eye she approached the soldier and lightly touched his face, the soldier's head was instantly rotated 180 degrees backward. It was as simple as that to end the life of one person, even though she had killed all the gunmen in this place, not a single drop of blood was on her shirt. In less than half an hour Onobu's Northwest barracks fell. The rebel quickly cleans off the remnants of the guards.
Quan had completed her mission flawlessly, her mood was extremely high, this was the first time that her childhood friend Jun begged her. She still vividly remembered the moment he held her hand tightly, his wild, confident gaze made her heart skip a beat. She told herself after this fight she would find a chance with him, Jun's drinking was very poor, he always hides whenever someone asks him out for a drink but after this fight, there was no reason for him to refuse.
' Hehehe, I'll name our son Ryo and our daughter Lan and...'
While Quan was immersed in her fantasy, she wrapped her arms around herself and writhed like an earthworm. From above, the three people's eyes looked at her with complicated expressions.
" Uhm Ryuu-san, the captain told us to be careful when the opponent is acting abnormal, was this what he meant?"
" Uhm I don't know, I'm not sure, how about you Shana?"
" Is it a side effect of Teigu? No, the technique she uses was one of those lost ancient martial arts I'm afraid it's not that simple, this could be her defensive stance."
The three stared at Quan who was writhing on the ground until they realized the gunshots were getting closer and closer.
" Damn it! We don't have much time, no matter what she plans to do, we have to hurry up and finish the quest. Mia, is everything ready?" - Shana
" Yes, Ryuu san we'll count on you to hold the rebel group." - Mia
" Haha leave that to me." - Ryuu
Shana moved towards Quan without a sound. Before Quan came to her mind, Shana was right next to her.
" Sakasagawa!"
" Seishigawa. (stillness river)"
Quan let out a smile when her hand touched Shana's cheek but that smile was instantly extinguished because the only thing that happened was Shana's punch to her chest which made her cough and her whole body stiffened. In the next second, Quan realized she was being tied upside down by a net.
" Is it I or this was too easy. After all, this person has no plan, just an idiot." - Shana
" Y-You b*tches! "
Before Quan could say another word, Shana stuffed a cloth into her mouth and tied it up. Quan could only watch helplessly as the other party began to check her body. She closed her eyes when she saw Shana pull out a knife.
' I'm such a useless piece of – I'm sorry Jun…'
' Slash.'
Shana cut a rope that bound Quan's chest. She could feel the surprise from the woman in front of her.
" I have loosened the ropes, I believe you can get out in a few minutes. We're not part of Alan's party and we're not here to kill you, our mission is only this."
Shana pulled two gloves off Quan's hand. Then she signaled Mia to leave immediately.
"Kreek!" the sound of metal screeching through the air as Mia screamed in pain, blood gushing out, an iron hook came out of nowhere piercing through her shoulder. Shana instantly rushed to Mia and placed her hand on Mia's body just as the iron hook began to drag Mia away with tremendous force. Mia's entire left shoulder was destroyed, her still moving arm fell to the ground. Blood spurted from Mia's shoulder but when Shana's hand touched the wound, it stopped bleeding. Shana pushed Mia away before the hook shot at her again. She herself didn't dodge, she caught it with her hand, no matter how the man standing in the dark tried to pull the hook, it wouldn't move even an inch. Shana launched three daggers in the direction of the iron chain. In the darkness where the daggers came, flickering sparks and the sound of metal clashing.
" Hahaha as Sir Alan predicted, my prey will be here."
Out of the darkness was a tall man, he must be 2m tall. His right hand holds a chain that was attached to a giant hook, his left hand was a sickle. The man's abdomen was extremely strange as if it were only skin and bones, it wouldn't be too surprised if this man was claimed to be the world's thinnest man. He lunged at Shana at breakneck speed, his sickle slice up from the bottom. Shana dodged his attack and responded with a slash to the waist. A "Clank" resound. Through the thin flesh of his waist, Shana's blade was blocked, it was not muscle or bone but completely metal. He elbowed Shana's face with a force unthinkable for someone with such a thin body, it broke her nose and Shana's whole body was sent flying off the ground. In a split second her Teigu ' Seishigawa' lost its effect, the once motionless iron hook aimed directly at her head, she couldn't dodge while she was floating in the air, nor could she block it.
With only a few inches left before her head was crushed, a strong gust of wind blew away the strange man and the hook.
" Shana! Are you all right?." - Ryuu
She nodded even though her mind was extremely dizzy. The wind pushed Shana towards Mia who was beginning to faint from the pain and the loss of so much blood.
The skinny man ignored Ryuu and charged toward the two women but once again he was blown away. Ryuu stood between Shana and the man, in his arms was a great spear.
" Get Mia out of here Shana! I'll stop him! "
Shana could hear the footsteps of hundreds of people behind the strange man. Finally, Alan's elite troops were also sent here, the one in front of her must be one of Alan's six-headed hydra. The situation was dire but she knew she would surely die if she stayed here and also Mia.
" Don't die, you idiot."
" I won't sweetheart, not until I see our baby."
There were no babies, it was just a joke she made to this guy before the mission started she never thought Ryuu would take this seriously, of course, she can't have children with a man whom she just met a few months ago. Although surprised, there was no reason for Shana to argue with Ryuu about this topic, she quickly carried Mia in her arms and immediately left the area. Shana received a bullet in the thigh while carrying Mia but lucky for her, Quan who had escaped Mia's shackle signaled the rebels to stop firing. Meanwhile, a fierce battle ensues between Ryuu and Alan's hydra. Ryuu was like a whirlwind, with each strike and thurst he blew everything away however his breathing also became more and more unstable. In contrast, his opponent the man who move more and more swiftly in the storm, the number of times he was blown away became less and less. It seems that the man began to adapt to Ryuu's fighting style.
" Don't resist stupid sheep, I can give you a gentler death."
" Hahaha, a real man never gives up. Even if I die at least I'll have to take you with me and all the people behind you and if possible even that damn Alan's little $!$."
Ryuu was saying that to anger the man but instead, he laughed then licked his lips.
" I was going to kill you like a cattle but it seems I have to reform your thinking about Sir Alan's greatness. Don't worry, I will bring you back as intact as possible. Lend me a hand will you? Iron Maw."
In the darkness a huge shadow crawled out, moving on all fours, it was like a giant dog with a human face. True to its name, it wore an iron jaw in front of its bloody mouth. A chill came over Ryuu, he would have to fight two of Alan's six strongest subordinates. He held his weapon tightly. It had followed him for many years and was his closest friend.
" Storm Caller, it seems that it's time for our last dance! Let's rock!"
A strange phenomenon that occurs only in the Northwest barrack. The clear sky suddenly turned into a storm. Of the thousands who participated in the Northwest barrack raid only a few survived. After an hour the storm dissipated and the spear finally slipped out of Ryuu's grasp.
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' Ah, I showed her how great of a man I am. I hope she names the kid after me…' - Ryuu
" Where's Ryuu?" - Haruki
" He didn't make it." - Shana
" Such a shame he was a good man." - Haruki
" Yeah, his size and technique were still below average, but it's still sad." - Shana
" He was still a newbie after all. He had potential. Had he focused on training instead of fooling around. Take this lesson to your heart, after we come back I won't be easy on you anymore." - Haruki
" Y-Yes captain please violate me as hard as you can!" -Shana
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Some Teigu current information in this chapter:
- Akaikiba (Red Fang):
+ Are twin short swords
+ Uses wielder blood to power up speed and attack power.
+ Suck the blood out of the enemy wound and use it to heal the wielder.
+ Ultimate move: ???
- Sakasagawa (Reverse River)
+ Ivory gloves
+ Change direction of all objects
+ Can be used to redirect bullets and heavy blows
+ Ultimate move: ???
- Seishigawa (Stillness River)
+ Gloves, color ???
+ Stop all movement regardless of the force
+ Shana used it to stop her head from spinning 180 degrees when fighting Quan
+ Use to stop bleeding
+ Can only use on a maximum of three objects (might increase) for a temporary time
+ Can be interrupted if the wielder does not focus
+ Ultimate move: ???