I saw a sword coming straight at my face, and it was so close that I couldn't dodge it. As I contemplated my impending doom, something unexpected happened – his head suddenly exploded, resembling a watermelon being smashed. It turned into a gruesome spray of bloody mist. Unfortunately, a few drops of his blood and bits of brain matter found their way into my mouth, which, given the close proximity, was unavoidable. It was undeniably disgusting.
I stood there, shocked and deeply confused. How on earth had his head suddenly exploded like that? Just as I thinking about this bizarre turn of events, Nolan suddenly contacted me, his voice filled with concern, "Frankie, are you alright?"
I quickly spat out the disgusting substance that had entered my mouth and responded, "Nolan, was that you? That was a dangerously close call, I thought I was done for. Thanks for saving my life. And your sniper skills are truly impressive." Nolan's proficiency with the sniper had genuinely surprised me.
"We can talk about that later, but due to this incident, the others have pinpointed your location," Nolan urgently warned me. I turned to look, and just as he had mentioned, every eye in the vicinity was now fixed firmly on me.
"Got you, bastard. So, are you the one who attacked us? Who sent you? Cursed Harpoon, Crimson Skulls? Or are you from the TerraNova police force? No matter who you are, it's bold of you to attack us alone," the scarred guy, with the help of one of the melee fighters, managed to stand up and began interrogating me.
"Who said I was alone?" I retorted. At that very moment, as if on cue, Nolan fired a shot that hit the guy assisting the scarred one squarely in the head. His head, too, exploded like a watermelon, transforming into a gruesome spray of blood and gore. His lifeless body crumpled to the ground.
*Ahaaaa*
The scarred guy was clearly terrified by the sudden death of his comrade, his face showing a mix of fear and shock. He lost his balance as he no longer had the support of the guy who had been assisting him. He fell to the ground, and within moments, he was drenched in a pool of blood from his dead comrade, the same person who had been aiding him just moments ago.
Despite the shocking turn of events, the scarred guy managed to retain his composure and barked orders at his henchmen, "Oi, what the hell are you bastards doing? Don't just stand there; kill him!" The others were still in a state of shock, struggling to process the sudden and gruesome event. Before his command could snap them back to reality, I knew I had to strike swiftly.
Three gunners stood before me, and I charged at one of them. I activated my Neo arm, transforming it into a Hyper Blade, and struck him in the neck. The blade pierced through and emerged from the other side, leaving a gruesome wound. I withdrew the blade, and blood began gushing from his neck. I shook the Hyper Blade to rid it of the blood.
As I did this, the other two gunners took aim at me, and one of them fired a shot. Quickly, I used the lifeless body of the guy I had just taken down as a shield, hiding behind it. I then deployed my Aquarius and attempted to counter their gunfire. Remarkably, despite being mere slave traders, they displayed a surprising level of coordination.
However, I wasn't alone in this fight. While both of them focused their attention on me, Rex charged at one of them and severed his Achilles' heels.
*Ahaaaa*
The gunner Rex had wounded let out a pained cry and dropped to his knee. Meanwhile, the other gunner, who had been aiming at me, was taken aback by Rex's sudden appearance and began to panic, redirecting his aim toward my loyal companion.
"I won't let you harm Rex," I declared, diverting the gunman's attention to me. With the dead body I had been using as a shield, I threw it towards the startled attacker and fired a shot aimed at his torso. My shot struck him squarely in the chest, piercing his left lung and leaving a gaping hole in his chest.
The wounded gunner fell to the ground, choking on his own blood as he dropped his firearm. Even in his dying moments, he desperately tried to reach for his gun. I approached him, kicking his weapon out of reach. He looked at me with bloodshot eyes, his gaze filled with a mix of fear and horror, as though I were some kind of monster.
With resolve, I raised the Aquarius and put an end to his suffering with a shot to the head. Then, I turned my attention to the gunner Rex was confronting. He knelt on the ground, still aiming his gun at Rex. I took careful aim and shot him in one of his hands.
*Ahaaaa*
He let out a pained cry, dropping his gun to the ground, and hastily attempted to grab it with his other hand. Moving swiftly, I closed the distance and used the Hyperblade to completely sever his hand.
*Ahaaaa*
The air was filled with his agonized screams once again as his severed arm spouted blood like a geyser. I raised the Aquarius toward his head, and he looked at me with fear in his eyes. He managed to say something, though it was barely more than a whisper.
"Please spare m-"
Before he could finish his sentence, I pulled the trigger. His head exploded like a gruesome firework, and he crumpled to the ground in a pool of blood.
Now, only three men armed with melee weapons remained, excluding the scarred guy. I turned my attention to them. Following Nolan's lethal shot, another of the melee fighters rushed to aid the scarred guy.
As for the other two, they stood there in stunned silence, shocked by the swift demise of all their comrades.
"You bastard, do you think you can get away with this? No matter where you go and hide in the world, we will find you and kill you with the most painful method possible. We will torture you so much that you'll beg us to end your suffering," the scarred guy declared, his words laced with anger, all the while being supported by one of the melee-armed men.
The scarred guy's furious outburst jolted the other two melee fighters back to reality. These guys seemed to space out a lot, even though they were supposed to be slave traders. The only one who appeared level-headed among them was the scarred guy.
The scarred guy sure had a fondness for the word "bastard." Without hesitation, I aimed the Aquarius and fired a shot, targeting his good leg.
*Ahaaaa*
With another pained scream, he fell to the ground, unintentionally pulling the guy who had been supporting him down with him. I advanced toward him, pointing the Aquarius directly at his face, while Rex kept the other three in check.
"Well, if you don't answer my questions properly, I'll do exactly what you threatened me with," I warned him.
However, he responded with a smile and said, "You're not the only one with backup."
Just as he finished his sentence, Nolan's voice suddenly cut in with a warning, "Frankie Watch ou-"
Before he could finish his sentence, I suddenly felt an incredibly strong impact on my left side. Thankfully, I managed to block some of it with my Neo, but the force was still enough to send me flying.
I was thrown several meters away and finally landed on the ground. My head felt a bit fuzzy from the sudden, powerful attack, and I shook it to clear my vision. As my senses returned, I saw who had attacked me: the guy in the K.R.A.K.E.N exoskeleton armor. It seemed like the armor hadn't fully absorbed the impact from the boat explosion. Despite bleeding from various wounds, he stood firm.
"Where the hell were you all this time?" the scarred guy shouted angrily at the K.R.A.K.E.N exoskeleton armored guy. "And what happened to your axe? Why did you punch that guy instead of cleaving him in half with your huge axe?"
"Sorry about that, boss," the K.R.A.K.E.N armored guy explained, his voice showing signs of remorse. "Because of the explosion, I sustained a severe head injury, and I couldn't make sense of things. I was walking around aimlessly, and when I finally regained my consciousness, I saw you being held at gunpoint."
"As for the axe," he continued, "I dropped it into the water during the explosion, which is why I had to resort to punching him."
"What? You lost it? Do you have any idea how much that thing cost?" the scarred guy shouted in frustration. "Forget it, capture that bastard alive. I want to personally torture him."
"Okay, boss," the K.R.A.K.E.N armored guy acknowledged, then turned his attention toward me and charged at me like a wild rhino.