Our pace was quick, hurried. The sounds of our dashing footsteps hitting the dry ground were loud, mixing with the vibrant screams that tore through the air.
The air felt stale at that moment. It was no longer cool. It just clung to my skin, refusing to let go.
We passed the tenements of wooden houses, heading straight into that one, large stone house.
I raised my head, looking up at the large, blue wall in the distance.
"Don't spare anyone." Firma said, his voice was low, but clear.
I nodded and looked forward, narrowing my eyes.
We were a few inches away from the wall.
"Firma, how many guards can you sense, high up on the battlement?" I asked with a hushed voice as we slowly approached the battlement at the top of the large blue wall that blocked the entrance of the large stone building.
"Hm." Firma hummed, "Five, six… There are twelve of them. All armed with Han rifles." He said.
Han Riffles? Shit.
That weapon is dangerous. It's a gun that shoots out pure, Elementless Han.
My pace dropped, and so did Firma's.
We began to move slowly, tiptoeing toward the blue wall.
It seemed like we hadn't been noticed by the guards. Yet.
"Silently," I whispered.
That was a signal. A signal that only he and I understood.
He immediately jumped, climbing the wall silently, his feet making no sounds until he entered the battlement.
"Ugh." Muffled groans and crackling sounds came from above, the sound of Firma putting them to sleep.
As the sounds stopped, I raised my head, staring at the small opening of the battlement.
Firma's head stuck out. He quickly tilted his head, signifying that I should come in.
I nodded, then crouched. My calves bulged, the outlined veins on them becoming more visible.
Then I took off, not bothering to climb the wall. I just jumped straight into the battlement.
Firma stood, his knees slightly bent. His body was in an ever-ready battle stance. He kept looking left and right.
I ignored him, staring down at the bodies on the ground.
No blood. No nothing. Just limp sacks of flesh in blue uniforms.
"What now?" I asked Firma.
"Shh."
Huh?
"What.." I hushed my voice, "What is it?"
He immediately turned. Facing me with that same blank expression.
"I think they might have spotted us." He said, his voice carrying no iota of tension. "We miscalculated. This was just one battlement out of the four battlements on the four walls."
"What the.. And you're saying it so–"
–Whoosh–
My eyes widened immediately. My Han traveled through my veins with frightening speed, enhancing my senses.
Everything slowed down in my vision as I slightly tilted my head, facing the direction of the incoming sound.
It was flying straight toward my forehead; a Han bullet.
It was now a few inches away from my forehead. The glowing blue light almost blinded me.
I tilted my neck right immediately, and it passed.
"Go now, Firma!!" I yelled at him as the bullet hit the battlement.
Immediately, we both jumped out of the battlement, and it exploded behind us as we landed on the sandy ground inside the building.
Shit. Whoever shot that bullet was really good.
"It's not over yet. Keep running." Firma said, his pace never slowing down.
I ran beside him, on his left-hand side.
The bullets came flying from all sides of the wall.
We dodged many of them, and they hit the sand, causing dust to soar and rise, covering our figures as we ran through the entrance of the building.
"Do not let them cross!!! Do not let them get to our lord!!!" A voice rang out; it was cracked, but loud and thick.
"Ayee!!" The other guards screamed in unison.
–Huff Huff–
My breathing was becoming more and more ragged as I inhaled the swirling dust.
"Karanin, the security in this place... isn't as soft as we thought," Firma said.
I nodded.
"I expected this," I replied.
–Boom–
A bullet landed just in front of us. This bullet destroyed the ground, sending I and Firma flying backward.
But we quickly regain our balance, skidding as the force of the explosion keeps pushing us back.
Cough~ Cough~
I cleared my throat, squinting my eyes to get a good look at the figure behind the dust whose presence I could sense.
I heard the sound of large footsteps approaching. And then I looked up and saw the lean frame of the owner of that footstep appear from the dust.
My eyes widened, but narrowed back immediately.
"Ah. You survived that one, too, I see." The stranger spoke; his voice was rasping and very unpleasant in the ear. "You also survived that headshot earlier."
So he was the one…
I turned right, looking at Firma, who's also crouched as I am. Firma's face was straight, no sign of brewing emotions on it. He just stared at the man. Like a predator waiting for its prey to walk into a suitable area before pouncing.
My lips slightly widened. My fingers trailed, finding the hilt of my sword.
My Han moved, circling through my body. And my senses heightened. I looked straight at the guard.
He was dressed in a completely blue attire. Blue formal shirt and blue trousers. He held a Han rifle with both hands, a short, black hat on his head, covering his brown hair that escaped from the corner of his hat, flowing over his face and that smug grin of his.
As he saw my fingers reaching for my hilt, his smile slowly faded. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." He growled.
His absolute attention was focused on me. The one whom he perceived as a threat.
"Do what?" I asked. My lips were still widening.
He took a step forward, toward me. "Your sword."
I left the hilt of my sword and raised my arms, a surrendering position.
"I don't even have to," I spoke.
At that moment, his grin completely vanished, replaced by a foul, wrinkled frown. "What the hell do y–"
His head fell off his shoulders immediately. The blood splattered on my face as both his rifle and body fell limp on the floor.
"Nice work," I told Firma, who stood, looking down on the dead body with one bloodied axe tightly grasped in his right hand.
He nodded. "Mn." He replied, "Let's go."
We were not far from the main building now. The castle of the provincial lord.
But still, those damned guards never stopped shooting.