Chapter 441: Clear Intent
"...Excuse me?!"
Himuro Ryo, who had been lazily puffing on his cigarette, choked so violently
that tears sprang to his eyes.
Lately, the suave, dark-skinned playboy known as the [ICY EMPEROR] had been
losing complete control over his facial expressions whenever he hung around Ren
Shiroki.
"Cough... hack! ...Wait, no... what?!" Himuro stared, eyes wide as saucers.
"Ren... what the hell are you planning to do?!"
Ren bared his teeth in a sunny grin. "I'm counting on you, Himuro-aniki."
Himuro stared at him for several agonizing seconds before letting out a defeated
groan. "Fine. I'm just the guide. I have no right to stop you... but don't
expect me to be the one picking up your teeth."
And so, later that morning...
Inside the central encampment of the Three Wolves sector, General Zhang received
a private transmission from Himuro Ryo.
The contents left the former mercenary commander utterly thunderstruck.
And immediately following that shock came a towering, volcanic fury.
Within minutes, the entire primary stronghold was locked down under martial law.
Dozens of veteran, battle-hardened mercenaries were outfitted in full tactical
gear, doubling the perimeter sentries into multi-layered barricades.
"Keep your eyes peeled, all of you!"
At the front line, a squad leader with slicked-back hair and an AK-47 barked
orders at the guards.
"The outsider who tore through the Three Wolves checkpoint sent an advance
notice! He claims he's going to take the General's head before lunch!"
"This is an unacceptable disgrace! You are not to treat him as a friend of
Himuro-san! The moment he steps into range, put him down permanently!!"
The squad leader's face was flushed red with rage. He paused to catch his
breath—only to notice the private standing in front of him staring blankly past
his shoulder, trembling like a leaf.
"Uh... Boss..."
The squad leader felt a sudden chill behind his neck. He tried to spin around,
but a hand clamped onto his collar like an iron vice. He couldn't budge an inch.
Someone's behind me—?!
An outsider?!
Ren Shiroki was standing directly behind the squad leader, using the man's
tactical vest as a human shield as he calmly strolled toward the assembled
defensive line.
"Gaia-aniki's tips really work like a charm~!"
Ren beamed, his voice light and breezy. "When dealing with modern mercenaries,
grabbing the shot-caller first really does keep the rifles quiet."
"And then—"
As he spoke, Ren had already waltzed into the center of the defensive perimeter.
Seeing that Ren carried no firearms or explosives, the surrounding mercenaries
found their courage. Several lunged forward with tactical batons, shouting,
"Don't look down on us!" intending to crush him under sheer body weight.
"And then... Master Guile told me that staying adaptable to shifting chaos is
what truly defines a 'professional'."
Whoosh—!
Ren hooked his left arm around the squad leader's neck, twisted his hips, and
swept his right palm in a high-speed, 360-degree rotational arc!
[RYU: HASHOGEKI]!!
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM—!
Mechanically, it was merely an open-palm slap brushing across the jaws of the
advancing mercenaries.
Yet every single soldier felt as though an armor-piercing shell had detonated
against their skulls! A phantom shockwave shattered their perception, creating
the vivid hallucination that their lower jaws had been obliterated into powder!
"—?!"
The entire front line went limp, their eyes rolling back as they collapsed into
the dirt like marionettes with their strings cut, completely jamming the charge
of the second wave behind them!
"Get out of the way!" "Should we fire?!" "Are you blind?! The Boss is right in
front of him! You'll hit our own guys!!"
Zip!
Ren clamped down on the squad leader's shoulder, using the man's momentum to
burst through the disordered perimeter, breaking out onto the flank of the
garrison.
Directly ahead lay the inner compound's reinforced gate—a three-meter-tall slab
of corrugated industrial steel typical of The Inside's modular fortifications.
Two guards recovered, lunging at him with trench knives.
Ren swung the squad leader like a pendulum to shift his center of gravity, spun
on his planting heel, and drove an explosive reverse roundhouse kick straight
through their line!
[RYU: TATSUMAKI SENPU KYAKU]!
THUD-CRACK!
Both mercenaries caught heavy heels to the cheek, spraying blood as they were
batted aside.
"Gah..."
The squad leader was so dizzy from being swung around like a ragdoll that he was
on the verge of passing out, only for Ren to slap him hard on the shoulder,
violently shocking his nervous system awake.
The squad leader nearly burst into tears. "Why the hell are you still dragging
me around...?!"
Ren thinned his lips. "You're the boss, aren't you? Rank comes with risks!"
"You crazy bastard..."
The squad leader had no comeback. He gritted his teeth, tapped into the last
reserves of his adrenaline, wrenched free from Ren's grip, and drove a
desperate, heavy right uppercut upward!
"DIE!!"
Before the blow could peak, a shadow flickered across his vision.
Ren had leaped! His legs split wide in mid-air as both hands pressed downward,
slapping right onto the ascending wrist of the uppercut.
CLAP!
With featherweight grace, Ren used the upward thrust of the soldier's punch as a
launchpad for a secondary vertical jump!
[RASHID: BOLT STRIKE]!
SWOOSH!
Channeling his [PARKOUR] mastery, Ren twisted his body in mid-air like a desert
whirlwind, vaulting cleanly over the three-meter iron gate and landing silently
in the inner courtyard!
A squad of elite bodyguards stood in the courtyard. Before their hands could
even reach their holsters, a sharp wind cut the air.
[DRIVE RUSH]!
Voom!
Ren materialized in their pocket, unleashing a lightning-fast three-hit
combination!
[LUKE: TRIPLE STRIKE]!
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Blood sprayed from broken noses as the elite guards were swept off their feet,
losing all visual tracking of the intruder.
"W-Where did he go?!"
At the center of the inner courtyard...
Ren arrived at the driver-side door of a heavily armored SUV.
Inside sat a middle-aged man in a woodland camouflage uniform and a tactical
headband, sporting a salt-and-pepper handlebar mustache.
Himuro Ryo's old acquaintance—General Zhang.
General Zhang sat calmly in the armored cabin. Peering through the thick,
multi-layered ballistic glass at Ren, he tapped the window gently with a
knuckle.
His message was clear: This glass is rated for armor-piercing sniper rounds.
Save your breath, kid.
The next second, Zhang saw Ren's right fist coil backward.
Super Art: [LUKE: ERASER]!
"HAH—!"
BOOM—!!!
The first heavy strike detonated against the driver-side window. The entire
multi-ton armored chassis shuddered violently, as if caught in a seismic
earthquake!
Ren didn't pause. Left, right, high-frequency torque—fists hammered into the
exact same point of impact like a relentless pneumatic drill.
THUD-THUD-THUD!
Spiderweb fissures began racing across the reinforced glass with crisp,
splintering cracks. General Zhang's smug smirk completely vanished, his eyes
widening in mounting horror.
Finally, Ren's right arm coiled back to its absolute limit, drawing power from
his heels through his hips.
[STRIKE AT THE APEX]!!
Over thirty-six trillion cells fired in absolute, unyielding synchronicity!
KABOOM—CLATTER!!
The bulletproof glass shattered into a million frosted fragments!
Mingled with the blast was General Zhang's high-pitched, unvarnished scream:
"I SURRENDER—!!"
By the time the panicked reinforcements flooded the courtyard, Ren was already
sitting comfortably in the backseat of the SUV, the privacy curtains drawn shut
on all sides.
General Zhang sat in the driver's seat, sticking his head through the broken
window frame, sweat pouring down his face like a waterfall.
"...Stand down, all of you. I'm already dead."
His eyelid twitched violently as he waved off his men. He pulled his head back
inside, turning around to face the young monster in his backseat for a "warm and
friendly" diplomatic summit.
"As expected of Himuro's friend... No, honestly, even Himuro probably didn't
know you were this unhinged."
Zhang exhaled, eyeing Ren with genuine curiosity. "If I try to jump out of this
truck and run right now, what happens?"
Ren leaned back against the leather seats, arms behind his head. "I guess I'd
have to use physical force? Beat you down again... Do you really want another
round?"
"God, no. I'm thoroughly pulverized," Zhang chuckled bitterly. "Even if I called
in every gun in Three Wolves, in a one-on-one cage match with you, I'd be dead
in ten seconds."
"So... you beat me. What's the ransom?"
"Annexing my territory? US dollars? Or do you want my mercenary company to back
your play?"
Ren scratched his head, looking slightly embarrassed. "That's not really a tough
problem, so I haven't thought that far ahead. Mind if I take a second to
brainstorm?"
General Zhang: "..."
General Zhang: "...Are you serious?"
A few minutes later, General Zhang stepped out of the SUV. His men crowded
around him, assuming a ceasefire treaty had been hammered out. Zhang was a man
of his word and a shrewd negotiator; his men trusted his leadership implicitly.
"Boss! What were his demands?!" "Does he want tribute? Our turf? Or does he want
us to march against the other sectors?!"
General Zhang took a long drag from a fresh cigarette.
"Go boil some hot water."
The lieutenant blinked. "...Huh?"
Zhang's brow twitched. "Boil a ton of hot water. Find a clean shower stall. Our
guest wants to take a bath."
Ren wasn't a hardened mercenary, after all. Walking around coated in dirt,
sweat, and dried blood felt disgusting. Thanks to General Zhang's hospitality,
he finally had the chance to wash up properly.
Meanwhile, Himuro Ryo and Fusui Kure arrived at the main headquarters, greeting
the ruffled General.
"Ryo... you're back. And you brought me a walking catastrophe!"
"Sorry about that, brother." Himuro scratched his cheek, giving his old comrade
an apologetic pat on the shoulder.
Himuro knew that the [SOUL COMBATANT] was never a butcher. Ren's crosshairs were
aimed strictly at true strength; he had zero interest in slaughtering an
opponent he had already conquered. Ren's threat to "butcher" the General had
simply been an extreme provocation.
And Himuro had to admit: if their goal was total, frictionless freedom of
movement throughout Three Wolves, Ren's blunt method was the most efficient
route on earth.
"We need unrestricted passage through the Ward," Himuro said, offering a fresh
pack of cigarettes. "I was going to negotiate normally, but my partner prefers
direct methods. I owe you one for this."
"Forget it. The kid didn't carry real malice," Zhang sighed, lighting up.
"Besides, this works out for us. We're officially 'victims' now. You guys can
tear up the other sectors however you like, and nobody can blame Three Wolves
for letting you through! Hahaha!"
Zhang paused, his eyes drifting toward Fusui Kure.
The girl wore dark sunglasses, but from this angle, he caught a glimpse of her
distinct, pitch-black sclera and white irises.
"Ryo... having your buddy wreck my car is one thing. But please tell me you
didn't bring the Kure Clan into my backyard..."
Zhang's voice dropped to a terrified whisper. "Word is that over in Nine
Spiders, a Kure demon is slaughtering everything that breathes. People are
fleeing the sector in droves. Does that have anything to do with you guys?"
Himuro paused, then pointed a thumb at Fusui.
"That's her big brother."
General Zhang: "..."
That very afternoon, General Zhang issued an emergency decree:
Within the borders of the Three Wolves sector, security patrols were to be
multiplied tenfold. All unsanctioned gang violence was strictly outlawed. Every
resident was ordered to mind their manners, smile, and avoid throwing hands
under penalty of death.
From this day forward, Three Wolves was a land of peace, love, and absolute
harmony.
☆☆☆
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