Ashes of the Silent War
Chapter 3 – The Blood Bounty
Gunfire ripped through The Rusted Crown like a storm of steel.
Tables shattered. Bottles exploded. Mercenaries dove for cover while others rushed forward with greedy eyes fixed on one target.
Kael Varden.
A hundred million credits could buy an army.
Or a kingdom.
And now every killer in Gravehold wanted the same prize.
Kael flipped a heavy metal table onto its side as bullets smashed into it. The wood splintered instantly under the rain of gunfire.
Beside him, the silver-haired woman moved with frightening precision.
Two pistols.
Two shots.
Two bounty hunters dropped before they even reached the bar.
"You didn't mention the entire city would try to kill you," she said calmly.
Kael reloaded his rifle.
"I didn't ask them to."
A grenade rolled across the floor.
Kael grabbed the woman's arm.
"Down!"
The explosion tore through the center of the bar, sending bodies and debris flying. Smoke filled the room as alarms started screaming across the underground district.
Outside, the chaos spread instantly.
Mercenary gangs heard the bounty announcement and rushed toward the bar like wolves smelling blood.
Within minutes, Gravehold became a hunting ground.
Kael kicked open the back door of the bar.
The alley behind it was already crowded with armed fighters.
"Found him!" someone shouted.
Kael fired first.
Three men fell before they even raised their weapons.
The silver-haired woman tossed a smoke grenade, filling the alley with thick grey fog.
"Move!" she ordered.
They ran through the smoke as bullets cut through the air around them.
Above the alley, a loudspeaker suddenly crackled to life.
A mechanical voice echoed through the underground city.
"Attention citizens of Gravehold."
"The bounty on Kael Varden has been confirmed."
"Any individual assisting in his capture will receive double payment."
Kael shook his head.
"Rourke really wants me dead."
"Of course he does," the woman replied. "You're the only witness to what he did to Battalion 13."
Kael stopped suddenly.
His eyes turned cold.
"You know about that?"
The woman looked at him.
"I know everything."
Before Kael could ask more—
A new sound filled the air.
Not gunfire.
Not explosions.
Something worse.
Silence.
The mercenaries chasing them suddenly stopped shooting.
Some even backed away slowly.
Kael noticed immediately.
"That's strange."
Then he saw them.
Five figures stepped into the alley shadows.
Black armor.
White masks shaped like expressionless faces.
Every mercenary nearby immediately retreated.
One of them whispered in fear.
"Ghost knives…"
Another voice trembled.
"The Obsidian Veil…"
The Obsidian Veil was not a normal assassin guild.
They were legends.
No one knew how many existed.
No one knew where they came from.
But every warlord, king, and general in the wasteland feared one thing:
If the Obsidian Veil accepted a contract on you…
You were already dead.
One of the masked assassins stepped forward.
His voice was calm.
"Kael Varden."
Kael raised his rifle.
"Let me guess. You want the bounty."
"No."
The assassin tilted his head slightly.
"We want you alive."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
The assassin raised a small holographic device.
A symbol appeared in the air.
A black crown made of broken blades.
Kael recognized it immediately.
"The Iron Dominion," he said quietly.
The assassin nodded.
"General Rourke has issued a secondary order."
"Bring you to the Black Citadel."
"Alive."
Kael laughed softly.
"That's not happening."
The assassin lifted his hand.
All five assassins moved instantly.
Faster than bullets.
Kael fired his rifle.
One assassin dodged the shot and appeared beside him almost instantly.
Steel flashed.
Kael blocked the blade with his combat knife.
The impact nearly broke his arm.
These were not normal fighters.
They were monsters trained for war.
The silver-haired woman suddenly fired both pistols, forcing the assassins to step back briefly.
"Kael!"
He turned.
"Run!"
Kael hesitated.
"You can't fight them alone."
She smirked slightly.
"Who said I was alone?"
She reached into her jacket and activated a communicator.
"Phase One is live."
Across Gravehold, alarms suddenly changed tone.
Then the ground shook.
Distant explosions echoed through the underground city.
Kael frowned.
"What did you just do?"
The woman looked at him calmly.
"I started the war."
Suddenly, armored vehicles burst through the entrance tunnels of Gravehold.
Their insignia glowed red.
The Crimson Legion.
One of the largest mercenary armies in the wasteland.
Missiles slammed into Iron Dominion patrol stations across the city.
Machine guns roared through the underground streets.
Within seconds, Gravehold became a battlefield.
The Obsidian Veil assassins paused.
Even they didn't expect this.
Kael turned toward the woman.
"You planned this."
"Yes."
"Why?"
She looked directly into his eyes.
Then she finally said the truth.
"My name is Lyra Kane."
"Commander of the Crimson Legion."
Kael stared at her.
"You used me as bait."
"Yes."
The battle outside grew louder.
Mercenary factions rushed into the war, choosing sides instantly.
Kael felt anger rise in his chest.
"You manipulated the entire city just to start a faction war."
Lyra didn't deny it.
"Because Rourke is preparing something worse."
"And I need him distracted."
Kael lowered his rifle slowly.
"You could've told me."
She shook her head.
"No."
"Because if you knew…"
"…you might not have come."
Before Kael could respond—
A new explosion tore open the ceiling above the alley.
Debris rained down as a massive armored dropship descended into the underground district.
Its hull carried the black insignia of the Iron Dominion.
And standing at the open hatch…
A tall man in dark military armor watched the battlefield.
His voice echoed through loudspeakers.
"Kael Varden."
Kael's blood turned cold.
He knew that voice.
The man who betrayed his unit.
The man who destroyed Battalion 13.
General Elias Rourke.
Rourke smiled down at him.
"You've caused quite a mess."
Kael clenched his fists.
"Come down here and say that."
Rourke laughed.
"Not today."
He gestured toward the battlefield around them.
"This war is only the beginning."
Then his expression turned serious.
"And you, Kael…"
"…are exactly where I need you to be."
The dropship engines roared.
Rourke disappeared into the sky.
Leaving the city burning behind him.
Kael stared upward with silent fury.
The war had begun.
And now the entire wasteland would burn.