Chapter 114 Mexican Standoff (2)
Chapter 114 Mexican Standoff (2)
“Get the carriage, Alessandra,” Iryoku urged, stepping in front of Mr. K with both daggers raised.
He gave the white rope a sharp yank—the harpoon blade ripped free from the ground and hovered at his side like a third limb, coiled and ready to strike again.
Alessandra moved without hesitation. With a powerful heave, she righted the overturned carriage. Rhogan surged back to his feet with a snort, while the girls braced inside, weapons glowing as they prepared to unleash their attacks.
But it was too late. From behind, a pack of wolf riders thundered into view, charging at breakneck speed, led by the bald old man. They fanned out wide, sealing off every escape route.
At last, the bald man dismounted, flanked by two burly warriors—one hefting a massive spear, the other twirling twin swords with practiced ease.
As the old man strode forward, a tattoo caught the light: a cat wearing a cavalier’s hat.
Iryoku’s eyes narrowed. Leon had the same mark. His gaze snapped back to Mr. K, still poised in flawless stance.
“So you’re allies…” Iryoku muttered, voice low and grim. “I knew I’d seen that technique before.”
Mr. K remained unmoved.
The girls pressed tighter against the carriage, attacks primed, the cliff yawning open just behind them. Iryoku’s eyes flicked toward the edge, already calculating.
“Stand back!” Alessandra barked at the advancing bandits. Slinging her cannon onto her back, she raised shield and mace, bracing for impact.
Then, from the treeline, another force emerged—a dozen riders atop hulking, muscular rams. At their head strode a tall demi-human woman, grinning wide as she dismounted, her greatsword and shield gleaming.
“Good to see you again, weakling human. Care for a rematch?” she taunted.
It was Goka, the gorilla-woman—one of Mr. K’s trusted subordinates.
“The queen of the jungle herself,” Iryoku sneered, mocking, though his eyes never stopped scanning the battlefield.
“This isn’t good…” Agnes muttered, clutching the green gem at her neck. I haven’t gathered much, she thought grimly. Aqua stepped in front of them in a defensive stance, while Rhogan growled low, his horn beginning to glow.
High above, in the branches of a distant tree, another figure revealed himself: a thin man with bow drawn, two long horns jutting from his head. The gazelle-man—Ligero. His arrow was trained squarely on Iryoku.
Iryoku glared across the distance. “So he’s the one who took down Orn.”
Goka laughed. “Haha! All thanks to you, making that ruckus with the griffon and those Death Tree bastards in the mountains. Ligero spotted you easily with his sight.”
The air thickened. They were surrounded. Silence pressed down as both sides locked in stalemate.
Finally, the bald man spoke, voice hard. “So you’re the one who killed that brat Leon.” He spat on the ground, contempt plain. His rugged frame shifted eagerly, muscles coiling. “You’ll answer to me, boy.”
Two more men dismounted behind him.
“It was them, boss. Look—the short girl with the huge tits, the one who left us tied up back then,” one sneered.
The other nodded, grim. “And the rhino. Yeah, it’s them. They killed Boss Leon and the others while we were on the job.”
Yumi flinched at the words, her bow snapping up to aim at the two men. For a moment her eyes shimmered, as did Reika’s. Both girls trembled under the leering stares of the bandits, who ogled their bodies with vulgar hunger.
Iryoku and Alessandra unleashed a wave of killing intent so sharp it froze the air. Agnes, Reika, and Yumi joined them, their glares like daggers stabbing into the two men.
“Eh? What are you talking about?” Goka snapped from her side, standing firm with her demi-human allies. “Moto, this little human is my prey. Don’t meddle in my business!”
Moto—the bald man—snarled back at her, face twisting. “Shut it. Who asked for your permission?”
Some of his bandits shifted uneasily, casting nervous glances at the demi-humans across from them. One muttered, “Boss Moto… why are we allied with those demi-humans? Why do they act like they’re hot shit? Don’t they know this is our territory?”
The spear-wielder and the twin-sword fighter—Moto’s two underbosses—remained silent, their eyes locked ahead.
Moto silenced the whisperer with a glare sharp enough to cut.
Mr. K’s calm, refined voice cut through the tension, directed at Iryoku’s group. “Drop your weapons, all of you.” His eyes locked on Iryoku and the girls. “You’re surrounded and outnumbered. Comply, and nothing bad will happen...”
Iryoku’s face twisted with fury. “Fuckers—you want revenge for that lowlife Leon? That kidnapper, that criminal? He tried to take my women. Of course he deserved to die!” His snarl was raw, yet his eyes never stopped flicking, analyzing, calculating. He glared at both sides—the bald bandit and the nobleman alike.
From the bandit ranks, he felt several killing auras flare, sharp and hostile.
Mr. K tilted his head, voice cool and measured. “A criminal… like you?” His words carried no anger, no heat—only emptiness.
He snapped his fingers. “Varek.”
A burly man with a massive scar stepped forward and unrolled a bundle of papers. Each sheet held finely sketched portraits.
Iryoku and the girls stiffened when they saw the faces.
The man read aloud: “Iryoku Taiyou. Yumi Chiisai. Reika Rizumu. Alessandra Mamoru. The traitorous Princess Agnes. Extremely dangerous criminals. Crimes against the kingdom and crown: conspiracy, theft, assassination, corruption, terrorism. Wanted for the killing of Maximilian Maxwell, the assault on the royal castle, the deaths of countless warriors, and leaving the castle in ruins. Reward: one hundred gold coins per person.”
Moto’s gang brightened; greed lit their faces. Murmurs rippled through the ranks:
“Ha—so it really is them. The ones all the knights want.”
“We’ve hit gold!”
“So this was the boss’s plan?”
“Yeah, but why the hell do we have to work with those demi-humans? Wouldn’t it be better to take ’em ourselves?”
“They even pissed off the Death Tree’s people…”
Moto flared his energy, aura snapping outward like a whip. The bandits froze, silenced.
Varek folded the papers away, his expression cold and unreadable.
Iryoku’s lip curled as he shook his head. “So in the end… it all comes down to money.” A harsh laugh escaped him. “This just keeps getting better and better.”
He stepped forward, deliberate but coiled tight. He could feel Ligero’s bow trained on him, arrow ready to strike.
Locking eyes with Mr. K, his voice dropped low. “What exactly do you want from us?”
“Simple,” Mr. K replied, tone flat and deadly. “I need you to—”
But before he could finish—
A chill swept the canyon. Shadows streaked overhead. Small objects hurtled down.
Iryoku and Mr. K’s eyes widened. Their hands moved instinctively to strike, then stopped—recognition halting them in the same instant. The others weren’t as quick.
Everyone froze. Ligero loosed his bow. Yumi, along with archers and mages from both factions, fired upward in a storm of light and steel.
The projectiles burst apart—black ichor and shattered shells raining down. Half-formed creatures writhed grotesquely before exploding into fragments, spraying gore across the canyon floor.
“Shit…” Iryoku hissed. Eggshells. Blood. Hatchlings.
Then the cry split the sky.
A monstrous shadow plummeted from above—the griffon. It had seen its eggs destroyed again, smelled the blood of its offspring.
Its screech shook the cliffs as it dived, wings blotting out the fading sun, fury incarnate. Its body was still riddled with scars from the battle against the Death Tree knights.
“That’s what you get…” a deep voice rumbled from the forest.
Iryoku’s mind raced. One of them survived?
And then—more followed.
A spear of light shot skyward from the treeline, blooming into a black silhouette that hung in the sky like a false sun.
“The fuck is that!?” someone shouted.
“Motherfucker!” Moto roared, Leben flooding into his gauntlets.
The griffon slammed down at him, talons glowing with raw force. Moto braced—
—but Mr. K was faster. He dashed, rapier flashing, intercepting the blow at the last instant. His defensive technique detonated in a brilliant flare, unleashing a shockwave that hurled warriors off their feet. The canyon floor cracked under the pressure.
The griffon reeled back, screeching, blood spilling from a fresh gash along its forearm.
“Gwwrrraaaaal!” The sound was a grotesque blend of eagle’s scream and lion’s roar.
Mr. K reset his stance, blade steady for the next strike—when a throwing knife whistled from behind, aimed at both him and Moto. He twisted, parrying in a flash, just in time to glimpse Iryoku vaulting onto the armored carriage.
“Go!” Iryoku barked.
The girls scrambled aboard as Rhogan surged forward, wheels rattling over stone.
But a gorilla-like warrior woman charged to block their path. At that same instant, a red-haired figure slammed down in front of her—Goka, greatsword blazing with raw energy.
Alessandra met her head-on, mace raised and burning with power. Their weapons collided in a thunderous shockwave that cracked the ground.
“Get the hell out of our way!” Alessandra roared, straining against Goka’s brute strength.
From above, Ligero loosed a flurry of arrows with lightning speed—one aimed straight at Alessandra’s back—
—but another arrow intercepted midair. More followed in a rapid volley, forcing Ligero to duck for cover. His sharp eyes widened: Yumi stood tall on the carriage, bow glowing, gaze cold and unshaken as it locked onto him.
Chaos erupted. Agnes urged Rhogan forward, steering hard to bypass Alessandra and Goka’s clash.
Iryoku leapt from the carriage, daggers flashing as he closed on Goka’s face. She snarled, raising her shield brimming with Ruach. “Stupid runt!”
But it was a feint.
Iryoku grabbed Alessandra by the waist, yanking her close. With a snap of his harpoon tethered to the racing carriage, they shot backward, the wind whipping past them, the thunder of the carriage and the clash of weapons echoing through the canyon.