Chapter 127: Captured
The moment the order was given, the Skull Fangs members exchanged glances before breaking into loud, mocking laughter, clearly convinced that the situation was nothing more than entertainment for them.
One of them stepped forward, licking his lips as his gaze roamed shamelessly over Elaine’s body. "Well, well... if it isn’t the pretty little doctor who couldn’t even pay her debts. What brings you here, sweetheart? Come to beg for mercy?"
Another bandit snorted, nudging his companion with his elbow. "Mercy? Nah, she’s probably here to settle the payment the only way she can. Heard her clinic went up in flames. Guess selling that body is all she’s got left."
A third man let out a crude laugh, gripping his weapon loosely as if he didn’t consider her a threat at all.
"Why make this difficult, bitch? Drop the gun and spread your legs. We might even be gentle... if we’re in a good mood."
More laughter erupted from the group, their expressions twisted with anticipation and cruelty.
To Gideon, they looked less like men and more like a pack of starving beasts circling their prey. The way their eyes lingered on Elaine made his stomach churn with disgust.
He tightened his grip on his rifle, the urge to massacre every single one of them rising sharply within him. It took effort to remain hidden and trust Elaine’s judgment.
Elaine, however, remained completely unfazed. She simply tilted her head, as if mildly amused by their words. Then, with deliberate calm, she raised her gun and pointed the muzzle directly at them.
"I do intend to repay my debt," she said coolly, her voice steady and devoid of fear. A faint, dangerous smile touched her lips. "With all of your lives."
The laughter faltered, Elaine moved before they could even open their mouths. She fired, each suppressed shot finding its mark. Two men dropped instantly, their bodies collapsing before they even understood what had happened.
She shifted to the side with swift movement, avoiding the first wave of return fire as bullets struck the ground where she had been standing only a heartbeat earlier.
From his concealed position behind the generator building, Gideon’s eyes widened slightly before he steadied his rifle. He kept his breathing even, tracking the men attempting to flank her.
If he couldn’t fight with her side by side then, he would protect her from behind carefully so no one would realize something was wrong.
’They won’t,’ he thought, ’too busy with her, except for that Piggy.’
Still, when one bandit raised his weapon at Elaine’s exposed back, Gideon fired. The man fell silently, his body crumpling without drawing attention. Another followed, then another, each eliminated before they could threaten her.
Elaine discarded her rifle once its magazine ran dry and drew her pistol. She advanced instead of retreating, weaving through the chaos with agility, it was faster than everyone Gideon saw fighting before.
A Skull Fangs’ member lunged at her with a machete, but she pivoted on her heel and drove her boot into his knee. As he staggered, she fired a single shot into his chest before turning to engage another attacker.
"Where’s that mocking laugh and cocky smile I’ve seen before?" she smirked with satisfaction, kicking the corpse of the man that insulted her before.
All of them gritted their teeth, couldn’t believe being pressed by a single woman.
Gunfire erupted from multiple directions. Elaine ducked behind a crate, the wood splintering under the impact of bullets.
One round grazed her upper arm, tearing through the fabric of her sleeve and drawing a thin line of blood, but she showed no sign of slowing down.
"Hah! You are not so great after all." said the man who was able to wound her.
But Elaine didn’t comment or even heard his words at all. She rolled to the side, emerged from cover, and fired twice, dropping two more bandits who had attempted to rush her position.
She stomped on the man who wounded her earlier and said, "So do you." She pointed her pistol at his head before shooting it.
"Fucking hell, she is so cool," Gideon murmured, the excitement rising. "What a shame I can have more fun, but for now, this is enough."
Gideon continued to provide silent support, his eyes scanning constantly for threats approaching from behind her. He felt a strange sense of synchronization with her movements, as if they were dancing through the battlefield.
Whenever an enemy slipped into her blind spot, he eliminated the threat with a suppressed shot. The bandits were too focused on Elaine to realize that death was also coming from the shadows.
As the distance between Elaine and her attackers narrowed, she holstered her pistol and drew her knife.
One man managed to close in, swinging the butt of his rifle toward her head. She ducked under the attack and drove her blade into his abdomen, twisting it before pushing him aside.
Another attempted to grab her from behind, but she reacted instantly, slamming her elbow into his jaw and following with a swift kick to his chest that sent him sprawling to the ground. She retrieved her pistol mid-motion and fired downward, ending the struggle.
Despite her agility, not every bullet could be avoided. Another round grazed her thigh, forcing her to shift her stance briefly, yet she continued moving with unwavering determination.
To Gideon, she looked less like a lone fighter and more like a force of nature, cutting through the bandits with effectiveness and cruelty.
However, the Skull Fangs’ numbers were overwhelming. More men poured into the open area, forming a tightening circle around her.
’Damn, should I run to her and use my teleportation skill? Direct combat like this won’t work in one versus thirty men.’ he thought already wanted to buy it from the Infinite Shop.
The boss, the woman Elaine had mockingly called "piggy," watched from a short distance, her expression darkening as the bodies of her subordinates accumulated.
"This is ridiculous!" she shouted, slamming her folded fan against her palm. "Move faster! Stop playing around and kill her already!"
The command caused a brief shift in the bandits’ attention as they reorganized, preparing to overwhelm Elaine with sheer numbers.
Gideon seized the moment, eliminating two more men who had begun to flank her, but even he could see that the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous. There were simply too many of them.
Then, in the instant when every eye turned toward their leader, Elaine acted.
With explosive speed, she broke through the nearest gap in the encirclement, using a fallen bandit as a stepping stone to propel herself forward. Before anyone could react, she closed the distance between herself and the boss.
The woman’s eyes widened in shock as Elaine’s fist connected with her face in a powerful punch that sent her crashing to the ground.
Elaine landed on top of her, pinning her beneath her weight. The surrounding bandits froze for a heartbeat, stunned by the sudden reversal.
From his hiding place, Gideon couldn’t help the faint grin that tugged at his lips. Even in the middle of chaos, Elaine had turned the tide with decisive precision or even worse one?
Elaine clearly released all of her pent-up anger on the Skull Fangs’ boss. She remained on top of the woman, her fists rising and falling relentlessly.
"This is for all the unreasonable interest you charged me, you asshole!" Elaine shouted, her voice sharp with fury as her fist slammed into the boss’s face.
She followed it with a harsh slap that sent ripples through the woman’s cheeks, the fat shaking grotesquely. "This one is for scaring my patients."
The boss’s mouth split open, blood spilling from her lips as she struggled beneath Elaine’s weight.
"And this one is for burning down my clinic and attacking my friend’s place."
Elaine’s next strike was even harder, the impact strong enough to knock several of the woman’s teeth loose. They clattered onto the ground as the boss let out a muffled cry of pain.
The surrounding Skull Fangs members rushed forward, attempting to pull Elaine away from their leader. Before they could intervene, several of them collapsed one after another.
From his concealed position behind the generator building, Gideon silently eliminated anyone who got too close, his suppressed rifle ensuring that the source of the attacks remained hidden.
The bandits grew increasingly confused, their attention divided between rescuing their boss and searching for the unseen assailant.
Just as Elaine raised her fist for another strike, the situation shifted abruptly. With surprising strength, the boss managed to twist her body and reverse their positions.
In an instant, the woman was on top of Elaine, pinning her to the ground. The sudden turn of events startled Gideon, his grip tightening around his rifle.
"Get her!" the boss snarled, blood dripping from her mouth. "And make sure she’s thrown into that damned jail. I’ll torture her myself!"
The bandits immediately obeyed, rushing forward to restrain Elaine. They forced her arms behind her back and bound her wrists tightly. Despite the opportunity to resist, Elaine did not struggle. Instead, she allowed herself to be dragged away, her expression calm and unreadable.
Gideon frowned in confusion. He had expected her to continue fighting, to break free as she had done countless times before. But this... she did this on purpose.
’The boss must have said something to her that I couldn’t hear,’ he thought, his mind racing. ’What should I do?’
He was left with only two choices: reveal himself and launch an immediate attack to rescue Elaine, or remain hidden and trust that she had a reason for her actions.
As the group dragged her past the generator building, Elaine’s gaze briefly met his. The connection lasted only a second, but it was enough. Her lips moved subtly, forming silent words meant only for him.
"Don’t move until I give you a sign."
Gideon understood instantly. He forced himself to remain still, suppressing the instinct to intervene.
Moments later, one of the bandits pulled a black hood over Elaine’s head, obscuring her from view as they continued toward the largest building at the bottom of the depression.