VROOOOM!
An armored vehicle suddenly plowed right through a barricade of wood scraps and debris, roaring off with a trail of trailing cars in tow as the southern camp of Void Fist was rapidly hurled away into the rear.
"Miris, tell me that fortress doesn't have something ridiculous like ballistic missile silos hidden inside or something, right?"
Putato stared at that citadel, which practically looked like an ironclad walking tank compared to any other gang's hideout, still finding it a bit hard to believe. "Or, I don't know, other heavy artillery?"
Miris, who was gripping the steering wheel, veered off the road and plowed straight through a patch of yellowed weeds. "Don't sweat it. If they had artillery of that caliber, only the Wings of the World would have the financial muscle to back it. Void Fist's bread and butter is still close-quarters combat."
"However, because of the ongoing war with the Thumb, they specifically deployed a squad of watchtower executioners equipped with custom-built firearms. But with your combat prowess, you don't really need to worry about that."
Even though Miris had gotten thoroughly beaten down by Putato the other day, seeing Putato fight alongside the Liu Association team meant the stronger he was, the better. At the very least, Miris figured the guy's weird white armor completely negated standard-issue ballistics anyway.
"The reinforcement convoy we're intercepting is most likely dedicated entirely to supply hauling. There should only be a single Executive leading the charge. Once we cut them off and blow up the cargo, we can just withdraw."
Noticing Putato looking unusually tense, Miris chimed in to try and ease the atmosphere.
After all, this commission was a pretty high-stakes military operation for the Liu Association. It was completely normal for a newcomer like Putato to feel a bit overwhelmed on his first major deployment.
"Watch out!"
With his Eye Wrap still on, Putato's enhanced visual acuity caught the enemy reinforcement convoy heading straight toward them from the opposite direction, flanked by four combat motorcycles scouting the sides.
Already, an executioner inside the lead vehicle had cranked open the side window and rested a ridiculously long-barreled rifle right across the door frame.
Startled by the warning, Miris anxiously glanced toward the oncoming convoy, but right as he went to ask a question, the entire car shook violently.
BANG!
The sudden, brutal side-skid sent the Fixers inside tumbling left and right. Putato, however, kicked the side door wide open and dropped down to inspect the damage. The front-right axle had already been blasted into twisted scrap metal, for that wasn't a standard bullet, but an explosive armor-piercing round!
"Miris! Keep the car steady!"
Instead of shouting the expected order to bail, Miris gritted his teeth and wrestled with the steering wheel, completely deferring to Putato's lead even though he was technically the acting commander of this op.
Pulling out his Spiral Spear, Putato gritted his teeth, smashed the front windshield with a swift blow, and yanked off his Eye Wrap, disregarding the showering shards of glass. He consciously forced his mind to recall various miserable, infuriating memories of The City, letting his Wrath steadily boil over.
He had already figured out a way to exercise a certain degree of control over the Brand of Fire. As long as he regulated the volume of distressing memories he recalled, he could keep it in check. Just thinking about all those deeply detestable things filled Putato's chest with a burning, volatile frustration begging to be vented.
Cremation Brand!
...
Inside the lead Void Fist vehicle, the long-range sniper executioner locked his crosshairs back onto the intruders. This time, he intended to blow out their other tire and immobilize the vehicle for good.
Right as his finger tightened around the trigger, a wash of tangerine-colored flames slithered up his rifle and scorched across his arm. Panicking, the executioner tried to drop the weapon and yank his body back inside the vehicle, but the suddenly erupting, greedy flames instantly engulfed him whole.
"Aaargh! Judge Ganan! Incident code...!"
Before he could finish broadcasting his distress signal, his entire body detonated like a string of firecrackers. Several other members inside the vehicle were instantly caught in the backdraft, and the lead transport flipped over, skidding hard onto the dirt.
The reinforcement convoy ground to a sudden halt right where they stood.
...
Miris managed to bring the vehicle to a shaky stop behind an embankment, but the car was too heavily damaged to push any further, as running on foot would literally be faster at this point. Glancing up at the situation across the wasteland, however, Miris's jaw dropped in sheer astonishment. "Nice work, Vanda! Let's dismount and engage!"
Across the barren wasteland, a chaotic combat zone instantly erupted, carved up by shockwaves of fist-pressure and howling tongues of flame.
Swinging his heavy, roaring chainsaw-blade in a brutal arc, Putato led a spearhead charge that nobody could block, rapidly outpacing the rest of the troops trailing behind him.
"Vanda, watch your six!"
Putato whipped his head around just in time to spot a figure suddenly materialize right behind him, someone he hadn't detected approaching in the slightest.
RIP!
The sturdy Gladiator Exoskeleton on his back was easily sliced open by a pristine white rapier, the tip lunging forward in an attempt to pierce clean through his torso.
Spinning around to sweep his Spiral Spear backward, Putato blinked in confusion when he found the enemy had vanished into thin air, leaving behind only a sonic boom as air rushed back to fill the void. Instantly, alarm bells blared in his head.
[Defeat this enemy!]
Even though Putato had already strictly conditioned his internal Prescript to maintain 360-degree perimeter vigilance at all times, he couldn't spot a trace of her. All around him were just Liu Association Fixers and Void Fist executioners locked in brutal close-quarters combat.
"By the authority of Judge Ganan, I order you to execute your duty and annihilate the assailant."
The cold, flat voice forced Putato to snap his head around, finally catching sight of a white-haired woman wielding a rapier. She was the only enemy present not wearing a low-cut knitted sweater. A dense string of medals was actually pinned directly onto the waistband of her black high-waisted cargo pants, and her white silk cloak was stained with a fresh, wet trail of blood.
Putato stared in mild surprise at Ganan, whose upper face was completely obscured by a solid black blindfold mask. Strangely enough, she gave off a weird sense of familiarity. But the next second, she blinked out of existence right before his eyes, instantly making his body tense up in utter disbelief.
Void Fist troops can turn invisible now?! That wasn't in the intel packet!
Damn it, Roland! I'm docking your pay when I get back!
SWISH, SWISH, SWISH!
Faced with Ganan's ghost-like, lethal thrusts, Putato was sweating bullets. He felt like a mortal peril was closing in on him every single microsecond, yet every time he snapped his eyes toward her, she vanished once more. This was the first time he had ever encountered an opponent whose movements completely outpaced his own visual tracking.
SQUELCH!
A blade thrusting from his blind spot pierced right through his exoskeleton's defense once again. The enemy's relentless, silent assault was pushing Putato past his limits. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly dropped his gaze to the dirt ground beneath his feet, flooding the gravel path with a massive, overlapping web of flame brands in an instant.
RUMBLE!
The violent explosion instantly blew Putato, who had braced himself for it, spinning backward through the air. For a split second, he lost all feeling in both legs. Gritting his teeth through the severe trauma, he yanked out his pneumatic syringe and jammed it into his thigh three times back-to-back. Combined with the regenerative kick of the Gladiator Exoskeleton, he forced himself back up to his feet.
Putato hurriedly snapped his gaze forward and, to his relief, spotted Ganan clutching her chest and dropping to one knee. She was leaning her rapier against the dirt as she hacked up a massive mouthful of blood, her expression completely devoid of emotion, before she blinked out of sight once more.
It's not high-speed movement, otherwise she definitely would've cleared the blast radius. Is it perceptual interference? But can a Backstreets Syndicate really get their hands on high-grade tech that can completely mask someone's presence like that?
Backing away slowly, Putato kept second-guessing the enemy's abilities, realizing this chick was a total nightmare to deal with. After all, even his Brand of Fire required time to brew up enough negative emotions to trigger, but at least he was tanky enough to take a beating.
"Vanda! Objectives are completely destroyed! Gather up and fall back!"
Miris's anxious shout rang out from the right side, but Putato didn't dare drop his guard for a second, instead shouting out a warning to the remaining Association Fixers to watch out for Ganan, who could reappear at any given second.
"By the authority of Judge Ganan, I order you to execute your duty and fall back."
Listening to her flat, devoid-of-frustration-or-regret voice, Putato suddenly realized she was hiding behind the transport wreck. Had Ganan somehow figured out the propagation mechanic of his brands during that brief, hyper-intense exchange just now?
Without a shred of hesitation, the executioners rapidly regrouped. The sky-shattering battlefield came to an abrupt, screeching halt simply because of a single order from her.
"Vanda, Director Xiao's already made her move! We need to fall back right now!"
Though Miris was still spooked by the Ganan situation Putato had warned him about, the main fortress was already under assault, and hanging around the enemy's rear guard any longer was a recipe for suicide.
"Let's go!"
...
Turning his head to glare at those people executing a disciplined retreat, Putato couldn't help but feel bewildered, as they were literally abandoning the main fortress entirely. That Judge Ganan looked completely different from the rest of the generic Void Fist grunts.
Shaking off the distraction, he snapped back to reality just in time to see Director Xiao wielding a golden-inscribed Guan Dao, utterly and violently smashing straight through a section of reinforced steel rampart wrapped in razor wire.
Damn!
That level of raw destructive power was pure, unfiltered Liu Association style.
"Vanda, you alright after tangling with that Ganan? That woman's a Judge. I was actually planning to bring reinforcements to back you up, but when I saw you standing your ground alone out there, I didn't dare interrupt and mess up your tempo."
Miris drove the battered vehicle over to the edge of the wasteland, then ordered the rear-guard squad to immediately reinforce the frontal assault line.
Putato patted his ash-covered chest. The wounds left by the rapier punctures had already closed up by more than half, and even the self-inflicted blast injuries were healing nicely at a rate of seventy to eighty percent. He responded with unwavering firmness: "I'm good. Let's push forward and catch up with Director Xiao."
Miris stared in sheer shock at Putato, who was already charging back into the fray, and silently cursed his own pride. During the chaotic melee, his legs had been torn up by two different Executives, staining his right pant leg crimson, but his stubborn ego refused to let him look weak at a time like this.
"Yaqi, stay behind and patch up these two heavily wounded guys! Everyone else, move out and catch up with Vanda!"
CRACKLE, POP!
The second they stepped inside the fortress, Putato was met with a chorus of crackling fires blazing all around, punctuated by the rhythmic, overlapping gunfire of rapid-fire weapons. Large groups of Liu Association Fixers and Void Fist members were locked in brutal, chaotic close-quarters brawls, completely abandoning any semblance of disciplined formation.
Just as Putato was wondering where he should head first to reinforce, Miris, who had finally caught up, shouted anxiously: "Vanda, please stick with me so we can rendezvous with Director Xiao! Because of that sudden intercept mission earlier, I never got the chance to properly brief you on the overarching strategic plan."
Withdrawing his Spiral Spear, Putato instantly grabbed his Crusher with both hands and swung it in a sweeping horizontal arc, batting away a volley of explosive rounds head-on. The two bullets that slipped past his guard left nothing more than shallow dents and a smudge of ash across his white armor before he sprinted forward through the chaotic battlefield.
"Right-hand iron ladder, climb up!"
Struggling behind him, Miris forcefully beat back three charging executioners before scrambling to keep pace with Putato's relentless stride.
Technically, he was supposed to be the guide leading the charge at the front. But Putato's heavy Crusher pulverized any enemy that dared approach with terrifying ease; even team-leading Executives couldn't stall him for even a fraction of a second. Struggling to keep up, Miris could only desperately yell out directions from behind.
BANG!
Operating at maximum speed, Putato slammed his foot down onto the expansive observation platform at the very top of the fortress, finally spotting Director Xiao locked in a tense standoff with a scarred man whose head she had nearly blown off. Panting heavily, Miris rushed over to explain: "That guy is Executive Geo. Back during the Smoke War, he was a representative for a mercenary faction."
"In Void Fist, the Grand Executioner, the Chief Archivist, and the Grand Judge were originally the exact same person. Because of that, these Executives are already the highest-tier targets we need to eliminate here. But don't let your guard down, as the medals on that guy outnumber the Judge's we saw earlier by a landslide!"
Putato didn't even need Miris to point it out. Looking up, he could clearly see that Geo was only wearing a simple black undershirt, his torso wrapped in layer upon layer of overlapping medals. If you didn't look closely, you'd honestly mistake them for some kind of massive, intricate body tattoo.
CRACK, POP!
The moment they stepped inside the fortress, Putato was greeted by a chorus of crackling flames and the rapid, rhythmic popping of gunfire. Masses of Liu Association Fixers and Void Fist operatives were completely locked in close-quarters chaos, utterly devoid of any formation. The entire interior courtyard of the stronghold had descended into total, unadulterated warfare.
Just as Putato was wondering where he should direct his support, a breathless Miris hurried over and shouted, "Vanda! From here on, please move with me to rendezvous with Director Xiao. Because of that sudden detour mission earlier, we never got a proper chance to go over the tactical blueprint together."
Pulling back his Spiral Spear, Putato immediately gripped his Crusher in both hands and swept it hard to the right, blocking a volley of exploding fragmentation rounds dead-center. The two stray bullets that bypassed his guard left nothing more than a faint dent and some ash on his white armor before he surged forward at a dead sprint across the chaotic battlefield.
"Right-hand iron staircase! Climb up!"
Trailing closely behind, Miris brute-forced his way past three executioners lunging at him before desperately trying to match Putato's blinding pace.
Technically, he was supposed to be the guide taking the point. But Putato's heavy Crusher effortlessly pulverized any enemy closing in; even when an Executive led the charge, they couldn't stall him for even half a second. Falling behind, Miris could only chase from the rear, panting heavily as he screamed out directions.
BANG!
Operating at full speed, Putato slammed a foot down onto the expansive observation platform at the absolute peak of the fortress, finally laying eyes on Director Xiao locking in a standoff with a scarred, burly man. Trailing not far behind, Miris panted as he rushed to explain: "That's Executioner Geo. Back during the Smoke War, he was a mercenary representative."
"The Chief Executioner, the Chief Archivist, and the Chief Judge in Void Fist are all held by the exact same person. Because of that, these executioners are already the highest-tier targets we're mandated to eliminate. But don't let your guard down, for that guy's chest is practically drowning in medals compared to the Judge we saw earlier!"
Miris didn't even need to spell it out. Putato raised his head and could clearly see that Geo was wearing nothing more than a black tank top. Layers upon layers of medals were pinned completely around both of his arms in tight, overlapping circles, and if you didn't look close enough, you'd mistake them for some kind of intricate, full-sleeved tattoo.
Spotted by Geo, the burly, scarred man smirked contemptuously as he ripped his tank top open, ordering the surrounding executioners and the remaining Executive to advance as one. "Hmph, the Liu Association, sent out here as cannon fodder by the Thumb? I figured as much!"
Stepping back cautiously, Xiao didn't dignify that with a response. Whether the client was connected to the Thumb or not, leaking classified intel like that was strictly against the rules.
However, Putato slipped his Eye Wrap back on and acutely noticed that the medals wrapping around both of Geo's arms were glowing with a familiar, faint crimson light, for it was Void Fist's signature authority suppression!
With an even more arrogant smirk, Geo kicked a Liu Association corpse right off the platform, wiped a smear of blood from the corner of his mouth, and cast a derisive glance over all the Fixers present. "You bunch of murder-for-hire mutts are honestly lower and filthier than any standard Syndicate. You're just cheap pawns hired by big shots to stir up trouble in The City."
"Now even Syndicates can boss you around? Do you punks really think you're worthy of squaring off against us? By the authority of Executioner Geo, slaughter every single one of these worthless wastes!"
Even standard Liu Association Fixers immediately noticed the crimson glow radiating from the enemy's medals flaring abnormally bright. An overwhelming, suffocating sense of pressure washed over them; even though Moonlight Stones were actively dampening it, it still left everyone on edge and deeply uneasy.
Her eyes narrowing as she sensed the anomaly, Xiao was just about to step in when Putato's voice rang out from the rear, dripping with absolute mockery and confidence.
"Is that the grand justification you used to throw Gandao and her branch camp out here to die?! Knowing full well you'd be targeted, you still sacrificed all those people just to try and buy time, even resorting to strapping explosives onto innocent civilians like a bunch of deranged cultists!"
"Once you finish sacrificing this lot, you'll just brainwash another batch of idiot executioners to throw into the meat grinder. You guys aren't even tools, for you're just a flock of sacrificial lambs for the Chief Executioner! Your only real purpose in life is letting your blood stain the pavement of The City!"
"I bet when your skeletons look up and watch the Chief Executioner living comfortably and peacefully enjoying life inside a Nest, you'll still puff out your chests with pride, won't you? At least the Associations are out here protecting the order of The City, instead of funding some coward's luxury villa!"
Not only did Director Xiao refrain from interrupting Putato's forward advance, but she actually stepped back by half a step, gripped her Guan Dao, and turned her head to cast a genuinely surprised look toward the notoriously infamous lone-wolf Fixer.
Putato hadn't even noticed Xiao's reaction, primarily because he could physically see the crimson glow on those executioners' medals steadily dimming and fading away, causing the oppressive aura weighing down on him to lift significantly.
He never in a million years would've guessed that this so-called "authority suppression" could actually be boosted or weakened purely through verbal trash-talk. No wonder the Thumb had never managed to completely wipe out these Smoke War veterans, as guys with hierarchical brainwashing baked straight into their bones were completely immune to logic, making them a nightmare to fight when their morale was through the roof.
BANG!
A crushing shockwave of fist-pressure far exceeding anything Putato had encountered before lunged straight at him, triggering his Hematic Pump on sheer reflex as he swung his Crusher with a violent, momentum-carrying howl.
Geo sneered, using his bare, hardened fist to block the roaring, spinning teeth of the Crusher head-on. Veins bulging on his temple, he threw a left hook straight toward Putato's head. "Punk, back when I was shipping out to the front lines, you were still sucking on a baby bottle! It's not your turn to run your mouth here!"
THUMP!
Putato suddenly clamped down with his Violent Knuckles. Compared to Geo's standard-looking fist, it looked unassuming, but the second they made contact, it generated a brutal, localized shockwave. The violent turbulence of compressed air instantly flattened the nearby flames downward against the steel plating.
"What the hell is that?!"
Geo stared in utter disbelief as Putato's golden-hued knuckles clamped onto his fists, directly crushing the black medals embedded across his knuckles.
This kid hadn't just survived taking a blow from him, for he was actually overpowering him in a pure strength contest!
Noticing the opportunity, Xiao, who had been busy keeping the remaining Executive occupied, shouted out an order to Miris: "Miris, take the squad and hold back the others!" Then, she suddenly flipped backward, pivoted on her heel, and swung her heavy Guan Dao in a devastating horizontal arc.
BANG!
Geo hurriedly threw up his hands to block, finding himself trapped in a two-pronged disadvantage against the duo in the blink of an eye. Things quickly escalated when Putato lunged forward and drove his Spiral Spear straight into Geo's midsection. Bellowing in rage, Geo roared out: "By the authority and duty of Executioner Geo, I am going to kill the both of you!"
The medals plastered all over his body violently pulsed like a swarm of beating hearts. A semi-translucent, purplish-red gauntlet materialized over both of Geo's arms. The next instant, he unleashed a full-power uppercut that caught Xiao right as she brought down her Guan Dao, sending her airborne and knocking her clear off the top observation platform entirely.
"Xiao!"
Putato nearly jumped out of his skin. This platform was a good four to five hundred meters up. Taking a fall like that straight down onto the concrete, even for a Grade 1 Fixer, would put them out of commission for a while, let alone in the middle of a deadly active warzone. Without missing a beat, he flicked his wrist and fired off a coil of Workshop Mindcord.
"Hmph! I've been with Void Fist for over five years! That punch had five years of seniority behind it, and stomping out trash like you is just part of my job description!"
Throwing another punch straight at Putato, Geo gritted his teeth, but unfortunately for him, the main body of Putato's Crusher was forged from ultra-heavy alloy. Bracing his weight, Putato only slid back a few inches.
Down at the edge of the platform, Xiao managed to stay calm, driving her Guan Dao into the wall to halt her momentum. Spotting the descending steel thread dangling down from above, she grabbed hold of it, swung her body upward, and flipped back onto the platform surface. The second she landed, she looked up and saw Putato hauling hard on the Mindcord, using the pulley-like tension to yank her body straight up into the air.
Quick on the draw, Xiao shouted at the top of her lungs: "Vanda! Strike his flank!" Even as she spoke, she executed a mid-air somersault and slashed downward straight toward Geo's head.
She had already figured it out: while the areas around Void Fist operatives' embedded medals possessed absurdly high durability, their unadorned defensive blind spots were relatively fragile.
SQUELCH!
Before Geo could recover from blocking the aerial Guan Dao strike, the ferocious, roaring chainsaw teeth bit straight into his flank with unstoppable momentum. Even though it hit bone, it ground right through the calcium instantly. Just as it was about to sever his waist completely, a pair of purplish-red gauntlets slammed down, knocking the blade off course.
With his midsection and flank completely mangled and bloody, Geo collapsed heavily onto the platform deck in a pathetic heap, his own blood rapidly soaking through more than half of his body.
"Damn you... Corporate mutts! Cough, cough, cough!"