Chapter 95: Silver Plan
Far beyond the borders of Kingsville...
Beyond the scorched earth where countless battles had been fought...
Beyond the jagged craters carved into the land by explosions powerful enough to reshape the terrain itself...
There was silence.
Not the comforting silence that came with peace, nor the calm that followed victory.
This silence was hollow.
Empty.
It was the kind that lingered after death had already finished its work.
Nearly eight hours had passed since the battle.
The wind swept across the devastated wasteland, carrying loose dust through shattered rock formations and over countless bodies that would never rise again.
Whoooooosh...
The battlefield no longer resembled the place where warriors had clashed only hours before.
It had become little more than a graveyard.
Then—
Shk....
A finger twitched.
Slowly...
Painfully...
A bloodied hand dug into the cracked earth.
Crunch...
Mirage gritted his teeth as trembling muscles strained beneath the weight of his own body. Every movement sent waves of agony through his battered frame, but he refused to stay down.
With a sharp exhale, he forced himself onto one knee.
"...Tch..."
Fresh blood dripped from his chin, splashing quietly against the dirt below.
His breathing was uneven, his vision blurred.
For several seconds, the entire world spun around him before finally settling into focus.
"...Damn..."
He slowly lifted his head and looked across the battlefield.
His eyes widened.
"...What..."
The battlefield hadn't simply been destroyed.
It had been demolished.
Entire sections of land had disappeared beneath enormous craters. Jagged cliffs had been split apart. Mountains of rubble stretched toward the horizon, leaving almost nothing recognizable behind.
"...Those bastards..."
Fragments of memory flashed through his mind. A blur moving faster than sight.
Crushing pressure that stole the breath from his lungs.
An overwhelming force that refused to let him recover.
His eyes snapped fully open.
"...Shogun..."
He immediately turned.
"...Baekho..."
For the first time since the battle ended...
Urgency replaced composure.
Mirage stumbled across the uneven ground, nearly losing his balance several times as exhaustion threatened to pull him back down.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
Each breath burned inside his chest.
"...Where are you...?"
His eyes searched desperately through piles of broken stone and twisted debris.
Then...He saw them.
Two motionless figures lying several meters away.
"...Hey!"
Ignoring the pain screaming through his body, Mirage broke into a run.
His boots scraped across broken rock as he dropped to his knees beside them.
"...Shogun!"
No answer.
"...Baekho!"
Nothing.
The world suddenly became impossibly quiet. Even the wind seemed to stop.
"Gulp...."
Mirage swallowed hard.
His normally steady hands trembled ever so slightly as he reached toward Shogun's neck.
Two fingers rested against his pulse.
One second...
Two...
Then—
Thump.
A heartbeat, weak, but unmistakably alive.
"...Haah..."
A long breath escaped his lungs as relief washed over him.
Without wasting another moment, he turned toward Baekho and checked him as well.
Another pulse faint but steady.
Mirage leaned back onto the ground, closing his eyes briefly.
"...You idiots..."
A tired smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
"Don't scare me like that."
Several quiet moments passed.
Then—
"...Tch..."
Shogun groaned, his face twisting in discomfort as consciousness slowly returned.
"My head..."
Nearby, Baekho suddenly coughed violently before rolling onto his side.
"...That..."
He winced.
"...That really hurt..."
Mirage couldn't help letting out a short laugh.
"Good."
The two looked at him with confused expressions.
"If it hurts..."
He smirked despite the dried blood staining his face.
"...It means you're still alive."
Shogun slowly pushed himself into a sitting position, holding the side of his head.
"Barely."
Baekho rubbed the back of his neck before letting out a long sigh.
"Those guys..."
His expression became unusually serious.
"They weren't normal."
Mirage's eyes hardened.
"No."
He stared toward the distant horizon where Kingsville lay far beyond sight.
"They weren't."
Silence settled between the three of them.
Eventually, Mirage stood.
Every muscle protested, and every wound reminded him how close death had come.
Yet he remained standing.
"We're heading back."
Shogun looked up.
"Already?"
Mirage nodded once.
"We report directly to the Boss."
Baekho groaned loudly before collapsing backward onto the dirt again.
"...Can we eat first?"
Neither Mirage nor Shogun answered.
Baekho slowly opened one eye.
"...I'm starving."
Shogun let out a quiet snort.
"You're always starving."
Baekho glared weakly.
"We almost died."
He raised one finger dramatically.
"I deserve food."
Mirage pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing.
"...Fine."
He turned away.
"But make it quick."
* * *
Not far from the ruined battlefield, the landscape slowly changed.
The destruction gave way to a small clearing hidden between towering rocks.
A narrow stream wound peacefully through the area, its crystal-clear water untouched by the devastation surrounding it.
The sound alone felt almost unreal.
Splash... Splash...
Baekho wasted no time.
He dropped to his knees beside the stream, scooping handfuls of icy water into his mouth.
"...Ahhh..."
A satisfied grin spread across his face.
"Now that's living."
Shogun crouched beside him, carefully washing dried blood from his face.
The crimson stains dissolved into the water, drifting downstream before disappearing completely.
He watched silently as the current carried away the evidence of battle.
"We got careless."
Mirage, standing just behind them, tore a strip of cloth from his damaged sleeve.
Riiip...
"No."
He knelt beside Shogun and began wrapping the wound around his shoulder with practiced precision.
"We were outmatched."
The words lingered heavily in the air.
Neither of them argued because they knew he was right.
Baekho splashed more water over his face before looking back.
"You think the Boss expected this?"
Mirage continued tightening the bandage.
His hands never stopped working.
"It doesn't matter."
He secured the knot.
"We failed."
Shogun clenched his jaw but remained silent.
Failure wasn't something the Silver Moon accepted lightly.
After tending to Shogun's injuries, Mirage moved to Baekho, inspecting the bruises scattered across his arms and ribs.
"We'll do better next time."
His voice remained calm teady.
Certain.
"We won't lose again."
* * *
As darkness slowly spread across the sky, the trio gathered around a small campfire hidden within the clearing.
Crackle... Pop...
Orange flames danced against the cool evening air.
Shogun quietly turned strips of meat over the fire while the rich aroma slowly filled the campsite.
Baekho leaned comfortably against a large boulder, his arms folded behind his head as he stared lazily at the stars beginning to appear overhead.
After a long silence, he spoke.
"You think they'll come after us?"
Mirage stood a short distance away with his back to the fire, gazing into the endless darkness beyond the clearing.
His answer came without hesitation.
"They will."
Another quiet pause followed.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"That guy..."
His voice became noticeably colder.
"...Daito."
Shogun looked up from the fire.
"...Yeah."
Baekho chuckled softly.
"I actually liked him."
Mirage didn't smile.
His expression remained unreadable as sparks drifted upward into the night sky.
Crackle...
"Next time..."
His voice cut through the silence like ice.
"...We kill him."
No one laughed and no one argued.
The three warriors sat quietly around the fire, each nursing wounds that would take weeks to heal.
Bruised.
Broken.
Exhausted.
But alive.
And beneath that fragile silence...Something darker continued to grow.
Because none of them believed this battle had truly ended.
It had merely paused.
As the campfire continued to burn beneath the night sky, the members of the Silver Moon prepared themselves for the next phase of their mission.
They would return to their base.
They would report to their Boss.
And whatever awaited them there...Would be far more dangerous than the battle they had barely survived.
To be continued.....