Boom, boom, boom...
A long series of explosions came from outside the city.
The Krieg Pirates had set the Grey Terminal on fire. Only a few hours were left on his main quest's timer. After three days of planning, it was finally time to act.
Ender walked through the growing darkness, moving toward the city gate.
--
Outside the city, at the trash dump.
The explosions were now nonstop. Fire shot high into the sky, and large amounts of burning trash flew up. The poor people sleeping in the dump were woken up by the sudden noise. The fire quickly began to spread across the mountain of trash.
By the time the poor people realized what was happening and tried to run out of their homes, the fire had already spread everywhere. Screams of pain mixed with the sounds of the blasts, creating a scene like hell. If hell existed, the trash dump was it right now.
The Krieg Pirates watched the fire spread across the dump and quickly moved toward the city gate. They had talked with Ender before. Once the dump was burning, they were supposed to go straight to the gate, and Ender would send someone to open it.
Krieg would never agree to leave his life in someone else's hands. So, after the meeting, Ender sent his "trusted aid," Hank, to go with the Krieg Pirates. Hank was now dressed up like a pirate and walked behind Krieg.
"Hurry! The fire is going to spread soon, and then we'll be in danger!" Krieg shouted. His crew members sped up their pace.
Three minutes later, the Krieg Pirates reached the outside of the city gate. When they arrived, the pirates were smiling. They had done the job, and now they just needed to enter the city and start their good lives. Krieg especially was dreaming about life as a noble: a fancy home, fine food, and women around him. At that moment, Krieg even thought about quitting being a pirate forever.
Bang, bang, bang~.
Krieg pounded on the city gate.
"Open the gate! We are the Krieg Pirates. The trash dump is on fire!"
After Krieg knocked, there was a deadly silence. Other than the night wind moving the flames, it was quiet inside the city.
"Hey! Open up fast! The fire is coming for us!"
It stayed silent. Krieg started to panic. Behind him was the fire that ate everything, and in front of him was the strong city gate. They were trapped. They would be burned alive soon. "What's going on? Why isn't the gate opening?"
Krieg's eyes were bloodshot. Like an angry animal, he turned and stared at Hank. Hank's lips were pale. He had been sent outside by Ender and was just a regular guard. He knew nothing about the King not planning to keep his promise.
"No, no way. Wait, just wait for me, I'll try."
Hank could barely speak. He had a vague idea of what happened.
Bang, bang, bang.
"Open the door! I'm Hank from the guard team! Hakuitsu, you come out! Come out!"
Hank started screaming, dropping the "Sir" from Ender's name.
"Hakuitsu, I'm going to kill you!"
Krieg realized Ender had tricked him. They were just pieces in a game, meant to be sacrificed. His bloodshot eyes turned to Hank.
"Burn. Him. Alive!"
As Krieg slowly spoke those words, his men quickly tied Hank up. A few men worked together to throw Hank into the nearby sea of fire.
"Ah! It wasn't my fault! Hakuitsu, you'll have a terrible death!"
The fire began to "kiss" Hank's skin. His terrible screaming lasted for about ten seconds before stopping.
Just as the Krieg Pirates were about to give up hope, a deep male voice came from the city wall.
"Hey, people below! Want to live?"
Everyone at the city gate flinched.
"Who is that? Show yourself!"
Krieg was losing control. He used the light from the fire to look up at the wall. It was a thin, middle-aged man. Just as Krieg was about to speak, one explosive barrel after another was thrown down from the wall.
Seeing the barrels of explosives land, Krieg felt a chill. With a sea of fire behind them, someone was trying to blow them up.
"Blow up the gate, and you'll have a small chance."
After saying that, the middle-aged man on the wall ducked back and disappeared into the darkness.
After hesitating for less than two seconds, Gin was the first to rush to the barrels. He lined up the explosives by the city gate. Anxious voices could be heard from inside the gate. It seemed people inside had found out what was happening outside.
Krieg ripped off his black cloak, showing his yellow armor. He lifted his arm, and a bullet shot toward the explosive barrels.
Boom!
The force of the blast pushed the Krieg Pirates back quickly. Some unlucky pirates were hit and killed by the flying pieces from the explosion. The hundreds of pirates lost at least a dozen men in that one blast.
But it was worth it, because the city gate was now blown open. Behind the broken gate were a few shattered bodies; they were the guards of the gate team. The Krieg Pirates stepped over the broken gate and walked into the capital. They were an angry crew, and they planned to burn, kill, and steal inside the royal city.
"Hey! Stop right there!"
Krieg looked into a dark corner, held out his arm, and aimed the gun on his shoulder forward.
"Don't shoot! I'm the one who saved you."
The middle-aged man from the wall walked out of the darkness, with fear in his eyes.
"Why did you save me? I don't know you." Krieg kept his weapon raised.
"I hate Hakuitsu. An enemy of my enemy is my friend."
A cruel smile appeared on Krieg's face.
"Where is Hakuitsu?"
"In the royal palace. He is getting a reward from the King. I heard he was given the noble title."
The words "reward" and "noble title" angered Krieg, because those things should have been his.
Bang
A gunshot went off. A hole as big as a fist appeared in the middle-aged man's chest. Krieg had shot the man who saved him.
"You jerk! You dared to throw bombs at me! Did you want to kill me?"
After that, Krieg took his men and rushed toward the royal palace. He planned to kill Hakuitsu, kill the King, and steal everything from the palace to make up for what he lost today.
The middle-aged man fell to the ground, blood running from his mouth, and his body kept twitching. As he watched the Krieg Pirates run away, the man's eyes began to close.
Just then, a young man with a cigarette in his mouth walked out of the dark corner.
"Give... give the money to my wife and daughter. I did what you asked."
Ender crouched in front of the man and blew out a puff of smoke.
"You did well. The money has been given to them."
"That's great. Thank you, thank you."
After saying that, the middle-aged man's eyes completely went dark. He died from Krieg's bullet. This middle-aged man was a prisoner on death row that Ender had saved from jail. The whole thing was just a trade. Ender gave money, and the man gave his life. A trade that was both fair and unfair.
Watching the Krieg Pirates leave, Ender dropped the cigarette from his hand and stepped on it.
"Krieg Pirates, don't let me down."
Ender disappeared into the night, hurrying toward the royal palace.