"Looking for me, Kornai?"
Fury bubbled in his blood. Veins swollen with rage and hatred wrapped around his arms, neck, and face like thick worms. Having taken a shock dose of battle brews made from poisonous mushrooms and Akk dog stomach acid, Ridan could barely restrain himself from impulsive actions. His entire body had turned into a coiled spring that lacked only a single push.
The bone prosthesis in place of his arm glinted with dried blood. The swollen limb was covered in bruises and suspicious discharge.
The old warrior's heart beat in a frantic rhythm, and his lungs lacked air, causing him to breathe like a hunted horse. Trails of sweat covered his back, and the reddened whites of his eyes brought the image of a crazy old man to perfection.
"There he is... It's definitely him. Bastard. Murderer!"
Thoughts tangled and jumped. The fingers of his healthy hand gripped the spear shaft tightly. Feeling the familiar weight, Ridan was able to pull himself together and look at his main enemy with a new gaze. The man responsible for the deaths of too many.
Before him stood a warrior. Ready for battle and confident. A boy, albeit a strong one. How many such had risen against the hunter, he couldn't even count... But this one stands here now, while all who challenged him rest among the roots of the Great Forest.
"Leader of the Iron Men," circling his opponent, Ridan examined the cracked visor of the helmet. Every chip, every crack—nothing escaped the eyes of the veteran warrior. "Today you die... For my sons. For all the good Korunnai who fell because of you."
Spinning the spear, Ridan grinned in anticipation. His blood boiled, and his lips curved into a bloodthirsty smile against his will. The old man knew he wouldn't live. The battle cocktail in his blood, which had temporarily returned to him the strength of thirty years ago, was devouring his flesh, crushing his organs, and poisoning his blood. Every second of delay brought the inconsolable father closer to his end, but he still didn't hurry. He nurtured and savored the moment, which gave him joyful goosebumps across his body.
He would die himself. But before his gruesome end, he would take the life of the one who had brought him so much pain.
The muscles under the black skin tensed. Steel cables of muscle moved across his body, preparing for a pounce. Ridan calculated his chances, imagined the picture of the battle, and made small plans for how to act in one situation or another.
His enemy, meanwhile, stood still. Slanting a strange weapon with a drum mechanism over his shoulder, he slowly turned following the old man, not letting the latter get behind his back.
The enemy's entire posture expressed carelessness and ease; he seemed not to recognize a worthy foe in the old hunter.
"The stupidity of a young upstart. Like a young and hot grass-trekker... Well, it will be even easier that way."
Shifting his grip on the spear for a throw, Ridan already wanted to take a combat stance to hurl his beautiful weapon straight into the alien's chest...
When the Leader of the Iron Men dropped the rifle from his shoulder, spun it on one hand, and grabbing the forend with the other, fired from the hip.
Thunder hit his ears, and with it came pain. The old hunter's body was thrown back a good five meters. With his back, he collected a multitude of shards and debris, kicking up dust and dirt; scattering his own innards and blood across the area, the last member of his Ghosh froze as a grotesque figure. Pitiful and weak.
Through half-closed eyelids, he saw the enemy looming over him, pressing the rifle muzzle to his forehead. He felt the cold steel against his skin and the warm blood spreading beneath him.
"Kahim..."
Attempting to stand, Ridan discovered with surprise the absence of one arm. In an attempt to lean on it, he tumbled forward, hitting his face against the dirty ground. Dying, the one-armed hunter saw only dirty steel boots before his eyes.
****
"Fucking savages. Did he seriously think I was going to fight him in hand-to-hand?"
Kicking the body of the Horde Chieftain, I flip the man onto his back, staring intently at his deformed body. The shot from the rifle Mizuna gave me was impressive. Half the chest was blown to hell, and an arm lay separate from the body.
I admit I even got a little spooked when the old man started moving with such wounds. All Korunnai are Force-sensitive, and who knows what kind of ritual the natives performed over their generally recognized Chieftain.
"Alright, time to finish all this crap." Turning on the PDA, I contact orbit using commander protocols. The minute of waiting didn't last long, so soon my signal was received by the fleet commander left in charge by Somnia. "Time to start, Admiral. We've gathered enough locals in one spot."
"Glad to hear it, Commander. We were getting bored up here, hanging around with nothing to do."
"Ha, just don't fuck it up now." Having forwarded the latest relevant data, I feel something is wrong. "Proceed with the plan. Out."
Without listening for an answer, I cut the connection.
My heart grew uneasy. Something was bothering me, and my gut was howling like a siren, warning of danger. Having saved me from trouble more than once or twice, my sixth sense's opinion was never pushed to the background, so I stood ready, starting to sweep the rifle muzzle in different directions.
I called for a couple of drones and a Helldiver squad to my position via internal channels, and they promised to arrive within a couple of minutes...
But when a violet saber ignited in the shadows of the ruins, I realized my "cavalry" might not make it in time.
The long, humming blade dispelled the gloom. Somber colors, projected by the flickers from the lightsaber, played with my imagination. It created the impression that shadows were thickening around the dark-skinned Jedi, and the ruins were inhabited by spirits and ghosts following at his heels.
The ruins shuddered. Small stones shook and rolled down with a crash, while a wind rose around the lone figure. It sucked in everything lying around, filling itself with dirt, dust, and blood.
It grew darker around us, and the sun quite conveniently hid behind the clouds, leaving us both in the twilight, with only the violet flame of the lightsaber flickering before my eyes like a beacon in the night.
Slowly, demonstratively raising the saber to his face, Mace Windu gripped it with two hands and stopped it opposite his face in a vertical grip. His eyes slowly opened their lids, and a pair of pupils with characteristic yellowness stared at me.
"Oh, for fuck's sake..."
A characteristic hum was my answer. Frowning, Windu lunged forward, covering twenty meters in a couple of seconds.
"Bitch," raising the rifle, I fired blindly, sending the entire remaining contents of the drum at the Jedi. Frantically jerking my hand, firing one massive bullet after another, I barely manage to jerk back when the signature monastic blade flashed before my face.
Tumbling to the ground, I roll to the side, and Windu crashes down onto the spot where I landed, piercing the earth with his saber. A wave of the Force went out around him, snapping stones and soil, and simultaneously throwing everything to the sides.
Swinging the saber, pulling it out of the ground in one motion and immediately attacking, the Korunnai bore down on me with his whole body, trying to hack off my legs.
Frantically crawling away, I activate the Jump Pack to instantly roll across the ground while the stupid device stubbornly dragged me further.
But I didn't fly far. The cursed Force fixed me in flight, obeying the fallen Jedi's command. Frozen a meter above the ground, jerking my arms and legs like a kitten picked up by the scruff of its neck.
"Get it together!"
Giving myself a mental slap, I draw the pistol from my belt and start shooting at the approaching figure with the outstretched hand. The first shots go wide, while the next five are reflected in all directions, starting the show.
The lightsaber hummed—aggressive, cruel, and mercilessly approaching me. Like a swarm of glowing bees, it relentlessly drew near, already starting to deflect the shots back in my direction.
"Commander!"
A rocket hit Windu from the side. Catching it in mid-air, he deflected its flight and let the projectile fly past, exploding somewhere within the city limits. Turning sharply, the enraged Korunnai tore toward the Helldivers who had reached me...
And without looking, hacked the first two into mincemeat. Mincing my men with the saber, the former Jedi smiled fiercely, bulging his eyes and occasionally growling like a wild beast. The violet saber hummed and raged as Mace severed the soldiers' limbs.
The third of the squad he crushed into the ground with the Force, then lifted him into the air and began to demonstratively squeeze, compressing the armor and squeezing the life out of the man... literally.
"Die, you fucking monster!" The last one barely managed to draw a flamethrower before the saber, launched into flight, sliced off half his skull. The light stick crossed the protection of everyone without any problems and returned to the outstretched hand, flying straight into the palm.
The flamethrower's body fell heavily to the ground, burying the weapon beneath it.
Tossing aside the body of the dead wretch whom the Korunnai had crumpled in his own armor, the Jedi turned back to me again, and now the yellowness in his eyes was even more distinct. Curling his lips in disgust and contempt, he spun the saber, already heading in my direction much more confidently.
"Goddamn wizards... Fucking sorcerer, take this!"
A couple of thermal detonators went under the Korunnai's feet, while I was already running for the dropped rifle. A forward roll coincided with the explosions behind my back, which went off suspiciously close. Grabbing Mizuma's gift, I drop to one knee and start loading the drum, feeling the approaching steps.
My gut howled, and I flattened myself against the ground, evading the lightsaber that whistled over the crown of my head. The violet flame singed my helmet, but the main thing was—I stayed alive.
Flipping onto my back, I kick Windu in his supporting leg and start emptying the drum at point-blank range. Shrapnel cuts my own armor. The muzzle begins to deform.
And he doesn't give a damn. Extending his hand, he takes all the shots on a Force shield that is barely discernible in the air. Only a gray, barely noticeable ripple with every shot...
A step forward, and Mace delivers a convoluted strike. Jerking my hands, I put the rifle under his lunge, which is sliced into three pieces. The stock and the long barrel fall at my feet, while the central part falls onto my chest.
I squirm with my limbs, crawling to the side to dodge a new lunge, but then I am swept away by a kinetic wave that slams my miserable body back-first into the debris of a house.
Exhaling painfully, I look with mounting rage at Mace Windu, who has leaped into the air. The jerk jumped nearly five meters into the sky, then gripped his saber with both hands and raised it over his head, clearly intending to split me in half.
"Not a chance, bastard."
A Drone slammed into Mace's body from the side. The small machine, armed with a pair of blaster rifles, tried to gun down the Korunnai at point-blank range, but was swatted away with one powerful blow. The saber flew from the Jedi's hands, and he grabbed the Drone with both hands, tearing it in half.
The wind around him intensified, creating a small hurricane, while the shadows only continued their mocking dance more actively.
But your humble servant wasn't sitting still. Bolting to the side, I flip over the body of a dead flamethrower soldier and, grabbing his weapon, fly up onto the nearest roof.
I barely managed to take a steady position before the house shuddered from an impact. A wave of air punched through the first wall and thoroughly shredded the next, forcing the battered building to tilt dangerously.
"Why won't you just give up?" The question went unanswered, and I jumped further, gaining acceleration and assisting myself with my jetpack. Several Drones streaked past me, opening erratic fire in pathetic attempts to shoot down the Korunnai chasing me. "Altman to all units, beginning the final phase. Everyone retreat to the city center. Aviation is cleared for any actions..."
Barking orders into the microphone, I didn't forget to dodge, letting boulders and debris, generously sent at my back by a hand, fly past me. Huge beams punched through houses, mercilessly killing anyone who happened to be in the way.
Mace Windu had completely lost his mind, and he had only one single goal before his eyes.
A Pelican flew overhead. Hovering above us, it opened fire with its door-mounted machine gun, but a purple flash stopped its flight. The Jedi saber sliced off the tail, sending the ship into an uncontrolled fall.
In the background, on the outskirts of the city, the first scarlet explosions began to bloom. From orbit, they opened precision fire on the ground, tightening the circle around the capital and killing every living thing in the bombarded sectors.
Bright beams connected the ships and the planet. Hundreds of missiles, plasma bolts, and bombs rained down on the Korunnai camps, burning them to a crisp.
Literally roaring at the sight, the Jedi accelerated his run, denting the roof with every step and literally smashing through obstacles with his body.
His saber occasionally flashed on the periphery, parrying shots, Drones, and the debris of collapsing buildings.
Another jump on the jetpack, then another and another... I climbed higher and higher, jumping up, hoping the stubborn Korunnai would leave me alone.
Glancing behind my back, I felt like swearing. With a wave of his hand, the bastard created a staircase of stones and debris, which he used to catch up to me very quickly, jumping five or six meters at a time.
"Monks... Yeah, fucking right."
Running into the ruined tower of the Judicial Forces, I begin to work "real magic" with the flamethrower, overloading its systems and forcibly bringing the high-tech weapon to the point of explosion.
"Come on... Come on!"
The walls behind my back shattered into grit. Debris riddled the ruins of the top floor where I had tried to take cover. The hum of the lightsaber was getting closer, while I continued to focus intently on the flamethrower.
A couple more Drones flew past me, buying the last few seconds. Firing started behind me, but the pathetic pips of the blasters paled in comparison to the thunderous explosions from the ship cannons pounding the Pelek Baw area.
"YES!"
Having completed my plan, I barely had time to turn around before a Force Push slammed me into the wall, punching my body right through it. The armor was giving off warning signals, the internal interface of the helmet turned red, and everything started to swim before my eyes.
Through blurred vision, I saw only the approaching lightsaber, which was getting closer with every second. Mace Windu was in no hurry; he was stretching out the moment, savoring the victory in his hunt...
Fool.
Crawling to the side, I drag my body to the edge, then roll over it, falling from the height of the sixth floor. Sobbing painfully, I hold back a scream as the jetpack levels my position. The broken bones in my body ached from the G-forces, but even this wasn't the end.
Falling so many times and hitting building debris, I had clearly damaged the sensitive equipment, because right at the ground, the jetpack died and my body flopped face-first into the dirt.
"Oh, why didn't I die when I was little." Rolling onto my back, I tilt my head toward the sky, meeting the gaze of Mace Windu standing on the edge. I had fallen right at the corner of the building and was now looking at the pretentious Force user, leaning one foot on the edge of the ledge. Mace looked rough, but he still made a strong impression, even if his Jedi outfit had started to look like trash. Smoothly moving his saber to the side, he gave a crooked smirk and was about to take a step down. "Celebrating too early, piece of shit."
I don't know if he read it from my lips or just guessed something, but the fallen Jedi turned back toward the flamethrower I had abandoned and tried to do something...
He didn't make it.
The explosion of the fuel tank engulfed the upper floors. Viscous, sticky liquid coated the walls... and the Korunnai himself, from head to toe.
"A-A-A-A-A!"
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Mace began to thrash around the roof in an attempt to beat out the flames, but he only made it worse. He could change nothing.
Flailing his arms, tripping over his own feet, the former Jedi stepped dangerously close to the edge of the roof and, not noticing the path, stepped down.
Continuing to scream, having failed to extinguish the flames, he plummeted into the debris of the neighboring building, the ruins of which leaned against the walls of the Judicial Forces tower. Raising a cloud of dust, causing a small landslide, burying himself under hundreds of kilograms of construction waste...
"Good riddance, you bastard."
***
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