Chapter 75 (2)
He turned to the prisoners.
"Half of you are coming with me," he said. "The other half are staying here with my people. If any of you try to run, you die. If any of you try to warn them, you die. If you do what I say and help me kill your leader, you might live."
The prisoners looked at each other. Some of them nodded. Others just stared at the ground.
Kai chose ten of them—the ones whose auras were strongest, the ones who looked like they could still fight—and led them toward the building.
The other ten stayed behind with half of his gang members, their hands bound, their eyes watching.
The inside of the factory was dark, the only light coming from a few bare bulbs hanging from the ceiling.
The machines were old, covered in dust, their blades still and silent.
The air was cold, and Kai's breath formed small clouds in front of his face.
His Ki sense was spread wide, reaching into the shadows, feeling the auras of the people hiding there.
Fifteen of them, just like the woman had said. Most were Beginner Knight Stage Mid. A few were High And one—the leader—was at Peak.
The attackers came out of the shadows fast.
A man with a crowbar swung at Kai's head. Kai ducked, felt the metal whistle past his ear, and drove his shoulder into the man's chest.
The man stumbled back into a stack of lumber, and the boards collapsed around him, pinning him to the floor.
One of Kai's gang members stepped forward, raised his gun, and fired twice into the man's chest.
The man's body jerked, then went still.
Two more attacked from the side. Kai sidestepped the first, grabbed the second by the collar, and used his momentum to slam him into a concrete support pillar.
The man's head hit the pillar with a dull crack, and he slid to the floor, unconscious.
Another gang member knelt beside him, pressed the barrel of his gun against the man's temple, and fired.
Blood sprayed across the concrete.
The prisoners Kai had brought were fighting too.
woman with a knife lunged at one of Kai's gang members, but one of the prisoners a man with a thick beard and scared eyes grabbed her arm and twisted the blade from her grip.
She screamed and tried to pull away, but he held on, and another prisoner drove his fist into her stomach.
She doubled over, and the man with the beard pulled a pistol from his waistband and shot her in the back of the head.
he collapsed face-first onto the floor, her blood pooling beneath her.
The fight was chaos bodies moving in the dim light, the sound of metal on metal, the grunt of impact, the crack of bone, the sharp bark of gunfire.
Kai's people were outnumbered, but they were better trained, their Ki enhancement giving them an edge the attackers couldn't match.
But then the prisoners who had been fighting beside them turned.
It happened fast. The man with the thick beard spun around and drove his knife toward one of Kai's gang members.
But the gang member was already moving. He caught the man's wrist, twisted, and drove his own blade into the man's throat.
The prisoner fell, choking on his blood.
Another prisoner a woman with short black hair and cold eyes swung a pipe at the head of the gang member beside her.
He ducked, and another gang member behind her fired his gun. The bullet tore through her spine, and she dropped.
A third prisoner, a young man with a tattoo on his neck, grabbed a gun from one of the fallen attackers and fired.
The bullet hit one of Kai's people in the chest, but the gang member's armor stopped it.
Before the prisoner could fire again, two of Kai's men returned fire, and the young man fell with three holes in his chest.
A fourth prisoner a woman with braided hair and a scar across her cheek pulled a hidden blade from her boot and lunged at another gang member.
He sidestepped, and another gang member drove his knife into her ribs. She gasped and fell.
A fifth prisoner, a man with a gold tooth and thick arms, picked up a fallen crowbar and charged.
He never reached his target. Two of Kai's men shot him before he took three steps.
The fighting was over in seconds. Six prisoners lay dead on the factory floor the ones who had turned.
The other four who had come inside stood with their hands raised, their weapons dropped, their faces pale. They had stayed loyal.
Outside, more gunfire echoed through the night. The prisoners Kai had left with his gang members had turned too.
But Kai's people had been ready. The shooting lasted less than a minute.
When it stopped, seven of the prisoners lay dead on the street. Three remained the ones who had stayed loyal.
Kai watched his people secure the remaining prisoners, then turned and walked toward the back of the factory.
The office was small, cluttered with papers and empty bottles.
The man behind the desk was older than Kai had expected fifties, maybe, with gray hair and a face that had seen too many fights.
His aura was dense, controlled, the aura of someone who had been at Peak for years.
He stood up when Kai entered. He didn't look scared. He looked tired.
"The Azura gang," the man said. "Came to finish the battle."
"Yes."
The man sighed. He reached behind his back and pulled out a short blade not a knife, but something smaller, a blade designed for close quarters.
His silver aura flared around him, bright and fierce, and he lunged.
Kai's Ki sense read the attack before the man's feet left the ground.
He stepped to the side, and the blade passed through the space where his chest had been.
He grabbed for the man's wrist, but the man was faster than he looked.
He twisted, pulled his arm back, and brought the blade around in a wide arc aimed at Kai's throat.
Kai leaned back. The edge passed so close that he felt the cold of the metal on his skin.
He threw a punch at the man's face, but the man ducked and drove his shoulder into Kai's chest.
The impact pushed Kai back a step, but he didn't fall. His dark purple aura flared, and he planted his feet, stopping his momentum.
The man came at him again, the blade slashing in quick, precise strokes each one aimed at a different part of Kai's body.
His throat.
His chest. His stomach. His legs.
Kai dodged and weaved, his Ki sense feeding him the trajectory of each strike before the man's muscles finished contracting.
He felt the wind of the blade as it passed his ear. He felt the fabric of his jacket tear as the edge grazed his arm.
He felt the heat of the man's aura pressing against his own.
The man was good. His technique was clean, his movements efficient, his Ki control steady. He had been fighting at Peak for years, and it showed.
The Inner Breathing technique. Fifty percent enhancement.
The man's blade came at Kai's stomach.
Kai twisted, the edge cutting through his jacket but not his skin, and then he was inside the man's guard.
His hand shot out and grabbed the man's wrist, his fingers digging into the tendons, and he squeezed.
The man grunted and tried to pull back, but Kai held on.
He stepped closer, driving his shoulder into the man's chest, and twisted the man's arm behind his back.
he blade clattered to the floor.
The man's free hand came up, fingers reaching for Kai's eyes.
Kai turned his head, the nails scraping across his cheek instead of finding their target, and drove his knee into the back of the man's thigh.
The man's leg buckled, and he dropped to one knee.
Kai released his wrist and stepped back.
The man scrambled for the blade, his fingers stretching toward the handle. Kai's foot came down on the man's hand, pinning it to the floor.
The man screamed, his silver aura flickering wildly, and tried to punch Kai with his free hand.
Kai caught the punch, his palm closing around the man's fist, and squeezed until he felt the bones shift.
The man's face contorted with pain, but he didn't stop fighting.
He swung his other hand the one pinned beneath Kai's foot and managed to grab the blade.
Kai saw the movement a second too late.
The blade came up, the edge cutting across Kai's shin. Pain flared through his leg, hot and sharp, and he stumbled back, his grip on the man's fist loosening.
The man scrambled to his feet, blood dripping from his crushed hand, his silver aura flickering but still bright. He held the blade in his other hand now, his grip awkward but determined.
"You're good," the man said, breathing hard.
He lunged again.
Kai's Ki sense screamed at him. He saw the trajectory the blade aimed at his heart and he moved.
He stepped into the strike.
The blade drove toward his chest, but Kai's body was already twisting, his shoulder turning, the edge sliding past his ribs instead of sinking into his heart.
The blade cut through his jacket and his shirt and his skin, opening a shallow gash along his side.
But Kai's hand was on the man's wrist again. His other hand was on the man's throat.
He squeezed.
The man's eyes went wide. His silver aura flickered wildly, guttering like a candle in the wind. He tried to pull back, but Kai held on.
He tried to swing the blade, but his arm was trapped, his wrist locked in Kai's grip.
Kai squeezed harder.
The man's face turned red, then purple. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. His silver aura flickered once, twice, and went dark.
His body went limp.
Kai held him for a moment longer, then let him fall. The man hit the floor, his eyes still open, but there was no movement and he died.