Chapter 463: The Elimination of the Bloody Hand Gang
The fear came before the understanding.
Snaketooth’s throat clenched. He opened his mouth and managed only a rasp—let go—while above him, Sunflower’s feet found nothing but air.
“You mean let go of her?” The man shrugged and kicked the stool away.
The rope caught Sunflower’s weight. Her body convulsed, hands opening and closing around the bindings at her wrists, feet kicking in the desperate, diminishing way of a person who still believes the body can find a purchase that isn’t there.
Tigerclaw lunged forward. A stick cracked against the back of his skull and he dropped.
“If we hadn’t been waiting for you, she’d already be dead.” Kanas’s henchman smiled without warmth. “Good excuse, diarrhea. We keep eyes on everything. He expected mutts like you would step out of line eventually—better to make an example when it happened.”
“It was my fault.” Snaketooth’s knees hit the floor. “Please. She never left this room.”
The henchman lifted one shoulder. “She lied to me. Two teeth knocked out, and she still wouldn’t change her story. Why would I let her live? So she can come after me later?”
They’re going to kill us.
The certainty arrived without drama. Snaketooth made himself look past Sunflower—past the weakening struggle—and fix on the dagger at the henchman’s belt. Six steps. If he could move fast enough, if the other men were slow to react—
The rope snapped.
Sunflower fell. The sound she made hitting the floor was dull and wrong.
Then a line of red opened across the henchman’s throat, spraying the face of the nearest Rat, and he sat down very slowly with an expression of profound surprise.
The outer room erupted.
“Stop! Bloody hand territory—”
“—somebody broke in—”
“Oh—my hand—”
“—come out and kill—”
“Monster—help—”
Two of Kanas’s men ran for the inner room. Something hit both of them before they cleared the doorway—not hit, exactly; moved through them, and they went down. The door swung wide.
The woman who came through it wore black from collar to boot, dark hair pulled back in a loose tail, and she moved the way very few people moved: without wasted motion, without hesitation, as if the distance between herself and the next problem was simply a measurement she was noting and clearing. Her eyes were gold.
When she glanced at Snaketooth, his blood stopped for a moment.
“Weapons down,” she said, and held up three fingers. “Hands on your head. Kneel. If you want to live.” She paused. “Three.”
Silence.
Then someone in the back: “God, that form—she’s worth a hundred gold royals—”
“Get her! Boss will reward us—”
“Catch her alive—”
She lowered her fingers.
“Then you’d be better dead.”
The sword she raised was enormous, ornate, cast iron—and it moved through whatever it touched. Men, weapons, furniture: everything it contacted shattered or gave way as if the material had simply lost the will to resist. She crossed the room in seconds. The lime powder thrown at her eyes missed. The crossbow bolts went wide. The crowd that tried to rush her couldn’t coordinate fast enough to matter.
It was over very quickly.
“Protect your friend, child.” The voice came from somewhere and nowhere at once, neither near nor distant.
Snaketooth crawled to Sunflower and pressed his hand beneath her nose.
Warmth. Faint, but there.
He hadn’t known he was holding his breath until he let it out. His eyes stung. He pressed his forehead against the cold floor and shook.
It was real. All of it. They came from the prince—they came exactly when the announcement said they would, and they came for the organizers, and now there’s hope.
He didn’t try to stop the tears.
Brown uniforms filled the room within minutes. The fight ended the way fights ended when one side hadn’t understood what it was dealing with.
The conscious Rats were lined up and walked out one by one.
“My head,” Tigerclaw muttered, one hand pressed to the lump behind his ear. “It’s enormous.”
“Be grateful it’s only a bump.” Snaketooth blinked hard against the residual salt in his eyes.
“What happened?” Sunflower touched the rope-mark on her neck—dark, deep, a line the color of iron.
“After we get out.” He couldn’t trust his voice for more than that.
“Your turn.” A guard twisted Snaketooth’s arms back and walked him out.
In the yard, a woman in white stood in complete contrast to everything the last half hour had been. Her face was hidden inside a hood; strands of curly blonde hair escaped at the edges. She wore no weapons that he could see. She looked like she belonged in a different story entirely.
“You may leave after answering a few questions.”
“Yes.” He meant it. He would have answered anything.
“Have you committed murder?” Her voice was clean and even, the kind of voice that didn’t need to be raised to be heard clearly. “Rape? Robbery?”
Something struck him then—not quite recognition, but the shape of it. The voice in the room, before the woman in black arrived. Protect your friend, child. The source of that voice had been nowhere and everywhere.
“None of those,” he said.
“Good.” She nodded once. “Wait at the square for His Highness’s dinner.”
He started to walk. Stopped.
It took him a moment to decide to ask. “Are you a witch?”
Chapter 463: The Elimination of Bloodyhand Gang
Translator: TransN Editor: TransN
Snaketooth’s heart sank rapidly.
“Let…go…” Fear seized his throat. He opened his mouth but could only rasp in a dull voice.
“You mean ‘let go of her’? Alright.” The man kicked the stool below Sunflower’s feet, her body stiffened instantly. The rope dug into Sunflower’s neck. She kicked her feet in panic, clenched and released her tied hands, but none of these helped.
Tigerclaw rushed forward to help, but his head was struck from behind with a stick and he fell to the floor.
“If we hadn’t been waiting for you, I’d have killed her earlier.” One of Kanas’ henchmen sneered. “What a good excuse, diarrhea! You probably don’t know, but we’ve had people watching you. He knows that mutts aren’t disciplined. We knew we’d have to teach you a lesson to ensure you abide by the rules of the Bloodyhand Gang.”
“It’s my fault.” Snaketooth knelt down. “Please let her go! She never even stepped out of this room!”
“This little b*tch lied to me,” the henchman shrugged. “She swore you were just looking for shelter from the wind. Even with her two teeth knocked out, she wouldn’t change her story. Why would I want her alive? So she can get back at me?”
“They want to kill us.” Snaketooth came to the sudden realization. He struggled to raise his head, seeing that Sunflower’s struggle was getting weaker and her body had begun to stiffen. He forced himself not to look at
her, but instead paying attention to the dagger hanging at the waist of the man. He was only six steps away. If Snaketooth could rush up and get that dagger…
Suddenly, the rope broke.
Sunflower fell to the floor silently.
“What the hell…” The henchman frowned, but before he could finish his words, a line of blood spouted from his neck, spraying the face of the closest Rat.
Snaketooth stared at the scene in front of him.
Meanwhile, sounds of a fight came from the outer room.
“Stop! This is the Bloodyhand Gang’s territory!”
“Some… somebody broke in!”
“Oh… my hand!”
“Damn it. Come out and kill her!”
“Mon… monster! Help…”
Kanas’ followers looked at each other and pulled out their weapons. Before they could escape, an apparition flew in and overthrew the two front men.
Snaketooth then saw the attacker—a striking woman with black hair casually tied into a ponytail at the back of her head. She was wearing a long black gown and her eyes were golden. Snaketooth felt his blood freeze when she cast a glance at him.
“Drop your weapon, put your hands over your head and kneel down. If you want to live.” The woman stuck out three fingers. “I will count to three. Anyone who doesn’t follow my instruction will die.”
“Three.”
There were only a few seconds of silence before someone shouted, “God, such skills… she must be worth 100 gold royals!”
“Everybody, let’s move!”
“Catch her and boss will definitely reward us well!”
“Catch her alive!”
“Never mind. You’d be better dead.” She held up a giant, oddly-shaped ornate sword and charged into the crowd. Snaketooth couldn’t believe his eyes. The sword was made of cast iron, and whatever it touched shattered instantly. She moved at such a fast speed that her enemies’ lime powder and crossbows were barely useful. The once effective hidden weapons couldn’t hit the target now. The crowd could not escape from her, let alone fight back.
“Protect your friend, child,” a voice came but the source of the voice was nowhere to be seen.
He swallowed his saliva and crawled to Sunflower’s side in panic. He put his hand to her nostrils to feel her breath.
She faintly exhaled warm air… she was still alive!
Snaketooth felt like crying, the happiness of having survived overwhelmed him.
What was written on the announcement was real. These people had been sent by the prince to eliminate organizers of the gang! Now they had hope!
Bending over Sunflower, he burst into tears.
…
As more soldiers in brown uniforms rushed into the room, the fight ended quickly.
All the conscious Rats were told to stand in a line and walkout of the room one by one.
“My head aches,” Tigerclaw complained with one hand rubbing his head. “The bump is so big.”
“Be grateful you weren’t beaten to death.” Snaketooth glared at him with tears in his eyes.
“What happened?” Sunflower massaged her neck on which appeared a black line from the rope. “I thought I was dead for sure.”
“I’ll tell you after we get out of here,” Snaketooth shook his head. He was afraid if he spoke too much, he would burst into tears again.
“Your turn.” The guard at the door twisted Snaketooth’s arms to his back.
Snaketooth didn’t resist, and he followed the guard outside. A woman in a white gown was standing in the yard, a paradox to the lethal goddess in black. Her face was covered by a hood, with only strands of curly blonde hair showing.
“You may leave after answering the Lord’s questions.”
“Yes,” Snaketooth faithfully replied, he was in awe of this army’s capabilities.
“Have you committed murder?” Her voice was brisk and pleasing as if it was from another world. “How about rape? Robbery?”
Suddenly something struck his mind—she was the one who had warned him without showing herself.
“None of those.”
“Alright.” She nodded. “Wait at the square for your dinner from His Highness.”
Snaketooth stopped after two steps. It took courage to ask, “Are you a witch?”
“That’s right.” Snaketooth hadn’t expected an answer, but to his surprise, the witch gave an upfront reply.
“These are Kanas’s followers,” Snaketooth continued to speak, biting his lip. “He hasn’t been here for four days. He must be hiding somewhere with Bloodyhand! Bloodyhand is the real head of the gang! Never let him go!”
“Don’t worry. They can’t escape.” The woman smiled and said this with a tone of unquestionable confidence.
…
“Do you mean… His Highness sent witches to hunt for the head of Rats?” Tigerclaw’s eyes were wide in disbelief.
“Not only witches but also many common men,” Snaketooth told the bizarre story he had just witnessed. “What I’ve guessed is right—witches are accepted in His Highness’ territory. They can appear in public without worries, and even fight with others.” He paused, and then continued to speak with excitement, “If Paper really was sent there, she must be living a fairly decent life.”
“Sounds like you want to go there and meet her,” Sunflower said, twitching her mouth. “Witches are talented and it’s difficult to see them. You might embarrass her if you go to see her.”
“Oh…” Snaketooth was stunned for a moment. He knew what Sunflower said was true. He was only a Rat, even if he could survive the winter, his identity would remain the same. Paper must be living a whole different life now, totally out of his league.
“Don’t overthink it.” Tigerclaw patted him on the shoulder. “Look, it’s time to eat.”