2025-10-18 19:07:08The room was still for a heartbeat. Then the men blinked, stunned, unable to comprehend what had happened.
“What… what the hell just happened?” one finally whispered.
“How… how did he—?” another stammered, pointing at the man sprawled on the floor. He lay unconscious, mouth frozen open.
Zarek had hauled him like he weighed nothing and slammed him down so hard the room rang.
The man hadn’t had a chance to react.
“That… that can’t be real,” one muttered, backing up and gripping his baton.
“Who the hell is this guy? He just—picked him up! Slammed him like he was nothing!” another cursed.
The tallest one glared at Zarek. “This is insane. That guy… he’s supposed to be some kid—how strong is he?”
Zarek didn’t answer. He stood calm, eyes like steel, watching them. The echo of the slam still vibrated on the floorboards. The man on the ground lay still. Their bravado was cracking.
“You think we can take him?” one hissed.
Zarek raised his hand and pointed at the man who’d told the story. “You, come here,” he ordered.
The man froze, then took a step. His eyes widened; his legs shook. Slowly, almost mechanically, he walked toward Zarek.
“Stop!” a deep voice barked.
The tallest man stepped forward, towering over the others. Muscles tensed.
“Don’t you dare,” he growled, yanking the smaller man back. “You think you can just walk up to him?”
Zarek’s gaze swept over him like a blade.
“I’m Korran,” the towering man said. He was the leader of the group, put in charge of watching the house in case the escaped son ever returned. Korran’s eyes narrowed. “You think you can stand there and play hero? I’ll teach you a lesson.”
He reached into his coat and pulled out a small bottle of alcohol.
Without hesitation, he tilted it back and drained it, then slammed the empty bottle to the floor.
It rolled toward Zarek and clattered against the wood.
“I’ll pity you,” Korran said, stepping closer. “I’ll count to ten. If you want to walk out of here alive, kneel. Apologize. To them. All of them.”
He spat on the floor.
Sput!
The others shifted nervously, some chuckling, some glaring, none daring to intervene.
The room went deadly quiet as Korran’s challenge hung in the air.
Zarek picked the picture from the table and slid it into his pocket.
Korran lunged forward, chest heaving. “You ignor—” he barked.
Zarek moved like a coiled spring. A sharp snap of his hip—years of training—and his boot connected with Korran’s belly.
Korran doubled over, dropped to his knees, then hit the floor with a wet sound, gasping.
Huff!
Huff.
Zarek stepped forward and placed his boot on Korran’s head, pressing down lightly.
He dragged his foot across the spit on the floor, wiping it away.
“The house might be dirty,” Zarek said coldly, “but that doesn’t mean you can spit on it.”
He snapped his fingers once. From the street, the front door slammed open and several men in uniforms burst in—fast, precise.
They moved to Zarek and dropped to their knees without a sound.
“Should we start rebuilding, sir?” one asked, eyes fixed on Zarek.
Zarek nodded. “Yes. Rebuild it. Now.”
The uniformed men sprang into action, picking up broken wood and sweeping dust as if the house had always belonged to them.
The group that had been trashing the place whispered among themselves.
“What’s going on?” someone hissed.
“Who are those guys?”
Zarek turned back to the intruders.
He walked toward them. “Who sent you?” he asked.
“Why would we answer that?” one spat.
Zarek lashed out. His boot struck the man’s head.
A sick, sharp crack.
Thud!
The body went limp and slumped to the floor.
The remaining men froze; fear finally broke through. After a tense moment, one stammered,
“W-we… we were sent by Darian Veyron… he works with the Ashborne family. P-please… don’t kill us. We’ll tell you where to find the others. Spare our lives!”
Zarek’s lips curled. “Spare your lives?” he said. “How dare you think you can negotiate with me?e.”
They fell to their knees, hands clasped, begging.
“Please… please… We’ll tell you everything!”
“Don’t hurt us!”
Zarek moved—swift, silent. In an instant, the knife in his hand flashed in the dim light.
SHHICK!
He struck.
Heads rolled with precision.
CRUNCH!
SPLAT!
SNAP!
The sound echoed off the rotting walls as screams were cut short and bodies collapsed in a heap.
‘Ahhhhh!’
Some tried to scramble away, stumbling over debris.
Thump! Thump!
Zarek was faster.
When the last of them fell, Zarek wiped the blood from his hand onto the handkerchief in his hand.
He looked at the uniformed men rebuilding the house, then at the corpses.
“The Ashbourne family, huh?” he murmured, voice low, icy.
His eyes darkened with a storm of hatred that had been building for ten years.
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CHAPTER 338
A dozen searchlights swept the valley, their beams cutting through the haze to reveal a line of heavy-combat exoskeletons. The Weavers' elite Iron-Clad unit stood waiting in a perfect phalanx, their heavy plating gleaming under the artificial glare."They're waiting for us," Shaw whispered."No," Zarek said, a dark smirk touching his lips. "They're waiting for a miracle. They aren't going to get one."He slammed the transport into high gear, the engine roaring its final, defiant song as they charged the mountain.The mountain air screamed as the engine pushed past its redline, the cabin vibrating with such force that the dashboard screen began to crack. Ahead, the Iron-Clad line didn't budge. They raised heavy, tower-sized shields, interlocking them to form a wall of reinforced tungsten."They're bracing for a head-on!" Shaw yelled over the roar. "Boss, that's a dead stop! You hit that wall, and the engine comes through the seats!""I'm not hitting the wall," Zarek said, his eyes t
CHAPTER 337
The next thirty miles were a blur of scorched earth and screaming metal. Zarek drove with a cold intensity that made the heavy transport feel like an extension of his own body. He avoided the main roads, cutting through dry riverbeds and over jagged ridges that would have shredded the tires of any lesser vehicle."Second outpost is coming up on the HUD," Shaw said, tapping the data pad with a grunt of pain. "It’s a fueling hub for their aerial drones.”“If we take this out, they lose their eyes in the sky. But Boss... they’ve got a heavy-duty turret on the north tower. A 40mm autocannon.""Then we don't give it a target," Zarek replied.He didn't charge the front gate. Instead, he steered the transport into a dense cluster of rusted shipping containers lining the perimeter. He killed the lights and the engine, letting the massive truck coast into a shadow-heavy alleyway between the crates."Stay with the vehicle," Zarek said, checking his sidearm. "If that turret starts humming, m
CHAPTER 336
The roar of the six-wheeled beast was the only warning the first outpost received.Situated in a narrow pass between two jagged cliffs, the checkpoint was a fortress of reinforced concrete and heavy iron gates. Two Weaver guards, encased in their humming exoskeletons, stood lazily by the barrier, clutching long-range rifles. They saw the familiar shape of their own transport kicking up a massive plume of dust and iron-rich dirt."Is that Unit Four?" one guard asked, squinting against the morning sun. "They weren't supposed to be back until—""He isn't slowing down," the other noted, his voice rising in alarm. "Hey! Unit Four, status! Drop your speed or we’ll—"Zarek didn't touch the brakes. He didn't even flinch. He slammed his foot to the floor, the turbochargers screaming as the transport hit eighty miles per hour."Shaw, brace your neck!" Zarek commanded."Already on it!" Shaw grunted, pressing his head back against the armored seat, his eyes wide with a mix of pain and adrenali
CHAPTER 335
They sat in the deepening twilight, the only sounds the crackle of the fire and the distant howl of a wasteland wolf. Zarek sat across from Shaw, tending to the fish with the same focus he used to dismantle a Weaver exoskeleton.When the trout were charred and flaky, Zarek flaked the meat onto a clean piece of bark and handed it to Shaw. Since Shaw couldn't use his hands, Zarek sat beside him, helping him eat in a silence that wasn't awkward, but deeply grounded in years of shared blood and dirt."Tastes like... actual life," Shaw murmured, chewing slowly. "Better than the Morning Sun’s five-star menu.""Context changes the flavor," Zarek said, taking a bite of his own portion. "In the city, you eat to fuel the machine. Out here, you eat to remember you're still human."Shaw looked at his splinted arms, then up at the stars peeking through the pine needles. "Do you think the Maces are looking at these same stars right now? Or are they still staring at their bank accounts?""Kaelen
CHAPTER 334
As the second guard reached for his sidearm, Zarek gripped the man’s armored wrist, twisting it until the suit's mechanical joint hissed and buckled. A quick strike to the base of the skull, and the second man was down.Zarek checked the cab, empty. He whistled low, a sharp, melodic note that pierced the mechanical hum of the yard.Shaw emerged from the shadows, stumbling slightly as he made his way toward the vehicle. He looked at the two unconscious guards and then at the idling beast of a truck."Nice ride," Shaw wheezed, his face still pale but his spirit unbroken. "Does it come with seat warmers? My arms are starting to feel like they're made of ice.""It comes with a full medical kit and a clear path to the Weavers' main gate," Zarek said, hauling Shaw into the passenger seat before climbing into the driver’s side. He slammed the transport into gear, the heavy tires churning the gravel as he swung the vehicle around. He didn't look back at the wreckage of their SUV or the me
CHAPTER 333
Zarek didn't move until the last microsecond.He dropped low, sliding through the dirt beneath the giant’s outstretched arms. As he passed, he jammed his tactical knife into the exposed power cable at the back of the Weaver’s knee. Blue sparks erupted. The suit’s hydraulics locked instantly, and the man’s own momentum carried him face-first into the gravel with a bone-shaking thud. He tried to scramble up, but his left leg was a dead weight of useless steel."You’re fighting the suit," Zarek said, his voice terrifyingly level as he stood over him. "I’m fighting you."The fourth Weaver, the youngest of the group, panicked. He leveled his heavy-caliber sidearm, his hand shaking. "Stay back! I’ll blow the fuel tank! I'll take us all out!""Then do it," Zarek challenged, stepping into the path of the barrel. His eyes were devoid of fear, a void that seemed to swallow the young man’s resolve. "But know that I’ll be the last thing you see before the fire takes you. Is that worth a p
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