"Show yourself!" Max said, slowly taking steps, one after another. The wooden handle of the axe turned slightly in his fingers as he shifted his grip.
A small, round container rolled from the side of the tree in front of him to its center, hissing. Shadows moved swiftly away from the container.
Psshhh. Green gas burst out, clouding the air in seconds.
"Gas!" someone from behind Max shouted, coughing violently. "I can't see!"
Footsteps echoed, circling the haze—fast, sharp, and unpredictable.
"Hold your breaths! Don't inhale, not even through your mouth, or you're a dead man!" Max said, covering his face with his left elbow.
He scanned the area, following the direction of the footsteps, but saw no one at the spot where he thought he'd seen someone.
He swung the axe countless times, cutting dwarf-sized trees until a flicker of light surged straight into his eye.
As the force of the light reduced, he saw three men looming over the road ahead.
…
"See how mad they are, inhaling the poisonous mixture you made? Didn't you say that when it enters the lungs, a person would collapse and die instantly? What is this?!"
Denis, the man with four marks on each side of his cheek, said, pointing one hand at the haze of soldiers before him while resting the other on the shoulder of a man with long white hair.
"Let me see the ones left in the bag," the white-haired man said, unzipping the bag at Denis's waist and peeking his head inside.
"Fuck! You changed it! That's not the one I made. You threw the one that failed us in our last operation."
"Are you sure of what you're saying? You handed them to me."
"Yeah, fuck! We have to go back to our old ways."
"You two, why bother using poisonous gas against these weak soldiers? Didn't you see their leader moving out of the city with the few people we feared? Let's keep these ones as slaves. I'd love to have the lady among them for myself. She'll look good when I lie on top of her on my bed," the third person said, casting a shocked expression toward the other two.
He closed the gap between them, drawing his swords from both sides of his waist, and began walking toward the soldiers, his eyes glowing with a dim yellowish light.
The two exchanged glances and followed suit, drawing their swords as well.
…
"Hold your position!" Max said, noticing the men drawing closer at high speed.
He gritted his teeth, held the axe tightly, and stood on guard, tearing the tip of his shirt and tying it over his mouth.
Little by little, the other soldiers followed his lead, tearing and tying the tips of their clothes over their mouths as the gas cleared. But the lady among them didn't.
The formation shifted from a 'V' to a straight horizontal line, followed by sharp, uneven breaths.
Max surged forward, slamming the axe through the air at the thug with yellow eyes—but missed, the blow blocked and pulled to the side, followed by a metallic crashing sound.
He lifted the axe and ducked under the thug's armpit, noticing the 'X' sword swinging for his head. Pieces of hair floated in the air as the sword hovered only an inch above him.
He slammed his right elbow into the thug's stomach, pushing him sliding backward.
Max rushed toward the junior soldier, blocked a strike that could have torn him in two, and threw the handle of the axe, slamming the cheek of the white-haired thug and sending him backward.
He held the junior soldier's hand, helped him up, pulled a dagger from his waist, and handed it to him.
The junior soldier gripped the brown handle, glanced at his broken spear, and breathed heavily before using the dagger to block a strike aimed at Max's neck.
…
The yellow-eyed thug slammed both swords into the ground, wiped a tiny drop of blood from his lip with his index finger, and grinned.
He whistled, sending countless birds scattering from the tree canopies above the battlefield.
The night's silent calm shattered, replaced by the clashing of swords and screams.
Sweat beaded on all thirteen soldiers, including Max, now engaged in a one-on-one fight with the yellow-eyed thug.
They fought relentlessly, even as both soldiers and the two remaining thugs paused for breath.
With only a four-foot axe, Max managed to injure the thug but felt pain whenever the thug's sword grazed his arms or waist.
…
"What's that sound?" Kai said, turning his head slightly toward the direction of the whistle as he walked between unlit tents.
One by one, lights began to shimmer in the tents behind him, forcing him to run to a nearby tree, crouching and hiding.
"We're under attack!" a loud voice broke the stillness, sending every thug in the tents dashing out.
Some stood fully dressed, while the rest had nothing covering them but swords and knives in hand.
As they all rushed in one direction—the very direction Kai had heard the whistle—gorgeous women sneaked out of the tents, halfway dressed.
They walked in the opposite direction of the bandits, hugging themselves and shedding tears as their eyes fell on the others' torn clothes.
'The team!' Kai's thoughts screamed as he realized the bandits' path was the same as his group's before he had taken the lead.
He pulled his daggers instinctively, tightening his grip until it felt as if the weapons were part of his bones.
He glanced at the escaping women one last time, closing his eyes as he saw a lady resembling his mother.
He cracked his eyes open and surged forward at full speed in the same direction as the bandits.
…
"More are coming! Don't give up yet!" Max shouted, swinging the axe at the thug he had struggled to kill, only to be blocked and pushed back with a kick to the stomach.
He crouched on one knee, gesturing toward the thirteen soldiers, letting them form an unbreakable circle.
The circle formed, though not all found it easy to stand on both feet.
Three of the thirteen had their left feet torn in two but remained alive, while two others had deep cuts on their shoulders and faces.
"General Kang, are you okay?" Denis said, moving toward the yellow-eyed man.
"Yeah," he said, turning his gaze from Denis to the circled soldiers.
"Why risk your life when you can just do one act and continue living as you want? Look how tired and injured you are. Just accept joining us, and you'll be free."
"I don't think you really wanted to become a soldier. Save them by devoting yourself to me," he said, pointing toward the lady among the soldiers.
…
Kai saw countless circular lights burning through the night.
He crept closer for a better look as the bandits' backs faced him, but froze when he saw his group standing in a circle inside the bandits' circle.