Chapter 160: Mari

“When I get out, I’m going to run away from here as far as possible.” Mari daydreamed out loud as she toyed with a bag of rakels in her hands as the wagon rumbled across the open roads back to the mine.

The weight was far more satisfying than the paltry amounts of ‘debt’ that she paid with each iron ore. If anything, this was the first instance of her holding hard-earned rakels directly, rather than seeing her debt decrease on a small piece of paper.

“Where to though?” Gideon wondered.

“Anywhere! If we can make it out as a group, we can set up shop anywhere on the continent.” Mari was already overconfident in her luck. If everything goes well, we could even set up our own mine. I could be the owner!

Just as she imagined herself sitting on a throne of rakels, the wagon reached the walled compound of the mining operation, coming to a screeching halt as it was stopped at the gate by two guards.

Gideon’s eyes widened in panic as he peeped out through a silt in the wagon’s fabric cover. “Shit, the owner’s here!”

Mari’s heart skipped a beat. “What are we going to do?”

“Uhm.. just stay in here. I think he just wants to inspect the food. Hide as best as you can!”

While Gideon disembarked with the rest, Mari scrambled through the cargo boxes, finding one to hide herself behind as a bright arctech lantern soon swept across the back of the wagon. But it was to no avail, as a guard immediately boarded the wagon and grabbed her by the collar, dragging her out.

The owner was a fat pudgy man, his buttoned shirt barely able to restrain his bulging tummy in as he glared at Mari. “Who assigned you to food collection?”

“I... errr I wanted to help out.”

“Don’t bullshit me. You were trying to sneak out of the mine, weren’t you? Don’t you know you owe me close to a hundred thousand rakels? Running away while stockpiling that kind of debt wouldn’t be good for you, dear. And you –“ The owner turned to face Gideon, who was standing meekly with his head bowed. “You’re off the food detail. In fact, the both of you are to be on cleaning duty for the next three weeks as punishment!”

Mari’s hopes sank like a stone as soon as she heard that, her face crestfallen. Before Mari could even try to give another excuse, the owner had already turned his back. The owner hardly gave a shit, instead motioning to the guards to drag the two of them back to their dorms. He interrogated the rest of the workers, asking them what Mari was doing in town, but none of them knew anything at all.

Suspicious. What was she doing in town? The owner pondered as he walked back to his office, immediately questioning his secretary in charge. “Why the hell were kids allowed on the food detail?”

“Sir, you said we didn’t have enough money to hire another adult worker to do so.”

“Well fuck that – no more kids allowed on any wagons heading to town. It’s too dangerous now.” The owner scratched his shoulder, clearly nervous. “Any news?”

“Nothing. My informants in the Sanctum say the enforcers are completely unaware of our mining operation. However...”

“However?”

“Do you know of Granger Metals?”

“The metal processing company? Yea, what about them?”

“Apparently there was a hostile takeover by the Ardent Cretins.”

“Here, in Kregol? What?!” The boss exclaimed. “Aren’t they a Raktor gang?”

“Their operations are obviously expanding – they seem to be specifically hunting for suppliers that can help fund the war. I’ve already heard rumors of more and more of them pouring into the vicinity.”

“Goddamn it! When did you hear that?”

“Just today. Apparently a merchant was threatened in the open.”

Why is everything falling apart today?! The boss lamented internally as he collapsed into his office chair, sighing heavily to himself, stressed out. First we nearly leaked our unlicensed mining operation because of the kids, next the gangs are spreading to us.... Huh?Updated from novelb(i)n.c(o)m

Something clicked in the boss’s mind. “Have the guards increase patrols now. I want everyone on high alert for the next three days. And send a message to the Ravens in Kregol, tell them we need backup.”

Suddenly, the arctech radio on the secretary’s desk crackled into life, a guard speaking rapidly on the other end. “Uh, sir. There’s three wagons approaching the mine. Are we expecting a new investor?”

A veritable scene of chaos and panic gripped the compound. “Now! It’s now or never!” Mari urged, before grabbing Gideon’s hand and running right out of the dorm with no guards to stop them. The more daring kids followed Mari’s lead, sprinting right for the hill where they knew there was no walls on the other side.

“Once we make it to the other side of the hill, we’ll be free!” Mari explained as they ran non-stop through the compound.

However, as soon as they got to the mine, the sound of gunfire began to die down, the firefight seemingly ending as soon as it started. “Did they win?” Gideon turned to look back, but couldn’t make out anything save for a collapsed gate.

“Doesn’t matter, keep moving!”

They clambered along the side of the hill, running along the slope before they soon reached the other side of the hill, the taste of freedom already in their mouths.

However, to their dismay, there were already a squad of Ardent Cretins waiting on the other side of the hill, with the dead bodies of other adult workers crumpled on the ground. A Cretin glanced at the group of kids from afar, motioning towards them. “Catch them!”

“RUN!” Mari screamed as they sprinted off, but there was nowhere to hide on the vast open mine, the trees having all been cut down before. The kids panic and ran in every direction, while Mari and Gideon kept running straight ahead, trying to make it past the Cretins who gave chase.

The blood thumping in her ears, Mari could only hear both their footsteps in rhythm, thumping through the open plains as screams and shots filled the air behind. Neither of them looked back, focused on keeping up the sprint. Gideon was a much better runner than Mari, eventually overtaking her.

Suddenly, Mari tripped onto a small pothole, her ankle twisted unnaturally as she fell into a short tumble through the dirt and grass. She could only watch on as Gideon kept running ahead, unaware of her having fallen behind.

Before she could shout, a hand grabbed her from behind. “Got you, you little bitch.” The Cretin grunted as he used a short rope to tie her hands up, but Mari fought back hard, punching and kicking at the arctech armour.

The Cretin punched Mari right in the face, before grabbing her head and slamming it into the ground. “Don’t push your luck, bitch. Fight back again and I’ll make sure you can’t walk for life.”

Before he could tie Mari up, a loud yell distracted him, with Gideon’s feet crashing right into his helmet with a flying kick. “Guh!” The Cretin was knocked onto the ground, with Gideon quickly recovering and punching the Cretin’s exposed neck with as much force as he could.

“Gideon!” Mari exclaimed, trying to get up but the pain in her ankle flared up heavily, forcing her to crawl on the ground.

The Cretin gagged, allowing Gideon free access to his belt. Gideon spotted an arctech pistol, snatching it for himself as he aimed the barrel right at the Cretin’s head at close range.

But before Gideon could pull the trigger, his own heart was pierced by a trio of bullets, the blood spurting on the ground like a fountain as he collapsed. “GIDEON!” Mari screamed as she watched the leader and two other Cretins approach the two of them.

“Haha, look at you man. Beaten up by a kid, what a joke. You’re lucky we’re low on manpower, else you’ve been kicked out.” The leader grinned as he stepped over the quivering Gideon, before delivering a brutal kick to the downed Cretin. “Can’t even capture a girl for Yual’s sa-“

A blast of pure arcia suddenly erupted from Mari’s hand, the energy rippling through the leader’s armour and shredding the layered metal plates in a furious torrent. Mari was no longer screaming, instead her eyes glazed with arcia energy, furious to the brink.

The leader was knocked back onto the ground, a gaping hole in his armour though it failed to pierce his chest. “Shit, take her down!” Another Cretin quickly shot his handcannon at her three times, blowing out three chunk of flesh at her waist and shoulders.

The shock knocked Mari out of her trance, causing the arcia energy to dissipate rapidly as she collapsed once more, unconscious.

“By Yual, she’s a fledgling!” The leader exclaimed as he stood back up, patting the hole in his armour.

“So do we kill her?”

“Are you fucking dumb? She’s a national treasure! If the Ardent Cretins have our own mage, we’ll be fucking unstoppable anywhere! Haul her back to the wagon and have her treated immediately, but keep her sedated!”

But before any of the Cretins could act on the orders, a rushing gush of wind buffeted them furiously out of nowhere as a stealth hovercraft suddenly appeared right over them, with Kyle dropping to the ground with a loud thud in the midst of them.

In a split instant, only the crackle of residual lightning remained as the thunder blade carved through the Cretins like a flowing stream, the Cretins having not even a single chance to react as their neck was sliced through cleanly, the high voltage incinerating the flesh to a crisp.

In a finishing move, Kyle killed the downed Cretin, before spinning around and chopping off the wrist of the leader who had his handcannon raised.

“ARGHHH!” The leader screamed in agony before Kyle punched him right in the nose, the fierce impact sending him sprawling with a bloodied face.

Kyle took a deep breath, before heading over to the fallen Mari and checking her vitals. Still alive. He quickly channelled his Necklace of Healing, restoring the lost blood and flesh by a tiny amount. She’ll need intensive care for a while.

[Sir, the rest of the mine is being taken over.] Adrian spoke from the hovercraft.

“The mine isn’t going anywhere. Land the hovercraft immediately; we got ourselves a mage.”