Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Midnight Counterattack
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Claire could hardly believe his ears. He stood there stunned for a few seconds before hearing Gavin snap, “Did you hear me?!”
Shorter than Dean or Claire, these Alphas, with his pale face and lean build, but that roar of his was utterly commanding. Claire jolted to attention. “Y-Yes... Yes, sir!”
He turned and staggered a few steps before suddenly snapping back to reality: Why the hell am I running?!
Let an Omega shield me while I bolt?!
In that half-second hesitation, the two kidnappers on his flank lunged—massive brutes like bears, agile and sharp-eyed. They knew Claire was spent, that he wouldn’t get far even if left alone, so they went straight for Gavin.
Right then, Gavin drew his blade. In the darkness, it carved a gleaming arc. “Clang!” “Clang!” Two sharp rings echoed as he parried the attackers from both sides, hurling them apart in an instant!
It was a clean, ruthless move that sent the onrushing followers stumbling back with a howl of fury. “Where’d this little bastard come from, throwing his life away? Get lost!”
“Shut your mouth!” Gavin bellowed, his voice laced with such authority and conviction that it actually overpowered the kidnapper. Moments later, several drew their guns and fired, but Gavin rolled forward with the blade in both hands—like a ferocious beast hunting in the night. He sliced through the dazzling web of electric rounds in a flash, closing right up to the kidnappers’ faces!
Claire was mesmerized. It was the most dazzling, ferocious combat he’d ever witnessed. The twin arc-blades slithered like venomous serpents through the crowd, nothing but flashes of steel visible in the dark. In a heartbeat, he’d shredded two kidnappers, guns and all, flinging them aside!
Claire took half a step back. Suddenly, the ground shook like an earthquake. The blast wave hurled him several meters sideways. Dazed and reeling, he scrambled up to see Luan Zhu unleashing the electromagnetic cannon—brilliant flames everywhere.
Black smoke billowed from the armed flyer’s flank; it had clearly been hit. It flipped over several times, barely dodging Luan Zhu’s massive overhead palm strike.
“What the fuck is this guy?!” a distant kidnapper roared from where he’d crashed to the ground, blood streaming down his face. “Everyone, pile on! Tie the bastard up!”
Rage surged in Claire. He charged and clamped his hands around the man’s throat. They tumbled into a heap. Both wounded, it was like a street brawl between fishwives, but Claire didn’t notice. He even forgot the searing pain in his ribs as he smashed a fist into the kidnapper’s face, spraying blood from mouth and nose. “You—shut—your—mouth—!”
A heavy thud—he’d been kicked to the ground by the desperately thrashing kidnapper. For a few seconds, consciousness nearly slipped away.
“Huff... huff...” The kidnapper staggered to his feet, swaying. Claire couldn’t tell if it was the enemy’s gasps or his own. In a daze, he clawed at the ground to rise, but the violent tremors left him spinning.
“You son of a bitch...” Claire muttered. Suddenly, a heavy weight slammed into his chest, pinning him back down.
“You—” He started to struggle, then froze. Pressed against his chest was a blade. Looking up the gleaming edge, he saw slender fingers and an arm. Gavin’s icy profile gleamed faintly in the firelight.
“...What the hell do you want?” The kidnapper deflated the moment he saw Gavin approach, stumbling back two shaky steps.
The four or five kidnappers around them lay sprawled on the ground, dead or alive unknown. With a casual clank, Gavin tossed aside his snapped left-hand blade and advanced, right-hand blade in tow.
The kidnapper’s legs trembled. Before he could retreat further, Gavin pinned the blade to his forehead. His knees buckled, and he dropped.
“Who sent you?” Gavin asked calmly. “The Interstellar Military Academy? Heinrich?”
The kidnapper flinched, forgetting to shake. “W-What are you talking about?!”
“Answer me.”
“I don’t know what you’re on about!”
Gavin pressed slightly, and the blade tip pierced the kidnapper’s forehead. Blood trickled down his nose at once. “Infiltrating the arena at a time like this, hacking the committee’s comms, armed flyers with top gear, targeting only the Imperial Academy contestants... I can’t think of anyone besides the Interstellar Military Academy who could pull this off.”
The kidnapper’s eyes darted. He opened his mouth, but Gavin cut him off:
“More importantly, you clearly could’ve killed us but never went for the kill. Your style reminds me of veterans—harsh on fresh academy grads, bullying and taunting, but never actually out for blood. Right?”
Gavin lowered his voice, probing meaningfully. “Veterans?”
Sweat poured down the kidnapper’s face. He was about to speak when a gust whipped past him!
Claire yelled, “Watch out!”
Gavin felt a rush of force and staggered. A man on a rope dropped from above, yanking the kidnapper away in a roll several meters out!
Who?!
Gavin stabbed his blade into the ground to steady himself. A helicopter’s roar thundered overhead as camouflaged men rappelled down, grabbing the fallen kidnappers and hauling them up.
Gavin moved to act, but the rope-man slashed viciously at his back with a dagger! In a clash of sparks, Gavin blocked with a backhand swing. “Clang!” The sheer force drove him to one knee.
“Why so ruthless, kid? Ever heard of leaving some room for next time?”
Scar slashing his cheek, the man grinned with pure threat. Gavin gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his blade hand. After a moment, the man let out a surprised “Huh?” “You’re a Beta?”
“...”
“Rare these days. Alphas are getting worse by the—”
He froze, disbelief dawning.
“You—” He pressed the dagger hard, leaning in to sniff Gavin’s neck repeatedly, stammering. “This is His Maj—you, are you... you...”
Gavin’s arm veins exploded with effort. He shoved the man back several steps!
The man stumbled, jaw slack, pointing mutely at Gavin. Gavin lunged blade-first, but the man didn’t dare fight back. He yanked his rope instead.
It whisked him upward so fast Gavin couldn’t catch up. He stamped in frustration.
Distant firelight tinged the sky red. The helicopter vanished into the night, whipping up a massive whirlwind. Ropes pulled up the reinforcements, and in moments, every kidnapper was gone. Only craters and scorch marks attested to the brutal fight.
Gavin exhaled, narrowing his eyes.
At the same moment, in the committee command room.
Carolyn entered with coffee, seeing Edna at the main screen, cradling a rare paper book, carefully turning a page.
“Paper books still exist these days?”
“Yeah, handwritten.” Edna took the coffee, sipped cautiously, then set it far aside.
“What’s it about? ‘On Five-Dimensional Warp Tech in the Far Star Campaign... by Celia’?” Carolyn blinked. “Since when are you into this?”
Edna shrugged. “Bored on shift. Players won’t fight at night anyway—but most of it’s over my head. Too advanced. Celia wrote it after five hundred.”
Just the two of them in the room. The big screen showed the forest at night—uniformly serene and peaceful. All contestants had opted to rest, awaiting tomorrow’s bloodier round.
Carolyn lounged against the console, sipping her steaming coffee and glancing at the text. She chuckled. “Beats me too. Marshal’s late tactics are insane. Ask him after the games?”
“What does he know now?” Edna burst out laughing. “He’s right back to his young devil days. Lucky if he doesn’t trash the academy. Dream on about answers!”
“...The Marshal was a devil in his youth?”
Edna waved it off amid Carolyn’s shock, grinning carelessly. “Devil’s putting it mild. Total menace. Kid loved picking fights. If no one started it, he’d poke the bear. Couldn’t live without a brawl a day—who could beat him? Bullied folks just hid or played dumb... That’s where his sharp tongue started. Lucky he grew out of it.”
Carolyn felt like she’d heard a fairy tale. “How?”
“Who knows? Genetics or something.” Edna sighed deeply. “Lucky he changed...”
Silence fell. Seconds later, Carolyn started to ask something, then paled. “What’s that?”
Edna whipped around. The night sky glowed faintly red—straight from the forest arena.
“Electromagnetic cannon?! Impossible!” Edna rushed to the window, staring agape for seconds before spinning to the screen.
The screen showed tranquil night, player dots unmoving. Nothing amiss.
But outside, another blast lit the sky brighter, shaking the earth with its rumble.
“The screen’s fake,” Carolyn whispered through gritted teeth. “Someone... hacked our surveillance.”