[Gigante Square]
Fear hung in the air, and a thick silence cented the dread creeping into everybody’s chests. n had to watch the rcenaries drag so of them away—especially the elderly who couldn’t physically comply with being told to "hurry."
"Better fix how you look at , boy," one of the rcenaries warned the n, who were obviously glaring at them fiercely. "I can shoot you down right here and now."
"Move!" another rcenary’s voice echoed, sharp and threatening. "Go! Stop stalling!"
The rcenary pushed the elderly woman, almost making her slide forward onto the ground. Fortunately, one of the residents was quick to react and caught her.
"She’s old," the man muttered. "I’ll help her."
The rcenary clicked his tongue and then tipped his head, allowing the man to assist the elderly woman so they could begin moving.
These rcenaries left behind had one order to fulfill before leaving the town. That was to end every man and elderly person in Gigante. They could’ve easily done it in the square, but with so many people, carrying it out there would be more troubleso.
After all, they couldn’t just leave bodies rotting around and pollute the already polluted air of the territory.
As for the won and children, they still had their uses. Besides, won were naturally weaker than n. So even if they were kept alive, there wasn’t much they could do. And it was easier to manipulate the children and train them from a young age.
"Go! Keep this line!" one of the rcenaries roared, his voice echoing through the air.
He stood to the side, watching as the n and elderly of Gigante ford a line while following so of the rcenaries to the place where they would take their last breath.
anwhile, the boss and the lackey—the two of Lola’s hostages—stayed quiet. The lackey was even assisting an elderly man, copying what others were doing to blend in perfectly. As for the boss, he kept his head hung low.
The two of them weren’t kind people. In fact, they were not good people at all.
Under different circumstances, they would be the ones doing wicked things. Well, they wouldn’t participate in a massacre, but they would do anything to survive in this territory. But like Lola said, they weren’t qualified enough, and the best they could do was play pretend.
Perhaps they just weren’t cut out to play the big villain roles. Because, despite their hardened hearts and rotten souls, this situation unsettled them. Not that they didn’t know things like this happened in this land.
They had heard about it far too many tis, but this was the first ti they were about to witness the dreadful massacre of a town.
"Boss," the lackey whispered, snapping the boss out of his thoughts. He looked around nervously, leaning closer as he continued, "What are we going to do?"
As the question rolled off his tongue, the lackey and the boss caught a few n glancing in their direction. The lackey pressed his lips into a thin line, unsure whether being heard by the townsfolk was a good thing.
After all, Lola had told them one thing: rescue the residents.
And since they were here with these n—and Lola was with the won—they automatically had to take responsibility for this crowd.
But how?
The boss’s face grimd at the thought, realizing he didn’t have an answer either. This group was large—not just ten or twenty people. These were the n and elderly from the entire town. Even with Gigante’s small population, there were at least fifty people in this line.
And there were only two of them.
"..." The boss’s eyes lit up briefly as he slowly gazed at the n marching to their graves and then at the rcenaries on either side of them.
The lackey studied him. "Boss?"
"Hey!" Suddenly, one of the rcenaries shouted, eyes locking onto the lackey and the boss. "What are you two whispering about, huh?!"
The rcenary marched toward them, hand on his rifle just in case.
"Heh." The boss forced a smile. "Boss, he’s just asking to help him with the old folks."
"Keep your distance from each other!" the rcenary shouted, moving his muzzle between the n. "And stop talking. If I catch you again, one of you will have to carry the other."
Both the lackey and the boss lowered their heads, murmuring apologies. The rcenary huffed, watching them continue their march before turning away to check on the others.
Once the rcenary was distracted, the boss turned to the lackey.
"I think I know what to do," he said, keeping his voice slightly louder so the n around them could hear. "They’re going to kill every one of us here. Their only advantage is those guns."
The boss drew a deep breath, but before he could think it through, he blurted out,
"I’ll try to snatch one away."
His breath hitched as realization struck him. That wasn’t what he planned to say. Playing hero was never his forte—being the villain was. Even though he was terrible at that too.
He winced at the thought, but it was already out. Everyone was looking at him now. He had to save face.
"Once I do that, everyone else should rush and seize him," he continued, snapping his eyes at the lackey. "Then you jump in too."
"?"
"Yes, you."
"But—" Before the lackey could protest, the boss aggressively grabbed him by the nape and pulled him closer.
"You’re going to do it," the boss warned. "You’re a genius. You got this, aight?"
The lackey blinked. The boss had never praised him. In fact, everyone called him Ed—short for Edjiot.
"You hear ?" the boss repeated under his breath.
The lackey nodded profusely. "Ye — yes?"
"Good."
The boss released him and glanced at the rcenaries, who didn’t seem to notice them. Then he shifted his attention to the other n, who were quietly watching them and exchanging glances.
"When are we going to do it?" the lackey suddenly asked, snapping the boss out of his thoughts.
That simple question made the boss pause. He had no idea when the perfect timing would be.
But just as he was thinking about it, a loud bang echoed from the distance.
The entire line froze. Heads—both residents and rcenaries—turned toward the sound.
"Everyone, I’m here!"
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