"A huge group is heading this way! And they’re a bigger force than the rcenaries. They’re all ard!"
The resident’s voice echoed across the growing quiet in the area. All eyes were on him, and for a second, everyone’s expressions went blank.
Then, fear and panic quickly resurfaced on their faces, while Lola’s expression darkened. The lookout, who had been posted sowhere earlier, led Lola and the others to the entrance, where they saw the group approaching the district.
The mont the boss saw the approaching entourage, he staggered back and fell onto his backside.
"No way," he breathed, his complexion pale. "I knew it. Jarvis wouldn’t just send a few people after you."
Before them stood a force ten tis larger than the one they had just taken down. Heck—they outnumbered them threefold, even when counting the Gigante residents and everyone else combined.
Other residents rushed to higher vantage points to see the approaching force. So dropped to their knees in despair. They had barely begun celebrating their victory—the first real win of their lives in this territory. But now, seeing the force marching toward Five District, they knew that even if they fought... it would be futile.
As everyone wrestled with mixed emotions, the lackey looked around and frowned.
Clearing his throat, he raised his chin and shouted.
"Why are you all sulking?!" His voice thundered across the street and echoed off nearby buildings. "So what if there are ten tis more of them than us?! We fought those guys earlier—even without weapons—and we won! The first victory we’ve ever had against the big bullies of the New Gehran!"
Slowly, everyone turned toward the voice. Even those on top of the other buildings shifted their attention to him. The boss winced the mont he saw his lackey preaching.
"That idiot," he hissed, clenching his fist near his mouth. "Does he really think he’s a genius who should be doing this?"
The boss had to admit that the taste of victory had lifted his spirits briefly. For a mont, it even made him believe he could be part of sothing bigger in this territory. But that didn’t an he was delusional enough to think they stood a chance against the army marching toward them.
If anything, his instincts were already planning a clean escape from this ss—preferably dragging the lackey along with him.
"Shut... up..." the boss silently signaled, but it was too late.
The lackey continued, eting everyone’s gaze. His eyes burned with determination and fearlessness. Whether it was courage or sheer foolishness was hard to tell. But after fighting alongside these people and tasting victory for the first ti, he felt sothing he had never experienced before.
"I’m not from Gigante, nor was I ever a resident of this ghost district," he continued, his voice steady, tinged with a hint of gentleness. "In fact, I wasn’t a good person. On another day, we might’ve crossed paths—and you would’ve hated , or I would’ve hated you enough to want to punch you."
He paused, lips pressed into a thin line. "Until tonight, I was just part of a small rcenary group led by an amazing leader!"
He pointed at the boss, nearly making the man choke on the spot.
"What the hell—why are you roping into this, idiot?!" the boss seethed internally, forcing an awkward smile as several people glanced at him. Their attention soon returned to the lackey.
"But no matter how amazing my boss is, our group struggled," the lackey continued. "We were small fish in a big pond. One wrong move away from being eaten by sharks and whales! I don’t even know how to swim, but I know we were lucky to survive!"
"What I’m trying to say is, until tonight, our biggest problem was figuring out how to eat the next day. We were already thinking about changing professions."
That part wasn’t a lie.
Tonight had been a turning point for their group. Work had dried up. Competition among rcenaries was brutal, and larger groups always claid the best contracts. There was barely anything left for them.
The boss’s shoulders sagged as mories of those struggles surfaced. In desperation, they had thought going after Lola would be their big break. Instead, it only reinforced why they were small fish.
"I knew one of those rcenaries earlier," the lackey said, his voice softening. "He used to pick on . Beat up for no reason. Before I joined the boss, I was his punching bag."
"I thought as long as I never crossed paths with him again, I’d be fine."
"But I was wrong," he exhaled, tension draining from his shoulders. "Seeing him tonight brought everything back. Maybe it makes a bad person to say I felt good seeing him helpless, but I’d rather be a bad person than a hypocrite like those in power who treat other people’s lives as less valuable than their own!"
His voice grew louder, sharper.
"So what if another hundred n are marching this way to burn Five District to the ground?!" he shouted. "What if the governor himself cos here and declares judgnt day?!"
His teeth ground together, eyes blazing. "Even if the governor cos personally, I’d rather die trying to take him down than keep living in the selfish world they built for themselves!"
He took a breath, his voice lowering as he nodded at everyone.
"We won once. I’m not stupid enough to think we can beat them all—but we won once."
A shaky smile ford on his lips. "We stood up for ourselves and won. I might die tonight, but I won’t go down without taking at least one of them with ! I’ll even try taking down the governor myself, even when I know it’s impossible!"
Lola studied the situation, eyeing the lackey who was standing just on the other building near where she was. She rocked her head, finding the lackey’s speech impressive. Even she felt moved by not his words, but rather, the emotions in his every word.
But then again...
She ignored the speech and slowly turned her head to the parade heading this way. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see clearly in the distance. Tilting her head, she thought to herself,
Sothing’s not right.
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