BXBX NOVEL Chapter 41: Unlikely Comrades-In-Arms
"Damn it," Tony groaned, "We messed up."
"So what are we doing?" Triss asked, her grip on her Repeater tightening.
"Surrender seems… smart," Dana said in a mellow tone.
"They won't spare us either way," Stefan said with his lips tight.
"Ah, what nonsense!" Devon said and stood up with his Shotgun in hand and his stance was defiant in challenge.
"Devon, are you mad?" Dana asked.
"If we're going to die anyway, why should we hide behind rocks that are not offering us any protection anyway?"
"What's the point of fighting to die? We only fight to live!
At least, if we surrender, Death is not yet certain." Tony said with a deep frown.
Triss noticed Henry hadn't spoken yet and she glanced over at him to see his hand cork the Repeater in his hand with his eyes locked on the Langlot gang members who had the higher ground.
"Henry, what are you…?" Triss started to ask but Henry's voice cutting loudly across the rocky valley interrupted whatever she had to say.
"NYX, GET THEM!"
It was as though Nyx had been waiting for that instruction.
Until now, no one had paid enough heed to realize Nyx had not galloped away like the other horses at the sound of gunfire.
She had remained a few feet away with her eyes —deep with an understanding of the situation— trained on the going-ons as though waiting to jump in.
Like a black bullet, Nyx fled the rocky valley and began to climb the path that led up to the higher ground where the newly arrived Langlot Gang members had stationed themselves.
Danger instincts flared up among a good few of the Langlot boys. They didn't even really understand why but knew they did not want that horse close to them.
"Shoot that horse!" One yelled in command and guns were pointed but, although Nyx might not be faster than a bullet, she was faster than the shooters' trigger fingers.
Down in the valley, Henry raised the Repeater he had cocked and picked two targets mostly at random to put bullets in their heads.
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
[You have received a bonus of 100 Exp]
He would have fired more shots and killed even more but Nyx had made her arrival to the top by then.
All shots that had been fired at the beautiful black horse missed and with an aggressive headbutt, she slammed into one horse, not only knocking its rider off but also knocking the horse to the side so that it toppled into the horse beside it, which started a domino effect that sent almost all horses to the ground.
As she whinnied gallantly in the delight of her powerful collision, Nyx reared on her hind legs and when she brought down her front hooves, it was to stomp hard on the head of the Gang member closest to her, immediately ending his attempt to struggle back to his feet.
[Nyx has made a Kill]
[Nyx cannot accumulate Stat points until she has stepped onto the Evolutionary Path]
[You have received a bonus of 50 Exp]
Henry's eyes widened at the realization that Nyx's kill still allowed him to receive the bonus Exp for the Hunting Quest and with that in mind, he decided to give her full reign to stomp on every other Gang man ever in her path.
With bullets flying in his direction and forcing him to once again duck behind his rocky cover, Henry was unable to yell at Nyx to keep going but somehow, she knew and ran amok.
She dashed at full speed, slamming her head into the poor Gang members who had been abandoned by their horses either killing them instantly due to the collision or sending them sailing down into the rocky valley where their heads struck the ground and they died all the same.
[You have received a bonus of 50 Exp]
[You have received a bonus of 50 Exp]
[You have received a bonus of 50 Exp]
Meanwhile, the other Dionisio Gang members had all stood out from behind the protection of their covers to hold up their weapons in surrender so when Henry kickstarted another shootout by yelling at Nyx and firing two shots at the Gang members looking down at them from a hill, the others didn't have enough time to raise their weapons and join in.
They barely managed to duck down behind the cover of rocks when shots were fired, sparing none of them. The wounds were not fatal by any means but the pain of bullets tearing through shoulders and missing heads by mere inches caused tempers to rise but it was Triss who spoke first.
"Henry, a little warning first?!" She asked in a tone that seemed dangerously close to a shriek.
Henry flinched at the sound,
"Sorry," he said, "Stay back here. I'll handle the rest."
He didn't wait for an answer or for them to unanimously give him a look that made it clear they wondered if he was mad, and just leaped over his rocky cover and ran towards the very end of the camp where their enemies were ducked at.
"Like hell, you will!" Devon said in a deep rumbling voice that sounded very much like a growl.
With a powerful heave and without the slightest show that his shoulder wound was hindering him, the Half-orc leaped over his cover as well and charged forward only a few steps behind Henry.
Together, they charged the last of the enemies like unlikely comrades-in-arms.
Shots were fired at Henry but with his Agility stat at a point their vast majority was unable to keep up with as well as the fact that he adopted a zig-zag running pattern, made it difficult for the enemy to hit him.
Henry cocked the Repeater in his hand and fired two shots at his first victim. One to the shoulder and one to the head.
"Ack!" The Gangbanger let out out as he fell back.
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
Devon cocked his shotgun and intercepted an enemy's shot by firing first and splattering the victim's brain matter so aggressively, that it splashed into the eyes of another, blinding him and leaving him prone to get shot in the head by Henry.
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
Henry arrived at the other end and leaped over the cover a pair of Gangbangers were hiding behind and with a swift and heavy kick backed by his high Strength Stat, he sent one slamming into the other which forced his head to slam into the rock behind.
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
The one who actually suffered Henry's kick groaned in pain at his cracked sternum but still tried to summon the will to raise his weapon. The attempt was feeble and it ended when Henry shoved the muzzle of his Repeater into his mouth and fired.
[Kill-Reward: 7 Exp]
[You have gained Skill Exp]
Henry turned to other enemies and aimed to shoot again but the Repeater cocked with a sound that announced it was out of bullets.
"Fool!" Terrence's voice called out from behind the rock where he and the last two other members of the base were taking cover.
Like someone ready to throw it all away for a chance to kill at least one enemy, Terrence stood up and aimed his gun.
Henry was ready and his hand pulled out his revolver from his Inventory but before he could fire his shot, a blast from a shotgun sounded out and half of Terrence's head was blasted off in a bloody display that doused the last two remaining Langlot Gang members with his blood.