Chapter Thirteen: The Yellow Zone Part Three

Upon arriving, the entire battlefield was twice larger and bloodier than we fought at the back of the caravan. Dozens upon dozens of dust piles trampled under the feet from both sides that were engaging in a messy melee while blades and projectiles flung over our heads. Amidst the chaotic battle, we found six behemoths lying on the ground. Two of them were dead. We also found Commander Raja shouting orders to everyone not far from us.

Katie scurried toward him with an angry face. Wilt, Li, and I shared concerned looks. We went after her, understanding that there could be trouble.

“Hey, Commander!” she snarled, which got his attention. “You said the raiders weren’t as many as fifty. You said we’re safe in numbers. But look around us. We are all under attack!”

When our fellow hired ones heard what she said, they all glared daggers at the commander.

“I know, I know,” he admitted, “but this had never happened before.”

“What do you mean?” Wilt asked.

“We’re not dealing with one raider group. We are dealing with dozens of them, a whole alliance.” That shuddered us very much. “Del Rio, where are you going?” Before the commander could explain further, we saw the lieutenant leading a team of warriors away from the battle.

“I’m going to relieve the front caravan.”

“I already sent teams there,” he growled. “You are supposed to take charge of the hired ones. A lot of them are dying here.”

“I’m only protecting our own, Commander,” Del Rio exclaimed. “And you should do it too.” She and her team left with haste.

“You fool!” the commander roared before ordering some of his subordinates to go after the lieutenant and drag her back if they had to. Once they departed, he returned his attention toward us. “I need you to gather the newcomers and get yourselves far away from here. You folks aren’t ready for this fight.”

“More Asuras are coming!” someone shouted when several of them appeared.

“Go, we’ll handle this!” He began to transform into an eight-armed golden giant holding a spear in each hand. He then bolted to confront the Asuras when they were about to join with the rest of the enemies.

Recognizing an opportunity, Wilt told us to do what Commander Raja had ordered. We called out our fellow newcomers, hoping we could find Travis and Sally. Eventually, many flocked around us. We were glad to see the pair was among them.

“Where’s the rest of your guild?” Wilt asked.

“The commander sent them to the front caravan,” Travis explained. “Our guild thought that Sally and I would be safe with all the veterans around, so they left us here.”

“Well, things aren’t safe here anymore,” Katie commented at the surrounding chaos.

Wilt told them about the commander’s new order. Everyone was relieved that they were permitted to move away from the battle.

“Watch out!” I cried when one of the Asuras slipped through our line. The commander was busy fighting the rest while managing to knock out six of them.

The menacing-looking giant glared at us. Standing five meters tall with four arms, each holding a mace, trident, and two swords, we knew we were in deep trouble.

“Move! Move!” Wilt bellowed. “Those who can fight, stay behind!”

Wilt, Katie, Li, and I stood our ground and prepared to face the Asura, but the giant leaped over our heads and landed in front of Travis and Sally, cutting them off from the others who managed to escape. The Asura gave Sally a nasty grin. The four of us hurried to rescue her, but we couldn’t make it in time when his trident was about to plunge into her chest until Travis pushed Sally aside. He got impaled instead.

We were all frozen in horror.

As Travis turned gray, he mustered his last strength to say, “Sally, please live on.”

The Asura severed him in half, and Travis was shattered into dust, leaving only his small belongings behind.

In shock, Sally was on her knees to pick them up with tears dripping from her eyes.

Overwhelmed with anger, Li and Wilt threw themselves to the Asura before he could harm her. Katie went to Sally while the two managed to disarm his trident and swords with a few parries, only for the giant to smack them with his mace, sending them crash-landed in front of the girls’ feet.

Seeing Sally crying and two of my friends lying in pain, I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth until I broke free from my frozen nerves before marching toward the Asura.

“Sam, what are you doing?” Katie voiced her horror while placing herself in front of the three to shield them. “Get away, Sam! Run!” she cried.

I didn’t heed her plea as I stood tall before the four-armed giant, who was giving me a weird look. A bug like me challenged a goliath like him, but I didn’t care. Neither was the Asura as he swung his mace toward my face.

Thunk!

That sound had everyone shut their eyes. Once they lit up, all their eyes, including the Asura, almost popped out when they saw me blocking the hunk of iron with just one hand. The giant struggled to free his mace from my grip with all four arms. No matter how much strength he could muster, I didn’t let go.

I yanked the mace out of his hands and tossed it away. The Asura took a couple of trembling steps backward after witnessing my abnormal strength and the raging look on my face. After what he did to Travis, I could not let him get away. I quickened my feet with my fist ready.

BOOM!

The sound of cannon fire thundered, followed by an immense shockwave. The Asura plowed and tumbled through his fellow raiders before crashing into a cluster of his giant brethren, turning into a mushroom cloud of dust.

In an instant, the battle halted, and everyone’s attention from both sides fell on me. Once the raiders realized what I did to the Asuras, they scampered in retreat. Again, nobody pursued them. Awestruck and confused, one question popped up in their minds about me: How?

“Hey, newbie!” a Jormungand officer shouted at me. “I don’t know what kind of powers you got, but don’t go around recalling the raiders. All of them have bounties. They need to be captured alive.” He then turned his attention to the hired ones. “Catch them, and you get half of the reward money.”

The newcomers shuddered. How would they capture an Asura alive without getting themselves recalled? Before anyone could answer, they spotted another wave coming. This time, the raiders had dozens of vehicles. Large and menacing and came straight out from post-apocalyptic movies.

“Reform the line!” Commander Raja cried.

His officers repeated that order throughout the caravan. The hired ones and the Jormungands formed another defensive line while the newcomers, on the other hand, were fleeing as previously ordered — except for one person.

“Sam, get back here!” Katie found me striding away from the caravan, straight for the charging raiders’ direction.

Everyone was yelling at me to come back.

After some thoughts, remembering my life back on Earth, I made my decision. With a single bound, I soared into the sky before descending toward them. I calculated my landing onto one of their vehicles. Once my feet slammed on the hood, the car flipped into the air before catching it with one hand.

I thanked that god who came to me on that night. I finally had the power to do the right thing. Saving my friends would be the start.

After throwing the car at the enemies, I begin to wreak havoc. Whoever and whatever my hands could reach, I turned them into weapons, hurling and clobbering anyone in sight. I was unstoppable. Not even a band of Asuras and a truck that rammed me could stop my wrath. When the raiders moved back in fear, I wreaked havoc for more. Nothing could stop me now.

Because I got the power of Hercules.