Free Web NovelChapter 16: Ambush
He didn’t stop walking.
He heard four people walking behind him. Another person was on his left, moving around the stone arch. He did the math without looking. There were about five of
them.
Maybe six.
He got to the middle of the courtyard before they closed the exits.
They all looked older than him. Second-years, he guessed, from the way they carried themselves. They spread out without rushing, taking positions at the exits and along the courtyard wall.
The guy in front was tall and broad, with the body of someone who
had been training since birth. He had a ring on two fingers that Holden recognized from the supply catalog as a minor impact amplifier.
He crossed his arms and looked at Holden with an arrogant smirk, completely convinced he had already won.
"Well, well. If it isn’t the mighty Voss," he said, puffing out his chest as he blocked the path.
"Yeah," Holden responded.
"I saw that pathetically tough evaluation of yours today," the tall one continued, his tone dripping with mocking superiority. "Broke the machine and walked away with an error score. Honestly, that is downright embarrassing for
someone pretending to be a first-place prodigy. Did you really think you could fool the academy sensors with whatever cheap slum trick you pulled during the exams?"
Holden stayed silent.
"Here’s how things are going to work from now on," the tall one continued, stepping closer to loom over him. "Since you clearly don’t have a stipend to your name, Draven believes trash like you doesn’t belong breathing the same air as us in the Prime Zone. But, because Draven is a generous and forgiving lord, he is willing to let you crawl back to your little estate...
Only if you hand over every single credit you have left from your lucky
entrance exam prize."
"That’s just a slum tax," Holden said.
"Oh, don’t be so dramatic. Think of it as a mandatory goodwill contribution to your betters," the tall one said, loudly tapping the impact amplifier on his hand so the metal clinked against his knuckles. "It goes directly to Draven’s
student association. So, hand it over right now. If you don’t, me and the boys here are going to break both your legs, laugh while you scream, and then let
the academy medics empty your pockets while you’re unconscious anyway. It’s really your choice, peasant."
Holden looked at the five of them.
He thought about the secret fifty-thousand credit token sitting safely in his pocket, and the ward he was going to get for Maeve’s door.
He found the situation frustrating and knew he had no choice but to deal with it.
"Alright," he said. "Take them."
The tall one relaxed his body, looking smug and pleased. He thought things were going exactly how he had planned.
Then Holden moved.
Whoooosh.
He used the full power of his ultimate Gale-step technique. He was moving faster than the eye can follow. One moment Holden was standing in front of them, and
the next, he was gone.
It took a moment for the tall guy to notice he was gone.
He didn’t even have time to react before he was hit.
Holden struck a sensitive spot under his ear.
The tall guy dropped to the ground instantly.
THUD.
One of the guys at the back turned around when he heard the first guy fall.
Whoosh.
In just two steps, Holden hit him in the stomach with his palm. He hit a sensitive nerve, and all the air left the man’s lungs at once.
The two at the exits moved at the same time.
Holden was already between them by the time they moved.
Whoosh.
Thud. Thud.
He hit them both almost at the same time, his Gale-step technique making him move from one target to the other in a smooth motion. He hit specific spots on their bodies that would knock them out quickly without causing any permanent
injuries.
Both of them dropped to the floor. freёwebnovel.com
One of them wanted to pull out his gun. He was staring at his friends on the floor, then at the first-year standing in the middle of it all.
His hand came off the weapon.
Smart choice.
Holden walked toward him and he stepped back instantly. His brain realized how dangerous Holden really was.
Holden walked to the exit.
The afternoon sun was still shining hot, and the rest of the school was busy as usual.
The system screen appeared at the corner of his vision.
[Combat Victory: 5 Cultivator opponents incapacitated.]
[Kill Points Awarded: +250 KP.]
[Total KP: 300.]
He looked at the number.
Defeating cultivators yields KP. He hadn’t known that until now.
He was thinking about the wards he was going to get for Maeve’s door when he heard a sound.
A slow clap.
The moment he stopped walking, the clap stopped.
Holden turned around to see who it was.
Someone was standing at the back of the courtyard, in the shadow of the archway.
He looked like an older student, maybe in his second or third year. One could tell he had trained in a special way because his shoulders were so thick and strong.
Holden noticed the metal gauntlets on the man’s hands. They went all the way up to his forearms and had a weird, glowing energy flickering on its surface. This didn’t look cheap. It was the kind of expensive gear you find in high-level catalogs.
The man stepped out and looked at Holden calmly. Even though he had just seen Holden beat five people in seconds, he wasn’t scared at all. He was still acting like he was the one in control, completely blind to his own impending
downfall.
"I have to admit, that was entertaining for a filthy slum-rat," the man said, his voice a low rumble of pure arrogance.
"You beat up a few pathetic lackeys with a cheap little speed trick. But don’t let it get to your
head. That parlor trick won’t save you from a real fighter. You see
these gauntlets? They cost more than your entire bloodline is worth. Draven paid me a fortune to make sure you never walk again, and I am going to enjoy taking my time breaking every single bone in your scrawny body."
