Chapter 356: The Chase

West landed a clean uppercut as final attack, sending the gangster flying nearly thirty meters before crashing through an abandoned storefront.

BOOM!

The driver who had witnessed the entire encounter was left in awe. In less than thirty seconds, this young man had defeated four awakeners.

’Who in the world is he?’

West dusted off his hands as he returned to the passenger seat. "Drive."

The truck accelerated, speeding further ahead in a bid to flee this territory.

However, that brief battle had been far from quiet.

Lights flickered on throughout nearby buildings and voices echoed.

"Who’s fighting?!"

"The Black Jackals are under attack!"

Sirens fashioned from rusted steel began blaring and within seconds, dozens of gang members from the same Black Jackals flooded nearby streets.

"There!"

"A truck!"

"Stop them!"

Bullets struck the truck’s metal exterior.

PING!

PING!

PING!

The driver screamed. "They’re everywhere!"

West looked behind. "Keep driving."

Motorcycles began pursuing them, pickups joined in and from rooftops, several awakened leapt between buildings.

Meanwhile, miles away... inside the now-empty slave compound... one guard finally regained consciousness.

His head throbbed violently. "Huh...?"

He looked around and noticed that every cage was empty.

His heartbeat stopped. "...No..."

He immediately jumped to his feet and sprinted through the compound. "No!"

"They’re gone!"

"The kids are gone!"

Panic erupted instantly as the slave traders rushed from every building. "What happened?!"

"Where are they?!"

"The merchandise!"

The leader’s face twisted with fury. "Seal every exit!"

"Send word!"

"I don’t care who did it!"

"I want every road blocked!"

"Nobody enters the slums!"

"And nobody leaves!"

Messengers raced across the slums, flares shot into the night sky and different gangs began receiving the alert about dozens of stolen slaves.

Soon word circulated of a truck and within minutes, the entire slum district became a boiling hornet’s nest.

Back inside the speeding truck... the driver looked in horror at the growing number of headlights behind them.

"There are... there are more joining!"

West glanced through the rear window and could see members of the Black Jackals, slave traders and independent raiders.

Everyone was after the truck now. Some wanted money, some wanted revenge while ohers simply wanted whatever valuable cargo could unite so many enemies.

West smiled while slowly cracking his knuckles. "So..."

"It looks like we accidentally declared war on half the slums."

Behind them, engines roared louder while ahead, another roadblock was already beginning to form.

The truck roared through the shattered streets of Orizon City’s slums like a beast fleeing a burning forest.

Its engine groaned as it tore across broken asphalt, bouncing violently over potholes and piles of rubble.

Inside the covered cargo compartment, dozens of rescued captives huddled together in fearful silence. Every sharp turn sent them stumbling into one another, but not a single complaint escaped their lips.

They knew one thing... if the truck stopped, they would be dragged back.

Outside, chaos erupted.

"THEY’RE GETTING AWAY!"

"HIT THE TIRES!"

Gunfire continued to erupt from behind.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bullets ricocheted off the reinforced rear doors, leaving shallow dents across the metal plating.

The terrified driver gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"S-Sir!"

"They’re gaining!"

"Just continue moving," West instructed while winding down the window.

He pushed himself through the open side window and placed his hand atop the vehicle.

Fwwhii~

With a sharp pull, he flipped onto the roof of the truck and stood atop it as though it were perfectly still despite racing at over a hundred kilometers an hour.

The fierce night wind whipped against his clothes and behind he could see the dozens of motorcycles and modified pickup trucks headlights.

He also spotted a few awakened sprinting across rooftops, using their enhanced bodies to keep pace with the convoy.

West exhaled slowly. "So many..."

Dark blue fur rapidly spread across his skin as he began to transform.

His muscles expanded, spiky fangs protruded from his mouth and his glowing eyes became narrow and predatory.

Within moments... the seven-foot-tall Voidfang Predator stood atop the truck.

One pursuing awakened pointed upward. "He’s transforming!"

"Take him down!"

Three awakened leaped simultaneously from neighboring rooftops.

One wielded twin hooked blades, another possessed elongated crystalline claws while the third had transformed his arms into massive stone hammers.

West’s lips curled upward as they descended together.

"So impatient," his chest expanded as a brilliant violet light gathered deep within his throat.

The first awakened noticed the surrounding air trembling and reacted swiftly. "...Move!"

Unfortunately...

BOOOOOOM!!

A concentrated beam of violet energy erupted from West’s mouth, carving through the night sky like a divine spear.

The rooftop beneath the attackers exploded into fragments.

The beam continued for nearly fifty meters before dissipating, leaving behind a smoking trench where concrete had once existed.

The three awakened had already been blasted backward.

One slammed through an apartment wall, another crashed onto the street below while the last spun uncontrollably through the air before disappearing into a collapsed building.

The pursuing convoy faltered briefly. "What kind of monster is that?"

"He fired that from his mouth!"

"Don’t slow down!"

The chase continued regardless with two motorcycles accelerating until they reached the truck’s sides.

Their riders jumped and both landed smoothly atop the vehicle.

One laughed while turning into a blur and sweeping his blade toward West’s neck at superspeed. "Got him!"

CLANG!

West caught it between two clawed fingers. "...That’s it?"

The gangster’s eyes widened as West squeezed.

CRACK!

The weapon shattered into dozens of fragments and before the awakened could react... West’s tail whipped towards his body.

BOOM!

The impact launched the attacker off the truck, sending him crashing through a parked vehicle before disappearing from sight.

The second awakened roared as his arms suddenly enlarged and changed color, resembling thick tree trunks.

He swung both fists downward but West met them head-on.

BOOOOM!!

The collision shook the entire truck causing the roof to cave beneath their feet.

The awakened grinned as roots grew out of his arms and wrapped around West, trapping him in place. "I’ve got you now!"

West smiled displaying his blue glowing fangs. "You’ve got... nothing."

His muscles swelled and with frightening ease, he forced himself free, ripping the roots apart.

The attacker’s confident expression instantly disappeared. "N-No..."

West grabbed both wrists and spun twice before hurling him like a rag doll.

The awakened flew across three buildings before crashing into a water tower, which immediately collapsed.

The pursuing gangsters collectively inhaled sharply. "Is he even Tier One?"

"He has been dominating every single awakened. Something is very wrong!"

West remained atop the truck with a calm expression, watching and waiting.

A few moments later, another barrage of bullets raced toward him.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

<[ Shadow Anchor Activated ]>

He slipped into the shadow beneath him, causing the bullets to strike nothing.

A glowing footprint suddenly appeared atop one pursuing pickup and West emerged directly above it. "My turn."

BOOOOM!!

He slammed both fists into the vehicle’s roof causing the pickup to flip violently across the road, rolling several times before crashing into pursuing motorcycles.

The resulting pileup forced dozens behind them to scatter.

The driver inside the truck carrying the kids couldn’t help glancing upward through the cracked windshield. "...He’s fighting an army..."

West landed lightly back atop the truck. "We’re almost out of the slums."

Unfortunately... that was exactly when everything changed.

Ahead... a figure slowly stepped into the center of the main road.

Unlike the others, no one shouted around him... instead, the surrounding gang members instinctively kept their distance.

A long crimson coat fluttered behind him while his right arm glowed with brilliant orange light.

"So..." his voice echoed across the street. "You’re the fool causing tonight’s commotion."

West narrowed his glowing eyes. "A leader."

The man smiled. "I’ll make this quick."

A massive crimson branch erupted behind him and flames instantly exploded outward.

He thrust both hands toward the sky causing the fire sweep upward before crashing back down.

BOOOOOOOOM!!

An enormous wall of flaming spikes erupted across the entire width of the street, stretching nearly fifteen meters into the air.

Its blazing surface radiated enough heat to melt nearby streetlights.

The driver looked ahead and immediately panicked. "We can’t stop in time!"

"We’re going too fast!"

West quickly scanned their surroundings.

On the left, nearly fifty gang members emerged from side streets while on the right was another ambush force with rocket launchers, machine guns and even armed awakened.

Behind, multiple pursuing convoys rapidly closed the distance.

And ahead was the impenetrable inferno wall.

The driver screamed. "What do we do?!"

West stared at the burning wall and extended one hand. "...Keep going."

A glowing summoning circle unfolded before him causing the surrounding air to darken.

A ten feet tall figure suddenly materialized above the speeding truck, clad in long slited robes that danced within invisible currents.

Her smooth green skin shimmered beneath moonlight as her golden eyes opened slowly while the staff in her hand radiated immense magical power.

Gor’thala immediately bowed. "Your orders, Master?"

West pointed toward the wall. "Get rid of that."

She glanced forward. "...A simple task."