< Darkness and Light (Part 2) >
The Reaver leader had an M60 machine gun with him. He probably gained the status of a boss because of the machine gun. However, at the moment, all of his men had been killed and he was kneeling in front of Zin.
Hed tried to take out the other group of Reavers with the help of the Wargrave, but in the end the Wargrave took out his group. The leader was huge in size and seemed to be powerful. But he wasnt smart enough as a boss. He made the mistake of forming a line of defense beneath the subway platform. He should have known that the enemy, who was utilizing infrared vision, had better equipment than them. Even if he didnt know the existence of the flashbang, hed made a poor choice by cornering his men. Numbers are important but equipment was just as important in a fight. Five hundred Reavers armed with guns could be wiped out by a single armored vehicle. And in the last battle, the Reavers ended up slaughtered because they did not have the equipment to see in the darkness. They were all killed because they were unprepared for the flashbang attack.
It was important to understand what the enemies were armed with, and Zin always checked for the weapons that the enemies carried before he started the hunt.
It was an excellent idea to attack the Wargrave in order to have them kill the existing group of Reavers. And in fact, if the Left Hand Reavers hadnt visited the fortress to explain their story, we would have killed those innocent Reavers.
Thththat I mean, that
Fine. I applaud you for surrendering. Im not killing you right away because Im curious about something.
What is that?
Looking at you, I cant imagine that you thought of a plan to piss off the Wargrave in order to wipe out the existing Reavers. If you were smarter, you would have destroyed the hallway as soon as we attacked you. You should have tried to find an escape route. But you chose to corner yourself under the platform. Isnt that dumb? If youre that stupid, I dont think you thought of the plan to take out the existing Reavers.
Zin was saying that the dumb leader could not have thought of such plan. The leader was not able to speak as Zin sneered at him.
Who is behind all this? Zin asked the question assuming that someone was behind this plot. He realized that the leader was a coward and an idiot, so he was trying to make the leader confess. Zin suspected that there was a mastermind because the Reaver group was making bad decisions.
Why are you targeting Harbin?
The leader reluctantly replied in a quiet voice, I was invited to join the Group if we took care of the Reavers in Harbin.
Zin was shocked at the unexpected name. Group?
Yes, the Group. I told them that we were outnumbered and they told me of a strategy
Hmmm
What is the Group? Why are you reacting to that name? Ramphil did not know what the Group was about, and he was surprised at Zins reaction.
Theyre the allied force of the Reavers. You can think of them as a large group of Slaughterhouses As far as I know, their base is in the region of Far Northeast Asia.
The Group is expanding at a rapid pace. The entire northern region is under their control.
Theyre expanding?
Yes, they took full control of most of Northern Russia There are many Reavers that would like to be a part of the Group. The Left Hand Reavers refuse to join the Group since they trust in the Wargrave. So, I reached out to the Group and they told me that they would accept my team if I could take out the Reavers in Harbin
After Zin listened to the story of the leader, his face hardened. Could they be?
Theyre an alliance of Reavers, but they are not Reavers.
Zin didnt continue to speak. He felt confused at this wholly unexpected news. Zin remembered a conversation he once had a long time ago.
Are you moving into that cold land? What are you going to eat? Ice?
Well, that land has only ice, so I wont be able to kill anything. Thats crazy.
There wont be any humans to hunt. Theyll also learn how to live like human beings. And in fact, look at them. Theyre changing. There are some who would rather not kill people and run away somewhere else. Theyre just mimicking other people. If were away from people for a long time, they will become ordinary people.
The conversation from the past flashed through Zins memories.
Zin, you dont have to live like trash just because you were born as trash.
You dont have to die terribly just because youve lived a terrible life.
I dont believe that you have to live in a certain way just because you were born in a certain way.
I will change these helpless people. Come visit me one day.
The woman had a gorgeous smile as she spoke.
I will show you the junkwagon racing in the tundra. If youd like, I can invite you as a racer…
I will politely refuse!, he had answered.
The woman took a large group of Reavers up to the north. Their numbers reached over ten thousand.
Zin calculated the time that had elapsed. He tried to remember when the group of Reavers decided not to kill people anymore and formed alliances. Ironically, the new group of Reavers forbade allowing Reavers to join.
And Zin remembered that at one point, he acted as a hitman when the new group of Reavers went to war against an existing group of Reavers.
And Zin tried to remember the year when the woman left for the land of ice after winning the war.
It had been a while since the new group of Reavers started protecting the northeastern towns, and had the ambition to make the world a better place to live.
When was that?
Zin felt weird when he was told that the northeastern area was a safe place to live.
Was it fifteen years, twenty years, or thirty years ago?
Zin couldnt remember the date. But the Reaver in front of him was talking about the current Group, and not the Group from the past.
Do you know the leader of the Group?
I heard that the name of the leader was Asura He had six arms and held machine guns in each hand
Zin did not recognize the name.
So she must have died.
It seemed like her attempt to change the Reavers was futile. In the end, the beasts returned to their old ways. Zin had seen many times when the leaders mistakes caused major failures.
During those times, Zin felt emotions that werent necessarily that of sadness or anger.
The nature
In the end, she caused the Reavers to become a well-organized army. Traits like goodness, forgiveness, and trust became meaningless for the Reavers.
The woman had parents who were Reavers. And she had the determination to not live as one. But her determination only resulted in the Reavers forming a massive army.
It was another reason that Zin hated junkwagons.
Zin slowly started to talk again. Okay, so the Group asked you to remove the Reavers in Harbin. And the Group promised to take you on as a member if you succeeded?
Yes in order to become part of the Group, Reavers need to fully control a region or attack a region picked out by the Group. Once you get into the alliance, you gain a massive ally
The Group had a very simple way of expanding its power. The Group asked the Reavers who wanted to join the alliance to attack other regions. The Group accepted new members after a successful attack. The Group naturally expanded its power as many more new members joined their ranks.
The Left Hand Reavers trusted in the Wargrave, and they probably did not join the Group. The Group then asked another team of Reavers to take care of the Left Hand Reavers.
The Group continued to expand, but it did not waste any resources or men. It was a very clever way to manage big groups.
The Group was behind the incident. It wasnt interested in attacking the Wargrave, but it was interested in expanding its control to encompass the city of Harbin.
The matter had become too large for the hunter and the executor to handle. A devil hunter and Ramphil alone wouldnt be able to take down a whole army of Reavers. It was something that the Wargrave would need to discuss.
It meant that Zin had accomplished the request. When the leader noticed Ramphil and Zin exchange signals, he pulled down the zipper on his vest.
Please spare my life
Hmm
The leader was looking for a way to survive. When he unzipped his vest, there were over ten chipbusters attached to the inside.
He was wearing a vest full of bombs that would detonate if he pulled a string. It was something that Zin had somewhat expected.
I think itll be okay to let this one guy live. What do you think, executor?
Hmmm Ramphil pondered for a while. Ramphil and Zin could effortlessly killed Reavers, and at the moment, they were deciding the fate of the leader.
Well, now that he knows that we cant resolve the root cause of the issue, it should be okay.
As Ramphil spoke, the leader became happy.
Okay, then. I will start walking out, so you two stay where you
Pow!
In the blink of an eye, Ramphil punched the Reavers head and crushed it. The leaders head burst into pieces before he even had time to pull the string. Zin took the string from the dead mans finger as soon as the leader was killed.
Zin sighed and stared at Ramphil. Hey, even if you could kill him in a split second, he could have pulled the string with a twitch of his muscles. You almost got us all killed.
If Zin didnt act fast, the vest could have exploded. However, Ramphil replied with a smile, I was confident that you would take care of it.
well, thanks for trusting me. I thought you were going to let him go, but why did you kill him?
I thought that he was going to blow up the tunnel and bury us alive. Was I being too suspicious?
Ramphil killed the leader as soon as he said that he was going to leave first.
Zin smiled as Ramphil explained his action. It was a very reasonable suspicion.
Ramphil had continued to talk to the leader in order to calm him down, but neither of them had any intention of letting him live.
Although the two had different personalities, they had similar thought processes.
Earlier, Zin had asked about the location of the Groups base.
As the two returned to Northern Harbin, Ramphil asked, You looked pretty shaken up when you heard about the Group. Do you have a history with them?
Since the Wargrave wasnt interested in a group of Reavers that had moved to a remote place, there was no way that Ramphil could have heard about this Group.
Zin replied, If that group of Reavers decided to go back to its old ways of slaughtering and raiding people, the past doesnt really matter.
Zin refused to answer the question, and Ramphil did not ask any more about his past. Four days after leaving the fortress, the two had succeeded in wiping out the Reavers. They both worked great as a team.
They both knew that the other had impressive battle skills, and they also realized that they had a good chemistry going on.
The Group If the Group were to expand aggressively, it was evident that the Wargrave needed to be aware of the threat.
Do you think that we need to keep an eye on this Group? Ramphil asked.
Well. In my opinion, a fortress should be able to take them out, but
An army-sized unit of tanks would be enough to wipe out thousands of Reaver junkwagons.
I see. I dont think theyre acting recklessly, though.
It seemed like the Group was acting aggressively for some reason. However, it was hard for Ramphil or Zin to figure out the reason. Zin worried about something important to him.
If the northeast region of Russia was under the control of the Group, he wondered if the Heavenly Power castle was still untouched.
This is troubling Zin had to hurry up.
He wondered if the Heavenly Power castle was under the control of the Group. He had no way of knowing.
Zin did not forget to receive the chips owed him by the Left Hand Reavers. Before they returned to the fortress, he and Ramphil visited the Slaughterhouse.
As Zin looked at the Slaughterhouse, he was impressed. Its the size of a city.
The trash wall was set up tall, and seemed almost impossible to climb. The apartment ruins served as a defensive wall around the Slaughterhouse.
What is the probability that they wont pay up?
Theres no way thats going to happen. They have a fortress right in front of them.
Even though chips were valuable, they were not as valuable as a life. There was no way that the Reavers would attack Zin and Ramphil. If they attacked, the fortress would send out forces to retaliate.
I suppose they have their reasons not to be a part of the Group.
The Slaughterhouse was huge. As Zin and Ramphil walked closer to the trash wall, they wondered if they should be walking through the main gate. Then, they heard a noise.
Vrrrrooom!
Junkwagons were approaching the Slaughterhouse. Zin and Ramphil instinctively hid themselves. A small group of Reavers seemed to have gone out for a hunt.
Players are entering!
The Reavers seemed to have killed some people, and their junkwagons were covered with blood. A man was tied onto the hood of the leading junkwagon. A woman and a kid were also tied to the hoods of the other junkwagons.
They were still alive.
There was blood dripping out of the trunks of the junkwagons. After all, these Left Hand Reavers were cannibals who hunted humans.
It was nothing special that they went out to hunt people for food.
Zin and Ramphil wondered why the Reaver yelled players are entering. The group of junkwagons passed by, and the two looked at each other. They werent particularly disappointed since they expected these Reavers to continue to kill people for meat.
Zin wasnt a hero who rescued innocent people, and Ramphil was not interested in any matter that was not related to the Wargrave.
Hmmm
Player
Zin and Ramphil sensed something, and they were both debating.
So, how about we look around the Slaughterhouse?
They had no reason to do so, but Zin made the suggestion anyway.
Sure.
And Ramphil nodded even though he wasnt sure if he needed to go to the Slaughterhouse.