Bab 162: The Vipers
"You son of bitch!"
The centaur cursed both the woman and his luck. The metallic chill of the flintlock's barrel upon his forehead froze him in place. The rest of the arm that held Telmano at gunpoint finally rose from the hay. An elven man with the same deep bronze complexion. His hair had a dirty-blonde hue, spilling from under his worn out fedora that complimented his ragged overcoat. With a smug grin as haughty as his tone, he threatened Telmano.
"Woah there, watch your mouth, partner. Treat the lady with respect now. We don't want my finger to accidentally slip and blow a hole into your skull now don't we?"
"Hah, respect!? What do you know of that word when you're out here robbing others?"
Suddenly, another sand elf emerged from the hay, popping up right beside the smug elf. The butt of her flintlock rifle slamming into Telmano's jaw. His head turning from the thud, he can take a more solid blow. It did more damage to Telmano's pride than anything.
"Shut up and give us all of your gold!" The sand-elf womam shouted. Her hair pale as ash, parted sideways into a banga that adorned her femme fatale beauty. They took pride in being one of the best, the most feared in all of Havardin. The Vipers. If they are going to be an outcast wherever they go in Havardin, might as well make sure that 'nobody' fucks with them, much like these venonous snakes they named themselves after.
"Rallena, you are supposed to be the element of surprise for thr back-up of our centaur friend over here!"
The man holding the pistol chastised in a defeated manner. The woman was too much of a wild stallion for him to rein in. The only person that can calm her when she is this heated was her four-armed lover.
"To hell with you and your surprises, Morrgen!" Her timbre, impatient and fed up, Rallena pointed the tip of her flinlock's barrel towards Telmano. "YOUR GOLD, FUCK FACE, NOW! MAKE ME REPEAT MYSELF AGAIN AND I WILL SHOOY YOU!"
Arrows tamed from the fierce desert winds shot forth, disarming the two marksmen. Impressed, but more importantly, pissed off at who would dare to flaunt such accuracy at two of the viper's finest straight shooters.
On the rooftop of the moving carriage, Marrione made the immaculate splitshot, his archery form ready to unleash another! The wind's favor still upon him despite the desert's turbulince.
Rallena's eyes squinted with disgust and hate upon seeing her other kin, "Fucking treehugger!"
Telmano roared, "Nobody badmouths my friend but me!"
Taking advantage of the distraction caused by Marionne, he grabbed the wagon's underside. His anger combined with his robust centaur physique, Telmano flipped the wagon along wih the two sand elves.
Galloping towards his friends, Telmano made his getaway.
The first of the two to gather her bearings bad been Rallena, the sand elf got the Centaur in her sights. Pulling the trigger, a loud boom echoed across the dry lands, Rallena's anger guiding her shot true towards the moving target. A shot that would have gone straight into the centaur's dome had it not been for the wind arrow that veered it off course.
From the distance, Rallena's keen vision witnessed Marionne from afar, his smile equally as smug as the one her companion wore, Morrgen's.
Rallena reloaded, it would take some time to do so but no matter how far Telmano got, her bullet will meet her target. Such was the accuracy of the desert bandit. The real problem lies with their forest cousin atop the carriage.
"Now that is some fine shooting! A shame he had to be a woodie, would've loved to recruit him into our gang."
Despite Morrgen's distaste for Marionne being a wood elf, he had to give credit where it is due.
"Don't just stand there and compliment the treehugger, shoot the centaur, you dolt!"
"Easy, Rellana. Our woodie friend came all they way here, I'd like to settle once and for all who's the best shot." Morrgen's grin widened. It's not everyday they get to prove themselves as the better aim against their other kin. His hands opened his overcoat to the winds, revealing eight flintlock pistols strapped into his vest.
Swapping your gun is faster than reloading, doubly true when you take into account one of the limitations of the flintlock.
"He stopped your shot, but let's put it to the test if he can stop all eight."
Morrgen's hands moved with the swifness of a rogue, drawing the guns faster than one could blink, firing the two pistols in a dual-wielding fashion.
Two shots rang, his hands lightning quick in abandoning them and moving onto the next pair.
Another two fired...
And another...
And finally, the last pair...
Firing all eight shots in the span of a single second as if they were all fired simultaneously, surely Morrgen had the wood elf on edge?
It appears not quite as Marionne answered the barrage of bullets by splitting his wind arrows into eight, each seeking the bullet meant to harm his friend.
"Well, what do you know, it appears he can stop all eight." Morrgen tipped his hat towards the wood elf from afar.
"FUCKING USELESS!"
Morrgen's flippant attitude pissed off Rellana even more. Finishing her reload, Rellana shot another that the wood elf intercepted once again.
Now close to his party's carriage, Telmano was able to run free knowing Marionne had his back. But this moment of safety was fleeting, for another danger lurked below.
The only indication of this Behemoth's arrival was the tremor that shook the ground and the carriage with it.
Inside the carriage, the senses of an assassin and a Warijan native kicked in. These quakes are too sudden, it is caused by something and Yazmin knew the terrible source.
"This is no ordinary eathquake. Everyone, prepare to jump from the carriage at once!"
Per the Gorgon's instructions, Alara and Maessha were on high alert. Both curios as to what got this Gorgon shaken up. Their curiosity soon sated by a display most savage.
The ground erupted, their carriage torn asunder by this humungous beast that came from below. Its head, more ferocious than that of a lizard's. Its body held enough bestial vigor that it can be compared to that of a Tarrasque. Of course, the mythical beast of legend is far mightier but this desert giant is nothing to scoff at. Its hands known to grab and pulverize wayward adventurers and hunters alike, slammed repeatedly on the ground as if they were mere toys in its monstrous grip. Zegden, fearsome monsters whose nests can be found in Havardin and Warija.
Forewarned, the three inside the carriage were able to jump into safety as it got destroyed, the civilian halfling driver a casualty.
Such was the leap of the Zegden that it was able to land next to the bandits. On top of the primal beast was an alluring woman with braided hair as red as her lips. Her arms four, holding scmitars above and dual wielding pistols below. Wearing a bandit vest that championed her slender figure, exposing her belly. Her lower half was that of a genuine viper, fitting for the naga was its leader, her name is Miryam.
"I thought you told me you three had this one in the bag, Morrgen? Had I known that it would come to this, Clint and I should have joined from the start." Miryam's tone remained collected even as her gang blundered, tapping even the head of the Zegden beast as if she was simply petting a dog and not an infamous monster for brutally crushing thos dared touch it.
"Hold your horses, Miryam. I had the centaur at gunpoint, I was about to make him cough up his gold until 'someone' gone done and messed everything up!"
Miryam's scrutinizing gaze fell onto Rellana, this woman's temper, had she not been her lover she would have long kicked her out from the gang.
"We'll discuss about it later. For now, let's give our guests a warm Havardin welcome."
PERTIMBANGAN PENCIPTA 
Bamboo_Gossip7
Bamboo_Gossip7 Chapter got delayed due to a personal emergency.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
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