บท 22: Chapter 21: Bank Robbery

"Iris. Don't move and stay behind this potted plant. I'll try to find a way to apprehend the robbers." Hugh crouched beside her, small beads of perspiration sliding down his forehead.

Who can anticipate a major daylight bank robbery? He wanted to withdraw some cash from the bank and Iris decided to tag along. But minutes after entering the bank, armed men stormed in, killing an employee who attempted to press the alarm mercilessly. They were clearly professionals and were most likely mercenaries like him. But why would anyone hire mercenaries to rob a bank for money, when they clearly have enough power to hire them in the first place?

There has been stalemate between the hired mercenaries and the police department since afternoon. A mother and a child has been held hostage, yet the negotiation has not settled.

The police has sealed the road, creating heavy traffic. Few of them were organising other pathways for the cars to leave while the majority held up their guns at the bank, an officer and a man with an AK rifle negotiating in the middle of the police car barricade.

"A helicopter and seven parachutes. What's so hard about that?" The leader snickered, hiding behind a pillar where the snipers couldn't locate.

Hugh read out something from that sinister snicker. He's a tier 7 Tyro. A powerful Aura specialist. He has recently rocketed up, reaching a cultivation rank of tier 5 Expert. Maybe he could defeat a tier 6 Tyro, but another tier higher? He had no confidence at all, even with his gift and the element of surprise. He contacted Nova.

After the night they went into carnage, three of them exchanged contact numbers. From that carnage, Hugh still could sense neither Atlas's nor Nova's rank. One thing is for sure, Nova is definitely strong, or else Atlas wouldn't have befriended a non humorous person.

"One. Two. Three. Four. Five. One tier 5 Expert by the door. The other inside vault. One tier 5 Elite declaring the negotiation outside. Child hostage with tier 7 Tyro. Woman hostage with tier 6 Tyro." Nova whispered under his breath, calculating the possible ways to eliminate his targets and prevent harming civilians. He was just across the bank in a construction site, have a parallel view of the commotion in the bank.

[Take out 7. Angle difficulty is possible. Woman will die. Hugh isn't quick enough. Take out 6 and 5 by door. Hugh can't handle 7. Child will die.] Nova breathed softly. [Why must there be hostages? Wait!] The situation changed.

"Oh my. Oh my. How did I not see such a beautiful lady?" A lustful voice shot towards Hugh's direction. He saw Iris. He threw the hostage aside, ignoring the shoutings of his leader, smacking his lips in greed. "This babe will be a better hostage."

Hugh concealed his presence by holding his breath. "No way he's touching Iris." He felt five vibrations from his phone, then four, then three, then two. It was time to take action.

Hugh's cultivation rank blasted out like an explosion as he hoisted himself towards the tier 6 Warriors with tawny Aura on his fist. Nova tapped the trigger. The sniper going off was muffled by a silencer. The bullet sliced through air, blending into the sunlight as it darted towards the window. Hugh's fist made contact with the Warriors face, but the Warrior kneed Hugh in the guts as he stumbled on the ground. The tier 5 Expert stepped away from the door to support. The bullet shattered the window and penetrated the man's skull, slightly altering direction from the impact. It spun a little slower than before, the faint yellow that it carried dimmed. Unfortunately, Nova underestimated the tier 7 Tyro. He saw the glass shatter first before the bullet drove right straight to him, leaping left along with the kid. However, he lost control of his right arm whereas getting decapitated from the bullet that was meant to destroy his heart. The hostage was released. It was a reasonable trade. He just needed to get close now.

Nova and his Lobaev sniper has disappeared from his original spot, the rest of the gadgets still piled up orderly beside his army-green deployment case.

The Warrior outside widened his eye from the sudden click of glass breaking. Bullets clung into his flesh but as hundreds of bullets fired at the same time, they penetrated him like a beehive. He died the most miserable death.

Hugh growled as he swung his muscular arm at the tier 6 Tyro's head. The white Aura veiling his skull was no match for that vibrant, coloured energy, and he collapsed on the floor with disbelief in his eyes as the out-stretched finger dug into his temple, blood oozing out from his ear.

"F*ck sakes!" The Tier 7 Tyro lifted the hostage that the Tier 6 Tyro threw with his remaining left arm, his grip tightening around her neck. "If you all make any single movement, I will kill every single person I can get my hands on with every ounce of strength I have. Starting from this mortal!"

He was agitated, like a berserk Kim Jong-Un who could smash the nuke button at any moment. They released their weapons and Hugh backed one step off.

"Will you now f*cking prepare—" A cold, hard object pressed against his chin, cutting of his sentence as it sent horrifying chills down his spine. A teenager in blue T-shirt glared into his soul, one arm heaving a long weapon he recognised as a Lobaev sniper. He combed his hair with the other hand, golden and black colours parted cleanly. Nova fired it as a shotgun. His other hand didn't dawdle, flinging a dagger at the last tier 5 Expert who just looted the vault, finishing the job.

He blew the smoke off his gun, not a single blood stain visible on it. He tore off the symbol on the man's jacket and proceeded to retrieve his weapon, picking up a badge in the pocket of the tier 5 Warrior.

"I feel like a babysitter." He threw his head backwards and dashed off in the distance, too quick for anyone to intercept. A smokescreen induced from the bank and when the smoke cleared, Hugh and Iris has already seized the opportunity to escape the cop's sight.

"Underground Association hiring a tiny mercenary group? What balderdash is this?" Nova held the UA symbol he tore off from the Tier 7 Tyro right across the construction site. It was the same symbol that hired him to eliminate Atlas. "Explains why the Tier 6 didn't listen, he's not from the UA. The Underground Association is up to something. But it doesn't matter, not my problem for now." For a man who knows the depth of the Underground Association, he understood that an Aura Master, a Tier 9 Expert like him had no authority to provoke their superiority. All he had to do was to train, hoping to achieve a higher rank of cultivation with the limited resources he had. Maybe one day, he could achieve the peak of a Warrior and prove to his family. But only maybe...