Chương 44: Robbing The Blind And Getting Away With It

"This is the last of it." Hao picked up the last piece of Blade Token that had spilt onto the floor earlier when they got kicked out of Garron's store. Just as he picked it up, a small hand, nimble and quick as lightning, reached out from out of nowhere and snatched the bag away from his grasp. He was so distracted that his Vibe Sense didn't see it coming until it was too late.

"What the--" Hao exclaimed with a shocked expression written all over him.

Mentos looked equally startled. "I can't believe it! We've been robbed!"

They turned their heads to locate the thief. It didn't take them long before they noticed a mischievous kid with a poor appearance, looking around 10-12 years of age. His clothes were tattered and his hair was a tangled mess. He was riding away on his small Bastian, which resembled a tiger-tailed lizard with a scaly, muscular body and strong legs. The mixed beast hybrid nimbly navigated the crowded area, making it difficult for his pursuers to keep up.

"Damn, that little runt! I won't let him get away." Saying this, Hao's hand instinctively went for Vibe Edge with Night Tamer in mind, ready to reach the boy in one slash.

But Mentos didn't allow it. "No, don't use your ability here in the open like this," he warned, glancing around at the bustling crowd. "We might attract unwanted attention to ourselves."

"So we should let the brat get away with all our Blade Tokens?" Hao asked, clearly peeved.

"No, we'll chase him," Mentos decided and they continued running through the crowd behind the thieving youth. "This area is packed with a throng of people. I can hardly get by after that brat."

"I'll see if I can find us a better path." Hao scanned ahead for shortcuts using his Vibe Sense. Very soon he found one. "Let's cut through here," he suggested, leading Mentos through a passageway between two buildings.

Meanwhile, the youth was now riding his Bastian down a flight of stairs in a narrow alley lined with many steam pipes, which were used for heating and cooling the various establishments in the Mile High Depot. He laughed to himself, "Hahaha! Those stupid suckers. They were too careless with this big haul of Blade Tokens." His Bastian's furry lizard tail wagged with glee as they made their way down.

"I can't wait to buy some delicious grub with this… huh!" His cheeky expression suddenly vanished when he looked down below and recognized the blindfold-wearing man that he robbed and another strapping man rushing up the stairs towards him with their hands gripping their swords.

"Come here, you damn brat! How dare you steal from us?" Hao yelled with a thunderous cry.

Frightened, the boy shouted, "Woah! Barkcode, turn around!" He immediately switched directions, turning his Bastian to face the side. A second later, it leapt and latched onto the wall, then begin to climb towards the top.

"Hmm, he's climbing alongside the wall. Is he planning to lose us by going to the top?" thought Mentos.

"I'll get him!" Hao shouted, determined.

"No, allow me," Mentos interjected, reaching for his Blade Edge. "Shark Skimmer, detach!" When he unsheathed it, the weapon revealed itself to be a jagged shark tooth-edged blade with a metallic tether, coiling elatedly to form most of the thin body or supporting frame where the teeth were attached. The size of each sharp tooth shrunk or tapered as they got to the tip of the blade, with 22 teeth in total. The hilt was comprised of various alloys that had unique carvings of ocean waves, and the scabbard was designed with the image of a fearsome shark with its maw open wide.

"Go!" Seeing the thief almost reaching the top of the building, Mentos swiftly unleashed his Shark Skimmer above. The 22 teeth separated, each with its tether attached to the main handle and soared above before sinking themselves into the wall a short distance from where the boy was climbing.

"What the…!" The boy stared in terror at the malefic teeth that crashed into the surface inches away from him.

"Wait here, Hao. I'll go get that brat." After twisting the handle, Mentos was pulled up with the force of the extended tether from his Blade Edge; some of the teeth shook while others began slipping out of the wall faster than the rest due to the excess pressure they were under.

"He's gaining on me. Barkcode pick up the pace!" The boy glanced below him just as he reached the roof and was in the process of climbing over. He witnessed Mentos being reeled in and his fear intensified. His Bastian assented to his request and picked up the slack.

Thud!

Mentos reached the roof a little later and he immediately identified his fleeing target gunning towards the other end. Not allowing him to escape with the stolen Blade Tokens, he rushed toward the boy in a wild sprint and tackled him off the hide of his animal.

Boom!

They fell and roll briefly. Barkcode, the boy's Bastian, upon realising that it was travelling light, viciously halted and swerved around, kicking up a cloud of dust. It began rushing at Mentos with a deadly snarl.

Mentos, keeping his cool, dipped into his tool pocket, pulled out what he needed and then tossed a mini-shrapnel accurately in front of the beast. As fate would have it, Barkcode stepped on it, and immediately after it did, sharp spikes impaled its paw, causing it to tumble to the ground while whining.

"No! Barkcode!" The boy's worry was evident as he witnessed what happened to his noble steed. Glaring up at Mentos, who was oppressing his movements, he yelled, "You wicked man! You hurt Barkcode!"

"Look who's talking, you thief." Mentos shot back, ignoring his anger. "Gimme that," he easily reclaimed the bag of Blade Tokens. He then released the lad, who ran over to his injured Bastian's side to offer his assistance in any way possible.

"Barkcode! Barkcode!" The boy checked the creature's vitality, his worry became more tangible after he realized, "He's paralyzed!" He glared back at Mentos, who was walking toward the edge of the roof to get back down to Hao and yelled, "What have you done to him?"

"He'll come around in a few minutes after you've taken out the needles. Be careful not to poke your eyes out, kid," Mentos responded nonchalantly. He stuck the toothy edge of Shark Skimmer into the roof for support before hopping down to rejoin Hao.

"What took you so long, Mentos? Did the kid give you trouble?" Hao was clearly impatient.

"It's nothing I couldn't handle." Mentos showed him the bag of Blade Tokens. "Now that we got our money back, let's go search for another Batoon Market where the price isn't so steep."

"This place is massive, it's going to take a while," Hao sighed.

"No rush, we have the entire day, don't we?" Mentos replied with a smirk.

While walking away, overhead looking down, the boy's menacing eyes were trained on them. His fierceness was evident as he silently vowed to himself that he would get his revenge on the two men who had bested him and injured Barkcode. The game was far from over.