Tuziku and Kutcher somehow found themselves in quite the predicament—completely surrounded by the armed soldiers hunting them.
The second-in-command of Unit 6, Commander Gungī, along with several armed soldiers, had finally caught up to them while their General steadily approached.
The General's orders were plain and simple.
"Eliminate all targets."
At the same time—
General Ishimi of Unit 6 contacted Hinomo.
"Hinomo, we've confirmed that the Wandering Swordsman is among the duo. I'm not sure about the identity of the other one."
Hinomo replied, "According to our data, the Casoltins only have one male teenager on their crew—the Wandering Swordsman."
"Meaning the other one—"
"Should be the Acid User..." Ishimi interrupted.
"Hinomo, tell your men to proceed with utmost caution."
"There's no need. I'll be arriving shortly," Ishimi replied.
Meanwhile, back with Tuziku and Kutcher—
"Kutcher, what are we gonna do?!" Tuziku panicked.
Kutcher narrowed his eyes.
There sure are a lot of them...
Five... eight... twelve... sixteen so far...
Are they here for all of us... or just Tuziku?
Noticing Tuziku's panic, Kutcher quickly devised a plan.
"Calm down, Tuziku. Those three soldiers behind us—I'll attack them and clear a path so we can escape."
"I need you to release a slash toward the soldiers in front of you!"
"What?!" Tuziku replied, his blade trembling in his hand.
"You know I haven't mastered it yet!"
"We don't have time!" Kutcher snapped.
"It doesn't matter if you haven't mastered it—as long as it distracts them!"
Kutcher turned, facing the three soldiers behind them, leaving Tuziku to face Commander Gungī and the majority of the force.
The Commander raised his hand.
"All soldiers—take aim..."
Suddenly, Kutcher burst forward.
"Power Slash!!"
Shling...!
A blue crescent of energy tore through the air.
"Look out!!!" one soldier shouted as he dove to the ground.
The other two were too late.
The slash cut cleanly through both of them.
Thud...!
Their upper bodies struck the forest floor.
For a brief moment, their lower halves remained standing.
Then—
Thud...
Thud...
They collapsed.
The slash continued onward, cleaving through two trees behind them.
Crack...!
Thud...!
Kutcher had successfully cleared a path.
"Tuziku—now!"
"Arghhhh!"
Tuziku swung his blade, releasing an unstable stream of acid.
"Look out!" a soldier shouted.
The acid splashed across the ground, forcing several soldiers to retreat.
Although the attack lacked power, it created enough hesitation.
Damn it...!
I'm still so weak!
"Tuziku, run!!!" Kutcher shouted.
"That attack was good enough!"
The two bolted through the opening, completely unaware that they were running directly toward General Hinomo and his forces.
Commander Gungī stepped forward, clenching his fists.
"Damn you bastards!!"
"All soldiers, fire now! Shoot them before they escape!"
Boom! Boom!
Boom... Boom!
The duo sprinted through the forest while bullets tore through the air behind them.
Boom! Boom!
"Kutcher, we have to let the crew know what's going on!" Tuziku shouted.
"The hideout is in the opposite direction!" Kutcher replied between breaths.
"We can't reach it with this many soldiers surrounding us."
"But—"
Kutcher cut him off.
"And that guy back there was reporting to someone."
"Now that I'm thinking about it, he seemed stronger than the others."
"...Just keep running!"
"They're getting away, Commander!" a soldier yelled.
"Damn it!"
"General Ishimi, this is Commander Gungī!"
"Sir, the targets have escaped and are heading toward General Hinomo's position!"
"Stay on them," Ishimi ordered.
"And don't you dare lose sight of them, Gungī."
The Commander's face tightened.
Damn those kids!
"Soldiers! Don't let them escape!"
At the same time—
"Hinomo, the targets are heading in your direction," Ishimi informed him.
Hinomo sighed.
"...I really don't get paid enough for all of this."
"Fine. I'll handle it."
Back with Tuziku and Kutcher—
"Kutcher, isn't there a safe way to warn the others?" Tuziku asked anxiously.
"If there are this many soldiers here, and possibly more on the way, then they're most likely targeting all of us—including you!" Kutcher replied.
Tuziku fell silent.
"I want to warn them too."
"But staying alive comes first."
"They haven't even tried to capture us—not once."
Kutcher glanced at him.
"Their orders must be to eliminate us."
"We need to get out of this forest—"
"Wooooah... lucky me."
A voice suddenly cut through the air.
"You guys came to me personally."
"Thank you."
A tall, muscular man wearing a black suit and matching hat dropped from a tree branch.
"Elite Group Y—fire."
Boom!
A gunshot echoed through the forest.
Ting...!
Kutcher instinctively deflected the bullet aimed at Tuziku.
"The Wandering Swordsman..." Hinomo said calmly.
"I've heard the stories."
"You're as good as they say."
"Elite Groups X, Y, and Z—fire."
Boom! Boom!
Ting! Ting...!
Kutcher deflected the first two shots.
Then—
Boom...!
"Arghhhh!"
Kutcher stumbled backward, clutching his left shoulder.
"Kutcher!" Tuziku shouted.
His arm trembled as he raised his sword.
Where are the bullets coming from?!
I don't see anyone besides him...!
Damn it...
I can't do a thing!
Hinomo stepped forward.
"My Elites are the finest soldiers under my command."
"They are both my shield..."
"...and my sword."
"Tuziku! Get out of here!" Kutcher shouted.
"I won't leave you behind!"
Tuziku charged at Hinomo, swinging his blade wildly.
"How disappointing."
Whack!
"Augh—"
Hinomo struck him across the face, sending him crashing into a nearby tree.
"You can't even use your ability properly, can you?" he mocked.
Kutcher lunged from behind in a surprise attack.
Boom...!
"Arghhh!"
Kutcher dropped to one knee, clutching his stomach.
Hinomo laughed.
"This is what FADA considers a top-priority threat?"
"You can come out now, guys."
From the surrounding forest—
More than thirty soldiers emerged.
One by one, they stepped from behind trees and bushes, raising their rifles.
Tuziku and Kutcher froze.
Dozens of gun barrels were aimed directly at them.
Completely surrounded.
Completely trapped.
Hinomo turned his back on them.
"All soldiers..."
Weapons clicked into place.
"Eliminate the targets."
Tuziku thought to himself, We're going to die...!
At that exact moment—
A figure suddenly dropped from the sky.
Sailou.
"DANGER STRIKE!!!"
SCRAAAASH—BOOOOM!!!
A massive bolt of lightning tore down from the heavens and smashed into the forest floor with devastating force.
The earth exploded.
Trees were uprooted.
Everything within a forty-meter radius was obliterated.
And everyone was sent flying.
CHAPTER 19 END