At War - Desperado Mode: Activate

On the outskirts of the city walls, the headquarters of the Black Talon group was situated in what could be considered a renovated mansion. Ever since the order had been given that the Black Talon members would go on the hunt of the bounty hunter known as Wolf, they had all gathered at Grove’s command with some hesitation but also expectation.

This order had come from their mysterious sponsor, so they had to obey regardless of their feelings on the matter.

That night in particular, all the senior members and most of their muscle had gathered for a strategy meeting with their leader. But while they were getting rowdy and “strategized”, only two people were left watching outside the mansion. Both of them were leaning against the wall yawning loudly.

“Oi! Do you know what’s all this fuzz about us going on the hunt? I mean, this guy, Wolf, he ain’t some rookie we can just push around.” One of the guards, trying to break the boring silence, asked.

“Doesn’t matter what we think or say about it. The boss said we’re gonna hunt him down and kill him. End of story. Even that guy’s not good enough to take on all of us at the same time right?” The guard chuckled a bit but was interrupted by the sound of approaching hoofbeats. Someone was getting closer at full speed.

Both guards became alert and held their crossbows at the ready.

A few seconds later, the speeding horse seemed to slow down to a stop several yards away from them. It was so dark they couldn’t see a thing. In the distance, they heard the footsteps of someone walking closer… the sound of jingling spurs could be heard on every step.

“Oi! Who goes there?” One of the guards called out training his crossbow towards where he heard the sound.

No one answered. Then they heard a strange metallic sounds like *KRACK-CHAK!*

“Wait… isn’t that-?”

A sudden flash of fire and a blast of thunder was heard echoing in the entire neighborhood.

One of the guards was suddenly slammed back into the wall as if he had been hit by a giant’s hammer and then fell on the ground. A bullet had ripped through him, spilling his blood after it went through his heart killing him instantly.

*KRACK-CHAK!*

“Oh, shit! It’s the WOL-” Another flash and blast of thunder was heard after the bounty hunter shot the remaining guard with his repeating rifle, quickly cranking the lever again to prepare for another shot. With the two guards dead, Wolf appeared approaching the main doors of the mansion.

Inside the mansion, the sounds of two thunderous shots were heard and it immediately alerted everyone of the impending danger. One of the men in the second floor suddenly yelled out:

“It’s the Bounty Hunter! He’s at the main entrance! Get ready for a fight, boys!”

Dozens of Black Talon members were moving quickly towards the main entrance where their guards posted indoors were starting to lose their nerve after they heard the gunfire.

Outside, Wolf could hear the commotion inside the mansion and decided to make his move. He pulled out his pump action shotgun and took out a single slug shell with the inscription High-EX upon it and loaded it into the weapon. *SHUCK-CHAK!*

Inside the main entrance hall, the Black Talon members were about to reach the doors to confront the intruder when the sound of another thunderous blast was heard and a deafening blast echoed from the massive oak doors as they splintered from the locks and blasted everyone nearby with explosive force and fiery wooden debris, killing the ones nearest to the door and severely wounding those nearby it. The fiery pieces were quickly spreading fire around the entrance which caused many of the Black Talons who weren’t injured to start panicking.

Then they saw him… the Wolf was slowly approaching and loading shells into his scattergun. Fear began to mount in their throats as they saw that he was now locked and loaded for war. They were sent to hunt him, but now he was hunting them.

Richard made a quick recount of the damage he made but didn’t wait too long to make a choice. He tapped his right ear to make the communication circle appear and said in a commanding voice:

“Command, Desperado Mode: Activate!”

Within Wolf’s head he heard a mechanical voice speaking to him:

“ACKNOWLEDGED. DESPERADO MODE IS NOW ACTIVATED. WARNING! USE OF DESPERADO MODE CAN HAVE NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON NON-MAGICAL BEINGS. TIMER BEGINS. GOOD HUNTING, MR. WOLF.”

After Wolf heard those words, all of his weapons suddenly began to glow as if some manner of lights had turned on within their mechanical parts. As the system engaged, Richard's vision flared, overlaying the world with pale blue light. A Heads Up Display bloomed into existence within his eyes: ammo counters for each weapon, a navigation schematic of the building, and the bright red contours of every enemy. The 'No Reload' enchantment hummed to life, drawing directly from the reserve ammunition he'd ordered. He groaned as the power surged through him, every muscle fiber protesting as the system overclocked his senses. This was going to hurt later. Now he had the look of a soldier fighting a war.

“Let’s do this…”

Without ceremony or invitation, Wolf ran inside the mansion with his shotgun at the ready. Immediately, his eyes caught the contours of every enemy within his eyesight. The Black Talons were still reeling from the shock and disorientation of the first blast of his explosive shot. Easy prey.

*SHUCK-CHAK!* Wolf loaded his shell, aimed and blasted the nearest Black Talon, ripping his body apart with buckshot. His enhanced eyesight confirmed it. One down, dozens to go. He saw his shotgun shell counter lowering by one. Good thing he bought extra ammo.

*SHUCK-CHAK!* The thunderous blasts of his shotgun reverberated through the mansion as the Wolf switched from target to target, shooting the closest to him without hesitation.

Those who were caught in the line of fire were blasted or torn to pieces as the bounty hunter continued his relentless assault.

“Don’t lose heart, men! He will have to reload! Then we attack!” One of the lieutenants yelled out loudly. He had studied a little regarding firearms and he knew that every firearm needed to be reloaded after it had been shot a certain amount of time. They just needed to wait for the right moment…

*SHUCK-CHAK! BOOOM! SHUCK-CHAK! BOOOM!* The shotgun kept blasting as fast as the bounty hunter kept pumping and pulling the trigger. He wasn’t stopping to reload! That’s impossible!

Wolf’s eyes could see how many rounds he had for his shotgun. During Desperado Mode, he had no need to reload his weapons, but he could only fire them as long as he had enough ammunition in reserve. Even he would eventually run out of ammo if he kept at it…

“Damn it! Fall back! Regroup deeper inside! Use the narrow spaces to isolate him!” The orders were coming from the lieutenants trying to organize the rest of their men that weren’t in a direct confrontation with the Wolf who was tearing them apart with every blast of his unending supply of fire!

Wolf noticed how the men in the back were quickly regrouping further inside the mansion. He had to press his advantage before they could mount a proper defense. He quickly switched from his shotgun to his two revolvers which were humming with restrained energy. Pushing forward, he ignored the injured and incapacitated to chase after the remaining Black Talons.

When a few that were left behind tried to shoot their crossbows or use their crude firearms, they were met with the dual-wielding hunter blasting them with precise shots from his revolvers. *BANG! BANG! BANG!* The revolvers shouted out repeatedly… never silent, never running out of lead to fire.

Every blast of gunfire carried with it a plume of smoke that filled the air in the mansion with the acrid smell of gunpowder and death. Slowly, the entrance of the mansion became an inferno. Now there was no escape. The only way out was through the Bounty Hunter.

The Black Talons were being shot without mercy by the Wolf who kept chasing the stragglers, buying those who were faster a few seconds to outrun their pursuer.

Richard suddenly noticed a bright light flying at high speed towards him. Instinct kicked in and he pushed into a nearby room blasting its door. He was just fast enough to avoid the explosion of a blasting spell from one of their mages. His HUD immediately sent a red warning to his eyes: “INJURIES DETECTED - BROKEN RIB, TORN EARDRUM, LEFT ARM FISSURED. IMMEDIATE HEALTH INJECTION SUGGESTED.”

Grumbling at his own lack of foresight, he quickly reached into his satchel, took out a syringe-looking device with a red liquid within it, applied it violently into his chest which made him groan with pain, pushed the plunger and gritted his teeth. A few moments later he felt like his veins were on fire, but as soon as it came, a cooling sensation came to his tormented body. His HUD confirmed: “COMBAT EFFICIENCY RESTORED - 83%”

The Black Talons were celebrating the fact that they might’ve actually harmed the relentless Bounty Hunter. The mage that had sent out that blasting spell was sure it would’ve done something. For a few moments all that was heard were the cheers of the Black Talons…

“I got him, Chief! I got him!” The mage flexed for a moment but then another blast of thunder echoed. The head of the mage that had casted his spell at Wolf suddenly jerked violently after a bullet tore through it.

*KRACK-CHAK!* Wolf was now taking careful shots with his repeater.

“Shit! Crossbows, take the upper level! Swordsmen, use a shield wall formation and smoke him out! Don’t give him a clear shot!” The lieutenant was starting to hear a low squeaking voice in his head: “oh shit… oh shiiiit!” Fear was taking over him!

The formation had been made, two men wide, shields up and forward: Grove had taught them this tactic whenever they were facing archers or crossbows. It should have some effect against Wolf.

As the shield wall slowly moved within the tight confines of the hallway, the sounds of gunfire continued with a monotone rhythm. *KRACK-CHAK! POW! KRACK-CHAK! POW!* At first, the shots hit their shields and seemed to push them back a bit, but not enough to stop them as they approached Wolf’s shooting spot. Then the front lines of the shield wall began to scream in agony as the shots were now hitting them on their exposed feet, their exposed legs and arms. One of them made the mistake of peeking over his shield only to have his head pierced by a bullet.

This wasn’t working! The Bounty Hunter was not stopping!

“Chief! Wh-What do we do!?” One of the men cried out at the lieutenant who suddenly heard that squeaky voice turning into a mad roar: “OH SHIT! OH SHIIIIIIT!”

“I-I don’t kn-ugh!” The lieutenant was suddenly cut short when a bullet ripped through his throat and dropped him on his back. Choking in his own blood.

The shield wall finally broke which made the remaining swordsmen in the formation lose morale and tried to run away, exposing their backs to more gunfire from Richard’s rifle.

The remaining Black Talons now only numbered a dozen and Grove hadn’t appeared yet! As fear gave in to terror, the remnants pulled back into the dining hall and barricaded the doors with everything they could find. They then took a safe distance from the entrance while others hid against the walls besides the doors, hoping they could ambush the Wolf if he dared to enter the dining hall.

Wolf finally stepped out from his shooting position and with a loud *KRACK-CHAK!* he loaded another round into his rifle. He took a moment to take account of his status: “Ammo’s still good. Still running on 80% efficiency. Rifle’s gonna need some serious maintenance after this. The shotgun's barrel is busted, so I’ll need to have it replaced. Twelve targets left. No sign of Grove. Time to finish this…”

Inside the dining hall, the Black Talon group were waiting silently for the Bounty Hunter to try and enter through the door. If he managed to blast through their barricade, then they would attack with everything they had left. He wasn’t invincible! Maybe one of them would take him out!

But he wasn’t moving. They couldn’t hear anything else but the sounds of the spreading fire, the groans of the injured and dying outside the dining hall. For a moment, they heard a few of their members running down the stairs surrounding the outside of the dining hall, yelling out as if they were trying to attack someone. But their yelling was quickly silenced by four consecutive shots *BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!*

Then everything went dead quiet… the last remaining Black Talons were growing increasingly desperate to know what was happening…

A moment later they began to hear approaching footsteps… slow and steady… the sound of jingling spurs was also heard. It was HIM!

Tension rose like a thick fog within the dining room as the Black Talons could feel their hearts pounding in their chests like hammers. The closer they heard those terrifying footsteps the faster their hearts would beat.

When the steps stopped on the other side of the dining hall’s door, the Black Talons froze and waited. Holding their breaths as much as they could to listen.

He stopped. There was no other sound. Breathing became a luxury now for the ambushers. There was a soft tapping sound on the door. The Bounty Hunter was no doubt checking for weaknesses. The crossbowmen readied their weapons, the remaining warriors and soldiers adopted a defensive stance. If he was going to attack, it was now!

But… nothing happened. They could hear that the Wolf seemed to be rummaging through a bag or satchel. Then there was a soft *THUMP!* like he had placed a piece of wood next to the door and his footsteps were heard walking away from the door at a fast pace.

Silence returned in the dining room. But fear was still rising. What had the Bounty Hunter done?

One of the remnants, daring to hope, left his post to try and hear if the Wolf had left them alone. He carefully placed his ear against the door to try and listen in. Nothing much had changed… except for a slowly approaching sound… like a continuous *hisssssssssss…*

The listener wasn’t sure what that sound was… *hisssssssssss…*

Was that smoke he smelled? *HISSSSSSSS!*

They were not prepared for what happened next…

The blast shook the entire mansion… the white light burned their eyes… the sound of the blast was so powerful it deafened them… those closest to the explosion were instantly torn to pieces after the dynamite exploded and blasted the entire wall of the dining hall inwards turning the barricade and the door into a rain of deadly shrapnel and burning wood, killing or incapacitating the remaining Black Talons within.

From a good distance, Richard was lighting a cigarette with the match he used to light the dynamite’s fuse, covering himself from the blast and debris. He looked at his HUD:

“THREATS: 0. WARNING! ONE LIFEFORM STILL DETECTED.”

“I found you, boy. Command, Desperado Mode: Deactivate!”

“ACKNOWLEDGED. DESPERADO MODE IS NOW DEACTIVATED. TIMER: 27 MINUTES AND 51 SECONDS. WARNING! COMBAT EFFICIENCY REDUCED TO 52%. IMMEDIATE REST SUGGESTED. GOOD EVENING, MR. WOLF.”

The moment he heard the voice finish their statement, he felt exhausted and running out of breath as if he had just taken a beating. He was sweating buckets afterwards and felt pain from every bone in his body. Richard took a deep drag from his cigarette, which seemed to perk him up a bit before reaching into his satchel for another syringe and applying it to his chest again. This time it hurt more than before, but he needed to keep fighting.

He needed to find Grove… and bring him in, dead or alive.

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~Techno-Magical Explanations by the head of the Makers Of Guns & Ordnance (MOGOs) Brotok!~

“‘Ello again, lads an’ lasses! Is yer favorite MOGO in the Multiverse, Brotok! Some o’ youse mighta been wonderin’ ‘ow our ol’ boyo was able ta kill all of them beasties and Demon Lords with jest ‘is peashooters an’ other poppers without any magical talents, eh? Well, tha’s where MOGOs come in ta level the field! Our friend ‘ere has a couple o’ tricks up his sleeve and one o’ the best he’s got is Desperado Mode!”

- Desperado Mode:

Thanks to these practical implants that are easy to surgically graft, the user of Desperado Mode will have several beneficial enhancements to their combat performance, weapons enchantments and a Heads Up Display to improve combat awareness by 250% under the best conditions.

* Some of these benefits include:

* No Reload Enchantments to all firearms.

* Visual and Hand Coordination enhancements.

* A Heads Up Display granting tactical information such as: Ammunition count (in reserve), Weapon Integrity, User Physical Integrity, Detectable Threats (red highlights) and Navigation Display.

And many more!

Disclaimer: Usage of Desperado Mode is the responsibility of the user since overuse of this enhancement can lead to severe health issues or even death.

The Desperado Mode implant is part of the Biological Augmentation Management (BAM) team efforts!

“So if yer not quite able ta transform after yellin’ fer thirty minutes or didn’t get invited to that school o’ wizards, then maybe we could give ya one o’ our enhancement implants so ya’ll can get yer cheat codes without pissin’ off yer lil’ brother ‘cause ya know ‘ow ta use some ‘creative sportsmanship’. HAH!”

This advertisement was brought to you by the MOGOs Marketing Department and is not subject to any political parties, Godly interventions, Demonic possessions nor any being of any authority in the entire Multiverse.

“See ya next time! An’ remember: If ya ain’t got the muscle, MOGOs will fix yer flex! Matane!”

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