The God of Jesters
Chapter 198 - 3.15.2 Last words.

Chapter 198: 3.15.2 Last words.

Even veterans make mistakes. His being never considered the goal of his much stronger opponent before making his move. Which made him stand out from the rest, and for Homuk, who was out for blood after the countless incidents.

He finally couldn’t handle it anymore and broke.

Driven frustrated by the incompetency shown by the internal security of his country, Homuk has made a bizarre decision to capture the culprit himself. While taking out a somewhat familiar figure before he could cause any further harm.

But his target has never changed, he reacts almost instinctively the moment Max has rushed away from the scene.

"Who is that?" Fahna on the other hand was confused and covered in blood from head to toe, she was too close to the impact point and her fire shield was also not strong enough to handle force anymore. Exposing her to the others, making her small figure stand out from the rest.

A new figure that neither Blue nor the assassins knew.

Fahna, being aware of their gazes, understood her fate if she didn’t escape from this place on time. Which is not going to be easy, considering she is all alone at this point while Salvarez is nothing more than a limbless monster.

Unable to attract most of the focus.

And as she had assumed, while the monstrous Knight was led away by one of the assassins which awfully felt familiar to her, a heavy air filled her surroundings. "You seem weaker than the rest.’ Red said while controlling countless little stones to rain on the remaining assassins on the battlefield, while giving awfully high attention to Fahna, who was the only Adept level, making her a much easier target.

’Shit...’

She has messed up.

Of course, her mess can’t compare to Max’s, who was running for his life. Or so he had tried to. "It burns..." Homuk said, coming out of the burning smoke of the chemical bolts that he had fired at him.

None of which worked, as a stone grew and turned to dust on Homuk’s face, rendering his attack completely useless. Which was also a sign, of who his opponent was.

’StoneBloods’

The infamous Walking Fortresses. Their bloodline was more suited for defense and not direct combat. And due to their heavy weight which came with their bloodline, their speed was also slow when compared to others.

But that was only true when talking about people in the same realm. Not to mention that his opponent was a Grandmaster-level existence. Max himself had just entered the realm of Master.

Making the present scenario into reality, as he felt something grab toward him, ripping pieces of his flesh in the process.

But a smoke dart at the correct time was enough to distract his opponent enough for him to loosen his grip.

’This... this can’t be the end.’ Fear gripped his heart. The fear of never taking his revenge, the fear of failing before even harming the main body operations of his enemies.

The fear of never bringing his daughter’s killers to justice.

His mind was filled with hopelessness at the moment, he had only earned himself a few more seconds before being captured by his pursuer.

A few seconds were enough for him to reconsider his choices.

And think of various escape roots. But none of them actually worked at the end, he can see himself being captured or killed in every path he took.

"No..." But at this time, a thought came into his mind. A memory from not too long ago, where his employer suggested something to him. ’Move to the cemetery, it will keep the damage to a minimum.’ A line said by Jester when Max was originally surveilling the area and planning his escape routes.

’Something is better than nothing.’ Although this sounded hopeless, Max ended up making a very foolish move. Instead of escaping toward the crowded part of the city while climbing the hill. He took a U-turn and rushed toward the Cemetery much to the confusion of Homuk.

Homuk, whose mind had entered a different realm where he could see and hear virtually everything on the battlefield, including the little weak assassin that might soon face death.

"Camaraderie among killers!" A voice filled with mockery. To Homuk’s amazement, even these inhuman killers that kidnap and kill children also cared for their companions. A fact that disgusted him.

But no matter how they were, he wouldn’t stoop to their level, even while knowing where he might be moving, Homuk still chose the direct and just approach, directly capturing the mastermind would surely end this.

Of course, Max never intended to help her at this moment, she had forgotten about her existence, until the moment he saw her ragged figure from the corner of his eye.

It’s not even been twenty seconds since the arrival of the Grandmaster, but the whole battlefield had changed face.

Leaving the only hope being the cemetery.

Which was dashed to pieces as the moment Max entered it, he felt nothing.

"??" A little pause gave his opponent an opportunity again. But all his opponent got in his hand was some slime. As the place where Homuk just touched had transformed into a wriggly appearance, like that of a worm.

Including the clothes that Max wore.

Which disgusted Homuk, but he stopped his pursuit, as he saw Max pausing in his place. Freezing almost, with a sigh leaving his nose.

"It’s good that you chose to stop," Homuk said, knowing the look of defeat on his opponent’s face.

He had lost, and so will his other companion, along with the rest of the assassins behind him. Who had tried to escape, with some of them being successful, leaving only a few to fall, as most of the focus was diverted to the members who stood out from the bunch?

But Max was not in the mood for such mockery, he gave the stout dwarf in front of him one look and then asked. "Why do this? Kidnapping innocents and skinning them alive?"

When fist doesn’t work, then words just might.

And they did work, earning Homuk’s anger. "Blaming me for your crimes?"

How dare he. Homuk probably wonders.

How dare a human dare to say such words to him after what he did in this city?

"A great General like you shouldn’t lie," Max said, taking the Boltgun off his hand while throwing the knives to the other end, all the while Homuk kept a tight watch over Max. "Seeing this is all over, I wonder if we have a word."

Any struggle at this point will result in his death. And from the corner of his eye, he can already see Fahna was taken down without much of an issue. Her opponents were too strong for her. Meaning that today, he failed two missions. He ended up failing to save her as well.

None of which was more important than survival. But none of this meant that this loss was the Company’s triumph.

As long as they stay alive, they have a chance of coming back.

"A word with a terrorist? Treating me like a greenhorn?" Homuk’s body turned into a blur, as he grabbed Max by his neck while crushing his left hand which still had the grappler attached to it. "And I am not fond of any tricks."

"No... No worries..." The crushing strength of the one they called the Walking Fortress. It was too much.

Even the war machines like Tank would appear nothing more than paper-mache in front of his might.

"Rip... my tongue out.. If you wish... to si.. lence me."

"No, I will choose to rip something else out instead." Words are not for the battlefield. You have to kill a part of yourself before the start of the war.

Kill any pity in your heart, kill any emotion that makes you weak in the war. Leave only pure rationality which is driven purely by your belief.

That is what a true soldier is. A mindless killing machine who needs to take appropriate steps when in war.

So a dialog was impossible for someone with such a mindset. The only way Max could have such dialog would be when Homuk can ensure that the fight has truly come to an end.

And to show Max what he meant, Homuk tried to rip out Max’s arm.

An effort that didn’t bore any result, as all that was left in Homuk’s hand was some flesh, which he had forcefully dragged along his grip. But nothing else.

"??"

"Wha... what are you?"

*****

"With all the strength you have, Master. You can live well anywhere you go... so why our village?" This was the question that Max had asked his now-deceased Master after three years of apprenticeship under him.

During this, his master had taken him to close towns and showed him a wider world, just to open Max’s eyes. Where he had noticed how much authority his Master had carried due to his strength.

His master also didn’t take long to reply. "In truth, it could have been any village... I didn’t care where I went, I just wanted to escape it."

"Escape what?... Was someone following you?"

"Oh, no human can ever find me... that I can assure you."

"Then who?"

"I can’t say who... all I can say, is that coming to your village really helped me get rid of it." This was all Max remembered of that conversation that day, a knowing smile that looked deep into Max’s eyes.

As for why he remembers this conversation so clearly?

It was simple actually.

This was the last conversation he had with his master, as in the coming two days, his master caught a high fever and died, leaving Max with his only keepsake.

A crystal dagger.