Martial Arts Master

In the helicopter, Fario took a puff from his cigar. He looked down contently at the cars that had stopped under the rocket threat.

That was when his second-in-command received a message through the intercom. He quickly reported it.

“They found Kajo. Abandoned at the underground carpark in Syragu Supermarket. Lost his mind. Keeps saying he’s from the regular army. He probably leaked everything he knows by now.”

“Take care of him,” said Fario, raising his right hand and making a cutthroat gesture.

“What about Kajo’s superior, Maktoum?” asked the second-in-command cautiously.

Fario threw him a cold glance.

“Him too!”

“Yes, Sir General!” Without another word, the second-in-command quickly got to work. At the end of a call, he spoke again with uncertainty. “However bad the signal was, Lou must have realized that the regular army was behind this. Silencing him now won’t solve anything. On the contrary, it’ll attract suspicion and could get us into huge trouble.”

Fario, widening his eyes slightly, looked around at his trusted subordinates.

“Have I not told you about our real objective?”

“No,” the second-in-command shook his head. “In our tribe, there’s an adage that goes ‘the one who knows nothing lives longest.’”

Fario gazed below. A group of checkpoint troops methodically searched the line of cars. Despite occasionally pocketing valuables, they exercised restraint and didn’t make things difficult for those who passed the inspection, allowing them to drive to KhuKhang. Many fugitives calmed down thinking that giving up assets will keep them out of harm’s way.

“The government had sent the regular army to abduct foreign tourists while allowing them the freedom to kill. The goal was to silence them, then put the blame on the Renegades. That’s what he deduced from Kajo’s information, right?” Fario casually brought the cigar to his lips.

“Yes, that’s why we should let Lou go. We can push the whole thing on Maktoum if we say he defected and joined the rebels and is trying to slander the government,” said the second-in-command after some thought.

“Tell me, then, why did I kill Kajo and his men? Wouldn’t it be better to keep them alive?” Fario gave a faint smile. “Think about it. What if the government really wanted to make scapegoats out of the rebels? If that’s the case, what would they do if things went wrong and endangered the secret?”

The second-in-command’s expression tensed. “Kill everyone involved, then push the blame to the rebels. That’s the most direct and simple solution. But once the secret becomes compromised, say, Lou’s existence, Kajo’s confession, and sustained communication, then things get troublesome. They can only find a scapegoat internally, and it has to be someone who carries weight.”

He paused and looked at Fario in shock.

“Sir General, who are we actually targeting? Have you defected?”

“No. In this riot, there are no Renegades or regular army, only those who are loyal to the Pharoah and those who aren’t,” Fario paused. “Our target is Sathah.”

“General Sathah!” the second-in-command started. Cold sweat beaded his forehead.

General Sathah was one of the leaders in Brotherhood, an actual power-holder in KhuKhang, and the superior of the Brigadier General who he reports to!

“I’m Mr. General Sathah’s subordinate. Everything I do is done because of his orders,” said Fario with a flippancy that was rare of him. “Initially, I would have locked up the hostages and waited for my helpers to arrive before stirring up trouble. That would make an unforgettable memory for General Sathah. At first, I was furious because the wheels began turning earlier than expected, which could alert Sathah. But, looking at it now, the unexpected Lou Cheng might not be a bad thing. If it can instigate China’s revenge and rouse their Mighty Ones to assault us, it would be an even better plan than what we had originally… Over a hundred Demigods… What a terrifyingly powerful nation…”

The second-in-command caught on but spoke again with a tinge of apprehension.

“But that puts you in extreme danger too, Sir General. The one who slays him will surely become their main target. Or are we going to rely solely on the weaponized helicopter? With our current ammunition, I’m afraid it’s going to be hard to kill Lou, or even graze him. At his level, his mobility is extremely high, not to mention he’s frightfully fast too!”

“Relax, his hands are tied,” replied Fario calmly. He then rubbed his large patch of facial hair.

After that, his ocean-blue eyes turned crimson, the bridge of his nose caved in, his forehead bulged, and his cheeks sagged. Though the individual changes weren’t huge, when combined, it turned him into another person.

“Look! I’m not Fario anymore. I’m Zayed,” he said with a smile.

Zayed was General Sallah’s trusted subordinate. He was slightly weaker than Fario.

The second-in-command’s head dipped lower, feeling very nervous and fearful.

After learning so many secrets, it wasn’t strange that he felt fearful of being silenced.

“Relax, I still need your assistance. Later, if anyone lingers around and takes photos or recordings, just send him a missile. Remember, once you do these things, we are all in the same boat,” said Fario. There was both authority and consolation in his voice.

Then his face tensed.

“For the Pharaoh!”

“For the Pharaoh!” echoed the others fanatically.

Fario shut his eyes half-way in reminiscence.

“To be given an opponent like him at this crucial point. It has to be God’s plan…”

“This is a trial and an opportunity. I can already imagine the satisfaction, joy, and catharsis when I slaughter Lou Cheng. Then I will ascend into the level of a bonafide Demigod!”

Lou Cheng’s hands are tied, he has no helpers, and is suppressed by a weaponized helicopter. If I couldn’t defeat and kill him under such conditions, then I deserve to die!

Psychopath! What a maniac, cussed the second-in-charge internally. He wasn’t sure of Fario’s motives. Was he doing it for the Pharaoh, himself, or both?

After a couple of seconds, Fario re-opened his eyes and gazed below.

“They are too slow,” he said unhappily.

“Lower the helicopter’s altitude,” he instructed. He then stood up and walked to the cabin door.

They were 15 meters above ground. A dull light flitted across Fario’s eyes. He pushed out his right palm. The area darkened instantly. It seemed as though the oasis town was about to be ravaged by a sandstorm.

The darkness moved slowly from one car to another. The traits—like heat and thermodynamic activity— of living organisms in the cars vaguely appeared in Fario’s mind.

As long as Lou Cheng doesn’t hide his breathing, heartbeat, or scent, he would be like a glaring and resplendent torch in the night!

That was when Fario sensed something in his mind that was filled with darkness. A blazing light redolent of the sun tore through the haze and dispersed darkness.

Fario’s eyes narrowed.

“Found you!” he said delightedly.

…

Yan Zheke, in the crimson sedan, noticed that the checkpoint troops weren’t like the Renegades who killed and raped as they pleased. After confiscating some valuables and inspecting the vehicle, they let the people pass as promised.

“It appears that they are searching for someone…” deduced Yan Zheke after some observation.

If it concerned them, then it would be all the more dangerous!

“They are from the regular army,” said Lou Cheng. He felt apprehensive when he recalled the military officer, Kajo, he had captured the night before.

Before he could finish his sentence, an icy and sinister sensation passed over him. The premonition of extreme danger made him blurt out the words:

“Turn left! Hit the gas!”

Yan Zheke didn’t know why, but she trusted Lou Cheng and sensed the urgency in his voice. She released the brakes and hit the gas. At the same time, she turned the steering wheel to the left. She did all these on autopilot.

With the rumbling of engines, the sedan sped to the side and onto the oasis dirt road .

Bang!

At that moment, the weaponized helicopter gave off a flare as it fired a missile. The missile landed at where the sedan originally was.

Boom!

The strong explosion shattered the surrounding glass and upturned cars. Flames rose along with thick smoke.

“Go faster, avoid the checkpoint!” instructed Lou Cheng calmly, his mind like an Ice Lake.

Yan Zheke accelerated without hesitation. The sedan dashed on the bumpy oasis ground towards the checkpoint.

“Brake! Turn right!” Lou Cheng predicted the next attack based on the reflection of his surroundings in his mind lake.

Screech! The sedan stopped, turned, and returned to the main road. Two missiles, one left and one right, landed at where it was initially going.

Boom!

The loud explosions alarmed the others. Fixated on escaping, the fugitives began breaching the checkpoint through various methods. The scene became extremely chaotic.

“Good at dodging, aren’t you?” Fario smiled faintly. Holding the unfinished cigar, he leaped out of the helicopter that was more than ten meters above ground, and landed stylishly on top of a car. It left a huge dent, but he didn’t so much as flinch.

He marched forward. He intended to use his mobility to intercept and restrict the relatively slow sedan so the helicopter could land a hit.

As the red-eyed man in his neat military uniform approached, Lou Cheng had already come up with a plan.

“I’ll stop him! You cross the checkpoint! If you are about to get hit, abandon the car immediately and protect yourself! Leave the rest to me!”

With Ke Ke’s abilities and mobility, she wouldn’t be hit unless they focused fire on her. A single weaponized helicopter wasn’t capable of that.

“Mhm!” Yan Zheke spared no words at times of crisis.

When the timing was right, Lou Cheng suddenly opened the door and rolled out from the gap. He then vaulted across ten to twenty meters to where Fario was.

Dadadadada! The spraying machine guns missed and left a trail of dust and bullet holes.

Fario, tossing away the cigar, smiled at Lou Cheng.

In fluent English, he said: “Tell me, is it you or them that’s going to die first?”