[Chapter 17. The Slaughter continues]

  The two drones vanished into the dim glow of twilight just as Iris sliced through the fence, cutting steel as if it were cloth. She stepped through without slowing, breaking immediately into a sprint. The soft roar of the drones magical cannons was barely audible quiet sounds in an even quieter evening. Searanox followed moments later, slipping into one of the hangars that served as barns. Same as last time. He grabbed the first solid plank he could find anything heavy enough to be used as a club and got to work.

  It felt like the first farm.

  Almost exactly.

  The only difference was the kill feed. This time, the numbers jumped sometimes violently so massive increments flashing across his vision before vanishing again. He ignored them and focused on the rhythm. Swing. Impact. Collapse. Repeat. Once the drones finished clearing the main building, they shifted to support him, sweeping the barns until their timers expired and they vanished one after the other. It took less than eight hours.

  When it was done, their clothes were not just stained with blood they were drenched in it.

  Iris rested her massive Zweih?nder on her shoulder. The blade was pristine not a single speck of blood clung to its dark surface. She, on the other hand, was anything but clean. Her fur was matted and heavy, the dark strands soaked through to a deep, glistening crimson.

  The drive was silent. The engine hummed steadily, broken only by the faint rustle of blood stiffened fabric shifting with every movement.

  "That shower was rather useless, Searanox," Iris purred, her tone mildly amused.

  "The point wasn't to clean my body," he replied flatly. "It was to clean my thoughts."

  His pants and shoes were darkened red-brown from the ankles to the knees, everything above that was sprayed in uneven arcs. He drove straight on, headlights carving tunnels through the darkness as exhaustion crept in bone deep and heavy, the opposite of the sharp adrenaline that had carried him through the slaughter. He glanced at Iris. Her amber eyes were fixed on the road ahead, expression calm. Focused. She was a warrior and she was in her element.

  The next farm followed the same pattern. His drones erased the staff before either of them entered the barns. The slaughter began. The slaughter ended. The last farm, however, did not go as planned. The sun was already rising when they reached it. One drone was forced to stay on Overwatch, leaving only a single unit active. With one drone summoned, his TP regeneration barely matched its upkeep no margin for error.

  A car pulled onto the property. The drone fired. Its magic cannon punched straight through the roof. The vehicle went still. Another human erased. Then another vehicle arrived. Then a police car. Searanox had not specified restrictions. The drone fired again two clean shots through the windshield. It resumed its watch without hesitation.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Then he heard it. A low, distant hum. Every child knew that sound.

  Everyone knew where to look.

  "God fucking dammit," he muttered, sprinting out of the barn and tilting his gaze skyward.

  A helicopter.

  `Can't it ever be simple?′

  With a mental command, he set the condition, shoot if it hovers or descends. Then he shouted across the property.

  "Iris! Get your ass over here now! We are out of time!"

  No response.

  Then a howl, sharp and fierce, ripped through the morning air.

  Acknowledged. He went back to work, crushing chickens left and right. He did not summon another drone. He needed overwatch. A thousand kills were not worth risking a failed summon at the wrong moment. The helicopter circled once, a black predator surveying the carnage below. Its spotlight sliced through the morning mist, illuminating the blood soaked barn. He issued the command.

  A single, brilliant crimson beam lanced upward. There was no explosion. No fireball.

  The helicopter simply… died. The beam tore through the engine block, killing power instantly. The rotors slowed, their scream fading into a hollow whine before the aircraft dropped like a stone. It hit one of the buildings with a sickening metallic crunch. Silence followed. A deep, ringing silence worse than noise. Louder than screams. He checked his status.

  Another swing. Another chicken fell.

  `We are so close.′

  Iris emerged from the barn, Zweih?nder on her shoulder, blade still clean.

  "The helicopter is down," she said calmly. "The System registered the kill as Helicopter Pilot Lv.0." He answered.

  Her eyes flicked toward the smoking wreckage.

  "We have at most ten minutes before a response is mobilized. Law enforcement. Possibly military... Stop standing around," Searanox snapped. "Kill everything you see. Five minutes. Then run to the car."

  He sprinted toward the wreckage, placed a hand against the twisted metal, and activated Salvage.

  The helicopter glowed faint blue. Nothing else happened until a small box materialized in front of him. He grabbed it without looking and ran.

  Iris was already at the car when he arrived. The engine roared to life. Tires screamed as he floored it, tearing away from the property just as the sun cleared the horizon. He glanced at the final tally.

  A drone materialized above the car.

  `Kill everything on that farm.′

  It turned and flew back toward the slaughter, joining the other drone still at work. Two kilometers down the road, he finally slowed.

  "We stay within nine kilometers," he said. "The drones will finish most of it. Once they are gone, we reposition summon another batch, hit one more farm. It should work."

  He pulled onto a narrow forest path, wiping his hand against the seat as he manipulated the phone clamped beside the steering wheel.

  "There is a small river ahead," he added. "We walk there, clean up, and wait."