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Kazaks raced through the dense underbrush, his breaths heavy and focused.
Shadows of the bandits darted through the trees, their laughter echoing cruelly as they tightened their circle around Zach.
Kazaks's hands tightened around his war hammer, the familiar weight in his grip—
A weapon he'd wielded countless times before, always as an extension of his wrath.
But this time, it felt different.
This time, the wrath wasn't leading him forward.
He wasn't charging in with wild fury; he was running with purpose, each step a promise to protect.
Ahead, Zach was tangled in a net, struggling as the bandits pressed closer.
Kazaks wasted no time.
He swung his hammer down, the weight of it connecting with a sickening crunch as it shattered bones and scattered bodies.
"ARRGHHH!!"
Bandits reeled back, stumbling over one another to escape the force of his strikes.
"Shit! Who's this guy!?"
He moved swiftly, his strikes precise and deadly, each swing of the hammer breaking ribs, smashing arms, leaving nothing but silence in his wake.
"Not a single one of you will run away from me! Fight me!"
The bandits tried to counter, but Kazaks's senses were too sharp.
He felt them closing in, heard every labored breath, every misstep in the brush.
"Predictable!!"
His tattoo burned against his skin, enhancing each sense until he could taste the sweat and fear of those surrounding him.
"HA HA HA HA HA HA HA!"
One by one, they fell, their lives snuffed out by the same wrath that had fueled him for years.
But then, as Kazaks swung his hammer down on the last bandit, something caught him off guard.
One of them pulled out a small, smoke-covered vial and smashed it on the ground.
A thick, acrid smoke filled the air, stinging his eyes, coating his throat, and deadening his enhanced senses.
The world around him grew hazy, every sound muffled, every smell twisted and distorted.
He stumbled, his hammer slipping slightly from his grip as he fought to breathe through the smoke.
In that moment, Thorne stepped forward, his silhouette looming through the haze.
With a swift, brutal kick, he drove his boot into Kazaks's abdomen.
"Hrmph!"
The force sent Kazaks sprawling back, rolling through the dirt, his war hammer clattering beside him.
YOU ARE READING
Hidden Pathways
FantasyIn a land of broken dreams, only the brave dare to rise. Zach, the brave leader of the Renaissance band, fights against the seven kingdoms-Drakonium, Aetheria, Sunridge, Oakridge, Solaria, Aurelia, and Elysium. Together with his loyal friends, who a...
