Vralt was running at an astonishing speed, pistol in hand, as he sent more and more of his men after them. Raven had always known that the leader of the Droki gang was a frightened rat, but he never thought it would go to such an extreme. If he had risen to the top, he had undoubtedly done so through treachery and deceit—something quite common in the Hive Zones and almost a signature move of gangs affiliated with the Poisonous Snakes.

Several gang members came out to meet them, trying to stop their advance. Raven shot one in the head, dodged the knife of a human woman, and with a blow, sent her over the railing. Then he heard Tania shout, claiming the third, and ducked. A couple of bullets pierced the skull of the Droki aehul, who slid down the wall, smearing it red.

"Come on, boss, you're falling behind!" said Tania as she passed him. The girl with red streaks in her hair and blue eyes wore tight, short clothing, and was protected by an Akro chest plate that covered her torso and part of her back, along with shoulder pads. Raven loved watching her sensual body as she killed.

Raven and Tania, along with Serf, continued along the metal platform. As if Vralt's rat-like sixth sense had warned him of the trap awaiting him, the Droki leader began climbing the stairs to the hatch instead of heading to the room that led to the elevator.

Raven quickly alerted the other teammates with his cyberboard, and they continued chasing after Vralt. On the other side of the hatch, the industrial warehouse roof served as a street between buildings that rose on either side. Metal walkways connected the different buildings at various heights, forming a kind of tunnel. The air was filled with the murmur of conversations and the faint glow of some flickering advertisements promoting goods or services. Several meters ahead, behind cement pylons acting as barricades with Droki banners, the street continued through the opening of another adjoining building, where street vendors peddled their wares, and children darted through the shadows, dodging busy adults.

Near the cement pylons stood Vralt, panting from the run he had just made. The leader of the Droki gang was a thin, pale human with long black hair, shaved eyebrows, and numerous piercings. He wore brightly colored clothes and a synthetic fiber chest plate with Akro plates.

"You're ours now, you damn rat," Raven said with a devilish grin. The desire to take down the leader of one of the gangs affiliated with the Poisonous Snakes made his chest pound and threatened to cloud his mind.

"Ha! That's what you think! But it's you who are going to die," Vralt said confidently, tapping his cyberboard. "Boys, come out and greet these sons of bitches!"

From the balcony of one of the first apartments in the building rising to his right, several Drokis appeared, armed with guns. Meanwhile, two groks emerged from the doorway. One had his hair slicked back and held a huge axe in his hands. The other was bald, missing an eye, and wielded an axe and a sword. Both were dressed in leather, furs, and numerous protections made of different metals.

The groks, like most races that made up the so-called "Savages," usually roamed the world with other savages in the form of gangs or hordes, plundering and pillaging everything in their path. That was why most of the few groks who lived in cities often led similar lives, joining, taking over, or creating their own criminal gangs. However, many of them also worked as mercenaries, and some even held positions where brute strength was required.

"Now who's screwed, huh?" Vralt asked with malice.

Raven, Tania, and Serf smiled.

"You, idiot," Raven said.

"What? Are you so stupid you can’t see you're surround—" But before he could finish, Vralt's face suddenly changed. On the balcony of the other building, it wasn't his men. Instead, three members of the Exterminators gang were aiming their weapons at them. "Quick! Kill them all!"

"Rale, take care of the snipers. We'll handle the ones below."

The gunfire between the shooters from both sides broke out almost immediately. From the balconies and the walkway, bullets began flying in all directions as both sides tried to overpower the other.

"You're mine now," Tania said sweetly and affectionately before pulling the trigger. The bullet pierced Vralt's knee, sending him to the ground.

"Shit! Damn it! Rokor, Radhul, what are you standing there for? Kill those bastards already!" Vralt shouted as he writhed.

"Yes, boss," replied the savages with a thick accent. Many of them only managed to learn how to crudely say simple things in Ibelirian, which was the universal language of Terrarum.

"When the big guy finds out, he'll regret not coming for sure," Raven said with a grin, pulling out his broadsword from the harness on his back.

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Tania licked her lips.

"Screw him! He can't have all the fun."

A rifle bullet pierced the skull of a gunman who thought he could shoot the leader of the Exterminators, and he fell to the ground from the first floor.

"This is going to hurt," Serf remarked as he pulled out his spiked club.

The groks obeyed their leader's order and charged at their enemies, who, much to their surprise, met them head-on under the rain of bullets.

Raven was the first to engage, squaring off against the one wielding a huge two-handed axe. He stepped firmly, twisted his hips, and the metals clashed, creating a great roar. Their bodies briefly separated, only to clash again, sparks flying as neither of them gave any ground

***

Tania and Serf each charged from one side at the other grok. Serf struck with his club while Tania attacked from the other side with the bayonets attached to her guns. Their opponent easily blocked the blow from the blonde-mohawked, pierced human and tried to ward off the woman with a swing of his axe on the side where he couldn't see. Tania stepped back to dodge the blow, and the grok retaliated against Serf, who had to summon all his strength to block a vertical attack from the Savage's axe. However, the grok's sword was free, and Serf could do nothing to stop it from sinking into his guts. The fear of a short life was reflected in his eyes.

***

Raven’s broadsword and the grok’s massive axe clashed again, and a test of strength began. Although the leader of the Exterminators was stronger than most humans, he couldn’t overpower the Savage, who was beginning to gain ground.

"I'm going to crush you, runt," the grok taunted.

Raven would have loved to respond, but at that moment, he couldn’t afford any distractions. He tensed his muscles even more and let out a loud shout. His opponent’s weapon shifted to the side, and Raven spun on himself, hitting him in the eye with the pommel. The grok clutched his eye, and Raven pushed him back with a front kick.

***

The one-eyed Savage gutted Serf, and Tania shot him a couple of times. The bullets pierced the grok’s leather and skin, just as his comrade's guts began to spill uncontrollably. The Savage growled and turned to face his next opponent.

"That's right, look at me, darling!" Tania teased.

Tania lunged at him, firing as she moved. Some bullets bounced off his armor while others wounded him, but it wasn’t enough to bring him down, and soon he was swinging at her with his sword and axe. Tania, with a smile on her face, dodged his attacks over and over, as if she relished every life-threatening move.

***

The Exterminator leader charged at his rival, driving the broadsword into his abdomen. Blood trickled from the Savage's mouth, but he slowly began to lift the heavy axe to attack again. The Exterminator leader pulled the knife from his belt and plunged it into the grok’s throat. Blood poured out with greater force, and the 6'3" humanoid fell to his knees. Raven grabbed the hilt of the broadsword, and with the help of his foot, pulled it from the body of his victim, leaving a trail of blood and viscera.

***

Tania skillfully dodged the axe and sword, spinning to position herself beside her opponent. Her bayonets tore through the leather of his abdomen and slashed his right leg. Without giving him a chance to recover, she drove the blades of her pistols into the creature’s side and fired point-blank.

"Come on! Are you not going to hit me even once?" Tania joked with a fake expression of sadness.

The grok snorted and, with a scream filled with pain, tried to strike her with his axe, but Tania, quick and teasing, dodged him. In one fluid movement, she drove a bayonet through his jaw and pulled the trigger. The grok's helmet hit the ground, and the bullet continued its upward path.

At that precise moment, the last Droki gunman fell to the ground with a dull thud.

***

"No, it can't be!" Vralt exclaimed, wide-eyed, as he desperately crawled away. A trail of blood stained the floor in his wake. He heard Raven's heavy footsteps approaching, and in a last, desperate attempt, he tried to fire his submachine gun. But before he could pull the trigger, a well-aimed shot blew his hand off, leaving him screaming in pain.

With a movement full of malice, Raven kicked the Droki leader in the face. He stepped closer, placing his boot on Vralt's chest, pressing him against the floor. The sharp tip of his broadsword hovered near his enemy's vulnerable neck.

"Where's your bravado now?" Raven asked.

"Did you see that? They turned Serf into a gutted fish!" Tania taunted as she approached him.

The leader of the Exterminators no longer felt much when he saw one of his close comrades fall in battle. From a young age, he had witnessed the deaths of his mother, friends, comrades, and those he had come to consider family. He knew that life expectancy in the hive zones was absurdly short. But the way Tania sometimes talked about fallen comrades, even the closest ones, was so disturbing that it made him wonder if there would come a day when she would kill one of them with a smile.

"You bastards! You've wiped out my whole damn gang!" The shout of the Drokis' leader grabbed his attention again.

"Don't you know what we're called?" Tania stomped on his wounded knee. "The Exterminators, idiot!"

"You're crazy! Damn, this hurts!" Vralt screamed as he writhed in pain. "Do you even know who we belong to? Do you know who the hell we make drugs for? For the damn Venomous Serpents, you idiots! This won't end here, I assure you!" Cuervo knew it well. The Venomous Serpents were one of the largest criminal houses in all of Anlova. Everything they touched turned corrupt, leaving only death and betrayal in their wake.

"Look at me, I'm sooo dangerous because I work for the serpents," Tania mocked. "Ooooh, scary."

"We know exactly who you work for, asshole," Cuervo's voice was imposing.

"You idiots have no idea what you're doing! You've declared war on the most powerful gang in the whole damn state!"

"Blah blah blah," Tania teased again, twirling a lock of her disheveled hair.

"That's exactly what we want. We'll destroy every gang affiliated with the Serpents until we wipe them all out. We'll be the next lords of Anlova," Cuervo said, savoring the moment. "And now, die." The blade of his greatsword plunged into Vralt's throat, and Cuervo watched until life gurgled out of him in a choking stream of blood.