The gang went off to sleep that night before they packed their belongings and went on their merry way once again. And, of course, Sumiko, Killian, and Tatsuo went back to fetch their wagon—minus one horse, unfortunately.
The ride to the next small town had been a short yet silent one, as the six worried about Luke's physical state, which deteriorated considerably since last night. Thankfully, his situation was stabilized once he was bandaged by Joel and Mik after they had bought some bandages from the small town they had reached.
It was evident that Luke needed a good night's rest and proper medical care before he could open his eyes healthily once again, for he was asleep most of the day and would only weakly whisper a request whenever he had the strength to spare. However, they were unable to fulfill such a desire. The Templars, through thick and thin, stalked them restlessly—in wait for the perfect opportunity to strike decisively and exact revenge.
Thus, if they wished to continue their journey in peace, to close off this chapter for good, they had to deal with the Templars once and for all. Hence why, as risky as it was, they collectively agreed to spend the night camping outside.
...
Later in the night, a couple of hours before dawn, the gang was sleeping in the middle of open grounds—surrounded by hills on all sides, with a few trees and bushes spread across. Their two wagons were parked around an already put-out campfire—their horses a few dozen paces away, feeding on the grass of the green plain.
They had all gone to sleep, unaware of the threat looming around them.
Above one of the hills across from the camp, there sounded a rustle around the bushes. Suddenly, two scores of men clad in white cloaks and white surcoats emerged from behind the trees—peeking out of the bushes.
They were the Templars, their sights set over the camp. One of the Templars—presumably their new leader—spoke in an authoritative voice.
"There them sumbitches at." He said.
"They's sleepin'?" A Templar asked.
"Oh, they's asleep a'ight." He replied, "Sleepin' like we ain't gonna rip'em heads off and stick'em to a pike."
"You sure 'bout this, father?" One of the men questioned, "Them sumbitches did the beating on us last time."
"Don' call me that, I ain' the new father yet." He replied, "And we sure as hell gonna beat 'em sumbitches. We got the numbers on 'em this time, and we gon' do it in the name of our daddy, who them little shits blinded. We gon' blind 'em as well, and we gonna rape that slit-eyed bitch 'til death."
"Hey, father." Another of the men spoke, "Ye sure that's them? Them wagons look different, wasn' Lukey's one bigger?"
The leader smacked the man on the head before angrily scolding him.
"You's a dumb little shit. 's dark, 'course they look different." He scolded, "And don't call me father. If you's gon' call me something, call me big brother."
"But, big brother." Another man interrupted, "They only got two horses. Them got three, don' they?"
The leader proceeded to smack the other man as well before scolding him.
"It's dark, ye dumbass." He reprimanded, "'course you ain't gonna see 'em all. Ya bunch of good-for-nothing shits."
The men went silent as they fixed their sights on the camp once again. They sat there, gazing for a while longer before big brother stepped back and gestured for them to follow him.
"We gonna surprise 'em bastards, after me."
One by one, the men moved out of their hiding spot and down the hill—making their way towards the camp. Meanwhile, the campsite was dead silent as the Templars crept closer to it, not daring to make a sound.
They were set to ambush the gang in their sleep and catch them off-guard. If they could pull off the said plan, along with their numbers, then their victory would be sealed. And so far, no movement came from the wagons, and no sound resonated from them either.
Finally, the Templars reached the campsite, standing silently and idly as they encircled it. Suddenly, one of the men leaned towards big brother before he spoke in a whisper.
"What we gonna do now, big brother?"
"You, get to that wagon." He referred to one of the men, "And you, onto the other wagon. Peek inside, quietly."
The two Templars did as they were told and each crept towards one of the wagons, they crouched down before they peeked inside of it, both equally confused and perplexed.
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"Hey, big brother." One of the men called out, "The wagon's empty."
"What?!" He exclaimed, "I saw 'em sumbitches go to sleep in them."
"Actually, we didn', big brother." Another man interrupted, "We got here way after they've gon' t'sleep."
"Yeah, big brother." One of the Templars called out, "This wagon's full of barrels."
"Barrels?" He wondered before he stepped towards the wagon, "The hell's this?"
His eyes fell upon six barrels placed next to each other inside the wagon. That was all that it contained. There were no people, equipment, or food inside. Suddenly, it snapped in his mind. The barrels had a special word encrypted on them, one that he could make out even through the dark. One that instantly made him call out for his men to run away.
Black Powder
However, unbeknownst to the Templars, seven pairs of eyes peeked at them from one of the hills around the camp—staring directly at the back of the wagon, facing the barrels. On top of the hill, there sat Dolisia, Mik, Joel, Luke, Killian, Sumiko, and Tatsuo. They were laying in a prone position, quietly observing the Templars from afar.
"Man, y'know how much I've been fantasizing about a scene like this?" Joel stated.
"Fantasizing?" Dolisia questioned, "Wait, hold on, isn't Mik supposed to be the madman?"
"I am, but Joel gets this tick from time to time." Mik explained, "He's an eyebag emo alright, but he has his moments."
"I like to enjoy myself from time to time." Joel explained, "I was a writer, this kind of setup is shit that I used to pleasure myself to, especially when done right."
"...if." Mik interjected.
"Alright, listen here, you little shit. I swear to fuck. If you screw it up, I'm through with you, period." Joel added.
"I just said if, chillax. No need for a goddamn meltdown."
"You were the top fucking marksman of the entire corps, if you miss this motherfucking shot then I'll join the Templars."
"Prove it. No balls."
"Don't fucking test my patients, Mik."
"Pfft, bhahaha!" Mik cackled, "Oh, forgive me, Doctor Joel."
"Haha, funny motherfucker. Laugh all you want, but when I join the Templars and come at you with a sword in one hand, and a piece of cheese in the other ready to shove it up your ass, we'll see who'll laugh."
"Alright, cut it out, idiots." Dolisia interrupted, "Keep focus, else you'll screw up our one and only chance of putting the bastards down."
"Don't worry," Sumiko replied, "We'll get them, I won't leave those inbred trash escape either way."
"A-alright!" Killian added, "They're a bunch of dumbasses, of course, we won't let them escape. Right, Tatsuo?"
"No, I won't help." Tatsuo chimed in, "I'm here for fireworks. No fireworks, no helping."
"Aw, would the little prince want some hard candy to suck on too?"
"You will be sucking something else if you don't shut your fucking mouth," Tatsuo retorted, "And I mean it. Chasing these buffoons is hard as is, let alone in the dead of night. It's either this or practically never."
"You heard him, Mik." Dolisia said, "Now or never."
"Relax, I know. I was just fucking with Joel."
"You little cu-" Joel uttered.
"Shhh! There they go!" Sumiko whispered.
As the men checked the back of the wagon, Mik stood up before drawing his Magnum, aiming it at the barrels, and pulling the hammer back. But before he could pull the trigger, Joel interrupted him.
"Wait!" Joel whispered, "Luke, are you watching?"
Luke weakly nodded in response, struggling to keep his eyes open as he held onto his bandaged sides—a blanket covering up his naked upper body. Joel smiled approvingly before tapping Mik on the shoulder, giving him the queue to close the case of the Templars once and for all.
"Wait, before that." Joel interrupted, "Say something cool."
"Uh…" Mik stuttered, "I don't know man. I didn't really come prepared with a one-liner."
"Just make up some shit." Joel encouraged, "You know, just make the bullet count!"
Thus, Mik aimed the sights once again. He did indeed need to say something cool, for it was the first shot he will have fired with his Magnum in this world. However, he could think of nothing. He was struggling, rummaging through his mind for anything, even a trashy one-liner from a garbage movie he watched once upon a time, but nothing came into his head. In the end, he simply gave up.
"Fuck it!" He said, "Make it count!"
With a pull of the trigger, the bullet propelled through the air and landed on one of the barrels.
KABOOM!
The barrels of black powder detonated and erupted into a ball of fire, smoke, and shattered pieces of the wagon that lit up in an infernal blaze. The Templars were sent back by the explosion. They were launched through the air, unconscious, whimpering in pain, or suffering from the immense heat and burns they sustained. As for the rest, they were knocked unconscious by the shockwave that knocked the wind out of their lungs—one that reverberated towards the gang along with the heatwave.
Upon witnessing the ball of fire and smoke—the shattered pieces of wood, the Templars laying on the ground in defeat, and the sound of the explosion that passed through them along with a gale of heat—The gang erupted into cheers and looks of awe.
Tatsuo smirked, Sumiko whistled in amazement, Killian laughed in delight, Dolisia cheered, Joel patted Mik on the back, and the latter was jumping up and down in excitement upon witnessing the explosion.
"Yeah! Oh my god!" Mik shouted, "Did you see that?! I did that!"
"Bro!" Joel cheered, "That was so badass! Make it count!"
"Woohoo! Up yours, Templars!" Mik yelled.
"Yeah!" Dolisia joined in, "Fuck you, assholes!"
In their frenzy of excitement, the trio couldn't help but share a hug filled with cheers as they jumped up and down, patting each other on the back.
"Joel, you're a goddamn genius!"
"Me?! You're the badass for taking the shot!"
"Finally! We finally did something amazing!" Dolisia said, "You two are goddamn amazing! Way to fucking go! Screw you bad luck, and screw you world!"
"Yeah!!!" The three cheered in unison.
Meanwhile, Luke was observing in silence. Upon witnessing the explosion, and the fall of the Templars, an incomprehensible weight vanished from his shoulders. He saw the men he feared, the past that haunted him, shattered and burst into a blaze of fire. Finally, he can rest at ease.
He cracked a joyful smile before he laid his back on the ground, neverminding the pain. He rested his head on the grass, gazing at the sky with his smile still intact. He slowly closed his eyes as he breathed a deep sigh of relief—slowly drifting to a peaceful state of worry-free, sound sleepiness.
Thus, the Templars were defeated, once and for all.