Silver rubbed his flintlock until it became unsoiled.

No one in the world would wield such an outdated firearm from the sixth or seventh centuries. It instead became a collector’s item. He was born in the late seventeenth. That was almost a millennium.

His first encounter with the flintlock was on the battlefield, where he had slain field marshal Valen.

That was where he found this flintlock, Beggar Gun.

At first Silver wondered why he would carry something so valuable into battle.

Silver later discovered that almost all soldiers tended to carry their personal valuable possessions on them.

He never understood the reason until he massacred a hundred thousand more soldiers.

Each soldier had one life, if they died, it seemed better to die with the things they held dear. He did not wish to live that kind of life on the battlefield. Where the feeling of death was imminent. Where thousands of soldiers died under a commander while he or she stood in the back. It felt…erroneous.

It was like a soldier's life was a tool to be wielded and controlled. Their life was useless. These leaders threw them on the battlefield and watched death unfold. Silver knew his word had truth, because…because…

He was once a commander in the field.

He hated that he was commander, but over time—it was the best decision—he used his men less carelessly in battle and took the frontline for himself, unlike his peers.

But after his last major battle, just off Rocky Ridge. Silver found out that he was about to be released for his actions, he instead left on his own volition with some of those who had followed him in the battle. Five members, to be exact.

This talk about honor and shit? He thought. Fighting for his homeland? For his loved ones? Fighting for a cause better than himself? Bullshit.

That was a foolish mindset to hold.

He was a damn fool to fight for his nation when the nation didn't care about the soldiers. No one prayed for the soldier to win for the motherland. None, they instead prayed to those above that did not even exist. He did not believe in that child book shit.

His homeland could burn for all he cared, which, in the end—it did.

He became a hired man when he left—like the other infamous mercenaries he met. He became rich, had an excellent life, a life, ah, that word ‘life’, never had he felt so free. Silver shook his head and moved on.

He finished and tucked his flintlock under his cloak as he held back his horse and looked around the dense forest. Some trees were well over a hundred foot tall, and some were as low as sixty.

The moss covered the trees like an endless blanket. It was hard to see sunlight, but there were some holes above where the sun was allowed to come down to radiate the inside of the forest.

He could see new colorful flowers blossom in rows and thick roots that surfaced from the soil. This forest here was ancient.

Flemonia looked above as she was in awe. Silver smiled. "It is a wonderful sight to see here, wait until it becomes dark then it becomes ten times more beautiful than it is now." It was nice to be back here…

Silver turned back to see Flemonia, and his smile faded. "You well, Flemonia?"

Flemonia smiled but cried at the same time. She rubbed her face as she observed the forest. "I have never seen a beautiful forest before…it is the first time I have seen one like this."

Silver turned with his brow raised. "You've never been in a forest before? Not once? You are an adult, and what? In the house for your entire lifetime?"

Flemonia shook her head. "I…I wish not to talk about it…" She avoided him and looked in a different direction. Silver felt the mood shift as he turned back. He rode for hours as he followed behind Emma.

He looked around and held back his horse. "Emma." He said as he slid off the horse. "We will rest here. I want the horse tied here as I scout this area."

Silver touched his stuff to double-check his items. "Little mouse, be with the horses and Emma." He hefted Flemnonia down. “I will be back around three or four hours.”

Before Silver could leave to scout, he was held back by Flemonia. She grabbed his shoulder where it hurt. "I would like to follow…"

Silver winced as he lowered her hand off his shoulder. "I could encounter some folks there in black. I need to be sure we are not followed. Now that is over with—"

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Flemonia clutched onto his hand and said. "Please…I won't be a bother…"

Silver exhaled as he looked over to Emma. "You all right with this? I will take her with me for a while." He saw Flemonia's face with an idiotic smile as she clutched his hand tighter. He frowned and took his hand back.

Emma tied the horses onto the tree. "Sure. I don't care." She bobbed her head as she sat down with the horses. "Don't lose her now."

Silver nodded as he waved to her before travelling further down the forest with Flemonia. He wandered in the forest with his feet as light as a feather and listened for the river stream.

He should hunt for some fish while he scouted the forest. He hadn’t eaten for a while and craved smoked fish. "You like fish?" He turned to Flemonia, who looked at Silver back as she was caught off guard by his words.

Flemonia crossed her arms as she nodded. "Yes. Yes, I do." She opened her mouth as if trying to say something, then shut her mouth.

Silver turned and continued forth. In less than a few minutes, he encountered a small river with the blue sky exposed to them. "Alright, not a huge fan of spacious areas, but this will do just fine."

Silver threw his boots to the side and rolled his trousers to his knees. He sank his feet in, feeling the cold as he breathed harder. It had been a while, but the reward was worth it—and it was fish. Nice.

But man, it was colder than he had believed. He shivered and didn't want to look over his shoulder to make sure he was not making a fool of himself in front of Flemonia. He was a veteran at this…

He noticed Flemonia doing the same thing. "Wait. You don't have to do it. It is fine. I will handle this since I know how to hunt fish."

Flemonia cocked her head. "With what?"

Silver smiled as he raised his hand. "This." He swirled his main hand. "Ha! This hand here is an excellent hunter and has served me since I was born!" He still smiled as he waited for her reaction.

She didn't and instead looked back at him in the other direction. "You can lower your hand…" She turned as she blushed. "This is awkward…"

Silver did as she told but felt no shame cause she smiled a little, which mattered to him. That look on her face was a natural, innocent face where she didn't fake a reaction. It was a rare occurrence.

"You can sit down and watch as I fish, and who knows? You can learn a thing or two."

Flemonia turned and settled down on a rock with her knees to her chest and observed. "Silver…" She said with a nervous tone.

Silver looked down in the river as he danced around the riverbed. "Yes?" He cursed, all these fishes were small; he needed fatter fish.

He could hear her breath out of control as she said. “I–I–Thank…for…all of this…” She said as she reached for a small rock and tossed it.

Silver stopped what he was doing and looked at Flemonia, who rolled a rock between her fingers with half her face covered by her knees.

He nodded, which felt like a bow, and raised his head back. "No need to thank me, I don’t deserve it." He said. "But, know this. I'm here for cash, and I mean a lot of it since I am worth more than all the mercenaries in Borofall."

Flemonia smiled and nodded. "That is fine. But isn’t Cane worth more than all of the mercenaries in Borofall?”

"Cane? You overhead us?"

Flemonia fell silent and nodded. "Yes. Yes, I have overheard. Just a little."

Silver sighed. "Well, that is fine." It wasn't necessary either way. "But is he worth more than me? How much are we talking about? The last time I heard, he was seventy-four thousand gold cogs." That was a decade…

Flemonia crossed her legs on a rock as she rubbed her chin. "He is…one hundred seventeen thousand gold cogs, ten teeth."

"What? Is he worth that much while I'm gone? That is not fair, man."

"Well," she said, "you've been hiding for a decade."

"I know. I know. But wow, that is something. He even broke the hundreds of thousands mark, and I am worth ninety-seven thousand."

"But ninety-seven thousand is a lot." Flemonia smiled.

Silver frowned. "Yeah, but these idiots might as well round up to a hundred thousand. But besides that—"

He raised his revolver and fired into the random bush to his left. Flemonia screamed as she fell behind a rock. "Luda's men?!" She turned to him. "It's them, isn't it?!" She clutched her chest, afraid.

Silver nodded. "I'm afraid so." He saw Luda's men for a second before they retreated back into the forest. "Shit…it’s a scout." He didn't think these men were out to scout at the same time as him.

Such a bad time, a bad time indeed.

Silver tucked back his revolver and had his Zassia readied. "We don't have time before more of these madmen come. Follow me." Silver rushed to wear his boots before he ran further into the forest.

Silver twisted his head back to see Flemonia slowing down her pace. "Come on! We don't have all day!"

Flemonia fell to her stomach as she took a breath. "I-I can't…I never ran this fast before…"

Silver cursed as he carried Felmonia over his shoulder. "Just bear with me. I will get you safe. I will…"

Silver felt a chill when he made contact with the scout. He knew there were men in an abandoned town. He felt their ethern. He should have trusted his own instincts from the start before he entered the forest.

But his mind became dull.

Come on, Silver! It's been a decade! He should not have hunted nor should he have had Flemonia with him when he was to scout. He was an idiot.

Silver ran and stood on a hill as he found Emma with her revolver drawn out at three men. She fired as she hid behind a tree. Silver lowered Flemonia and flanked the men on the side. He shot one in the head.

Two officers turned to Silver with their rifles—

Emma took her chance and lodged a bullet into both of their heads. Silver took Flemonia down the hill. "Emma! We need to be out of here! Now! Flemonia! This time, be with Emma!" He overheard more shouts in the distance.

Emma nodded as she aided Flemonia onto the horse. "You are not coming with us, Silver?"

Silver shook his head. "I will fend them off. Do not turn back no matter what. Leave and make it to Cane Town. Tell Cane that Silver is in the forest."

Emma looked at Silver for a while before she turned and fled. He turned back to face the incoming men. He climbed up a tree as he looked down. He waited as two men revealed themselves.

Silver did not ambush them and instead waited for more to come. The men looked over the fallen officers he had killed before and noticed the horse that was tied to the tree. Shit. He didn't think about that.

Silver looked behind as four more came to the scene. There were a total of six officers, and one of them was an enforcer. He’d have to kill that man first, then. He enhanced his fist as it turned into metal and hopped out of the tree.

The enforcer turned around and was met with his fist. He sent his fist into his nose and cracked his head into the soil. His shoulder burned as his fist crushed his skull. Silver rose with his fist covered in blood as he was now surrounded by five men with guns drawn at him.

Silver lashed out Zassia from his arm and shoulder as the men fired. The scarf swirled around Silver as it deflected the bullets. Silver fired back at three officers, shooting them in the chest.

He turned and kicked back his feet in an arc. Fire shot out of his feet and burned one of the men. Silver raised his hand and deflected the last bullet behind as the officer's hand shook. "D-Don't come near me…"

Silver didn't hand him a second chance to talk and shot him in the head with his flintlock. He blew his flintlock. This was easier than before—

Silver held his feet firm and raised his left arm as a fast-moving object burst through the forest and hit him on the arm. The burst of wind caused the leaves in the tree to rain, and the soil underneath them dented.

His flintlock flew out of his hand in the midst.

Silver's feet slid back as he watched the man dance back on his feet. The man wore a mask and black cloak with a golden lining. The most noticeable thing was the badge on his chest. "Just great…"

The man pointed his finger at him. “Vlad. I’m ordered to kill.”

It was a Ranker.