5 Chapter 5

-[Kenneth]-

He doubted that any of the people in the crowd understood the significance of the symbol on the banner. Though, he doubted it would make a difference for most of them.

They hated EVOs and that much wasn't going to change as long as they believed that they'd be able to exterminate them.

While he was considering what to do, a figure dressed in a full suit of armor with an overcoat and a flat-brimmed hat over the armor. Two more figures in the same garb trailed behind him.

"Welcome." The first man said, his voice reverberating through the warehouse and silencing the chatters. "First of all, I'd like to congratulate you all for coming here. People are afraid of the obvious truth and choose to hide behind lies."

His words gathered murmurs of approval from the crowd as he continued speaking. "Those abominations called EVOs have contaminated our world. Even worse, the people who are supposed to help us are working with one of those very abominations."

"They let that thing walk around, masquerading as one of us. Providence has proved that they aren't able to fulfill their duty so we shall do what needs to be done." The knight gestures to the one behind him who moves towards a stack of crates in the corner of the warehouse.

Kenneth only now realized that the crates were important, not thinking much of it when he first saw them.

The knight pulled out a familiar white pistol. Murmurs went around as the crowd recognized the weapon as well.

Raising his hand to placate them, the speaker took the gun from the knight. "I'm sure you all recognize this as one of the weapons that providence uses."

An enraged man in the crowd suddenly screamed. "We've seen them use those guns! They barely do anything!"

Unlike what Kenneth expected, the knight didn't get angry or begin ranting about the disrespect. "You would be right. Providence guns and bullets don't do EVOs any damage. That is why we acquired these. Though it may look the same, the bullets are no ordinary bullets." The knight said, cocking the weapon.

"This gun as well as the others are filled with anti-nanite bullets. They tear through nanites like paper and they will be our weapon against the monstrosities that are EVOs! Join us as we retake our world!" The man finished, the crowd cheering loudly at his words.

Kenneth's eyes zeroed in on the crates. 'That is exactly what I need to level up faster and take down EVOs…discreetly of course.'

Turning back to the knights, a frown of confusion appeared on his face. It was as he expected, the forever knights were recruiting people into their ranks.

'What to do…' he pondered.

The knights were in armor so guns wouldn't do anything. He was almost disgusted at how easily he thought about killing them. 'I guess the first kill really is the hardest.'

Soon, the knights pushed another set of crates into the warehouse. Opening it up in front of the crowd, they pulled out pieces of armor.

"You will be wearing these. It is an honor to wear this symbol." The knight said, referring to the forever knight symbol on the armor. "Very soon, people will come to know this symbol as the symbol of those who cleansed the world."

Kenneth cringed at how the people in the crowd were eating up everything he was saying without a spec of doubt. Their hate for EVOs was just that great.

The knights then began passing sets of armor around to each person present. They had more than enough to go around and soon, everyone was dressed in suits of armor.

Kenneth, who was also in a suit of armor, saw the chance he'd been waiting for. Everyone had their faces covered so nobody knew who anybody was unless they already told each other.

For Kenneth who told nobody, it meant he could act semi-freely. He had slowly been making his way to the front of the crowd while the armor was being distributed.

Finally getting to the front, he observed the knights in front who seemed to be waiting for the crowd to calm down from their excitement.

Taking the chance, Kenneth dashed towards the crates containing the anti-nanite weapons. His erratic movement immediately caught the knights' attention.

Whether they believed that he was simply too excited to wait for it or that they could easily deal with him if he caused trouble, they didn't stop him and that would cost them dearly.

Though the armor slowed him down, he got there relatively quickly, placing his hands on the crates and sending them into his inventory.

Hearing gasps behind him, he quickly did the same to the remaining four crates, sending them all to his inventory before anyone could properly react. Why settle for one crate when you can have them all?

By now he'd gotten the attention of everyone in the warehouse.

"What the hell?!"

"He's one of them!"

"Freak! What did you do with our weapons?!"

"Abomination! We'll destroy you!"

Kenneth didn't say anything in return. The forever knights wanted this 'recruitment' to be discreet. As such, there were no cameras in the warehouse so his identity was safe so long as he could manage to get away.

The one who had been acting as the leader so far walked forward, pulling out…an energy sword from the overcoat. "I commend you for your guts but you have made a grave mistake."

Kenneth had long since realized that among these three knights, none of them were high up among the forever knights. The leader's armor was always different from the normal ones but all three of them wore the same thing.

It could mean that they and the crowd here weren't important enough to send more than three people but he could be wrong.

He stood ready as the knight ran towards him, slashing his sword.

Though he knew that he couldn't logically take out everyone by himself with how low his stats were, he also realized something. The armor may have reduced his speed but it granted him some defense in exchange.

As the knight slashed at him, he raised his arm to block it, the metal of the armor protecting him as the energy sword dug into it.

Without wasting time, he threw a punch with [Power Strike] activated. The armor on his fist only increased the power as his fist slammed into the man's head, sending him to the ground.

He didn't let up, throwing two more punches to the downed man's head, knocking him out cold.

-[You have killed your opponent.]

'Or not.'

He internally reevaluated the combined strength of [Power Strike] and the armor as he looked at his dead opponent's deformed helmet.

The other two knights ran forward, pulling out their energy swords. Quickly picking up the one the dead man was previously using, he raised it to block a slash.

The other knight slashed at his side, getting the sword to cut into the armor. Before it could get to his skin and deal damage, Kenneth grabbed the sword with his other hand, sending it into his inventory.

The sudden disappearance momentarily shocked the two knights. The knight he was crossing swords with let up just a bit, giving Kenneth the chance to grab the sword, sending it to his inventory as well.

His fist flew forward, [Power Strike] activated as he smashed his fist into the knight's face. He didn't get the chance to follow up as the other knight tackled him to the ground.

His opponent had the advantage in strength but he had the advantage in versatility, pulling out a gun from his inventory and firing at the knight's head.

The suddenness, despite the lack of damage, caught him off guard, allowing Kenneth to flip them over, sending the gun back to his inventory and activating [Power Strike]. His fist smashed into the helmet, twisting its shape.

Landing another punch, he felt the man stop moving.

-[You have killed your opponent.]

-[Skill 'Power Strike' has leveled up!]

-[Skill Gained 'Unarmed Combat Proficiency']

-[Level up!]

Getting to his feet, he turned to the other knight who had also just gotten to his feet. Not wanting him to get his bearings, he ran towards him, activating [Power Strike] and smashing his fist into the already deformed helmet.

As the knight fell to the ground, he threw one more punch before seeing the next notification.

-[You have killed your opponent.]

As he got back to his feet, he was made aware of the crowd of EVO haters who were slowly surrounding him.