60 One Man Army #60

"Hello, big guy..." Isuka said as she walked up to Chuchun with a big sack as the giant bird stood guard over the captain's quarters. "I need to see Commander Strode..." She added as she reached into the bag and retrieved a large fish before throwing it to the Super Sparrow.

Chuchun caught the fish in the air with his beak and promptly swallowed it before stepping aside with a satisfied cry, much to the Warrant officer's amusement as she walked past him.

She stopped at the door to the captain's quarters and knocked, receiving no reply. With a frown, she gave it another knock, but the result remained unchanged, causing her to sigh.

She hesitated momentarily before pushing the door open and walking inside. She scanned the room and immediately halted as she spotted a shirtless Cedric sitting in the middle of the room in a meditative pose with an expression of absolute concentration.

The warrant officer approached the young man and prepared to wake him, but he suddenly opened his eyes and shot her a sharp glare that caused her to flinch and unconsciously step back in shock.

Cedric's expression quickly relaxed as he realized who she was, and Isuka was quick to gather her bearings as well. "We've arrived at the coast of Foolshout Island..." She said as she cleared her throat.

"The storm has subsided already. we don't need to stop here, but..." The warrant officer said, trailing at the end of her sentence. "The island's port town is currently under attack by what seems to be a group of bandits," She explained as she firmed her resolve.

"I know it's not within the mission, but I don't think we should ignore civilians in danger..." She calmly concluded.

"Bandits, huh...? I was just about to reach my limit anyway..." The young man muttered as he stood up, much to Isuka's confusion. "Very well. Have the men steer us into the town and prepare to help the town folks," He added as he walked past the warrant officer, picking up his marine coat and putting it over his shoulder.

"I'll go ahead and take care of the bandits..."

...

As Durwood stood in the middle of the town surrounded by his bandit underlings, he couldn't help but smile as he looked down at the dozens of town folk tied up and kneeling on the floor with fearful expressions.

"Serves you right, you worms..." Durwood, a fat, broad-shouldered man in leather and fur clothing, exclaimed, resting his hand-held canon on his shoulder while his large club at the civilians. "You refused to pay me and my boys protection money, and look at you now..." He added with a loud laugh as he smugly put his hands on his hips.

"All it took was one lousy crew of the ragtag pirates to burn down half the town and kidnap all the men..." The bandit chief went on, shaking his head with a mocking click of his tongue as he looked down on the bound civilians.

"Even if you were here, nothing would have changed, Durwood..." Said an elderly, thin short man as he spat on the ground. "The pirates took everything already, so hurry up and get out of here, you fucking deadbeat," He added with a scowl, showing no signs of fear.

"You must have lost your mind, you god-damned, old fool!" Durwood said as he swung his club down at the elder, knocking him to the ground. "Who the hell do you think you're talking to?!" He asked through gritted teeth as he pointed his canon at the man's head.

Durwood's finger reached for the trigger, but he refrained from pulling it as he took a deep breath and grinned. "I should kill you for what you said... but I'm a very merciful man. Isn't that right, boys?!" He said as he turned to the bandits behind him, and they mockingly cheered and cackled in response.

"I'll let you live if you kiss my boot and apologize right now, Mr. mayor..." Durwood said as he put his foot in front of the elder's face. "How about it? Isn't that merciful of me?" He asked with a cruel grin.

The village elder raised his head and looked at Durwood before scoffing and spitting the blood in his mouth at the bandit chief's shoes, causing a vein to bulge on the latter's forehead.

"If you want to die that badly, I'll send you to hell myself!" Durwood said, his finger reaching for the handcanon's trigger. However, just before he pulled it and ended the village elder's life, he heard a loud thud behind him, prompting him to stop.

Durwood turned around to investigate and froze at the sight of a young man standing over the crushed corpse of one of his subordinates. But He quickly gathered his bearings once he noticed the long white coat draped over the newcomer's shoulder.

"You damned marine! You'll pay for killing one of my boys!" Durwood said as he raised his hand cannon and fired an explosive projectile at the young man without hesitation.

The young man, Cedric, had a blank look as he stood his ground, merely slapped the canon ball away, and remained unflinching even as his index finger bent backward due to the impact.

Maintaining his blank, disinterested expression, Cedric raised the hand he used to deflect the cannonball and quickly snapped its index finger back into place as he watched the canon ball hit one of the bandits and blow him into bloody shreds that rained over him.

"D-demon!" Exclaimed one of the bandits, his eyes widening in horror at the sight. "Run for your lives!" He continued as he turned around and started sprinting, only for Durwood to gun him down before he could run far.

"Don't lose your calm, you fools!" Durwood said with a scowl. "He's only one man! Gang up on him and stab him to death!" He instructed, and the bandits had no choice but to comply as they charged the young marine with hollow roars.

Cedric kept his calm as he started sprinting toward the nearest bandit, punching him in the face and breaking his neck before the latter could react or even process the situation.

The young man ducked as another bandit closed the distance and swung a sword at his neck before burying his elbow into the man's gut, causing him to fly backward while spraying blood from his mouth.

Another bandit came running with a saber, and Cedric quickly caught his arms before twisting it and prying the sword from his hand. He kept a tight grip on the man as he turned around and buried the blade into the chest of another thug.

He looked the bandit straight in the eye as he pushed the sword down, opening his chest cavity and ending his life before turning his attention to the blade's original owner and breaking his neck.

Frightened and desperate as they were, Cedric's ruthless actions seemed to fuel the bandit's resolve to fight and their will to live as they realized the only way to survive was to kill the young man standing before them.

What's more, they realized none of them stood a chance against Cedirc on their own, and so they decided to strike as one as five bandits charged the young man.

To their surprise, Cedric stood still and showed no intention of dodging or even blocking. However, it didn't matter to the bandits. They could only think about killing him and escaping, after all.

The five highwaymen quickly closed the distance and swung their blades at the young man, and the rest soon followed, almost burying Cedric in a small mountain of bandits and swords.

Durwood grinned viciously at the sight as he raised his hand cannon and aimed at the young marine, clearly intent on blowing him to shreds alongside his own subordinates.

However, the bandit chief was stunned into inaction as the underlings surrounding Cedric went flying in all directions all of a sudden, revealing the unharmed figure of the young man, still standing tall without so much as a scratch on his body.

"Tekkai..." The young marine muttered, slowly stretching his shoulder as he turned Durwood, causing the bandit chief to flinch and trip with a loud whimper as he tried to turn around and run away.

'That should keep the urges under control for a while...' Cedric looked at the badnit chief and frowned. 'But it's only right the boss gets the same treatment as his underlings...' He mused as he aproached Durwood.