I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 194: 194:Winning.

The sting in Silver’s shoulder disappeared almost as quickly as it came. The bullet had only grazed him. It was enough to tear through the sleeve of his jacket and draw a thin line of blood, but it hadn’t slowed him down.

His eyes swept across the battlefield in a single glance. The giant hammer wielder remained directly in front of him. Two riflemen had repositioned to his left. Another pair were climbing onto the roof of a nearby convenience store to gain a better firing angle.

To his right, Ravenna was exchanging rapid blows with the agile Rank Two woman while several Rank One bandits circled cautiously, waiting for an opportunity to interfere.

Silver immediately understood the biggest problem.

Numbers.

Individually, none of the Rank One bandits posed much of a threat, but together, they were troublesome, especially with firearms.

The giant charged, his hammer ring overhead before descending like a collapsing building.

Silver stepped forward instead of backward.

[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]

His body disappeared just before the hammer struck.

Boom!

The road caved in beneath the impact. Silver reappeared behind the giant. Without hesitation...

[Space Slash Lv2 Activated.]

A nearly invisible blade of distorted space swept toward the man’s back. The giant’s instincts screamed; he twisted at the last possible moment; instead of cutting cleanly through him, the attack carved a deep line across the thick metal plate protecting his shoulder.

The armor split apart. Blood sprayed from a long wound beneath it. The giant stumbled forward.

His eyes widened.

”...What the hell?”

He touched the blood running down his arm. The cut wasn’t deep enough to cripple him, but it had sliced through armor that should have resisted ordinary blades.

Silver frowned slightly.

He had aimed for the spine, but the man had reacted faster than expected.

A rifle cracked again.

Silver instinctively ducked. The bullet passed over his head before shattering a nearby window. He immediately moved again.

Never stay still. That had become second nature.

On the opposite side of the street, Ravenna’s sword blazed brilliantly as she forced the female Rank Two backward. Their blades collided repeatedly.

Clang!

Clang!

Clang!

The woman fought with remarkable speed, relying on twin curved knives instead of the longer weapon. She slipped around Ravenna’s strikes like flowing water. Unfortunately for her, every successful block exposed her to heat. The flames coating Ravenna’s sword grew hotter with every exchange.

Sweat formed on the bandit’s forehead.

”Damn fire users...”

Ravenna didn’t answer; instead, she suddenly accelerated.

Fire Step.

Her speed doubled instantly. The woman barely managed to cross her knives before...

Boom!

Flame Edge.

The explosive strike launched her backward through the front wall of an abandoned clothing store. Dust erupted into the street.

Before Ravenna could pursue, three Rank One bandits rushed her simultaneously. One swung a machete, another thrust a spear, and the third fired his pistol from behind.

Ravenna spun gracefully.

Burning Arc.

A crescent of fire swept outward. The spear shaft split cleanly, the machete melted along its edge, and the pistol wielder threw himself flat as flames passed inches above him. Even so, the intense heat forced all three men backward.

They exchanged nervous glances.

”...She’s Rank Two!”

”No kidding!”

”Keep your distance!”

Meanwhile, Silver had already closed the gap with the nearest rifleman. The frightened bandit hurriedly raised his weapon, but it was too late. Silver’s sword flashed once, and the rifle fell into two pieces.

The man’s eyes followed it in disbelief. Silver struck him in the stomach with the pommel. The bandit doubled over before collapsing unconscious.

One down.

Another fired from the rooftop.

Bang!

Silver sidestepped.

Bang!

Another shot. Silver dashed between abandoned vehicles, refusing to give the sniper a clear target. His mind remained perfectly calm. Every movement had purpose, every step placed him behind cover, and every glance measured distance.

The giant roared behind him.

”Coward!”

Silver ignored the insult; instead, he activated Spatial Sense.

[Spatial Sense Lv2 Activated]

The familiar expansion of perception spread around him. He felt the movement of bodies, the shifting of weight, and tiny disturbances in the surrounding space from the sniper, the giant, and Ravenna. Everything within range became clearer.

Silver immediately smiled.

’There. The rooftop.’

The sniper leaned forward slightly while chambering another round.

[Space Slash Lv2 Activated]

The invisible distortion crossed the distance instantly. The rifle barrel separated cleanly before the sniper could fire. The broken weapon exploded in his hands. He cried out in panic before scrambling away from the rooftop edge.

Silver didn’t wait. He sprinted directly toward the giant once more. This time, the bandit leader was ready. The hammer swept sideways instead of vertically.

Silver ducked beneath it, and the enormous weapon passed just overhead. The displaced air alone ruffled his hair.

He retaliated immediately. His sword met the hammer’s steel handle.

The giant grinned.

”You think you’re stronger?”

Silver simply pushed.

To the giant’s surprise, the younger contractor didn’t move; instead, his own feet slid backward several centimeters. The giant’s smile disappeared.

Impossible.

Silver’s Strength attribute had increased dramatically after becoming Rank Two. Although the giant still possessed greater raw muscle mass, the difference wasn’t nearly as overwhelming as before.

The two separated simultaneously. The giant’s expression had become serious.

”You’ve been hiding.”

Silver smiled faintly.

”I never showed anything.”

Before the giant could respond, a scream echoed from the left. The female Rank Two had returned; unfortunately for her, Ravenna had fully adapted to her speed.

Their latest exchange lasted barely ten seconds. A precise thrust pierced the woman’s shoulder, and a kick to the stomach followed. She crashed into the road, dropping one of her knives.

Ravenna pointed her burning sword toward her throat.

”Stay down.”

The woman hesitated, then slowly nodded.

She had lost.

Seeing one of their strongest fighters defeated sent obvious panic through the Rank One bandits.

”They beat Mira!”

”How?!”

”Boss!”

The giant growled.

”Shut up!”

His authority held the group together, barely. Silver noticed it immediately; everything revolved around the leader. Break him, and the rest would crumble.

The giant charged one final time; instead of aiming directly at Silver, he swung the hammer into the side of an abandoned truck. The impact launched the entire vehicle toward him.

Silver’s eyes widened slightly.

’That’s creative.’

He couldn’t simply dodge. The truck blocked too much space.

[Space Slash Lv2 Activated.]

The distortion crossed the flying vehicle. The truck split almost perfectly down the middle, each half crashing harmlessly to either side of him. Before the giant could capitalize, Silver used Short-Step.

[Short-Step Lv2 Activated.]

He vanished, reappearing directly inside the giant’s guard. The larger man barely had time to react as Silver’s fist drove into his ribs.

Crack.

Several ribs fractured instantly. The giant staggered sideways, then the flat of Silver’s sword struck the side of his head.

The impact knocked him unconscious before he could recover. His enormous body collapsed onto the broken asphalt with a thunderous crash.

Silence followed.

The remaining bandits stared. Their strongest fighter had fallen. One of the riflemen quietly lowered his weapon.

”...Boss?”

No answer. Another looked toward the unconscious woman, then toward the unconscious rifleman, and then at the young man calmly wiping blood from the side of his neck.

Fear spread rapidly through the group.

Silver slowly raised his sword.

”We’re done. If anyone still wants to fight...” His calm gaze swept across them. ”...step forward.”

No one moved.

One bandit dropped his machete, another slowly placed his rifle on the ground while several others simply backed away. Within seconds, the entire formation collapsed. Without their leaders, they were nothing more than frightened criminals.

Silver exhaled slowly.

The battle had lasted only several minutes. His shoulder stung, and his head carried the familiar dull ache from repeated uses of Space Slash and Short-Step. But overall, neither he nor Ravenna had suffered any serious injuries.

Ravenna walked over, extinguishing the flames surrounding her sword.

”You okay?”

Silver nodded.

”Just a scratch.”

She smiled.

”So...” He looked around at the abandoned town. ”...Looks like we’re cleaning up before we continue our journey.”