Stronghold In The Apocalypse

Chapter 120: Shadow Executioners

After combing through five towns and at least seven villages in over a week to get the supplies that's still intact and useful. The group finally decided to head back towards the direction of where they came from, Manchester City or should I say Hope 101.

As the convoy of armed vehicles are passing through the main road in the town they are currently at and as the surrounding buildings swish passed them, Leo's ears twitch as he suddenly heard a soft noise of an engine from up above them.

Leo immediately opened his eyes and looked up through the window to see what was hovering above them but he saw...nothing. He then hastily opened his navigation system which showed him the current map of his surroundings and every living being and when it popped up, the first thing that he noticed was two red dots that blink at least twice before it strangely disappeared off the map like someone eliminated it.

But Leo didn't think so as he's been feeling that someone has always been watching him or them from every town and villages that they had went through but every time that he checks his navigation map, there was nothing except for the monsters that his men killed and his men being on the moved. He didn't see a huge red dot signifying a powerful enemy. There was absolutely nothing that the navigation map picked up only except...small fries zombies or monsters but strangely for him, it didn't felt hostile but instead wary of him?

"Hmm" John touched the back of his neck as he felt the sensation of being watched suddenly disappearing.

'System, are there beings capable of hiding themselves from the scan of the navigation map?' Leo asked within his mind.

[Your authority is limited. Please upgrade your Stronghold to Level 7 to gain more access and information] The system emotionlessly replied.

'Sometimes, I feel like you're really unreliable' Leo thought.

[You would have been dead countless of times if the System was unreliable..Host] the system replied.

Leo suddenly had a dark look on his face like someone just gave him a hard slap in the face as he felt the mockery behind the System's words. Even though he felt angry but that doesn't mean he didn't noticed that system talks like a person especially when it replies to Leo with sarcasm behind its words.

Leo then just pinched that part between his eyebrows as he felt helpless in the face of this "damn authority thing".

'No use thinking hard about it. I'll find out about it sooner or later' Leo thought as their convoy finally exited the town and sped through the highway as they need to passed two more towns before they reach Hope 101 or Dawn Village.

'If it's an enemy? Well...I'd just beat the sh*t out of you and kill you' Leo thought sinisterly as his eyes was flashing with cold light.

This bizarre event didn't only happen to John or Leo. It even included Devon of Jamaica and other "warlords" who created their own independent territories. No one was excepted and what's weird is that it only happened to those leaders who had their own camps and private forces.

Some thought that there was someone out there planning to assassinate them or it was just a spy sent by a rival group to monitor or maybe even just a lone but desperate survivor waiting to pounce on their "leftovers" but what they didn't know is that it's something much worse, far more worse that they could ever imagine.

It is something hostile, sinister and malevolent and they don't even have a single clue that a sinister predator is lurking..watching them in the dark, waiting for the right time to pounce at them and there is only one person who has the vague clue of what's coming.

Almost every single one of them really didn't care of who they are because they have a lot of things to worry about because for them..the future is a luxury while the present is a gift that they are still alive and kicking.

*****

At a quiet corner of the Stronghold.

"What did you call me for? What do you want?" Michelle crossed her arms and said with annoyance to the man in front of her.

A man with blonde hair with an undercut hairstyle smiled awkwardly at her coldness, "Babe, I-"

"Don't call me babe. We never had any kind of intimate relationship, Arthur. We're just friends." Michelle immediately interrupted him and didn't let him finish what he was about to say.

"If you don't have anything important to say then I'm going" Michelle snorted coldly but when she was just about to passed by him. Arthur suddenly grabbed her left arm and looked at her with a sinister gaze.

"Hmmp! Just because you say we're over then it means we're over?" Arthur coldly said as he gazed at her with menacingly.

"Did you really think that just because you learned some nonsense self defense skill means you can get away from me? Never! You..are..mine, only mine!" Arthur looked insane when he said those words.

"Let me go!" Michelle flung his arm away.

"Why you!" Arthur grinded his teeth so he reach his arms towards her, planning to push her down and have his way on her just like what he had always wanted before.

Sadly as he was just about to touch her, he noticed the calm look and cold smile on Michelle as she took a couple of step backs which made Arthur froze in his tracks.

"Y-you! Why aren't you scared at all!?" Arthur didn't expect that kind of reaction from her.

"Hmmp! Keep acting, this time you won't be able to escape from me!" Arthur arrogantly said as he slowly walked over her.

"Really now, I really didn't expect that we would meet again in these circumstances but you've just been here for only a day and you're already acting like this place is your backyard"

"Of course! No one would dare do anything to me here! I'm the son of a Baron!" Arthur came to a stop and chuckled like a mad man.

Michelle started chuckling to herself, then stopped and look at intently at Arthur before slowly walking towards him while saying, "Of course no one would do anything to you if this was before" she stopped before him and bent forward with her mouth now beside his ears and she continued, "But time has change. There's no such thing as Nobility anymore and" Michelle suddenly whispered something which made Arthur turn pale as his lips started trembling as he looked at the sinister smile plastered on Michelle's face with immense horror in his eyes.

"Well then, this is truly goodbye" Michelle turned around and slowly made his way towards the mansion with a chuckle.

Arthur didn't notice Michelle's trembling hands or he would have acted braver. Of course, that is if he was really courageous and even if he was, it would still be futile in the end.

And of course, Michelle was really scared but at first she wasn't because she already how to defend herself while telling herself that she had already killed at least a hundred of zombies and that is the reason why she had the courage to meet him alone but sadly her courage started wavering when she finally saw that memorable look that she thought she had finally forgotten.

It was that night when they are in a vacation in UK when she had almost gotten herself **** by Arthur and if wasn't for Amanda barging into them in time and saved her, then it would have really imprinted a huge scar in her life. Luckily, she got away with Amanda's help.

Suddenly, not even five seconds has passed when Michelle started walking away that she turned around walked back towards Arthur. She stopped in front him and smiled at him.

"W-what do you want?" Arthur suddenly took a step back.

"Nothing..just this!" Michelle smiled coldly and lifted her right foot and kicked Arthur's groin which made the latter fall on the ground as he clutch at his precious jewels while his face has turned pale from the pain.

"That it what for what you almost did to me that night" Michelle look down on him.

"And this is for, the..women..that..you..had..forced..yourself..into..them!"

Michelle kicked him along with his words, kicking him a total of nine times. Full of anger and hatred.

"Whew, that was so refreshing!" Michelle said with joyful look as she felt thoroughly refreshed inside like a huge weight had just disappeared within her.

"F*ck you, asshole!" Michelle gave him a kick one last time before walking away.

Earlier, she was afraid, drenched in her own cold sweat when she saw his malicious expression but when she noticed the two lurking figures from the corner of her eyes. Only then that she finally remembered that she wasn't the old Michelle anymore who would model brands in the internet but she's now the Michelle, who is a warrior and have been through multiple life and death situations and learned combat skills to protect herself but most of all, she's now the woman of the leader of the Dawn Camp which made her confidence and courage surged upwards through the roof.

As Arthur was writhing in pain on the ground, he then saw a pair of feet in front of him which made him tremble in fear as he remembered what Michelle told him.

Arthur slowly looked and saw the vague figure of a hooded person, he opened his mouth and said with difficulty, "Mer-"

He didn't even finished his words when suddenly got himself picked by his neck and was suddenly thrown towards the night sky, outside the wall.

The figure took the spear handed to him by his companion and he said with an emotionless but deep voice,

"You have been sentenced to..death"

Swoosh~!

The spear flew horizontal with a speed of a 100 miles per hour towards Arthur.

Arthur was just falling towards the ground suddenly got himself speared through his heart and because of the power and speed behind the spear. He, Arthur who was originally falling towards the ground flew for another three hundred meters before being pinned on a large tree.

"Threat eliminated"

He said before both of them blended onto the darkness...

Back at the camp.

Amanda was walking back and forth anxiously in front of the mansion and when she heard footstep heading towards her. She looked up and saw a pale face Michelled, she anxiously ran towards and asked, "Are you okay? Someone saw you and told me that you and Arthur went somewhere. Did he do something to you? What happened?" Amanda sent her a barrage of questions with a face full of worry while checking Michelle's body if she got herself injured.

Michelle felt warmth towards Amanda as she felt the sincerity in her voice and actions and she said, "Thank you"

"Huh? What are you thanking me for?" Amanda replied with a confused look.

"Nothing" Michelle didn't elaborate and just shook her head and then she stared at Amanda and said with a soft voice, "But I guess we won't be seeing him anymore from now on"

Amanda suddenly had a change in her expression when she heard those words, "D-did you kill him?" she suddenly asked with a stutter.

Michelle didn't answer and just shook her head.

Amanda suddenly remembered something, "The Shadow Executioners?"

Michelle nodded and smiled.

Amanda sighed in relief with that confirmation and happily smiled at her and said, "Come, let's go take bath" Amanda immediately pulled her arms and led her inside.

"You didn't forget to give him a payback, right?"

"I didn't"

"Good"

Their little conversation disappeared along with the closing of the mansion door.

The Shadow Executioners that Amanda referred to are actually those Wall Guards that appeared along with the wall upgrade. They would stand emotionlessly on top of the wall in daytime but at night time, some of them would suddenly become active and patrol around the Stronghold including Hope 101. No one can see them and they would only reveal themselves in front of someone if they want to. Ever since their appearance crime rates had been reduced to a near zero except for disturbances like brawls. No really had the guts to do anything funny since then more so in broad daylight with the garrison unit actively patrolling around and even without the interference of the garrison unit, no one would really dare to do anything funny. After all, every single person living in Hope 101 are survivors who had always been living under the scythe of the grim reaper before they life slowly became peaceful since they started setting down their homes in Hope 101 except maybe the kids though.

They had been then named Shadow Executioners by the folks because they are like predators lurking in the shadows.

Silent but deadly.