Chapter 46: Blockage
"If yerr's want ta' cross over this here side of the forest, yerr's gonna have ta' pay up!" Screamed a grizzly-looking bandit. He wore clothing that resembled a pirate. His left eye was patched up and his right leg was a piece of wood.
He had a large belly that peeked out from underneath his stained tunic and a black coat overtop that was ripped to shreds.
He was in the middle of a small pathway between a thick mushroom forest, the fungi forcing all entry and exit through only this one path.
There were dozens of smaller bandits wearing roguish clothing standing behind him and also to the side, blocking anyone from going around the side past them.
200 feet in front of the big bandit was a fairly long line of various carts carrying goods, carriages holding people, travel mounts, and other types of transportation vehicles.
Tyr and his squad were directly at the center of this line of vehicles, which numbered into the dozens.
He rode atop Rudra, Hanzo riding on his floating Jetski-looking vehicle while the others rode inside of a metallic, futuristic-looking car with three giant exhaust pipes at the back of it and wheels that radiated in mellow colors.
A few people inside of a carriage a few carts behind Tyr's group stuck their head out of the carriage window, "What's with the commotion!? Why did we all suddenly stop!" A young man screamed, slamming his fist against the carriage he was in.
More and more angry shouts began to sound as people's patience grew thin.
Tyr was also confused, taking Rudra out of the line slightly and to the side to catch a glimpse of what was happening in front.
Hanzo and the others kept an eye on him as he squinted his eyes and looked at the front of the line.
There, he saw the big bandit and his goons. A hundred or so feet further than even that guy, however, Tyr saw a giant metropolis of mushroom buildings behind a small wall of wooden spikes.
There were giant mushroom skyscrapers with several floors, all of low technology when it came to electrical work, but still mesmerizing to gaze upon. They were like tree houses, all interconnected through a complex array of wood-rope bridges.
Tyr's eyes lit up as he saw all of this. He wanted to get a fine look at the smaller structures that mostly populated the town, but also understood that he had to get closer in order to do so.
He then focused his eyes back on the bandit. 'This guy's the thing stopping me from doing what I want.' He said to himself.
'I already made myself a promise.' He thought back to what he declared to himself last night.
'I will be unbound.' These were his own words forged into his own mind.
With his internal command, Rudra began to walk forward and cut the others in the path.
"Tyr!" Hanzo shouted, but Tyr didn't turn his back. Instead, the boy simply gave a thumbs up to him.
Hanzo scoffed, chuckling in disbelief. 'This guy...' He didn't know what to say.
'If I don't stick to my word, then what kind of man am I?' Tyr thought to himself as Rudra's pace increased until eventually turning into a full-blown sprint.
Other people in carts and carriages noticed him, blurting out words in the various feelings of shock, confusion, and anger invoked in them from his actions:
"Hey! What the hell was that!?"
"Was that a beast?"
"Oi! Don't skip in line! We've been waiting for a while!"
Tyr ignored all of these words, leaping all the way to the front of the line. Rudra's feet landed heavily on the dirt path, dust flying a few feet into the air.
Finally, Rudra slowed to a jog as he got closer to the bandit.
The fat bandit raised a brow, putting his hand on his gun holster as he scanned the creature approaching him.
"What's that?" He said under his breath.
"Sir Tearch, I believe that's a Polaris Tiger. They are a strong speci--" Another bandit attempted to answer him, but the fat bandit wasn't in the mood to hear all that crap right now.
"Shut up, weakling! Go find out for yerr' self!" The fat bandit addressed as 'Tearch' exclaimed, pushing the smaller rogue stumbling forward.
He slowed to a walk, continuing to move forward. He turned only to see the malicious eyes of his leader behind him. He had no choice but to continue, so he ironed his resolve as much as he could and slowly inched forward.
The giant beast got about 50 feet away from the bandit line, and 10 feet away from the sole scout bandit sent out as a sacrifice, and stopped.
"Stay here," Tyr said, hopping off of the tiger as he walked forward. His struts were fast and confident.
As he got closer to the sole bandit, the criminal slammed his eyes shut in fear and froze in place--like a porcupine closing in on itself.
Tyr, however, fully ignored him and continued moving forward. He saw no point in fighting a man who had already given up.
Instead, his eyes were locked on to the fat bandit.
"Oi oi oi!" Tearch screamed, black spit flying out from his mouth from all the tobacco he was chewing. He unholstered his gun, shooting the large pistol into the air three times.
The sound of the bullets was loud, making even some of Tearch's goons flinch slightly.
"Looks like we ave' ere' a sacrificial lamb! Perfect!" He laughed in a hoarse voice, "What are yerr' gonner' der'? Try and get past meh'!?" He paused:
"Huak tuah!" He spit out a ball of saliva and tobacco, wiping his mouth as his expression suddenly turned serious. His chin lowered, his eyes tight and thin.
Hanzo appeared in front of the cart that was at the front of the line. He was carrying Cyllia on his ride with him.
"I'm sure he had it under control," Hanzo exclaimed, as though unbothered.
"No! What if he gets hurt? We have to at least be here as backup!" Cyllia replied, sounding genuinely worried.
"Yeah yeah..."
The other people in line also left their carts and carriages to witness this fight. It was a natural instinct to group up and look at a brawl go down!
Tearch's bandits formed a tighter line beside their leader so that Tyr could not get through.
They interlocked their daggers, creating an even stronger guard.
Tearch saw this and smirked slightly, "How are ye' gonna get through? There's no hope for yerr'..."
Tyr got about 15 feet away from the fat bandit, his expression stoic and his jaw clenched.
"Who said I was trying to get through?" Tyr exclaimed, 'Blink Step.'
Tearch's left brow raised in confusion as soon as he heard what Tyr said, but then his brows furrowed in shock as the boy suddenly appeared mere inches from his face.
'Hypnosis.' Tyr said in his head, moving his pupils left to right as the fat bandit immediately fell into a thick daze.
The other bandits nearby Tearch put their guards up even more, the speed of the boy intimidating them slightly.
"Get on your hands and knees."
As the bandits heard this, they paused for a millisecond--their eyes bouncing off of each other before breaking out into a laugh.
"Did you hear what he said?"
"Pahaha! He said get on your kne--"
However, thier laughter instantly stopped. Instead, it was replaced with pale faces and large frowns. After a millisecond of delay, Tearch got down to his knees. He then placed his hands on the floor like a dog.
Tyr raised his right leg, stomping the fat bandit's head into the ground. 'I guess there's a slight delay with Hypnosis since it's a human...' He thought to himself.