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    55 vouchers

    “How is that even possible?” The other mercenaries were dumbfounded, some even rubbing their eyes, thinking they must be seeing things.

    Riley and Artemus were just as shocked.

    Riley nced at Briar, then at the man iling in the river. “Did Miss Jennings just kick that guy into the water?b” /b

    Artemus nodded nkly. “Yeah, Miss Jennings sent him flying with just one kick.”

    Among everyone present, only Ian stayed calm. He thought, ‘You guys have no clue what Briar is capable of. That kick was her going easy. I’ve seen her straight–up kick someone to death before.‘

    The leader, coughing up river water, finally came to his senses, only to be consumed by rage. He bellowed at his still–stunned crew, “What the hell are you idiots waiting for? Go take that woman down!”

    His words finally snapped the other mercenaries out of it. ‘Yeah, this woman just made our boss look like a total fool. No way we’re letting her walk away from this!‘

    Over a dozen mercenaries surged forward at once. They were close to the mercenary organization’s turf, so they didn’t dare start shooting, but with so many of them against just four people, they believed they wouldn’t lose.

    Riley and Artemus rushed in without a second thought. They were outnumbered and fighting in the open, so the odds weren’t in their favor, but there was no way they were going to let anyone mess with Briar.

    Ian jumped into the fight with a big grin, thinking, ‘It had been ages since I’d thrown down, and my fists are practically itching for action. Moreover, we’re here, thewless bordends. Here, murder, theft, arson, anything goes. Nows, no consequences.

    But no matter how fast they moved, Briar was even faster. The others didn’t even get a chance to jump in. She was already weaving through those mercenaries like a phantom, zigzagging between them at lightning speed.

    With every punch and every kick, she knocked out at least one guy, sometimes even ttening two at once.

    In just two minutes, all those battle–hardened mercenaries were sprawled out on the ground, rolling around, battered and bruised, faces swollen and covered in cuts, looking miserable,

    The leader wed his way out of the river, dripping wet and shaking with rage, but the shout died in his

    throat.

    ‘Damn, is this woman even human?‘ he thought in disbelief.

    After ball/b, they were all battle–hardened mercenaries.

    And yet, they got taken down so easily, every single one sporting bruises and cuts. If it weren’t for the pain still throbbing in his chest, he’d honestly think he was seeing things.

    Riley and Artemus stood there,pletely dumbfounded. They were finally starting to understand what Ian

    19:15 Thu, Sep 18 bd/b.

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    meant when he said, “When Briar makes a move, everyone else better clear out, or you might get identally

    hurt.”

    ‘Man,‘ they both sighed, ‘Miss Jennings was so fast just now. If we couldn’t dodge in time, we could’ve identally gotten caught up in it!‘

    The silence was deafening. The only sounds were the gentle rustling of the wind and the pitiful moans of the mercenaries on the ground.

    Meanwhile, Briar came out of the whole brawl without so much as a wrinkle on her clothes, not a hair out of ce. She looked so unfazed, and honestly, she seemed more bothered by her overturned fish rack than the fight itself.

    Most of the fish were now rolling in the dirt, totally ruined. She couldn’t eat them now. The campfire was out

    too.

    The whole scene was downright surreal, tension, adrenaline, and violence pounding in their chests. But what was even crazier was that, somehow, all their eyes ended up glued to that wrecked, chaotic fish rack.

    Another gust of wind swept by, and the leader shivered involuntarily. Sensing his panic, Briar’s big, bright eyes fixed on him, her voice still sweet as ever, but with a chilling calm as she said, “You knocked over my fish rack.”

    The leader met Briar’s utterly emotionless stare. Somehow, the threat he was about to spit out twisted in his throat, and what came out instead was, “We’ll grill it for you.”

    Ten minutester, the dead coals glowed red again. Fresh fish, still dripping river water, reced the dirt- caked ones kicked into the dust.

    Under the leader’smand, his men worked efficiently, catching fish, gutting them, skewering the fresh fillets over the fire, and seasoning them with practiced hands. Their wilderness expertise even led them to gather wild berries, sweet as candy, and tender greens to serve as sides.

    If not for the AK–47s at their feet, the ck tactical gear, and their faces swollen with bruises, Riley and Artemus might have thought this whole scene was a hallucination.

    Briar lounged back on her little stool, one leg casually propped over the other, head down as she yed a game on her phone. The crisp sound of headshots kept ringing out, each shotnding as if it were sting right through the mercenaries‘ skulls.

    As the fish was almost ready, the leader nced at the discarded grilled fish on the ground and asked Briar with utmost respect, “Do you like it spicy, ma’am?”

    “Yeah, add extra chili,” Briar replied, not even looking up, her attention still glued to her game.

    The leader nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”

    ‘This bis /bpure fantasy. Seriously, it’s next–level unreal, Riley and Artemus thought.

    They weren’t just respecting Briar anymore. They were full–on worshipping her now.

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    Who would believe she could subdue a whole gang of mercenaries in just a few minutes?

    Just then, a fully armed SUV screeched to a halt about three steps away. Ashton hopped out and strode over to Briar, his eyes quickly scanning her from head to toe to make sure she was okay. Only then did he turn his gaze to the dozen or so mercenaries crouched by the fire, calmly grilling fish.

    There wasn’t a soul along the border here who hadn’t heard of Ashton.

    Even though Ashton hadn’t shown up much these past few years, anyone operating near the border knew exactly who he was.

    “M–Mr. Wade!” The leader shot to his feet, one hand twisted at a weird angle, the other still smeared with charcoal. He looked like he was dying to beg for mercy, but couldn’t bring himself to say a word.

    Earlier, when they heard the three bodyguards say they were from the mercenary organization, drunk on lust and arrogance, they still dared to provoke them, because they knew the current leader of the mercenary group was Connor. Ruthless, yes, but not exactly the kind of name that struck fear into hearts.

    But Ashton? These old mercenaries remembered his methods all too well. They knew he was a ruthless man. If someone crossed him, he’d make sure to wipe that person outpletely, leaving no loose ends behind.

    When the leader was crouched down, it wasn’t obvious, but as he stood up straight, Ashton finally noticed the deep dent in his chest. And it wasn’t just him. Every single one of the other mercenaries was either sporting broken ribs or had a limb snapped.

    They looked quite pathetic.

    Finally, Ashton turned his gaze back to Briar. “Babe, didn’t you promise me you wouldn’t start any fights before you left?”

    “I wasn’t nning to throw hands, okay? They surrounded me with AK–47S, and I didn’t even fight back. But…” Briar finished her game, slipped her phone into her pocket, and said with total confidence, “They kicked over my grilled fish rack.”

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