Pulling the trigger, Ester the metal fragments launched out of the power sling at high velocity.
It's target?
The car closest to them.
*CrrAK
Metal fragments shattered the glass windshield, peppering the gangsters within.
Blood flowed.
But it wasn't enough as they laughed off the metal fragments currently digging into their bodies, the Driver in particular forcefully removed the windshield littered with cracks, revealing a face with a metal fragment embedded into his eye.
"IS THAT ALL YOU CAN DO?!"
Ester clicked his tongue.
They were on drugs.
Usually losing an eyeball was grounds for panic attacks or losing their minds from the pain, but by the looks of those dilated pupils and drooling mouth, they weren't going to be having any of that anytime soon.
'And they're crazy loud.'
Thankfully he had a mute button.
Peeling off a piece of plate armor that had been bothering him since he place it there, he crushed it into a metal ball, dropping the ball into the power sling.
Aiming at the driver still laughing loudly with his four compatriots, his mouth was forcefully muted by a large metal ball crushing his skull
"Urk!"
Head snapping back from the force, screams echoed out of the bandits mouths as the car that the Driver was driving swerved off to the side, exploding into a fireball that decorated the drearily grey landscape.
It seemed even drugs couldn't ignore a metal ball turning their brain into bone slurry.
Leaving behind the blazing fireball, Ester scanned the remaining ten vehicles following them over the trash filled landscape.
'They really must want to keep me alive if they haven't shot me yet.'
Considering that they were just laughing madly, they didn't seem all that close either.
'Or that might just be the effect of drugs and I might get beaten up when the drugs wear off.'
Ester loaded another ball into the power sling.
'Not that I'm going to just let that happen.'
"MY CAR FIRES FIRST!!!"
Glancing up, an anchor flew from the truck between the two others.
But unlike the previous anchor that was directed at the back of the Driller, this one was directed in a completely different direction.
"AIM AT THE TRUCK! NOT THE MAN YOU SLAGGIN BASTARDS!!!!" "SHUT UP BAWS MAN!" "IS THAT YOU JASON?! I'LL KILL YOU!!!"
Ignoring the chaos echoing from a large burly man leaping from his truck to a car to another car, Ester twisted his body and grabbed the Anchor that flew past his face, his thoughts occupied by how much more effective this new arm was.
'It's so much faster than I'm used to.'
Twisting his body, Ester redirected the force flying towards him at a bike that was getting to close for comfort.
"KAHAHAH-ACK!"
It turned into a burning fireball that the other vehicles behind it had to avoid.
Four down, nine to go.
Rolling his wrist that was fine despite having just redirected a force able to pierce through three layers of metal, Ester grinned underneath his mask.
'Durable and there's no heating problems I have to watch out for.'
"FIRE THE ANCHOR'S FROM TRUCK 3 YOU IDJITS! DO YOU NEED ME TO TELL YOU TO DO EVERYTHING!?"
That loud guy was a bit annoying though.
Looking up, the loud guy screamed incomprehensibly as both trucks fired anchors at the same time.
'They're aiming for the sides now.'
Despite knowing that, Ester calmly made his way to the right side of the Driller.
He did have reflexes fast enough to react to an anchor flying through the air but just because he could react quickly doesn't mean that he was acrobatic enough to do it any position.
Metal screamed as the Anchors dug into both of the Driller's sides, the impact shaking the Driller underneath.
From the corner of his eye he could see Eva's request for communications.
He agreed.
[B-Bastard]
"I deserve that."
Moving past the polite greeting with grace, Eva's serious voice crackled out of the communicator.
[We-We c-can't keep t-taking hits.]
"I know."
[Any-Any ideas?]
"A few of them."
[W-Well?]
"I can't attack them so I need you to slow the Driller down for me."
[T-Then those g-guys would c-crawl... y-you're crazy.]
"Does a sane man dream of escaping a planetary prison?"
[I'll s-slow it d-down a-a bit, m-maintaining t-this sp-speed with t-the an-anchors attached i-isn't healthy for t-the engine any-anyways.]
"Thank you."
[J-Just s-survive.]
"They don't want to kill me."
[T-Then do-don't get captured.]
"I won't"
Tapping the communicator and closing the channel, the Driller slowed down the moment the communication channel was shut.
Seeing that the Driller had slowed, the drug addled brains of the bandits following them let out happy shouts as they sped up their vehicles.
But perhaps due to being unable to adapt to the sudden increase in speed, a few of the bandits fell out of their cars.
It was an unintended side effect, but... it seemed that it was actually due to leader of the bandits dumping the bodies of the people he just killed.
Drug addled as they were, the fear of death was real enough for them to shut their mouths.
The engines were still roaring loudly though.
Slowly reaching to the side of the slowed down Driller, the green skinned bandits clinging to the sides of their rides like insects prepared to jump from their cars and bikes to the Driller itself.
Ester wasn't simply idle during this process however.
Tearing out parts of the top armor that could be repaired later, Ester shot at the bandits.
Metal ball after metal ball flew true, impacting the cars and their passengers.
By the time the Tork family's vehicles had reached the side of the Driller, Ester had already caused four crashes, one of which had unfortunately impacted the right side of the Driller.
Still recovering from the collision, Ester failed to respond to the car that sidled up to the other side of the Driller.
Glaring at the bike that delivered a green skinned bandit to his front step, Ester aimed and pressed the trigger. The clump of metal didn't fire. Because he forgot to reload it didn't fire.
'That makes sense.'
Releasing his grip on the trigger, Ester pulled the power sling further up his arm so that it wouldn't interfere with punching as he closed the distance between him and the bandit trying to gain his balance.
Launching a greeting with his left fist, the bandit responded by swinging the mace in his hands, a shout leaving his lips.
"FOR THE FAMILY!!!"
Calculating the results of his arm and that mace meeting, Ester yielded his fist and dodged backwards since he was the only one who was going to suffer in that greeting.
Following his retreat with a second swing of the mace, Ester heard the wind splitting from the force behind it.
Considering he could smash eggs with his fists easily, the egg in this scenario is his head and the fist is that bandit's mace.
His actual fist wasn't any less threatening however.
Sidestepping the fist that stretched out from the corner of his vision, Ester quickly punched at the outstretched with his right arm.
Running more Aether than the minimum required through the limb, his arm flashed. An ugly crack of bone echoing through the air.
Face twisting from their arm being broken by the stronger than expected impact, a roar of anger instead of the expected pain exited the drugged gangster's mouth as he swung his mace wielding hand.
Feeling a buzz transmit itself from his arm, Ester hurriedly ducked under the wild swing, his fingers gripping onto the gaps between the metal just as the Driller briefly floated in the air.
But as the saying goes, the bigger they are, the harder they fall.
The saying might've been twisted, but literally speaking it was executed faithfully.
Jolt shaking the entire body of the Driller, the two fighters standing atop it weren't spared from the vibrations.
Stumbling from the sharp jolt, Ester pushed the bandit.
Flailing wildly, the bandit let out a final hoarse scream before he fell off just in time for him to be crushed by his comrades swiftly approaching with a car. The front was stained with his body.
"HE KILLED BONE!" "I WANT TO LICK HIM!" "DRIVE FASTER!" "WE HAVE TO KILL 'IM!"
Shouting loudly in rage of having their comrade killed, they impatiently smacked their weapons against the body of their vehicle that slowly but surely approached the back of the Driller.
That was until a voice bellowed out from the truck nearest to the Driller.
"STOP TRYING TO KILL THE TARGET YOU BLOODY IDJITS!!!"
Snapping his head towards the source of the voice, a large green woman covered in tattoo's leapt off the truck with enough force to dent its surface, landing on the top of the Driller opposite from where Ester stood.
"IT'S THE BAWS!" "GIT HIM BOSS!" "YEAH!"
"JUST SHUT UP!"
Growl escaping his large frame. Cowed by her voice, they quieted down.
Satisfied that they were listening to her, the woman cracked her neck.
"I swear, those idjits never seem to shut up."
She glanced at Ester.
"Don't you agree that they're loud heir to the Gravesmith?"
---
18 DAYS SINCE PROJECT VOID BUFFER FIRED ITS FLAMES THE SECOND TIME
+++
Tree whose computer likes to crash and erase chapters a lot for some reason
Tree who also found out that the computer fans aren't working on one side