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Crouching against the rear of the building, he peered around the corner. Through the darkness Jovian could discern six figures making their way tentatively in his direction, two of which were too large to be human. That meant he had gotten two with his first three shots. It also meant that his apprentice had not maid it. One of those corpses that now occupied this dark alley was the sixteen year old that he had taken under his wing.
Guess he's not going to make it as a hunter.
Putting his hand to his abdomen, he checked the new wound in his side. It was bleeding something fierce. The bullet had entered through his leather armor and hopefully had exited out his back. He wouldn't enjoy digging another bullet out of his own stomach. Whipping his gun around the corner, he fired the remaining three shots in his massive six-shot revolver down the alleyway. Bullets ricochet off the brick building where his head had recently been, as he dove back returning to the protection of cover.
Unloading his pistol, the brass shells tumbled to the ground around him. Extracting a quick-loader from the bandolier across his torso, he reloaded his revolver in a single movement. Contemplating his next move, he unraveled the spiked chain from around his belt, holding it opposite his pistol. Watching two of them fall before he had taken cover, he could only hope that the third shot had wounded one of the others.
Checking the two long knives tucked in his belt, Jovian turned the corner and unleashed the raging spiked chain. The closest adversary, a human male holding a shotgun at the ready, was struck in the face and the spikes dug into his face as the chain encircled the victims mans skull. Pulling with all the strength he could muster, Jovian pulled the chain back twisting the black gnoll gang member around and throwing him to the ground as his shotgun went off; scatter shot blasted through piles of junk that lined the alleyway. All that remains was one more human, and two seven foot black gnolls.
As his first target was still spinning towards the ground, the next gang member lunged towards him. Wielding only a longsword, he never had a chance. The spiked chain came out wrapping around the stabbing weapon. Tumbling backwards, Jovian pulled at the sword, which threw the man off balance, falling forward. The revolver that had claimed many other gang members this night went off twice as Jovian executed his roll, and came back to his feet. The corpse fell to the ground, complete with two new bloody holes through his chest.
Pulling his chain free of the dead mans sword, he set himself ready for the next move. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the gnolls growled at him. Red eyes stared at him from hyena faces. They brandished gauntlets with blades at the end of each finger, and wore metal plate armor across their torso that could deflect nearly any bullet.
Although many freedom fighting warriors, vigilantes and peacekeeping guards had fallen at the hands of the Black Gnoll Gang and the monstrous members within it, Jovian felt no fear; he is a hunter. Training in the arts of stealth and combat, Jovian had trained specifically to slay gnolls.
Jovian cast his sight to the right; against the alley wall in a heap of refuse and scrap metal, his apprentice slept eternally. Not much of his head remained. Filled with anger and hatred at the boy dead at his side, who would never experience the great things in life; would never know the joy of slaying his prey.
The gnolls attacked then, rushing forward at Jovian. Drugged with combat concoctions and ignorant, the gnolls could never know their impending doom.
Jovian fired at the gnoll on the right; two bullets blasted forth, one connecting with the spindally canine leg of the beast, blasting his paw off just bellow the ankle. All of a sudden missing a foot, the gnoll tumbled to the ground in a raging ball of fur. Blood shot from the violently severed limb and foam sailed from the monsters mouth. The second gnoll came on then, swing his might, steel clad claw at his face. Tumbling aside, he swung the chain up catching the gnoll's forearm and pulling it off balance. Jovian rose to his feet quickly, yanking the chain from his victim's furry arm and whipping it downward around the creature's leg. A metal claw dug deep into Jovian's shoulder as he pulled the leg from under the gnoll.
The wound knocked the revolver from his hand, and he released the chain from his grip, as the footless gnoll lunged at him from what remained of all four. He dove to the side and pulled a knife from his belt. He released the blade in mid-tumble; twirling through the air, the blade entered the beasts right eye. Blood shot from the gnolls animal face and it howled in both rage and pain.
Agony almost took Jovian from his feet, as the gash in his shoulder tore open more in the frantic tumble. Yet he held his footing through the pain and snatched a sword from a gang member's corpse. He had no use for it anymore, and it could surely aid Jovian right now. The second gnoll got to its feet and came at jovian, who parried the first slashes, enraging the gnoll. Raising his claws above his head, the gnoll brought his claws down on Jovian. Raising his sword horizontally, he blocked both claws and with his wounded arm, pulled a dagger from his belt. The long knife entered the gnolls unprotected groin, and it fell to the ground with a howl. A sword across the face stopped any more noise that it might issue forth.
Jovian found the pistol the pistol he had dropped, and walked towards the gnoll, blind in one eye and missing a foot. It looked up at Jovian and growled, knowing what was about to happen. With a click of the trigger, a slug found its way through the gnolls brain.
“Two fewer gnolls I have to kill later.”
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