Cyberpunk: I'm Not a Scavenger - Chapter 86: Battle Royale (Patreon)

Two heavily armored AVs tore through the clouds above Arasaka's waterfront port, packed with fully armed Arasaka private troops.

It had taken them less than ten minutes to reach the canyon from the port.

Before they could descend into attack positions, however, two heavy Octant Drones bearing the Militech insignia swept in from either side and blocked their approach.

At the same time, a Militech AV moved slowly into the airspace, the heavy cannons flanking its nose openly trained on Arasaka's reinforcements.

“Beep, beep, beep! Enemy locked on! Enemy locked on!”

Red warning lights flashed inside the Arasaka AV. Umeko Kawakami shook with fury as a communications request appeared on the screen. She slammed her fist against the hatch and was forced to answer the call.

The holographic screen flickered, revealing Meredith’s face, brimming with mockery and derision.

“Meredith! Is Militech trying to start a war with Arasaka?!”

Umeko Kawakami glared at Meredith with bloodshot eyes, looking ready to take them both down if it came to that.

“Hah! And who are you to declare war on Arasaka's behalf?”

Meredith leisurely picked up the coffee from her desk, took a sip, and watched her opponent’s humiliation with relish.

“Since when did Night City become Arasaka's backyard? Can’t we even conduct a routine patrol?”

“Bullshit! Since when was this your patrol area?”

“Ten minutes ago. Night City Air Traffic Control just approved it. Want to see the permit?”

Umeko Kawakami was so flustered she couldn’t speak, her chest heaving violently.

Night City's municipal government was nothing but a puppet that the corporations could manipulate however they pleased. A meaningless permit like this was worth less than toilet paper.

But Meredith was right about one thing. She didn't speak for Arasaka as a whole.

If shots were exchanged, both the Hato and Kiji factions inside Arasaka would pounce on her like cats on a mouse.

“Fine. Very well.”

Umeko Kawakami was grinding her teeth so hard she could barely squeeze out those few words.

“We’ll see about that.”

Comms cut off. Meredith set down her coffee cup, stood up, and looked out the window.

“I hope you don’t let me down.”

She muttered under her breath, her hands clenched into fists.

In truth, her situation wasn’t much better than Umeko Kawakami’s. She had staked every connection she possessed on this operation.

If the operation succeeded, everyone would be happy, but if it failed…

“Beep!”

A message came from her subordinate: the first experimental cyberware had been delivered to Militech’s outpost.

“Nice work!”

Meredith couldn’t help but pump her fist as she looked up into the distance.

At that moment, a reconnaissance drone was patrolling 1,000 meters above the ground, recording everything happening below. A high-altitude reconnaissance balloon bearing the Arasaka insignia was also trained on the same spot.

There were far more than just these two organizations watching this battle unfold.

Biotechnica hadn't forgotten the earlier attack. They didn't know what connected Pantheon to the mysterious netrunner ‘Fly King,’ but that didn't stop them from looking for a scapegoat.

Moore Technologies had invested in Pantheon long ago, and now that the time to reap the rewards was drawing near, they certainly weren’t going to miss out.

Kang Tao also took an interest in him because of their shared ethnic background. They were happy to see a new troublemaker emerge in Night City.

Mr. Blue Eyes, New United States, Dogtown, the Voodoo Boys… Each had its own agenda, but all had come to watch the spectacle.

...

On the winding mountain road to the shrine at Milagro Terrace, the Indian Scout, transformed by Pantheon's modifications, roared like a beast.

Pantheon, a cigarette hanging from his mouth, rode his bike at a leisurely pace, giving the illusion of a casual outing.

A thunder of engines rose behind him. Dozens of Tyger Claws biker killers came roaring after him, waving long blades like lunatics. They had orders to stop Pantheon at any cost and buy time for Nomiyama to finish his cyberware installation.

Pantheon was happy to play along.

He didn't shoot the riders. He shot their tires.

When a high-speed motorcycle lost a tire, it instantly spun out of control, turning into a “bowling ball” that slammed violently into the dense pack of pursuers behind it.

“Bang!” “Crack!”

Metal clanged and bones cracked. Several bikes failed to swerve in time and went flying, their riders dragged beneath the wheels and crushed into pulp by the speeding pack.

With just a few shots, the Tyger Claws’ formation was completely thrown into disarray, and screams rang out one after another.

But this pack of mad dogs from the Tyger Claws clearly wasn’t so easily intimidated.

A few lucky bikers with decent skills used their comrades as cover to reach Pantheon's side and slash at him with their knives. Pantheon shook his head, as if lamenting something.

He drew the Chainsword hanging from the side of his motorcycle with a backhand motion and started the engine.

“VRRRR!”

The dormant machine spirit awakened, and the furious teeth of the blade tore through rider and knife alike.

The spurting blood couldn’t keep up with Pantheon, but it drenched the pursuers behind him.

After he cut down several of them in quick succession, the Tyger Claws thugs in the rear finally learned their lesson and pulled out their smart weapons to open fire on him in unison.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

Smart Rounds curved through the air like an angry swarm of bees, relentlessly tracking him.

Pantheon twisted the throttle, executing a sharp turn to shake off a barrage of bullets.

But the bike’s speed was no match for the bullets. Fortunately, ordinary Smart Rounds could barely punch through his vest and could do nothing against the flesh beneath, which was as tough as steel.

Even though they couldn’t penetrate, they still hurt like hell.

Pantheon grimaced, wishing he could take them all down with a few quick hacks.

But today was different. If he showed off too much of his strength, someone might decide he needed to be dealt with.

As the outline of the shrine came into view in the distance, Pantheon lost patience with playing along with them.

“That's enough fun for now.”

Two grenades slipped from his hands, landing among the pursuers behind him.

“Boom! Boom!”

Explosions tore along the mountain road, scattering the Tyger Claws convoy amid shockwaves and flying debris.

Under cover of the blasts, Pantheon swung the motorcycle around. The Indian Scout scorched a black streak across the pavement and stopped sideways in the road.

[Dead Eye]!

Pantheon calmly raised his pistol, picking off the last survivors one by one.

When time resumed its flow, the dozen or so remaining Tyger Claws tumbled off their motorcycles in unison, their headless bodies rolling a long way down the highway.

Pantheon cast a regretful glance at the corpses on the ground before twisting the throttle again. His motorcycle came to a steady stop right in front of the shrine’s main gate.

Behind him, the winding mountain road was ablaze in multiple places.

At the foot of the steps beneath the shrine's antique vermilion torii gate stood a beautiful, shapely shrine maiden, apparently waiting for him.

“Sir, please…”

“Smack!”

Pantheon had no patience for her nonsense. He sent her to serve the gods she worshipped a little early.

Stepping over the corpse, he walked straight into the shrine.