novelnext Chapter 458 - 451: Recapture
Chapter 458 - 451: Recapture
A figure shimmering with light landed before them, drawing all eyes.
After the initial shock, a hush fell over everyone. They felt an intense, suffocating sense of threat, like weak prey facing a majestic lion. They didn’t even dare to breathe, terrified that the sound of their gasps would displease the lion and bring about their deaths.
They couldn’t be sure what to make of this being who seemed to shine with light and had effortlessly slain the former Sovereign of the City of Sin. Was he a figure of justice, or of evil?
Zhou Yuanjue glanced up at the special agents from the Liya Republic, then casually shifted his gaze away, looking down at Bartmu’s broken corpse in the crater.
His magnetic field spread out, confirming that there were no longer any signs of life in the corpse. Bartmu had well and truly been slain by his hand. Only then did Zhou Yuanjue look away completely.
Defeating Bartmu was merely a minor objective for him tonight. There was still more to be done.
Just as he was about to leave, the man in the black windbreaker took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Sir? Could I have a moment of your time?"
The man in the black windbreaker asked Zhou Yuanjue, withstanding the immense pressure.
"Hm?"
Zhou Yuanjue stopped in his tracks and fixed his gaze on the man in the black windbreaker.
CRACK! CRACK!!
From that gaze alone, the man in the black windbreaker felt an intense pressure, as if his very bones were rattling. He endured it with all his might, striving to speak to Zhou Yuanjue in a calm, even tone. "Sir, we are special agents of the Liya Republic. We are in awe of your great feat in slaying the Demon, Bartmu. I was wondering what your thoughts are regarding the future of this city. Would we have the honor of speaking with you on behalf of the Liya Republic?"
The man in the black windbreaker adopted a very humble stance. He had no choice. The Liya Republic lacked the strength to confront even Bartmu head-on, which had resulted in the shameful existence of this Lawless City within their borders. They were even more helpless against a terrifying being like Zhou Yuanjue, who had killed Bartmu in such a short time.
The two parties were simply not on the same level. This man had no need to consider them, or even the nation they represented. As long as he was confident he could withstand the wrath of the Baiyi Organization, he could become the new King of this city in the very next moment.
And they would be utterly powerless to stop him.
When power is so imbalanced, a true conversation between equals is impossible.
At that moment, the hearts of all the agents present, including Rita, were in their throats.
They knew their captain was taking a gamble. Proactively revealing their identities seemed like an act of good faith, but if this man harbored malicious intent and wanted to take Bartmu’s place to rule the city, they would all be dead in the next instant.
Cold sweat streamed down their backs. Zhou Yuanjue’s simple reply had seemingly become the dividing line between life and death.
"A talk? There’s no need for that."
The next moment, Zhou Yuanjue spoke. His calm voice struck their ears with the weight of a collapsing mountain.
’This is bad! He refused!!’
In that instant, everyone’s breathing grew heavy. A refusal to talk signified a monumental crisis.
’Are we going to die?’
Everyone felt like they were suffocating.
The heart of the man in the black windbreaker clenched as if dealt a heavy blow.
But in the next moment, the shimmering figure said something that completely defied their expectations.
"Let’s skip something as troublesome as a talk. Have your nation’s military prepare themselves. After tonight, get ready to reclaim this city."
Zhou Yuanjue spoke calmly to Rita and the others, as if discussing a trivial matter.
"?"
Rita and the others almost thought they had misheard him.
Reclaiming the city was no easy task. Even with Bartmu gone, the remaining factions were no pushovers. It would require careful, long-term planning.
"Sir, what you mean is..."
The man in the black windbreaker asked tentatively.
"Tonight, I will make this City of Sin a thing of the past."
After speaking, Zhou Yuanjue’s figure flickered and vanished, streaking into the distance like a flash of starlight.
He was off to finish what he had started.
With Zhou Yuanjue’s figure gone, calm returned to the scene, leaving only a dazed Rita and her team standing bewildered under the night sky.
"What... what did he mean by that?"
Rita asked the man in the black windbreaker, her voice laced with uncertainty.
"Quick!! Notify our superiors! Have them assemble the nearest military forces with all possible speed and deploy outside Jimis City immediately!!"
"Tonight, the lost city of Jimis may very well return to the arms of our nation!!"
The man in the black windbreaker roared at the agents behind him, his voice trembling with excitement.
...
...
「About half an hour later.」
The Liya Republic’s border garrison deployed outside Jimis City with all possible speed. In command of the troops was none other than Gel Spallet, the commander of the ace army unit that had suffered a crushing defeat at Bartmu’s hands years ago.
The old general, now nearly sixty, stood at the head of his troops, gazing into the distance toward Jimis City.
That place represented the shame he had spent his entire life wanting to erase.
All the soldiers stared into the distance, their eyes fixed on Jimis City.
BOOM!! BOOM!! BOOM!!
From within the city, flames occasionally shot into the sky, accompanied by deafening explosions. Even from a great distance, they could faintly hear the sounds of battle and screams.
The commotion was no less than that of a full-scale war.
It was hard to imagine that the one currently laying waste to the city was just a single person.
"Are you certain we shouldn’t move in to provide support?"
General Gel asked, turning to the man in the black windbreaker.
"No, that’s not necessary. Since it’s him, all we need to do is obey. To you, it might seem like a gesture of goodwill, but it could easily cross one of his lines and create unnecessary problems. What we must do now is avoid any such trouble."
"I’m sure you understand this better than anyone. When facing that kind of being, even with an army armed to the teeth behind us, there is no room for negotiation."
General Gel fell silent, his mind seemingly drifting back to that night—a night that could only be described as a Nightmare.
That nearly invincible figure had rampaged through his tide of steel, causing immense destruction.
"We’re about to reclaim our lost land. You should be happy, shouldn’t you?"
Rita, who had hastily bandaged her wounds, said to the old general.
"For some reason, I can’t feel happy at all. These... individuals... are simply too terrifying."
General Gel said with a sigh.
Just then, the sounds from within the city seemed to cease. A long time passed without another sound.
After a long moment, they spotted a black luxury sedan appearing on the highway leaving Jimis.
Through his binoculars, the man in the black windbreaker could faintly make out the figure inside the car.