East of Igwinte, on the lower banks of the Iron Mud River, Sunken Wharf.
In the morning, the original peace of Sunken Wharf was broken by intense gunfire. The residents here looked towards the distant warehouse district in astonishment, their expressions filled with obvious unease as they speculated whether another gang fight had broken out there.
Meanwhile, in the warehouse district, an ambush battle was unfolding, but the ambusher and the ambushed were slightly different from what some had previously imagined.
As the members of the Red Communion Society focused on aiming their guns at the warehouse from the shadows, calmly waiting for their prey to step into the trap, they never expected that the first shot in this planned battle wouldn't come from them. When the gunshots rang out from behind them, whistling bullets shot into the unfinished brick buildings they were using as ambush points from various strange angles, piercing their bodies. These bullets came from other buildings behind them.
Outside the ambush circle of the Red Communion Society, the members of the Hunter Squad had deployed themselves on the high ground of various buildings, accurately aiming their guns at the brick buildings where the Holy Communion Society members were hiding. They had formed a larger ambush circle around the Holy Communion Society, who were in the process of ambushing others, trapping them inside.
These cannibals never expected that after ambushing for an entire morning, the moment the real exchange of fire began, they would all become the ambushed prey.
After Eilina fired the first shot, the already prepared Hunter Squad members began firing simultaneously at the Holy Communion Society members' hiding spots. In the first round of shooting, four Holy Communion Society members who were exposed within the Hunter's line of sight were shot and fell to the ground.
The remaining people, after reacting, also realized the enemy's positions and quickly found cover inside the buildings to return fire. However, because the enemy's terrain was clearly better than theirs and a group of people had died at the start, the Holy Communion Society was completely suppressed and at a disadvantage during the firefight.
"Heh... It really is exactly as marked on this map. Those guys' hiding spots, firing points, sentries... Everything is marked clearly. Fighting according to this map, it's hard *not* to have an advantage..."
On top of a three-story building, Grego looked at the Holy Communion Society, who were so suppressed they couldn't lift their heads, and couldn't help but sigh. As he spoke, he looked at the map spread out on the ground beside him. Their ability to strike first and gain a complete advantage was almost entirely due to this map.
This map was delivered to the An Yin Bureau around ten o'clock this morning via a flower delivery arranged through a florist. This had happened once last month, and the result of that time was the Burton case. Therefore, when the An Yin Bureau encountered these flowers again this time, they didn't delay and immediately checked the information sent along with them.
What they didn't expect was that the information in the flowers this time wasn't just about the Holy Communion Society's strongholds, but a complete map detailing the Holy Communion Society's military deployment.
After obtaining this map, Grego and the others immediately understood the urgency of the matter. They immediately sent a telegram to the Director, who was not at the bureau, requesting to launch an attack. After receiving approval, they quickly rushed to Sunken Wharf. Grego, based on the map's description, captured two sentries to confirm its authenticity, then proceeded by stealthily taking out sentries along the way. Without anyone knowing, they carried out a counter-ambush against the Holy Communion Society members who were preparing an ambush, catching them completely off guard.
"Hmph, that mysterious organization couldn't possibly have an inside man within the Holy Communion Society, could they? To get hold of such detailed intelligence. Although it feels like we're being used as a tool again, as long as we can genuinely kill a few cannibals, it's not a loss."
As he spoke, Grego drew the blade stuck in the ground and looked out the window towards the distant clock tower.
"It seems the leader is still up there. Sister Eilina, pay attention to providing support. Don't keep praying while you're shooting."
"It's from the Church, that can't be changed. Also, right now I'm a Hunter Squad member, not a Sister."
Eilina rolled her eyes at Grego beside her as she spoke. Grego just smiled, then put on his mask, picked up his sword, and flipped out of the window, leaping quickly across the rooftops of the warehouse district, heading straight for the distant abandoned small clock tower.
...
Gunfire erupted throughout Sunken Wharf, but at this very moment, at the top of the abandoned small clock tower, there was an atmosphere of anxiety and panic.
"This is bad, this is bad... How did this happen so suddenly! How could someone attack us from behind! Where are the sentries? Where are the signals? Where did they all go!"
At the top of the clock tower, Clifford, hiding behind cover, paced back and forth anxiously. He was burning with anxiety at this moment, completely unable to understand how things had suddenly turned out this way.
It was clearly their side that was ambushing people, so how did the leader suddenly get shot down? And now, everyone was being suppressed, and the situation was critical.
Clifford stomped his foot in anger. Beside his feet, Buck, who had been shot in the head, had fallen to the ground, bleeding profusely and utterly silent.
"Phew... Something must have gone wrong somewhere. The top priority now is to hold on." After glancing down at Buck, Clifford let out a long breath and said. Then he quickly went to a corner, opened a box that had been prepared beforehand. The box contained his weapons and protective gear.
Clifford began preparing for battle. Meanwhile, in the hand of Buck, who was lying on the ground, the ruby on that cane also emitted a faint red Light at this moment.
...
Grego was leaping across the rooftops at high speed, rapidly approaching the distant clock tower.
Behind a window at the lower end of the clock tower, a Holy Communion Society henchman stationed there saw someone rushing directly from the rooftop at high speed. He immediately raised his gun and prepared to fire bullets at Grego. However, Grego, who had clearly seen the other party's movements, now had a hint of silver Light appearing in his eyes. His Spirituality began to be consumed, and his speed suddenly increased.
The henchman pulled the trigger, spraying bullets at Grego, who was thirty to forty meters away. However, because Grego was very fast, he completely missed.
"What..."
Just as that henchman was astonished, Grego had already rushed to the base of the clock tower. He leaped through the window and directly beheaded the henchman who was still pulling the bolt with a single sword strike.
The cut surface of the henchman's severed neck, including the spine, was extremely smooth. On the edge of the blade Grego held, a faint, pale silver Light was flowing.
"Kill him!"
Having charged into the clock tower, Grego had entered the core of the enemy's formation. He immediately felt the killing intent from all directions. In an instant, enemies surged from both up and down the stairs, but Grego focused his gaze directly on the stairs above.
Wielding his blade, Grego fought his way up the stairs. The henchmen blocking his path were all cut down by a single sword strike, with almost no ability to fight back. Some wanted to make one last attempt by using a Raw Consumption Symbol, but the moment they pulled out the symbol, Grego directly severed their wrists.
Grego's movements were agile, his reactions quick, and his speed was something those henchmen couldn't possibly match. The blade flowing with silver Light was exceptionally sharp; when cutting through human bodies, it was as easy as slicing melons and vegetables. Even cutting through hard bones required no effort, and there was not the slightest sign of the blade chipping.
Just like this, Grego climbed upwards, cutting down enemies along the way. After cutting down about three or four people, he finally reached the top of the clock tower. The moment he climbed to the top floor, he was greeted by an axe.
"Die! Government dog!"
At the top of the clock tower, Clifford, seeing someone coming, had already prepared for battle. He put on an iron helmet, donned a few pieces of simple iron plate armor prepared just in case, and swung a two-handed axe towards Grego, who had just come up. Seeing this, Grego immediately blocked with his sword, but the moment he blocked, he found the opponent's strength to be immense. After a loud "clang," the sword used for blocking was vibrated out of his hand and flew away, and he himself was sent flying back to smash against the wall.
"Ugh... He's a Thirster..."
In terms of strength, Grego seemed to be no match for Clifford at all...
"Haha... You're finished!"
Shouting hoarsely, Clifford, wearing an iron helmet, swung his large axe at Grego again. Grego, leaning against the wall, lightly dodged, and Clifford's axe struck the wall. As dust billowed, it also became deeply stuck in the wall. Seeing this situation, Clifford couldn't help but panic.
"Damn it..."
Seizing this opportunity, Grego drew a dagger from his waist. He gripped the dagger tightly and stabbed directly towards Clifford's exposed neck. Clifford tried to dodge, but Grego's speed was faster.
Just then, a cane sliced through the air at high speed, accurately striking Grego's dagger. Grego's dagger was knocked away, and he, wearing his mask, looked in astonishment towards the direction the cane had come from.
There, Buck, a middle-aged man in a sharp suit, was standing with the support of his cane. His expression was furious, the wound on his head had stopped bleeding, and the ruby on the cane in his hand was emitting a dazzling red Light.