The Commander of the Home Base Capital, General Reynold Hewitt Preston, was standing in the guard post beside the Tower of Heroes. He stared at the soldiers that were slowly entering the city. The soldiers were wearing the uniform of the Guards with the badge of the Capital Security Division. They dispersed in the city area from all main roads. Reynold almost yawned in boredom. It was already past eleven. At this time, he usually would already be lying on the bed and doing the things that were only described in erotic novels with his young wife.
After thinking about this, the commander took a distasteful glance at the pale Head of Secret Service Department. Rudolf Hoss had his arms crossed and lips quirked. He seemed to be smiling. However, with his strange moan, the situation was worse than crying.
Reynold never like Rudolf! He had heard many things about this guy. One of the craziest things he heard about that once circulated in the upper society was his mother once had a relationship with a young intelligent officer when she was young.
"I am surprised!"
"What?" The Head of the Secret Service Department quickly came back to his senses.
"I am talking about the infamous Secret Service asking for aid from the Capital Security Division. I am surprised!" The commander looked at Rudolf Hoss with mockery.
Rudolf opened his mouth but did not say anything. He did not seem willing to talk about this with Reynold. Or, maybe he just did not know how to face his own son. The Head of Secret Service Department had a son? No one would believe such matter. Sometimes, even Rudolf himself doubted the validity of this matter.
"What kind of guy is he?" The commander finally got his spirit up. This was within his scope of responsibility after all. Moreover, the Head of Secret Service Department already admitted that the fugitive caused a great damage to his action units.
Rudolf Hoss sighed, "It's an assassin that killed thirty-nine agents of the Secret Service. Three of them are Paladins who have demobilized!"
Reynold laughed. He first did a gesture of prayer by drawing the sign with his fingers. He then said flippantly, "This is their wrongdoing, isn't it? They chose to become agents instead of proper soldiers. This is reaping what they sow!"
The Head pursed his lip tight. If one day, Reynold Hewitt Preston would call him 'father', then the first thing he would do was to hug him tightly. The second thing he would do was to kick his ass.
"Sir! This is not the time to say this." Rudolf Hoss replied the commander coldly, "You should be well aware of the severity of the matter. I asked for your aid because the Secret Service can no longer control the magnitude of this matter. In the noble aim of protecting the capital and Her Majesty, I hope that you--"
"Sir! Enough.." Reynold interrupted the Head of Secret Service Department impatiently, "This is not the time to say that! I understand my responsibility better than anyone else. I don't need you reminding me! But, I must also tell you this. If the Secret Service Department always needs the Security Division to clean up its mess, even the most hardworking person will feel distasteful."
Rudolf turned his head away. He should really beat this guy up. Only this dumb kid would talk to him this way in the huge Dulin city! Of course... Other than Her Majesty the Empress. Oh, also O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
The Head of Secret Service Department suddenly had a cold shiver when he thought of his name. He still did not know what the Prince would do after knowing the truth. Even though the assassin had a great value, but he had already run away. It was not like the Empire did not have other assassins to utilize. It was not worth it to spend a huge amount of elite Secret Service members for such a lunatic. The aim of gathering Capital Security Division urgently into the city was to prevent the potential riot caused by O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
According to his past experiences, the Prince would either not take any actions or... Rudolf could imagine that fatty in an extreme fit of anger acting without a second thought.
The assassin was riding on a huge Tyler purebred horse and walked across the street extravagantly just like those Secret Service people before. No one knew how he killed off the one standing near the end in this team of knights. No one knew how he had a drape of the dead over him. No one even knew how he dealt with the dead body. However, if they were to let Thirteen explain himself, He would probably say that things happened too quickly and he could not remember anything.
In a nutshell, the King of Assassin was among this team of people that obviously were the agents of the Secret Service.
These guys finally received the order to abort their mission after much effort. They were rushing back to their place, a place that was thought to be the safest in the world, and they were doing so urgently.
On 24 Tromerid Street, this castle-like, red-brick building had been erected there for more than a century. It belonged to the private property of the Imperial Family. That was why there were many statues of lions, snapdragons, and crowns decorated the windows of the building. This brick building that took up 200 acres was not all repaired this while. Rain, snow and wind's corrosion had darkened the red bricks. It was a whole shade of dark red with a few light red dots. At a glance, it looked like the work of a wild expressionist artist, as if the whole wall was filled with magical beasts who were about to escape.
The agents of the Secret Service and the members of this large department were given a name because of this red-brick wall. The people who were familiar with them called them the 'Red Devils' This word was not common in Titan and was created by a bunch of trouble-seeking people. However, it was more than suitable to be used to describe those working in Secret Service Department.
A philosopher once said the most reliable thing to seek in life is to get a living! However, looking not from a philosophical standpoint and instead from a practical perspective, the first thing Thirteen had to do, who had consumed a large amount of stamina, was not to create chaos in the enemy's base. It was to have proper food in that restaurant that was well-decorated.
Thirteen quietly went to the back of the unit. He sent those golden-haired people with blue eyes rushing through the sharpened fence. The King of Assassin then quickly scanned his surrounding when he tied his horse to the pole in front of the restaurant... There were ten guards at the gate. Four on the left and six on the right. That iron gate could not be destroyed easily and it was as bright as day within the gate...
"Get me an Erguotou! One kilo of cooked beef!"
"What... What did you say?" The waiter of Tromerid Seafood Restaurant widened his eyes. If this dirty old man was not wearing the uniform of the Secret Service agent, he would have already kicked him off the street!
Thirteen blinked his eyes. Erguotou of the Ox-fence Mountain and the sauced beef of Five-shore Store! If a member of that Hidden Lake could sing a piece of 'Eighteen Dances and Flower Sword' along with the entirely incredible Guqin... Tsk! This would be what he called a good day! However, this was not something not reachable. Thirteen's surname was Wang. When his brothers were young...
The face of the waiter became clear. Thirteen realized this was something illogical. The King of Assassin had always been surprised by the medicine-making technique of the western people. If it were back in his hometown, there was no poison in the whole land that could harm him. However, the western people's opium... Thirteen must admit that what the doctor injected into him made him feel exhausted easily. When he was tired, he would see all sort of illusion.
Barely taking a deep breath, Thirteen sat on a comfortable-looking chair. He ordered the waiter to get him the strongest alcohol in the restaurant and also... bread. The servant looked at the weapons on this agent, then ran away quickly after politely received his order.
After a while, Tromerid Seafood Restaurant delivered the food to the King of Assassin. The alcohol was the classic Oligate Vodka and the meal was squid sandwich with bell pepper that was specially provided by the restaurant. Thirteen took a mouthful of the vodka. His exhaustion conjured the images of Erguotou, sauced beef, Hidden Lake member, the singing and his brother clearer! The people in the restaurant could clearly see the strange state the old man was in. The gentlemen then began to mumble among themselves. They had rarely seen such strong drug addict.
The assassin Thirteen took a dagger out. He pierced one of his veins on his hand, then blood gushed out. In a blink of an eye, the blood spread out on the white table. Thirteen seemed to be controlling his breath. He was using the art of self-cultivation of the east. The western people had always thought the Qi art of the east was the same sort of entertainment as poetry and calligraphy. If we were to discuss its origin, we could only say briefly that...
The eastern people had a near inconceivable explanation about the relationship between human's physical limit and natural laws. This explanation was shown in two allelopathic thinking. The first explanation was the Left Devil Path.
The other was the Right Cultivation Path. Wang Thirteen had been a complete adventurist for the Left Path. The Qi art he practiced was particularly good at taking shortcuts! For example, in the case of suppressing poison addict, the most effective way was to change his blood.
Blood flowed from the heart, along with all nodes as concluded by the eastern people, before finally returning to its source.
Logically... this process should not be disturbed by anything, or else the human body would lose its function. However, such an easy natural law was rejected by the adventurists of the Left Path without hesitation! The heart created and provided blood; the capillaries transported and nurtured the blood. A successful Left Path adventurist could attain the natural miracle of controlling the loss of blood, supplying blood in a single cycle and creating a large amount of blood according to many years of experience. The blood that contained all sorts of chemical substances in Thirteen's body was forced out of his body after a few cycles. When the King of Assassin opened his eyes, his body was already filled with clean blood.
However, changing blood in public places was definitely not something that should happen in Dulin, especially right beside the main office of Secret Service Department. The guests in the restaurant were already gone. Most of the waiters were hiding outside of the door and the owner personally invited the boss of the highest investigation division of the Empire over.
That boss turned away after taking a glance at the door. The owner naturally stopped him from leaving. He begged the boss of the Secret Service Department with a crying tone. He asked the person to take this old man with Alzheimer that was bleeding heavily yet still eating his sandwich away. However, the boss said that he had to call his companion to complete this duty.
The owner asked without emotion, "How many people do you need?" A fee per person. The price of the Secret Service Department had always been on the high side.
"Everyone!"
The owner slumped onto the floor, but that self-abusive old man had already stood up. He burned his dagger on the candle fire. Until the blade was shining white, he pressed the burning blade onto his bleeding wound with his brows knitted. The owner could no longer hold it in, "Get everyone here!"
On this point, the western people had the same thinking as the eastern people. That was to 'pay a great price to get the God of Plague away'!
Soon, the home base of Secret Service Department received the news. Just a street away, the members, agents and action units on duty at the base today gathered on the road. There were actually more than 100 people here. After carefully inspecting the restaurant, a leading guy came forward. He was the person-in-charge of the Secret Service Department in the Capital area. Those who were familiar with him called him 'Canine Teeth Guadero'. According to sayings, it was because of his cute canine teeth, Count Guadero was able to marry Her Majesty's cousin.
As Rudolf Hoss' most trustworthy and reliable Secret Service member, Guadero understood the hidden meaning of this job as he felt an immense pressure. His relationship with Her Majesty could totally bring him to the powerful position after the current Head retired.
Today, Guadero finally realized that his chance had arrived. He was not someone useless that had to rely on a relationship to get to his current position. Thus, he immediately lighted the beacon that signaled emergency the second he received the news. Then, he brought his people immediately to this place. However, when he arrived here, there were many people surrounding the restaurant. These agents did not seem to have come here to arrest the guy. Instead, they were here for some fun. Some guys who could not go forward even jumped up and down to take a look.
Guadero was furious. It was not like an eastern Pekingese was on display inside! So, he kicked them. These masters of high status naturally quieted down.
The owner was truly surprised. He did not expect Secret Service Department to actually gather everyone! Could it be that... that old man's mental illness was that serious? Regardless of the manager was guessing, he still delivered the restaurant's table plan to the person-in-charge of the agents in Capital. This drawing was no different than the floor plan of the restaurant.
"He is at Table Nineteen!"
Guadero heard the word and searched for Table Nineteen. After all, Count Guadero was a Secret Service officer who had experiences in this sort of emergency situations. After taking a deep breath, he could confirm two things. Firstly, he could not confirm the current position of the super assassin. Secondly, the armed members he had at hand could not rush into the restaurant at the same time.
"Twelfth Action Unit and Twenty-first Action Unit!"
Upon hearing the call of the officer, the members that belonged to Twelfth Action Unit and Twenty-first Action Unit quickly came forward.
Guadero patted the shoulder of the two captains, "According to what I know, you guys are the best!"
The captain of Twelfth Unit nodded, but the captain of the Twenty-first Unit was unmoved. Guadero glared at this guy. He knew this guy only listened to the order of the Head.
"Alright! Twelfth Unit attack! Twenty-first Unit cover!" Guadero waved his hands helplessly.
The Twelfth Unit immediately began his actions. A group of members leaned against the western wall of the restaurant door, while the other group at the eastern wall. The members of the Twenty-first Unit lined up in two rows, facing the door. The members had their crossbows up and the arrows pointing straight at the door.
Guadero waved lightly. The people around him immediately fell silent. The members at the two sides of the door had lightly pushed the door open by now. The trembling sound of the crossbows could be heard immediately. Numerous arrows were shot into the restaurant. At the same time, when the arrows were shot into the door, the members of the Twelfth Unit rushed inside! When the last member was in the restaurant, the wooden doors of the restaurant suddenly closed without a sound. Following that, an intense fighting sound could be heard from the restaurant!
"One... One minute!" Guadero looked at his watch, shook. The battle and terrible screams in the restaurant only lasted for a minute.
"Twenty... Twenty-first Unit!" The person-in-charge could not hold it in! At least, he should know what had happened inside.
The captain of Twenty-first Unit was cooperative. He knew that he had to bear at least a little responsibility for his comrade's death. However, he felt that his comrades in the Twelfth Unit had no hope of surviving at all. When he pushed the door open lightly, the scene he saw immediately proved his expectation.
It was a mess in the restaurant. The bodies lied on the floor. The well-decorated walls were stained with terrifying blood and broken limbs were all over the place.
The Secret Service members who were watching nearby took a few steps back due to the shock. They stared at the scene with unbelievable eyes. Just in one minute, the once infamous Twelfth Unit in the Capital would never appear in the action list of the Secret Service Department again! This was simply something inconceivable!
The captain of the Twenty-first Unit waved his hand suddenly! The Secret Service members near him almost cheered for him. Nothing less expected of the leader of Twenty-first Unit. If it were others, surely, they would not be as calm as him.
The most elite Secret Service members in the Capital had begun their action. They had 24 people, and the captain also utilized the most stable formation. Four members moved into the restaurant, leaning as close to the wall as possible. They squatted at the corridor of the restaurant's front desk with their crossbows pointing directly in front of them. They were controlling the direction in which the enemy might appear.
The second group followed carefully. They had six people and two members at the front went to the side of the restaurant. They almost immediately made a clear sign to their group members. Even when they were going forward, the rest of the members scanned the restaurant with their crossbows, but they did not find anything.
The third and fourth groups had four men each. They followed their captains and entered the restaurant. The members carefully went over their comrades' body and stepped on the available space in front of them. The fresh blood left a terrible shade of red on the marble tiles in the restaurant. Several footsteps were enough to create small ripples in the pool of blood.
The last two members of the Twenty-first Unit finally went through the door, but they did not enter as their teammates did. These two members who were responsible to remain at the back stayed on guard by the door. They were staring straight at their comrades' back!
"Ah!" Count Guadero, who was outside of the restaurant, suddenly shouted. He saw two arms suddenly draped downward at the corridor. Just when the ones by the door turned around, this pair of armed had already taken out a sword and dagger and slit their throat.
The Secret Service members at the street took a few steps back again. They watched as the door shut close again. At the same time, intense fighting sounds and screams reached their ears once again. However, the sounds lasted for a long time this time. When the people were anticipating the last scream, five minutes had already gone past. However... this was already the last sound they heard.
Count Guadero wiped the sweat off from his forehead. He was hesitating whether he should turn around and leave now, pretending nothing had happened here. However, hundreds of Secret Service members were watching him. He had to get his spirits up. Even if the fate of his subordinate in there was already obvious, he still had to confirm.
"Ninth Unit and Sixteenth Unit, forward!"
The captain of Ninth Unit was a smart guy. Unlike the captain of the Sixteenth Unit, he did not use stomachache as an excuse.
"Boss! You are the person-in-charge of the Capital area. If you are the one leading us, I will go forward!"
The Count looked at this cunning guy coldly. Just when he was carefully considering the possible consequences of him leading the unit, the restaurant door suddenly opened! A tall and strong-looking guy stained with blood walked out step by step.
"Captain of the Twenty-first Unit!" Guadero yelled unbelievably.
The captain of the Twenty-first Unit seemed to have cried. There was a large water stain on his pants that gave off a horrible odor. His right lung was stabbed and a piece of him at the shoulder seemed to be gone. Essentially, he was unfortunate. Not only was he scared by the terrifying shadow that he pissed himself, he was stabbed, slashed, kicked, punched and now became a hostage.
"You... Don't come over!" The Count shouted loudly. He already noticed the skinny figure hiding behind the tall captain.
Thirteen the assassin pushed the guy away in a sudden movement. The person-in-charge in the Capital immediately collided with his captain. After crashing into his boss, the captain of the Twenty-first Unit only knew to look at his stomach... His boss had instinctively taken out his sword.
Guadero collapsed onto the ground and let out a series of screams that were similar to those of the pigs. He struggled hard as if he was assaulted by a rapist and kept pushing the head of the captain that had long lost consciousness. Surely, the Count must have thought the captain was forcing a kiss on him and he would never let that happen.
Thirteen flipped the body of the Twenty-first Unit's captain away as if all of this did not concern him. He admitted that this guy was considered a passable warrior. After all, his teammates and he focused completely on the battle and he was even shot in his ass. However… the mental quality of the western people was generally not high. Take this Count for example, when Thirteen pulled him up from the ground, he even thanked the assassin!
"Thank you! Thank you!" The helpless Guadero stood up. He wanted to see which subordinate had done such a nice thing. However, after he saw the person's face, he was immediately petrified until a sharp knife was put at his throat.
"Good... Good evening!" Guadero did not dare to move. He forced a smile as wide as he could, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Thirteen smiled. He knew the western people were smart. They did not see life as cheaply as others did.
"Tell your man to put down their weapons!"
Guadero quickly turned to the Secret Service members nearby. The result naturally made him widen his mouth. These guys had already retreated to the other side of the street and showed him all sorts of long-range weapons.
"Put down your weapons!" The person-in-charge felt a tingling of anger. At last, he simply shouted, "Put down all the weapons in your hands! I am an officer of the capital, the brother-in-law of Her Majesty and the successor of Sir Rudolf!"
The kids at the other side of the street looked at each other awkwardly, but the direct subordinates of Count Guadero had already put down their weapons. With someone starting it, the other people simply followed. After a while, the sound of weapons dropping to the ground echoed on the street.
The troublemakers in Dulin city only dared to come forward at this time. They stayed at the opening of Tromerid Street and watched the situation from afar.
"Now tell them to take their clothes off!" Thirteen smiled with narrowed eyes.
Guadero wore a difficult expression. If his subordinates were to take off their clothes in public, this will most likely result in the end of his political career.
"I will count to ten. If your subordinates still have their socks on, I will kill you!" Thirteen continued to threaten the officer.
The Count was impatient. He changed his expression as if he represented justice, "Then, do it! Since you will die anyway!"
The King of Assassin shrugged without a care just like the western people, "I am just an old man! It's just dying for me! You still have a future ahead of you. Also... If they still have their socks on, I will cut your ear off; if they have their underwear on, then I will take your eyes out. We can do it one by one!"
Guadero finally could not hold it in. He sobbed in a low voice. He thought to himself: what was the Capital Security Division doing?
What was his Head of Department doing? Why did he have to face this alone?
"One... Two..."
"Take it off! Take..." The Count finally gave his order. The members of the Secret Service seemed to be hesitating, but they did not dare to bear the responsibility of sacrificing a relative of the Imperial family or a direct officer after all. They did not know who began to tear off their shirts first...
The crowd further away slowly gathered at 24 Tromerid Street. The agents who used to bully the people were taking off their clothes at the same time. This was a rare occasion in Dulin city! The ladies and madams sneaked glances at them with blushed cheeks. The gangsters made noises. Sometimes, high-pitched whistlings could be heard.
"Is there any cellar or prison facility inside?" Thirteen pointed to the red-brick building, the base of Secret Service Department.
Guadero nodded in depression.
The King of Assassin pushed the Count, and Guadero almost bumped into the blade.
"Tell them to enter. Everyone! Straight to the prison. No one can be excluded."
Guadero waved at the group of naked people at the other side of the street, "Everyone! Let's go back!"
The people, without a choice, began to move with their heads dropped down. The nearby people cheered loudly as if this was some festival. It was this bunch of naked guys that monitored their actions and words. It was them that punished those who spoke the truth in cruel ways. It was them that did not allow the people to talk about politics, form groups and scold the nobles in their homes! It was great now! The brave children threw rubbish at this group of naked men. The brave ladies then mocked these people with whistles and flowery words. As for the brave men... They were outrageous. Some asked for the name of the foreigner that held the Count as hostages. Some even asked if this hero needed a smoke.
It was probably around two in the midnight. The soldiers that slowly came from the Capital's home base area finally closed off Tromerid Street completely. The soldiers instructed the crowd to leave the area and punished the editors of newspapers that were not doing anything. In the meantime, they also caught a few hateful-looking guys to record their testimonies. After completely grasping the whole situation, the Head of Secret Service Department Rudolf Hoss was pissed. He cursed at the God of Light and swore to the Hades in hell that he would let the assassin that brought about all of this to have a taste of all cruel punishments in the world. Then, he would slice up the assassin and give the leftovers meat to his lovely dogs.
General Reynold Hewitt Preston really wanted to let his grandfather see the ugly sight of the Head of Secret Service Department. He stood at the restaurant door. In front of him were soldiers surrounding the main building of Secret Service Department. Behind him were the dead bodies of 'Red Devils'. However, now that it seemed to him that... these guys were more like clowns.
It was such a coincidence. General Tove Van Sukhoi of the First Cannon Division of the Guards would have finished his marriage leave after midnight passed today. When he heard about the incident at the home base of Secret Service Department, he cheerfully bid his wife goodbye and brought a whole new cannon company to this place from his post. Just when everyone was troubled over the hundreds of hostages in the red-brick building, the cannon lieutenant general had already chosen good positions and prepared the cannons. When Rudolf Hoss noticed the commotion, Tove Van Sukhoi's cannons had already aimed at his base, as if all the cannons would begin firing right away.
"What are you doing?" Count Guadero had tears in his eyes and glanced at the unmoved assassin with the eyes of a woman.
Thirteen looked around. There was nothing much in the office of the Head of Secret Service Department. He soon lost interest in it.
"I am thinking... There seem to be a few naked men who have run away just now. Not all of them are in the cellar," The King of Assassin said as he threw a whole bunch of prison keys on the desk. Even though he still felt unbelievable, who would have thought that he would bump into an Imperial family member? Not to mention the sort that normal people did not dare to mess with.
"This... This doesn't concern me! There are so many of them!" The Count explained hopelessly, but he did not completely give up, "I have satisfied all of your requests. You should let me go now!"
"Feel free to do so..." The King of Assassin waved his hands. He did not want to continue to deal with this stupid thing.
"Are you saying..."
"Do you need me to invite you to go out?" Thirteen's gaze turned dangerous.
Guadero seemed as if he was pardoned. He ran to the door with a few huge steps, but his gentleman manner made him stop awkwardly. This guy was so happy to the point that he even bowed politely, "I wish for your wellbeing and always with the blessing of God of Light!"
Thirteen sighed coldly. The officer immediately opened the door and ran away. The King of Assassin suddenly felt lonely. The intense exercise just now made his brain a little tired again. As a Left Path adventurist, there were many ways to deal with this situation. Thirteen chose the safest among them... Detoxification!
After looking around, the King of Assassin chose the long table of Head of Secret Service Department. He jumped on top of it and took his pants off.
Along with the bowel movement, the injury on his buttocks due to arrow split open. "Damn..." The assassin let out a scream in his native language. He knew that things were not finished yet, but he would think about it after taking a dump.
Rudolf Hoss glanced at the trembling Guadero. He didn't understand why Her Majesty would treat such dumb... Oh, no! Treat such guy, who should die a thousand times, so nicely. Was it because he's her cousin's husband? He thought that he should give some advice to Her Majesty... There should be less useless people and more competent people in Dulin city.
"Go back to your home!" The Head of Secret Service Department tried not to look so terrifying.
Guadero pointed at the small injury on his arm that he secretly cut open, "Sir! The resistance of the companion is completely broken apart. Because of carelessness, I..."
"Oh no..." Rudolf held his forehead and the Commander of Home Base in the Capital could not suppress his laughter anymore.
"Get out!" The Head of Secret Service Department finally shouted at him, "Don't let me see you again... I swear!"
Guadero could only go into the crowd, depressed. Rudolf Hoss then turned to the cannon general, who was having fun by the side, coldly.
"Sir! Didn't you hear it? The criminal is in my office! And the hostages are focused in the cellar. Don't you think you should let your soldier do something about it?"
Torry was stunned for a while. He was a smart guy. There were already pieces of confirmed news that came from the Kenshin Palace. An agent from Military Intelligence Bureau that participated in the investigation had confirmed that the criminal was the super assassin whom the Prince had been searching for secretly for half a year.
"Killing people by using other's hands?" The general stared at the Head of Secret Service Department. He thought about the expression Oscar had when he talked about the assassin Thirteen... If his cannons turned the base of the Secret Service Department and his old friend's teacher into ashes, he believed Oscar would not show any nicety to him.
"That is your office. Are you sure?"
The Head of Secret Service Department smiled, "I don't even care about it. What are you hesitating for?"
The Home Base Commander of Capital also came forward, "Yeah, Torry. This is the best solution we got now! Look at those bodies in the restaurant behind you. Sending people in isn't something rational. I don't know what you are worried about, but..."
"Alright, alright!" Torry's eyes showed a hint of coldness. Since there was no point in spectating the fun for free, he should simply follow the order! If the assassin Thirteen was so capable as described by his old friend, surely even the cannons could not have any effect!
"The first cannon, prepare... the second cannon, prepare... The third cannon, prepare..."
At 2:45 midnight, the rumbling of the cannons awakened the city from its slumber. The fire flashed like lightning in a corner of the city. Dust and smoke lighted the night sky beneath the heaven as the soldiers and buildings on the street trembled slightly.
Rudolf Hoss widened his eyes. He took hold of the collar of the cannon general, "I did not ask you to destroy this place! I am asking you to fire at my office!"
Torry pulled Rudolf's arms away impatiently and showed an expression as if he was saying this did not concern him.
"Enough! Everyone here heard that you want me to fire. But you didn't tell me which window belongs to your office!"
The Head of Secret Service Department widened his mouth and looked at the holes caused by the cannon on the building and the fire within the building, "Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi!" Rudolf spat these words out with gritted teeth, "People will not be so lucky for their whole life..."
Torry nodded without care. He was furious every time he thought of what this guy had done to his sister. However, he still glanced at Rudolf with smiling eyes, "Yes, Sir. I believe what you said is true!"
Rudolf turned his head away in anger. He knew that he looked just like a poor kid.
"Eighth Squadron!" The Head of Secret Service Department shouted. He had no other choice. He could only let the most elite force to deal with this matter. Moreover, the palace chief, Marquis Jevonah Wesarcia, had arrived. This meant that Her Majesty was already impatient!
"Eighth Squadron, move out! Get him out! Dead or alive!"
The anti-violence and anti-terrorism Eighth Squadron of Titan's Secret Service Department had been guarding Dulin all year long, but not many knew about the existence of this elite Red Devil Unit. Rudolf Hoss stared into the eyes of the Eighth Squadron Commander with an unwavering gaze, but that experienced Paladin still spoke in a hesitative manner.
"Hostages..."
"Hmph..." The Head of Secret Service Department replied to this question with distasteful hum. The Commander of the Eighth Squadron immediately understood and bowed a little. After that, he called a team of warriors with colored armors and rushed into the building.
One side of the second floor of the building, which was facing the street, was already filled with smoke, fire, and bricks. Thirteen was at the ceiling, lurking in the shadows in which the fire could not reach. He tightened the clothes debris he wrapped around his arm. Until this moment, he still did not know what was with that intense explosion!
There were human shadows flickering in the building. Judging from their actions, these people were not the usual army, but well-trained professional assassins. Thirteen had allowed three people to walk past the place where he was at. It was not that he did not dare to challenge Paladin. It was only that these guys never take actions alone.
"Ninth!" The King of Assasin finally got it. The ninth person who walked past this corridor had completely lost interest in this ruin. The person was not alert at all.
A shadow lurked on the wall. Only a small amount of dust flew up when he took a step. The King of Assassin jumped onto the ground without a sound. The ninth enemy turned his head around just at that moment. Thirteen simply held the person's head and twisted it strongly as the enemy widened his eyes. The sound of bone cracking immediately attracted arrows, but the arrows only pierced through the body that had lost its life. The King of Assassin had disappeared, but the people outside of the building exclaimed. On a floor under which the corridor had completely sunk in the ground, an agile shadow flew past as he stepped on the walls.
Arrows followed the direction in which the shadow had disappeared. The warriors of the squadron rushed to the front with the intention of surrounding him, but the warriors bumped into their comrades instead. They looked around, only to confirm that the assassin had once again disappeared.
Thirteen clearly understood that his position was not suitable to launch an attack, but his instinct as an assassin still made him choose this place that still had debris falling over his head. He stepped on the wall at both sides. There was a dagger in his mouth. He held the crossbow in his right hand and the knife in his left hand.
The King of Assassin carefully listened to the sounds around him. He could judge a light breathing sound and the sound of rat moving about. This time... It was the fourth one!
The trembling of the crossbow immediately caught everyone's attention. The member of the Eighth Squadron at the corridor did not even have time to care about their comrade who had had his head pierced. The archer immediately shot arrows toward the direction that the sound came from. The knife-user threw his ax at the shadow that flickered in the fire.
Thirteen stopped at the edge of the broken floor. He wanted to leave the place with the help of that chandelier, but a huge ax was aimed straight at him! The King of Assassin could only move aside and avoid it, but the impact and weight of the ax completely destroyed the weakened floor.
Assassin Thirteen fell to the lower ground along with the wall. At the moment he fell, Thirteen threw the crossbow away and changed to the dagger in his mouth. When he saw the helmet of that warrior, he sent his dagger his way!
The assassin fell onto the floor! It only took him one glance to understand his current situation. It seemed that he was in a huge hall. This floor was not affected by the cannon fire. Some candles were still lit. The assassin reduced the possible damage of falling by rolling on the floor, but numerous shouts that rang in the hall proved that he was surrounded by the enemy right now.
Thirteen extended his legs and rotated with a strong force. Two warriors immediately fell down. Following that, he sprung up. When the assassin stood up, he immediately rushed forward and gave a kick with the momentum, but he did not kick the knife-user in front of him away. He simply stopped his leg right before the knife user's chest and gave in full strength all of a sudden. The knife user had his chest bone fractured and the assassin turned around and jumped towards the back with the momentum. The knife shone in the air, then blood spurted out of the enemy's throat. Avoiding the sword and knife, the weapon on Thirteen's left hand slashed a leg away with just a scoop. The dagger on his right hand aimed straight into a heart! The King of Assassin held the shoulder of the dead body and turned over in the air and he threw the body away. The body crashed into the warrior's formation. When the people were avoiding it, the King of Assassin threw the broken dagger away. The dagger stabbed into the identity that came rushing forward. Then, the assassin kicked the long sword on the floor that stabbed into the second guy who came forward.
At the same time, the assassin did not even look when he placed the sword behind him. Along with a loud clanking of metal, the assassin squatted in a sudden movement. The knife was thrown out and it destroyed the enemy's throat! The skinny old man took a breath. He glanced at the officer-like guy who hid behind the formation with a distasteful gaze. The Paladin was finally impatient! He took out his sword and let out a terrifying howl with numerous comrades...
"Stop it!" A sharp shout suddenly rang. The Eighth Squadron Commander quickly retreated as he held onto his shoulder.
More soldiers rushed into the hall. All weapons and arrows were pointed at the top assassin standing in the encirclement.
Rudolf Hoss stepped forward. A large pool of blood on the ground almost made him fell, but thankfully a strong pair of arms immediately helped the messed-up Head of Secret Service Department! The owner of that arm finally walked into the sight of the people. O'Neil Andrew Morisette wore a royal blue Marshal uniform. He was gazing at his past teacher, friend, and father with extremely complicated eyes!
Thirteen looked at the soldiers around him and the child in the middle of the crowd. He suddenly grinned and threw his weapons that were stained with viscous blood away.
Oscar smiled as well. He nodded to the 'shaggy-looking' King of Assassin. Everything was spoken in the silence.
The Prince turned to Paul, who was so excited that he was trembling, and said, "What are you doing standing here? Bring the criminal away!"
Rudolf Hoss changed drastically. When he was about to stop them, he saw the Prince, who had turned to face him, wave his hands.
All Oscar did was to raise his hand. He stared at the Head of Secret Service Department but did not say anything.
Rudolf was thinking of what he should say. He thought about this matter thoroughly and found numerous excuses to keep the criminal. However, he found himself out of words when he faced the gaze of O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
The Military Intelligence Bureau took the assassin away and brought most of the warriors away. The Head of Secret Service Department took a glance at the home base in the terrible state and the naked men that were just released from the cellar. At last, he left his gaze on the bodies lying around on the floor.
"O'Neil Andrew Morisette! You won't have a good luck all your life..."
The Commander of the Home Base Capital, General Reynold Hewitt Preston, was standing in the guard post beside the Tower of Heroes. He stared at the soldiers that were slowly entering the city. The soldiers were wearing the uniform of the Guards with the badge of the Capital Security Division. They dispersed in the city area from all main roads. Reynold almost yawned in boredom. It was already past eleven. At this time, he usually would already be lying on the bed and doing the things that were only described in erotic novels with his young wife.
After thinking about this, the commander took a distasteful glance at the pale Head of Secret Service Department. Rudolf Hoss had his arms crossed and lips quirked. He seemed to be smiling. However, with his strange moan, the situation was worse than crying.
Reynold never like Rudolf! He had heard many things about this guy. One of the craziest things he heard about that once circulated in the upper society was his mother once had a relationship with a young intelligent officer when she was young.
"I am surprised!"
"What?" The Head of the Secret Service Department quickly came back to his senses.
"I am talking about the infamous Secret Service asking for aid from the Capital Security Division. I am surprised!" The commander looked at Rudolf Hoss with mockery.
Rudolf opened his mouth but did not say anything. He did not seem willing to talk about this with Reynold. Or, maybe he just did not know how to face his own son. The Head of Secret Service Department had a son? No one would believe such matter. Sometimes, even Rudolf himself doubted the validity of this matter.
"What kind of guy is he?" The commander finally got his spirit up. This was within his scope of responsibility after all. Moreover, the Head of Secret Service Department already admitted that the fugitive caused a great damage to his action units.
Rudolf Hoss sighed, "It's an assassin that killed thirty-nine agents of the Secret Service. Three of them are Paladins who have demobilized!"
Reynold laughed. He first did a gesture of prayer by drawing the sign with his fingers. He then said flippantly, "This is their wrongdoing, isn't it? They chose to become agents instead of proper soldiers. This is reaping what they sow!"
The Head pursed his lip tight. If one day, Reynold Hewitt Preston would call him 'father', then the first thing he would do was to hug him tightly. The second thing he would do was to kick his ass.
"Sir! This is not the time to say this." Rudolf Hoss replied the commander coldly, "You should be well aware of the severity of the matter. I asked for your aid because the Secret Service can no longer control the magnitude of this matter. In the noble aim of protecting the capital and Her Majesty, I hope that you--"
"Sir! Enough.." Reynold interrupted the Head of Secret Service Department impatiently, "This is not the time to say that! I understand my responsibility better than anyone else. I don't need you reminding me! But, I must also tell you this. If the Secret Service Department always needs the Security Division to clean up its mess, even the most hardworking person will feel distasteful."
Rudolf turned his head away. He should really beat this guy up. Only this dumb kid would talk to him this way in the huge Dulin city! Of course... Other than Her Majesty the Empress. Oh, also O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
The Head of Secret Service Department suddenly had a cold shiver when he thought of his name. He still did not know what the Prince would do after knowing the truth. Even though the assassin had a great value, but he had already run away. It was not like the Empire did not have other assassins to utilize. It was not worth it to spend a huge amount of elite Secret Service members for such a lunatic. The aim of gathering Capital Security Division urgently into the city was to prevent the potential riot caused by O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
According to his past experiences, the Prince would either not take any actions or... Rudolf could imagine that fatty in an extreme fit of anger acting without a second thought.
The assassin was riding on a huge Tyler purebred horse and walked across the street extravagantly just like those Secret Service people before. No one knew how he killed off the one standing near the end in this team of knights. No one knew how he had a drape of the dead over him. No one even knew how he dealt with the dead body. However, if they were to let Thirteen explain himself, He would probably say that things happened too quickly and he could not remember anything.
In a nutshell, the King of Assassin was among this team of people that obviously were the agents of the Secret Service.
These guys finally received the order to abort their mission after much effort. They were rushing back to their place, a place that was thought to be the safest in the world, and they were doing so urgently.
On 24 Tromerid Street, this castle-like, red-brick building had been erected there for more than a century. It belonged to the private property of the Imperial Family. That was why there were many statues of lions, snapdragons, and crowns decorated the windows of the building. This brick building that took up 200 acres was not all repaired this while. Rain, snow and wind's corrosion had darkened the red bricks. It was a whole shade of dark red with a few light red dots. At a glance, it looked like the work of a wild expressionist artist, as if the whole wall was filled with magical beasts who were about to escape.
The agents of the Secret Service and the members of this large department were given a name because of this red-brick wall. The people who were familiar with them called them the 'Red Devils' This word was not common in Titan and was created by a bunch of trouble-seeking people. However, it was more than suitable to be used to describe those working in Secret Service Department.
A philosopher once said the most reliable thing to seek in life is to get a living! However, looking not from a philosophical standpoint and instead from a practical perspective, the first thing Thirteen had to do, who had consumed a large amount of stamina, was not to create chaos in the enemy's base. It was to have proper food in that restaurant that was well-decorated.
Thirteen quietly went to the back of the unit. He sent those golden-haired people with blue eyes rushing through the sharpened fence. The King of Assassin then quickly scanned his surrounding when he tied his horse to the pole in front of the restaurant... There were ten guards at the gate. Four on the left and six on the right. That iron gate could not be destroyed easily and it was as bright as day within the gate...
"Get me an Erguotou! One kilo of cooked beef!"
"What... What did you say?" The waiter of Tromerid Seafood Restaurant widened his eyes. If this dirty old man was not wearing the uniform of the Secret Service agent, he would have already kicked him off the street!
Thirteen blinked his eyes. Erguotou of the Ox-fence Mountain and the sauced beef of Five-shore Store! If a member of that Hidden Lake could sing a piece of 'Eighteen Dances and Flower Sword' along with the entirely incredible Guqin... Tsk! This would be what he called a good day! However, this was not something not reachable. Thirteen's surname was Wang. When his brothers were young...
The face of the waiter became clear. Thirteen realized this was something illogical. The King of Assassin had always been surprised by the medicine-making technique of the western people. If it were back in his hometown, there was no poison in the whole land that could harm him. However, the western people's opium... Thirteen must admit that what the doctor injected into him made him feel exhausted easily. When he was tired, he would see all sort of illusion.
Barely taking a deep breath, Thirteen sat on a comfortable-looking chair. He ordered the waiter to get him the strongest alcohol in the restaurant and also... bread. The servant looked at the weapons on this agent, then ran away quickly after politely received his order.
After a while, Tromerid Seafood Restaurant delivered the food to the King of Assassin. The alcohol was the classic Oligate Vodka and the meal was squid sandwich with bell pepper that was specially provided by the restaurant. Thirteen took a mouthful of the vodka. His exhaustion conjured the images of Erguotou, sauced beef, Hidden Lake member, the singing and his brother clearer! The people in the restaurant could clearly see the strange state the old man was in. The gentlemen then began to mumble among themselves. They had rarely seen such strong drug addict.
The assassin Thirteen took a dagger out. He pierced one of his veins on his hand, then blood gushed out. In a blink of an eye, the blood spread out on the white table. Thirteen seemed to be controlling his breath. He was using the art of self-cultivation of the east. The western people had always thought the Qi art of the east was the same sort of entertainment as poetry and calligraphy. If we were to discuss its origin, we could only say briefly that...
The eastern people had a near inconceivable explanation about the relationship between human's physical limit and natural laws. This explanation was shown in two allelopathic thinking. The first explanation was the Left Devil Path.
The other was the Right Cultivation Path. Wang Thirteen had been a complete adventurist for the Left Path. The Qi art he practiced was particularly good at taking shortcuts! For example, in the case of suppressing poison addict, the most effective way was to change his blood.
Blood flowed from the heart, along with all nodes as concluded by the eastern people, before finally returning to its source.
Logically... this process should not be disturbed by anything, or else the human body would lose its function. However, such an easy natural law was rejected by the adventurists of the Left Path without hesitation! The heart created and provided blood; the capillaries transported and nurtured the blood. A successful Left Path adventurist could attain the natural miracle of controlling the loss of blood, supplying blood in a single cycle and creating a large amount of blood according to many years of experience. The blood that contained all sorts of chemical substances in Thirteen's body was forced out of his body after a few cycles. When the King of Assassin opened his eyes, his body was already filled with clean blood.
However, changing blood in public places was definitely not something that should happen in Dulin, especially right beside the main office of Secret Service Department. The guests in the restaurant were already gone. Most of the waiters were hiding outside of the door and the owner personally invited the boss of the highest investigation division of the Empire over.
That boss turned away after taking a glance at the door. The owner naturally stopped him from leaving. He begged the boss of the Secret Service Department with a crying tone. He asked the person to take this old man with Alzheimer that was bleeding heavily yet still eating his sandwich away. However, the boss said that he had to call his companion to complete this duty.
The owner asked without emotion, "How many people do you need?" A fee per person. The price of the Secret Service Department had always been on the high side.
"Everyone!"
The owner slumped onto the floor, but that self-abusive old man had already stood up. He burned his dagger on the candle fire. Until the blade was shining white, he pressed the burning blade onto his bleeding wound with his brows knitted. The owner could no longer hold it in, "Get everyone here!"
On this point, the western people had the same thinking as the eastern people. That was to 'pay a great price to get the God of Plague away'!
Soon, the home base of Secret Service Department received the news. Just a street away, the members, agents and action units on duty at the base today gathered on the road. There were actually more than 100 people here. After carefully inspecting the restaurant, a leading guy came forward. He was the person-in-charge of the Secret Service Department in the Capital area. Those who were familiar with him called him 'Canine Teeth Guadero'. According to sayings, it was because of his cute canine teeth, Count Guadero was able to marry Her Majesty's cousin.
As Rudolf Hoss' most trustworthy and reliable Secret Service member, Guadero understood the hidden meaning of this job as he felt an immense pressure. His relationship with Her Majesty could totally bring him to the powerful position after the current Head retired.
Today, Guadero finally realized that his chance had arrived. He was not someone useless that had to rely on a relationship to get to his current position. Thus, he immediately lighted the beacon that signaled emergency the second he received the news. Then, he brought his people immediately to this place. However, when he arrived here, there were many people surrounding the restaurant. These agents did not seem to have come here to arrest the guy. Instead, they were here for some fun. Some guys who could not go forward even jumped up and down to take a look.
Guadero was furious. It was not like an eastern Pekingese was on display inside! So, he kicked them. These masters of high status naturally quieted down.
The owner was truly surprised. He did not expect Secret Service Department to actually gather everyone! Could it be that... that old man's mental illness was that serious? Regardless of the manager was guessing, he still delivered the restaurant's table plan to the person-in-charge of the agents in Capital. This drawing was no different than the floor plan of the restaurant.
"He is at Table Nineteen!"
Guadero heard the word and searched for Table Nineteen. After all, Count Guadero was a Secret Service officer who had experiences in this sort of emergency situations. After taking a deep breath, he could confirm two things. Firstly, he could not confirm the current position of the super assassin. Secondly, the armed members he had at hand could not rush into the restaurant at the same time.
"Twelfth Action Unit and Twenty-first Action Unit!"
Upon hearing the call of the officer, the members that belonged to Twelfth Action Unit and Twenty-first Action Unit quickly came forward.
Guadero patted the shoulder of the two captains, "According to what I know, you guys are the best!"
The captain of Twelfth Unit nodded, but the captain of the Twenty-first Unit was unmoved. Guadero glared at this guy. He knew this guy only listened to the order of the Head.
"Alright! Twelfth Unit attack! Twenty-first Unit cover!" Guadero waved his hands helplessly.
The Twelfth Unit immediately began his actions. A group of members leaned against the western wall of the restaurant door, while the other group at the eastern wall. The members of the Twenty-first Unit lined up in two rows, facing the door. The members had their crossbows up and the arrows pointing straight at the door.
Guadero waved lightly. The people around him immediately fell silent. The members at the two sides of the door had lightly pushed the door open by now. The trembling sound of the crossbows could be heard immediately. Numerous arrows were shot into the restaurant. At the same time, when the arrows were shot into the door, the members of the Twelfth Unit rushed inside! When the last member was in the restaurant, the wooden doors of the restaurant suddenly closed without a sound. Following that, an intense fighting sound could be heard from the restaurant!
"One... One minute!" Guadero looked at his watch, shook. The battle and terrible screams in the restaurant only lasted for a minute.
"Twenty... Twenty-first Unit!" The person-in-charge could not hold it in! At least, he should know what had happened inside.
The captain of Twenty-first Unit was cooperative. He knew that he had to bear at least a little responsibility for his comrade's death. However, he felt that his comrades in the Twelfth Unit had no hope of surviving at all. When he pushed the door open lightly, the scene he saw immediately proved his expectation.
It was a mess in the restaurant. The bodies lied on the floor. The well-decorated walls were stained with terrifying blood and broken limbs were all over the place.
The Secret Service members who were watching nearby took a few steps back due to the shock. They stared at the scene with unbelievable eyes. Just in one minute, the once infamous Twelfth Unit in the Capital would never appear in the action list of the Secret Service Department again! This was simply something inconceivable!
The captain of the Twenty-first Unit waved his hand suddenly! The Secret Service members near him almost cheered for him. Nothing less expected of the leader of Twenty-first Unit. If it were others, surely, they would not be as calm as him.
The most elite Secret Service members in the Capital had begun their action. They had 24 people, and the captain also utilized the most stable formation. Four members moved into the restaurant, leaning as close to the wall as possible. They squatted at the corridor of the restaurant's front desk with their crossbows pointing directly in front of them. They were controlling the direction in which the enemy might appear.
The second group followed carefully. They had six people and two members at the front went to the side of the restaurant. They almost immediately made a clear sign to their group members. Even when they were going forward, the rest of the members scanned the restaurant with their crossbows, but they did not find anything.
The third and fourth groups had four men each. They followed their captains and entered the restaurant. The members carefully went over their comrades' body and stepped on the available space in front of them. The fresh blood left a terrible shade of red on the marble tiles in the restaurant. Several footsteps were enough to create small ripples in the pool of blood.
The last two members of the Twenty-first Unit finally went through the door, but they did not enter as their teammates did. These two members who were responsible to remain at the back stayed on guard by the door. They were staring straight at their comrades' back!
"Ah!" Count Guadero, who was outside of the restaurant, suddenly shouted. He saw two arms suddenly draped downward at the corridor. Just when the ones by the door turned around, this pair of armed had already taken out a sword and dagger and slit their throat.
The Secret Service members at the street took a few steps back again. They watched as the door shut close again. At the same time, intense fighting sounds and screams reached their ears once again. However, the sounds lasted for a long time this time. When the people were anticipating the last scream, five minutes had already gone past. However... this was already the last sound they heard.
Count Guadero wiped the sweat off from his forehead. He was hesitating whether he should turn around and leave now, pretending nothing had happened here. However, hundreds of Secret Service members were watching him. He had to get his spirits up. Even if the fate of his subordinate in there was already obvious, he still had to confirm.
"Ninth Unit and Sixteenth Unit, forward!"
The captain of Ninth Unit was a smart guy. Unlike the captain of the Sixteenth Unit, he did not use stomachache as an excuse.
"Boss! You are the person-in-charge of the Capital area. If you are the one leading us, I will go forward!"
The Count looked at this cunning guy coldly. Just when he was carefully considering the possible consequences of him leading the unit, the restaurant door suddenly opened! A tall and strong-looking guy stained with blood walked out step by step.
"Captain of the Twenty-first Unit!" Guadero yelled unbelievably.
The captain of the Twenty-first Unit seemed to have cried. There was a large water stain on his pants that gave off a horrible odor. His right lung was stabbed and a piece of him at the shoulder seemed to be gone. Essentially, he was unfortunate. Not only was he scared by the terrifying shadow that he pissed himself, he was stabbed, slashed, kicked, punched and now became a hostage.
"You... Don't come over!" The Count shouted loudly. He already noticed the skinny figure hiding behind the tall captain.
Thirteen the assassin pushed the guy away in a sudden movement. The person-in-charge in the Capital immediately collided with his captain. After crashing into his boss, the captain of the Twenty-first Unit only knew to look at his stomach... His boss had instinctively taken out his sword.
Guadero collapsed onto the ground and let out a series of screams that were similar to those of the pigs. He struggled hard as if he was assaulted by a rapist and kept pushing the head of the captain that had long lost consciousness. Surely, the Count must have thought the captain was forcing a kiss on him and he would never let that happen.
Thirteen flipped the body of the Twenty-first Unit's captain away as if all of this did not concern him. He admitted that this guy was considered a passable warrior. After all, his teammates and he focused completely on the battle and he was even shot in his ass. However… the mental quality of the western people was generally not high. Take this Count for example, when Thirteen pulled him up from the ground, he even thanked the assassin!
"Thank you! Thank you!" The helpless Guadero stood up. He wanted to see which subordinate had done such a nice thing. However, after he saw the person's face, he was immediately petrified until a sharp knife was put at his throat.
"Good... Good evening!" Guadero did not dare to move. He forced a smile as wide as he could, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
Thirteen smiled. He knew the western people were smart. They did not see life as cheaply as others did.
"Tell your man to put down their weapons!"
Guadero quickly turned to the Secret Service members nearby. The result naturally made him widen his mouth. These guys had already retreated to the other side of the street and showed him all sorts of long-range weapons.
"Put down your weapons!" The person-in-charge felt a tingling of anger. At last, he simply shouted, "Put down all the weapons in your hands! I am an officer of the capital, the brother-in-law of Her Majesty and the successor of Sir Rudolf!"
The kids at the other side of the street looked at each other awkwardly, but the direct subordinates of Count Guadero had already put down their weapons. With someone starting it, the other people simply followed. After a while, the sound of weapons dropping to the ground echoed on the street.
The troublemakers in Dulin city only dared to come forward at this time. They stayed at the opening of Tromerid Street and watched the situation from afar.
"Now tell them to take their clothes off!" Thirteen smiled with narrowed eyes.
Guadero wore a difficult expression. If his subordinates were to take off their clothes in public, this will most likely result in the end of his political career.
"I will count to ten. If your subordinates still have their socks on, I will kill you!" Thirteen continued to threaten the officer.
The Count was impatient. He changed his expression as if he represented justice, "Then, do it! Since you will die anyway!"
The King of Assassin shrugged without a care just like the western people, "I am just an old man! It's just dying for me! You still have a future ahead of you. Also... If they still have their socks on, I will cut your ear off; if they have their underwear on, then I will take your eyes out. We can do it one by one!"
Guadero finally could not hold it in. He sobbed in a low voice. He thought to himself: what was the Capital Security Division doing?
What was his Head of Department doing? Why did he have to face this alone?
"One... Two..."
"Take it off! Take..." The Count finally gave his order. The members of the Secret Service seemed to be hesitating, but they did not dare to bear the responsibility of sacrificing a relative of the Imperial family or a direct officer after all. They did not know who began to tear off their shirts first...
The crowd further away slowly gathered at 24 Tromerid Street. The agents who used to bully the people were taking off their clothes at the same time. This was a rare occasion in Dulin city! The ladies and madams sneaked glances at them with blushed cheeks. The gangsters made noises. Sometimes, high-pitched whistlings could be heard.
"Is there any cellar or prison facility inside?" Thirteen pointed to the red-brick building, the base of Secret Service Department.
Guadero nodded in depression.
The King of Assassin pushed the Count, and Guadero almost bumped into the blade.
"Tell them to enter. Everyone! Straight to the prison. No one can be excluded."
Guadero waved at the group of naked people at the other side of the street, "Everyone! Let's go back!"
The people, without a choice, began to move with their heads dropped down. The nearby people cheered loudly as if this was some festival. It was this bunch of naked guys that monitored their actions and words. It was them that punished those who spoke the truth in cruel ways. It was them that did not allow the people to talk about politics, form groups and scold the nobles in their homes! It was great now! The brave children threw rubbish at this group of naked men. The brave ladies then mocked these people with whistles and flowery words. As for the brave men... They were outrageous. Some asked for the name of the foreigner that held the Count as hostages. Some even asked if this hero needed a smoke.
It was probably around two in the midnight. The soldiers that slowly came from the Capital's home base area finally closed off Tromerid Street completely. The soldiers instructed the crowd to leave the area and punished the editors of newspapers that were not doing anything. In the meantime, they also caught a few hateful-looking guys to record their testimonies. After completely grasping the whole situation, the Head of Secret Service Department Rudolf Hoss was pissed. He cursed at the God of Light and swore to the Hades in hell that he would let the assassin that brought about all of this to have a taste of all cruel punishments in the world. Then, he would slice up the assassin and give the leftovers meat to his lovely dogs.
General Reynold Hewitt Preston really wanted to let his grandfather see the ugly sight of the Head of Secret Service Department. He stood at the restaurant door. In front of him were soldiers surrounding the main building of Secret Service Department. Behind him were the dead bodies of 'Red Devils'. However, now that it seemed to him that... these guys were more like clowns.
It was such a coincidence. General Tove Van Sukhoi of the First Cannon Division of the Guards would have finished his marriage leave after midnight passed today. When he heard about the incident at the home base of Secret Service Department, he cheerfully bid his wife goodbye and brought a whole new cannon company to this place from his post. Just when everyone was troubled over the hundreds of hostages in the red-brick building, the cannon lieutenant general had already chosen good positions and prepared the cannons. When Rudolf Hoss noticed the commotion, Tove Van Sukhoi's cannons had already aimed at his base, as if all the cannons would begin firing right away.
"What are you doing?" Count Guadero had tears in his eyes and glanced at the unmoved assassin with the eyes of a woman.
Thirteen looked around. There was nothing much in the office of the Head of Secret Service Department. He soon lost interest in it.
"I am thinking... There seem to be a few naked men who have run away just now. Not all of them are in the cellar," The King of Assassin said as he threw a whole bunch of prison keys on the desk. Even though he still felt unbelievable, who would have thought that he would bump into an Imperial family member? Not to mention the sort that normal people did not dare to mess with.
"This... This doesn't concern me! There are so many of them!" The Count explained hopelessly, but he did not completely give up, "I have satisfied all of your requests. You should let me go now!"
"Feel free to do so..." The King of Assassin waved his hands. He did not want to continue to deal with this stupid thing.
"Are you saying..."
"Do you need me to invite you to go out?" Thirteen's gaze turned dangerous.
Guadero seemed as if he was pardoned. He ran to the door with a few huge steps, but his gentleman manner made him stop awkwardly. This guy was so happy to the point that he even bowed politely, "I wish for your wellbeing and always with the blessing of God of Light!"
Thirteen sighed coldly. The officer immediately opened the door and ran away. The King of Assassin suddenly felt lonely. The intense exercise just now made his brain a little tired again. As a Left Path adventurist, there were many ways to deal with this situation. Thirteen chose the safest among them... Detoxification!
After looking around, the King of Assassin chose the long table of Head of Secret Service Department. He jumped on top of it and took his pants off.
Along with the bowel movement, the injury on his buttocks due to arrow split open. "Damn..." The assassin let out a scream in his native language. He knew that things were not finished yet, but he would think about it after taking a dump.
Rudolf Hoss glanced at the trembling Guadero. He didn't understand why Her Majesty would treat such dumb... Oh, no! Treat such guy, who should die a thousand times, so nicely. Was it because he's her cousin's husband? He thought that he should give some advice to Her Majesty... There should be less useless people and more competent people in Dulin city.
"Go back to your home!" The Head of Secret Service Department tried not to look so terrifying.
Guadero pointed at the small injury on his arm that he secretly cut open, "Sir! The resistance of the companion is completely broken apart. Because of carelessness, I..."
"Oh no..." Rudolf held his forehead and the Commander of Home Base in the Capital could not suppress his laughter anymore.
"Get out!" The Head of Secret Service Department finally shouted at him, "Don't let me see you again... I swear!"
Guadero could only go into the crowd, depressed. Rudolf Hoss then turned to the cannon general, who was having fun by the side, coldly.
"Sir! Didn't you hear it? The criminal is in my office! And the hostages are focused in the cellar. Don't you think you should let your soldier do something about it?"
Torry was stunned for a while. He was a smart guy. There were already pieces of confirmed news that came from the Kenshin Palace. An agent from Military Intelligence Bureau that participated in the investigation had confirmed that the criminal was the super assassin whom the Prince had been searching for secretly for half a year.
"Killing people by using other's hands?" The general stared at the Head of Secret Service Department. He thought about the expression Oscar had when he talked about the assassin Thirteen... If his cannons turned the base of the Secret Service Department and his old friend's teacher into ashes, he believed Oscar would not show any nicety to him.
"That is your office. Are you sure?"
The Head of Secret Service Department smiled, "I don't even care about it. What are you hesitating for?"
The Home Base Commander of Capital also came forward, "Yeah, Torry. This is the best solution we got now! Look at those bodies in the restaurant behind you. Sending people in isn't something rational. I don't know what you are worried about, but..."
"Alright, alright!" Torry's eyes showed a hint of coldness. Since there was no point in spectating the fun for free, he should simply follow the order! If the assassin Thirteen was so capable as described by his old friend, surely even the cannons could not have any effect!
"The first cannon, prepare... the second cannon, prepare... The third cannon, prepare..."
At 2:45 midnight, the rumbling of the cannons awakened the city from its slumber. The fire flashed like lightning in a corner of the city. Dust and smoke lighted the night sky beneath the heaven as the soldiers and buildings on the street trembled slightly.
Rudolf Hoss widened his eyes. He took hold of the collar of the cannon general, "I did not ask you to destroy this place! I am asking you to fire at my office!"
Torry pulled Rudolf's arms away impatiently and showed an expression as if he was saying this did not concern him.
"Enough! Everyone here heard that you want me to fire. But you didn't tell me which window belongs to your office!"
The Head of Secret Service Department widened his mouth and looked at the holes caused by the cannon on the building and the fire within the building, "Viscount Tove Van Sukhoi!" Rudolf spat these words out with gritted teeth, "People will not be so lucky for their whole life..."
Torry nodded without care. He was furious every time he thought of what this guy had done to his sister. However, he still glanced at Rudolf with smiling eyes, "Yes, Sir. I believe what you said is true!"
Rudolf turned his head away in anger. He knew that he looked just like a poor kid.
"Eighth Squadron!" The Head of Secret Service Department shouted. He had no other choice. He could only let the most elite force to deal with this matter. Moreover, the palace chief, Marquis Jevonah Wesarcia, had arrived. This meant that Her Majesty was already impatient!
"Eighth Squadron, move out! Get him out! Dead or alive!"
The anti-violence and anti-terrorism Eighth Squadron of Titan's Secret Service Department had been guarding Dulin all year long, but not many knew about the existence of this elite Red Devil Unit. Rudolf Hoss stared into the eyes of the Eighth Squadron Commander with an unwavering gaze, but that experienced Paladin still spoke in a hesitative manner.
"Hostages..."
"Hmph..." The Head of Secret Service Department replied to this question with distasteful hum. The Commander of the Eighth Squadron immediately understood and bowed a little. After that, he called a team of warriors with colored armors and rushed into the building.
One side of the second floor of the building, which was facing the street, was already filled with smoke, fire, and bricks. Thirteen was at the ceiling, lurking in the shadows in which the fire could not reach. He tightened the clothes debris he wrapped around his arm. Until this moment, he still did not know what was with that intense explosion!
There were human shadows flickering in the building. Judging from their actions, these people were not the usual army, but well-trained professional assassins. Thirteen had allowed three people to walk past the place where he was at. It was not that he did not dare to challenge Paladin. It was only that these guys never take actions alone.
"Ninth!" The King of Assasin finally got it. The ninth person who walked past this corridor had completely lost interest in this ruin. The person was not alert at all.
A shadow lurked on the wall. Only a small amount of dust flew up when he took a step. The King of Assassin jumped onto the ground without a sound. The ninth enemy turned his head around just at that moment. Thirteen simply held the person's head and twisted it strongly as the enemy widened his eyes. The sound of bone cracking immediately attracted arrows, but the arrows only pierced through the body that had lost its life. The King of Assassin had disappeared, but the people outside of the building exclaimed. On a floor under which the corridor had completely sunk in the ground, an agile shadow flew past as he stepped on the walls.
Arrows followed the direction in which the shadow had disappeared. The warriors of the squadron rushed to the front with the intention of surrounding him, but the warriors bumped into their comrades instead. They looked around, only to confirm that the assassin had once again disappeared.
Thirteen clearly understood that his position was not suitable to launch an attack, but his instinct as an assassin still made him choose this place that still had debris falling over his head. He stepped on the wall at both sides. There was a dagger in his mouth. He held the crossbow in his right hand and the knife in his left hand.
The King of Assassin carefully listened to the sounds around him. He could judge a light breathing sound and the sound of rat moving about. This time... It was the fourth one!
The trembling of the crossbow immediately caught everyone's attention. The member of the Eighth Squadron at the corridor did not even have time to care about their comrade who had had his head pierced. The archer immediately shot arrows toward the direction that the sound came from. The knife-user threw his ax at the shadow that flickered in the fire.
Thirteen stopped at the edge of the broken floor. He wanted to leave the place with the help of that chandelier, but a huge ax was aimed straight at him! The King of Assassin could only move aside and avoid it, but the impact and weight of the ax completely destroyed the weakened floor.
Assassin Thirteen fell to the lower ground along with the wall. At the moment he fell, Thirteen threw the crossbow away and changed to the dagger in his mouth. When he saw the helmet of that warrior, he sent his dagger his way!
The assassin fell onto the floor! It only took him one glance to understand his current situation. It seemed that he was in a huge hall. This floor was not affected by the cannon fire. Some candles were still lit. The assassin reduced the possible damage of falling by rolling on the floor, but numerous shouts that rang in the hall proved that he was surrounded by the enemy right now.
Thirteen extended his legs and rotated with a strong force. Two warriors immediately fell down. Following that, he sprung up. When the assassin stood up, he immediately rushed forward and gave a kick with the momentum, but he did not kick the knife-user in front of him away. He simply stopped his leg right before the knife user's chest and gave in full strength all of a sudden. The knife user had his chest bone fractured and the assassin turned around and jumped towards the back with the momentum. The knife shone in the air, then blood spurted out of the enemy's throat. Avoiding the sword and knife, the weapon on Thirteen's left hand slashed a leg away with just a scoop. The dagger on his right hand aimed straight into a heart! The King of Assassin held the shoulder of the dead body and turned over in the air and he threw the body away. The body crashed into the warrior's formation. When the people were avoiding it, the King of Assassin threw the broken dagger away. The dagger stabbed into the identity that came rushing forward. Then, the assassin kicked the long sword on the floor that stabbed into the second guy who came forward.
At the same time, the assassin did not even look when he placed the sword behind him. Along with a loud clanking of metal, the assassin squatted in a sudden movement. The knife was thrown out and it destroyed the enemy's throat! The skinny old man took a breath. He glanced at the officer-like guy who hid behind the formation with a distasteful gaze. The Paladin was finally impatient! He took out his sword and let out a terrifying howl with numerous comrades...
"Stop it!" A sharp shout suddenly rang. The Eighth Squadron Commander quickly retreated as he held onto his shoulder.
More soldiers rushed into the hall. All weapons and arrows were pointed at the top assassin standing in the encirclement.
Rudolf Hoss stepped forward. A large pool of blood on the ground almost made him fell, but thankfully a strong pair of arms immediately helped the messed-up Head of Secret Service Department! The owner of that arm finally walked into the sight of the people. O'Neil Andrew Morisette wore a royal blue Marshal uniform. He was gazing at his past teacher, friend, and father with extremely complicated eyes!
Thirteen looked at the soldiers around him and the child in the middle of the crowd. He suddenly grinned and threw his weapons that were stained with viscous blood away.
Oscar smiled as well. He nodded to the 'shaggy-looking' King of Assassin. Everything was spoken in the silence.
The Prince turned to Paul, who was so excited that he was trembling, and said, "What are you doing standing here? Bring the criminal away!"
Rudolf Hoss changed drastically. When he was about to stop them, he saw the Prince, who had turned to face him, wave his hands.
All Oscar did was to raise his hand. He stared at the Head of Secret Service Department but did not say anything.
Rudolf was thinking of what he should say. He thought about this matter thoroughly and found numerous excuses to keep the criminal. However, he found himself out of words when he faced the gaze of O'Neil Andrew Morisette.
The Military Intelligence Bureau took the assassin away and brought most of the warriors away. The Head of Secret Service Department took a glance at the home base in the terrible state and the naked men that were just released from the cellar. At last, he left his gaze on the bodies lying around on the floor.
"O'Neil Andrew Morisette! You won't have a good luck all your life..."
