Chapter 101: Chapter 87: Ruins Map, Return to the City
「Early the next morning.」
Five camouflaged off-road vehicles roared into Black Water Town.
Several elite, fully-armed squads from the City Defense Department disembarked, guns at the ready. Following them were several medics carrying red and white medical kits.
Upon seeing this, Lu Chao, who was standing guard near the barracks, finally relaxed and let out a sigh of relief.
Beside him, Chen Xiao, his eyes bloodshot, also eased up a little, shaking his head with a sigh.
"Backup’s finally here."
He looked around as he spoke.
The pockmarked camp square had been hastily cleared and roughly leveled.
A dozen or so folding cots were arranged in the center, with several makeshift canopies cobbled together above them for shelter.
The three medics who had come with the aid team were incredibly busy. They had worked through the night, and now, drenched in sweat and utterly exhausted, they rushed back and forth.
Many of the aid team members had had their wounds cleaned and the bleeding barely staunched. Their bodies were wrapped in layers of gauze as they received injections of Nutrient Liquid.
Last night’s surprise attack had injured too many people. The Black Water Town patrol teams had suffered a similar fate, taking heavy losses right at the start.
Medical supplies were clearly running low. A few of the wounded were still moaning softly from grievous injuries—some had nearly lost limbs. Others hadn’t made it at all, and now lay as cold corpses under white sheets in a corner.
The entire night had been an ordeal. No one had dared to close their eyes.
Those with minor injuries, like Lu Chao and Chen Xiao, had shouldered the burden of standing guard or helping treat the wounded.
"Those bastards last night... they must have been Lu Shan’s men."
As the support team from Ring City arrived and began to take control of the situation, Chen Xiao spoke through gritted teeth, his face flashing with cold fury.
Nearby, Yang Wangtao went to confer with the support team. Their own Third Squad had sustained relatively light casualties; only Wang Shisong had been shot and was currently being treated.
"Those sons of bitches... they actually dared to attack us."
"Just you watch. This is definitely getting reported to the Alliance headquarters. This might even start another war in the Wilderness."
Lu Chao fell silent at the grim words.
Over the course of the night, he’d learned the identity of their assailants.
They were the forces of Lu Shan, the great warlord who controlled most of the territory in the upper Red River region. Lu Shan had been a recent headliner in the Wilderness Daily, having been locked in a months-long war with another major warlord, Ogrin.
The powerful individual who controlled the sand was one of his most trusted commanders, a formidable superhuman whose Life Energy had broken the one-hundred-point threshold.
Sandstorm Priestess Mo Li.
If a Martial Artist from the Superpower Bureau hadn’t shown up last night to intercept her, they all would have likely died.
"Why would they attack us?"
"Aren’t they worried this will drive Ring City to ally with the other warlord, Ogrin, and move against them?"
Lu Chao asked with a frown, completely baffled.
Ring City had never meddled in warlord disputes before. The only recent action they’d taken was to issue a public, verbal condemnation of both warlords.
’Could it really be over a few words? A simple fit of pique?’
"I don’t know."
Shaking his head with a sigh, Chen Xiao looked utterly exhausted. He felt helpless, unable to grasp the reasons behind it all.
Just then, Yang Wangtao walked over with two bottles of nutrient drinks. It seemed he had finished speaking with the men from the City Defense Department.
"Here. You’ve both had a rough night."
He said in a low voice. His square face was as stern as ever, but the exhaustion in his eyes was plain to see.
A night of intense fighting, followed by an all-night watch.
Even a professional-grade individual wasn’t made of iron; they still felt fatigue.
"How are things, Captain?"
Chen Xiao took the bottle, chugged a large gulp, and asked about their next orders.
Yang Wangtao fell silent for a moment before shaking his head.
"The pursuit team from last night has already linked up with the support units. They won’t be coming back to Black Water Town."
"As for us..."
He glanced at the figures on the stretchers and cots, suppressing his complex emotions. His voice was heavy as he said, "Once the other support teams get here and we’ve regrouped, we can head back."
"Oh?"
Lu Chao raised an eyebrow.
The support teams they already knew about numbered over a hundred men, and now even more elite squads were on their way? This scale was far beyond his expectations.
"This whole thing... it’s gotten huge."
After some hesitation, Yang Wangtao patted his shoulder. "I hear it wasn’t just us. The hunting parties got hit, too."
"A lot of people from the martial arts dojos and private companies were ambushed and killed. It sounds like some disciples from your Jinshi Boxing Hall died as well."
Lu Chao froze, his heart sinking like a stone.
’The hunting parties and Jinshi Boxing Hall were hit, too?’
Names flashed through his mind—especially Zheng Wu’s. He quickly pressed for more details.
"Zheng Wu’s fine. He didn’t leave the city this time."
Sensing his concern, Yang Wangtao patiently explained, "And your Eldest Senior Brother, Luo Yan... word is he’s already reached the Elite Level. He led the people from your hall and fought their way out. A support squad has already found them."
Hearing this, Lu Chao could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
But then his brow furrowed again. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this whole affair was far too complex, as if some unseen hand were pulling all the strings.
’Is Lu Shan trying to make an enemy of every single faction in Ring City?’
’Even a great warlord couldn’t possibly withstand that kind of fury...’
His thoughts yielded no answers.
He finally just shook his head, helpless. As the new support squads took over, he was finally able to set down his burden. He made his way to a corner of the clearing to drink some water and rest.
The agonized moans of his comrades occasionally reached his ears. Many others were simply squatting in corners, cigarettes clenched between their teeth, their faces masks of grief and sorrow.
