Chapter 484: Chapter 305: Star Association Emissary
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「Three minutes later.」
Special Agents from the North Carolina Counter-Terrorism Department and a Hand of the Empire squad arrived on the scene. A Dashing Pegasus Mark 4 mech raised its palm, unleashing a mighty hurricane that blew away the swirling dust and revealed the devastated street.
The brutal signs of battle appeared before them. Gazing at the enormous crater, nearly fifty meters in diameter, one Special Agent frowned slightly. "We’re too late. Where are they?"
"No Essence Fluctuation or life signature detected from Andre. No signal from Agent Jonas, Agent Marid, or Agent Weber. Their vitals went dark six minutes ago. It’s highly likely they encountered Andre," the Hand of the Empire squad leader reported grimly.
"Over here." A sharp-eyed black Special Agent spotted the ground in the distance covered with shattered bones and flesh. The group moved closer. Unfazed, the black Special Agent reached out, grabbed a piece of shredded flesh, and squeezed it. It was quite resilient.
"It’s Marid," he said.
Only the muscles of a Strength Type Ascender possessed such resilience. Everyone already knew who the shattered flesh and bone on the ground belonged to.
"Marid’s dead. What about Jonas and Weber?"
"Maybe they escaped. Even if they were no match for Andre, with Jonas there, getting away shouldn’t have been a problem."
The agent in charge mused for a moment, then waved his hand. "Forget about them for now. First, let’s annihilate the Bear Group. Tell the higher-ups that Andre got away. Request the use of the satellite Investigation Mirror. And be quick about it. He can’t have gotten out of Bear City yet."
"Yes, sir."
Five minutes later, rivers of blood flowed at the foot of the Bear Group Building. Employees who couldn’t escape in time were slaughtered without mercy. The Hand of the Empire squad conducted a floor-by-floor carpet search, leaving no one alive.
Fifteen minutes later, Andre’s private army, which had been engaged with the Government Army, gave up their resistance and attempted to break out in all directions. The Government Army, coordinating with Counter-Terrorism Department Special Agents and the Hand of the Empire, launched a ferocious attack. In the end, they annihilated 1,398 of the private soldiers, including two Nanometer Soldiers.
This wasn’t exactly good news for the Government Army, as the remaining one hundred and ninety-eight Nanometer Soldiers had escaped. As long as Andre was alive, they would always pose a threat.
So, the Government Army focused all its resources on finding Andre, even deploying the satellite Investigation Mirror to conduct a city-wide search. North Carolina didn’t have the capability to launch its own satellites; the Investigation Mirror they used was rented from their American neighbors. Each activation cost tens of millions of US Dollars. It was expensive, but incredibly effective—its search function could scan the entire city in an instant and locate a target.
But the result was disappointing. It was as if Andre had vanished from the Mortal World, disappearing without a trace.
When the news reached the Ministry of Defense, Minister Jaslin didn’t fly into a thunderous rage. She just sat there, silent and speechless.
From the moment the three southern border cities rebelled until now, she hadn’t heard a single piece of good news. Her anger had given way to exhaustion, and now, a deep, soul-crushing weariness. She no longer had the strength to even curse.
Jaslin put a hand to her forehead and rubbed it. "Andre’s escape is an irreversible fact. Next, have all combat personnel in Bear City head to the Seventh Military District at top speed. This is an absolute order. They must all arrive within an hour and a half. Anyone who doesn’t make it will be executed."
"The Seventh Military District?" someone asked, confused. "Bear City is in desperate need of control forces right now. Why are we sending our combat personnel to the Seventh Military District?"
"Not just the combat personnel from Bear City," Jaslin ordered calmly. "I want the Government Army and combat personnel from the surrounding cities transferred over as well. Also, dispatch two fighter jets to the nearest airport and have them on standby for immediate takeoff."
With Andre’s betrayal, his threat level in the eyes of the Salvation Army would plummet. And that strategic deterrent Weapon, the [Return Ball], was sealed beneath the Seventh Military District. It didn’t take a genius to know that the Salvation Army’s next target would be there.
In reality, it wasn’t just Jaslin; many people in the North Carolina Government had guessed that the Salvation Army would make a move on the Seventh Military District to reclaim control of the [Return Ball].
But no one had expected the Salvation Army to move so quickly.
Half an hour after the fall of the Bear Group, while the North Carolina Government was still frantically dispatching personnel to reinforce the Seventh Military District, the Salvation Army had already appeared near the base. They used the dense cover of night to surround the entire military district.
Inside the temporary command post, Zhou Chen sat resting in a chair, listening as the Plague Doctor formulated the attack plan.
’After leaving Bear City, he had ordered Joker to leave. He told Joker to go about his business, try to get promoted to Tier Three as soon as possible, and work his way into the core membership of Fallen Paradise. While he was at it, Joker could act as a double agent and gather more information about Fallen Paradise’s plans in North Carolina.’
’As for the Magic Wand, he had instructed Joker to report it to Fallen Paradise, but to claim that a Tier Four from the Salvation Army had forcibly taken it—a much more logical explanation. He had even made a special wish to alter Joker’s memory of the event to make the story flawless. It had cost him an extra five hundred wish points, and the loss was agonizing.’
’But when he thought about the Magic Wand’s awesome abilities, he felt it was all worth it.’
’He wasn’t worried about the spent wish points. After the upcoming operation, he would gain an extremely generous amount in return.’
At the conference table, Andre, Jonas, and Weber, who had recovered from their injuries thanks to Alchemy Potions, listened attentively. They would be participating as the main force in the upcoming battle.
Jonas, the Earth Type Ascender, in particular, would play a crucial role in this battle.
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