After regaining consciousness, I heard engines rumbling in the distance, and for a moment, everything was quiet.
Then the noise grew louder.
I stepped to the window and narrowed my eyes. A convoy was rolling down the road toward us several cars, military trucks, and, right in the middle of them, a fucking tank. Dust billowed behind the vehicles, hanging in the air like a storm cloud as they advanced.
Well, this is crap. The Governor's here.
I stared at the tank for a second, wondering how the hell he'd managed to get his hands on one. It didn't matter now. If he was bringing it here, then it would belong to me.
I snatched up my sword and rifle and hurried across the room. The broken window I'd been meaning to fix was still missing half its glass. Without slowing down, I vaulted through the opening and dropped to the ground below. My boots hit the dirt hard, kicking up a small cloud of dust.
The prison yard had already erupted into motion.
Up on the watchtower, T-Dog rang the warning bell over and over, its sharp clang echoing across the yard. Doors flew open as people rushed from their cells and buildings, grabbing wooden spears, axes, knives, and guns before taking up defensive positions along the fences and walkways. Nervous voices mixed with the ringing bell while the distant growl of engines grew louder.
I pushed through the crowd and headed for the main gate. The convoy was close enough now that I could see figures moving between the vehicles. The tank rolled forward at the center of the formation, crushing loose debris beneath its tracks.
My grip tightened around my rifle.
Somewhere among them was the Governor.
Why am I even looking anywhere else? He has to be inside the tank.
"What the hell? Why are the Woodbury people here?" Daryl asked, immediately recognizing the faces inside the approaching vehicles.
Behind him, Maggie and Carol stood shoulder to shoulder, staring at the convoy. Every person on the prison walls and walkways was armed and ready, their weapons trained on the newcomers.
"Why would they come all the way out here?" Maggie asked nervously, her eyes fixed on the group as they rolled closer.
Chicken and Jerry joined them, both squinting at the familiar faces beyond the gate. Around them, the prison buzzed with tension; guards shifted their grips on rifles, nervous murmurs spreading through the crowd. Molly and another woman who was also there watched the group of armed men without concern. They all looked at me, waiting for me to act.
Meanwhile, Clementine and the other women and children remained hidden inside the prison, sheltered away from the walls. Seeing that Clementine was safe helped me relax.
"They must be here to take the prison, just like Dee said," Chicken whispered.
I nodded but said nothing. We had never told the prison residents what had really happened in Woodbury, so most of them had no idea why these people were standing outside our gates.
"Why the hell are we even worried?" Molly scoffed. "There are only about twenty of them. We can handle it." Despite her confidence, she was crouched behind a Humvee, an ice pick clutched tightly in her hand, signaling me to do my thing.
The convoy finally came to a stop. Engines rumbled as dust drifted through the air and settled across the road. No one moved. Both sides simply stared at each other, hands resting on their weapons, waiting for someone to make the first move.
The hatch on top of the tank swung open, and a man wearing an eyepatch climbed out. The moment his boots touched the metal hull, his gaze drifted across the prison yard before settling on the Humvee then on Chicken and Jerry.
He narrowed his eye.
"So they survived," the Governor muttered under his breath.
Most people were too far away to hear him, but I caught every word.
"State your business," Carol called out, her voice firm despite the tension.
The Governor smiled, slowly scanning the prison walls and the dozens of armed survivors staring back at him. Then he raised a hand and pointed directly at the Humvee.
"I'll make this simple. The people who arrived in that vehicle they're the reason Woodbury is gone. They destroyed everything we built. Hand them over, and we walk away. No one else has to get hurt."
The yard immediately erupted into whispers.
Carol turned toward Chicken and Jerry. Around them, people exchanged uncertain glances some lowering their weapons slightly, others tightening their grips.
"Is that true?" Maggie asked, looking between them. "You're the reason all these people are here right now?" Her voice carried more concern than accusation. With Glenn still fighting for his life, the last thing she wanted was another conflict threatening the prison.
Chicken and Jerry glanced at me, silently asking for permission. I gave them a small nod.
Taking a deep breath, they began explaining everything the experiments, the Governor's brutality, the executions, and the events that led to the town's destruction.
As they spoke, the mood around the prison shifted. The whispers stopped. People listened. By the time they finished, many of the prison residents were staring at the Governor with suspicion rather than trust. Then the crowd erupted into discussion about his proposal.
Daryl stepped forward. "My brother. Merle Dixon... missing an arm. Is he alive?" His eyes swept across the Woodbury group. Not seeing Merle anywhere only made his expression darker.
"He was alive when we escaped," Jerry answered. "After that, I can't say."
Daryl slowly nodded. Not reassuring, but better than nothing. Then he turned his attention back to the Governor.
"We're not handing them over."
The Governor's smile faded.
The only sounds were the distant groans of walkers beyond the fences and the low rumble of idling engines.
"Hold on." Maggie lowered her rifle slightly. "We barely know these people. Why are we picking a fight over them?"
"Because we don't just hand people over," Daryl snapped. "They haven't done a damn thing wrong to us. And the second we give him what he wants, what's stopping him from deciding he wants the prison next?"
"We don't know that," Maggie shot back. "What we do know is that if this turns into a fight, people here are going to die. Our people. Is that worth it?"
Carol stepped between them before the argument could escalate. "She has a point. This didn't start with us. Maybe there's something else we can offer him."
Daryl frowned, considering both arguments as he looked over at Jerry and Chicken.
As they whispered among themselves, I simply stood there watching the fear, the arguments, the uncertainty with a faint smile on my face. Everyone was so desperate to avoid a fight.
"You should go hide with Clementine and Kate," Javier said as he walked up beside me, a baseball bat resting on his shoulder. "It's not safe for a kid to be standing out here right now."
I glanced over at him but didn't answer. The suggestion was so ridiculous I almost laughed.
A kid. Right.
I was getting tired of pretending to be a normal human being anyway. Maybe it was time to stop.
I had everything I needed. As for information about my father, I would find it eventually. Right now, I had to deal with this annoyance.
The only reason I'd been acting cautiously was to keep the Angel Blood Community hidden from the major military factions. The plan had been simple: stay unnoticed, build our strength slowly, and create a community capable of standing on its own.
But that was pointless now. They already knew where our base was. The secret was out.
I leaned back and thought about it. Maybe I'd been worrying too much about enemies that hadn't even shown themselves yet. I'd been letting fear of losing my loved ones dictate my actions constantly worrying about threats that might never come.
I had Agent 47's body, damn it.
If I wanted something, I could just take it. What were they going to do about it? The thought should have sounded arrogant. Instead, it felt like common sense.
And why were we in such a hurry to build the Blood Community into some unstoppable powerhouse anyway? I wasn't running out of time. If everything worked the way it was supposed to, I had more than three hundred years of life ahead of me.
Three hundred years. Most people would kill for another decade. I had centuries. There was no need to rush.
I was acting like one of those stupid Chinese protagonists who hide their strength for no reason, only to reveal it later and slap everyone in the face. It was pathetic.
Motherfucker, I was so strong that the walkers themselves had to become stronger just to balance things out. Every hardship these people faced, every stronger walker roaming the world, existed because of me. The thought should have bothered me. Instead, it made me laugh.
Why was I acting like prey when I was the predator?
I looked around at the prison walls, the armed survivors, the tank parked outside the gates, and the Governor standing at the center of it all.
The world should be worrying about me.
I always wondered why villains want to take over the world, why billionaires always want more money, and why countries go to war for land and resources. I finally understood. If you can have more, why hesitate to take it? The world itself was already in chaos, practically waiting for someone to claim it.
Why should I hesitate?
I would take it all.
I would build my own empire one where my descendants could live without fear or want.
A grin spread across my face, and this time I didn't bother hiding it.
My gaze shifted toward the Governor, who looked ready to end the negotiations.
"Then you leave me no choice," the Governor said, raising his voice. "Everyone, get read—"
"Hey, one-eyed pirate."
My voice cut through the yard before he could finish. The Governor stopped mid-sentence. Dozens of heads turned toward me.
"Can we stop this for today?" I asked casually. "Come back tomorrow. It's late, I'm tired, and I'd still like to get some sleep with Clementine. I'm in a good mood right now, so don't ruin it." I smiled. "So do yourself a favor and get the hell out. I don't want anybody to die today."
The words hung in the air.
Nobody reacted. Not the prison survivors. Not the Woodbury residents. Not even the Governor. Everyone simply stared at me, the only people who looked relaxed were the ones who knew me.
Maggie's mouth fell open. Carol looked like she wasn't sure she'd heard me correctly. Daryl slowly lowered his crossbow, blinking in confusion. Even the Governor looked genuinely stunned, the confidence he'd been carrying moments ago replaced by pure disbelief.
It wasn't just what I said. It was how casually I said it. Like I wasn't facing a tank, armed soldiers, and a man who had come prepared for war. Like I was talking about the weather.
"Are you out of your mind?" Javier hissed beside me. "You're going to get every single one of us killed."
The Governor's face twisted with rage. "Kill that boy!"
The order had barely left his mouth before I pulled the trigger. In less than two seconds, I emptied the magazine. The shots cracked through the air.
The Governor flinched and looked around him. Every single man he had brought with him was dead. Headless bodies collapsed onto the road, some fell against vehicles, others dropped straight into the dirt. Blood splattered across the tank's armor and the surrounding cars.
The Governor stood there staring at the carnage. Disbelief filled his face.
One second, an armed force had been standing outside the gates. The next, they were all dead.
His eye snapped back to me. He drew his pistol. For a moment he didn't look angry he looked uncertain. Then it snapped back into rage. "You son of—"
He never got the chance to fire.
By the time his finger touched the trigger, my sword had already cut through his neck. His head separated cleanly, bounced off the side of the tank, and rolled across the ground before coming to a stop in a growing pool of blood. His body remained standing for a brief second before collapsing.
Complete silence.
The prison survivors stared in horror and disbelief. Even Daryl looked frozen. Nobody spoke. Nobody moved. Their eyes shifted between the mountain of corpses outside the gate and the sword now buried deep in a nearby tree from the force of my swing.
"Chicken," I said calmly, pointing toward it. "Go get my sword."
Chicken immediately straightened. "Yes, my lord." He gave a respectful bow before jogging over to retrieve it.
"Did… did anyone else just see that?" someone from the prison walls whispered.
I turned back toward the prison residents. Dozens of frightened and confused faces stared back at me some terrified, some awestruck, a few unsure whether they should run.
I smiled.
"Well," I said, spreading my arms slightly, "now that that's settled."
Nobody laughed.
"From this moment onward, this prison belongs to the Angel Blood Community. You are now under our protection and authority." My gaze swept across the crowd. "Any questions?"
Daryl didn't raise his weapon. He just stared at the bodies, then at me, like he was recalculating everything he believed about me.
People started stepping away from me in unison without even noticing. Javier, who had been closest to me, was somehow all the way behind the crowd.