Zeig got off the cable car looking completely bewildered.
Aside from him, the other passengers were also utterly confused.
"What? Rebel? So those recent rumors are real?"
"It's confirmed—sigh, there really is a group like that."
"Officer sir, we're innocent citizens!"
Gepard reassured the crowd:
"Everyone, please rest assured—we will never wrong a single innocent person."
He stepped back slightly, and the Silvermane Guards behind him came forward holding stick-like devices, approaching the passengers.
"Please open your mouths, everyone. We're just taking a measurement. If there's nothing abnormal, you'll be fine."
"?"
A certain someone stared at the stick, eyes widening.
This thing… it couldn't be for detecting whether someone had taken that mysterious little pill, right?
He had swallowed it, but he felt absolutely nothing—probably ineffective on him.
Until a Silvermane Guard personally shoved the stick into Zeig's mouth. The latter watched helplessly as the stick changed from cyan to red.
"Rebel detected! Subdue him immediately!"
"???"
Almost the instant the Silvermane Guard shouted, Zeig was surrounded.
The cleared passengers quickly backed away farther and pulled out their phones to take photos.
A certain someone: "…"
"Citizen, I advise you to cooperate with our work." Gepard stared at Zeig:
"The drug you've taken will greatly accelerate organ failure. Without prompt treatment, you will die completely within a year!"
Listening to Gepard's explanation, the first thing that came to Zeig's mind wasn't how powerful the drug was.
It was the person who made it.
"…"
That guy called Brother Dao said it was made by Natasha.
While on the cable car, he had tried messaging Natasha.
But she hadn't replied at all.
"This is really troublesome." A certain someone's eyelid twitched.
"Drop your weapon and surrender now—while you haven't caused irreparable damage, you still have a chance to receive treatment!" A Silvermane Guard barked.
Facing the heavy encirclement and Gepard's cold gaze.
A certain someone merely gave a light laugh and spread his hands:
"Since I've been exposed, I won't pretend anymore!"
"I've hated you flashy, well-dressed bastards for a long time. If you insist on blocking me, let's see if you can actually stop me!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Silvermane Guards—knowing the guy in front of them was another lunatic—immediately raised their weapons to suppress Zeig directly.
Deep in the encirclement, a certain someone pulled out his iron rod. His whole body shot forward like lightning, decisively clashing with the group of Silvermane Guards.
Long axes and iron rod constantly clashed, sparking fiercely.
In the eyes of ordinary citizens, this gray-haired man was clearly alone, yet he handled the Silvermane Guards' combined suppression with ease.
He constantly shifted his body, dodging attack after attack, then swung his iron rod—nearly every strike denting the Silvermane Guards' chest armor.
"…"
Gepard silently watched the scene, his expression growing graver.
After a prolonged battle, the gray-haired guy with the iron rod was still brimming with energy, while his own Silvermane Guards were steadily decreasing in number.
Passersby in the distance had already pulled out their phones to record the scene.
Big news!
A mysterious gray-haired man single-handedly taking on an entire squad of Silvermane Guards without falling behind—and even seeming relaxed… the footage was being frantically shared.
Hearing the commotion behind him, Gepard slowly raised his weapon:
"All of you, fall back. Let me handle him!"
Upon hearing this, the Silvermane Guards clutched their wounds, formed a large circle around Zeig, and slowly retreated.
Gepard stepped into the circle. Seeing Zeig grip his iron rod and stare at him menacingly, he couldn't help but sigh:
"I'll give you one last chance. If you attack me, there will be no turning back."
"Fine, I surrender!"
"?"
The moment Gepard finished speaking, the gray-haired man in front of him immediately raised both hands. The iron rod clattered to the ground with a clang.
This scene left the encircling Silvermane Guards and the distant onlookers stunned.
What the hell?
He'd just looked ready to fight to the death—how did he chicken out the second Gepard stepped up?
"…"
"Very good."
Gepard was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.
He reached for the handcuffs at his waist.
At that instant…
"Guard Captain, watch out—!!" A nearby Silvermane Guard shouted.
Almost simultaneously as Gepard reached for the cuffs, a red brick had somehow appeared in the gray-haired man's hand. He leaped up and lunged straight at Gepard!
"!"
Seeing this, Gepard reacted swiftly—raising his weapon horizontally to block.
Bang—!!
In an instant.
The red brick shattered!
Gepard felt as if he'd been struck by a giant's blow. Both feet sank into the ground, carving two deep craters!
For a moment, red dust swirled.
Another massive crash.
Bang—!!
Everyone only saw a figure fly backward out of the dust cloud like a cannonball, tracing a beautiful arc through the sky before crashing into a distant fountain pool.
Splash—!!
"…"
Small fragments of armor rained from the sky, scattering like hail across the ground.
"Wh… what!!"
For a moment, everyone froze.
The one who had just been sent flying… seemed to be Guard Captain Gepard.
The man hailed as the toughest in all of Belobog had been smashed into the distant fountain like a broken sack, his armor shattered everywhere.
At that moment, the gray-haired man rested his iron rod on his shoulder and casually walked out of the dust cloud, laughing:
"So this is the strength of Belobog's Guard Captain? Heh heh… don't make me laugh!"
In the fountain pool.
A man, bare-chested, climbed out of the water—drenched, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
He clutched his chest in pain, his face twisted as his voice trembled:
"Who the hell are you? How could someone like this exist in Belobog?!"
"Who am I? Heh heh…"
"Dead men don't need to know."
As soon as the words fell, the gray-haired man charged toward the distant Gepard with iron rod in hand.
Seeing this, the onlookers scattered like frightened birds.
Only a few particularly bold young people kept filming with their phones.
"Protect the Guard Captain!!"
"Brothers, stop this guy!"
"Captain Gepard, run—we'll cover you!!"
In an instant, the Silvermane Guards Zeig had beaten earlier rushed forward again, ready to use their lives to buy Gepard time to escape.
"Hahahahaha… today you can all accompany your dear captain to the grave—!!"
A certain someone threw his head back in laughter, kicking away the fearless Silvermane Guards one by one as they charged.
The situation was completely one-sided.
As the gray-haired man advanced step by step toward the barely-breathing Gepard…
Suddenly, a long blade flew from the shadows, blazing with roaring flames, and stabbed straight into the ground in front of Zeig.
Boom—!!
The flames erupted skyward, forming a wall of fire that blocked Zeig's path.
A man slowly emerged from the alley. He wore a cloth robe that concealed his face and said gravely to Zeig:
"That's enough. Go complete your mission properly—don't cause unnecessary trouble!"
"Oh ho?"
A certain someone stared at the firewall in front of him and slightly raised an eyebrow.
…