Movements in the Inner City

The conference room was filled with smoke.

Old Morgan sat at the head of the long table, a nearly burnt-out cigarette between his fingers, his cloudy eyes half-closed, as if he were dozing.

Alice stood by the window, arms crossed, fingers tapping impatiently on her forearm, her face gloomy.

Mary sat opposite Old Morgan, holding a list in her hand, her brow furrowed, occasionally crossing out a name with her pen.

Valentin leaned against the shadows in the corner, his signature green eyes half-closed, his long fingers unconsciously stroking the buttons on his cuffs.

Hans sat in the corner, his left arm wrapped in bandages, his face somewhat pale, but his spirits were not bad, as he wiped a dagger with one hand.

Lu Yuan pushed open the door and came in, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

"Have a seat." Old Morgan nodded to him, a bit of ash falling from his cigarette.

Lu Yuan pulled out a chair, sat down, and looked around.

"How's the situation?"

"Not good." Mary put down the list, rubbed her temples, and said wearily, "Last night's surprise attack cost us two brothers and five others seriously injured."

She paused, then added, "The Holy Armor Army also suffered several casualties. If it weren't for them holding the line, our entire squad would have been wiped out."

Alice snorted coldly, turned around, and slammed her warhammer against the wall with a muffled thud. "What the hell do these bastards want?!"

No one answered.

Mary paused for a moment, put down her pen, and said, "Moreover, something seems off about the Deep Sea Church's attack."

Everyone looked at her.

"Judging from the recent battles, the Deep Sea Church consciously slowed down its offensive when our main force went to sea," Mary said calmly, tapping her finger on the table. "But they only launched a truly large-scale attack when the Holy Armor Army arrived."

"On the very night Captain Xi Wading arrived, the Deep Sea Church launched yesterday's attack."

"This is unreasonable."

Alice frowned, lowering her arms from her chest. "You mean... they waited on purpose?"

"I don't know." Mary shook her head, folding the list and putting it away. "But what's certain is that the Deep Sea Church is deliberately weakening our fighting strength."

"It's not just the Night Watcher, they're targeting the Holy Armor Army stationed here too." Her gaze swept over the crowd. "Don't forget, behind our base is the Settlement Area, where a large number of civilians evacuated from the Outer City live."

They're pushing us to the brink of despair.

Hans stopped wiping his dagger, his brow furrowing. "A life for a life?"

"More or less." Mary nodded. "Most of the Mutation they sent out were low-level, but there were many of them, and they were specifically targeting us. They're using cannon fodder to wear down our manpower."

She pulled out a booklet and turned to one of the pages.

"There's one more thing. I had people keeping an eye on the inner city, and they discovered something interesting."

"A large amount of weapons and supplies have recently appeared at the Viscount's Residence, said to be supplies transported along with the Holy Armor Army."

Her finger pointed to a line in the booklet, "But the quantities are ridiculously large. Alchemy Weapon, Holy Water, gunpowder, food... enough for a protracted war."

"It's as if they're preparing to face something."

Old Morgan flicked his cigarette ash, his cloudy eyes narrowing. "Anything else?"

"The Viscount convened a closed-door meeting yesterday with nobles and Merchants' Guild from the inner city," Mary said, closing the booklet. "The content of the meeting is unclear, but after it concluded, the Archbishop of the Church departed for the Viscount's Residence."

Hans stopped what he was doing and looked up. "The Archbishop himself is going to the Viscount's Residence? What about the Cathedral District in the north of the city?"

"Some men were left behind, but the main force went with the Archbishop."

A moment of silence fell over the conference room.

Hans tucked the dagger back into his belt and muttered, "So the Deep Sea Church is wearing us down, the Viscount is stockpiling supplies and holding meetings, Archbishop is running to the Viscount's Residence..."

"They're all moving towards the inner city," Mary continued, "As if they all know something's going to happen."

But we don't know.

The atmosphere was heavy.

Hans moved his injured left arm and broke the silence. "If you can't figure it out, don't think about it for now. But one thing is certain, the inner city probably knows something. If things get out of control, they'll have to call the Archbishop over."

"Strengthen vigilance, keep a close eye on the inner city, and wait for them to slip up," Valentin's somewhat languid voice rang out. "After all, under the Imperial Treaty, we have no right to interfere with the Viscount in non-emergency situations."

Old Morgan remained silent, just smoking in silence, his eyes cloudy but sharp.

After a long while, he stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray on the table, rubbed it a couple of times, and then said:

"Strengthen our defenses; let's take care of ourselves first."

"Among the various factions, we are currently the most severely lacking in combat strength. We must be extremely careful."

He raised his head, looked at the crowd, and called out their names one by one:

"Valentin, you and the Holy Armor Army will work together to expand the patrol area. We're a bit blind now, we need eyes."

Valentin opened his eyes from the shadows, his green eyes flashed, and he nodded without saying a word.

"Mary, you're in charge of the base's defenses. Make sure no one slips through the net."

Mary responded and put the list into her pocket.

"Hans, your injury hasn't healed yet, but as long as you can move, that's fine. Take a few men and patrol the area, but don't wander too far."

"Understood." Hans sheathed the dagger and nodded.

"Alice..." Old Morgan looked at the woman by the window, "You should rest for a bit; there might be a tough battle ahead."

Alice pursed her lips, reached out and picked up the Thunder Hammer leaning against the wall, hoisted it onto her shoulder, but did not object.

"And I'm preparing to call Headquarters for backup."

Old Morgan looked around and continued, "The situation in Grim Port has now crossed the line, and I have reason to suspect that the Viscount is deliberately excluding us Night Watcher."

"Adding to the clues we've gathered before, I think some people's positions will need to be moved."

As soon as Old Morgan finished speaking, the Communication Crystal on the table suddenly lit up, emitting a faint blue glow.

A deep voice came from the crystal:

"Night Watcher, Ascension Society Council."

Old Morgan raised an eyebrow but did not respond immediately.

He glanced around the conference room and waved to everyone.

"Everyone, get out first."

Alice frowned, glanced at Old Morgan, but didn't ask any further questions. She shouldered her warhammer and turned to leave.

Mary, Valentin, and Hans also got up one after another, and their footsteps gradually faded away.

The door closed.

Only Old Morgan. and Lu Yuan remained in the conference room.

Old Morgan then looked at the Communication Crystal again, pressed his finger, and said calmly, "Speak."

"The Judge and Marcus are our men," the voice on the other end of the crystal said calmly. "We're taking them back."

Old Morgan leaned back in his chair, took a new cigarette from his pocket, and slowly lit it.

"Can."

He exhaled a puff of smoke, his voice neither hurried nor slow.

But something must be left behind.