Half a second after the gunshot rang out, Hammurabi charged toward the Emperor on the raised platform with his shield raised, the massive sword crackling with electricity in his hand pointed menacingly downward. The Sisterhood immediately raised their guns as well.
The Praetorian Guard's Reconnaissance Drones determined the assassin's location through the firing angle and radar. One second after the gunshot, the twenty-meter-tall bipedal War Engine sprang into action. The upper body of the steel beast, with Explosive Rounds Cannons mounted on both sides, spun rapidly. Its fire-control system precisely adjusted gears and bearings in an instant, aiming its poised cannons at the building where the assassin was hiding. The Hellfire Knights stationed nearby immediately activated their Jetpacks and encircled the building.
Panic began to spread. Whether local dignitaries or ordinary citizens, everyone clearly heard the gunshot that had come from a nearby residential building. The Explosive Rounds Guns in the hands of more than a hundred Hellfire Knights made the uniform sound of being chambered, while the Chainsaw Swords roared to life in piercing resonance. Even the armored vehicles that had never shut down began moving with startling unanimity. Orders for destruction, search, and protection were being carried out within seconds. Vehicle-mounted plasma weapons, Heavy Explosive Rounds, and Laser Cannons could unleash fire upon the crowd and the city at any moment.
Yet every movement stopped when the Emperor raised his hand. He reached out and plucked the still-spinning, scorching bullet from the air. Pinching the bullet between his fingers, he swept his gaze over the crowd below, his utterly emotionless black eyes examining their fragility and fear. Before arriving in Sarajevo, he had hoped for a chance to imitate a constitutional democratic politician. But the gunman's appearance brought him no joy, because the people of this city had