Attack

"Young master, that man has officially joined the Guard Department."

Inside a mansion somewhere in Lungmen, a servant spoke in a low voice to the young man seated on the sofa.

The young man did not seem surprised by the servant's report, as if he had anticipated it long ago.

"Given his abilities, that's hardly surprising."

With that, the young master raised the wineglass in his hand before continuing:

"Which department did he join?"

"The Special Operations Group, the one handling Six Harmonies Society cases."

"..."

At that moment, the young master fell silent.

The Six Harmonies Society was currently Lungmen's largest gang, having even surpassed the force led by that Rat King.

At present, the organization's primary funding, including expenses for weapons and the like, came from joint investments by him and certain members of Lungmen's upper class who were dissatisfied with the status quo. Their goal was not complicated: they wanted to overthrow Wei Yenwu and the forces connected to him. They wanted control of this city.

As for Wei Yenwu's status as Great Yan royalty...

Before sufficient profit, they had already chosen to disregard that. As long as they took control of the city and expressed their intention to defect to Ursus, Great Yan would be unable to attack them directly. After all, Great Yan had no desire to go to war with Ursus at present.

Yet, upon hearing the servant's intelligence that Roy had joined the Special Operations Group, a faint sense of foreboding flashed through his mind.

It was a baseless, inexplicable premonition, but he believed it would come true. After all, before deciding to fund the Six Harmonies Society, he had foreseen the gang's rise.

"Since he chose to side with Wei Yenwu, that means he's ready to leave the stage early."

"Pass his information to those Sicilians. Have them kill him."

After saying that, the young master spoke no more. The elderly servant gave a slight bow and left the room...

Several hours later, in the mobile city of Lungmen.

The sun slowly rose from beyond the horizon, and light returned to the land.

Roy had just left home on a bicycle. There were still around two hours before work began, and he was heading to the Guard Department.

He was still recalling intelligence related to the Six Harmonies Society while considering who might have already defected to the other side and who among the Guard Department might be a mole.

Chen had not given him an answer to his proposal yesterday, but Roy believed that his new superior had already made her decision. Once they arrived at the Guard Department, she would begin assigning tasks.

However, this road was clearly not going to be smooth.

As he stopped his bicycle, Roy drew his standard-issue saber from the black leather scabbard bearing the Lungmen Guard Department emblem.

With that movement, several people in suits and black bowler hats emerged from nearby alleys. They carried all kinds of weapons: swords, daggers, batons, even heavy crossbows.

They were Sicilians from Siracusa. That much was obvious from their attire. Still, Roy really wanted to know how these people had gotten past the guards at the city gates.

But he had no time to think about that now. These people had clearly come with hostile intent!

At that moment, Roy picked up his radio and pressed the call button.

"This is Special Operations Group officer Roy, calling Command Center."

"Command Center received. State your situation."

As the dispatcher's voice sounded through the radio, the Sicilians had already launched their assault. Though they were not a professional army, they were clearly a professionally trained gang. Before the Sicilians wielding melee weapons charged, those carrying heavy crossbows had already fired bolt after bolt.

Fortunately, Roy's reactions and speed were fast enough. Otherwise, he might have already been turned into a sieve.

"A violent gang incident has occurred in District E of Lungmen. We have engaged the suspects. Requesting backup!"

"Command Center received!"

Roy clipped the radio to his clothes and drew the firearm loaded with ordinary rounds and etched rounds in his free hand.

Bang!

Bang!

Two crisp gunshots echoed through the early morning streets. Almost immediately, two Sicilians fell, though they had not lost their lives. Roy had not targeted vital areas.

"Draw Blade—Slash!"

As the second wave of bolts came flying in, the blade at his waist flashed from its sheath. Then, silvery-white sword energy shaped like a crescent moon burst forth. Though it lasted only an instant, it cleaved every incoming bolt in two!

Roy's movements did not end there. As he turned, he assumed a blocking stance. At that moment, a faint aura spread outward from the blade held before him.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

Crisp rings like arrows striking a steel plate sounded as the bolts fell. This was Block, merely one of the basic techniques of Shadow Ghost Swordsmanship, yet it possessed an exceptionally powerful defensive effect. Judging by what had just happened, even a firearm loaded with etched rounds would not be able to break through Roy's defense from the front while he used this move!

The only thing left to determine was whether it would remain this effective against someone stronger than himself.

"You're surrounded! Drop your weapons and surrender!"

After issuing that warning, Roy was already among the Sicilians ahead of him. Giving the enemies before him almost no time to react, he thrust his saber!

With a faint silver gleam, the standard-issue saber collided with the weapon in his opponent's hand. Almost instantly, the short sword snapped in two!

The foundation of Shadow Ghost Swordsmanship was weapon mastery. This meant that Roy possessed an almost innate advantage over others, whether in the use of weapons or his understanding of their construction. Meanwhile, Weapon Breaker could enhance a weapon's performance at the cost of its lifespan. Thus, while Roy held nothing more than a standard-issue saber commonly found throughout the Guard Department, its performance had already far surpassed its original limits!

Surrounded as he was, he seemed like a god of war. These Sicilians simply posed no substantive threat to Roy!

Besides, because Roy was among the Sicilians wielding melee weapons, those heavy crossbows had lost their firing angle—unless they did not want their companions to survive!

After all, this was reality. There was no setting here that ignored friendly fire!