In an instant, the other vehicles in the convoy slammed on their brakes and came to an emergency stop.
"The rear formation becomes the front! Escort the senator out of here!"
As expected of professionals, the bodyguards reacted with remarkable speed when the attack came.
The bodyguards in the black business vans at the front quickly got out. Using the vehicles as cover, they established a temporary defensive line and bought precious time for the senator's evacuation.
The other bodyguard vehicles swiftly adjusted their formation as well, safely protecting the senator's car at the center and ensuring he could retreat safely.
However, against an enemy whose strength vastly exceeded theirs, even the bodyguards' professionalism could not turn the situation around.
"Senator, didn't expect this, did you? I came to find you!"
As an undisguised figure stepped out of the firelight, more than a dozen Wraiths appeared from all directions. Thick resentment radiated from them, sending chills down everyone's spine.
The sound of flesh being torn apart followed at once. Before the convoy's drivers could react, the Wraiths tore them to pieces on the spot.
The Senator's Death
The Wraiths' attack power was indeed not high, but that was only compared to units of the same rank.
For ordinary people, the Wraiths' attacks were still lethal.
Still, they were professional security personnel. The drivers' gruesome deaths did not frighten the guards protecting the senator.
"Open fire!"
At the command, the bodyguards raised their guns and fired at the Wraiths.
Yet it was exactly like what had happened on the battlefield in Y City years ago. Against incorporeal Wraiths, their firearms were utterly powerless.
The dense barrage of bullets passed through the Wraiths' bodies without causing any harm.
The bodyguards realized that ordinary weapons were completely ineffective against the Wraiths.
"This is... Moros?!"
The instant the senator saw the Wraiths, he understood who was behind the attack.
Moros—the thug who had once led an army of the dead into Y City and killed Mayor Yang—had come for him.
"Damn it! Reverse! Reverse!"
The senator angrily gave the order, trying to escape the Wraiths' pursuit as quickly as possible.
Hearing the senator's command, the bodyguard in the sedan immediately sprang into action.
He quickly unfastened the driver's seat belt, preparing to push the corpse out of the vehicle.
Clearly, the bodyguard intended to drive himself to ensure the senator's safety.
However, he seemed to have forgotten something important.
Just as the bodyguard was about to move into the driver's seat, a Wraith ignored the bulletproof window capable of withstanding anti-materiel sniper rifle rounds and charged into the sedan.
"No! Don't! Don't come closer! Aaah!"
Amid the bodyguard's screams, the Wraith swung its claws and tore him into chunks.
Blood sprayed everywhere, and chaos filled the sedan.
"Bleurgh..."
Having witnessed the scene firsthand, the senator's secretary immediately vomited.
Faced with such a sudden and horrifying sight, he could not endure the psychological pressure.
The senator himself, however, displayed extraordinary composure and poise.
He quickly shoved open the door and threw himself outside without hesitation, successfully escaping the sedan that had become a slaughterhouse.
Just as he jumped out of the car, the senator heard his secretary's miserable scream.
Apparently, the secretary had suffered the same fate as the bodyguard.
Damn it! Once I survive this...
As he got to his feet, the senator was shocked to discover that the surroundings had suddenly become abnormally quiet.
The Wraiths' noisy howls and the bodyguards' dying screams had all vanished.
It's over!
With the senator's intelligence, how could he possibly fail to understand what this silence meant?
It clearly meant the battle had been completely decided, and all of his guards had died!
"Clap, clap, clap..."
As if answering his inner suspicions, a crisp round of applause came from ahead.
Following the sound, the senator saw a black-robed boy of twelve or thirteen enter his field of vision.
"As expected of the famous Senator. Your mental fortitude is truly exceptional."
Moros lowered his hands and stared at the influential man who had once made Mayor Yang tremble with a single phone call.
The senator before him was no longer the impassioned speaker who once addressed the Mu Continent Parliament with sweeping confidence.
His former self-assurance and authority had vanished without a trace, replaced by profound fear.
Though he tried his best to remain calm, reason told him that he would likely not escape disaster today.
That realization, coupled with his fear of death, made the senator's entire body tremble uncontrollably.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Moros—the Moros who lost his parents because of your orders."
As the words left his mouth, Moros no longer concealed his malice.
Suffering!
"Argh!"
Under Moros's spell, the senator let out a miserable howl.
He had never experienced such bone-deep agony before. His body shook violently in pain, completely beyond his control.
His face was pale, cold sweat poured down his brow, and his eyes were filled with terror and helplessness.
The senator tried to struggle, but his body seemed bound by invisible chains, leaving him unable to move.
"Do you know? If Fuyuan City hadn't suddenly imposed traffic restrictions today, I really wouldn't have known you had arrived already."
Moros first placed a Weakness Curse on the senator, ensuring he no longer even had the strength to struggle.
Only then did he step forward and tell the senator, trembling under the power of Suffering, how he had found him.
Just as Moros said, when he had gone out today to personally scout the location where the senator planned to give a public speech tomorrow, he noticed Fuyuan City's traffic restrictions.
Those unusual restrictions immediately put him on alert.
Moros's intelligence was beyond doubt. After all, he had mastered the power granted by the Hero Panel and could independently cast a fourth-tier Battle Spell.
He quickly deduced that an important figure might have arrived in Fuyuan City. Combined with the senator's public speech tomorrow, the identity of that important figure was obvious.
So, he immediately cast Summon Creature and summoned dozens of Wraiths.
Through those Wraiths, he tracked down the senator's exact location.
Moros had originally planned to strike against the senator tomorrow, but now that he had found his trail, there was no need to wait any longer.
Listening to Moros's explanation, the senator could not help feeling a surge of regret.
He had once believed that his privileges were only natural, an inevitable result of his status and power.
Yet now, for the first time, he hated his own right of passage.
The senator hated that privilege for putting him in this predicament and subjecting him to such pain.
If there hadn't been traffic restrictions...
Before the senator's thoughts could continue, the pain caused by the spell completely shattered his mind.
The intense agony gradually blurred the senator's consciousness. In the end, darkness fell over his vision, and he passed out from the pain.
"He passed out already?"
Moros kicked the unconscious senator, dissatisfaction showing between his brows.
In his imagination, torture and revenge should have been long and agonizing, but this senator had proven so disappointingly fragile.
But soon, he came up with a good idea.
He understood that unconsciousness was a form of self-protection when people endured extreme pain. In that case, as long as the senator could not lose consciousness, the pain and torture could continue until Moros was satisfied.
With an idea in mind, Moros did not waste any time.
He immediately cast necromancy and pulled the senator's soul from his body.
Then, he began torturing that soul.
Unlike the body, a soul could not lose consciousness.
Dark light flickered in Moros's hand—the power of necromancy.
He slowly seeped that power into the senator's soul, allowing pain to spread through its depths.
The senator's soul struggled in agony. Unable to pass out, it could only endure endless pain.
Listening to the senator's soul howl, Moros wore an intoxicated expression.
Overwhelming Victory
Just as Moros was immersed in the joy of revenge, the wailing police sirens snapped him back to his senses.
He turned around and saw a group of special police officers rapidly closing in around him.
"Don't move!"
"You are surrounded! Stop resisting immediately!"
"Resistance is futile! Cooperate, and you may receive leniency!"
"..."
The shouts from distant loudspeakers echoed through the air, while the flashing police lights made everything around them seem blurry and cold.
Looking at the special police officers surrounding him and listening to the calls for surrender from afar, Moros curled his lips into a mocking smile.
"Hmph. A bunch of mortals."
Even with the roar of helicopters echoing through the sky, three police helicopters circling overhead, and harsh spotlights shining directly on him, his voice still carried undisguised contempt.
In this era, when Collapse Energy weapons were still confined to laboratories, weapons like assault rifles posed no threat to him at all.
Moros was no longer the weakling from six years ago who could be harmed by a few pistols.
His Hero level had reached level 24, and his life rank had advanced to Legendary Rank. He possessed power comparable to a Herrscher's.
With that power, the mana shield he deployed could block every individual weapon, including RPGs.
Facing the special police officers surrounding him, Moros shook his head disdainfully.
Then, several head-sized fireballs appeared at his side, blazing fiercely and radiating scorching heat.
"Mortals, I will give you one chance. Put down your weapons, then leave this place."
Amplified by magic, Moros's voice thundered across the entire district. Even the helicopters' roar could not conceal his authority.
Hearing Moros's words, the police officers and special police who had surrounded him with their weapons raised could not help hesitating.
After witnessing Moros's imposing figure surrounded by fireballs, anyone who was not an idiot could tell that the man before them was far more than the so-called "terrorist" described in the orders from above.
The special police officers looked at one another, exchanging glances as hesitation filled their hearts.
It was not only the special police officers surrounding Moros who hesitated. Even the commander on site fell into deep thought.
Through a video link, Fuyuan City's mayor watched as the special police failed to act for so long, and anger rose in his heart.
"What are you doing? Move now! Capture him!"
Having risen to the position of mayor, Fuyuan City's mayor naturally knew that Moros, who had wiped out the senator's convoy alone, was not someone to be trifled with.
But he knew even more clearly that if Moros could not be taken down and the consequences of the senator's death could not be remedied, he would lose his position as mayor.
Before you continue