Smallville District, normally a place of constant clamor day and night, had inexplicably fallen into an unprecedented silence after the earlier battle.
The silence felt oppressive.
Some seemingly cautious people chose to leave Smallville District.
Watching them leave, those who considered themselves cautious and those who were recklessly bold all sneered.
The former mocked them.
The latter scorned them.
They mocked their stupidity.
They scorned their cowardice.
Before long, however, all of those people collapsed.
A thin layer of mist, almost invisible to the naked eye, drifted into Smallville District on a gust of wind.
"The Silent One!"
Several alert people cried out, but it did no good.
They, too, collapsed and fell fast asleep.
Then the ground shook.
A convoy of more than a dozen bulldozers and excavators drove in from outside the district. Like ravenous beasts, they lunged at Smallville District, demolishing the houses-or rather, barricades-along its perimeter.
One house after another collapsed.
Soon, a road leading straight into the heart of Smallville District had been cleared.
"Advance!"
At the command, the military and police units that had been waiting outside the district charged forward.
Weapons in hand, they advanced in squads, their faces grave. Their early success had not made them relax in the slightest.
They knew very well that the real battle had only just begun.
In fact, the fighting came even more suddenly than they had imagined.
Boom!
An explosion blasted the squad at the very front into the air.
"Land mines!"
"Halt!"
Shouts rang out, and the military and police units that had just entered Smallville District stopped, conspicuous as stationary targets.
Bang, bang, bang!
Rat-tat-tat!
Muzzles hidden inside distant buildings began spitting fire, pouring countless bullets into the military and police units.
But...
They had no effect whatsoever!
A short, stout man crouched