Chapter 23

After wrapping up the Ironclaw situation, Damien hurried off to get back to the hospital.

In the back seat of the black Maybach, Damien sat with his long legs crossed, his face turned coldly toward the window. The neon lights outside cast shadows on his face, making his expression even more stern.

He wondered if Sophia and Faye had woken up yet.

Suddenly, the car shook violently as another vehicle slammed hard into the rear bumper. Fortunately, the driver was skilled and quickly regained control of the wheel.

"Lord, someone's chasing us."

Damien had kept a low profile this time, so there were only two escort vehicles on the road. But the attackers came with bad intentions, and soon five or six cars were engaging them.

"Perfect timing!" Damien had a belly full of rage with nowhere to vent it.

Gunfire erupted on the road like heavy rain. Bullets hit the car body repeatedly. The windows were bulletproof glass, but the tires weren't, they were trying to force Damien's car to stop.

Bullets struck the car body with dull metallic thuds. Damien looked back, pulled out his handgun without hesitation, and leaned out the window to fire backward.

His aim was deadly accurate. One car's tire exploded, and the vehicle lost control and careened off the road.

Damien was about to fire again when suddenly a car appeared from a side road, heading straight for his vehicle. The driver jerked the wheel hard, and the car tilted instantly. Damien used the momentum to pull himself back inside, grabbed the handle of the other door, opened it, and hung half his body out into the air, firing wildly at the pursuers.

Each gunshot was accompanied by the sound of shattering windows, the muzzle flash bright and dazzling.

Soon, the enemy's engine was hit. Black smoke billowed out, and the car crashed into a streetlight and was forced to stop.

Another one down. Damien pulled his torso back into the car with a twist of his waist and abs, and the door swung shut.

But there were too many pursuing vehicles. The two escort cars could only ram a few of them aside. Eventually, only Damien's car and one pursuing vehicle remained, racing madly down the highway.

Damien looked back, a cruel smile flashing in his eyes. Then he pulled out an anti-tank rocket launcher from under the seat.

After Ares escaped last time, Ironclaw had learned their lesson and equipped easily accessible spots with anti-tank rockets.

A towering fireball rose on the road, and the pursuing vehicle instantly shattered into fragments.

Damien tossed aside the launcher, "Get back to the hospital, fast."

If he'd been ambushed here, who knows what might be happening at the hospital. Damien wouldn't feel at ease unless he saw it with his own eyes.

The driver floored it, and the car shot forward. Soon the other two vehicles finished off the remaining pursuers and caught up. All three cars headed toward the hospital together.

Within moments, a new message appeared on the Assassin Alliance's hit list website. The message was simple—information about the people who had attempted to assassinate Damien, and their fate.

Pictures of headshots, crushed bodies, and body fragments were posted there. This was Damien's warning.

The Assassin Alliance could only swallow their thoughts and didn't dare make any rash moves.

The hospital was calm and quiet.

Faye had already woken up. She was in decent shape, but she'd been so frightened that she refused to leave Sophia's side for even a moment. Only when Damien arrived did she let go of Sophia's hand, looking at Damien with a pouty face.

"Daddy."

Damien's heart immediately softened.

"Were you scared?"

Damien held Faye in his arms, gently comforting her.

"I'm scared. What if Mommy doesn't wake up?" Faye's lip trembled, and tears as big as beans rolled down her face.

"With Daddy here, you don't need to be scared. Mommy's just sleeping, she'll wake up soon."

Damien couldn't help but soften his voice.

"How about we keep Mommy company together?"

Faye nodded hard. Damien could only hold her as they both stayed by Sophia's bedside.

Sophia had undergone surgery. Once the anesthesia wore off, she slowly came to.

"Mommy, you're awake!" Faye leaned over.

"Mommy's awake, Faye, don't worry," Sophia's voice was a bit weak.

A flash of heartache crossed Damien's mind.

"I'm sorry you got hurt."

Damien leaned down and kissed Sophia's eyes.

Faye's eyes were already red, and she couldn't help crying again.

"Don't worry, I'm fine now."

Sophia's face was pale as she forced out a smile.

Damien brushed the stray hair from her forehead to the side, "Things are pretty dangerous right now. I'll arrange for someone to protect you both closely from now on."

Originally, the protection around them had been discreet, not interfering with their normal lives. But now that wasn't possible. Damien had to compromise.

"Someone's targeting me and threatening you and Faye's safety. I'm sorry you'll have to put up with this for a while."

Sophia smiled gently, "I know, don't worry."

Holding Faye's hand with one hand and Damien's with the other, her heart settled down.

Damien was also pleased by her understanding and secretly vowed to teach whoever was behind this a harsh lesson.

"Don't worry, this will all be resolved soon."

Damien already had a plan for what to do next.

However, something unexpected happened on Ghosthand's end.

Although Sophia's past was hidden, it should have been easy for Ghosthand to investigate. But this time he failed.

Every time he got to a key clue, someone would cut it off, as if someone knew his every move.

"Boss, the lead's gone cold again."

"Damn it!" Ghosthand slammed his fist on the keyboard, cursing under his breath.

"Who the hell keeps messing with me? How am I supposed to explain this to the Lord!"

Ghosthand's jaw was tight, his face frighteningly grim. This time he was going to lose face in front of Damien.

No matter what, Ghosthand still reported to Damien.

Damien was somewhat surprised but also felt it made sense. Sophia's background was at the root of this tangled mess. If they could figure that out, many things would become clear. It was no surprise that whoever was behind this would try to stop them.

"Put it on hold for now," Damien spoke after pondering for a while.

"Next, you need to clear the way for Shadow Sect's next operation."

"Yes, Lord," Ghosthand secretly vowed that this time he absolutely wouldn't let Damien down again.

And Shadow Sect's next operation was to go after the Assassin Alliance.

This time, all three of Shadow Sect's killer squads would mobilize.

In a spacious hall, Damien was assigning combat missions, and his subordinates were already fired up for battle.

"Rage Tiger, you lead the Tiger Strike Squad straight to the Assassin Alliance headquarters."

"Yes."

"Falcon, you take people to cut off the Assassin Alliance's funding. Those who know what's good for them can join Shadow Sect. Those who don't—kill them all!"

"Yes."

"Ironclaw, come with me to cut off the Assassin Alliance's reinforcements."

The Assassin Alliance had many strong fighters, but most were scattered around the world. Catching them off guard, the Tiger Strike Squad would be enough.

The tricky part was when the Assassin Alliance sent out a distress signal and these assassins returned from all over to help—that was the hardest part to handle. That's why Damien would personally take action.

"Move out!"