Chapter 24

In an underground prison not far from the Assassin Alliance headquarters, Ares's strategist Ash arrived with men to take Milo and Clio out.

"Ash, are we really sending them away? They're still perfectly useful as test subjects."

A refined-looking man in a white coat and glasses said reluctantly.

Ash glanced at him and said coldly, "They have other uses."

"Fine, bring them out."

A moment later, Milo and Clio were brought out.

After several days of torture, Milo was barely recognizable. Both his legs were completely broken, dragging limply along the ground as the men hauled him out by his shoulders.

Thinking he was being taken away to be killed, he started screaming and struggling. When he saw Ash, he became even more frantic, breaking free from his captors and crawling on the ground toward Ash.

"Please let me go, I'm begging you, please let me go. I don't want anything anymore, please."

Milo's voice was hoarse, his pleas dissolving into incoherent sobs.

Ash frowned and waved his hand. Someone stepped forward and dragged Milo away.

Clio was brought out next. When she saw Milo being dragged away, terror seized her.

"Don't kill my son, don't kill him!" She tried to chase after them but was held back firmly.

"Don't kill him, we're useful! I know Sophia's secret! I know Sophia's secret!"

Clio knelt on the ground, pressing her forehead to the ground again and again until it turned bruised.

Only then did Ash show some interest. He waved for people to leave, and Clio was kept behind.

Back at the Assassin Alliance headquarters, Ares was waiting to hear from Ash.

"War God, we have to retreat now. We just got word that Damien is planning a night raid on the Assassin Alliance headquarters."

No one understood Shadow Sect's power better the members of Celestial Temple. Meanwhile, the Assassin Alliance members were still carrying themselves with arrogance, unaware they were about to walk straight into hell.

"Damien again?" Ares muttered.

Ares glanced down at his injured right hand with a flash of irritation, itching for another chance to face Damien.

"We need to fall back now, War God. The Assassin Alliance won't hold out much long," Ash urged again anxiously.

Ares was a bit reluctant but still said, "Take Milo and Clio with us. Fall back."

"Before we go, leave the Assassin Alliance a little something to remember us by. Consider it our parting gift."

As soon as Ares finished speaking, a thunderous roar erupted, and the ground beneath their feet seemed to shake. The enemy attack alarm blared.

"How are they so fast?" Ash said, stunned.

"Let's go!" Ares barked.

Without further hesitation, Ares led his men out of the Assassin Alliance headquarters under the cover of the chaos.

Meanwhile, the people inside the Alliance were in a state of confusion.

"Who the hell is attacking our headquarters? Do they have a death wish?"

"It's Damien—it has to be Damien!"

"How dare he!"

While they were still arguing, Rage Tiger had already led his men in a raid on the outer perimeter of the Assassin Alliance headquarters.

This time he had come prepared, bringing plenty of weapons and ammunition.

"Come on, let's give our old friends a little surprise."

At Rage Tiger's command, dozens of cannons fired simultaneously. The shells whistled sharply through the air and came crashing down on the Assassin Alliance headquarters compound.

After several rounds of heavy bombardment and carpet bombing, the Assassin Alliance never managed to organize an effective defense and was quickly breached.

Rage Tiger led his people forward for the final sweep.

The headquarters compound had been blown to pieces, with ruins and debris littered the ground, along with the mangled remains of those caught in the shelling.

Through the interweaving firelight and thick smoke, a group of well-trained black-clad soldiers moved like ghosts, stepping over blood and flesh straight toward the Alliance's core.

One team was responsible for clearing out any remaining enemies on the perimeter, while Rage Tiger led his men into the heart of the Alliance.

Scattered survivors kept charging out from the ruins, firing wildly in all directions, but they were quickly cut down.

When they reached the headquarters' core building, all the remaining people had barricaded themselves inside and was laying down heavy fire from the windows.

The Tiger Strike Squad immediately set up light machine guns for suppressive fire, allowing their men to push forward.

Rage Tiger raised his hand and signaled. The rocket launcher operator stepped forward, set up the weapon, took aim, and fired. The rocket streaked out and struck the target dead-on.

"Go!"

The building's main door was blown open. Rage Tiger led his men inside, and they opened fire indiscriminately.

Closest to the entrance, a man clutched his blown-open abdomen, his intestines spilling from the wound. He was twitching, lips moving as if trying to speak.

Rage Tiger recognized him as one of the Assassin Alliance's elders. Before he could speak, Rage Tiger aimed at his forehead and pulled the trigger, blowing his head apart.

Rage Tiger stepped over his blood and brain matter and walked inside.

On the other side, Damien sat in his car, staring off into the distance.

"Lord, N is here," Ironclaw came over and reported.

Damien withdrew his gaze and smiled.

"Good timing. Open the door, welcome our guest!"

The Assassin Alliance had branches in major cities, but the first to arrive were other Assassin Alliance members scattered throughout the city.

The two sides clashed immediately. The other side came to rescue the Assassin Alliance headquarters and had no intention of getting bogged down in a fight, but there was no way Damien was going to let them pass.

"Ironclaw, take half the men and flank them from the side. Don't let a single person through!"

"Yes!"

Ironclaw left with his men, and the pressure on Damien's front increased sharply. He used the cover to pick off the enemy one by one.

Damien's tactics worked. Ironclaw soon flanked them with his men, surrounding the reinforcements and cutting off any means of escape.

Soon the reinforcements fell one by one. When the last remaining reinforcement saw the situation was hopeless and tried to cut his losses and fall back, Damien wasn't about to let him go. He took aim and fired in one fluid motion, and the man dropped.

Damien walked over and got a clear look at the man's face for the first time—the Assassin Alliance's ninth-ranked assassin.

The man wasn't dead yet, staring fixedly at Damien. Damien leveled his gun and put a bullet in his forehead.

Bodies lay scattered on the ground, blood flowing toward the sewers like streams of rainwater.

Ironclaw wiped the blood from his face and reported. "All clear, my lord."

"Pack up."

In a single night, Shadow Sect broke through the Assassin Alliance headquarters, cut off the Alliance's funding chain, wiped out all reinforcements, and drove the elders into hiding. From then on, Shadow Sect rose to fame, leaping to become the number one assassin organization, surpassing the Assassin Alliance.

Damien became the true Supreme King of the underground world.

The open warfare was over, but the hidden battles were just beginning. Shadow Sect had taken over many of the Assassin Alliance's financial assets and revenue streams, all of which needed to be slowly absorbed.

Damien would be swamped for the next period, leaving him no time to spend with Sophia and Faye.

Around that time, Ghosthand ran into trouble.

"Lord, requesting backup! My intelligence network is under attack!"

Ghosthand's voice on the phone was unusually anxious.

The power of Ghosthand's intelligence network was beyond question, but relatively speaking, their combat ability was much weaker.

Damien frowned and said in a deep voice, "Hold on."