Chapter 940: Incident, Riot

Chapter 940: Incident and Uproar

Over the next few days, Fardin, Aurora, and Raymond scoured the various districts of the Aenia Nexus in search of the Blood Hammer Church. The matter had been reported to the garrison police force, who, after a brief inquiry, promised to track down any suspicious individuals before ushering the trio out the door, clearly showing no intention of accepting help from superheroes.

Although the status of superheroes in the universe had been legalized, local police forces had always been reluctant to cooperate with them. After all, none of them were ordinary people; most superheroes were merely Class B, and Class B espers working for various civilizations were a dime a dozen, nothing out of the ordinary. Those superheroes with flashy nicknames might not even be a match for ordinary agents in a real fight, so most of the time, there was simply no need for so-called superheroes to lend a hand.

Raymond insisted on searching for the Blood Hammer Church on his own. Keeping Han Xiao's mission in mind, Fardin moved into the safehouse Raymond had rented, concealing his strength and offering low-key assistance.

Several days passed like this, and the trio still hadn't found a single clue about the Blood Hammer Church, but they did receive reinforcements from the Punisher Alliance.

"You're finally here!"

In the safehouse, Raymond was overjoyed. He welcomed the reinforcement squad, exchanged familiar pleasantries, and then introduced the group to Fardin and the others. As everyone looked toward Fardin and Aurora, most wore kind expressions and nodded in greeting, while a few remained expressionless and indifferent.

"These two are the Morning Star and Aura I mentioned to you. They're both Class B espers, and Aura, in particular, has an absolutely fantastic healing ability."

"Hello, I'm Morning Star." Fardin offered a slight smile and greeted the crowd. He carried no airs of a Calamity Grade, his demeanor incredibly approachable.

If he hadn't smiled, it would have been fine, but that smile sent a jolt through many present, their heartbeats suddenly accelerating.

Fardin's charm transcended race and gender; his every move unconsciously exuded a unique allure. Add a smile to that, and it was truly enough to kill a man. Even with a disguised face, it couldn't hide his volcanic charisma.

This new companion has such a great aura... many muttered to themselves, exchanging glances.

"I'm Au... Aura." Aurora wasn't quite used to her fake name.

The crowd turned to look at her, their eyes instantly growing much warmer. No one would dislike a companion with healing abilities; who knew when they might need her help someday.

Just as they were about to step forward and get to know their new partners, a discordant voice rang out from the crowd.

"I'd like to ask, why do you want to join the Punisher Alliance?"

Everyone followed the sound, their faces showing helpless resignation. The speaker was none other than the highly suspicious Celi.

"Because he invited us," Aurora shrugged, pointing at Raymond.

"You're both Class B espers. Joining us just because of a simple invitation, doesn't that seem suspicious? You hadn't even heard of the Punisher Alliance before, and now you're joining on a whim, changing your minds so easily? Heh, I'd rather believe you've been plotting this all along." Celi's tone was cold; everything was too coincidental, leaving him no choice but to be suspicious.

Fardin just smiled, offering no defense. Worried he might take offense, the others hurriedly stepped in to mediate. Fardin's first impression had been so good that they couldn't help but speak up for him.

—He's so handsome, he must be a good person!

Celi's eye twitched as he barely resisted Fardin's charm aura. Brushing past him, his sidelong gaze fixed on Fardin as he said coldly, "I'll be watching you. If you have any ulterior motives, don't blame me for being rude."

With that, he strode away.

Because of Celi's behavior, the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward. Raymond stepped forward, patted Fardin's shoulder, and comforted him, "Ignore him. He's always like that. He targeted me when I first joined, too."

"It's fine." Fardin gave a faint smile.

Seeing this, the others also came forward to chat. Fardin handled it with ease, quickly integrating into the group, which was no difficulty at all for him.

After resting for most of the day, the captain of this temporary hero squad gathered everyone to assign tasks for finding the Blood Hammer Church.

The Punisher Alliance was short on manpower, so a few people had to cover a large area, slowly searching for clues.

Fardin and Aurora naturally stayed together, continuing to act with Raymond. Adding a martial artist hero, the four of them formed a squad to search a rather prosperous district of the Aenia Nexus.

...

The artificial sun gradually set, its blood-red afterglow dyeing the sky, turning it into a ruby veined with clouds. As the sunlight slowly retreated below the horizon, night gradually shrouded the firmament. The brilliant lights of the Aenia Nexus lit up one by one. It was only at night that the Aenia Nexus truly awoke, revealing another side of this interstellar metropolis. It transformed from a weary traveler carrying a suitcase from afar into a heavily made-up, flirtatious, and fiery woman.

Night was the curtain of the pleasure grounds. Travelers and goods from various star systems gathered here, countless people indulging in decadence, only to continue their journeys at the break of dawn.

The crowds on the streets were denser than during the day, a surging tide of humanity. The air was filled with a restless, joyful atmosphere, like alcohol mixed with freshly squeezed juice—pungent, yet carrying a fresh, sweet taste.

The four of them walked down the street, looking around and observing their surroundings. Raymond pushed away a drunken bug-man who had leaned over and said in a low voice:

"The Blood Hammer Church basically conducts blood sacrifices at night. Everyone pay attention, don't ignore the smell of blood, and keep an eye on secluded places."

Fardin gave a noncommittal response. After walking for a while, Aurora suddenly tugged at Fardin's sleeve and pointed at the sky.

"There's a Calamity Grade life signal."

Fardin looked up and saw a flying vehicle approaching from afar, stopping at the high-altitude docking platform of a tall building. A group of bodyguards surrounded a young man, parting the crowd, two of whom unreservedly exuded a Calamity Grade aura.

The passersby around also noticed this aura and looked up. Raymond glanced over and muttered, "That seems to be a big shot."

The martial artist beside him shook his head, "We can't reach people of that caliber anyway. Don't look, it has nothing to do with us."

"That's true."

Ignoring the two beside him, Fardin had noticed in a fleeting glance that the two Calamity Grade bodyguards looked somewhat familiar, as if he had seen their photos somewhere. He always trusted his intuition. Seeing Raymond and the other engrossed in their own conversation and not paying attention to him, he took out his communicator and, through memory transmission, input the scene he had just seen into the device.

"Philip, check who these people are."

"Buzzing, comparing with the database... comparison complete, matching subjects found."

The Black Star Legion's massive intelligent database was also open to ordinary members, mostly running on Philip's subroutines. However, as someone who had followed Han Xiao for a long time, Fardin had the permission to enjoy the functions of Philip's main intelligence. Compared to the efficiency of ordinary members, it was roughly the difference between 3G and 5G.

Glancing down, Fardin's eyes flickered. Philip's database stored information on almost all officials and cadres of the Crimson Dynasty. He found that the two Calamity Grade bodyguards were direct espers of the Crimson Dynasty, while the surrounded young man had no detailed information. Clearly, some unknown force had applied a certain level of confidentiality to him. Generally, those who received such treatment were mostly relatives of high-ranking imperial officials.

"Probably a descendant of a high-ranking imperial official."

Fardin nodded, not minding it. However, at this moment, Aurora, who was right beside him, sent him a message.

"I sensed it. There are four more Calamity Grades hidden in different locations nearby."

Aurora's life sense was a convenient tool for finding people. Unless it was a spatial isolation ability like barrier magic, normal hiding and disguises were useless before Aurora. She could easily detect others' life intensity and judge their combat power accordingly.

Fardin's steps paused. He looked at the locations Aurora had marked and found that these four unknown Calamity Grades were subtly surrounding this area. He didn't know if they were secretly protecting this descendant of a high-ranking imperial official or had other intentions.

"Hmm... it's none of our business, let's ignore it for now."

Fardin said this, but he kept a watchful eye in his heart. He always had a bad feeling, sensing that something seemed destined to happen tonight.

After continuing to search for a while, the group had already left the most prosperous area when Raymond suddenly received a communication from a companion.

"Hurry over, we've found the Blood Hammer Church!" The companion's tone in the communication channel was anxious, with the sound of combat in the background.

"Where are you? Are you already fighting the Blood Hammer Church?!" Raymond asked urgently.

"No, it's not us." The companion's tone suddenly became very strange, filled with deep confusion. "It's not that we found the Blood Hammer Church, it's that they... they're actually attacking a military restricted zone!"

"What?!" The group was stunned.

In their impression, the Blood Hammer Church was a group of fanatical believers who secretly captured people for blood sacrifices. How could they commit the act of attacking a military restricted zone?

For a moment, a sense of foreboding arose in everyone's hearts.

And just then, everyone noticed that the ground beneath their feet seemed to be faintly trembling.

Boom!!

A blinding strong light came from afar. One dazzling explosion pillar after another rose from several districts in the distance, the firelight illuminating the night sky, incredibly eye-catching.

Whoosh—the shockwave swept over like a mountain of water, like a hurricane rising from flat ground. Even though they were in this area, they were also affected, the gale blowing their hair into a frenzy.

The firelight surged under the night sky. Countless passersby around looked shocked, stopping in their tracks and turning their heads to look toward the site of the explosion.

"Something's wrong!"

Fardin frowned.

This was the heavily guarded Aenia Nexus. Such a massive commotion could not have been caused by a second- or third-rate organization like the Blood Hammer Church.

'Preconceived notions, misled by Raymond's guess. The ones causing trouble in the Aenia Nexus aren't just the Blood Hammer Church; there might be a grander scheme.'

The thought had just flashed through his mind when a piercing alarm suddenly swept across the entire city. Garrison warships launched one after another, streaking across the sky and rushing to the various explosion zones.

In the next instant, the passersby erupted into sheer pandemonium.

...

Bang!

A warhammer traced a streak of silver light, crushing the skull of an Aenia Nexus garrison esper and splattering the ground with a pool of crimson blood.

The Bloodhammer Bishop, leading a vast host of Bloodhammer clerics, surged against a corner of the military restricted zone, engaging the garrison troops in fierce combat.

Espers clashed and slaughtered one another, while the surrounding defense turrets and mechanical vehicles unleashed a frenzied barrage upon the Bloodhammer Church's ranks; volley after volley of dark energy rays battered the clerics' magical shields, continuously annihilating them until not even a speck of ash remained.

Amidst this theater of war, the Bloodhammer Bishop was utterly invincible, unleashing the might of a Calamity-grade powerhouse as he charged left and right, his warhammer turning the tide of battle and shattering anything that stood in his path; the high-tier forces of the Aenia Nexus were not permanently stationed at their outposts and had yet to arrive, with reinforcements still en route.

Gripping his hammer with both hands, the Bloodhammer Bishop slammed it into the ground, causing eerie red magical runes to illuminate the weapon and his body; the blood pooling on the earth seemed to evaporate, transforming into vast clouds of crimson mist that coalesced in midair to form a colossal, grotesque upper torso, as a frenzied energy surged from the void to inhabit the swirling red fog.

In the next moment, two sun-like orbs of light ignited upon the face of the red mist, resembling eyes, as a certain consciousness descended.

Volatile magical energy surged from within its form, shooting forth clusters of vivid red magical arrows that rained indiscriminately upon the battlefield; if they struck a Bloodhammer cleric, the cleric's body would flush crimson as if blessed, their wounds gradually healing and combat prowess significantly enhanced, whereas if they struck an enemy, the victim's skin would bulge as if writhing with tiny serpents, their blood flowing backward and suffering grievous trauma.

This apparition was the very "deity" worshipped by the Bloodhammer Church, a higher-dimensional magical entity that had briefly descended through a special ritual, possessing the destructive power of a Calamity-grade being; coupled with the Bloodhammer Bishop himself, it was as if this battlefield were being assaulted by two Calamity-grade powerhouses.

Meanwhile, in several other directions across this military restricted zone, violent explosions erupted as well, for the forces attacking the zone were far from limited to the Bloodhammer Church alone—this was a premeditated, coordinated operation!

...

The tallest central tower of the Aenia Nexus was the property of the guardian of this realm, a veteran Calamity-grade esper serving under a Super-A-class powerhouse, named Gabula.

Gazing through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows at the fires raging across the city, Gabula tossed aside the female creature in his grasp and stood naked before the glass, frowning as he looked down upon the blasted zone.

"Lord Gabula, we have an emergency!" The remote projection of his adjutant materialized in the room, ignoring the trembling woman wrapped in a blanket nearby, and spoke in a hurried tone, swiftly recounting the situation.

"Someone is attacking the military zone where the Evolver Totem is kept? They dare to come to my territory and steal? They're asking for death!"

A fierce, murderous aura spread across Gabula's face as he casually pulled on his trousers, then immediately kicked the floor-to-ceiling window to shards and leapt fiercely into the night sky; his entire body ignited with a robust and blazing gray martial aura, transforming him into a meteor that tore through the night and plummeted toward the combat zone.

At the same time, in the district where Fordin and the others were located, a hidden Calamity-grade fugitive in the shadows saw the gray meteor streak across the sky, reached up to press his short-range earpiece, and whispered:

"Gabula has been lured away, and the other stationed Calamity-grades are rushing to the battlefield; the forces over there will keep those Calamity-grades occupied, and once the riot sweeps across the entire city, we can make our move. Remember, we must strike swiftly and decisively, and afterward, disguise it as an accidental skirmish."

...

Meanwhile, in another undisturbed district of the Aenia Nexus, two unremarkable men stood atop a high-rise, gazing down at the chaos and flames beneath the night sky, one of whom was precisely the shapeshifter who had been surveilling the spaceport days ago.

"The operation has begun."

"Thank you for proving I'm not blind yet."

"I wonder how many of these gray forces hired from the black market will actually survive the night."

"Heh, even if they survive tonight, they'll be eliminated sooner or later, either wiped out by us or judged by the Empire."

"The garrison troops have all rushed off to protect the Evolver Totem; heh, do they really think we went through all this trouble just for a mere Evolver Totem?"

"It's a good thing this isn't a direct colonial star of the Empire, otherwise we couldn't have smuggled in parts for various prohibited weapons; the other teams have plenty of time to spread the unrest across the city—the more places they blow up, the better."

"The guy guarding this planet is the right-hand man of a Super-A-class powerhouse; I estimate this chaos will be quelled before dawn. Hmph, expending so many resources just to buy a single night of turmoil."

"It doesn't matter; if these gray forces die, so be it. As long as we stall until the other team eliminates the target, that's enough for us to report back to the team leader."

"Being assigned a mission this dangerous is truly perilous; tsk, I really envy the other teams..."

The gale tore their conversation into scattered fragments.