Starting from the Planetary Governor

A bird leapt out of the curtain of rain and flew high into the distance.

Despite knowing it was unlikely, Ilan Bird still harbored a sliver of hope.

If the Spiritually Energized pigeon he had summoned could make it out and deliver the intelligence, that would be ideal.

This was precisely why they had planned to send Tim Winter into Blackbird City. With this ability, transmitting information would be much more convenient.

But clearly, it would not be that easy.

According to what Winter had said, he had tried before and not only failed but also caused exposure, attracting the crackdown from Blackbird Heavy Industries.

And this time, the outcome was unsurprisingly the same.

No sooner had the bird flown out than a red beam of light flashed across the sky. The Spiritually Energized bird was blasted to oblivion in mid-air.

Ilan Bird let out a slight sigh.

Although it was expected, he still felt some disappointment.

Beyond disappointment, there was sorrow.

He heard some noises, as guards hurried towards the spot from where the bird had emerged.

There lay a Demon Hunter—Orga—devoid of the ability to act, even of consciousness, awaiting death.

Perhaps the people from Blackbird Heavy Industries would capture him alive and then heal him, hoping to extract some intelligence from him in return.

But to prevent this scenario, Winter had already tampered with Orga's body before the operation, ensuring that his already short-lived life would end swiftly upon falling into enemy hands, beyond any hope of revival. Continue reading at empire

Ilan Bird was pained to do such a thing to a comrade, but it was an act he had to commit nonetheless.

And Winter, who had carried out the task, was himself in a position of sacrifice.

After a considerable number of guards were drawn to the site of the bird's release, Winter also made his appearance.

He launched an attack on a convoy of vehicles traveling on the street.

The convoy below descended into chaos, but Ilan Bird could not bear to watch any further.

Every member of the Demon Hunter Squad was elite, not only well-trained warriors but also possessed special supernatural powers.

Yet despite that, it was still an unwinnable struggle.

First, they were vastly outnumbered, with Winter fighting a lone battle;

Secondly, there was a lack of weapons and equipment. The fact that they were able to bring personal defensive weapons at all into Blackbird City was already a feat, as heavy weapons were out of the question—let alone a bomb.

Moreover, the Union had no local base in Blackbird City, and in this highly regulated environment, there was no space for the existence of opposition organizations, making it equally impossible to acquire potent weapons from the surroundings.

All Winter had was a short-barreled laser pistol with almost depleted ammunition.

Again, his supernatural ability—Bird—was meant for intelligence transmission and lacked combat effectiveness.

But still, he went into action, fighting with a conviction that it would be his last battle.

Moreover, what he aimed to do was far from simply going out to die. Although he knew he had no way out once he took action, he still hoped to create as much disturbance as possible under the hopeless situation, to attract as much attention as he could.

This wasn't about charging out simply to die.

He had to kill, he had to be cold enough, smart enough to outwit his enemies, to buy as much time as possible, to draw away as much attention as possible...

Only then would Ilan Bird have a chance.

Orga was already dead, Winter was about to die, all to earn him that last sliver of hope to get out alive.

And now, that chance truly did appear before him!

Winter had indeed done well enough.

His gun suddenly killed a driver and a guard accompanying the vehicle. Then, facing many encircling him, he calmly ducked into a building, exchanging fire with the enemies.

When the mechanical guards with their mechanical dogs stormed the building, Winter had already preemptively moved through the window to another location and opened fire again.

For over ten minutes, Blackbird Heavy Industries' guards didn't just fail to capture him; they were led in circles, which necessitated deploying more personnel. Even the convoy that was initially set to leave the city to bring in more inhabitants into Blackbird City had to be halted. Many guards disembarked and joined in the effort...

This was the opportunity Bird was waiting for.

Accompanying him was Cisney—the child left behind by the family that had taken in and sheltered his fellow warriors—and they both slipped out of the room and made their way down to the entrance on the first floor.

Cracking the door slightly, Bird looked around. Utilizing his innate Spiritual Energy, he sensed for mental targets in the vicinity and determined that their attention was likely not on his location.

It was a good time to make a move.

He turned and emphasized to Cisney once again, "From now on, you must obey me. Without my permission, you can't make any sound at all. Whatever I tell you to do, you do it, understand?"

"I know," Cisney nodded nervously, "Brother Winter had already explained it to me before."

"Good, then follow me."

When Winter and Bird were discussing the operation plan, they didn't whimsically decide to involve a child. Even though Cisney's parents had not betrayed them while helping Winter and Orga hide, they had also made a promise to Cisney's parents that 'if there was a chance, they would definitely help their son escape,' but...