The First Order

Smoke was rising up in the stronghold. What was initially a starry night had now turned into a smoky sky in the middle of the night. It was as though a calamity had suddenly descended upon the stronghold.

Zong Cheng was driving an off-road vehicle through the empty streets as he fled for his life.

Zong Cheng was covered with slash wounds as he tried unsuccessfully to evade the Shadow Door. It was a pest as Ren Xiaosu continuously tortured him throughout the pursuit.

Fortunately, a small group of reinforcements appeared and managed to delay Ren Xiaosu a little. This allowed Zong Cheng to get away from the endless torture of being cut by the saber.

The stronghold residents no longer dared to watch the commotion. All of them hid in their bathrooms at home, afraid that a sudden attack would deal them collateral damage.

The Zong Consortium troops scattered across the stronghold streamed towards the main branch’s manor, with someone giving them orders to assemble through the radio.

The Zong Consortium’s higher-ups in that manor were panicking. They could only hope that it was not too late!

Zheng Yuandong finally made it here as well. He concealed himself on the roof of a tall building and watched the situation unfold. The sky in the distance was filled with smoke and fire, like it represented the Zong Consortium’s future going up in flame.

Although the Zong Consortium was beginning to collapse on the fronts, they could still rely on their vast territory to fight a strategic war if they compacted their defensive lines once more. As Fortress 178 had too few soldiers, if they continued to march into the heartland where Stronghold 146 was, the worry was that their battlefront would get overextended.

But everything changed with the arrival of a young man at Stronghold 146.

In fact, Zheng Yuandong had figured out what Ren Xiaosu was here for. Wasn’t he just looking to kill the core figures of the Zong Consortium? Anyone could have guessed it! However, he did not believe that Ren Xiaosu could achieve that at the beginning.

At this moment, Zong Cheng looked behind him through the rearview mirror and noticed the speed of the pursuing armored being was slowing down bit by bit. Zong Cheng immediately knew why this was as he had also used nanomachines before. They were starting to run out of juice!

Estimating the time, he knew Ren Xiaosu could not handle such a drawn out battle even if he had recharged the nanomachines during the pursuit.

As the manor was just in front of him, Zong Cheng floored it again. The soldiers outside the entrance automatically moved the hedgehogs aside for him. After Zong Cheng passed through successfully, they returned to their defensive formation. Those cold and unfeeling firearms and heavy weapons were all aiming at the end of the long street.

Although Zong Cheng’s father was extremely furious by what he had done tonight, the Zong clan’s patriarch could not bear to see his son die before his very eyes.

Zong Cheng’s father was already 71 years old. Both Zong Cheng and Zong Xiang were born when he was at an advanced age, so they were extremely precious to him.

The Zong clan’s patriarch used to have another son, but he died of lung cancer.

This was considered a secret within the Zong clan. Two years after the eldest son of the main branch had passed away, his wife got pregnant again. Initially, the members of the Zong Consortium were furious and thought the eldest son’s widow had dishonored the family name. However, the Zong clan’s patriarch stood his ground and took the widow, who was also his daughter-in-law, as his concubine.

In modern civilization, concubinage was a regressive practice. Further, she was his own daughter-in-law.

Only then did the Zong Consortium’s higher-ups finally understand what had happened. So it turned out the Zong clan’s patriarch had committed an immoral act. Who else could the widow’s child belong to? It was clear the Zong clan’s patriarch was responsible!

But the Zong Consortium’s main branch was firmly in power, so everyone kept quiet as though nothing had happened. Even Zong Cheng and Zong Xiang were unaware of this.

However, there were also rumors within the family that Zong Cheng and Zong Xiang might not be the biological sons of the Zong clan’s patriarch. After all, the patriarch was so old.

As for whether the patriarch had done any paternity tests, no one knew.

Zong Cheng had already driven into the manor. Initially, the patriarch wanted to punish him severely. But when he saw Zong Cheng’s body covered in blood and wounds, he could not bear to do so anymore. He slapped his face, but that just made Zong Cheng’s tinnitus even worse.

The patriarch held his anger back and said, “Stand aside. We’ll talk about what you did after tonight.”

Someone off to the side noticed that Zong Cheng was still in a daze, so they hurriedly pulled him aside.

The bulky armored being rounded a corner and appeared in front of everyone!

In an instant, all the firepower outside the Zong Consortium’s manor burst with the intention of annihilating the enemy at the end of the long street. But the armored being did not slow down at all. Instead, it sped up and moved even faster!

Zheng Yuandong was standing on the roof of a tall building in the distance as he watched the scene unfold. Under the dark sky, the Zong Consortium’s position was like an insurmountable mountain. A violent storm of firepower was created in the atmosphere, while the aggressive armored being approached it ruthlessly in an unpredictable fashion.

The sound of the steel armor stomping on the ground reverberated like a heavy war drum that was as loud as thunder!

“Is this kid really going to continue charging forward?” Zheng Yuandong mumbled, “The Zong Consortium has called so many troops back here, and Ren Xiaosu should also be at his limits now. He can’t be that fearless, right?”

But just as he finished, he discovered the armored being had picked up speed again.

The cold and unfeeling steel armor had remained quiet throughout the battle. But amid the silence, it seemed to be roaring at the Zong Consortium with rage. The clouds of dust that had been kicked up by stray bullets hitting the ground trailed behind the steel armor like a solitary flag waving in the wind as it charged forward!

“I’m convinced.” Zheng Yuandong sighed. Before this era of the rise of supernatural beings, he was the most elite Qing Consortium spy around. His assassination methods were extremely direct and efficient, and he was a remarkably strong fighter.

Even after this era began, Zheng Yuandong still felt that he could kill them even though they were supernatural beings.

But tonight, Ren Xiaosu had single-handedly upended his thinking. All of a sudden, he understood that the era he belonged to was truly over.

“No, I can’t accept this!”

In his boundless solitude, Zheng Yuandong’s gaze was fixated on the prominent armored being out in the distance. Suddenly, a resolute strength started growing in his heart. It felt like it was bursting with the force of erupting magma, the bombardment of artillery fire, and the destructive winds of a tornado.

That ambition that had accumulated in him over the years burst forth.

A second later, Zheng Yuandong looked at the armored being in astonishment. He had actually awakened his superpower?!

This was the power he had been desiring for a long time. Even after witnessing the birth of so many supernatural beings, Zheng Yuandong had yet to awaken his superpower.

But just as he was about to give up on that happening, the sight of how that young man battled on had triggered the immeasurable unacceptance in him.

This was what shocked Zheng Yuandong the most. He knew he would not have felt so agitated if he did not see that armored being charging forward with such an indomitable spirit.

“Since my power has been awakened, does it mean I can help him now?” Zheng Yuandong wondered.

But before he could come to a decision, he saw the armored being suddenly turn left and run away just as it was about to reach the Zong Consortium’s position.

Zheng Yuandong and the Zong Consortium’s troops were all dumbfounded by the sight. The armored being ran away just like that?

Whatever happened to that indomitable spirit?

Zong Cheng and the others were also confused by the events as they watched from the manor. The Zong clan’s patriarch frowned. He looked at Zong Cheng and asked, “What’s going on? Why did he run away?”

Zong Cheng said, “Can you speak louder?!”

The patriarch felt his blood pressure shoot up again and got the urge to slap Zong Cheng. But before he could do so, the orderlies around them shrieked in agony and pain.

The Zong clan’s patriarch immediately turned around. The young man who had come to kill them had arrived behind them without anyone realizing it!

He was holding a black saber, looking invincible!