Chapter 137 Nightmare Night

High-level beheading… complete annihilation… After hearing Dekar’s words, everyone fell into a deathly silence. After a full half-minute, rustling whispers began, even escalating into a fierce quarrel.

“Beheading operation? When did it start?!”

“So… so, tonight, we are going to uproot the Evil Claws?”

“This is too sudden, too fast.”

The intelligence Dekar threw out was too terrifying, like a depth charge, shattering the calm surface and raising waves several meters high.

Some were happy, some were fearful, and some were surprised and amazed by the City-State Council’s hidden depths.

Sirian remained silent, his gaze fixed on the ground. This series of sudden events had shattered his original plans and, at the same time, made his thoughts incredibly chaotic.

“Is it going to end like this?”

Sirian murmured to himself.

No matter what, he couldn’t have imagined that the revenge against the Evil Claws would conclude in such a way. What he found even more unimaginable was that the seemingly bloated and slow City-State Council could have such an efficient side.

“Alright, quiet.”

Dekar spoke up to maintain order, “The specific details of the operation have been distributed to all team leaders. Please act according to the instructions and make sure all conflicts end tonight.”

Sirian turned to look at Dailin. He seemed a little calmer than the others, but only a little. He probably only knew the truth half an hour earlier than ordinary staff like Sirian.

“Then…”

Dekar tapped the armrest with moderate force, his calm gaze sweeping over everyone.

“Begin the operation.”

…Heer City after curfew was silent, but this silence was not peace. Instead, it was a bowstring pulled to its limit, the held breath before a beast’s pounce.

Suddenly, the silence shattered.

A dull engine roar came from deep within the city, and streams of iron silently emerged from the shadows of various districts.

The elites of the City Guard Bureau moved out in full force. They stepped onto the empty streets, their heavy boot soles crushing puddles, the sound exceptionally clear and grating in the deadly silence.

There were no slogans, no mobilizations, only cold breaths in unison.

At a certain moment, slaughter suddenly descended.

“Bang!”

A dull explosion abruptly erupted from an old alley in the southeast, immediately followed by its echo being muffled by a silencer. Further away, the roar of a shotgun came from the industrial area, along with the horrifying shriek of some non-human creature.

“Fire! Fire!”

The officers roared.

The howling was like rusted iron scraping over bone, while muzzle flashes briefly tore an orange-red gap in the fog and darkness, illuminating splashing dark fluid and the outlines of twisted limbs.

The screech of a chainsaw suddenly rang out, accompanied by the terrifying noise of metal grinding against bone or carapace, then abruptly ceased, leaving a chilling void that made all who heard it imagine what horrors were unfolding in the darkness.

A flamethrower spat out ferocious dragon’s breath at a street corner, the golden-red flames briefly dispelling a small patch of darkness, illuminating the frantically dodging, indescribable twisted shadows, and the carbonized, charred giant claw marks on the walls.

The sound of shattering glass, the dull thud of collapsing walls, short and desperate roars… various chaotic and fragmented sounds of gunfire came from all directions, like a festering gangrene erupting within the city, one after another.

“This scale, if you didn’t know, you’d think Heer City was in a civil war.”

Dailin stood on the high wall, overlooking Heer City. Fires were visible everywhere, and sirens screamed incessantly.

“More than that, I’m more concerned about what this ‘beheading operation’ is all about.”

Sirian emerged from the shadows beside him, puzzled, “Without any warning, the high-level members of Evil Claws are all dead? When did the City-State Council become so efficient?”

“Perhaps… we are just small fries.”

Dailin imagined, “How could they inform us in advance about such a major operation?”

Both Sirian and Dailin, in the end, were merely Rank Two existences. They were skilled in the lower ranks, but from the perspective of the entire City-state, they were just one of many.

Sirian shook his head, “Perhaps it’s too smooth. It makes me feel uneasy.”

In the past, Reverse Falcon had used absolute violence to purge the filth of Heer City. Now, Dekar had completed the reckoning of Evil Claws with a mysterious beheading operation.

“Don’t overthink it, our assigned work isn’t finished yet.”

Most of the tasks assigned by Dekar were surprise attacks, targeting various Evil Claws hiding spots for eradication, leaving no Chaos Follower or Spawn of Evil untouched.

The endless sounds of fighting within Heer City came from this, and it was unknown whether the citizens could sleep peacefully, or if nightmares would plague them.

“Ugh, damn it, others just kill and it’s over.” Dailin complained, “For us, we still have to do troublesome investigations.”

“You can consider this the Director’s assessment of you. If you perform well, you might get a promotion.”

Anya said, patting his shoulder as a reminder.

“Stop complaining, time is of the essence.”

Dailin nodded and exchanged glances with Sirian beside him.

The three prepared and walked to one side.

At the junction of the high wall and the river, a fortress grew wantonly on the high wall like a deformed tumor.

It was like a rusted wedge, deeply driven into the steep riverbank, relying on the native giant rock foundation, with trapezoidal towers of riveted armor rising, connected by rugged gangways, forming a steel beehive spanning the waterway.

Its core consisted of several suffocating giant sluice gates, made of multiple layers of thick riveted steel beams and armor, sinking like gravestones into the riverbed when closed, tightly sealing the waterway.

Deep within the fortress, roaring machinery was hidden, driving the gates up and down through transmission shafts and thick hydraulic pistons. The platform at the top of the tower was densely covered with gun muzzles and searchlights, with firing ports and defensive towers guarding all directions.

“Watergate Fortress…”

Sirian looked up at the colossal structure.

This fortress was where the Water Gate System was located, responsible for controlling the lifeline of Heer City—the river.

Tonight, Dailin’s team’s mission was to eradicate the Evil Claws members lurking within the Water Gate System.

Dekar had already coordinated everything in advance. Relevant personnel cleared the way for Sirian, passing through layers of gates and arriving deep within the fortress without any hindrance.

Stepping into the fortress was like falling into the cavity of a steel beast.

The low roar and vibration of machinery were continuous, and massive turbines and units, like burning stomachs, drove heavy transmission shafts, causing the entire steel framework to tremble.

Sirian frowned. The strong smell of engine oil, rust, river water, and the burnt smell of metal Evaporation mixed in the buzzing air.

It was hard to imagine how the Spirit Artisans could get used to such a working environment.

“What should we do next? Find the person on the list and kill him?”

“Don’t be so impulsive. This is the Spirit Artisans’ territory; we need to be more restrained.”

Dailin shook his head, “Director Dekar does not want this operation to be misunderstood as retaliation against Chief Rolf’s faction under the guise of eradicating the Evil Claws.”

Sirian remained silent, only tightening his grip on his sword hilt.

The deep main corridor was submerged by gnarled pipes and cable bundles, and cold riveted armored walls condensed water droplets, extending into narrow maintenance passages like blood vessels.

Soon, they saw a Spirit Artisan leading them through the central control room, where patches of blue and crimson dashboard lights flickered, illuminating the operators’ tired faces.

“What’s going on tonight?”

Although the Spirit Artisan lived deep within the Watergate Fortress, he also sensed the abnormality of the night.

The sudden curfew, the widespread gunfire, and Sirian’s group of unexpected visitors.

Due to the antagonism between Dekar and Rolf, and the many lingering issues in Heer City, the City Guard Bureau and the Watergate Fortress were completely independent systems, rarely interfering with each other.

“Sorry, no comment.”

Dailin coldly refused the Spirit Artisan’s question, and incidentally, presented a resolution from the City-State Council.

No matter how intense the conflict between the two factions, they were always members of Heer City, loyal to the City-State Council. Even the most intense disagreements could never turn into betrayal of Heer City.

The Spirit Artisan saw Rolf’s signature on this copied resolution.

Since Chief Rolf had already agreed to tonight’s operation, he had nothing more to say and could only cooperate with Sirian and the others.

“The person you’re looking for is Daren. According to the schedule, he’s on duty downstairs.”

The Spirit Artisan recalled for a moment, feeling a little uneasy, “Do you need our assistance?”

“Not for now. This is the City Guard Bureau’s job.”

Dailin declined the Spirit Artisan’s kind offer and walked to the deep elevator.

The Spirit Artisan was silent for a moment again, then spoke, “If it cannot be handled properly, I still ask you all to keep the damage to a minimum.”

He reminded them.

“The Water Gate System is a crucial hub for Heer City.”

Dailin nodded, and the three stepped into the elevator, descending towards the surging sound of water.

At the same time, the sounds of fighting within Heer City were faint and continuous.

Dekar, in his high position, fantasized about his ideals gradually becoming reality.