Chương 63: The Slum Offensive II
"This is not assaulting anymore… It's a mass killing of innocent people already…" Rosseaulyn muttered while watching those soldiers step on the lifeless bodies of the residents from the hideout.
"Stiff… Stiff" The little girl started to cry softly while her hand seemed to reach for one of the corpses that was being trampled by the soldiers.
"Is that your father…?" Rosseaulyn asked.
The little girl didn't answer, but her tears increased rapidly. Rosseaulyn turned the little girl around, embracing her in her chest, shielding her from the gruesome and heartbreaking scene. They tried hard to keep a low profile as Dialla's troops approached.
"Look at this 'beautiful' scene…" Dialla remarked.
"I guess we have wiped out the entire rats inside the alleys…" Victor added.
"Of course, Victor! Have you seen any moving or living creature here?"
"No, Sir. Your tactic worked efficiently, Sir!"
"Right now! All of you should have known how to deal with these dirty rats!
"Yes Sir!"
"Captain Dialla! Received a report from the 'Cleaning' division!" A sergeant reported.
"What is it? They're supposed to have nothing to report; their only job is just to clean the buildings out…"
"They reported that the residents have already escaped before they arrived! Every building they breached into right now is totally empty…"
"How come? We just only started, and they managed to escape in such a short time?! Must be someone passing the message to every resident that they are our targets as well… I heard they have their own channel to pass the message to everyone."
"If that's the case… Shall we ask them to retreat or continue?"
"Just continue! There's no place they can run or escape! If they leave the slum, they got nowhere to go too and will only end up dying on the street! Hahahahaha!"
"You're right, Sir! There is no place for such people in this country!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Suddenly, a call crackled through the Sergeant's walkie-talkie, "Sergeant! Sergeant!"
"Hmm? Division three, what's the matter?"
"The head of the terrorists! We saw him!"
Dialla snatched the walkie-talkie from the Sergeant upon hearing the news, "Give me the walkie-talkie!"
"I didn't expect we could find him so quickly!" Victor exclaimed.
"Soldiers! Are you sure it's him?!" Dialla asked.
"Yes, Captain! It's the skinny man we saw on television! He just took down our men right in front of us and disappeared…" Division three reported.
"Stay alert and watch out for his surprise attacks! I'll head to your side right now! If you spot him again, capture him alive if possible! Don't let him escape again!!!"
"Yes, Sir!!!"
"Ridiculous… You know what, Victor? I was thinking he would just hide behind his men and take the command role only…"
"I'm thinking the same as you, Sir…"
"Oh right… I almost forgot he is a bloodthirsty killer… He's not the type that will only stay behind the line. He enjoys killing and taking others' lives."
"You are right, Sir. He's a bloodthirsty maniac!"
"Hahahahaha! Soldiers! Regroup with division three on the main street now!"
After learning that the assassin was engaging the soldiers on the main street, Dialla hastily made his way to confront him. Once Dialla and his troops left the scene, Rosseaulyn proceeded to guide the survivors to the rendezvous point. As they moved, one survivor finally recognized Rosseaulyn as the Second Lieutenant in charge of Luthernza's security.
"I was trying to figure out where I had seen you before... It's not common to see a woman with such remarkable height. You're the Second Lieutenant overseeing Luthernza!" A male survivor pointed out to the others.
"Really? Then why is she helping us? She told us to trust her earlier on, and it's confusing me!" Another male survivor added.
"To be honest, I already knew who she is when I saw her. I just followed anything she said to avoid getting killed..." The female survivor said.
Initially following Rosseaulyn from a distance, the three survivors stopped and decided to run away on their own. The little girl, who had been walking with Rosseaulyn, noticed the three survivors had stopped following them. She immediately ran towards them, pulling the shirt of the female survivor while continuously pointing at Rosseaulyn.
"What's wrong with this little girl? She's been acting strange since I met her," the female survivor said.
"She seems like she can't speak," one of the males observed.
The little girl nodded. She kept pulling the woman's shirt, wearing a serious expression. Rosseaulyn didn't say anything; she simply observed what the little girl was trying to communicate.
"Girl, what are you trying to tell us? Why are you keep pulling my shirt?"
The survivors exchanged glances, attempting to understand the little girl's intentions.
"She keeps pointing at the Lieutenant since just now..."
"Is she trying to tell us to keep following the Lieutenant?"
The little girl continued to nod affirmatively. The three survivors looked at each other, still unsure whether to trust Rosseaulyn.
"This girl... She saved us earlier on, didn't she?"
"Yeah... If we didn't hide ourselves in time, we would have become one of those under the rubble."
"If the Lieutenant is really trustworthy... that means she betrayed the army?"
"Who knows..."
"What do you guys think? Keep following her like what this child is doing?"
"Let's be honest, if she really wanted to hurt or kill us, she could have done it already. So, I think I can trust what the Lieutenant said."
"Me too."
"Well... I just lost everything... I have nowhere to go... I will just keep following her together with you all," the female survivor said in a very sad tone.
The little girl finally smiled while looking at them. She ran back to Rosseaulyn and held her hand tightly, continuing their journey. Her eyes were full of life, ready for a new journey. Rosseaulyn also smiled back at the girl, amazed by her strong spirit.
"You look like my sister when she is at the age you are now! We used to hold each other's hands like this... but I always let go. No worry, I will not let it go this time!" Rosseaulyn said in a gentle tone.
The girl nodded happily, smiling sweetly.
"She was just crying like a normal child earlier, but now she looks like someone who has accepted her fate and is ready to begin a new life. She somehow managed to convince the others to follow me without saying anything. I was still thinking about how to convince them, but she just helped me out easily. What a brilliant girl..." Rosseaulyn thought.
On the other side, the followers of the assassin pooled all their forces and strength to combat the military on the main street. Avoiding direct confrontation, they strategically attacked from within the buildings, unleashing their shotguns on the soldiers. However, the shotguns proved ineffective against the well-armored military personnel.
Dialla, having just regrouped with his forces on the main street, swiftly issued orders for the tanks to unleash a barrage on all the buildings. The dilapidated structures crumbled instantly under the onslaught of tank shells, burying many of the assassin's followers alive.
"Oh crap! This is not good!" exclaimed one of the followers.
"We couldn't stop or even slow them down at all!" added another.
"Where's our leader?! We can't hold any longer if we fight against those bastards face to face!"
"I guess he's on his way! He asked us to hold them!"
"No! We can't! We can't do it without him! WrghhAhh, I don't care anymore! Just keep firing at those bastards!"
"Damn, I'm out!"
"Just retreat then! I will keep holding this line!"
"Come on! Stop wasting your bullets! You know our shotguns can't deal any damage to them!"
"Then, you want me to just let them keep advancing and see them destroy our home?!"
"Of course not! What I mean is that we should outsmart them!"
"Sorry! I'm good at fighting, not exercising my brain!"
"Me too! So, we should wait for the leader's instruction instead of fighting blindly!"
"But we must do something here as well!"
"I understand... Wait a second! We have the ballistic shield, don't we?"
"Yeah! You are right! You are smart! We can use it and get closer to them! Then we can take them down!"
"Let me see where they are... It's over there!"
"Go grab it now!"
"Woohoo! It's pretty damn heavy!"
"You cover me! And I will shoot!"
"No, you only keep wasting bullets! I'll do the shooting; you hold the shield and cover me!"
"No, no, no! You hold the shield for me, and I will hold the gun!"
The assassin suddenly appeared behind both of them and mocked at them, "Hahahahaha!! You two ain't smart like me!"
"Ohh, leader!"
"Come on, two of you! Even this poor shield can withstand the rifle, but it will not be strong enough to go against the tank!"
"Oh… OH! You are right, leader! I forgot about the tank!"
"Hahahahaha!! What an interesting idiot! You almost sacrificed for nothing!"
"Leader, are you joining us to fight them?!"
"Maybe yes, maybe no… It depends on my mood… But whether I do it or don't, we will still be on the winning side! Hahahahaha!!"
The two followers had no clue what the assassin was talking about, and they both gave him a confused look. While they were having the conversation, the soldiers suddenly stopped advancing, and a booming voice came from a megaphone.
"Erhemm!! Bugs and rats! Stop hiding yourself! All your comrades have fallen and are buried under the rubble while playing hide and seek with us! Show yourself and surrender now!!" Dialla demanded.
"Hopefully, they will stop wasting our time this time…" Victor muttered.
The assassin didn't respond after hearing those words. His face, once excited, now became even more intense, perhaps bordering on maniacal. His sinister laughter echoed through the two followers.
"Leader? Leader?"
"Hahahahaha!! Excuse me! I was just suddenly feeling so excited!"
"Huh? Excited!? Anyway… What shall we do?"
"I give both of you two choices! One, retreat now! Two, watch the show and retreat later on! Go aside and decide for yourself! Hahahahaha!!"
"Huh!?"
The assassin walked away, heading to confront Dialla.
"I said show YOURSELF!" Dialla yelled again.
"Wooh! Mind the volume, Sir! It hurts our ears…" Victor said.
"Stop complaining, Victor! You haven't done anything yet so far! Geezz, felt like talking to the air…"
"Sorry Sir…"
"Tank! Blow those buildings out!"
"Yes Sir!"
The tanks kept firing its shells and destroyed the entire building on the main street. After it stopped blowing, a silhouette appeared in the thick smoke.
"Hmm…? Sir, there's a skinny silhouette in the smoke!"
"Skinny! Must be him! Finally… Finally… Hahahahaha!"
Reporter of News Channel 00: "People of Kothern! As you can see what's happening behind me, the ongoing military operation has addressed some concerns in the slum area and addressed issues related to illegal structures. According to the Minister of Defence, the government has taken action against individuals considered to be in violation of the law, including illegal immigrants and wanted criminals. These measures were part of the government's pre-existing plans to tackle such issues.
"Therefore, the government is utilizing this opportunity to deal with both the attackers and residents who have been uncooperative with the military. Currently, Captain Dialla is once again calling on the attackers and their leaders to peacefully surrender, but there is no indication from them that they are willing to do so.
"As you can hear, there is an exchange of fire again. For safety reasons, we need to take cover. We will pause our broadcast momentarily until it is safe to resume. Stay tuned for the latest updates on the situation!"
"Carmella! Have you seen what they've done in the news?! They are tearing down the buildings and harming people there!!" Vermilion exclaimed.
"The government and the military must have lost their minds! If Rosse were still in charge, she wouldn't let this kind of thing happen at all!"
"Oh dear… Wait a second! Aren't the soldiers very close to our house already, as we saw in the news just now!?"
"Ye… Yeah! They are tearing down the buildings there! My stuff… My precious stuff!"
"And Ayukawa too! The kitty!! They will die! They are going to die!!"
"Calm down, Vermilion! You're making me nervous too! What should we do? Any ideas? Ideas? IDEAS?!!" Carmella said, panicked.
"Let's take a moment to catch our breath and calm down!"
"All right… Huuh… Pheww… No… My heart couldn't calm down at all!"
"We need to go back and save them! What do you think?!"
"Have you lost your mind too?! There is a war going on there!"
"We just need to head back to our house and quickly grab the kitty and your important stuff before they arrive! Don't forget about my special ability!"
"Well… But I doubt whether we can make it in time… At least twenty minutes from here to the slum if we take the bus…"
"I guess that should be enough!"
"Alright then, but promise me! Always ensure your own safety before proceeding further! Got it?!"
"As usual! I promise!"
"Great, let's go!"
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