Chapter 23: The Fall of the Assassin Brotherhood (Patreon)

Night had fallen.

Charles Doyle was currently driving a car, complaining to Cross beside him, "Man, the smell of these rats in the box is really strong."

"Charles, don't underestimate these rats. They're all deadly weapons. If we had more time, I could have brought even more." Cross patted the box while speaking.

Cross seemed quite satisfied with his creation.

The Porsche Cayenne sped down the road towards Brooklyn. The cold night air flowed in through the windows, dispelling the lingering smell inside the car.

Before long, the car arrived near Textile Factory No. 17 in Brooklyn. With a few hundred meters left to the factory, Charles Doyle brought the car to a stop.

Seeing the car stop, Cross was puzzled, "Aren't we going to drive straight in?"

"Let's get out. We still have a distance to cover. We'll sneak over and try not to be noticed," Charles explained.

"Charles, without crashing the car through the gate, there's no way we can get in. Are you planning to use bombs for directional blasting?"

"Or did you bring an RPG in the car?"

Observing Charles get out of the car without heading for the trunk, Cross couldn't quite figure out what was happening. Particularly when Charles didn't seem to be carrying many weapons, it further perplexed him.

Soon, Cross took out a notebook from his pocket and said, "Charles, here's the wax bath formula I promised you."

Charles took the notebook but didn't read it. He simply put it in his pocket and said:

"Cross, don't worry about these things. I have my own way of handling it. Bring your rats and catch up with me."

Both of them jogged until they reached the vicinity of the textile factory.

Charles glanced at the nearly ten-meter-high wall. It wasn't merely a wall; it resembled a fortress wall. Despite the night, guards were still patrolling the wall, and searchlights occasionally illuminated the dark corners.

"Charles, since you have a plan, I'll leave it to you." Cross pressed against the wall, holding a large pet carrier.

Charles, oozing confidence, said, "Leave it to me. Once I break through the door, you can release your rat army. I'm afraid that if we wait too long, they won't have a chance."

In the next moment, Charles Doyle accelerated, his figure quickly appearing at the gate of the textile factory. He nonchalantly affixed an explosive seal and then hid beside the wall. He muttered under his breath:

"Boom!"

The explosive seal ignited instantly, resulting in a deafening explosion. The explosion's diameter was a full three meters, and the wooden gate of the textile factory shattered into pieces.

The explosion instantly jolted awake the numerous assassins within the textile factory. The guards responsible for the night patrol on the wall immediately sounded the alarm.

On the other side, seeing the gate suddenly blown apart, Cross was left dumbfounded. He had just seen something—a piece of paper with unfamiliar patterns and characters—attached to the door.

In less than a moment, the paper had ignited and exploded on its own. The explosiveness of it was not to be underestimated.

Without hesitation, Cross rushed forward while carrying the box. As he approached the gate, he tossed the box out.

In the next second, the box crashed onto the ground, shattering into pieces, and the rats inside scattered and fled.

Meanwhile, Charles had already charged into the textile factory. He aimed at the guards on the wall and fired explosive seal kunai that he had prepared in advance.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Explosions resounded continuously, and even the ten-meter-high wall was blasted down.

The explosive seal kunai, equipped with explosive seals, kept shooting out from Charles's hands, flying in all directions, causing explosions to erupt constantly.

At the same time, Cross, now wielding a gun, rushed in as well. However, seeing Charles Doyle's actions, he was both dumbfounded and amazed.

He fired his gun while commenting, "If the Hand had techniques like these back in the day, the Assassin Brotherhood would have ceased to exist long ago."

"What is that, some kind of seal? Or a new type of bomb?"

Gunshots kept ringing out as Cross entered the textile factory after Charles. However, all he saw were corpses.

Charles moved swiftly with kunai in hand, cutting down anyone who stood in his way.

His speed was too rapid, rendering the assassins unable to land a single shot on him. Even when they managed to shoot a few bullets his way, he deflected them with his kunai.

He continued his killing spree until he reached the second floor, where explosions suddenly resounded again.

This time, the explosions weren't caused by Charles's explosive seals. Instead, it was Cross's dozens of explosive rats that detonated.

The explosions had such force that the staircases leading to the second and third floors were destroyed by the impact.

On the second floor, as Charles arrived, a bullet flew towards him. He used his kunai to split the bullet in half, causing its two parts to fly off in different directions, taking out two assassins who had been aiming their guns at him.

Among them was a repairman who was attempting to shoot. When his first shot proved ineffective, he was about to pull the trigger again.

In an instant, Charles's figure covered a distance of ten meters, appearing right in front of the repairman. He struck with a punch.

"Boom!"

The repairman's head was instantly blown apart by Charles's punch, with red and white fragments scattering in all directions.

The sight before him not only frightened the enemy but also shocked Charles himself. He had never used this technique on a person before, and he hadn't anticipated the immense power it possessed. The scene was also incredibly gruesome.

Charles secretly resolved never to hit someone in the head again—the image of an exploding head was truly nauseating.

Turning away from the carnage, Charles leaped up and landed on the third floor, which was a slaughterhouse. It housed butcher, and as soon as Charles entered, a flying knife was hurled at him. Charles deflected the knife blade using his kunai.

In this pitch-black and eerily quiet room, numerous slaughtered bodies were hanging, creating an unsettling atmosphere.

Charles had no intention of toying with the butcher. He formed hand seals and muttered incantations.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu."

With a large amount of chakra input, a massive fireball, ten meters in diameter and reddish-brown in color, instantly materialized and was hurled forward.

The enormous fireball engulfed the entire room. Whether they were hanging pigs or butchers hiding within, everything was instantaneously incinerated by the flames, turning into roasted meat.

Charles smirked and muttered, "Who said a grand fireball can't kill people?"

He turned around and headed toward the next room.

…

[T/N: I don’t know some of the characters that are mentioned here. If I make any mistake with their name, please let me know in the comment section.]

Meanwhile, on the other side, Cross entered the factory and noticed that most of the enemies had already been killed by Charles. He chose a different path, aiming toward Sloan's study.

But instead of encountering Sloan, he encountered pesticide instead.

"Cross, it seems you really appreciate my research. It looks like you brought quite a few rats this time."

Pesticide held a rat in his hand, the explosive attached to it having been disarmed.

"Sorry, Pesticide!"

Cross didn't hold back. He lifted his hand and fired a shot, as the bullet whizzed through the air.