Chapter 114 - Grand Exhibition (2) (Patreon)

<---Chapter 113 - Grand Exhibition  | Table of Contents | Chapter 115 - Grand Exhibition (3) --->

[Sasha, inform the Ghosts that we have been compromised - attack every Nest guard in range!] Kyle urged as he shoved his way through the still stunned and confused crowd of exhibition viewers towards the exosuit, pushing them aside violently and drawing his handgun. The exosuit exhibit was at the very end of the warehouse, displayed prominently on a stage of sort elevated, the box supporting it painted entirely in white to give a sleek modern look.

The alarmed Nest guards were already on high alert, one of them already spotting Kyle bringing his Oriental Bloom handgun to bear on the nearest Nest guard. Kyle didn't hesitate to pull the trigger, firing a devastating shot that drilled a hole right between the eyes, gouging out the nose bridge and brain matter behind into a sickening splat as the guard's body collapsed like a ragdoll.



The shot resounded through the warehouse, civilians panicking and scrambling in all directions, trying to find an exit out while the Nest guards began to swarm Kyle, firing at him with no intention of taking him alive. Kyle grabbed the nearest fleeing civilian, using him as a shield against the incoming pellets as he weaved through the frantic crowd. Pellets ripped through the civilian's flesh, dying instantly from the withering barrage that had him bleeding from multiple wounds, frightening the nearby civilians away even more and causing a stampede.

Ignoring the screaming children and sounds of chaos, Kyle finally made it right up to the front of the exosuit display cabinet. In one swift motion, he ducked and rolled, firing shots that killed each Nest guard with precision, taking out a dozen of them easily before he smashed the cabinet with his own fist, the alarm sensors in the warehouse blaring.

Now is hardly the time for subtlety. Kyle already knew that by killing General Javel, the jig was up. He needed to grab the exosuit and run. Reaching out with his hand, he searched for an opening on the exosuit, but instead had to duck and take cover behind the armor suit and the painted stage box itself, intending to use them to protect himself.

Unexpectedly, one of the pellets hit the exosuit from above, the pellet cutting through the armor like butter and nailing Kyle in the left shoulder, the force sending him sprawling onto the ground behind the white stage box in disbelief. He glanced up to see the gaping hole on the exosuit, the metal plates apparently a facade and made out of simple thin wood painted to look metallic. What the-

He had no time to think, not when he was pinned down by countless guards that were beginning to filter in, some gaining a height advantage over him on the catwalks above, trying to get a lock on him. In the midst of the chaos, Sasha's voice suddenly came into Kyle's brain. [Sir, I have eyes on Count Leon. Do I kill him?]

[Negative. Shoot at every Versian - do not hurt anyone from Raktor or other countries. Focus on Harrison!] Kyle needed the assassination attempt to look as though it was a Raktor operation in order to instigate the war. If Sasha killed anyone from Raktor, it may provide plausible deniability to Count Leon and allow him to restart the peace process. He clutched his shoulder, using the Necklace of Healing to channel a soothing green glow onto his wound while he glanced nearby, noticing a few other industrial machinery and furnaces on display right next to the exhibit that he was hiding behind.

With the exosuit being a farce, Kyle had no reason left to stay, reloading the pellets into his handgun once more and checking his clothes. Penchant for Violence! He rolled out of the cover, expertly shooting back at the encroaching surrounding Nest guards, the pellets forcing them to take cover as well and causing the entire warehouse to devolve into an open firefight. Kyle ducked and weaved through the various exhibits, the pellets ringing off the brass of industrial machinery, plates, and pipes alike serving as intermittent temporary cover.

With each move, he took out a Nest guard at a time, dwindling their forces bit by bit till he managed to completely flank a Nest guard, using the pillars and crashes of exhibits as a distraction. Lunging with his free hand, he clasped onto the guard's neck, crushing it instantly and stealing the rifle the guard had. It wasn't exactly as efficient as the Aspis MK2 repeater, but it had a far better capacity for pellets than his handgun did.

Kyle began his counterattack, swerving and diving between the various exhibits, even utilizing a few horrified civilians as bait by forcing them to run out into the open, distracting the Nest guards while he plucked them off one by one. He didn't bother killing all of them, instead rushing for the exit back into the open street where true chaos was unfolding. Explosions rocked the once jovial festivities of the Grand Exhibition, the colorful stalls and tiles now stained with blood, sweat, and crying children trying to wake up their parents. Kyle sprinted down the street, locking onto the nearest escape route, when he heard Sasha fire yet another shot, the trail of the pellet visible to the naked eye as it streaked across the buildings.

[Sir, I can't hit Harrison. There's a man deflecting all pellets, and he seems to be reporting my location.] Sasha relayed.

[Understood. Retreat to the designated hiding spot, but stay above ground and wait for further orders.] Kyle sharply turned into an alleyway, slinking through the cluttered buildings and accessing a manhole that had him drop right down back into the 1st layer of the catacombs. Already, he could hear the sounds of fighting and battling echoing through the canals as Ghosts and Nest guards alike clashed in a growing battlefield, fighting for control over the uppermost level to retain access to Tenar. Kyle made a beeline straight for the main base in the third layer, entering the central chamber to see a clearly flustered Dekar.

As soon as Kyle entered the base, Dekar rushed up to him, grabbing him by the collar and whispering angrily. "What the fuck did you just do?! Did you just put this entire movement in danger?!"

Before Dekar got his answer, Kyle simply clasped his hands around Dekar's hands, easily peeling them off without any apparent effort, overpowering him entirely. "We were compromised. Simple as that."

"Compromised?! We had a plan!"

"And that plan has been found wanting." Kyle didn't stand there idle, immediately heading towards the operations room where Lisa was belting out orders non-stop to the various Ghost squads, while other regular squad handlers gave intermittent updates on the course of the battle. "How long can we hold?" Kyle asked the clearly agitated Lisa who barely had a modicum of brainpower left to spare.

"I don't know, but soon, more and more Nest guards are going to come charging in to find us. We really riled up the hornet's nest this time." Lisa shook her head as they watched other clerks continuously shift squad markers on the previously drawn-out map of the catacombs; Kyle was able to see the Ghost squads retreating in real-time as an infuriated Dekar entered the operation room as well, storming up to Kyle and dragging him aside.

"If I didn't know any better, I'll say you were fucking planted by Harrison!" Dekar spat through gritted teeth. "We're going to lose everything we've built so far at this rate - it would take months, even years, to ever come back to this! Why did you fuck it up?!"

"Everything we've built?" Kyle cocked an eyebrow. "This is everything I BUILT!" He raised his voice far louder than necessary, shocking the frustrated Dekar out of his anger. "And we will not lose anything - in fact, we will gain more than ever thanks to my efforts today. This is just a temporary setback." He ignored Dekar, shoving him aside and returning back to the operations room central table, issuing orders.

"Lisa, I want a slow retreat. Just like we planned. Have the Ghost squads spilt up into three, each of them going to one of the few cities. We will evacuate whatever supplies we can muster and head to Desham. Lisa, you take Ocra and liaise back with Culo. Dekar, you're going to Creuliz with Yona. Sasha, Feldon and I will head to Desham. How long will executing this plan take?"

"If we want to get most of the machinery and supplies out, then it'll take at least half a day."

"Then Sasha, Feldon, and I will hold back the enemy for as long as we can. We will serve as the bait. Once your forces have reached the evacuation point, collapse all tunnels behind you with the prepared explosives. Do not let Nest track you in any way."

"What about our informants up in the city? They are still embedded into the citizens!" Dekar pointed out. "Are we just going to abandon them?"

"We have no choice - if we are to survive, sacrifices have to be made. Do not tell them of our evacuation plan lest they leak it. This stays within us, understood?"

Lisa nodded readily, already having learned from the start to trust in Kyle, while Dekar, on the other hand, was clearly suspicious about Kyle's plan but knew that they could not stand and fight against Nest. They only had two hundred fighters, which would be nearly impossible to hold out against the tens of thousands of Nest fighters and potentially military soldiers that would be deployed to crush them. It would be only a matter of time before their supply routes were cut off, resulting in potential starvation. They all knew they had to evacuate now or perish.

Naturally, Kyle did not tell them the full reason of why he initiated such an attack on Harrison. Before he prepared his defenses, he walked up to Feldon, whispering to him quietly out of earshot of everyone else. "Feldon, send a message to one of the frontline Ghosts. Talk about how it was not our fault for the assassination. Make sure Nest is listening in."

"Got it, boss." Feldon saluted, moving to carry out his task while Kyle began to arrange all of his defenses. The heist of the Grand Exhibition was a complete bust, but only because of the imminent peace deal. Harrison and Count Leon have been in cahoots this whole time. They've been using the threat of war on both sides as a way to control and pacify the population at large. A small smirk grew on his phase as he loaded up an Aspis MK2 repeater. Except now, the two of you will butt heads, and I will be the sole winner.

***

Aboveground, the banquet hall was in an utter mess, the explosion from the railgun's projectiles having peltered the hallway and blasted the VIP room into an unrecognizable pile of rubble. Amidst the crumbling tiles and broken furniture, Nox grunted as he lifted a massive chunk of debris, showing a fairly unhurt Harrison, whose ears were still ringing from the blasts. Other Nest guards had been knocked out fully while President Mornero was groaning on the floor, slightly injured and pinned under a fallen bookcase.

Nox hauled the debris aside, moving over to assist President Mornero and check his breathing. Still alive. He quickly activated his radio, tapping it rapidly in a known pattern. Immediately three Nest guards rushed into the room, their eyes widening at the scale of the damage.

"Get these two men down to the bunker right now!" Nox urged before another deafening explosion rocked the hall, causing screams to erupt from the foreign dignitaries who were now scrambling to safety under the care and protection of their bodyguards. More and more Nest guards came in, forming a defensive ring around Harrison and Mornero as they were escorted out towards a secret backdoor nested in the back of the banquet hall's stage, General Verian already waiting near it with a scowl on her face.

"Look at this mess." She spat with derision. "Your men are useless!"

"Save the blame game for later. We need to get to safety first." Nox ignored her taunt, placing his palm on the surface of the locked door. An arcia engraving unlocked a series of bolts within, revealing a sturdy metallic tunnel that led right to the basement of the Versian Parliament. None of the Nest guards were allowed in, Harrison staggering along the wall in a daze while General Verian carried Mornero. "All of you - the sniper was located on the Gaudy Kinos rooftop. White hair, red shirt. Find her and capture her alive - she's the one who tried to kill Harrison."

The Nest guards scrambled to catch Sasha while Nox slammed the tunnel entrance shut, reactivating the bolts. As he took another step back, he placed his hands once again into the wall, activating the internal lights and summoning a second metallic wall that completely blocked off the tunnel from the entrance, serving as a barricade if someone blew up the door again.

The tunnel led towards a secret bunker in the basement of the Versian Parliament, a location that only the ministers of Versia and other Versian leaders knew of. Harrison let out a groan as he slumped into a chair, trying to rid himself of the splitting headache from the shell shock, while Mornero was carefully fed a healing potion by General Verian, allowing him to regain consciousness gradually. "Wh-who the fuck attacked us?" Mornero flew into a rage the moment his eyes opened, though his body was hurting all over as he tried to shove General Verian aside.

"We haven't figured that out just yet," Nox stated clearly. "Our men are currently trying to apprehend the sniper responsible for the attack. Thankfully, you and Harrison are safe-"

"Safe?! SAFE?!" Mornero burst out in fury, his fists tightly clenched as he struggled to sit upright. Whatever friendly and dignified visage he had worn for the masses melted away like a facade, revealing his true nature. "We nearly died, and you call that safe?! I'm starting to question the necessity of even having you idiots around as security!"

"President Mornero, sir, I-" Nox tried to defend himself, but Mornero wasn't having any of it, continuing his tirade.

"First you nearly fumble the existence of the sweatshops, then you allow a major Nest leader to go missing. Weirdly enough, what follows after is a well-planned heist on Harrison's mansion, clearly informed by said major Nest leader who knew all of the nooks and crannies around his office!"

"We caught the perpetrators of Huriga and his men and retrieved everything of value. As for Yona, it is highly unlikely that she has been caught - the self-immolation engraving can not be disarmed easily. Even if she had leaked critical information, we have changed all of our protocols, including our codewords and messaging patterns. Anyone who obtained her information will not be able to access us."

"It's the Ghosts of Versia. They are the ones who attacked us." Harrison suddenly spoke out with a clear sense of clarity. "No one else has any motive to do so - only Minister Dekar and his ragtag team of rebels will. Tap into their communications network, and listen to all the radio chatter quickly!"

Nox complied, pulling up an arctech radio installation embedded into the wall of the secret bunker, neatly tucked away in the corner. He tuned the channels, suddenly noticing a strange sound on one of them, and hurriedly turned the dial, locking onto the message.

[...don't know who attacked them. We're looking for the assassin - white hair, red shirt. No known alias nor registration found of the suspect. Whatever she did jeopardized our operation, and we had to wait until we could evacuate. Once we're ready to move, retreat to the third layer.] Feldon's voice carried over the waves, all four of them hearing it in the enclosed underground space of the bunker.

"It's not them?" General Verian scratched her chin. "Or do they know we're listening in?"

Harrison fell into a pondering state, a far cry from his jovial performance back in front of the public before. On the other hand, Mornero was still not done venting on Nox, still content to blast him fully with everything he had in the tank. "And to think we don't know despite having a supposed full control of the catacombs. I was assured that Nest had a full understanding of the catacombs, but lo and behold a third layer! How is it that to this day, we still don't know where Minister Dekar is after Yona captured him?!"

"Sir, I guarantee that my best men are on the hunt. We will have their locations sniffed out by the day's end, third layer or not." Nox bowed apologetically, though his own fist was clenched, Nox preventing himself from retorting back to his employer.

"Not good enough. If that intercepted communication is to be believed, we won't be fast enough." Harrison tapped his finger on the holster of his chair. "Where is Count Leon? Was he attacked, too?"

"Negative, sir." Nox shook his head. "The only three shots were aimed at the prisoner wagon and you."

Harrison's expression darkened. "Then there's another real possibility. Count Leon has betrayed us."

Mornero's eyes widened for a moment before he slammed his fist onto the chair. "That scoundrel, I always knew his hunger would be insatiable. We should have never agreed to such an escalation of military power with him. The assassination was targeted at us so he could utilize the chaos to sweep all of Versia in one fell swoop!"

General Verian nodded in agreement. "Count Leon had always been vocal about restoring the pride of the Yual Dominion for the loss in the independence war. Even if it was the Ghosts of Versia who carried out the assassination, there's no doubt in my mind that the two are linked. Count Leon may be funding the rebels directly himself!"

The bunker fell into contemplative silence as Harrison and Mornero came to grips with the changing tides. Just a few minutes ago, they were preparing to sign a peace treaty that would solidify their rule, yet now it had all come toppling down. "This isn't good, not good for business..." Harrison mumbled to himself. "If the war really happens, Versia may be lost forever."

"I'll be damned if I let that Count Leon get the last laugh!" Mornero punched the air with anger. "I'll fight to my fucking last breath to keep Versia alive at all costs!"

"If Count Leon had been planning this attack all along, then he is surely aware of our military capabilities. He must be initiating a surprise attack as soon as he returns back to his military base." General Verian pointed out, clearly suspicious of anything Raktor. "We cannot let him escape Tenar scott-free, this would be like letting ourselves be robbed!"

"Nox, get your best men and chase down Count Leon, wherever he is. I don't care if he is in a convoy or not. Capture him alive and bring him here to us!" Harrison ordered.

"But sir, if we attack him, it may very well be a declaration of war! Perhaps we should investigate the situation further-"

"Nox, who is your employer?" Harrison interjected.

"That would be you, sir."

"And did I hire you for your strength or for your inane mind to question my ORDERS!" Harrison roared. "Count Leon could be laughing all the way to the bank, and while we sit on our asses and figure out who attacked us and who didn't, tens of thousands of Raktor troops would be gathering on the border, preparing for a first strike. And under no fucking circumstances will I let the name of Harrison Industries be tarnished like this, to be dragged through the mud being caught with our pants down. You will hunt Count Leon down like the Yual dog he is and bring him to ME!"

Nox nodded, leaving the bunker with haste, while Harrison looked at General Verian. "Order a general mobilization now. Mornero, it's time we declare a state of emergency. Utilize the assassination attempt to announce a curfew and lock down every damn entrance and exit in and out of Tenar. No one moves without our permission!"

As soon as Nox cleared the tunnel, the first announcements of martial law were already sweeping the city, and arctech radio channels were hijacked to explain the situation. Nox ignored the waves of panic among the citizens, instead tapping his arctech radio again. "Get me my top Tigers, now. Where is Count Leon?"

[Sir, he's leaving the city in his wagon convoy.]

"How many escorts?"

[Fifty arctech knights, armed with repeaters.]

"Get every nearby Nest squad to immediately attack them. Make sure they don't leave the city!" Nox ordered hastily as he began to dash through the buildings, his armor's engraving glowing with energy as his speed was accelerated bit by bit, each stride getting easier than the other until he was basically stepping on air, swooping past the frantic crowds of cowering civilians.

With each stride, Nox had one of his Tigers joined him - an expert warrior trained in assassination and speed, able to keep up with Nox's enhanced speed, racing down through the streets towards Count Leon's convoy. By the time he had arrived there, ten Tigers were already with him, the group leaping up onto the rooftop and obtaining a bird's eye view of the fight breaking out near the city's main gate.

Just fifty meters before the city gate, Count Leon's convoy was still functional, inching forward as arctech knights aimed their Aspis MK1 repeaters towards the surrounding Nest guards and Versian military, the captain of Count Leon's knights shouting at the top of his lungs. "Obstruction of the Count's path can be considered an act of war, martial law or not. You will provide passage for my master out of Tenar!"

The city guards, who had now shut off the city gate, confusedly looked at each other, the standoff tense as neither side dared to fire a shot. Even the Nest guards who had answered Nox's call to gather here were unsure, knowing that any wrong mistake might trigger a cascade of events that had unforeseen consequences. Furthermore, it was clear that Count Leon's escorting knight contingent of fifty were far superior in both training and equipment.

That same hesitation that rested among everyone did not bother Nox. "Kill everyone but Count Leon." He spoke calmly, prompting the ten Tigers to leap off the rooftop, diving straight towards the Raktor knights who had formed a defensive perimeter around the convoy.

As one of the Tigers dived in headfirst, two sharp blades emerged from his wrists, slamming straight into the weak flesh between the shoulder and the neck of his target Raktor Knight, blood instantly spurting out. The Raktor knight instinctively grabbed the Tiger's arm, crushing it with a devastating punch, though the Tiger nimbly leaped backward, using his uninjured hand to fire a pellet at one of the convoy drivers, killing him in one hit.

That single shot set off a bonfire of anger, each side instantly firing without abandon and clashing with swords, steel, and fists alike in a sea of combatants. Nest guards fired indiscriminately into the convoy, killing some of Count Leon's servants and knights, while the Tigers were slowly pressuring the knights to retreat further.

"Protect the Count!" The knight captain let out a rallying cry, the knights chanting in response before pushing forward with renewed vigor, some of the knights forcibly charging the city gate and trying to storm the tower. However, the city guards held firm, protecting the gate's mechanism and funnelling the attacking Raktor knights into a tight space and killing them easily.

Nox smiled with satisfication, knowing that Count Leon was not going anywhere as he descended gracefully from the rooftop himself, his armour bearing the brunt of his landing. As he recovered to a standing posture, a loud creaking sound suddenly came from the gate mechanism room, the city gate slowly inching upwards and revealing the distant horizon filled with trees.

"PUSH! PUSH FORWARD!" Emboldened by the opening gate, the knights fought even harder than ever, the Nest guards no match against their prowess and equipment alike. Even the Tigers were beginning to find it hard to stop or even kill the knights, the knights being the cream of the crop of Count Leon's retinue.

"Get that city gate under control!" Nox roared, himself making a beeline for Count Leon, only to come face to face with the knight captain himself, who immediately fired the Aspis MK1 repeater at Nox. Nox used his diamond-shaped arm shields to deflect the pellets, the armor he wore from head to toe hardly fazed by the incoming barrage. As soon as the pellets petered out, Nox charged ahead, clashing with the knight captain's sword head-on.

As they exchanged blows, punches, and kicks alike, it was apparent that Nox was not going to best the man in single combat. A dangerous glint in Nox's eyes through the slit of his armor flickered as he suddenly lunged with the tip of his diamond arm shield, stabbing into the waist of the knight captain before retreating quickly.

The knight captain raised his sword, prepared to swing at Nox, when he suddenly staggered back, the veins on his exposed skin starting to blacken with each pulse of his beating heart as he stumbled back and forth. Nox held a grin under his faceplate, using a single finger to shove the dazed knight captain aside and allowing access to the central wagon where Count Leon was held. Any other Raktor knight who tried to intervene was held back by Nest guards and Tigers, leaving Nox free to move.

Just as he reached his hand forward to wrench the door of the wagon open, alarm bells rang in his head as a familiar boom shot towards him, the same railgun almost tearing him apart. By the skin of his teeth, Nox retracted his arm on reflex, using the armshield to deflect the projectile haphazardly, sending it trailing off into a nearby building, crashing into an apartment.

Before anyone could react, the projectile exploded with impunity, digging an entire crater in the building and collapsing it halfway, the resulting debris and rubble that crashed onto the floor kicking up a cloud of dust that enveloped the entire convoy. Nox tried to recover his senses, but the same boom erupted once more, this time a second projectile slamming right into his chestplate. Instead of penetrating, Nox was sent skidding backward, his two feet digging into the cobblestone tiles and dragging them up.

Immediately, the second projectile exploded right in Nox's face, the resulting fragmentation killing anyone nearby and sending him toppling and tumbling down the street, his ears ringing and blood pounding from the sudden shock. He struggled to get back up onto his feet, but his arms didn't listen, vibrating shakily as he could only watch Count Leon's convoy begin to speed up towards the now fully open city gate. The Raktor knights leaped onto the nearest wagon, putting down suppressive fire. "STOP THAT CONVOY!" He bellowed with whatever strength he had.

A Nest guard hurriedly hauled a projectile launcher upwards, mounting it on his shoulder and preparing to fire at Count Leon's wagon. Before he could squeeze the trigger, the same railgun boom echoed, blasting the unfortunate guard into meat paste that was splattered all across the street, the launcher wrecked beyond repair.

Nox could only watch as Count Leon's convoy disappeared into the horizon rapidly, but his anger was now settled on the sniper who had attacked him more than five times. He looked up to see the white hair lady slinging the railgun behind her back, sprinting along the lengths of the walls towards the left, Nest guards firing wildly at her and missing entirely. "GET THAT SNIPER NOW!"

Back in the bunker, Harrison clenched his fist even tighter as he listened to the complete failure of Nox to capture Count Leon, almost about to tear his hair out in frustration. "We were so close to success, to victory! We could have dominated the Yual Dominion's economy to the point where they would entirely rely on us! My business could have soared to greater heights, forming a new commercial empire that would have controlled the entire continent. That damn Minister Dekar is in cahoots with Count Leon, conspiring to bring us down!"

Harrison slammed his chair, getting up and pacing the small bunker room, clearly agitated while Mornero began to call for an emergency cabinet meeting, the ministers all rushing down to the bunker and taking their seats in a conference room within an hour.

"With the declaration of martial law and the attempt on our lives by Count Leon himself, war is almost inevitable. If we do not seek recompense for such an act of war, then Versia would no longer have its pride, and its sovereignty shall be trampled all over by subsequent transgression. It is here that we must put an end to it and fight to assert our right to live and be independent, free from the machinations of the Yual Dominion once and for all!" Mornero explained with determination.

The weight of the situation was apparent to all of the cabinet ministers, many of whom had been put into power by Mornero himself when he ousted all of the former revolutionaries from the parliament. "Starting from today, we shall move into a war footing. Lock down every movement in and out of the whole of Versia and have our conscription quotas raised. I want enough men drafted up to support a second wave of assault if necessary."

"A second wave of assault...?" The cabinet ministers looked at each other with confused glances before the finance minister finally spoke up. "President, sir, wasn't the military policy to be a defensive one? Furthermore, calling up enough men to support a second army would have our economy crashing in one fell swoop. Riots and protests might begin almost immediately if we do so!"

"Do you not comprehend the reality of the situation that we're in?" Mornero's voice lowered to a whisper. "The fate of Versia is at stake! Within a week, Count Leon will have his men mobilized and attacking us with full force! There is no time for worrying about the economy or worrying about the poor sentiments of the citizens. This is SURVIVAL! Do you really think Count Leon is going to return to Raktor and not do anything after he just tried to kill us? To kill me?!" He slammed the conference table in anger before jabbing his finger right at the finance minister. "You will support the conscription, and you will cut every useless piece of socialist bullshit that that idiot Johan and Dekar have integrated into the system. I want every single tenar squeezed out of the population and put into the war effort. Do you understand?"

The finance minister gulped instinctively when faced with the furious glare of "Yes, President. I understand."

"Good. As for the fucking rebels, I will no longer tolerate these rats living in the basement of our capital city and jeopardizing our safety. General Verian, you shall be in charge of a full sweep. You have complete control of Nest, and I want that sniper and Minister Dekar in chains in front of me in two days. Use everything that we have in the arsenal to flush out each and every rat that opposes us."

"Everything, sir?" General Verian cocked her eyebrow. "Some of our weapons are still experimental."

"I understand. Use everything."

General Verian had a sly grin on her face, giving a military salute. "With pleasure, President. They won't know what hit them."

<---Chapter 113 - Grand Exhibition  | Table of Contents | Chapter 115 - Grand Exhibition (3) --->