When the first ray of dawn illuminated the undulating rooftops of the town, Ashley squinted her eyes and gazed at the flight formation embedded in the golden clouds.
The Tribunal’s reinforcements had arrived.
Led by Senior Investigator Dylan Banyan, the tactical squad consisted of 26 members including agents and personal escorts, along with four heavy flying cadavers and suspended light assault cadavers—a grand display of force.
Although Bull Town was in the Isolated Lands, it still fell within the projection range of Union City’s power.
Seeing Dylan’s squad maintaining air superiority and vigilance from above, while tactical units of two or three people scattered into the streets below, Ashley felt a pang of envy. Such a heavily equipped composite transcendent tactical squad was practically overkill for regional conflicts—a dimensional strike.
A young man with a center-parted hairstyle, the tips of his hair perked up and dyed purple, walked up to Ashley. As he questioned her, a tall, elegantly composed female secretary stood beside him, taking notes.
Ashley was on the verge of jealousy. Before recounting the events, she first informed them of the wounded’s locations.
Soon, Nina and Claire received proper medical care.
The remnants of the Boothslot Family were dragged out one by one from their hiding spots, their hands bound as they knelt in a row.
Even those who tried to flee the town were pinned to the ground by aerial firepower.
The traitors from the Seventh Group were captured one by one as well. Captain Roy was innocent; the others would have their crimes judged based on their testimonies, depending on their level of initiative and cooperation.
After hearing Ashley’s account, Dylan Banyan’s eyes flickered. He extended his right hand and said,
“‘Touch of Will’ and ‘Hunger Key’ are important evidence. Please hand them over.”
“I’ll submit them to the Tribunal when I return to Fountain City, not to you.” Ashley refused outright.
She knew full well that if she handed them over now, these items would become theirs. Then, it would be unclear whose spoils they were. Letisia wasn’t in Fountain City, and there would be no one to speak for her.
“This isn’t an order—it’s the law! By legal decree, you must surrender them, or I’ll arrest you.” Dylan’s angular face carried an undeniable authority.
“You should know I’m the Trial Judge’s disciple, right?” Ashley lifted her gaze and asked.
“If you were just from the Jenkins Family, I might hesitate. But since you’re the disciple of the fair and strict Trial Judge, surely you wouldn’t violate the law and tarnish her reputation?” Dylan’s eyes narrowed into slits, a playful smile curling at his lips.
“These are my personal spoils of war. I’m afraid I can’t comply.” Ashley maintained her warm smile.
“Even though you took down more than three transcendents and an important member of the McIntosh Family single-handedly, what are you in the face of a tactical squad of transcendents? Can you stand against the combined abilities of perfectly coordinated transcendents?” Dylan’s smile turned contemptuous as he flipped his palm and clenched his fist, as if grasping infinite power.
“You want to clash with me?” Ashley’s tone sharpened.
“A clash of equals is a fight; otherwise, it’s… hard to describe. Toying? Slaughter? Tsk tsk, doesn’t sound great when it’s against a colleague.” Dylan shook his head rhythmically.
“You’d better rephrase that. If you make me doubt the Tribunal’s trustworthiness…” Ashley’s voice suddenly turned eerie and low.
“And what then?” Sensing the hostility, Dylan puffed out his chest. The space around him seemed to warp, exuding thick killing intent! Every muscle in his body bulged with veins, swelling unnaturally. “In close combat, no human is my match. I can crush steel like mud.”
His fists clenched with cracking knuckles, his nails hardening and sharpening like beast claws!
Daring to talk tough up close because of his overwhelming melee prowess…
Ashley checked the copied ability and sure enough…
“Human Nemesis”—a reinforcement-type functional ability. For a period, it edited flesh and blood, making skin and bones highly inorganic while condensing and compressing muscles for explosive power. Combining strength and monstrous force, it could tear apart armored vehicles barehanded.
In the next instant, Dylan gaped in shock. In his eyes, the petite loli half his height inflated like a balloon, her figure elongating into something sleek and flexible. Though not as bulging as his, her muscle lines were solid and taut, brimming with tension—like a lithe female leopard!
Whoosh!
The air exploded as both struck simultaneously!
Confidence gleamed in Dylan’s eyes like gold. Her muscle dimensions and separation were far inferior to his. Even if it was the same type of ability, “Human Nemesis” was the absolute superior!
The Touch of Will and Hunger Key had to be seized—they were top-tier among A-Grade Relics in functionality, very close to S-Rank Relic standards: things that upended basic science and underlying logic, the inconceivable.
Suddenly, Ashley’s nails curled into syringe needles mid-motion and elongated, firing explosively at close range!
Dylan’s pupils shrank, but his muscles were already in a chained firing sequence. In that split second, he could only watch as the needle pierced his skin. He tensed his pectorals desperately to block the penetration! However, another transcendent ability erupted—his blood was instantly drained!
Splash!
It was like dumping a basin of water from on high, shattering on the ground. A five-meter radius turned blood-red!
In his final moments, Dylan saw Ashley flash forward, leaving only a faint afterimage. Suddenly, extreme terror surged—he realized her reinforcement state had only just begun!
No…
His comrades…
Dylan’s squad members turned their heads in stunned confusion, unsure what had happened. They only saw their captain’s body dried out, stringy like pulled wood, his face taut over protruding cheekbones and gums, with a massive blood pool over five meters wide at his feet!
In the next second, Ashley lunged at the female secretary, her emotionless eyes staring upward. Her right hand vanished forward in an instant!
That’s right—she intended to slaughter this entire tactical squad!
Both “Human Nemesis” and “Rose Blood Drain” were reinforcement-type functionals, sustainable for one or two hours of combat. This double reinforcement was like superior substitutes for each ability, plus the second-recorded “Meat Baby.” Slaughtering a hundred would be like mowing grass.
The remaining 25 had some transcendent abilities, but they were scattered through the streets, not concentrated. At Ashley’s speed, she could kill half in minutes, and the rest would scatter in terror, unable to form a fighting force.
On the flip side, any hesitation would let them regroup. Without combat ability, Chloe, and the wounded Nina and Claire, could easily become hostages.
“Ashley!”
A sudden scream from behind halted her. The needle tip pressed against the secretary’s heaving chest, her finger trembling on the verge of piercing the skin!
Ashley turned her head and saw Amber’s pupils dilated in shock.
“Have you gone mad? What are you doing…” Amber asked with a choked sob, tears streaming down her small face.
“I just wanted to be a good person, but there are always idiots blocking the way. Now I have to kill. Are you willing to help me dispose of the bodies?” Ashley asked flatly.
“Stop… please…”
Amber trembled all over. She stepped forward and swung a fierce punch at the secretary’s face!
Empowered by the Metal Lifeform, the blow was devastating. The secretary flew two or three meters, tumbling before falling unconscious. Then, Amber shakily grasped Ashley’s tensed, straining arm and said,
“See… I’ll handle them for you… Don’t kill… Please…”
After a tense standoff, Ashley’s hand dropped to her side, her breathing steadying.
Amber shouted at the others, “What are you standing around for?! Hurry and give your captain a transfusion!”
Reminded, the team members rushed over, hauling medical equipment. Those with matching blood types rolled up their sleeves, transfusing Dylan at top speed.
Dylan’s desiccated, woody, stringy muscles gradually plumped up. After over ten minutes of continuous chest compressions, his heart beat again…
Ashley watched coldly from the side, while Amber kept soothing her until the thick, ink-like killing intent in her eyes gradually faded.
“That guy was right. I’m not strong enough to ‘control the situation.’ I can only ‘eliminate threats.’ Seeing these guys alive terrifies me—like needles tormenting my nerves, driving me to seek safety. You shouldn’t expect a weakling to act like a strong one. It’ll ruin me and you. This time it worked because of the teacher’s gifted Metal Lifeform supporting your recklessness. What if there wasn’t? What if you weren’t here? …We should part ways, Miss Amber.”
Amber shuddered violently. Her lips trembled open, but no words came. After a long pause, she rasped,
“Fine…”
