CHAPTER 246: OPERATION WOLF SLAYER. (PART 34)

The members of Team Silver Wind were forced out of the white mansion, followed by Klaus Stahlwolf and his blue demon guards. The battle raged on the open field outside, and the western side of the mansion soon grew quiet.

With no one inside, the doors to the collection room closed automatically after some time. As soon as the lock clocked in place, a black dot appeared midair and instantly expanded, growing to two meters in diameter.

The darkness parted as an armored figure stepped out. His armored soles crushed the glass scattered on the floor, filling the room with a faint but crisp cracking sound. His head moved left and right, the eyes hidden behind its large visor scanning the room and taking in its current state.

The armor dissolved into countless threads of light and retracted into a single point, leaving behind a youth whose head was covered in the white shell of a motorcycle helmet.

’Guess they spared us a lot of trouble.’ Dante thought as he walked toward one of the walls.

[It doesn’t seem like any of the items have been damaged.] Volcan replied. [That is quite fortunate.]

Kneeling down, Dante reached out and grasped the golden hilt of a short crimson sword, picking it up from between the pile of broken glass and rubble.

As he stared at its blade, he recalled what the rich scion had said about its history, and how it gained its red color. That made him glad he put on proper gloves for his current endeavor. Once the net of thin, neon green lines covered the surface of the ancient weapon, a notification appeared on Dante’s OAM.

[

Would you like to store this item?

YES NO

]

The crimson sword disappeared the instant he chose the YES option. Staring at his empty hand for a moment, Dante turned around and scanned the room once more. Unbeknownst to him, the corners of his mouth rose ever so slightly behind the visor of his helmet.

~[ ]~

Rose ran with everything she had, not bothering to hide her tracks. The only time she stopped to look behind her was when another wave of light washed over her. Thankfully, it turned out that no one was following after her. Not the heroes, nor the invisible sorcerers.

The long corridor made her the windows could be opened, sparing her the stressful dash. Her pursuers were being a little slow, or it might be that they hadn’t chased after her at all. Either way, she needed to make it to the mansion’s front entrance before any obstacles got in her way.

Of course, that was only wishful thinking on her part. Gunfire sounds erupted from the direction she was running toward, painting the image of two sides firing at each other. It gave Rose a very bad feeling, and she found out why soon enough.

A rampant shootout was taking place in the front hall. A makeshift Barricade had been set at the bottom of the bifurcated staircase in the front hall. Hiding behind it, men in suits were shooting at the top of the staircase where a different group hid, returning fire at the same frequency.

Several bodies littered the mansion’s front hall. Some of them were undoubtedly guests attending the wedding reception, but others looked nothing like the part, clad in bulky mechanical suits.

On the sides, several figures were engaged in some rather intense hand-to-hand combat. It felt quite surreal watching what appeared to be normal people overpower soldiers in power suits, but that was exactly what went on in the chaotic battlefield that had not been there when she passed the area just a few minutes ago.

Quickly hiding behind a nearby pillar, Rose watched the battle unfold with gritted teeth. With the way things are, she had no way of reaching the front entrance without being shot, let alone noticed. She glanced behind her, checking if anyone had shown up to pursue her, and though no one was there, her stress levels continued to rise.

Just as she was thinking of forcing her way through the storm of bullets, she noticed someone running from the other side of the wall. A giant, brown skinned man rushed straight into the battlefield, carrying a rifle in his arms. Following him was a smartly dressed man armed with nothing but a handgun.

Rose recognized her crewmates right away, but their presence offered her no relief. In fact, watching them throw themselves into the chaos of the shootout caused her blood pressure to rise, and Kirk shooting back at the NVPD forces didn’t help at all.

At the very least, his actions seemed to convince the Romanos and the mansion’s attendants that he was on their side, saving him from being targeted. That gave Rose an idea, and after scanning the floor for a weapon, she dashed out of her hiding spot.

Keeping her posture low, she tore a rifle from the hands of a dead attendant and lunged forward, rolling behind the makeshift barricade. Before anyone could react to her arrival, she pointed her weapon through one of the gaps and squeezed the trigger.

Her actions might have drawn some attention, but no one reacted strongly to them. Taking cover, she glanced at her crewmates, exchanging an understanding look before she turned back and resumed the shooting.

Kirk didn’t bother with taking cover, standing his ground as if tempting the enemy to make him their main target. Several bullets found their way to his body, but each one bounced off without dealing much damage, penetrating his suit but failing to get through his skin or the subdermal armor under it.

With the big guy shielding him from enemy fire, Mr. Pike went about unlocking the front entrance. It didn’t take him much, likely because he had the help of their young diver, and soon enough, the large gate split apart, gradually revealing the path toward the green field outside.

No sooner had the light from outside seeped into the building than the tension in the front hall changed.

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