Chapter 603: Chapter 349, Killed, Bring the Head Back_2
He had originally planned to haul away several train cars, but now the plan was disrupted, and he had no choice but to take less.
What a pity.
The goods that could be taken had already been arranged and would soon be dispatched with the train.
As for himself, accompanied by a convoy of bodyguards, he had already left the city through the checkpoint at the Nest Capital pass that had been previously notified.
However, just at that moment, a whistling sound came from behind.
He turned his head and saw several vehicles bearing the Planetary Justice Department insignia rapidly catching up.
…
He immediately felt a sense of dread.
“Speed up! Speed up!”
“Take out the vehicles behind us!”
Under his command, his bodyguards began to attack fiercely towards the rear.
As an official from the equipment management department, he certainly had the means to procure a group of loyal bodyguards from the military. Even the five vehicles he used for his escape had all been converted from military armor vehicles.
On the vehicles, there were even automatic gun turrets, which rose to the top of the vehicles, rotating to aim at the pursuers.
However, the turrets still failed to fire.
Suddenly, a violent explosion occurred at the left rear wheel of the vehicle, flipping the entire car over by the side of the road.
And at that moment, the doors of the vehicles with the Justice Department insignia flung open, and several people jumped out of the speeding cars.
Ordinary people would have been severely injured jumping out of a car like this, but not these individuals clad in exoskeletons. They merely paused for a moment and then, using the momentum, continued running forward, drawing various weapons and firing at the armored vehicles.
The leader among them was straightforwardly wearing a suit of powered armor.
She was relatively petite, like a lady, clearly not an Interstellar Warrior; the silver and black paint job also confirmed she was not one of the Sisters of the Holy Mercy Lily with their white and green garb.
A bomb gun holstered on the side of her thigh remained undrawn, while instead, she pulled out a combat sword, pointing it towards another armored vehicle in front of her. Her eyes flashed with a deep blue light, and in a moment, a strange power surged at the tip of her sword. The next instant, one of the wheels on that armored vehicle also suddenly exploded, flipping it over.
During this process, her sprint never slowed. In a short burst, she was even faster than the vehicles.
Methodically, she flipped over all of the targeted vehicles.
The exoskeleton warriors beside her took over the aftermath.
The vehicles had only flipped over, not exploded, so there were still many survivors inside. These individuals were all pulled out, and anyone who dared resist was promptly shot dead.
In reality, there weren’t many who were that foolish.
The ordeal was over, so why bother.
And the most important target was brought before the lady in the silver and black powered armor.
She removed the helmet of the powered armor to reveal her beautiful face.
This was the Alliance Demon Hunter – Milia Derong.
The feedback-type powered armor produced by the Alliance had been distributed in not a few sets over the years. These powered armors had varied destinations: some went to military officers, others to the Alliance Police Department, Security Department, Integrity Commission, and some went to the Demon Hunters.
Derong put on a set herself.
Now a captain of the Demon Hunters, her first mission upon following Lambert Chief Justice to this planet was to pursue the traitor Manus.
Her most important weapon, apart from the powered armor she wore, was her awakened Spiritual Energy.
When she had just been trained as a Demon Hunter, she had mastered the basics of using Spiritual Energy; later, she had furthered her studies at the Storm Mage Academy for half a year, where she formally mastered Spiritual Energy.
The technique used to flip over those armored vehicles was her Spiritual Energy.
After carefully observing the man kneeling on the ground, she softly said, “It’s confirmed that this is the traitor Manus of the empire. Put him down, take his head, and bring it back. Lambert Chief Justice doesn’t have time for some public trial; he prefers to have enough heads laid out in his office before having a talk with the rest. It should be quite effective.”
Manus was already feeling very uneasy, and hearing this, he trembled even more.
He hastily began to speak, “Madam! Madam! Please listen to me! I’m still useful, I know a lot of things…”
“No need, your life is a bit more useful.”
“No no no! The defending army of Mingyan City is planning a rebellion! I’m on good terms with their commander, I can…”
“Tch, like we needed you to tell us? Someone’s already on their way.” At this point, Milia’s expression soured, appearing annoyed at not being able to partake in that major operation.
As they were talking, another Demon Hunter had walked behind Manus, with the gun barrel pressed against his back.
“Please don’t…”
“Bang!”
“Ugh…”
With the sound of a gunshot, Manus, with a bullet through his heart, fell forward to the ground, fresh blood pouring from his shattered chest, staining his face, which still wore an expression of shock and disbelief.
…
In Mingyan City, the middle district, the headquarters of the Nest Capital Defense Army.
General Tadeusz entered General Qiongson’s office under the protection of a team of governor’s bodyguards.
The man was white-haired but still had a strong visage, sitting behind his desk with an air of unspoken authority.
He looked up and saw Tadeusz, who wore the rank of general but was dressed in a uniform utterly different from his own, and demanded, “You had better have an explanation for me; it’s not time for my meeting with you yet.”
Without a smile, Tadeusz presented a piece of parchment to Qiongson, bearing a few words, and most crucially, the governor’s signature and a lacquer seal.
“General Qiongson, effective immediately, you are relieved of all command over the Mingyan City Defense Army. From now on, I will fully oversee the defense and military construction of Mingyan City.”
“Nonsense!” Qiongson slammed the table and stood up, “I am a planetary general! Do you think you can dismiss me with just a document? Delusional!”
“This is an order from the governor. Your rank of general and your command position are appointments within the Planetary Defense Force system. The governor has full authority to terminate your duties and strip you of your rank.”
“How many divisions does the governor have in Mingyan City?” Qiongson, with an implied threat, said, “I have been stationed here for twenty years. Every officer here has either been promoted by me or fought alongside me. They respect me, they love me, and if I am not in this position, I’m afraid the army will not remain calm. Surely the governor doesn’t want the Mingyan City Defense Army to fall into disorder in times of crisis?”
Tadeusz’s expression did not change upon hearing this.
He laid the governor’s dismissal document in front of General Qiongson and pulled out a small booklet.
“Mingyan City Defense Army 31st Division commander Mateus, 37th Division commander Laurent, 49th Division commander Andre, 71st Division commander Potoski…”
With each name he read, Qiongson’s face lost a shade of color.
These were almost his most trusted, closest commanding generals in the army.
After rapidly naming nearly twenty names, Tadeusz stopped and delivered the final verdict: “They will also be dismissed.”
“Impossible!” Qiongson glared at Tadeusz, “They are all surrounded by layers of protection within their own troops, how could it be!…”
Just then, a telephone in his office suddenly rang.
There were several phones on the desk, and the one that rang was the least used but also the most important. When it rang, it meant something extremely urgent had happened.
Tadeusz gestured for Qiongson to answer the phone.
Qiongson picked up the phone: “I’m Qiongson, speak quickly…”
His face grew more and more sullen as the call went on.
Eventually, the handset fell from his hand.
He looked at Tadeusz in disbelief: “How… how could it be? In a matter of hours? You’ve killed all nineteen division commanders after breaking into the military?
“Traitors to the empire deserve such a fate. Moreover, the military court has already passed judgment on your traitorous actions…”
“Wait! Since when does Korolya have a military court?”
“Korolya doesn’t, but the Alliance does, and Korolya is now a member of the Alliance.”
“But there was no trial process!”
“I am the Alliance’s Chief Political Commissar, and the trial process’s highest decision is in my hands.”
“What is the verdict of the trial?”
Tadeusz pulled out a handgun and pointed it at General Qiongson’s forehead.
“Wait! Wait! I have served the planet, I have shed blood for Mingyan City, you can’t treat me like this, I want to see the governor! I …”
“Bang!”
“…Death.” Tadeusz softly recited the sentence of his verdict.
General Qiongson, with a bullet hole in his forehead, fell backward.