Chapter Sixty-Five: Battle (Part II)

Alice clenched her teeth tightly, eyes shut with all her might, pouring every ounce of strength into restraining Charles. At last, she succeeded—Charles could no longer draw even half a centimeter closer to Xiao Feng.

"What are you all standing around for? Tie him up, now!" roared Old White from the ground, his arms shattered and useless.

The X Mercenaries, suddenly snapped to awareness, surged toward Charles. Several among them dragged long chains from the jeeps—normally used to restrain captured beasts, but perfectly suited for a brute like Charles.

A noisy crowd rushed toward him.

"I can't hold on any longer, Father," Alice gasped suddenly.

Old White strained to lift his head and look toward Xiao Feng. "You must hold on—just one more minute! One more minute!"

"I can't…" she murmured, then collapsed limply onto Old White's chest, breath ragged and shallow.

She was, after all, still a child—tasked with suppressing a super-fourth-tier Esper, the burden had simply been too great.

Charles's body abruptly surged with regained freedom. He turned toward the mercenaries with a feral snarl: "Ah? One more step and I'll kill you!"

The mercenaries froze. Yet one bold warrior, a burly Black man, raised his rifle and charged.

"For the Commander!"

He opened fire, bullets screaming toward Charles's head.

Charles stepped forward in a flash and landed a brutal right hook beneath the mercenary's chin. A sickening crack resounded as the man's jaw shattered, and he fell unconscious instantly.

Charles plucked a deformed bullet from his cracked cheek, casually flinging it away. He turned once more toward Xiao Feng.

This time, no matter how desperately Old White cried out, the X Mercenaries dared not take another step forward.

Charles seized Xiao Feng by the collar and hoisted him onto his off-road vehicle. Even with just one arm, it was no hindrance—for a machine of this class offered autonomous navigation.

Sliding into the driver's seat, Charles tapped a point on the touchscreen beside him, setting the destination to Black Whale City. The engine roared to life, and the vehicle veered past the mercenaries' blockade, speeding northward.

Gazing at the retreating scenery outside the window and seeing no pursuit, Charles reclined his seat and, retrieving a beer from the passenger side, bit off the cap and drank deeply.

Xiao Feng lay motionless in the back seat, still unconscious.

After downing half the bottle, Charles, perhaps out of caution, retrieved a pair of handcuffs and bound Xiao Feng's wrists behind him.

Alice struggled to lift Old White. "Father… he took Brother Xiao Feng. What should we do?"

"He must have taken him to the Alliance Esper Administration Bureau. We must find a way to rescue him!"

At that moment, Rice staggered over, wincing in pain. "If he's taken there, how are we supposed to get him out? If we go now, we'd just be marching to our deaths!"

"I don't care if it's a suicide mission," Old White declared grimly. "Xiao Feng is my son—I will save him."

Rice paused, stunned. He knew this rugged man wore his heart on his sleeve. After a moment of silence, he said, "We can't act rashly. We need a plan."

"You have an idea?"

"Didn't someone named Lin come looking for you a few days ago?"

"You mean… go find Lin? But where am I supposed to find him?"

"I've got a way. You rest for now," Rice replied, glancing over at the injured Turner. Now, he truly grasped the terrifying power of a level-four Esper—one who had so easily taken down his strongest warriors. Clearly, this envoy had little interest in squashing the X Mercenaries. Otherwise, the damage could have been far worse.

Turning to the mercenaries, Rice barked, "Everyone back to camp—tend to Turner and Brada's injuries. Bran, keep watch over them!"

Bran nodded. "Don't worry, I've got it."

Rice then strode to a nearby jeep, slammed the accelerator, and sped toward the city of Godo.

The rest of the mercenaries loaded the injured onto the vehicles and followed suit.

Alice sat by the window, gazing into the distance as Xiao Feng disappeared into the horizon, tears cascading freely down her cheeks.

Rice arrived at the Alliance military outpost, pulling the jeep to a stop beside the compound and jumping out.

The sentries at the gate, spotting the shirtless figure with the bold 'X' tattoo across his chest, made no move to stop him.

They all recognized him—this brash man was none other than Pierre's younger brother, the infamous commander of the X Mercenary Corps. More importantly, he was a level-three Esper with flame-based powers. None of the soldiers dared provoke a man who could turn them to ash with a flick of his wrist.

Cigar clenched between his teeth, Rice swaggered into the military compound, heading straight for Pierre's command room.

Pierre had already spotted him through a surveillance feed. He had heard the earlier gunfire and dispatched scouts. When informed that Xiao Feng had been taken by the Alliance's envoy, he couldn't help but be pleased—one less threat within his domain was always welcome.

Pierre's command room was lined wall-to-wall with monitors, each one surveilling a sector of Godo City. Several male and female officers, all of them ranked third-class sergeants, worked under him—each one outranking even Sergeant Locke of Zone 64.

Lounging in his chair with feet propped up on the desk, a glass of whisky in hand, Pierre chuckled as he watched a visibly dejected Rice approaching through the monitor.