Chương 192: Kochi's End

"What on earth is this?" Li Qinwu was utterly bewildered. The Badge of the Hero—he had nearly forgotten that thing even existed. Every soldier who joined the Alliance's army was brought over to touch the Badge of the Hero, but up until now, not a single person had triggered any reaction. What was happening right now? Li Qinwu's soldier management interface listed several Goblin Snipers. He didn't know which one had gained the Hero's Badge's approval, but frankly, he didn't care—anyone would do.

He selected confirm without hesitation. On the other side of the plaza, Kanda—whose bones had been broken and muscles torn—suddenly felt a surging wave of warmth pour in through his back. His shattered bones snapped back into place, and his torn muscles instantly mended. An unprecedented torrent of magic power flooded Kanda's body, causing his bone and muscle density to skyrocket! Apostle No. 8's dagger was mere millimeters from slitting the leopard-woman dancer's throat when Kanda suddenly erupted.

Grabbing a chunk of jagged concrete off the ground, he hurled it at Apostle No. 8's face with every ounce of his newfound strength. Accelerated by the explosive power suddenly bursting from his body, the stone flew with the terrifying speed of a cannonball! To show off his arrogance, Apostle No. 8 had flipped open his visor and was still sneering. The flying stone smashed squarely into his face, shattering his facial bones, plowing into his brain, and blasting his cerebral matter into a pulverized mess. Apostle No.

8's body went completely limp. Dropping his dagger, he stumbled back two or three steps before collapsing onto the ground with a loud thud, twitching violently. With her captor dead, the leopard-woman dancer broke free and ran straight toward Kanda. Surprised by the strange power coursing through him, Kanda charged toward her as well. With a heavy thud, Kanda fell to his knees, throwing his arms around the leopard-woman dancer and burying his face into her belly, sobbing uncontrollably like a child.

The leopard-woman dancer held Kanda's head gently, stroking his hair with a silly, tender smile on her face.

"Kanda... hehe... Kanda..." Several hours later, the detonations finally ceased. Leaving behind several dead bodies, the attackers vanished without a trace. Two recruit battalions undergoing training near the Netherworld Tree entered Iron City with their weapons to initiate disaster relief efforts. Meanwhile, the apprentice mages from the Mage Tower poured out en masse, employing magic to rescue trapped civilians and treat casualties.

Li Qinwu sat resting on an open plot of land outside the Magical Blast Furnace alongside 500 Penal Corps soldiers. Every single one of them was utterly exhausted, covered in black soot, with many suffering extensive burns across their bodies. They had succeeded. Before the raging inferno could reach the Magical Blast Furnace, they managed to clear a firebreak, saving the furnace from destruction. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Li Qinwu himself was covered in dirt and soot. His hair had been completely singed off, and a patch of his scalp the size of a palm had burned away, exposing pale white bone that throbbed with agonizing pain. At that moment, a Gendarmerie company commander approached Li Qinwu and whispered: "Boss, the Statue of the Penal Corps was demolished by an extraordinary enemy. Kanda and his mother were sightseeing nearby at the time.

The enemy took his mother hostage and tried to execute him, but Kanda suddenly erupted out of nowhere and killed the intruder." A smile broke across Li Qinwu's blistered face.

"Kanda... what's meant for you will always be yours. Besides you, who else could possibly be worthy of the Hero's stature? Hahaha!" Li Qinwu laughed for a moment, bursting several burn blisters on his face in the process. Grimacing from the sharp pain, he grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and smeared it over his face and scalp.

The Gendarmerie commander continued: "Regarding the Fire Department's failure to respond to the fire, Chief Kochi claimed he was leading his team to extinguish fires elsewhere in the city.

"We investigated, and it's true—he was indeed putting out fires in the city at the time." Li Qinwu's face contorted into a furious scowl instantly.

"Fuck his mother! Putting out fires?! Those tiny fires in the city—if he went any later, they probably would've put themselves out! But he couldn't see a massive inferno in the Industrial Zone?! Fuck his mother! FUCK HIS MOTHER!!" The Gendarmerie commander asked cautiously: "Boss, should we arrest him?"

"Arrest him! Bring him to see me right now!!" Li Qinwu roared, startling the commander into a crisp salute. Just as the commander turned to make the arrest, Li Qinwu barked again:"Wait!!" Li Qinwu's expression turned darkly grim.

"No rush. Tonight... invite him to the Chief's Residence." He gritted his teeth, word by word.

"I'm hosting a dinner for him!!" Around 8: 00 PM, Iron City—a city heavily scarred by catastrophe—sank into sleep with its open wounds. Although the military and mages had intervened to treat the injured, the acrid stench of smoke and grief coalesced into a heavy haze alongside the night sky. Kochi was "escorted" to the Chief's Residence by two soldiers from the Guards Regiment. His entire body trembled; deep regret consumed his heart.

He had heard that the Chief himself had personally fought the blaze in the Industrial Zone. Such a massive fire had killed many rescuers and even left the Chief severely burned. Yet what had he done? Played petty political tricks? What on earth had been going through his head at the time? The Guards Regiment soldier opened the front door of the Chief's Residence and gave Kochi a meaningful look.

"Go to the innermost door. The Boss and all the senior officers are already there waiting for you." Those words made Kochi even more nervous. He opened his mouth to ask something, but the cold glare from the guard forced him to swallow his words. Trembling, he stepped into the Chief's Residence, shuffling down the corridor at a snail's pace. Suddenly, the heavy door slammed shut behind him with a loud BANG, startling Kochi so badly he let out a squeak and nearly collapsed onto his rear.

Looking back, the door was firmly locked. The hallway was dead quiet. Thump. Thump. Thump. Kochi could hear his own heartbeat echoing wildly. He stared down the corridor—plastered white, floored with polished marble, and illuminated by oil lamps along the walls. At the far end stood a massive wooden double door that resembled the gaping maw of a man-eating demon. Taking agonizingly slow strides, Kochi dragged his feet as if trying to buy time. But the hallway was only ten meters long.

It took him five minutes to cross it, but he eventually arrived. A journey of ten meters had left him drenched in a cold sweat. Standing before the massive double doors, he lacked even the courage to reach for the handle. Gulp. He swallowed hard, trembling as he wiped sweat from his forehead. His hand rested on the door handle, paralyzed with hesitation. Gulp. Gulp. Gulp. He swallowed repeatedly, his pupils darting wildly like ping-pong balls.

'Should I run?' The thought sprouted and spread like wild weeds in his mind. He turned his head toward the hallway window; through the murky glass, he could see the trees outside.

'Run!' Kochi let go of the door handle and turned, intending to head for the window. But the very next instant, the double doors opened from the inside.