Flames lit up the night sky like fireworks, streaks of brilliance crossed the horizon, and the twinkling lasers, like longswords slashing through the firmament, tore apart the exotic beasts flying in the sky along with the roaring Dragon Cavalry fighters. The cannonballs spewing flames passed low like raindrops, densely trailing long tails, crossing above the swaying forests, and then hit by small anti-aircraft shells, exploding like secondary fireworks in the sky, bursting into dense flames. The scorching wind blew through the forest, carrying with it a violent rustling. Howling beasts rapidly scattered between towering trees, evading the roaring flames in the sky and the steel fragments that burst like raindrops, shattering rocks. A massive sound spread through the darkness, disturbing the life in an area of hundreds of kilometers. And behind those towering walls, the people living in the city simultaneously looked up, towards the source of the roar. "White Jasmine Palace reminds all citizens of Yilan City, Yilan City is under attack by the Evis Space System Mercenary Corps. Please stay indoors or in the nearest building, and do not walk on the streets." "Again, Yilan City is under attack by the Evis Space System Mercenary Corps. Please stay indoors or in a nearby building, and do not walk on the streets." "A special reminder for residents near the South Gate, if you have air defense facilities nearby, please immediately seek refuge in them." Along with the piercing sound of alarms and booming explosions, a young military officer leaning against a half-collapsed low wall turned around and looked back at the tall wall. His body was unnaturally tense. "Don’t be nervous, this is just the beginning of a probing attack," said another officer beside the young officer, slightly overweight, "When the real battle starts, it will be bigger and more brutal." Hearing the overweight officer’s words, the young officer’s expression stiffened, "That doesn’t sound very reassuring." "It’s okay, we’ll win." The overweight officer glanced at the high wall behind him, took out a cigarette, but after thinking, did not light it and pocketed it again. "Has Evis Space System really gone mad?" The young officer still felt uneasy, he looked at the towering city wall behind him, a faint glow emanated from the top of the wall, and the flames of war almost whitened the entire firmament. "Who knows what the hell these bastards are thinking?" The overweight officer sighed. He turned his head and looked at an elderly fellow in a corner nearby, leaning near the low wall, looking not much different from the other soldiers, "We don’t need to think too much, slaughtering enemies with General Corvey is enough. You’re overthinking, and that lack of resolve makes you more likely to die quickly on the battlefield." "Get ready, the target is coming." Just then, a hoarse and old voice sounded in everyone’s tactical earphones. The overweight officer and the young officer immediately snapped back to attention, hunkering tight behind the low wall. The overweight officer picked up the infrared night vision binoculars lying beside him, raised them to his eyes, and looked towards the distant horizon under the night sky. Amid the roaring artillery behind the tall walls, a mixed convoy of medium-sized trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and off-road vehicles was slowly advancing along a rugged road towards this location. South City Command Center A burly officer raised his binoculars and peered into the darkness ahead, spotting a small-sized floating warplane painted in black. Unlike the city defense army’s weapons, which bore the White Jasmine Emblem, the warplane emerging in the distance was a solid color, devoid of any emblem. Below the floating warplane were several small armored vehicles equipped with electromagnetic cannons, and behind the armored vehicles, ’soldiers’ dressed like gang members were donned in exoskeleton armor, holding Gauss rifles. This troop was quickly approaching from the cover of nightfall. "Damn it, has our city defense inspection become this lax?" The burly officer continued observing the warplanes and armored vehicles, "How did these bastards manage to get all this stuff into the city? Even if broken down into parts, these things shouldn’t have been able to enter the city," He lifted the binoculars, looking to the rear of these warplanes where a few Hell Apostle Mechs were approaching. He spat, "The asshole who let these things in should put a gun to his own head and pull the trigger twice." Then he raised his hand, "On my command, activate the automatic defense system, fire up the defensive Mecha Squad, be on alert for an electromagnetic pulse bomb." Following his command, sounds of mechanical movements echoed through the night as giant cannons rotated within the darkness, aiming at the approaching forces. Then he scratched his head, as if he remembered something, and pressed his earpiece, "Right, send them a warning, damn nearly forgot the procedure, General Corvey said we need to follow the protocol to avoid leaving any loopholes, make it quick, don’t care if they can hear it clearly, just go through the procedure." The huge loudspeaker positioned at the forefront of the cannons turned direction, facing the approaching troops and played a somewhat nervous recorded voice, "Warning, you are approaching a military restricted area, stop your actions, or face the consequences, warning..." Almost instantly after the sound played, the dark night’s troops hastened their approach. "Nobody crosses this line today!" Seeing this, the burly man raised his hand and shouted loudly, "Fire the cannon!" City Assembly Building "Please all council members proceed immediately to the underground air raid shelter for refuge, please all council members proceed immediately to the underground air raid shelter for refuge." The shrill alarm echoed through the spacious corridors. A man in a white shirt hastily put on his coat and followed a man with a cigar, "Shit, what is the Consortium doing? Have they gone mad? Didn’t they just say they wanted to cooperate with us this morning? What are they trying to do now?" "Cooperation is one thing, using force is another," The man with the cigar took a deep breath and hurriedly followed the escape route indicated by the surrounding alarms, "They’ve never considered relying solely on our power to succeed." The man in the white shirt scratched his head, looking southward where faint yet intense sounds were coming from, "The Federation has been at peace for so many years, why would the Consortium Mercenary Corps attack the city? Do they want to rule the city by force? Overthrow the city government by force? Are they trying to destroy the Federation? These bastards!" "It shouldn’t be taken to such an extreme," the cigar man took the cigar out of his mouth and hurriedly descended the staircase, "They would mostly still put on a façade, glossing over with the Federation’s rules. As long as they’re loud and don’t do anything too outrageous, and sway the Federal Assembly a bit, this matter will eventually settle down." He stopped in his tracks, looked up towards the east, "But our old mayor, he’s likely unable to escape this time." Then he turned back to the white-shirted man behind him and spoke slowly, "Don’t worry, as ’collaborators’ in a consortium like ours, we might still have the chance to enter the City Cabinet and make a hefty sum, but I’m afraid we can never work behind the consortium’s back ever again. After this matter is settled, probably no one will dare to openly oppose these consortiums. The city council and city government will become their puppets. These guys are too ruthless." Hearing his words, the white-shirted man glanced back at the opulent decorations of the assembly building behind him, then spat on the ground, "Damn this bloody world." Near the Southern District "Welcome to today’s Ains Communication News; we now have a breaking news update," the young man carrying a silver briefcase moved along the steel plates connecting the low buildings, alongside the booming cannons outside the high walls, and a gentle, immersive voice from his wristband continued, "A few minutes ago, Yiwis Space System Corporation headquartered in Ains urgently convened a press conference, "Announcing that the leader of the Evis First Mercenary Corps, affiliated to the group, is suspected of being seduced by the Evil God, and has taken hostage the entire mercenary corps as well as another air force unit that frequently cooperates with the mercenaries. "Yiwis Space System claims that currently the force has completely lost control, and all communications to their mercenary corps have been cut off; the group alerts all cities in the Federation to be wary of attacks from this rogue mercenary corps. "Reportedly, this rogue mercenary corps, equipped with Yiwis Space System’s latest gear, consists entirely of mechanized mercenaries, and the kidnapped air force comprises an air formation of three Sky Behemoths and numerous large bombers and supersonic fighters. "An inside source from Yiwis Space System revealed that the combat abilities and equipment quality of this rogue force far surpasses most of the medium and small cities’ City Defense Armies, and they even possess equipment capable of easily breaching the walls of smaller cities. "A spokesperson from Yiwis Space System stated that such a rogue, unstable force could potentially have an irreversible, adverse impact on the peace throughout the Federation, and they feel very ’regretful’ and ’sorrowful’ over this incident. "Meanwhile, the group claims that they are actively seeking ways to regain control of the mercenary corps to prevent the situation from worsening. "In the meantime, the group has issued a bounty across the All Federation, offering a substantial reward of ninety million federal coins for the Mercenary Corps Leader, Kroswei, "Via the official website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kroswei has been placed in the highest category of the Most Wanted List, as a Grade A fugitive, "Additionally, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has labeled Yiwis’s rogue mercenary unit as a Grade A dangerous force, "Under the ’Federation Security Act,’ a Grade A dangerous force is defined as ’possessing the potential to subvert the majority of cities,’ and it is the duty of all registered mercenary corps and City Defense Armies to pacify or eliminate such a threat. "Reportedly, the Federal Defense Ministry is considering mobilizing the Federal Central Army to surround and suppress the mercenary corps. "For more news, please stay tuned to our channel." As the broadcast on his wristband gradually reached its end, the steps of the young man carrying the briefcase also slowed. He lifted his wristband, exited the news broadcast, then looked up at the towering high wall that rumbled continuously. The night enveloped everything around, and the streets, which had previously seen pedestrian traffic, now resembled a deathly silence, with only the distant factories emitting deep booming sounds that merged with the gunfire, making up the raw background noise of the darkness. That massive, majestic high wall stood there, like a perennial giant, dividing the inside of the city from the outside. The youth retracted his gaze and walked across the rooftop of a low building beneath his feet, looking ahead. At this moment, the path beneath his feet had come to an end, and a circular abandoned building appeared in his field of view. A narrow opening, just wide enough for one or two people, had been made in the wall of the circular building. A steel plate was positioned between this opening and the rooftop where the youth stood, forming a simple and flimsy bridge that connected the two structures. Through the opening in the circular building’s wall, one could faintly see some scattered tin tables and some simple signs on the tables. It seemed to be a small trading market, but at this moment, the market was empty. Only the scattered tin tables, some uncollected ’goods’ that had fallen nearby, and the messily arranged garbage on the ground showed that the people here had left in a great hurry. When the war ignited outside the city walls, no one wanted to stay near the walls. The youth didn’t keep his gaze on the circular building but slightly shifted his line of sight towards the rear of the circular building. There, a building established against the high wall and lit with bright lights vaguely outlined its contours in the darkness. That was the South City Defense Army’s Command Center, the core of the entire South City Defense Army. Gazing at the building, the youth carried a briefcase and lightly leapt, jumping straight down from the rooftop. Accompanied by a soft thud, he landed on an old ground filled with old steel pipes nearby. From the north, the fluctuating sounds of gunfire could be heard, seemingly from the City Defense Army guarding the command center, engaging in combat with some forces. The youth straightened up, brushed off the dust on his clothes, and slowly walked forward. Soon, he bypassed the circular building. The slightly dim light and the South City Command Center building almost simultaneously appeared in front of him. But he didn’t continue forward and instead stopped under a streetlamp, looking across the street at the dim entrance leading to the South City Command Center. A silver-blue vintage luxury car was parked at the edge of the entrance, an elderly man in a neatly tailored gray suit, impeccably dressed, holding a brass cane, and with carefully groomed gray hair was quietly leaning against the edge of the car’s hood. At this moment, the elderly also raised his head, his cloudy eyes calmly staring at the youth. The dim yellow streetlamp illuminated the elderly’s profile, and he seemed to have been standing there, already waiting for a long time. He Ao, holding the brass cane, looked at the youth, his voice hoarse as he spoke, "Linen." The youth, holding a silver briefcase in his hand, also returned He Ao’s gaze. The dim yellow light of the streetlamp illuminated his pale cheeks, dragging his shadow behind him, stretching it into a twisted and enormous shape. "Pleased to meet you," He Ao calmly observed the youth, thrusting his cane into the ground, his voice old and raspy, "from the Abyss, ’Great Tutor’."