Chapter 586: In Blood

From the distance, the sound of rapid gunfire suddenly echoed across the Muster Ground.

Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!

Every soldier who heard it turned their head toward the direction of the secret facility with a confused expression.

Some soldiers exchanged glances while others tightened their grip around their weapons, unable to understand why gunfire had suddenly erupted from that restricted area.

"What is happening over there?"

"Did something happen at the restricted zone?"

"Wasn’t the area under the control of the higher command?"

Nobody knew the answer.

Inside one of the offices reserved for the higher-ranking officers, a group of generals sat around a large wooden table with pensive expressions on their faces.

The sound of gunfire was faint from inside the heavily insulated room, but it was still impossible to completely conceal.

One of the generals slowly raised his head.

"Do you hear that?" he asked in a grave tone. "They’ve started fighting."

Nobody answered immediately.

They had wanted to put everything under wrap before the matter became known outside the Muster Ground, but now that gunfire had erupted, hiding what happened would become much more difficult.

A middle-aged woman sitting near the end of the table calmly folded her arms.

"As long as he is dealt with, everything will be fine."

Several generals raised their heads and gave her a cursory look. After a brief silence, one of them muttered.

"Let’s hope so..."

Each person was lost in their own thoughts. They all knew the horror of facing an awakener.

The gap between an ordinary human and an awakener could be so enormous that numbers alone could not always make up for it.

That was precisely why they had prepared so carefully.

They had deployed advanced thermal weapons. They had not underestimated Thoren.

In fact, they had prepared specifically because they understood that he was an awakener.

Even so, the generals were less confident in their victory. The silence inside the room became increasingly uncomfortable.

One general rubbed his temple repeatedly, his fingers pressing against the side of his head as he stared at the table.

Another tapped his fingers continuously against the polished wooden surface.

The sound was slow and rhythmic, but the longer it continued, the more irritating it became.

Nobody told him to stop.

They were all nervous.

The gunfire had continued for a short period before suddenly becoming weaker.

Then it stopped.

One of the generals slowly stopped tapping his fingers.

His eyes narrowed.

"It’s too quiet."

The words immediately changed the atmosphere inside the room. Everyone turned their heads toward the direction of the secret facility.

Although they could not see through the walls, every person in the room seemed to stare toward the same place.

The secret facility was located deep within the restricted area, hidden beneath an ordinary-looking building that appeared insignificant from the outside.

A figure sitting near the center of the table slowly spoke.

"Do you all think they have subdued him?" His voice carried uncertainty.

Nobody responded as none were sure of the result. The question should have been reassuring but it was not.

If the soldiers had managed to stop Thoren, then everything would return to normal.

The generals could erase the evidence, control the soldiers who had witnessed the battle, release a carefully prepared explanation, and continue protecting the secret facility.

That thought should have placated their worried hearts but they all knew better.

Thoren was not an ordinary awakener. The information they had received about him had already been disturbing enough.

And most importantly, he had walked directly toward their restricted facility as if discovering something was wrong.

The general who had asked the question lowered his eyes, realizing he had asked the most foolish question..

Finally, an older general broke the silence. "We should send our men to check out the situation before we decide anything."

The others looked toward him and he continued.

"We need to know what happened before we make another move."

Another general nodded slowly. "Agreed."

A middle-aged man adjusted his glasses before speaking.

"Also, we need to release a statement that this was not a real battle, but a drill conducted by a special elite force."

Several generals nodded. "That should explain the gunfire."

The middle-aged woman who had spoken earlier remained silent for a moment before eventually nodding.

The generals brought out their communication devices and one after another, they began giving orders to their men.

"Send a squad toward the restricted zone."

"Tell them to approach carefully."

"Do not allow ordinary soldiers to enter the area."

"Keep the communication channel open."

Orders were transmitted rapidly.

The generals tried to regain their composure but beneath their calm expressions, an uncomfortable feeling continued to grow.

Something was wrong.

They could feel it.

...

...

Back in front of the ordinary-looking building, the scene was completely different from what the generals imagined.

Corpses were scattered everywhere.

Blood flowed across the ground like streams, running between the cracks in the road and pooling beneath the bodies of soldiers who had once stood proudly with their weapons raised.

Some bodies had been cut apart so cleanly that the wounds looked almost unreal.

Others had been crushed beneath the massive shields of the undead soldiers, their armor bent inward while their bodies lay motionless beneath them.

Several thermal rifles were scattered across the blood-soaked ground, some still releasing faint wisps of smoke.

The trees surrounding the area were stained with blood.

Branches had been broken.

Leaves covered the ground.

The soldiers who had been ordered to stop Thoren had become nothing more than corpses.

The battle was over.

Thoren stood among the destruction without even glancing at the corpses. His expression remained calm.

He looked toward the ordinary-looking building and slowly he walked toward the entrance.

His footsteps sounded softly against the blood-covered ground. He reached the door and pushed it.

Creak!

The door was open.

Seeing this, Thoren creased his brow. He had expected some sort of security on the door but to his surprise, there was none.

Shaking his head, he decided not to think about it as he looked at the dark corridor before him.