Chapter 160: The Opening Blow
The western gate.
Another ordinary morning.
Merchants lined up outside the walls.
Travelers waited patiently.
Wagons creaked forward one after another.
The guards carried out their usual routine.
"Next."
A merchant entered.
"Clear."
"Next."
A family passed through.
"Clear."
Another wagon rolled forward.
The horse pulling it looked exhausted.
The driver kept the hood of the cloak low over the face.
One guard stepped forward.
"...Stop."
The wagon halted.
The hooded driver looked up.
"What is it?"
"Routine inspection."
The driver hesitated.
"...Is that necessary?"
The guard narrowed his eyes.
"Yes."
A second guard casually rested a hand on the wagon.
"Open it."
Several seconds passed.
Then—
"...Fine."
The driver climbed down.
The first guard nodded toward his partner.
"Check inside."
The second guard walked to the rear.
Unlocked the wagon doors.
Pulled them open.
Darkness.
Boxes.
Barrels.
Crates.
"...Looks nor—"
Meanwhile—
Above the gate.
A lookout scanned the horizon.
Routine.
Nothing unusual.
Then—
He frowned.
The distant forest...
Was moving.
No.
Not the forest.
The ground.
His eyes widened.
Thousands.
Monsters.
Demons.
Marching together.
His face went pale.
He grabbed the alarm horn.
"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!"
The shout echoed across the walls.
The guard inspecting the wagon immediately turned.
"What?!"
Then he looked back inside.
The crates...
Were packed tightly together.
Not with supplies.
Explosives.
Rows.
Upon rows.
His pupils shrank.
"Wha—"
The hooded driver smiled.
Raised a clenched fist.
"FOR THE CULT!"
A blinding flash consumed the gate.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
Stone exploded outward.
Wood shattered.
The gate disappeared beneath fire and smoke.
Elsewhere—
Andrew ran.
Not toward the gate.
Toward another destination.
His boots pounded against the rooftops.
If I were that crazy bitch...
I'd go after my weapon first.
He vaulted across another building.
Dropped into a narrow alley.
Then arrived.
The warehouse.
The doors already stood open.
"...Shit."
He rushed inside.
Bodies.
Everywhere.
Workers.
Guards.
Storage keepers.
None of them had survived.
Blood covered the floor.
Weapon racks had been torn apart.
Empty.
Andrew's expression darkened.
"...Too late."
He slowly looked toward the missing display rack.
The place where the assassin's scythe had been stored.
Gone.
He clicked his tongue.
"...Damn it."
Then—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
The explosion rolled across the city.
Even inside the warehouse—
The walls trembled.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Andrew turned immediately.
"...What now?"
Without another thought—
He sprinted back outside.
A towering column of black smoke rose above the western gate.
People screamed.
Alarm bells rang endlessly.
Andrew immediately broke into a full sprint.
"...This day..."
He accelerated.
"...could not get any worse."
He was wrong.
It was only getting started.