Chapter 161: Rising War!

The ship vanished with a gentle shimmer. The low buzz of its engines faded into the night, and the only sound was the rain hitting the road.

Jonah stood still in the middle of the street. The fight was over, but it didn’t feel like a win. The alley was a complete mess. Smoking pieces of metal from the truck were all over the ground. Lying between the broken pieces were the bodies of Bureau soldiers who were knocked out.

Draven growled in frustration. He hit a nearby wall with his fist, making a series of cracks in the brick. “Gone. They just got away.”

Seraph was already moving. Her face looked calm and focused, but her eyes were quick, looking into every dark spot. “Stay alert,” she ordered. “This isn’t over.”

The silence did not last long.

A loud sound from far away broke the silence. Soon, other sounds came, then more, until the air was full of sirens getting closer. Red and blue lights lit up the wet buildings, painting the alley with wild, changing colors.

Screech!

Many Cinderfall City police cars rushed to the area, their tires sliding on the road as they closed off the street. Doors opened fast and officers came out quickly, with their guns ready. They thought they would find bad guys, maybe a gang fight.

What they found was something else entirely. A young woman and two teenagers, all dressed in the clear style of the Mystic Phoenix Academy, stood in the middle of what looked like a war zone. The officers were first shocked, then they became suspicious.

A chubby man with a big mustache and a captain’s mark on his uniform stepped forward loudly. He looked at the mess and the knocked-out soldiers, then stared hard at Seraph, Jonah, and Draven.

“Everyone freeze!” he yelled, his voice rough. “What in the world happened here? This looks like a terrorist attack.”

Seraph stepped forward. She moved with a confidence that made the local captain pause. “I am Captain Seraph of the Mystic Phoenix Academy. This is a restricted military matter.”

She held up her credentials, a high-level military identification that should have ended the conversation right there.

But the captain just sneered. “Military matter? My city is on fire, and you’re in the middle of it. You’re all coming with me.” He gestured to his officers. “Cuff them.”

The guards began to move forward, their faces serious. Draven got ready, making his hands into fists. This was a terrible political problem. Jonah suddenly felt scared. They could not be caught. Not at this time.

Just as the first officer moved to grab Seraph, a new sound broke through the confusion.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

It was a low beating sound from high up. Everyone, both city guards and Academy students, looked up.

A plain VTOL aircraft came down from the stormy sky. It hung in the air about fifty feet above the road, its mighty engines blasting the alley with strong wind and rain.

The side door slid open, and a figure came down a rope smoothly. He was dressed in a general’s uniform, his face stiff.

It was General Ironwood, and he looked very angry.

His presence alone silenced the entire street. He looked over the scene, seeing the damage, the city guards, and Seraph’s small group with one quick, judging look.

The city captain’s jaw dropped. “General Ironwood, sir! We weren’t expecting…”

“You are no longer needed, Captain,”. He turned to the nearest soldier, one of his own men who had followed him out of the VTOL. “Secure this area. This entire district is now a National Security Zone under direct military jurisdiction. No one gets in or out without my express permission.”

The city captain stammered, his face getting red. “But, sir, my authority…”

Ironwood moved his head slightly to give the captain a mean look. “Your authority ends where my boot touches the ground. Do you understand me, Captain?”

The captain gulped and nodded. “Yes, General.”

Ironwood dismissed him with a wave of his hand and then marched directly toward Seraph, Jonah, and Draven. “You three. With me. Now.”

He turned and walked toward an armored truck that had driven in silently behind the city guard. He didn’t wait to see if they were following. He knew they would.

They climbed in, and the heavy door closed.

“Report,” he commanded.

Seraph quickly gave him the summary, her words precise and professional. She told him about the prototype, Subject Beta, and the duel. She ended with the escape of Dr. Aris Thorne.

Ironwood listened without interruption, his face never changing from that cold, angry look. When she was finished, he was silent for a long moment.

“So, it was a public show,” he said, his voice dangerously low. “A firefight in the middle of Cinderfall, where any civilian could have been caught in the crossfire.” He wasn’t asking. He was stating a fact that angered him deeply.

He then turned his strong look on Jonah. “And more importantly, the target escaped. Thorne, and his prototype.”

Jonah met his gaze, refusing to look away. “Yes, sir.”

The General walked back and forth in the small space, his boots making noise on the floor. Jonah felt like a strong power was judging him, looking him over closely.

Finally, Ironwood stopped and faced them again.

“The Headmaster was right to bring me in,” he said in a serious tone. “This is no longer a secret hunt fought in the shadows. The war has come out into the open. It’s a national crisis now.”

He paused, letting the weight of his words sink in.

“As of this moment,” he declared, his voice filled with total power, “Dr. Thorne and his entire rebellious group are designated a rogue state-level threat. This is no longer just an Academy problem.”

He looked straight at Jonah, and for the first time, Jonah saw something besides anger in his eyes. He saw a serious understanding.

“ASTF-Omega is now under my protection. You will have our full military support. Intelligence, resources, transportation, anything you need.”

He took a step closer

“You are the only ones who truly understand this threat,” he said, his voice a low, serious tone. “You’ve seen what they can do. You’ve fought what they’ve made.”

His last words were a scary promise, a statement that a new, terrible war was coming.

“I am giving you the tools to hunt him,” he said. “Find his main facility. And burn it to the ground.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep