Both sides were without armor, but the danger and ferocity would only increase, not decrease.
The bishop's finger bones transformed, piercing through his skin and forming sharp, black bone spikes. Ignoring the blood, he lunged toward Sasha's position.
Swish!
A large chunk of the tree trunk behind Sasha was torn away, five deep claw marks nearly severing the entire trunk. She had already sprung to the side. From her hip, she drew a small, custom-made metal knife that radiated in the darkness. Its sharpness surpassed a surgeon's scalpel, easily capable of severing bone. Sasha always carried it with her.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The relentless clashes of flashing knife light and black bone spikes sent sparks flying through the air. Sasha, her face expressionless, closed in and delivered an elbow strike to the bishop's stomach. His fist curved to strike down, but she bent his leg with a kick, knocking the bishop off balance. Her knife flashed, slashing across his face.
The bishop jumped back, a fraction of a second away from his head being injured. Even though his bones could resist the knife's sharpness, a hit would still affect his combat ability.
Even so, the bishop's facial skin was grazed, splitting his face in two halves. The cut across his nose was so clean that not a single drop of blood flowed.
Sasha calmly flicked her knife. Without armor, she was still a super soldier with extremely high-level close-quarters combat skills. If she wasn't, she wouldn't have been able to train Noid from a novice into a skilled fighter in just half a month.
Her movements were filled with inner strength, her attacks powerful and decisive. She didn't just use her knife; her fists, knees, legs, and elbows were all skillfully employed, constantly forcing the bishop to retreat.
The bishop's physique, strength, and endurance were all greater than Sasha's, but his combat technique couldn't keep up with her. Physical strength was only one factor, not everything. What did it matter if he was stronger? From the beginning of the fight, the bishop hadn't injured Sasha at all.
Unless he used that bizarre weapon—the one that could transform into both a blade and a whip—he could only fight on par with her. To think he could defeat Sasha with just a pair of bone-spike claws made the title of "strongest in Rorgh City" a complete joke.
Sasha dared to fight the bishop not out of emotion, but from the confidence forged through thousands of major and minor battles.
Slash!
The sound of a knife cutting through flesh rang out, and one of the bishop's eyes was now full of blood, streaming down his cheek and onto the ground. He looked like a one-eyed demon.
"Sasha, you've gotten much, much stronger..."
The bishop paid no attention to his injuries; on the contrary, a smile played on his lips. Sasha didn't reply, nor did she continue her attack, but stood her ground.
Two blue figures appeared; they were two armored modified humans. They surrounded the bishop at an extremely fast speed, their weapons aimed directly at his face.
"Henry Orcok, you are under arrest for crimes against humanity, murder, cruel experimentation, assassination, and 37 other charges."
After speaking, the two let out a sigh. When they first received this news, both of them, no, all of the modified humans and the commander-in-chief were shocked. One of humanity's first heroes, who was thought to have been sacrificed, turned out to be alive. Not only that, he had been corrupted into a cunning and cruel individual, now worshiping the very things he once fought against.
"Why, Henry? Why?!"
One person couldn't help but exclaim, but before the bishop could reply, Sasha cut him off.
"No need for explanations. Just arrest this person, that's all."
The two others no longer showed any emotion. Regardless of the reason, this man was a brutal butcher who had betrayed humanity; he was no longer one of their teammates. All explanations and excuses were just a facade to hide his depravity. They didn't need to hear it.
The bishop was locked with a special handcuff. He was then locked again onto a small steel plate, with his hands and feet secured to the plate that enveloped him. This was the only way to prevent a modified human from escaping.
From beginning to end, the bishop showed no reaction. He didn't try to flee, nor did he panic or get flustered, as if all of these actions were part of his plan.
Combined with his inaction when Sasha announced the base, the bishop was completely letting himself be captured on purpose. No one knew what he was plotting.
Knowing this, Sasha still couldn't let him walk away freely. She also thought that once captured, the bishop would have no opportunity to turn the tables, as she couldn't see any loopholes on her side.
"What a headache..."
Sasha stood and watched as the bishop was escorted away, with two modified humans personally suppressing him. Sending all the Doom cultists would only be sending them to their deaths. This matter could be considered a closed case.
Her current concern was Noid. Sasha didn't think he was dead; it was highly likely he was still alive, perhaps even with the commissioner. He just couldn't return for some reason.
Thinking of this, Sasha's mood improved slightly. She left, returning the inherent desolation and quiet to the place.
...
Noid found a small lake not far from the town, changed a bottle of marrow-cleansing fluid, poured it into the lake, and then jumped in. Afterward, he injected the SNG-26 stimulant into himself and began the training process.
Three hours later, the training concluded. Noid felt his body becoming increasingly fluid and hot. Taking advantage of this, he took out a bottle of strengthening fluid and drank it.
The feeling was identical to previous times. But this time, he was able to stand firm against the changes in his body. His nervous system, muscles, bones, internal organs, and heart were all noticeably strengthened. Noid had finally reached a value of 0.9.
Enjoying the feeling of progress, he put his old clothes back on and returned to the church. He asked Kaular about the city ten kilometers away.
Kaular was not surprised. He told Noid what he knew about the city, but also advised him not to go there, as it wasn't safe. The danger from the doom was secondary; the greatest danger was the people there.
Noid could only offer a wry smile at Kaular's warning. He had to go to that city, as it was highly likely the commissioner was there.
According to his account, there were many groups of survivors there. Some were neutral, but most lived as gangs. Because the large city had many resources enough to support ten times the number of survivors, and they had also become self-sufficient through farming, life there wasn't bad. Except for having to constantly hide from the doom.
Until more than a year ago, a large number of doom suddenly retreated, leaving a city with abundant resources and not a single monster in sight. Things were good at first, but over time, conflicts and disputes gradually broke out and became increasingly intense, mainly over the division of territory.
The city's resources were plentiful, but their distribution was random, not evenly spread. After dividing the territory, some gangs earned a full haul, while others found little of value. And the side that lost out certainly wouldn't let the side that profited enjoy it in peace, and so the disputes broke out.
To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, many neutral survivors chose to leave. Kaular's group was among them.