Chapter 26: The Massacre of Sector 12
Sector 12 was the armpit of Skyscar City. It was a labyrinth of rusted shipping containers stacked fifty feet high, home to the poorest of the poor—and the families of soldiers the government wanted to forget.
It was midnight. Rain fell in sheets, mixing with the neon glow of flickering signs.
"Keep up," Jiang Chen whispered into his comms. He was sprinting across the rooftops of the container stacks, his Void-Silk Suit blending perfectly with the darkness.
Below him, chaos was brewing.
Black vans with no license plates had surrounded a block of housing units. Men in tactical gear were dragging people out—women, children, the elderly.
"Please! My husband died for this city!" A woman screamed as she was thrown into the mud.
"Silence, traitor scum," a Shadow Guard kicked her.
Jiang Chen stopped on the edge of a roof. He recognized the woman. Auntie Liu. She used to bake cookies for him when he was a kid. Her husband was the communications officer for the 104th.
"They aren't just killing them," Lin Qingxue's voice came over the comms. She was perched on a crane tower, her sniper rifle (made of ice) trained on the vans. "They're loading them into transport trucks. It's a kidnapping."
"Test subjects," Jiang Chen realized, remembering the Archivist's words. They trade human lives to the Netherworld Sect.
"Fatty, is the perimeter set?"
"Explosives planted at all exits, Boss," Fatty Wei replied nervously. "But there are at least fifty guards. And three Foundation Establishment leaders."
"Three?" Jiang Chen's eyes narrowed. "Jiang Tianhao really wants this done clean."
He drew his Heavy Sword.
"Linger, cut the power."
"Okey-dokey!"
ZZZT.
The streetlights exploded. Sector 12 plunged into total darkness.
"Alert! Power failure! Night vision on!" The Guard Captain shouted.
"Now."
Jiang Chen dropped.
Heavy Sword Art: Meteor Fall.
He fell from fifty feet up. He didn't aim for a person. He aimed for the lead transport truck.
CRASH.
The truck was flattened. The engine block exploded. The shockwave knocked ten guards off their feet.
"Ambush!"
"Who is it?!"
From the flames of the truck, Jiang Chen walked out. His Demon Arm glowed red in the firelight.
"I'm the landlord," Jiang Chen growled. "And you're late on rent."
He swung his sword.
SPLAT.
Two guards were cut in half before they could raise their rifles.
"Open fire!"
Bullets and Qi blasts rained down on him.
"Ice Dome!" Lin Qingxue fired a special round from the crane. It hit the ground near Auntie Liu and the hostages, expanding into a reinforced igloo to protect them.
"Get them, Boss!" Fatty Wei triggered his detonators.
BOOM! BOOM!
The escape routes for the vans collapsed, trapping the convoy.
It was a cage match.
Jiang Chen charged into the mass of soldiers. He was a wolf among sheep.
Phantom Sword Steps.
He moved too fast for their eyes. A slash here, a punch there. Every hit was lethal.
"Monster!" A guard screamed as Jiang Chen ripped the door off a van and used it to decapitate his partner.
"Enough!"
A wave of pressure descended.
The three Foundation Establishment leaders stepped out of the command vehicle. They wore the silver masks of Elite Shadow Guards.
"Target Jiang Chen verified," the Leader said calmly. "Formation Delta. Crush him."
The three Elites moved in unison.
One used Earth Arts to shackle Jiang Chen's feet with stone hands.
One used Wind Arts to fire invisible blades.
One used Fire Arts to launch a massive fireball.
Jiang Chen was pinned.
"Can't dodge," Jiang Chen gritted his teeth. "So I won't."
He didn't shield. He didn't block.
He opened his mouth.
He didn't use the Beast Roar. He used something he had learned from the Sword Sovereign's Fragment.
He inhaled.
The air around him screamed. The sword intent in his body boiled.
Chaos Sword Intent: Devour.
He swung his sword in a circle.
The Fireball hit the sword—and vanished.
The Wind Blades hit the sword—and shattered.
The Stone Hands crumbled into dust.
"What?!" The Elites gasped. "He ate the Qi?"
"My sword is hungry," Jiang Chen said. His sword was now glowing with the absorbed fire and wind energy.
"And so am I."
He released the stored energy.
Sword Art: Chaos Wave.
He slashed horizontally.
A beam of black, red, and green energy tore through the street.
It hit the three Elites.
Their shields popped like bubbles. Their armor melted.
Vaporized.
The beam continued, carving a trench through three shipping containers behind them.
Silence returned to the muddy street. The remaining guards dropped their weapons, terrified.
Jiang Chen stood amidst the steam, his sword resting on the ground.
The hostages peeked out from the ice dome.
"Little Chen?" Auntie Liu whispered, disbelief in her eyes. "Is that you?"
Jiang Chen turned. The demonic glow in his eyes faded, replaced by sadness.
"I'm sorry I'm late, Auntie."
He walked over to her.
"Where is the Council taking you?"
"The Rift," she sobbed. "They said we were going to be fuel for the new gate."
Jiang Chen looked at the sky. The storm clouds were gathering over the City Center.
"The gate isn't in the forest anymore," Jiang Chen realized. "They moved it."
He looked at the towering spire of the Jiang Clan Headquarters.
"It's in the tower."
He turned to his team, who were rappelling down to join him.
"Fatty, take the families to the sewers. Elder Mo will hide them."
"What about you?" Lin Qingxue asked, reloading her rifle.
Jiang Chen looked at the tower.
"I'm going to a family reunion."
He gripped his sword.
"It's time to meet my father."