Chapter 129: Watch Your Mouth

The morning peace over the Imperial Capital did not last long.

A loud mechanical roar broke through the sky as four heavy gunships dropped out of the gray clouds. They hovered low over the street outside the Imperial Sanatorium, blowing gusts of cold air across the pavement.

Bright searchlights clicked on, shining through the glass doors. Down on the road, six armored vans stopped, blocking the street.

Inside the lobby, nurses and orderlies backed away in fear. Chief Physician Dr. Orson ran out from behind the desk, clutching a folder to his chest.

Behind him, footsteps echoed across the floor.

Guild Master Walter walked forward, leading his fourteen cured hunters.

Only yesterday, these men were lying on dirty cots in a dark storage locker, their legs rotting from toxic sulfur slag. They had been broke and waiting to have their limbs cut off.

Now, every single one of them was standing tall on his own two feet.

Thanks to Evren’s Grade-5 elixir, the poison in their marrow was completely gone. Their skin was clear, their strength was back, and their eyes burned with pride.

"Stay behind us, Doctor," Walter said in a calm voice. "Nobody is barging into this hospital."

The fourteen hunters locked their heavy shields together, forming an iron wall across the entrance.

Outside in the courtyard, the side doors of the vans slid open.

A dozen elite guards stepped onto the gravel. They wore white and gold armor with the sun crest of the Solar Crown Guild on their breastplates.

Leading them was Elder Brandon Caldwell, holding a command tablet and a golden baton. Beside him walked Silas Drake of Solar Crown.

Silas kept one hand on his rapier, looking at the lobby with a mocking grin. "Look at this," he laughed, pointing his finger. "A pack of broke provincial beggars playing soldier behind an old doctor."

The Solar Crown guards chuckled behind him.

Silas took two steps forward on the gravel. "Where is Chairman Evren? Did your little delivery boy run away and hide under a bed?"

Dr. Orson stepped up to the lobby intercom and pressed the button. "Elder Caldwell!" he yelled through the speaker. "This is a registered civilian hospital! You have no legal right to bring armed mercenaries onto medical grounds!"

Caldwell sneered, tapping his tablet.

"Silence, old man!" Caldwell’s voice boomed across the courtyard. "Under Section 4 of the Imperial Defense Charter, all frontline combat units are subject to mandatory inspection before deployment! Open these doors right now, or you will be arrested for treason!"

Walter didn’t move an inch. He rested his hand on his sword hilt, his jaw set hard.

None of the fourteen hunters backed down. They were ready to fight before letting anyone touch the building where Evren was resting.

DING.

The elevator at the back of the lobby chimed.

Evren walked out, his hands resting in his dark coat pockets.

Amber walked on his left, her dark-brown eyes glowing with a calm golden warmth. On his right was Zephyra.

"I wondered when you would show up, Drake," Evren said.

The moment Walter and his men saw Evren, their tense shoulders relaxed.

"Chairman Evren!" Walter bowed his head with deep respect.

The fourteen hunters immediately unlocked their shields, stepping aside to make a clear path for him.

Dr. Orson let out a breath of relief. "Chairman, they are claiming inspection rights under Section 4."

"I heard them," Evren said.

He walked to the entrance and pressed the wall control. With a soft hiss of air, the thick glass doors slid open. The cold morning wind blew against Evren’s coat as he stepped outside onto the wide marble stairs.

Elder Caldwell puffed out his chest and stepped forward, holding up his tablet.

"Chairman Evren!" Caldwell barked. "We have reason to believe you are hiding stolen Grade-5 celestial medicine and an unregistered black-site asset in this hospital! Submit to an immediate inspection and open the fourth-floor suites for a full sweep, or face imperial law!"

Evren didn’t reach for a weapon, and he didn’t even take his hands out of his pockets. He just stood at the top of the stairs, looking at Caldwell like the old man was a joke.

"Section 4 only applies to military barracks and designated supply depots, Elder Caldwell," Evren said in a flat voice. "This is a private hospital. If you want to search it, show me a warrant signed by Grand Arbiter Raymond Kincaid."

Caldwell’s smug look vanished, and a flash of anger crossed his face.

"I am a Senior Elder of the High Council!" Caldwell yelled back. "I am the head of the Deployment Committee! I don’t need Kincaid’s permission to inspect a provincial guild!"

"Then you don’t have a warrant," Evren replied simply.

He took one slow step down the stairs.

"You brought four gunships and armed guards to raid a hospital without a judge’s signature," Evren’s voice echoed across the courtyard. "That is not an inspection, Caldwell. That is an illegal armed attack on a civilian medical center."

Silas Drake’s face turned dark. "Watch your mouth, Evren!"

"You watch yours, Drake," Evren said coldly.

Right then, Zephyra stepped up beside Evren. She pointed toward the stone pillars and the corners of the hospital roof.

"The sanatorium’s security cameras are fully active," she said in a calm, clear voice. "Every angle of this courtyard is being recorded."

She looked at Caldwell with a cool, mocking glance.

"Your faces, your weapons, and your gunships are being logged right now. If you try to force your way inside without Grand Arbiter Kincaid’s warrant, it will go down as an armed assault on a licensed medical center."

Silas Drake froze, his hand tightening on his rapier.

He looked up at the pillars, seeing the small red lights blinking steadily from every camera lens.

Caldwell’s face turned bright red with fury.

The old man knew imperial law. If an official security log reached Kincaid’s desk before they found any illegal contraband, he could be stripped of his seat on the Deployment Committee.

"You dare threaten me with cameras?!" Caldwell snarled, his hand shaking with rage. "I will have my men tear this whole place..."

BOOM!

The ground suddenly jumped beneath their feet.

A deafening boom tore through the sky, shaking the entire district like a massive earthquake. The stone steps rattled under their boots. Down on the street, the armored vans bounced on their tires, and windows in nearby buildings cracked.

Everyone in the courtyard stumbled, grabbing onto anything to keep from falling.

"What was that?!" Silas yelled in panic, holding onto an armored van.

High above the skyline, the clouds turned dark purple. The sky tore open in long cracks glowing with purple light, and the air grew freezing cold.

WUUUU-OOOO! WUUUU-OOOO!

Air-raid sirens began screaming across the Capital, their red emergency beacons flashing through the gray morning. Caldwell’s tablet began beeping wildly. Silas Drake’s communicator and Walter’s slate went off at the same second with urgent red alerts.

A loud automated broadcast cut into every radio channel, booming from the street speakers:

[EMERGENCY DEFENSE ALERT: CATEGORY S-RANK DIMENSIONAL SURGE DETECTED!]

[A MASSIVE MUTATED SPATIAL TEAR HAS OPENED IN ZONE ONE: OUTER DEFENSE RING!]

[DEFENSE RINGS THREE THROUGH ONE HAVE COLLAPSED!]

[BY DIRECT ORDER OF GRAND ARBITER KINCAID: ALL TOP-SEED GUILDS MUST REPORT TO THE FRONTLINE IMMEDIATELY!]

The four gunships shook as a strong wave of dark wind hit them from the east. The pilots quickly pulled up to avoid hitting the nearby rooftops.

Silas Drake turned toward the eastern horizon, and all the color drained from his face.

Through the parted clouds, a massive red rift had torn across the sky above Zone One. Thick plumes of purple fire and swarms of flying monsters were pouring out of the tear, flying straight toward the city’s outer defense walls.

Silas swallowed hard. His smirk was completely gone, his knees felt weak, and his fingers trembled against his sword.

Caldwell stared at his tablet in pure horror. Grand Arbiter Kincaid’s direct emergency decree was flashing in red: any guild leader who failed to report to their sector within twenty minutes would be executed on the spot.

Evren walked down the remaining steps, stopping five paces away from Silas Drake.

The cold wind blew against Evren’s coat, but he stood completely still, calm and unbothered by the chaos around them.

He looked at Silas Drake with quiet disgust.

"You brought four gunships to bully wounded men in a hospital, Drake," Evren’s voice carried easily over the wailing sirens. "Now that real beasts are ripping through the barrier, your knees are shaking."

Evren met his eyes with a cold, mocking smile touching his lips.

"Are you going to defend the Empire, or do I have to clear your sector for you?"