Chapter 125: Declaration of War
The soldiers exchanged glances.
"Do you have an appointment?"
Cyrus frowned.
"An appointment?"
"Yes."
Cyrus fell silent. Behind him, Nina’s cheek gave a slight twitch. Before Cyrus could gather a reply, one of the soldiers waved a dismissive hand.
"If you don’t have any official business here, leave."
Cyrus clenched his fists. Rex’s prior scolding echoed in his head: Atlas is your younger brother. Where is your sense of responsibility? Cyrus narrowed his eyes, his gaze turning hard.
"I’m here to demand justice."
The guards stared at him.
"Justice?"
Cyrus pointed at Atlas.
"Your people bullied my brother."
Atlas blinked.
"Me?"
Cyrus jabbed a finger toward Nina.
"And even pushed my sister!"
Nina’s mouth fell open. Cyrus ignored the deep confusion radiating from his own team.
The soldiers traded another look.
"Who are you talking about?"
Cyrus took a deep breath.
"That man."
"What was his name again?"
Nina leaned closer and whispered,
"Bear."
Cyrus thrust his hand toward the armed men.
"Bear!"
The soldiers stiffened.
"Captain Bear?"
Cyrus frowned.
"Yes. Call him."
"I’m here to settle the score with him."
Behind him, Nina buried her face in her hands.
A familiar shout rang out from across the compound.
"Captain!"
Everyone turned. Rex marched toward them, bringing Valentine and the rest of the Freedom Convoy in tow.
Rex took one look at the armed soldiers, glanced at Cyrus, and finally noticed Nina waving her hands in a frantic warning. The entire situation clicked in Rex’s brain. Ah. They managed to reach this far. He picked up his pace and jogged over.
"Rex!"
The guards tensed at the sight of the approaching crowd. Recognition flashed across one soldier’s face. He paled and closed the distance to the squad leader.
"Sir..."
He dropped his voice to a hoarse whisper.
"That’s the Freedom Convoy."
The leader’s stance grew rigid.
"They’re all superhuman ability users."
The squad leader went still. He knew the rumors about the Freedom Convoy. Most of its members possessed dangerous, unearthly strength.
Seeing the entire group gathered together, the squad leader immediately realized something was wrong.
They’re here to cause trouble.
He opened his mouth, intending to calm the situation before it escalated.
But Rex beat him to it.
"WHERE IS THAT FUCKING BEAR?!"
The squad leader shut his mouth. Rex aimed a cocky, accusing finger at the guards.
"How dare you bully the members of the Freedom Convoy?!"
"Today, our Captain has personally come to settle the score!"
Cyrus puffed up his chest .
Rex kept shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Today, either Bear dies..."
"...or our Captain dies!"
Cyrus stood rooted to the spot. What the hell?
"Only one of them is walking out of here alive!"
"BEAR!"
"YOU FUCKING COWARD!"
"COME OUT!"
Dead silence fell over the yard. The soldiers stared in absolute shock. Beside Rex, even Valentine shot him a bizarre, questioning look. Cyrus stood in place, his jaw slack. Weren’t we here to demand justice? How did this become a fight to the death?
Rex took a bold step toward the guards, tilting his chin up.
"Why are you staring at my face?"
"Go call Bear!"
The soldiers remained frozen.
They were still trying to process what was happening.
Rex widened his eyes in mock outrage.
"What?"
"You don’t take the Freedom Convoy seriously?"
"You want to fight?!"
Before anyone could react
BAM!
Rex threw a vicious punch right into a soldier’s face. The man stumbled backward, clutching his nose. A heavy silence crashed over the area again.
Then—
Whoosh!
Rex vanished from the front line.
Well, no. More accurately, he sprinted behind the rest of the Freedom Convoy, ducking out of sight. From the absolute safety of the rear, his voice rang out.
"CAPTAIN!"
"This is a declaration of war!"
"I’ll leave the rest to you!"
Cyrus stared at the empty patch of dirt where Rex had just been standing.
"..."
He had no words.
The squad leader’s face burned a furious red. One of his men had taken a beating in front of the whole unit. As trained personnel, letting an assault slide was out of the question.
"WE’RE UNDER ATTACK!"
"CALL FOR BACKUP!"
The men raised their rifles. Cyrus broke from his stupor.
"Wait—"
It was too late. The guards rushed forward in a unified wave. Unable to stand back and watch his friends get hurt, Cyrus surged ahead to meet the charge.
The rest of the Freedom Convoy poured in behind him. Valentine let out a long sigh and rubbed her temples.
"Idiots."
Still, she joined the fray. Grandpa Jiro drew his blade with practiced ease. Atlas cracked his knuckles, a confused expression on his face. Nina settled into a fighting stance.
In a matter of heartbeats, the area descended into chaos.. Fists flew, and bodies collided as the convoy and the guards smashed into each other.
And somewhere far behind the blood and dust of the battlefield...
Rex peeked around the backs of his teammates.
"Good."
He gave a satisfied nod.
"The distraction is working."
**********
Across the camp , Leo shifted in his hiding spot. The long wait was over. A wave of commotion broke out in the distance.
Shouts echoed through the base. Even from the shadows, he watched soldiers scrambling past the tents in a panic. Leo lowered Tom’s Peeping Binoculars. A faint smile pulled at his lips beneath his hood.
"It finally started."
Just minutes ago, the military depot was a fortress. Soldiers marched the perimeter without taking a single break. Others stood tight at the entrance, fingers resting near the triggers of their rifles.
But now, the rhythm broke. A fresh group of soldiers sprinted toward the depot out of breath.
"All available personnel are being ordered back to the command center!"
"What happened?"
"I don’t know!"
"Something about a fight!"
"Move!"
The guards at the entrance shifted on their feet, breaking their strict formation. Several of them exchanged confused looks before jogging off to join the others.
Leo stayed perfectly still in the dark. More soldiers left their posts. Then another handful followed. In a matter of minutes, the crowd of guards shrank to half its size.
Leo’s eyes narrowed.
" Now is the time "