Gun of Ashes

The intelligence broker thought for a moment, seemingly counting something, then he spoke.

”Time’s up, you can go after them now.”

Lorenzo was taken aback, ”What do you mean?”

”Literally, your previous client was an illegal immigrant from Florence. If nothing goes wrong, he should be the one you’re looking for.”

”Wait a second? Were you stalling for time?” Lorenzo suddenly felt a surge of nameless anger.

”He was a wealthy client too, I couldn’t just sell him out directly, right? After all, essentially, I’m a businessman.”

The intelligence broker said sincerely.

”No... this is a bit too coincidental, isn’t it?”

Lorenzo was on guard, as if he’d been drawn into some kind of whirlpool ever since finding Kamu.

”You’re both my cherished clients, and deciding whom to invest in has left me struggling to make a choice,” said the intelligence broker, ”So how about this, Mr. Holmes.”

”Prove who among you is more valuable.”

Lorenzo stared at him fiercely, but suddenly the whole room started shaking violently, the sound of explosions echoed from outside the door, there was a faint heat surge, and a vague wailing sound arose.

”Seems like your client isn’t a good sort, huh?”

Lorenzo heard the sound of gunfire erupting as the intelligence broker’s face turned increasingly stern. He dashed out to see people falling continuously from above, crashing into the corridor and causing it to shake violently, blood splattering everywhere. Most of them plummeted into the pool below, disappearing into the misty waters, their fate unknown.

”What’s going on?” the intelligence broker shouted at Kamu outside the door.

Obviously, Kamu also had no idea what was happening, he was just a vagrant trying to survive and didn’t even understand why this wretched place was under attack.

A rain of bullets poured down from above, metal clashed against metal, and the already rusty corridor was shattered, teetering on the verge of collapse.

Rats scurried past, red chains tied to their tails.

”Evacuate, evacuate!”

The intelligence broker shouted angrily, but he didn’t need to shout as the Inferior Rats had also moved into action. The underground world was a complex maze and they had long since dug countless tunnels to survive.

Suddenly the corridor snapped; this building, doomed from the start, was destroyed, and the whole ground tilted. The intelligence broker grabbed onto a nearby outcrop to avoid falling.

Though there was a reservoir below, falling from this height was no different from hitting the ground. After all, he was just a person with a clever brain but merely an ordinary body.

”Looks like your investment failed, huh.”

Lorenzo said calmly, he was also holding onto a nearby outcrop to prevent falling, but he wasn’t panicked. This situation wasn’t yet dangerous for him.

The intelligence broker was exasperated; it seemed that after doing too many peaceful dealings, he had forgotten that silencing others was still a thing.

”Damn it, those dogs from Florence are all unreliable!”

An angry curse echoed around, and the previously entertained Lorenzo was instead stunned. Although he knew the curse wasn’t directed at him, it still felt strange.

He looked up, bullets rained from above, and the mist created by the waterfall blurred his vision. Lorenzo could only see occasional flashes of gunfire.

”We need to get out of here!”

Kamu shouted, grabbing a protruding spot, trying to move up to the part of the corridor that hadn’t collapsed. If they could climb up, they might escape this dangerous place.

But then intense flames fell, igniting the surroundings and trapping them.

”Should we keep going?”

Higher up, the bodies of the Inferior Rats were scattered everywhere, and a priest stared intently at the scene below, a follower beside him asked.

”Continue, I am familiar with Old Dunling’s operations; the deaths of these people in the Lower City District won’t draw attention.”

”But...” The follower wanted to say something, but was sternly interrupted by the priest.

”Stop showing that ridiculous compassion, that lunatic new Pope is still hunting us. We must find the ’Revelation’ before he does; only then can we turn the tables on our disadvantage, do you understand?”

The priest said angrily.

Their last informants within the Church had been eliminated, but before dying, they relayed Lawrence’s location, giving the priests a sliver of hope.

”Continue, we can’t leave any traces, not even being seen by the rats.”

He knew all too well the terror of the new Pope, as the forces built by the Cardinals over the years were easily shattered. Even when they barely managed to escape, the new Pope still pursued them relentlessly, giving them no chance to catch their breath.

Upon hearing such orders, the followers had no choice but to comply. They occupied the high ground, and the Inferior Rats were nothing but targets in their eyes.

The gunfire was intense, pouring down like rain.

Bullets struck the largest tumor at the center, and due to the sloped terrain, this dangerous site ironically shielded everyone, keeping them hidden from the gunmen’s view. However, the continual falling flames meant death by fire was only a matter of time.

”Looks like your client specifically wants you dead!”

Lorenzo said as the gunfire gradually focused; they seemingly wanted to kill the intelligence broker.

The intelligence broker remained silent, his mind racing, but in this damnable situation, even the best calculations couldn’t overcome physical weakness.

Suddenly, Lorenzo grabbed him, shouting loudly at the detective.

”Tell the Rat King I’m very interested in him too!”

The intelligence broker was briefly disoriented by Lorenzo’s shout. He had no idea what this lunatic was doing, but then came a rush, and the intelligence broker found himself airborne.

His surroundings rapidly flew by, and a strange feeling overcame him as he saw Lorenzo, who was becoming more distant, and the rapidly approaching corridor... this madman threw him!

The intelligence broker crashed onto the corridor, but he knew now wasn’t the time to ponder where the detective got such strength. He quickly got up and ran swiftly along the precarious corridor.

Kamu followed closely, but as he landed, the corridor emitted sounds of imminent collapse. He hadn’t run far before the corridor fully gave way, but at the last moment, he escaped, crashing into the intelligence broker at the edge.

This, however, left Lorenzo with no escape route, stranded in the center of the danger zone, with fire raging around.

The intelligence broker looked back, and Lorenzo was looking at him too, seeming to say something, but from such a distance, he couldn’t hear. Mimicking his lip movements, the intelligence broker slowly said.

”Stay... put for me?”

What did that mean? In the intelligence broker’s eyes, Lorenzo seemed doomed, but he... he started running!

A scene beyond common sense unfolded in the intelligence broker’s gaze. The detective never had an escape plan, instead, he had a counterattack plan.

The figure leapt with extreme speed, showing strength surpassing ordinary humans. With his leap and fall, the already fragile corridor disintegrated further.

Several sections of the corridor collapsed almost entirely, yet the detective sprinted across the crumbling corridors, aiming for the top.

The gunmen seemed to sense this bizarre man’s threat, focusing their fire, yet they couldn’t keep up with Lorenzo’s speed. The detective ran swiftly.

In the vertical space, makeshift ladders put together by the Inferior Rats were crisscrossed on the walls. Lorenzo instantly leapt onto them.

At this moment, Lorenzo was thrilled; he was just troubled about how to capture these smugglers when they delivered themselves to him. Yet, deeper in his emotions was vigilance; ordinary smugglers wouldn’t possess such firepower or deal with the Inferior Rats, something was off about their identities.

However, there was no need to rush now. As long as Lorenzo reached the top, all these mysteries would come to a conclusion.

The gunmen realized Lorenzo’s danger and intensified their fire. Bullets fell, shattering the rotten wooden ladders. Lorenzo leapt over a gap, but the gunmen had wised up and shot down every step ahead, leaving Lorenzo without a foothold.

Suddenly, a flash of pale sword light appeared as the Staff Sword fiercely stabbed into the wall, leaving Lorenzo hanging. He was now very close to the top and could even see the terrified faces of the gunmen.

Like a speeding Death God, Lorenzo swung with the Staff Sword just as the priest grabbed a gun. In midair, Lorenzo found it impossible to escape further, and the sound of gunfire erupted. Lorenzo was hit, but the bullets were deflected by the Staff Sword. However, the impact caused him to hover momentarily in the air, losing momentum.

He could only watch helplessly as the gunmen fled before he plummeted into the reservoir below.