Quite a few members of the Taixu Gang began thinking about retreating.
Life had already taught them how to scrape by, keep their heads down, and avoid standing out.
If the Taixu Gang disappeared, then so be it. At worst, they would simply return to those miserable days of being exploited layer by layer by gangs and "companies."
But where some chose to retreat, others charged forward for the sake of their convictions.
"For Azure Empyrea! For the liberation of Dusk City!"
...
With a deafening boom, the obsolete P13 35-millimeter autocannon resting on Figaro's shoulder fired round after round. The shells tore through the gloomy, oppressive sky and struck the abandoned vehicles littering the street ahead.
Standing atop a hastily constructed wall, Figaro aimed at the cybernetic bikers. The backpack-mounted ammunition box rapidly fed rounds into the weapon as its rotary barrels spun at high speed, flashing with dazzling light.
"Have a taste of the Gatling gun, you bastards from the Ghostfire Syndicate!"
The sight of the Ghostfire Syndicate filled Figaro with uncontrollable fury and fanaticism.
The Ghostfire Syndicate committed every crime imaginable, from arson and murder to looting and pillaging. There were few people in Dusk City who did not despise them.
And because of the Ghostfire Syndicate, Figaro had lost everything that should have belonged to him, including the person he adored.
He should have taken his own life, but then he heard that joining the Taixu Gang would give him a chance to take revenge, so he was duped into becoming a member.
In the past, all he had wanted was to personally kill those enemies.
But now, life in the Taixu Gang had shown him hope—the hope of revitalizing this city and restoring its former peace and harmony.
"Sister Roshi, watch me. I'll use the blood of those sinners as nourishment so that the Milheim flowers, symbols of peace, will bloom throughout this city once more!"
The P13 35-millimeter autocannon resting on Figaro's shoulder was a retired military weapon.
Back in its day, it had possessed astonishing power on small-scale battlefields.
But against these cybernetically modified members of the Ghostfire Syndicate, it had been reduced to a toy.
The cybernetic biker in Figaro's sights slid across the ground, leaving streaks of luminous green afterimages in Figaro's vision.
Figaro gritted his teeth and continued firing, yet every shell from the autocannon merely grazed past the cybernetic biker's body.
The man's movements were so relaxed that he might as well have been strolling through a garden.
"Heehee—you will become the three hundred and forty-fourth soul in my collection."
The biker's mechanical voice sounded like a vengeful ghost coming to claim his life. Claws gleaming with cold light and dripping with blood entered his vision.
Figaro stumbled backward in terror, his mind consumed by despair.
Am I going to die here?
"Trackers!"
Clang!
At that moment, a rippling curtain of light suddenly appeared before Figaro, separating him from the cybernetic biker.
"Threat factor identified. Activating defense system. Reinforcing electronic barrier."
A cold synthetic voice rang out.
"Comprehensive threat assessment: 3.2. Moderate threat level. Allocating system resources to eliminate target."
The cybernetic biker furiously attempted to attack Bronya with the mounted machine guns on his body. However, countless lines of red text immediately appeared across his electronic eye.
"Access denied!" "Access denied!" "Access denied!"
"Certificate verified. Executing self-destruct sequence."
"No!"
The cybernetic biker's body began dismantling itself.
"Although it is no longer possible to affect cybernetic bikers directly through the network, infiltration through physical contact remains viable," said a voice similar to the synthetic one, but distinctly younger and more inexperienced.
"Unfortunately, this method is still far too inefficient... Bronya will have to imitate the mercenary lady's methods."
Seeing that the cybernetic biker had already been "defeated," Bronya led Trackers toward the next "elite monster."
"Please refrain from dangerous actions, Miss Bronya."
"You're so annoying. Does Trackers want to become a broken record?"
...
The battle grew increasingly fierce.
Vill-V stood high above the battlefield in a black stealth magician's outfit, holding a staff as she looked down upon the fighting.
Whenever she waved her staff, a ghostly blue light swept through the air, activating various weapons across the battlefield.
Under Vill-V's guidance, the entire battlefield had been divided into numerous separate zones.
Although the Ghostfire Syndicate possessed formidable combat strength, warfare depended upon favorable timing, terrain, and unity. There would always be environments in which they were poorly suited to fight.
Vill-V exploited their weaknesses, guiding them into the battlefields they were least suited for, where they would then face Taixu Gang members who excelled in those conditions.
For example, she lured those unable to withstand the cold to the artificial freezing waterfall behind the hospital, where they fought a group of Taixu Gang members wearing insulated waterproof suits who were skilled swimmers.
As another example, certain cybernetic bikers had undergone modifications that made their noses extremely sensitive, leaving them unable to endure pungent odors. Vill-V guided them into the foul-smelling hospital garbage room and had them fight Taixu Gang members with poor senses of smell.
That was roughly how the process worked. In a game, it would probably resemble cutting apart and rearranging map zones before fighting monsters within them.
Among all the battles, however, the most eye-catching was undoubtedly the squad of Special Assault Squad captains led by Tenmon Soji at the entrance of Taixu Hospital.
At the entrance of Taixu Hospital, Su and Inori fought side by side while the numerous cannons mounted on the hospital held back the attacks of the Ghostfire Syndicate's elite members.
But now, those autocannons were not facing a group of ordinary people. They were facing the leaders of the Ghostfire Syndicate.
Tenmon Soji flexed his wrists and rolled his neck with a series of cracks. Accompanied by six people wearing brightly colored special-assault uniforms, he slowly walked toward the hospital entrance.
The overwhelming pressure surrounding them caused even the air to turn cold. Tenmon Soji's figure seemed to blot out the sky, and every step he took made the ground rumble.
The instant his right foot entered the battlefield, everyone even suffered the illusion that his towering frame had blocked out the sunlight.
Facing the storm of bullets pouring toward him, Tenmon Soji did not even need to act. A square-faced Special Assault Squad captain beside him stepped forward and spread his arms.
"Bedrock Concretion!"
Clang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His horizontally raised arms transformed into something resembling iron and stone, forming a barrier between Tenmon Soji and the Gatling gun's barrage and blocking every bullet.
Dense streams of bullets howled from the muzzle, yet they merely scraped sparks from his body. Not a single round managed to slip past his steel frame.
Behind the square-faced man, another Special Assault Squad captain pulled open his clothes and took a mirror from his pocket.
That mirror looked almost identical to the treasure once possessed by Shaman Ma!
"Shine!"
The reflected light from the mirror swept across the Taixu Gang members operating the machine guns atop Taixu Hospital. Their eyes immediately became unfocused, and the machine guns in their hands fell silent.
Once the machine-gun fire ceased, another Special Assault Squad captain simply tore off his clothes, revealing terrifying writhing flagella across his body.
"He's an ability user!"
The other Taixu Gang members cried out in alarm, but before they could scatter and flee, the ability-wielding Special Assault Squad captain roared.
"Swift!"
Whoosh, whoosh! The ability-wielding captain vanished from where he stood. With a blur of movement, he appeared beside the scattered Taixu Gang members and knocked them all to the ground.
His speed was unbelievable.