Chapter 55: 「Assassin」（Happy New Year）

In Omsk Hive City, Model King, clad in red armor, pressed his lips into a thin line, the corners of his mouth drooping slightly as he struggled to suppress a roar about to burst forth.

"My King, the royal arena has been attacked; the fire caused by the explosion has not yet been fully extinguished."

"Captain Urbaneski led a team into the arena to hunt down the criminals, but two standard hours later, his corpse was hung on the royal flagpole in the center of the arena."

Moder looked at the mangled corpse on the video screen, stripped of its clothes and skewered on the flagpole.

His eyes were wide open, the eyeballs bloodshot.

"Trash, all of them are trash."

"It's just a bunch of mutant scum, yet they have managed to make the Hive City restless."

"This is a provocation against me; I must capture them and use torture to make them know the price of provoking me."

After saying this, Moder flicked his red cloak and strode out of the palace.

He boarded a war chariot made of steel, the engine roaring as it sped toward his arena.

Two blocks away from the arena, Maria Kurnikova, having climbed a water tower, wiped her curved blade with tubular machine oil and a yellow silk cloth.

The nearest water tower to the arena had already been sabotaged by her, and the efficiency of the fire brigade would drop significantly, unable to recover for at least one work cycle.

And that false king did not have the patience to wait that long.

She walked to the iron door and swiped the identification key she had found on the identification cogitator nearby.

With a "beep," the gate opened.

Maria walked out of the iron gate and stood in the howling cold wind; she wore no respirator, having grown up soaked in medicinal liquids, so the toxic industrial exhaust had no effect on her.

The "Assassin" did not take out her astronomy telescope as she had before, but looked straight down.

"Eagle Vision" granted her the eyesight of an eagle and dark vision; through the dim, flickering lights, she had an unobstructed view of the several kilometers below.

Maria felt the miraculous ability and couldn't help but look up into the distance.

【Thanks to the King for the gift!】

The "Assassin" withdrew her gaze, scanning Old City Street and Glory Street.

At this moment, her communicator rang, and Tsvetana's worried voice came through.

"Maria, there are two roads from the false king's Hive Tower to the arena; if we ambush on Glory Street, will we miss the target?"

Maria's blue eyes were deep, and she spoke with a determined tone.

"Although the facility road on Old City Street is more complete and safer, it requires a detour through Birch Street; given the false king's personality, he will inevitably take Glory Street."

"That's right, I heard that vain fellow loves taking Glory Street, the street built to commemorate his record of clearing out the Lower Hive gangs."

After listening to Dementieva's mockery, Maria finally spoke.

"The target often brings his hundred-man guard; we only have three people, so we cannot split up to complete the assassination."

"He must take Glory Street."

Hearing Maria's determined tone, Tsvetana said no more, and the squad communication channel fell into silence.

Time passed, and the "Assassin's" blue eyes narrowed; she saw over a dozen armored vehicles speeding toward them, the leading vehicle flying a flamboyant golden falcon banner.

"Target appeared, proceed according to plan."

After the "Assassin" issued the order on the communication channel, she leaped down directly.

"Light Body" allowed Maria to gain feather-like lightness for a short time; she sprinted along the metal outer wall of the water tower without making a sound.

Tsvetana, lying on the top floor of a factory, locked onto the position of the convoy through the scope of her Jiguangchangqiang.

The moment the convoy entered the ambush circle, her left hand pressed the button on the detonator.

A heaven-shaking explosion resounded through the Upper Hive; Glory Road, which had only been built twenty-five years ago, was severed like a fish on a chopping block.

The explosives flipped the second through fourth vehicles of the convoy, blasting a breach several meters deep and nearly twenty meters long.

The fifth vehicle couldn't brake in time, so the driver could only floor the accelerator, screaming as they charged forward.

It luckily cleared the breach and crashed into Moder's royal vehicle, which had been lifted and dropped by the explosion.

The king's vehicle, possessing excellent protective performance, suffered no substantial damage, and not even the synthetic tempered glass showed cracks.

Just as it landed, the speeding vehicle behind it slammed into the rear; the two vehicles moved along Glory Street like two drunkards chasing each other, swaying from side to side.

The convoy behind stopped in panic; after a moment of chaos, they split into two groups, attempting to find a path from the sides to bypass to the front.

Tsvetana dropped the detonator and raised her Jiguangchangqiang; she pulled the trigger, hitting the wheels with precision.

The scorching beam left a fingernail-sized hole in the wheel, failing to cause greater damage.

Just as the two vehicles were colliding and moving forward, a truck rushed out from a corner.

Dementieva in the driver's seat slammed on the brakes, stopping in front of the king's vehicle.

At the moment before the collision, she opened the door, jumped out, and rolled agilely.

With a loud bang, the royal vehicle crashed into the truck filled with flammable chemicals.

Amidst continuous explosions, the vehicle rolled several times, slammed onto the road on its right side, and slid several meters before coming to a stop.

The king's guard scrambled out of the vehicle in a sorry state and launched an attack on Dementieva, who was holding a riot shield.

After Dementieva injected the Battle Potion into her neck, she lowered her head to protect her body with the riot shield and charged at the guards.

Tsvetana pulled the trigger, beams flashed, and several guards fell.

Moder let out an angry roar and charged toward the female assassin.

He had just taken two steps when a figure rushed out swiftly from the shadows at the corner of the building.

The "Assassin" rushed to Moder's side in an instant, raised the Fulao Boliren in her left hand, and unleashed all the power within her body in one strike, stabbing fiercely into the Precision Power Armor.

Moder was astonished to find that the terrifying force in the tall assassin's attack had actually breached his Precision Power Armor in one blow.

As he was shocked, he felt the dagger get stuck by the armor plates.

Moder, having survived the disaster, hurriedly brandished his Power Sword to stab at the assassin.

His slash missed; the moment the "Assassin" stabbed the dagger into the Precision Power Armor, she withdrew and retreated.

Just as Moder was filled with confusion, the edge of the Fulao Boliren blade disintegrated into a large number of tiny fragments.

These fragments splattered and pierced into Moder's body, and he let out a terrified scream.

Watching the king stagger and fall, the guards attacked Maria in a rage.

Maria took a step, nimbly using obstacles like walls and fences to disappear from the guards' line of sight.

At the same time, Dementieva crashed into the group of guards, swinging her War Hammer to smash a guard's head.

Maria merged into the shadows and completely vanished from the guards' perception.

Whenever she flashed out from the shadows, she would take the life of one guard.

Ten minutes later, the guard squad that had not fallen below was completely killed by the three Assassins.

The death of the battle-hardened Model King shook the entire Omsk Hive City, and the nobles who had been suppressed by the formidable king began to make their moves.

The hive citizens vigilantly locked their doors, holding weapons to guard against intruders.

(End of this chapter)