CCG and ghouls began exchanging fire at a medium distance. The ghouls at the Bronze Tree base clearly had the upper hand. Their kagune took the shape of shields with small holes, allowing them to shoot while still providing protection from bullets.
CCG's casualties started to rise. In less than five minutes of fighting, dozens of combat personnel were either dead or injured.
Inside the command vehicle, Maruhandai watched the scene on the screen, his expression darkening.
"Why aren't we gaining the upper hand in shooting?" he asked.
His assistant quickly replied, "The enemy has kagune shields, which are very tricky to deal with."
Maruhandai snorted coldly and stood up, heading for the door of the command vehicle.
"Bang."
He kicked open the back door of the car, ignoring the hail of bullets around him. He snatched a gun from a nearby officer and fired several shots toward the Bronze Tree base.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
With every three bullets he fired, a ghoul inside the Bronze Tree base fell dead. His terrifying marksmanship made the ghouls instinctively retreat behind cover, their firepower noticeably weakening.
"Listen up, everyone..."
Just as Maruhandai was about to shout, he heard a familiar roaring sound nearby. He turned stiffly to see Suzuya Juuzou riding a brand new motorcycle, revving the engine hard.
"Hey, what are you doing with my motorcycle?" Maruhandai shouted urgently.
Suzuya grinned widely, his eyes squinting with delight. "Just borrowing it."
With that, he twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle shot off.
"Stop!!"
Suzuya ignored Maruhandai's cries and sped toward the Bronze Tree base.
"Hey, wait, hold on, hey hey~."
Maruhandai was already flustered, his face twisted in disbelief. Next to him, Su Xiao even noticed tears welling up in Maruhandai's eyes.
Suzuya sped up a hill on the motorcycle.
"Boom!"
An explosion sounded, and Maruhandai's motorcycle was destroyed. Suzuya, propelled by inertia, charged into the Bronze Tree base. After a round of shooting, all the enemy strongpoints inside were cleared.
Debris from the motorcycle scattered everywhere, and Su Xiao clearly saw Maruhandai's tears streaming down his face.
"My limited edition motorcycle..."
Maruhandai sniffled, wiping away his tears.
Although Suzuya had destroyed his motorcycle, he had also opened up the outer defenses of the Bronze Tree.
"Charge!"
After a hoarse shout, Maruhandai collapsed to the ground, exhausted. A large group of CCG personnel rushed into the Bronze Tree base.
"Maruhandai, I'm heading to my designated location," Su Xiao said as he passed by.
Maruhandai, who had been kneeling, looked up at Su Xiao.
"I'll leave the back to you. Don't let any ghouls escape in the chaos. I've already arranged for the bomb squad you mentioned earlier. They're currently searching for any explosives under the cover of the main force."
Before they set out, Su Xiao had told Maruhandai that there might be a lot of explosives planted inside the Bronze Tree base. After luring the CCG personnel inside, the ghouls could retreat through the back door and then detonate the explosives.
After hearing Su Xiao's 'guess,' Maruhandai quickly requested a bomb squad from headquarters. As a battlefield commander, he took any potential danger seriously, especially a plan that seemed very feasible.
In the original story, the Bronze Tree did indeed plant bombs. Since Su Xiao knew this, the ghouls' side could also guess that the plan had been exposed.
Without the threat of explosives, it would come down to a test of strength, and the outcome would depend on their respective skills.
Su Xiao walked slowly into the Bronze Tree base. He didn't go to the crowded upper levels but instead headed to the back door of the base. He planned to intercept any ghouls trying to escape.
The night wind blew, carrying a faint smell of blood. The sounds of gunfire and screams filled the air, but the back door was eerily quiet.
Su Xiao jumped onto a three-meter-high concrete beam, sitting above and waiting silently.
With his current physical condition, three meters was no big deal; calling it no big deal might be a bit arrogant, so let's say it was just an average thing.
For now, there wouldn't be too many ghouls at the back door; it was quiet all around.
He heard faint footsteps approaching; a ghoul was coming.
"Ah, I seem to have encountered a tricky enemy."
A ghoul dressed in a pink top and wearing golden-framed sunglasses stepped out from the darkness.
The newcomer had an androgynous appearance, moving with a flamboyant gait, looking like a cross-dresser.
"I didn't expect to find a surprise."
Su Xiao leaped down from the beam, stretching his shoulders, and approached the newcomer with his sword, the Dragon Slayer.
"If I remember correctly, your name is Nico, an SS-class ghoul, a member of the Clowns."
Hearing Su Xiao's words, Nico's expression changed, and the relaxed demeanor vanished.
"You know about the Clowns? I didn't want to fight you, but now I have to kill you."
Nico's crimson eyes appeared, and a kagune emerged from the end of his spine, resembling scales.
From what Su Xiao knew, Nico was quite strong. Although classified as an SS-class ghoul, his abilities were definitely more than just that.
This guy had an incredible healing ability. He had once been stabbed through the abdomen by a lizard but recovered quickly.
Nico kicked off his high heels and charged at Su Xiao.
Su Xiao held the Dragon Slayer in front of him, his eyes fixed on Nico.
After a few steps, Nico jumped and kicked at Su Xiao's head. Su Xiao dodged by tilting his head and countered with a kick to Nico's abdomen.
Su Xiao didn't draw his sword; he wanted to use it to defend against Nico's kagune.
Most ghouls, except for a few, had poor close-combat abilities.
When fighting ghouls, it was crucial to guard against their kagune, which might not have any special powers.
As expected, after being kicked back two steps, Nico's kagune lashed out, aiming for Su Xiao's neck.
Gripping the Dragon Slayer tightly, Su Xiao took a deep breath and swung the sword with all his might at Nico's kagune.
"Swish."
Nico's kagune was severed in response, a large portion flying far away.
"Ah~." Nico let out a trembling cry, his face showing a mix of pain and excitement.
"This is~ so satisfying!"
Nico showed no signs of injury and lunged at Su Xiao, completely unconcerned about being hurt.
Su Xiao ignored Nico's strange cries and swung the Dragon Slayer twice at him.
"Swish, swish."
One of Nico's arms and a large part of his shoulder were cut off, but Su Xiao frowned. He didn't feel like he had struck something solid; it felt more like cutting through liquid.
Nico stepped back two paces, and the severed kagune had already begun to regenerate. It wrapped around the floating arm and shoulder, reconnecting at the wound. Dark red liquid surged as Nico's injuries healed.
Nico's recovery ability was surprisingly on par with that of the freak known as Yoriko.
"Come again."
Su Xiao lowered his gaze; ordinary slashes wouldn't harm Nico.
A faint blue arc appeared on the surface of the Dragon Slayer as he activated the Blue Steel Shadow.
Since regular attacks couldn't hurt him, he would burn the energy within Nico's body, using real damage to defeat the enemy.
Meow~?
(End of Chapter)