"Prepare for battle!"
John reacted almost instantly.
He could already sense that the atmosphere was becoming tense and if they continued to wait, they would soon be at a disadvantage.
Since a fight was inevitable, it was better to take the initiative now.
With that thought, John gripped his Bloodthirsty Blade tightly, and the others also assud a battle-ready stance.
But in the next second, the crowd below suddenly erupted.
Whoosh!
Soone from below launched a skill in their direction, and a fireball smashed onto the floor.
The second floor was made of wood, and the fireball's impact imdiately set it ablaze.
"Split up and break out!"
John issued the command decisively.
Although everyone present was at least gold-tier, Archibald, Leopold, and Alia were in unstable conditions.
They had all advanced in the secret realm, and only a few days had passed since then, making it nearly impossible to fully control their newfound powers in such a short ti.
Only John and Isabella were able to effectively manage their powers.
Among the frenzied mob, there were forty to fifty gold-tier individuals, about twenty at platinum-tier, and even a few at erald-tier.
Each one looked insanely determined, seemingly eager to kill everyone in front of them.
Boom!
Another skill exploded at their feet.
Archibald instantly reacted, teaming up with Leopold to fight side by side.
Fighting from an elevated position gave them a significant advantage over those below.
"Damn, I knew I shouldn't have jumped down!"
Archibald cursed under his breath, but his expression remained serious as he launched one skill after another.
Fire teor!
Light Sword Rain!
All were area-of-effect explosive attacks.
They knew they needed to resolve this quickly or just hold out—hold out until the Hidden Stars arrived.
This ti, Hidden Stars was collaborating with the military, aning reinforcents were assured.
As long as they could hold out, victory was certain and no problems should arise.
"For the glory of the divine lord!"
"The divine lord will rule the world, and you all will be sacrifices to the divine!"
One person scread maniacally, stomping on the stairs and lunging forward with a long sword aid at the group.
Everyone dodged backward.
Boom!
The long sword struck the wooden floor, carving a deep gash and sending splinters flying.
During the lee, the mask on the attacker's face fell to the ground.
John didn't know who this person was, but Alia and the others gasped in shock.
"It's... him?"
"How could it be him?"
Archibald's eyes widened in disbelief.
John looked puzzled, "Who is he?"
Isabella's voice was low, "He's the manager of the Imperial Capital Grand Hotel."
Another person charged forward!
This one was unmasked, clearly visible to all.
"This is… the captain of the Imperial Capital's third city defense squad!"
"This is the night manager of the Imperial Capital Grand Hotel."
"This is the deputy minister of the Alliance Logistics Departnt…"
One na after another was uttered from their lips, and John's heart sank.
It seed that the influence of the Dusk Sect was even more terrifying than he had imagined.
And these people were hidden so deeply!
If not for today's revelation at this location, they would have never suspected these prominent figures to be fervent followers of the Dusk Sect.
What was most horrifying was…
This was happening within the Imperial Capital!
These people were so well-concealed within the Imperial Capital that they had gone unnoticed.
If not for Rosie ntioning a so-called gift of eting, they might never have found this place.
Everyone felt a heavy weight in their hearts as they began to contemplate so rather grim possibilities.
If… If all of the Dusk Sect's followers in the Imperial Capital were gathered here, that would be one thing, but what if this was just a fraction of them?
With mbers of the Dusk Sect infiltrating even the military and noble families, did that an there were other places they couldn't see?
The visible part of an iceberg is just a fraction of its whole—does that not say enough?
As all these individuals were exposed before them, it set the stage for what was to co, making everything much more terrifying!
"What do we do? Do we take these people alive?"
Even though Leopold was a nobleman's son, the sight of so many people still instilled a sense of fear in him.
The implications were vast, and if they were to indiscriminately kill everyone, it ant they would undoubtedly face even more complications.
"They have already beco followers of the Dusk Sect, and now they are attacking us. Should I really leave them a way out?"
Isabella's thoughts were clearer than anyone else's.
They were on a mission, and Hidden Stars had already stated that anyone involved could be taken down without regard to their status—dead or alive.
With that in mind, why hesitate?
Realizing this, they quickly ford a battle alliance, a tactic honed in the secret realm.
Each knew the others' strengths, so there was no need for hesitation.
John watched these frenzied individuals and felt an ominous premonition.
Since Rosie had previously ntioned these people were a 'gift,' it seed unlikely they would be this uncontrollable.
What did this gift really an? What was hidden beneath the surface?
Why had the mood of these people, which was calm just monts ago, suddenly turned so wild?
As John engaged these people, he kept a careful watch.
Handling those at the silver-tier was relatively straightforward—knocking them unconscious and setting them aside to disable them was sufficient.
However, dealing with individuals at the gold-tier, platinum-tier, and erald-tier was far more challenging.
It appeared that these higher-tier individuals were under so kind of ntal control, making their actions sowhat predictable and straightforward.
They seed to be operating purely on instinct, not using any skills.
Otherwise, just the platinum-tier alone would have been enough to overwhelm them, not to ntion the few at the erald-tier.
Seeing that these individuals were all subdued and cast aside, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Now, only a few erald-tier individuals remained.
The entire basent was in disarray.
There were burning fireballs everywhere, along with continuous shaking noises.
Noises of footsteps from above suggested that Hidden Stars' forces had arrived.
Everyone felt a bit more relieved, knowing reinforcents had arrived and that handling the situation would now be much easier.
But a growing unease was taking hold in John's mind.
"We need to leave here now!"
With Hidden Stars' forces arriving, dealing with these cultists should be straightforward.
Moreover, this location had been confird as the Dusk Sect headquarters, and all previous incidents had pointed to their involvent.
The mission was effectively complete.
They needed to leave this place quickly.
"Why should we..."
Archibald began, but stopped abruptly as he saw John's pupils dilate.
"Get down!"
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