Many humans and Monsters inside were pummeled to paste on the spot; not a single one survived.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh! From the remaining floors, a flood of figures burst out, scattering in every direction.
But in the sky, the other helicopters had already landed on the rooftops of nearby buildings.
Combatants in black uniforms, gray plate-carriers, and alloy weapons leapt straight down.
The instant they hit the ground, six-man squads fanned out to seal the area.
On the street, a two-metre-tall, pitch-black, Single-Horned Monster who'd joined the Monster Association only today was sprinting with an ugly look on his face.
"The hell? I just shot up and these bastards show up right after!" the horned Monster cursed.
When a few unlucky locals couldn't dodge, he slammed right through them; under a Monster's physique the humans were flung seven or eight metres.
Bones and organs shattered; blood gushed as they died on the spot.
"Aaaaah!"
"Run!"
Monsters!"
With the stronghold smashed, swarms of Monsters poured into the city.
Usually they hid under black robes; the better-off used illusion crystals bought with points.
Now, hunted by the Xuanjian Division, they didn't spare a thought for the local civilians.
Terrified faces darkened even further as the locals fled in all directions.
"Still running?" A 1.6-metre Xuanjian girl with shoulder-length hair saw the black Monster ahead refusing to drop.
Panicked civilians kept blocking her line of sight; she frowned.
She raised her hand, conjured a half-metre ring of light, and hurled it.
The ring sliced through anyone in its way and caught the fleeing Monster in a blink.
Thud! The Monster was cut clean in half, torso and legs hitting the ground separately.
With cold indifference the girl turned to hunt the rest.
The small city was chaos—battles everywhere.
A dozen-odd surviving Monsters clashed with the Division's Awakened; mud-brick houses exploded one after another.
In the sky, Fang Wenyu stood in the open hatch of a helicopter, calmly watching the fight below.
Caught off-guard, the Monsters had no power to resist.
Their only Level Three was now a giant Mo Yu's fist, limbs twitching helplessly.
"Wiping out so many in one go—much faster than Jiang Ao chasing shadows back home," Qin Wan said, smiling as she joined him.
"The night is long; we've only taken the first step," Fang Wenyu replied.
Soon the fighting below ended; fleeing Monsters were either dead or captured.
A squad jogged into the half-ruined building.
Fang Wenyu glanced at Qin Wan. "I'll go see if there's intel—stay here, don't dirty your clothes."
Without waiting, he leapt from a hundred metres up.
Swoosh! Crash!
Wind howled past as he cratered the muddy ground beside the building.
"Boss!"
"Chief Fang!"
Nearby Awakened greeted him as they converged.
Mo Yu had reverted to normal size, a two-and-a-half-metre, twin-headed, gray Monster dangling from his left hand—its limbs ripped off, teeth smashed, completely helpless.
"Schedule a brain-drain; see if we can dig out anything useful," Fang Wenyu said, nodding, then walked toward the ruined building.
Only five cracked floors remained; one punch from Mo Yu had turned it into a death-trap.
"On it!" Mo Yu carried the Monster toward the Mental Awakened at the rear.
Inside, the décor was utterly ordinary.
Furniture lay toppled where the Monsters had fled in panic.
Clomp, clomp, clomp! The advance squad reappeared; a buzz-cut youth carried a silver case.
Grinning, he hurried to Fang Wenyu. "Chief, bonus haul!"
He opened the case: a syringe filled with purple fluid.
On its barrel ran a line of small print.
Tyrant – Third Generation!
"Didn't expect to find this," Fang Wenyu exclaimed.
After multiple captures they'd never scored key intel, but they knew the Monster Association well—especially the tyranny potions.
Lately they'd seized occasional vials of Tyrant-Second, yet researchers still couldn't fully analyze the contents.
"Get it back," Fang Wenyu ordered, eyes gleaming; a vial of Tyrant-Third was a major prize.
"Sir!" The buzz-cut man snapped the case shut and left.
Moments later Fang Wenyu vaulted from a shattered fourth-floor window.
Facing his gathered subordinates, he smiled faintly. "Stronghold cleared—good work. Dinner's on me when we're back."
"Yeah!"
"Grub time!"
Everyone grinned; under Fang Wenyu the atmosphere stayed relaxed, unlike other strict sections.
Whirr! The helicopters descended onto the open ground; personnel boarded.
Over thirty Monsters killed, five captured, zero losses—every second recorded by a camera-helicopter overhead.
No one gave a second thought to the dead locals.
After all, they weren't even the same race.
Liyang Country, inside Jiang Yan's villa.
Jiang Yan lounged on the living-room sofa while the TV broadcast Fang Wenyu's raid live.
An Conghao stood behind him. Seeing Fang Wenyu leave yet Jiang Yan stay silent, he spoke up: "Chairman, the Xuanjian Division's pulling out."
"I know," Jiang Yan answered calmly, eyes on the screen.
It was all his design; otherwise the captured Monsters would've been silenced by Ghost Buddha before any mental probe, leaving no intel.
"How's the setup in Shi Country? That's the next key step," Jiang Yan asked without turning.
After wrapping up his tasks, Jiang Yan had set about manipulating the two Xuanjian officers desperate to become Deputy Director into striking the Monster Association.