novelraw Chapter 1298: The Third Time
Chapter 1298: The Third Time
Under the moonlight, Caesar—shrouded in a hazy layer of lunar radiance—gently fanned his strange, fleshy wings that were shaped like palms, his body rising and falling slightly.
He had already stopped that terrifying howling sound and was now gazing coldly at the earth below.
After the dreadful sound ceased, the Knights of the Round Table no longer felt dizzy… It seemed it had not been a sonic-type attack.
However, whether it carried any hidden dangers was still uncertain—after all, the one before them was a violent criminal who had seized the power of the Holy Armor by unknown means. No one knew what other special effects that howl might conceal.
Gareth and the others remained completely still, choosing to respond to change by staying unchanged.
As time slowly passed, everything around them seemed normal, except that the wind had grown colder… It appeared that the howl truly had not caused any mental damage.
Caesar still hovered arrogantly in the air like a king, surveying the land below.
At that moment, the Doctor suddenly frowned, his expression changing drastically as he blurted out, “What did you say? Foggy City has erupted into a riot?!”
“What happened?”
The other four immediately turned to look at him.With a grave expression, the Doctor raised his head toward Caesar beneath the moonlit night and said through clenched teeth, “Right now, in every district of Foggy City, all registered beastmen have gone berserk and are wreaking havoc everywhere… Look!”
He pointed into the distance, toward the direction of Foggy City. Everyone looked and saw sparks rising into the sky. Half the city had already been dyed crimson, and raging fires could even be seen atop several high-rise buildings.
“It was his howl!!”
In an instant, they all realized the true purpose behind Caesar’s action!
“Oberon!! You actually—?!”
In the night, Caesar bowed slightly, like an actor taking a curtain call. “Then please, enjoy this special performance I’ve prepared for you all.”
“You’re trying to escape!” Gareth slashed wildly at the sky, sending sword light soaring upward.
At that moment, Caesar produced a strange scroll from nowhere. As he opened it, the incoming sword light struck nothing but an afterimage… He had already vanished!
“What do we do now?”
Everyone regrouped.
Mr. Gareth said gravely, “As far as I know, there are about three hundred registered individuals with beastman blood currently in Foggy City… If we let them continue destroying things, before sunrise tomorrow, Foggy City will likely—”
Three hundred beastmen consumed by feral instincts, and in a bustling metropolis at that… The scale of destruction was unimaginable.
…
…
Bang bang bang bang bang—!!!
On the streets, the sound of gunfire rang out sharply. Flames spread along the sidewalks, and overturned cars were scattered everywhere.
Foggy City’s police had formed barricades with their patrol cars. More than a dozen officers were using the vehicles as cover, firing frantically at a gigantic figure nearly two and a half meters tall.
Bullets poured into the massive creature’s body, blood spraying everywhere, yet it did not stop its destructive rampage—on the contrary, it only grew more ferocious.
It became even more frenzied. From its lower jaw protruded upward-facing tusks like those of a wild boar, which looked like a demon’s fangs when its mouth opened!
It tore off a car door from a nearby vehicle and held it in front of itself like a shield, continuing to advance… The standard-issue pistols used by Foggy City police were completely unable to stop it!
Suddenly, it leapt high into the air and crashed down onto a patrol car. Its enormous weight instantly crushed it, shattering the windows.
It bent down and roared once more. One Foggy City police officer was so terrified that he collapsed to the ground, trembling in horror…
Similar scenes were unfolding across many streets.
It was as if the end of the world had arrived.
…
Inside the headquarters control room of The-Fianna.
The Prime Minister slammed his fist heavily onto the table, glaring furiously at the scenes on the screen. Grinding his teeth in hatred, he seemed to hiss a name through them: “Oberon…”
“Prime Minister, several ministers are calling you simultaneously, and there are also generals from the military… Whom would you like to respond to first?”
“Get me the major television networks and all communications operators!” The Prime Minister stood up abruptly. “Within ten—no, five minutes, I want all information dissemination within Foggy City stopped!”
“This…?”
“Do you want the outside world to descend into the same chaos as here?” the Prime Minister snapped. “I don’t have time to worry about public reaction right now. What I need is to stop this riot!”
“I understand.” The officer nodded quickly, though the calls from ministers and military officials continued to ring insistently. “Then… these calls?”
“Hang up!” The Prime Minister took a deep breath. “And connect me to Sir Perkins.”
…
The moment communication was established between The-Fianna headquarters and the Knight Bureau at Perkins Manor, both sides saw the grim expressions on each other’s faces.
The Prime Minister was somewhat surprised to see the heads of regional Knight Bureaus seated around the massive round table and frowned slightly.
After a few seconds of silence, Sir Perkins spoke first. “Prime Minister, it seems the place you’re at is the one commanding those peculiar armored warriors.”
“Perkins,” the Prime Minister said in a deep voice, “I have no mood to bicker with you, and this is not the time. Foggy City is in riot. I’ve already mobilized the military, and I need the assistance of your Knight Bureau! Tell me—how many of those creatures are there in Foggy City?”
“They are beastmen,” Sir Perkins stood and said. “Or descendants of beastmen and humans. They are not monsters.”
“Your Knight Bureau actually allows these monsters to marry humans?!” The Prime Minister widened his eyes, then forcibly suppressed his anger. “Forget it—now’s not the time to argue about that! Tell me the number!”
“If this berserk state is collective,” Sir Perkins replied, “then the number should be around three hundred forty.”
“Three hundred forty?! Just how much have you still not told the cabinet?!”
Sir Perkins said calmly, “Our Knight Bureau is also quite interested in those warriors equipped with extremely powerful weapons.”
The Prime Minister fell silent for a moment before grinding his teeth and saying, “How many people can you deploy? Are you confident you can suppress these beast—beastmen? I don’t want military artillery aimed at this city.”
“You handle evacuation and rescue,” Sir Perkins took a deep breath. “We will suppress this riot as quickly as possible.”
“Very good! I don’t want to see a single beastman leave Foggy City! This is like a plague!!”
The screen went dark.
Everyone around the round table looked toward Perkins. The old knight sighed and waved his hand. “Issue the order. All knights are to be deployed… Anyone still capable of fighting, no matter where they are, must mobilize. Gentlemen, please also draw some manpower from your respective organizations as quickly as possible.”
This time, although the key to the Holy Grail was being escorted to Foggy City under the protection of the Twelve Knights, in reality there were not many knights accompanying it.
Everyone wore solemn expressions. After nodding, they left the conference room one after another to command the agencies under their jurisdiction… Only Sir Perkins and the Grand Knight holding the demonic sword—Simpson—remained.
The knight suddenly asked, “How many souls are left in the demonic sword?”
Simpson replied expressionlessly, “They were completely consumed during this activation of the Holy Grail to obtain intelligence.”
“So much consumption…” The knight pondered for a moment, then said seriously, “Mr. Simpson, we need more sacrifices. Only the power of the Holy Grail can erase the impact of this riot. Step forward.”
Grand Knight Simpson immediately walked up and knelt on one knee before Sir Perkins.
Pressing his staff lightly against the knight’s shoulder, he said, “Knight, I bestow glory upon you. Please bring us light.”
“Yes! My lord!”
…
…
This might be the most unbelievable day of his life… Will thought.
He was at a loss amid the chaos outside… It felt as if the signal had been cut off in an instant—not only could no network be reached, even landlines were dead, and the television had no signal. It was as though they had been completely cut off from the world.
His companions were anxiously trying to make calls… Will’s face was pale, his hands moving mechanically as he bandaged the beastwoman’s arm.
He didn’t know why she had harmed herself, but it seemed she was using it to ease some kind of pain.
After Oga suddenly fell unconscious, the beastwoman held him in her arms. There was no sign of him waking up… Meanwhile, Mr. Klein was on the phone with someone.
“Why can your phone still get through?”
“This is specially customized by our organization, using a private channel,” Klein said quickly over his shoulder. “All external communications have been cut off… It’s very chaotic. Sorry—I can’t explain everything right now. Please don’t leave this place. It’s extremely dangerous outside.”
“I know it’s dangerous…”
Looking out the window at the flames engulfing a nearby building and hearing smashing noises from the street, one of Will’s companions shuddered. Perhaps instinctively, when he looked again at the beastwoman, fear flickered in his eyes, and he involuntarily stepped back half a pace.
At that moment, a violent crash sounded from the entrance hall of the community center… Klein’s face changed. After telling everyone to stay put, he rushed out!
When Klein reached the entrance hall, he saw a sedan that had smashed straight into the lobby—the car rocking violently.
Inside the car was a Black man wearing an eye patch, pinned to the seat by something massive… He struggled desperately, both hands bracing against a huge arm.
“Nick!”
In shock, Klein kicked the door open, slammed a kick into the massive thing, knocking it out through the opposite door, then dragged Nick out.
“That beastman suddenly went berserk on the way here!” Nick gasped.
“All the beastmen in the city have gone berserk,” Klein said rapidly. “Check the internal network notice later. For now—protect yourselves!”
Because the beastman that had been kicked out was already back on its feet—its clothes shredded, only a few rags hanging from its body.
Nearly two meters tall, arms thicker than a normal person’s legs, with sharp claws and tusks, it radiated feral violence.
Klein took several deep breaths… He wasn’t carrying any weapons. Facing a berserk beastman barehanded was no easy task!
“There’s spare gear in the trunk!”
“Nick, I love you!!”
Klein shouted in delight. He rushed forward, kicked the beastman to knock it back, then hurried to the trunk and pulled out a warhammer and a round shield.
Like a gladiator, Klein struck the shield with the hammer, making noise to draw its attention. “Hey, big guy—do you like apple pie?!”
Provoked, the beastman lunged wildly. Klein sidestepped smoothly and struck the shield again. “Over here, big guy!”
The beastman roared and charged again—Klein dodged perfectly once more, and the beastman slammed straight into the wall behind him.
The impact was so great that half its body smashed through the wall, getting stuck. As it struggled to pull its head free, the warhammer came crashing down.
Imbued with the power the knights had cultivated over years, the blow made the beastman’s eyes spin as it collapsed in a daze… though it clearly hadn’t lost the ability to move.
Klein raised the warhammer again.
But a figure suddenly blocked his way—the beastwoman stood there with arms spread, shielding the beastman.
“Get out of the way!!”
“No—! No!! Please! Please!”
“He’s dangerous!”
The beastwoman hurriedly took out her phone and spoke rapidly. “This isn’t his intention! He’s just lost! He doesn’t want to hurt anyone! I can calm him down—please believe me!”
Klein instinctively glanced at Nick not far away. After a quick exchange of looks, Klein slowly nodded and stepped back a few paces, though he kept the hammer and shield raised.
After a brief daze, the beastman’s frenzy flared again. Without caring who stood before it, it swung its claws down wildly—yet the beastwoman nimbly slipped past the attack, cupped its face with both hands, and pressed her forehead against its own, amber eyes locking onto it.
She murmured softly in a strange rhythm, like speech and like song… Miraculously, the raging beastman actually began to calm down.
Klein and Nick exchanged looks again, frowning.
…
…
The alarm suddenly sounded.
Outside the window, fires began to appear across the city… Looking down from the upper-floor suite of the Song Imperial Dynasty hotel, the city looked as though it were under bombardment.
Luo Qiu watched silently.
At that moment, the suite door opened. Miss Maid entered, carrying a man whose clothes were in tatters.
The man was unconscious. From what remained of his clothing, it was faintly clear that it had once been a chef’s uniform.
“Master, I brought him back,” Miss Maid said.
She tossed him casually onto the floor. “He should be the only one left in the hotel.”
Luo Qiu nodded. Looking outside again, he suddenly said, “Do you think this counts as the third time?”
After all… he had already stayed inside the hotel room.
(End of Chapter)