"Death to any who defy the Sacred Procreation Mandate!"
Upon hearing the Grand Master's command crackle through his headset, the leading Dawn Priest—brandishing an electric baton—let out a battle cry and charged furiously toward Mark, his subordinates following close behind.
Although he knew full well it was a trap, Mark could not simply sit idly by and wait for his demise.
With no other choice, he stepped forward, swinging his iron fists. In a matter of moments—swiftly and decisively—he knocked the entire squad of elite Dawn Priests flat onto the ground.
As the strongest captain among the Wilderness Hunters—a unit constantly locked in combat with the Phage Beasts—fighting against these Dawn Priests (who had never once set foot on the surface world) felt less like a battle between equals and more like a father disciplining his unruly sons. "Goku, let's go—straight to the flight platform!"
Having finished off the Dawn Priests, Mark immediately grabbed Ran Bing and sprinted toward the lighthouse's flight platform. As he ran, he called back to Erica, who was following behind:
"Erica, stay here—don't follow us! Please apologize to Mo Cheng and the others for us; we don't have time to say goodbye."
Since these Dawn Priests were merely a trap set by Charles, even if they were to go find the City Lord now, it would likely be extremely difficult to leave afterward.
Given Charles's petty nature, he wouldn't let them leave the lighthouse so easily.
Therefore, their best option was to head to the flight platform, commandeer a flight craft, and have Mark pilot it—taking Ran Bing and Goku—to fly directly down to the surface.
Compared to the flesh-eating beasts lurking below, Mark felt that human nature was a far more difficult adversary to handle.
It was precisely for this reason that he could no longer allow Erica to accompany them.
Erica still had to live her life within the lighthouse; if she were caught assisting them in their escape, she would be branded an accomplice—a complication that would cause her endless trouble in the aftermath.
However, while their hopes were high, reality proved to be cruel.
Before they could even make it out of the dormitory district, they saw Senge—the captain of the City Defense Force—waiting at the exit with a small squad of elite troops.
Seeing this, Erica nodded without a word and turned to leave.
She wasn't turning back out of fear of getting dragged into trouble; rather, she intended to summon Mo Cheng and the other elite Wilderness Hunters, have them suit up in their heavy-armor mechs, and come to the captain's aid.
"Captain Mark, Lieutenant Ran Bing—you have violated the lighthouse's regulations. I'm afraid you two will have to come with us."
Senge stood with his hands clasped behind his back, a hint of mockery playing on his face.
"I shouldn't need to spell out the consequences of resisting, should I?"
"Senge!"
Mark's expression darkened as he gazed at the four City Defense Force heavy-armor mechs standing behind Senge.
He paid no mind to the surrounding guards armed with rifles; they were beneath his notice.
However, four heavy-armor mechs were a different story entirely; even he couldn't hope to handle them empty-handed—unless, of course, he could suit up in his own heavy-armor mech: Dawn.
"He's also one of Charles's men. Charles promised him that once he became the City Lord, he would appoint him Commander-in-Chief of the City Guard."
Goku's eyes gleamed slightly; he had already read Senge's memories.
Hearing Goku's words, Mark and the City Guards were all momentarily stunned.
Mark had actually already suspected that Senge was colluding with Charles; what astonished him was that Goku seemed capable of seeing into people's minds.
This ability had been evident all along—from their time at the dormitory, to their encounter with the Dawn Priest, and right up to this very moment.
As for the City Guards, they were unaware that their captain was in league with Charles; they had simply received orders to arrest Captain Mark for violating the Lighthouse's regulations.
Now, hearing Goku's revelation, they naturally felt a flicker of hesitation.
Among both the Upper Dwellers and the Dust Dwellers living in the Lighthouse, there was—to varying degrees—a sense of admiration for Captain Mark.
"You actually believe the words of a little brat? Is this how I've been training you all this time?"
Senge roared, his bluster masking his inner fear:
"Why are you just standing there? Take them all into custody! If they resist, kill them on sight!"
He couldn't fathom it: how could the child standing opposite him—who had been in the Lighthouse for less than a day—possibly know the secret of his allegiance to Charles?
"I'm not lying. I can read your memories—you're the one who's lying."
Goku pointed at Senge, his expression one of absolute honesty.
"Goku, you go first—don't worry about us. Find the Flight Zone platform; there are aircraft there that can take you back down to the surface!"
Mark sighed, positioning his hulking frame to block the City Guards' path.
He knew that Goku possessed terrifying power—enough to obliterate a giant Phage Beasts—but against the cold, steel weaponry of the heavy mechs, he suspected even Goku would be outmatched.
However, since he himself was the guards' primary target, he figured that by drawing their fire, he could give Goku a chance to break through the encirclement and escape.
He now felt a pang of regret for having brought Goku up to the Lighthouse in the first place.
He had thought he was saving Goku from the perils of life on the surface; instead, he had merely led him straight into another massive trap. "Why bother choosing? They're so weak—and they're all bad guys, too. Let me teach them a little lesson."
Goku's figure flashed. Moving with such blinding speed, that to Mark and Ran Bing's eyes, it seemed as though multiple Gokus had suddenly materialized simultaneously before every single member of the City Guard.
Then, as the afterimages of those Gokus faded, every single member of the City Guard was sent flying backward almost in unison.
Including their captain, Senge.
But what left Mark and Ran Bing even more incredulous was that the four heavy-class mechs of the City Guard had also been sent flying backward.
They exploded right there in mid-air, revealing the pilots inside—
who had been knocked unconscious by the shockwave.
"Destroying heavy-class mechs with bare hands? Is he even human?!"
Leaving a fist-shaped dent in a heavy-class mech, or merely knocking one flying—that is one thing. But to outright obliterate a heavy-class mech in mid-air like this...
Those are two entirely different concepts.
The latter implies not only astonishing physical strength and terrifying explosive power, but a physical body even harder than steel.
Otherwise, it would be like an egg striking a rock; no matter how great the force behind the blow, it would be the egg that shattered first.
"Th-this... This is impossible! How can such a monster exist in this world?!"
Watching the surveillance feed, Charles saw Senge's squad completely wiped out by that boy in a single instant—and saw, too, that the four heavy-class mechs had been blown to smithereens.
The surveillance screen subsequently dissolved into static.
The expression on Charles's face twisted into a grotesque grimace.
He simply could not believe that a mere human boy could possess such terrifying power.
As the one chosen by the Lord of Light and Shadow, he was the true savior—the true guide destined to lead all of humanity out of the darkness.
Even he did not possess such immense power; so by what right did a lowly mutant—a freak with a tail growing out of his backside—deserve to have it?
In that moment, his envy toward Goku surpassed even his envy toward Mark.
The ability to wield miraculous magic... the ability to read the thoughts within people's minds... and now, a terrifying physical power that surpassed even that of the Rippers.
These were the very powers that he—as the Divine Emissary of the Lord of Light and Shadow— was rightfully supposed to possess. Back in his childhood, during a ground mission, he was surrounded by a massive horde of Phage Beasts—a moment of life-and-death peril.
Then, a figure akin to a deity descended, repelling the beasts that encircled him before merging with his very being.
That deity was the Lord of Light and Shadow; ever since that moment, he has held the unwavering conviction that he is the "Chosen One"—handpicked by the Lord of Light and Shadow—and the deity's true messenger.
Therefore, the position of City Lord of the Lighthouse—by all rights—should belong to him.
"All enforcement squads of the Light and Shadow Society: mobilize immediately! Leave no survivors—kill them on sight!"
Slamming both hands violently onto the table, Charles issued the kill order.
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