Having reclaimed her weapon, Ch'en looked at the soldiers surrounding her with an extremely grim expression. These people could no longer be described as merely "suspected" of a crime; at this moment, they were actively committing one!
The two who had retrieved their weapons quickly moved to Jeanne's side, casting slightly curious glances at her current appearance. They had no idea how she had done it—to change into this outfit in an instant and pull out such a massive flag from nowhere! Was this truly Originium Arts?
However, they also knew that now was not the time to fret over such details. They would have plenty of time to chat about it later; why obsess over it during such a critical moment?
The tables had turned. Although the two who had secured their preferred weapons spoke of surrender, their actions didn't suggest they expected the enemy to actually comply. The charging soldiers were easily knocked to the ground by the trio, unable to mount any effective resistance in the short term.
Then again, the fact that blood wasn't painting the room red was proof that these two officers were holding back. If they hadn't planned on taking them back for interrogation, these fellows would have long been carved to pieces by Chi Xiao. Still, looking at the amount of blood pooling around those on the ground, they likely only had a few minutes left if medical help didn't arrive; at this rate of bleeding, they'd be dry in no time.
At this point, Ivanov couldn't care less about being loyal to Ursus. He only wanted to run as far away as possible and never see these terrifying monsters again. While commanding his soldiers to fight to the death against the trio, he edged toward the exit step by step, looking for a chance to bolt and save his own skin.
Even if he might face a triple manhunt from the nobles behind him, the Ursus government, and the Lungmen authorities, his only thought right now was survival. Even if he were inevitably dealt with by some faction later, it didn't matter—as long as he could get out of here...
But before he could get very far, he felt the building beneath his feet shake violently. He swayed, losing his balance and tumbling across the floor like a rolling gourd. It took a long time before he managed to grab a railing to stabilize himself. Right beside him was the massive crater created by the falling "meteor," and one of his feet was already dangling over the edge. Had he not caught the railing, he would have plummeted into the pool of magma on the first floor. Even if he could try to withstand it with his Arts, the outcome would be anyone's guess.
"What's happening? Is this an earthquake in Lungmen or another accident?"
Jeanne immediately stabilized herself, her legs tensed to keep from falling. Beside her, Ch'en thrust Chi Xiao into the floor, and Hoshiguma did the same with Hannya to maintain balance. As for the soldiers? Most of them were rolling around on the floor; very few could stay on their feet.
Everyone was bewildered. Why would a mobile city experience an earthquake for no reason? Could Lungmen have run into a Catastrophe at a time like this?
After an unknown amount of time, the tremors began to subside. The shaking of the building was much less severe than before, no longer hindering them from apprehending the criminals. While everyone was still dazed by the sudden change, the soldiers who couldn't even stand seemed to realize something, their expressions turning as foul as if they had just eaten a live cockroach.
The trio took this opportunity to successfully subdue the soldiers on the scene. Hoshiguma found a rope from somewhere, and the three of them tied them up like piglets. At this point, having experienced multiple setbacks in a single day, the soldiers had lost their fighting spirit—or rather, what little they had left had been exhausted just now. They didn't want to fight the LGD at all anymore.
What a day! No matter what they did, an accident occurred. Were they truly suffering some sort of divine punishment? Let them be tied up; they didn't want to offer futile resistance anyway. What was the point of struggling for Ursus? Would those nobles even give them a promotion? Their manager had already jumped—may the Emperor protect him, and may the magma below burn that bastard to a crisp.
With the soldiers' cooperation, Jeanne and the others successfully brought them under control to prevent them from rushing into the downtown area to cause trouble.
However, the rhythmic thumping coming from deep underground made her even more uneasy. In all her years in Lungmen, Ch'en had never experienced tremors of this magnitude. And after the initial fading, the vibrations in the soil were becoming increasingly obvious. It felt as if something underground were struggling to release itself.
"What's going on? Is there some ultra-ancient creature buried under Lungmen? Like a giant monster or something?" Jeanne looked curiously at Ch'en. The vibration felt like a monster had suddenly revived. Could this company have actually been researching ancient monsters?
As for whether this had anything to do with her? Impossible! How could she possibly have the power to summon such a terrifying creature? Surely there wasn't a Fafnir buried under the floor?
"I don't know, but we can't stay here. We should get everyone out quickly; this building might collapse at any moment." Ch'en felt the underground tremors, and an ominous feeling grew in her heart. If these vibrations were caused by a living thing, how large would it have to be? Surely more than one or two stories high?
Thinking of this, Ch'en walked ahead in silence. If her suspicion became reality, the officers under her command might not make it back. Behind her, the officers carried the tied-up troublemakers. Hoshiguma asked them along the way what they had encountered, but the answers weren't very reassuring.
"We saw a monster over two meters tall! It could spit fire and moved incredibly fast! We couldn't even see its full form, only a dark shadow..." These men recalled with lingering fear. This was why they had left the basement early to intercept the trio, and they had no idea what happened afterward. Fortunately, they hadn't seen the even more terrifying sights that followed, or they might have lost the will to resist the LGD entirely, just like the stragglers outside.
"Yo, Pink Sausage Dragon! I didn't expect you to take so long with just a few small fry. We finished up ages ago."
The moment Swire saw Ch'en emerge from the office building, she hurried forward to check on her. Seeing the three of them unharmed, she breathed a sigh of relief. Because of the sudden accidents, their coordination had suffered some errors. Although Swire believed in Ch'en's ability to complete the mission, she was still worried they might have been hurt.
"I'm not like you—losing so much combat effectiveness just because you're surrounded. How is it on your end? Anyone injured?" Ch'en asked, looking at the blood on the ground with concern. Although she had prepared for casualties, seeing it in person was still uncomfortable.
"Don't worry, that's the enemies' blood! Miss Lemuen left those marks with her guns. Just a few stubborn ones who wouldn't cooperate; most were quite helpful. Not a single person managed to escape through the main gate!" Swire was confident. The fierce battle they had anticipated hadn't occurred. Most of the soldiers seemed almost eager to be caught, surrendering as soon as they saw the LGD.
Just then, they saw a patch of ground behind them bulge upward. Everyone's attention focused there in an instant; no one said a word. The ground seemed to be headbutted by something, a hill-like mound of earth rising and falling repeatedly, looking like a Demon King breaking a seal in a video game.
"What is this? Has a monster buried under Lungmen revived? We don't have the weapons to deal with something like that!"
As Swire spoke, a scale-covered monster burst through the soil! It was a reptilian creature at least five meters tall. When Jeanne saw this monster, she almost pulled her own ahoge out while tidying her hair. What is the deal with this guy? What on earth did it eat to grow into this size?!