The continuous sound of gunfire echoed from the east.
Gazing at the flickering flames in the night sky, Rock Fang, standing next to a wooden raft, muttered to himself. "... Isn't it over yet?"
Could something have gone wrong?
Just as he was feeling frustrated, a wooden raft drifted from the east alley.
The moment Rock Fang noticed that the person standing on the raft was his company leader, his heart leaped into his throat.
The raft soon reached the shore.
Without waiting for the trusted subordinate to stabilize himself after getting off the raft, Rock Fang grabbed his shoulder urgently and asked, "What's the situation? Who won?"
"The New Alliance won... They've already occupied the headquarters," The Company Leader immediately replied.
"What about Gold Fang?" Rock Fang continued to inquire, "Where is he? Did they capture him?"
The company leader swallowed hard. "He's dead!"
Rock Fang’s eyes widened slightly. "Are you sure?!"
The company leader nodded vigorously. His tone was slightly tense as he spoke. "Positive! I saw it with my own eyes! The New Alliance's shells penetrated the hole in the wall, and then there was an explosion from inside... Not only Gold Fang, but also the Apostles sent by Torch were killed in the explosion!"
Upon hearing this, Rock Fang finally relaxed, and he couldn't help but clench his fists. "Good."
Looking at Rock Fang's joyful expression, the Company Leader who had witnessed Gold Fang's corpse had a complex expression at this moment.
The war has finally ended.
However, it ended with their defeat.
Although the New Alliance had promised that their treatment would be different from regular prisoners, it didn't change the fact that they were prisoners.
Only time would tell.
Seeing the complex expressions on the faces of his subordinates, Rock Fang began to realize that he might be showing too much happiness at this moment, which seemed inappropriate.
So he cleared his throat and patted the shoulder of the Company Leader in front of him. "Don't be too sad. The situation turned out this way because that fool believed in Dillon's shitty plan and gambled away all the tanks. The responsibility for the failure is not on us."
"Moreover, the administrator of the New Alliance told me in a letter that surrendering only counts as losing half of the battle."
"This result is already good enough. Straighten your chest; now, we need to take charge of those prisoners... There's nothing to be ashamed of."
Upon learning of Gold Fang's death, Rock Fang immediately led his more than 1,000 men from the western defense zone towards the headquarters. They cooperated with the Burning Corps to control the checkpoint near the headquarters and the outposts along the nearby streets.
Although that meant turning their weapons against their allies, they had no other choice at this point.
In order to show their loyalty to the New Alliance, Rock Fang didn't hesitate to order his own people to open fire; he even personally rushed to the frontline of the battlefield to oversee the battle.
At first, his subordinates hesitated, but as casualties began to mount, a fervor of bloodlust overcame them all, making them cast aside their inner turmoil completely.
They had no moral constraints or psychological burdens.
To cling to the powerful was, in essence, but another facet of the law of the jungle.
"Rock Fang, are you out of your mind?!" Cloud Fang, who urged his subordinates to advance, suddenly had an expression of mental confusion after seeing Rock Fang standing behind cover on the opposite side.
Facing his former comrades, Rock Fang's face showed some hesitation for a moment, but it lasted only half a second.
"There's no use in talking. All that has befallen us now is the consequence of that fool's own making..."
"Surrender! Gold Fang is dead!"
"Dead...?" In Cloud Fang's eyes, a hint of disbelief and shock briefly appeared, but it was soon replaced by deep-seated hatred and anger. He roared loudly, his voice tearing through the air, "Never!"
Rock Fang, no longer concealing anything, let go of all pretenses and raised a machine gun to fire at the opposite end of the street, his face contorted with rage. "Then go to hell!"
The soldiers of the New Alliance took out the smoke grenades and, with a running start, hurled them over.
The red smoke sailed across a distance of nearly a hundred meters and landed steadily on Cloud Fang's position.
Before the marauders could react, a rain of fire descended from the sky, sending them and their cover into the air.
Watching the billowing smoke rise ahead, Rock Fang only took half a second to silently mourn his former comrades before clenching his fists and saying fiercely, "You should've listened to me!”
It didn't have to be this way, but you are leaving me with no other choice...
With the news of Gold Fang's death, the morale of the brigade under his direct control plummeted instantly.
Facing the fierce firepower of New Alliance and Rock Fang's troops, the remaining marauders were quickly routed.
And at this moment, a broadcast sounded in the urban areas around the 4th New District.
"I am the administrator of the Alliance."
"Marauders of the Fang Clan, your headquarters have been captured, and Skull Crusher Gold Fang was killed by our soldiers while trying to escape."
"Your defeat is certain. Surrender is your only way out!"
"We don't kill prisoners, but for those who resist, we will show no mercy!"
Gold Fang... Is dead?
The marauders who were still heading toward the headquarters were filled with confusion and fear upon hearing the news of Gold Fang's death.
At that moment, they felt like the sky was falling.
From Brigade Commanders to lowly riflemen, everyone was lost and didn't know what to do.
In the southern part of the city, standing next to Ape Fang, a staff officer from the Army sighed softly.
"... Surrender, we've already lost."
Ape Fang's expression contorted with anger, and he grabbed the officer by the collar. "Shut your mouth! Who do you think got us to this point?"
"You want to blame it on Dillon, right?" The staff officer spoke with a mocking tone. "Indeed, you can blame him... It was his foolish decision to pin his hopes on you. If you want to kill me, go ahead, you don't have much time left anyway."
Ape Fang glared at him with murderous intent, but after a long pause, he let go of the officer's collar. "... What should I do?"
"Lead your people out and surrender. It's clear that New Alliance's bombardment in the southern city is just a feint. Their main force is on the western side. Surrendering before they enter the city shows more sincerity than waiting for them to break in."
Ape Fang swallowed hard, nervous. "But, but we don't have any leaflets. I burned everything we found."
Gold Fang had ordered that anyone found hiding leaflets would be subjected to extreme punishment. He absolutely did not dare to defy this order, and every day he would search his subordinates' pockets 2 or 3 times to ensure that there were no traitors in his ranks.
However, listening to this naive statement, the staff officer just chuckled. "What nonsense are you talking about? Do you really think your subordinates are that obedient? I bet that as soon as you shout that the war is over, they'll immediately come up with thousands of surrender leaflets."
Ape Fang's face alternated between pale and red as he clenched and loosened his fist.
After a fierce internal struggle, the will to live ultimately prevailed.
Under his orders, more than 1,000 marauders in the southern city walked out of their cover, hands on their heads, and in batches, they walked towards New Alliance's positions...
And at this very moment, on New Alliance's front lines, it was the Skeleton Corps that guarded the trenches.