The Battle Begins

On the sixth floor of the inpatient department, a hawk soared upward and let out several cries near the balcony. Ollie, standing on the balcony, had his expression suddenly change.

"Daring to trespass on my territory!" Ollie slammed his large hand, warping and distorting the railing on the balcony. He took a deep breath and said to the hawk, "Go, fetch the Butcher for me." With a flap of its wings, the hawk swiftly descended and disappeared before Ollie in less than a second.

"Since you've dared to come knocking, you don't need to leave!" Downstairs in the inpatient department, the Butcher swung his arms on a chopping board. In the blink of an eye, a complete person was divided cleanly, flesh from bone. He admired his handiwork.

An eagle's cry sounded overhead. The Butcher's expression changed upon hearing it, and he immediately sprinted towards the upper floors. Bare-chested and flexing his muscles, he wasn't slow. He covered six floors in less than two seconds.

When he arrived at the door of the hospital room, the Butcher pushed the door open and said, "Ollie, what do you want?"

Hearing the voice behind him, Ollie finally turned his head, his expression grim. "Marcello is in trouble."

"What?" The Butcher was shocked.

Marcello, as one of the three elders of the base, was a master of hidden weapons even before awakening his abilities. It was said that he came from an ancient school of hidden weapons. After awakening, his skill with hidden weapons was unrivaled. Such a formidable expert actually encountered trouble.

"Who is it?" The Butcher asked in a deep voice.

Ollie shook his head. "It's not clear yet. You and the eagle go and check."

"Understood!" The Butcher nodded. He pulled out the bone-cleansing knife strapped to his waist, leaped down from the upper floor, and at the same moment, the circling eagle dove down from the sky. It transformed into a man in a black robe upon landing on the ground. Together with the Butcher, they rushed out.

Just as the two were leaving, a voice suddenly sounded behind Ollie. "You must be Ollie."

"What?" Ollie turned his head abruptly, scanning the room, but he didn't see anyone.

The voice continued, "The double-headed lion eagle was sent by you, right?"

Ollie's gaze flickered as he discreetly reached into his sleeve and pulled out a bone-cleansing knife. "What if it was?"

"Since it was you, then there's no problem," the voice replied indifferently.

Next, a long knife inexplicably appeared in the room. The blade's glint cut through the air, transforming into a silver streak that flew toward Ollie.

"Damn it!" Ollie gritted his teeth. He hadn't expected the other party to act so decisively. Without hesitation, he let a bone-cleansing knife fall from his sleeve and directly blocked the incoming strike.

In the next moment, sparks flew. Ollie was directly propelled off the balcony by the immense force. Seeing his opponent being thrown, Anthony's gaze turned cold. He flickered and followed.

At this moment, the Butcher and the eagle had arrived at the doorway. When they saw the figure with their back to them at the entrance, the Butcher's stride faltered, and a sense of alertness emerged. He shouted at the back, "Marcello?"

The figure remained silent. Seeing this, the Butcher pulled a small knife from his pocket and threw it with a flick of his wrist. In the next instant, a "chirp" sounded as the small knife fully embedded itself. The head on the figure's back suddenly dropped, and the body collapsed to the ground.

The Butcher, seeing this, was immediately shocked and alarmed. He hurriedly ran up to inspect the scene. When he saw the decapitated head on the ground, he realized that Marcello had been dead for quite some time. Not only that, but a fist-sized hole had been torn open in his abdomen, and the core crystal inside had been taken.

"What a cunning method," the Butcher sighed.

As an Awakened individual, the most important thing was the core crystal in the dantian. Killing someone to obtain their core crystal was a despicable act that he had never heard of before. However, as he looked at Marcello's body, he suddenly realized a problem. Since Marcello was already dead, where was the culprit?

Just then, a brittle sound of shattering glass came from the inpatient department.

"Not good!" The Butcher immediately reacted and shouted at the eagle beside him, "Hurry, Ollie is in danger!" Without any hesitation, the eagle took flight and transformed into a giant eagle, soaring towards the inpatient department. The Butcher, carrying the bone-cleansing knife, hurriedly followed.

Outside the hospital building,

"This guy!" Ollie, after leaping from the balcony, performed a mid-air spin and landed with both feet stable between the inpatient and outpatient buildings. He used several quick footholds to reach the ground.

Coincidentally, the Butcher arrived just then. With almost no hesitation, Ollie shouted, "Butcher, that kid can turn invisible. I need some time."

After saying that, Ollie stepped back behind the two and slashed his right wrist with a knife. Drip by drip, his blood flowed like a stream, creating blossoming blood flowers on the ground. Ollie's golden pupils shimmered with a golden light as he chanted quietly. The Butcher, who was guarding in front, tensed up as if facing a formidable foe.

The fact that someone could make Ollie look so disheveled was unprecedented for the Butcher. He shouted at the sky, "Eagle, listen to my command!"

At the same time, the Butcher muttered, "Activate X-ray vision!" X-ray vision, as the name suggested, could penetrate all objects. Even if someone was invisible, he refused to believe they could completely conceal their blood and bones. His pupils turned red, and he could clearly see everything from bones to blood vessels and meridians of anyone within his line of sight. With just one glance, he saw a human figure standing less than ten meters away, completely hidden beneath a cloak.

Immediately, the Butcher shouted, "Eagle, 10 o'clock direction, estimated distance ten meters!" With a screech, the eagle dived from the sky. In the next moment, a long knife suddenly materialized, colliding with the eagle's talons, creating sparks and a metallic clang that pierced the ears.

"So this is X-ray vision?" Discovered, Anthony no longer hid. He simply collected his invisibility cloak into his spatial ring, revealing his true face.

Seeing Anthony reveal his true form, the Butcher grew even more cautious. He could sense a faint pressure emanating from this young man and said loudly, "Sir, may I ask if our River Ocean Survivor Base has offended you? Is that why you've come with such force?" When facing someone of this level, the Butcher believed in avoiding enmity whenever possible.

"Hasn't your boss told you?" Anthony sneered.

Boss? The Butcher glanced back at Ollie in puzzlement. Ollie lowered his voice and said, "He's the one who killed the double-headed lion eagle."

These words stunned the Butcher even more. He hadn't expected the mysterious figure connected to yesterday's disappearance of the double-headed lion eagle to be this kid.

Thinking about this, the Butcher could only wryly smile. This situation had just taken a turn for the worse. The double-headed lion eagle was extremely formidable. If this kid was really the one who took it down, there was no doubt that he was walking into trouble.

"Buy me some time. I need one more minute," Ollie emphasized once again.

With a grim expression, the Butcher nodded and continued to address Anthony, "Sir, since you've already killed Marcello, can we consider this matter settled?"

"Settled? How naive," Anthony mocked, sneering, "I spare you today, but will you spare me tomorrow?"

The Butcher, listening to these words, visibly hesitated. Knowing his boss's character, revenge was a given. However, to delay time, he continued, "Is there really no way to resolve this?"

"No," Anthony replied indifferently.

"Well, in that case, we have no choice but to fight," the Butcher gritted his teeth, gripping the bone-cleansing knife tightly. Without further ado, he charged directly at Anthony, shouting at the same time, "Eagle, attack from behind me!"