“I!
WANT!!
YOU!!!
DEAD!!!!” Every word came out through clenched teeth.
The final one was practically a roar.
The floor beneath Lidi exploded apart.
In a blur almost impossible to follow, his body launched forward like a beast finally snapping its chains.
“What th—” Before the Riftfang operative could even finish speaking, Lidi had already grabbed him by the throat and lifted him off the ground.
The man’s body was dragged violently across the room before being slammed into the wall.
Even with a tactical helmet designed to resist bullets and heavy impacts, it still couldn’t withstand the monstrous force.
BANG!
His skull burst apart like a smashed watermelon.
Blood and brain matter sprayed everywhere, raining red across the cramped room.
Even the Riftfang squad—veterans who had seen mountains of corpses—froze in shock at the horrifying sight.
The two operatives at the front reacted first.
“Right-side defense!” One of them immediately raised his shock baton to block— —but Lidi was already in front of him.
No technique.
No fancy movements.
Only raw, primal violence.
BOOM!
The operative didn’t even have time to react before Lidi’s fist punched straight through the visor of his helmet.
His body flew backward and smashed through the living room window.
Judging by the twisted remains of the helmet, survival was unlikely.
The second Riftfang operative swung his electrified baton from the side.
Blue-white arcs crackled violently through the air.
But Lidi ducked beneath it as if he had predicted the attack beforehand, then grabbed the man’s wrist in return.
CRACK!
“AAAAAGH!!” The sound of bones snapping was sickeningly clear.
Ignoring the scream completely, Lidi slammed his forehead directly into the operative’s face.
The helmet caved inward instantly.
The operative collapsed limp to the ground.
“Squads One and Two, suppression formation!
Squad Four, evacuate the wounded NOW!” The gorilla commissioner barked orders rapidly through comms.
The Riftfang units instantly shifted formations.
This was their standard hunting formation.
The two operatives in front would feint and restrain.
The two behind would flank and pin down the target.
The outer ring provided coordinated support.
Lidi lunged toward the front pair again, intending to repeat the same brutal tactic.
But this time they were prepared.
The two operatives blocked with their shock batons and locked down his arms.
At the same time, the rear operatives drove electrified batons into his waist.
ZZZZT—!!
Two powerful currents surged through his body simultaneously.
Normally, a single baton was enough to drop an ordinary beastman instantly.
But under the assault of two batons, Lidi merely trembled violently— —before slowly turning his head toward them.
His bloodshot eyes locked onto the two operatives.
Inside those eyes, there was only one thing.
Madness.
“What the hell is this monster…?” One operative’s voice trembled.
With sheer brute force, Lidi tore his arms free from the operatives restraining him.
He turned instantly and grabbed both active baton tips with his bare hands.
Then yanked backward violently.
The two operatives lost balance and stumbled toward him.
A split second later— —they felt something pierce through their throats.
The shock batons that once belonged to them had been driven through their necks like skewers.
Another two Riftfang operatives dropped.
The outer-ring members immediately moved in to fill the gap.
One lunged forward and locked an arm around Lidi’s neck.
“Hold his limbs!” “Pin down his head!” Several operatives forced Lidi to the ground together.
At this moment, the professionalism of the Riftfang unit truly showed.
More operatives rushed forward immediately, striking him repeatedly with shock batons.
“AAAAAAAHHHHH!!” A sudden scream erupted.
The operative restraining Lidi’s neck began shrieking in agony.
Lidi ignored the suppressive force on top of him completely and bit viciously into the man’s arm with pure animal instinct.
Blood exploded everywhere.
Flesh tore apart.
The moment the operative lost strength from the pain, Lidi grabbed another operative attempting to hold him in an arm lock.
Using only one arm, he lifted the man entirely off the ground— —and smashed him into another Riftfang member.
Despite being trapped under overwhelming suppression, Lidi broke free through sheer monstrous strength alone.
As his arms came loose, every operative pinning him down was hurled away violently.
Some crashed into other squad members.
Others flew into the kitchen, destroying tables, cabinets, and furniture.
“What kind of strength is this?!” The gorilla commissioner’s voice finally began to crack with panic.
“Squad Five!
Get in there NOW!” The moment the order was given— BOOM!!
A gigantic figure burst into the battlefield.
A rhinoceros beastman.
His stretched uniform and specialized helmet marked him as another Riftfang operative.
At over two meters tall, his massive body nearly filled the hallway entirely.
Compared to him, Lidi looked significantly smaller.
But Lidi—already consumed by madness—didn’t care at all.
The two charged directly at each other.
CRASH!!
Like two trucks colliding head-on, they smashed through walls as debris and splinters exploded everywhere.
The two locked palms and pushed against each other with overwhelming force.
For the first time— Lidi was stopped dead in a contest of strength.
Roaring furiously, he slammed his forehead forward repeatedly.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
His forehead hammered into the rhino beastman’s chest over and over.
Yet the enormous muscles and dense skeleton absorbed the blows.
Still, Lidi refused to stop, even as blood streamed down his own face.
“BANSON!
NOW!” The rhino beastman shouted painfully toward the rear.
A massive bear beastman charged forward.
Like the rhino, his uniform stretched tightly over his huge frame.
From behind, the bear locked both massive arms around Lidi and slammed him toward the ground.
Lidi lashed wildly with his claws, trying to break free.
But the rhino and bear together felt like two mountains crushing him down.
“Now!
Restraints!” While the two giants pinned down Lidi’s arms, the other Riftfang operatives rushed forward and snapped handcuffs onto him.
CRACK.
Lidi broke them apart instantly.
“Damn it!
Bring out the titan-grade restraints!” The rhino and bear doubled their pressure to hold him down.
The rest of the squad hurried to retrieve specialized restraint equipment.
It finally seemed like the arrest was nearing its conclusion.
Inside Lidi’s blood-red vision— he saw Wency lying motionless on the floor.
Their eyes met.
Then he saw the blood-stained graduation photo hanging on the wall.
The madness inside him finally began to fade.
And in that brief moment— his eyes caught something on the floor.
A pulse flashbang.
One of the Riftfang operatives must have dropped it during the chaos.
Lidi didn’t know how powerful it was.
But he knew it was probably his only chance.
As Lidi suddenly stopped struggling, the rhino and bear restraining him hesitated in confusion.
Then— Lidi violently broke one arm free and grabbed the grenade.
“WAIT—!” He bit down on the pin and yanked it free.
Clink.
The tiny metallic sound instantly made everyone’s pupils shrink.
“EVERYONE GET BA—!!” BOOOOOOM—!!!
A blinding white flash and violent shockwave erupted through the narrow apartment.
Every operative was thrown away by the blast.
…
“Squad One!
Squad Two!
Squad Five!
Respond!” The gorilla commissioner shouted through the comms repeatedly.
Even from inside the van outside, the explosion had been deafening.
But no matter how many times he called— no one answered.
“DAMN IT!
All standby Blackguards, move in with me!” The gorilla commissioner kicked open the van door in fury and stormed toward the building.
The standby Blackguards followed immediately behind him.
As he passed the guards stationed outside the barrier perimeter, he grabbed one of their rifles without even asking.
The confused Blackguard looked helplessly toward his teammates.
Inside the apartment, the commissioner finally saw the devastation clearly.
Every Riftfang operative was unconscious.
None of them could move.
“A bunch of useless trash.
All that Government Alliance training wasted on you idiots.” He immediately ordered the Blackguards behind him to search the apartment.
But they found nothing.
Lidi was gone.
“How is he NOT here?!
What, did he grow wings and fly away?!” The gorilla commissioner roared in fury.
Tonight’s operation had completely failed.
After suffering this many casualties, his military career was likely over.
“Find him!
Mobilize every camera and every available unit in the city!” “I want him found!” “Alive or dead!”