"Yin'er, are you okay? Nana is here, don't be scared." Athena mustered her courage, her heart fluttering in worry.

The Wonderful Sound Girl could hardly contain her grievances. As she was consoled, her tears brimmed even more. A concert that was filled with positive energy was ruined like this.

Despite security personnel immediately setting up barriers and attempting to disperse the crowd, nobody was willing to leave. Instead, everyone was wondering - is the upper management really this incompetent?

Soon, the phone lines at the Alpha Military Department were nearly blown up from countless complaints flooding in. If this kind of incident could happen in Alpha Wind Thunder Military Academy, how was everyone else's safety to be guaranteed? It was a pity this concert wasn't open to the public. There were no journalists on the site, and most of the audience could only record the scene with their light screen cameras. Otherwise, if this news got on the internet, there would be a massive outcry.

As for the public complaints, the officials could not find any reason to respond. They would've launched an attack on Franklin sooner if they weren't so concerned about the crowd. And yet, they can't use the crowd as an excuse either.

Zi Mou, who had been closely monitoring the situation, knew she couldn't wait any longer. Her intuition told her that if she didn't launch an attack on Franklin now, the situation might become even harder to control. At her signal, the hidden warriors quickly started to surround Franklin...

"Byron, Peter, Rebecca, Michelle. You four, proceed as planned."

"Understood."

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...Two men and two women quickly jumped onto the stage and surrounded Franklin in a triangle. Their agile movements were as smooth as flowing clouds and water, not losing to any of the former.

Through the light screen, the exclusive badges of the Wind Thunder Military Academy's Discipline Committee on their uniforms were clearly visible. The sight of the badges somewhat stabilized the crowd's emotions. The authority of the Discipline Committee of Wind Thunder Academy had a certain deterring power. No exaggeration, all the members of this group were combat experts with formidable strength, each capable of single-handedly taking on a hundred opponents. They were the experts in individual combat.

It was time to show their real strength. With a brief exchange of glances, the two men sprung towards Franklin. Their speed was so swift it seemed to surpass the limits of the human body.

Franklin stood still, observing them with a chilling smile and a hint of savagery flashing across his icy face. He evaluated their strength just based on their movement speed, breathing rhythm, heartbeat rate, and bodily flexibility. They were indeed very strong.

Byron threw a punch at Franklin's face with a force as crashing as a bamboo splitting the air.

"Snap!" A crisp sound echoed through the venue...Byron's attack was stopped dead in its tracks. Despite the immense force behind his lightning-fast punch, Franklin easily neutralized it with one hand, the solidly grounded figure not moving an inch, as though rooted in the ground.

This scene made Zi Mou gasp in shock! Byron's full-force attack was completely ineffective. He, a prominent figure among the younger generation, was at the pinnacle of Wind Thunder's youth.

Taking into account the necessity to draw Athena out, someone needs to engage with him. But who knew that Franklin was this formidable? The word of Freedom Port's strongest mercenary proved to be true. They will have no choice but to deploy the mechas if the situation gets worse. Now, the priority is to quickly disperse the crowd and minimize casualties.

Franklin sneered, "The young man is indeed strong, but he forgot one thing: to look in the mirror before comparing himself to others." He locked onto Byron's punch and sent a swift kick flying towards him.

Boom! Byron's body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string. The impact was so strong that those nearby could hear the clear sound of his bones breaking. Even before his body hit the ground, he was already spraying blood from his mouth.

Peter's task was to intercept Franklin to buy time for Rebecca and Michelle to lead Athena and the rest to safety.

But Byron didn't withstand even a single blow, a circumstance nobody had anticipated. Peter had decided not to attack based on a cautious principle of not confronting the enemy head-on. As long as Franklin didn't approach Athena, his mission would soon be accomplished.

However, things often don't go as planned. While Peter was calculating the gap between the enemies and himself, Franklin disregarded him completely and walked directly towards Athena, maintaining a steady pace without the slightest acceleration due to his obstruction, as if the person standing in front of him was no more than a piece of paper.

Peter was completely ignored; under Franklin's menacing presence, he could not even find a chance to fight back. The movements that were seemingly full of flaws made Peter hesitant to throw a punch, as if they were a trap.

One hit had resulted in Byron being seriously injured, and Peter began to fear that he was next. The conflicted feelings in his mind were like a blocked geyser, struggling internally. Despite being drenched in cold sweat, he remained immobile, as if frozen in space.

Zi Mou's eyebrows furrowed deeper and deeper, this emotional fluctuation should not be happening to Peter. Peter, also known as "Mad Peter," was notorious for his ruthless and violent warfare skills in Wind Thunder. This was very unlike him.

Rebecca and Michelle both halted their actions simultaneously. Barely a few seconds had passed since they had stepped onto the stage. Athena and the Wonderful Sound Girl had just managed to stand up. They watched Franklin approach, an ominous feeling washing over them. They had seen the brief fight earlier. The level gap between the two sides was enormous. Bullets had little too no effect on him; the only way he could be suppressed now was by deploying a mecha.

Franklin was not in a hurry. Before the crowd dispersed, the Federation wouldn't deploy their mobile suits, giving him an incredible safety zone.

In this age of rapid technological development, individual heroism had long been outdated. However, at this moment, Franklin was acting as a 'super villain,' virtually immune to resistance. As long as he completed this mission, not only would the Saudi Empire ignore past grievances, they would also give him a lifetime of payment he couldn't spend entirely. It was an offer he couldn't refuse.

Franklin slowly walked past Rebecca and Michelle, brushing against their sides. Surprisingly, the two prominent figures of Wind Thunder Academy had the same lack of reaction as Peter. Their condition was even worse than his: their bodies were inexplicably trembling...

Zi Mou suddenly understood now. Franklin was a super mercenary, the unique field he emitted locked onto them, anyone within its range would be firmly locked in like a snake's gaze. Those who had not truly been on the battlefield and experienced life and death would be hard-pressed not to be oppressed by this sensation. Facing such a high-level warrior, one must deploy a mecha.

The dispersal of the crowd was a slow process. Armed personnel had already set up a cordon and were working hard to evacuate the crowd, but no one truly wanted to leave. In their minds, they had to stay and fight with Athena. The crowd felt safe enough to stay.

Those lurking in the shadows wouldn't act lightly without orders. As they looked through their sights at the bastard, the soldiers wished they could immediately pull the trigger. Athena had contributed a lot to charity in recent years; it was infuriating that this bastard would dare to target her.

"Hello everyone, my name is Franklin, a free mercenary from Maraca Freedom Port. Would you be surprised by my sudden appearance? Or would you prefer to look forward to the show that will happen next?" Franklin said into the microphone, radiating arrogance and audacity, clearly not taking Wind Thunder Academy seriously.

In fact, Wind Thunder Academy holds significant weight in the nearby star domains. It was the unique situation of the Shadow District that allowed Franklin to be so audacious. Because Franklin knew what deploying a mecha meant, he wouldn't dare to make such an open appearance under normal circumstances.

(Before I knew it, it's Christmas. Ahem, Merry Christmas, guys!)

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