Chimaera's Conquest: The Legend Of The Devourer-Chapter 269: Blood Bath (1)

Rick hung up the phone and sighed deeply. He turned towards Adrian, who was waiting with a knowing look on his face.

"So?"

"You were right," Rick replied, frustrated with the situation. "Someone already informed Maria about our plan. She fled before we could capture her, or she wasn’t there to begin with, as you said."

"I figured as much," Adrian smirked, his suspicions confirmed. "I knew even someone like Maria wouldn’t have gone as far as executing an attack on the hospital without having someone supporting her from within the DRA."

"You’re right..." Rick replied, rubbing his temple. "I can’t believe this. I always thought they were a bunch of rich bastards, but to stop to this level? Unforgivable."

Adrian didn’t reply as his thoughts went to yesterday while interrogating Vex.

Yesterday...

After interrogating Vex, Adrian asked Rick to inform the higher-ups about it. Rick was a bit taken aback, as he had asked Rick not to involve the higher-ups in the matter. But now he was asking to do the complete opposite.

Adrian smiled and told him it was the right time to find the mole. That’s when they planned to feed all the suspicious guys false information.

"We need to get rid of the mole before we do anything. The problem is-" Rick sighed.

"You don’t know who it could be," Adrian completed Rick’s thoughts.

"Honestly, I don’t even know if we have a mole amid us or not."

"Well, that’s pretty easy to confirm," Adrian replied, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hand.

"Sounds like you have a plan," Rick asked, leaning into his chair.

"I do," Adrian replied, explaining his plan to Rick.

Adrian’s plan was simple: They would inform the higher-ups about different locations where they would try attacking to find Maria. If they acted desperate enough, the mole would believe them, and they’d pass on the information to her.

Assuming Maria was already informed of the places by the higher-ups, things would get interesting. According to Adrian’s guess, the security would be either too tight or too lax in those places compared to regular security. That’s how they’ll have their mole.

Rick nodded slowly, understanding the plan. "And due to the abnormalities at any of those locations, we’ll know who the mole is. But will it work?"

"It won’t hurt to try, will it?" Adrian replied. "Besides, it’s an efficient way to find the moles before we execute our actual plan."

"Fine, let’s do this."

Rick picked up the phone and began making the necessary calls, informing various high-level officials about the supposed locations where they would be conducting raids.

Each location was carefully chosen to seem like a plausible hideout for Maria so the higher-ups would know Rick was serious. freewёbnoνel.com

One of them even asked Rick if he had the authority to execute a plan like that, but Rick didn’t care and informed them that it was happening whether they liked it or not.

That shut up the higher-up real quick, as Rick had been known to be on a rampage ever since handing his notice. So it was wise not to mess with him.

Back to the present...

Over the next day, the DRA mobilised forces to the said locations. As expected, Maria was nowhere to be found at any of them. Meanwhile, Rick and Adrian closely watched the flow of information, tracing it back to its source.

At first, it seemed there were multiple moles within DRA, which was troublesome. Adrian thought maybe he had overestimated Maria and that she had gone into hiding instead of creating a mess, as he had thought.

Fortunately for them, the plan worked. Maria went a step further than Adrian thought and blew up her entire estate where Elena’s team was, confirming that she had already known about their planned attack and had planted bombs in advance to destroy any evidence that she couldn’t clean in time.

"But how did you know she wouldn’t be in either of those places?" Rick asked, low-key suspicious about Adrian’s abilities.

"You shouldn’t underestimate someone like Maria," Adrian replied calmly. "She is probably somewhere in a bunker by now, waiting for the heat to die down."

"...then how will we capture her?"

"We won’t," Adrian replied, leaning into his chair. "We already have enough evidence to prepare her coffin, and that’s what we’ll do. Prepare for the trial and let her make her move first."

Adrian continued, "By the way, who did you inform about the estate attack?"

"...One of the DRA Vice President’s direct subordinates."

"Ouch..." Adrian shook his head. "That’s gotta hurt DRA’s pride."

Rick looked at Adrian, asking him not to rub salt in his wound. Adrian nodded, stopping before he crossed a line.

With that, Adrian stood up, ready to leave. "Since I’m not a part of the DRA, I’ll leave the decision about the mole to you. You’re better suited for handling the internal fallout."

"Yeah, I’ll do that," Rick nodded. "I’ll make sure he’s dealt with properly."

"Good," Adrian replied. "I’m going to prepare for the next phase. Now that the mole is out of the way, we can focus on the trial at DRA global HQ and figure out a way to transport Vex to Switzerland."

"I’ll keep you posted once I’m done dealing with this mess."

***

A week later...

The scene outside the DRA regional headquarters in Miami was chaotic. Reporters fought for a position in front of the building, their cameras and microphones aimed at the locked entrance behind them.

The air buzzed with excitement and tension as they delivered live updates to their respective channels.

"This is Linda Hayes reporting live from the DRA regional headquarters, Miami," a woman in a sharp suit said. "In a stunning turn of events, Maria Machiavelli, also known as Lady Maria amongst her followers, has been named the mastermind behind the horrific terror attack over ten days ago."

At the same time, another reporter chimed in, "A warrant has been issued for Maria’s arrest, but she has been missing for over a week now. Authorities are on high alert, searching for any leads that might bring her to justice.

He continued, "Meanwhile, Vex, the captured terrorist, is being transported to the Global HQ of the DRA in Switzerland, where her testimony will be crucial for Maria’s final conviction."

The camera panned to show a convoy of massive, armoured vehicles rolling out of the DRA headquarters. A large force of hunters, clad in tactical gear and armed to the teeth, flanked the convoy. Clearly, the DRA wasn’t taking this matter lightly.

Some commented that since some DRA personnel were also involved with Maria, it was their chance to redeem their image, and thus, they were going all out.

While some commented that it was the DRA’s way to reclaim their lost glory, either way, things were not looking good for Maria, no matter where she was hiding.

"This is a significant operation," Linda Hayes continued. "The DRA is pulling out all the stops to ensure Vex’s safe transport to Switzerland. The best hunters in the USA are part of this operation, conveying the seriousness of the situation."

As the convoy made its way through the streets of Miami, the scene shifted to the inside of one of the vehicles where Vex sat. Her hands and feet were shackled, staring at the man sitting in front with pure anger.

"I don’t know what trick you used to make me speak," she snarled at Adrian. "But it won’t end well for you, me or any involved in this mess. Maria will not take this lying down. She will do something-"

"That’s what I’m hoping for," Adrian chuckled, cutting her off. "If she tried anything, she would be handing us the final nail to put in her coffin. Besides, with the best hunters in the country guarding us, there’s not much she can do to stop us."

However, as the words left his mouth, a massive explosion rocked the convoy. The vehicle lurched violently, and Adrian instinctively braced himself.

He could hear the people yelling around him, prompting him to look outside. He peeked out of the window and saw the carnage: multiple cars in front and behind had been blasted into smithereens.

"An ambush... she’s gone mad!" Adrian cursed, summoning Hydra’s fang.

He turned to take a look around and saw Vex’s smug expression.

"Told you," she muttered.

There were a thousand things Adrian wanted to do to her at that moment. But there were pressing concerns that he couldn’t ignore.

The convoy had come to a halt, and the hunters quickly sprang into action, forming a defensive perimeter around the remaining vehicles. Magic attacks erupted as unseen assailants attacked them from the surrounding buildings and foliage.

Adrian signalled to the driver, who floored the accelerator, trying to push through the chaos. The remaining vehicles in the convoy formed a defensive perimeter, their weapons trained on the approaching threats.

Some hunters jumped out, engaging the attackers, while the rest followed the convoy as planned. But just then, a blast hit their vehicle, toppling it to the side.

Since their vehicle got caught in the blast and couldn’t move, Adrian had no choice but to climb out and join the fray.

"Get Vex out of here!" he yelled to one of the DRA-affiliated hunters. "We need to secure her and move!"

Unfortunately, there was no way for them to escape. All the vehicles had been destroyed. The only thing left was to fight through the attackers and reach the airport. But even that was in question when ghost soldiers appeared there along with the White Tiger clan.

***

Author’s note: Sorry for the delay in uploading the bonus Chapters, due to some medical reason. To compensate for that, I’ll be releasing two bonus Chapters tomorrow. Apologies for the delay and thanks for your support!