Night shrouded Storm City, and the lights on the high walls of the East District Prison pierced through the darkness like sharp swords, appearing unusually cold and solemn. With the ability of Hidden Shadow, Ian swiftly traveled between the shadows like a wisp of silent black mist, easily dodging the detection devices and patrolling guards that covered the prison's surroundings.
He quietly entered the interior of the prison, his eyes sharply sweeping over the situation inside the cells, and soon found where Rayne and the others were. Through the gap in the cell door, Ian was able to see the exhaustion and haggardness on Rayne's face, but fortunately, they didn't look like they had suffered too serious injuries.
However, each of them wore special shackles on their wrists that flashed with a faint blue light. These shackles were able to effectively suppress psychic abilities, and it wasn't easy to take them out.
Ian quickly calculated the current situation in his mind, right now was not the best time. He calmly judged that Mia was about to come to negotiate, and at that time, the Storm Council would inevitably draw a large number of high-level xenos to the negotiation site, in order to prevent Mia from making a sudden attack. At that time, it was the best time to save people.
After confirming that everyone was safe for the time being, Ian quietly exited the prison and chose to temporarily settle down in an inconspicuous small hotel nearby. He sat in the room, quietly gazing and resting, waiting for the best time to rescue.
Finally, the day of negotiation arrived. Ian lurked near the city gates early in the morning, observing the surrounding situation. As expected, the security near the city gates was tight, a large number of Storm Council soldiers stood on both sides of the road, and the atmosphere was so heavy that it was suffocating.
Mia, alone, slowly walked into the Storm City. An officer came forward and said solemnly to Mia, "Please follow me, Lord Ethan is waiting for you at the headquarters."
Mia nodded calmly and without hesitation followed the officer towards the Storm Council headquarters. Ian observed from afar, looking at the current situation, Ethan did have the intention of conducting negotiations, so Mia should be safe for the time being, and after confirming that Mia was safe, he immediately sprinted in the direction of the prison.
The prison's defense force was indeed obviously much weaker. Ian silently approached the prison, using the Shadow of Concealment to quickly and cleanly resolve the guards at the entrance, and quietly entered the cell.
"Ian!" Rayne's face instantly surged with joy when he saw the suddenly appearing Ian, "Why are you here!"
"Time is short, don't say too much, everyone keep quiet, I'll take you all out right away." Ian said in a deep voice, quickly opened the cell door, and easily unlocked the shackles on the hands of the crowd with a pre-prepared tool.
Meanwhile, inside the hall of the Storm Council's headquarters, Mia was calmly facing Ethan. Beside Ethan stood a mysterious man in a black cloak, and even though his face could not be clearly seen, one could tell from Ethan's respectful attitude that this mysterious man's status was by no means ordinary.
"Mia, I'm glad you could come." Ethan said with his usual confident smile, "As long as you agree to my conditions, the war between us can end, and a peaceful future is close at hand."
Mia looked at Ethan without moving and said in a deep voice, "Name your conditions."
Ethan smiled slightly, "It's very simple, disband the Resistance and lead your members to surrender, you can come back to serve the Storm Council, I guarantee that your status will be higher than the dead Billy, wouldn't it be good for us to be the rulers of Storm City together? From now on, order and peace will return to Storm City and the entire region. And of course, your companions will all be safe and sound."
Mia knew in her heart that this was a trap, but she had to try to stall for as long as possible to buy Ian more chances. So she pretended to be hesitant and kept circling Ethan.
"Your conditions seem reasonable, but why should I trust you guys? After all, the hatred between us is already deeply rooted." Mia calmly questioned.
A hint of impatience appeared on Ethan's face, but he still said patiently, "The past can be turned over, do you wish to continue to bleed endlessly? Mia, I know you're a smart person, there's no way you can't see the current situation, you don't have any other choice!"
On the other side, Ian led Rayne and the others swiftly through the corridors of the prison, and just as they were about to leave the prison, a piercing alarm suddenly sounded.
"Run!" Ian decisively ordered, leading the crowd to rush out of the prison, "Scatter to the streets to hide, and try to rendezvous after Mia is out of danger!"
Soldiers from the prison quickly swarmed the area, trying to intercept them. Ian rushed up and landed a straight punch followed by a roundhouse kick, quickly knocking out several guards and covering everyone's escape.
The group scattered and fled to various streets, quickly disappearing into the city's complex network of alleys. Despite the soldiers' best efforts to pursue them, they were only able to capture a dozen or so people, with most of the others escaping without incident.
After it was temporarily safe, Ian let Rayne hide for the time being, he himself was going to go to meet Mia, the news from this side of the prison wouldn't take long to reach Ethan, by the time Ethan realized that he was being tricked, a big battle couldn't be avoided.
At this time inside the Storm Council headquarters, "If you can place all of my companions in positions within the Storm Council, there's still room for negotiation, otherwise it's free of negotiation. "
"Mia, isn't your request too much, those people of yours, if they also serve within the council, I can't even imagine how much trouble it will bring us! "
"I'm sorry then, I'll cause you just as much trouble, I'm not going to join you in oppressing the common folk! "
"I'd be ruling them better, the lower classes are born to be ruled, only the elite like us can make the city run better. "
Ethan was gradually losing his patience when suddenly a soldier hurried in, "Lord Ethan, it's not good! The resistance in the prison has been rescued!"
When Mia heard the news, the worry in her heart instantly disappeared, "Ian really did it! "
Ethan's face suddenly changed and he stormed out, "Mia, you actually dare to trick me!"
Mia smiled coldly, then assumed a fighting stance, "Did you think that I really came here to surrender?"
Ethan furiously rushed towards Mia, flames dancing in his hands as he unleashed a fierce attack. However, Mia was prepared for this, wings of energy surfaced behind her back, and a light energy barrier appeared in front of her, blocking Ethan's attack.
The shockwave from the collision destroyed all the surrounding tables and chairs, and cracks appeared on the walls. Ethan took out his weapon, a huge axe, and attacked towards Mia, who condensed an energy lightsaber in her right hand, and dealt with each of his attacks calmly and coolly. Her movements were agile and swift, and she even gradually gained the upper hand in one-on-one situations.
"Looks like you're no better than that!" Mia mocked disdainfully.
Ethan's men tried to harass from the side, but they were unable to break through Mia's defenses in the slightest, and instead, they were shocked by her power and didn't dare to make any more rash moves.
Ethan gritted his teeth and roared angrily, "Kill her for me!"
Mia was calm and composed, her movements were fluid, and she was not afraid in the slightest, "Just with you people, you want to kill me? You overestimate yourself!"
Ethan was furious: "Battle Technique - Inferno Demon Chaos! "The whole person turned into a whirlwind of flames and rushed towards Mia, who also quickly mobilized her energy, "Battle Technique - Angel Sword! "A huge sword light and the flaming whirlwind collided together.
After the aftermath, Mia stood still and didn't move, while Ethan retreated a dozen meters before stopping. Ethan looked at Mia in surprise, "You've actually gotten stronger again! "
"It's a bit late to realize that now." Mia raised her lightsaber, ready to ride out the attack. Ethan suddenly turned to the mysterious black cloaked man, "I can no longer be defeated, please do it!"
Mia turned her gaze to the cloaked man, the one who hadn't made a move since the start of the fight, slowly spoke at this moment, "Heh heh heh, do you still want me to make a move, but this lady's fighting ability is indeed strong, it would be a bit of a shame if I just killed you, last chance, would you like to join!"
"Don't think you can scare me by pretending to be a god, asking several times is also me not joining! "Mia responded strongly.
"That would be too bad. "After saying that, cold energy appeared in the cloaked man's hand and shot at Mia, Mia quickly held up a barrier to resist it, the barrier in contact did not explode, instead, the energy barrier froze all over, Mia lost control of the barrier, which was then shattered and the remaining energy directly hit Mia's chest.
"PU! " Mia spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backwards, falling heavily on the ground, Mia got up with great difficulty and looked at the cloaked man who was slowly walking towards her, saying incredulously, "Astral level! Who are you! "