After an hour, Bradley was looking at a list of all the villages that had been raided, and the number of failed experiments. He was shocked as he went down the list and saw that most of them had become Blackguards and were roaming around.
'While some of the Blackguards showed signs of sanity, the rest were the same as done. They were dispatched and left to roam all over the planet. The ones that had shown sanity were then genetically modified to make them join forcefully, resulting in a half-successful experiment.'
He was going through every report that was there in the Black Box, and it seemed like he was led to it. He knew that without the help of whoever was behind this, he would be unable to find this information.
He wanted to find out more about the organization, but there was no other file. He was sure that if he began to dig around more, he would be able to find something much more detailed.
He had locked down the three places, and he needed to make sure that there was something solid as proof for him before he began his investigation from here.
Just as he was about to make another move on the net, he saw a horde of Beastmen heading towards the place from where Leon had brought the former Guardians. He was asked to keep an eye on the village, and to inform him if anything happens.
He was keeping a keen eye, and the moment he saw danger heading towards them, he warned Leon and began to type the secret key that was given by him.
It was the access code through which he would be able to contact the Underground place they had built for themselves. He tapped the microphone before he began to talk.
"I am reporting from the Guardian's Tower. It seems like you will be having a situation in your hands. Multiple people converging near you. Possible threat to the place", he said and waited for a reply.
"Let me get my brother here. I did not understand a word you were saying", came a small girl's voice. Bradley was stunned when he heard the voice, and it brought back something to his mind.
"She sounds just like Lisa. They must be around the same age", he wondered. Memories began to resurface, and tears were formed in his eyes.
"Grandpa Brad, are you sure about this? Won't Grandpa be mad at me if he saw me climbing trees?", sounded a cute voice in his ears as he was waiting for a response. His lips trembled and moved on their own.
"Don't worry about Grandpa, I will talk to him. Make sure to reach the top and pluck the fruit from the tree. Leon loves those", he said out aloud. Right after he said that he heard a man's voice from the speakers.
"This is Mike Limestone reporting. Father has gone out and left us to protect the village. We have around fifty elite trained people and a hundred rookies. How many are we facing against?", asked the voice.
"Anywhere between a hundred to two hundred", replied Bradley as he watched the crowd heading straight for them. He zoomed in and saw three people leading ahead, and they had their noses stuck into the air.
"They seem to have three trackers. Take them out, and you will be able to stop the advance. Right now, they are three kilometers away from the city. Estimated time of arrival is six minutes", he said.
"Noted. Anything else we must keep in mind?", asked Mike. Bradley looked through and saw nothing else to report.
"No. Dispatch now and keep in touch with the Tower's frequency", he said and ended the transmission. He was sure that until they got out from the place, he would not be able to have any communications with them.
"Let's see how this one goes", he smiled as he pulled up the live stream that was showing the group that was heading towards Mike.
(Inside the Guardian's City)
Nora was watching a man pace the room up and down, and he was clearly in panic. He was scrunching his face and was grinding his teeth together. He was no one other than Mike Limestone.
He was a handsome guy with tan skin. His long bunny ears which were on top of his head were twitching due to his panicking, and his reddish-brown tail was swinging around.
"Alright, calm down. What would Dad do?", he began to think, and slowly the twitching and the waving calmed down. He opened his eyes again and looked at Nora, who was looking at him with her eyes round.
"Are you going, brother?", she asked in a timid voice. She knew the answer deep inside her, but she wanted to hear it from him.
"Call up Rachel. She is going to be in charge until I return", he said and turned around. It was hard for him to answer his little sister, and thus he decided to avoid it altogether.
Nora jumped down from the chair she was standing on and ran towards Mike. She pulled his pants, and Mike turned to respond to her.
He looked at her and squatted down to her height. She was tiny, and he was a grown adult. The moment he squat down, she wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.
"Stay safe, brother. I know you have to do this so that we can remain safe, and there is no one better suited for this than you. Have some faith", she said as she gave him a peck on his cheeks.
Mike hugged her back and smiled. The both of them were in the embrace when they felt another pair of hands wrap around them.
"Rachel", said the both of them and continued to stay in each other's embrace. After a few minutes, Mike let go and left the place. He was wearing the robes that his dad wore before leaving.
"Faith, huh?", he pondered upon his sister's words as he went towards the entrance, where every person of the squad had gathered. Upon reaching the place, he could see them look at him with a fire in their eyes.
"A lot of you people might be wondering why we have been gathered. Do you see this peaceful place around you? The place where you had grown up?"
"This place is in danger now, and we are the ones who will be stopping it. Will we return alive? I do not know. But what I do know is this, I would give my life to protect this peace that we have achieved for ourselves."
"Anyone afraid of death is allowed to leave this expedition. I will not force you, for this is matter of life and death."
Everyone looked around at each other, and no one moved from their places. The fire burned passionately, and Mike could see it as he stood in front of everyone.
"We will defend this place to our last breath. We will maintain the peace that we have found. We will fight anyone who threatens this peace."
"Today, we will fight. Today, we will conquer our fears. Today, we will protect this City. TODAY, WE WILL RISE!!!!", he finished his speech.
"WE WILL RISE!"
"WE WILL RISE!"
"WE WILL RISE!"
"WE WILL RISE!"
"WE WILL RISE!"
There were chants all around him, and a smile was plastered on his face. This was the atmosphere he wanted to set before he left, and the fire was set ablaze.
Anything that comes their way, they will stop. They were more than willing to fight, and protect the innocent people of the City who had nothing to do with the outside.
"FOR GUARDIAN CITY!"
There were chants all around as they left the place, and everyone was out of the city and into the open. Mike tapped his earpiece and connected to The Guardian's Tower.
"This is Mike Limestone reporting. We are outside, and ready to commence attack", he said as he held his hand like a fist in the air.
"Head South-West from your direction. You will meet them in three minutes", said Bradley and Mike nodded his head. He began to run down, and everyone followed behind him.
Mike was leading them and as soon as he saw dust in the distance, his rabbit instincts kicked in. He stopped everyone, and they looked at the dust that was gathering.
"Everyone, disperse around, and attack my signal", he commanded. Other than the elite fifty, the rest dispersed and hid in the forest that was surrounding them.
"I can see almost two hundred of them, and they are much stronger than us. Seems like not many of us will return ", he muttered as he looked at the cloud of dust nearing them.
He raised his hands in the air and held his fist. He was waiting for the right time, and the moment he saw it, his rabbit ears twitched.
"Everyone, ATTACK!", he said and moved from the place.