Chapter 12

Right after the beacon tower was lit, Atlas made his way to the junkyard. At that moment, all of Alan's men were gathered there. Alan sat on the chair, which was placed at the top of the junk pile, as he looked down at his subordinates from above. Then, he waved a hand and summoned his men to bring over a corpse. That corpse belonged to Xander. "Everyone, Abyssal Gates was forced to disband back in the day. I wanted to wait for a few more years before reforming the organization, but I can't afford to wait any longer. "Today, Abyssal Gates shall be reformed. There won't be any organization in Newtropolis that can be its match!" Alan announced. Everyone in the junkyard crashed their fists against their chests while chanting, "Abyssal Gates is back! We are invincible!" Their voices were extremely loud. Alan couldn't help but grin. Any organization needed a trigger in order to wage war. Xander's death was undoubtedly the perfect trigger. At that moment, Farion kneeled before Alan. "Alan, I used to work in the army. I had someone investigate this Atlas Blackwell guy before. He doesn't have a reputation in Northern Bronshire, so he's most likely just a small fry in the army." Alan guffawed in amusement. "He's just a small fry, yet he has the balls to avenge his daughter, eh? He needs to pay the price for his actions!" Farion was right. He couldn't find out what Atlas' actual position in Northern Bronshire was. That was because the person investigating Atlas didn't have the clearance to learn any information on the latter. It was true that Atlas Blackwell was a nobody in Northern Bronshire, but Thaddeus Blackwell, on the other hand, was a godlike individual there. Even in Newtropolis, Atlas' godlike reputation still remained. Farion snarled out, "Alan, we can't let Xanny's death go just like this! I'll toss that Stacy girl off the crane tower right now!" He was about to act when Alan stopped him. "No… We won't be able to cause Atlas that much pain if we were to kill her right now." Alan grabbed a metal pipe, a plan slowly forming in his head. All of his subordinates quickly formed a way for him to pass through. He began approaching Stacy menacingly. When Stacy saw Alan walking toward her, she got on her knees and murmured, "Please spare my grandfather's life." But Alan ignored Stacy's pleas. He lifted his metal pipe and smashed it down on one of Paul's arms. Almost immediately, Paul's bones were broken mercilessly. Warm blood splattered on Stacy's face. She was shell-shocked, to say the least. Even though Paul was beaten up earlier, she knew for a fact that he was no longer breathing. But why… Why wouldn't those men spare his corpse? "He's already dead, yet he still protects the child. Seriously…" Alan gritted his teeth before smashing his pipe on Paul's other arm. Just like that, he was able to break the second arm. "Just let go already!" he roared. Alan twisted his neck for a bit. This time, he aimed for Paul's head. Several loud thuds echoed afterward. They continued to echo from the junkyard for quite some time. At that moment, Farion approached Alan. He murmured, "Alan, that brat's father has arrived." Alan smiled widely. He was waiting for this exact moment. "How many people are there?" Farion looked at the entrance of the junkyard with a spyglass. "Two people." That got Alan chuckling. "Only two? Hahaha! I have tens of thousands of people with me in this junkyard! There are only two people in his party, huh? Is he here to beg for mercy? "Keep beating up that old coot! Reduce him to a pile of flesh and gore! Once you're done, you can start beating up that brat!" … At that moment, Atlas rushed toward the junkyard as quickly as he could. By the time he reached the junkyard, he was completely stunned by the scene. The old man who had given him a bowl of cereal was hugging Stacy tightly. His entire body was drenched in blood. Every part of him was heavily mauled. Still, he continued hugging Stacy tightly no matter what, even though parts of him were completely mangled. Atlas had saved countless lives in Northern Bronshire. Still, he had never seen anyone who sustained such severe injuries before. His breath hitched in his throat as he stared at Paul. It appeared that Paul was still alive, but barely. Having noticed Atlas, he slowly closed his eyes. Finally, his head sagged limply, and his arms lost all of their strength, indicating that he had breathed his last. But before he passed away, he mumbled, "Stacy, your father's here… I… can finally let go now…" Stacy's heart-wrenching wails sounded in the next moment. "Grandpa!" She shook Paul repeatedly as despair filled her eyes. Atlas had no idea that Stacy would be tricked into leaving the hospital. He couldn't imagine just how traumatic today's incident would be to her. Over the past five years, Paul was the one protecting Tabitha and Stacy without asking for anything in return. To think that an old man with such a kind heart would end up dying like this… Atlas' eyes became bloodshot immediately. Strong bloodlust could be seen in his eyes. When Alan saw Atlas, he stated arrogantly, "Atlas Blackwell, I thought you were too cowardly to show your face in front of me." He couldn't imagine just how enraged Atlas was right now. It was akin to a volcano about to erupt. Atlas rushed over to Stacy and picked her up immediately, noting her pale complexion. She was so traumatized that she wasn't even crying anymore. "I'm here, Stacy. Don't be scared." Atlas kept stroking Stacy's hair comfortingly. There weren't any expressions on Stacy's face. It was as though she had matured overnight. She looked up at Atlas and asked hoarsely, "Daddy, is Grandpa dead?" Atlas could only hug Stacy tightly, not knowing how to answer her. "Grandpa is no more, right? From now on, whenever I go to the junkyard to pick up trash, no one's going to open the door for me anymore, right? "Tell me, Daddy. Is that right? Is Grandpa going to leave me forever?" Atlas' eyes reddened when he heard Stacy's questions. He could only hug her tightly. "I'll make everyone pay the price," he vowed. Stacy finally burst into tears. She was too young to be processing such intense grief. In the end, she fainted in Atlas' arms. Alan's arrogance grew tremendously when he witnessed this scene. "Do you know what causes your daughter the most pain, Atlas? It's by beating the old man to a pulp right in front of her! Children like her will never forget this memory. "Then, do you know what causes you the most pain, Atlas? It's by doing the same thing… to your own daughter right in front of you. "I'm giving you one whole night to get more people to join your cause. If your group only has two people by dawnbreak, you shall watch your daughter getting beaten to death right in front of you!" Atlas clenched his fists tightly. He went to Northern Bronshire five years ago. Back then, wars pillaged the vast land. Doctors were a rarity there. The situation in Northern Bronshire was dire. Those who could live to tell the tale weren't equipped with medical knowledge at all. Unfortunately, those who were equipped with such knowledge didn't survive. Over the past five years, Atlas built Aerial Blade from the ground up. The organization traveled across Northern Bronshire at first. As time passed, the organization became well-known enough to traverse the whole world. As long as anyone in Chernea was met with trouble, Atlas was willing to hurry to their side, no matter how far he was from them. Once, he almost froze to death when administering medical help to patients stuck in the Land of Frost. When Northern Bronshire was plagued by the worst wars, he was the one who single-handedly resolved everything. Atlas must have saved at least millions of lives by now. To think that his own daughter was almost killed in Newtropolis. Not to mention, both Tabitha and Stacy were tormented for years. All Atlas wanted was justice for them. Not only did Alan beat Paul to death right in front of Stacy, but he intended to kill Stacy in front of Atlas! How dare he do that! Rage washed over Atlas' senses at that moment. Everyone in the junkyard could sense how enraged he was. Doomsday would greet Newtropolis soon enough, and Atlas… would be the source.