Fortunately, the stairs stopped them from rushing up. Although the staircase leading to the second floor in old Thorin's palace was quite spacious, we still had a favorable position.
Of course, we also face the problem that we don't have much ammunition left.
According to the princess's subordinates, things happened far too suddenly. The news of Old Thorin's death had barely reached them when a large number of Allen's men appeared outside the manor! Clearly, this was premeditated. Furthermore, the manor's communications with the outside world were immediately cut off. Allen then launched a psychological offensive… Having received news of Old Thorin's death, many people in the manor simply surrendered and sided with Allen. Many others, though not surrendering, felt the situation was hopeless and left, or dropped their weapons and fled through the back door.
The only ones left who persisted in protecting the princess were about thirty of Thorin's most loyal subordinates.
Of course, there were firearms and ammunition in the castle—how could the headquarters of a major Canadian underground gang not have arms reserves? The problem was that the firearms were hidden in another part of the manor, and everyone was trapped in the castle with only the guns they carried. After several battles, their ammunition was almost used up.
Besides that... I also face another headache...
A castle of this size! A palace of such luxury... there must be more than one staircase leading upstairs!
That means there are many staircases to go upstairs! Allen will soon be able to send people up via other staircases! I immediately assigned a few people to guard the other staircases, but I don't know how long they can hold them off.
I pray the police will rush in soon.
The thought itself made me chuckle. I was actually praying for the police to come and rescue me?!
I immediately returned to a room with Tu and the princess, and stood by the window to observe the situation outside.
Clearly, Allen has far more men than we do; he has over a hundred subordinates. Although he suffered considerable losses earlier, he still left a dozen or so to guard the outside.
And the police... damn it, those police were still standing guard in the distance.
"Tu, from where we are now, we should be able to escape by jumping down from here. Tear these curtains into strips and make a rope to go down."
"Of course, boss," Tu said calmly. "But what if we go down? There are police outside, and their men are in the courtyard downstairs. We'll be shot dead before we even land. I don't have the ability to dodge bullets while I'm in mid-air."
Just then, the long-awaited sirens finally blared from outside the manor. Looking up at the sky, two police helicopters were circling overhead, and in the distance, a large number of police cars roared in through the manor gates! A large number of police officers had finally arrived. I even saw several police transport vehicles pull up, their doors opening, and a large number of fully armed special police officers, wearing bulletproof vests and carrying automatic rifles, ran out.
"Alright. Let's wait a little longer, the police will take care of everything for us." I breathed a sigh of relief: "Now we just have to grit our teeth and wait a little longer."
What puzzled me was that despite the arrival of a large number of police officers, the other side seemed to have no intention of launching an attack at all. They calmly deployed their forces to surround the enemy from both flanks, while the police in front remained at a buffer distance, showing no intention of rushing forward.
"What are they trying to do? Is the efficiency of the Canadian police really that low?"
What's even stranger is that Allen below didn't seem to have any intention of sending anyone up to fight us to the death, and remained quiet for quite a while.
But then I found out what had happened!
Suddenly, one of Allen's men shouted loudly outside, "Police outside, listen up! Back off immediately! Back off! Or we'll start killing the hostages!"
hostage?
I was stunned for a moment, then I understood what was going on. I looked down from upstairs and saw two of Allen's men holding guns to two girls dressed as maids who had been inside the castle, as they came out.
I see.
It seems that Allen wasn't really prepared to die. He actually sent men to arrest some of the servants and staff in the castle.
Although Thorin is the head of the underworld, not everyone in this castle is a gangster. The castle needs waiters, maids, cooks, gardeners, and so on—most of whom are ordinary, innocent people. In the chaos just now, many people escaped outside, but quite a few were trapped inside the castle with nowhere to run, so they hid. Now, Allen's men have found them and are taking them hostage.
"Let the person in charge of your department speak to me!"
Suddenly, a large loudspeaker appeared out of nowhere and blared Allen's voice.
"I have nine hostages!" Allen shouted. "I demand that you all stand back immediately! Stand back!!"
I saw Allen even stride out of the gate, looking at the police outside and shouting loudly.
I sighed. Although the police had many snipers with their eyes on Allen, they were hesitant to shoot him because of the hostages.
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, but then a black car suddenly drove up from behind with a flashing police light. It slowly drove up from behind and even stopped right next to the police cordon!
Then, the car door slowly opened, and a man in a high-ranking police uniform got out first, followed by another person crawling out of the car...
Gray hair, a gaunt face, sharp eyes... I couldn't believe my eyes! If Tu hadn't been holding me, I probably would have fallen headfirst off the building!
He took a megaphone and slowly spoke, his cold and serious voice immediately carrying over!
"Listen up, you inside! I am Thorin! I don't know what promises Allen made to you that emboldened you to follow him in these things! Perhaps you thought that if I were dead, you could act recklessly... But now, I am not dead! Allen is finished! He has no chance left. Look around you, look at the situation outside, Allen has failed! Continuing to follow him will only lead to death... You were all once my children, you all know me, you know that I will never break my oath! Now, I, Thorin, swear on my honor and my life: you inside, whatever you have done or made a mistake, as long as you put down your gun and come out, I will forgive you. I swear on my life, Gabriel Thorin, that if I break this oath, may God take my life!"
...
…………
Silence! A terrifying silence!
After nearly half a minute, Allen below seemed to finally break down and suddenly let out a desperate roar!
"No!!!! Impossible!!!! This is impossible!!!!"
His roar was still echoing when suddenly I heard gunshots! Downstairs, Allen's men were in chaos!
Gunshots rang out incessantly. The princess's men rushed into the room, shouting with delight, "My God! They...the guys downstairs are fighting amongst themselves!! They're fighting each other!!"
The princess stared blankly out the window, speechless and unresponsive.
I frowned as I looked outside, and sighed, "No... this can't be. I clearly saw him die right in front of me."
Part Three: The Pinnacle, Chapter 102: The True Colors of a Hero
Gunfire erupted downstairs for quite some time, and while I was still in shock, I gave only one order: Hold firm and do not come out!
Even though the princess had no opinion of her own, she listened to me completely.
Old Thorin's sudden "resurrection" pushed the Allen Group back from the brink of collapse! His earlier statement, "Only the ringleaders will be punished, the followers will be spared," coupled with his decades of accumulated power, immediately shattered the morale of the Allen Group. Amidst the chaos of gunfire, several men rushed out of the castle, shouting, "I surrender! I surrender!"
But they hadn't run more than a few steps before they were riddled with bullets from behind. However, this suppression wasn't enough to truly control the situation. Many who were wavering were instead made clear by the bloodshed before them: surrender, at least they wouldn't die! But continuing to fight meant they had already lost; since Old Thorin was still alive, future retaliation meant certain death!
This outcome immediately led many people to make a decision: pick up a gun! To fight for their lives!
In the chaos of battle, Allen's group fell apart, with large numbers of people fleeing. Those who didn't escape took up arms and began a bloody fight with the last remaining loyalists to Allen. Seeing this, Allen surprisingly remained silent.
I stood at the window, gazing into the distance at old Solin standing beside the car, his face calm, his white hair fluttering in the wind. I couldn't help but sigh inwardly... Hmph, I've been tricked by that old guy again!
I snapped out of my daze and immediately had Tu carry me to the stairs outside. The princess's men were still holding their ground, while the battle below was nearing its end.
Allen's men collapsed. Most of them ran out, rushing into the police cordon, then surrendered their weapons and knelt on the ground with their hands raised. Meanwhile, in the castle's main hall, many more heavy-duty soldiers joined the fray.
Allen had probably been injured as well; he was wearing a white shirt with blood on his left shoulder and was being surrounded by two of his men, seemingly preparing to retreat into the castle.
At that moment, I was standing on the stairs, looking directly at Allen. He seemed to look up and see me too. Then he pulled out his pistol and fired two shots at me, Tu pulling me back. The bullets hit the ceiling, causing no harm to me, but Allen's maniacal laughter echoed from below…
"Hahahaha..."
Then two gunshots rang out!
When I peeked out again, the two last men beside Allen were already lying on the ground, bullet holes in their heads, blood gushing out, while a wisp of smoke was slowly rising from the muzzle of Allen's gun.
He stared into my eyes, and I saw that Allen's eyes were bloodshot. His facial muscles twitched incessantly, then he looked at me with a bitter smile: "Fine! Very well! I still got tricked by that old man!"
When he raised the gun again, he didn't point it at me. Instead, he slowly raised it and put the muzzle into his mouth.
The last look Allen gave me was filled with boundless resentment...
Bang!
A crisp gunshot echoed in the hall, and a burst of blood erupted from the back of Allen's head before his body slowly slumped to the ground.
A large number of police officers finally rushed in, breaking through windows and doorways simultaneously. The princess immediately ordered her men to lay down their weapons and not resist. As the police secured every corner of the hall, old Thorin finally walked in slowly, surrounded by a few people.
His leather shoes were polished to a shine, and as he walked in, they creaked and crunched on the broken glass and rotten wood on the ground.
The remaining people in the castle laid down their weapons and allowed the police to control the situation. Then, old Thorin suddenly whispered something to the man in the high-ranking police uniform standing next to him. The man looked somewhat embarrassed, but still nodded.
After several orders were issued, the police force immediately began work, quickly moving the bodies from the hall. The police no longer guarded Thorin's old men who had been stationed in the castle with their guns down, allowing them to move freely. Paramedics also came in to treat the wounded...
Everything proceeded smoothly, while I stood on the steps, looking at each other and gazing into each other's eyes.
For several minutes, we remained silent until old Thorin finally spoke first.
"Chen Yang, would you like to talk?"
"Of course," I replied expressionlessly.
"Go to my study," old Thorin seemed to smile.
Soon, someone brought out a wheelchair from the castle, and old Thorin glanced at his daughter: "You come in too."
The intense gunfight didn't reach the study, but the shockwave from the explosion knocked over some things inside. When we entered the study, there were only the three of us; the people outside immediately closed the door.
“Sit down, my daughter.” Old Thorin smiled, then walked to the sofa, gently brushed off the dust that had fallen from the ceiling, and sat down calmly. “I imagine you have many questions for me.”
The princess seemed somewhat at a loss, but I had already arrived in my wheelchair before old Thorin: "Hmm, it turns out I did have a problem, but now, the answer is quite obvious." I smiled, narrowing my eyes, and looked at him: "My friend, you've tricked me again. You staged your own death to lure Allen into making the first move, then killed him, didn't you?"
“Alright, this is a long story, let’s tell it slowly.” Old Thorin took two cigars from the box in front of him, tossed one to me, lit it, slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, and said gently, “My friend, do you remember the little trick I played on you at your wedding? Of course, that was disrespectful of me, and I’ve already apologized. What I want to tell you now is that when I had Sophie lie to you, not everything she said was a lie; at least one thing was true.”
His sharp gaze swept across my face, and he said softly, "I do have cancer. And I only have less than two months to live."
I remained expressionless, only raising an eyebrow slightly.
“Allen has always wanted to get rid of me. He’s been building his own power base and even infiltrated my inner circle! The bombing and murder at the airport today—he orchestrated it. So, he thought he had killed me…”
“I don’t understand.” I shook my head. “If Allen planned the bombing, why didn’t you die? And if Allen wanted to murder me, why did he wait until I got out of the car to detonate the bomb? Wouldn’t it have been better to kill me too?”
Old Thorin chuckled, glancing quickly at me. "If Allen can infiltrate those around me, why can't I bribe his confidants? I knew about this bombing and assassination plot a long time ago. So, I easily controlled the bomb and then chose the perfect time to detonate it. My friend, how could I possibly kill you?"
"Hmph." I curled my lip and thought for a moment: "I think it must be that the place where you parked your car had a sewer opening underneath, right? You opened the car from the bottom, went into the sewer, and then detonated the car?"
Old Thorin remained silent, which was tantamount to acquiescence. I then sighed, "That is indeed a good idea. A counter-plan, making Allen believe his bombing and murder plot has succeeded, then luring him into making the first move and rebelling… However… three cars were bombed at the airport! Many of your men were in those cars, and… I remember two of your trusted aides were also in that Rolls-Royce, could it be that you…"
“Great things always require sacrifices,” old Thorin said expressionlessly.
Hmph, that's ruthless!
"In fact, I was the only one who got out of the car. Everyone else was really killed in the explosion. Moreover, I had prepared people in the sewers beforehand. I also prepared a body and put it in the car. Otherwise, if there was one less body in the car after the explosion, Allen would have become suspicious."
"Haha!" I laughed loudly, "So all your men were willing to cover for you and then get blown up by you?"
Old Thorin took a puff of his cigar, then looked at his daughter and said slowly, “There are very few people in this world who are not afraid of death. And those people, of course they are afraid of death. But they also have families, some have wives, some have children, some have parents. If you grasp someone’s weakness, then even if you want to kill them, they will most likely not dare to resist.”
I sighed, but old Thorin stared at his daughter and said slowly, "I want you to remember this, my daughter! Because you will be leading these people in the future. And I must make those people die... especially my two assistants who have been with me for many years."
The princess's expression was complex. Old Thorin sighed, "My daughter, your performance today has actually exceeded my expectations. At least in this situation, you managed to unite the last group of people and confront Allen. I'm quite satisfied with that. Hehe... But, a few people around me must die! They've been with me for many years, know too much about me, and have too much knowledge! They are old ministers, but they're old enough to be 'overshadowing their master.' So, I can't leave them to you, because you'll find it difficult to control them! Do you understand, my daughter? And today, these last few dozen people in the castle, their seniority isn't very deep, nor is it very shallow. In our organization, their status isn't too high, nor too low. More importantly, they've been through thick and thin with you! After this incident, their loyalty to you will greatly increase! In the future, you can choose a few from these people to serve as your trusted assistants! These are also the precious assets I'm leaving you."
Old Thorin's words made the princess turn pale, and tears gradually streamed down her face. I sighed; although I couldn't help but think this guy was incredibly cold-blooded, I also had to admire his ruthless nature!
"And what about me?" I sneered. "What role did I play in this play you directed?"
The old man looked at me and said, "You...you have passed my final test, my friend."
Hmph... Just as I thought... so that's how it is!