Chapter 833: Chapter 703: Arson and Murder

Qu Jianlei donned his armor, and the guards realized at once, "Armor’s on, he’s looking for trouble!"

The Celestial Handle Star, being the Star Domain Central Star, has strict control over firearms and ammunition, but it’s normal for such a factory on the outskirts to have heavy weaponry.

The guards ran to defensive positions, confident that if the opponent dared to make a move, they’d suffer a crushing defeat.

However, in the next moment, a mighty pressure emanated from the rider.

Soon after, a grand voice rang out, "Listen up, people of the Imagination Factory."

"Every grievance has a source and this vendetta is against the Norton Family. You have one minute to leave. Starting now!"

"Damn..." one guard was scared stiff, "Is this a Supreme?"

Another guard’s expression also changed, "Oh no, did someone from the Asteroid Belt come seeking revenge?"

The guards were all trusted by the Norton Family, including some family members. They knew exactly what the family was recently concerned about.

One of the guards spoke fiercely, "Prepare to open fire, inform the family at once!"

"Fifty-nine, fifty-eight, fifty-seven..." The Fire Attribute Supreme, helmeted, began the countdown.

At the same time, his figure became elusive and erratically evasive.

Many Supremes would launch into the air during a fight, showcasing their supreme presence.

But Qu Jianlei wouldn’t do that. Since it’s a battle, he refused any form of showboating.

The guard leader, a member of the Norton family, issued orders without hesitation.

"Activate the protective shield, fire the matrix cannon, charge the ion beam cannon, start the holographic recording, notify resting guards to defend."

Since the foe was on the verge of attacking, there was no room for luck; attack first!

"I’m not crazy," a guard turned and ran toward an off-road vehicle, "That’s a Supreme!"

Faithfulness to the Norton Family wasn’t the issue, but engaging in battle required knowing the opponent; fighting a Supreme was suicide.

In space, with a warship as a backing, perhaps one might dare to challenge a Supreme, but how could you fight on the ground?

The guard’s logic was clear, but in the next moment, a laser pierced through his back.

In disbelief, he looked down and then fell to the ground, still shouting, "That’s a... Supreme!"

The guard leader wielded the laser gun and spoke coldly, "You take the guard’s pay, dare to run, and this is your end!"

Another guard exclaimed, "Boss, those workers are also getting in cars to escape!"

"Workers..." The leader hesitated for a moment, but eventually sighed, "Forget it, they’re just workers."

Soon, gunfire resounded everywhere as workers frantically drove cars, fleeing the factory.

The guard leader spoke coldly, "If the enemy uses cars as cover, don’t hesitate!"

He might spare the workers, but if the enemy Supreme tried to use it for cover, he wouldn’t hesitate.

However, the Supreme didn’t resort to such tactics, instead dodging back and forth in the wilderness.

"At least the Supreme acts with some integrity," the guard leader commented gravely.

But he didn’t forget to bolster his men, "It’s just a Fire Attribute Supreme, fragile skin, if we hit him, he might be severely injured."

The rest of the guards remained silent. The statement was correct, but only if they could hit him, right?

With his ghostly body technique, how could they hit him?

The sixty seconds quickly ended, and Qu Jianlei unleashed the grand move that he had held back for so long, "Meteor Fire Rain!"

Countless fireballs appeared in the sky, uncountable, trailing long tails as they plummeted toward the factory.

"Damn..." One guard jumped up from the console, madly rushing towards the exit, "If we don’t run, we’ll die!"

At this moment, the guard leader couldn’t even spare a thought for shooting.

He watched the rapidly descending fireballs in horror, with only one thought in his mind: Is Supreme Power... this strong?

The control room and some important workshops of the factory had defense arrays.

But against such a cataclysmic attack, the civilian protective capabilities were truly insignificant.

Wave after wave of fireballs descended, and then explosions sounded incessantly.

The attack lasted about ten seconds before a muffled sound was heard — the power hub explosively erupted. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Even though the power hub’s protection was strong, it eventually couldn’t withstand the assault.

After losing the primary power, four to five seconds later, the energy block storage also explosively erupted.

Some guards risked their lives rushing outside the factory, only to be ended by flaming arrows.

There was no expression on Qu Jianlei’s face — he had given them a chance to escape, but they didn’t cherish it.

Five minutes later, the entire large factory was aflame, and a Water Attribute Supreme would be of no use.

Qu Jianlei coldly surveyed the scene for another two minutes, ensuring the complete destruction, before turning to leave.

The sky had yet to fully darken, but he feared no encounters, be they with Mecha or Supreme.

If a Supreme dared to come, he would be more than willing to bury the opponent.

He attacked this time with a completely fire attribute strike, not even using firearms.

Although this would consume a lot of his spiritual Qi, it could also successfully mislead the opponent: a pure Fire Attribute Supreme was coming.

As it turns out, Qu Jianlei’s guess was correct. When the Norton Clan received news of the factory being attacked, they dared not send anyone to investigate.

The reason was simple: a Fire Attribute Supreme appeared, so what about the Earth Attribute Supreme?

The Empire is in a period of continual expansion, battles are everywhere, and the notion of ambushing reinforcements is something everyone has heard of many times.

Half an hour later, led by two warships, the City Guard finally appeared outside the factory.

With the City Guard were one A-level and two B-level Awakened from the Norton Clan.

Seeing the massive factory turned into a wasteland, the Norton clansmen’s faces turned pale with anger, "Too much bullying!"

However, the matter wasn’t over yet. Three hours later, over a hundred kilometers away, another Norton factory was destroyed.

This time, it wasn’t the Fire Attribute Supreme, but the Earth Attribute Supreme who acted, also giving a warning in advance.

On this occasion, the guards had been granted permission by the family, and without resistance, they fled the factory with the workers.

The factory building was crushed by meteorites, and dense Earth Spikes appeared on the flat ground.

Fortunately, there was no loss of life, the only minor injury was caused by vehicles colliding during the escape.

This time, the rescue was slightly quicker, but it still took twenty minutes.

There’s no way around it; deploying warships involves a series of processes and takes time.

Moreover, the appearance of the Earth Attribute Supreme also proved that there were at least two Supremes.

Why didn’t they attack simultaneously? Obviously, there was indeed a Supreme lying in ambush, waiting to intercept reinforcements.

Otherwise, this kind of sequential attack would allow the defending side adequate time to raise their vigilance, increasing the difficulty of the attack.

Upon receiving the news, the Norton family intensified their guard overnight.

The Norton family also has a settlement on the Celestial Handle Star, a manor covering one square kilometer and home to more than five thousand clansmen and family members.

The manor has many independent courtyards, but at this moment, all the clansmen have been gathered into three castles.

The Norton family is not just these people; nearly two thousand are scattered in other parts of the planet, and over a thousand are not on the Celestial Handle Star.

Gathering the scattered clansmen is not convenient or safe right now; it’s enough just to notify them.

As for the clansmen in the manor, they must be gathered to prevent possible attacks from the other side.

On the first floor of one castle, a spacious room was filled with seven or eight white-haired elders.

There was only one middle-aged man, whose aura was distinctly different from the others; he was Qianfeng Norton, the Norton family’s Supreme.

With a grim face, he spoke, "Let’s all share our views; if this matter is not handled well, disaster will befall the Norton family!"

One elder spoke, "The opponent first targeted two factories, obviously fearing the City Guard, fearing the imminent imperial honors for the family!"

Currently, the manor has City Guards stationed, a small team of more than thirty, hired at great expense by the Norton family a while ago.

Another elder snorted coldly, "Afraid? If the opponent was truly afraid, how would they dare to target the Customs Enforcement Warship?"

The former elder also snorted coldly, "That’s because the other side has inside help in the Customs Enforcement Division, knowing that nothing there could withstand scrutiny."

"That’s not necessarily true," the latter elder shook his head, "you’re just guessing; the opponent is audacious enough, maybe they simply find it troublesome."

The former elder continued shaking his head, "Without inside help, the Sheriff wouldn’t be so weak. On the Central Star... they wouldn’t dare to act recklessly!"

"Enough of that," the latter elder waved his hand, speaking sternly, "both factories are heavy assets; the opponent aims to sever us at the root!"

The two factories were profitable but employed few workers, mainly due to the high level of automation in the factories.

Just the cost of construction and equipment exceeded a billion, with annual profits only in the tens of millions.

The reason why the profits are considered high is due to low operational and depreciation costs, and many components are produced for their own use.

The Norton family saved quite a bit of expense because of this side business, and the profits included are indeed substantial.

"What’s good about heavy assets?" The former elder remained stubborn, "I’ve long said the family should focus more on capital operations!"

Clearly, facing an imminent disaster, the discussion was led astray into debates about business strategy, truly showcasing the challenges in managing a large family.

"Enough!" Qianfeng shouted sternly, "What we need to discuss is what to do now, not these other things!"

The former elder responded solemnly, "If we focus on capital operations, we can gather a large amount of cash and leverage the power of financial groups to resist the opponent!"

"Are financial groups reliable?" The latter elder scoffed coldly, "Have you forgotten how much we lost pulling out of Titan?"

Strictly speaking, the Norton family, although severely damaged withdrawing from Titan, had already surpassed their investment in earnings.

It’s just that the stock sold was poorly priced compared to future expected profits.

"That’s because they wanted to distance themselves; if we brought a large capital in, there’d always be a financial group short of cash!"

Amid the heated debate, a middle-aged man rushed in, his face grave.

"Bad news, the Imperial honors this time will require going to the Capital Star!"

Instantly, the arguing individuals fell silent, eyes filled with trepidation.

(Updated to make a call for monthly tickets, subscriptions, and recommendation votes.)