Lord of Cinder in American Comics

Sloan controls the assassins through the loom to profit himself, and he can also use faith and money to gain a large number of brainless followers.

Having identified the adversary, Ash quickly redesigned her strategy. Controlling the situation was about dealing with supernatural forces, and the textile factory clearly fit the bill.

But to legitimize her actions, Ash called George Stacy.

"Hello, Chief George, you received an anonymous call..."

## Chapter 227: The Textile Factory (Bonus Chapter 6/10)

George Stacy stared at the name Ash on the phone number, completely baffled as to what Ash meant.

"Based on a tip from an anonymous phone call, there's a hitman company disguised as a textile factory located by a river somewhere in the city. Furthermore, this hitman company is suspected of possessing some kind of supernatural ability..."

Upon hearing this, George basically understood what it meant: he was being asked to share the credit, and it seemed that the lion's share of the credit would be on him.

"Ahem... I have a blood feud with evil! After receiving the tip-off, I secretly sent people to gather evidence, and after confirming the location, I immediately contacted the Bureau of Control to assist in capturing these super-powered assassins... That's right, isn't it..."

"That's right, but the anonymous caller didn't specify the exact location, so the police still need to screen the textile factory."

"That's easy. I'll just have patrol officers run along the Hudson River and they'll know everything..."

Ash and George quickly settled their responsibilities and credits in a few words, and George did not refuse the credit that was offered to him.

Now that the dark side of the world has been exposed to the public, New York residents have great doubts about whether the police can protect the safety of their communities.

Combating a supernatural killer organization like this would demonstrate the police department's capabilities, and this achievement might even secure more funding for the department.

Ash didn't shy away from the Smiths; after all, Jane was now a knight of the Darkmoon Sword, and he could reveal more about her territory to them.

This was the first time Mr. and Mrs. Smith had ever seen such a tactic that allowed them to operate in both the legal and illegal worlds. Although they knew that Ash had great power in controlling the situation, they had always kept their positions separate from the authorities at Firelink Shrine. It was nothing like how a few words could decide on a gathering place for assassins.

After hanging up the phone, Ash looked at Mr. and Mrs. Smith and said, "Now there's one more problem..."

"Just tell us what we can do!"

"Based on what you said before and the information I have, Jane's sister is at the textile factory..."

Upon hearing this, Jane Smith immediately prepared to leave to find her sister.

Fortunately, John Smith stopped his wife. Since Ash was able to say it, he must have made a decision and had a solution.

After John had calmed his wife down, Ash slowly revealed his plan.

“Since you are sisters, Jane, go and have your picture taken. I will distribute Jane's photo as soon as the operation begins, and as an undercover agent of the Control Bureau, I will inform everyone. This way, we can avoid accidentally harming your sister…”

Jane wanted to say something more, but John Smith stopped her, and she didn't say it. Ash could imagine that she would just tell him to go find it himself and not to lift a finger.

But since these were Sirius's words, and the matter of the Darkmoon Knight wasn't handled properly, once it reached Yorshka, the Nameless King would definitely find out, and he would surely take the opportunity to talk to Ash.

It's not that Ash can't defeat the Nameless King, it's just that defeating the Nameless King is too troublesome. They have to ensure that they defeat the Nameless King without causing too much damage to him, otherwise Yulshka would start crying.

Compared to all these troubles, it's more worthwhile to shut down a textile factory.

George acted swiftly; the Bureau of Control received the request for assistance that very afternoon, shortly after Ash made the anonymous call.

To avoid the bullets that could curve around corners from the textile factory, Ash didn't bring any light weapons this time, but instead brought a whole company's worth of ATS exoskeleton armor.

Of course, this company-level unit is organized as an ATS exoskeleton armor unit, which, according to the organization of combat vehicles, consists of only fourteen ATS exoskeletons.

However, these fourteen ATS exoskeletons are enough to penetrate the defenses of most conventional armed forces; the small pistols used by the textile factory workers simply cannot penetrate the armored defenses.

Ash led these big guys to the temporary base at the location reported by George.

Inside the command center, George was assigning tasks to the SWAT team, and when he saw Ash arrive, he simply nodded in acknowledgment.

To everyone's surprise, Ash pulled out a stack of photos and handed them to the officers present, saying, "These are undercover agents from the Control Bureau. If you see them, try not to shoot. Also, this mission is very special; the main attack will be handled by the Control Bureau..."

To George's men, who were unaware of the truth, Ash's behavior was seen as an attempt to seize power and claim credit.

But George knew that Ash was the one who gave him the credit, and he quickly said before his subordinates could, "The Control Bureau is the most professional at dealing with supernatural events..."

George winked at Ash, hoping Ash would say something supernatural to dispel his men's doubts. Ash readily agreed and explained the special nature of the textile factory.

"There's a special group of assassins here who can make bullets curve. They can make bullets bypass shields and the front-line assault troops to take out the back row. Let the control department handle this; you guys provide support outside for now..."

Ash gave an explanation, and his boss George did not object. Naturally, his subordinates would not go against the wishes of these two big shots, and according to Ash's intelligence, they rearranged the attack order.

George, with a look of utter disbelief, slapped his forehead and went to Ash.

"How did you come up with the idea that bullets can curve? If I could come up with that, I would have been writing a novel long ago!"

As he spoke, George looked at Ash's face, which practically screamed "What are you talking about?", and asked with a hint of disbelief, "Could it be that someone can actually make bullets curve?"

"Of course! Otherwise, why would I carry so many ATS exoskeletons? I'm known as the Honest and Trustworthy Young Man. When have I ever lied to you?"

George was skeptical of Ash's nickname, but it was time to attack.

Ash brought two ATS exoskeletons, leaving them outside the textile factory gates to work alongside the New York Police Department, both to provide support and to intercept the escaped textile factory killers.

The rest of them slowly infiltrated the Hudson River, proceeding along the riverbed to launch their attack from behind the textile factory.

Whether it was because it was dinner time or for some other reason, the textile factory's defenses were extremely lax in the evening, and no one even noticed that the ATS exoskeleton armor had come up from the riverbed below.

The battle began with the roar of the twin-mounted machine guns of the ATS armor.

Ash had no intention of letting these killers go, and she didn't need any other witnesses to take Jane's sister away.

The battle began, and the assassins in the textile factory reacted very quickly. Almost instantly, the textile factory was transformed into a fortress.

Bullets of various calibers flew toward these ATS armors, but to no avail, not even scratching the paint.

The machine guns and small missiles mounted on the armor are the nemesis of these killers. No matter where they hide, once they are detected by the equipment carried by the armor, they will be subjected to crossfire.

Hiding behind a wall? Sorry, walls can't stop machine gun fire. Hiding behind a professional bunker or sandbags? Sorry, sandbags can't stop small missile explosions.

The battle turned into a one-sided affair from the very beginning. The pilots inside the ATS armor had to repeatedly confirm whether the target was one of their own 'infiltrators', and their speed of advance was artificially limited.

Finally, amidst the driver's excited exclamation, Jane's sister was discovered.

The squad immediately spun out two armored vehicles to capture the 'infiltrator', while the rest began a rapid advance.

In the command room, Ash watched the enemies facing the armor and felt more and more that the assassins from the textile factory were crazy.

Having realized their weak firepower, instead of acquiring larger guns and cannons, they tried to engage in close combat with the machines?

In the movie, the mechanic training Wesley, when his pistol was useless, tried to punch the ATS armor and ended up having half of his body shattered by the armor.

The Butcher, skilled in knives and stealth, thought the ATS armored vehicle wouldn't detect him and prepared to launch a sneak attack. However, the infrared signal emitted by his massive size was particularly conspicuous in the cold storage. The ATS pilot didn't even enter the cold storage; he simply stood outside the door and used his machine gun to blast the Butcher and the pigs inside into pieces.

The textile factory has been surrounded. New York Police Department helicopters and patrol boats have blocked all possible escape routes, and Ash is outside with his senses activated, so no one can escape.

At the very top of the textile factory building, Sloan opened his private safe and nervously stuffed gold nuggets and valuables into his backpack.

However, the increasingly heavy sound in his ears made him grip the Mauser pistol in his hand even tighter.

But when the door was kicked open by the ATS armor, Sloan immediately threw down his weapon and chose to surrender.

With the NYPD present, Ash couldn't directly order the killing of those who surrendered, so he could only temporarily detain Sloan and find another opportunity to make him disappear later.

With Sloan's surrender, the textile mill was destroyed. This assassin group with special abilities was torn apart like paper by the powerful offensive of twelve ATS armored vehicles.

After the killer's departure, the NYPD entered the scene and began their cleanup operation.

George showed no complaints, looking with delight at the ledgers found in Sloan's room. But when he saw the densely packed names of the victims, his joy turned into anger at himself.

This wasn't impotent rage; George was simply furious at himself for not knowing about the place beforehand, which allowed these killers to do so much dirty work.

While George was looking through the ledgers, Ash also received a communication request from the ATS armor.

"Sir, we've discovered something different..."

As the camera shifted, the image was fixed on a wooden weaving machine.

This wooden loom moves on its own in the scene without any outside operation or external force, weaving rough linen.

Ash looked at the scene but did not perceive anything amiss; in her perception, the spinning machine did not exist.

Chapter 228: Fury Again!

When regular combat troops fight assassins armed only with pistols, even if these assassins have some special skills, such advantages are negligible in the face of firepower and armor.

With people and equipment, there's no need to confront the assassin head-on. If it weren't for the urban environment, Ash would have called in an airstrike or brought Abrams over.

After eliminating all the killers and handing the cleanup over to the New York police, Ash went to the room where the textile machines were stored.

Vision and perception are two completely different states, which is something that could never happen to the Lord of Cinder.

But the facts were already laid bare, forcing Ash to believe that this loom was definitely not as simple as piecing together a binary list from textiles.

Having discovered the anomaly, Ash did not rush to touch it, but instead brought Sloan and Firefox over.

Both of them were handcuffed with restraints, and given their physical abilities, they had no way to break free.

Seeing their dejected, dying expressions, Ash didn't bother explaining anything to them. Anyway, Sloan would definitely hand it over to George to take back and file it, while Firefox would be left to her sister.

"Sloan, where did you get this spinning machine?"

"The history of textile factories can be traced back to the 18th century, when textile workers..."

Ash didn't want to hear this kind of story. This spinning machine was clearly not a historical artifact, or rather, those two hundred years couldn't be considered history at all.

He gave a signal to the escorting soldiers, and the ATS armor lightly touched Sloan's shoulder, causing him to kneel down due to the immense force.

"I'm asking where you got it from. Stop with the nonsense. Your assassin company has been registered in the underworld for less than twenty years. How could it have such a long history? I don't want to hear your fabricated stories!"

As Ash continued his questioning, the ATS armor's machine gun cocked right next to Sloan's ear, the crisp sound making Sloan's body tremble.

"I found it at a flea market. When I bought it, it was just a piece of junk. When I was about to take it apart, it started weaving cloth on its own."

Inexplicably, I learned how to interpret the information, and subsequently gained the power to freely control my body and make bullets curve.

Guided by the loom, I searched for suitable candidates, turning them into assassins for the textile factory. And it kept spitting out targets, sending me to kill those guys…”

Sloan's explanation left Firefox staring in disbelief at her former mentor. She had thought she was chosen by fate, but it turned out to be just a hoax by Sloan.

Sloan also recounted what happened next: the loom's appetite grew larger and larger, and Sloan came up with the idea of ​​altering the list provided by the loom, which would not only restrict the loom but also bring him profits.

But the loom was unhappy. Sloan hadn't fed it enough, so it wove Sloan's name into its own, trying to get others to kill Sloan.

But Sloan was not about to die, so he put the loom away by himself, making it accessible only to him.

In this way, Sloan and the loom cooperated and interfered with each other, which led to the gradual growth of the textile factory.

If you take Sloan's story out of context, it's a story about a special object that creates fantasy, collaborating with a cowardly ambitious man, and ultimately the two falling out.