“Surrender, and release the hostages, and we will grant you passage tickets to the next continent. This is our final act of mercy. “
A full-bodied voice sounded from outside the winding alley.
— “We have people positioned elsewhere as well. If you try to trap us here, once the time is up, our companions there will launch an attack too! “
It was silent within the alley for nearly a minute. Then a different soldier’s broadcast voice rang out.
“Wilson, Naughton, Richard Li… ” Those inside heard a long list of names being read aloud.
Then came the voice of the officer from before:
“Because the safety of the world is at stake, I am offering you one final reply. Cease resistance and surrender immediately. We can overlook past offenses, acknowledging blame is due. “
In the center of the square, Wilson laughed in outrage:
“You probably don’t realize how dangerous the south of the world has become right now. The data on the Doom Vines outbreak across the seawater tributaries must certainly have reached your ears, officers. Oh? I wonder though—can you inform the people of the southern nations, hm? Any single anomaly can let ‘this’ bloom, possibly covering the earth, the metal vine death flower! “
Within the alley under the night sky, hearing this, the commanders whispered briefly among themselves. Then these uniformed officers converged beside the Major General at the entrance of the alley.
Within the now even-to-the-point-of transparency barrier field, two people jumped from each of the truck and the artillery transport, as they all converged in the center of the square, scattering quickly from there.
Wilson’s eyes were tinged with killing intent as he watched Nanton, with the common ear studs on his pointed ears, also leave the truck and walk over.
“Why did you come over? Aren’t you watching the trucks? “
“Those are just some bombs. As long as you die, everyone here will be dead too. There’s no way I can leave this continent alive anyway. “
Nanton, in his forties, had a slightly sharp chin and powerful eyes. He scanned the rise around him—the force field that had been erected—took a machine gun from someone in front of him, and pulled the bolt back to chamber a round.
“So we need to show them something to remember. “
His voice grew louder as he shouted toward the other side of the square, out to the road half-blocked by trucks: “Listen up, you people out there! If you don’t give us the keys, I will have this world destroyed along with me in death! “
His resonant voice echoed over the buildings and above the people waiting with bowed heads for their fate.
……
Outside on the distant road, several commanders in caps gathered around the Major General and spoke in hushed tones.
“The people inside are desperate now, ” a soldier relayed the message.
“The mindset of these hostage takers seems to be shifting. “
They all agreed there must be someone pulling the strings behind the scenes, but they couldn’t understand why that instigator would dare go so far.
Because if something went wrong here, it could indeed lead to a catastrophic loss of life—especially with the eruption of the Iron Thistle that had persisted over the past two days.
“Keep the status quo situation for now, and extend the time for negotiations the negotiations. “
Upon hearing the discussions of the few, the Major General’s breath grew heavy, and his voice carried a hoarse rasp as he said, “Let the goatherds start going in. “
As the order was passed down, the commanders all judged in their minds whether the captives’ psychological defenses inside would collapse when the encirclement began, causing them to give up their resolve to carry out the mission.
……
In the air, a gentle, eddying warm breeze rose just before dawn.
Upon receiving the order, Wade stood up from the small leather stool under him and patted the dust off his pants.
Marlenlint Fort, the small city built around an ancient castle over four hundred years old, commands a view of its majestic silhouette from any corner of the city when one looks up.
Many goats began to be released by the soldiers of the Army from the opening of the makeshift encircling fence.
A mottled brown goat, with perpetually half-closed eyelids and brown-black eyes, bleated as it walked forward past Wade’s feet.
The man began to move the tide of goats, leading them up the ancient Knight’s Slope for vehicles—its path now reduced to a walkway occupied by buildings—towards the towering silhouette profile in the city center.
……
In the square.
Nelson exuded a cold aura, his whole being radiating a practiced, chilling ruthlessness.
Time ticked by minute by minute.
He turned back to look up at the massive ancient castle behind him, built from collected natural giant rocks.
A building constructed of massive, solid square stones, its color had transitioned from the stern gray-white to a mottled dark ochre over centuries of wind and rain erosion, transformed by grime and climbing plants, slumbering atop the small city.
Suddenly, he held his breath, pricking up his ears to listen.
Everyone in the square craned their necks, gazing into the empty alleyways. The few people by the campfire leaned against each other, warily watching their surroundings.
“Baa~, ” the sounds of countless sheep rang out densely from the winding alleys around them.
“Goats? “
Everyone, raising a clamorous murmur, saw hundreds of meters away on the wide road, black and brown goats densely crowding together. Because so many had gathered, they kept kicking each other. Some were even squeezed sideways against the translucent walls. In their half-closed eyes, the horizontal, deep pupils stared calmly and vacantly, reflecting the frightened figures of the crowd in the square.
“These… “
The clamor of the people erupted again, impossible to contain.
“Are they planning to abandon everyone here to death! “
Amid countless terrified voices, an unbearable citizen’s frantic shout came from within the square.
“Why! Why is this happening! “
Beyond that translucent wall, the commander’s voice came from outside.
“The Special Defense Office has given you a chance. Now, the initiative is handed back to you. For the safety and stability of the world, we still hope that everyone will remain calm. “
Wilson and the others in the square, their faces twitching slightly, stared dazedly and angrily into the distance.
Wails came from a large group of bound civilians.
“Silence! ” Wilson shouted. He called out to the empty block beyond the long street: “Do you really intend to inflict disaster upon the entire world… “
“For the sake of the world’s security too, we will no longer accept any— ” The officer’s voice suddenly broke off by itself.
The square, which had fallen into abrupt silence, was now filled with nothing but the bleating of sheep.
The thousands of people huddled on the ground turned their heads to look forward.
Beyond the long causeway crowded with sheep, a slender figure approached through the faint light of dawn.
“Just a single key. “
The newcomer, surrounded by a herd of jostling goats in the dim twilight, stood outside the force field and raised his arm.
The man, whose face was sharp-cut as if by axe and blade, pinched a thin string between his fingers, from which dangled a slightly lustrous brass key.
“Name your price. “
……
The eyes of the bandits, the civilians, and the Warriors—from the buildings and from behind—fixed on the outline of the Ark’s President raising his arm on the steps. Then all eyes fell upon the object dangling from his fingertips.
Along the muddy cobblestone road beside the towering dark-brown horse, the major general commanding this operation turned his head with a solemn stare towards a distant aircraft whose propeller was still buzzing as it steadily landed on a small patch of open ground.
This man could really be here.
General Ross’s friends sure meddle deep in others’ affairs, he mused, recalling the incident he had learned about: how General Ross, when he was still a major general, nearly died when stranded on an island.
The major general privately pondered if there might be some deeper motive behind all this.
……
Beneath the old bronze child’s statue, the hearts of the assembled people began racing as the crowd’s every eye became locked on the source of that voice.
“That’s…” The hostage civilians caught a blurry silhouette but couldn’t make out his face clearly.
However, the Wilson brothers had sharper eyes. They had just sunk into fear when a sudden sliver of disbelief rang in their minds.
“I, we…” By the campfire, a thick-buzzed scarred man of the guard uniform stammered with open mouth. “Even the barrier around the kingdom’s courtyard appeared, and done it?! He actually managed to…!“
He then saw the barrel of the long rifle in Nelson’s hand flip upward until it pointed directly into his mouth.
“Shut it,” Nelson said, as his racient manifestation of pulse-driven unearthly outlines began writhing outward, struggling to expand.
That man instantly realized he had spoken out of turn.
The native beside him, who had only grown this far by accommodating demonic bloodlines, turned his expressionless head. Although Nandun exuded strong momentum, his heart was still sunk in trembling contemplation.
Even now, he couldn’t believe that in this short time from the plan’s implementation before dawn broke, Blackwenzek officials had actually produced this key before his eyes, with the king’s barrier and the Goatherd already deployed.
Outside the force field, Yang Zicang took out a piece of paper, turned to the side and said,
“Who is the person in charge here? My time is very precious. Please handle this matter for me. “
“Mr. Ark President. ” A soldier under a nearby eave ran over with difficulty.
Upon hearing this name, the crowd in the square erupted in excited clamor!
Nanton inside the force field watched the World Ark chairman outside whisper a few instructions, hand the Key over to that person, then turn and stride away.
“He, how could he!” Wilson urgently stepped forward; Nanton’s cheek also trembled with eager anxiety as he gazed at that Key, various guesses and suspicions crowding his mind.
The soldier outside the force field, his head lowered, stared at his own palm; in an instant, several Warrior figures rushed to stand around him.
The young soldier bound in a steel helmet glanced incredulously at the contents on the paper, then pushed through the sheep, stepped forward to the transparent force field wall, and said in a loud voice:
“Listen up, you in there. If you sign this paper, then the Chairman… will recognize your status within the Traveler Group. “
Hearing the soldier’s voice outside the force field, Nanton glanced around and said:
“How many Chronosequences can you scrape together from what you mentioned? It should be at least eight hundred thousand, right? “
“Yes, including tonight’s, the few of us have pooled together about a little over a million in total. “
“Let me use this Key first. I’ll go in there to inspect the situation there, and if I can come out safely, then you’ll pay… that fee. “
“This… ” The people beside him hesitated a little.
Nanton’s face darkened as he said: “There’s no other way. I’ll go first. If there’s any irregular move, kill everyone here. “
With that said, this robust figure, not allowing any doubt among his members, walked step by step towards the intersection blocked by the truck ahead, arriving in front of the semi-transparent barrier force field.
“We intend to pay one million Chronosequence units, but on the condition that the authenticity of the Key is verified, as well as the safety inside there. “
The soldier outside the force field glanced at the faces of the several people beside him.
Finally, the hard fluctuations of this force field softened a bit. The young soldier pressed a piece of paper and a pen tightly against it, letting them slowly pass through the wall.
The paper fell down.
Looking at the sheet with words like “Lighthouse Traveler Group Hotel Check-in & Unified Management Committee ” printed above a blank column, which listed some terms and conditions detailed that activating the force field temporarily under them caused his heart to thump twice harshly.
The man wrote his name on it, then stuffed it into his coat pocket.
“It’s done. Give me the Key. “
Locking eyes with him, Nanton saw the barrier before him gradually melt and thin; a Key fell with a clearding, arcing through the air and dropping into the outstretched man’s hand.
Nanton retreated with swift footsteps, tense all over, he cast a quick look down. Made of brass, the object looked utterly ordinary.
“This is the treasure so many of the fog people pursue.“
And it is the rare hope of escape for the people of this world I belong to.
Nanton raised his head immediately—how was it used? He recalled the scrawled note on the paper: the instructions for communicating with the Key through mental intent to enter the inn without being watched.
“Please turn your heads.“
Backing away, Nandun said in a hoarse voice, moving his body towards the half of the intersection blocked by the truck as he retreated. Many goats bleated, jostling and colliding as they moved and ran in.
The soldiers outside the barrier had no choice but to turn their heads.
To be safe, Nandun still took off his coat and raised his left hand to shield his face. This was a very dangerous move, but he didn’t care. As long as this key was real, this bit of danger was utterly insignificant.
But if it was fake, even if he avoided the immediate danger, in reality, he had already fallen into a false deception.
｛You want to use the COSTELLA HOTEL key.｝
A voice that sounded in his mind. What a strange feeling.
｛COSTELLA HOTEL lock pick… indicating whether to use the lock pick.｝
Of course! Nandun felt the sluggishness of the object in his palm, his heart filled with intense anxiety.
Then, as he quickly retreated, Nandun felt his body muscles lose some energy when he heard several goats bleating.
Nandun felt his back crash into the truck behind him.
He sidestepped and slipped into the gap. Gripping the key tightly again, he urgently thought, I must be quick!
Why is this thing so hard to use!
Suddenly, he finally saw the scenery around him begin to waver.
Has it started?!
The illusory bedroom scene began to emerge from its faint state, shaking as if turning real.
Nandun’s heart pounded as he saw a dimly lit room with somewhat peculiar decor about to quietly emerge, yet at that very moment, the man sensed everything around him brighten.
A tremendous force struck him from behind, accompanied by a sound as if his eardrums had been shattered into pieces.
Boom!
As the entire truck loaded with explosives burst into flames, the fire twisted and surged toward Nandun’s broken, tumbling body—specifically toward the arm holding the Key.
In the flying man’s eyes, a faint fourth gleam of light rapidly solidified.
Then, he saw from a distance at the plaza front, Wilson and the others stared back in shock as several soldiers in uniform—Black Weinzik soldiers—charged swiftly nearby, their figures closing in. “Wil… “
However, these Soldier Army figures carried a strange sense about them; they did not quite resemble real bodies, but rather bore a visual sheen like reflections in a mirror. Especially as the explosion fire from the truck bomb sent the invisible glass-like reflections rippling off the surface of these five figures, amidst clouds of orange flame from the smoke and explosions.
“A Radiance realm… it’s… them! “
Nanton, his skin cracked open in an instant by the blast, fixed his gaze on the arm engulfed by the collapsing flame.
“｛-Glory Light: subtitle…｝ Bloodline. “
All of them possessed the same team abilities as that person.
Having cracked realm-layer nature Nanton realized—that Full Moon Angel’s proposals whole layers’ scene own build never genuinely guide own structure harness by; given hidden stays domain under the same mutual grasp disguise key; otherwise world key fleet’ll trigger follow completion to their pressing layout.
There had been someone hiding here all along; if anyone truly delivered the Key, they would lie in wait to seize it.
“Damn it! ” The hand gripping the key stung with a rapid searing pain, crashing against the wall of the civilian house and blasting through the window with a thud.
Nanton rolled along the ground, immediately using his left hand to grip his right wrist, squeezing firm possess both blistering fists flames hot-crunkle in greedy pursue away by that roaring flame devour blister-shell ignite painful all wrapped writhing pressing edges—won fracture nor surrender. Both his fists both burn nothing consumed as that pulsar brand upon meeting…
Gritting his teeth, he heard a sudden wave of screams echo across the square.
In front of the abandoned fountain in the circular square, Wilson, hearing the rapid approach of wind sounds, had barely turned his head when a rapidly rotating hexagonal force field appeared beside him—it was his teammate who was always vigilant in protecting him.
With abang, the force field was shattered by a gleaming fist shadow. Then the bayonet in the hand of another figure behind Wilson swept through the air with a piercing whistle.
“Dare to attack me!” The faint, illusory energy floating on the surface of Wilson’s guard uniform suddenly expanded and burst into flames. “Let’s die together!“
In his eyes, four thread-like, engraving halos instantly solidified and ignited with a bright light.
As if their vital energy was being harvested, wispy streams of faint energy were drawn from the bound residents in the square like a gust of wind, converging before Wilson.
Bang!The head of the companion beside him, who had been wreathed in a protective force field, instantly shattered.
“Your work is well done.” A woman’s voice came through, gentle and moist yet laced with arrogance.
Within the silhouette of Marlenlint Fort, the shadows began to distort under the massive outpour and spread of rampant Stellar Yuan.
The darkness of the entire castle seemed to be seized and pulled upwards, coalescing into a ten-meter-tall ethereal cloak that billowed outward. Within the cloak, several indistinct arms of energy, like the countless limbs of an armored beetle, uplifted a woman. Her bare feet dangled, her hair was fluffy, and her face was as pale as the moon.
“It’s you!“
Wilson looked at the silhouette of the woman in disbelief.
“Safari Bennett! “
A woman in a black-blue administrative-style long coat shimmered with ethereal flames. The coat, with its design and tailoring details that released the tension between her dignity and supple temperament, began to float with fine sand like scattered star diamonds, which swept into the sky above the terrified onlookers.
“The inn key has appeared. Why bother wasting millions of cons? “
The arrow-shaped fine sand with its faint firelight gave off a warm, moist sheen that carried an aura of death in its blur radiance.
At the end of the road covered by a crowded flock of goats, Yang Zicang, who had nearly reached the outskirts of the city, suddenly felt his heart leap with a familiar presence.
“Death! ” His pupils constricted, and his form flickered. With a piercing scratch that tore through the air, he stomped on goats lowering their heads, creating a rushing gust as he burst away.
Soldiers who had just turned their heads and bodies from the blast, trying to understand what was happening, only felt their clothes whistling with swiss swoops.
An unclear streak shot through winding alleys, dispelling the air and vanishing around a squeezed corner within.
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