Chapter 1141: Chapter 4: Rebellious Royal Court

The train slowly pulled into the platform, the roar of the locomotive and the grinding of the carriages intertwined, causing hearts to race. As the train came to a halt, people began to pack their luggage, preparing to welcome the city’s bustling vibrancy.

Bologue looked out the window, observing the throngs of people on the platform and the bustling vehicles and public transport on the streets in the distance.

Skyscrapers clustered together, towering over the ground, the neatly arranged streets and bustling commercial districts imbued the city with endless vitality and energy. As night fell, various billboards and neon lights became lively, the colorful night view attracting the gaze of tourists.

The Epidemic of Ruin event was like a turning point, steering the world’s circumstances onto another path, and transforming Oubos into another visage.

The continuous battles between the Seekers of Glory, coupled with the destruction brought by Xilin at the end, led to the complete collapse of Wandering Crossroad, disappearing on the cliffs of the Great Rift, while the lingering dark clouds over the city were swept away into the sky as Fuen arrived, and storms arose.

In just a few days, Oubos transformed from a gloomy grey city to a sunny city of daylight.

Anyone could directly observe the scar spanning the earth at the edge of the Great Rift, without the Devil’s power, birds hovered over the Abyss. In fact, due to this vast space, the interior of the Great Rift gradually experienced slight meteorological changes, with shallow cumulus clouds forming.

People once could not directly see the entirety of the Great Rift, but now it was exposed directly before everyone. With relentless newspaper coverage, more and more outsiders arrived in this city. Previously, they came for opportunities, but now they mostly come for tourism, to see this spectacle.

Sometimes Bologue could not comprehend the changes in this world.

He slowly exited the train door with the crowd, breathing in the rich city atmosphere, feeling the prosperity and vibrancy of the metropolis.

This not only brought travelers, but also injected new energy into the city, the city’s life-giving breath and pulse mingling with the sound of the train.

Bologue and Yoni walked quickly through the crowd towards the outside of the platform, both eager to return to the Cultivation Room for debriefing.

When the familiar dark creation came back into view, Bologue couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. Returning to a familiar environment always brings a sense of security.

Yoni paused his steps, turned back to glance at Bologue, and said, "Looks like we’ll have to part for now."

Bologue smiled without saying much.

After thinking for a moment, Yoni spoke again, "Looking forward to meeting again next time, Leader Bologue."

Bologue nodded, despite so much time having passed, he couldn’t help feeling pressured whenever he heard others call him leader again.

Bologue Lazarus, currently the leader of the Special Operations Group, simultaneously serving as the interim group leader.

He vigorously rubbed his temples to relieve the headache from fatigue, wondering whether he could apply to the Decision Room to merge the two action groups, since he was the main driving force anyway.

Turning into a corridor, Bologue quickly headed towards the Field Operations Department, his footsteps drawing attention from many busy field staff as they noticed his arrival.

It had been a while since Bologue showed up in the Field Operations Department, people were surprised at first, then greeted him with respectful gazes, some greeted, some saluted Bologue, while others whispered about Bologue’s formidable presence.

During the Epidemic of Ruin event, the King’s Secret Sword was severely damaged, and the Order Bureau also lost many field staff in the turmoil. To replenish new blood, many new faces appeared in the Field Operations Department over the past few months.

These eager newcomers brought much vitality to the cold department, yet many also perished in the increasingly severe circumstances. Without Bologue’s timely rescue, the newcomer Qico would have been among the deceased.

With the increase in newcomers, an old tradition in the Field Operations Department was revived, the annual best newcomer award. This inevitably leads to mentioning previous winners, and thus Bologue was brought up.

Calculating time, this should be Bologue’s fourth year in the profession, the first year being an internship.

In the Order Bureau, this work tenure classifies one as transitioning from a newcomer to a veteran, yet Bologue advanced at a pace beyond everyone’s imagination.

Not only advancing in the Extraordinary System, but also in rank, leaping from a Condenser to a Negative Power User, while simultaneously serving as leader of two action groups.

From these points, Bologue’s years in the Order Bureau are undoubtedly legendary.

Many newcomers held tremendous curiosity about Bologue, while he didn’t care about this at all, rarely appearing before others, making him increasingly mysterious in their eyes.

Some even began to believe in the stories about Evil Spirits circulating in the dark places before the collapse of Wandering Crossroad.

"Group Leader Bologue!"

Someone called out Bologue’s name, and he paused for a moment, seeing a staff member briskly approaching him.

"You’re back? Didn’t anyone come to pick you up?"

"Hmm? Why would anyone come to pick me up?" Bologue was puzzled.

"You are the group leader."

"So, what?" Bologue’s pragmatic nature made it difficult for him to understand some meaningless rituals.

The staff member was momentarily stunned by Bologue’s question, when suddenly another person spoke up, "An absolute victory!" 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Bologue’s expression grew even more perplexed, and he quickly noticed a whiteboard placed to the side, with a map pinned upon it, a winding route drawn in red lines.

That was Bologue’s hunting route for the past month; he rarely stayed in one place for more than a day, as a single day was enough time for him to turn all his enemies into ashes.

The staff members staying in the Cultivation Room did not witness Bologue’s battle scenes firsthand, but from the continuously relayed messages back to the Cultivation Room, they could imagine that blood-stained and deadly scenario through the map’s interpretation.

Bologue was like an enraged bull... no, more like a frenzied charge of tank battalions. The enemies blocking his way either made way or got crushed, with no exceptions.

Faced with the warm and reverent gazes from the others, Bologue sighed helplessly; others thought Bologue was being modest, but Bologue genuinely felt somewhat tired.

During this period, he was either battling others or on his way to battle. If it were only this, it would be fine, but Bologue held a high-ranking position with responsibilities, and the more he advanced, the more he learned, the more concerned he became about the escalating situation.

Bologue could only muster a somewhat friendly smile and, under the staff’s gaze, make a hasty retreat into the deep corridors.

Pushing open the familiar room door, Bologue glanced around the room and plopped down onto the familiar sofa, feeling the tranquility around him, he couldn’t help but let out a long sigh.

"You look tired," a voice rang out.

"I’m not like you; I don’t have the eternal protection of labor and inevitably wish to rest a bit."

Bologue turned his head, and the familiar face came into view, slightly easing the fatigue within him.

As if nothing had changed, Lebius sat behind the office desk, reviewing documents as always. If anything had changed, it was Lebius’s office chair, which had turned into a somewhat large wheelchair, with mechanical arms extending from it, capable of performing numerous precise moves with the ebb and flow of Ether.

In the final duel with Red Dog, to shatter the stagnation of time, Lebius forcibly commanded his own body, causing his bones to break and internal organs to misalign, and though doctors saved him, such severe injuries rendered Lebius’s limbs severely paralyzed.

According to the doctor’s instructions, Lebius’s physical rehabilitation would take years.

The good news is, Lebius is a Defender of the Commanding School, and through precise Ether control, he could fully utilize mechanical arms to substitute for limb movements, often joking with others that he was paralyzed yet not entirely so.

In such a state, Lebius obviously couldn’t continue as the group leader, and after a series of approvals and considerations, Bologue succeeded Lebius, becoming the group leader of the Special Operations Group. Lebius did not fully retire, however, but took on the clerical tasks that Bologue was least adept at.

"How was this journey?"

Lebius glanced at Bologue before immersing himself back into the work.

"Terrible, these Night Race guys sprang out of nowhere; as long as they have sufficient blood and contact with ordinary people, they’ll stir up a catastrophe..."

Speaking this, Bologue closed his eyes; throughout this journey, he had witnessed countless villages engulfed in flames.

Thinking about this, Bologue couldn’t help but ask, "Any progress in tracking the Night Race?"

Lebius replied softly, "There is, but not much progress. They are a group of high-tier Night Race led by a Regent King, calling themselves... the Rebellious Royal Court."