Chapter 1142: Chapter 5: Eternal Blood Tax

Setting aside Serey’s words, Bologue’s earliest contact with the Night Race dates back to before the Reality Shattering Event during his journey to the Wind Source Highlands, where he personally experienced a Night Race raid at Palmer’s old home and casually slew several high-tier Night Race beings.

Night Race.

A vast undead race born from the Blood of the Night King, as long as the bloodline continues, immortality will endure. Although the power of immortality shows an obvious generational gap with the change in bloodline tier, as a power that can evade the Death God, few people can refuse such a blessing. For this reason, the Night Race once established the Eternal Night Empire spanning the continent.

Fortunately, the Dawn War a hundred years ago ended all this, as the Night Race was exposed to sunlight for seven days and nights, and the surviving Night Race were also imprisoned in the Land of Eternal Night.

This land has not seen any trace of the Night Race for many years, until the changes in recent years.

"Night Race... Do you know, Bologue, within the Order Bureau, the Night Race is to some extent, also considered an Extraordinary Disaster," said Lebius slowly. "However, this Extraordinary Disaster does not refer to the Night Race as a group but to the essence of their power."

Bologue asked, "The Blood of the Night Race?"

Lebius nodded and continued, "We regard the Blood of the Night Race as the Extraordinary Disaster itself. As long as such a bloodline still exists in this world, the Night Race will spread like a virus, eventually engulfing the world of mortals."

His voice paused, and Lebius continued speaking.

"Extraordinary Disaster · Eternal Blood Tax." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Bologue took note of this name. In the Order Bureau’s nomenclature for many Extraordinary Disasters, the nature of many Extraordinary Disasters can be directly seen from their names. He was somewhat confused about why the Extraordinary Disaster caused by the Blood of the Night Race would be named this way.

"Strange name."

"I also find it very strange, but unfortunately, the naming was decided a long time ago," Lebius opened the file and raised an eyebrow. "A scholar from the Clarks, after carefully understanding the Night Race’s society and power structure, came up with such a name, but he did not explain it much."

"Why?"

"Because shortly after, humanity triumphed in the Dawn War, and the drafting of the Extraordinary Disaster related to the Night Race was also canceled, after all, the entire Night Race disappeared and was confined within the Land of Eternal Night."

Lebius closed the file, shaking off the dust on top. "If it weren’t for the recent resurgence of the Night Race, these files would have remained in darkness for decades."

Bologue crossed his arms. He was already the leader of the Special Operations Group, but to be honest, Bologue didn’t feel much like a leader. He still felt like an ordinary member, only with much more authority than before.

Bologue was a humble person. He still considered himself an apprentice, and in terms of work, he still had much to learn. To this end, Lebius was not only helping him handle administrative duties but also teaching Bologue little by little how to be a good leader. Like a teacher.

The Kagader Empire now maintains absolute silence. Under this silence, the Order Bureau knows they are gathering their strengths, waiting for Xilin’s appearance.

Everyone understands that the reappearance of Xilin will mark the beginning of the Kagader Empire’s civil war.

But the Order Bureau does not worry on this side. Under equilibrium, Xilin has helped the Order Bureau stabilize the situation to a certain extent, giving them enough time to deal with other enemies.

After carefully understanding the situation, Bologue once thought Xilin and the Order Bureau could be considered allies.

"Is there still no news from Palmer regarding the origin of this Night Race?" Bologue asked.

Bologue and Palmer were inseparable, but with the increasing lack of manpower, they had to be separated. Bologue went on patrol, while Palmer returned to the Wind Source Highlands to search the dusty archives of the Clarks with the scholars, seeking knowledge about the Night Race.

The Night Race appeared too suddenly, as if deliberately drawing everyone’s attention to prevent them from discovering something truly important.

"The information they found is all related to the Eternal Night Empire, and there aren’t many records regarding this suddenly risen Rebellious Royal Court... To be precise, the Clarks also doubt how, under the constraints of the Dawn Oath, another Night Race could be born."

Listening to Lebius’s words, Bologue recalled a line of black text he had seen on that old paper, "Did Serey strike someone’s name off, could it be related?"

"Serey? We tried to interrogate him, but he said nothing."

Lebius sighed. Serey’s attitude was very clear. He stood on the side of all humanity; otherwise, he would not have overthrown the Eternal Night Empire in the first place, becoming the greatest traitor. At the same time, he also stated that he was retired and that the chaos of this world had nothing to do with him.

This is the principle of the Undying Club.

Bologue closed his eyes, showing some fatigue. Suddenly, he realized something. His trip to the Wind Source Highlands was not his first encounter with the Night Race; he had seen them long before the timeline disorder.

"Olivia..."

Bologue whispered in an extremely low voice. Olivia was also a Night Race member who escaped the Land of Eternal Night. Could she be related to the Rebellious Royal Court?

Just as Bologue continued thinking, Lebius spoke up, interrupting Bologue’s thoughts.

"There are a few relatively reliable speculations within the Order Bureau now."

"Tell me."

Lebius paused for a moment, then revealed an astonishing piece of news.

"Perhaps the Night King is no longer the Chosen One of that Devil. He has found a new vessel and has handed power over to a new Chosen One," Lebius frowned, "This is not impossible. According to our understanding of the Devil, the Night King has completely detached from the mundane world and can no longer join in the subsequent disputes. So abandoning the Night King and selecting a new Chosen One is not impossible."

"To escape the bond of the oath, perhaps?"

Bologue doubted, "Would the Devils really find it that easy to change the Chosen One? Otherwise, no oath could restrain these monsters."

Lebius said, "I feel the same, the change of the Chosen One must have some harsh conditions we are not yet aware of, and we need time to understand these secrets."

"So, our main task next is to find ways to deal with these undead Night Race members?"

Speaking of these, Bologue felt his mood unexpectedly a bit tense. The Night Race was unlike any enemy he had faced before; they were similar to him in being Undead.

The clash between Undead and Undead, just thinking about it made one feel bloody and cruel. Bologue actually felt a hint of excitement and anticipation.

Unexpectedly, Lebius shook his head, denying Bologue’s assumption.

"Isn’t it?"

Bologue was greatly surprised, and then he noticed a hint of foreboding. In his view, the rising Rebellious Royal Court was already a troublesome potential enemy, yet they still weren’t the main task at hand.

It’s hard to imagine what kind of trouble awaits him next.

"There is another deadly matter waiting for us now."

Lebius’s face was sullen; the bad news was that the issue was deadly, but the good news was that Lebius wouldn’t have to go to the frontline.

"What is it?"

Lebius pushed over a document, and as Bologue skimmed through it, he supplemented the explanation.

"With the collapse of the Wandering Crossroads, we’ve lost Devil’s Territory—a natural defense line. The fragile balance within the Great Rift has been shattered.

You could say that the Serenity Defense Line imprisoning this world’s Calamity is now directly exposed at the bottom of the Great Rift, and external interference in the Abandoned Land becomes more convenient; the containment of this world’s Calamity has developed cracks."

The lingering haze disappeared, and the gate leading straight to the Abandoned Land opened wide. Anyone with ill intentions now has the ability to directly attack the Abandoned Land, provided they can infiltrate it under the Order Bureau’s surveillance.

"If that were all, a few more layers of shackles would suffice, but another issue has arisen."

Lebius stated the true nature of the problem.

"The light blaze that has burned for thousands of days and nights seems to be going out."

Bologue visualized a streak of light piercing the heavens and earth in front of him.

"The extinguishing of the light blaze will trigger a series of chain reactions, such as this world’s Calamity losing its greatest restriction, and also, as the light blaze goes out, the ruins of the Holy City will disintegrate under the distortion of flesh."

Lebius murmured, "It’s a beautiful ruin... with much precious knowledge inside. The Order Bureau wants to form an expedition to gather King Solomon’s legacy as much as possible before everything becomes irrevocable."

The rise of the Rebellious Royal Court, the potential crisis within the Great Rift, the civil war in the Kagader Empire... one issue after another surfaced like heavy stones placed over everyone’s hearts.

This sequence of words momentarily froze Bologue’s mind; so many problems lay before him, that even Bologue couldn’t help but feel a sense of helplessness at this moment.

Bologue asked, "So what should we do next?"

Lebius sighed wearily and shook his head, "Sorry, I don’t know either."

The oppression lingered between them for a moment before Lebius suddenly spoke.

"Why don’t you take a break, Bologue?"