Chaos

One noble, who had been sitting in his seat since the beginning, had been detected with a silver-white glow on his shoulders, clearly indicating he was clean. Afterward, he had remained leaning against his backrest, looking far more relaxed than those around him.

But now, his hands gripped the armrests tightly, his face pale as if he were under immense pressure, and something was moving beneath the skin of his neck.

A dark green branch slowly burrowed out of his skin from the position of his left collarbone.

He looked down and saw it, his mouth opening as if to say something, but no sound could escape his throat.

Hilde saw it too.

Her expression shifted drastically because the silver needles had actually failed to detect it.

Jie looked at Hilde’s expression and tilted her head slightly.

“Oh... missed one,” she said in a light, airy tone.

Then she scanned the main hall, watching the nobles who were running wild and struggling, a pathologically seductive smile appearing on her face.

“You see... Big sister didn't do a thing. They did this to themselves.”

The Iron Guard had already fully deployed.

The commander and two deputies charged into the chaos, the dark red patterns on their bodies glowing to their maximum intensity as furnace fire radiated outward from their skin. The two deputies worked together to pin a mutated noble to the ground; the branches erupting from the man’s back instantly carbonized and shattered upon contact with the Iron Guard’s palms, turning black and falling away from tip to root.

The furnace fire’s restraining effect on plant-based mutations was extremely potent.

The commander pressed one hand onto a viscount’s shoulder, pouring dark red heat from his palm. Within two seconds, the branches turned from dark green to charred black and snapped off at the base. Before the furnace fire of the Iron Guard, the branches on any mutant they restrained couldn't last more than a few seconds.

However, the number of mutated individuals was too great.

Heinrich made his judgment the moment Jie appeared.

He didn't charge in to participate in the suppression; instead, he led a squad of the Holy Armored Army to seal all exits of the main hall.

The holy light inscriptions were pulled to maximum brightness, and golden-white light curtains extended outward from the surface of their armor, forming a translucent barrier across the doorframes.

Several thick branches surged toward the doorway, only to shrivel and curl as they struck the light curtain. Heinrich’s copper sword swept through the air, cleaving the thickest branch in two.

“Seal the exits! Don't let a single one out!”

His mission was containment. If the mutation spread beyond the main hall, the entire Count’s Mansion would be finished.

Agnes stood up.

The two monks had already moved, chanting in low voices as pale gold holy light lit up their palms, spreading across the floor toward the nearest mutated nobles.

When the branches erupting from those nobles touched the holy light, their growth rate slowed abruptly, and their tips began to wither and curl.

The monks’ purification range was not large, covering only an area of three or four paces around them—just enough to protect the few people nearby.

Agnes herself did not act. She stood between the two monks, her gaze fixed steadily on Jie.

Lu Yuan noticed the direction of her gaze. The Church was helping to suppress the mutation but wasn't touching the Grey Covenant member. She kept watching Jie, watching very closely, as if she had discovered something.

The Church’s understanding of the Grey Covenant might be even deeper than that of the Nightwatchers.

The male representative from the Ascension Society stood up, shielding the young woman. A branch surged toward them; he stepped aside to avoid it, his movements crisp and without wasted motion, protecting only himself and the person behind him.

The young woman leaned against the wall, her gaze locked onto the surging branches with a look of identification.

Calvin rose from his chair and stepped back twice, avoiding a branch that had erupted from a crack in the floor.

The only person truly fighting back was the Count’s attendant. The pale purple light emanating from him formed a translucent shield, enveloping both him and the Count.

At the same time, his expression was extremely grim. Jie’s form flickered constantly, and his gaze followed her movements, always remaining between the Count and Jie. The original plan was for the Count to leave first, but now Jie didn't seem prepared to let him go.

The Count stood within the shield, his face ashen, everything clearly having exceeded his expectations.

Jie remained in the center of the hall, never touching anyone or making an offensive move from beginning to end.

When branches swept past her, she simply flickered to avoid them with effortless ease. The surroundings were filled with chaos, roars, spreading branches, and the light of scorching inscriptions, yet she seemed to stand in another world.

Her gaze fell upon everyone present, as if confirming something.

Right now, Jie was purely taunting them. She didn't need to come at all; after the Grey Covenant’s nest was destroyed, they could have easily stayed hidden, as nothing could have rooted them out. Yet, she had come anyway.

She had bypassed all defenses, stuffed something into the mouths of the most prestigious people in Bronze City, and then walked into the most heavily guarded main hall of the Count’s Mansion to stand before every faction.

The furnace fire of the Iron Guard filled the main hall with rolling heatwaves. Most of the mutated nobles were pinned to the floor, their branches carbonizing and falling off in plumes of acrid smoke. The Church monks purified those nearby, causing their branches to wither and drop away.

The Holy Armored Army’s light curtains sealed all exits, but no one dared to strike at Jie. Only two or three mutants were still struggling, and the Iron Guard was finishing them off.

Jie’s form flickered again. This time the flicker was larger than before. She tilted her head and glanced at the suppressed mutants.

“Well, that’s about enough.”

She raised her left hand, curling her fingers in the air in the same waving gesture she had used when she arrived.

“You all have fun. Big sister is leaving now.”

The attendant lunged forward, pale purple light exploding from his palm.

But it struck nothing but air.

Clearly, the attendant had no intention of fighting to the death either.

And so, Jie slipped away right before everyone’s eyes.

After all, if a real fight broke out, everyone present would have to be buried with Jie. Clearly, she had counted on this.

Jie’s form flickered three times, appearing in a different position each time, vanishing before the attendant could strike. After the final flicker, her aura could no longer be felt in the hall.

The ripples of the skirmish continued, but the core of it was over.

Kraus stood up two seconds after Jie vanished, his expression grim, clearly having discovered something.

His communication crystal vibrated amidst the chaos. Kraus looked down at it, his expression turning solemn. Lu Yuan, standing close by, saw his eyes change—a rapid weighing of options before making a decision.

He grabbed Lu Yuan’s arm and walked quickly toward the side door.

The two of them bypassed the suppressed mutated nobles and the shattered remains of branches littering the floor. Heinrich saw them and stepped aside to let them through the side door.

As they stepped out of the hall, the sounds of the struggle behind them were halved by the stone walls. The corridor was empty, the ghostly blue inscription light on the walls flickering.

Kraus lowered his voice and spoke two sentences.

“Lake, in the pipe network layer, has discovered Grey Covenant members carrying items taken from the Sea of Knowledge.”

“We need to move faster.”

Lu Yuan instinctively thought that Jie’s appearance at the Count’s Mansion was an open provocation to pin all high-level combatants in the main hall. Was the pipe network layer the Grey Covenant’s true objective? But that didn't quite make sense.

After quickly boarding the carriage, Kraus lowered his voice and said only one word:

“Fast.”

The carriage sped toward the entrance of the pipe network layer.

The carriage raced along the stone roads of the inner city, the sound of iron wheels rolling over the joints frequent and heavy.

At that moment, Kraus spoke from across the carriage.

“Lake, hiding in the pipe network layer, might not be a match for them, because there might be more than one Grey Covenant member there.”

Lu Yuan looked at him.

Kraus leaned against the carriage wall, his dark shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows, the gauze on his wrist looking greyish-white in the dim light of the march lamp. His fingers slowly rubbed the bone ring on his left ring finger.

“When Jie appeared in the hall, I knew they must have another move,” Kraus said with a hint of gravity. “And I suspect their target isn't just the pipe network layer.”

“Then what could it be?”

Lu Yuan’s brow furrowed.

Because of Kraus’s inspection methods, Bronze City, or any other means, simply didn't work against Grey Covenant members who were so adept at concealment.

If they wanted to kill someone or had designs on something, they could complete it while evading most eyes.

At least until it was finished, no one would find out.

So it didn't make sense right now.

As for Lake, if ‘9’, Jie, and ‘Q’ all went to the pipe network layer, Lake alone couldn't possibly stop them.

Even if Kraus had made this arrangement before coming to the Count’s Mansion, it still wouldn't be enough.

“I suspect their target might be me...”

After saying this, Kraus glanced out the window.

The carriage was passing through a narrow street on the edge of the inner city, where high stone walls blocked the streetlights until only a thin sliver of light remained.

Lu Yuan felt a jolt run through him.

He immediately realized Kraus’s plan—was he preparing to use himself as bait?

Kraus didn't say anything more.

But Lu Yuan noticed that his rubbing of the bone ring hadn't stopped.

From the moment they left the Count’s Mansion until now, Kraus’s expression hadn't changed, but that hand betrayed him.

Everything happening tonight was more serious than expected.

The carriage suddenly jolted.

Grey-white text suddenly jumped at the edge of his vision.

【Environmental Perception: High-risk pollution source detected... Extremely dangerous... Please stay away immediately!】

Lu Yuan sat bolt upright.

He had seen this prompt before. The last time it appeared was underground, facing the berserk state of ‘9’.

At almost the same instant, Kraus moved.

The bone ring on his ring finger flashed with a dark green light. Kraus sprang up from his leaning position, his left hand grabbing Lu Yuan’s collar while his right hand reached out the front window of the carriage, grabbing the back of the driver’s collar.

The three of them were dragged out of the carriage simultaneously.

Lu Yuan’s back hit the stone road, pain shooting from his spine to his limbs, the residual inertia of the speed causing him to slide across the ground.

In the next moment...

Black liquid erupted from the gaps between the stone slabs.

The liquid exploded upward from every crack beneath the carriage at extreme speed, instantly swallowing the entire vehicle.

The horses didn't even have time to neigh before their iron shoes disintegrated in the liquid, the wooden spokes of the wheels shattered in quick succession, and the carriage planks corroded, releasing a massive amount of white smoke.

Within a few short seconds.