Neuvillette, who was rushing to the scene, suddenly froze in his tracks and pulled out a communicator.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, an emergency situation..."
Neuvillette's unease was confirmed, his heart sinking. He immediately urged Furina onward, racing toward the scene at full speed.
Furina, who had been complaining about the dizzying speed, suddenly stopped grumbling. Her face now etched with worry, she spoke anxiously.
"How could the Cult of No. 6 be involved? I hope nothing terrible has happened there."
Hearing Furina's concern, Neuvillette didn't actually believe the Cult of No. 6 posed much of a threat. The security forces there were well-armed and prepared.
What truly troubled Neuvillette was the potential appearance of Dark Furina. Yet the countermeasures he had previously deployed remained undisturbed.
This puzzled him. If they had contacted him, the situation must be dire. Yet Dark Furina hadn't appeared. Where, then, did this chaos originate?
Could the Cult of No. 6 have unveiled some unforeseen tactic this time?
Neuvillette's mind involuntarily conjured the inscrutable face of Amos...
Soon, Neuvillette and Furina arrived at the scene, only to be stunned by the carnage before them.
Battle scars marked every surface, and corpses littered the ground.
Looking around, one could roughly estimate that at least a thousand people had perished in the chaos.
Furina, her hand pressed to her mouth, was utterly speechless at the scene before her.
Neuvillette, however, erupted with all his power, completely eradicating the remaining members of the Cult of No. 6 and the warring Clockwork Mekas.
"Monsieur Neuvillette has arrived!"
The crowd erupted in relieved smiles as they saw Neuvillette hovering in mid-air.
With Monsieur Neuvillette here, we're finally safe!
"And Lady Furina is here too..."
Some noticed Furina beside Neuvillette, though their voices were far quieter than the earlier exclamations.
Neither of them paid much attention to these reactions, instead immediately approaching nearby Maison Gardiennage officers for information.
"Cult of No. 6 members infiltrated our staff and tampered with some Clockwork Meka programs, causing the intense fighting..."
After hearing the explanation, Neuvillette and Furina gradually pieced together the full scope of the chaos.
Having restored order to the scene, Neuvillette and Furina immediately rushed to the Maison Gardiennage Captain's camp.
Inside, Neuvillette found the wounded Maison Gardiennage Captain and a handful of nobles huddled in a corner, trembling.
At the camp entrance lay several corpses of Cult of No. 6 members and two completely wrecked Clockwork Mekas.
"Monsieur Neuvillette, you've finally arrived!"
Hearing the commotion outside, the Captain immediately gripped his spear, which lay beside him. But upon seeing Neuvillette and Furina, he let out a deep sigh of relief and exclaimed with immense excitement, "It seems the Duke succeeded!"
"The rest is up to you now, Monsieur Neuvillette. I'm exhausted..."
With those words, the Captain's head lolled to the side, and the spear slipped from his grasp, clattering to the ground.
Alarmed, Neuvillette rushed forward to check on him, with Furina following closely behind.
"Is he... alright?" Furina asked, her voice tinged with worry.
"He's fine. The injuries aren't serious—he's just fallen asleep," Neuvillette reassured her.
Hearing this, Furina's anxiety finally eased. She then turned to the nobles huddled nearby.
"What happened here? What exactly occurred? Where is everyone else?"
Hearing Furina's barrage of questions, the nobles reluctantly emerged from their hiding corners.
"Duke Hubert went to a higher vantage point to try contacting other cities. If Monsieur Neuvillette received the message, it means he succeeded."
"Let's hope the Duke is safe."
"As for the others..."
"What?! Duke Jared led the others in betraying the nation?!"
Furina couldn't help but gasp after hearing just a few sentences. Realizing she had lost her composure, she frantically tried to salvage her image.
"Ahem! What are you doing? Why didn't you stop them?!"
The nobles exchanged exasperated glances. Stop them? If they hadn't fled as quickly as possible, they'd be dead by now!
Moreover, their escape had only been made possible by the heroic sacrifice of the Head of the Fontaine Research Institute, who gave them the chance to flee. They hadn't dared linger for even a moment.
Ah, what a pity to lose such a noble soul...
"We tried..."
Finally, the nobles reluctantly spoke up to defend themselves.
"The allure of that flying ship, the Noah's Ark, was simply too strong. They were all like madmen at the time..."
"Monsieur Neuvillette, may I ask if you approved the demonstration of that airship?"
Faced with the nobles' questioning gazes, Neuvillette sighed softly.
"Indeed, I did grant my approval."
"However, the Fontaine Research Institute's report provided no detailed description of the airship. I never imagined they could develop such an advanced vessel."
Upon hearing Neuvillette's words, the nobles grew even more dismayed.
Of course, they thought, we wouldn't typically know such specifics.
More importantly, why hadn't the Academy reported such a groundbreaking scientific breakthrough?
Though the fault seemed to lie with the Academy, the nobles present were reluctant to place blame on its members, given that the Head of the Research Institute had saved their lives.
That's right!
"Monsieur Neuvillette, Lady Furina, you must retrieve the Ship of Hope immediately!"
The nobles suddenly realized the greatest issue remained unresolved and hurriedly spoke up.
"Duke Jared and his group are threatening the occupants of Noah's Ark using the life of the Head of the Research Institute. It seems the current leader of Noah's Ark is that old man's student, leaving them no choice but to comply with Duke Jared's demands."
"We can't lose that ship, Monsieur Neuvillette, Lady Furina!"
"That ship is Fontaine's hope! Our future can't be stolen by Duke Jared and his cronies!"
Hearing the nobles' impassioned pleas, Neuvillette's emotions were in turmoil.
He had believed he had been sufficiently lenient with the nobles. He knew many had engaged in shady dealings behind the scenes, but partly due to a lack of concrete evidence and partly because Fontaine couldn't be governed by him alone, he had turned a blind eye. Most of their offenses involved financial gain or abusing their power for personal gain, without directly endangering lives.
But now it was clear they had merely been biding their time, waiting for the opportune moment.
Today's chaos was partly his fault. If he hadn't indulged their excesses, so many innocent lives wouldn't have been lost...
Neuvillette's heart clenched, an indescribable rage surging through his chest.
It seemed Fontaine needed a thorough purge.
As for the nobles, their very existence was obsolete—a relic of a bygone era!
Though inwardly determined to implement sweeping reforms, Neuvillette suppressed his rage when facing these nobles who had remained loyal even in the direst circumstances.
Regardless of their motives—whether genuine love for Fontaine, fear of him, or reluctance to abandon their families—he vowed to treat them with the utmost respect and care.
"Monsieur Neuvillette," a noble sobbed, wiping away tears, "we owe our lives to that old man who sacrificed himself to buy us this chance!"
"Settle this score with Duke Jared and his gang, to honor the old man's spirit in the heavens!"
"He's... dead?" Furina murmured in disbelief.
Having just learned that her identity had been compromised due to the Academy's device, Furina had been preparing to settle accounts with the Head of the Research Institute. The sudden news of his death left her reeling.
Upon hearing this news, Neuvillette could no longer contain himself. A profound and terrifying aura radiated from him, forcing even Furina, who stood beside him, to step back two paces.
Neuvillette's figure rose from the ground, his mind racing with possibilities.
If the Head of the Research Institute were still alive, Duke Jared and his faction wouldn't dare make a move against those aboard the Noah's Ark, fearing his inevitable retaliation.
But now that he's dead, their restraint has vanished. The situation on the Ark must be dire.
"Lady Furina, focus on treating the wounded here."
"Ah? Me?"
Furina pointed at herself, utterly lacking confidence in her ability to handle such a task. But Neuvillette gave her no room for protest.
"I'll go apprehend all the criminals."
With those words, Neuvillette's figure vanished in the blink of an eye.
Watching the spot where he had disappeared, Furina took a deep breath before turning to face the nobles, her expression far more serious than usual.
I don't know how much I can accomplish, but since this duty has fallen to me, I'll do everything in my power to save as many lives as possible!
-
"Damn it, we've been played!"
As Duke Jared and his noble companions emerged from the escape pods and beheld the familiar landscape—the familiar sky and sea—even the most obtuse among them realized they had been tricked by Alva.
What was that about never leaving this space if he died? All lies!
The irony was almost comical: they had actually believed his words and even lost the Noah's Ark they had finally obtained with such difficulty.
Their beautiful dream had shattered...
Duke Jared bit his lip until it bled. He never imagined that even in such a dire situation, Alva could still set a trap, sacrificing his life to ensnare them all.
He was even more astonished that not a single person on the Noah's Ark had surrendered. Instead, they had all given their lives to help Alva execute this elaborate deception!
Though Alva was dead, Duke Jared felt as if something were lodged in his chest, choking him.
"Duke Jared, what should we do now?"
The nobles were now plagued by doubt, even beginning to question if they had made the right choice.
But even if they wanted to back out now, they knew Neuvillette would never let them off the hook. They had no choice but to see their course through to the bitter end.
"Without Noah's Ark, our priority must be survival," Duke Jared said slowly, after a long, drawn-out breath.
"Let's go. We'll flee to another nation."
"Sumeru is too unstable, with the Fatui Harbinger 'The Doctor' stationed there."
"Then let's go to the godless land—Liyue!"
"I recall their Archon failed to ascend and perished."
"Though the Adepti still protect it, we have the latest Clockwork Mekas—and so many of them! Even against the Adepti, we're not without a fighting chance!"
Hearing Duke Jared's words, the nobles nodded reluctantly, recognizing it as their best option under the circumstances.
"It's a shame these escape pods are already out of energy. Otherwise, with their help, we could reach Liyue in no time."
One of the nobles, seething with anger, kicked an Escape Pod lying nearby.
"Without energy, this is just a pile of scrap metal!"
Hearing this, Duke Jared couldn't help but feel puzzled. He couldn't understand why the Noah's Ark had enough energy to sustain its journey for a century, yet these Escape Pods only had enough power for a single spatial jump.
After pondering for a long while, Duke Jared still couldn't figure it out.
Given the critical situation, Duke Jared had no choice but to temporarily set aside his inner doubts. After guiding the nobles to determine their direction, he led them toward Liyue.
Traveling in the latest Clockwork Mekas, the nobles moved swiftly, gliding over any terrain as if it were flat ground. This gave them a sliver of comfort.
At least with the protection of these Clockwork Mekas, our future won't be too bleak.
Just as they were thinking this, they suddenly felt an overwhelmingly terrifying aura lock onto them completely.
As the nobles spotted the familiar figure bearing down on them from the distance with overwhelming momentum, their hearts instantly sank.
It's Neuvillette!
No, this can't be happening! How did Neuvillette find us so quickly?!
Duke Jared stared at Neuvillette in the distance, his face a mask of disbelief.
He had anticipated being pursued by Neuvillette, but never this soon.
Though they were still within Fontaine's borders, they were at least several thousand kilometers from the military exercise site. How had Neuvillette pinpointed their location so swiftly?
The answer came in the next moment.
Feeling the cold steel of a dagger pressed against his waist, Duke Jared turned in disbelief to the noble he had trusted most—the one who had previously impersonated the Head of the Fontaine Research Institute.
"Forgive me, Duke Jared," the noble said with chilling indifference. "I want to live."
With that, the dagger pressed forward slightly, its tip piercing Duke Jared's flesh. It was icy and excruciatingly painful...