Chapter 219: The Amber Lord's Gaze
[Leon: Aha, your trailer came out so quickly...]
[Aha: Well, isn't that just to keep people in suspense? Aha loves watching people scratch their heads in anxiety the most! And don't you think the way the Xianzhou Alliance is scratching its head right now is quite entertaining?]
Leon chuckled, swiping through the holographic chat interface. It was indeed highly entertaining. However, for the Xianzhou Alliance, this wasn't mere entertainment; it was a suffocating mountain of pressure pressing down on their collective shoulders.
[Qlipoth:...]
[Yaoshi: The disturbances of Elation have brought unnecessary trouble to fragile living beings.]
[Aha: Oh my, Yaoshi, don't be so serious! After the trouble, isn't there new vitality and... Elation? Look at that little one named Phantylia; isn't the way she's contemplating her entire existence right now quite interesting?]
[Nanook:...What? Still haven't given up?]
[Aha: Hehe, getting anxious? Getting anxious?]
[Aha: Is the game ready? I'm waiting to go live right alongside your release...]
[Leon: Soon, soon...]
Leon leaned back, tapping his chin thoughtfully. He had been debating whether to program the Aeons coming to the Xianzhou Luofu for a bizarre "team-building exercise" into his game. It felt a bit too absurd, even for his standards. But now that the Aeon of Elation had personally endorsed the idea, all hesitation vanished.
Do it. Put it all in.
A sudden shift in the cosmic currents caught Leon's attention. His gaze pierced through the veil of stars, landing squarely on the ice-bound world of Jarilo-VI.
Jarilo-VI, Belobog, Qlipoth Fort.
Inside the grand, echoing halls of the fortress, the atmosphere was freezing over.
"I completely understand your planet's difficulties, Miss Supreme Guardian," Leverett said, his lips curling into a perfectly practiced, utterly hollow corporate smile. "Belobog's current financial strain is not because of you, nor is it the fault of anyone currently residing in this city."
He paced slowly across the polished floor, the sharp clack of his expensive shoes echoing off the stone walls. "But speaking objectively, since Belobog has survived as an independent political entity to this day, this debt cannot simply be written off as a bad investment."
Leverett, the Interstellar Peace Corporation representative sent to replace Topaz, adjusted his collar. ", you are aware of the situation on your planet. Previously, Director Topaz gave you a pass because you also follow the Path of Preservation and are faithful believers of the Amber Lord. But as for the current situation... well, you should be acutely aware of how things have changed."
To Leverett, this assignment was a golden ticket. The Path had already been paved by Topaz's grueling groundwork; he merely had to swoop in and harvest the credit. He was here to steal her achievements, plain and simple.
This wasn't his first time stepping into Qlipoth Fort. He had been in Belobog for several days, wearing down Supreme Guardian Bronya in endless meetings. And today, he was here to deliver an ultimatum.
Aha's viral video had added the final spark to the IPC's raging fire. If they didn't take a hard stance on this matter, the IPC's prestige across the cosmos might suffer. Therefore, the higher-ups had slightly adjusted their strategy—Belobog had to pay a price.
"So, what exactly does the IPC want from us?" Bronya demanded.
She sat rigid upon the Guardian's seat, her brows tightly knit. Her fingers unconsciously dug into the armrests, betraying the intense turmoil churning in her heart. Even if she loathed to admit it, Belobog was currently at a severe disadvantage.
Pela stood quietly by the towering bookshelves, silently organizing stacks of debt documents, her expression grim. A few paces away, Seele leaned against a pillar with her arms crossed. She glared daggers at the new representative, making absolutely no effort to hide her disgust. This corporate suit was infinitely worse than Topaz.
"It's quite simple, really," Leverett said nonchalantly, examining his manicured fingernails. "Hand over Cocolia. I will escort her back to IPC headquarters, where the higher-ups will determine her appropriate punishment."
"That is impossible!" Bronya stood up abruptly, her chair scraping loudly against the floor. Cocolia was her most respected mother. She would rather freeze in the snowfields than hand her over to a corporate tribunal.
"That... is likely not up to you," Leverett chuckled, his voice dropping to a low, threatening murmur. "If you refuse, the IPC will immediately terminate all cooperation with Belobog and forcibly execute debt collection protocols. Please weigh your options carefully, Supreme Guardian. Is your mother more important, or are the millions of people in Belobog?"
His tone dripped with arrogance. He looked at Bronya as if he already had her exactly where he wanted her.
"Is there not a third option?"
An icy, unfamiliar voice echoed from behind Leverett. The IPC representative turned to see Cocolia walking slowly into the grand hall, her posture regal and unyielding.
"Naturally not. This is a finalized resolution from the Interstellar Peace Corporation's high management; no one can stop it." Leverett raised his wrist, and his personal terminal projected a crisp holographic screen. It displayed the latest viral video from Aha's account, blatantly mocking the Preservation.
"It is precisely because of this, Supreme Guardian," Leverett raised his voice, ensuring his words echoed through the room. "Due to your past words and actions, the IPC has suffered a catastrophic public relations disaster out of nowhere. Continuing to show leniency toward Belobog lacks support in both sentiment and corporate interest."
He tapped his terminal. "By the way—I have already initiated a real-time recording. Everything happening in this room right now is being transmitted directly to the high-level conference room at IPC headquarters. Please forgive me, I am just a humble worker drone following orders."
He smiled, the picture of certain victory.
"No one can stop it... not anyone?" Cocolia asked coldly, her eyes narrowing.
"That's right. No one. I said so." Leverett waved his hand contemptuously toward his guards. "Cuff her and take her away—"
Leon watched the scene unfold with a raised eyebrow. The IPC people are quite arrogant.
He shifted his attention back to the cosmic chat, specifically targeting the silent giant.
[Leon: Well now, Qlipoth. Perhaps you should do something about it.]
[Qlipoth: As you know, I have never interfered with the IPC.]
[Leon: They are throwing your name around to threaten your faithful believers. Are you really going to sit there and watch?]
[Qlipoth:...Very well.]
The Amber Lord shifted His gaze.
A blinding, deep blue glow suddenly erupted from the Xianzhou Luofu. It tore through the atmosphere like a flowing cosmic rainbow, piercing the dark expanse of space and streaking straight toward the distant ice world of Jarilo-VI.
The sheer fluctuation of Path power surged outward in violent, rippling waves, shaking the very foundations of the universe. Unlike an Aeon's usual, restrained glance, this commotion was massive, overwhelming, and entirely intentional. It was as if the ancient will of Preservation was no longer hiding in the shadows of the cosmos, but was openly and aggressively proclaiming its presence among the stars.
Xianzhou Luofu, Seat of Divine Foresight.
Jing Yuan, who was in the middle of conducting a tense holographic meeting with the other Arbiter-Generals, stopped mid-sentence. He sensed that terrifying surge of Path power—vast and heavy as a sea of collapsing stars—erupting right from his own ship. His spine stiffened, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.
Don't dare to move, Jing Yuan thought, freezing completely in his chair. Absolutely do not dare to move.
Out in the starship flight paths, General Feixiao, who was currently rushing her fleet toward the Luofu, suddenly looked up at the viewport. She watched in stunned silence as a colossal stream of deep blue light shot out from the Luofu, racing past her ship and illuminating the void.
"Jing Yuan, what in the world is going on?!" Feixiao's voice crackled over the comms. "How could your Luofu suddenly erupt with such terrifying Path power? This fluctuation... is it the Preservation?!"
On another massive flagship, General Huaiyan's eyelid twitched violently. "The aura of Preservation... is that Stellaron Hunter still on the Luofu?"
He stroked his beard, his mind racing. "If that Stellaron Hunter is still there, then what about the others? The Calamity-Free Fatespark, The Rem Despoina, the Knowledgeable Simper, the Stellaron Hunter of Memory... have they also not left yet?"
Suddenly, Huaiyan really, really didn't want to go to the Luofu anymore.
He had originally volunteered for this reinforcement mission because he heard Blade was on the Luofu, and he wanted to take his granddaughter, Yunli, to see him. But now... looking at the sheer volume of cosmic anomalies erupting from that ship, it felt like if he went, he wouldn't be coming back alive.
Previously, Huaiyan had harbored some doubts about whether Jing Yuan's frantic reports were entirely true. But looking at this blinding blue beam of divine energy... good grief, all those terrifying Fatesparks were actually still staying on the Xianzhou Luofu?
Were these monsters planning to be permanently stationed there?!
"Huh?" Hearing General Huaiyan's grim judgment over the shared channel, the eyelids of the other Arbiter-Generals began to twitch in unison.
Wait, these Fatesparks were still on the Xianzhou Luofu and hadn't left?
Through the holographic projectors, the looks the other generals directed at Jing Yuan instantly shifted from suspicion to deep, overwhelming pity.
Jing Yuan stared back at the holograms, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
What's with those looks, everyone? Do you finally understand the suffering in my heart?
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