Action

The New Covenant County branch's post briefly described the mission and listed the Spirit Realm IDs, levels, and years of service of the fallen. There were no indignant statements, no calls to stir emotions.

It was like a quiet, sorrowful obituary.

Members of Heaven's Punishment from every major branch left comments beneath the post: "May there be no conflict in heaven," "God will bless you," "May the departed rest in peace," along with swathes of white candles.

There was no cursing or roaring in the post, no fury or blame, no gritted-teeth declarations of vengeance. Though separated by screens, a mournful atmosphere of paying tribute to the dead flowed through it.

Zhang Yuanqing skimmed it a few times, then exited the post and browsed the forum homepage.

The atmosphere was immediately completely different. Posts with "fuck" in their titles nearly filled the entire screen, fully displaying the rage of Heaven's Punishment's members.

Eighteen Spirit Realm Walkers had been lost overnight, including seven saints and two level-six members. As the strongest lawful organization in the world, Heaven's Punishment had not suffered such a devastating loss in many years.

On the forum, some Heaven's Punishment members angrily condemned New Covenant County's upper management for incompetence and stupidity, much as citizens of the Free Federation lambasted their government.

They believed that Sean Mead, the Chief Executive Officer of the Operations Department, ought to bear responsibility, and hoped headquarters would send a more capable Sovereign to take over his position.

Another group of Heaven's Punishment members believed that the situation in New Covenant County had steadily escalated to the point where Sovereigns could enter the fray at any moment. Headquarters should dispatch a commissioner to lead an elite team into New Covenant County.

"New Covenant County may be a major branch, but the fighting