Chapter Five: Are You a Devil? / Chapter Six: Catastrophes and Hostility

(Happy birthday to group member [Seele Whose Toy Box Was Stolen], here's an extra chapter)

In a sense, both Speaker Witte and His Emperor Feodor made history.

With official recognition, the first city to be self-governed by infected individuals is about to emerge on this land.

Its birth was quite dramatic, even seeming somewhat childish in the end, making it hard to believe. But it is a true story.

Of course, many people objected. They argued that these damned infected people should not be compromised, and that the army should be sent immediately to wipe out these criminals.

Speaker Witte readily accepted this offer, declaring at the meeting that whoever could lead the army to wipe out the infected forces led by Wendigo while ensuring the safety of all hostages would be able to replace Marquis Boris and incorporate Chernobog into his fiefdom.

If you're so capable, then you do it.

The previously noisy conference room hall suddenly fell silent.

Upon hearing the name Wendigo, these nobles and ministers were like ducks with their necks choked, not daring to utter a single word.

They all knew how terrifying this war machine was.

"We should uphold justice and help the weak!"

"Then why don't we send troops to the Core City of Chernobog to fight the infected?"

"Because they are too strong."

A moment later, they began to praise His Majesty's benevolence and wisdom, saying that he had easily resolved the empire's crisis with just a little cunning.

In any case, they would never waste their army and resources fighting and exhausting themselves in battles against such monsters.

Fyodor and Witte witnessed the ridiculous behavior of these men from the high platform, cursing their cowardice and greed.

These people lack firm stances and clear viewpoints. They are slow-thinking and incapable of changing the status quo. Half of them are meddlesome megalomaniacs, while the other half are only interested in personal gain.

Unfortunately, the empire still has to rely on these people for the time being.

Meanwhile, relevant departments also submitted a standard response strategy for the crisis.

In the first phase, we declared that nothing had happened.

The second phase suggests that something might happen, but we shouldn't take any action.

The third phase was about whether we should take action, but there was nothing we could do.

The fourth stage is saying that maybe something should have been done back then, but now it's too late.

Both Fyodor and Witte fell silent upon seeing these things.

It is said that His Majesty lost his temper again that day, sweeping everything off the table. He berated the incompetent ministers and nobles in his study, expressing his concern for the future of the Ursus Empire.

"You're finally back, Bai Ye. Where have you been?" Talulah looked at Bai Ye in surprise as he returned to the Core City of Chernobog, looking travel-worn.

"I brought back peace. I brought peace to an entire generation." Bai Ye jumped off the aircraft and handed the signed documents to Talulah.

"From this day forward, you are the owner of this city, Sis' Talulah." Bai Ye then informed Talulah of the final decision made by Saint Junbao.

"From now on, the future of these infected people will once again be in your hands."

Politics is the art of compromise, the art of manipulating possibilities. Faced with the conditions offered by Bai Ye, the Ursus Empire clearly had no reason to refuse.

"Ah, how could it have turned out like this..." Talulah carefully read through the enfeoffment document personally signed by Fyodor, finding it hard to believe.

Is this true?

"Of course I wouldn't lie to you. Perhaps, from now on I should address you as Marquis, sir."

"No, please don't!" Talulah put on the mask of pain, then looked at Bai Ye with gratitude in her eyes. "Thank you, Bai Ye."

"Don't look at me like that. I'm doing this for myself. My business will be taking root in this city. If the empire destroys it, I'll be at a huge loss." Bai Ye turned his head away, somewhat unaccustomed to the girl's gaze.

"You're still the same person you always are..." Talulah smiled helplessly, then carefully put the document away.

"It went much more smoothly than I had imagined. The Ursus Empire is no longer as powerful as it used to be. It is very corrupt internally, and its officials, nobles and ministers are all incompetent."

"Only a few people want to continue to turn the tide, while the rest are only concerned with their own gains and losses."

Bai Ye offered his insightful commentary on the current state of the Ursus Empire.

"Even so, their army is still strong and formidable. It's great that we don't have to fight them." Talulah breathed a sigh of relief.

"Actually, they were also relieved. Just the name of their Big Daddy was enough to scare them into silence."

Bai Ye turned around and waved to Talulah: "If you have the chance in the future, you can go and meet with Speaker Witte. Perhaps you can gain something from it."

As he spoke, Bai Ye prepared to head to Peterheim High School to check on his hostages and see how they were doing.

In addition to its own students, Peterheim High School also has students from No. 4 High School and other high schools.

However, regardless of the circumstances, all of these people were managed by the Shield Guard in the same way.

Every morning they are woken up by the radio and get up to go for a run.

After that, they will face a more intensive cultural course and a philosophy lesson taught by a gentle yet strict Little Deer.

There are tests every three days, and students who fail are required to undergo additional physical training.

At first, these students planned to rebel, but the harsh reality quickly exhausted their spirit and energy.

The grueling schedule set by Bai Ye forced them to admit that this period of imprisonment and surveillance was actually the time when they studied most diligently.

Even the delinquents and troublemakers understand they should pay attention in class. After all, if they don't study, they won't eat, and they'll have to keep running...

After that, they were even forced to accept some strange new classmates.

The Reunion Movement included its own students from the civilian population in this school, allowing infected children to attend classes and take exams alongside them.

Although many conflicts arose during this period, they were all suppressed by the Shield Guard in charge before they could escalate into actual clashes.

The punishment remained physical training and a reduction in food rations.

Under these circumstances, when Bai Ye returned to Peterheim High School after many days, he was met with a completely different middle school student.

"I have to admit, this method is quite effective, especially for exams..."

Bai Ye revealed a devilish smile.

Chapter Six: Catastrophe and Hostility

"Catastrophe is coming..."

Even though the Core City of Chernobog had already left the area covered by the Catastrophe, Bai Ye could still see the Catastrophe clouds gathering in the distance.

It has to be said that Bai Ye was really racing against time. If he had chosen to play it safe and not gone directly to Saint Junbao, but instead returned to Rhodes Island to find Skadi, he might now be blocked by the Catastrophe on the way because of the delay.

"Please call me the time management master."

Bai Ye stood on the command tower, slowly closed his eyes, and felt the airflow that was gradually becoming chaotic.

He clenched his fist, trying to integrate his will into the massive vortex of air in the distance, and break into the Catastrophe cloud that had gathered a large amount of Active Originium.

"Hiss—Ugh!"

The pause lasted only a moment before Bai Ye's spiritual tendrils were torn apart and dispersed. Instantly, Bai Ye's mind was also violently struck by the mental impact of the backlash.

"I've been outmaneuvered..."

Bai Ye groaned, blood trickling from his nose, and he also experienced slight tinnitus. The shock to his mental sea was clearly affecting his physical body.

"It's still quite a bit lacking..."

Bai Ye tried it out, but found that he still couldn't shake the Catastrophe with his own strength alone.

"It's impossible to directly interfere with weather patterns in a short period of time..." Bai Ye recorded the test data and results. With the amplification device, he could indirectly influence the weather. However, achieving the instantaneous effect of changing the celestial phenomena like his Stand "Weather Forecast" was still somewhat beyond his reach.

If this is the case under normal weather conditions, it's even more unbearable when facing Catastrophe. Under the influence of massive amounts of Active Originium energy, Bai Ye is even more helpless. At least, he currently lacks the ability to eliminate Catastrophe.

However, Bai Ye knew that his approach was correct; altering airflow and air pressure, and affecting temperature and humidity, could indeed change celestial phenomena. If he continued to invest more, one day he would be able to overcome even Catastrophe.

Like those incarnations of Great Beast, or rather, like gods.

"How wonderful..."

In any case, this kind of pure power is always quite attractive.

Bai Ye still remembered seeing a strange person standing on a mountaintop in the Great Yan Dynasty, facing the natural Catastrophe. She poured wine towards the sky, then gently waved her tail, and the Catastrophe clouds dispersed out of thin air. In the end, it was just a lot of thunder and little rain, and it did not cause any damage at all.

"Bai Ye, what happened?!"

Just then, Talulah and the others arrived at the command tower and were shocked to see Bai Ye's pale face and blood flowing from his nose.

Aside from the Patriot, who was usually expressionless and never showed his emotions, everyone else was on high alert. They had never seen Bai Ye look so disheveled before.

It seems that from the moment they met, Bai Ye has always been in complete control. No matter what kind of enemy he faces, he can always at least go toe-to-toe with them and never suffers a defeat.

Even when encountering the Inner Guards, he maintained the upper hand in the battle and later escaped unscathed despite being surrounded by several Inner Guards.

In contrast, Bai Ye's current appearance is definitely abnormal.

"Is there an enemy? Who were you fighting just now?" Talulah looked around warily. Anyone who could injure Bai Ye to this extent must be a formidable opponent.

Bai Ye took the handkerchief FrostNova handed him and wiped the blood from his nose. He then touched the sweat on his forehead, smiled, and pointed to the sky. "There were no enemies. I just tried something a little reckless."

As he spoke, Bai Ye recounted to Talulah his experiment of attempting to use his innate magic to quell the Catastrophe.

After listening, Talulah rolled her eyes. "Are you an idiot? You actually think you can influence Catastrophe with human power? What if something goes wrong?"

"Don't do such stupid things again."

In the common understanding of ordinary Terra, Catastrophe represent unparalleled power and destructive force; in the face of them, the power of an individual is truly insignificant.

"We have to try, right? In the past, there were knights of Kazimierz who charged into the sea; there were knights who mistook windmills for Cyclops ... Although there were madmen and fools among them, we have to admit that such behavior was not meaningless." Bai Ye looked at the sky and muttered to himself.

Just then, Patriot suddenly spoke up, "It's about to begin."

Everyone looked up.

The sun that once shone brightly on the earth has been obscured by the clouds of Catastrophe; the sky hangs low, as if you could reach out and touch it. Standing on the towering command tower, one truly gets the illusion of being towering over the heavens.

Golden lightning flashed in and out of the clouds, like the tail of Fedi swimming.

The world was utterly silent, and all life trembled instinctively. When faced with the ancient enemy of all species and all life on this land, the fear etched into their DNA would spread.

This is a natural emotion; there is no need to feel ashamed or embarrassed, nor to feel ashamed, because natural Catastrophe are the greatest enemies of civilization and life.

When the active Originium energy reached its peak, it finally burst forth, as if a corner of the sky had collapsed, and black Originium fell from the sky, crashing directly to the earth.

If Chernobog remains in that location, it will be destroyed. Simultaneously, highly activated Originium will form towering Originium clusters on the city's surface. Any survivors who come into contact with these clusters will have a high probability of being corrupted by the Originium energy and becoming infected.

Almost no one was spared.

"This is truly terrifying; this is one of the most powerful forces on this land." Bai Ye pursed his lips, still excited even though it wasn't the first time he had witnessed Catastrophe firsthand.

His hands were trembling slightly, not from fear, but from a sudden, inexplicable impulse.

For some reason, whenever he looked up at the Catastrophe cloud, a strange hostility would well up in his heart. It was as if that Catastrophe was his enemy. At first, Bai Ye thought this inexplicable emotion was just his imagination.

Having witnessed the power of Catastrophe, he believed that he might have genuinely developed a competitive spirit.

However, when he looked closely into his heart, he was surprised to find that he could actually feel the tormented earth crying out to him for help. He could feel the weeping of the wind and the lamentation of the world.

This is not an illusion.

"That's strange..."

Bai Ye suppressed this inexplicable impulse within him.

This inexplicable hostility clearly did not stem from his own emotions, but rather something was influencing him.

He silently kept this feeling in his heart.

As it grew stronger, the mysteries didn't decrease; instead, they multiplied.

Actually, the reason is quite simple.