38. The Regent / 39. Divine Punishment

However, at this moment, a nightmare was about to begin. Perhaps it was because Victoria no longer had a king. More than twenty years ago, Victoria herself hanged the last king, the royal heirs were scattered among the common people, and the last Dolak had long been banished.

This natural Catastrophe is very likely the wrath of the kings, a punishment for their various actions.

However, the grand dukes certainly wouldn't believe such a claim.

This sudden Catastrophe clearly disrupted their plans.

It would be a sleepless night, as the grand dukes began leaving their territories and rushing towards Londinium in their high-speed warships. No one knew what Londinium would look like when the sun rose again the next day.

It might fall apart, or it might take on some other form, but in any case, it's an opportunity. In the eyes of the Grand Dukes, this is the variable they've been waiting for.

This was also the time when spies were most active in the city of Londinium. The Grand Duke's agents were transmitting messages along secret lines, and they had to get the information out before the signal was cut off. As everyone knew, after the Catastrophe, the high concentration of Originium energy would block all communication.

In the underground of the Sardine District, the decision-makers of the Londinium Citizen Self-Rescue Army listened to the intelligence brought down by spies from above, and remained silent.

Clearly, they never expected that Catastrophe would strike Londinium. The city had been plagued by Catastrophe for so long that its residents had forgotten the fear of being dominated by Catastrophe.

And now, the sky, which looks like it's about to collapse, has once again awakened the deep-seated fear of Catastrophe in the hearts of the inhabitants of Terra.

Because Catastrophe are equal; they do not show leniency based on your status, position, or wealth. It is a destruction that treats everyone equally.

Catastrophe are usually predictable. After the Catastrophe Messenger bring news, Mobile City typically break into plots and migrate along shipping routes a week before the Catastrophe strikes. This is also how the inhabitants of this land avoid Catastrophe.

However, now, without warning, Catastrophe has suddenly struck, which, for ordinary people, is divine punishment.

"Heidi, is your friend a Catastrophe Messenger? Did he predict this Catastrophe in advance?" someone couldn't help but ask.

Heidi, sitting in the corner of the room, shook her head blankly.

She didn't actually know the person's identity. All she knew was that he was Dr. Kal'tsit's friend, and that Dr. Kal'tsit had told her in a secret letter to treat this young man named "Bai Ye" as if she trusted and treated him as she would herself.

"I don't know who he is... but he did save us all. And he also notified us to take refuge," Heidi replied softly.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

At this moment, the self-defense army safe houses throughout the Sardine District were packed with Londinium residents liberated from prisons and factories. Under the cover of the previous extreme weather, the self-defense army launched a decisive attack, and with the intelligence provided by Heidi, rescued as many refugees and slave laborers captured by the Sarkaz as possible from several factories.

Then, after their lightning operation, they quickly dispersed and fled through underground passages, leaving the main force of the Royal Court Army, which had finally been alerted and rushed to the scene, empty-handed.

Clearly, their strategy was successful. The guerrilla tactics of avoiding direct confrontation were indeed very effective, and... the originally terrifying Catastrophe had now become their shield. At this moment, no one dared to show their face outside; the Sarkaz were awaiting divine punishment.

Krolovsia murmured:

"Perhaps the turning point is today, or perhaps when the sun rises tomorrow, it will be the moment we overthrow the Sarkaz rule."

Yes, the girl had a premonition; her intuition told her that there must be some connection between this Catastrophe and that mysterious person. Although this idea seemed utterly absurd to normal people, she firmly believed it—it was the intuition of a unicorn.

In a hidden pipe within the underground industrial base of the Sardine District, two different factions coincidentally arrived at the same location seeking refuge. Upon entering this relatively safe place, they simultaneously recognized each other's identities.

"..."

"..."

The two leaders fell into an eerie silence.

Meanwhile, their subordinates also became restless.

"Sir, why aren't you doing anything?"

"Horn! Why are you pulling me? Have you forgotten how many of our brothers died at their hands?"

Yes, the two sides present here are Mandragora and the squad led by the Horn.

Both of these people were acquaintances of Bai Ye. Back in Little Hill District, the two sides had confronted and fought each other. Horn's squad was powerless against the sorcerer Mandragora's attacks. Fortunately, Bai Ye appeared in time, saving Horn and her comrades, and at the same time, he defeated Mandragora in an overwhelming manner.

However, their fate seemed to have run its course. Just as the Catastrophe was about to strike, they unexpectedly met again in the underground of Londinium.

Rita Scamandros, also known as Horn, placed her hand on the crossbow tucked into her sleeve. The moment Mandragora's finger showed the slightest sign of lifting, she would pull the trigger. Or... just pulling it like that seemed like a good option as well.

Mandragora watched her quietly, along with the shield beside her, seemingly deep in thought.

A moment later, she turned to look at the heavily injured "spy" beside her, then suddenly lowered her hands and cane and took a step back.

She saw the anger and confusion in Horn's eyes, but she didn't want to explain anything. She led the other warriors of Deepsea to one side of the safe house.

Horn, seeing Mandragora's voluntary retreat, understood from her actions that she intended to cease hostilities. Glancing at the Victoria soldiers beside her, she too lowered her hands, no longer turning her weapons against Mandragora, and retreated to the other side of the safe house.

The two did not communicate, but somehow reached a tacit understanding.

Although hatred and anger still lingered, the two were unwilling to put their subordinates and friends in danger due to momentary impulses in the face of this Catastrophe.

So, both sides stopped fighting at the same time. It has to be said that this was quite a miracle.

Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Regent

Western Hall of the Holy King's Council.

The moment the signs of the Catastrophe appeared, Theresis rose from his throne.

He looked toward the Shard.

"Who has activated the Shard now?" For the first time, a look of anxiety appeared on his face.

Things started to get out of his control, and this unexpected variable was almost fatal.

However, the Confessors reported:

"The Shard is not ready yet, and there is no possibility of it being activated at this time."

"As for airships, they are not ready either. They do not currently have the capability to guide attacks against Catastrophe."

This left Theresis completely dumbfounded.

It's a general consensus that Londinium has almost never suffered from Catastrophe; the only thing capable of causing Catastrophe here is the Shard.

However, neither the main body fragment tower that triggered the Catastrophe nor the navigator airship used to guide the Catastrophe was completed; they were not yet ready to be activated.

That's outrageous.

Theresis would never be so naive as to believe that this Catastrophe was caused by nature, because that would defy common sense.

The formation of Catastrophe is a complex process and does not happen overnight. Although Londinium is not usually affected by Catastrophe, there are still many Catastrophe Messenger at work.

Catastrophe Messenger never slacken their efforts because of so-called "common sense." They meticulously complete their work, collecting evidence of an impending Catastrophe in the wild. Usually, they send back relevant intelligence and predictions a week before Catastrophe is imminent.

Therefore, Theresis would never have failed to receive a report from Catastrophe Messenger Catastrophe was already imminent.

The occurrence of this Catastrophe is absolutely abnormal, and there must be human factors involved.

Meanwhile, Theresis also received a report from the Royal Court Army General Manfred about a sudden attack by the Londinium Citizen Self-Rescue Army, a resistance group in the Sardine District. These hidden armed groups suddenly attacked several factories manufacturing weapons and producing materials to repair the Shattered Building, damaging the equipment and taking away the workers inside.

Meanwhile, a bizarre attack occurred in the Sardine District. The prison holding prisoners was attacked, all the Sarkaz guards who were guarding the prisoners were killed, and the Deepsea troops who were assisting the Royal Court Army and mercenaries in guarding the prison also disappeared.

Judging from the scene, these guards died instantly. They didn't even know they were being killed before they died. Their expressions were not ferocious at all, but rather peaceful, which seemed extremely eerie.

Some of the corpses even remained standing after death, with wounds that were completely sealed and barely noticeable unless you looked closely. Not a drop of blood had seeped out, which was caused by being cut by an extremely sharp weapon in a short time.

Manfred concluded that this could absolutely not have been caused by an attack from the Self-Defense Forces; they certainly didn't have that capability. Otherwise, they would have revealed it long ago, not waited until now.

Theresis and the Confessors agreed with Manfred's judgment.

These strange occurrences in Londinium, including today's unusual weather, were definitely not accidental for Theresis; there must be some connection between them. It was a planned conspiracy against the Sarkaz, and against him personally.

However, he had absolutely no clue about the source of this conspiracy; he didn't even know who was behind it all. Most importantly, with Catastrophe looming over them, he had no idea who had summoned Catastrophe or how.

Even with the ancient wisdom of the Sarkaz, the knowledge of the Lords of the Royal Courts, and the ancient Sarkaz souls spanning tens of thousands of years, they never knew of any spell or ritual that could summon the Catastrophe so quickly.

The enemy lurked in the shadows, while they had become prey in the open—a reality Theresis now had to accept. However, he was powerless to change anything; all he could do was order the Sarkaz Royal Court to seek refuge as quickly as possible. At the same time, he was also trying to recall the Sarkaz Royal Court who were busy throughout Londinium — the Bloodfiend Demon King, the Devourer King, the Shapeshifter Collective, and the ancient Sarkaz undead spirits and Theresia residing in the airship.

They need to manipulate the ancient Sarkaz rituals to mitigate the damage caused by the Catastrophe as much as possible, get through this difficult time, and then make further plans.

Even Theresis was momentarily negligent in this critical situation. He failed to realize that the enemy's true target was the soon-to-be-completed Shard Tower.

Or rather, even if he had some suspicions, he could only make a choice. If he was determined to defend the Shards, then the Sarkaz army and strength would be weakened to the extreme. Without military defense, Theresis would be unable to withstand the Grand Dukes' attack.

Those old foxes, with their keen senses, must have already detected Londinium's unusual movements. If they see the Sarkaz's weakness, they will surely proceed cautiously, slowly probing the limits of the Sarkaz Royal Court and mercenaries, before finally baring their fangs and annihilating them.

Therefore, in order to preserve its strength, Theresis could only protect its army as much as possible, expending a lot of energy to create shields, while having the Sarkaz soldiers hide underground to avoid the attacks of the Catastrophe as much as possible.

However, after making this decision, Theresis felt an instinctive unease. This judgment was based on his experience and intuition accumulated over hundreds of years of leading the Sarkaz in wars. He had a feeling that something far more terrifying to the Sarkaz was lurking in the shadows, watching his every move.

The real enemy behind the scenes has yet to appear; the venomous snake lurking in the shadows has yet to bare its fangs. With just a few initial moves, he's already struggling to keep up. Theresis has never encountered such a troublesome situation before.

After all, Catastrophe are beyond the scope of what the Sarkaz can handle. On this land, the destructive power of Catastrophe on Terra is enormous. Even with some preparation, and with various experts and celestial masters who can subdue Catastrophe, the Great Yan's fortress city of Jade Gate, which is specifically used for border defense, will be partially paralyzed for two months due to the desert sandstorm Catastrophe.

This is a card with no solution.

"Notify the Confessors that we must strengthen the protection of the Shard." An instinctive unease made Theresis realize the Shard's importance. It was the root of all the Sarkaz's plans and ambitions, the core of everything.

However--

"Londinium's current energy is insufficient. If it wants to withstand the Catastrophe, it must give up some things."

This is the root of suffering.

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Heavenly Punishment

(Winter Rhapsody is so much fun, I'm addicted!)

While the Sarkaz were overwhelmed by the sudden Catastrophe, Bai Ye remained in place, maintaining his spellcasting posture.

"This is Catastrophe ..." Logos looked at the golden lightning that was moving among the clouds in the sky.

For the native inhabitants of Terra, the most terrifying Catastrophe was the swirling clouds that obscured the sky, as if the entire heavens were about to collapse and crash down upon Londinium. Although Londinium was perpetually shrouded in dark clouds—a change brought about by the Shards—at this moment, the sky had turned completely black.

The Catastrophe cloud obscured the light of the Twin Moons, and the entire city was plunged into a blackout, with all energy being channeled to the Sarkaz's protective systems. This massive power outage plunged the entire population of Londinium into deep fear, as if the end of the world was imminent.

At this moment, the entire city was at its most vulnerable. The port gates could not be closed due to the power outage, and the city's defense system was rendered useless due to the lack of energy. However, neither the self-rescue army nor the Grand Duke seized this best opportunity.

After all, this is the worst possible time, and no one wants to be ravaged by Catastrophe. Even the most robust land-based high-speed warships cannot survive Catastrophe.

Logos didn't know how Bai Ye did it; he could only sense that the energy within Bai Ye was resonating with the sky. The atmosphere and wind were extensions of Bai Ye's body and mind; Bai Ye manipulated the power of nature as if directing his own body. Even Catastrophe were subdued by it.

At this moment, Logos finally understood what Bai Ye meant when he said, "If I want, this snowstorm will temporarily fall silent for me."

Bai Ye had no idea what Logos was thinking. He didn't speak, focusing all his energy on the arduous task of controlling the Catastrophe.

Triggering Catastrophe wouldn't be difficult, after all, he controlled the sky, and the Originium energy of this land was incredibly active, with the high- Originium filling the upper atmosphere. Bai Ye only needed to give it a slight push, and the resulting chain reaction would snowball, becoming an unstoppable avalanche once triggered.

Of course, just like an avalanche, once this Catastrophe occurs, it's as uncontrollable as a runaway horse. Completely stopping it might be relatively simple, but precisely controlling Catastrophe coverage and range of attack would require Bai Ye to expend a great deal of effort.

Bai Ye had to carefully adjust the elements needed for the formation of the Catastrophe, controlling Catastrophe intensity and range of attack, much like a helmsman steering a small boat against the wind and waves on a turbulent sea.

This is an incredibly wild struggle, a monumental feat of harnessing the storm with human strength. For the wind's nature is freedom; once it roars, it is difficult to restrain, not even the Lord of the Storms, Bai Ye.

However, Bai Ye still tried his best to maintain the storm's path, not wanting the Catastrophe to shatter the city and cause unnecessary losses and casualties. If he really ignored everything and dragged innocent people into it, how would he be any different from the Sarkaz?

Although Bai Ye always proclaims himself capable of using any means necessary to achieve his goals, he's never really meant it. In reality, he's a gentle person. Otherwise, how could he have gained the approval of so many people, including many upright and honest individuals?

Clearly, they all saw through the stubbornness in this guy's words and understood Bai Ye's true nature.

Finally, when everything had reached its limit, the storm arrived. The hurricane, carrying high -Originium and jet-black Originium crystals, surged towards the various districts occupied by the Sarkaz with an invincible momentum and earth-shattering pressure.

The sky of Londinium collapsed. The sky turned blood red, boiling Catastrophe clouds surged in flames, and the earth fell silent. As the sky fell, fear robbed all sound.

Bai Ye stood in the raging wind, his hair billowing in the storm, yet he remained perfectly still.

Although the Catastrophe was contained to a certain extent, the weather was still affected outside that area, with gales sweeping across the entire Londinium, venting the wrath of the sky tyrant.

However, the Catastrophe was finally brought under control. Bai Ye breathed a sigh of relief and slowly pulled the longsword from the ground. The "Wind Chime" emitted a clear and melodious chime, and Bai Ye gently stroked the blade.

"You still need to try harder."

Natural Catastrophe alone are not enough; they cannot destroy the Shard's protective systems. Moreover, the Shard itself can also create Catastrophe and is naturally resistant to them.

Therefore, even as the massive black Originium clusters blossomed in parts of Londinium, Bai Ye remained vigilant, determined to deliver the final, decisive blow and utterly shatter the Sarkaz's ambitions and plans for revenge.

When the Catastrophe struck, Theresis confirmed her earlier suspicions: the Catastrophe was definitely man-made and a pure attack on the Sarkaz. The area affected by the Catastrophe was entirely comprised of Sarkaz Royal Court and mercenary camps.

Theresis absolutely refused to believe it was a coincidence.

The seemingly indestructible Mobile City groaned under the onslaught of Catastrophe. Fortunately, this Catastrophe was not caused by Originium falling from the sky and would not destroy the Mobile City. However, the structure of the upper surface was simply unable to withstand the devastation of this Catastrophe.