Working Overtime

[It's just a feigned submission!]

Seeing that the Imperial Guards's actions were half feigned and half confused, Oute returned the "Ursus Blade" to one of the "Ursus Blades".

--Then pause your actions to pluck at his heartstrings.

Although Oute no longer affected his mind, the fervor that had been stirred still dominated his thoughts.

Glancing back at Oute, the Imperial Guards gripped his standard-issue saber tightly before heading towards his destiny.

The entanglement between the Collapse Inquisitor and Talulah and FrostNova has reached a stalemate.

"This thing! It keeps regenerating!"

FrostNova gripped her power halberd tightly and leaped backward to avoid a sprawling "kingdom".

This dark, viscous force has completely polluted the pristine white snow, leaving almost no place to step.

For some reason, her fair and delicate side waist was exposed to the air, but blood vessels could be seen around it.

Just now, Talulah and FrostNova had already "cut the Collapse Inquisitor in two".

However, on the cross-section of the two "corpses" of the Collapse Inquisitor, the somewhat familiar tentacles intertwine and then gradually merge together, stitching the Collapse Inquisitor back together.

This move looks somewhat familiar...

This must have nothing to do with the great Doctor. Oute, right?

Heavy moisture rose from Talulah's body, then quickly cooled and turned into white vapor.

As Talulah continued her activity, a mist gradually rose from the snow-covered ground. The mist clung to the two female warriors, their clothes slightly absorbing the water droplets, and their hair became damp.

"Doctor. Oute!" The dragon girl clutched her shoulder, the crimson blood gradually spreading.

With a piercing itch, Talulah's shoulder wound healed completely, leaving only bloodstains on her torn clothes and around the wound.

After healing the two female warriors, and watching the departing Imperial Guards, Oute continued to adjust his plan.

The intense pride and almost blind worship of Ursus's golden age that this Imperial Guards possessed were things that Oute. Driven by these strange emotions, he decided to abandon what he perceived as a safe escape and risk his life to clear the Collapse Entity...

Oute thought he was capable and revised his plans on how to eliminate him, how to use the two dead Imperial Guards to influence the Ursus political situation, and how to give the new Ursus emperor an excuse to continue focusing on domestic affairs...

Sami is located in the northwest corner of Ursus.

Deep within the Sami lies a festering sore that has required centuries of relentless struggle.

Over the years, through relentless encroachment, the land on the southern border of the Sami tribe has gradually fallen into the hands of the giant bear. However, along with this land, defense work has also been acquired.

For the Sami tribes, this responsibility rests with the warriors who join the "Scarred Tree Tribe" tribe.

For Ursus, this responsibility rests with the hybrid Wendigo warriors, the Imperial Guards, and the endless Ursus beasts.

After careful consideration, Oute concluded that this was a move that didn't require much effort—Mr. Imperial Guards only needed to focus on fighting for his own life, while Rhodes Island was busy figuring out how to submit damaging information to Saint Petersburg.

It just so happens that Han Tan needs to return to the north, and Rhodes Island will also be involved in the Sami affairs in the future. Creating an opportunity for Mr. Imperial Guards to exile Sami is not a bad idea...

There's at least a 30% probability, right?

Several eye stalks of varying sizes emerged from the empty neck of the Collapse Inquisitor. Tentacles resembling grass skirts spread from the wound on his waist and abdomen.

In the sprawling kingdom, the Collapse Inquisitor spread their arms, embracing the void. The eye stalks stretched straight up to the sky, and another infrasound howl forced everyone to hear it.

While Talulah, FrostNova, and the Yetis were churning with stomachache from the eerie howl, the Imperial Guards swung his saber with great effort.

In this land, a clean path leads straight to the Collapse Inquisitor.

"What happened?"

"A great opportunity!"

The girls had no time to look back, but sensing the command from their hearts, Talulah and FrostNova both took a deep breath and stepped onto the path one after the other.

Far behind, Oute also engraved the indescribable inscription on the chest of the Collapse Inquisitor.

Weakness Spell!

As a marking skill, Weakness Spell not only marks enemies but also significantly reduces their evasion ability.

And so the Yetis dispersed and pulled the trigger.

"Take me there."

"Yes, ma'am!" The big cat happily picked up Oute and jumped behind FrostNova and Talulah in a few steps.

Once the distance was close enough, Oute reached for the dagger again.

To avoid accidental damage, the Yetis' projectiles had to detour around the paths, flying across the vast snowfields that covered the country. Most of them were distorted by this extremely wasteful and recklessly splashed snowfield.

But this was almost exactly as expected.

Given the current state of the Collapse Inquisitor, these projectiles are probably useless. But out of instinct, they urge the nation to defend itself.

This brought Talulah and FrostNova closer to its true form once again.

Facing the longsword and the power halberd, the Collapse Inquisitor tried to dodge, but the runes imprinted on its body woven from black mist suddenly burned painfully.

The attempt to dodge failed.

Pfft.

It was clearly mist, but the sharp blade felt as if it had pierced through juicy flesh.

The Collapse Inquisitor let out a wail, forcefully knocking away Talulah and FrostNova's weapons, but in doing so, he also "opened his chest wide."

But the terrifying wound healed once again in a strangely familiar way, only this time, the ever-changing misty tentacles gradually turned purple.

The dark land gradually began to be filled with the same magnificent colors.

"Oute!" FrostNova gritted her teeth and cried out, "Give me a way!"

Suddenly, a cluster of thick Originium rose from the ground, firmly locking the Collapse Inquisitor in place.

Oute's voice rang out behind the girls. "Hands from the Abyss."

As the Originium Cluster rose to prominence, the kingdom's purple hue gradually faded—he ruthlessly extracted energy from the Originium, bringing an end to this decadent yet beautiful kingdom.

Upon seeing Liberi before him, the Collapse Inquisitor stretched out his twisted hand and pointed into the distance.

Leave.

The accessory could no longer be equipped on it, and it was unclear what it wanted to do.

Oute's logic in casually equipping people with accessories in reality is based on the fact that they are all "potential heroes who have not yet arrived at the carriage."

However, due to the effects of the Collapse and Torment of the Iron Crown, the Collapse Inquisitor seem to have become "enemies" in the world's laws of the "Darkest Dungeon," and are no longer regarded as "heroes."

But... the posture of the Collapse Inquisitor looks somewhat familiar.

Chapter 218 Working Overtime

January 4, 1097, 03:18:45 AM, Lungmen.

The martial law order made the city that never sleeps go to bed on time for once, and at this moment only a few departments that are responsible for military and political affairs are still brightly lit.

There's a certain coolness when it rains, but afterwards, the air becomes stiflingly humid and hot.

"... Many plots were already undergoing maintenance during the winter. But yesterday's heavy rain came too suddenly, and the drainage systems, large and small, including those on plot number 21, all need to be repaired."

In a conference room that originally belonged to the Governor of Lungmen, a group of people were "quietly making noise."

Lungmen has a relatively humid climate, and strong winds and rain are commonplace in summer and autumn. After weathering that storm, winter would normally be a good time to repair equipment and reorganize the various systems of the relocated site.

However, the impact of the Catastrophe "Boomerang" left some areas submerged in water.

Ch'en wearily issued instructions. "Prioritize the transportation of military supplies. Plot 21 is not on the road. Concentrate efforts on repairing the drainage system along the transportation route, and prepare engineering equipment to manually begin drainage."

Manually draining water from engineering equipment is certainly not a perfect idea.

But it's at least an idea.

As this staff member prepared to head off to work overtime with the instructions, Ch'en sighed and turned to another person, "You come along too, and find out in detail which routes are blocked by flooding. If the water can't be drained in a short time, give me a prompt plan for temporary transportation routes."

Seeing Ch'en's performance, Wei Yenwu had a faint smile on his face.

"Sir Wei..." A staff member was overjoyed, clutching the documents in his hands, and couldn't help but want to step forward.

But then he realized something and pulled back.

Why are you still here?

This is probably another problem that weighs heavily on the minds of all the staff members, even though they feel relieved.

Of course, there might be even bigger trouble: in front of everyone, in front of the future governor of Lungmen, with his back to her, he expressed his fervent desire for the outgoing governor of Lungmen.

Ch'en and Wei Yenwu might not care about this, but his colleagues...

It's hard to say.

"You may continue."

"In any case, we need to prioritize preparing for war."

After exchanging a few words, Wei Yenwu and Ch'en left the conference room.

"What happened?"

"Your department's reports..."

"Isn't Governor Wei going to negotiate?"

"Don't ask so many questions!"

Give me the data...

There are few excuses that could lead the Governor of Lungmen to appoint a "retainer" to temporarily oversee all matters, and given Wei Yenwu's complex identity, once this move is made, there's probably no turning back—at the very least, he really has to go out for a trip.

After the footsteps faded into the distance, work gradually resumed in the meeting room, but people were somewhat distracted.

Ch'en followed closely behind the man who resembled her father more than her own father.

Their gradually overlapping footsteps woke up the motion-activated lights in the corridor one by one.

"Plot 21," Wei Yenwu suddenly said, "There are quite a few residents there, as well as some commercial areas."

"Right now it's just flooding, there's no immediate danger. Besides, even if things go wrong, there won't be much damage."