Turmoil and Crisis

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wanqing walked towards Central: "Are there seven Legendary lords in the country? And what about acting lords? Do you mean those independent lords who haven't yet consolidated their Territory Authority?"

"Hey~ Look who's here? Making everyone wait all by themselves, what a big shot!" A sarcastic voice came from behind. Jiang Wanqing didn't stop walking, but just turned her head slightly, her gaze falling on a certain spot in Central.

There sat a young man dressed in a dark, close-fitting outfit, his brows furrowed with a subtle, almost imperceptible, mockery.

Jiang Wanqing glanced at it and her heart skipped a beat. The identity plaque on the man's table clearly read "Jiang Lineage of Lei City".

Is this the great lord of Xiang Province that A-Xu mentioned?

Although located in the same province as Qimeng City, Lei City far surpasses Qimeng City in population and economic output due to its political and transportation advantages.

Right next to him, a row of identity plaques, such as "Qi City Meng Lineage" and "Li City Wang Lineage," were placed together. The cities where their Lineage were located were all provincial capitals of the Central State.

It was only at this moment that Jiang Wanqing realized that the seating arrangement in the Central and Outer Ring areas was actually quite deliberate; the seats that appeared to be arranged in twos and threes were clearly actually small groups.

"It seems that even among the lords, there are their own small cliques, and the Jiang Lineage of Lei City makes no attempt to hide their hostility towards A-Xu..."

Her heart sank slightly, but her expression remained unchanged as she retorted sarcastically, "So this is how you view time? I wonder if the ancestors of the Jiang Lineage also felt that time was too precious and that burning incense to worship ancestors was too wasteful when they first established the ancestral hall in Lei City?"

As she spoke, she sat down next to the girl from before, glanced at her, and recognized her as a member of the Li Lineage from Yun Province.

Yun Province is located at the southern tip of the country, thousands of miles away from Xiang Province, where Qimeng City is located. Their geographical location means that there is no conflict of interest between them.

"Haha~" A burst of laughter echoed in the conference room. Jiang Wanqing glanced at it and immediately understood.

In the seats in Central, most of the liaison officers had smiles on their faces. When they saw her gaze, they nodded in greeting, their eyes filled with approval and recognition.

Jiang Shiyan's face stiffened, his fingertips unconsciously tapped the table, and he let out a cold snort.

He was about to speak when the crystal chandelier on the dome of the conference hall suddenly lit up, and a clear electronic voice announced, "The 1273rd plenary session of the Lords' Council is now in session."

The entire room fell silent, and everyone looked towards the inner ring.

"First, let us welcome the newly appointed Pioneer Lord, Mr. Lin Xu, to the council. This means that humanity has gained another young yet steadfast guardian."

In the central seat of the inner ring, an elderly man with snow-white hair smiled and looked at Jiang Wanjing.

"Splash~"

A wave of enthusiastic applause erupted. Jiang Wanqing rose and bowed in greeting. As she sat down, she glanced at the identity plaque in front of the old man. "Gu Qiancheng of Central State," written in black ink on pink paper.

"Secondly, in accordance with the Territory Autonomy Agreement signed between the Parliament and the Government, Qimeng City was officially upgraded to an autonomous territory, enjoying provincial administrative authority and independent financial power. This resolution took effect immediately."

The Lords' Council recognizes and guarantees all of its autonomous responsibilities, including but not limited to taxation and the construction of its territory's defense system. It must also bear primary responsibility for regional security and response to the Spirit Realm invasions, and bear corresponding tax obligations to the nation.

"Thank you for the council's support. Qimeng City will be a staunch supporter of the Lords' Council!" Jiang Wanqing rose again to express her gratitude.

The white-haired old man paused, waiting for the applause to subside, then his gaze swept across the gradually quieting conference room. "Now, let's begin today's meeting topic: The Resurgence of the Evil God!"

Five days ago, the Axe Gang, a local gang in Yunjin City, suddenly launched an attack, resulting in 137 deaths and more than 300 injuries.

The Night Watchers's subsequent investigation revealed that the gang was secretly colluding with the internationally notorious "Blood God Cult." This large-scale riot was a blood sacrifice ritual long planned by Wang Kun, Blood God Cult and the former Axe Gang, in an attempt to obtain the blessing of an evil god and achieve professional advancement through blood sacrifice.

Three days ago, a mass zombie outbreak occurred in the underground morgue of Feihong City Third Hospital. Sixteen bodies in the morgue transformed into highly infectious and aggressive zombies, ultimately resulting in 27 infections and the deaths of 7 medical staff.

Fortunately, the local Night Watchers arrived in time and sealed the ventilation ducts with a high-concentration silver nitrate solution, and activated a cryogenic freezing array to seal off the entire building, thus preventing the spread of the zombie plague.

Subsequent investigation revealed that a patient suffering from chronic stomach cancer, in despair, accepted the call of an evil Spirit Realm and subsequently attempted to spread a plague of the living dead throughout the hospital by poisoning the patients...

"And just the night before last," the old man glanced at Jiang Wanqing, "A large-scale Spirit Realm invasion occurred in the Third Ring Road residential area of Qimeng City. The Spirit Realm beastmen race invaded, resulting in the deaths of 373 citizens and the martyrdom of 87 Night Watchers."

Fortunately, Lord Lin Xu appeared out of nowhere and crushed the invading orc tribe in one fell swoop. Subsequent investigations revealed that this incident was closely related to the international cult "Wheel of Fate"...

The atmosphere in the venue was solemn, as if the air itself had frozen.

The elderly man circled the center of the venue, surveying the liaison officers present. "This is only the domestic situation; the situation abroad is far worse."

According to the latest report from the International Night Watchers Alliance, 19 high-risk Spirit Realm invasion incidents have occurred globally in the past 72 hours, 12 of which have been confirmed to be directly linked to four major cults: the Blood God Cult, the Wheel of Fate, the Garden of Life, and Dreamland of Bliss. Gentlemen, do you know what this means?

No one spoke.

"Information from the Night Watchers Alliance indicates that the four evil gods worshipped by the four recently active cults all correspond to the settings of a game called Warhammer that originated in Britain a hundred years ago."

"Clearly, our allies have once again created a huge mess for humanity!" The old man's tone was filled with undisguised sarcasm and solemnity. "Based on past experience, whenever the special rules of the Spirit Realm become deeply coupled with the narrative of reality, the probability of the birth of an evil god will increase exponentially."

For example, the "Cult- Calamity of Divine Revelation" in the Echoes of the Abyss is a ritual for the incarnation of the evil god known as Cthulhu. The recent activity of the four major cults indicates that the four evil gods, originally existing only in games, are using the characteristics of the Spirit Realm to accelerate their escape from fictional narratives and project their influence into the real world...

The liaison officers in the room looked solemn; this bombshell news made the atmosphere even heavier.

Jiang Wanqing felt heavy-hearted. At this moment, she no longer had the mind to pay attention to the hostility of the Jiang Lineage in Lei City. Instead, she was facing the crisis of the survival of human civilization from a higher level for the first time.

Legend has it that when the Spirit Realm invaded a hundred years ago, there were no evil gods. At that time, there were only classic monsters that existed in games or fantasy, such as fox spirits in the East and griffins in the West.

Later, various abstract and bizarre evil spirits appeared. Then, accompanied by the "Calamity of Divine Revelation," the first evil god was finally conceived by the Spirit Realm after its invasion, causing hundreds of thousands of casualties.

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