Free Web NovelChapter 28: Chapter 28: Well...
That night, Lloyd went to bed early, but a seemingly unrelated farm owner was too furious to sleep.
"Nine nodes... all nine of them! Utterly destroyed! Even the confidant I sent to negotiate never came back..."
The farm owner gripped an ancient map that had gone completely dim, his hands trembling and his heart bleeding.
The previous underground boxing match had been an explosive, bloody, and thrilling spectacle that drove the crowd wild. When the two fighters delivered their final blows and collapsed in unison, the atmosphere exploded, reaching a fever pitch. Under the near-frenzied sensory overload, the respectable members of the audience fainted one after another.
Then, it was time for the farm owner’s harvest. He breathed it all in greedily, intoxicated, gradually forgetting everything as he completely immersed himself in the frenzied atmosphere.
Not until two days later did the audience members begin to wake up. In a daze, they left behind hefty viewing fees before departing one by one like zombies.
The farm owner came to his senses as well, only to discover that his most important assets—the nine Orbits—had been hollowed out, a feeling like having his heart and lungs ripped from his chest.
Those Orbits were his only channel for ’recruiting’ an audience. They could subtly and silently influence the thoughts and Cognition of certain people, luring them to his suburban farm to enjoy a frenzied feast.
Without the Orbits, the farm owner had essentially lost any chance of advancing on the path of an Extraordinary Being.
"My Mentor... my great Mentor will be so disappointed in me... I must... I must get the Orbits back!"
The farm owner’s body trembled violently, though whether from rage or fear was unclear.
These Orbits were incredibly precious, bestowed upon him by his mysterious and powerful Mentor.
The core of the entire set of Orbits was a small amount of [Forbidden Knowledge] mixed within—dangerous, powerful, and filled with a deadly allure.
The remaining parts were all designed to make the Orbits covert, small-scale, safe, and sustainable. They also automatically screened for an audience, attracting only those with higher-than-average inspiration who were under long-term high-pressure environments and craved mental stimulation.
Such people weren’t hard to find in the commoner districts, but they were more concentrated in the vibrant and fiercely competitive West City District. Aided by their high inspiration, they tended to have quick minds and great creativity, easily becoming successful individuals who then shouldered all sorts of heavy mental burdens.
These people were utterly unable to resist the lure of the Orbits. They were easily drawn in, bringing the farm owner immense wealth.
But the most ingenious aspect of this set of Orbits was that it suppressed the dangers of the [Forbidden Knowledge], retaining only its allure. This ensured it wouldn’t cause overly severe psychological trauma to the audience, allowing him to drain them dry sustainably.
Such a sophisticated set of Orbits was clearly beyond the farm owner’s own abilities. He hadn’t even participated in its specific setup; his Mentor had simply shoved the ancient map at him and told him to absorb the frenzy of others to make himself stronger.
So now that the Orbits were gone, he definitely couldn’t set them up again himself. His only option was to take them back by force.
The person who took the Orbits had to be a terrifyingly powerful individual. Otherwise, given the intricacy and complexity of the Orbits, the slightest misstep would have unleashed the [Forbidden Knowledge] within, causing unpredictable and dire consequences.
But the farm owner had no choice but to bite the bullet. For someone like him, exploring the path of an Extraordinary Being in the dark corners of the world, unaccepted and misunderstood, there was no turning back.
Before taking action, however, he first summoned his four remaining subordinates. Then, the five of them performed a Divination together.
For Extraordinary Beings like them who lived in the shadows, Divination was an essential and master-level skill. Those who failed to grasp it either ended up dead or arrested by the Saint’s Grace Court.
With the five of them cooperating, they quickly reached a few conclusions:
"Our man disappeared on the Free Style Association’s territory, just as we suspected. He must have gone to confront them and got himself killed."
"Hah, I knew it was them. Those gutter-dwelling maggots! The only way they could have survived in Radiant City this long is by throwing in their lot with some mysterious powerhouse."
"That’s not surprising, nor is it important. No matter how powerful someone is, they wouldn’t dare carry [Forbidden Knowledge] on their person. We just need to find where it’s stored and find a chance to get it back."
"Exactly. Now... let’s continue!"
The five outlaws each took a deep breath, thick with tension, and took out their Divination Tools—coins, dice, daggers, and the like. They began to divine the location of the Forbidden Knowledge.
This was undoubtedly a very dangerous act. Divining something so perilous could often inadvertently create an improper ’contact,’ leading to unpredictable consequences.
But they were all skilled and audacious, and more than that, they were desperadoes with no way out. They had no choice but to press on.
A few seconds later, a BUZZING noise simultaneously filled their ears. Their vision began to Twist slightly, and a faint, sharp pain started in their minds.
Fortunately, nothing worse happened. The strange sensations quickly dissipated, and the results of the Divination appeared.
"The conclusion is... optimistic. We won’t encounter any major difficulties or dangers on this trip."
"My conclusion is the same as yours. My dagger shows an Omen favoring luck. It seems the powerful individual who took the Orbits won’t even notice us."
"The location is here, in the area covered by my Lucky Coin. A middle-class neighborhood. The result is crystal clear."
"Excellent! Change your clothes. We leave immediately!"
At the farm owner’s command, the group changed into the standard outlaw attire of black robes and put on identical circus clown masks. Then they jumped into a steam-powered car and sped toward the South City District.
The night was exceptionally dark, without a single point of light to be seen. The road was clear, with no obstacles whatsoever. The steam-powered car quickly arrived at its destination—a luxurious apartment building, standard for the middle class.
The surroundings were just as dark, with not a soul in sight. Even the streetlights were out, as if malfunctioning. It was as if Destiny itself was aiding their mission.
But before actually entering the apartment building, the five of them performed one more Divination, just to be safe.
The result was still optimistic and lucky.
’Then there’s nothing to be afraid of!’
The farm owner took the lead, pushing open the main door of the apartment building and stepping into the ground-floor garden.
Then, he saw a figure moving in the shadows not far away.
The farm owner hastily pulled out the flintlock pistol from his coat, ready to strike first.
But then, he realized it wasn’t just one person in the darkness.
More and more figures stirred in the darkness, closing in from all directions. They gradually emerged from the shadows, revealing their signature tricorn hats, uniforms, vests, and the gaudy masks on their faces.
"The hounds of the Saint’s Grace Court? Crap! We’ve walked into an ambush!"
"How can this be? Wasn’t the Divination result optimistic?"
"These damned hounds must have used some method to interfere with our Divination! They’ve been onto us for a while!"
The subordinates cried out in panic, wanting to flee.
But a series of soft clicks, the sound of firearms being cocked, echoed from the darkness, halting their attempt.
Among the Hunters across from them, one wearing a black-and-white clown mask was particularly conspicuous.
The farm owner recognized the notorious mask instantly and growled through clenched teeth:
"Heh... As expected of the ’Hound of Veto.’ To think you’d set such a treacherous trap to ambush us."
Hearing this, the man paused, exchanged glances with those beside him, and then asked in return:
"You’re not actually here to turn yourselves in? Or rather... do you even know where you are?"
The moment his voice fell, a sudden realization dawned on the farm owner and his men, as if waking from a dream.
The light before their eyes grew bright again, and the sounds around them became a clamor.
The building in their vision also Twisted and changed, transforming from the high-end apartment building into a solemn, majestic cathedral, where countless people could be seen coming and going.
This was the landmark building of the Saint’s Grace Judgment Court—the ’Final Decision’—a place where countless Cult Heretics had been judged and executed. It was also the main stronghold and headquarters of the Saint’s Grace Court.
"Uh..."
The farm owner stood frozen, completely dumbstruck.
