Endless Debt

The welcoming banquet of the All Secrets Order proceeded as planned, the entire process was calm and uneventful, but besides Fabien and Ossana, no other high-ranking members of the All Secrets Order appeared, and as for the Ancestral Council, it merely existed in words.

Nesanel did not express any dissatisfaction with this. In his view, this negotiation would be a tough battle, and he had time to wear down the All Secrets Order. Furthermore, he also needed some time to let Bologue and Palmer, those two keen-sensed hounds, search for the conspiracy hidden beneath the Land of Secrets.

As for the fourth group led by Holt, they were more like bait, attracting the attention of Fabien and others.

"Holt, I remember you."

At the banquet, Fabien raised his glass to Holt. "The youngest Defender, under the high expectations of the Order Bureau."

Holt maintained a smile, "It’s nothing compared to the Supreme Trial of the All Secrets Order."

Mentioning the Supreme Trial, Holt glanced at Ossana. She was slightly younger than Holt, also a Defender, and had inherited the title of the Mad Duke.

It was known that Ossana must have also undergone the Supreme Trial. Holt even suspected that the time Ossana took the Supreme Trial could be earlier than the six years old known by the Order Bureau.

Information is lagging; no one knows whether the All Secrets Order has taken even more extreme actions in later years for the supremacy of Condensers.

While the few were testing each other, Bologue and Palmer sat in the corner of the banquet hall. Both were not very good at socializing, so they focused on eating and drinking, trying to speak as little as possible.

"This place is just like an Earthly Celestial Kingdom."

While eating, Palmer raised his head to look around, the elegant curve held up the dome of the banquet hall, and the milky-white coating brought a sense of purity and gentleness.

"What do you think this building is made of?" Palmer asked.

"It looks like plastic."

As an expert in demolition, Bologue was also curious about this special building material, which felt soft yet filled with resilience.

"Are you sure?"

"How is that possible, I’m just making a comparison; plastic couldn’t support such a building," Bologue analyzed. "It should be some special alchemical material, you see that Aurora Path."

Following Bologue’s direction, Palmer put down his knife and fork and looked up at the dome above, where the ethereal light emerged directly from within the walls.

The Aurora Path not only floated above the Land of Secrets but also penetrated into the building, appearing to be omnipresent, providing energy to every piece of land it touched.

"These ethers can directly pass through the building, literally pass through. I guess this material has many tiny pores, like circuits hidden in the walls, allowing the ether to freely traverse, minimizing loss and enabling ether transport between buildings."

"How do you know?" Palmer asked, a look of shock appearing as he whispered, "Did you secretly dismantle a piece?"

Palmer understood Bologue’s Secret Energy all too well.

"Of course not, I’m not so reckless, it’s only through observation," Bologue shook his head. "Right now, my perceptions of ether are very keen."

This was not a joke from Bologue. After advancing as a Defender, Bologue successfully mastered the Power of the Extreme Realm, allowing him to enhance the Ethereal Skills to their limits.

After fully mastering the Extreme Realm·Ethereal Amplification, the next thing Bologue mastered was Ethereal Perception, elevating this extreme technique to the Extreme Realm was not difficult for him.

Bologue was naturally inclined towards Infinite Sharpness, very skilled at precise manipulation of ether. Training Ethereal Perception was like second nature to him.

"I also suspect that the so-called ether reactor within the Supreme Hub might be similar to the situation inside Raymond Gaudent."

"You mean an overlap point?" Palmer’s expression turned tense.

"No, I don’t think the All Secrets Order has the ability to create an overlap point," Bologue looked around. "Their ether technology is closer to basic science, transforming the world from basic infrastructure, rather than pursuing truth obsessively like King Solomon."

"So I speculate that the core of the ether reactor should be an Ether Vortex Point," Bologue continued, "While ether gathers to reinforce the ether vortex point, the All Secrets Order continuously extracts ether from it to power the whole city, achieving a subtle balance through give and take."

"Wow."

Palmer exclaimed softly, stuffing more meat into his mouth. What he ate in the morning was all thrown up at the Forty-Sixth Outpost, and he hadn’t eaten much all day—he was truly hungry.

Bologue drank the remaining water in his cup, moved his chair aside, and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"To take a stroll. No matter how much you look, it’s only what they want you to see," Bologue buttoned his collar, "I want to see the city with my own eyes."

Palmer glanced nervously around. The entrances and exits of the banquet hall were guarded. "Are you sure?"

"I’m sure, consider it a probe against the All Secrets Order."

Bologue suddenly asked again, "Do you smell the scent of blood?"

Palmer sniffed forcefully and shook his head in confusion.

Seeing this, Bologue headed outside, and with his unwavering demeanor, he had no intention of taking Palmer along.

Palmer sat in his seat, unsure if he should follow Bologue. Others also noticed Bologue’s movements. Fabien’s gaze was calm, his thoughts unknown, while Nesanel seemed to be watching Bologue but was actually observing Fabien out of the corner of his eye, looking for any reaction.

Amidst the banquet’s music and dance, an invisible game was quietly underway.

Bologue arrived at the exit; he deliberately paused. Two guards exchanged looks, hesitated for a moment, then chose to let him pass.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Bologue strode out openly.

"Looks like we have more to discuss between us?" Nesanel asked.

"This is a piece of the Earthly Celestial Kingdom; the Ancestral Council doesn’t want to join the flames of war or be engulfed by them," Fabien said.

"But this is a war that will decide the world’s fate; no one can stay uninvolved."

Fabien was silent for a while, his gaze unfocused, as if staring into the distance or daydreaming. After a long moment, he sighed.

"Don’t be like this, Nesanel. Not everyone holds the same noble ideals as yours. We just want to live peacefully."

"Live peacefully until the last member of the Order Bureau falls in battle, and then you emerge from the shadows, proclaiming your superior ideology of the Condensers to everyone?"

Nesanel speared a piece of beef and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing loudly and unabashedly.

"Stop pretending, Fabien; we’ve been old friends. I know exactly what you’re thinking. You speak of yearning for peace, but it’s simply because our fists are stronger than yours, and you can only gain peace."

Nesanel sneered, "If one day the Order Bureau disappears, you would definitely turn into even crazier warmongers than us. Let me guess what you would do? Enslave the Narrow Countries first? Then set up some treaty, distinguishing Condensers from ordinary people."

Fabien’s face turned ashen, speechless.

Nesanel wore a gentle smile, yet his tone was particularly forceful, "I understand your thoughts all too well; precisely because I understand them so well, you must give me a clear answer."

Fabien murmured, "A clear answer... We can only have one answer, right?"

"Of course."

Nesanel unabashedly displayed his dominance, "During the secret war, the Order Bureau didn’t care about your opinions because the situation wasn’t as severe then.

But now it’s drastically different. We are about to fight a war to decide the world’s fate; the Order Bureau cannot tolerate any deviation, not even a shred from you."

Fabien fell silent again; he had been silent too many times today. Suddenly, he began to laugh hoarsely.

"Nesanel... Nesanel..." He called out this awe-inspiring name, "I can’t understand; even if I become the Duke of Delusion, an exalted Order Officer, standing above others, yet in front of you, I still become so pathetic."

Fabien asked solemnly, "Is this war really so crucial?"

Though they were loyal to different factions, Fabien understood his old friend well enough to recognize the importance that made him so assertive and committed, leading Fabien to take this encroaching war seriously.

"What do you think?"

Nesanel put down the knife and fork, picking up a napkin to wipe the corner of his mouth.

"Old friend, I can be a negotiating envoy or a corps to destroy this place. You know what to do with the results."

"I need to discuss with the Ancestral Council again."

"Alright, but I won’t give you too much time," Nesanel said. "The flames of war within the Kagader Empire have been ignited; soon, they will spread to the Narrow Countries, then to the Rhine Alliance."

"Oh no, the flames within the Rhine Alliance have already ignited," Nesanel scrutinized Fabien’s gaze carefully. "Those detestable Night Race are everywhere."

The confrontation in the banquet hall continued, while Bologue detached himself from this disturbing whirlpool and ventured beyond the hall, arriving at the viewing platform, looking toward the Land of Secrets.

As night fell, the light atop the central High Tower faded, yet darkness did not envelop this city as the Aurora Path shimmered like a radiant serpent gliding between the towers.

Bologue looked down, seeing the crisscross of streets, cars and pedestrians hurriedly passing by. Seeing these, Bologue surprisingly felt a bit of ease; at least here, some common sense familiar to him persisted.

Then Bologue inhaled deeply, the familiar scent of blood resurfaced, seemingly detectable only by Bologue, as if it was a fishhook, ensnaring him.

Bologue followed the direction of the blood scent, looking deeper into the shadows.

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