Endless Debt-Chapter 872 - 22: Battering Ram

As the Silent Ones retreated into the sealed building, the battle reached a brief lull like halftime; rather than relax, everyone became more vigilant and efficient.

Some began examining the corpses, looking for survivors, and tried to interrogate them, but this move was quickly halted by Yas.

"Don’t bother, nothing will come out of their mouths."

Yas approached a dying Silent One nearby and mercilessly crushed his head underfoot.

During Yas’s long career, he had encountered the Silent Ones multiple times, and he was acutely aware of what a bizarre existence they represented.

The Silent Ones all shared the same face and shell, and in the Order Bureau’s research, there was speculation that all Silent Ones might have originated from a single person. Even more bizarre was that, according to records, the existence of the Silent Ones could be traced back to the Dawn War.

There are many unsolved mysteries in the world, and the Silent Ones are certainly one of them. Few know the full picture of this mysterious group of mercenaries, not even the Order Bureau.

What is known, however, is that the Silent Legion seems devoid of self-will; their actions are solely motivated by remuneration. Attacking the Order Bureau wasn’t their true intention; it was merely the result of someone paying a sufficient price.

A fair deal, nothing more.

Yas held a blazing white Ethereal Blade, its light-forged edge slightly distorted with energy fluctuations. Yas removed his mask, his gaze tired as he surveyed the battlefield.

"Who hired the Silent Legion?"

The question flickered through his mind, and almost as it arose, Yas thought of the identity of the hirer.

King’s Shield Guard.

Other than them, Yas couldn’t think of anyone else daring enough to do this. The current situation only suits their interests, and Yas was surprised that the King’s Shield Guard even had means to contact the Silent Legion.

Bear in mind, the Silent Legion lacks self-will, justice, or evil. They’re purely mercenaries, enemies can hire them just like the Order Bureau.

During the most challenging times of the secret war, the Order Bureau entertained thoughts of hiring the Silent Legion... at least to beat the King’s Secret Sword to it. But when put into action, the Order Bureau discovered they had no means to contact the Silent Legion.

No one knew how to hire the Silent Legion.

Geoffrey ordered, "Disengage the Void Realm."

After a brief lull, a somewhat panicked voice transmitted back.

"The Void Realm has anomalies, we can’t control it anymore!"

The voice continued to say, "We’ve lost control, and now it’s completely sealed!"

Even as the words fell, the surface of the sealed building appeared with myriad textures, constructing walls of glowing illusion, completely enveloping the building.

Someone tried attacking the ethereal screen; two forces of Ether collided fiercely, emitting intense fluctuations; afterward, the Ether scattered, but the screen remained tranquil.

Geoffrey’s gaze was grim—losing control of the Void Realm was unexpected to him. Only an exceptionally powerful Alchemist could achieve this, but considering the enemy’s mysterious Silent Ones, he felt it wasn’t unexpected.

"The wall we used to defend against the enemy has turned into the enemy’s fortress."

Geoffrey stepped over corpse after corpse, arriving beside Yas; he looked up at the towering gray-white building, the Void Realm’s seal reinforcing it, making the brick and stone as sturdy as steel.

"How long until the Void Realm is disengaged?"

"I’m unsure," Yas shook his head, "Everyone here is combat Field Staff. Such matters require the Sublimation Furnace Core personnel; they know how to disengage this."

Geoffrey asked, "When can they be in position?"

"Ten minutes," responded from within the Heart Core Net.

The competent Field Staff, after the Silent Ones retreated inside, quickly contacted the Sublimation Furnace Core, who are racing here full-speed.

No one expected such chaos to happen during just the first negotiation.

"What is Gold doing?"

Geoffrey asked quietly. Among the group leaders present, Gold was the strongest, yet he showed no intention of taking action thus far.

"I’m watching Red Dog," Gold’s voice echoed beside the two. "You all know what a cunning fellow he is; it’s possible this is all part of his act?"

"Luring us into war with the King’s Shield Guard? It’s not impossible."

Recalling matters related to Red Dog, Geoffrey felt an oppressive anger; Red Dog was a troublesome figure, bringing great troubles to the Order Bureau during the secret war.

After all these years, the grudges of the secret war still burn in these people’s hearts, and Red Dog is undoubtedly the one they most wish to obliterate.

"Prepare for a strong assault?"

Kemp came over, behind him assembled the Sixth Group.

"It’s futile."

Geoffrey shook his head, denying Kemp’s proposal; envisioning the Void Realm as a fortress during its coverage, even if they can overcome its defenses, it would still take a lot of time and resources unless they wait for the Sublimation Furnace Core’s arrival.

Most importantly, such actions hold no significant value.

The Silent Ones are terrifyingly indifferent to their own life and death—when they arrived here, they were already like the dead.

Whether they attack strongly was merely deciding when they’d die.

Geoffrey confirmed once more, "Are there any high-value targets inside the sealed building?"

"No, our negotiation team hasn’t entered yet, neither has the King’s Secret Sword. Inside is merely a prepared venue, there’s nothing."

A voice responded, he was a member of the Logistics Department.

The Logistics Department didn’t appear on the front-line battlefield, instead hidden in some underground bunker; such a large Heart Core Net is established by them.

"Hold on!"

His voice rang again, this time incredibly anxious.

Geoffrey’s heart sank, "What’s wrong?"

"I’m unsure, but according to the report, there seems to be a high-value target within the Void Realm."

"What thing?"

"I’m unsure; the report mentioned only its high value."

Looking at the report’s authority label, though it didn’t specify what the item was, one could tell its importance from the authority label.

"It’s... marked by the Deputy Director."

Holding the highest authority, second only to the Director; the person’s identity is obvious: Deputy Director Nesanel.

"Deputy Director? Is he involved in this matter!"

Geoffrey’s voice broke for the first time; the Deputy Director, elusive and rarely involved in Order Bureau’s decisions, even those under his direct charge in the Field Operations Department. Most times, the department ran autonomously, with many young Field Staff members never having laid eyes on Nesanel.

Yet now, Nesanel’s name suddenly appeared in this operation, making it difficult to imagine the kind of inside story beneath this negotiation.

Exchanging looks with Yas, Geoffrey shouted loudly, "Find a way to breach the Void Realm!"

No matter what’s inside, if it’s worth Nesanel marking it, it’s definitely no simple thing.

The others immediately sprang into action, bombarding the ethereal screen. Among them, the Sixth Group exerted themselves the most. Despite the varied Secret Energy of the other Field Staff, it couldn’t distort the screen; breaching the Void Realm required pure Ether.

This is the pure confrontation between Ether and Ether; as the Sixth Group are of the Origin School, they are the best battering ram.

But it’s still not enough; racing against time is necessary.

"Didn’t we have any prior arrangements within that sealed building?"

Geoffrey shouted, given the meticulousness of the Field Operations Department, such an incident shouldn’t have happened.

Others dared not meet Geoffrey’s eyes; at that moment, his gaze emitted a terrifying air. Within seconds, a familiar voice sounded.

"Leave it to me; I can resolve them."

The voice sounded within the Heart Core Net; Geoffrey recognized it, and his anxious feelings calmed considerably.

Blood reversed flow back into his body, rolled wounds healed, Bologue propped himself up with the pitch-black Grievance Bite, rising from the dwindling pool of blood.

"I’m inside the building."