Chapter 317 Chaos

A nobleman who remained seated throughout the examination had silvery-white shoulders, clearly clean, and then leaned back in his chair, much more relaxed than those around him.

But at this moment, his hands were gripping the handrails tightly, his face was pale, as if he was under some kind of pressure, and something was moving under the skin of his neck.

A dark green branch slowly emerged from his left collarbone.

He looked down and saw it, opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out.

Hilde saw it.

Her expression suddenly changed, because the silver needle had not been detected.

"Jie" tilted his head as he looked at Hilde's expression.

"Hmm... I forgot one." The tone was light and casual.

Then she looked around the main hall again, watching the rampaging and struggling nobles, a sickly yet alluring smile appearing on her face.

"Look... my sister didn't do anything. They're the ones doing this."

The Iron Guard Battalion has been fully deployed.

The commander, accompanied by two deputies, charged into the chaos. The dark red markings on all three of them shone brightest, and the furnace fire radiated outwards from their bodies. The two deputies together pinned a mutated nobleman to the ground. A branch that sprouted from the man's back touched the Iron Guard's palm and instantly carbonized and crumbled, charred and falling off from the tip to the root.

The fire in the furnace has a very strong effect on suppressing the alienation of plants.

The commander pressed down on a viscount's shoulder with one hand, and dark red heat poured into his palm. Within two seconds, the branches turned from dark green to charred black and broke off at the root. The branches on the bodies of every mutant controlled by the Iron Guard could not withstand the furnace fire for more than a few seconds.

But too many people have become alienated.

Heinrich made his judgment the moment the "Ring" appeared.

Instead of rushing in to participate in the suppression, he led a small squad of Holy Armor soldiers to block all the exits of the main hall.

The holy light runes were turned up to their maximum brightness, and a golden-white light curtain extended outward from the surface of the armor, forming a semi-transparent barrier at the door frame.

Several thick branches shot towards the doorway, crashing into the light barrier and being scorched and curled up. Heinrich's bronze sword swept across, splitting the thickest branch in two.

"Seal off the exits! Don't let a single person leave!"

His mission was to contain it; once the mutation spread beyond the main hall, the entire Earl's mansion would be doomed.

Agnes stood up.

The two monks had already moved, chanting softly, and pale golden holy light shone from their palms, spreading along the ground towards the few mutated nobles closest to them.

The branches that surged forth from the nobles slowed their growth drastically when they touched the holy light, and their tips began to wither and curl.

The two cultivators' purification range was not large, only covering an area of ​​three or four steps around them, just enough to protect a few people around them.

Agnes herself did not make a move; she stood between the two monks, her gaze fixed on the "ring".

Lu Yuan noticed the direction of her gaze. The church helped suppress the alienation, but didn't touch the Gray Pact members. She kept looking at the "ring," very carefully, as if she had discovered something.

The church may know more about the Grey Covenant than the Night Watchmen do.

The male representative of the Ascension Society stood up and stood in front of the young woman. A branch darted toward them, but he dodged it with a swift and decisive movement, protecting only himself and the person behind him.

The young woman leaned against the wall, her gaze fixed on the surging branches, her eyes filled with a sense of recognition.

Calvin stood up from his chair, took two steps back, and dodged a branch that had sprung out of a crack in the ground.

The only one who actually fought back was the count's attendant, whose pale purple light formed a semi-transparent shield that enveloped him and the count.

At the same time, his expression was extremely serious. The figure of "Jie" kept flashing, and his gaze followed the flashing movement, always blocking between the Earl and "Jie". Originally, he planned to let the Earl leave first, but now "Jie" seemed not to be prepared to let the Earl leave.

The count stood inside the shield, his face ashen; clearly, everything had exceeded his expectations.

"Jie" stood in the center of the main hall the whole time, never touching anyone or making a move.

Branches swept past her, and she dodged them with a swift movement, effortlessly. All around her was chaos, roars, spreading branches, and the light of burning inscriptions, but she seemed to be standing in another world.

His gaze fell on everyone present, as if he were confirming something.

Right now, 'Jie' is just provoking us. She didn't need to come at all. After the Gray Pact's nest was destroyed, they could have continued to hide because there was nothing to drag them out. But she still came.

He bypassed all defenses, stuffed something into the mouth of the most respectable person in the entire Bronze City, and then walked into the most heavily guarded main hall of the Earl's mansion, standing in front of all the forces.

The Iron Guard camp's furnaces blazed in the main hall, making it scorching hot. Most of the mutated nobles were pinned to the ground, their charred branches falling off and emitting smoke. The church's monks purified the surrounding area, causing the branches to dry up and fall off.

The Holy Armor Army's light barrier sealed off all exits, but no one dared to attack "Ring." Only two or three were still struggling, and the Iron Guard Battalion was finishing up.

"Jie's" figure flickered again. This time the flicker was larger than before. She tilted her head and glanced at the mutated individuals who were being suppressed.

"Okay, that's about it."

She raised her left hand, her fingers curving in the air, as if she were greeting someone upon arrival.

"You guys take your time. I'm leaving now."

The attendant suddenly stepped forward, and a pale purple light burst forth from his palm.

But leave it empty.

Clearly, the servants had no intention of fighting to the death.

And so, the "abstinence" slipped away right under everyone's noses.

After all, if a real fight broke out, everyone present would have to die for Jie, and Jie had obviously calculated that.

"Jie" flashed three times, each time in a different location, disappearing before the attendants could make a move. After the last flash, her presence could no longer be felt in the main hall.

The aftermath of the melee continues, but the core conflict has ended.

Klaus stood up two seconds after the "ring" disappeared, his expression grim, clearly having discovered something.

His communication crystal vibrated in the chaos. Klaus glanced down at it, then his expression turned serious. Lu Yuan, who was nearby, saw the change in his eyes as he quickly weighed his options before making a decision.

He grabbed Lu Yuan's arm and quickly walked towards the side door.

The two bypassed the mutated nobles who were being suppressed on the ground and the broken branches and debris scattered all over the ground. Heinrich saw them and stepped aside to make way for the side door.

Stepping out of the main hall, the sounds of the chaotic battle behind me were half-diminished by the stone walls. The corridor was empty, with the eerie blue inscriptions on the walls flashing intermittently.

Klaus lowered his voice. Two sentences.

"In the pipeline layer, Rex discovered members of the Grey Pact, carrying items they had retrieved from the Sea of ​​Knowledge."

"Let's hurry up."

Lu Yuan subconsciously thought that "Jie" coming to the Earl's mansion was an open provocation, keeping all the high-combatants locked in the main hall. Was the real purpose of the Gray Contract Society to shut down the network layer? But this was hard to explain.

After quickly getting into the carriage, Klaus lowered his voice and said only one sentence:

"quick."

The carriage sped towards the entrance of the pipeline layer.

The carriage sped along the cobblestone streets of the inner city, the sound of iron wheels grinding against the seams dense and muffled.

Just then, Klaus spoke up from the other side.

"Rake, hiding in the pipeline layer, might not be a match, because there might be more than one Gray Pact member going there."

Lu Yuan looked at him.

Klaus leaned against the carriage wall, the cuffs of his dark shirt rolled up to his elbows, the gauze on his wrist gleaming gray in the dim light of the marching lamp. His fingers slowly caressed the bone ring on his left ring finger.

"I knew they were up to something when 'Ring' appeared in the main hall," Klaus said gravely. "And I suspect their target isn't just the pipeline layer."

"What could that be?"

Lu Yuan frowned.

Because Klaus's patrol methods, Bronze City, or other methods, are completely ineffective against the Grey Pact members who are extremely adept at concealment.

If they wanted to kill someone, or had any other plans, they could have done so without being seen by most people.

At least until it's finished, it won't be discovered.

So it doesn't make sense at all right now.

As for Rex, if '9', 'Ring', and 'Q' all went to the pipeline layer together, Rex alone wouldn't be able to stop them at all.

Even though Klaus had made this arrangement before coming to the Earl's mansion, it still couldn't stop it.

"I suspect their target might be me..."

After saying this, Klaus glanced out the window.

The carriage was passing through a narrow street on the edge of the inner city, where high stone walls on both sides blocked the light from the streetlights, leaving only a narrow strip of light.

Lu Yuan was startled.

He immediately realized Klaus's plan: was he going to use him as bait?

Klaus didn't say anything more.

But Lu Yuan noticed that he didn't stop rubbing the bone ring.

Klaus's expression hadn't changed since he left the Earl's mansion, but his hand betrayed him.

Everything that happened tonight was more serious than expected.

The carriage suddenly shook.

The gray and white text suddenly jumped at the edge of my vision.

[Environmental Sensing: High-risk pollution source detected... Extremely dangerous... Please move away immediately!]

Lu Yuan sat up abruptly.

He had seen this kind of clue before; the last time it appeared was underground, when he was facing the berserk "9".

Almost at the same instant, Klaus moved.

The bone ring flashed a dark green light on his ring finger. Klaus sprang up from his position leaning against the carriage wall, grabbed Lu Yuan's collar with his left hand, and reached out from the front window of the carriage with his right hand to grab the back of the driver's collar in the passenger seat.

He dragged all three people away from the carriage at the same time.

Lu Yuan's back slammed against the stone pavement, and pain shot from his spine to his limbs. The residual momentum from the acceleration caused him to slide a short distance on the ground.

The next moment...

Black liquid gushed out from the cracks in the stone slabs.

The liquid gushed out from every crevice at the bottom of the carriage at an extremely high speed, instantly engulfing the entire carriage.

Before the horses could even neigh, the horseshoes crumbled in the liquid, the wooden spokes of the wheels shattered, and the wooden planks of the carriage corroded, emitting large amounts of white smoke.

In just a few seconds.