Banquet Hall

The orchestra in the center of the banquet was playing a captivating piece. A man in a long tailcoat, with a upright posture and a dignified expression, was walking through the throng of mingling guests, smiling and keeping pace with the music.

He responded to the accolades from the crowd with a smile, occasionally exchanging a few words with some individuals, appearing calm and natural.

Crack—

At that moment, he heard a slight noise coming from above his head.

Instinctively, he looked up towards the sky overhead.

At this point, others in the banquet hall also seemed to have heard a similar sound. One or two people looked up towards the ceiling.

A huge crystal chandelier hung from the top of the entire banquet hall. At this moment, the intricate and massive chandelier was shaking slightly, as if signaling something.

Crack—

Then, in the next instant, a fine crack appeared at the suspension point of the chandelier, and soon, an interwoven pattern of lines spread outwards from that point, like a blooming flower, forming intricate blossoms.

The music from the center of the banquet hall reached its climax, and the sound of the music momentarily drowned out all other sounds and murmurs.

Amidst the stirring music, the man in the tailcoat turned his head to look at the walls around him. On those walls, fine cracks also crept upwards from the ground, climbing like vines up the walls, spreading upwards along them.

In almost no time, these fine cracks covered the entire wall.

"The building is going to collapse!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

Immediately, this exclamation acted like a fuse igniting a powder keg, instantly setting the entire venue ablaze.

The stirring music drowned out the sharp shouts, yet the panic spread like a tide, reaching every corner.

Soon, someone pushed open the banquet hall doors and rushed out towards the garden outside.

One after another, people fled from the banquet hall like frightened dogs.

The man in the tailcoat stood in the middle of the hall, looking around confusedly at everything around him, at the chaotic crowd.

The faces that had just been smiling in congratulations seemed to have turned into panic in an instant.

Joy turned to fear and then to escape within a moment.

Even his experienced eyes widened in surprise, somewhat bewildered by all that was happening, seemingly unable to adapt to this sudden change.

This was supposed to be his pinnacle moment, a moment when everyone was supposed to congratulate him.

The stirring music continued to resonate, climbing again to a greater climax.

The melody seemed to reach its most splendid moment, bringing a heart-stirring sound.

At the center of the banquet hall, all the orchestra members seemed immersed in the beautiful music, playing with even more excitement.

Boom boom boom—

Pieces of stone fell from the sky, crashing onto the banquet hall filled with fine wines and delicacies.

"Uncle Mete, run!" a rough voice rang in his ear, even reaching out to pull him along.

But his body remained unmoved, watching the stones falling from the sky.

This was the grand banquet hall of the Ellison family, the very core of the family, and just like that, silently, without any warning, it collapsed?

The trembling music continued to echo in the vacant space, and as the peak of excitement passed, the symphony coalesced and instantly fell away.

Some members of the orchestra on the edge finally regained their senses. They looked up, seeing the boulders falling around them, and instantly fell into panic.

Some left their instruments and ran, while others turned back, trying to drag their nearby companions away with them.

The orchestra scattered more and more, and the people originally in the banquet hall also fled in large numbers.

The several large doors of the entire banquet hall were fully opened. These doors were once only entirely opened to welcome very important guests, but now there was no hesitation.

The man in the tailcoat still stood there.

Boom—

A massive stone fell from the sky.

"Ah—" With a cry of alarm, a figure was struck down on the ground.

At this moment, the man in the tailcoat’s attention was slightly attracted. A part of the giant chandelier hanging from the dome had fallen, and a rugged figure was struck by one of its supporting arms, his foot trapped under it.

That rugged figure noticed the man in the tailcoat’s gaze. As he lifted the supporting arm, he opened his mouth and shouted loudly, "Uncle Mete, save me!"

This cry finally roused the man in the tailcoat from his daze. He refocused and quickly walked towards the main door.

Seeing this scene, the rugged man placed his hands on the supporting arm, letting out fierce roars, finally moving the arm off himself, revealing a bloodied leg.

——

Room 509

He Ao stood in front of the computer, connecting his wristband to it and glanced around the room’s decor.

A faint floral scent lingered in the small room.

The room’s decor was unusually simple—a 1.5-meter-wide small bed, a desk, what seemed like a small dining table, with a vase on the table and several bright red roses in it.

The roses were in full bloom, but lacked fragrance, as they were preserved, everlasting flowers made into specimens.

The faint fragrance in the room seemed to originate from something else.

He Ao’s gaze swept to the foot of the bed, where he saw a bottle of liquid incense.

The faint scent seemed to emanate from the incense, but not from inside it, rather from the edge of its cap.

At this moment, He Ao vaguely remembered the origin of this floral scent.

Winter jasmine.

A common little flower in the wild.

However, the floral scent in this room seemed enriched with some concentration, the scent remained unchanged over time, appearing to be some special fragrance production.

He Ao noted the floral scent, turning to look at the computer before him.

Eve had already cracked the computer’s password and accessed its contents.

Medala had indeed been in contact with a special informant before, who told Medala they had a lead on the big parade organizer, and it was an exclusive lead.

They arranged to meet Medala on South First Street in the Southeast District.

The Southeast District is the most chaotic place in Ains.

However, Medala wasn’t a newcomer fresh out of society, it was impossible for her to go unprepared.

Moreover, given that Medala hadn’t changed the address, it seemed she frequently ventured there to meet with informants.

But it was fine before. Why did the connection suddenly break this time?

He Ao raised an eyebrow and disconnected the bracelet from the computer.

He raised his hand again, glancing around.

The room wasn’t actually that large, not even comparable to some of Ains’ cheap apartments.

The walls were thin, seemingly constructed with steel plates, merely decorated with a layer of paint.

It couldn’t compare at all with the rooms on the first to fifth floors below.

When He Ao had flipped through the windows, he had seen some rooms below, the smallest of which were probably three times larger than this room.

Shaking his head, He Ao walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out.

He was greeted by the softly cloud-shrouded sunlight, swaying flowers, and a strong floral fragrance.

And amidst the fragrances were crowds screaming in panic, frantic servants, and a rapidly collapsing gigantic banquet hall.

The continuous music still echoed along with the violent collapse.

But the sound of the music was growing fainter, and the collapse was slowing down.

Finally, the collapse completely halted, and the music gradually faded away.

In the center of the ruins, where a stage once stood, five core performers remained.

A few broken pillars supported the central dome of the banquet hall; remarkably, the central stage of the hall hadn’t been hit by any falling debris.

At that moment, the five performers stood at the center of the stage, playing with abandon.

Yet, the beautiful melody indeed reached its end.

With the abrupt end of the last note, they lifted their heads, gazing blankly at the surrounding ruins.

And outside of the debris, the members of those ancient families who had narrowly escaped were also looking in panic at the towering ruins.

Among the crowd, a man in a tailcoat instinctively turned his head, looking toward a row of low buildings behind him.

His gaze landed on the door of a room in the center of that row, marked "509."

The door was tightly closed, and in the flower bed in front, the flowers and plants swayed gently in the breeze.

And in front of that door, it was empty.

——

Dawn City · Glorious Palace

Boom——

With a rumbling noise, the tightly closed office door was violently pushed open.

Seated deep in the office, Christos looked up from the materials he was reading, gazing toward the door.

"Whoosh——" The assistant, who charged into the room, took a deep breath and then raised his eyes to Christos, "Mr. Christos, the trade routes, the trade routes have been cut off."

"What?" Christos suddenly stood up, looking at the assistant.

"A few major consortiums’ mercenary corps suddenly attacked," the assistant said, panting and somewhat panicked, "cutting off the majority of the trade routes and blocking our caravans entering and exiting in the wild."

He looked at Christos, "General Vislo sent a message, asking what we should do, whether we should take action."

"Is there any reaction from the Central Army?" Christos looked at the assistant, quickly asking.

"There’s no reaction from the Central Army to the north," the assistant replied, "they seem to still be stationed in place."

"I understand," Christos nodded slightly, "issue a statement permitting the caravans that have left Dawn City but were intercepted halfway to return to the city, contact General Vislo, reduce the entry procedures, and try to bring all the caravans in the wilderness into the city."

"Understood!" The assistant quickly nodded, leaving the room.

Seeing the assistant leave, Christos directly picked up a nearby phone, swiftly dialing a number.

With a light click, the phone connected, "Hello, Cedar Villa here."

"This is Christos," Christos quickly stated, "Is the Legion Commander available?"

"The Legion Commander sensed exotic beast activity and just left," the voice on the phone calmly stated, "He’s not currently in Dawn City."

Upon hearing this, Christos paused briefly, "Alright, I understand, please inform him of my visit when he returns."

"Okay." The voice on the phone gently replied, then hung up.

With the busy signal beeping, Christos held the phone, raised his head, and gazed out at the sky, letting out a slight sigh.

——

Wilderness outside Dawn City

A magnificent palace stood in the midst of endless wilderness, where faint enchanting dance music could be heard.

Inside this palace, in a lavishly decorated hall, a man in a military uniform held a wine glass, glanced at the ’band’ on stage, then turned to the tall, thin figure beside him, "It seems this ’invitation’ intends no good."

Vaguely, other figures moved beneath the stage, but they seemed shrouded by an invisible force, their forms indiscernible.

"Let’s just enjoy the music," the tall, thin figure said, taking his gaze off the stage to look at the man in the military uniform with a smile, "The politics of the Federation has nothing to do with us; right and wrong, success and failure, kings and losers, let them contend. We should just focus on our performance."

Saying this, he raised his hand, pointing at the stage, "Look, this is the best band under my command, relax your mind, and don’t let the worldly impurities taint the beautiful music."

"Oh——" A clear sound rang out on the stage.

The man in military uniform looked up again toward the stage.

A blue bird descended from the sky, standing in the center of the stage, singing loudly.

Surrounding it were an otter with a cello, a gopher with a trombone, and a three-headed wolf with trumpets.

The entire band’s ensemble on the stage was made up of non-human animals and even exotic beasts, yet these animals were incredibly skilled, collaborating to produce enchanting and moving music.

Even the Federation’s top orchestra would struggle to match this ensemble.

The man in the military uniform quietly listened to the music from the stage, gently raising his hand to finish the wine in his glass.

Then he placed the empty glass on the bar and looked at the tall, thin man beside him, smiling, "Turning a blind eye when the strong bully the weak is, in essence, helping the strong."

"These political parties in the Federation have changed numerous times over hundreds of years, countless times, and it has nothing to do with us," the tall, thin man continued with a smile, "No matter how the world changes, Dawn City remains, unconnected to your interests."

"So why did you ’invite’ me here today?" the man in the military uniform asked with a smile.

"For the fine scenery," the tall, thin man smiled, "we’re naturally here to persuade you to stay and drink fine wine with us."

"And if I want to leave?" The man in the military uniform lightly placed his hand on the bar.

The indistinct figures all turned their heads simultaneously, looking toward this place.