Ark Chess Player

"Would you let us go?!"

Some people were overjoyed, and tears welled up in their eyes.

The soldier guarding the exit, who had raised his arms, slowly stretched his lower back, raised his hands high, and pointed his middle finger.

"Go to hell."

"Ah, ahhh... ahhhhh!!!"

The desperate crowd physically assaulted the Reunion soldiers at the exit, while some gave up the struggle, staring blankly at the sky, recounting their lives.

They all knew in their hearts that Chernobog was finished.

Natural disasters will erase their existence, and the end for this once great city is more ridiculous than imagined. Who could have imagined that Chernobog would not be destroyed in battles against Yan Kingdom, the Colombian Federation, and the Victoria Kingdom, but would be overthrown by tiny infected people?

Meteorites rained down from the sky, not just ravaging the desolate square, but also collapsing buildings along the street and causing secondary damage. Countless fragments of rock poured down like a landslide and tsunami, threatening to engulf everyone. Scorching flames, fueled by the wind, quickly climbed onto people's clothes, eroding everything in their path and burning everything to ashes.

Whether they were Chernobog residents or soldiers of the Reunion Movement, all beings were equal in the face of natural disasters and faced death.

The difference is that one side is crying and wailing, while the other side is laughing wildly and making a ruckus.

Amid the frenzied crowd, a former high-ranking Ursus official stared blankly at everything unfolding before him.

Hours earlier, his arrogant words had angered the Reunion Movement, and he was forced by their soldiers to swallow a piece of Originium, becoming one of them. In his despair, not a single one of his fellow countrymen was willing to lend him a hand; they even despised, scorned, and ostracized him, no longer accepting him. He was excluded from the group, yet unexpectedly, he survived because of it, and the meteorite did not fall on his side.

From perpetrator to victim, no one could have imagined that in just three hours, their lives would go off track.

"Heh, hehe, hehaha, hahahaha—"

Three hours is enough time for a person to think about many, many things.

Based on his past position, his past role in politics, and his past perspective on people and things.

He thought about many things. At first, he couldn't understand why the Ursus military and police couldn't defeat the mere infected. Later, he changed his perspective from the infected's point of view, and many of his questions were answered. The more he thought about it, the more excited he became, and the more his body trembled uncontrollably. Eventually, everything calmed down.

"It's time."

He dragged himself along like a walking corpse, stumbling and falling with the fleeing crowd, toward the still-burning cluster of Originium.

He smiled, chuckled, laughed loudly, laughed maniacally, blood seeping again from his festering tongue and broken teeth, like a madman.

He stopped in front of the Originium Cluster, turned to look at the crowd that was running around despite knowing there was nowhere to go, and grinned widely.

"Am I the only one like this, or has the world gone mad?"

He muttered to himself, slowly opening his arms and throwing himself at the cluster of Originium stones covered with jagged, sharp points.

……

"—The earth fell silent; fear took away their voices."

"The enormous Originium lowered its head—"

"—It fell, it fell into the scorching shadow of death."

A clear, cool voice drifted across the rooftop of a high-rise building. A woman with silver hair and black eyes softly chanted verses of unintelligible meaning as she gracefully approached, her steps elegant and graceful. She was tall and slender, exuding captivating charm with every movement. She wore a black dress, as if attending a banquet, or perhaps… a funeral.

"Talulah".

The king killer hesitated for a moment, then stood up from the edge of the fence and gave the newcomer the respect due.

Talulah smiled slightly, standing beside the Kingslayer, looking down at the tragedy unfolding in the desolate square.

"A-Shi, you look very listless, what's wrong?"

"nothing."

“Nothing…?” Talulah’s smile faded, and she said calmly, “Mephisto reported to me that a team of more than thirty people traveled from the energy core area under your jurisdiction all the way to the outer area of ​​the central city. I need an explanation.”

The Kingslayer frowned slightly, the image of Mephistopheles's sullen face flashing through his mind, instantly worsening his mood.

"It was just an infected organization that had nothing to do with Ursus. I didn't think it would pose a threat to our operations, so I let it go."

“Is that so?” Talulah placed her hand on the hilt of her sword. “Then why did Mephisto tell me that this organization rejected his offer to stay and even went so far as to kill our fellow countrymen? If this is the result of your momentary impulse, I hope you can provide an explanation for our people and prove it with your actions.”

"I will not plead guilty for Mephisto's twisted sense of humor," the Kingslayer said calmly.

Is this your answer?

Talulah gripped the sword hilt, black crystals slowly seeping from the back of her hand.

"...Perhaps they can survive the natural disaster." The Kingslayer frowned, his tone somewhat helpless. "I will deal with the ones who slipped through the net."

"Go."

"Yes."

The Kingslayer raised his short blade and activated Originium Arts.

She raised her arms, stood on tiptoe, and leaped into the air from the forty-meter-high rooftop.

Talulah watched indifferently as the Kingslayer landed safely, vanished like smoke, and disappeared without a trace.

"Don't disappoint me... Kingslayer," she whispered, turning and disappearing into the flames that swirled around the entire skyscraper.

Chapter Twenty-Four: Reunions Always Come So Suddenly

"Nearlight, answer me, Nearlight!"

Lin Lu lay on the ground as a meteorite streaked across the sky above him, crashing into the buildings on either side. It appeared to be a restaurant; as the meteorite struck the building, scattering countless fragments, it also ignited the restaurant's gas, creating a dazzling burst of flames.

The surging air blast shattered the windows, and shards of glass embedded themselves in the soldiers of the Reunion Movement, felling a group of people like wheat being harvested.

The E4 squad, which initiated the charge, did not venture deeper into the area under Lin Lu's urgent order to retreat; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Lin Lu was extremely anxious. His spiritual domain, severely damaged by the unknown Originium technique, was gradually restarting, at least slowly regaining its ability to think. With unwavering willpower, Lin Lu propelled his battered body, slowly propping himself up and maintaining steady breathing to ensure his brain received sufficient oxygen.

"Lin Guang received the message and is retreating."

Lin Guang's voice came through the communication headset, which made Lin Lu feel a little more at ease.

"Mmm—"

A familiar sound came from nearby. The girl from Felin, who had been thrown over by the impact, lay curled up at the foot of the dilapidated building. Her small body was caught in Originium fragments, and blood gushed from her wounds like small snakes. Powder and gravel continued to fall from the eaves above her head, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the rock walls.

Even though Lin Lu's spiritual domain had not been fully restarted, he knew how dangerous the girl's situation was.

What to do, what to do—

No, his body had already started moving before he even thought about it.

Forgetting the pain in his limbs, Lin Lu staggered to his feet and started running, one step, two steps, to catch up!

—Get there before the whole roof collapses!

This is the edge of the city, and also the poorest part of Chernobog.

For every gain someone makes, there is a loss someone else makes.

This is Ursus's principle, and also the rule of the world.

This dilapidated building, already a shoddy construction, was on the verge of collapse after being sabotaged by the Reunion Movement. The natural disaster was the final straw. It was more serious than Lin Lu had imagined; it wasn't just the roof that collapsed, but half a floor also slid down. If it had continued, the Felin medical operators would have turned into Felin-chan.

With a piercing, noisy sound, the house reached its limit; the pillars cracked, and it collapsed completely.

In the nick of time, Lin Lu lunged at the medical officer who was trying to get up, and rolled over with her, narrowly avoiding the center of the collapsing building.

It was only at the center of the collapse.

The two rolled into the building, but the situation remained urgent.

Lin Lu remained in a push-up position, concealing the small girl beneath him. Heavy boulders pounded on his back, nearly obliterating his hard-won reactivated spiritual domain, turning his dark blue coat gray with dust. Another large boulder struck his shoulder, causing Lin Lu's left hand to slip and nearly lose his balance, but he held on; he had to hold on.

"Ah... Doctor?"

"It's okay, it's okay."

Lin Lu comforted her, while also letting out a sigh of relief.

"They've finally arrived."

Golden light illuminated the dark corners, and Nearl, holding her black shield high, smashed the collapsed stone slabs with her shield bash, galloping to Lin Lu's side like a pegasus.

"Cough cough, ha... Doctor, are you alright!?"

I don't want to do planks again for the next two weeks.

"To be able to say something like that at a time like this, it seems she's really alright. Doctor, my shield can still hold, quickly get her away, quick—"

Nearl slowly raised her shield, sheltering the Doctor and the Medic under it. The three of them left the collapsed ruins together, finally escaping danger.

"Doctor, Doctor... are you alright?"

Amiya, who was forced to separate due to a natural disaster, hurriedly came to Lin Lu and worriedly touched him from left to right.

"I'm fine, thanks to Nearl for saving us."

"Was this all expected, Doctor?" Amiya asked.

"...Yes, it's all part of my plan."

“You’re lying,” Amiya whispered.

Lin Lu silently turned his head, pretending not to hear.

"Doctor, I'm sorry."

Nearl lowered his shield, his furry ears drooping.

"It's my responsibility to put you in such a dangerous situation. Doctor, no matter what happens next, I will not let anyone hurt you before I fall!"

"Don't just throw up flags like that, Nearl. Saying something like that will backfire. It's like saying I'm going to confess to so-and-so after we get back to Rhodes Island—that's a no-go line, Nearl!" Lin Lu thought to himself, but he couldn't say it out loud. Instead, he reached out and patted the girl's head, gently humming in agreement.

Ah... those furry ears feel so good.

Lin Lu savored the sensation of his fingers sliding down to Lin Guang's ear, while mentally encouraging himself.

"Nearlight, take her for emergency treatment. Amiya, contact the team members and quickly regroup. We're lucky this isn't the exact epicenter of the disaster. Someone used Originium Arts to force the Originium to fall earlier, which in a sense mitigated the damage, but it's not a good thing. Excessive interference with nature will only provoke a stronger backlash. This is only the first wave of the main disaster; if we delay any longer, it will be too late. I can't know for sure how long this disaster will last, so leaving as soon as possible increases our safety."

Lin Lu quickly issued the order, but he was unable to stand up for a while due to the impact on his back.

"A member of Team E4 is seriously injured and requests medical treatment!"

"E1 team received, en route to the rendezvous point to await orders."

"E2 and E3 teams are basically fine. One sniper operator was slightly injured, but their condition is not bad. At least we... survived."