Chapter 182: Northlands Fallen?!?! (Patreon)

A week had passed since arriving at Babel's encampment. Ever since Theresa announced the partnership with Endfield, Babel's Operators had been endlessly curious about the two outsiders who'd suddenly appeared in their camp.

Of course, what intrigued them even more was the Integrated Industries Zone that had suddenly sprung up near the camp.

The sun was shining brightly today. Because of Originium, Kazdel was frequently hit by Catastrophes, so clear weather like this was rare.

At the moment, W was following close behind Saito, cradling her notebook, its pages filled with new vocabulary she'd picked up over the past two days.

Studying gave her a proper headache, but so she could become a real help to the Administrator and her teacher sooner, she forced herself to carve those baffling characters into her memory.

"Teacher, what are we doing today?"

"Have you finished your homework?"

"Almost done! Not that it's because I saw how hard you've had it lately — I just came over specially to help, that's all."

Saito glanced down at the fishing rod in his hands, then looked up at W with an expression that said it all in three words.

You sure about that?

By now the industrial zone here had been fully built, and the partnership's details had all been worked out. What remained was just the Administrator and Endfield's Operators handling the handover with Babel.

At this point, he was probably the most idle person in the whole camp.

"If you want to rest, just rest — no need to feel guilty about it. The Administrator and I have both seen how hard you've been working lately."

"But..."

W pouted, but in the end she didn't set her workbook down. Truth was, she simply didn't want to rest — her study progress had already surpassed the standard the Administrator had set.

Saito looked at those eyes not yet "tainted" by knowledge, and reached out to ruffle W's hair.

"Studying needs a balance of work and rest too. Once things here in Kazdel settle down and Yelena and the others get back, I'll take you to see the Frozen Plains base."

"Okay."

W nodded and jotted that down in her notebook too.

"So, do you want to come fishing with me?"

"Nah, I think I'll go help Hoederer and the others run some wiring."

W shook her head — she clearly wasn't cut out for something that required so much patience. After venting a little to Saito, she perked right back up.

Watching W's retreating figure, Saito chuckled softly and went back to enjoying his rare bit of leisure.

That is, until an urgent message came through on one of the terminals.

The sender was Talulah. The moment Saito read the contents, his expression turned serious.

...

...

"Wait, are you telling me Koschei brought us back a whole squad of Emperor's Blade???"

"That's right."

Watching Talulah's grave expression on the other side of the screen, Saito and the Administrator exchanged glances, neither sure how to react for a moment.

"Don't rush — we need to think this through."

The Emperor's Blade — the Emperor's Blade.

The most terrifying military force on Ursus soil. Horror stories about them circulated everywhere, and rumor among the people even held that the late Emperor Vladimir had died at their hands.

Its members were elite warriors remade through Collapsal fragments, wielding a fearsome power known as the "Dominion" — one so potent that even their deaths could devastate everything around them.

These were exactly the kind of people Saito and the others had always kept a wary eye on. What they hadn't expected was that Koschei actually had the means to pull something like this off?!

After all, the Emperor's Blade was in theory supposed to answer only to the Emperor. But it seemed now that even the Emperor might not be able to command them anymore.

"What is Koschei playing at?"

Saito frowned. Koschei — or rather, Kashena — had earned a measure of their trust through everything she'd done lately, but this move of hers was on a whole different scale.

She'd gone and brought back the Emperor's Blade, of all things. Saito almost didn't want to imagine what she'd do next — show up with a pair of Collapsals in tow?

"I'm not sure. That Emperor's Blade leader seems to want to speak with you directly — that's why I'm reaching out to you now."

"Understood," Saito said with a nod. "Have them wait a bit. The Administrator and I need to discuss this first."

"Got it."

Saito ended the call and turned to the Administrator beside him, who happened to be looking at him at the same moment.

"Administrator, what do you think?"

"I don't think these Emperor's Blade necessarily came here under Koschei's orders."

The Administrator didn't know much about the Emperor's Blade, but her memory held plenty of information about the far north and the Collapsals.

The Emperor's Blade's most important duty wasn't serving as the Emperor's executioners — it was holding Ursus's northern border, keeping Collapsals from ever setting foot on Ursus soil.

Which meant that these warriors, willing to have Collapsal fragments implanted in their own bodies, were without a doubt among the most loyal people this nation had.

Their will could withstand even Collapsal Erosion, so naturally the Black Serpent wouldn't be able to sway them either.

"We're bound to run into Collapsals again before this is over."

Reaching the Stargate Megastructure out in the Infy Icefield meant a Collapsal attack was all but guaranteed, so they needed to prepare for it.

"Besides, I keep getting a bad feeling about this."

Saito rubbed his arm. The matter of them being swallowed by the rift still hadn't been resolved, even now. According to what the Administrator had said before, Terra's subspace barrier was far more stable than Talos II's — in theory, the Hyperdomain shouldn't have been able to breach Terra's real universe at all.

And in all the recorded history of Terra aboard the Dijiang, no Hyperdomain phenomenon had ever been observed.

The Administrator and Saito could only chalk it up to their own arrival.

After all, to this bygone era, they themselves were the unforeseen visitors.

"Looks like we need to go talk to that Emperor's Blade."

"Yeah."

The Administrator nodded, her face heavy with gravity.

Saito opened the terminal and quickly sent his reply to Talulah, setting a time.

...

...

A day later, Saito and the Administrator watched the pitch-black figure appear on screen, their expressions turning serious.

A custom-made black skintight uniform, a respirator hooked up to a tangle of complex tubing, and a faint black mist wreathing the figure's body.

So it really was the Emperor's Blade.

"Emperor's Blade, how should I address you?"

"You can call me Pursuer."

The Emperor's Blade's real names had long since stopped mattering; they addressed one another by codename instead.

"Then, Pursuer, tell me why you've come."

There was no need for beating around the bush with the Emperor's Blade, so Saito got straight to the point. Little did he know that this simple question would blow the lid off something enormous.

"We've come seeking help."

Seeking help? The Emperor's Blade? "We"?

Both Saito and the Administrator were baffled. They weren't even Ursan — what could possibly require coming to them for help?

But the Pursuer simply said one thing, flatly.

"The Northlands are about to fall."