N-M Chapter 430: "Chips and Betrayal"
Chapter 430: "Chips and Betrayal"
After the silver-haired old man left, the Sin Street agency was once again left with only Loren alone.
He stared at the agency's door, recalling what that greedy old man had just said, and gently shook his head.
*Now I understand why the Federation has ended up like this...*
"People like you are too numerous, my dear Chief."
After his routine muttered remark about the Federation's decay, Loren once again lay down on the sofa and sighed softly:
"Finally, some peace and quiet."
He stared at the agency's ceiling again, spacing out, lost in thought...
Judging by the two recent events—"the Divine Oracle from the Moonlight Goddess passed through Pepeian" and "the Interstellar Hunter Association's deliberate stance clarification"—Loren seemed to understand something.
As time passed, the truly massive supernatural forces were starting to place their bets...
Whether to stand against the Federation, stand with the Federation, or throw chips on both sides.The reason the Federation was still cowering near the Central Star Domain was that they were waiting for these colossal supernatural forces to make their final wagers.
In this process of waiting for bets to be placed, every supernatural force was extremely cautious.
They feared this might be another conspiracy by the Federation Council, yet they also dreaded missing the train to carve up the Federation.
Hesitation, probing, waiting...
Such vague and cautious attitudes had been the outward stance of nearly all major supernatural forces in recent days...
Thinking of this, Loren, lying on the sofa, suddenly let out a cold laugh.
"Heh!"
"I'm getting more and more curious about what choices you bastards will make..."
Having figured out the uncanny atmosphere within the Federation, Loren peacefully closed his eyes.
He was about to rest.
*Tomorrow might be quite eventful...* Loren thought to himself.
After all, he had wiped out an elite Resistance squad last night.
Whether the Resistance came looking for trouble, or he went looking for theirs, it was bound to be a big battle...
But just a few seconds after Loren closed his eyes.
His peace was interrupted once again!!!
Perhaps, for Loren, tonight was simply not meant for rest.
A silver Teleportation Array abruptly appeared in the lobby of the agency!
The light of the magical array illuminated the entire room!
Blindingly brilliant light suddenly shone through Loren's eyelids!!
The moment he had just shut his eyes, Loren went berserk, reaching out with both hands to grab his head!!
*When!! Will you bastards ever learn!!*
*Nighttime!! Is for resting!!*
*Not for disturbing other people's rest!!!*
While Loren was losing his mind internally, from within the silver magical array in the room, a somewhat tiny dragon head poked out and looked around, as if confirming whether the place was safe...
Miss Silver Dragon had returned from her delivery.
Outside the agency, the sky was just before dawn.
Just as she had said, "She would be back in the morning."
In fact, worried that Loren might leave her behind and not let her join his mischief-making, she had even come back a bit early...
The "petite" Miss Silver Dragon stealthily crawled out of the Teleportation Array.
Since the array was opened indoors, Miss Silver Dragon had considerately shrunk her size.
To avoid bursting through Loren's home, she kept her form to just over two meters...
Jessistan, having emerged from the array, gently fluttered the wings behind her, then turned her head adorably to Loren, who was lying on the sofa in a state of frenzy, and asked:
"Good morning, Mr. Loren."
"Huh? Why do you look so unhappy?"
"Did something happen??"
Loren: "..."
*Forget it, don't get mad, don't get mad!!*
*She just finished her delivery, it wasn't on purpose!!*
"It's nothing." Loren said coldly.
"Really?" Jessistan tilted her little head and asked.
Loren, who was still fuming, was suddenly caught off guard by the cuteness of Jessistan tilting her head.
*Hmm...*
*Maybe raising a space-manipulating dragon isn't such a bad idea...*
"I have a feeling Mr. Loren is thinking something very rude??"
Jessistan brought her tiny head close to Loren's face!!
"No!" Loren answered with a straight face.
Then, caught out by her, he forcefully changed the subject:
"Let's sleep, Miss Jessistan, I'm tired."
"We'll talk about everything after I wake up!"
With that, Loren solemnly closed his eyes again, almost instantly producing steady breathing sounds...
"Huh??!" Jessistan was full of question marks at Loren's reaction.
She reached out her tiny dragon claw and touched her own little head.
"Mr. Loren is acting very strange this morning..." Jessistan muttered to herself.
Looking at Loren, who had now entered a "deep sleep state," her eyes lit up!
A bold idea came to her mind!
Then, she gently fluttered her wings again and lay down on the carpet beside the sofa.
*Dragon intuition tells me that if Mr. Loren watches over me while I sleep, I might finally get a good night's rest...*
Holding this bold thought, Miss Silver Dragon, lying on the carpet, stretched her dragon claws, found a comfortable position, and drifted off to sleep.
Having not slept well in a long time, she confidently fell into a "deep slumber."
A while later.
Loren, who was faking sleep on the sofa, sensed that Jessistan had fallen into a deep sleep and silently curled the corners of his mouth.
*Stupid dragon, leaving the watch duty to me, huh...*
Just then.
"You damn master, that smile of yours really hurts my feelings!"
A voice suddenly rang out in Loren's mind!!!
Loren was startled at first, then managed to stay calm and feign composure:
"Raven, have you finished your mage studies?"
"Mm-hmm! All done!!"
Raven's voice rang out in Loren's mind again, with an unmistakably sour tone.
"But first! Damn master, could you explain what that smile of yours was all about?!"
Upon hearing this, Loren paused for a moment.
Then, pretending not to have heard the question, he continued talking to himself:
"I see, so you're done. Perfect timing. I need to rest now; you keep watch."
"Good night, Raven."
With that, Loren's breathing became even and steady again.
This skill of faking sleep had unknowingly been honed to a very high level by Loren.
"You damn master..."
Raven's muttered complaint echoed in Loren's mind.
Loren, feeling guilty, pretended not to hear...
A little while later.
His guilt fading, Loren finally fell into a real sleep.
Under Raven's watch, the one human and one dragon in the agency slept soundly and sweetly.
...
Meanwhile, while Loren was asleep.
In a distant star domain, a grand stage play involving far-reaching stakes was rapidly drawing back its curtain...
The protagonists on the "stage" began their unique "performances" one after another.
Due to Loren's unique stance, the Nature Sect was the first to go "all-in on the Federation."
These naive yet extreme environmentalists, upon learning of Loren's stance, had the Moonlight Goddess issue a Divine Oracle directly:
"The Nature Sect chooses to stand behind Loren."
His choice would be the entire Nature Sect's choice. Following "Fortune" was always the right move...
A simple and crude logic, perfectly in line with the Nature Sect's consistent style.
As for the Interstellar Hunter Association, after learning of Loren's stance and the Nature Sect's public declaration, they directly dispatched the silver-haired old man to contact Loren overnight, seeking to confirm his final position.
Ultimately, after confirming that Loren harbored extreme hostility toward the Resistance, the Interstellar Hunter Association chose "neutrality."
The Association, which had originally been secretly supporting the Resistance, opted for "neutrality."
As everyone knows, choosing neutrality is itself a form of support for the stronger side.
And so, a butterfly effect took hold.
Under the influence of a certain someone, the two behemoths—the Nature Sect and the Interstellar Hunter Association—unexpectedly sided with the Federation.
Meanwhile, the Dragon race within the Resistance, reminded by a certain "Silver Winged Calamity" who preferred to remain anonymous, temporarily chose to wait and see.
With the sudden shift in stance from these three parties—the Nature Sect, the Interstellar Hunter Association, and the Dragon race—the supernatural forces that had originally planned to bet on the Resistance either chose to wait or turned around to wager on the Federation.
A chain reaction had begun.
A key component of the Resistance—the vast majority of Cult Organizations—upon seeing the unfavorable situation for the Resistance, directly chose to withdraw the "chips" they had already placed.
Having no trustworthiness to begin with, they felt zero psychological burden about "switching sides at the last minute."
In fact, they even thought they were too slow to betray!!
*What kind of joke is asking for credibility from a cult?!*
Then, large numbers of Cult Organizations began to band together, systematically leaving the Resistance's encampment and retreating back into the fathomless darkness...
Among them.
The Firebrand Faction of the Fire Thief Cult, seeing the organized departure of many Cult Organizations from the Resistance ranks, also took the opportunity to leave.
Having no real foothold in the Federation anyway, the Fire Thief Cult had only been trying to see if they could carve up the Federation. Now that the endeavor seemed impossible, there was naturally no reason for them to stay...
Running a supernatural organization with the philosophy of "hunting Gods" is extremely difficult, and the most important thing is learning to be cautious.
They had no margin for error...
As for the supernatural forces from outside the Federation, once they saw the Fire Thief Cult—another massive supernatural force from outside the Federation—depart, the next step became even clearer.
Once the leading sheep appears, the rest of the flock will always follow spontaneously.
Those forces from outside the Federation that had joined the Resistance, following in the footsteps of the Fire Thief Cult, left the Resistance's encampment.
Though most people had no idea why the Resistance, which had seemed so formidable last night, was suddenly on the verge of collapse.
That didn't stop them from marching in perfect unison toward the exit...
A tacit "evacuation" had begun.
At this point, the grand Resistance movement was largely over.
The Resistance's strength had suffered a devastating blow.
As for the conspirators and ambitious individuals who had already shown their hands within the Federation, they were now going mad.
Having been exposed, it would be very difficult for them to retreat back into the shadows.
Unlike those Cult Organizations, who were experts at guerrilla warfare, they had no choice but to walk their path into the darkness.
Now, all that remained within the Resistance was the Old Nobility Class, the Justice Party, and a small faction from the Federation's three major power departments.