the era of calamities Chapter 25: The point of no Return

Whoever had co up with this plan had to be a mastermind. I couldn’t believe it was the work of a Calamity. One didn’t need to be a genius to grasp how brilliantly deadly it was.

I could already see it unfold: the surviving population of Astoria, making their way north, would be attacked by the Calamities lurking outside the city. It wouldn’t be a full-on assault, just a brief skirmish—enough to cause a few deaths, leave behind so wounded, and make the whole act look convincing. Once they reached the fortress, they would be welcod with open arms. And from the mont they stepped inside, with thousands of Initiate-level puppets at its disposal, the parasite would have the perfect opportunity to tear the fortress apart from within before anyone even suspected a thing.

Then, when the fortress was at its weakest, the Calamities would launch an all-out offensive and finish the job.

Invictus, the so-called impenetrable fortress, would fall. And with it, the entire northern region of the Empire would be left at the rcy of the Calamities. Invictus had stood so strong for so long that stationing permanent Enforcer cohorts in nearby cities had been deed a waste of manpower.

"If they pull this off, no city in the region will survive."

I paused before continuing.

"None of them have ever faced the horrors of the Calamities. Many, like Astoria, don’t even have a single Enforcer cohort. And the few that do wouldn’t last a day if an attack were to happen. By the ti reinforcents arrive from the capital, it’ll be over. A one-sided massacre."

I threw these words at Victor. He remained silent before letting out a deep sigh.

"It would be a tragedy," he muttered. "Perhaps the worst the Empire has seen in a decade. People will want to know how they pulled it off."

Suddenly, his tail started twitching erratically. I wasn’t sure what to make of it until I heard the unmistakable sound of grinding teeth—a rodent’s version of a devilish laugh.

"This kind of information... how much do you think it’s worth?" he mused. "Who do you think would pay the most to get it? No, wait—why sell it to just one person? Hahaha, if I play my cards right, this could be the biggest deal of my life. Enough to retire in paradise."

The way he was talking, it was pointless to even try reasoning with him. Tsk, not even death could change him. Greedy as ever.

I let myself fall into a chair, letting my mind drift.

I used to have so many questions. Now that I had my answers, only one dilemma remained: what the hell was I supposed to do?

When I first woke up, I had one goal: to get revenge on those who had ruined my peaceful life. I wanted to sabotage their plans, then give them a slow and painful death.

But now, I had uncovered sothing much bigger.

To get what I wanted, I first had to stop the fall of an impenetrable fortress—the very thing that was about to beco its downfall. No big deal. All I had to do was convince thousands of people that they were being manipulated by a Calamity, that everything they saw and felt was nothing more than an illusion created by a parasite lodged in their brains... all while knowing that the mont I opened my mouth, they’d try to kill .

Then, I’d have to fight my way through an army of Calamities.

And finally, I’d get my hands on the mastermind behind all of this and make them suffer.

Looking at it like that... it sounded completely insane.

Or maybe I was the insane one.

Sigh.

Why not just drop my grudge and run as far away as possible before it was too late?

I actually considered it... but that would an crawling through the sewers with my tail between my legs again—when I was supposed to be the one forcing them to crawl.

Just the thought of it made hear Lucy and Victor’s sarcastic remarks in my head.

Tsk, annoying.

I shot to my feet and slamd my fist onto the table, reducing it to splinters. Sothing thudded to the ground.

A rat. A big one.

I barely spared it a glance before clenching my fists.

"That’s it. I’m done running through sewers!"

Unfortunately, the mont those words left my mouth, a sharp noise rang out.

A crackling sound.

The temperature skyrocketed.

A wave of heat surged around .

Then, everything beca blindingly bright.

A fireball had just torn through my roof, hovering right above my head.

I reacted instantly.

"Ygros!"

A veil of milky-white water wrapped around as I threw myself to the ground.