Chapter 486 - 424: An Unspeakable Reason

Chapter 486: Chapter 424: An Unspeakable Reason

"Let’s stick to the facts. There’s no need for personal attacks!"

The casualty figures were abysmal, and the committee members, their tempers flaring, began to argue after only a few sentences.

Gao Liangwei stopped them. "Everyone, calm down. This isn’t the time to argue."

At that moment, Mary, the representative from Soloma, spoke up coldly. "It seems to me that too many victories have made the allied forces arrogant and complacent, causing them to let their guard down. Otherwise, how could they have suffered such a disastrous defeat when the Human Federation had already issued a warning?"

"Looking at the summary report, it seems there was collusion from within." Gao Liangwei organized his thoughts based on the written report, keeping his personal emotions out of it. "A large number of Parasites were lying in wait within the allied forces, and Cultists also participated in this operation. This indicates that the leaders of both sides, the Prophet and the Pope, have been plotting this for a long time, intending a two-pronged attack to shatter humanity’s confidence."

Mary was slightly taken aback. "Are you saying the attack on Soloma City and the one on the allied base were coordinated?"

Gao Liangwei nodded. "My guess is their plan was likely to first destroy one of your cities in Soloma, one with a population of a million. That step would have undoubtedly shocked the entire world. Then, once everyone’s attention was focused on Soloma, they would launch a surprise attack in the Black Banner Country, aiming to annihilate the Human Federation’s frontline forces."

Hearing this, a chill ran down everyone’s spines, and a cold sweat broke out on their backs.

If everything Gao Liangwei described had come to pass, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Their plan was well-conceived, and they successfully sent someone to infiltrate the Soloma Team, but there were problems in the execution phase," Gao Liangwei continued. "The Cultist Legion’s offensive was delayed by a few heroic Ascenders from our North Star, which bought enough time for the ’Annihilator’ to arrive and take control of the battlefield."

Although Mary’s expression soured at his words, she nodded in acknowledgment. "This time, we do indeed have to thank those few Ascenders from your North Star. But after the Cultist Legion failed, the Parasites still went ahead with their attack as planned?"

"This chain of plans is massive. Once it’s set in motion, it can’t just be stopped on a whim," Gao Liangwei said. "We should be thankful. Because the Cultist Legion’s operation failed, it also indirectly affected the Parasite legion’s operation... In any case, the allied forces weren’t completely wiped out, and we managed to preserve some of our strength."

The total number of allied forces sent by the Human Federation to the Black Banner Country was about twenty thousand. This time, there were over nine thousand casualties, with about ten thousand managing to retreat. Once they regroup, they might just be able to win back their losses.

"Those ten thousand who retreated probably don’t have much combat capability left," said Toravt. "According to statistics, one to two thousand of them are suffering from stress reactions due to the influence of Crimson Fear. The others will also need psychological counseling and personnel rotation."

Gao Liangwei said, "We need to form a new allied force, but this time, the focus isn’t on numbers, but on quality. We have to learn our lesson and select soldiers we can trust."

As he said this, his gaze fell on Mary.

Mary shifted uncomfortably and took the initiative to speak. "I know everyone is very concerned about the betrayal within our Soloma Team. We’ve uncovered some results from our investigation, and I will share them with you now."

After collecting her thoughts, she began her explanation. "Peter. He’s from Soloma, and he used to live in Fahe before returning to the country. We believe that before his return, he was secretly brainwashed or placed under Mind Control, becoming a follower of the Fire Worship Cult. With his powerful ability to control lightning, he became one of the four Bishops."

"As a Bishop, he was undercover within Soloma, his purpose likely to provide critical intelligence to the Pope. After the rules for the [Death Race] were announced—perhaps on his own initiative, or perhaps on the Pope’s orders—he seized the opportunity to advance through the ranks on his own merit all the way to the finals, successfully drawing a great deal of attention."

"We believe the bomb attack orchestrated by another Bishop, Heath, during the finals was intended to interrupt the competition. If the race had continued to the end, regardless of whether Peter survived, he would have come under excessive scrutiny, which could have led to his identity being exposed."

Everyone listened intently. When Mary reached this point, the committee member from the Lu Rui Country asked, "Several people survived that race. Why did you specifically choose him to join the team?"

Mary hesitated, looking as if the reason was difficult to voice.

But she seemed to hear something in her earpiece and proceeded to give the reason.

"There were two reasons he was allowed to join the team. First, a member of the Senate proposed it. We later discovered that this senator had been in secret contact with a middleman and had accepted a massive payment from a mysterious client. It now seems highly likely that this mysterious client was a Cultist."

"The other reason... was due to the multiple interventions of Miss Ishan. Miss Ishan took a liking to him. After meeting with him privately, she was deceived and wanted him to participate in this operation to earn merit and secure an important position."

"Ishan?" A committee member’s face lit with sudden understanding. "Ishan Bruce? Isn’t that your King’s daughter?!"

Mary nodded wordlessly.

"..."

Everyone was speechless.

No wonder Mary had looked so reluctant to speak. It turned out that both Soloma’s highest decision-making body, the Senate, and the King’s own daughter had been compromised, which was how a Cultist ended up on the team. This was undoubtedly a major scandal.

Mary took a deep breath. "We in Soloma are willing to admit our mistake, and we will also compensate the team members from all nations."

The moment she finished speaking, she noticed Gao Liangwei looking at her with a scrutinizing gaze.

This gave her a bad feeling.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Gao Liangwei spoke. "I believe the more important question for Soloma to answer is not why you chose a traitor to join the team, but why your team was secretly teleported inside the grand cathedral. Was your objective to make contact with the Pope ahead of everyone else?"

A chill went through Mary’s heart.

She had intended to deflect, using the scandal of the "King’s daughter" and the "Senate" to divert the committee’s attention, but she hadn’t expected Gao Liangwei to see right through it.

The other committee members snapped back to their senses as well.

Indeed. Letting a traitor join the team might be considered an unintentional mistake, but the Soloma Team teleporting to a different location from the others—that was clearly a deliberate arrangement by Soloma!

"...It’s true. We wanted our team to find the Pope first." Facing everyone’s stares, Mary had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue.

"We believed that if we could get the Pope to release the Cultists from his Mind Control, they could be turned back into normal people."

"If that was the case, why wasn’t this discussed within the Human Federation? If Mind Control really exists and can truly be reversed, I believe everyone would have agreed to capture the Pope alive, rather than beheading him on sight," Gao Liangwei said.

"Yes, that’s something we could have absolutely discussed."

"We definitely would have agreed."

Mary said apologetically, "We were being too cautious, which is why we acted on our own. We realize our mistake now. Please, forgive us."

"..."

Gao Liangwei still felt that Mary was hiding something, but since she had said this much, there was nothing more he could get out of her without evidence.

But regardless, after this incident, a rift of suspicion had inevitably formed within the Human Federation.

After everyone fell silent for a moment, Gao Liangwei broke the silence.

"Aside from the issues with the Cultists and Parasites, we at North Star have another plan to announce at this meeting. During the final week of the Rule Stage, we intend to conduct a closed test—a final effort to explore the unknown Source of Fear."