The Ibut Lord Ameer is dead.
Half a month after Garde left and three weeks after the operators of Rhine Lab were imprisoned, the Ibut Region Lord Ameer died in an accident.
When he had taken the initiative to imprison Rhine Lab's operators to further his own interests, joining forces with two other Lord Ameers to pressure Columbia, he met his own demise. This sudden turn of events left things in ambiguity.
Some claimed that the Ibut Lord Ameer's death was due to his act of imprisoning Rhine Lab, which humiliated the Columbian government, leading them to send assassins to eliminate him. Others believed it was a result of infighting among the three Lord Ameers, with the other two conspiring to kill him over their disputes. Some even suggested that the power struggle among the three had begun half a month earlier. Initially, the Ibut Lord Ameer tried to assassinate the other two Lord Ameers but failed, prompting them to retaliate against him.
Speculations ran rampant among the populace. Although some suspected Rhine Lab, the idea seemed implausible. How could a group of company operators imprisoned by the Lord Ameer have the means to kill him? Even if those operators had survived the hazardous environment of the Hotlands and made it out alive.
Attempts to investigate Rhine Lab's operators were thwarted by Columbian officials. The government claimed to have received detailed reports, including the discovery of a local indigenous tribe capable of communication. This sparked certain ambitions within the officials.
According to Rhine Lab's operators, it was with the help of these indigenous people that they obtained the vital medicine. During their journey, they also uncovered a ruined ancient civilization site. The value of such a relic is immense—if it yielded advanced weaponry, it could potentially alter the global balance of power.
Unfortunately, with Sargon involved, Columbia couldn't send formal expeditions or military forces into the Hotlands. They even had to conceal the discoveries made by Rhine Lab to prevent Sargon from organizing their own expeditions.
As a result, the medicine in Saria's possession became less critical. Initially, she and her team managed to send out messages, but once Columbian officials intervened, their communication channels were restricted. Every letter, every phone call, was monitored.
In theory, the arrival of Columbian officials should have brought the Rhine Lab operators freedom. Instead, their every move was surveilled. Even the axe left behind by Garde was confiscated under the pretext of safekeeping.
On the surface, Columbia appeared to be negotiating with Sargon over the Black Dragon's blood, but behind the scenes, a storm was brewing.
Two months later, the Rhine Lab operators were finally allowed to begin their journey home. At the same time, Kal'tsit and Saria parted ways.
"Be careful."
This was Kal'tsit's parting advice to Saria.
For a nation, credibility is crucial—it impacts numerous aspects, including the sense of unity among its citizens. But there are times when credibility can take a backseat.
Sargon and Columbia share a border. If Sargon learned of the ancient civilization site and gained resources that could significantly boost its national strength, it would be detrimental to Columbia. Hence, the information Rhine Lab brought back from the Hotlands was vital—important enough for Columbia to betray its promises.
Or perhaps they didn't betray their promises at all.
The medicine brought back by Rhine Lab was divided into three parts. The largest portion was taken by Columbian authorities, a middle portion went to Sargon's officials, and the smallest remainder became a mere souvenir. If Rhine Lab could reverse-engineer a new type of treatment for oripathy from a single drop of the medicine, Columbia would accept it.
Having seized the medicine, Columbia naturally offered support in return. During the months of Saria and her team's house arrest, Rhine Lab's market value skyrocketed tenfold. Once a rising research company, it became a leading enterprise in Columbia. Columbian officials upheld their commitments, providing Rhine Lab with substantial support and even helping to promote its public image.
However, the Rhine Lab operators likely didn't witness any of these developments. Columbian officials had no intention of letting them return home. Although they hadn't revealed the Hotlands' secrets yet, the knowledge they carried posed an ongoing threat to Columbia.
Thus, Columbia planned to eliminate the Rhine Lab team before they re-entered Columbian territory, staging it as an accident. Meanwhile, assassins were dispatched to hunt down the female doctor who had left the team earlier. Her demise seemed imminent.
Yet, as preparations were underway, the task force leader received a new order: Saria, the Director of Rhine Lab Defense Division, was to be spared, while the others were to be killed.
This puzzled the leader, but orders are orders. Letting one person live was no significant obstacle for their heavily armed squad equipped with mechanical exoskeletons.
What the Columbian officials overlooked, however, was their mistake in returning Garde's axe to Saria when informing her team they were free to leave.
"It's just an axe," they thought. They had no idea that the being within the axe had nearly suffocated while locked away in a sunless box.
Thus, when a fifty-man armored squad ambushed Rhine Lab's convoy, the black dragon—who had endured months of confinement—finally stretched her wings.
Her massive wings eclipsed the sky. As the dragon descended, the entire convoy found shelter beneath her colossal frame. Shielding the convoy with one wing, she gazed down at the armored squad and spoke.
"So, it's you who dares harm his friends?"
This was why Garde had left the axe behind.
He had never trusted a nation driven by capital interests to uphold its promises. In the face of profit, the lives of Saria and her team were worthless.
Of course, this is all hindsight.
Months later, Garde had enrolled in Columbia's prestigious universities and met a poor Leithanien student.
But now, half a month after leaving Melun City, Garde had finally arrived in Columbia, reaching the city he had long yearned for: Trimounts City.
It is also the headquarters of Rhine Lab in Columbia.
A new story begins here.
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