Qlipoth Fort.
The matter concerning Leon had blown up so much that the seven P48-level members of the Board of Directors, second only to one person, had rarely gathered for an emergency meeting. Although, now there were only six of the seven directors, that is.
But before the meeting could even begin, the unexpected came knocking.
[Ms. Herta Fan Club Express News—Interrupting with urgent news, broadcasting urgent news!]
Today, every renowned faction in the cosmos received a broadcast message, and the Corporation was no exception.
[Hello, hello, hello, can you hear me?]
[I am Herta.]
The broadcast was unskippable, forcefully received, with no exit button. It was like some kind of virus; if you didn't watch, your device was as good as bricked.
[Perhaps some of you have heard my name. I know my great achievements are numerous, but that is not the point today.]
[The Interastral Peace Corporation.]
[I'm sure no one is unfamiliar with this name. These words symbolize absolute dominion over wealth.]
[Today, I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow genius. Through him, I will expose a little of the Corporation's dirty laundry. For those who've bought stock, I recommend selling it off now, lest we all end up meeting on the rooftops.]
[Chadwick. I believe any scholar who has deeply researched the 'Imaginary' field has heard his name.]
"Has this genius gone mad?"
Zaitian watched the large LED screen before him, his face grim. That screen was normally used by employees to display spreadsheets showing market profit margins, but now, a small chibi Herta occupied the entire display.
"What is the benefit of making an enemy of the Corporation?!"
Zaitian couldn't understand it at all.
Herta and the Corporation were semi-partners. Not close, but they had a relationship of mutual non-interference. The Corporation could even be said to have been coddling this genius, granting her every request. Even though she didn't need it, their attitude was clear.
To think they would be backstabbed by an ally today!
"Have the team in charge of tech security drop everything they're doing and intercept this communication! We absolutely cannot let her continue speaking!"
Zaitian's face darkened. Usually amicable, he was, for the first time, starting to lose his composure.
"Intercept? How?"
Yajiaoli, the head of the Technology R&D Department and the de facto controller of the Intelligentsia Guild, thought he was joking.
"This is the work of a genius. Do you really expect a group of 'geniuses' who can't even touch the doorstep of the Genius Society to solve this?"
"What about Screwllum? Go get him!"
The Corporation had established excellent cooperative relationships with more than one genius.
[Dr. Chadwick was subjected to inhumane torment.]
[Death is something common to both inorganic and organic life. If a person cannot even die, then what has this world been twisted into?]
The moment his words fell, Screwllum's voice immediately came through.
Zaitian felt like the sky was falling. Just what kind of heaven-defying background does this Leon have!
Not even the Xianzhou Alliance could get two geniuses to stand up for them. This meant he had earned the appreciation of two geniuses purely through his own abilities.
And this appreciation wasn't just casual approval; it was serious regard. They were willing to fall out with the Corporation to help him. That spoke volumes!
[Let me be more direct.]
Herta's voice rang out once more.
[At the moment of Chadwick's death, the Corporation unilaterally extracted his consciousness and imprisoned it in Penacony.]
[And all of this was done to obtain the knowledge in his head, for their own benefit.]
[While I'd love to tell you all about this genius's life story, the introduction ends here.]
[Today's protagonist is not Chadwick, but a Galaxy Ranger.]
As she finished speaking, the LED screen went black. From the original pixelated chibi Herta head, it changed to a style like a fairy tale picture book.
And the scenery within, upon closer inspection, was unmistakably Penacony.
The atmosphere in the conference room instantly grew heavy.
"It's all over now..."
Zaitian leaned back, staring blankly at the ceiling.
Hearing the words 'Galaxy Ranger,' he knew what these people were trying to promote. After this, even if the Corporation wasn't utterly disgraced, until they killed Leon to save face, they wouldn't be far from it.
[Galaxy Ranger, punishing evil and upholding justice.]
This time, it wasn't Herta's voice. It was a voice unfamiliar to others, but quite familiar to Leon.
[A Galaxy Ranger came to Penacony by chance. Unlike the Dreamchasers, he saw the oppression that existed beneath the glamorous, beautiful dreams.]
As the enthusiastic voice spoke, the image on the LED screen changed again. A bright blue longbow and a light blue camera paraded across a background map of Penacony.
As they walked, they suddenly encountered an old man sitting on a bench. That was Chadwick.
The broadcast, a joint effort by Herta and Screwllum, was narrating the whole story in a picture book style.
[The Ranger struck up a conversation with the old man and received a commission: to kill him.]
When it came to matters concerning Leon, even in a recording, March 7th's voice was still full of emotion.
[After some inquiry, the Ranger learned of the old man's story.]
The screen went black, and when it returned to normal, the scene had changed again.
Qlipoth Fort.
Surely no one would fail to recognize it.
[The Ranger decided to help him get revenge and came knocking at their door.]
On the screen, the bright blue longbow stood alone, facing the mighty armies of Qlipoth Fort.
[The Ranger repeatedly demanded they hand over the person, insisting they should face the consequences of their actions. But Capital denied doing such a thing and, to prove they hadn't, engaged him in a great battle.]
As the voice fell, the background behind the bright blue longbow abruptly changed to a magnificent space, with a giant, ochre-colored elephant watching from above.
Subspace and the Amber Lord. Anyone with knowledge would know where this was.
From then on, there was no more narration, only the changing images.
A large diamond and a paper cutout made from a P48 blocked the longbow, while many mini-fleets in the sky surrounded it completely.
Then, the picture abruptly stopped and went completely black. The subsequent events were not shown.
[You can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever.]
[The truth will not be buried forever, and justice will not always be without a champion.]
[This has always been the creed of the Galaxy Rangers.]
[If you don't believe the truth of this story, you can have the Corporation send out the last two people who appeared to clarify.]
[After all, the dead can't talk.]
What was the final outcome, whose personifications were the diamond and the P48, and what did this scene represent? Combined with Herta's closing words, everything was self-evident.
The broadcast ended, and the conference room fell into a dead silence.
Every executive present was silent, feeling only a burning sting on their faces. This was the first time the Corporation had been so humiliated.
Leon, Herta, Screwllum.
The three of them had brazenly thrown their prestige to the ground and trampled on it, even using the Corporation's name to promote the Galaxy Rangers. This was undoubtedly an absolute provocation.
"Should we raise an army and besiege them?"
Muto Youin, one of the heads of the Talent Incentive Department, spoke up.
"Raise an army? After the fight, the Corporation would lose at least half of its strength..."
Yajiaoli stated that if a real fight broke out, the casualties would be disastrous.
The room once again fell silent.
Regardless of whether Leon's unscathed appearance was real, the fact that he killed two Emanators was indisputable.
Emanator. An existence of this level.
The Corporation sent two, and not only failed to take him down, but couldn't even fight him on equal footing. How could they possibly fight this?
If they really fought, even if they could win, the Corporation's foundations would be all but squandered by then. And then the Xianzhou Alliance would take the opportunity to kick them while they're down.
The Interastral Peace Corporation might just have to change its name after this. Unless they could ask their old ancestor to come out of retirement, this was a dead end.
Go to war, and the outcome would most likely be annihilation, or a pyrrhic victory followed by being annexed. Don't go to war, and the dignity of 'Preservation' would be shattered.
Unless Leon died of natural or accidental causes, the Corporation would forever be his subordinate.
Should they temporarily retreat, or avoid his sharp edge... Defend their honor or play dead... it was an incredibly difficult choice.
"Those three... not even a corpse was left?"
After a moment, Madam Scar-Eye, head of the Business Consolidation Department, asked.
"Not a whole corpse to be found," Zaitian said with a sigh.
If only there were bodies. With the Corporation's technology, reconstructing a physical form isn't difficult. Then they could find a way to get a Heliobus to possess it, and they could more or less save face.
But as it turned out, Leon had super-disassembled all three of them. And the degree of disassembly was such that not even super-assembly could fix it. After all this time, they couldn't even reassemble them if they wanted to.
"Let's find some Pathstriders of 'Elation'."
Madam Scar-Eye's words were filled with helplessness, as well as hatred for Leon.
"For now, this is the only way."
Either they openly admit defeat and declare eternal enmity with Leon, or they find a way to muddle through and pretend nothing happened.
Hearing this suggestion, the other five remained silent. No one agreed, but no one refused either.
"Are we really going to let him walk all over us?"
Yajiaoli said, frustrated.
"What else can we do?"
Madam Scar-Eye was also unwilling, but there was no other choice.
"Not only did two Emanators fall to him, but he also has the Xianzhou Alliance as a backup, not to mention his good relations with members of the Genius Society."
"Unless we form an alliance with some other faction, we'd just be throwing away the Corporation's long-standing assets for nothing."
Just in terms of the rare Emanators in the universe, nine have appeared in this situation, and all of them are on the opposing side. This is no longer just a losing game; it's like the matchmaking system is rigged!
Does the Corporation intend to charge forward and feed, knowing it's outmatched?
"What about The Family?"
Hearing the word 'alliance,' Zaitian first thought of the ally they were so chummy with not long ago.
"The Family? I think they can't even protect themselves."
Yajiaoli couldn't help but laugh.
"Did you forget where this Ranger found his way to the Corporation? Do you think Penacony is so clean?"
Yajiaoli said with schadenfreude, "Just you wait. The Family is about to be the next one to suffer."
Zaitian was speechless.
Leon definitely went to Penacony for a reason. The sudden situation with Chadwick just temporarily pulled him away. Now that he's finished, there's indeed no reason for him not to go back and continue.
"It's not that the strong survive, but that those who survive are the strong."
Madam Scar-Eye made them dismiss any thoughts of retaliation.
The only one who can help the Corporation is a Lord Ravager. Before the two clash again, it's best not to make any rash moves.
Preserving their strength and waiting for an opportunity is the right move.
"The Emperor War brought huge losses to the Corporation, but the Corporation didn't wallow in defeat. It's still standing strong right here."
Xianzhou Alliance, flagship.
The Corporation received Herta's broadcast, and the Alliance was no exception. The seven Arbiter-Generals were summoned by the Marshal to listen in.
[After all, the dead can't talk.]
"Oh, killing two Emanators single-handedly. How impressive."
The projected image of Jing Yuan, General of the Divine Foresight, remarked with emotion after listening to the urgent broadcast.
"A Galaxy Ranger... not bad at all."
Jing Yuan's tone held a hint of envy.
His dream had once been to become a Galaxy Ranger. If the responsibility of the General hadn't fallen to him, he too would have wanted to be one of those young heroes, freely seeking vengeance.
"The Corporation's headquarters... that's not an easy place to breach..."
Yukong also marveled at his actions, "Two Emanators... I wonder if he was injured."
"Injured?"
Huaiyan's projection chuckled amiably, "That's a direct disciple of the Reignbow Arbiter!"
"Forget two, what are three Emanators to him!"
As one of only three in the entire universe to have faced The Hunt, and the only one to have escaped it with their life, he knew its terror firsthand and had a credible say on Leon's true strength.
In Huaiyan's eyes, Leon was, in the truest sense...
When the Aeons are absent, he is invincible!
Unstoppable, unblockable, unreachable. He has reached a peak no one has ever reached before. What are two Emanators?
If he wished it, the location of Qlipoth Fort would be wiped from the star charts today!
"What should be the Xianzhou Alliance's stance on this?"
Yao Guang's projection looked toward the Marshal and asked.
"The one causing trouble for the Corporation is a Galaxy Ranger. What does that have to do with the eighth Arbiter-General of our Xianzhou Alliance?"
Hua chuckled lightly.
"What if the Corporation declares all-out war? We are still in a partnership," Xuanquan's projection spoke up.
"Partnership?"
"This time will be no exception." Hua shook her head, "No. The moment they declare war, our partnership with the Corporation is over."
"If the Corporation dares to touch someone from the Xianzhou Alliance, then they can await the vengeance of The Hunt."
Hua's stance on the whole affair was clear. If the Corporation wanted to downplay this, play dead, and let it cool down, then the Alliance would not get involved in any way, to avoid any counterproductive effects.
But if they insisted on escalating things, then the Alliance would have to step in. Compared to Leon, good relations with the Corporation were completely unimportant.
"The good show has only just begun~!"
Holstein.
After parting ways with Leon, Boothill began his journey of returning the Memory Bubbles. His first stop was, of course, Holstein, which had suffered the Great Silence at the hands of those Cremators.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Ranger."
With Boothill's help, the people here recovered their memories related to speech and regained the ability to talk.
"Thank yer lucky stars, babe. I told ya not to be so formal!"
Boothill grunted.
"Besides, this is all thanks to another Ranger. I'm just deliverin' it on his behalf."
Boothill insisted they didn't need to thank him; he had done the least.
"Alright, I won't be stayin' long."
Boothill chatted a bit more with the leader here, said his goodbyes, and turned to leave.
"There are other folks waitin' for me. Goin' now."
[Ms. Herta Fan Club Express News—Broadcasting urgent news, broadcasting urgent news!]
Just as Boothill was about to leave, a voice made him turn his head. Not far away, a large broadcast screen that had clearly been abandoned for a long time inexplicably lit up.
Boothill stopped, deciding to stay and see what was going on.
When he saw the bright blue longbow appear on the screen, his eyes widened. He had only ever seen one person carry that bow, and its appearance was identical to the drawing.
It was him!
"Buddy?!"
Boothill said in surprise. He hadn't expected to get news of his buddy even out here.
[The Ranger decided to help him get revenge and came knocking at their door.]
"He went to Qlipoth Fort?!"
Boothill could hardly believe it.
His heart pounded as he continued to watch. When he saw Diamond and Taravan appear, he was completely stunned.
"Something this big and he didn't even call me!"
Boothill felt he wasn't being a good friend. He wasn't being a good friend either, not being by his buddy's side when he was fighting the whole world and needed support the most.
Damn it! He should've taken me along to screw over the Corporation!
Boothill hated that his intuition hadn't kicked in.
[You can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever.]
[The truth will not be buried forever, and justice will not always be without a champion.]
[This has always been the creed of the Galaxy Rangers.]
As he was seething, the story unknowingly reached its end.
Hearing the words 'Galaxy Ranger.' Boothill forcefully collected his thoughts.
He was about to see what happened next, but when the screen's image reflected in his eyes, he suddenly froze on the spot, dumbstruck.
Like he had lost his soul.
"Oswaldo... is dead?"
Even if Boothill was reckless, he could definitely understand a picture book.
Diamond and Taravan were both dead, and his buddy had killed them. That was the information he gathered.
"Oswaldo... is dead?"
Boothill repeated it again, as if in disbelief.
When they were traveling together, he had talked about this enemy of his with Leon every day. His reason for living now was to kill him.
Boothill had been waiting... waiting to go to Qlipoth Fort, waiting to blow his head off with a single shot.
"Oswaldo is dead! Dead! Hahaha!"
But now, it seemed he didn't have to wait anymore.
Since Leon could kill two Emanators of Preservation, there was absolutely no reason for Oswaldo to have been spared. Thanks to him, the Galaxy Rangers, who had been quiet for a long time, became famous overnight with this broadcast!
Appearing once again in the sights of the rich and powerful!
Elation Tavern.
Laughter and chatter echoed...
In this tavern, known only to insiders, ceaseless laughter was its best feature, and also its best appetizer.
[After all, the dead can't talk.]
"Hahaha, look at the Corporation! They're screwed!"
Someone pointed at the screen, mocking the Corporation.
"Hey, hey, hey, do you guys think the 'Corporation' will come ask us for help?"
asked a patron who was betting on the Corporation playing dead.
"They will!"
Unexpectedly, most of the patrons thought the Corporation didn't have the guts to keep fighting.
And it must be said, they were right!
"Is this the insight of the God of Fun?"
In a corner of the tavern, a twin-tailed girl in a red kimono listened to the broadcast, a pleased smile gracing her lips.
"Hee hee, let Sparkle add some more fuel to the fire!"
Penacony, Oak Family.
"Sister, I never thought you would agree to sing for 'Order'..."
_____
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