Chapter 1360
Jerrick’s face instantly darkened, a violent storm brewing in his eyes. “Like hell he’s worthy p>
Nicholas’s expression chilled as he watched Serena pull up all the transit logs and mapped routes.
“If we cross-reference this with the encrypted relay station nodes along the transport route p>
Nicholas traced a line across the holographic map with his long fingers, ultimately pausing at a set of coordinates in international waters. “Whitecliffe Harbor. It has to be their critical rendezvous point for the next phase p>
Serena let her fingertips rest on the edge of her grandmother’s old file, gently stroking the paper.
Her eyes were deep and calculating, as if she were meticulously assembling the scattered puzzle pieces inside her mind.
A moment later, she spoke. “Whitecliffe Harbor isn’t the finish line p>
Everyone immediately turned to look at her.
Serena lifted her gaze, her voice perfectly even. “It operates more like a transit hub p>
“The Overlord was in a frantic rush to silence Mordecai before he died. That tells me whatever is moving along that transit line is infinitely more vital than this entire Severian branch p>
“Meaning Serena’s eyes narrowed into sharp, glacial slits. “What they are truly desperate to protect isn’t in Severia at all p>
Julian’s brows knitted together tightly. “If that’s the case, we need to investigate Whitecliffe Harbor immediately p>
“I’ve already ordered my network to tear into the shipping logs, private ports, and subterranean transit chains,” Nicholas said, his voice a low thrum. “Give me a little more time. I’ll drag Project Zero-Transit and The Raven out into the light p>
Sitting at the head of the table, Ambassador Sterling’s expression turned incredibly solemn after absorbing their analysis.
He spoke slowly. “This situation has far surpassed the scope of a simple tournament scandal p>
“It involves the global abduction of top-tier talent, human experimentation,
transnational criminal syndicates, and state-sanctioned cover-ups p>
“The Elyndor State Department and our intelligence divisions will launch a synchronized operation to track this Whitecliffe Harbor lead p>
He turned his attention to Serena, his eyes carrying undisguised gravity and deep admiration. “Miss Serena, we owe this entirely to you p>
“If you hadn’t violently flipped the board on their trap in Sector 10, no one would have ever unearthed this monstrous network p>
Serena’s expression remained perfectly stoic.
She merely looked down at the experimental codes her grandmother had left behind, her voice faint. “It’s still not enough p>
They had undeniably decimated the Severian operation this time.
And they had brutally severed one of the Obsidian Sun’s arms.
But the true apex predator had slipped the net early.
And that simply wasn’t going to cut it.
That night.
The global public outcry completely derailed.
Elyndor and Severia became the absolute epicenter of the world’s attention.
Except, one was hailed globally as the heroic nation that tore through a death trap to expose the darkness.
While the other faced a unified global protest demanding exhaustive investigations, crippling sanctions, and public executions.
The related trending topics completely dominated every major global platform.
Over at the International Gauntlet Committee, unable to suppress the raging public opinion and the sheer fury of the participating nations, they were forced to issue an emergency broadcast:
[Due to the severe violations committed by Severia during this tournament; and their direct involvement in an atrocity of
international magnitude the
vel
individual challenges are temporarily suspended.
The schedule will be reassessed and announced once the Severian crisis has been fully resolved.
All damages stemming from this tournament delay, the public relations fallout, and
the venue disasters will be exclusively borne by the Severian authorities p>
The public response was explosive.
No one cared about the actual competition anymore.
All eyes were locked onto this unprecedented, earth-shattering international scandal.
The following day.
The Elyndorian delegation packed their gear, preparing for a full-scale evacuation back home.
Inside the embassy.
The three Lancaster brothers methodically handled the loose ends.
Each utilizing their unique, terrifying skill sets.
Julian hadn’t slept a wink, continually manipulating international capital and crushing
the hostile media narratives.
He stabilized the Elyndorian team’s post-event influence while casually severing every single crisis management lifeline the Severian government and the Pierce family attempted to deploy.
Jerrick took the Dragon-Thorn
Squad to handle the official
handovers, verifying the roster of subterranean victims, sealing the evidentiary chains, and establishing a fortress around the critical surviving witnesses.