Chapter 204 204 A lethal threat
[OP: ]
The Freedom Federation was a nation built by the adventurers for the adventurers on land that had been unclaimed by any nation in the past.
It was one of the greatest powers of the western continent strong enough to rival the other great powers like Elvan nation Vanraya, The great demonic plains, or the Theocracy Cross.
Thinking of the nation from a simple point of view, it operated on a bureaucratic system and the highest authority of the land wasn't a certain monarch or a constitution but the group of twelve highest-ranking adventurers that held powers nearly on par with the Absolute powers like the empire or the great elvan mage.
It operated on a bureaucratic system and the safety of common folks, the obtaining and distribution of security, or 'Freedom' were some of the main factors they promoted.
There were bureaucratic ranks in this political system that could be compared to a democratic political system, however, instead of being referred to as minister, member of some parliament, or president, they were referred to the ranking system that was based on the common adventurer rankings of the world, with (Federal official) attached to them. For example: <A> rank federal official.
The people did give them unique identities of their own and called them by different names but these federal officials were the end the respectable high-ranking adventurers who had enough qualifications and acknowledgment of the twelve highest-ranking officials, who were also referred to as the (High senet).
That was the basic structure of the politics in the nation of the adventurers. Getting appointed to even the lowest post required one to be a <B> rank adventurer, and getting past the <AA> rank was as difficult as being elected the governor of a normal democracy.
There were different procedures of testing all over the place, the bureaucracy was something different from the common political structures, it wasn't an oligarchy where the highest authority acted as monarchs but a place that worked for the betterment of the citizens as well as the entire world itself.
And, in a place such as this, the importance of a <S> ranked official was so great that not even the ones at the highest rankings could possibly ignore them.
They were special people that directly answered the ones at the top and they held the information, secrets, and data about not only their own internal affairs but also the data on the things that the other nations were up to.
That's why every <S> ranked and higher individual was considered a figure of great importance… however, what would happen when right before a public speech, right before entering the stage, the high-ranking bureaucrat with the top-class security, fell to the ground with their entire body paralyzed?
"Sir? Sir! Hey! Come here! Sir Kraken! He…!"
"Call the medical team! And the priests as well!"
"Hello. This is S3. Sir Kraken has been poisoned. I repeat, Sir has been positioned!"
There would be chaos all over the place inside the room, right outside the place this was happening, before the stage, there would be thousands of people already gathered to listen to the words of the charismatic leader, and, somewhere far from the venue of the event, the perpetrators behind this incident would be starting their attack.
"Sir. Are you alright? The poison… this seems to be some kind of paralysis poison. It should be easy to cure-"
"No. This is no normal paralysis poison."
Amidst the chaos, the medics and priests would arrive, check the fall, and check for the source of this attack that had made the <S> ranking member lay on the ground.
"No, what do you mean sir? It's alright. We have started searching for the perpetrators-"
"You won't find them."
The source of this poison, there was nothing present in this place that could have been the reason for this.
He had consumed nothing after coming here, there was no visible mark on his body that suggested the use of some pointed object that might have been used to inject the pathogen in his body, so the only possibility that remained here was the air.
"This is no simple poison. I was specifically targeted."
He was conscious, he felt no point, Actually, he felt nothing below his body.
His body below his head was paralyzed, his mana flow was completely blocked, and his toes were slowly starting to feel heavy so it meant the poison that was affecting his body would slowly kill him, and, since this was a targeted attack specifically aimed at him, the smart burrata knew this was the doing of someone, that was wanted something from him.
< "Hmmm. Looks like you have understood the situation you are in, mister 2201KL. Well, it makes things easier." >
The air was used as the medium to spread this poison that only affected him and no one else present in this room and even right now, he could intuitively tell that whoever did this had a completely different agenda in mind.
And, his suspicions were confirmed to be true after their personal communication interface was suddenly blacked out and that strange mechanical voice rang all over the room.
"You know about my ID, which means you are no ordinary people; you have created a poison that only affects me so I believe you want something from me, you chose this place filled with common people to have leverage in the negotiation, which means what you want isn't simple either.
However, though, you chose the wrong person for this.
I am not going to give you want you want even if the poison kills me."
His reply was firm and the voice that had just spoken to them knew the exact reason behind his confidence.
< "Mister, we know you are confident in the security array of all the magic, spells, and skilled individuals present in the place, however, can you really save all your people including the civilians when the spells you have set to ward off people like us, suddenly turned into something that can kill the very people you were trying to protect?" >
There was a sinister darkness behind that voice and the people that heard it could feel it by the shivers that ran down their spines.
"Vink…"
"I-I… sir. The security spells…"
"They have been compromised, I see. Haaa…"
The opponent wasn't some simple enemy that just wanted to cause chaos. They were far more formidable forces that had a clear goal in mind and they wanted to use the high-ranking official to achieve their goals, along with the lives of all the people present in the vicinity.
< "Alright then, I will start what you are dying to hear." >
The objective here was to get something out of him, or their government.
This wasn't the first time he had encountered a situation such as this in his decades of experience as a politician.
He knew these kinds of people and what to do when things get as complicated as they are right now.
He had faced things like this, so, he knew if he could just stall for some time with these people, the protocols for public safety would be triggered and they wouldn't be able to get what they had planned so thoroughly for.
He was confident in the ability of his government and the senators, that's why he was so calm.
< "First thing, you will die within the next twelve minutes thirty seconds so set a timer for that, and as soon as you die, every single security spell present in not only the vicinity of this garden but all the things that contain a working magic circle of any kind in the three hundred meters radius will explode, so you have a twelve minutes to relieve Nicholous Natheyan Nirverner from the [Hexagon fortress]. Just throw him out of the gate, it would be enough.
Now, since we know you great gracious Sir, we know you might choose to have all the innocent people, children, and families die instead of getting a person like that out of the federal poison however, if you do think of doing so, remember even after your death, if your superior doesn't listen to our demand, the data about (Falcon-12), (Maicholin Archives), (Liminster), (Penelope ministeria), (MA33), and (Jaminier calendar) will be made public.
I know you understand what all of this would mean, so, act quickly.
You only have a little less than twelve minutes." >
The blacked screens returned to normal soon, and, there were some weird symbols all around the screen now.
And as soon as he saw it, the government official lying on the ground received the greatest shock of his life.
"Shut down the screens! Quick! And get the communication orbs! This is code Red Alpha! Contact the Senate and tell them someone has world-level classified information! And lock down this back room!"
He had been in many political negotiations in his life but nothing included things like this.
It was understandable someone wanted a publically known worst criminal out but that in exchange for not just the life of a high-level politician and a bunch of people but also with the World level classified information on the line that could not only destroy their own country but also many other nations if it ever gets public.
The things they had just named, the unique things that had flashed on these screens, were more than enough proof for him to know not just his or some normal people's lives were on the line.
Right now, the fate of this entire world was on the line and, he only had less than twelve minutes.
"How much time is left?!"
"E-eleven minutes and forty-four seconds sir! Fourth three! Fourth two now…!"
"Vink! Where's the communication orb!"
"Yes sir! Right here!"
They all had become busy with work, however, the one that gave them all this work was calmly relaxing in two different places.
One was watching the commotion going on backstage while drinking coffee with her useless dragon, while the other was waiting for the 'package' outside the worst fortress with his amazing Phoenix partner, playing a little game of (How much do you know).
They had taken over a ninth of the city hostage and few knew about it at the moment, a high ranking official was nearing his death with each passing moment, dangerous information was threatened to be made public if their demands weren't met, and, unknown to all of this… the prisoner they were trying to get out of that near impenetrable fortress, was about to go back to sleep after the usual, boring, long, dark day of doing nothing.
He was so bored there that he was planning to escape from the place himself, but, thanks to the two of 'them', looks like he won't have to go through the tedious process of doing all the useless work himself.
It was boring anyway. Everything was boring…
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