NOVEL NEXT Chapter 160: Ascension Province (1)
Over the skies of Ashspire City, a sudden light emerged and a holographic projection similar to the one that appeared in the Ascension Province illuminated the heavens.
Every citizen of Ashspire City, whether evolvers, cyborgs, corporation members, or prominent families across the city, all stared at the sky at once.
By now, they already knew something significant was happening in the Three Guards Province, as Eterna's voice could be heard even from here.
[System Announcement: A provincial authority update has been triggered. Processing verification… complete.]
[Former City Lord Orin has undergone an emergency status verification following confirmed evidence of direct collision with the High Order. Subsequent investigation has verified Orin's death.]
[Result: With Orin's demise and his violations against the High Order, all evolver qualifications and administrative authority tied to his identity are permanently void. All associated privileges are revoked.]
The projection brightened, emitting a pulse that rippled across the region.
[In accordance with Provincial Regulation 7.1, Grey Lockhart, a certified second rank evolver and second rank citizen, has met every prerequisite for succession.]
[Effective immediately, Grey Lockhart is officially appointed as the City Lord of Ashspire City. Ashspire City will now be integrated into the Ascension Province. All administrative departments, evolver squads, enforcement units, territorial registries, and city systems are to update operational protocols and acknowledge the new authority holder. Compliance is mandatory.]
[The Ascension Province Local Network is now available for use.]
"What?!" Many of the corporation heads' expressions turned ugly. "How is this possible? City Lord Orin died?"
"No, this is impossible!" the head of the Echelon Corporation exclaimed.
The Echelon Corporation, despite not having a direct connection to the High Order, still worked under Orin, who worked for the High Order. That meant the entire Echelon Corporation would be affected.
He was not the only one panicking.
Every corporation head had a dark expression on their face.
It was over!
They already knew what went on in the Three Guards Province.
They had witnessed Grey's transformation and seen the city lord who ruled over the entire region go insane from fear after seeing him.
Seeing Orin behave like that made them feel a deep sense of dread when they saw Grey.
A powerful being had been born within the small world of the Southern Region; there was no doubt.
Grey Lockhart was definitely the strongest in the entire region.
The civilians who published the news about Grey were naturally aware of everything.
They felt no dissatisfaction about Grey becoming the city lord; instead, they were overjoyed.
"That bastard Orin, he deserved to die! Everyone, if not for Master Grey, who is not only a powerful two-star formation master but also a powerful ranker, many lives would have been lost today. I don't know about you, but I fully support this!"
"Who wouldn't? Any sane person would support the city lord. And even if they don't, what can they do? The status of the city lord isn't something anyone can change, especially ordinary people like us. Even if you have complaints, you can only swallow them."
"If Master Grey hadn't forged the formation to eliminate the corruption fields, we would have suffered more casualties than the Three Guards Province."
"Why are you still calling it the Three Guards Province? It's called the Ascension Province, and now we are part of it. That means our city is officially a second rate city."
The condition for a second rate city was that the city lord or the ruler of the province must be at the late stage of the second rank. While Grey was not a late-stage ranker, he possessed equivalent power, and Eterna herself knew this.
She bent the rules slightly to make way for Grey.
She knew he was using the burst force talisman, but his strength was still somewhere between middle-stage and late-stage, and he would only grow stronger once he officially became a first level second ranker.
For the greater purpose of the system and stability, Eterna turned a blind eye to this.
Usually, it was impossible for a lower-stage second ranker to challenge a late-stage one, and even if they won by luck or the opponent deliberately lost, the city or province would automatically fall to third rate.
That meant more taxes and fewer resources for the city or province.
At the same time, in the head family branch of the Ardent family, the members sat one by one in a row with enraged yet helpless expressions.
"Everyone." One of the authoritative members of the Ardent family spoke up. "Orin is dead, and the fact about him colliding with the High Order is already public."
The member paused and then continued. "We are all going to die if we don't do something."
Every head of the family turned toward him.
Just then, a voice came from behind.
"What do you suggest, Ignis?" The voice was cold, sharp, authoritative, and carried a hint of age.
Everyone turned their gazes toward the source of the voice. The person speaking was none other than the ancestor of the Ardent family, the father of Orin and the former city lord of Ashspire City.
"Ancestor, you are out of seclusion!" Ignis turned and immediately bowed.
"I am." The ancestor replied.
"This... Ancestor. Do you know about Orin...?" Ignis asked carefully.
"You think I live under a rock?" the ancestor asked. "I am aware of what happened."
Ignis lowered his head.
Ignis was Orin's cousin, meaning he was the ancestor's brother's son.
"My son is dead." Ancestor Ardent spoke slowly. "And the fact about him colliding with the High Order is out. If we do not take action right now, our family will be uprooted."
He paused. "We cannot allow that."
"Please enlighten us, Ancestor?" Ignis asked.
He himself could not think of any solution. Maybe, the ancestor who had seen countless years of the world might have the answer.
He was someone who had seen all of the ashspire city after all, as the former city lord, he should definitely be able to come up with something.