Forty-nine rules of the end times

Chapter 160 Considerations and Decisions Regarding Fragment Possession

Tropical region, the Largan region.

Largan is a backward country where the people have always lived in abject poverty. Only a few warlords monopolize some of the local rare resources and sell them to other developed countries, allowing them to live like local tyrants.

But upon entering the apocalyptic era, several rules directly destroyed the country. More than 98% of the population perished, with less than 2% still barely surviving.

For the people living on this land, destruction seemed to be their predetermined fate. The warlords who monopolized resources had all perished or fled to other countries, leaving only a few thousand scattered across the land awaiting their demise.

The death came sooner than expected, because after the Ninth Rule ended, the fog over this land never dissipated, and the surviving people continued to be consumed by the fog and corrupted into new monsters.

But today is different from the past. An aircraft carrier has sailed to the open sea, accompanied by heavy-load transport aircraft, and has jointly deployed a large number of armed soldiers and armored vehicles to this land.

The soldiers' protective suits and chariots were decorated with images of "scepters and crowns," which were the symbols of royal power in the Solomon Empire.

As one of the world's strongest nations, even nearly a year after entering the post-apocalyptic era, the Somali Empire still retains global transportation capabilities, enabling it to deploy large numbers of armed forces to any corner of the world in a short period of time.

However, after entering the post-apocalyptic era, the Soro Empire, like other powerful nations, underwent a comprehensive strategic contraction for self-preservation. During this period, it never sent troops to other countries again, and all its overseas military bases were shut down, with personnel returning home.

The Empire's sudden departure from its usual practice and the deployment of a large number of armed forces to the Largan Regency was clearly not without purpose.

Adam, dressed in protective gear, stepped out of a vehicle and looked at the mist before him with a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

He knew that somewhere there must be a puzzle piece that the Ascended had not collected.

This must be why the fog hasn't lifted even after the rules were finalized.

"The soldiers are all in position." The armed forces commander walked over and asked Adam, "What's the next step?"

Although the commander was somewhat annoyed by Adam's effeminate manner, he had no choice; the king's orders placed him under Adam's complete command in this operation. Even if he was unhappy, he could only suppress his frustration.

“Have the soldiers disperse and enter the fog,” Adam said. “The objective is to find the fog gate. Let me know as soon as you find it.”

"Yes."

The commander went to deploy the operation, and Adam's four female teammates and wives also got out of the tank and stood beside Adam.

“The fact that the fragment wasn’t taken is probably related to the fact that this country is completely finished. They can’t even organize a decent army, and there won’t be any powerful individual Ascendants,” Amanda said.

“Yes,” Adam said. “Of the five fragments in total, I have one here, another is in Yingqi Kingdom, one is in Beixing Kingdom, one is in Antai State, and the last one is right here in Lalgan. Without a doubt, the country of Lalgan is on the verge of extinction and does not have enough power to explore the mist and obtain the fragments.”

Adam continued, "This is also why, out of the five fragments, only Largan's position has remained unchanged. Furthermore, the fact that the fog here hasn't dissipated after the rule ended further proves that the fragment hasn't been taken away."

"From what you're saying, Adam, the positions of the other three fragments are changing?"

"Yes. The most interesting one is the one from the Northern Star Kingdom. Just today, the fragment was located in Antai State. Do you know what that means?"

The four women were taken aback. Elisa spoke first: "The holder of the fragment from the Northern Star Kingdom wants to obtain the fragment located in Antai State?"

Adam nodded approvingly: "That's right. The Northern Star Kingdom and the Antai State are adjacent. If I were the holder of the fragment from the Northern Star Kingdom, I would also go to the Antai State for the fragment immediately."

Claire frowned: "So, the fragment holders of the Northern Star Kingdom want to collect all five fragments like you, Adam?"

"Yes."

"Hmph, competing with Adam is just asking for trouble."

"That's not necessarily true. But let's not think about that too much for now, let's get the Largan one first."

About two hours later, a notification came through the walkie-talkie.

"Colossal monster detected! Repeat, colossal monster detected, we are under attack, requesting backup!"

Adam's eyes lit up: "The fog gate should be nearby. Let's go there."

The four women nodded in unison. Near the fog gate in the mist of the Soro Empire, there also existed colossal monsters, as if guarding the fog gate.

It took a large force from the Somali Empire to drive away the beast. However, Adam suddenly said that it wasn't a "beast," without further explanation.

The five immediately set off for the location of the fog gate.

……

Early in the morning, Guan Tongren arrived in Ban Chin, the capital of An Tai State.

There weren't many people on the streets, probably because it was still early and most people were still sleeping inside.

Guan Tong took out the fragment and glanced at its location. Ever since the fragment from An Dai Bang changed its position yesterday, it hasn't moved again.

The fragment's trajectory moved from eastern Banzhen to somewhere in the north, less than a hundred kilometers away from Guan Tong's current location in a straight line. Guan Tong pondered as she moved forward.

He remembered very clearly the characteristic that "fragment holders can sense the location of other fragments".

He can sense the location of other fragments, and the holders of other fragments can also sense his location.

This means that anyone who isn't an idiot, the fragment holder in Antai State, would realize that another fragment holder is approaching.

What this means is self-evident.

“If I were the holder of the fragment in Antaibang, I would realize that another holder was going to take my fragment, so I would definitely be prepared for battle, not only to protect my own fragment, but also to take the fragment from the newcomer.”

Since that's the case, let's stick to the old method.

Guan Tong thought to himself, the so-called old routine is to keep his main body in a safe position, send his shadow over first to scout out the situation, find out the target's location, and then plan the specific action.

Meanwhile, in a town in eastern Banzhen, a vast estate stands in the town center.

This is Basson's private estate, his residence, and also his "barracks." His many mercenaries all live in the outer area of ​​the estate, while he himself lives in the inner area with some confidants and mistresses.

The windows and doors in the interior area were all made of iron plates, making it look impregnable and requiring a huge price to be paid for any attack from the outside.

Of course, this level of defense is no match for real heavy firepower; a few missiles could destroy the place completely. But Basson knew very well that his enemies would not possess missiles. He would regularly pay tribute to those who possessed such weapons in exchange for their leniency.

At that moment, in a large hall inside, Basong was talking with several of his trusted subordinates.

"When I hold this thing, I can see a map in my head." Basong held a puzzle piece in one hand and tapped his forehead with the other.

“There are four other bright spots on the map, one of which is in Banzhen and is getting closer and closer. It’s obvious that it’s coming for the fragment in my hand.”

"Isn't this just courting death?"

"Don't worry, boss. Anyone who dares to steal your stuff, the brothers will chop them up alive!"

Basong grinned, his expression sly: "I'm not stupid. If they dare to come, it means they have some ability. But I called the official intelligence department and they didn't find any signs of armed forces entering Banzhen. What does that mean? It means that at most, it's just a small team."

In Antai State, no one who rises to a certain position is a fool. Basong may seem simple-minded and rough, but he is actually shrewd. Far from ignoring the fragment holder who is closing in on him, he takes it seriously and even obtains intelligence from the Antai State government.

Since the authorities did not discover any large armed forces invading, it meant that only a small team of one or a few people had come, which undoubtedly reassured Basong a lot.

“Listen,” Basong said. “Spread the word to everyone in town: if you see a stranger these next few days, report it to me immediately. No punishment for wrongdoing, but a reward for rightdoing!”

"Also, waiting for people to come to me is not my style. Since they dare to come to An Dai State, I have to send someone over to give them a greeting."

Basong looked at one of his lean, long-faced confidants and said, "Mara, I'm leaving this to you."

“No problem,” Mara readily agreed. “But boss, where am I taking these people? Do you have a specific location?”

“Hmm…” Basong closed his eyes and carefully examined the map in his mind. “The location is north of Banzhen, not far from Antu. I can’t see the details clearly. Just take your men to that area and keep an eye on the foreigners. I’m sure they came from outside Antai State.”

"Understood, brother. I'll take my men there right away." Mara immediately got up and left.

Basong continued to his two remaining trusted confidants: "You two shouldn't be idle either. Get the security of the manor up and running. Starting today, you need to have people patrolling for me 24 hours a day. Even if a hawk flies in, I need to know whether it's male or female, understand?"

"Understood, brother!"

After the two left, Basong looked at the fragments in his hand and muttered, "This thing is good as it is, but it's a hot potato. Besides the one who came knocking on our door, the one with the other three pieces is probably not easy to deal with either..."

Basong was self-aware; he was just a local tyrant in Antai, with two or three hundred men and several hundred guns under his command. His power was decent, but compared to the real warlords in the Tulip Federation, he was just a small fry.

Not to mention if the other people holding the fragments were from official forces, whether it was the Soma Empire or the Yingqi Kingdom, these countries couldn't even afford to offend the Antai State, let alone him.

"This thing would be more of a menace to me. It's best to sell it on the market; I could easily fetch over a million Ascension Coins..."

Basong thought to himself, a hint of resentment creeping into his heart. There were only five of these extremely special puzzle pieces in the entire world, and he had one of them in his hands, giving him a somewhat smug feeling.

But he quickly thought of the four youths he had ordered killed; those four lads, possessing a treasure, were guilty of a crime and met a tragic end. What difference was there between his own power and that of those four lads to the officials of those powerful nations?
The thought that the tragic deaths of those four men might happen to him sent a chill down Basong's spine, making him instantly sober.

“Yes, I can’t risk my life. I can’t keep this; I need to sell it as soon as possible… I’ll wait until I get it to the other part of Antai State. With both parts in my hands, I should be able to sell them for an even higher price!”

He couldn't afford to offend others, but in the Antai State Guesthouse, having confirmed that the holder of the other fragment wasn't a large force, but rather just a small squad at most, he was confident that he could seize the fragment by relying on his superior numbers.

He wasn't even afraid of the opponent being a powerful Ascended Being. This was because he had previously significantly increased his mental power limit through the Eighth Rule, making him incredibly strong.

After thinking it over, Basong gripped the fragment tightly and made a decision: "After getting the two fragments, I'll bundle them together and sell them as a single item. I need to get at least five million Ascension Coins from that sale. That'll be enough to cover all my future needs!"

(End of this chapter)