Angle's Arrogance? My Pact with the Succubus Queen!-Chapter 269: The Central Hub Beyond the Anchor!

Chapter 269: Chapter 269: The Central Hub Beyond the Anchor!

Suddenly, Camilla General gasped, "I can sense Shadow’s will directly interfering. She’s forcing high-level warriors to convert, using them as backup vessels to set up a new anchor!"

Old Corleone’s eyes narrowed, "Rex, get a team of Inquisition knights out there, now! We can’t let her set up a disruption node!"

"Got it!" Rex grabbed his helmet and ran out immediately.

Sangra City Lord also stood up, "I’m going too. I don’t want to just sit around."

After the two left, the intelligence center fell quiet again.

Elena kept monitoring the city’s rune network. Grayson got a call and his face turned even graver. "Another patrol unit in the old industrial district in the south is missing."

At that moment, the air in the center of the room twisted. Two figures silently appeared from the shadows—Fischl and Vincent.

"Mr. Corleone," Fischl nodded slightly. "We brought the full analysis of the [Trinity Anchor Method] from The Black Church."

She opened the ancient book, and the pages flipped on their own, stopping at a page.

It had old Shadow Tribes script, along with complicated geometric patterns.

Fischl explained, "According to the text, we can use a Shadow Resonance ritual to track the exact locations of these three vessels."

When the old man heard this, his eyes lit up. "What materials do we need?"

"Materials are easy, but it needs a strong Runesmith to set it up." Fischl turned to Elena. "Miss Runesmith, please help me set up the ritual array."

Elena looked at Fischl and smiled. "Girl, Logan doesn’t like serious girls like you. You should relax a little."

Fischl blushed and gave Elena a quick look.

Then, with Elena’s help, the ritual circle was quickly set up.

Once the materials were in place, Fischl started the ritual. The circle began to resonate, showing faint traces of the Shadow Vein.

"Location is starting!" Fischl closed her eyes and focused. "First point: deep underground in Saint Heart City, about 800 meters. Energy signature... it’s the body of the former chairman Newson, now turned into the core of a 36-star puppet."

On the holographic map, the underground area of Saint Heart City lit up with the first red dot.

"Second point: the third level of the underground prison at the Judgement Tribunal headquarters... Energy signature... it’s Judge Diablo. He’s a 22-star fire-element destruction legend. He’s been deeply controlled by Shadow Beings, but his own will hasn’t completely disappeared."

The second red dot lit up at the Tribunal’s location.

"Third point: the central vault of the Federation Bank... Energy signature... it’s the bank’s president himself. He’s being used as an economic node. High concentrations of shadow ore bomb energy were detected around him."

The third red dot appeared.

The three red dots on the map formed a perfect equilateral triangle, covering the whole Saint Heart City and the surrounding area.

But Fischl’s ritual didn’t stop. She was sweating slightly, still digging deeper.

"Wait! There’s another layer between these three anchors!" Her voice was tight. "Shadow set up a deception layer. The real core transmission point isn’t these three places themselves, but the center where their lines meet—300 meters underground at the Holy Heart Square!"

On the projection, a fourth mark appeared in the center of the three red dots, and it was darker than the others.

Corleone’s pupils widened. "Triangular nesting. Cutting the outer three anchors will only weaken her by 30%. We have to take out this central node at the same time, or we won’t fully cut off her projection link."

At that moment, Darwin General’s encrypted communication came through.

"Coordinates confirmed," Darwin’s voice came through the comms, calm and clear. "By analyzing the resonance frequency of the Order Reorganization Protocol’s nano-runes, we’ve traced the exact positions of the three anchors. Here are the data..."

The coordinates he sent matched exactly with Fischl’s ritual results, even the depth of the central node was spot-on.

Double verification. The intelligence was 100% reliable.

Corleone took a deep breath and wasted no time. He started giving a series of orders.

"Elena, sync these four coordinates with Logan, Solon, and my own strike team right now."

"Grayson, mobilize all A-level and above adventurers from the Adventurer Guild. Split them into four groups—each will handle the outer clearing and support for one anchor or node."

"As for Rex, I hope he can stop the new anchor from forming in time."

He paused, then turned to Fischl and Vincent. "Ladies and gentlemen, I need The Black Church’s help. Destroying the central node will be the hardest part. There’s no doubt Shadow left her strongest defenses there."

Fischl and Vincent exchanged a glance and nodded. "We’ll join the strike on the central node. But, Mr. Corleone, there’s something we need to say upfront. After this, we need access to the Temple’s ancient texts about [Ancient Ruins]."

Corleone agreed immediately. "Fine! As long as the Federation survives this, anything is negotiable."

The intelligence was fully gathered, and the plan was set. But old Corleone knew the hardest part had only just begun.

He walked to the window and looked outside.

The city sky was still painted red by the afterglow of distant steel fortress explosions.

This city, which he had built and run for decades, was still breathing through its wounds, caught in a crisis.

"Grandpa," Evelynna’s voice came from the door. "The family forces are all gathered. We’re ready to go."

After reporting, she added with a hint of worry in her tone: "But Grandpa, are we really sure we should attack all four points at once? Splitting our forces like this is too risky."

Corleone turned around, looking at Evelynna’s young but determined face. "This isn’t splitting up. It’s coordination. [Operation Cut Anchor] is like disarming a bomb. You have to cut all the key lines at the same time. If even one remains, it could cause a chain reaction and destroy everything."

"But what if—"

"There’s no ’what if,’" Corleone cut her off, his voice low and firm. "Evelynna, remember this: politics is the art of compromise, but war is not."

"War has only two outcomes—victory or destruction." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"We’re standing on the edge of a cliff. One step back, and we fall into the abyss."

Evelynna was silent for a few seconds, then nodded firmly. "I understand."

She turned and left, walking with strong, decisive steps.

Old Corleone watched her back as she left, his eyes flashing with a mix of emotions. But soon, they were replaced by a cold, unwavering resolve.

He returned to the long table and opened his pocket watch again.

The watch didn’t show time. Instead, it displayed a mini holographic projection, updating in real-time with the energy readings from the four anchor points.

Every reading was rising extremely slowly but steadily, which meant Shadow was accelerating the energy extraction.

Corleone sighed, then quickly opened a channel to Logan. "Logan, coordinates are all confirmed. The operation plan is synced. How long before you can start the strike?"

Logan’s voice came through the comms, laced with exhaustion from the battle. "Thirty minutes. The first anchor’s assault starts then. Natalia, Sophia, and Lucia are in place."

"Solon’s team?" Corleone frowned.

"Solon, Camilla’s body and Dominic have reached the Judgement Tribunal’s outer perimeter. They’re executing the infiltration plan." Logan paused, then added, more serious: "Old man, the central node’s on you. If you can’t handle it, call me. I can teleport over and help."

"I know." Old Corleone calmly closed his pocket watch. "I’ll be there myself."

The communication ended.

Old Corleone stood up, taking one last look at the four glaring red dots on the holographic map. He reached out and shut the device down.

He picked up the family cloak draped over the chair, threw it over his shoulders, and fastened the collar tightly. "You kids better not underestimate us old-timers."

With that, he grabbed his cane and stepped out of the room.

...

Deep underground, 800 meters beneath Saint Heart City.

A long-lost ancient altar was first discovered by Logan and his team.

Logan stood at the entrance of the altar, with Natalia, Sophia, and Lucia behind him.

They were all in full combat mode, ready for anything.

Suddenly, a heavy footstep echoed from deep within the altar. Each step sent tremors through the rock walls.

From the darkness, a red light flickered to life—Newson, the former prime minister, emerged, his body marked with 36 star symbols.

The puppet spoke, its voice like a blade scraping through foam: "Logan, the Shadow Lord saw you coming."

Logan didn’t waste words. He raised his hand.

Thirty-five-star power flared, and a Space Restriction field exploded from his palm, swallowing the entire altar.

Newson’s puppet just clenched its fist, and a thirty-six-star pressure burst forth, shattering the field in an instant. "Logan, the star mark gap is absolute."

The puppet took a step forward, its eyes glowing red. "You’re one star below me. That’s a thousand times the gap."

Seeing this, Natalia and the others moved first.

Hellweaver’s battle suit shot out a web of black threads, wrapping around Newson’s limbs.

Sophia and Lucia attacked from the sides, trying to prevent the puppet from countering.

"Stupid 20-star fools. You don’t deserve to fight me!" The puppet didn’t even bother to block.

At the moment the threads touched its skin, they were corroded and broken by shadow energy. The surge of power hit the puppet, but left not a single mark.

Then, with a simple wave of its hand, the puppet sent Natalia, Sophia, and Lucia sprawling through the air.