chapter 1001: doomsday lockdown

the fanghorn lord was the elder brother of the present generation's ocean master's mother. it was just due to this close connection that the fanghorn lord could become the city lord of fanghorn city.
moreover, he relied on his relationship with the ocean master to live a lavish and tyrannical lifestyle in the residential zone.
there were many instances where the fanghorn lord abused his authority to get his way, whether it was removing a peasant he found unpleasant to his eyes or snatching a pretty woman that attracted his interest.
the fanghorn lord also had a sadistic side where he would toy with the women and force their men to watch if they offended him. afterward, he would kill them and remove all traces of his involvement.
after all, the fanghorn lord was the city lord; he still had a public image to keep up.
as such, none of his dirty deeds had ever been done openly. he would scheme, frame, or blackmail to achieve his twisted desires. if words of them ever got out, he would silence the whistleblowers and manipulate the media in his favor.
of course, what he had done was considered normal among the nobles. none of them were clean; they each had their own twisted hobbies.
there was even one occasion when the fanghorn lord invited a group of young students who had won honors and awards at their all-girl schools to his mansion.
what everyone thought was a rare celebration party hosted by the city lord turned into a tragic fire that killed twenty beautiful, talented young girls. only the fanghorn lord and the noble friends he secretly brought over knew what had actually transpired that night.
perhaps due to the absence of authority in the military department, the nobles found other ways to give them a fulfilling sense of authority and power, even if it meant stomping down on the weak and helpless.
...
inside of city lord's manor, the fanghorn lord and nobles gathered for a meeting. their eyes were filled with anxiety and uncertainty. some of them even possessed a hint of guilt and regret.
"what should we do? i haven't lived long enough yet."
"there's no need to worry. i have already sealed the transit pillars with my authority. even if the fanghorn general intervened, he would not be able to override it since the residential zone is my jurisdiction."
"so what if the fanghorn general can't override it? can't he smash his way through with brute force? he has general neyi and the sea monsters on his side."
"unless they don't care about the seventy million lives we are holding hostage, they will not act so recklessly, my friend. i called you all here to help me think - what can we do, and what can we offer to make the enemy reach a compromise with us?"
still, it was a stain he could not remove. once stepped in shit, a lifetime of smelliness.
...
fanghorn city, cultivation zone
"what's the current situation?" general neyi asked the fanghorn general after arriving with his troops. he shortly added, "can the transit pillars be open with brute force?"
"no," the fanghorn general said, shaking his head. "fanghorn city was built differently with doomsday in mind. if the transit pillars receive shock above a certain level, the entire residential zone will drop into the mantle layer."
"once the residential zone falls into the mantle layer, it'll be hard to track and even harder to reconnect," the fanghorn general stated.
fanghorn city was designed to be a self-sufficient ship capable of surviving in the mantle
layer. but without any navigation system or control to steer it due to its sheer size, it would
swim the sea of magma aimlessly.
general neyi frowned.
vaan had ordered him to take over fanghorn city. he couldn't take over fanghorn city if there were no fanghorn city left. after all, a fanghorn city without the core functions of the
residential zone and its population couldn't be considered a city.
what was a city without its people?
general neyi didn't dare to take on the risk of forcing his way into the residential zone. he
could only look for alternatives.
"is there a backup system to deactivate the lockdown state in the event that it was mistakenly activated or activated without official authorization?"
"yes, but it can only be manually done from the other side."