Online Game: I Started with Max Charisma and Caught the Goddess's Eye

Chapter 481: Chapter 481: The Celebration of the Mediocre

With a thunderous explosion at the junction on the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, Luca and all the powerful chaotic beings were pulled into the Eternal World.

At the same time, the junction itself was completely sealed off—for the moment.

Naturally, everyone inside the Imperial Capital noticed the change. Each person had their own thoughts, but the majority exhaled in relief.

Zenobia, the Silent Dark Shadow, and Senator Devitt had placed immense pressure on the Federation’s upper echelons. Their departure from the real world was, without question, something for the leadership to celebrate.

Though a few among the Federation’s high-ranking officials had some faith in Luca and felt a twinge of regret at his passage into the Eternal World, the vast majority did not. On the contrary, they believed Luca deserved to be eradicated as well.

To most of the Federation’s leadership, while Luca occasionally cooperated with them, he was ultimately uncontrollable. And an uncontrollable powerhouse was something they could never accept.

The great families of the Imperial Capital thought much the same. For now, they still did not realize that the so-called Great Sage was none other than Senator Devitt. From their perspective, they were already the mightiest force in the real world.

All of them were simply waiting for the Great Sage’s return. Once he reappeared, they intended to harness his strength to dominate the entire Federation.

While such influential figures schemed, others thought far less deeply.

At Morning Star headquarters, the atmosphere was suffocatingly heavy.

Drumph sat in silence, brow furrowed.

He had originally intended to go aid Luca, but just as he was about to depart, the Federation’s upper leadership had issued him explicit orders: he was to remain at Morning Star headquarters.

Now, as he stared at the images being transmitted back from the junction site, regret gnawed at him.

“If only I’d had the courage to withstand the pressure… to defy the Federation’s orders and go to Luca’s aid! Even if my strength couldn’t compare to theirs, I still could have given him some support. Maybe then he wouldn’t have needed to resort to mutual destruction to defeat such powerful foes…”

His words fell into a hollow murmur, his eyes empty.

Around him, the other members of Morning Star were also overcome with sorrow. None of them knew that Luca had merely entered the Eternal World. To them, it seemed certain that he had perished together with the chaotic beings in a final, desperate clash.

Not far from the main hall, Zovland stood alongside his subordinates.

His emotions at that moment were extremely complicated.

He had indeed been at odds with Luca before, and it was true that he had very much wished for Luca to suffer misfortune.

Yet now that Luca had seemingly perished together with the chaotic beings, he could not help but feel a deep sense of regret.

After all, no matter what their past conflicts had been, he had always acknowledged Luca’s strength. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths, time and again, to scheme against him.

“Sir, Lord Logan has returned!”

One of Zovland’s men spoke in a lowered voice.

Zovland gave a small nod and immediately walked in the direction of Drumph.

“Lord Logan has already come back. We need to report to him as quickly as possible about the series of events that have recently taken place,” Zovland said evenly.

He had no intention of taking this opportunity to provoke Drumph.

Drumph simply nodded, his face expressionless.

The two of them then proceeded toward Logan’s office together.

But the instant they stepped inside, both men froze.

Before them stood Logan, gravely wounded, his body surrounded by a powerful aura of curses.

Drumph rushed forward at once, his voice filled with concern.

“How could your condition have deteriorated to such a state? You must receive treatment immediately—you cannot remain in this office like this!”

“That’s right! Your injuries are extremely severe. And if the curses surrounding your body are not dispelled quickly, they will only further aggravate your wounds,” Zovland added anxiously.

Faced with the two men’s urgent pleas, Logan gave a bitter, pained smile.

“There’s no need for you to be overly concerned. My injuries only look far worse than they truly are. I just need some time to recuperate, and I’ll be able to restore myself fully.”

But as soon as he finished speaking, Logan was seized by a violent fit of coughing.

The display only deepened Drumph’s and Zovland’s worry.

Both of them were preparing to continue persuading him—

But Logan gave them no such chance. He waved his hand lightly, cutting off their words and abruptly shifting the topic.

“When the monster horde came last time, I left the Imperial Capital. During my absence, I imagine quite a lot must have happened here, hasn’t it?”

Drumph and Zovland both nodded at the same time.

“Then give me a detailed account of everything that has happened in the Imperial Capital during my absence.”

Logan spoke in a calm tone.

Although Drumph and Zovland were still somewhat worried, it seemed that Logan’s condition had stabilized for the moment.

Drumph then carefully recounted all that had transpired in the Imperial Capital over the recent period.

When he finished, Logan gave a slight nod.

“These events unfolded just as I anticipated, and your responses were executed without flaw.”

No sooner had he spoken than another violent coughing fit wracked his body.

After barely managing to steady himself, he spoke again in a labored, breathless voice.

“The junction has already been sealed for the time being. What we must do next is eliminate the monsters that remain within the city districts of the Imperial Capital. This task poses no great difficulty for us. You two, take your subordinates and see to it.”

With that, he waved his hand dismissively, driving the two men from his office.

The moment the door closed, Logan was overtaken by yet another fit of coughing—this one far more severe and drawn out.

It wasn’t until he coughed up a great deal of blood from his throat that the attack finally subsided.

“This too… is part of your scheme, isn’t it? You deliberately created a chaos deity and then sent that deity straight to the Imperial Capital! Do you truly wish to see the Human Federation utterly destroyed? Does this really serve you—or Zenith Technology Company—in any way?!”

Logan muttered in a faint, broken voice.

As he spoke, his eyes were filled with confusion and disorientation.

And with those words, he immediately collapsed into unconsciousness.

Out in the corridor beyond the office doors, Drumph and Zovland were in the midst of assigning tasks to their respective teams. Both men knew all too well the crushing weight of the pressure now upon them.

This time, they had resolved to act in true cooperation.

“We have had our misunderstandings in the past. I apologize for my recklessness,” Zovland said—an unprecedented concession.

His words left Drumph deeply astonished. He regarded Zovland with a look of mild disbelief, waiting to hear what else he would say.

“For the sake of Morning Star, and for the Human Federation, our next actions must be carried out in absolute coordination.”

“That goes without saying! In the actions to come, I will certainly work closely with you.”

Drumph agreed without the slightest hesitation.

He had never truly wanted to remain locked in constant opposition with Zovland.

It wasn’t out of fear of conflict—rather, he simply felt that such clashes wasted far too much of his energy.

After a brief moment of thought, Drumph continued,

“I also must take part of the responsibility for the conflicts that have happened before. I failed to restrain my subordinates from deliberately stirring up trouble.”

And so, the two men exchanged apologies.

The awkward tension that had lingered between them finally dissipated.

They quickly finished dividing their tasks and set their plans into motion.

At the very same time, aboard a craft bound for the Imperial Capital, Nova too received the latest intelligence.

She did not make any immediate judgment, for everything that had occurred recently was simply too bizarre.

Nova felt she needed more time before she could reach the right conclusion.

Fuzzsir, however—traveling alongside her toward the Imperial Capital—was far less cautious.

The instant he heard the news, he exclaimed in shock,

“How is that possible?! How could Luca be defeated by a chaotic monster?! Was he betrayed by someone?!”

Fuzzsir revered Luca deeply.

In his eyes, Luca was the strongest of all humanity—utterly incapable of losing.

If Luca truly had been defeated, then it meant humanity stood no chance of resisting the chaotic monsters.

And that, in turn, meant that humanity’s annihilation was inevitable.

This was something Fuzzsir simply could not accept.

“The intelligence we have right now is far too limited. The truth of the situation must be far more complicated than what’s written in the reports,” Nova said slowly, hoping to calm him.

After all, the two of them would need to cooperate closely in the days ahead.

If Fuzzsir could not keep his composure, countless mistakes were bound to occur in the course of their collaboration.

“It must have been the great families of the Imperial Capital secretly sabotaging Luca! Maybe they used their influence with the Federation’s leadership to forbid Drumph from going to support him!”

Despite Nova’s words, Fuzzsir did not calm down.

He remained agitated, wildly speculating about what could have happened.

Yet, though his demeanor was anything but calm, his guesses were remarkably close to the truth.

Many among the Federation’s upper echelons were indeed displeased with Luca—though, strictly speaking, they had not intentionally sent him to his death.

The ones who truly wanted Luca dead were the great families of the Imperial Capital.

It was they who pushed the Federation’s leadership to issue the order forbidding Morning Star from supporting Luca.

Nova let out a cold laugh.

“Even if your suspicions are correct, what does it matter? Their plan has already succeeded. Without Luca’s aid, can you really stand against the great families of the Imperial Capital?”

Faced with Nova’s pointed question, Fuzzsir finally calmed down.

“I truly have no way to oppose them myself. But that doesn’t mean Morning Star is powerless against them!”

“You cannot speak for Morning Star—not now, at least,” Nova replied again, her tone icy.

At last, Fuzzsir fell completely silent.