When the plot-skips players into the game world

"Apprentice Inspectors, go protect the documents, protect the citizens! Move all the citizens into my office!"

Dressed in armor, the newly appointed Director of the Red Queen District Inspection Bureau, Taya, issued orders with a booming voice amid the crowd, "Legal Mages, continue to maintain the barrier, Inspectors check your firearms and ammunition!"

Her voice held power, one that could reassure.

She felt frantic and somewhat incredulous.

This was the first time the Red Queen District Inspection Bureau had been directly attacked by illegal Transcendents—

Her first reaction was, "Have you lost your minds?"

But soon, Taya realized the attackers had planned this in advance. They were waiting for the Bureau to be at its weakest!

Just moments ago, a sudden mix of curses descended upon the interior of the Bureau without warning.

They were not lethal curses, but that very fact made them all the harder to resist.

Taya easily identified the type of curse.

First came the "Curse of Fear." Sudden terror made the ordinary people who were at the Bureau for reporting crimes, being arrested, paying taxes, or settling fines go mad, and even some of the weaker Legal Mages were affected.

Inspectors, due to their enhanced willpower, were fairly resistant to these kinds of mind-affecting curses.

However, the ordinary people driven mad by the curse were either screaming loudly, fleeing in all directions, attacking the nearest person they could see, or throwing things around with some exhibiting a combination of symptoms.

The Inspectors couldn't directly attack these civilians, and they also lacked the immediate ability to dispel the curses.

They would normally need to shout an order to deter them through the force of Authority, but under the Curse of Fear, their psyches were vulnerable.

Attempting deterrent measures risked scaring them to death.

The interior of the Bureau descended into chaos in an instant.

There were not many Legal Mages within the Bureau, as they generally worked at the Court of Law. They tried to use Law Magic to bring the uncontrollable civilians under control—their spells were very effective as ordinary people couldn't resist the Legal Mages' bonds, and the simplest spells had a hundred percent chance of restraining someone.

But there were too many people... this caused the already not highly ranked Legal Mages to rapidly deplete their mana. They soon realized they couldn't continue like this and could only ask the Inspectors to carry away the civilians jammed in the hall—to at least move them somewhere they wouldn't be in the way.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Then came a potent "Weakness Curse." The specs of the Cursing Sorcerer weren't clear, but their unabashedly dark-red arrays flashed briefly. The curse spread through the interior of the Bureau in an instant, complementing rather than conflicting with the fear, affecting about seventy percent of the people.

The only silver lining was that the crazed civilians calmed down, no longer necessitating the continued drain on the Legal Mages' mana.

Although spreading the curse among so many people lessened its strength, it was still enough to slow the Inspectors considerably during combat.

Specifically, it was like being accustomed to wielding a sword with the right hand and then having to switch to the left. It was that kind of awkward feeling.

For the civilians, it meant collapsing on the spot, utterly unable to move.

Likewise, carrying them became more laborious.

At this moment, a pack of Demon Dogs rushed in, drooling with stenchy saliva, and began to tear at the people.

The Bureau immediately guessed their identities and purpose.

These were the Demon Scholars of the Noble Red! They had come for a prison break!

Why did it have to be now— Stay connected via empire

Just today... the Great Guardian was not at home, and calls to his house went unanswered. And Mr. Doane had been invited to attend the Prince's memorial service.

Director Taya had no choice but to call the Hall of Silver and Tin for reinforcement, hoping they could quickly find someone—

But at that moment, they discovered the telephones had been cut.

Most of the Inspectors at the Supervisory Bureau were of the second energy level, with a few at the third. Only Director Taya, former Director Gordon, and the Chief Legal Mage Doane were at the fourth level.

Leveraging the Authority Force that came with her position as Director, Taya dispatched three Demon Dogs in mere seconds. After her intervention, the situation quickly came under control.

It was thanks to Director Taya that they gained time and stabilized their minds... The Legal Mages, who had forgotten their contingency training in the initial panic, also activated defensive barriers to prevent individuals inside from leaving and outsiders from entering.

With the barriers resisting, at least the enemies couldn't directly rush in. And if there were to be an attack from the outside, the barrier would intercept it.

Since the civilians were still crowded in the hall, heavy as drunken bodies, difficult to move, the Inspectors couldn't use their guns to attack the Demon Dogs directly. Fortunately, they were at least wearing half-armor while at the Bureau, allowing them to confront the Demon Dogs with close-combat weapons.

They could only use their weapons and bodies to hold off the Demon Dogs... but, under their masters' commands, the Demon Dogs completely ignored the Inspectors and only bit at the civilians. This made it difficult for the Inspectors to divert their attention and required a greater sacrifice to protect them.

The onslaught was hard to fend off, as the jagged iron armor caused intense pain and lacerations.

Essentially, it was up to the Inspectors of the third energy level and above to promptly eliminate the Demon Dogs.