Volume 1: Raging Waves City Chapter 179: Relentless Pursuit
When the accident of the Changxiang-class steam airship caused new waves in the City of Rage, the news of Portlem's death reached the Tedega Hills.
The Tedega Hills in the southwest of the empire is the fief of the Celtic Duke and a place where barbarians live. Unlike the rapid changes in the outside world, the barbarians in the Tedega Hills still continue their old traditional life, and there seems to be no change in the past hundred years.
Slash-and-burn farming, animal husbandry and hunting.
Military training was also being carried out.
The barbarians are a militarized race. They are strictly selected from birth, and only strong babies are allowed to survive. At the age of three, barbarian children will begin training and be indoctrinated with the idea of loyalty to the Celtic Duke.
A seven-year-old barbarian is a formal soldier and joins the tribal army to receive more rigorous training.
Although the number of barbarians in Tedega Hills has always been small, all of them, regardless of gender or age, are very strong warriors.
In the past, the Barbarian Legion was the war hammer of the Golden Shield Empire. No matter how stubborn the enemy was, they could crush it to pieces by sending in the Barbarian Legion. But now... the new nobles have risen, and the old nobles are in decline.
The power of the royal family has never been as strong as it is now in the history of the empire, and the balance of the empire is tilting. There is no hereditary noble in the current imperial cabinet, which shows how far the emperor has alienated himself from his former allies.
The old nobles, with the Blade Brotherhood at their core, were unwilling to withdraw from the stage of history, and were also worried that the royal family would eventually deal with these kingdoms within kingdoms. Many hereditary nobles with fiefdoms were preparing for a possible civil war.
The Celtic Duke was the leading figure of this type of old aristocracy.
Howling Castle is the capital of Tedega Hills and the spiritual home of the barbarians. The barbarians who advocate offensiveness did not build walls for their Howling Castle. They believed that if the enemy attacked here, it would mean that all the barbarians in Tedega Hills had died in the battle, and a wall would be useless at that time.
However, the barbarians built the Celtic Duke's Castle, a symbol of honor, extremely magnificently, showing the barbarians' rough style to the fullest.
The underground area of the Celtic Castle is tightly guarded. It is the headquarters of the Abyss Temple, where Abyss mages can study the secret arts they want without restriction.
Upon learning of Portlem's death, the Celtic Duke came underground specifically to discuss countermeasures with the first apostle Victor.
The Celtic Duke had a stronger physique than the average barbarian. He wore a gorgeous old-style noble robe and a duke's crown. He had a slightly gray beard that was very beautifully groomed.
The Duke was followed by two followers. One of them was holding a scepter that was both a symbol of power and a heavy weapon, and the other was Erguya who had returned from the City of Rage.
Torches and braziers were lit everywhere in the underground area of the castle, and Abyss Mages wearing distinctive robes could be seen everywhere. Some of them were humans, some were barbarians, and some were other races... They were all attracted to the Abyss and determined to throw themselves into it.
Along the way, Erguya reported to the Duke of Celtic what he encountered in the City of Raging Waves.
He talked a lot about the clear sky, the falling stars, and Viscount Iscolan.
"Your Excellency the Duke... Viscount Iscolan betrayed the Brotherhood. Harriman's death was directly related to him. Iscolan is now very close to Inspector Meteorite, and Meteorite is an important nail planted by Her Royal Highness the Princess in Raging Waves City."
The Duke of Celtic had a very kingly demeanor and said calmly, "Iscolan is a very capable young noble, but his family fiefdom has long been integrated with the City of Raging Tides. His interests are different from ours, and his demands are also different from ours. It is normal that we cannot come together.
Many people in the Blade Brotherhood are in the same situation as him. They have long lost the courage and responsibility left by their ancestors and believe that they can survive by bowing and scraping.
In fact, the fight between the royal family and the new nobles in the City of Rage is in our favor. I only care about the Book of Disaster, which is related to how powerful my barbarian army can be.
Is the Book of Disaster still in the hands of the elf Qingkong?"
Erguya followed the Duke of Celtic and walked in the underground passage.
"Yes, Your Excellency. The informant we bribed reported that the Book of Disaster has been in the hands of Elf Qingkong since it appeared. Dean Wilred did not have it, and he has no intention of asking for it back... He said that Elf Qingkong can use the Book of Disaster safely."
"Use the Book of Disaster safely?" Duke Celtic stopped and asked Erguya, "Are you sure?"
"Not sure. No one has ever seen Qingkong use the Book of Disaster. All this is what Dean Wilred said. He might be lying."
Duke Celtic continued to walk forward: "The appearance of the Book of Disaster and the death of the two Abyss Apostles have disrupted our plans. Let's hear what Victor has to say."
In a secret laboratory, the Duke of Celtic met the first apostle Victor.
Even though he had seen them countless times, the Celtic Duke still found it difficult to distinguish these apostles of the abyss by their appearance. The influence of the abyss made them all have shriveled skin and a pair of red eyes.
But Victor has a very unique temperament.
His scholarly demeanor makes it easy to overlook his appearance. If you chat with him, you will be overwhelmed by his rich knowledge.
"Mr. Victor." The Celtic Duke saluted Victor politely, which was a sign of respect for the strong.
Victor was in a bad mood. He invited the Duke of Celtic to sit down and said, "I know why you came. I also received the news of Portram's death. This surprised me. And Harriman...
We opened the Abyss together and built the Abyss Temple together. Over the past hundred years, we have sat together countless times to discuss our respective mystical research. However, in this short period of time, I completely lost two of my best friends.
The opponent is very strong.”
Duke Celtic said: "I express my deepest condolences for the passing of the two Abyss Apostles. They were also my close friends and my mentors.
Now I want to hear what the Abyss Temple's next plan is? Will they continue to recover the Book of Disaster? Raging Tide City is more dangerous than we expected... My people are doing their best to investigate Qingkong's background. "
Victor said: "The Book of Disaster is the secret subject of the Abyss. We have been trying to make another Book of Disaster for many years, but we have failed... It is irreplaceable.
If you want to have a barbarian army blessed by the power of the abyss, you must help us get the Book of Disaster."
"But my relationship with you has been exposed." Duke Celtic said worriedly: "A member of the Blade Brotherhood in Fury City discovered the relationship between Erguya and Harriman and told the Imperial Secret Intelligence Bureau about it. Now His Majesty must have known about our cooperation.
He has long been wary of me, and the war is likely to break out early. I hope that the Abyss Temple will focus on preparing for me at this time, rather than spending it in Raging Tide City... The death of the two Abyss Apostles is a loss we cannot afford."
The reason why Duke Celtic came to see Victor was to persuade him to give up the task of taking back the Book of Disaster. Each Abyss Apostle was the top fighter on his side, and Duke Celtic was heartbroken to lose two of them in vain in the City of Raging Waves.
Although Victor was thinking about the Book of Disaster, he had to admit that Duke Celtic was right. Howling City was the headquarters of the Abyss Temple. It was with the support of Duke Celtic that the Abyss Temple was able to develop. The barbarians' attitude towards life and death made this place a fertile ground for the research of the Abyss Mage's secret arts.
The Abyss Temple cannot lose this place. If the Imperial Civil War has to be fought, the Abyss Mages must fight for the barbarians.
"I already know what you mean. The mysterious origin and powerful strength of the elf Qingkong should alert us. The Abyss Temple has entered the investigation stage of the Book of Disaster. We must first find out Qingkong's identity and then make a plan.
I will summon the Abyss Mages scattered around the world to the Howling City. Even without the Book of Doom, we can still build a powerful barbarian army for you."
"Thank you, Mr. Victor... I will also mobilize my power in Raging Waves City to investigate the Spirit Clear Sky for you."
At this time, Luke didn't know that because he changed the plot, the Imperial Civil War, which was supposed to break out five years later, had the possibility of breaking out earlier.
Now he was only thinking about how to win a battle in Raging Waves City.
The spies of the Cape District Secret Service were like a mad wild dog, biting the Changxiang-class hydrogen airship accident and refusing to let go. After all, their chief inspector was on the burning airship at the time, so it was understandable that the imperial spies went crazy.
The Cape District Secret Service sued the City Alchemist Association for murder and collected evidence everywhere. In order to compete with the Alchemist Association for the wreckage of the airship, Shelley led the Rangers to fight for it, blocked all possible areas where the wreckage of the airship might fall, and organized people conduct a carpet search.
In Nutao City, all the Alchemist Association's subordinate organizations related to the development of hydrogen airships were frequently visited by imperial spies. In particular, the personnel directly involved in arranging the Changxiang-class airship as a duel field were forcibly taken away for interrogation.
The Cape District Secret Affairs Bureau relied on its status as the victim to recklessly exercise its privileges. The City Alchemist Association was inherently at fault. Not only did they have to deal with a difficult lawsuit, but the hydrogen airship accident had already left them in a state of panic.
How does hydrogen with added stabilizer burn?
How to compensate for the losses caused by the incident?
How to rebuild society’s trust in the safety of hydrogen airships?
A lot of follow-up investigations on the accident were waiting for the City Alchemist Association to do, but not only was there no clue to the wreckage of the airship due to the scramble by the Cape District Secret Intelligence Bureau, but those who had direct contact with the Changxiang-class hydrogen airship were all arrested.
I want to check, but I can't.
Without the truth and data, there is no way to do public relations to restore the image of the hydrogen airship.
The City Alchemist Association was stuck in this trouble for a whole month. During this period, the City Council made a major adjustment to the Cape Harbor renovation project.
Withdraw the previous decision to hand over the project to Saxon Engineering , and hand the project over to the local engineering company in Cape District...Yanyang Group.
Get a small victory first.
Luke continued to lead his subordinates to exert all-round pressure and harassment on the City Alchemist Association, not giving the other party any chance to breathe within the range of the hydrogen airship.
In the major newspapers of Raging Waves City, the hydrogen airship accident and the murder case of the City Alchemist Association took turns to make headlines. Inspector Meteorite occasionally accepted interviews and recounted his tragic duel with Edgar on the burning airship.
For most city dwellers, these days, people are enjoying a lot of food; for newspapers, as long as there is information about Meteorite Detective, the newspapers of the day are guaranteed to sell out. Meteorite Detective has become a traffic code, and major newspapers are racking their brains to get information related to Meteorite Detective.
But for those who have invested in hydrogen airships, every day is a torment. They know that their hearts will ache when they see the relevant news, but they can't help but read it.
They wanted to know if there was any way to save the hydrogen airship project, but the City Alchemist Association didn't even give a good answer, not even an explanation of how the airship caught fire.
Disappointment turned into despair.
When I saw how happy the Cape District Secret Affairs Bureau was in reporting the City Alchemist Association, I felt a sense of relief.
After the city council gave the Cape Harbor renovation project back to the Yanyang Group, Yomington was released by Qingkong.
With the whole city in a state of anxiety, he became an ignored existence. Yomington was also very low-key, hiding in his room, not looking for anyone, not seeing anyone.
Every day I just read the newspaper and listen to the news from all sides collected by my subordinates.
He could see that Inspector Meteorite was holding back his energy to pursue the City Alchemist Association relentlessly over the incident of the Flying-class hydrogen airship. Even though the parliament changed the relevant resolution of Cape Harbor under pressure, he still refused to give up.
It seemed that he just wanted to vent his anger and take the opportunity to establish his own authority.
But Yomington always felt that things were not as simple as they seemed. When Inspector Meteorite did things... appearance was never his purpose.
Yomington combined the intelligence collected by various parties, trying to find out the real purpose of Meteorite Detective's mischief this time, but he has been unable to find the point.
He couldn't have known that his actions would only disgust the City Alchemist Association, and would not really prove the murder. So why was he doing his best to interfere with the City Alchemist Association?
Seeing nothing to show for the meteorite, Yominton turned his attention to his allies.
Viscount Iscolan, Councillor Ibel, and Lady Michelle not only did not stop Meteorite from doing this, but actively used the resources at their disposal to assist.
This is not in their interest.
Meteorite doesn’t have much connection with the City Alchemist Association, he can do whatever he wants, but these three people are different.
Especially for Councillor Ibul, offending the City Alchemist Association would be like destroying his own rice bowl. But Councillor Ibul was jumping up and down, jumping the most vigorously.
Where does he get the confidence from?
Or... he knew that if Inspector Meteorite accomplished what he wanted, he wouldn't have to worry about retaliation from the City Alchemist Association.
In other words, Inspector Meteorite wants to abolish the City Alchemist Association!
Yomington was so frightened by his own conclusion that he broke out in a cold sweat.
Is this possible?
