Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

Chapter 1902 - 1901: Civilization and Conflict: The Green Lake Incident

The traces of Whisper Elements on the man were extremely intense upon contact. His Relic Level control was at least Sage Level. However, the characteristic of this control-type Relic seemed to primarily lie in its "concealment" rather than its "reliability."

Shard looked at the approaching Royal Guards and the carriage not far away, then glanced at the man who was still smiling and waving. Although he knew that doing nothing would likely not lead to any major incident, safety was still the priority:

"I truly am about to become part of the historical process."

From within the drooping right arm’s sleeve, a pre-prepared silver Fountain Pen was drawn. Raising his left hand high, he saluted the approaching carriage:

"Long live the Cavendish Family, may Duke Galina always be healthy!"

His voice was unremarkable amidst the crowd, just as unnoticed as the man beside him who was being controlled.

The carriage drew closer, and the man with the silver Fountain Pen and the man with the silver Fountain Pen pinned to his chest both squeezed forward. People were cheering and celebrating. The golden eyes of Miss Galina, in the morning light of this Sunday, noticed the glimmering silver Fountain Pen.

But then, Shard placed his right hand on the shoulder of the man beside him:

"Puppetry."

The Whisper Element clashed with the power of the Arcane Technique, with the Arcane Technique finally gaining the upper hand. Then, Shard reached into his pocket and turned a Steam Bomb, borrowed from Lecia this morning, from a toy into a real object, slipping it into the man’s hand from below.

Controlled by Shard, the man removed the silver Fountain Pen from his chest, so Shard placed his silver Fountain Pen in his own breast pocket.

The carriage came close, the sunlight was just right, and the cheering scared the birds in the sky. Dark clouds loomed on the horizon, rain was on its way, and the morning temperature of spring left countless people with sweaty palms at that moment.

The Royal Guards marched in neat order, and the carriage’s wheels crushed the specially repaired stones of the road before the negotiations, producing a stable and rhythmic sound. The Duchess and the Princess of the Southern Nation inside the carriage were so charming in the sunlight, while the sunlight reflected off the cap of the silver Fountain Pen on the roadside was so dazzling.

"Oh, what are you planning to do?"

Suddenly, a commotion erupted from the roadside, and two men burst through the police’s cordon. The man with no Fountain Pen on his chest raised his right hand high holding the Steam Bomb, gripping his lapel with his left hand and shouting loudly:

"I’m wrapped with a Steam Bomb, if anyone moves, I’ll take everyone with me!"

Meanwhile, the man with the silver Fountain Pen pinned to his chest seized the time his companion had bought, raised a pistol towards the carriage window, and shouted aloud:

"For the glory of Carsonrick! Remember, the one who attempts to assassinate you is Ace-Grey-headed Eagle!"

The gun was aimed at Galina Cavendish’s frail and stunned face, and as the gunshot rang out with a "bang," Margaret hurriedly pulled Miss Galina’s sleeve, making her duck to avoid the shot.

Subsequently, the Golden-haired Princess picked up a small handgun, prepared according to the plan to shoot outside, but discovered it wasn’t just one person, but two. Nevertheless, she followed the plan to aim and fire at the Fountain Pen, and after the gunshot, a snowflake burst on the chest of the Outlander. He clutched his chest and collapsed, then rolled swiftly, using his Flesh Power as if striking a ball to knock down the police and a large crowd.

The screams and exclamations were incessant. The man holding the Steam Bomb widened his eyes looking at his "companion," then was tackled to the ground by the fearless Royal Guards. The pile of people formed a mound with him pressed at the bottom. Using his last ounce of strength, he rolled the Steam Bomb towards the crowd’s direction:

"For Carsonrick! For Carsonrick!"

He shouted this, but almost no one could hear his voice. The rolling Steam Bomb triggered further chaos.

The dark clouds pressed in from the north, covering the earth and shrouding the chaotic street and terrified people.

By Green Lake’s border, south of Little Flynn Village.

Captain Lades, with a cold expression, set down the binoculars behind a haystack and nodded to the soldiers behind him, whose faces were tight with tension and unease. They then crossed the border line together, heading towards the mill by the river on the south side of the village. Five minutes later, warning gunfire from Carsonrick appeared across the river at the pig farm. Captain Lades did not retreat, instead raising his sidearm and shouting:

"We haven’t crossed the border, this is Draleon territory!"

He pulled the trigger aiming at the sky, and the gunshot sound, as if capable of shaking the heavens, was followed by other sporadic gunshots that soon grew more frequent, like popping corn, and then the first Steam Bomb was thrown.

More and more troops gathered at the skirmish site, as bullets and flames engulfed what was once a peaceful rural Sunday morning.

Having initiated all this, Captain Lades, with the reinforcement’s arrival, had already led his now only five-strong patrol squad, with the cover of following troops, back to the village entrance of Little Flynn Village.

It seemed like endless ranks were streaming from the village head towards the southern battlefield between the mill and pig farm by the creek. Captain Lades no longer wanted to move, stumbled to a stack of grain at the village head, and touched a wound on his forehead caused by a stray bullet. He looked at the military doctor, who was getting ready to tend to the group’s injuries, against a backdrop of increasingly frequent gunfire in the distance.

He waved the doctor away, leaned against the stack of grain, and looked up to the sky. The black clouds from the north pressed in, turning the sky grey until the sun was completely obscured.

Water droplets slid down the captain’s cheek, and the middle-aged man’s face, for some reason appearing somewhat aged, felt them, then realized they were rain drops.

The pouring rain soon fell, and "Captain Eight-Guns" Napoleon Lades leaned against the haystack, slumped at the village entrance outside the battlefield, gazing at the sky.

He knew that a new era was probably about to arrive.

(As the wheels of history turn...)

The news of the assassination attempt on Duke Galina and Princess Margaret in Green Lake City spread throughout the entire Green Lake Region within just half an hour. Then, rumors of border skirmishes between the two countries further puzzled the citizens who were unaware of the truth, pondering what exactly happened today, and whether the Peaceful Era was about to end because of this.

Since the negotiations at Green Lake began, Green Lake City entered its first citywide lockdown. Police and an endless stream of troops blocked every important intersection in the city and searched all suspicious locations for the unknown assassin who disappeared after being shot in the chest.

The violent rain washed the city clean within just half an hour, quickly developing into a storm, yet on the streets, one could still see the police wrapped in raincoats riding horses back and forth.

On the third floor of the Green Lake Hotel, the roaring sound created by the rain outside frowned the beautiful brows of Dorothy, who somewhat dissatisfied asked Shard, sitting by the bed:

"I understand that your decision at the time was the safest, and I also know you aren’t afraid of a bullet hitting your chest, but was it really necessary to let her shoot you once?"

Blood-stained cotton, bandages, and various magic potion bottles were placed on the table, as Megan bent down to check the recovery status of Shard’s chest. Earlier, they had cut open Shard’s heart to remove the bullet lodged within.

Of course, the blood didn’t make the female sorcerers frown, but Dorothy was still displeased. Mia lay worriedly on Shard’s lap, looking sickly. It had stayed there the entire time during Shard’s surgery.

"Was it Margaret’s idea, or Galina’s? After this, I definitely want Lecia to talk to them."

"It was my own idea, and they probably only now realized that the extra person at the time was me."

"But they shouldn’t have done it this way. I know your actions made the plan more perfect, but..."

The golden-haired girl said, picking up a labeled conical bottle, shaking it slightly, and pouring it into a steaming teacup, before turning to give it to Shard.

Shard drank the mixed magic potion, and Megan removed her folded hands from his chest, without leaving a single scar:

"It’s fine now; his Arcane Technique of ’Heart of Stone’ is quite unique. It greatly enhances heart and lung functions while making the heart no longer a fatal part of the human body. If I hadn’t seen his internal blood and flesh structure, I would definitely doubt whether Shard is truly human."

But she also agreed with Dorothy’s view:

"But it’s too risky; Shard, not everything should be done by you. Isn’t there anyone else beside Galina? Are Draleon’s MI6 all just clerks except for you?"

Shard, bare-chested, stroked the cat curled on his leg:

"I am never at ease when others do it. I understand your concerns, and I won’t do anything without confidence. A conflict will inevitably erupt in the Pantanal Region sooner or later, and ending the negotiations wasn’t the time for it. I can only delay the direct conflict between the two nations with this method, hoping all of this will be useful."

He turned slightly to look out the window; today’s rain was really heavy.

"Years from now, today’s events will probably be called the Green Lake Incident. I hope the choice I made isn’t wrong."

He raised his hand to rub the ’Ring of Immortality’ on his finger, then restored the blood-stained shirt to its original state.

Dorothy still wanted to say something but ultimately just walked over to help Shard put on his clothes. Megan didn’t have much to add either, taking the blood-stained bandages and cotton cloth off the tray to dispose of them.

After all, these things left behind might become someone else’s curse materials.

She was just about to leave when a knock on the door was heard. The girl guarding the door opened it and handed in a letter from outside.

Despite the torrential rain outside, this creased letter was not wet at all.

Megan opened the letter, raising an eyebrow:

"Is there such a thing?"

Saying this, she handed the letter to Dorothy, who looked it over before passing it to Shard. After quickly skimming through it, Shard understood why the witch was so surprised:

"The Dragon Feast Cult wants to use the True God Church to contact the God Summoner for a secret meeting?"