novelraw Chapter 1903 - 1902: A City in Chaos
Chapter 1903 - 1902: A City in Chaos
"How did the Dragon Feast Cult’s letter to the Church arrive in the hands of the Witch Council?"
Shard asked in surprise, while Megan manipulated the flames, choosing to directly burn the blood-stained cloth and bandages indoors:
"How do you think the Church could contact the God Summoner? It seems like the only group you’ve been relatively close with has always been us."
Even Dorothy, who only had a preliminary understanding of the Whispering Verses, could comment on it:
"I’ve heard that the Church has a very peculiar judgment about the identity of the ’God Summoner.’ Do they still think you’re a woman?"
Most of the group members who experienced that night at Lakeside Manor knew about Shard being the "God Summoner," so Miss Writer had already guessed it. Shard chuckled awkwardly, not mentioning those stranger remarks like "Merman Bloodline" or "Paranoid Schizophrenia."
"The Dragon Feast Cult wants to meet with me alone... Could it be that Ms. Nadia Folan wants to have a talk with me?"
"It’s possible, but not certain."
Megan said, while Dorothy queried:
"When did they schedule the meeting?"
"It’s not confirmed yet. This letter is just to test if the Church can really contact the God Summoner. If I agree to meet, the Council will relay the message back to the Church, and then the Church will contact the Dragon Feast Cult’s informant in the black market... It’s really quite complex."
Megan laughed and said:
"That’s because you don’t have your own subordinates and force."
"I hate those things. Having you and Mia around me is enough."
The cat meowed softly, and both Dorothy and Megan smiled:
"So, do you agree to meet them?"
Shard nodded:
"Of course, there’s no time like the present, so let’s meet as soon as possible. This kind of Cult group like the Dragon Feast Cult, since they dare to use the Church as an intermediary, it’s probably not a trap. Besides, they are only collaborating with Laplace Klein Howard; it makes no sense for them to confront me head-on. Moreover, Maria Edwards also mentioned that Nadia Folan has been dissatisfied with the ’Ancestor’ for a long time."
"Alright then, I’ll immediately send someone to contact the Church. Wait for the news, and in the meantime, don’t go out with the heavy rain and the city in lockdown."
Saying this, Megan left the room. Shard stood up holding Mia, and Dorothy pointed downstairs:
"Maria Edwards came last night and is staying on the sofa in Durut Giles’s room, saying she needs to keep an eye on Laster Edwards."
At this, she couldn’t help but laugh:
"Such a complex family relationship, it’s my first time encountering something like this. Considering six generations can appear simultaneously, just thinking about how many stories of love and hate there are. You could write a sufficiently complex puzzle from just a small fragment. Are you going to see them?"
"Yes, let’s go take a look and also discuss next Wednesday’s matters in advance."
But just as he lifted his foot, he glanced at the torrential rain outside the window:
"However, I should first go take a look outside."
"It’s on lockdown outside."
"Not out into the street, just to Trash Alley behind the kitchen. This rain really comes at a bad time. Huh? What’s that?"
Seeing Shard looking out the window in surprise, Dorothy also looked outside, then quickly moved a few steps closer to the window:
"It’s not an illusion, I saw it too."
In the distance of the raging rain, a giant wind furnace standing over forty meters high stood at the edge of the visual field.
The furnace was cylindrical in shape, with its base seemingly a prismatic platform hidden by city buildings. The towering and magnificent industrial structure with its striking anti-rust red paint made a strong visual impact even in the rain.
Due to the rain blurring the sight, one could only vaguely see scaffolding densely surrounding the furnace, with passages seemingly walkable on the scaffolding. Although it wasn’t very clear, only the peculiar Steam Age could produce such a raw "industrial face" spectacle.
"The glass furnace in Mikaela Ironworks City."
Shard identified the spectacle, while Dorothy, who hadn’t been to the city across the lake, had already come to the window, trying to get a better look:
"Is that the famous spectacle of the Old Continent? Is it a mirage now? Or could it be another linkage caused by space alteration?"
Shard closed his eyes, using "Enhanced Spatial Awareness" to sense:
"Space alteration. Fortunately, it’s not a complete spatial connection but just an image projected in Green Lake City. Correspondingly, some scenery from Green Lake City should appear in Mikaela Ironworks City."
"Oh!"
Even though this hotel had complex Witch’s Secret Arts and ritual protection, and such a situation shouldn’t occur at this stage, Dorothy still quickly drew the curtains, leaving the scenery of her, Shard, and the cat confined within the small room.
The torrential rain that started in the morning showed no sign of stopping by evening. Although Shard hadn’t left the Green Lake Hotel during this period, thanks to Dorothy being able to relay intelligence from Lecia at any time, and the witches providing first-hand information to the hotel, he was able to obtain firsthand news from the Green Lake Region.
First was the assassination attempt on Duke Galina and Princess Margaret. Although neither lady was injured in the assassination, they both suffered significant fright. Especially Princess Margaret, who encountered her second assassination in the Green Lake Region.
Although she successfully killed (official statement) the assassin with her carried weapon, for the delicate princess who had lived in Velindale City all her life and never encountered such brutal events, it caused significant mental trauma.
It is said that Princess Margaret, in the afternoon of this day, returned to the City of Glass on the other side of the lake under the strict protection of her personal maid, private doctor, guard, and the Draleon side. As for Duke Galina, she had to face the serious ensuing issues in Green Lake City after the assassination.
This incident brought more gloom to the already shaky negotiations, and this rainstorm seemed to best symbolize the future of these talks.
The small-scale conflict that erupted in the border region was gradually heard by the distinguished figures in Green Lake City shortly after the assassination occurred. The sudden battle lasted for two hours before being suspended under the emergency mobilization of both national armies. The statistics of deaths and injured soldiers haven’t been released, yet the two countries were already accusing each other of being at fault first.
Carsonrick accused Draleon’s patrol troops of crossing the border line without authorization, claiming that they had no choice but to fire after the warning was ignored; Draleon, on the other hand, insisted their patrol troops had always been operating within the border, claiming they were baselessly accused by Carsonrick’s border troops, and only fired back under the precondition of being fired upon first.
Since the entire Green Lake City was locked down, there were no newspapers issued tonight. Listening to Dorothy recount these events at the Green Lake Inn, Shard could already imagine how lively tomorrow’s morning papers would be. However, due to the too-obvious framing by the assassin, this assassination wouldn’t involve MI6 and Grey Glove, which counted as the best news so far.
Miss Galina, being the highest-ranking noble in Green Lake Region from her country, spent the whole afternoon handling military affairs, official statements, city lockdown, and various matters, even Lecia couldn’t find time to relax. Yet according to Dorothy, Angelina, facing such complex and thorny issues for the first time, performed surprisingly well.
Not only was she able to assist her aunt and sister in handling and arranging affairs, she could also successfully appease and coordinate the emotions of her siblings.
This made Shard view Angelina in a new light; unlike Lecia, although she was favored by the King before, she had never dealt with governmental affairs. This time being able to help Miss Galina appropriately was partly due to the training received during the negotiation meetings and partly due to having a high talent in this area.
While Draleon and Carsonrick were shaken by the assassination and border conflict, the Church of the Five Gods was not idle. Although Shard had intervened in the morning’s assassination, with the large number of Prophets present, even if they couldn’t divine who the assassin shot in the chest was, they could know the involvement of the "Tyranny Club."
It’s worth mentioning that this swiftly approaching rainstorm brought a damaged subspace and soon to be unsealed Evil Object of the Fifth Era in the southwestern part of Green Lake, forcing the Church to dispatch a Thirteen-Ring Sorcerer to handle it, while they still had enough manpower to chase down the "Tyranny Club" following the clues provided by the Prophet’s Society.
Not long ago, on the night Margaret was attacked, the Witch Council and the True God Church captured prisoners respectively, although the witches’ interrogations did not yield much information, the Church of The Five Gods, supported by a massive number of Diviners, already had a direction for investigation. Combined with new clues that appeared in the morning, according to Megan’s acquired intelligence, the Peace Church finally found the stronghold of the "Tyranny Club" in the Green Lake Region, and in the evening, engaged the cultists of the "Tyranny Club" directly in the rain.
Although Shard only heard of this event, not participating in the battle, he was confident the Church would not lose. The only issue remaining was whether Jarvis Edwards, father of the Edwards Brothers hidden within the "Tyranny Club," could be found and captured by the Church.
Although he was suspected to be very loyal to the "Ancestor," once captured by the Church, they had ways to make him talk.
All parties were acting, not just the Church forces and the cultists. Many Circle Sorcerers, unknown to Shard, were quietly making their moves in the rain, all to gain the upper hand in the Chosen of Space battle.
This rain of unknown duration brought more vitality to the spring of 1854. But Shard also knew this shooting incident was bound to become a symbol of the change in the Old Continent’s layout.