Chapter 139: Examining the Situation

Chapter 139: Examining the Situation

“Extra! Extra! The kingdom declares war on Feysac!”

Sitting in the carriage returning from Rose Song Manor to Backlund, Klein listened to the newsboys hurrying through the streets and shouting at the tops of their voices.

Although he had long been mentally prepared, now that war had truly broken out in full, Klein still felt a deep sigh rise within him. His mood inevitably sank a little further.

“The hatred born from the loss of that crucial territory, Sonia Island… the entanglement of colonial interests… the defeat in the previous war… the economic decline caused by efforts to deal with pollution… the mass bankruptcies of domestic farmers after the repeal of the Grain Act, due to the impact of foreign grain products… the extremely miserable living conditions of the lower classes… the growing gap between rich and poor…

“The middle class’s blind confidence in Loen’s national power, and their urgent desire for opportunities to raise their social standing… the intensifying conflicts and divisions between different political parties in high society… the King and his faction wanting a large-scale war… With all these factors combined, purely from objective conditions, from a materialist perspective, Loen exporting war outward was almost inevitable… Reality really is the best writer…” Klein broke away from his former standpoint and reexamined Loen’s domestic situation from the perspective of a bystander. He discovered that the tide of the age had already formed, rolling forward with unstoppable force. Without the descent of a true god, there truly was no way to halt it.

By comparison, what puzzled him more was why the Feysac Empire was willing to take the initiative and start the war.

Even if a member of some ancient secret organization truly held a high position in Feysac or in the Church of the God of War, and even if they were a key figure qualified to make decisions, it was impossible for one person to decide such a grave matter alone. How could the others agree to a world war?

“Could it be that the conflicts between all classes within Feysac have also completely intensified, forcing them to urgently require a war?” Klein did not know enough about that northern empire and could not make an accurate judgment. “But they only recently won the East Balam War and seized more colonial benefits. There’s no reason for their situation to be worse than Loen’s… Mm, the imperial Einhorn family controls the Red Priest pathway, so their desire for war is understandable. But the Church of the God of War has no reason not to stop them. As a member of the alliance of orthodox gods, they lack sufficient motive to help Amon’s brother advance to Sequence 0.”

Thinking of this, Klein suddenly had a guess.

“Could Amon’s brother have discovered that the Goddess has already obtained the Death pathway’s Uniqueness, then revealed this information to the Church of the God of War at a critical moment? The God of War and the Goddess are on neighboring pathways. He cannot possibly ignore such a matter. He would definitely make a fierce response…

“Of course, it might not necessarily have been Amon’s brother. It may also have been Haiter, the angel of the Numinous Episcopate’s Artificial Death faction, who, after being reminded by that conspiracy expert Sauron Einhorn Medici, noticed the abnormality ahead of time. On one hand, He pretended to notice nothing and continued arranging the probing matters. On the other, He brought in the Church of the God of War, making the situation worse and more chaotic… The Red Angel evil spirit really is the symbol of war…

“If that’s true, then Feysac’s launching of the war was also inevitable. And the matter of the Death pathway’s Uniqueness cannot be reconciled at all. When the critical moment comes, the God of War might directly descend, and the god war that has not appeared since the Fourth Epoch will erupt…

“For Feysac’s airship formation to pass through nearly a hundred kilometers of coastal region all the way to Backlund with such extreme concealment, without being detected, there must have been protection from a Weather Warlock. Otherwise, even if they took a detour through sparsely populated areas, they would definitely have been seen in advance and intercepted by Loen’s airship forces… A Weather Warlock—that is an angel. Since the Fifth Epoch began, the number of times Beyonders of that level have appeared in war must be extremely few. After the Emperor’s fall, in all kinds of colonial wars, most soldiers didn’t even know Beyonders existed… What does the intervention of a Weather Warlock imply…

“This really is a war sweeping across the entire world, involving every level. Is this what Amon’s brother wants?

“When that time comes, what positions will the Lord of Storms, the Eternal Blazing Sun, the Earth Mother, the God of Steam and Machinery, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom each choose? Will the contradictions between Them, suppressed for one or two thousand years, erupt as a result…

“The Earth Mother favors giants. Even among Her blessed, there are Feysacians. As for the Feysac Kingdom’s hatred toward Loen and Intis over the split of Lenburg, Masin, and Segar, it is bone-deep. The wills of royal power and divine power are highly likely to align. They may well ally with Feysac and attack Loen and Intis from south to north. Of course, Lenburg and the other countries between them, along with the Church of Knowledge, will certainly block them. Uh… Around the Disi Bay region, Feysac and Loen directly border each other. The south won’t be peaceful either…”

The more Klein thought, the more he felt that the situation in the Northern Continent was about to become extraordinarily chaotic. And no matter which aspect he considered, he had no way to stop it.

Even as a Sequence 4 demigod, under such a tide of the age, and in a situation that might lead to a war between gods, there was little he could do to exert decisive influence. Being able to protect himself and the people he cared about would already be quite good.

When the Feysac airships had attacked earlier, Klein’s first reaction had been to arrange for Butler Walter and the others to hide in the underground area that served as the wine cellar. Only afterward did he Teleport to Backlund Technical University. By the time he arrived, a bomb had already fallen there. Some had died, and some had been injured. Klein’s only relief was that his sister Melissa had not been within the blast range.

After Melissa reunited with Benson and the Feysac airships did not linger, quickly withdrawing from Backlund, he returned to Dwayne Dantès’s mansion.

Hah… Klein slowly exhaled and turned his head to look out the window. On the street, after hearing that the kingdom had declared war on Feysac, a small number of pedestrians showed fear on their faces, seemingly recalling the morning air raid. Most, however, looked blank, with a hint of panic, as though they wanted to do something but had no idea what they could do.

Perhaps they still could not truly understand what such a war would bring, but instinct told them that peace had been shattered, that the future had become chaotic, filled with dangerous unknowns.

Klein withdrew his gaze and looked at the personal valet Enyuni sitting opposite him. In the other’s eyes, he found that he, too, looked somewhat lost.

With a half-laugh and half-sigh, Klein raised a hand and rubbed his forehead, suppressing his dejection and helplessness as he considered what he could do and what he needed to pay attention to.

“No matter what, with this experience and lesson learned, and with the King’s faction now having obtained the war they wanted, before Loen suffers total defeat, it will be almost impossible for Feysac to invade Backlund again. Benson and Melissa may actually be safer staying here…

“What needs concern me is food shortages and various assassinations. The latter isn’t much of a problem. Melissa and Benson’s residence and social level mean they are not yet in contact with important figures likely to be assassinated, so they shouldn’t be caught up in such incidents. Fortunately, Portland Momont’s laboratory has only just been established and hasn’t produced any results, so it won’t become a target that must be destroyed. As for the former, I can provide a certain amount of ‘aid’ through Miss Audrey…

“The Holy Cathedral is in Winter County, the kingdom’s northernmost region, bordering Feysac, and is the front line of every war. Madam Arianna may return there to assist the military. Mm, She might also be sent elsewhere to protect the coast. After all, Backlund’s defenses are sufficient. The royal family surely has Grade 0 sealed artifacts, as well as angels. The three great Churches are also likely to have hidden measures… In that case, my strongest support is gone. At most, I’ll be able to obtain limited aid from the Church and make use of certain sealed artifacts…

“Previously, I wasn’t too worried about what influence the Red Angel evil spirit’s return might have on me. Now, I have to raise my guard in this regard.

“Patrick Bryan knows that Dwayne Dantès equals Gehrman Sparrow, and that Gehrman Sparrow equals a Death’s Blessed. I deliberately revealed this, hoping to guide suspicion toward Mr. Azik, the Death Consul. But now, that also means the Red Angel evil spirit will soon obtain this information…

“At present, the Red Angel evil spirit merely possesses a very high level. His actual strength probably has not recovered to angel rank. There is no irreconcilable feud between us, and I don’t carry anything He wants. Even if He knows that Dantès equals Gehrman Sparrow, the possibility of Him directly coming after me is very, very low…

“Other than acting directly, what harm might He cause after obtaining this information?

“Use it to set up some conspiracy, or sell the intelligence to someone who needs it?

“What conspiracy… Who would need it…”

One thought after another and one name after another surfaced in Klein’s mind, only to be quickly eliminated. These included Amon’s brother and the Angel of Fate, Ouroboros. From the Red Angel evil spirit’s previous actions, it seemed He currently had little intention of contacting members of the Rose of Redemption. Furthermore, Amon’s brother and Medici were mortal enemies.

Suddenly, a name stood out in Klein’s mind.

“Zaratul!”

The leader of the Secret Order, Zaratul—the Sequence 1 angel of the Seer pathway who had gone from madness back to sanity!

According to feedback from the magic mirror Arrodes, this powerful and hidden existence had already left His original location and was now missing.

Klein had previously wondered whether Zaratul might come to Backlund because of the law of Beyonder characteristic convergence.

“Medici, the Zaratul family, and the Zoroast family all served the Solomon Empire. Even if they had no friendship, they must have been extremely familiar with one another… What Zaratul saw in the foggy town was Gehrman Sparrow. If He is searching for anything, He will definitely head straight for the crazy adventurer…” Klein’s heart stirred. Instinctively, he began to assume that Zaratul was already in Backlund, already searching for traces of Gehrman Sparrow, and used that as a premise to analyze other anomalies.

Almost instantly, Klein recalled one particular matter: Sharron and the Sanguine’s failed joint operation.

“The Rose School of Thought is also searching for Gehrman Sparrow. Could Zaratul, after receiving relevant information, cooperate with them?

“At the time, their operation had nearly succeeded. The Rose School of Thought’s person in charge in Backlund only withdrew in great haste at the final moment, evidently noticing the problem only then. Under circumstances where the Sanguine had prepared corresponding sealed artifacts, that should have been almost impossible. Even that duke felt puzzled and confused. But if—if it was the intuitive premonition of a Sequence 1 angel of the Seer pathway?

“That would explain it very well!

“At that time, was Zaratul sitting right across from the Rose School of Thought’s Backlund person in charge?

“Amid the Rose School of Thought’s hurried withdrawal, they still deliberately left behind dolls, created moonlight, and cleansed all traces. Was that to conceal Zaratul’s existence?

“Also, it is no secret that Gehrman Sparrow has a certain relationship with the Death Consul. Could Zaratul have spread marionettes everywhere, sensing whether there was any deathly power in Backlund? When Patrick Bryan held his ritual earlier, was one of Zaratul’s marionettes actually watching nearby?

“If the Red Angel evil spirit has already sold the information to Zaratul, then by returning to Böklund Street in this chaotic situation, wouldn’t I be walking right into a trap?”

Klein’s eyes narrowed. He immediately spoke to the coachman in front.

“Stop here. I just remembered that I have something else to take care of.”

After saying this, Klein’s mind tightened to the extreme. He feared that the coachman might already be incapable of answering and would simply continue driving forward.

Fortunately, none of that happened. The carriage pulled over by the roadside. Klein brought his personal valet Enyuni into a nearby alley.

Then, in a deserted spot, he snapped his fingers, allowing crimson flames to burst from the pocket of his clothing and cover both himself and his marionette.

He had to rush to Saint Samuel Cathedral as quickly and secretly as possible!

With a flash of firelight, Klein and Enyuni vanished from where they stood.

But after completing one leap, the flames in Klein’s perception suddenly disappeared.

Every flame was gone.

Before his eyes appeared a spacious sitting room, a perfectly ordinary reclining chair, and upon it, half-sitting and half-lying, a thin, tall, young man with Southern Continent blood, rather good features, and a bloodless complexion.

The Red Angel evil spirit, Sauron Einhorn Medici!

The Red Angel toyed with a ball of crimson flame in His hand, the corners of His mouth slowly curling upward.

“You noticed even earlier than I expected.

“Heh. Playing Flame Jump in front of me…”