Secret: The years I served as a foreign aid for the Aurora Club

Chapter 248 Who declares war first?

516
"Xiu, I bought today's limited edition cake!"

Fors squeezed out of the crowded cake shop with difficulty, holding the cake box high with one hand, fearing that the hard-earned delicacy would be ruined by other anxious guests.

Xio looked at her with a mixture of laughter and tears: "I asked you to go out at 3pm and you were not happy about it, but you queued up at 6:30am to get the limited edition cakes... What flavor did you get this time?"

"Because I finished talking to the editorial department at 8 o'clock this morning, I booked one right after it opened. Luckily I came early."

Fors handed the cake box to Xio, reached out to comb her hair that was flying around due to static electricity, and said happily:

"I bought a cream chestnut cake, which is the new flavor this week."

The warm aroma wafting from the paper box, together with the sweet smell from the cake shop, makes customers salivate.

"For your birthday, I ordered an orange ice cream cake, which was a winter special, but it's out of stock now." She said with some regret.

Hugh said seriously: "I like that cake very much, but it's a little sour."

"There weren't so many people buying cakes in March. The development of the Fetus Food Factory is really fast."

Fors pulled Xio back, looking back at the cake shop which was still surrounded by people from time to time, and sighed, "At the beginning, it just sold food, but soon it opened a Trier-style cake shop and chocolate processing factory. Now even a canning factory has opened. I heard that it is made according to military ration standards, with balanced nutrition and low price. The owner of the factory, Mr. Milan Norafitus, is so rich, prestigious and so young. No wonder everyone speculates that he is the heir of a noble family who came out to experience life."

"The factory is always recruiting workers. The weekly salary is 1 pound and 5 soli, which is very good for an ordinary food worker. Although the working hours are longer, about hours a day, this is also because the business is booming."

Xio nodded in understanding: "It's better than having no job at all."

Fors shrugged. "Of course, it would be better if the factory's safety could be improved. Workers seem to be injured or killed in accidents frequently in their factory... However, whenever something like this happens, Mr. Milan will personally inspect the factory and give compensation to the injured's family, assist in reporting, and even publish an apology statement in the newspaper. It's rare to find a factory owner with such a conscience!"

"These incidents have not decreased, but this is a problem with the factory equipment and workers, not Mr. Milan's fault," Hugh replied.

"Yes, there are no factories without accidents. But those accidents are really scary. Being sucked into the machine and crushed, or falling into the mixing furnace and suffocating to death." Fors felt scared, but also excited. "Being killed by common machines in life has always been a good horror theme! I think the next book can be written like this!"

Xio sighed: "I hope you can really write the next one..."

As they walked, their inspiration suddenly struck them, and they vaguely heard a lot of chaotic footsteps, beating sounds, gunshots, as well as people's exclamations and screams coming from the street ahead.

"The parade has actually come here? This is the main road in Hillston District!" Fors covered her mouth in surprise and quickly pulled Xio to another road, muttering, "It's not safe on the streets during the day now..."

"Yeah... maybe we should consider cutting back on spending and stocking up on some food and precious metals."

As the sheriff, Xio couldn't help but look over there a few times. She only saw the chaotic crowd and the police officers from Sivella Field. She sighed and left with Fors.

Newspapers have begun to frequently publish reports on the bloody and cruel crimes committed by the evil cult in the southern continent - now they should be called the "Church of Death" - as well as its primitive and evil sacrifices, and the number of people in the northern continent who have been injured and killed as a result of this in the past two hundred years.

These stories naturally arouse the disgust of the people of the Northern Continent, because the Southern Continent has always been a backward and uncivilized world. Due to lack of education, the people of the Southern Continent are generally stupid and cowardly, and are not suitable for jobs other than servants and workers.

Colonial independence is a new concept for both the North and South continents. It is like a tacit tradition that has been broken, and a commonly accepted concept no longer exists... Or, to put it in a less decent way, the servant you bought last month suddenly ran away yesterday (considering that the North Continent has not completely abolished the Slavery Act, a better term than servant is slave), and bought a house next to yours, claiming that he is a legal citizen from now on, not your servant! All the slave contracts or business contracts in your hands have become waste paper!
The huge loss of property, the fluctuation of stocks, and the fact that "people from the northern continent will find it difficult to receive preferential treatment in the southern continent" are what are truly unacceptable.

In recent decades, the only country that has been widely reported in this way is the unfriendly neighbor Feysac Empire in the north.

Now, there are the "Baram Empire" and the "Church of Death".

These two originally unfamiliar words, with the rapid spread of news, have soon become familiar to everyone on the streets, from old men in their sixties to children of six or seven years old.

War - originally it was a very distant thing for most people, and it seemed to have nothing to do with them, but now it seems to be getting closer and closer. The people of the Northern Continent have an illusion that the tense international situation has reached the point where it has to be declared, as if they would see the declaration of war in the newspaper as soon as they opened their eyes tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.

Every day of daily life is spent in tension and vague anxiety.

They chatted and walked away. In the busy cake shop, people were scrambling to wait for the freshly baked desserts.

On the sign outside the cake shop, there was a picture of a handsome, smiling young man holding a "Recruitment Notice" with slightly purple eyes.

……

Klein saw the wanted poster published in the Sea News newspaper. After seeing that his reward was a full 5 pounds, he shamelessly thought of exchanging his head for the reward.

But he couldn't actually do that, because he wasn't going to give up his well-managed identity as "German Sparrow," nor did he want to anger the Church of the Storm, which had issued the bounty, for the sake of 5 pounds.

After saying goodbye to Ian, he squeezed out of the crowd, pushed the door and left the Brave Bar.

After getting into a cab, Klein looked out the window, waiting for Miss Sharon to appear.

Of course, he couldn't guarantee that the other party was still here. After several months, the lady and Maric might have changed their usual places.

Silently, Klein was suddenly inspired and turned his head to look at the window. On the glass that was able to reflect the night, he saw the figure of a young girl wearing a small black bonnet and a Gothic court dress clearly reflected.

Turning back, Klein saw Miss Sharon sitting across from him. Her light blond hair, blue eyes, and pale face were no different from before.

"Good evening." Klein, who didn't need to play German Sparrow, took the initiative to greet him.

Sharon stood up slightly, lifted the hem of her skirt, and returned the greeting.

Thinking that the other party might have read the "Maritime News", he couldn't find a topic to start a conversation, so he cleared his throat and said directly:

"I killed Senior."

"Yeah." Sharon nodded slightly, indicating that she understood.

Klein smiled and continued:

"If Maric needs another Beyonder characteristic of 'Wrathful Soul', he can wait and gather funds. Once I find a replacement, I will sell Senior to him."

Sharon didn't ask what "replacement" meant, and simply responded:

"After seeing the news, he was waiting for you to come back."

"Very good." Klein smiled, and then he asked carefully, "Is it a high-sequence ability of the Prisoner pathway to make every inanimate object around you attack the target?"

"Puppet." Sharon replied with a simple word.

The ability of Sequence 4 "Puppet"? It turns itself into an "inanimate" puppet, so it can manipulate all inanimate objects within a certain range? If it is promoted further, will it directly affect the enemy's magical items? Klein nodded in realization and asked:
"Do you know such a demigod?"

He then described in detail the appearance of the old man who attacked him outside Bayam City.

"Jex." Sharon said a name calmly.

Actually, I hope you can tell me more about the relevant situation... Klein knew Miss Sharon's style and smiled helplessly:

"Then do you know Zhatwin?" This is the mentor of the leader of the Nudist sect on Oravi Island.

"The demigod who is hunting us." Sharon answered like a puppet, without any emotion or concealment.

This was the first time I felt that the chair, table, and curtains wanted to kill me... What a coincidence... However, this is not an arrangement. It just means that a secret organization like the Rose School, which has a history of more than a thousand years, does not have many demigods... It is probably similar to the Aurora Society, with about five saints, and two to three angels and level 0 seals... Of course, this is because they have been suppressed by the seven major churches for a long time, and their base camps have become colonies. When they were in their heyday, there must be more than these... Klein thought about it and asked again:

"Then do you know a member of the Rose School who can make an entire mountain tremble with just one arm?"

He wanted to describe the characteristics of the arm in detail, but found that he didn't dare to look at the other person directly.

Sharon listened quietly, her eyes moved as if alive, and she spoke in a cold voice:

"What on earth happened to you?"

A saint, an angel, the "Sea King", the Aurora Society's demigod, and a monster that was created as a byproduct of the Spiritual Cult's artificial death god plan... Klein laughed at himself silently and said with a wry smile:
"I got in trouble with the Mother Tree of Desire and was ambushed by the Rose School. Fortunately, I was in Bayam at the time and there were people from the Church of Storms and the Kingdom's military who took action. I also threw out items contaminated by the aura of the True Creator and things related to the spirit... the Church of the God of Death. In short, the scene was very chaotic and I took the opportunity to escape."

He responded frankly, but concealed the existence of Miss Messenger and Mr. Azik.

"'Mother Tree of Desire'..." Sharon muttered the name, and a rare emotion gradually appeared in her blue eyes.

Klein did not have the ability to interpret things like an "audience" and could not understand Miss Sharon's specific mood. He only vaguely felt that she was a little scared and a little disgusted.

Sharon quickly suppressed her abnormal reaction and turned into an extremely exquisite "doll" again.

She looked at Sherlock Moriarty opposite her and said:
"You are very lucky and mysterious."

Klein smiled but said nothing. He neither lied nor explained.

Sharon did not ask, but said: "The person you met might be Sua. He is the child of the 'divine evil' who was born 922 years ago and calls himself the 'bound god'. He is also the current leader of the Rose School."

"According to the latest news, He seems to have begun to try to combine the two states of 'moderation' and 'indulgence', and has been in hiding for nearly two months. However, the Rose School is not optimistic about this."

No way, the Rose School sent out their leader and a demigod to deal with me... I'm just a small Sequence 5! If Orange Light Hilarion hadn't reminded me, I would have been captured by the Rose School... Klein was frightened again and asked casually:

"Is 'Divine Evil' the name of the 'Prisoner' pathway, Sequence 2 or Sequence 1?"

"Probably." Sharon did not give a definite answer.

"I learned from the members of the Celestial Sect that the Rose School is preparing a high sacrifice for S'ea."

Sharon's expression remained unchanged: "This is an impromptu carnival ritual of the indulgent group."

Improvisation means the time is uncertain... Klein nodded and reminded, "Someone has information about you and Maric, and seems to want to use you as one of the sacrifices."

Sharon nodded slightly, not nervous, nor surprised: "I know."

517
"War is not just about the battlefield, it's also about the economy and information. Let me teach you a trick. Look, what are the main needs of Loen and Intis in the southern continent? Food, cotton, spices and precious metals..."

Edward drew a circle on the document and patiently said to the high-ranking members of the Church of the God of Death who were listening attentively, "The Kingdom of Loen has abolished the Corn Law. Your announcement that Balam will no longer export grain to Loen will do very little harm to Loen."

The interim finance minister mused, “So we are going to continue exporting grain?”

Edward raised a finger and shook it: "No, you just want to announce that you will no longer export grain and only sell it domestically. First, the people of your southern continent can't even get enough to eat. If they were full, they would be more grateful to your regime. Second, Loen will not be hit too hard in the short term due to the benefits of abolishing the Corn Law, and their nobles will also relax their vigilance. When the farmers in Loen go on strike because they can't make a living by farming and society is in chaos, your people will be well fed and ready to go to the battlefield."

The top leaders of the Church of Death suddenly realized.

The finance minister scribbled down his notes and asked, "What about Intis? Should we declare that we will no longer export spices and precious metals?"

“No, but we need to reduce exports.”

Edward persuaded them again, "What Intis purchased was not staple food, but luxury goods that are in high demand and easy to consume. You don't have to raise tariffs, but you can reduce the export volume to one-tenth of the original amount. Their nobles have plenty of money and will be more willing to buy."

The Minister of Finance carefully tried to draw inferences from one example: "This way, the Intis nobles can still use our specialties, which can ease the relationship between us and Intis, and we can also make money."

"Easing relations is not the main point. You have lost a colony. Do you still want to negotiate peace with Intis?"

The devil whispered, "After reducing the circulation, the value of these luxury items will continue to increase rapidly in Intis. The nobles of Intis will continue to pursue your specialties, compete with each other, and money will be lost. You will make money, and I will make money too."

The top leaders of the Church of Death suddenly realized it again.

Richard Ernst raised his hand and said, "Loen is already waging a war of public opinion, trying to occupy the moral high ground. I suggest that the Balam Empire should also respond immediately and effectively, and report back on the various bad deeds committed by the garrison and the Sino-Sonia Company."

Edward glanced at the Temperance Angel who sneaked in and nodded:

"Of course, and we have to do it as soon as possible. Moreover, the news and newspaper industry in your Southern Continent is much worse than that in the Northern Continent. Dig out all the false and wrongful cases in the police department as soon as possible and expose them to the public. It would be best if you could set up one or two examples as a banner to attack the Northern Continent. The most important thing about public opinion is not just proving who is right and who is wrong, but also making the other party angry to death."

A demigod said: "We can convey messages through spirits, which is more efficient and does not necessarily have to go through ordinary people's channels."

"Of course, that's why the newspapers are not for you to read." Edward shrugged, "You still don't understand the meaning. The newspapers are just to provide some shocking news to the people of the Northern Continent. After all, these things are commonplace in your Southern Continent."

Balam is now a wealthy man with secret support from the Feysac Empire, so he can do a lot of things. The high-ranking officials of the Church of the God of Death discussed for a while and agreed to this course of action.

After all, when it comes to disrupting the order of the ordinary people's world and causing chaos and large-scale vicious incidents, the demons know better.

Richard rubbed his hands and said, "Teacher, when will we go to the highlands..."

Edward rolled his eyes and said, "Just wait. If you had committed suicide at the end of the year, now it's the beginning of May, I would have led your Highland Resistance Army to the northern continent to happily burn, kill, loot and fight guerrilla warfare."

"It is impossible to commit suicide unless I fulfill my wish."

Richard refused outright, then began to rub his hands again: "So... when will Sua announce the restoration of the Highland Kingdom? Since He claims to have found a balance between the two roles and has revealed the corresponding intention, I am also willing to fight in the future war as a member of the resistance as an individual. As long as He (emphasis) does not mind."

Edward snorted and began to draw a big round pie:
"I think Sua won't mind. The more fighting power the better. And if you join as an individual, under the premise of Renette Tinicole's death, some members of the escaped Temperance Faction will be willing to defect to you. There are simply too many benefits for you to join the Rose School. Of course, you will definitely not easily abandon your subordinates in the Northern Continent."

Hearing this, Richard fell into silence, as if thinking about something, and began to think about this matter seriously.

TBC
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Weekly salary of 1 pound 5 soli ≈ monthly salary of 4760.

Adam: This declaration of war is extremely valuable. Feysac should go first.

About the double update, ah, I have an exam at the end of the month, after the exam I will update twice on the 30th...

The small information dealer Ian Wright is believed to be a descendant of Trunsoest because he has red eyes and obsessive-compulsive disorder, which symbolizes the bloodline of the vampires. He is also under the control of the Loen military and is an orphan who has completely lost contact with his parents' family.

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(End of this chapter)