Witch, Fireball and Steam Evil God

Chapter 185 "Spark"

The election day has arrived, and Ivy has been invited to attend the meeting that will determine the future of Ophira and the entire Western Continent.

She will serve as a witness.

However, outsiders do not have the right to vote and their seats are arranged at the end of the venue.

Members of parliament came in one after another, including familiar faces like Lewis. The smile and composure on the face of this "people-friendly" member of parliament were completely gone. A series of bad things that had happened recently made his situation very bad. Jacob's face was extremely gloomy.

But they were not the protagonists of this meeting. Under the astonished gaze of the congressmen, diplomat Richard walked up to the podium carrying an old parchment book. On this important occasion, he was going to announce a secret concerning everyone present.

The inevitable catastrophe and the Ark, and the unfinished business left by the Lord of the Tides.

He wanted to expose the Chancellor as the keeper of these secrets, but he completely ignored the Lord of Tides' instructions.

As soon as Richard opened his mouth, the meeting hall fell silent almost immediately. The congressmen looked at each other, their astonishment evident in their words.

“I always feel like there’s something weird about it.”

Ivy whispered. She had been paying attention to the actions of the Speaker, but found that the man who held the highest power in the Western Continent did not take any action. He allowed Richard to reveal these secrets in the council chamber and pointed the finger at him, the incompetent Speaker.

Almost immediately she thought of Pope Julius' struggle. In order to hold on to power, he joined forces with two other members of the Council of Seven to launch a coup. He would rather die than have his power taken away from him.

These days, Ivy has been studying Ophira's political system as a reference for the new cabinet system. As she learned more, she discovered many details that she couldn't understand.

For example, the Western Continent also has a crime similar to "believing in evil gods", and it is more stringent than the Empire. The Parliament stipulates that anyone who spreads evil gods and the day of doom, regardless of their status, will be uniformly deprived of their property and rights and sent to prison. This is undoubtedly the easiest law to frame. If it were Julius, Richard would have been arrested on this charge long ago, and he would not have been given the opportunity to spread these remarks publicly.

Ivy couldn't help but ask, "Could it be that the Speaker has any other cards?"

“Their faith is stronger than anyone else’s.”

This is a question that Ethan has only recently figured out. "They don't believe in gods, but in the system left by the Lord of Tides."

In Ofila, election day is sacred and all the efforts of the members are focused on the day before election. No matter what the final vote count is, no one questions the final result. If any member intends to impeach the Speaker during the meeting, the Speaker must not use his power to make him surrender.

The Lord of Tides seemed to have anticipated that power would bring corruption, and he clearly wrote these contents into "Enlightenment".

After Richard's impassioned speech, all eyes were focused on the Speaker.

They were affected by Richard's mood, and everyone became anxious and uneasy, and even no longer cared about their own votes. If Ophira was about to be destroyed, how many votes they could get would be meaningless.

The bills they promoted and their vision for the future of Ophira were also drowned by the flood.

The Speaker walked onto the podium, and everyone held their breath at this moment.

A voice emerged from deep in their hearts, like the whisper of a devil, making them unwilling to believe everything Richard had revealed - yes, as long as the Speaker denied Richard's words and said that he was a liar who misled the public, they would be willing to believe the Speaker and throw Richard into jail.

In this way, their lives will not change and power will remain in their hands.

They can also hold parties and lead a glamorous high society life.

We can hold a banquet tonight, listen to the melodious music, and forget all the worries.

"Everything Richard just said..."

The Speaker looked around at the members of the parliament in the meeting room. He could see the expectation in their eyes, as if they were waiting for him to declare Richard a criminal.

Since he was a child, he has been good at observing people's words and expressions and knows how to guess other people's inner thoughts through their facial expressions. This makes him a natural politician. In addition, his father's family has been members of the Deep Sea Parliament for generations. His career can be described as smooth sailing. After that speech 20 years ago, he almost naturally became the new Speaker of the Parliament.

The vote share showed that this was a popular result and his competitors didn't stand a chance.

And it was not until now that he faced the first crisis in his official career.

The Speaker's frown slowly relaxed, he took a deep breath and said, "Everything Richard said just now is the truth. This book is indeed from the hand of the Lord of Tide!"

The conference hall fell into a long silence, and even Richard was surprised.

In his imagination, the Speaker would definitely try to argue and even deny the truth. He was prepared to argue with him, but he did not expect that the Speaker would frankly admit his statement.

The result was that panic was brought to the venue.

Because the Speaker also acknowledged the arrival of Doomsday, and the world-destroying flood that only existed in history books will come back again.

“However, this does not mean that I agree with the views in the book. In fact, starting from the 17th speaker, the strategy we adopted has gradually deviated from the established trajectory in the book.”

The Speaker spoke again, and Richard was stunned again.

This……

That should be his statement, right?

The Speaker had admitted in front of everyone that he had violated the plan set by the Lord of Tide, which almost sentenced him to death in this debate.

The speech continued, "The question depends on how we view the great being? Is he a great man with foresight or an omniscient god?"

The Speaker threw this question to everyone. After a while, he said, "If it is the former, then it means that His vision is also limited by the times and He cannot predict the changes that will occur in a few eras. The Ark is the last retreat He left for us. Once this plan is launched, it is equivalent to admitting our failure."

In his opinion, this was a cruel plan.

When he was elected Speaker and walked into the basement for the first time and saw the secret in the book, he decided to follow the policy changed by the 17th Speaker and bury this secret in his heart forever.

"The Ark can only carry a limited number of people. Who decides who gets to board?"

The Speaker could easily imagine the consequences of this secret being made public. People would do anything to get a spot on board, and those who were abandoned would turn their despair into anger and hatred.

The Deep Sea Council has abandoned everyone, and this is the signal they are sending to everyone.

Not all the residents of Ophira could board the ship, let alone people outside Ophira.

The Speaker could also foresee that this country, which was the result of the hard work of countless people, would be destroyed in chaos and despair.

There was silence in the venue.

If Ophira is going to be destroyed, now... is the time to change the topic of the meeting and discuss the boarding list. Everyone is thinking about it in their minds and even preparing the content of the lobbying speech in their minds - this is what they are best at.

They have devoted their lives to Ophira for generations, and this is what they deserve.

Then there is the issue of the list excluding the members of parliament. To ensure that their relatives are also included in the list, this will increase the number of people and occupy the vast majority of the list at once. As for the rest...

They also needed to bring some servants on board. No matter where the ship was going, someone had to take care of their food, clothing and daily life. But not all servants could get on board. There was not much space on the ship, and they didn't want the deck to appear too crowded, which would be inappropriate.

In addition, there must be guards to protect their safety.

The list has been finalized.

The councillors began to look around, and everywhere they looked were their potential enemies. They almost immediately thought that "servants" and "guards" would be the key to determining the direction of power in the Ark, which would enable them to gain more votes. When the ship sailed out of Ophira, the power structure on the deck would change completely.

The Speaker looked at the wandering eyes in the audience and it was not difficult to guess what the members were thinking.

This is the first step towards disintegration.

"Richard, maybe I should thank you."

He turned to Richard, who was supposed to be his debate opponent, and said, "It makes me feel a lot more relaxed when you say these words. At least... it makes me feel less guilty. After all, this is a selfish decision, and the previous speakers and I know it very well."

And this is also the biggest difference between them and that great being.

Unfortunately, perhaps they are short-sighted and cannot see the deeper meaning.

For example, they cannot understand the importance of preserving the fire.

There was a constant stream of discussion in the audience; a new round of power games had begun, and they were about to finalize all the places on board.

No one seems to care about the outcome of this debate anymore.

“If Ophira is destined to be flooded, I will fight with the people here to the last moment.”

Richard once pointed out sharply during the debate that this was an ostrich policy, which sounds a bit harsh, but perhaps it is the truth.

But when the Speaker made the final decision, he felt relieved.

He had selfishly hoped that Ophira would work together and rush to this final battle, even if it might take away their only chance of survival.

Faced with the threat of impending doomsday, the congressmen could no longer remain calm. Discussions turned into arguments, and those congressmen who knew they did not have many bargaining chips were swayed by panic.

Outside the council hall, Rattler licked her lips in ecstasy. To her, there was no sweeter fruit than this.

Compared with destruction and demise, the collapse of order before the flood is the real essence.

until,

The Speaker suddenly raised his voice, interrupting the discussion that was gradually getting out of control.

"Over the years, I have been in contact with the Lophik Foundation and invested in their research in order to gain more intelligence. Not long ago, one of the studies has yielded results. We found an altar beneath the surface of the facility. That will bring Ophira a powerful ally."

The venue fell silent again.

"Its name is Eliom, and it once fought alongside that great being."

When the name spread in the venue, Urda, who was listening, became excited almost immediately. He couldn't wait to use the sound transmission spell to whisper to everyone's mind, "My Lord Eliom will come again, and the deep sea people will become your most solid allies!"

This sudden whisper seemed to encourage many people, but the effect was ultimately short-lived.

When the congressmen turned around and saw Urda standing up excitedly, they immediately showed disappointed expressions.

At this point, what can a mere octopus face do?
Even a bunch of octopus faces won’t do!
The rattlesnake outside the parliament hall had his eyes curved into crescents.

Everything was going according to their plan, and she couldn't wait to see the Speaker's expression when he found out that it was he who caused the flood and destroyed the seal.

He would become a sinner of the entire Western Continent, and his firm belief would collapse in an instant.

But it's common sense to save the best stuff for last.

"Now that things have come to this, Richard, it will be up to you to decide the list of people who will board the ship. Although you and I have had disputes, I know that you are a person who can be fair."

The Speaker paused and shouted, "Warriors who intend to fight with me until the last moment, please stay here. We still need to make some careful strategic arrangements!"

The members of parliament responded to the Speaker's call with practical actions.

Twenty years ago, he had won votes for himself with the same cry, but this time, the congressmen scattered in less than five minutes. When they realized that the first person to leave the meeting would gain an advantage on the list, they were unwilling to waste even a second in the meeting.

On the way out, the discussion became heated again.

They don't need a diplomat to dictate such a big thing, and the last thing they need at this critical juncture is fairness.

Now is the time to use the power, connections and wealth they have accumulated.

Richard stayed where he was, looking at the crowd going away without saying a word.

Select the boarding list, conduct practical exercises, and plan the escape route...

These were exactly what he had in mind before arriving at the parliament chamber, and his goal was indeed achieved, but listening to the parliamentarians arguing with each other, Richard suddenly felt confused.

They were discussing that the products of steam technology should not occupy the living space on the ship, and suggested that most of the craftsmen be left in Ophira to "fill up the combat power", which would provide more cover for their escape.

Richard could easily imagine what the Ark would look like in the future.

This power game will continue, causing him to have the same doubts as the Speaker.

He felt that he did not seem to have such foresight, and for a moment he could not imagine the significance of preserving these "sparks".

However, it seems that there are others who stayed.

They were messengers from the empire.

Ivy and her attendants came to the front row, but it was the young man who spoke.

"Come on, tell me your strategic plan."

(End of this chapter)