Old Gods, Rapid-Fire Guns, and Prohibition

Chapter 311 [Undercurrents]

Ethan chose a restaurant called Maple Green for dinner, but the food was completely unsatisfactory and not nearly as good as the family restaurants in Winston.

This made him realize that he should open his own restaurant, like Wes's Robin.

"So, what brings you here today, Lord Azeratu?"

Ethan took a couple of sips of the soup and put it down.

Azeratu is another example. He seems to be an immigrant from the Old World, a Crozian from the Old World, yes, the place full of barbarians. Yet he became a first-rate inventor and a pioneer of electricity, which is an extremely legendary thing in itself.

But he probably still can't shake his love for meat.

So Ethan ordered him two more servings of roast meat.

He ate a couple more bites, then laughed and said, "Can't it just be a casual meeting with friends? I thought we were already very good friends."

The last time I met Azeratu, it was quite pleasant. Ethan had a meal and some drinks with him, and the two of them talked about art and had a great time. They could be considered friends.

“Of course, we are friends, Azeratu.”

Ethan shrugged.

Azeratu nodded, took out a cigar, and gestured for permission to smoke.

Ethan naturally had no objections.

Azeratu lit his cigar, took a deep drag, exhaled the smoke, and laughed: "Actually... I wanted to ask you about someone."

"Oh?"

Finally here.

"who?"

"I heard that you were invited to the Church of the Sea God before the typhoon hit, is that right?"

So that's what they came for?

Ethan was a little surprised; he thought the other party might be after the second prince.

"good."

His visit to the Church of the Sea God wasn't exactly a secret; if someone really wanted to investigate, they could find out.

Actually, it's not that no one has tried to find out about this in the past few days, but because he has a close relationship with Joseph, the Royal Guard has not taken any action against him.

Johnny Blackbird is different.

His role in that matter was different, at least on the surface; he was the absolute core, the true apostle of God.

These days, many people are still following him closely, whether to protect him or to monitor him.

Joseph even revealed to Ethan that the Kingdom Security Bureau's Second Division might take action against Johnny Blackbird.

Here is a brief introduction to the functions of the various departments of the Royal Guard. One department is the most mysterious and also the most powerful, because they serve only the King, protect the Royal Family, and handle all Royal Family troubles. Ordinary people can't see them.

The Second Division's authority is second only to the First Division; they are responsible for handling various special events in the kingdom, such as pollution and mutations of true names.

The previous St. Quantica incident was handled by the Second Division, and their leader was none other than General Solomon.

Originally, this matter should have been handled by the Fifth Division, but since they were on the periphery and the Church of the Sea God was powerful, they had no way to deal with it.

First it was the Royal Guard, and now it's Azeratu.

"I would like to meet Mr. Depp."

Azeratu immediately revealed his intentions.

"convenient?"

Ethan looked at him.

“What’s inconvenient about this?” In theory, someone of Azeratu’s status shouldn’t try to get close to anyone through Ethan, because he is someone who is regularly received by the king.

So whether he wants to get close to the second prince or to the Church of the Sea God, it's a very dangerous sign.

He shouldn't be unaware of this.

"That's right, it was that typhoon."

Azeratu seemed to finally realize something, and he added another explanation.

"As you know, electricity is widely used now, but the means of generating electricity are still limited. If we could use wind to generate electricity, I think that would be something His Majesty the King would be happy to see."

So it's wind power?

Ethan listened and nodded.

That reason sounds reasonable, but...

"Of course, if you're interested, Ethan, you can join us. We're friends, and since you helped me, I'm sure I'd be happy to help you too."

Electricity is a big business.

It can be said that electricity is the lifeblood of the new era, while steel was the lifeblood of the last golden age.

If Ethan could really get involved in the electricity industry, he might not even need to sell moonshine anymore.

“I’ll try my best,” Ethan nodded.

Dinner is over.

When Ethan got home, he found Joseph's car parked in front of his house.

Since the night of the typhoon, Joseph has stopped inviting Ethan to the West End; there's no need to go anymore.

However, for some reason, Joseph was still driving that unremarkable Viden Pegasus.

Seeing Ethan's car return, Joseph rolled down the window and waved to him: "Come on in and have a smoke together."

Ethan let Anya drive the car in first, and then he got into Joseph's Pegasus.

Ethan took the cigarette Joseph had lit, took a drag, and asked, "Who is Azeratu? Who's behind him?"

Joseph glanced at him, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "Nobody knows his background. When he rose to power rapidly, many people investigated him. At the height of the conflict, some tried to prove that he was a spy sent from the Old World, but in the end, His Majesty overruled all objections and protected him."

"So he's His Majesty's man?"

So, was seeing Johnny Blackbird also the king's intention?
Joseph shook his head again and slowly uttered two words: "Hard to say."

After a moment of silence, Joseph said, "My dear brother has woken up. It's such a pity he didn't die. The eldest prince will see him tonight."

"They won't let this go."

"That's absolutely right. This is a war, there's no turning back. That's why I told you to leave the capital. Once you get involved, you have to find your place, take up your weapons and shields, find your enemy, and fight to the death."

What do you think they will do?

"That's exactly what I wanted to ask you. I believe you already know. This evening, that old man Schwin came out of his shell. Lockerbie's men withdrew, and the two sides shook hands and made peace. Moreover, Division Three is about to be rebuilt, and the people transferred are from Division Two. This afternoon, they went to Little Ibia. Also, Lockerbie is a dog kept by the Erieman family. The Erieman family is a royalist party that has been in power for generations."

"Underground warfare?"

Ethan flicked his cigarette ash lightly.

He naturally already knew about Little Ibia's situation.

It's fair to say that his design was a complete failure.

But the underlying situation was so complex that he hadn't expected it.

However, the eldest prince's side has suffered repeated losses, all due to the underground in the southern district. Breaking through from there is arguably the most correct approach.

(End of this chapter)