Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 384 The Cloud of War

"I never expected you to bring back so many good things."

The old steward was quite surprised to see Li Wei.

"Since the cargo hold is empty anyway, I thought I might as well bring it back. Maybe I can make something out of it?"

Li Wei took a sip of tea. This time, he brought back to the Fog City not only Princess Sophia, but also knights, wizards, and the monster's corpse.

This is one of the advantages of having an airship; the cargo hold is large enough to hold a lot of things. And for Li Wei, corpses provide far more information than living people.

Or perhaps he was simply too lazy to waste time asking living people questions.

"You weren't discovered, were you?"

"I think it's not, but who knows?"

"How to say?"

"If the other party has a fortune teller who can see everything happening there clearly with a crystal ball, then I think it's still possible to be exposed."

Li Wei put down his teacup, spread his hands, and said, "After all, this possibility isn't entirely out of the question. Considering how many demons and monsters various countries sent out yesterday, it wouldn't be surprising to hear of someone like a prophetic sorcerer."

"I hope they don't—but thanks to you, we've gathered quite a bit of intelligence."

The old butler's expression turned serious as he spoke.

"We do have intelligence regarding the Holy Bishops, claiming that the Holy Bishops' headquarters is currently undergoing a large-scale refit, but we haven't discovered too many problems..."

"Because that's how it was originally designed. Knights' armor is mass-produced. The problem ultimately lies in how it's imbued with power. I think the Holy Bishop may have mastered some kind of... method of imbuing objects with mysterious power. And I suspect it's not some orthodox method."

"Oh?"

"In my experience, the effort and the cost are directly proportional."

Li Wei didn't tell the old steward about the red aura; it wouldn't matter to someone who couldn't see it.

"The greater the power, the more sacrifices are required. With the prestige of the Holy Bishop, and mainly for the Holy Lord, there are countless fanatical believers willing to sacrifice themselves."

"You mean, the Holy Bishop secretly used human sacrifice?"

Upon hearing this, the old butler frowned.

"Based on my experience, it's very likely."

"Couldn't it be a blessing from the Holy Lord?"

“They will definitely say that, but if that’s the case, why did the Holy Lord only give the blessing at the Holy Bishop’s Headquarters? Couldn’t he have given the blessing anywhere?”

As Li Wei spoke, he recalled the paladins in the Dungeons & Dragons game. In many similar stories, as long as the gods exist, they will basically bless the knights wherever they are. And when a paladin fights against an enemy, he doesn't need a specific time, place, or environment to ask for the gods' blessing.

Of course, places like the depths of hell are an exception.

“If only holy bishops can receive the blessings of the Lord, then one should suspect that there is something fishy going on in the Church.”

If this were a comic book storyline, there might even be a plot where a Holy Bishop secretly imprisons Shendu and exploits his power. Of course, whether the Holy Bishops in this world would actually do that is unknown.

"Speaking of which, I'm reminded of something."

Upon hearing Li Wei's words, the old butler narrowed his eyes.

"There have been many similar mysterious incidents in Francis before, but of course, Francis is not under our jurisdiction. I heard that those incidents were all resolved by the Holy Bishop, and because of this, the Holy Bishop's influence in Francis is currently even greater than that of the council."

"Hehe, maybe they staged it themselves."

Li Wei sneered. He and the old steward both knew that the Holy Bishop was behind some of the Empire's mysterious events. Considering that the Holy Bishop's skills were geared towards exorcising magic, and comparing the combat power of the knights Li Wei had seen with the battles he had experienced, apart from the more overpowered ones like the Disaster Messenger, sea monsters, and dragons, the knights should be able to hold their own against the others.

In conjunction with the Holy Bishop Knights' actions, Li Wei had a general idea of ​​their plan. It was clear that the Holy Bishop wanted to create panic among the people by instigating mysterious events in various countries on the continent, and then descend as a savior to gain followers and influence.

After all, if the authorities are helpless in the face of these rampant mysterious events, while the Holy Bishop is able to resolve them, then the people will definitely lean towards the Holy Bishop.

It has to be said, that was a beautiful idea, but unfortunately, Li Wei appeared in the Empire.

As a result, the Holy Bishops not only failed to succeed, but were also driven out by the Queen through a combination of force and obstruction.

If the Empire is an example of the failure of the Holy Bishop Project, then Francis is clearly a typical example of its success.

"Forget about the Holy Bishop for now, but as for the Kingdom of Krant... you've brought a very good example."

At this point, the old butler's expression immediately became much more serious.

“We also received some intelligence that the Kingdom of Krant was carrying out some kind of technological improvement. Of course, we have no way to directly infiltrate their core, but in theory, we should be able to find some clues from the transportation of supplies.”

That's absolutely right.

Li Wei nodded. Information secrecy is not just about simple information; in fact, information comes in many forms. For example, a sudden change in the quantity of supplies a country purchases can reveal potential internal problems. Conversely, if a region suddenly demands a large quantity of a certain resource, one can deduce its intentions from these supplies.

"At the time, we were puzzled for a while when we learned that the Kingdom of Krant was acquiring large quantities of all sorts of creatures. We speculated that the Kingdom of Krant might be planning to use animals for some kind of poison gas experiment..."

"This is much more troublesome than the poison gas experiment."

Li Wei shrugged.

"After all, when a flock of birds flies towards you, you can't tell whether they are birds or enemy weapons."

"It is indeed a problem, and according to you, they can also freely manipulate those animals. Oh, speaking of which, we did find something interesting in that monster's brain. I have to say, the Kingdom of Krant really has something we didn't expect. Thanks to you for bringing it back, at least we can think of countermeasures in advance."

At this point, the old butler chuckled. "But that's fine too. Let Francis and the Kingdom of Krant fight like dogs."

Hearing the old steward's words, Levi raised an eyebrow. Clearly, the Queen had also considered Levi's thoughts. It could be said that the Empire had completely abandoned any idea of ​​assisting Francis. If Francis were still in the hands of the Council, things would be different. But now that Francis was a puppet of the Holy Bishop, the Empire had no need to get involved.

Clearly, the Empire had no intention of providing Francis with the intelligence that the Kingdom of Krant had a way to bypass the defenses.

"At present, there seems to be no way to deal with the Kingdom of Krant in the short term..."

"We can ask a biologist for help."

However, Li Wei offered a suggestion.

"biologist?"

“That’s right. The migration and living environment of organisms follow certain patterns, as do the types of animals that appear in different terrains. Biologists who specialize in studying animal populations within the Empire’s territory are obviously the most knowledgeable about them, and if there are any unusual animal migration behaviors, they can prepare in advance.”

"Okay, I know."

The old butler thought for a moment and nodded.

"I will communicate with the intelligence department to see if we can find out the location of those animals when we patrol the front line in the future."

After all, it is indeed difficult to guard against, and most people would not be too vigilant when they see a group of animals.

After they finished speaking, the two looked at each other and fell silent.

"………………………"

“……………………”

"…Wait, say something."

"Hmm? Is there anything else you want to say?"

What should we do about Sofia?

"It's all up to you."

"???"

Li Wei was completely dumbfounded when he heard the old butler's answer.

What do you mean by "just leave it to me"?

"Because Princess Sophia is still young, and considering that staying in the palace would not be good for her physical and mental health, and since she prefers you, we think it would be best to leave her with Sir Levi to take care of her. After all, you are quite experienced in taking care of children."

"I……………"

Li Wei almost couldn't catch his breath.

So the Queen really treats her own home like a kindergarten?

What if someone finds out?

"If the old emperor were sober enough, he wouldn't have made such a scene known to everyone."

"That's true..."

For the old emperor, if news of Princess Sophia's disappearance spread throughout the continent, it would mean that everyone on the continent would know that an heir with royal blood had gone missing.

Although the old emperor said he didn't acknowledge it, how much effect did his words have after his death?

Who knows, right after the old emperor dies, dozens of princesses named Sofia might appear claiming the right to inherit the throne. There isn't a DNA testing system in this world yet, is there?
Conversely, as long as no one knows that Princess Sofia is missing, then she is not missing. At that time, they can easily find a reason such as dying from a serious illness, and the matter will be over.

"Is that okay?"

"Of course not, we'll create a fake identity for her, one that can withstand scrutiny completely, so don't worry."

"………………………"

If it's an official fake identity, can it still be called a fake identity?
Isn't that the truth?

"Alright..."

Li Wei sighed silently. As the saying goes, "the more debts you have, the less itchy you feel; the more lice you have, the less you worry." He already had several little ones at home, and even Katie was practically living in his house now. One more wouldn't seem like a big deal.

As it turned out, the old butler's guess was correct.

In the days that followed, no major newspapers reported on Princess Sofia's disappearance, and even the assassination of Grand Duke Fernando himself did not attract much attention. However, the situation did not improve; instead, it worsened.

First, upon learning that the assassin was from the Principality of Seth, the citizens of the Sasha Alliance immediately launched a large-scale protest march and even attacked the Seth people within the Sasha Alliance.

Meanwhile, back in Seth, people applauded and cheered for the assassin's "feat."

On the surface, this was a matter between the Sasha Alliance and the Duchy of Seth. The Empire, Francis, Cront, and the Western European Empire remained aloof, offering little beyond official platitudes such as condemnation of the assassination and condolences for Grand Duke Fernando.

However, those in the midst of it all know that the situation on the mainland has undergone subtle changes.

The Sasha Alliance will certainly retaliate against the Duchy of Seth, and as an ally of the Duchy of Seth, the Western European Empire will inevitably declare war on the Sasha Alliance in order to protect the Duchy of Seth. In this way, the Kingdom of Krant, which has signed an agreement with the Sasha Alliance, will also join in and declare war on the Western European Empire. Francis will then declare war on the Kingdom of Krant in accordance with the alliance treaty of the Western European Empire.

This is a war domino effect. Unlike ordinary people who still enjoy peace, everyone is now waiting for the first domino to fall.

And that will be the time when the flames of war begin.

(End of this chapter)