Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 529 is just a notification.
What happened in the end?

Commander Bickgu stood solemnly by the window, looking at the sky outside. He heard a huge explosion and roar coming from afar, and the observation post also reported seeing thick smoke.

Has the empire's invasion begun?

What's the situation?

Why was there no report?
Commander Bickgu frowned, then turned to look at his adjutant.

"Is there any contact from the front?"

"No, sir."

"...Continue to maintain contact and find out the current situation at the front!"

"Commander."

Just then, a young officer walked over.

"Should we call in the army, prepare for war, and impose martial law on the entire city?"

"Um…………………"

Commander Bickgu frowned and remained silent. From his perspective, the current battle situation was unclear, and it was best to impose martial law on the entire city to guard against any unforeseen events. However, rationally speaking, the Empire could not possibly break through the Krant army's triple defenses so quickly. There had been no contact from the front lines yet, which was likely due to communication difficulties or some other unforeseen event.

Declaring martial law in this situation would be overreacting. Moreover, Deburg is Krante's second-largest financial city; a martial law declaration would result in astronomical financial losses, if not catastrophic. If something goes wrong, that's one thing, but if nothing happens, then the commander of the Bick Corps might have to bear the responsibility.

"Sound the alarm and impose martial law throughout the city."

Finally, the commander of the Bickgu Regiment gave the order.

"I will take responsibility!"

"Yes!"

"Waaaaah... Waaaah...!"

The alarm sounded.

Pedestrians walking on the street stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded, at the piercing alarm blaring from the loudspeaker. For all they knew, the city of Deburg had never once sounded an intrusion alarm in its entire history!
"What's going on? Why is there an alarm?"

"Has the Empire attacked?"

"Are you kidding? Didn't the king say we were well protected and there was no way we could be attacked by the empire?"

The citizens of Deburg were immediately thrown into a panic. Just moments before, they had been thinking about their work, their lives, and even what to eat for lunch. But now, war had appeared before them without warning, leaving many wondering if they were dreaming.

However, the soldiers who took to the streets, along with the chimeras, told the citizens that this was neither an illusion nor a dream.

"Everyone, go home immediately and lock your doors and windows! From this moment on, the entire city of Deburg is under martial law! No one is allowed to leave without permission!"

Parrots the size of eagles flew over the streets of Fort Detrick, shouting and repeating commands. Soldiers riding chimeras and beastmen quickly moved in, driving everyone in the streets back into their houses. People screamed, cried, wailed, and complained.

But now, they have no other choice.

Soon, the bustling city quieted down. Standing by the window, looking down at the deserted streets, Commander Bickgu sighed.

"I really hope my judgment is wrong."

"Then you might be dismissed?"

The young officer looked at the regimental commander of Bickgu and spoke, while the regimental commander of Bickgu glanced at the young officer and shook his head.

"As a soldier, my duty is to protect the country and its people. For me, it is enough to protect these people from harm."

"Isn't this a lack of ambition?"

"hehe………"

Hearing the young officer's question, Commander Bickgu gave a wry smile and did not answer. He knew what these young beastman officers were thinking; they were young, energetic, and possessed great strength. Naturally, they longed to prove themselves through war and achieve merit.

But... what does war really mean?

He probably doesn't understand yet.

Commander Bickgu pulled himself out of his thoughts, walked back to his desk, and picked up the microphone.

"Speaking of which, why haven't we received any updates from the front lines? Have we sent our people out yet?"

"It's already been dispatched, Commander. I think we should receive news soon."

Just then, a voice rang out.

"Then, let me tell you about the current situation on the front lines."

Upon hearing this voice, the Bickgu Legion Commander suddenly turned his head towards the balcony. There, in the center of the balcony, which had been empty just moments before, a young man had appeared. He was wearing a top hat, a black tuxedo, and holding a cane in his left hand, looking every bit the part of an imperial nobleman.

"Splash!"

At that moment, the soldiers on guard duty inside the room immediately raised their guns and aimed at the figure. Commander Bickgu frowned, staring at him as he asked a question.

Who are you?

"Hello, Commander Bickgu."

The young man took off his hat and bowed slightly in greeting.

“I am Earl of the Empire, Knight of the Thistle, Livy. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Li Wei……………

Upon hearing this name, the commander of the Bickgu Legion's eyes flashed. Of course, he had heard of this name before, after all, this was the empire's most dazzling rising star.

But why is he here?
What do you want to do?

"It's very simple."

Looking at Legion Commander Bickgu, Li Wei smiled slightly. In fact, he had met this legion commander once before. Of course, this legion commander had never actually met him, but Li Wei had once impersonated this legion commander to obtain intelligence that the Rosefield family was colluding with the Kingdom of Krant to betray the empire.

Well, but there's no need to go into details about that.

"I am here to persuade you to surrender. In Her Majesty the Queen's name, I demand that you lay down your weapons immediately and surrender unconditionally."

"…………………"

For a moment, Commander Bickgu even wondered if he had misheard, while the young officer next to him sneered.

"How arrogant! Do you think you can subdue us all by yourself?"

"Of course that's not what I think."

Faced with the young officer's mockery, Li Wei smiled, then put his top hat back on and spread his hands.

"Besides, I'm not alone."

As Li Wei spoke, everyone saw hundreds of airships emerge from the clouds behind him, gleaming with the inorganic luster unique to metal under the sunlight. The golden eagle emblems on them, with outstretched wings, were especially dazzling.

Imperial Fleet!

“How is this possible…” Commander Bickgu looked at the densely packed airship army not far behind Li Wei in the sky, and felt his throat tighten, unable to even speak.

"By the way, I have some information to share with you all."

As he spoke, Li Wei casually flicked his wrist, and an envelope flew from his hand, spinning across the room before landing with a thud on the desk in front of Commander Bickgu. At the same time, several photographs slid out of an unsealed envelope and were displayed before Commander Bickgu.

What the photos show are battlefields that have been completely destroyed, leaving only huge craters, thick smoke, and wreckage.

"The legion on the defensive line has been completely destroyed. Therefore, you no longer need to search for any intelligence from the front."

As he spoke, Li Wei revealed an elegant smile, but it looked like the savage grin of a wild beast eyeing its prey.

"Because this is the front line."

“……………………………”

The room was deathly silent; no one spoke. Commander Bickgu was completely speechless. He even wondered if there was something wrong with his ears.

Those were two army groups, 300,000 men, and they were wiped out just like that?
Commander Bickgu reached out to pick up the photograph, but found his hand trembling slightly. He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his fear, before picking up the photographs and carefully examining each one.

The photo was taken from the sky. Bickgu knew that the Empire possessed reconnaissance airships capable of taking photos and videos from the air. He stared at the photo, unsure of what to think or do.

Find clues in these photos? No, that doesn't explain how the Imperial airship fleet managed to get through the defenses to Deburg. The Imperial's airships and warships weren't particularly fast; if they had simply walked through the defenses, they would have been detected.

But they arrived here…

Why are you trying to persuade me to surrender?

Commander Bickgu looked at Li Wei and asked.

"If you're that powerful, why don't you just attack us directly?"

"Simply put, a Deburg that's been beaten to a pulp is not what we're looking for."

Li Wei shrugged and began to speak.

"What if we resist to the end?"

"That doesn't matter."

Li Wei remained unmoved by what the Legion Commander Bikku said.

"The Empire's construction companies will be happy to have business, and I think their stock price will soar... Of course, I personally don't buy stocks."

"Stop joking, you bastard!"

However, at that moment, the young officer suddenly roared in fury.

"You think you can threaten the glorious Krant Legion? You're dreaming!"
As they were speaking, the young officer's clothes suddenly ripped apart, and he transformed into a monster resembling a giant wolf, lunging at Li Wei with bared fangs and claws!
"I don't care if you're a count or a knight. Since you dare to come here alone and utter such insolent words, then you only have one path: death!"

The young officer, now a beast-like soldier, moved with lightning speed. Before he could finish speaking, he was already in front of Li Wei. Li Wei didn't even glance at him, but simply raised his right hand.

"boom!"

Gunshots rang out, and the beast-like officer dodged to the side with ease, easily avoiding Li Wei's attack. Then, he opened his blood-red maw and bit down on Li Wei.

"Die, you imperial dogs!"

"stop!"

Upon seeing this, the commander of the Bickgu Legion was shocked, but then something unexpected happened.

No one saw that the bullet, which the beastman officer dodged, hit the floor and bounced back, then curved in the air and shot straight toward the beastman officer's body.

Then…

"ah-------!"

With a heart-wrenching scream, the beast-like officer froze, its body stiffening, eyes wide, mouth agape—and then, Li Wei's persuader was thrust into its mouth.

"This is the limit of the physical body."

Li Wei looked at the beast-like officer in front of him, whose face was contorted with unexpected pain, but his expression remained unchanged.

"It's still not enough in the face of steel."

As he spoke, he pulled the trigger.

"boom!"

The bullet pierced the beast-like officer's head, blasting a large hole in the back of his skull. The officer's body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground.

Li Wei glanced at the corpse, then looked at Commander Bickgu again.

"So, Commander Bickku, what do you mean?"

"If I refuse, will you kill me?"

"There's no need for that."

When asked by the commander of the Bickgu Legion, Li Wei smiled and shook his head.

"I'm not an assassin, and besides, there's not much point in killing you. Since it's war, the only way to settle things is fairly and squarely on the battlefield."

Li Wei wasn't just talking nonsense. After all, back in the refuge of Delin, if he wanted, he could easily have teleported in and killed Wilhelm II and his guards. But Li Wei knew that wouldn't solve the problem. To conquer a country, one must take the honorable path of benevolent rule, not resort to underhanded tactics like assassination.

Therefore, Li Wei greatly admired Her Majesty the Queen. She generally did not advocate or encourage assassination.

Because the path of benevolence is the most difficult to tread; by comparison, plotting and scheming are much easier. Even after being assassinated, the Queen didn't send anyone to retaliate. Relying on assassination is never a righteous path, and it's easy to suffer the consequences.

It's like taking an exam; studying on your own and then taking the exam is naturally the hardest part. But if you could cheat, how many people could resist the temptation? If there were no consequences for being caught cheating, how many people would give up that opportunity and foolishly study and memorize on their own to prepare for the exam?

Ultimately, however, exams are merely a means to confirm the extent to which knowledge has been acquired. In the end, it is not others who are affected, but oneself.

Whether it's plagiarism, backdoor dealings, or whatever, you might get away with it this time, but that doesn't mean you can hide forever.

Just like the war between the Empire and the Krant now, the Empire doesn't simply want to defeat the Krant, but to conquer it.

These are two completely different concepts.

If we only look at it from the perspective of winning, then obviously there won't be any good results.

"And what is your answer, Commander Bickku?"

As he spoke, Li Wei put away his weapon and then turned to look at the streets of Deburg not far away.

"I quite like this place. There's a restaurant in Central Park that makes really good sausages and potato pancakes. It would be such a shame if I couldn't get to eat there."

Commander Bickgu closed his eyes, then opened them, looking at Levi and the massive, dark army of airships in the sky behind him.

After a long while, the commander of the Bickgu Legion finally let out a long sigh.

"I surrender."

(End of this chapter)