Mystery Detective of the Steam World

Chapter 531 The Visitor is a Guest

Faced with the Empire's offer of surrender, Wilhelm II quickly gave his answer.

Krant will never succumb to the tyranny of the Empire! Krant's people, even if it means their deaths, will never become part of the Empire! At the same time, he ordered a state of martial law in Delin, and everyone must prepare for war; they will fight the Empire to the very end!
To be honest, after reading Wilhelm II's speech, Li Wei breathed a long sigh of relief.

"Alright, it's decided that it will be Delin."

"Ah."

General Hao also put down his wine glass, nodded, and looked relaxed.

Li Wei wasn't talking nonsense. In fact, throughout this war, the Queen had one request: to see how much damage missiles could cause to cities.

This is only natural, since if the Empire wants to establish a deterrent force based on missiles, it must let others see the powerful destructive force that missiles can demonstrate in cities.

Just like how movies nowadays describe how powerful a certain bomb is, they'll often use comparisons like saying it's many times more powerful than the atomic bombs to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

This is actually a basic standard.

Once a missile explodes in a city, the Empire will have a basic standard for how powerful its missiles are, such as how many times more powerful the new bomb is than the original Delin missile... and so on.

However, there are some techniques to frying.

First of all, it would be impolite to bomb them again if they were about to surrender.

After all, the Empire's primary objective is to "reclaim" the Krant, Francis, and Sasha alliances. Therefore, it's not as simple as a mere invasion where looting, arson, and destruction are the end of the matter; the difficulty of post-war governance must also be considered. So, if the enemy surrenders, launching missiles again will only incite public anger, making governance even more challenging.

Secondly, missiles are cost-effective, considering they are quite expensive. If the Empire could eventually establish a complete upstream and downstream manufacturing line for missiles, it might be able to bring down their price.

However, currently, the entire missile production is basically being handled by Liwei's military factory, so prices naturally can't be lowered. Therefore, it's clearly not cost-effective to just drop a missile wherever there are rebels.

Therefore, from this perspective, the Krant isn't entirely without ways to deal with the Empire. The greatest advantage of the Zoanoids and Synthetic Beasts lies in their individual strength. Thus, the Krant could easily operate in smaller groups, waging guerrilla warfare against the Imperial army in the forests and mountains. As long as they don't amass large legions and give the Empire a chance to overwhelm them, the Empire won't readily resort to missiles.

After all, nobody's money falls from the sky.

Therefore, the Empire's current strategy is to crush the Krant's resistance with overwhelming force. First, they will annihilate their legions, and then completely destroy a city, in order to break the Krant's morale as much as possible. This way, they will easily surrender.

Deburg is a financial city; it's better to leave it as it is than to bomb it.

But Delin is the capital of Krant, so it's better to bomb it than leave it.

"It depends on Her Majesty's decision. We just need to be prepared."

Li Wei didn't have too many thoughts on this, not because he was overconfident, but because he was familiar with this pattern of using missiles to sweep the ground, seize air superiority, and then occupy the territory by mobile forces.

If you asked him to lead a cavalry force to fight in medieval warfare, Livy would be completely clueless and know nothing about it.

So no matter what move the opponent makes, Li Wei only has one option.

Big bomb — or even bigger bomb.

Gone.

As a proponent of firepower superiority, this is all Li Wei knows (shrugs).

While Li Wei and General Hao were discussing the empire's next military moves, a completely different scene was unfolding in the Delin Palace.

"Your Majesty, what exactly are you trying to do?"

Looking at Wilhelm II, the old general was filled with disbelief. Ever since Wilhelm II issued the martial law decree, the royal army's beastmen corps had been arresting people all over the city, men and women, old and young, all of whom were forcibly conscripted into the army.

Those who resisted were taken away and their whereabouts are unknown.

At this moment, the entire Delin was in a state of panic, so the old general had no choice but to enter the palace and ask Wilhelm II for advice.

"What you're doing will only make everyone feel uneasy and panicked!"

"I did it for the Kingdom of Krant!"

Wilhelm II slammed his fist on the table and roared. Only then did the old general realize that Wilhelm II's face was filled with immense anger.

"We are being threatened by the Empire, even asked to surrender? This is an absolutely intolerable insult! We must defeat them, and we will surely defeat them!"

"But that's impossible, Your Majesty!"

The old general had no choice but to tell the truth.

"The Empire now possesses power that we currently cannot control. We have no way to contend with the Empire. Everything you are doing will only lead to the needless sacrifice of Krant's people!"

"Shut up!"

However, before the old general could finish speaking, he was coldly interrupted by Wilhelm II.

"They are the people of Krant, so it is only natural that they should sacrifice everything for this country! Even their lives are a matter of course!"

“But, but this is meaningless… They simply cannot withstand the Empire…”

"shut up!"

Wilhelm II grabbed a wine glass from the table and smashed it against the old general's head. The glass shattered, and the bright red wine mixed with blood flowed down the old general's forehead.

"It is your weakness and incompetence that has led to Krant's current predicament. If you had transformed all your soldiers into beastmen instead of taking a gradual approach, we wouldn't have been defeated by the Empire so easily!"

“But Your Majesty… most soldiers cannot accept this approach…”

"I don't want them to accept this! This is an order! They must obey! Otherwise, they can die!"

Wilhelm II slammed his fist on the table, looking completely insane.

"Now, they have to do this. As long as everyone listens to me, we can defeat the Empire! I know that Krant can defeat the Empire! We can become the masters of this world!"

As he spoke, Wilhelm II suddenly raised his head, his scarlet eyes coldly staring at the old general.

Faced with Wilhelm II's expression, the latter was speechless for a moment. The Crown could defeat the Empire and rule the world? Did His Majesty harbor such thoughts from the very beginning? This is utterly absurd! Doesn't His Majesty know how powerful the Empire is?

How could he have such an idea?

"Now I know why Krant couldn't defeat the Empire—it's all because of you! As long as you all do as I say, the Empire is nothing to fear!"

“……………………”

Is His Majesty mentally unstable?
The old general was speechless upon hearing this and could say nothing.

"Guards, seize him!"

Then, Wilhelm II roared, and two beastmen entered the room and seized the old general.

"Your Majesty, this won't solve the problem!"

The old general didn't even know what to say at this moment, but in response to his words, Wilhelm II revealed a cold smile.

"No, I can. I will let you witness firsthand how Krant defeated the Empire."

With that, Wilhelm II stood up.

"Come with me."

Wilhelm II emerged from his study, followed by the beastmen who escorted the old general. The old general looked at Wilhelm II with bewilderment, completely unaware of the source of his confidence.

Led by Wilhelm II, the old general arrived at the palace's underground chambers. Looking at the surrounding scenery, he frowned. He knew exactly where he was; this was Krant's secret biological laboratory, and in the old general's eyes, the research conducted here was blasphemous and twisted.

This applies to both chimeras and beastmen.

If the empire hadn't been so aggressive, the old general probably wouldn't have agreed to Krant's use of such methods to strengthen his forces.

But now…

"His Majesty."

Soon, a man completely shrouded in a robe and wearing a mask approached. He first looked up at the old general, then at Wilhelm II. Seeing the masked man, the old general's expression changed slightly. He knew who the man was; in fact, the old general also knew what he looked like under the mask—no scars, nothing unusual, just an ordinary, unremarkable face. However, these masked figures were the pioneers of synthetic beast and beast-like soldier technology.

These people of unknown origin gained His Majesty's trust and have been working here ever since.

They changed Krant, but the old general never trusted these people.

Perhaps it was because he was getting old, but he always felt that he didn't fit in with these people, as if they came from different worlds.

The masked man looked at Wilhelm II and bowed.

"His Majesty."

"Hmm, how are the preparations going?"

"Everything is ready, Your Majesty. You've come at the perfect time. I was just about to inform you of this good news."

"Good, good, good!"

Upon hearing the masked man's reply, Wilhelm II laughed heartily and nodded, then glanced at the old general.

"It seems you've arrived at just the right time. In that case, let me show you Krant's true power!"

Krant's true power?

With these questions in mind, the old general entered the room, and then—his eyes widened in astonishment.

What lies before us is not merely a research lab.

In this basement, everything was completely covered in flesh and blood. The ceiling, walls, and floor were all covered with a layer of bright red muscle, with countless blood vessels running through them, pulsating slightly, and you could even see the blood flowing through them.

In the center of the entire basement was a huge pool filled with blood and flesh!
"Your Majesty, what is this?!"

Seeing this, the old general finally couldn't help but ask.

"Have you fallen into the demonic path?"

"No, no, no, General, this is not some kind of demonic practice."

However, Wilhelm II looked at the old general and sneered.

"This is biological science... do you understand? Unlike the Empire's steel, true biological science! It can make us powerful beings far surpassing humans! Unlike the Empire, which only knows how to use the power of steel to bully others!"

Biological sciences? This?

The old general's mind was in complete chaos. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed like something only an evil demon or monster would do. Moreover, ever since he entered the room, the old general had felt a strong sense of revulsion. His body seemed to instinctively abhor this terrifying presence.

It's not just about the disgusting flesh and blood; it seems to involve something deeper...

"Your Majesty, what exactly are you planning to do?!"

Didn't I already say that?

Upon hearing the old general's question, Wilhelm II turned his head, looked at the old general, and gave a cold smile.

"I'll show you Krant's true power!"

Without hesitation, Wilhelm II strode into the pool of blood. The pool wasn't deep, appearing to only reach Wilhelm II's waist, and he walked all the way to the center before raising his hands.

At the same time, the ground began to tremble slightly. Then the old general noticed that the suspicious masked figures were standing beside the blood pool, chanting some strange language in a low voice.

As they chanted, the blood in the pool, which had been calm, began to surge and churn like ocean waves.

Damn it, what the hell is this thing?!

The old general gritted his teeth, wanting to rush forward and stop it all. In his eyes, Wilhelm II had clearly gone mad; he no longer cared about anything!
However, the two beast soldiers beside him held the old man tightly, preventing him from moving at all.

Finally, the blood in the pool suddenly erupted, completely engulfing Wilhelm II.

"boom-------!"

But the old general, seeing all this, could only feel despair in his eyes.

In his view, at this moment, Krant's career was completely over.

Soon, news of Krant's strange behavior reached Levi's side as well.

"Something unusual has happened in Delin City?"

"Yes, we dispatched our intelligence agents in Delin to send out emergency contact, but..."

"but?"

"He only said 'emergency' before all communication was cut off."

"I understand, I'll go see what happened."

Li Wei hadn't originally planned to go, since Delin's coordinates were fixed and he didn't need to search for anything himself. But now that he'd heard there was a problem there, he boarded the Eye of the Sky and came to Delin's skies to look down.

However, to Li Wei's surprise, the entire city of Delin did indeed seem somewhat strange.

Looking around, the entire city seemed to be soaked in blood, everything was crimson, from the streets to the ground. Thick, long vines hung between the buildings, with oval-shaped objects resembling plant fruits hanging from them.

An egg made of flesh and blood, and it was trembling slightly.

What's going on?

It has to be said that even Li Wei had never seen anything like this before. You know, even in the parallel world of Krant, nothing was this... twisted and bizarre.

Thinking of this, Li Wei subconsciously activated [Soul Vision] and scanned the entire city.

Then, his eyes suddenly widened.

Because under the vision of the soul, Li Wei could see that the soul radiance of the entire city was dark green, and in the location of the palace, there was a dark green round hole as big as a football field!

Could it be that the alien monster that wasn't killed by his own explosion has attacked?

If that's the case…

Li Wei silently stood up.

"I need to make some contact."

After saying that, he walked out of the bridge, returned to the captain's cabin, picked up the receiver, dialed a number, and a moment later, John Dunn's voice came from the other end of the line.

"Sir Levy, what brings you here?"

"I remember you reported to me before that the research on thermobaric weapons had been successful, right?"

"Ah, yes, we've already test-fired it, and it was very successful."

"very good."

Li Wei nodded.

"From now on, we will fully shift to the manufacture of thermobaric weapons."

"Huh? But what about the royal family..."

“I will explain to Her Majesty the Queen.”

"Yes, sir."

As Li Wei spoke, he hung up the phone, then narrowed his eyes, a cold glint appearing in them.

Since you're already here, let's give you a big fireworks display to properly welcome you.

(End of this chapter)