Comprehensive network wizard, magic emperor.

Chapter 222 The Spellcaster of the Micro-Magic World

The deputy director walked to the half-open window, looked at the night view of Jinbei City, and gazed at this city that prospered by relying on the empire's third largest port. He lit a cheap cigarette he had bought on the street, slowly sipped it, and after smoking his fill, his thoughts became focused as he began to recall the intelligence he had collected and organized over the past week.

Kochen Ancher has been crippled and paralyzed for many years. A cripple is not capable of ascending the throne because the empire will not allow a disabled person to become its ruler.

But then, inexplicably, he recovered. Excluding any so-called miracles, there is only one truth: he had never been paralyzed and had always used this as a disguise to facilitate his actions in secret.

Emperor Corvin Ewin's ascension to the throne was illegitimate, and the royal family has only one young princess. Even if she inherits the throne and declares herself empress, she will not be able to stop ambitious people who covet the throne. It is possible that some groups will use marriage or murder to drive the princess out of this power game.

The domestic bourgeoisie is dedicated to abolishing the imperial system, and amidst the global wave of social change, monarchy is already in decline. Many industrialized nations on the bountiful continent have successively reformed, moving towards republics or constitutional monarchies.

The Kening Empire was the only one to go backwards; its revolution was incomplete, allowing the Duke of Protectorate to steal its achievements.

But the emperor's sacred facade had been shattered, and even if the monarchy were restored, the islanders could no longer believe that the emperor was supreme and the savior appointed by the Holy Father.

Koven Evan possessed sufficient political prestige, but his successor lacked the charisma to command obedience and respect throughout the empire. His death would inevitably lead to instability, providing the perfect opportunity for ambitious individuals to rise to power.

The deputy director suspected that Kochen Ancher might be trying to join forces with businessmen. The investigations in recent days have shown that he is consolidating social resources in Kimberly, issuing many local ordinances, adjusting market competition, and recruiting a large number of wealthy businessmen to form interest groups.

It remains to be seen what Duke Ancher's attitude was toward the domestic bourgeois movement before he feigned paralysis, during the decade-long War of Naval Power.

Whether someone leans towards monarchy or reform is an important clue that can help us predict the form of rebellion they might launch: seizing power and usurping the country, or reforming the system and establishing a constitutional monarchy.

Unfortunately, before the establishment of the Defense Intelligence Agency, there was no dedicated agency to set up an archive to collect various classified intelligence documents, and most of the old documents were destroyed or lost. This means that intelligence work now has to start from scratch.

The current Defense Intelligence Agency is still a makeshift operation, without any branches or safe houses. Field personnel have to find their own way to infiltrate after landing. This old apartment was rented by the deputy director.

Their only possible local support comes from the army and navy, which are loyal to the imperial family.

If they hadn't been bribed by Kochen Ancher, the Defense Intelligence Agency could have temporarily mobilized troops to suppress the rebellion or help the agents escape from the vortex if the situation deteriorated to the extreme.

The deputy director felt unsafe in Jinbei City, as if there were invisible eyes and ears everywhere, and he felt that he was being watched by the city.

As the investigation deepened and more and more unsettling clues were uncovered, his anxiety grew, making him feel increasingly like he was being watched by unseen eyes and ears.

The deputy director took another puff of his cigarette and caught a glimpse of several seabirds flying over the city streets, like a few shadows under the moon.

These are seagulls in winter.

Seaside cities are always teeming with seagulls, who live a comfortable life feeding on the carcasses of fish in the harbor. They swagger around the city, robbing tourists on the beach for food. Many cities organize the public to hunt and kill seagulls, but in Jinbei, they roam freely.

The agents who went to Shita Town mentioned the local custom of worshipping seagulls, saying that they are messengers of miracles and can lead fishermen to schools of fish.

This bird is closely associated with the origins of heresy; the deputy director had heard about the Three-eyed Gull in the roadside tabloids and tavern gossip in Kimberley.

Some say the seabirds grew deformities from eating too much carrion and garbage, while others say the seagulls with a third eye are the earthly incarnations of angels from the five gods.

Every city has its own urban legends. For example, in Hongdu, the strangest rumor recently is that the Royal Academy of Sciences has a tall hat that can turn people into geniuses. It is probably because the public regards scientists as magicians.

However, considering the frequent supernatural events in Shita Town, the sighting reports of the three-eyed seagull in Jinbei City might not be entirely unfounded. The deputy director exhaled the last puff of smoke into the night wind, threw the cigarette butt away, and then closed the window and drew the curtains.

He focused his investigation on Stone Tower in order to find incriminating evidence against Kochen Ancher. With evidence, the emperor could justifiably punish a powerful duke without causing political turmoil.

Even the highest authority must act cautiously, strive to eliminate opponents, cultivate loyal followers, and pave the way for a successor.

The deputy director looked down on Viren Pearl, who was young and an outsider. Before the establishment of the Defense Intelligence Agency, the deputy director had always been the head of the secret police department of the Ministry of the Interior, but the director's seat was handed over to a young upstart by a cabinet minister.

This is a tactic employed by political manipulators. By placing a political novice in charge of an important agency, he must rely heavily on powerful figures behind him to maintain his position. The Defense Intelligence Agency's supposedly impartial internal oversight function will therefore turn a blind eye to such individuals.

The deputy director himself wasn't entirely clean either. He had a very good personal relationship with the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Even setting aside his background, the deputy director looked down on Velen Pearl in terms of ability. That idiot knew nothing and had secretly developed a heretical sect in the territory. He had no idea about the dark side of the Empire, a past that had been lost to the dust of time.

The occurrence of superpower events in Stone Tower Town is nothing unusual.

Because the civilization of the Sail Islands has a history of numerous sightings of supernatural abilities dating back thousands of years to the long era when the cult of the sea god ruled the spiritual world of the people.

Today, academics studying the Poseidon cult consider the historical supernatural events to be nonsense, religious tricks to fool the masses. This is simply because the Poseidon cult has been destroyed, and no scholar dares to openly criticize the Five Gods sect, which also attracts followers with miracles and legends.

Some things only begin to be discussed after they die.

In the cult of Poseidon, the group that possesses supernatural powers is called the "Blessed Ones." Historians explain that these people are nobles who are the first to consume whale flesh and blood at the festival, but this is not the case. The Blessed Ones are often from poor or slave backgrounds.

It is said that through certain rituals, they received blessings from the sea god and thus acquired extraordinary abilities. The various miracles recorded in the scriptures of the sea god religion were all performances by the recipients, such as walking on water, creating dense fog, summoning air currents, and conjuring lightning.

These highly respected figures, second only to the leader in status within the church, often had unusually short lifespans. Some ancient records state that whenever miracles occurred, the recipients were summoned to the sea. In other words, these supernatural performances required the sacrifice of life.

The group of recipients did not disappear with the fall of the Cult of Poseidon. In the modern era, with the widespread availability of whale oil products, every few years, one or two special individuals with awakened abilities appear throughout the Sail Islands.

Most of them lived their entire lives in obscurity. A few others traveled the world as wandering fortune tellers, magicians, or other similar professions, without a fixed abode, leaving behind a legend wherever they went.

The deputy director had met these people. When he was young, he had helped a poor, homeless astrologer. In return, the man performed the feat of creating ice out of thin air.

So he relentlessly begged to become an apprentice, only to be told he had no talent. Even so, the deputy director maintained contact with the astrologer, and has done so for many years.

The next day, he went to the telegraph office and sent a message to Blue Bay City on Blacktail Island.

Blue Bay is a famous resort city in the Kening Empire. Its waters are crystal clear, and its beaches are soft and comfortable, bringing a vibrant economy to the region. People say that the seasons here are unforgettable because every day is just as joyful.

A telegram was sent to the astrologer's shop at No. 12, Ocean View Street, Blue Bay City.

After reading the brief message, the boss pondered for a moment and wrote letters to several old friends, telling them that a gathering of the Gifted might have occurred in a small town on the outskirts of Jinbei City on White Stone Island, spreading supernatural phenomena on a large scale, and that it was necessary to go and investigate.

By the time the envelope was sent, he had already boarded the ship bound for White Stone Island.

(End of this chapter)