Trench Bolts and Magic

Chapter 137 Dai Ying: This is a great injustice to me throughout the ages
Just as various forces across the European continent were taking action in response to this sudden assassination attempt.

A piece of news that added fuel to the fire came from Vienna.

The day after the assassination, the Austro-Hungarian government released the preliminary findings of its investigation into the incident to the world through official channels.

This result caused an uproar in the political arena of Europe.

"Based on the investigation of the assassination scene and the interviews with survivors, we have reason to believe that this assassination was a premeditated and organized terrorist attack."

"The assassin is not a single person, but an assassination team composed of multiple high-level spellcasters."

"When one of the assassins was exposed and our Royal Magic Guards attempted to capture him alive, he chose to perish together with this valiant guard."

"Near the site of his suicide, we found a used Fireball spell scroll."

"After being examined by the Imperial Royal Academy of Spellcasters, this scroll..."

At the press conference in Vienna, the Austro-Hungarian Foreign Minister paused deliberately at this point, his gaze sweeping over the journalists from all the countries in the audience.

Then, in an extremely sorrowful and angry tone, he announced the answer that shocked everyone.

"This scroll bears the emblem of the Highland Mage Order of the Brittany Empire!"

After he finished speaking, he gestured to his assistant behind him.

The assistant immediately displayed a developed photo to everyone.

The photo shows a parchment scroll that is half burned.

On the intact end of the scroll, a complex emblem composed of stone rings, thistles, mountains, and Celtic knots is clearly visible.
The scene fell into a deathly silence, followed by an uproar as loud as a landslide or tsunami.

Highland Mage Corps!
This name represents the oldest, most powerful, and most mysterious magical power in Europe.

They were the most loyal guardians of the Holy Britannian Imperial Household, and one of the cornerstones of the empire's global dominance.
Now, the Austro-Hungarian Empire is claiming that the assassins who killed their crown prince used a spell scroll from the Highland Mage Corps.
This is no longer an implication; it's practically tantamount to pointing a finger at the Britannians and saying: You did it!
When the news reached London, the entire high command of the Holy Britannian Empire went mad.

"Slander! This is naked slander!"

Foreign Secretary Edward Gray roared angrily in Parliament.

The Austro-Hungarian ambassador to London had previously visited him and launched a 'fierce attack' against him.

Edward Gray swore he had never suffered such an injustice in his life.
When has our great and sacred empire ever needed to resort to such despicable means to assassinate a country's crown prince?
"We must immediately lodge the strongest protest with Vienna!"

"They must immediately retract such irresponsible remarks and apologize to the Empire!"

"That's right! The Austrians must be crazy! They want to pin the blame for the war on us!"

The members of parliament were indignant, and the entire Imperial Diet was as noisy as a marketplace.

Upon hearing the news at Buckingham Palace, Queen Victoria's face darkened considerably—her aged attendant had never seen the 'Eternal Queen' with such an expression.

She immediately convened an emergency meeting with all the high-ranking officials of the Empire and the members of the Highland Mage Order's Supreme Council.

"Archmage Graham, I need an explanation."

The Queen's gaze was like a sharp sword, piercing straight at Alistair Graham, the 9th-ring Archmage of the Highland Mage Order.

"Why are our spell scrolls in the hands of assassins in Sarajevo?!"

This statement also carries a deeper meaning—did your Highland Mage Order conceal an assassination attempt from the Empire's high command?

"Your Majesty, I swear on my honor and my life that the Highland Mage Order did not participate in or manipulate this assassination attempt in any way!"

Archmage Graham bowed slightly, his tone resolute.

“All our external actions must be authorized by you and the parliament, and you are aware of that.”

"Of course I believe in your loyalty."

The Queen took a few deep breaths, and her tone softened after she caught her breath.

"But the question now is, as you've seen in the photo the Austrians released, is that emblem actually real?"

Archmage Graham remained silent for a moment before nodding with difficulty.

"Yes."

"."

“Your Majesty, the emblem of the Highland Mage Order is imprinted using special magic, making it impossible to imitate. Therefore, it is almost certain that the scroll was made by our Highland Mage Order.”

This answer caused everyone present to gasp in shock.

Since the scroll is real, the problem is even more serious.

This means that either there was a problem within the Highland Mage Order, and they were involved in the assassination without telling anyone.

Alternatively, the scroll may have leaked out through some unknown channel and been obtained by an assassin.

Neither situation is a good thing.
"The scrolls of the mage order have always been under the strictest control, and the whereabouts of each one are recorded in detail. How could they have been leaked out?"

One of the cabinet ministers who participated in the meeting asked, puzzled.

"Now is not the time to assign blame."

Queen Victoria interrupted the discussion, and in the face of the sudden crisis, her eyes regained their usual sharpness and composure.

"The most important thing now is to find out immediately how this scroll got out!" "If someone is behind this, deliberately trying to provoke our empire, we must find them as quickly as possible!"

“Grey, you immediately organize a team to issue a statement to the outside world, showing that this is a shameless slander against the Empire and the Highland Mage Order.”

"At the same time, we urgently contacted the Austro-Hungarian Empire through unofficial channels."

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

After the meeting, Queen Victoria kept six archmages from the Highland Mage Order behind.

"Now tell me, what exactly happened?"

The atmosphere inside the spacious council hall was extremely oppressive.

The six archmages stood with their heads bowed before Queen Victoria, none of them speaking first.

"I'll ask one more time, is the Highland Mage Corps involved in this matter?!"

The Eternal Queen's voice wasn't loud, but the majesty it contained made the temperature in the entire room seem to drop a few degrees.

“Your Majesty, we once again assure you by our swearing oath as mages that the Highland Mage Corps absolutely did not manipulate this matter.”

Archmage Graham reiterated this point.

"it is good."

Victoria nodded. "I believe you, but that doesn't matter anymore."

The Queen leaned back on her throne, put one hand to her forehead, and then let out a long sigh.

"The important thing is that our scroll appeared where it shouldn't have appeared and killed someone who shouldn't have been killed. Now, all of Europe is watching us."

"I estimate that things in Vienna are about to get out of control. The Saxons are also getting restless."

"If we cannot provide a reasonable explanation and clear ourselves of suspicion as soon as possible, a war that could engulf the whole of Europe will break out because of us."

The Queen turned around and looked at the six people with piercing eyes.

"Gentlemen, I don't care what methods you use. But I must know how that scroll got out!"

"Was there a mole? Who did it? What was their motive? I need to know all of this!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The six archmages knew very well that Her Majesty the Queen was truly enraged this time.

If this matter is not handled properly, not to mention what kind of turmoil the empire will be drawn into next, the six of them will become eternal sinners of the mage guild.

After leaving Buckingham Palace, the six archmages immediately returned to the Sorcerer's Tower.

They immediately summoned all the monks responsible for scroll management and record keeping and launched the most rigorous internal investigation.

In the archives of the Mage Tower, every mage was on edge, carefully checking the receipt records and usage reports for each scroll.

The Highland Mage Order keeps detailed records of the creation, storage, and issuance of every spell scroll.

So the result came quickly.

"Found it! I found it!"

A young mage shouted, and all eyes were instantly drawn to him.

Archmage Graham strode up to the young mage and snatched the scroll from his hand.

"Fireball Scroll, No. AX-734"

Archmage Graham muttered to himself as his fingers slid rapidly across the dossier to the recipient field.

His pupils contracted sharply when his gaze fell on the signature at the end of the file.

"How could it be him?"

"who is it?"

Another high mage from the council also came over, and when he saw the signature clearly, he, who was usually calm, also let out a cry of disbelief.

"Eldridge? High-ranking mentor Eldridge?!"

"Didn't he die in Seville? His life was extinguished; there's no faking it."

Archmage Graham did not speak; he silently looked at the collection records in the dossier.

The scroll clearly states that before receiving orders to fight in the Kingdom of Aragon, this high-ranking mentor obtained a batch of scrolls through normal procedures for his and other fellow mages to use.

This fireball scroll was one of the scrolls he had received.
"What exactly is going on?"

Graham knew perfectly well that this had absolutely nothing to do with Eldridge.

The latter was a highland mage he personally trained, and his future was even brighter after becoming a high-level mentor.

Moreover, it was Eldridge who was recommended to the military to go to the Kingdom of Aragon to participate in the war; it was not the high-ranking mentor's own wish.
But now, the spell scroll that Eldridge received has appeared in Sarajevo?

Thinking about this, Graham suddenly realized a problem.

Was this Fireball scroll really activated in Sarajevo?
(End of this chapter)