Mystery: A Spark

Arthur leaned back in his chair and said with a smile:

"And the movie we're going to shoot next is about a ship, and it's called Titanic."

……

Inside a brightly lit villa.

Arthur looked at the impeccably dressed gentlemen before him and smiled:

"Gentlemen, it's been a long time."

"Yes, yes...long time no see," the gentlemen replied awkwardly.

"I'm sure you all understand now. There are no irreconcilable fundamental conflicts between us. We can absolutely make a bigger cake and then share it together. Don't you agree?" Arthur raised his glass to everyone.

"That's right!" The crowd's voices of agreement became much more sincere and enthusiastic.

They had conflicts with Arthur, but they had no conflicts with the Gold Pound.

Therefore, as long as they can make money, a lot of money, they can instantly lose their memory and become Arthur's loyal supporters.

But Arthur knew that the support of this group was only temporary and unstable, and there was no point in relying on it.

They only obey when there is profit to be made; once there is no profit, they will not hesitate to kick Arthur aside.

So what Arthur needs to do is take advantage of this time to grow quickly and become strong enough.

……

Sodrak Palace.

King George III, wearing a crown, stood on the balcony of the palace, gazing at a brightly lit villa in the distance.

Behind him stood a court count with his hands at his sides.

“I really underestimated this young man back then,” King George III suddenly said abruptly. “That’s why we’re in such a predicament now.”

“That young man was just lucky for a moment,” the court count said, bowing.

"Ha, luck..." George III chuckled ambiguously. "Now, two of the four major churches in Rune are already behind him, and the relationship between the Storm Church and him is also quite ambiguous. Do you think this is just luck?"

The court count remained silent.

King George III shifted his gaze to the twin skyscrapers in the East Wing, which were not much shorter than Sodrak Palace, and said in an icy voice:

"Constitutional monarchy...heh...a naive idea."

Chapter 280 The Policy of Non-Resistance

In an apartment near the Peace Tavern in the East District.

Arthur was drinking and talking with the thin, middle-aged man in front of him.

"You said you're going to make a big movie? What exactly is it about?" Pallas asked curiously.

“To sing the praises of love,” Arthur replied.

"Love... I never imagined you'd write a script on this subject," Pallas said with a smile.

For him, who is in his fifties, love is a very distant concept.

If he were still a duke, he would have scoffed at the topic of "love".

At that time, he was extremely powerful and had no shortage of money or women. Mistresses were just a means to satisfy his desires, and "love" was meaningless to him.

However, now that he has stepped down and come here, Pallas has gained some new insights into Backlund from a different perspective.

Simply put, he has become more down-to-earth.

“For ordinary people who struggle to survive, love is practically nonexistent, so your film isn’t aimed at them, is it?” Pallas asked.

“Yes, the main target audience of this film is the high-ranking officials and nobles, or more precisely, their ladies and young women,” Arthur said with a smile.

“Women’s money is the easiest to earn.” Pallas nodded in deep agreement.

These are his insights and reflections after observing the rise of the Umbrella Corporation.

Whether it's food, clothing, or movies, women are the biggest spenders.

Because women are emotional, when they see something nice, they might impulsively take out their wallets, or their husbands' or fathers' wallets.

Therefore, attracting women's spending desires to extract money from the men around them is a very effective money-making strategy.

"Mr. Goebbels, the reason I've come to you is to seek your help in establishing a collaboration with the Kingdom's Navy to jointly produce this epic film celebrating love."

"Let young people see that our kingdom's military not only has awe-inspiring iron will, but also tenderness like water," Arthur said with a smile.

“Making a movie is fine, but I sense you have other motives,” Pallas said, picking up his glass and swirling it gently.

"As expected, I couldn't hide it from you. It's like this: Umbrella Corporation has recently developed a batch of new weapons and wants to cooperate with the military to test their effectiveness. What do you think..." Arthur said after clinking his glass with Pallas.

The so-called new weapons are a batch of guns and cannons manufactured using psionic energy.

Once equipped by the army, Rune's strength will surely increase significantly.

“That works too. Tell me your ultimate goal,” Pallas said after taking a small sip of his red wine.

"Hehe, then I won't beat around the bush with you anymore." Arthur chuckled and revealed his true purpose, "I've noticed that the Umbrella Corporation has some shortcomings in its logistics, so I wanted to ask if it's possible to..."

"You want the Kingdom's navy to escort you?" Pallas quickly understood Arthur's meaning.

“Yes, how about this kind of cooperation?” Arthur nodded and asked.

Pallas pondered for a moment, then said:

"I'm more inclined to agree and will do my best to help you make it happen, but I can't guarantee the final outcome. After all, as you know, I'm no longer in that position."

“That’s enough.” Arthur smiled.

……

7 Downsend Street.

“It’s been a long time, Miss Rum,” Arthur said, looking at the woman in front of him, who was dressed in a long court dress and had a delicate but pale face.

"Long time no see. You really made quite a splash at sea before," Sharon said calmly.

“Sigh, I’m a victim too,” Arthur sighed.

Sharon nodded slightly and said:

"In several major cities of Rune, with the help of the Umbrella Corporation, the spies have successfully set up an intelligence network. They have no problem spreading rumors or gathering information. However, their combat capabilities are not yet sufficient to undertake assassination missions."

“That’s alright. They only need to focus on intelligence gathering; the assassinations will be handled by others,” Arthur said.

“I understand.” Sharon nodded, not surprised.

She knew, of course, that Arthur didn't only have her as a hidden force, because any competent leader would not entrust all their power to one person.

"By the way, keep a close eye on that guy in the Sodrak Palace lately. I have a feeling he might cause some trouble," Arthur reminded him.

His primary objective now is to ensure that the battle against Runeforsak erupts within a certain intensity, so that he can successfully digest the Iron Knight's potion while preserving most of Rune's power.

Therefore, Arthur began to unite his forces with both the old and new parties to restrain George III and prevent him from causing trouble.

However, he also knew that such methods would have limited effect on a first-order angel-level king.

If George III had truly gone mad, Arthur would have been powerless to stop him.

Therefore, he could only have Sharondo keep an eye on George III to prevent him from being completely unaware when things came to a head.

“I understand, I will keep a close eye on his movements,” Sharon replied.

She stood up, gave a graceful bow, and then disappeared.

……

The days passed by.

Klein also returned to Backlund, taking on the role of the wealthy Dawn Dantes.

He began looking for an opportunity to sneak behind the Charnis Gate beneath St. Samuel's Church in an attempt to obtain the sorcerer's potion recipe.

During this time, Arthur successfully found an opportunity to eliminate Louis Wayne, the traitor of the Abraham family, and obtained the "Traveler's" potion recipe and ritual.

The "traveler's" ritual involves establishing special coordinates in four completely different and far-away locations deep within the spirit world, which is a piece of cake for Arthas, who spends his days wandering in the spirit world.

Therefore, after collecting all the extraordinary materials needed for the "Traveler's" potion through various channels, Arthas successfully advanced to Sequence Five.

Subsequently, Klein successfully infiltrated Charnis Gate, and after a visit to the Misty Town, obtained the "Trickster" potion recipe, and very cleverly allowed Zarathustra to escape.

In addition, Derrick the Sun also shared the progress of Silver City at the Tarot meeting. They had successfully explored Afternoon Town and were now heading towards the Giants' Court.

It shouldn't be long before they reach there and begin trying to open up a path to the outside world, bringing precious hope to Silver City.

The cooperation between Umbrella Corporation and the military has been relatively smooth. After all, it's a business that can bring benefits, so the military naturally has no reason to refuse.

After the cooperation began, Arthur's relationship with the military gradually warmed up.

Under his influence, voices began to emerge in the council of Rune to take the initiative to attack Fursac.

Of course, it was just a tentative attack, more like flexing one's muscles.

Demonstrating military strength through a small-scale war is something that countries have done in the past, so it's not surprising.

On this issue, supporters in Parliament began to increase, and their voices gradually became unified, demanding that King George III immediately launch a small war.

At this moment, the pro-war faction's power became unprecedented.

Because if it is just a small war, the power of the nobles themselves is already sufficient, and Rune will not enter a state of war where the monarch decides everything.

However, if a full-scale war breaks out in Rune, then the importance of George III will continue to rise.

After all, the advantages and disadvantages of parliamentary systems are so obvious; the extremely slow response speed makes this system seem so powerless in a state of total war.

However, Sodrach Palace did not respond to the calls for a small war, and George III gave only vague responses to the nobles who came to pay their respects, without expressing any opinion.

……

"What on earth is this old man thinking?"

In the top-floor office of the Workers' Mutual Aid Association building, Arthur said to Hugh with some confusion.

"He probably doesn't want the power of the nobles to expand again. After all, if things continue like this, we'll really turn him into a mere figurehead," Hugh speculated.

“He can’t just be a figurehead.” Arthur shook his head.