Otherworld Girl Development Guide

Chapter 66 The Enemy Behind

A few days ago, the Rebonian Empire.

"Krobel has been attacked?" Iron Chancellor Osborne put down his wine glass and turned to ask his subordinates.

Intelligence about the suicide bombing attack on the administrative district was quickly transmitted to various large and small powers on the continent through various intelligence networks, including the Rebonian Empire, the suzerain state of Krobel.

"Yes, there was a suicide attack; some police officers were killed or wounded..."

Who did it... Osborne pondered, his first thought being of his old rival, the Republic of Calva, but they had no reason to do so; bilateral trade was in the other's interest, and by the same token, it was in the Empire's interest as well.

"It's still unclear, but some clues vaguely point to the D∴G Cult..."

Osborne nodded. The Shangqiu people had just retaliated against one of the cult's branches, and the other side would definitely take retaliatory action. It wouldn't be in the cult's nature not to retaliate... However, this action was not clever. Apart from making the Shangqiu people more vigilant and causing Krobel to lose face, it had no other effect.

As for deaths, that's normal. Aren't there plenty of civilians dying at the hands of hunters every day?

"...Furthermore, Lady Claire, the 'Ice Maiden,' has discovered that 'some' nobles are acting strangely, frequently contacting the Imperial Liberation Front, seemingly plotting something."

Upon hearing the name of the Imperial Liberation Front, Osborne's gaze immediately sharpened. The members of the Imperial Liberation Front were mostly hostile to Osborne and the reformists he represented, especially Osborne himself.

Therefore, they often gathered together to confront the reformists and even carry out terrorist activities, with the ultimate goal of killing the Iron Chancellor Osborne... And the fact that the nobles frequently came into contact with these terrorists meant that the noble faction was up to something.

Meanwhile, in the Rebonian Empire, in Baliahat, the "Emerald Capital".

This is the territory of the Duke of Albarea, one of the four great families of the empire, governing the Kruzen province in the eastern part of the empire.

The Duke of Elbarea was a hypocrite, cunning, and ruthless man. The vast majority of the nobles in his state were also the most depraved, abandoning the dignity and honor that nobility should have. Most of the nobles were treacherous, bullying the weak and fearing the strong, and only interested in profit.

As the saying goes, if the upper beam is crooked, the lower beam will be crooked too. Therefore, Kruzen is also the state with the most serious conflicts between nobles and commoners, and even private soldiers have to be dispatched to suppress the commoners.

The Duke of Albarea's mansion welcomed three special guests... led by a man wearing glasses, followed by a woman wearing an eye patch and a burly bodyguard.

The Reformists' Enemy—The Imperial Liberation Front.

For Duke Helmut, who he associates with is not an issue, as long as the interests of the family are guaranteed.

"You've arrived..."

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Helmut." Kidien adjusted his glasses and said with a smile, like a scholar.

"Humph."

Scarlett, standing behind Kiddion, brushed her hair back and gave a disdainful snort. She turned her head away, forcing herself not to look at him, lest she lose control and want to attack. Because of the construction of railways that spanned the entire empire, her family had been destroyed, and she had no goodwill towards any nobles.

"This way, Mr. Kiddion..."

After Helmut led the group into the reception room, he clapped his hands, and the servants immediately brought out things that commoners could not possibly enjoy.

"I wonder what brings Lord Helmut to see us today?"

Faced with the delicious food, Kidien remained unmoved and instead asked Helmut about the purpose of his visit. After all, there's no smoke without fire when it comes to offering help, and the other party had taken the initiative to contact the Imperial Liberation Front.

Although the conflict between the Imperial Liberation Front and the aristocracy was not as great as that between the reformists, the two sides were not friends!

"Your Excellency Kidien, do you know Shangqiu?" Helmut asked meaningfully.

Shangqiu?

Kiddion was taken aback. He hadn't expected that the other party had come to them not to plot against the Iron Chancellor Osborn, but to bring up that group of forces rumored to have emerged from the Abyss Sea.

The Imperial Liberation Front held neither good nor bad feelings towards Shangqiu, as the two sides had virtually no interaction. They only knew that Shangqiu liked doing business, growing vegetables, and mining, and that Shangqiu's products had already appeared in the Empire.

Kiddion remained silent, waiting for Helmut to continue.

"As far as I know, these people from Shangqiu have reached some kind of clandestine agreement with Osborne..."

Upon hearing this, the three frowned slightly. As Osborn's enemies, they naturally had no goodwill towards any forces that cooperated with him.

"What agreement?" Kiddine asked noncommittally.

"Of course, it's an agreement to allow the Shangqiu people to enter Krobel. Otherwise, why would the Empire not make any statement when the two sides signed the trade agreement?"

Helmut said with a forced smile, but what really threatened him was that once the two sides had a trade agreement, it meant that he would no longer be able to monopolize some products that were unique to Shangqiu, which all belonged to Mira!

This is intolerable from the perspective of an individual, a family, or even the entire Kruczyn region.

After all, Krobel is a trading city, and everyone will be able to purchase goods from Shangqiu!

"Lord Helmut, the two sides are merely engaging in trade; this is perfectly normal..."

Clearly, Gideon is not so easily fooled. It is perfectly normal for two powers to engage in trade. Even the Empire has trade relations with its old rival, the Republic of Calva.

"However, Osborne will import large quantities of cheap grain from Shangqiu through Krober, so that the starving people will be fed, and I don't need to say what will happen to the well-fed commoners!"

“They will thank His Excellency Osborne for his mercy, and Osborne’s position will become more and more secure, making it increasingly difficult to deal with him!” Kiddion said, word by word. “But our enemy is Osborne, not Krober, and certainly not Shangqiu.”

“Yes, Mr. Kiddion, your enemies are indeed not them, but once this agreement is signed, it will be useless no matter what you do. Osborne will use grain and cheap goods from Shangqiu to consolidate his position, that’s inevitable.”

Helmut said with an air of confidence, "As Osborne's enemy, the ultimate goal of the Noble Liberation Front is to kill this Iron Chancellor. Nothing else matters. They are just a bunch of madmen driven by hatred. Many civilians have died at their hands!"

What do you want us to do?

Helmut's lips curled into a grin, and he tapped on the map on the table. The pupils of the three members of the Noble Liberation Front immediately contracted.

Chapter 67 There's no need for that.

The Imperial Liberation Front members left Helmut's mansion, but Kidien's heart was filled with icy coldness. Compared to their enemy Osborn, Helmut was a true madman!

"Are we really going to do this, Kiddeen..." Scarlett asked softly. Had they gone mad?! Making them do this for profit... how many people would die in the end!

"Of course we'll do it! What does it matter if it means getting revenge!"

Vulcan said with a ferocious expression, "I used to be a member of a mercenary group. Because of Prime Minister Osborne, the entire mercenary group was wiped out, and only I survived."

He only wanted revenge against the prime minister who had stripped him of everything, even his very existence, no matter the cost!

"Your Grace, they've left." The attendant reported to Duke Helmut after seeing the three off.

Helmut chuckled, swirling the wine in his glass. For nobles, profit is everything. What does it matter if a few commoners die? Let the people below be fed? Hmph! Once the commoners are fed, they'll want more, and they'll think more!

"When they take action, I will personally report these thugs' plans to His Majesty the Emperor and dispatch troops to wipe out these dangerous elements!"

The Noble Liberation Front, to put it bluntly, was merely a tool in his hands; he absolutely could not leave any evidence against him for doing such a thing.

The dazzling array of goods, cheap grains, and unique luxury items in Shangqiu immediately made the nobles of the Rebonia Empire envious. However, because it was a seller's market, they could only grit their teeth and accept the prices of Shangqiu's products.

But it doesn't matter, these cheap goods will soon flood the empire's market at several times the price, squeezing out local industries and exploiting them.

In particular, cheap grain had a great impact on local grain production. Some nobles, while protecting their own farmland, suppressed farmers' farmland by lowering grain prices. After the farmers went bankrupt, they bought up the land from the farmers at low prices and incorporated it into the nobles' industries.

Although Osborne and the Emperor have taken measures, so what?

The emperor is too far away, Mira is too close!

Compared to other short-sighted nobles, Helmut did consider looking for middle and high-level agents (compradors) within Shangqiu when he first came into contact with it. He was surprised to find that there was no noble class in Shangqiu at all!

They have no nobles! Or rather, the "nobles" in his eyes are serving the common people, what kind of nobles are they!

Even in the Republic of Calva, the members of parliament are "aristocrats" in a certain sense. For an ordinary commoner to become a member of parliament? In your next life!

"Understood, Duke."

The attendant bowed slightly and left the room, quickly relaying the Duke's information, not just to Helmut's private soldiers.

The Republic of Kalva, suburbs of Altair.

D∴G Cult Branch.

The gray-robed old man flipped through the intelligence reports sent back by the cult's intelligence department.

“Duke of Albarea… to have such thoughts!” The old man laughed sarcastically: “Everyone thinks our order is the devil, but they don’t know that the real devil is not us. We are pursuing ‘truth,’ and those children are just sacrificing themselves for the truth.”

"Sir, should we participate? This way we can teach the people of Shangqiu a lesson!" asked the leader of the hunter regiment under the cult.

"Why should we get involved?" the gray-robed elder said with a half-smile. "We can't get involved in this matter, as it would make us a target for everyone. But the Albarea family probably wants more than just this, and the people of the Karva Republic don't want to see Duke Albarea do this either."

The leader of the hunters nodded in agreement. How could the order not get involved in such a matter? They had to take revenge on the people of Shangqiu, but they needed to leverage the prevailing trend!

For example, intelligence can be leaked to the Republic of Calva, but it needs to be altered. Ideally, it should be done at the right place and at the right time, with the official forces of the Republic of Calva present in the right location.

This would incite conflict between the three parties, but even if the desired outcome is not achieved, the D∴G Cult would not suffer any losses.

"In short, we should first throw out some bait to confuse Krobel and the Shangqiu people. If we want to catch a big fish, we need enough bait."

"Understood, sir!"

The hunter leader turned and walked out of the room, signaling that some of his men were about to be sacrificed.

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Krober, Mainz Mountain Road.

The lead armored vehicle has been destroyed by the Jaegers, and the Krobel Guards have been ambushed by the Jaeger regiment.

Bang bang bang!

Investigator Dudley, hiding behind the orbal vehicle, occasionally peeked out and fired at the surrounding hunters. He frowned and turned to Mireille beside him, preparing to ask, "When will the reinforcements arrive?"

"Investigator Dudley has already requested assistance from the police department, but..."

Lieutenant Mireille didn't say anything more, after all, given the reaction speed of the Krobel Police Department, by the time they arrived, they would probably have already been wiped out by the Jaeger Corps.

"Tsk!"

Dudley clicked his tongue. He had thought that following the clues he found would lead him to the person who launched the suicide attack, but he never expected that this was a bait set up by the other side. He couldn't help but think that he had underestimated the Order!

After shooting and wounding a hunter with his orb-powered pistol, Dudley immediately retreated behind the car, and bullets from the orb-powered pistol then clattered and struck the car in front of him.

"what!"

A scream rang out as a guard in the front was shot in the leg by an orbment gun. He fell to the ground, clutching his bleeding thigh, and frantically opened fire on the hunters who were charging at him with melee weapons.

Bang bang bang!

The guards, who are usually only used to maintain order, have never encountered such dangerous hunters before. In their panic, their shooting accuracy dropped drastically.

The hunter rushed towards the guard, raised his battle axe high, and swiftly brought it down, instantly cleaving the guard in two along his shoulder. Blood splattered onto the hunter, who grinned bloodthirstyly and brandished his axe, signaling for the guards to charge.

"Damn it, Warrant Officer Mireille, you take your men and get out of here. I'll hold them off."

"No, if we have to leave, we all leave together..."

Lieutenant Millie rejected Investigator Dudley's suggestion, saying that abandoning her companions and running away alone was not in her nature, and then she pulled out a dagger from her boot (there should be "there was no need" here).

Suddenly, the hunters who were launching their charge seemed to hear a faint siren and stopped.