Gun of Ashes

”So how’s the situation?”

Arthur climbed into the carriage, and Blue Jade, who had been following him all along, was sitting inside. Upon seeing him return, she asked directly.

”It’s fairly okay; he didn’t pull out a gun to kill me directly, but is willing to talk things through... however, the conditions he wants are somewhat difficult.”

Arthur glanced at the several carriages standing outside, and inside the Winchester Law Firm, joyous laughter was continuous.

It seems all of this is part of Lorenzo’s plan. As soon as he decided to appear willingly, everyone was already within his script, unfolding as he had anticipated. Arthur was certain he even foresaw his arrival; perhaps, when their conversation soured, these women would come to resolve the situation.

”What conditions?”

Blue Jade was puzzled; she didn’t think Lorenzo would propose greedy conditions.

”He wants to meet Queen Victoria... Even I can’t easily see her, let alone Lorenzo.”

Arthur felt a headache over this. Although Queen Victoria’s Royal Family seldom appears before the public eye and is troubled by the King’s Curse, Arthur always had a strange premonition that this mystical royal family is far from fragile as it seems. They still rule over Ingwig, which is the best proof.

This feeling is hard to articulate, but one must admit, every decision made by Queen Victoria’s Royal Family is unfailingly precise.

Some people still don’t understand why they abandoned steam technology for armor technology, even Arthur suffered from headaches a while over this, but he later figured it out.

This conundrum isn’t difficult to resolve; Jiuxia is too far from the Western world, so far that the Western world can almost ignore their existence. Moreover, from the current perspective, there is no technological barrier with basic steam technology. As long as there is a steam engine, its principles can easily be deconstructed; Ingwig doesn’t need to cling to it doggedly, they just need to maintain a lead.

While other countries are still undergoing industrial reform, the Perpetual Motion Pump already leveraged these accumulated technologies to develop mass-producible Third Generation Armors, which in the future will be the backbone against the Demons. But similarly, when the war erupts, it will be the corps that changes the situation.

Arthur dared not to think about the events that would follow; he had also pondered these deeply in the tranquil of night: Where would they go after the Demons are eradicated?

Feeling weary, he rubbed his head and leaned against the chair back.

”I’ll report this matter to the Queen. Hopefully, it’ll go smoothly. Is there anything else on the agenda next?”

As the carriage began to move slowly, Arthur inquired about recent matters with Blue Jade.

”Negotiations with the Evangelical Church continue. They’ve completely angered our side this time, and the new Pope contends all of this was not his directive, but rather Fr. Anthony’s unauthorized actions...”

”Scapegoat, huh? Actually, we all know what’s really going on, but unless necessary, no one wants to tear their faces.”

Arthur closed his eyes, anger roiled within his heart, eager to kill Anthony personally, but due to various constraints, he couldn’t act.

This is the adult world, where there is no good or evil, only benefits and drawbacks.

Blue Jade didn’t continue talking; she was adept at hiding her emotions, sharing the same anger but like Arthur said, now is not the time for an all-out war with the Evangelical Church.

”What about Gaulunaro?”

This is one of the factors hindering their revenge; although they triumphed in the Radiant War, the enemy beyond the White Tide Strait has not been defeated.

”According to intelligence, they’ve also established a demon-fighting institution internally, seemingly directly linked with the military. Furthermore, reportedly, their higher-ups found a collaborator to help accomplish all this... the rest is unclear; Gaulunaro has always been full of vigilance against us.”

Arthur opened his eyes, staring straight into the void ahead.

Demons don’t appear as anomalies in a specific area but are active across every corner of the world, Gaulunaro included. The highest dominion of all countries, more or less, understands these abominable beings, and everyone tacitly keeps this secret, covertly controlling it all.

However, from current intelligence, it seems the most knowledgeable about Demons are Ingwig and the Holy Evangelical Pope Kingdom, and only these two nations can militarize parts of the Demons’ power.

Arthur wasn’t worried about these aspects, due to erosion factors, researching demon technology is far more complex than steam technology, risking another Night of the Holy Arrival incident if mishandled.

”Something worth noting though is that Gaulunaro and Leiber’s connection has tightened up recently. They’ve teamed up to build an industrial zone; what they’re precisely doing remains unclear.”

Ingwig sparked the industrial revolution, spreading this reform to neighboring areas, among which Leiber experienced the fastest growth afterward.

”Anything else?”

Arthur continued to inquire.

These affairs apparently aren’t handled by the Purification Mechanism, and for a long time, their power range was only within Ingwig, even barely touching overseas colonies.

But Arthur was very aware, very aware of what role the Purification Mechanism played in the hands of Queen Victoria’s Royal Family. When the Demon threat grows too large, they are walls of human rationality, but when the wars between humans erupt, they are the cruelest blood machines.