Volume 3: Artifacts Chapter 1
"Traitor! Have you forgotten the kindness His Highness has shown you and the oath you swore?"
In the narrow alley between two buildings, Nightingale, wearing a women's windbreaker, loudly questioned a man in a worker's uniform. A newspaper blew to her feet, with a striking headline printed on the top page: "The Dreadnought-class battleship was launched, and the Raging City fleet once again left the world's navy behind by an era."
The man spread his hands helplessly and said, "Of course we remember your kindness, and we feel very guilty about making this decision. But... Miss Nightingale... please understand us."
How could Nightingale possibly sympathize with these assassins?
She brought assassins to Raging Storm City to kill Meteor, but who would have thought that these people, who had worked as workers in the potion workshop for a while, would actually betray Prince Alex, to whom they swore allegiance.
"Why! Could it be that a potion factory can give you more and better things than what His Royal Highness the Prince can give you?"
"This..." The man tried not to discourage Nightingale and said, "The amount given by Yanyang Group's magic potion factory... is really more than what His Royal Highness the Second Prince gave. Do you know that because we learn quickly and have a foundation in magic, we have all been transferred to the group's official employees.
Not only did our salary increase, the group also gave us a lot of welfare benefits. Did you know that we can retire at the age of 60 and get a generous pension to support our retirement? The group has allocated dormitories for us, so we can bring our families to live with us, and our children can go to the school run by the group, and get a stable job within the group after graduation.
Moreover, we can also buy a house at a very cheap price. This is Nutao City!
Nightingale, you were once a lady from a noble family, and you also worked as a knight who was in danger of losing your life day by day. You know what kind of destination people like us most hope for.
Your Highness cannot give us the future we want."
"Why can't I give you a future!" Nightingale said with great sorrow: "When Your Highness ascends the throne and becomes the emperor of the empire, you will all be nobles. You will definitely have much more in the future than you do now!"
"Wake up, Nightingale!" The man could not help but yelled, "Look at this city, look at these tall buildings that block the sky, look at the cars on the streets, and..."
The man picked up the newspaper from the ground and pointed at the magic image of a giant warship on it: "A 10,000-ton steel battleship! How can Your Highness ascend the throne without the approval of the Governor of Meteorite?"
"Yes! Meteorite is the biggest obstacle to your highness' ascension to the throne. We came to Raging Waves City for this purpose. Kill Meteorite, and everything here will belong to your highness."
"No!" The man saw that he could not convince Nightingale, so he slowly backed away: "In the past, we wanted to fight for wealth with our lives, but now we don't need to fight to get everything we want.
Miss Nightingale, His Royal Highness the Second Prince cannot give you the future you want. You will not become a prince's consort, let alone the empress of the empire. Give up the idea of assassinating the Governor of Meteorite, and you will definitely find the life you like in this city."
Nightingale pulled out a dagger from under her windbreaker and stared at the retreating man with murderous eyes: "Coward! I won't let you go."
"Miss Nightingale, we hope your threats are just angry threats." Several people wearing the same work clothes appeared at both ends of the alley. The man continued to retreat cautiously and said, "For safety, we should kill you, but His Royal Highness the Second Prince is very good to us, and you are also very good to us. We all hope that this friendship can be preserved for a long time.
Please apologize to His Highness on our behalf.
If you give up on assassinating the Meteorite Governor, you are always welcome to come and have a small gathering with us."
"Get lost! Traitors!" Nightingale knew that she was no match for these people, so she put away the dagger: "Don't think that I am as cowardly and afraid of death as you are. Even if I am alone, I will clear the obstacles for Your Highness to ascend the throne!"
"Good luck to you..." The assassins saluted Nightingale together, then turned and walked into the crowd outside the alley.
A thunder sounded from the sky, and the clear sky was suddenly covered with dark clouds.
The heavy rain poured down on the nightingale.
She walked out of the alley like a zombie, into the street, and walked aimlessly in the heavy rain.
She didn't expect things to turn out like this. She confidently led a team of assassins from Crescent Oasis to Saint Lun City, and then from Saint Lun City to Raging Waves City.
As a result, he couldn't even find where the meteorite was, and became a lonely man.
what do I do?
His Highness Alex...
At this time, an umbrella blocked the rain for her. The nightingale came to her senses and turned around, and saw a beautiful woman looking at her with a smile.
The nightingale asked alertly: "Who are you?"
The woman was wearing a very ordinary business suit and a lady's bowler hat, like a passerby offering help to someone caught in the rain.
The woman took out a work ID and showed it to Nightingale: "Second-level agent of the Imperial Secret Service's Fury City Headquarters...Edward Daly. Miss Nightingale, our Chief Inspector Thomas invites you to have coffee at the headquarters."
Secret Affairs Bureau!
Nightingale realized that her identity was exposed and wanted to draw her dagger to break out, but she immediately felt that the atmosphere was wrong.
In a thunderstorm, pedestrians should have sought shelter nearby, but there were more than a dozen people standing around him. They were wearing clothes of different professions, and even some vendors insisted on doing business in the heavy rain. Moreover, they did not hold umbrellas, letting the rain wash over them, like cheetahs gathering strength and waiting to pounce on their prey at the command.
"Agent Ed Daly..." Resistance was meaningless, and breaking through was impossible. Nightingale gave up resistance, raised her head and said in the manner of a noble lady, "Did those traitors inform on me?"
Ad Daly held an umbrella for Nightingale, ignoring the rain pouring down on her shoulders: "No, they are trustworthy friends to you. In fact, the General Administration noticed you just after you entered the City of Raging Waves.
We are very relieved that your friends finally gave up the plan to assassinate our governor, but you... you should think carefully about what your friends said."
Nightingale didn't expect that she would be exposed so early: "What are you going to do with me?"
"This is not something I can decide. You are the lover of His Royal Highness the Second Prince, and you have not put your thoughts into action. Perhaps the Chief Inspector will arrange for you to meet with the Governor, and let our Governor decide your fate."
"Very good, I want to meet him too."
Adelaide waved her hand, and a black car drove out from the rain and stopped beside the two of them.
Adelaide opened the car door and invited Nightingale to get in, and at this time the sound of dragon roars came from the sky.
Everyone couldn't help but look up.
Then, one could see giant dragons flying , roaring loudly, as if to proclaim the might of the dragon clan to this huge city.
Then, portals appeared on the buildings high above the city, and the battle mages from the Oulu Academy appeared. Dozens of armed airships were urgently launched to deal with possible attacks.
However, the dragons did not stop. They flew over the city with a roar and soon disappeared in the rainstorm, heading towards the Empire's Saint Lun City.
Adedeli, who used her body to protect Nightingale, breathed a sigh of relief. She looked at the direction where the giant dragon disappeared and said, "After the Golden Man and the angels visited the imperial capital, a group of angels suddenly descended on the imperial capital and set up a holy temple. Now even the giant dragon has come. I wonder what the world will be like in the future?"
Nightingale was also shocked by the might of the dragon and couldn't calm down for a long time: "What happened?"
"This is not something we need to consider. Miss Nightingale, get in the car."
Nightingale withdrew her gaze, lowered her head and got into the car.
The Governor's Mansion in Nutao City.
Coconut stood behind the glass window, watching the storm outside as the sea waves hit the rocks on the shore again and again. She had been in Raging Waves City for three days, but she still couldn't believe what she saw and heard.
I actually came to Nutao City!
Mr. Luke turned out to be the meteorite that owned this city!
And a giant dragon just flew out of the storm.
"Sir, no... Governor. Was that really a dragon that just flew over there?"
Frightened by the dragon, Coconut hurried to Luke's desk. This was the first time she saw a dragon and the first time she heard a dragon's roar.
Luke was reviewing the documents. He had been away from Raging Waves for a while and there were too many things to do. He had been busy working since returning from Tedega Hills, but after three days, there was still no sign of a reduction in work.
Expansion of Nutao City, overall planning of coastal economic belt, war in the north, launching of new ships, scientific and technological research and development...
Even though the City Hall took on most of the workload, there was still a lot for Luke to handle.
Even the passing of a giant dragon didn't stop Luke for long.
"According to the time, they should be here. I just didn't expect them to choose to enter the empire from Nutao City. This should be considered as a show of strength... The more closed the ancient civilization was, the more it thought it was great."
"My Lord, did you know that the dragons would come? Will they attack us?"
Coconut listened carefully, afraid that a dragon's breath would suddenly hit him.
Seeing Coconut's expression, Luke couldn't help but smile and said, "I think the person who should be least afraid of dragons here is you. Did your ancestors fight against them to defend Tedega Hills?"
"Really?" Ye Guo was instantly interested when he heard that his ancestor was so powerful: "Tell me, how did the God of War fight the dragons?"
At this time, Kylena walked in with a stack of documents .
“Governor… The Governor’s Mansion has entered Level One alert, and the city has entered Level Two alert. Oulu College has dispatched battle mages as soon as possible, and we are closely monitoring the movements of the dragon.
Currently, the dragon has left the city from the northwest, and its target should be the imperial capital."
"I see." Luke briefly flipped through the documents Kaileena put down, and then said, "You asked the Secret Service to put the cooperation with the human merchants in Tedejia Hill at the top of the task sequence.
Have you prepared the plan for the charity aid project? "
"It's done..." Kylena took out a folder and placed it in front of Luke: "The charity organization under the Innovation Society will undertake all aid projects related to the Tedejia Hills. As long as the Holy Mountain issues a pass, the survey team and the census team can set off at any time.
The charitable aid will prioritize hospitals, schools, roads and power grids, and will gradually include water conservancy, agriculture, and assistance to the disabled and orphans. "
Luke looked at the plan made by Kalina.
The City of Raging Waves already had a charity system, and with the guidance of that, it wouldn't be difficult to provide aid to the construction of the Tedega Hills and smuggle in some private goods.
Luke had no major objection to the overall plan, but he put forward higher requirements for the hospital, increasing the scale and investment of the hospital. There are many types of races in the Tedejia Hills, which is a natural treasure trove of species research, so the purpose of this charitable investment cannot be limited to the "Martial God Bloodline".
Cast a wide net and you may find unexpected rewards.
After Luke expressed his opinion, he asked Kaileena to make new plans.
“Sir…” Storm Cato has been in a low mood since he knew Luke’s identity. This time he took the initiative to speak to Luke: “You are the enemy of Tedega Hills, why do you spend so much money to invest in your enemy.
Your money will not make a barbarian rebel against a Celtic duke. "
In response to Stormkato’s doubts, Luke patiently explained: “I have never regarded the Tedega Hills as my enemy. Whether you are humans, barbarians, or other races, you are all citizens of the empire.
There is no need to be grateful for these investments, as they are the Empire's obligation to its citizens."
Storm Cato obviously disagreed with Luke's statement: "We are subjects of the Celtic Duke. At least all the barbarians know this."
Luke knew that if he couldn't change Stormcato's mind, he wouldn't be able to change the barbarians' minds, and there would be no way to capture Tedega Hill.
"Do you know why the Duke of Celtic issued the factory ban?"
"Because factories and machines will make us lose our jobs, and without jobs we will starve."
"You talk as if you're not starving now." Luke couldn't help but laugh: "You've been in Raging Tide City for three days. How many people have you seen starving in my city?"
this……
Storm Cato couldn't answer.
There are a lot of people in Raging Waves City, dozens or even hundreds of times more than in Holy Mountain. With so many people living in one city, the life of each family is better than that of most nobles in Holy Mountain.
"I, I don't understand..."
"You don't understand. These are the subjects that the Celtic Duke loves the most. Yes, factories and machines have taken away many people's jobs, but they have also created more jobs.
People not only did not become poorer because of factories and machines, but became richer. Art, knowledge, magic, and science were no longer monopolized by the upper class. The lower class people's minds were enlightened, and the old means of rule would become less and less effective.
Barbarians should have sworn an oath of loyalty to the Celtic Duke, and regarded dying for the Celtic Duke as the honor of the family and tribe. But have you ever thought about whether the Celtic Duke is worthy of your loyalty?
How many of the beating hearts on the altar of the Abyss Temple are barbarians? Without the permission of the Duke of Celtic, could the Abyss Temple kill so many people silently?
Do you know that even the emperor of the empire dares not do such a thing, because he knows that his people will not allow him to do such a thing. But the Celtic Duke dares to do it, because you are all confined to a small circle, and you know nothing except loyalty, and you have nothing but loyalty!"
