Magic Industrial Age

Loki was very excited to receive the approval of three fourth-tier Calamity powerhouses.

With them, the Raymond family would have experts to hold the line, and they could maintain the prestige befitting an Earl's family.

In fact, Grand Duchess Afra hadn't originally planned to let them meet before Loki inherited the title.

The reason was simple: which Calamity powerhouse wasn't full of arrogance?

And which one didn't have hidden depths?

She was afraid that Loki wouldn't be able to subdue these three, and instead leave a bad impression.

It would be better to wait until Loki inherited the title and re-sign the offering contract with the three in the name of the Earl of Raymond.

But Loki was too outstanding!

So outstanding that Grand Duchess Afra was amazed, and after discussing it with the three powerhouses several times, this meeting was arranged.

She didn't actually not want to inform Loki, but even she wasn't sure that she could facilitate this meeting beforehand.

Of course, in subsequent chats, Loki discovered that these three Calamity powerhouses were actually more excited than him.

After some probing, he made some guesses.

The most important thing was that the resources required for fourth-tier powerhouses to cultivate were truly numerous and expensive.

Without sufficient supplies, their progress would be as slow as a snail's pace.

Therefore, almost all Calamity powerhouses were either born into noble families or deeply tied to great nobles.

In addition, with the nobles' monopoly on knowledge, it could almost be said that 99% of Calamity powerhouses grew up in noble families.

If they lost the support of the nobles, like now...

If the Raymond family fell, although they would gain their freedom and live a good life, it wouldn't be easy to obtain such good conditions again.

They could register on some platforms and earn money as mercenaries, but that kind of life on the run wouldn't be as comfortable as it is now.

They could also be nominally affiliated with some nobles, but small nobles couldn't provide what they needed;

Great nobles all have their own fourth-tier powerhouses and mostly don't welcome them to share a piece of the pie.

Moreover, there was also a trust issue involved, and it was difficult to access the family's core.

Therefore, the three of them didn't actually want the Raymond family to fall just like that.

Of course, this was the objective reason, but subjective feelings couldn't be ignored either.

Like the Flame Swordsman and the Iron Knight, these two had deep feelings for the Raymond family.

Their words implied that the revenge could be delayed, but it must be taken.

Ms. Palacios seemed more indifferent; mages actually cared more about a stable cultivation environment and sufficient magic resources.

She was a grand mage specializing in water magic, with exaggerated combat power at sea, and was the Raymond family's greatest guarantee on the ocean.

It was also because of these feelings that the Flame Swordsman Otto acted in time to help block the Hurricane Higgins,

and subsequently, guarded everyone to the city of Auxerre.

He even suffered some injuries for this.

It was also from them that Loki learned that Grand Duchess Afra's strength was beyond doubt.

Loki, this illegitimate son, had the closest bloodline, so the fourth-tier battle on the road had involved as many as seven or eight Calamity powerhouses.

The entire Norman Duchy only had four marquises who were qualified to support fourth-tier Calamities.

Each family had at least two or three, and at most three or four.

Although the Raymond family was an Earl's family, they had as many as five fourth-tier powerhouses before the misfortune, which was considered the most.

That is to say, the entire Norman Duchy had only twenty or so Calamity powerhouses.

Don't think it's a lot; fourth-tier war occupations have a lifespan of at least two hundred years, far exceeding ordinary mortals, and after years of accumulation, there is naturally this number.

And this time, nearly ten people came, which shows the intensity of the battle.

Of course, the past is already in the past; what Loki wanted to know most from them was some information about what happened before and after the family's incident.

In this regard, the three of them were each responsible for a piece of the puzzle. Before that 'misfortune,' they were all performing their duties and didn't feel anything.

After the incident, they received the news and immediately rushed to the Raymond family's castle.

The Iron Knight Phil Zek was considered the luckiest, intercepting some people with strange behavior.

However, a fourth-tier powerhouse rushed out and fought him fiercely. He wasn't good at speed and let those people escape.

However, he was certain that the Calamity powerhouse wasn't from the Norman Duchy.

The Norman Duchy only had those fourth-tier powerhouses. Even if they hadn't interacted with them, they had heard of them. These people didn't seem like them.

As for the Flame Swordsman Otto, at the time of the incident, he was actually accompanied by Raymond Earl's second son, Geoffrey.

At that time, Geoffrey was learning swordsmanship from him, but under Otto's very nose, he died at the hands of a nightmare demon.

The means of the Pity Demoness were hard to guard against. If she dared to target Otto, it would be suicide even in a dream.

But the Pity Demoness was targeting Geoffrey. Otto only realized it after Geoffrey's death. Although he killed the demoness, it was too late.

In short, they didn't provide much useful information.

On the contrary, Loki finally learned some specific information about the current situation of the Earl's territory after the destruction of the castle.

In their narration, the Earl's territory was actually a bit unstable before that 'misfortune'.

The main reason was that Earl Raymond's strong promotion of the development and popularization of magic-powered machinery had really violated the interests of too many people.

The economic system of the Earl's territory was, in essence, a self-sufficient small-scale agricultural economy, and farmers were trapped on the land.

If they wanted to develop industry, they had to 'liberate' these farmers.

And the Earl's territory's ruling model was still the vassal nobles and knights each dividing a piece of land to manage and pay taxes.

If they developed magic-powered machinery, they would have to occupy land, this piece and that piece, which would encroach on the land of these vassals.

And that wasn't the end of it!

After the factories were built and the magic-powered machinery was installed, they had to produce various products. What was the result?

If these products were sold domestically, the Flower Territory wouldn't have such a large market. The newly transferred workers didn't have money, and the knights and nobles couldn't digest so much, so they could only be sold abroad!

Then, a large number of cheap goods appeared in the major cities of the Norman Duchy, and the fragile small-scale agricultural economy collapsed with a single blow.

So, those nobles discovered that the free people under them were bankrupt, and they received less and less tax.

So, they also had to point the finger at Earl Raymond.

To be honest, Loki was stunned when he heard this.

He always thought that Earl Raymond's promotion of industrial development was planned and conditional.

But he didn't expect it to be 'forced'!

Doing so almost offended everyone from the inside out, and it was bound to be full of contradictions.

It was just that Earl Karl Raymond had a strong reputation and said one thing and meant it, otherwise, he would not even be able to take the first step.

However, now that he thought about it, he suddenly understood something.

The Raymond family was destroyed, and it was not unjust at all!

Perhaps, none of the nobles in the territories and cities adjacent to the Flower Territory didn't hate them to the bone.

The reason why these marquis families wanted to dismantle the Earl's territory was probably also to worry about the continued promotion of magic-powered machinery!

Of course, the goal had actually been achieved.

After the castle was destroyed and the direct line of the Raymond family was wiped out, the entire territory was already in chaos.

Not to mention the various unfinished plans, the territory itself was a mess.

That is, the people sent by the Habsburg Empire were all magic apprentices, and there were real strong men to protect them, and there was the endorsement of the Empire...

Otherwise, they would have been killed long ago.

But even so, they were detained, and the reason was simple: many people believed that they killed Earl Raymond's family.

Although anyone with a clear head knew that this couldn't be true, who told them that there were not many people with brains?

It should be said that the Calamity powerhouses were standing too high, and, in the later stages, they were also running around outside, so they didn't know much about the specific situation of the territory.

But even what they knew had made Loki understand what a mess he was about to face?!

Thinking about the chaotic situation, Loki felt a little depressed.

He even felt that if the noble meeting was postponed again, then any plan would not need to be implemented.

He showed the Proverb Ring, took the inheritance right, and immediately rushed to the fief, why would he still have the mind to be hypocritical with them here?

Fortunately, two days, only two days left!

Two days later, everything should be over.

This chat lasted for several hours. By the time Loki understood everything he wanted to know, it was almost dawn.

When Loki left the manor again, he was already stepping on the morning mist.

He changed to a carriage, and Eva was no longer inside, but Ms. Palacios and the Iron Knight Phil Zek were added.

Olivia went to drive the carriage, and the Flame Swordsman Otto was hidden around.

Since they had clearly identified the object of allegiance, the three of them naturally wanted to take care of Loki's safety and were unwilling to stay in the manor arranged by Grand Duchess Afra.

So, they directly followed Loki back to the hotel.

As for Eva, she had already driven the carriage back to White Castle to report.

...

White Castle,

Study.

Grand Duchess Afra stayed up all night and finally waited for Eva.

"You said Loki cultivated the [Lion King Lord]?"

"According to the Iron Knight, that's it!"

"So, Loki has mastered two Holy Skills?"

"Yes!"

Grand Duchess Afra suddenly smiled, a little helplessly: "Should I say Karl is lucky? Or unlucky?

He met such a monster, but he can't see the Raymond family's prosperity, is it a pity?"

But she shook her head again and said: "If Karl doesn't die, where will Loki have the opportunity to inherit the Earl's position, and what about other things?"

"So, this is probably fate's arrangement!"

In any case, time flies, and it is already two days later.

July 15, 312 of the New Gods Calendar, the Noble Council, countless people poured into it, and the curtain officially opened!

PS: Three updates today, have been coded, and are being changed!

First update, here it is!