Magic Industrial Age

The moonlight was bright, and the lamplight was dim.

The cold winter wind blew, carrying a nauseating smell of blood.

Injured people all over the ground emitted soft groans, afraid to make loud noises even when the pain was unbearable.

There was no way to treat them, but Oliveira still dragged them one by one to sheltered spots and tied them with ropes.

Loy stood on the street, using a piece of cloth cut from who-knows-where to gently wipe the bloodstains from his Silver Angel rapier.

In reality, the Silver Angel rapier hadn't been stained with much blood; Loy was just using the action to consult with Deep Blue.

"The pirates came, but not to kill me; the guards came, but to take my life. What the hell is going on?"

"Deep Blue, Deep Blue, stop playing dead! Activate the data analysis module and help me sort this out!"

"Yes, Master!"

Deep Blue responded, and the data stream reflected in Loy's eyes rapidly accelerated, but it soon stalled.

"Master, there is too little information. I cannot analyze it, cannot connect the dots, and it doesn't make logical sense!"

"Then tell me what you can determine!"

"Okay!"

Deep Blue agreed, and lines of text were reflected in Loy's eyes.

"First, the one who could send the Bloody Mary's crew here is most likely the one who let the pirates into the city. Only that person can command these pirates.

But this person doesn't want to kill you, only to create the illusion of a chase. Their purpose is very intriguing."

"Second, the swordsman belongs to the Silver Fox Merchant Guild, the same guild as Woolly Allen. Although Woolly Allen's business has been divided up, the guild still exists.

Therefore, it could be a revenge killing. After all, he has two sons."

"Third, considering the chaos happening throughout Auckland City, your situation, Master, is likely just one piece of the puzzle. It's hard to say how many forces are involved in the power struggle and chaos behind it."

"As for more, there is too little information, and the module cannot continue to run."

Loy asked again, "Then what do you think I should do now?"

"Master, I refuse to answer that question!"

"Oh, I understand. Then I'll rephrase the question. What good suggestions do you have?"

"That depends on what goal you want to achieve?"

"What do you mean?"

"Is your priority safety, or revenge?"

"Of course, safety first. As for revenge, I have to find the mastermind and then find a way to get back at them!"

Deep Blue said, "According to my analysis, if you actively display your strength, Master, with Mr. Oliveira present, the safety guarantee can be as high as 85% or more."

As soon as he said this, an idea quickly formed in Loy's mind, and his eyes became brighter and brighter.

"In that case, these pirates and swordsmen who haven't died have a use. Maybe I can use them to flush out the snakes!"

With this response, Loy had already sheathed his Silver Angel rapier, and Oliveira had returned.

He shook his head and said, "I didn't get any new information. They know very little."

Loy asked again, "Teacher Oliveira, what do you think we should do next?"

Oliveira stared at Loy with those grey eyes, without saying a word. Loy waved his hand and said, "Okay, okay, I shouldn't have asked you."

"Leave these people here and hand them over to the Security Office tomorrow."

Oliveira was puzzled, "Hand them over to the Security Office?"

"Yes, hand them over to the Security Office!"

...

Without a doubt, it was a long night. The revelry and joy of the first half of the night stood in stark contrast to the death and chaos of the second half.

As dawn broke, the sun scattered its light, dispelling the winter's cold and bringing a bit of peace to Auckland City.

The pirates, led by the Bloody Mary, had all retreated.

They took with them a large amount of wealth and people, including the sons and descendants of wealthy merchants. They first boarded small boats and then boarded the pirate ships.

They would make these people's wealthy parents pay ransom. As for whether they could safely return in the end, that depended on many factors.

Of course, their departure didn't mean that Auckland City was stable. In fact, as things had developed, there was more than one person stirring up trouble.

Gangs, thieves, assassins, mercenaries, detectives, and even some people who couldn't survive would smash, loot, kill, and create chaos.

As for the City Guard?

The City Guard, which was supposed to maintain city safety and security, performed as if they didn't exist during this chaos.

Without them, perhaps there would have been less chaos!

It wasn't until the Executive Office relayed the message to the Empire and received royal authorization.

Then, the Seventh Combined Legion stationed outside the city began to enter.

First were the cavalry. They rode tall horses, wore long sabers at their waists, and had cold eyes. When their hooves trampled the streets, they quickly calmed those restless people.

Then came the organized magic-powered gun infantry legion.

They held Habbs Empire standard magic-powered rifles and marched into the city in neat steps, as if an invisible killing intent permeated the air, making those second- and even third-tier transcendent combatants feel frightened.

Even magic gunners, who were rare in Auckland City's Magic Academy, appeared in the army in organized formations.

Even a third-tier transcendent wouldn't want to face such a magic gunner squad.

What's more, the Seventh Combined Legion actually set up magic-powered cannons on the city walls, with the dark muzzles facing the city.

Although it was mostly for deterrence, no one dared to say that they wouldn't really fire.

If there was another battle between third-tier transcendents, they might just be greeted with cannonballs.

If the City Guard was like a militia, like police, good at shouting and yelling but useless when really needed,

then these legion soldiers were cold-blooded war machines.

They didn't care about methods, didn't care about losses, only cared about results.

And this was the reason why the Seventh Combined Legion could only act with a royal order.

This was the red line, the red line that the Empire could not cross!

Without a royal order, the harm that the legion could cause by acting on its own was unimaginable. In the Habbs Empire, this was a crime no less than treason.

However, at this moment, when the Seventh Legion intervened, the so-called chaos immediately subsided.

No one dared to stir up trouble in front of a real war machine. That was just courting death!

But although the chaos had ended, the anger of Auckland City was brewing.

The Governor of Auckland City, Lord Dorji Petrovich, appeared very angry.

He smashed his office and even used his iron fists to punch a hole in the wall.

He had every reason to be angry, because this was a stain on his governance, a provocation against him. He might have to bear the Emperor's anger and lose the title he had worked so hard for.

Baron Marquez, the owner of Auckland City, was even more angry.

This was the traditional territory of the Marquez family. In a sense, he was the master of this land.

What had happened was also a slap in his face, and it was normal for him to show anger.

Needless to say, the Church of the Sun God had its cathedral bombed, using alchemical bombs that directly destroyed the ten-meter-tall statue of the Sun God.

It could be said that the symbol of the Sun God in Auckland City was gone.

This was blasphemy, a sin worthy of being tied to a stake and burned alive, and it directly ignited the Church of the Sun God's anger.

Even though this was the Habbs Empire, where the Seven Gods were the state religion, they had to be given an explanation.

As for the Seven Gods Church, they were also very angry!

They also had a reason to be angry. The Seven Gods had just bestowed divine grace, and such a serious accident had occurred. What was the difference between this and a slap in the face?

Accurate news came that after the Seven Gods had discussed, the Church of the God of Justice had sent a bishop-level figure to intervene in the subsequent investigation.

Then there were the nobles, who were even more angry!

Although looking at the entire Empire, Auckland City was just a small place, and the nobles were just some knights, or fallen barons, baronets, and the like.

But in Auckland City, they were still wealthy and powerful, but what was the result?

This attack caused heavy casualties and equally heavy losses.

Many people were also taken by the pirates, and whether they could survive was another matter!

As for those big merchants, they were even more angry!

Although their rights and social status were not as good as the nobles, they were all very wealthy. This robbery caused the most losses to them.

Although they were emerging forces, you must not underestimate the magic of gold.

Finally, the most numerous but least valued people in Auckland City, the commoners, showed extreme anger.

There was no way around it, they were the ones who suffered the most casualties.

Prisoners, pirates, gangs, people taking advantage of the fire, and even trampling...

Preliminary statistics showed that at least several thousand people had died on the road because they were unable to return home in time due to the revelry.

They also had parents, relatives, wives, and children. The anger they showed was enough to ignite everything.

It was said that some people were already preparing to organize demonstrations to protest the Executive Office's inaction.

In summary, everyone seemed very angry!

Everyone seemed to be a victim of this chaos!

But Loy knew clearly that the mastermind was hiding behind these so-called victims, gloating at the scene before him.

At this moment, Loy retracted his previous evaluation. Some people in this world were quite good at playing conspiracies!

Their hearts were dirtier than demons!

I feel like this plot design is okay!