Thanks for the invitation. I am a parasite in Terra.

Wellington suddenly called the officer.

"Notify the Intelligence Department

We probably won't be able to find out anything if we concentrate on Iberia. We should try to find out the reason why Ursus sent troops."

"It's impossible that he is coveting the wealth accumulated during the Iberian Age of Exploration, right?"

"understand!"

The officer saluted and then left the room.

The Iron Duke listened to the footsteps gradually fading away, and he slowly sat down on the sofa again.

Then, as if he was a little tired, he scratched his beard.

In fact, there was another reason why he chose to remain on the sidelines.

That is.....

intuition.

His instinct told him that it would be best not to get involved in Iberia's affairs.

Obviously...since he got older, he rarely had this kind of intuition as if he was on the battlefield.

Maybe I'm just getting old and having hallucinations.

But, no matter what, even if troops are to be sent, it should not be him.

All forces are keeping an eye on this old man like me.

not to mention.

Even many dukes within Victoria were trying to keep an eye on him.

"well----"

The Iron Duke sighed.

The country has reached this point, but the dukes are still acting independently like they are now.

He wouldn't be surprised if a traitor emerged among this group of guys one day.

So, send troops?

At least for now, the Iron Duke can provide all the support except help to his friends in Iberia.

If they are willing, Wellington doesn't mind paying a high price to clean up his weapons and equipment that have been gathering dust.

Huh? What? You want Steam Knight?

Actually, this is not impossible.

As long as Iberia can provide a "suitable" guy, Wellington can let his men rummage through the boxes and cabinets to see if there are any old guys, or pull a few antiques that can still work from the museum.

After some modifications, at least it can still be used, right?

only....

Obviously, Iberia did not do that.

This means that their treasury simply does not have the capital to come to Victoria to be taken advantage of.

Wellington didn't care whether their treasury was empty because the country was declining or those officials were busy making extra money. He just knew that this showed that... Iberia could not afford the conditions at all.

He couldn't afford it, but the condition that would make Ursus tempted to send two high-speed warships to serve as his thugs.

It is obvious that it was Ursus who took the initiative this time.

What can make them send troops voluntarily...is obviously not something ordinary.

"well----"

Wellington sighed again.

He seemed to feel that this land was about to become turbulent again.

Hopefully, in the future, there will still be a place for Victoria.

If he were a few years younger, he might be more imposing.

But now, just looking at the intrigues among the various dukes of Victoria, he no longer even dared to hope that he would be able to maintain his position as an old power in the near future, or after he was buried in the ground.

Chapter 103: Two wishes—fulfilled at once!

bang-

The steel battleships emitted a unique metallic roar in the night, and the light from the surrounding searchlights was enough to tear apart the night that was falling around them.

The two high-speed warships were now sailing through the darkness, heading at full speed towards the Iberian war zone.

only.......

They don't know that they have fallen into a hunter's trap since the moment they set foot in this country.

Inside the bridge.

"Report to the commander, there is a malfunction in the fuel tank!"

"Fault?"

The highest-ranking Ursus officer present walked over to the technician with a look of surprise and looked at the screen he was pointing at.

"What's the glitch?"

"Just now, fuel suddenly dropped by 15 percentage points."

"Tsk, could it be that the Originium fuel that those damn Victorians replenished was some inferior stock?"

The officer's face frowned slightly, as if he was extremely dissatisfied with Victoria who had just passed by.

"Report: This possibility is not ruled out, but the greater possibility is——"

Before the technician could finish his guess, the flashing red light on the console drew everyone's attention back.

"What's going on? Fuel... fuel reserves are running low!"

They pointed in disbelief at the indicator screen showing the remaining fuel, which was now leaking its contents rapidly like a bucket with a hole in it.

In just a few breaths, the fuel tank, which was originally full of fuel, was reduced to a precarious level.

"Clap."

In an instant, the entire battleship was silent as if the fire was broken.

Its speed was so fast that the engine unit had no room to slow down, and it slid for a distance by inertia before stopping.

At the same time, all the lines inside the battleship, including the bridge, were extinguished, making them completely blend into the darkness of the night.

"Damn it, turn on the backup power!"

The officer roared in annoyance, and with the technician's skillful operation, the lights in the bridge were soon turned on again.

"The report initially speculated that there was an unknown leak in the fuel tank.

The troops are heading to repair it!"

"*Ursus swears* Those good-for-nothings, they couldn't detect this major hidden danger before setting off? When they come back, I'm going to lock them all up in the warehouse!"

"Notify the guys on the other battleship that we need to conduct repairs on the spot and temporarily deviate from the original marching route."

"Let them prioritize their mission and leave us alone."

"But, sir, if we get away from them like this there won't be any accidents--"

"Accident? Soldier, do you think Iberia can have anything that can threaten the Empire's warships and the Hundred Battles Vanguard in this godforsaken place?"

"Pass the order down. The logistics team should prepare the high-concentration Originium fuel tanks stored in the warehouse now. Use the batch brought from the Ursus Empire. Don't use the inferior ones given by Victoria Film!"

"Fill it up for me as soon as the fuel tank is repaired!"

"Yes!"

"Also... notify the soldiers to prepare for battle. Although I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to fight head-on with the Ursus Empire's warships in the wilderness."

Out of caution, the officer slowly opened his mouth and gave the final order.

----------

"Hurry up, hurry up, otherwise the people above will twist our heads off and use them as nests for Originium worms!"

The unshaven engineers, trying not to sleep, stopped in front of the fuel room door, carrying heavy tool boxes.

"Huh, open the door, and be careful to take precautions. The worst case scenario of high-concentration Originium fuel is that it has leaked. No one should work inside for more than ten minutes! When handing over, describe the situation at hand to the next person as detailed as possible!"

"Yes!"

The engineers quickly put on full protective clothing and then carried the oxygen tanks on their backs. After being fully armed, the two leaders walked to the front and back of the closed safety door and made gestures to prepare to open the door.

The other few people set up three devices to detect the content of Originium dust in the air in real time to prevent the leakage from spreading.

"Open the door!"

Following the captain's order, two engineers unfastened the heavy safety lock of the security door and prepared to open the door.

but.....

"Damn it! It seems like something is blocking my head! I can't push it!"

"Block it?"

The captain of the engineering corps squinted his eyes at the gate that seemed intact on the surface, then looked at the two members who were exerting force. After thinking for a while, he raised his hand and motioned them to go down.

"Alright, use the hydraulic hammer! Right now, we have to prioritize restoring the fuel tank!"

"Yes!"

Click.

The engineers prepared the hydraulic hammer in tacit understanding and fixed it on the safety door at the same time.

In fact, if this was not the fuel room, according to the usual style of the Ursus army, they would probably have blasted the hatch open directly.

"Hydraulic hammer installed!"

"Prepare to release!"

"three"

"two"

"One"

"Ula!!!"

"boom!!!"

Along with the loud clashing sounds of metal and the creaking sounds that made one's teeth ache just by listening to them, the entire metal security door was twisted beyond recognition by the huge force generated by the impact, and the whole thing was now hanging precariously on the door frame, like a fragile piece of window paper.

"Clap!"

The captain of the engineering corps kicked the door down and pressed it into the floor of the fuel compartment.

As for why it was blocked before, they didn't care at all. The whole door was going to be replaced anyway, so there was no need to delve into what was underneath that was jamming the door.

"Hurry up! Hurry up!"

The captain of the engineering corps said this, directing the others to rush into the cabin and begin checking.

A few minutes later.

"strangeness...."

Looking at the opened cabin and the engineers pouring in, the soldier who was setting up the Originium contamination detector at the door at the beginning looked at the screen above with some confusion.

"what happened?"

"If it was a leak, then the Originium content in the air would have fluctuated at least a little when the door was opened."

"Even if it doesn't trigger a security alarm, there will definitely be a change curve that can be observed with the naked eye... This is a very sophisticated device, it's impossible for it not to react. Where are the two devices you have?"

"Let me take a look... I can't see any changes in Originium contamination. It's strange, something's wrong. If it's a leak, it can't be like this."

"No matter what, report to the captain first."

“…”

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