The Minister of Propaganda was quickly taken away by the Security Department's enforcement police. Everyone present knew he could not possibly explain where the dirty money had gone. This had all been nothing more than a trap.
This confrontation also showed everyone in the Interstellar Council that the Sorcerer Supreme was not merely good at fighting and killing. He understood human relations as well, possessed forceful yet unpredictable political methods, and had dealt with the troublemakers who had stepped forward in just a few moves.
At the same time, he had not rashly fallen out with the Secretary-Generals of the Three Great Empires. Instead, he had stopped while he was ahead and shown remarkable restraint. That was where his true brilliance lay. The entire executive body was now under the rule of the Three Great Empires. If he completely turned against them, no directive could be implemented. This way, he had secretly screwed them over while publicly helping them smooth things out, making them owe him a favor. That was the best solution.
As Strange watched the police take away the Minister of Propaganda, he walked back toward his office and could clearly sense that the people around him had become much quieter. Those subtle, appraising glances had vanished as well. He was in an excellent mood.
The Supreme Intelligence following behind him, however, looked as though his parents had died. He carefully reflected on where he had lost this round. The most important factors were Schiller's accounting skills and the formidable hacking ability of whoever had altered the data.
An old accountant could certainly make the books look flawless, but accurately grasping the right moment to falsify accounts was the final step on these old hands' path to promotion. Cooking the books carried risks, and using those risks to