Did I just say something that was too hurtful... Tsk, I always stay at Forsaken Land of the Gods, except for Angel and the weekly Tarot Club, I almost don't communicate with anyone. I am almost becoming withdrawn, but this is also more suitable for Mad Adventurer The "personality" of Gehrman Sparrow... I wonder how "Demonic Wolf" Cottar spent thousands of years there, playing house with his own Marionette?
Klein muttered secretly, "Magician" Miss's somewhat dull expression disappeared in front of him, and turned into Spirit World's brightly colored space.
He did not waste the precious time of "Historical Image"'s existence, and quickly traveled around, talked with several familiar Angels, made promises in exchange for their help, and planned an action to hunt "Demonic Wolf".
Magician Don't perform without preparation!
In the early morning, Earl Hall woke up in his luxurious villa in Empress Borough and took a walk in the garden as usual, stretching his legs that were no longer as nimble as when he was young.
Today Backlund's sky is bluer than usual, and "Tussock Newspaper" also predicts that this summer will be the best period in ten years.
This is not the result of Environmental Protection Act, which has just been launched for more than a year, but that most of the East Borough, South District and Saint George Borough factories have shut down due to shortage of raw materials, and the towering chimneys no longer emit polluting gases.
This thought only lingered in my mind for a moment before it was completely forgotten by the Earl Hall.
He turned to think about some of his daughter Audrey's recent unusual behaviors, especially when she asked him to donate grain to help the lower class people in a showdown last week. He was not only pleased that his daughter had her own ideas, but also worried that she would do something that was not in line with her noble status.
Perhaps she should not have been allowed to contact the church so early and participate in funds that help the poor, out-of-school children and disabled soldiers. At her age, she should talk about poetry, drama and pop culture with other aristocratic boys and girls. No matter how fierce the war outside is, it will not affect them... Earl slowly shook his head, returned to the villa, and met his eldest son, Hibbert Hall, who had just returned home early in the morning.
Arriving at the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor facing the street, you could directly see half of Empress Borough's study. Earl turned away the servant, looked at his eldest son and said:
"What did those guys at Intis say?"
Hibbert pulled the collar to loosen the straight collar a little, and then replied:
"They want food, land, and shares. According to what you said, I have met their demands to the maximum extent... If Loen is defeated, we can retain the core assets and the title, but the corresponding parliamentary seats may be taken back..."
"This is enough. When the time comes, you will convert to steam. They are willing to accept nobles like us, instead of being as harsh as Church of the Eternal Blazing Sun... When I retreat behind the scenes, you will be the new Earl Hall."
Although he had expected it, Hibbert was still heartbroken when he heard his father say such words. He lowered his voice and asked:
"Has the situation really reached that point?"
"Time is running out. Constant City on the Northern Front battlefield is besieged on both sides of the sea and land. Loen is all lost at the seaport of the Intervening Sea. The fleet can only go north to bypass North Sea and try to return to East Coast; the western front Intis and The Feynapotter coalition forces are close to Backlund... Unless Three-Nation Allied Forces is willing to cease the war, Loen will be defeated sooner or later, and Intis and Feysac will suffer huge losses. The entire Legion will be consumed on the battlefield, and they cannot stop."
Hibbert looked solemn after hearing this, and sighed after a moment:
"The situation at Backlund is not good either. The organizer of East Borough's march last week has not yet been caught. MI9 said it was caused by foreign forces. Oh, where are the foreign forces? West Bayam?"
"Parade..."
Earl Hall slowly repeated this word, feeling a little more worried about the domestic situation.
As a local nobleman in Loen and a shareholder of many steel and coal companies, he has seen many workers' demonstrations. In recent months, due to food shortages and reduced job opportunities, several demonstrations and protests have broken out in Backlund, but the scale was not large and was quickly quelled.
As long as the army and the church are on your side, you don't have to worry about this kind of thing...
Suddenly, there was a noise outside the window. It seemed to be coming from a distance, but it was getting closer and louder.
Earl Hall and Hibbert looked out the floor-to-ceiling windows in no particular order, and were surprised to find that the streets in the distance were crowded with people. They were wearing clothes of various colors and styles. Their formations were chaotic, but they maintained basic order and were walking towards here.
Every time they passed a lamppost on the street, they raised their fisted right hands and shouted in unison:
"Bread!"
"We want bread!"
The shouts of thousands of people soared into the sky, loud but not noisy, and clearly reached the ears of the father and son, making their faces become solemn.
"It's this kind of parade... how did they come to Empress Borough? MI9 and the church didn't find out in advance?" Hibbert whispered, looking at his father, "Do you want to contact the royal family by telegram? This street goes past Sodela Palace."
Earl did not answer immediately, but squinted his eyes and carefully observed the parade, and quickly discovered several details:
First of all, the team was not composed of a ragtag group of homeless people and unemployed people like the previous parades. Instead, there were many East Borough and South District workers. They seemed to have made an agreement long ago to shout slogans in unison at fixed intervals with a clear purpose, directed at the shortage of food.
Secondly, many patrol policemen and soldiers have gathered around, struggling to maintain basic order, but everyone can see that order is maintained by Protest March's self-discipline rather than the pistols and bullets in their hands. Moreover, after seeing retired and disabled soldiers wearing military uniforms and medals appearing in the team, these policemen and soldiers showed pity on their faces, and it was impossible to stand against Protest March.
Finally, many bodyguards hired by him to protect the villa and Beyonder sent by the church had gathered in the garden below. They were attracted by the momentum of the parade, with different expressions. The bodyguards were a little scared and panicked, and the official Beyonder's eyes were full of sympathy.
"Bread!"
"We want bread!"
Another shout came, closer than before, but at the intersection where Earl Hall looked, more marchers were still pouring into this street filled with nobles, and there was no end in sight.
There are at least tens of thousands of people here. Considering the number of police here, other streets nearby may also be facing the same problem. The number of people marching may have exceeded 100,000... How did they come here quietly from East Borough, South District? Is it the subway? This level of organization... Earl Hall's scalp was numb, and he felt like he was a stubborn rock standing in front of the tide. If he didn't think of a way, no one could save him when the tide came.
Of course, as a noble who knows some inside stories about the world of occultism, he knows that whether it is Evernight, Storm, or Church of Steam, who is now under surveillance, there are ways to stop a parade of this scale. This is why he was so confident before. But at this time, facing tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of marchers, Earl realized how ridiculous his previous idea was.
The purpose of the church protecting nobles like him is to let them contribute money and effort to maintain the operation of the church and spread faith. Faith is the purpose, and preferential treatment to the nobles is just a means!
And I almost misunderstood the relationship between the two... His thoughts were spinning, and he turned to the eldest son with another shout of "We want bread" and hurriedly ordered:
"No, you should immediately send telegrams to Duke Negan, Baron Cinderas, and all the nobles in this street, saying that I am willing to take the lead in donating most of the food. I hope they will stay calm and never conflict with Protest March!"
"Okay... ok."
Hibbert was stunned for a moment because of his father's sudden change of attitude, his eyes full of confusion. Then he recovered from the approaching crowd and excited slogans outside the window, and hurriedly walked out of the study.
I don't know when I came to the door. Audrey, who was watching the conversation between his father and brother by the ajar door, watched everything very quietly.
North Borough, Saint Samuel Cathedral.
Leonard, who was summoned urgently, came to Anthony Stevenson's office and met Archbishop, who seemed older recently.
"Mitchell, you take your team to Empress Borough. A demonstration broke out there, the number of people may be more than 100,000."
Leonard, who had already received news from Shermane and Audrey and knew that there would be action today, pretended to be surprised and nodded, and then asked:
"Do I need to carry Sealed Artifact? If we want to stop the parade, it may be difficult for us to do it alone."
"No need, you are responsible for the safety of the Earl Hall's family, Earl of Chelsea's family... and other nobles. If the parade turns into a riot, protect them from Empress Borough and take refuge in the nearest church. Church of Storms will also send a Mandated Punishers team. You will cooperate with each other to cover, but unless there is a direct conflict, no harm will be allowed to the people in the parade."
Sure enough, as Angel said... Leonard pursed his lips and agreed, looking forward to today's results a little more.
Empress Borough, Duke Negan's Residence.
The newly appointed Duke Negan, the young Tirio Negan looked out the window at the surging parade crowd, and listened to the personal Male Servant read out the telegram Earl Hall had taken. Just as he was about to say something, the door was pushed open, and Black Hair Golden Eyes and the military Saint Celt in straight uniforms walked in.
Duke immediately breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward and said quickly:
"The situation outside is almost out of control. Does the military have a response plan?"
"Imperative Mage" Celt replied coldly:
"Your Majesty has asked me to protect your mansion. He has no other instructions."
Just protecting my mansion...Tirio Negan looked at Celt's handsome face and couldn't help but ask:
"What about the parade? You should be able to Intimidation them."
"Half of them are Storm's believers, and the other half are Evernight's." Celt's expression did not change, and his tone was indifferent as he replied.
"I am also a believer of Storm!"
Duke Negan lowered his voice and said with a hint of anger.
But the next second, he froze on the spot.
His Majesty knew about the demonstration that broke out in Empress Borough so quickly, but Demigod who sent the military only protected himself instead of stopping the demonstration. As a believer of Evernight, Earl Hall quickly changed his attitude and was willing to donate most of the food... Duke suddenly understood and no longer argued with Celt. Instead, he turned back and said to Male Servant:
"Give up our tough stance, make our stance clear to the marchers, and say that we are also willing to donate food..."
He glanced at the endless queue outside the window and added:
"Also, secretly hand over the collected List of Merchants Hoarding Grain to them!"
In the eternally dark wilderness of Forsaken Land of the Gods, a Historical Projection summoned by Klein came to life after entering Historical Void. It held a lantern in one hand and a jewel-encrusted "Staff of the Stars" in the other. Using the ability of this Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, it came to the square of an abandoned town.
Looking around, he saw that the place was completely silent, with neither Amon's Avatar nor strange creatures. He waved his hand to disperse the projection of "Staff of the Stars", placed the lantern at his feet, stood in the dim light, clasped his hands, lowered his head and chanted in Jotun:
"The Lord of Darkness who coexists with history, the incarnation of countless miracles, the god who controls wishes..."
This is the Honorific Name of "Demonic Wolf" Cottar in the information provided by Evernight Goddess. Although Goddess and Cottar were both "King of the Direwolves" Flegrea thousands of years ago. The information at Subordinate Deity may have expired, but from the perspective of Subordinate Deity occultism, the possibility of pointing to this existence is still very high.
Sure enough, as soon as I finished reciting Honorific Name, Spirituality of Klein, I felt a slight touch, and I felt the gaze from a certain existence.
He pretended not to notice, and recited Honorific Name three times. He sighed and shook his head as if he was very disappointed, and then recited another Honorific Name:
"Eternal Blazing Sun..."