Premonition of Destruction

The Minister of Trade suddenly turned himself in.

This startled the Bureau of Supervision.

But they soon discovered traces of the Word of Power to control the situation.

There are only a handful of people who can control Minister Drost... For safety's sake, they also imprisoned the Minister of Trade in the basement. The same basement where Lloyd President was previously held.

In any case, this is not something that these lowly inspectors, who have only just reached the Second Level, can handle...

Let's just leave it there for now.

After being locked in the basement, Drost regained his free will.

He was surprisingly quiet at this moment, because he knew that someone would definitely come to rescue him. Even if the Avalon didn't come, the Stibnite Person or the Noble Red would.

So he simply opened his eyes, stared into the darkness before him, and fell into deep thought.

So that's how it is, Meg is dying...

That's why she was in such a hurry. Suddenly arresting both the Lloyd President and vice-chairman... now the businessmen are already panicking. And her own arrest will likely exacerbate that panic.

Before this, Meg, knowing nothing, chose to ignore everything and focus on staying at school to teach students.

Unless the Arbitration Hall asks her to do something, or Her Majesty the Queen issues a personal order, she simply leaves everything to the Arbitration Hall. When asked about this, Meg's personal explanation was. "I don't want to mess things up because of me, so I choose to do only what is right, and I have the ability to do it well."

—Compared to her carefree and easygoing nature, Meg is surprisingly thoughtful and meticulous.

Long ago, the Arbitration Hall was the absolute highest authority. They were the Round Table Hall of the Round Table Hall, essentially composed of the Founding Family. Together, they were nominally equal to the King.

Later, many of the Founding Family gradually withdrew from the Arbitration Hall. To fill the vacancies, some top ministers were added... At that time, the "Minister of Trade" could also join the Arbitration Hall.

However, an incident occurred at that time that directly resulted in ministers being barred from joining the Arbitration Hall and the Inspectorate. Those already in the Arbitration Hall and the Inspectorate were also prohibited from inheriting family businesses.

Nowadays, those who can join the Arbitration Hall are all geniuses who reached the Fourth Level before the age of forty, whose souls are basically intact, and who have the potential to advance to the Fifth Level.

They are all blessed by the Silver Crowned Dragon and could give birth to a new Fifth Level at any time. In normal times, they are basically isolated from the world, only responsible for assisting the King or Queen in deciding the highest-level matters—such as executing a minister, abolishing a department, starting a war, or executing or deposing a member of the royal family.

This is also the true essence of Avalon.

From this perspective, Avalon can also be considered a theocratic state indirectly ruled by the Silver Crowned Dragon.

However, according to the Drost Family records, the Silver Crowned Dragon actually appeared quite frequently during the first hundred years of Avalon's founding. It would manifest once or twice a year, often consulting the Arbitration Hall to inquire about the situation and granting orders and favors.

But after that, He appeared less and less... It was because He rarely appeared that the original Founding Family felt they had done something wrong, and they gradually withdrew from the Arbitration Hall.

In the last hundred years, He has not appeared even once. Although He still responds to prayers steadily, He no longer manifests in the Material Realm.

Perhaps He's already tired of it, or maybe He's disappointed, Minister Drost thought to himself.

After all, Avalon is no longer the knightly kingdom it was when it was first founded.

They still wear armor and call themselves knights. But how are they different from the nobles of other countries?

But in Drost's opinion, it's more accurate to say that Avalon changed too little.

Because of other countries, even more has changed.

The Stibnite Person invented machine guns, joined forces with Demon Scholar and alchemists, and are developing their "Stibium Alchemy," with their technology advancing by leaps and bounds. The dwarves, who were forced by the elves to live in the Northern Mountains, invented flying machines and mining machines, and lived with the wise northern giants, establishing many settlements.

The goblins established Troll Plantation on the Southern Continent, selling large numbers of domesticated trolls as cheap labor to other countries. They were extremely sought-after commodities.

Trolls have lifespans comparable to humans, possess fangs, are intellectually deficient, and are lazy and foolish. However, they are extremely tall, possess boundless strength and stamina, and are also skilled in rituals and curses... making them valuable as guards, laborers, Curse Master, and ritual practitioners.

Trained trolls possess exceptional pioneering abilities. They have extraordinary regenerative abilities and are immune to most toxins, except for fire and acid, which can stop their regeneration. Thorns, swords, and bullets are useless against them.

Thanks to these trolls, the Iris Flower Kingdom has cultivated a vast tract of land in the south. The large influx of goods has significantly increased the value of its export trade.

Today, goblin merchant ships connect goods from all over the world. Even the unchanging Lizardman of the desert regions are changing their way of life, opening schools and teaching all students equally. Even the elves of the Theocracy are preparing to teach other races Advanced Divine Arts.

Everyone else is changing, but Avalon remains unchanged.

Objectively speaking, it can't be said that they are completely immobile... At least many who have inherited the knighthood can't even wear the armor passed down from their fathers or grandfathers. They will ask the craftsmen to modify it, making the armor hollowed out to reduce weight and dissipate heat.

Today, Avalon still doesn't even allow races other than humans and elves to set foot on their land, let alone goblins to do business.

These outdated rules have left the people of Avalon far behind. Goblin merchant ships that bring large quantities of goods from the East and south cannot disembark in Avalon and can only go to Star Antimony, the Theocracy, and Iris.

As a result, the Avalon had to pay extra to buy the same things from these humans, which they considered a tradition.

It is precisely because Drost is the Minister of Trade that he is able to understand these things.

Before the Noble Red Society contacted him, he was indeed a very dedicated person to Avalon —it was precisely because he was so dedicated that he saw so many hidden dangers and crises, and that he believed it was time for Avalon to end.

Even though Queen Sophia was enlightened enough, considering that the people of Avalon had not seen any other races for hundreds of years, and considering the opinions and reactions of the people, as well as the opposition of the knights, she still did not grant the right to operate businesses for other races.

If even Sofia's reputation can't be changed, and even with her open-mindedness, she doesn't want to make any changes, then is there any hope for the future of Avalon? Drost believes there isn't.

It would be better to sell Avalon for a good price while it's still seen as a threat by others— the Griffin Legion remains the strongest air force on the continent, and Meg is a top-tier fighter. Combined, even the Stibnite Person have to be wary of them. Conversely, the Stibnite Person will also pay a hefty price for this intelligence.

Although Drost himself had never been to Star Antimony, he already owned four manors and a Viscount Territory there. He had been granted a hereditary viscountry by the current King, land that truly belonged to him, where he could even recruit his own personal guard!

These things were what he obtained in exchange for selling information about Avalon.

Because the highest echelons of power in Avalon are all authoritarian Path of Authority sworn to the Queen, their spies can never reach the highest levels. Therefore, neither the Stibnite Person nor the Iris People know the true nature of Avalon.

After all, the griffins are indeed extremely threatening... possessing intelligence surpassing that of humans, strength approaching the Fifth Level, the ability to blend into the wind, moving at incredible speeds in silence, and lifespans as long as those of elves. With the griffins' friendship, Avalon would find it difficult to defend itself if it wanted to invade other countries.

Then there's Meg.

And now, Meg is almost dead? If he were to sell this information to the Stibnite Person ... how much money could he make? Drost narrowed his eyes.

He suddenly had a premonition—a premonition that Avalon was about to Premonition of Destruction.

Most Avalon couldn't have foreseen Meg's death, but if the Stibnite Person had been able to prepare in advance... then it would have been a surprise attack. The Avalon wouldn't have had time to resist and would have been utterly defeated.

Conversely, if he couldn't even report crucial intelligence like Meg's impending death, then he would lose his value as a spy.

In other words, Drost has now reached a point where he must make a decision.

Should we help Avalon, or help Star Antimony?

"Oh..."

He smiled.

Do we even need to choose?

He had no other choice.

Update complete!