Ryan thought, Aren't you someone else, damn it?
Brothers give you their hearts, and you play mind games with them? Come on, let's reveal the mole's identity first.
"Actually, I'd wanted to decide on a candidate for bureau chief long ago. You exposed Adler's crimes, making you the best candidate. I'd been considering it all along; it was just that Princess Caslathdi brought it up today... You know, even members of the royal family have no right to interfere in a territory's internal affairs."
"The reason I agreed wasn't because she's a Princess, but because I think highly of you." Bill shook his head. "The Princess is too young. The Empire isn't as simple as she imagines, and Berman City isn't her private garden. Ryan, the Princess will leave soon enough. In the end, Berman City will have to rely on us. Do you understand?"
Ryan looked 'confused.' "What exactly are you trying to say, Mayor?"
"What I mean is, the Princess can't promise you anything. She isn't worth dedicating your life to. If you want to climb higher, follow me. Bureau chief is only the beginning. I'll help you become a noble, and in the future, you can do whatever you want in Berman City."
Bill did not know about Ryan's relationship with the Burning Covenant. Although Ryan was close to Jonathan, Ryan himself had come out of the East District branch bureau.
His later involvement in Adler's arrest had been more because of Caslathdi. Of course, Bill suspected that Ryan was a Supernatural Being, so he was testing him now, trying to recruit him.
Ryan no longer felt like speaking.
If possible, he wanted to set up a mahjong table and invite Magana, Caslathdi, and Bill over. Could you people sort things out among yourselves before talking to me?
"Think it over carefully. There's no need to answer me right away." Seeing Ryan remain silent, Bill smiled and patted his shoulder. "Perhaps you'll have made up your mind in a couple of days."
After leaving those words behind, Bill departed.
He seemed confident he could beat Caslathdi?
Ryan cursed inwardly. One after another, none of them would let him have a moment's peace.
"Alas, I've been walking on thin ice all my life... Can I make it to the other shore?"
His attempt to clear his name had failed. What about getting ashore? Slacking off? Lying flat?
"Keep it up, Grandpa Ryan."
Early the next morning, the notice appointing Ryan as bureau chief arrived.
For the people at the General Bureau of Governance, promoting Ryan was more suitable than parachuting in some new bureau chief.
The main thing was that Ryan had gone from Little Camilla to bureau chief in barely a month. To ordinary people, that would have been impossible without connections. If the boss had powerful backing, then lackeys like them could benefit from it too, right?
Then, that afternoon, the personnel Magana had sent as reinforcements arrived in Berman City.
West District, a secret safehouse.
The moment Ryan entered the building, a crisp, unified shout startled him.
"Greetings, sir!"
Seven figures stood in neat formation inside.
Five men and two women, all standing ramrod straight, radiating an invisible, murderous aura.
Ryan froze. "What is this?"
"Sir, you've worked hard!"
"?"
"Reporting!" The burly man standing farthest to the left shouted. "By order of Grand Duke Magana, we are to obey Lord Ryan's commands!"
"..."
"Everyone, introduce yourselves!"
Starting with the burly man, each person introduced their basic information to Ryan.
The burly man was the squad captain, named Gruk, a Third Tier Transcendent whose profession was Soul Eater.
Member Blood Robe, a Second Tier Transcendent, Shadow Hunter.
Member Adi, a Second Tier Transcendent, Melee Tactician.
Member Aug, a First Tier Transcendent, Dark Mage.
Member Mylen, a First Tier Transcendent, Melee Tactician.
Member Lanny, a First Tier Transcendent, Puppeteer.
Member Ann, a First Tier Transcendent, Gunslinger.
Ryan: "..."
Seven people: one third tier, two second tier, and four first tier.
More importantly, the seven gave him the impression of possessing extraordinary discipline, far beyond what any ordinary organization could match.
It even gave Ryan the absurd feeling that these seven could wipe out the entire Burning Covenant in Berman City.
"You were really sent by the Grand Duke?" Ryan found it hard to believe. Although Magana had said she would send reinforcements, Berman City's arrangements had collapsed with Adler's death. Now that he had taken over the position, his future looked completely bleak.
Was it really appropriate to send such a luxurious lineup under these circumstances?
"Yes," Gruk replied. "The Grand Duke said that everything is to be based on Lord Ryan's orders."
"Only seven of you?"
"There are also over a hundred ordinary members. I've already had them hide themselves and await Lord Ryan's orders at any time."
"I see..."
Ryan clicked his tongue. Damn, this debt of gratitude really could never be repaid now.
"Mm, have them stay hidden for now. Berman City's situation is unstable at the moment, so don't rush." Ryan lowered his hand. "As for the seven of you, stay at this safehouse. I'll notify you when there's a mission."
Gruk said, "Please allow us to protect your safety."
"Me? No, no, no, I don't need that." Ryan shook his head. "I'm the bureau chief of the Bureau of Governance now. No one would dare touch me."
"This is the task assigned by the Grand Duke," Gruk said stubbornly.
Before departure, Magana had specifically instructed them that Ryan's safety came first in all things. He had brains but was weak in strength. Magana did not want Ryan to die in Berman City like Adler had.
Ryan felt helpless. He could tell that Gruk and the others were stubborn fools. Unless he could persuade Magana, there was no use arguing with them.
In the end, they agreed that Blood Robe and Ann would be responsible for his safety. Blood Robe was a Shadow Hunter, an assassin-type profession with strange and unpredictable methods. She was also a Second Tier Transcendent, with raw strength second only to Gruk.
Although Ann was only a First Tier Transcendent, as a Gunslinger she had the advantage of providing long-range protection. Blood Robe was not suited to following Ryan around in daily life, while Ann's abilities could be put to their fullest use.
But from another perspective, if those two followed him all the time, he would need to be careful not to expose anything during future operations.
Fortunately, his second character, 'Shally,' would soon be ready to act. In the future, he could leave matters to his alts.
"Magana didn't arrange this deliberately to test what I'm made of, did she? Probably not. If she suspected me, she should investigate secretly instead."
With a thought, Ryan gave Gruk a task: investigate Bill and Colonel Hart. He still had not figured out the purpose of that ritual. Sending 'Lin Qi' would be too risky. Since they were working for Magana anyway, Ryan would not feel even the slightest heartache if these people died.
"Remember, don't let Bill find out. I suspect he's a Supernatural Being too. As for Hart, keep a close eye on him as well. See whether he has any connection to Kainter's military."
After giving a few instructions, Ryan left the safehouse and took the time to rent a new residence at the property center in the Central District.
It had already become inconvenient to commute from the East District. Houses in the Central District were expensive; he could not afford to buy one, but he could afford to rent.
Ryan picked a fairly good location and rented a detached house.
Jonathan and Jack came to help when he moved.
"There's something I need to tell you. If you're going to advance, don't rush it. Tell me first, and I'll prepare everything for you."
Jonathan carried a large cabinet on his shoulder and spoke casually.
"How could it happen that quickly?" Ryan carried something alongside him. "How long has it even been since I became a Supernatural Being?"
"Heh, you underestimate your talent too much. With Six Stars of Burning, as long as you have enough Soul Jade, breaking from the first tier to the second may not even take half a month."
After learning of Ryan's magical talent, Jonathan had specifically looked up related information. The magical aptitude test available here could only measure up to A-rank, but more precise testing rituals could identify even higher S-ranks.
Judging from Ryan's performance in the earlier ritual, his talent was definitely higher than A-rank. Among records of S-rank talents, advancing a tier in half a month was perfectly normal.
"Really?"
"Why would I lie to you? Generally speaking, someone with your talent only needs to consume around three thousand units of Soul Jade a day through cultivation to advance."
Experience had all been accumulated over time. The Burning Covenant could look up this information too.
Moreover, differences in talent represented one's upper limit and cultivation speed; they had nothing to do with the magical power required for advancement. Advancement depended only on one's profession. Taking his Son of the Sun profession as the standard, he had used nearly three thousand units of Soul Jade when he advanced.
"Three thousand?"
Ryan's expression turned strange.
"Yes, you absorb about two hundred units per day... What, are you out of Soul Jade?"
"...I have some. I found quite a lot in Adler's house."
"That's fine, then. Keep it for yourself."
Jonathan did not pay much attention to it. He had not gone along during the raid precisely because he wanted Ryan to keep whatever he found.
But Ryan was somewhat puzzled. He had dealt with many matters these past few days, yet he had never delayed his cultivation. Whenever he had free time, he cultivated. He even absorbed Soul Jade when he had nothing to do in the office.
Over the past few days, his efficiency in absorbing Soul Jade had grown higher and higher. He had directly burned through three thousand units, yet he still had no sense of breaking through to the second tier.
In terms of efficiency, he seemed far faster than Jonathan had described.
But when it came to advancement, although the system did not mark his level, Ryan felt he would probably need another three thousand Soul Jade to reach it.
"Captain, what does it mean if someone needs more Soul Jade to advance?" he asked.
Jonathan paused, realizing that Ryan's situation might be different. But he did not point it out and merely said, "In that case, it's most likely due to the characteristics of your profession. The more powerful the profession, the harder it is to change professions and advance."
"I see."
"Don't rush." Jonathan held a cigarette between his lips and smiled. "Cultivation needs to be steady and solid. There's no need to hurry over a day or two."
Ryan said nothing, quietly calculating what kind of profession he actually had.
Night fell. Inside the new rooms.
Ryan sat cross-legged in the room, with a pile of Soul Jade beside him.
As his cultivation continued, the amount of Soul Jade decreased at a visible rate.
If Jonathan had been there, he would probably have been so shocked that his cigarette fell to the floor. Ryan was already absorbing Soul Jade faster than many Second Tier Transcendents.
About an hour later, Ryan opened his eyes and softly exhaled.
"Still no good. I have no feeling of advancing at all. If the magical power needed for advancement is related to the profession, does that mean my profession is incredibly badass?"
He could not help recalling what had happened on the day he changed professions. The scene in the Inner World had been far too shocking. Yet he could not find any information about either that pyramid or the scene of pilgrimage.
According to the records, the most recent era of large-scale pilgrimage customs dated back more than a thousand years. By modern times, they had almost disappeared entirely.
That meant what he had seen definitely had nothing to do with the ritual Jonathan had arranged. It had been caused by changing professions. Unfortunately, there was too little information on the Chosen of the Gods. Otherwise, he could use it as a reference and see whether all Chosen of the Gods encountered such a situation.
"Forget it. I still have enough Soul Jade. I refuse to believe I can't advance."
With the speed at which 'Lin Qi' farmed Soul Jade, he had enough to support his early cultivation.
He checked on the two characters. Nothing was wrong, so Ryan continued cultivating.
Nothing happened that night.
The next day, news from the border swept through Berman City—the Kainter Kingdom's army had crossed the Empire's border and clashed with the border garrison!
Although most people were not worried about this so-called military operation, believing the Kainter Kingdom was simply overestimating itself, Ryan knew there was no necessary connection between overestimating oneself and attacking Berman City.
If the situation continued like this, it was entirely possible for the Kainter Kingdom's army to reach Berman City in a few days.
Sure enough, one day after the war began, the Kainter Kingdom's army had already broken through the border defenses and officially entered Imperial territory.
Now, the nobles and wealthy merchants of Berman City began to panic.
The border was not far from here. The army could arrive in two or three days on foot. If they managed to seize a train, they could charge into Berman City in half a day. This time, the Kainter Kingdom's army numbered over ten thousand.
The only city that could intercept this army was Kosotoya, yet Kosotoya had shown no intention of deploying troops so far.
That was the downside of lords possessing armies. The troops within their territories answered directly to their lords. Their interests were tied to those lords, and they had little sense of Imperial honor.
Unless the Kainter army actively attacked Kosotoya, there would be no battle.
Ryan had thought Magana would take the opportunity to make a move. After all, if she led a great army here, she could naturally bring this entire stretch of territory in the Empire's south under her control.
Without a war, there was no legitimate reason to mobilize troops. Sending an army out casually would be rebellion.
What surprised him was that Magana made no move at all. Watching the Kainter Kingdom's army advance toward them, Ryan could no longer sit still.
Before you continue