Counterattack

"Everyone, come here now. No rest, keep going and get the functional testing done quickly."

Fran's words struck coldly into the hearts of all the mages, even Owen looked over with somewhat weary eyes.

These second- or third-tier mages shouldn't be this tired, but ever since Iris arrived, she's been forcing them to work.

In the past, the Propulsion Department never had such high-intensity work; they worked two days on and three days off, living a very comfortable life.

Moreover, the technical work of Magic Inscription requires their brains to work at a high intensity, which consumes even more energy.

Even inside the Mage Tower, Energy Potion are a forbidden item because they might be consumed by mages when they are extremely fatigued, potentially giving enemies an opportunity to exploit the situation.

Owen may not know whether this is possible or not, but Owen does know that forcing them to work like this has truly exhausted them to the point that outsiders could take advantage of them.

Owen waved his hand on the table and picked up a stack of reports containing test records for various components.

There was no other way; Fran and Iris had always used the orders of the Alchemy School. If they disobeyed, they would use the Alchemy School's tasks to force them to follow their instructions.

After the mages had delayed for five minutes before gathering in front of Fran, Fran began to announce the device that would be tested next.

"Next, you'll be testing the ventilation system. The testing process is quite simple, which will allow you to relax during your break. After completing this functional test, your break will be over, and you can move on to the next task..."

The mages in Owen's group didn't react for a moment, standing there blankly in a daze, until they were interrupted by the boos of the disgruntled mages, and they realized that they might have just heard some bad news.

"What kind of rest is this? It's still work..."

Before one mage could finish complaining, another mage who had spoken with Owen in detail jumped out.

"No, we can't perform functional tests on the air duct system."

These words were spoken so loudly that they instantly attracted everyone's attention, not only Fran's, but also that of many mages who were unaware of the situation.

Many monks were surprised upon hearing this. When did the air duct device stop being tested? I've never heard of that before.

When they saw Owen standing to the side and behind the mage, their expressions returned to calm as they looked at the smile on Owen's face.

In that case, it's best if they don't get involved.

Fran looked at the mage who had jumped out and realized that he was one of the mages who would hinder the progress of the work.

"One isn't enough, can we get more mages to jump out?"

She raised an eyebrow at the monk and asked:

"What kind of statement is this? I've never heard of any inscription group functional components that can't be functionally tested."

The monk who was questioned immediately explained:

"This is due to the unique nature of the inscription group in the Propulsion Department; the inscription on the air duct device must be activated together with all other devices, otherwise..."

"Enough! Your statement is utterly absurd..." Fran interrupted the mage's narration.

"I think you haven't been sleeping well these past few days. Look around, which monk would testify for your absurd remarks...?"

"Have we been sleeping these past few days?" the monk watching from the side wondered, remaining quietly by without making any move to step forward and explain.

Although they knew that Owen and his group were up to something, that didn't mean they had to support their actions.

They must remain silent, but that doesn't mean they have to support either side. Besides, judging from the current situation, they won't fare well no matter which side they support.

"What, are you the only one who knows that the Floating City's Propulsion Department has a duct system that must be activated along with all the other equipment...?"

"Did you make your head spin from taking notes...?"

Fran's insults followed one after another, and the mage who jumped out noticed that something was wrong.

Why wasn't it this 'leader' who used his skills to refute his statement, then was forced to take matters into his own hands, ultimately triggering the trap?

Why did the other party question the correctness of his statement from the very beginning? That doesn't make sense. No one around him supports him; instead, they all say he has something wrong with his head. Why is the ventilation system so delicate?

Meanwhile, Owen realized the situation was dire. If no one supported the mage, even if Fran burned down the wind tunnel device, they could probably pin the blame on them.

So he immediately poked the mage next to him with a long stick specifically used for inscribing runes, signaling him to come forward.

The monk sighed and could only step forward to support his companion.

There was no other way; this kind of thing could only be handled by their small group. Other mages had no reason to get involved, and the contract didn't stipulate this.

"That's how it is, boss, you have to listen to us, this..."

"I think you two are out of your minds, fantasizing about such a thing. I've never heard of Magic Inscription having such a system..."

Fran then pointed to a mage nearby and asked him:

"You, tell me, is this really true or not?"

The mage who was pointed out was not part of the core group, so he could only pretend to be stupid.

"I'm not entirely sure either. I was specially added to the team last year, so I'm not very familiar with the situation here..."

Then, Fran pointed to two other mages and received similar answers.

The two monks who stepped forward remained adamant, convinced that this was the truth, and that the others simply didn't understand.

Fran only received a supportive response when she pointed to another mage in the inner circle.

"That's right. The functions our Propulsion Department needs to perform are far too enormous; without doing it this way, we simply can't support it..."

Seeing that three mages had finally stepped forward to oppose her, Fran paused, feeling the time was right. After a moment's hesitation, she loudly addressed the group of mages:

"I refuse to believe that any inscription set requires all the devices to be activated simultaneously before it can be used."

As she spoke, she walked directly toward the inscription group of the wind tunnel device without pausing at all.

Watching Fran's retreating figure, Owen smiled. He had thought the trap was about to fall through when Fran was arguing with them, but he hadn't expected to fall for it in the end.

While the other mages were unaware of the specifics, they were aware of Owen and his group's methods, having experienced them firsthand themselves.

Only when Henry saw Fran walk to the tampered inscription immediately did a smile appear on his face; he knew Fran had realized the trap there.

Fran moved very quickly, or rather, faster than anyone could have imagined. Like a seasoned helmsman, she connected all the necessary pipes for startup in just half a minute.

"Come on, let me show you how the Alliance can have such a connected device!"

After speaking, Fran immediately activated the wind tunnel device. Even through the thick layer of soil, all the mages present could feel a current of Wind Element energy swirling around the entire Floating City.

Owen's smile froze, because he knew perfectly well that if the trap was still there, it should have worked when the Wind Element currents passed through it.

Now that the wind tunnel has been fully activated, it's clear that their trap failed, and he doesn't know why.

Did Fran prepare in advance, or did they make a mistake when setting up the trap, causing the device to fail to trigger?

Just as Owen hesitated, Fran closed the wind tunnel and then pointed at the mage who had first come up to stop him from opening it.

"Come here, I want to see just how you came to believe that this device requires all the components to be activated before it can be started..."

The mage was stunned for a moment, somewhat at a loss, because this was completely unexpected, while Owen, who was standing to the side, was deep in thought and could not offer him any advice for the time being.

So the mage had no choice but to come up, and Fran immediately pulled him to the inscription that activated the wind channel, saying:

"Give me a try. I want to see how you start this thing..."

The mage was somewhat at a loss. He wanted to turn back at all costs to get Owen's instructions, but Fran was gripping his neck tightly, and his frail body was no match for her.

Urged on by Fran, the mage remembered Fran's earlier actions. Since Fran had successfully activated it, the trap should be neutralized, so pressing the button shouldn't cause any problems...

He didn't know how such a thought came to his head, but his body had already very honestly begun to act.

By this time, Owen had realized what Fran was up to, but he couldn't send her any messages.

The Magic Inscription suddenly burst forth with a blinding light, and most mages instinctively closed their eyes. Only Fran reacted quickly and temporarily canceled the attack, limiting the damage to the startup module.

She then shoved the activated mage to the ground, and as if she understood something, she shouted:

"Damn, so you're just a mage who can't Magic Inscription? How did a mage like you manage to get into our department?"

Fran's actions were somewhat far-fetched, but her power was enough to compensate for the lack of logical reasoning.

"As a mage who has received a special identity card, I hereby declare that your, and the other two mages', Magic Inscription techniques are highly problematic."

"I have a duty to instruct the security department inside the Mage Tower to take coercive measures against you and thoroughly investigate your specific technical level. This is now in effect."