The World Economic News Agency's ability to steer public opinion on the surface was exceptionally strong, and nearly everyone acknowledged it as the best in the world.
But was that all?
Clearly not.
Don't forget, its predecessor had been the Public Opinion Squad.
They specialized in hiring online shills.
Even now, they operated under two separate systems.
One handled public guidance, while the other stirred things up in secret.
At Viscount Rost's command, Newsbird Megan immediately went all out.
The most immediate result was that the moment the market opened the next day, Wool Guild stock suffered an unprecedented crash.
In less than five minutes, it had fallen straight to six gold coins.
Yet this seemed to be only the beginning.
Over the following period, the price continued its relentless plunge.
Nearly the entire Magic Net was shocked by the scene.
Graycastle Empire.
Inside a church.
The popes were dumbfounded.
Watching the scene unfold, their lips trembled, but they could not speak.
They had originally intended to use this opportunity to acquire as much of the Wool Guild as possible and influence the Shepherd Church as much as they could. Yet instead, it seemed their investment was about to be trapped.
"It fell this much!"
After an unknown amount of time, an elderly-looking pope sighed. "The average price of our purchases yesterday was around 8.8 gold coins. Over the past few days, the average price at which we bought Wool Guild shares was approximately 7.63 gold coins per share."
"We currently hold 1.3 million shares and have already lost 2.5 million gold coins. The crash seems to be continuing. Should we sell?"
Hearing the figures he reported, the other popes' expressions turned even uglier.
None of them doubted his calculations, because the god he worshipped held the Arithmetic Authority. It