Mage? Magic Engineer!

Chapter 408: Chapter 405: After the Victory

Strictly speaking, the battle on the Valuva border had no victor. However, the facts that the Empire Army had failed to win and Valois had not suffered another defeat sent shockwaves far and wide.

Rorschach opened a newspaper from Bayern. The top story wasn’t a war report, but the turbulence in the Empire’s financial market.

War bonds had initially absorbed a large amount of liquid capital. These bonds then flowed back into the market, acting as collateral to increase liquidity. As long as the Empire Army held the advantage on the battlefield, this system fueled market prosperity.

When the Empire Army suffered a setback on the battlefield, this prosperity faltered in tandem. The newspaper reported it as a "technical correction," urging the public not to panic.

As for the state of the Empire Army on the front, it only occupied a small column in the paper.

Meanwhile, in Valois, the National Guard’s military success was a major morale boost, and the citizens of the Royal Capital took to the streets to celebrate. However, this victory also had some undesirable consequences:

Once Valuva was secure, the political and public tides turned completely. The Royalist Faction and their mouthpieces resurfaced. They began to condemn the "inhumanity" of the pre-war summary trials and attack the Mountain Faction, accusing them of emboldening the commoners and turning the "summary trials" into little more than vendettas fueled by public outrage.

There was another unexpected factor at play. Representatives from various autonomous councils or committees across the land had arrived in Valuva with the Rebel Army. These individuals were often local gentry and wealthy merchants, who naturally gravitated toward the Royalist Faction.

Furthermore, the Royalist Faction was largely composed of influential figures who easily formed connections with regional powers. The Mountain Faction, in contrast, had mostly risen from humble origins. Outside of their hometowns and Valuva, most of its members were unknown. Representatives from the provinces would meet them and just ask, "And who are you?"

In the arm-wrestling match between the two factions, after the Mountain Faction-led National Salvation Committee had genuinely saved the Kingdom, it was paradoxically the Royalist Faction that regained power and took the upper hand.

BANG!

Maxim couldn’t contain his anger. The more fiery and outspoken members of the club slammed their fists on the table, all furious over the Royalist Faction’s new proposal. "Deprive Charles XVI of his throne, but have the National Assembly appoint a crown prince who will be allowed to form a cabinet upon coming of age... This is a blatant restoration! We won the victory, yet someone wants to turn back the clock!"

It was obvious that if things went according to the Royalist Faction’s script, the new court would be controlled by their veteran cronies. They would then abolish the National Assembly, and these Royalists could transform themselves into the new Nobility, their power secured for eternity.

The club had been debating fiercely, but everyone was focused on how to refute the proposal.

Maxim remained silent throughout, only speaking after careful consideration. There was no fury in his words, only composure. "The enemy wants to take one step backward. In that case, we should be bolder and take two steps forward."

"Two steps?"

"Trial and execution for Charles XVI—that’s the first step. The second step is to abolish the monarchy and establish a Republic, making any future restoration impossible."

"This isn’t some outrageous opening gambit for negotiation. This should be the unwavering goal of our Mountain Faction. If we can’t take the first step, the second is out of the question. And if we lack the resolve to reach the second step, we’ll never even manage to take the first."

After unifying the faction’s thinking, overnight, previously undisclosed evidence of the King’s collusion with foreign enemies was compiled into pamphlets and spread like wildfire through the streets of Valuva. The public mood instantly shifted from cheerfully discussing the war to denouncing the King. Another crowd of commoners began to storm the Royal Palace.

The National Guard soldiers even refused to disperse the agitated commoners. They informed their commander that they would only carry out orders that served the nation’s interests, and that the National Guard would not turn its guns on any patriotic citizen.

Furthermore, the "summary trials" flared up again from the embers. After the evidence became public, many individuals with ties to the court were dragged out by the people and given "the chop."

At this point, no one dared to continue discussing the "monarchy restoration" proposal.

...

"What are you laughing at?" Caroline had been contemplating the design for the Mage Tower’s main hall, but was interrupted by Rorschach’s poorly suppressed snort of laughter.

Rorschach had finished the newspaper and was now reading intelligence reports from Valuva. A certain Great Mage’s words were full of complaints. Rorschach explained to Caroline, "My previous assessment was wrong."

"Oh? Now that’s a surprise." Since coming here, Caroline had discovered that in both Lansite and Kempson, the young Rorschach was the undisputed "shot-caller." It was rare to see him voluntarily admit a mistake.

"I said before that Charles XVI should be praying for the National Guard to win. But now it seems that after Valois’s first victory, the Mountain Faction is actually accelerating the process of sending him to his death."

"What’s so funny about that?"

"I’m admiring the Royalist Faction’s genius opposition tactics." Rorschach revealed the answer. "They didn’t directly oppose trying the King. Instead, they proposed trying all royalty. For a moment, the public overwhelmingly agreed."

"What’s wrong with that?" Caroline was still confused.

"But the most prominent royal right now is our respected ’Mr. Equality,’ and he’s a standard-bearer for the Mountain Faction." The former Duke Melovinca had been a model of the "Progressive Nobility," but he never expected to be roped back in by the Royalist Faction’s "Protect the King" scheme.

’Cut ties? Not a chance.’ A Royalist Faction representative righteously declared that it was impossible unless "Mr. Equality" surrendered all his enfeoffed property and returned every last bit of the annuity he received as a Duke. At that point, they might as well just give the guy the chop.

Meanwhile, the public both strongly supported trying all royalty and held a favorable impression of "Mr. Equality," who had put on quite a show. If the Mountain Faction agreed to try all royals, they would have to give "Mr. Equality" a green light for a special pardon. With that precedent set, the Royalist Faction could latch on again, massively delaying the trial process, perhaps even disrupting it to the point where it couldn’t proceed.

In short, their strategy was: if you try to execute the plan, I’ll just escalate everything, muddy the waters completely, and delay for as long as possible.

If the Court Guard Captain could see this from the great beyond, he’d have to take a good, long look. Protecting one’s master is a technical skill. He should take notes for his next life.

Rorschach didn’t have Maxim’s troubles, but he had problems of his own. For example, the spring planting looming before him had to be done well. According to their agreement, the Special Zone needed to produce double the grain this year. Considering the rations for the newly arrived refugees, the output needed to be even higher.

Rorschach, in his "shortsightedness," didn’t believe that "enthusiasm" alone, no matter how miraculous, could significantly increase production. Instead, he opted for a three-pronged approach: land reclamation, mechanization, and chemical fertilizers.

To plow the land faster, Rorschach had the Steel Factory and the Refining Factory collaborate to produce more Demonic Puppets. Their cores were essentially identical to the ones currently used in the factories, but their form was changed from humanoid to quadrupedal.

When Rorschach first received Andre’s designs, he thought they had created a mechanical version of a plow ox. But upon seeing the prototype, he could only think, ’Holy crap, you built a giant four-legged spider?’

But there was nothing wrong with it. Compared to mimicking the movement of quadrupeds like oxen and horses, the scuttling gait of creatures like spiders and crabs was easier to balance and steer, and the mechanical structure was also simpler.

Still, Rorschach couldn’t help but worry. ’Will the old farmers even accept this thing when they see it?’