Free Web NovelChapter 195: Chapter 181: The Fall of the Silver-White City State
「Silver-White City State, City Lord’s Mansion.」
The City Lord stood on the balcony, facing the sunset with his hands behind his back. The golden twilight gleamed on his coronet, making him appear noble and elegant.
Inside the room behind him was Antinoya, who had just returned from Twin Tower City.
"The children of the Holy Tree must have achieved excellent results in the blacksmithing competition, yes?" the City Lord asked.
"Er, they did okay," Antinoya replied after a moment of thought.
"What do you mean, ’okay’?" The City Lord turned around, his expressionless face easily concealing his inner emotions. "Was there no definitive result?"
"No, that’s not it. The results are out."
"Then tell me the results!"
"The final round isn’t over yet. The last two contestants have one more week to choose their own materials and forge a blade according to the rules to determine the champion of the first season," Antinoya explained.
The City Lord nodded. "So it’s not finished."
"That’s right." Antinoya breathed a sigh of relief.
The City Lord pressed on, "Then who made it to the final round?"
He was genuinely concerned about the outcome of the competition against the Dwarves.
As a veteran City Lord with a tenure of a hundred years, he was vaguely aware of the dangers lurking beneath the glossy surface of the Silver-White City State.
He was still hoping this competition could raise public recognition of Elven craftsmanship.
Although the Elves currently dominated the high-end market, with each piece selling for a high price, their low production volume meant their total income wasn’t very high.
In fact, they didn’t earn as much as the Dwarves, who always seemed to be struggling.
Their current comfort was entirely due to them coasting on their old wealth.
If Demon Vision was truly as widespread as the rumors claimed, it might help the Elves break into the mid-range market.
As long as the economy improved, most problems would cease to be problems.
He hoped he could leverage this wave of profits to secure his re-election. With the election imminent, his advantage was not obvious.
Several young Elven candidates were quite popular, posing a very real threat to him.
He desperately needed a new political achievement to prove his competence.
’The artisans opened up a new market, so it’s their achievement?’
’Without my wise leadership, could the artisans have achieved something so great?’
’Besides, who was it that made the decision to send the city’s artisans to the competition in the first place?’
As for what major problems would befall the Silver-White City State—deluded by this brief economic resurgence—after he left office...
...that had little to do with him.
’I’ll just have to trust in the wisdom of future generations of Elves.’
He certainly didn’t possess the same sense of responsibility as Saint El, who had considered the future of the Elven race his personal mission.
"Er, the final results... are, well... you know how it is," Antinoya said, looking troubled.
"So you can’t talk about the results?" The City Lord understood.
Antinoya nodded hurriedly. "All members who participated in the show signed a confidentiality Contract."
The City Lord fiddled with a ring on his finger. Although breaking a Contract went against Elven principles, it also depended on the situation.
’Not allowed in principle just means it’s sometimes allowed.’
"I’ll ask, and you just nod or shake your head."
Antinoya’s eyes widened. ’He can do that?’
The City Lord asked, "Did any Elven contestants make it to the final round?"
Antinoya’s neck suddenly stiffened. She had intended to nod, but instead, her head uncontrollably drew two circles in the air.
"Huh?" The City Lord was dumbfounded.
"That doesn’t work either."
"What about writing it down?"
Antinoya gave it a try. "Still no good."
The City Lord was shocked. ’Just who created this Contract? To be able to plug all the loopholes so thoroughly...’
He hadn’t absolutely needed to know the results, but since the other party was using a Contract of this caliber, he simply had to find out.
’A bit of rebellion in my old age.’
"Will you allow me to access your memories from the time you were at the competition?" the City Lord asked.
Besides his status as City Lord, he was also a fairly skilled Mage and had a decent grasp of Memory Magic, a specialty of the Elves.
"No problem," Antinoya replied. Her memories from that period contained nothing she couldn’t show.
The City Lord cast the Magic. Just as the memory began to display the scene of her passing through the Teleportation Array and arriving at the recording site...
...before the light from the teleportation had even faded, the entire image was replaced.
It turned completely black, then a red box with white text appeared at the top.
Zog Group Warning.
Below that were several lines of small text.
The confidentiality Contract stipulates that anyone who copies, distributes, or publicly displays the unpublished works of the Zog Group without permission will be subject to severe penalties...
As the City Lord stared at this image, a nerve next to his eye began to twitch violently.
’Why do they even know Memory Magic? Isn’t that an Elven specialty?’
’Has an Elf already been corrupted by the Zog Group?’
’Dammit, how could there be such a degenerate Elf?’
’If I ever meet that Elf, I must, in my capacity as the City Lord of the Silver-White City State, teach them a good lesson.’
But that wasn’t all.
After the warning screen, a strange short video began to play.
"Want to watch the intense blacksmithing competition? Want to know the results of the showdown between Elven and Dwarven craftsmanship? Hurry to the Zog Group specialty store at 4 Tulip Street in the Silver-White City State and buy the latest Magic Vision Device! For our grand opening, enjoy a 20% discount on all purchases during the first week!"
The memory playback ended.
’An advertisement? This is an advertisement?’
The City Lord felt the nerve twitch even more furiously.
’I, the esteemed leader of the Silver-White City State, am being played like a fiddle.’
This sense of powerlessness reminded him of the fear he felt centuries ago when he saw a massive Red Dragon descend from the sky.
’What was that Red Dragon’s name again?’
’I think it was also Zog.’
’That’s impossible. Why would a Red Dragon bother with something like a competition between Elves and Dwarves?’
’At most, it would just harvest both races together.’
