Chapter 183: Collusion with Margaret to Deceive
Following Shady’s final move against Roger, the Night Watch moved to apprehend the entire Tianming Army. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Shaq of the Sea Kingdom, unable to leave Odu due to his wager, unfortunately became a captive of the Azurevine Empire.
The sea and land were entirely different environments, and the God of Knowledge had ordered the church to refrain from internal interference. Thus, the Mermaid Sea Kingdom had always maintained trade relations with the Azurevine Empire, and no conflict had erupted.
Therefore, Crown Prince Shaq was treated with considerable courtesy, with the sole restriction being his inability to return home. The Arcane Assembly even specifically constructed a swimming pool simulating seawater within the palace where he was being held. Seeing the Crown Prince swim with evident joy, they felt their craftsmanship was validated.
Having been tormented by Shady, Crown Prince Shaq had come to deeply understand the virtues of being docile while under someone else’s care. Consequently, he caused no trouble for the Azurevine Empire. He was merely waiting for the empire to resolve the Tianming Army issue and confirm its lack of hostility towards him before releasing him.
Then, Margaret presented her plan for a proxy war to the Empress of Eternal Night, causing the strategic value of a certain Sea Kingdom Crown Prince to skyrocket. Unfortunately, although Shaq was greedy for wealth and lustful, he had his own bottom line. Regardless of how Margaret tried to persuade him, he refused the aid offered by the empire. This Crown Prince, though not particularly intelligent, had learned to be extremely cunning from his successive deceptions by Shady, developing the cautious reflexes of humanity.
The Left Chancellor of the empire approached him, offering military aid and various weapons and equipment. The first batch could even be purchased on credit without upfront payment. However, this sudden offer of good fortune was highly suspicious. He couldn’t fathom what conspiracy the empire might have, but an unsolicited favor could only mean ulterior motives. He simply refused.
“No matter how sweet your words are, you demon, I, His Royal Highness Shaq, will remain steadfast and outlast you with non-violent non-cooperation.” Even if he were to drag out the situation while the Mermaid Sea Kingdom was being thrashed by the Nagas, after enduring it for centuries, Shaq felt that as a Crown Prince of middling ability, he couldn’t change the situation anyway.
Faced with such apathetic and useless individual, even an “electric fan” (a nickname for Margaret) would want to lash out in frustration. This Crown Prince had lost his former spirit and now only wished to make fewer mistakes. He believed the empire would eventually lose patience and let him return to the sea.
As the desert campaign concluded and the underwater battles raged fiercely, even the improved products of the Sea Kingdom, rerouted through the Terra Kingdom and sent to the Naga Empire, were completed and new ones dispatched. However, the proxy war she had arranged earlier showed no signs of activity. In several meetings, the “electric fan” felt the Empress of Eternal Night’s gaze upon her with a hint of discontent. The Empress seemed to be questioning who had confidently declared they could stir up wars worldwide, turning the empire into the greatest arms dealer.
In reality, she had misunderstood. The Empress of Eternal Night’s gaze held no particular meaning. With the “Son of System” plan, the empire had too many opportunities to test new equipment, completely overshadowing her efforts. The Empress probably assumed that when the “electric fan” proposed the idea, she was merely using the Sea Kingdom as an example. Later, when she executed her strategic plans with a similar approach, some credit could be attributed to this little demon. However, Margaret herself was stuck in a rut.
Losing patience with the Mermaid Crown Prince, Margaret decided to seek help from Roger at the Moutai Villa. With Dio still absent, she was forced to approach Roger’s “sister-in-law,” which was unavoidable, wasn’t it?
Roger was quite surprised when Margaret requested a private audience. Although their relationship had improved and they had collaborated on work, this was their first private meeting. “Shaq is refusing to cooperate? That’s simple,” Roger chuckled, instantly grasping Margaret’s predicament. He pulled out a locked box from his spatial ring, opened it, and rummaged through a thick stack of printed materials. Finally, he retrieved a few pages, magically copied them, and handed them to Margaret.
“Casually let Shaq see these records, then lower the weapon prices further, and pretend you’re in a rush to leave. I believe he’ll cooperate within three attempts.”
“Are these minutes from a meeting? Tasika is that queen from Terra, Nicole is that sea tribe’s saintess, and this Joestar… he’s not dead? Who are Copperbeard and Shana?” Margaret’s little head was filled with questions.
“This isn’t a meeting… never mind, just treat it as meeting minutes,” Roger said, halting himself just in time, not delving further into the anti-Azurevine Alliance. Due to the limited functionality of the dimensional canvas created by Tyrell, it lacked the ability to save chat logs. He could only manually save the embarrassing past deeds of his silly online friends during every conversation. He never expected it to be useful first in deceiving Crown Prince Shaq, becoming evidence of collusion between the Naga Empire and the Terra Kingdom.
Margaret understood that the results of Shaq seeing these records would lead him to believe the empire’s support for the Sea Kingdom was a roundabout way to suppress the Terra Kingdom. Combined with Margaret’s more favorable terms, Crown Prince Shaq, driven by greed, would try to further negotiate the price, ultimately becoming Margaret’s pawn. However, Roger’s hesitant attitude was highly suspicious. Margaret narrowed her eyes and appraised him, “If you have something to say, say it… Hmph, being so mysterious, I’m starting to suspect you’re impersonating this Joestar!”
“You have such a strange way of thinking!”
“Of course, I know that’s impossible. You killed him yourself~ Anyway, thanks. If you ever need help, just say the word!” The little demon, tiptoeing, patted Roger’s shoulder and, with an unashamed swagger, prepared to deal with Shaq. She didn’t realize her casual joke had struck the truth, startling Roger. This woman’s intuition was truly sharp!
“Oh, right. Let me see the list of weapons you plan to sell to the Sea Kingdom,” Roger called out to her. Margaret didn’t question Roger’s overreach and directly took out an equipment catalog from her spatial ring, handing it to him readily. She then casually sat in the chair opposite Roger’s desk, gazing at him with adorable eyes, her red pupils blinking, appearing full of expectation. After all, he was her “brother-in-law.” It was acceptable to act cute towards someone who wasn’t interested in women, right? Since letting go of her prejudice against the Charles family and reaching an understanding with Roger that day, she had quickly relaxed in his presence. Demons, being chaotic creatures, acted on impulse and were unconcerned with formalities. Now that Roger was helping her with her work, she would offer encouragement like a cheerleader, considering it a reward.
Roger felt a bit uncomfortable under the little demon’s gaze. It was an impertinent and curious appraisal, her eyes burning with an unspoken challenge, which he couldn’t quite decipher. However, the hearts of women were as unfathomable as the sea, and considering this girl also had demon blood, if he could truly understand their occasionally short-circuited neural pathways, he might as well check himself into a quiet hospital. He ignored the little demon’s deliberate display of cuteness and focused his attention on the equipment catalog Margaret had handed him.
Margaret was indeed sharp and immediately understood his intention. Roger was responsible for the Terra Kingdom line. He would undoubtedly be aware of what weapons and equipment the empire had supplied to the Nagas. His inquiry was meant to categorize them and avoid redundant testing. Proxy wars were intended to generate revenue from arms sales while simultaneously testing unstable weaponry through others’ battles. What was wrong with that? However, on Earth, two superpowers competed on foreign territory. In the Eternal Night World, only the Azurevine Empire was currently playing the role of the shadowy manipulator. Therefore, care had to be taken to avoid the situation where, upon meeting, the mermaids and Nagas discovered they were both wielding the same standard equipment, making the one who played the cloning poorly look foolish.
Margaret could certainly arrange for her subordinates to communicate with both sides to complete this screening. But with someone offering to do it, she was naturally happy to reap the benefits. Following her idol’s example, Her Majesty the Empress was fond of copying homework, and she, her most loyal fan, had to carry on her excellent tradition.
Roger, in close communication with the Arcane Assembly, was well aware of their projects. He crossed off most of the equipment provided by the Chapter of Imbalance, leaving primarily equipment produced by the magic tower belonging to Lydia. Watching him aggressively delete page after page from the list, Margaret thought of the magical consultant she would have to deal with, her tail twitching unconsciously. She expressed rare insecurity, “I can’t handle that witch… Roger, are you particularly fond of her equipment?” As they grew more comfortable, the little demon no longer bothered with protocol and directly addressed Roger by name.
“Its power is immense, but also highly uncontrollable, thus requiring substantial testing,” Roger returned the equipment catalog to Margaret. “If you don’t want to go, I’ll handle the negotiations myself.”
“That would be such a bother for you!” Margaret immediately agreed, showing no sign of formality. This person had stolen her only friend, and she saw no reason to be polite. After seeing Sophie use potions manufactured by Lydia to create the “Green Worm Parasite Night” that shocked both warring parties in the battle of the Kamsak Desert, Roger had wanted to meet the “Bio-Witch” of the Arcane Assembly. Now, with the war involving the Sea Kingdom, it was indeed a valid reason to visit her magic tower. However, he was unwilling to work for Margaret for free, considering it a losing proposition. Half-seriously and half-jokingly, he said, “Since you’re assigning your Left Chancellor duties to me, shouldn’t you transfer my salary too?”
“That won’t do at all! I still need to print photo albums for Her Majesty this month, to be presented to the knights!” Margaret immediately took a step back, cautiously saying, “You can put it on Dio’s tab. He’s always promised to help me, but he’s nowhere to be seen. He can pay you then!”
Roger frowned. Was she threatening him with this again? He calmly replied, “Dio’s help was contingent on you bringing him breakfast every day. Calculate how many meals you owe.”
Margaret immediately protested, “Is it that I don’t want to bring it?”
Roger sneered, “Is it that he doesn’t want to help?”
“This… I understand he has his difficulties,” Margaret’s tone softened. “How about I bring you breakfast every day too?”
“And then you’ll have an extra free companion to chat with, right?”
“Apologies, I refuse.” Roger was very decisive. He didn’t want to comfort a lonely little demon. “Remember that you owe me a promise. As long as it doesn’t harm Her Majesty, you must do your best to fulfill it.”
“Alright, as long as it doesn’t harm Her Majesty, I will fulfill your promise,” Margaret agreed. Although this deal was a bit of a loss, not having to face that terrifying witch was worth it!
They then parted ways. Margaret went to persuade Shaq, while Roger headed to a magic tower belonging to the Arcane Assembly, equivalent in status to the Chapter of Imbalance, named “The Ritual of Life.” The owner of this magic tower was Lydia, the Arcane Assembly’s Chief Magical Advisor, and also the Empress of Eternal Night’s personal physician. Lydia had been helping to alleviate the Empress’s hidden physical ailments, allowing her to survive into the later stages of the game’s plot. Although many events that would have damaged the Empress’s lifespan had not occurred, the hidden issues she accumulated during her rapid growth were now irretrievable.
The magic tower “The Ritual of Life” was designed by Lydia and served as the empire’s experimental holy ground for the most powerful schools of transformation, potions, and druidic arts, as well as a super Giant magical ritual. It bound the Empress of Eternal Night’s body to the fortune of the empire, ensuring that as long as her lifespan had not been exhausted and the empire had not fallen, her body would always maintain peak activity. Naturally, it was another wonder-class structure.
Lydia was an old legend of the empire and had made countless contributions. For instance, the Magic Core project was not solely the work of the alchemists in the Chapter of Imbalance; Lydia’s technical support in potions was equally indispensable. However, her reputation had always been poor, earning her the moniker “Bio-Witch.” She was known for her unscrupulous methods in conducting experiments, her actions often considered insane even by other mages. Coupled with her aloof and unexplanatory nature, she projected a terrifying image. Even Frankenstein’s self-mechanization was accepted by mages, but Lydia was someone even the mages kept a cautious distance from, highlighting her terrifying nature at times. But she didn’t care. As long as she could explore her chosen field and receive sufficient funding annually, she was indifferent to others’ opinions.
Since the promulgation of “New Arcana,” her imagination had been sparked, and she began to attempt extremely dangerous experiments. For example, the green worms in the test tube she gave Sophie, possessing extreme vitality and parasitic properties, were in full, “Dagon Immune Cell Carcinogenesis Type XII.” In other words, they were somatic cells from an ancient sea god, stimulated by Lydia into cancerous growth, then modified with a myriad of attributes to create a terrifying bioweapon. Their targeted and aggressive nature indeed reflected the characteristics of immune cells, but their combat power was far beyond what any normal system could achieve, even a god’s.
The equipment catalog she provided to the military contained many mind-boggling projects. Lydia had also provided considerable assistance to Roger’s highly anticipated “Virtual Archmage” project. However, she herself did not participate. The Bio-Witch always had her own research pursuits, easily completing the research tasks assigned by the empire before indulging her own curiosity. Roger felt he needed to have a good talk with such a uniquely talented individual, perhaps to gain some inspiration.
