Chapter 27

"My Lord! The Magic Research Department has a new breakthrough!"

Charlo had just returned to the castle when Lawrence came running to report, his face flushed with excitement.

"Hmm? What is it this time?" Charlo looked at his Minister of Internal Affairs with curiosity. It was rare to see the usually stoic Lawrence this agitated.

"Miss Krys and her team have solved the problem of engraving High-Rank runes!"

That single sentence made Charlo jump out of his chair.

"What?! Quick, take me to see it!"

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The Magic Research Center.

"By crushing a magic core or mana stone like this, the eight Elemental Condensation Arrays surrounding it will each draw in the mana of their corresponding attribute," Krys explained in detail, gesturing to the complex machine before them. "Because the output force of all the Condensation Arrays is equal, and their distance from the central core is identical, they can peacefully separate the chaotic mana into distinct elemental streams!"

"Then, the extracted mana is constrained by the Containment and Interruption Arrays. It flows into the mold of the High-Rank rune according to a pre-set ratio, activating it and completing the magical array!"

"The entire process does not require a mage to manually engrave anything. All that is needed is to place the core in the center, crush it, and let the machine extract, combine, and inject the mana into the mold. Even a commoner can operate it!"

Charlo stood frozen, staring wide-eyed at the masterpiece created by the combined efforts of Krys, Alice, and Freya.

In the center was a simple hydraulic crusher, responsible for shattering the core. Extending outward were eight tubes inscribed with Containment Runes to prevent mana leakage.

Surrounding the crusher were eight spherical condensers, equidistant from the center and from each other, forming a perfect octagon. They were interconnected by a web of pipes.

Beneath the eight condensers, guide tubes extended downwards, converging at a central control unit. Below that sat the mold for the rune. By adjusting the valves, different elemental mana could be combined and injected into the mold to activate the pre-carved pattern.

Charlo walked numbly to the machine. He looked at the eight condensers. He looked at the central crusher. He looked at the control unit.

He remained silent for a long time.

"Holy sh*t... isn't this just the Bagua?! The Eight Trigrams?!"

Finally, he shouted, pointing at the machine.

"Wait, seriously?! Where the hell am I? Is this still a Japanese-style fantasy world, or did I wander into a Cultivation novel?"

Krys tilted her head, watching Charlo rant in a language she didn't understand.

"Um... My Compatriot, is there a problem? I think the device is functioning perfectly..." Freya scratched her head, confused by his reaction to the machine she had personally built.

Behind her, Alice looked at him timidly.

"No! No problem." Charlo laughed, a relieved, slightly hysterical sound. "I was just thinking... this world is definitely broken!"

"Broken?" Krys looked at him quizzically.

"Nothing... just treat it as the ramblings of a madman." Charlo waved his hand, dismissing the topic.

"Fine then." The Demon Lord didn't press him. "So, what do you think of this machine?"

"It's brilliant!" Charlo gave her a thumbs-up. "As expected of my Chief Research Consultant! Amazing work!"

"It's nothing..." Miss Demon Lord looked away uncomfortably. "Alice contributed as well. She refined the design, placing the eight condensers equidistantly. And the entire machine was built by Freya. I only proposed the initial concept..."

"Of course, Alice and Freya deserve credit too!" Charlo looked at the two girls encouragingly. "Well done, my Minister of Magic Research! My Chief Weapons Developer!"

Alice’s face turned bright red, her fingers unconsciously twirling her hair, stammering unable to speak. Even Freya turned her head away, the tips of her ears slightly pink.

"However, going from zero to one is always the hardest step!" Charlo turned back to look Krys in the eye, speaking seriously. "They helped you go from one to one hundred. But without your breakthrough from zero to one, they wouldn't have even found the direction to start."

"..." Krys averted her gaze again. For some reason, whenever he got serious, the light in his eyes became blazing hot, like two miniature stars. She didn't dare look directly at them.

"Alright! To celebrate the birth of the Rune Engraving Machine, and our victory in the war, I have decided to hold a banquet tonight! What do you say? Will you come?" Charlo proposed.

"A banquet!?" Freya whipped her head around, eyes sparkling. "Does that mean I can eat as much as I want?! I'm going!"

"If it is Lord Charlo's invitation, Alice will definitely accept!"

"Great! Tonight, we celebrate together!"

"Wait a moment!" Krys interrupted. "Haven't all the rooms in your castle been converted into offices? Where are you going to hold a banquet without a hall?"

"Ah, Krys... you just don't understand!" Charlo shook his head and smiled at her.

"Understand... understand what?" She was baffled.

"Heh heh... Do you think a banquet is such an inconvenient thing?" Charlo put his hands on his hips and puffed out his chest.

"Who says a banquet must have a hall? If there is a hall, we celebrate in it. If there is no hall, we celebrate anywhere!"

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Landon City.

Archduke Fokk de Landon, Warden of the Eastern March, a portly middle-aged man, sat in his office listening to his subordinate's report.

"Alright, get out."

After the report finished, Fokk waved the subordinate away. He leaned his corpulent body back in his chair and turned to look at the young girl standing quietly by the window.

She wore a luxurious white gown, the hem embroidered with fine gold thread that covered her ankles, revealing only a pair of petite silver heels. Her waist was impossibly slender, cinched by a silver belt that accentuated her curves.

Above, the dress opened to reveal a deep, snowy cleavage, adorned with a golden necklace holding a massive, crystal-clear emerald.

Her silver hair was swept up, exposing her delicate neck, and crystal earrings dangled from her small ears.

Her face was youthful and pitiable, with eyes as blue as the sky.

"Ophelia, what do you think?"

Fokk asked the girl with a smile.

"Which aspect are you referring to, Father?" the girl asked back.

"Viscount Charlo, of course. Where did he get so many Grand Magi?" Fokk asked, his smile unchanging.

"Insufficient intelligence. Ophelia cannot provide an answer," the girl shook her head, sighing with regret.

"Well~ The intelligence is indeed full of speculation and uncertainty. But I wanted to ask for your speculation!" Fokk laughed. "Since it's all guessing anyway, why not ask my clever, obedient, and lovely daughter?"

"Ugh..." The girl blushed slightly.

"Then... I suspect that Viscount Charlo might have established contact with the Balan Empire and borrowed reinforcements from them," the girl said, pointing to the Balan Empire on the map of the continent.

"Oh? Your guess is completely different from my subordinates. Care to elaborate?" Fokk raised an eyebrow.

"Because the Eastern Teleportation Array has had no visitors from the Iron Rose or Sharp Sword families recently!"

The Morris Empire was vast. Relying solely on medieval travel methods made communication difficult. While magic towers and griffon riders allowed for communication between major nobles, troop movement was a different beast. Only teleportation arrays could move people quickly across the vast territory.

Small teleportation arrays required a Ninth-Rank Grand Magus specializing in Space Magic to construct. They had a max range of 5,000 kilometers and a capacity of 100 people.

Large teleportation arrays required a Space Saint. The Empire hadn't produced one in ten thousand years. The only Saint in the last three millennia was the Emperor himself, and you couldn't exactly ask His Majesty to go pour concrete.

Therefore, the Morris Empire only had five large teleportation arrays capable of moving armies—one in the capital, and one in each of the four border regions.

"The Large Array in Landon City was only active during the Demon Invasion to send troops west. It has remained closed since. No one from Iron Rose or Sharp Sword came through!"

Ophelia explained, "There are no Marquesses friendly to them in the East, so they couldn't use a small array either. After eliminating all possibilities, only the Balan Empire remains!"

"Ironwood borders the Endless Sea to the east. By following the coastline, one could bypass the Forest of Death and contact Balan in the south. Moreover, since he is the only Lord in that area, no one knows the specific situation in the East. This aligns with his sudden acquisition of high-level combat power!"

"Well said! As expected of my daughter! Hahaha!" Fokk laughed heartily, standing up straight. His eyes turned cold. "So, Viscount Charlo... has committed treason!"

"There is no evidence yet, Father," the girl shook her head. "As I said, no one knows what is happening in the East. Even if he has committed treason, we cannot prove it. Under these circumstances, we cannot touch him."

"You are right, Ophelia." Fokk nodded. "That is why I need you to go and see for yourself. Find the evidence!"

"As you command!" The girl lifted the hem of her skirt and curtsied elegantly.