Chapter 191: Chapter 89: Steam Realm, Construction Plan
Through the wide, bright glass, Zorn gazed out at the massive bay of the entire Ancient Porcelain Holy City.
Countless colossal steam-powered iron ships moved in and out of the port, their deep, heavy whistles seeming to echo with the sea.
The geographical advantages of Half Moon Bay, combined with the continuous improvements to the waterways by the Water Element Extraordinaries of the Ancient Porcelain Holy City over the years, had blessed the Ancient Porcelain Holy City with an extremely developed maritime trade, allowing it to fully capitalize on the benefits of the great age of steam-powered navigation.
It was precisely for this reason that the Ancient Porcelain Holy City was poised to become the capital of the nascent Steam Empire.
After arriving in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City and settling in, Zorn had come today by invitation.
"What do you think of this place?"
Not far away, seated on a sofa, Lady Sun—wearing a wide-brimmed lady’s hat and holding a sun cat—looked at Zorn and asked.
"It’s situated on a sea cliff. The scenery is lovely. You can see the entire bay of the Ancient Porcelain Holy City, and half the city is laid out before you."
"Also..."
Zorn paused for a moment.
"This is also an advantageous location for a Steam Ceremony Tower. Building one here would be much better than in other places."
"Not bad!"
Lady Sun nodded.
"As Ogrande City’s ritual expert, you certainly have a unique perspective."
Then, Lady Sun set down the sun cat and also walked over to the wide, bright floor-to-ceiling window.
Gazing out at the bustling Ancient Porcelain Silver Moon Bay, which had been lively since the start of spring, she began to speak slowly.
"I heard that the Traditionalist Faction in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City had a powerful Level 7 Puppet Master who seems to have died a few days ago."
"He was a Level 7 Puppet Master, after all. His power was astonishing, and he held considerable influence in the Ancient Porcelain Holy City."
"He was last seen in Ancient Sugi Tree Town. It seems there’s been some kind of disturbance deep within the ancient forest there."
"Do you... know the specifics?"
Zorn thought for a moment before shaking his head.
"I’m not too clear on that."
"To advance to Level Six, I deliberately avoided others and hid in a secluded corner along my route."
"The advancement process cannot be disturbed. I couldn’t avoid that kind of trouble fast enough, so why would I actively get involved?"
"However..."
Zorn paused before continuing.
"I suspect it might be related to that hidden Divine Kingdom, or perhaps the Gray Mist Giant."
"A hidden Divine Kingdom? The Gray Mist Giant?"
After a moment of thought, Lady Sun nodded slightly.
"There is indeed a terrifying power behind that hidden Divine Kingdom."
"It toyed with Blood Shadow Rose without anyone being the wiser."
"Blood Shadow Rose’s upper echelons invested a million gold pounds in resources, and in the end... it all came to nothing."
"This made the Blood Shadow Rose leadership furious. The few Witches who led the excavation of the Divine Kingdom were all imprisoned, their souls and memories scoured. They died horribly."
"That Saintess, Joliya, the one you had a fleeting affair with, also vanished without a trace. And you should know, Blood Shadow Rose had left quite a few hidden measures and marks on her."
"But in the end, they were all neutralized one by one by the terrifying existence backing Saintess Joliya."
"As far as I know, Joliya is now completely free from Blood Shadow Rose’s control."
"Thinking back on it now..."
As she spoke, Lady Sun paused, her tone becoming serious and grave.
"The waters in Ogrande City run deeper than we imagined. So deep you can’t see the bottom."
"To use a Divine Kingdom as bait and make Blood Shadow Rose sink into the trap unknowingly... that move was truly astonishing."
As she finished, Lady Sun looked at Zorn.
"You and Joliya were classmates. I also heard that you seemed to like her a lot."
At this point, Lady Sun couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
"Blood Shadow Rose didn’t come looking for trouble with you, did they?"
"In Ogrande City... would they dare to cause trouble for me?"
Zorn said with a raised eyebrow and a smile.
Her eyes widened slightly at his words!
She thought for a moment, and then a look of understanding dawned on her.
In Ogrande City, Blood Shadow Rose really wouldn’t dare to provoke Zorn Corick easily.
Although Ogrande City Hall claimed that the powerful Evil Spirit was Zorn’s friend, those factions like hers—well-informed, with spies in City Hall, and on good terms with its powerful figures—knew the truth.
That so-called "Evil Spirit" *was* Zorn Corick.
The Golden Magic Ring Tree’s resonance, the Ancient God Curse unearthed from the Ancient Ruins...
Even though he had borrowed the power of the Golden Magic Ring Tree, that world-destroying, miracle-like strike was something she would never forget for the rest of her life.
All of it proved that while Zorn Corick was an immensely powerful Fighting Master in his own Sequence, he also possessed astonishing Evil Spirit powers.
The battle in that small town south of Ogrande City had also confirmed it.
A Level 5 Zorn Corick had used a Caster’s methods to utterly dominate a Level Six Evil Spirit Fire Mage.
It was said that after news of this got out, many of Ogrande City’s Evil Spirits fled overnight.
If they didn’t run then, they’d just be waiting for death.
Zorn Corick would actually catch them and *eat* them.
"Actually..."
Zorn said thoughtfully.
"A few masters from Blood Shadow Rose did come to see me later. They were very polite, of course."
"Besides, Joliya and I really were just classmates. Alright... perhaps we had a deeper understanding of each other, but only a little."
"So... they haven’t bothered me since."
Lady Sun listened attentively to Zorn’s explanation.
After a moment, she commented noncommittally.
"That ’Divine Kingdom Incident,’ where a Divine Kingdom was used as bait to hook Blood Shadow Rose and make them pay a terrible price, was no small matter. It’s certainly for the best not to get involved."
