Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 34 Complain in person
The winter in Jackdaw Town passed peacefully.

The fierce and difficult battle to defend the manor that Harvey had anticipated did not happen.

Pierce led the alchemy beasts to patrol and guard the mountain boundary every day, but apart from the wild beasts migrating back and forth, there was no sign of an evil orc.

Asdalen also took Reiner back to the ancient wizard's ruins again, carefully searching for more beetle ores scattered in the pit.

After repeated tests, Harvey has roughly figured out the purpose of this strange substance.

That is a super-strong compressed magic energy carrier similar to a "nuclear battery".

He believed that this energy carrier could not only be used to be loaded onto the alchemical prosthesis, but also allow Reiner to cast energy shock waves like the "Mystic Eyes of Death" to directly penetrate and obliterate the target object.

This energy can even cross the spatial barrier between reality and the magic network, achieving a cross-dimensional attack effect without using a magic matrix.

It's a pity that the evil orcs never returned to Jackdaw Ridge after their retreat, otherwise Harvey wouldn't mind using them as his firepower test targets.

……

Not long after the snow melted, the staff of the church and the federation were the first to return to Jackdaw Town.

Inspector of Magical Matters Bulko Conrad had just walked back into town.

From a distance, Harvey was seen standing at the gate of the Federation branch with the alchemical puppet made of bones and metal, waiting.

"Ah, Master Harvey, I heard that you didn't evacuate here in winter?" The slightly bald spellcaster Tony was the first to greet him.

Harvey smiled and nodded. "Yes, I'm really lucky that the evil orcs didn't cross the mountains this winter."

Burko frowned slightly, glanced at the two of them with a look of slight disgust, and walked past them without saying a word, preparing to enter the hall.

"Wait, Mr. Burke," Harvey called out.

The examiner stopped and looked back, his expression growing increasingly impatient.

"Mr. Burko, I think you may have forgotten the incident of entering my manor to investigate before winter." Harvey didn't care at all. He took out a thin document from his arms and handed it to Donnie who was standing next to him.

"This is the complaint I submitted to the Federation," he explained calmly.

Downey, who had a slightly bald head, was a little surprised. He smoothed the sparse hair hanging on his forehead and politely opened the document to read it on the spot.

"This...this is, you want to complain about Mr. Burko?" Donnie only took a few glances and looked at Burko somewhat embarrassedly.

"Yes, I believe that this direct accusation without prior investigation not only violates the Federation's regulations, but also causes disgrace to my reputation..."

He looked around at all the members of the Federation branch standing around, and his tone gradually became serious.

"And, if I remember correctly, when Mr. Burko came to investigate me, he didn't show me any relevant investigation permit, right?"

Everyone in the Federation was stunned when they heard this, and subconsciously looked at Burko, who was standing at the door with a sullen face.

"No, it shouldn't be like that... I've never been involved in this investigation..." muttered Donnie, who was in charge of the review of magic affairs. He already knew in his heart that Burko was probably planning to act first and report later, but he still couldn't bear to expose his colleague in person.

"You may not know this, but just a week ago, regarding the investigation into this magical experiment involving civilians... it was Mr. Burko who identified the victim's family, Mr. Jeffrey."

Harvey paused and continued, "They actually conspired with a church deacon to invade my manor laboratory and attempted to attack and kill me!"

He took out a magic stone that could record images and gently threw it into Donnie's hand.

"This is footage of Mr. Burke visiting and investigating, as well as footage of the day of the attack, and Mr. Jeffrey's own testimony."

The remaining video footage was deliberately edited by Harvey, eliminating the scenes of Reiner and others' counterattack, leaving only the scenes of Stani and Jeffrey invading the laboratory and launching the first sneak attack.

An elderly spellcaster standing beside Donnie snatched the magic stone and quickly activated it, unleashing a scene of light and shadow. Everyone examined these blurry fragments with solemn expressions.

"Church scum! I knew these hypocritical people, who appear kind on the surface, were still eyeing us covetously behind the scenes!"

Someone cursed in a low voice with gritted teeth.

Although there are many factions and internal strife within the Federation, when it comes to long-term conflicts with the church, they will choose to unite and face the outside world.

Because each of them is a spellcaster, and they are all evil wizards who were once regarded as heretics and blasphemies by the church, and they should all be sent to the stake.

Especially in administrative areas like Saint Valen where the Federation's power is weak, it can be said that every wizarding family with a long history has members who have died at the hands of the church's witch hunters in the past.

This centuries-long feud cannot be easily erased by a brief ceasefire or peace agreement.

Burko's face turned pale as he looked at the people around him, all of whom were looking at him with serious and complicated eyes.

"You... suspect that I'm colluding with the church and am suspected of attacking fellow spellcasters?" He almost gritted his teeth to say this.

The impatient old spellcaster stepped forward. "We don't want to make a direct judgment, Burko, but you need to explain yourself to the higher-ups of the Federation."

As he spoke, he slightly raised his palm, faintly stimulating fluctuations of magical energy.

This is a battle mage who can cast spells instantly. When he was young, he fought against the demons in the Evil Moon Mountains. He returned to his hometown of Saint Valen when he was about to retire.

"I did not conspire with the church! This is a slander against me!" Burko tried hard to suppress the trembling in his voice.

"You're going to attack me, Mr. Joyce, even though I haven't been convicted yet, based solely on the testimony of a lowly necromancer?!"

In battles between spellcasters of the same level, what is often compared is not the power of the spells, but the speed of casting the spells.

He was just a research spellcaster and could never defeat Joyce, who used to be a battle mage.

"Watch your words, Burko Conrad. The Federation demands no discrimination against spellcasters of any faction!"

The old wizard did not relax his attention, but just signaled his other colleagues with his eyes. Immediately, two of them walked to Burko's side, forming a situation of implicitly encircling and threatening him.

"I want you to go to the headquarters and cooperate with the investigation."

The Federation's highest security principle is to never let go of any possible traitor.

Donnie stood beside Harvey and sighed with regret as he watched Burko, who looked pale and was being taken away by the crowd.

"Mr. Burko, ruined by his prejudice and discrimination..."

"Master Harvey, the matter has not been concluded yet, so there is no need for you to accompany us to Daeus to cooperate with the investigation."

The Federation does not have an inspection headquarters in St. Valen; the nearest inspection body is in the neighboring country of Daus.

Harvey nodded in understanding. He didn't expect that an accusation of this level would directly charge Burko with the serious crime of betraying the Federation. At most, he would be given a lesson and transferred out of Jackdaw Town.

"More importantly, we must lodge a solemn protest with the church, urging them to thoroughly investigate this matter and identify those stubborn witch hunters from the Divine Punishment sect!"

Harvey discovered that several spellcasters who were temporarily in charge of negotiations had not even entered the branch gate, but walked directly towards the church angrily.

Donny patted Harvey's shoulder and comforted him a little embarrassedly.

"Don't worry, once the matter is thoroughly investigated, the Federation will definitely compensate you for all the losses you have suffered in terms of reputation and personal integrity."

(End of this chapter)