Industrial Revolution of the Mage Lords

Chapter 97 Reciprocity

Harvey changed out of the wizard robe that was torn to pieces by the magic gun and sat in front of the desk in the study in a daze.

Just like the last time he was attacked by witch hunters in Jackdaw Town, this time he still didn't expect that someone would dare to sneak into his territory and get into the laboratory through the ventilation duct.

Asdalen's head was nearly blown off by the magic gun, and his shoulder was directly pierced through, causing his entire alchemical arm to lose control and connection. He is now receiving emergency repairs from Reiner.

Harvey touched his intact chest with some fear, "But I'm clearly not wearing the Silver Moon Guardian Ring, so why am I unharmed after being hit by the magic gun?"

He couldn't help but recall the beetle ore experiment in Jackdaw Town. The violent explosion that was accidentally caused only blew off his protective mask, but his body was unharmed.

Could it be that the time traveler has the immunity to energy beams?
Then wouldn't I be born with a body that's immune to magic bullets...

Having said that, Harvey didn't dare to actually try to shoot himself with the magic gun again to verify this somewhat shocking idea.

At least several of his assistants and subordinates would not agree in the first place, and would ask Egno to prepare a medicine to treat mental illness and make him drink it on the spot.

Who was behind this attack? The witch-hunters of the church? Earl Fagan, whose nephew had died? Or someone within the Union whom he had previously offended?
Harvey pounded the table in annoyance. This was outrageous. He had already moved out of Jackdaw Town and hid in the wasteland north of the Divine Ridge Mountains, yet he still caused so much trouble. Couldn't he just develop peacefully?

There was a chaotic sound of footsteps outside the study. Pierce, who had just returned to the territory from the valley outpost a few days ago, pushed the door open and walked in, followed by Egno, the head of the territory's medical hospital.

"Sir, the identities of the attackers have been basically ascertained. As for the two survivors, Egno and I have interrogated them using our own methods, and their confessions are basically consistent. They are all from the southern border, not refugees from the wasteland."

People from the Southern Territory? Harvey's eyes widened. His fellow native Southerners weren't even as loyal to him as the miserable refugees from the Northern Wasteland. It seemed he had to pay special attention to them, or at least clear them out of his army first!

He asked curiously, "Did you interrogate them separately? What methods did you use to get them to talk?"

Pierce said calmly, "I was in charge of interrogating the person who shot me. It's very simple. I cut his blood vessels and let him slowly experience the feeling of blood draining from his body. Um... Sorry, sir, I couldn't help but eat once during the process. You also said not to waste food..."

Egno interrupted with a smile, "The guy with the chest injury, you told me not to torture him, so I added a little something to the medicine I gave him. Within ten minutes, he honestly spilled all his secrets... Haha, I didn't expect this guy, in his early twenties, to still be a novice..."

Harvey covered his face, not wanting to listen any further, and quickly interrupted, "So? Did you find out anything?"

"It was Earl Feigen of Grizzly Castle who ordered them to infiltrate the territory and carry out the assassination plan..." Pierce reported the entire incident. "Of the two survivors, the uninjured Wolf was a civilian who had voluntarily surrendered, but was bribed heavily by someone sent by Earl Feigen. The man you killed on the spot was one of Earl Feigen's men, a professionally trained assassin."

"They originally planned to fabricate evidence to frame you in your laboratory, so that Earl Fagan could use it as an excuse to make trouble..." Pierce found a stack of papers with a lot of bloody experiments and forbidden spells written on them, as well as several dark magic stones used to cast forbidden curses, from the cloaked man's melted clothes.

"No, Count Fagan has no way of obtaining the magic content and materials that can be used to frame me!" Harvey suddenly realized that something was wrong. "There is a spellcaster behind him, secretly handing him a knife..." Harvey stared at the dark magic stones that Pierce placed on the table, and suddenly gritted his teeth and cursed: "Damn Burko! He is really a ghost that won't go away!"

Except for the insiders of the Federation, no one can get these forbidden spells and dark magic stones, and the spellcaster family is no exception.

Pierce looked at Harvey's face which was flushed with anger, quickly picked up a glass of warm water and handed it to him, then knelt on one knee.

"Sir, whether it was last time in Jackdaw Town or this time when I allowed the assassin to sneak into the laboratory, it was all my dereliction of duty. I beg for your punishment."

Harvey took a sip of warm water and waved his hand, saying, "That's not necessary. The witch hunter last time was a habitual predator who attacked spellcasters. You couldn't defend yourself against him. You just returned to the territory from the outpost this time, and I didn't order you to deploy soldiers to guard the castle."

He sighed softly. It was a serious mistake that he did not set up warning alchemy beasts in various places in the castle and laboratory. He was so focused on defending against external crises that he ignored the potential hidden dangers that might arise inside.

"What about the assassin who took the initiative to warn me? Did they have an internal conflict over the division of the spoils?"

Egno quickly explained, "No, he's not an accomplice of the attacker. He was coerced into leading the assassins because he was familiar with the paths inside the sewers..."

Harvey nodded in satisfaction. It seemed that there were still a lot of civilians in his territory who were loyal to him.

"Treat him well and bring him to me when he recovers."

Egno bowed slightly and then left the study, leaving Pierce alone.

Harvey stood up and walked over to Pierce. He bent down and whispered to him, "Select one of your soldiers with the best combat record, the best shooting and aiming ability, and the sharpest mind."

He pulled Pierce up from his kneeling position, patted him on the shoulder, and encouraged him, "Pick out the person as soon as possible, and bring him to me tomorrow if possible. Remember, he must be a sharpshooter. I remember those soldiers who participated in the shooting competition were quite good. Hmm... they should have been promoted to junior officers by now, right?"

Pierce nodded and replied, "Yes, sir. They are the first group of militia recruited in the territory, and also the first group of soldiers to begin training with magic guns."

He puffed out his chest slightly and explained with a hint of pride, "I wouldn't dare boast that these officers, trained by me personally, are perfect marksmen, but quite a few of them can easily hit an evil orc's head from 300 steps away..."

Harvey knew that Pierce was always careful with his words and would not brag about his abilities casually.

"That's right, then you should go down and select someone quickly. If the target is still stationed at the valley outpost, you should also arrange for a war beast to bring him back as soon as possible."

Isn't it just a decapitation operation? What Earl Fagan can do, I am even better than him!
(End of this chapter)