A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 423 The "Crawling" Within the Empire

"The roads here are comparable to those near the capital." Humboldt had prepared for a bumpy ride, but he found that Rorschach's car had good suspension, and with the road network in the south of the Kingdom of Bain, at least the main road from Munnik to Kempson was relatively flat and wide.

Luo Xia didn't take the Grand Mage's words as praise: "Master, I studied in the capital for several years. When will the roads in the capital ever compare to our new roads?"

The capital of a kingdom or empire, as the most prestigious place, has its main thoroughfare as part of its image. Both width and aesthetics are taken into consideration, and expensive stone slabs are used.

But Rorschach wasn't concerned with aesthetics; he prioritized smoothness, durability, and ease of maintenance. Whether it's marble or any other rock, concrete is preferable, and it's more expensive.

The road was a dark color, a "pseudo-asphalt road" made of coal tar and slag produced by steel mills and coking plants. They kept passing slow-moving oxcarts and packhorse caravans; clearly, using a road of this standard for animal-drawn vehicles was a huge waste.

Master Humboldt finally realized that Rorschach's desire to promote vehicles was no exaggeration; otherwise, why would he need such expensive infrastructure?

On the way, Rorschach really wanted to ask Humboldt why the Chancellor had come with him. Unexpectedly, the Archmage spoke up first: "Aren't you curious why the Chancellor chose to use the teleportation array with me instead of taking the airship?"

"For safety?" Rorschach thought of the plane crash that happened on his first trip to Byrne.

Humboldt nodded: "Airships have been flying across the continent for a long time, and while the hidden dangers certainly exist, the operating companies and spellcasters have worked hard to ensure their stability. However, in recent years, accidents have surged, not because of accidents involving the airships themselves, but because human factors were always found in the investigations."

"It is said that a few days ago, the Empire lost some important figures due to an airship crash. The Prime Minister may know some of the inside story, so he asked me, who was visiting the capital, to take charge."

Humboldt didn't elaborate further, but he remembered what Mr. Otto had said when he entrusted him with this task: "If I were to board the airship bound for Bain, it would most likely be involved in an irreversible accident. Therefore, I need your help to find a way to secretly and safely enter Bain."

Alexander von Humboldt did not inquire further. He was unwilling to get too involved in matters outside of imperial agriculture. However, since his next destination was also the Kingdom of Bain, and the guild's teleportation perfectly met the prime minister's needs, Humboldt used his archmage authority to help Mr. Otto.

The carriage created a relatively enclosed space, and the three passengers watched the scenery outside the side window, with suspicious people and animals rushing past. This detachment from the environment created a sense of privacy, allowing passengers to naturally reveal more information they wouldn't say in open settings.

Therefore, for nobles, the coachman was just as important and required to be loyal as a personal servant or butler. He not only held the lives of passengers in his hands, but also had a pair of ears that were most easily overlooked by those talking in the carriage.

Humboldt continued, "The capital has been quite unsettled lately. The defeat in the war has caused various factions to attack each other. It is said that the Crown Prince and the Prime Minister have a bad relationship, and the appointment of the new Marshal has also caused controversy. On the contrary, the Emperor wants to see me, and I cannot refuse."

The Forest Tower is a mage tower deeply involved in the Empire. It can represent the guild to extend goodwill to the Empire and play the "good cop." In addition to researching and assisting the Empire's agriculture on food issues, it also occasionally treats the rulers' difficult ailments.

This is not entirely flattery or appeasement. The empire does not have a church like the Holy Kingdom. If a noble has health problems, it is easy to attract evil mages and cults to "cure" and then corrupt and control them. Therefore, guild members need to occupy the positions, so that even if they cannot be cured, they can at least make people give up on the idea.

Those who could persuade Humboldt to join the cause were few and far between within the empire. The reason why factions in the capital were stirring up trouble and why there were frequent unnatural deaths was partly due to the uncertainty of the war, but also partly due to the uncertainty of the emperor's health.

Judging from the fact that Helmut, a close friend of the Crown Prince whose military achievements were overshadowed by other generals, was appointed as marshal, one faction has temporarily gained the upper hand.

Even if Humboldt were willing to tell Rorschach all of the above, he could only use the rhetoric he had learned throughout his life and the impressionistic style of literature. In his final assessment of the current situation in the capital, he said: "Do you know the structure of a muscle? A muscle attached to a bone is made up of multiple fleshy fibers that move in the same direction and come together."

"The muscles in our arms, when we throw a punch at the enemy, should all work together with all the fleshy fibers, but now, each has its own thoughts, framing and hindering each other, like spasms. Some people and factions are like maggots crawling on the flesh, knotted and writhing. Normally they pretend to be part of the body, quietly sucking blood, but now they are showing their true colors a little."

"I was initially surprised to hear that the Imperial Army had suffered a defeat, but after my trip to the capital, I realized that this was bound to happen."

As for the emperor's condition, Humboldt revealed not a word, not even specifying who he had tried to treat, only telling Rorschach: "It has futilely prolonged the suffering of a noble patient."

The emperor suffers from the "Curse of Flesh and Blood," causing a lesion in one of his organs—a condition known as "cancer" in the original world of Rorschach. Can it be cured? Using ordinary healing spells would only exacerbate the "Curse of Flesh and Blood," as ordinary healing spells inherently increase the risk of the recipient contracting the "curse."

Ancient people speculated that the healing magic had angered the god of death, who then cast a curse upon those who violated the laws of life and death.

A radical approach might be possible to cure it, such as using mycelium discovered in the Black Forest, similar to the approach used to cure tuberculosis: find the lesion and replace it with cultured symbiotic mycelium.

The lungs are arguably one of the simplest organs, and the emperor's diseased organ also performed secretory functions, making it far more complex. However, it wasn't entirely impossible; the treatment required obtaining the emperor's flesh and blood, especially his bone and blood, to fuse and cultivate with bacteria. Unfortunately, none of the court or the empire's leaders dared to authorize the spellcaster to do so.

"So I envy you, being able to find the nearest row of seats when two giants are fighting." Humboldt looked at the peaceful and idyllic scenery of Byrne.

The journey from Munnik to Kempson isn't long, about 160 kilometers along the main route. A carriage would take a day, while a fast horse could travel from morning till night. With the road repairs, the vehicles can maintain a speed of approximately 40 kilometers per hour, taking less than half the time of a fast horse. The machine doesn't get tired, and the three spellcasters inside don't need to worry about magic consumption.

The car stopped, the doors opened, and the relatively enclosed space was gone. The passengers stepped back onto solid ground and exited the carriage. Master Humboldt cautioned, "But Rorschach, these good days are coming to an end. The Prime Minister's arrival in Byrne is just the beginning."

(End of this chapter)