A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 490 Showdown at the Summit

Feuerbach did not refuse Rorschach's invitation; on the contrary, he considered the idea very seriously.

This was perhaps the simplest kind of roadshow, with no PowerPoint presentations, just Rorschach talking, but Elizabeth listened attentively. In the few days since she came south from Würzburg, she had already heard about the young man's "rags-to-riches myth".

Rorschach himself doesn't care about money or the numbers that represent him; the wealth he creates has always been based on real productivity. Moreover, he doesn't hoard it all, but always upholds the spirit of sharing wealth, welcoming even investments from the royal family.

He was practically a god who controlled the wealth of the old empire.

Others may not understand, but for Rorschach himself, everything is in preparation for the upgrading of the magic-driven industry. He will support what is beneficial and deal with what is not beneficial sooner or later.

For example, Bain now has three constituencies, each with its own rabble. In Würzburg, you can see both the most conservative and the most progressive. Munich and Nuremberg are also "battlegrounds" with tense labor-management relations. But no matter what, even if they are just ideological palettes, they are much better than submitting to a small group of outdated rentiers.

To put it bluntly, nobles want money, pursue elegance and pleasure, and value glory and a superior status. Merchants, at least at this stage, also practice ascetic frugality. Although they may imitate the nobility in their pursuit of refinement, everything they do is essentially to make money generate more money and machines produce more machines.

And for workers, they have to say goodbye to layers of personal dependence, at the cost of signing seemingly equal contracts. They work just as hard, but there's a subtle difference:

Lords and slave owners need to care about the population under their control, meaning they are responsible for the birth, aging, illness, and death of these dependents on a macro level. Employers, however, do not need to. They only need to dismiss those who are no longer needed and then post new job advertisements and have replacements come knocking on their doors. Entrepreneurs focus on the price of labor, not on the people represented by numbers.

After the guilds of various industries collapsed and workshops were reorganized into companies, the master-apprentice relationship was completely replaced by an employment relationship.

After a fierce battle with Byrne's handicrafts, Rorschach has finally brought about the aforementioned "cruel" changes. The establishment of the Senate is the final step, signifying that those who live, profit, or struggle under the new system will gain representation in Byrne's "kingdom."

As for the issue of magic suppliers, Rorschach wanted to prioritize the speed of construction. Just like with telegrams, as long as the collectors could be spread across the continent, getting the entire magic guild to assist in the construction was the fastest option. Insisting on one person's involvement and keeping all the profits from the project in their own hands was not as good as bringing in more collaborators to become part of their team.

As for Rorschach and the Special Zone, as the starting point of the magic supply system, they should act as standard setters and control future energy giants through invisible capital. This includes accumulated technical experience, intellectual property rights, and the unique engineering education and the most open magic knowledge education, which means the richest talent pool in the future.

Of course, there also needs to be a powerful enough fist to ensure that "invisibility" does not mean non-existence.

As the meeting of the three mages drew to a close, Rorschach proposed his own plan: "Therefore, the next step is to transform the production in Munich and Würzburg, that is, the entire Bain, to help it catch up with the Empire and surpass Varyag. Otherwise, even if the Empire compromises with Bain's autonomy now, the imbalance of power in the future will only make Bain a complete vassal of the Empire."

"But didn't you want Byrne to integrate into the Empire?" Elizabeth was a little confused. Clearly, this kid had been pushing for district reform and returning to the Empire's trade system the most, but after achieving those goals, he was now emphasizing autonomy?

Rorschach replied with a smile, "Integration doesn't mean bowing down to the capital. Right now, the core area of ​​the former Marin Kingdom is the strongest and most populous in the empire, but if Byrne surpasses it, then it would be in line with the empire's usual practice for it to make it the core." Better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix, unless you replace the original head of the phoenix.

A properly tuned Byrne has that potential.

After a long, general conversation, Feuerbach, who had originally intended to continue finalizing the project details, said he had other important business to attend to and took his leave.

"Trying to run?" The chief of the Arcane Tower snorted coldly, standing up from behind his desk. At that moment, Rorschach had already flashed to the door. Feuerbach activated his [Spatial Anchor], but he miscalculated. This guy was very aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and had no intention of using teleportation. Instead, he wanted to make his body ethereal and pass directly through the door.

The hospitable host hurriedly erected a barrier in an attempt to "keep the guests in." He believed that with his own barrier and the restrictions on the door, the guests would definitely change their minds and stay. Unfortunately, Rorschach did not linger for a second. Although his body was still in a ethereal state, he reached out and flicked his hand twice. The two magical barriers silently disintegrated, and even the antique marble door panel suffered damage.

The master was no pushover either; his [Reverse Ray] was ready and aimed at the target with lightning speed. The ray would pass through Rorschach and hit the door, meaning it would cause Rorschach to break free of his ethereal state and slam into the restored stone door.

Even if Archmage Rorschach were to unexpectedly fall into a trap and get stuck in the doorway, Feuerbach would only shout, "I'll pay for his medical expenses! I'll pay for them!"

However, to his surprise, at the last moment he was surrounded by a momentary sense of stagnation. It was not a typical mental or enchanted attack, but rather a feeling that he was temporarily disconnected from the world, with a slight difference in the flow of time between the individual and the environment.

Oh no, he forgot about her! By the time Feuerbach realized what had happened, it was too late.

The stone door, which had been shattered into dust, was struck by the belated [Reverse Ray], but Feuerbach was left alone in the empty chief office on the top floor of the Arcane Tower.

A fragrant note floated in the air, and the gargoyle carefully picked it up for the tower's owner. The elegant handwriting caught the high priest's eye:

"I also remembered that I have an appointment to meet with a friend in Munich, so I will take my leave for now. I wish you a pleasant work day."

"Sincerely, Elizabeth Eugénie"

"Heh heh heh," Feuerbach chuckled sinisterly a few times, finally resigned to his fate. He walked to the mirror and began to cast a spell, his right hand lightly pressing against the mirror surface. After the spell was completed, he flipped his wrist and pulled. Feuerbach's clone appeared, and then he repeated the above operation.

The four chiefs started working. There were many people, even more work, and the office was very quiet. What was most certain was that it was not pleasant at all.

"That was close. We almost got stuck working!" Rorschach and Elizabeth, who had just emerged from the Tower of Mystic Arts at top speed, calmed themselves down, exchanged a smile, and parted ways gracefully.

Rorschach was not exaggerating; he did indeed have something very important to do—to ensure the success of the grain harvest on Kempson's newly reclaimed land.

In the past, land reclamation and the sale of structural components took time, so wheat was sown in spring and now ripens at the turn of autumn and summer, with golden waves of wheat spreading across the fields of hope.

(End of this chapter)