A mage? A spell engineer!

Chapter 555 Ominous Dream

The weapon of criticism cannot replace the criticism of weapons.

Peace is based on violence.

Public support is key to success.

These three "mindsets" were concepts that Varen tried to instill in the minds of the aristocratic young men. In fact, their family education, the empire's military education, and political and economic education all expounded similar views; however, sometimes what one heard was one thing, and how one actually did it was another.

What the operator, Varang, needed to do was to tell the participants of the Salvation League how to implement it, especially to remove their naivety.

In a letter to Rorschach, Valen complained:

"Among the people I've met, most are excessively naive. This doesn't mean that the descendants of imperial nobles are all useless. After careful consideration, I've discovered that it's precisely because only those who are full of wishful thinking about the country, history, and the future would join this fanciful alliance."

"It's like a wooden frame, and we have to replace the steel bars and pour concrete for it, otherwise the 'wise and mighty' Wilhelm II might just blow it away and this fragile structure would collapse."

The most noteworthy achievement of Valencia in recent times has occurred in Bohemia.

Rewind to the early morning of the day Valen wrote the letter, in Bohemia, at the Grand Duke Croc's Palace.

Libs woke up pale and rang the bell by the window.

"Miss." The maid on duty rushed in.

"What time is it now?"

"5:00. 5:03."

Libs hurriedly sat up in bed, her bare feet stepping directly onto the carpet: "Get dressed quickly, I need to see Father."

"Miss, it's five o'clock now." The maid wanted to remind Libs, so she not only repeated the time but also drew back the curtains—in winter, it was naturally dark outside in Bomía at five o'clock.

At this moment, Libs walked to the wardrobe herself and, amidst the maid's panic, selected her everyday clothes: "No need to remind me anymore, since the start of the war, Father has been getting up as early as the rooster every day."

Sure enough, when she pushed open the door to the Grand Duke's study, old Kroc was indeed sitting there with a pipe in his mouth, looking worried. Libs cut to the chase: "Father, I had a bad dream."

"You're about to get married, so don't go looking for your father when you have nightmares. Why don't you write it down and write a letter to your lover?" For some reason, the Grand Duke's words were sarcastic.

However, he quickly put down his pipe, opened the window to let the cold wind in, and then draped the fur coat from the study door over Libs.

"You opened the window because you were worried about the smoke bothering me; and you put your smoke-smelling coat on me because you were worried I was cold. Thank you so much, Father."

The Grand Duke was always made uneasy by his daughter's words, but fortunately she immediately ignored it and rubbed her temples: "God, you shouldn't have said such things, Father. Terrible things have happened in my dreams, and I suspect they will happen in reality."

"I dreamt that when black and white intertwined, a series of gunshots rang out in our house, and there was blood. I saw my family and my cousin. Pavel's expression was terrifying."

"You think the prophecy has been triggered again?" The Grand Duke pondered Libus's words. In the past, when his daughter claimed to have displayed prophetic talent, her descriptions were always vague; this was the first time she had described a scene so clearly.

Is it a prophecy presented in the form of a dream?

Bomía doesn't have the saying "What you think about during the day, you dream about at night," but the Grand Duke certainly has a similar experience. His first thought was whether he had been letting Libs listen to his work and listen to the war reports with him recently, and whether he had brought the fear of war into his dreams.

And Pavel has recently distanced himself from her. Is this because the two have a conflict over the issue of succession?

Grand Duke Croc comforted his daughter, "Could it just be a nightmare? Don't be too scared."

Whether out of belief in Libus's prophecy or partly for comfort, the Grand Duke solemnly said, "Wake the steward and the lady and have them go to the entrance of the secret passage."

"Notify the guards inside and outside the castle to be on alert, check the condition of their guns, and tell them to patrol with high alert."

After giving the instructions, he hugged Libs: "Alright, we're ready. Are you feeling more at ease? Don't be afraid. Can you recall the details a little more?"

"I couldn't see clearly. Later, there were many more people standing behind Pavel, but I couldn't see their faces." This was what terrified her the most. Among the blurry human figures, one looked particularly familiar. She was afraid that it was really as she had guessed, afraid that there was "him" standing behind Pavel.

"It's too late, it's too late." The girl, who had just been able to joke with her father, suddenly panicked. She grabbed her father's hand and ran out of the study, but Libs fell down at the door without warning.

The Duke's expression changed drastically. He helped his fallen daughter up, who was now forced to close her eyes in pain, with tears of blood streaming from the corners of her eyes.

"Libus! Libs! Stop looking! No matter what you see..."

Before the Duke could finish speaking, a series of gunshots pierced the dawn sky.

Fighting broke out both inside and outside the palace, with bloodstains and bullet holes stretching from the garden entrance all the way to the castle gate.

It was Pavel Kroc who launched the attack with his supporters. Earlier, at the crack of dawn, they captured key institutions in the Bohemian capital. Like following a walkthrough, they knocked down the city hall, post office, and city security headquarters in sequence, according to the instructions of their mysterious supporters. Finally, he personally led his men to take over his great-uncle's house.

As the first shot fired by the alliance, Valen gave Pavel's stormtroopers a lot of good stuff—new muskets, ammunition, and valuable reels.

These rebels were dressed in the same uniforms as the Grand Guard—they were Bohemian soldiers, but when they got close, they ignored the guards' shouts and suddenly pulled out their weapons.

The new muskets had thick barrels, and they did not require a cleaning rod when chambering; they only needed to pull the long handle under the trigger back and forth, and then they could immediately fire the next shot.

Matching the caliber were shotgun shells. The smokeless powder propelled the bullets, which shattered in mid-air, exploding into small steel balls like a cloud, which, under the kinetic energy of the high-pressure gas, plunged into the guards' bodies.

Fire—pry open the long handle—fire again. There were twenty-three attackers, each capable of unleashing seven blasts from this demonic weapon. Because the guards had failed to warn the attackers, who were dressed in identical uniforms, the engagement was at a pitifully short distance, making it the perfect opportunity for the shotgun to prove its worth.

Before long, Pavel was able to strode into the Grand Duke's mansion, stepping on the bloodstains on the marble floor.

The Grand Duke's study was on the third floor, and the entrance to the secret passage was in the basement. Because of Libs's condition, the Grand Duke escorted her downstairs, but they were intercepted by the "National Salvation Alliance" stormtroopers a few minutes later.

The lady got into the carriage after the gunshots, but she didn't wait for the Grand Duke and her daughter. Even though the gunshots continued for a while, she remained at the entrance of the secret passage and did not leave. Eventually, Pavel found her.

Now the whole family was together. Mrs. Crook berated her nephew in the swear words of the North, then turned pale and fainted.

"Parva Crocker, are you trying to usurp the throne?" Libs, though bound, became surprisingly calm. Even though she couldn't see, she was certain who was in front of her.

Pavel stammered, "No, I'm not doing this for a title, but for Bohemia, for the Empire."

(End of this chapter)