Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

At eight in the evening, Olivia, in the Stilan Imperial Palace, announced that Minister of Finance William Glad would temporarily serve as Acting Prime Minister.

Once the Acting Prime Minister was confirmed, Olivia and the Acting Prime Minister exchanged a glance, and after a brief inaugural speech, Prime Minister Glad made the first decision of his term.

It was that, in view of the current chaos in Stilan, the Queen and the Cabinet, after discussion, had decided to add a new department within the Cabinet, named the Royal Secret Intelligence and Homeland Security Department, abbreviated as the Secret Security Department.

The Minister of the Secret Security Department would hold the rank of Cabinet Minister and be responsible to both the Cabinet and the Queen.

As for the Minister and Vice Minister of the Secret Security Department, they were, naturally, Wu Chang and Raventon.

Wu Chang and Raventon, dressed in solemn formal attire, slowly came before Olivia. After a day of crash-course training, the two of them relied on the powerful control over their bodies that Transcendents possessed to flawlessly complete an entire set of rituals.

Under the gaze of all present, the secret investiture ceremony that had once taken place beneath Saint George’s Church was reenacted in a more formal manner.

One of the symbols of the Stilan Empire, the Lake Light Holy Sword that stood for nobility and honor, was openly placed into Wu Chang’s hands.

Holding the Lake Light Holy Sword, Wu Chang turned toward the cameras with a confident smile, declaring that he would become the Queen’s Sword and safeguard Stilan’s security and Peace.

With the flash produced by the explosion of magnesium powder, Wu Chang’s image was frozen in that moment and would appear on the front page of tomorrow’s Hills Newspaper.

All parties present were already aware in advance of Wu Chang’s existence; some well‑informed nobles even understood that this newly established Secret Security Department was, in fact, the former Secret Magic Knight Order.

A Transcendent Knight Order whose power and force had been nearly limitless back when the King still held power in Stilan.

Wu Chang’s presence even stole the limelight from Acting Prime Minister Glad, making him the focal point of everyone in attendance.

Except for Wu Chang and Raventon themselves, everyone was pondering what signal the Queen was sending by rebuilding the Secret Magic Knight Order at such a sensitive time.

After the inauguration ceremony concluded, everyone present, dressed in formalwear, proceeded to West Plaza outside the Stilan Imperial Palace.

The main event of tonight was the banquet following the inauguration ceremony.

A few years ago, merely holding a banquet in the Stilan Imperial Palace would already have been the highest of honors, but things were different now.

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a colossal object descended from the sky and landed in the plaza.

It was a gigantic airship, named Queen Olivia. Its overall length exceeded three hundred and fifty meters; beneath its enormous gas chamber hung a three‑deck gondola over fifty meters long, capable of carrying more than two hundred passengers.

This airship was the culmination of Stilan industry and a miracle of world industry; it was hailed as a fortress in the sky, and its birth was celebrated as a milestone in humanity’s conquest of the heavens.

To host a banquet aboard Queen Olivia was the highest‑standard reception in Stilan, indeed in the entire world.

Let alone for the appointment of an Acting Prime Minister—even if a formal Prime Minister had been selected—Olivia would not necessarily have brought out this flying fortress.

It was obvious that, in order to lend prestige to her Knight Order Leader, Olivia had raised the profile of Wu Chang’s inauguration ceremony to the absolute maximum.

Before the inauguration, Julie had told Wu Chang she would prepare a surprise for him, so Wu Chang had been mentally prepared.

But the instant he saw Queen Olivia, he was still profoundly shaken.

Big is good, and good is big—the sense of oppressive presence given off by a steam airship was far beyond anything a modern airliner could compare to.

That she would bring this thing out just for him made him unable to help but sigh in his heart: Olivia truly was a good King who understood people’s hearts.

As they entered the gondola, Julie began introducing Queen Olivia to him and Raventon.

The reason such a massive airship could support so many people floating in the sky, apart from its enormous gas chamber, was the Extraordinary Steam Engine mounted aboard it—the Heart of the Sky.

Corresponding to it, the flagship of the navy that allowed Stilan to become mistress of the seas was equipped with a Heart of the Ocean from the same series.

After hearing this, Wu Chang followed up by asking, "Then is there a Heart of the Land?"

Julie glanced around and then said softly:

"There was originally, but the development of the Heart of the Land was scheduled much later. After the manufacturing process for Extraordinary Steam Engines leaked, Fran beat us to building a Heart of the Land."

"The Extraordinary Steam Research Institute at Grimlan University couldn’t accept being second, so they repurposed the Heart of the Land that was originally intended for the army and used it instead to build railways. After all, Stilan’s railway industry is number one in the world."

"This left the army brooding over it, so whatever you do, don’t mention the Heart of the Land in front of them—they’ll have a stress reaction."

Wu Chang nodded without any change in expression. If nothing unexpected happened, these three special Extraordinary Steam Engines were also the Industrial Crown Pearls.

It was just that two of them were held by the military, and one was constantly flying in the sky, making them somewhat difficult to obtain.

Moreover, if anything were done less than cleanly and discovered, what they would be facing might very well be the pursuit of an entire army.

During the banquet, Wu Chang, this mysterious Leader of the Secret Magic Knight Order, was without question the center of attention. Almost every attendee came over to exchange a few words with him; invitations alone numbered no fewer than several dozen.

It was not until the banquet was drawing to a close that he finally escaped the crowd, able to hide in a corner and snatch a few bites of dinner.

"How does it feel to be the center of a banquet?" Raventon approached Wu Chang with a raised glass, and the two gently clinked their drinks together.

Wu Chang shrugged and said, "Just remembering their names already makes my head spin."