Beating Instances through Words Left by the Dead

He glanced around and asked in a low voice, "I seem to be a little too popular, while Prime Minister Glad’s side looks way too deserted."

Raventon shrugged and said:

"Your sense is right, that’s exactly the case. The reason is simple: Glad, the Minister of Finance—now we should call him Prime Minister Glad—has no fewer troubles on him than Prime Minister Ron did."

Wu Chang’s hand paused slightly as he ate, surprise flashed in his eyes. There’s another heavyweight?

Taking advantage of the banquet winding down, Raventon started sharing intel about Glad with Wu Chang.

According to Stilan’s usual practice, after Prime Minister Ron’s death, the Prime Minister’s powers should be exercised directly by the cabinet, and the ruling majority party only needs to elect a new party leader during the transition.

But the current Stilan has not followed that procedure, and the reason lies with Glad.

Glad was originally the number two of the Conservative Party, the acknowledged party leader to succeed Ron, but after becoming Minister of Finance, he grew even more radical than Prime Minister Ron. He not only fully backed free trade, but also cut ties with the Conservative Party and switched over to the Liberal Party.

As a result, after Prime Minister Ron’s death, the Liberal Party even faintly pressed the Conservative Party down by a notch, making the Prime Minister’s seat full of suspense, with no telling who it would eventually land on.

Raventon lowered his voice and said:

"Judging from the outcome, if we talk about who could benefit from Prime Minister Ron’s death, acting Prime Minister Glad can definitely rank among the top two—maybe even first."

"So a lot of people speculate that maybe Glad couldn’t wait and hired someone to do the job."

Wu Chang raised his brows slightly and asked, "What do you think of that theory?"

Raventon said, "I don’t know Glad well enough to judge, but there’s one point worth noting."

"Glad is a major shareholder of Pine Tree Coal Mine, second only to Baron Philip. Her Majesty the Queen’s decision to suppress the Pine Tree Coal Mine affair is, to a great extent, because of Glad."

Wu Chang looked toward Glad in the distance, a scrutinizing glint in his eyes.

As Minister of Finance, is Glad merely implicated as a convenient umbrella, or does he also have dealings with the Steam Council?

Maybe Wu Chang’s gaze was too sharp, because Glad seemed to sense it. He turned his head in the crowd, and across the entire banquet hall, his eyes met Wu Chang’s.

Wu Chang gave a slight smile and raised his glass to Glad. Glad likewise lifted his glass in response, then continued chatting with the Liberal Party members around him.

Sharp senses—unless something unexpected pops up, he should be a pretty formidable Transcendent.

Wu Chang was about to continue talking with Raventon, but before he could speak, he felt the floor tremble slightly. He looked up to see a gigantic figure walking toward him.

It was Randy Anderson, former director of Moonlight Sanatorium and now the Minister of Internal Affairs of Stilan.

In Grimland, Wu Chang’s True Self physique absolutely counted as a small giant, but without his Sea Giant form, he still looked like a child next to Randy’s enormous frame.

Wu Chang tilted his head back, facing Randy, who stood over two and a half meters tall like an upright lion, and greeted him.

"Director Randy, long time no see. You’re looking well."

Compared to his time at Moonlight Sanatorium, Randy’s command over Mysticism had normalized his body quite a bit.

Back at the sanatorium, he was over three meters tall, with arms thicker than an adult man’s waist. As Minister of Internal Affairs, don’t even mention appearing "close to the people"—anyone who saw him and didn’t have their knees go weak must have had an exceptionally strong Will.

"Sean, long time no see. I owe my life to you back then, for snatching it back from the Evil God’s grasp. When it comes to wrecking the Evil God’s schemes, no one is more suited to the position of Secret Magic Knight Order Leader than you."

"I owe you a favor. If you run into trouble in Grimland, you can come to me anytime."

Seeing Randy being so courteous, Wu Chang immediately had the urge to drag Randy over, point at Glad, and say, "Now there’s someone who could take his place."

But considering the occasion was wrong for that, he suppressed the impulse and said with a smile:

"Come on, we fought Leman together back then. Without you, there’s no way I could’ve handled those monsters on my own."

That was the truth. Without Randy and Julie, any random patient at Moonlight Sanatorium could’ve easily torn the Wu Chang of that time apart.

Randy leaned closer to Wu Chang and said softly:

"I’ve been busy dealing with foreign Transcendents and those serial killers running wild everywhere, so I haven’t had time to visit you. There’s something you need to be careful about."

"In the last few days, there have been signs of Peace Church activity in Grimland, coinciding closely with your return to Stilan. I’m worried they’re coming after you for what happened back then, planning some kind of revenge."

Wu Chang nodded. "I’ll keep an eye out."

As expected, entering the Steam Phantom Dungeon without the Peace Church would feel like something was missing.

From Randy’s tone, it sounded like Players from the Peace Church had also been queued into the S-Level dungeon. Wu Chang wondered whether he’d run into that newly promoted Saint Heir this time—hopefully the kid had prepared thoroughly and brought a couple of Leman’s Eyes.

The Queen Olivia circled once in the skies over Grimland, and when the airship returned to West Plaza, it was exactly midnight.

The banquet ended. Wu Chang was planning to leave, but unexpectedly Raventon stopped him and asked him to make a quick trip to Saint George’s Cathedral.

In the underground of Saint George’s Cathedral, at the place where he had first met Queen Olivia, the one waiting there was not Olivia, but twenty strangers in all sorts of clothing, of random ages, both men and women.

They were discussing something, but as soon as they saw Wu Chang and Raventon appear, the twenty people fell instantly silent, and all their gazes landed on Wu Chang’s face at the same time.