stjorthotic Chapter 423 Puzzle Completed
Chapter 423 Puzzle Completed
Chapter 423 Puzzle Completed
"Since you're so interested in Maxim, then the task of contacting him is entrusted to you. I'm sure you won't let us down, right?"
Duchess Georgina's overuse of leadership rhetoric made it seem as if the success or failure of everything rested solely on her subordinates, and that if they messed things up, the leader bore no responsibility whatsoever.
Unfortunately, this statement works well on other people, but it has no effect on Evan. Upon hearing this, Evan didn't tolerate her at all and said with a smile without the slightest hesitation, "I'm not interested in anything. I was just doing my job and found out while monitoring Robert Horn."
This matter is far too important, involving angels. I am of lowly rank and power, and it is difficult for me to handle the situation properly. It would be more prudent for you to handle it personally!
I believe even His Majesty the King would prefer that an Augustus personally oversee this matter!
Duchess Georgina was momentarily speechless. She hadn't encountered a subordinate who dared to openly refuse a task in a long time, so she didn't know how to respond to Evan's words for a moment.
If it were anyone else, and they dared to openly push things onto me, I would have already taken action to show them why Hua Ji is so famous. But Evan is too special, so special that Duchess George has no right to deal with him.
This was not because he was an important pawn in monitoring and checking Robert Horn, but because of the new army he was about to build.
As Evan continued to invest his efforts in the new army, its combat effectiveness began to emerge, and George III began to regard this force, which was not yet highly regarded, as another important force that he could control.
Especially as everyone began to calculate their own gains and losses and make trades when planning the war with the Fusak Empire, Evan's newly formed army was increasingly likely to become an important piece that would influence the course of the game.
Some within the Augustus family recognized the importance of the new army and secretly proposed separating it from Evans and placing it under the control of Augustus and his family. However, after weighing various factors, George III rejected the proposal.
On the one hand, it's because in his eyes, Evan is someone who has signed the "Angel Contract," so there's no need to worry about him betraying him.
On the other hand, it's also because Evan is a demigod through the "Hunter" pathway, so when facing the "War Legion" of the Fusak Empire, he won't be too passive and can better utilize the new army's combat power.
Besides, George III had another, unspoken motive for keeping Irwin in command of the army.
That is, he hopes that Evan will become the person who revitalizes the Horn family, as the angel of fate has said, so that when he inherits the legacy of the Fursac Empire in the future, countless obstacles will be reduced out of thin air.
Therefore, in George III's arrangement, Ivan's current position is very high, even comparable to Robert, who can help him perfect his initiation ceremony.
So even though Duchess Georgina is nominally Evan's direct superior, she actually has no control over Evan's fate.
Seeing Evan's indifferent attitude towards her, Duchess Georgina clenched her fists secretly, but ultimately did not vent her anger.
"During your interactions with Maxim, you can leverage the Augustus family's name to gain some benefits, such as the potion recipe for the 'War Bishop.' The Augustus family can vouch for this for you."
To be honest, Duchess Georgina really wanted to bypass Evan and contact Maxim directly.
But thinking about the future, I had no choice but to give up this decision.
Putting aside the fact that taking the initiative to approach someone puts you at a disadvantage from the start in negotiations.
Moreover, even if she is willing to make some concessions in subsequent negotiations, it is hard to guarantee that Evan, whom she has sidelined, will not deliberately cause trouble.
Given Evan's consistent cunning and treacherous nature, there's a very high chance he'll sabotage her plans.
She had already concluded that Evan valued this opportunity to contact Maxim very much, and that his earlier refusal was merely a ploy to pressure her and get more authorization from her, not a genuine desire to refuse the mission.
On the contrary, if she were to personally contact Maxim, she would definitely be seen as a thorn in Evan's side.
Because of this understanding, she didn't want to beat around the bush or beat around the bush with Evan anymore. Instead, she directly gave Evan a condition that she believed he would not be able to refuse.
When Evan heard the conditions offered by Duchess Georgina, he couldn't help but roll his eyes inwardly, but still smiled and thanked her for her support!
He wanted to get something from Duchess Georgina, just to maintain his cunning persona. If he didn't put on this act, she would easily notice something was wrong afterward.
For him, all he needed was permission to contact Maxim.
In this way, he can lure all forces into his trap without leaving any trace.
After discussing the matter of contacting Maxim...
Evan glanced at the myriad lights of Backlund and said with a smile, "You've been wandering around Backlund lately, are you looking for that witch who disappeared from Edsack Augustus's side?"
Duchess Georgina, who was about to leave, stopped in her tracks upon hearing this, frowning as she looked at Evan and asked, "How do you know about this? Have you seen Triss recently?"
In response to Duchess Georgina's question, Evan scoffed, "What's so hard to guess? The Witch Cult hasn't sent anyone back to Backlund during this time, which clearly indicates a rift has formed between you because of the deaths of those two witches."
"Besides, it's not like I haven't met Triss before. And if I think back to the great battle that took place at Red Rose Manor, it's not hard to guess what you're doing right now!"
Duchess Georgina hesitated for a moment, then instead of answering directly, said with a playful tone, "What, do you want to get involved in this? Or do you have information about Triss?"
"I'm about to meet with Maxim and don't have time to deal with this. But you were quite agreeable just now, so I wanted to remind you of something."
Finding Triss isn't something you can just do blindly; you have to use your brain and figure out what she cares about most right now.
Only by understanding this can you possibly follow Triss's train of thought and find her!
Triss deliberately revealed her presence several times for Edsac Augustus's safety.
Unfortunately, all her plans turned into a waste of effort—like throwing a flirtatious glance at a blind man.
Duchess Georgina, who was in charge of finding her, never connected the matter with Edsack or Augustus.
Duchess Georgina never imagined that the vessel of the Primordial Witch would actually fall in love with a man; it was too much of a challenge to her worldview.
"Do you know what Triss is thinking?"
Duchess Georgina looked at Evan in astonishment, her face full of disbelief.
Evan had no choice but to link Triss's actions to Edsack and Augustus to support his deduction.
"So if you want to find Triss, you can't keep Edsack and Augustus under house arrest. You have to release him to create an opportunity to capture him."
Duchess Georgina was stunned. She couldn't believe that a primordial demon goddess could develop genuine feelings for a man after descending into a vessel. It was simply unbelievable.
However, when all things are considered together, this seems to make perfect sense and can explain many things that happened before.
Wasn't it said that Triss would gradually transform into the Primordial Witch? Is this how she's going to change?
I remember Triss wasn't transformed from a man, was she? Can a man really fall in love with a man?
Could it be that the Primordial Witch, who "joined forces with Death to unleash the Pale Disaster," was actually just a love-struck fool?
Wait a minute, wasn't the original witch also a man in the legends? And who did she fall in love with? Was it that death god from the southern continent?
Duchess Georgina felt as if she had stumbled upon some incredible gossip, gossip of godlike proportions.
No, stop thinking about it! This is an evil god. Thinking about it too much will only bring trouble upon yourself!
While Duchess Georgina was still in shock, her thoughts gradually drifted to a strange place, and she realized it herself.
After barely suppressing her inner thoughts, Duchess Georgina looked at Evan and said directly, "Just tell me what you want to do, stop beating around the bush!"
After the conversation, Duchess Georgina had figured out how to communicate with Evan. You can't play games with him, or he'll play even more games. You have to be direct and get straight to the point.
"I want you to release Edsac Augustus and let him continue to serve the new army."
Don't forget that he is still nominally the highest-ranking officer in the new army, and I am merely his deputy!
In order to work on Edsac Augustus and reduce resistance to the establishment of the new army, Ivan once asked Robert to suggest to George III that Edsac Augustus be nominally appointed as the leader of the new army.
Edsack Augustus, in order to escape the reality of being under house arrest, actively participated in this matter and contributed a great deal of effort.
"And then? While Triss is trying to elope with him, he'll capture Triss?"
Duchess Georgina scoffed and retorted dismissively.
She felt that Evan had suddenly become unusually naive; who wouldn't see through such an obvious scheme!
"So what if you can see through it? A good strategy is one that you can see through but still can't break!"
As long as Triss still cares about Edsac Augustus, you'll never have to worry about Triss causing trouble elsewhere. Just be careful of Edsac Augustus's whereabouts, and everything will be fine.
Before this, Triss was just causing trouble everywhere to highlight Edsac Augustus's role and prevent you from killing him.
Releasing Edsac Augustus now gives Triss a clear objective: to rescue Edsac Augustus.
This is equivalent to putting your competition out in the open, leaving her with no choice but to passively respond and perform on the stage you've set for her, giving you the home-field advantage.
This is much more convenient than blindly following Triss's haphazard actions!
Evan showed no mercy to Duchess Georgina's sarcasm, retorting directly and practically calling her an idiot.
Duchess Georgina was furious at first, but she quickly calmed down and, after careful consideration, felt that Evan's suggestion was very constructive.
But she couldn't bring herself to admit she was an idiot, nor could she suppress her frustration and reluctantly thank Evan for his advice. In the end, she could only mumble, "I will report to His Majesty, and I should hear the relevant orders in the next few days." Then she left this iconic building in Backlund!
Evan watched Duchess Georgina's departing figure, a smug smile appearing on his lips.
His meeting with the duchess tonight has accomplished all his goals.
First, by using proof by contradiction, Robert Horn's loyalty was once again proven to George III.
Secondly, by openly displaying his ambition, he gained the right to contact Maxim.
Thirdly, through Duchess Georgina, George III's most trusted glove, he figured out George III's current position towards him. He didn't need to worry about the new army being taken away, although he knew beforehand that the possibility was small, but it wasn't impossible.
Finally, he helped Edsac Augustus escape his current predicament to some extent, giving Triss, who was hiding in the shadows, a sense of reassurance so that she would resolutely obey orders and commands in subsequent actions.
In short, through tonight's meeting, Evan's plan to take action against all parties has been completed, and now it's just a matter of proceeding step by step.
"The world situation is becoming increasingly chaotic because of my meddling, and my actions should be adjusted accordingly."
This morning, when I went to the Ministry of National Defense for a meeting, Ivan heard a briefing on the situation in the Southern Continent. The Spirit Cult and the Eggers family have both been drawn into the True Creator's actions against the Rose School.
The involvement of these forces has further exacerbated the current chaotic situation in the Southern Continent, even forcing various countries to temporarily suspend their colonial operations in the Southern Continent and instead adopt a wait-and-see approach.
It's not that the countries don't want to get involved in the situation on the southern continent, but rather that the situation on the northern continent has also undergone drastic changes.
The fact that the Kingdom of Rune and the Empire of Fusak were on the verge of war was just the beginning; border frictions between the Kingdom of Feneport and countries such as Lunburg also escalated suddenly.
Meanwhile, Intis has quietly passed the Wartime Mobilization Act, closely monitoring the actions of various countries and preparing to intervene at any time.
The Northern Continent seemed to be engulfed in smoke and fire overnight, with even various secret organizations taking the opportunity to be active frequently, and all forces sensing something unusual.
To paraphrase a phrase from my past life, the global situation is like a storm brewing.
Although the situation deteriorated faster than Evan had anticipated, he was not discouraged; instead, he felt a sense of anticipation.
"Let it be chaotic, let it be chaotic! The more chaotic the world situation, the more advantageous it is for me. Chaos is a ladder, a ladder to progress!"
Standing in front of Big Ben, looking at the red moon in the sky and the lights of thousands of homes below, Evan couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.