Chapter 30: That Spoils of War

The seemingly ordinary courtyard had a passage leading to the basement.

After closing the courtyard gate, Beth led Amelia into an underground passage that opened into a basement room.

“Actually, I was gathering the other organization members for a meeting before your arrival interrupted me. I’m not sure if everyone else has arrived yet, but there are likely some people already waiting for us,” Beth explained as she walked.

The passage was relatively short, and they quickly arrived at the basement.

The basement appeared quite spacious. A Gas Lamp hung on the wall, its dim yellow glow filling the space.

A table and a ring of chairs were the only furnishings.

Two men were currently seated in those chairs.

“These are Charles and Brandon.”

Beth briefly introduced the two individuals.

Charles was a young man with short blond hair and silver-rimmed glasses, looking refined and scholarly.

Brandon was a man with a bright red mohawk. He appeared exceptionally robust, with bulging muscles on both arms.

After introducing them, Beth then introduced Amelia and Eileen to the two: “These are Lucy and Winnie, a pair of sisters. Lucy is the younger sister.”

“Good afternoon, Mr. Charles, Mr. Brandon,” Amelia greeted casually.

Seeing this, Eileen followed suit with a greeting.

“Good afternoon.”

Charles and Brandon replied with smiles.

After the greetings, Amelia turned to Beth and asked, “Has everyone from our organization in Rhine City arrived?”

“Not yet, there’s still one person missing, so let’s wait a moment longer.” Beth pulled over a chair and sat down.

Amelia and Eileen also took their seats.

Once seated, Beth asked, “I wonder what Rank you two have reached? Knowing your strength will be helpful for the operation we’re about to undertake.”

“I am a Trainee Apostle, and my Elder Sister is a Low-Rank Apostle.” Amelia said with a smile, concealing part of Eileen’s true strength.

“I understand.” Beth nodded.

Just then, footsteps echoed from the passage.

“It seems our last member in Rhine City has arrived.” Beth looked towards the passage.

Under everyone’s gaze, a man with curly brown hair and dressed in black walked in.

This person was none other than Lester!

Amelia was not surprised, but Eileen was undoubtedly taken aback upon seeing Lester. She subconsciously lowered her head to prevent her change in expression from being noticed.

[As expected, Lester showed up too.]

[Amelia and Eileen probably never thought they’d run into Lester again. It just goes to show what a small world it is.]

[Eileen almost couldn’t hide her change in expression. That feeling of having to hold it back is so adorable, hahaha.]

[Why doesn’t Amelia look surprised? Did she know beforehand, or is she just better at controlling her expression?]

[Amelia has always seemed incredibly smart, so maybe she knew beforehand?]

[But how could she have known? Maybe she’s just better at controlling her expression?]

Bullet Comments flew back and forth, exchanging different opinions.

Upon entering, Lester also saw Amelia and Eileen, recognizing them as the two who had ordered milk at his tavern earlier. He hadn’t expected to run into them here.

“Lester, these are the sisters Lucy and Winnie, also members of our organization,” Beth said in greeting.

“So that’s how it is.” Lester smiled as he walked over.

“This is Lester.” Beth introduced him to Amelia and Eileen.

Amelia gave a slight nod and said with a smile, “We meet again, Mr. Lester. I hadn’t imagined you were also a member of the organization. It seems we were destined to meet.”

“I didn’t expect to see you two either.” Lester smiled and took his seat.

“You know each other?” Beth looked between the two parties.

“We patronized Mr. Lester’s tavern earlier. So few shops are open in Rhine City right now. It was truly lucky to find a tavern in business,” Amelia explained simply.

Hearing this, Beth didn’t think much more of it.

“Now that everyone is here, let me first go over the objective of our mission this time.” As she spoke, Beth’s expression turned serious.

Everyone looked at her.

Beth continued: “In Rhine City, the armies of the Bargas Kingdom, Akti Kingdom, and Beren Kingdom have entered into conflict with one another. Their goal is to fight over a single piece of spoils of war obtained from the Steele Kingdom. And our target is precisely this spoils of war.”

“What is this spoils of war?” Brandon asked with confusion.

“It is an Alchemy Product that the Steele Kingdom purchased from the Sylanti Empire before its demise.”

“The Sylanti Empire?”

At the mention of this empire’s name, everyone’s expressions grew solemn.

Any of the Three Great Empires was impossible to ignore, and the Sylanti Empire, known as the Alchemy Empire, had a vast number of Apostles skilled in Alchemy. The great empire was filled with Alchemy Products everywhere—suspended trains, Airships, underwater amusement parks, and the like, giving the Sylanti Empire a flavor entirely different from the other empires.

“What did the Steele Kingdom purchase?” Charles asked curiously.

“A Mana Crystal Cannon,” Beth replied.

“A Mana Crystal Cannon?” Charles looked utterly astonished. “I recall this is an Alchemy Product the Sylanti Empire only recently developed, right? It supposedly possesses terrifying power, capable of blasting apart city walls in a single shot. It’s purely a machine of war. The Sylanti Empire was actually willing to sell it?”

“The Steele Kingdom was on the verge of annihilation, so naturally, it was willing to pay a huge price for Mana Crystal Cannons. However…” Beth paused, a trace of humor in her voice. “The Steele Kingdom bought ten cannons, secretly trying to transport them in from different locations, but not a single one managed to play a role for the Steele Kingdom. They met their demise far too quickly.”

Simply put, the Steele Kingdom couldn’t hold on while the cannons were still in transit.

“The other cannons elsewhere have already been separately seized by the Three Great Kingdoms. Only this cannon in Rhine City couldn’t be swallowed by any single kingdom for the time being, and their conflicts over it have grown deeper and deeper. This is our opportunity. We can devise a method to seize this Mana Crystal Cannon ourselves.” Beth’s eyes sparkled as she spoke.

The value of such a war machine was incredibly high. If they could acquire one, it would be a massive benefit for the entire Iris organization.

“This means standing in opposition to the Three Great Kingdoms. It won’t be easy and will place great demands on our strength. I wonder what Rank everyone here has reached?” Amelia tried to ascertain everyone’s levels first.