I Will Be The Crowned King

Late at night, Franz Residence.

In the smoking room with flickering candles, Luther Franz sat by the orifice window, quietly admiring the city of Clovis under the moonlight in the mist.

For this city, which was shrouded in thick fog and dark clouds all day, this is a rare sight than a sunny day-the night sky as clear as tonight after the eighty-year-old saint's calendar is rare.

Luther Franz was so satisfied with this that he felt that there were still too many sunny days.

As an important industrial center like Clovis City, there are only two railways, one south and one north. The main logistics force is still animal power. There is still a shortage of high-quality roads for heavy cargo transportation. The industrial center is still dominated by light industry, and limited heavy industry is all. Concentrated in the military and construction industries, the total population has only recently exceeded one million...

It's not enough, it's not enough.

For Clovis City to become the real center of the world and to replace the Empire's Dragon City, it would be possible to expand it by at least two or three times.

The old man withdrew his gaze from the window, bloodshot and slightly tired eyes moved to the picture frame on the opposite wall, which contained a slightly yellowed parchment.

It was his diary when he had just become a trainee priest. His neat and immature handwriting was the only thing in the room that could make the old man smile:

"...I have a dream that the proud city of Clovis will become a country in the mist; the sixty-meter-high steam tower surrounds her city wall, the waste water glowing with white and green bubbles delimits her borders, steel bars and sleepers Paving her way...to the end, in the midst of the countless townhouses, is the steel fortress of fire..."

"... She has no night, no day, minutes are divided by factory bells, hours are calculated by steam whistle, and the roar of trains on the rails is a sound that can be heard every moment and every second..."

"...She devoured logs, flax, limestone, coal, and innumerable ores; turning them into great ships, clothing, roads, and thousands of manufactured items..."

"...She continues to expand her borders, constantly devouring the soil full of swamps, plagues, dense forests, and rotting substances, turning this dark and primitive world into a true human paradise..."

"boom!"

A sudden loud noise interrupted the old man's reverie and smashed open the door of the smoking room.

Frosty-faced Sophia Franz stood outside the door, staring coldly at the old man in the room:

"We need to talk."

Looking at the obviously awkward daughter and the shivering little maid hiding behind her, the old man nodded and said plainly, "Then come in, don't forget to close the door."

Glancing at the smoke filled the room, the slightly frowning girl hesitated for a moment; but the next second she stepped into the room and closed and locked the door under Angelica's nervous and concerned eyes.

"boom."

The dull door lock sounded, and the room returned to dead silence.

"Want a coffee, Sophia?"

"Thanks, do you have rum?"

"Um...I remember there's a bottle of Hipper left, do you want to add ice?"

"Room temperature is fine."

"No problem, just wait."

A minute later, there were two more rums on the coffee table.

Facing her father's dull gaze, Sophia, who was tensed all over, picked up her glass and drank it all.

The spicy liquid flowed down her throat, igniting a raging fire in her chest, as if she was not breathing in the air, but the heat wave surging in the steam boiler.

"You should drink it slowly." The old man raised his glass and looked at his daughter's empty glass with pity:

"Hipper's taste is very mellow. You can only taste its unique taste with a small sip. It is not suitable for..."

"What exactly are you doing?"

Sophia, who was breathing in the smell of alcohol, said coldly, a little drunk on her cheeks.

The old man put down his pipe and raised his glass: "I don't understand."

"You understand clearly." The girl resisted her anger:

"Why forcibly terminated the welcome ceremony and on-site interview that I had prepared - don't deny it, I know you did it!"

"Oh, that." The old man said flatly:

"That was indeed my order."

"Sorry, may I ask why?" Sophia tensed.

The old man swayed the wine in the glass and looked at his daughter through the glass wall with great interest:

"Sorry, can I not answer this question?"

"boom!"

The empty wine glass was knocked on the table by Sophia, and the slightly drunk girl took a deep breath, her beautiful cheeks trembling slightly:

"no."

A simple word, in her mouth, is like a glove thrown by a knight at the enemy.

Luther Franz didn't speak. He put down his glass and continued to smoke his pipe silently.

The simple action seemed to be the biggest mockery in Sophia's eyes.

"I know...in your eyes, everything I've done in the past few months has been nothing more than bullshit; or all of us have done everything in your eyes as bullshit, completely inconsistent with your lofty expectations for us... ..." Sophia suppressed her anger in the calmest tone:

"But even so, this is what I have been working on for months...just one step, one last step, and I can get the Morning News and the Kingdom Loyalty to bow their heads and reintegrate the media industry in Clovis. "

"Yes?"

Luther Franz frowned: "And I don't need to do these things at all, and I can also make these two newspapers bow their heads."

"Because you are the archbishop of Clovis Kingdom!" Sophia clenched her glass.

"Yes, I am." Luther Franz said lightly:

"So dear daughter, do you think you defeated them by your own strength?"

"I..." When the words came to her mouth, Sophia, who gritted her teeth, forcibly held back:

"I'm working for the strength of the Franz family, this new newspaper, and everything I've done... You can protect us now, but if the future archbishop is no longer the Franz family, we will still be You can rely on it to sway public opinion in Clovis City and safeguard the interests of the family... What are you laughing at?!"

"nothing."

Slightly restraining the corners of his raised mouth, the old man who sighed secretly shook his head: "My dear daughter, you are very smart, but you tend to ignore some more important issues because of your appearance."

Sophia's face changed, desperately restraining her urge to refute.

"Like now, when you find out that it's me interfering with your 'effort', the first reason that comes to mind is that I think you're doing a futile effort, so intervene...never calm down and really think about my motives for doing it. "

The old man was biting his pipe, and his eyes showed a bit of helplessness: "Of course, at least you know how to take the initiative to ask me for confirmation, which is also a good habit; unlike your brother, he... Sigh, not much to say."

"Then may I ask..." Sophia pursed the corners of her mouth tightly, her right hand holding the wine glass turned slightly blue:

"What are the 'more important' questions?"

"Calmly asking for answers, not emotional venting - another good habit, my dear daughter, you are indeed much better than your brother Ludwig." The old man appreciated:

"The question itself is complex, but I can tell the final answer directly."

"Anson Bach, he's the reason for it all."

………………

In the piercing whistle, the galloping steam train galloped along the track in the dark; it was like a ferocious beast breathing thick smoke, roaring towards the end of the horizon.

In the slightly shaking carriage, An Sen, who was lying on the seat, opened his eyes with difficulty, staring at the ceiling in front of him in confusion.

Wait, what time is it?

He took out his pocket watch, and the hands on the dial just stopped at 8:55 - not walking, but stopping here.

Um?

Confused, Anson struggled to get up, and there was a burst of tingling pain from his left and right temples, as if his head was penetrated by a steel cone, and a slight movement would tear the wound.

In my impression, I seem to be drinking and celebrating with Carl and Fabian. At first, I just drank a little, but soon someone cried while drinking, and the guy next to me started to sing, and then the little secretary got drunk and started to take a breath. Constantly muttering a bunch of **** out of official jargon, and then...

Hmm, and then it's completely unimpressive.

Desperately restraining his drowsy consciousness and trying to control his body, An Sen stood up from the chair and regained consciousness as soon as possible.

Something is not right.

Probably because of drunkenness and motion sickness, his consciousness was a little dizzy, but he still remembered that today was the day he arrived in Clovis City; the "Cold Storm" under his feet should have appeared at 9:30. Wangdu Central West Station, and now...

Looking at the moonless starry sky and the desolate scenery outside the car window, An Sen's expression gradually became solemn.

"you're awake?"

A familiar voice sounded from the side, and Anson, who was in a trance, turned his head and saw Lisa, who was holding a cake, sitting on the seat opposite him, staring at him with wide eyes and concern.

No, the real Lisa can't use the second person, so she is...

"Miss Talia?"

Looking at Anson's slightly surprised expression, the smiling girl put down the cake in her hand.

"Dear Anson, sit down."

Taking a deep breath, Anson, who was looking around, returned to his seat nervously: "Where is this place?"

"Where? Of course it's in the steam train's box." The girl blinked and smiled curiously:

"Where else could it be?"

Anson didn't speak, but he was completely awake as if a basin of ice water had been poured over his head.

"You seem a little nervous."

Looking at Anson who subconsciously looked out the window, Talia said softly: "Nothing to be nervous about, this is the Kingdom of Clovis, you and Talia are in your own carriage, absolutely no one can hurt you."

"Don't forget, you are their fiancé."

Anson shivered.

"The battle of the Royal Court of Iser didn't go well, but that's not your fault, it's the ruling that the Knights deliberately acted and violated their original promise." The girl sighed:

"Although I don't want to admit it, the war between the Church of Order and the entire Old God World seems to be inevitable; it's only a matter of time before the war is ignited."

"Fortunately, they are still very restrained at the moment, or they are still afraid that rashly going to war will break the balance of power they have maintained for decades; they just wipe out part of the Thirteenth Council, and they don't even dare to hold them accountable; Iser stands firm and proves that this expansion model is feasible, and the future situation is difficult to predict."

"Dear Anson, that's why you are immediately transferred from Iser." Talia suddenly became serious:

"Although relying on the relationship with the Franz family and the personal friendship of the Chief Inquisitor, they will conceal the identity of your spellcaster for you, but not everything can be concealed; the other Inquisitors will be able to pass sooner or later. Those clueless clues to find out what's wrong with you and Lisa."

"No matter what the result is, Iser is destined to become the sphere of influence of the Church of Order, so you must leave as soon as possible; although Clovis is also not safe, but with the protection of the Franz family, at least one more layer of protection."

Talia said slowly.

"Is the situation so dangerous?" An Sen couldn't help but raised his eyebrows, causing a tingling pain in his temples.

"It's more serious than you think." The girl said sternly:

"We originally hoped that the empire could form enough checks and balances on the church, but unfortunately, the current emperor of the empire is not a monarch who can truly unite the entire empire; even if he relies on foreign wars, he cannot mobilize enough to crush Clovis' power."

"In a sense, this is also the masterpiece of the Church of Order in the past few decades - supporting Clovis to check and balance the empire, supporting imperial orthodoxy to control Clovis, boosting the princes to weaken the emperor, supporting Clovis' expansion to deter aliens …”

"Divide and conquer?" Anson thought thoughtfully.

"Exactly." Talia agreed:

"And after decades, it is clear that the Church of Order has begun to realize that the balance has come to be broken; of course, not all believers of the Ring of Order agree with this view ... but it does not Some guys who are already trying to 'cross the line' cannot be stopped."

"Issel...is their first step and will never be the last; we used to think that that fragile balance could really be maintained, but it turned out to be a delusion~www.readwn.com~ The corner of the girl's mouth showed a sneer:

"The Church of Order... This group of false **** believers don't even intend to leave us the right to die slowly; if we let them continue to act recklessly, it would be better to commit suicide directly."

"So, dear Anson, some things can't wait any longer, the old **** world has... no, not the 'old god', but the whole world can't wait any longer; if you don't plan to be ruled by the Church of Order, change To become prisoners manipulated and controlled by false gods, locked in a cage of eternal darkness, we must resist."

"Victory or destruction."

Anson twitched his throat.

"What do you want me to do?"

As if she didn't hear his answer, Talia smiled and took up the cake on the table again, and tasted it happily:

"Don't worry, Anson, we have time."

"Tonight, it will be very long..."