"To be exact, I want to set up a ray gun main body workshop, spell model module workshop, energy storage rune workshop, and... energy storage rune charging workshop!"
Viscount Roster’s voice got noticeably heavier as he reached the end: "Heck, I’d even be okay with not making ray guns at all and just specializing in charging storage units for ray guns—though that’s the worst-case scenario."
He couldn’t be sure if he’d actually be able to manufacture ray guns, since this time there were no ’production instructions,’ but he knew ray guns would definitely catch on, and there’d be way more storage modules than other modules.
In that situation, charging storage modules would become a huge pain, but for them, self-charging modules could solve that problem perfectly.
The Wild Mage was totally blown away by Viscount Roster’s thinking!
Magic devices could work like that?
Sure enough, in the Magic Conductor era, everything would change.
A flexible business partner was more important than any resource—more important even than ancient knowledge. You could get knowledge through other channels, but good partners weren’t that easy to come by.
The two of them talked until late into the night, basically nailing down the arrangements for the ray gun industry before each heading back to their place, planning to continue tomorrow.
Watching Viscount Roster leave, the Wild Mage pulled out his Magic Net...
Gray Fort Empire.
The palace.
"Father, that Wild Mage turned down our recruitment," Prince Wilson, heir to the Gray Fort Empire, looked at his father somewhat helplessly. "The conditions I offered would tempt even a legendary magician."
"Do you know why he refused?"
The Gray Fort Emperor didn’t seem surprised by this at all, just posed a question to his heir.
"This... maybe he doesn’t want to leave the place he’s used to living? The Kingdom of Dawn has way less national identity than us at Gray Fort, and the Wild Mage was pushed around by the mage association—he shouldn’t have anything worth staying for." Prince Wilson looked confused.
"Think about it more carefully." The Gray Fort Emperor was pretty unsatisfied with his heir’s answer, frowning slightly. "Go get Grand Magician Andrew, the head of the Royal Magician Society, and the commander of the Magician Legions—bring them all here!"
"Yes!" Prince Wilson bowed slightly and left quickly.
Looking at the empty palace, the Gray Fort Emperor sighed: "A new era—it’s coming pretty fast! Just wonder if the Kingdom of Dawn can get through this crisis..."
The Wild Mage, who’d started this whole thing, tried to rest after replying but couldn’t fall asleep.
Viscount Roster’s words kept echoing in his mind... was there really more to it than just this?
So would converting be a good idea?
Capital of the Kingdom of Dawn.
A carriage bearing the Rogers family crest raced through the night.
Hand of the King Berion Rogers had a grim expression, a thick sense of crisis spreading through his heart.
He’d just had magicians skilled in necromancy perform various magical operations on the black-robed figures Destructive Fist had taken down, and they’d confirmed these people... actually came from the Teylir Emirates!
Their main mission was to attack supplies being transported from the capital to the western territory, and if necessary, directly attack the capital to delay the kingdom’s control over the west!
Berion was really worried about war, especially at this critical moment.
Remembering the last time he’d seen His Majesty—seeing his mind wasn’t quite clear anymore, constantly muttering to a mirror—made Berion’s spine go cold.
He remembered a rumor.
The Kingdom of Dawn’s royal family, the Ashford family, had once been followers of the God of War, but during a divine war, they’d betrayed the God of War and thrown themselves into the embrace of the God of Light. Ever since, the God of War’s curse had been passed down through the Ashford family.
Nobody knew the curse’s exact details, only that it involved voices normal people couldn’t hear, scenes normal people couldn’t see—a curse that would make them violent... and the prelude to all this was the current mental confusion!
If His Majesty stayed mentally confused, Berion could manage the kingdom, mobilize resources, and face enemy nations with relatively controllable losses. But if His Majesty got through this phase and entered the violent period...
Thinking back to what happened with the third prince made his expression even uglier.
But he had no idea that the third prince he’d watched grow up had already become the hottest God of Technology!
In the divine realm.
Betty watched all this with a smile: "Great! Our ray guns should be on track soon. Roster and that Wild Mage are pretty capable... though why hasn’t that Wild Mage chosen to convert yet?"
"Whether he converts doesn’t depend on us, and it won’t affect the big picture." Ren sat in a nearby armchair, grinning: "As long as they can get ray guns spread around too, my Magic Conductors are basically locked in, and my position as God of Technology will be solid!"
"So what’s next? Keep developing weapons?" Betty looked at Ren curiously: "How about we develop a super big gun that can fire Annihilation Bullets?!"
Annihilation Bullets?
Super big gun?
That’s a super cannon, okay?!
Even legendary magicians might not be able to fire one of those.
Ren fell into brief thought. Making a super cannon wasn’t impossible—using it on battlefields would definitely be incredibly effective.
Even if it couldn’t move, just putting it on city walls would show extraordinary results!
At minimum, it’d definitely be as good as throwing tens of thousands of magic bombs like before.
But thinking it over, Ren shook his head slightly: "It’s not time to spread truth yet. I don’t have enough believers—not nearly enough to get magic cannons widespread. I think our next step should be making Magic Conductors civilian."
"Truth? Civilian?"
Betty looked at Ren in confusion.
That sentence suddenly had a bunch of terms she’d never heard before.
"Dignity exists only on the sword’s edge, truth only within cannon range." Ren seemed to be in a great mood, explaining with a smile: "Once we launch magic cannons—your super big guns—the whole mode of warfare will change."
"Right... whoever’s within cannon range, the cannon’s owner makes the truth." Betty was quiet for a moment before looking enlightened: "So what does civilian mean?"
"Magic Conductors don’t have to be weapons. What if we could use them for mining, smelting steel, producing all kinds of things—wouldn’t that affect way more people? That’d be great for collecting faith..."
Ren explained his thoughts as best he could: "Too bad we still haven’t found a way for people without magic to use Magic Conductors. Otherwise, if anyone could use them, collecting faith would be way easier."