Aevernan had been rather restless recently.
His position as Minister of Luona’s Department of Roads was a new type of government office, somewhat unfamiliar to him. However, thanks to his adaptability, he hadn’t been ousted in less than two months like his predecessors. Aevernan believed that the key to his adaptability lay in his choice of alliance—aligning himself with the right faction. He was glad to be aligned with Governor Rostov. Aevernan found the atmosphere within this faction relatively relaxed. One merely needed to follow orders daily, rather than constantly worrying about whether to try and raise the taxes on each shop in the Daylight Market. After all, Governor Rostov now had the Thunder Army, the steam car project, and the Yonder Travel Academy, so he no longer needed to win the King’s favor with extra tax revenue. In other words, with such extraordinary assets as the Thunder Army, Governor Rostov could already demand funds from King Kayne The V in the King’s Council Hall. For instance, the steam car rail plan Aevernan himself was responsible for had successfully secured 1,000 gold bars from His Majesty...
Lord Governor Rostov had solemnly proposed in the King’s Council Hall to lay a steam railway from Luona across the entire Empire, extending to the Bess Mountains and the Star River. His reasoning was that if foreign forces invaded, the Empire’s elite Guardian Army could reach the Star River within a day and the Bess Mountains in two. Such speed could effectively prevent the fatigue resulting from the long march of the Empire’s elite forces, thereby allowing the Guardian Army to display its proper strength when reclaiming lost territory on the front lines... although such displays of strength were always built on blood and screams.
Of course, another trump card Lord Governor Rostov held was the Thunder Army, a magical organization whose name alone was enough to make Aevernan’s knees weak.
This magical team could wield Lightning Thunder as a weapon. With its mysterious, unpredictable, and immensely powerful nature, it instilled a chilling fear, much like the very moment Lightning Thunder struck.
It was said that as soon as Governor Rostov stepped into the Government Administrative Office, he began recruiting talents. Some said he used the fortune accumulated over his lifetime to enlist people from all walks of life; others suggested he used his prestige to win over sages from various places; still others claimed he used the power of the Administrative Office to coerce exceptional individuals from different regions... Regardless of the means, Governor Rostov had countless capable men and specialists under his command, and the Thunder Army was an organization formed from these very talents.
Rumors whispered that Rostov had pledged his faith to demons, thereby acquiring the methods and skills to manipulate Lightning. Throughout the Empire’s history, Alchemists capable of controlling Lightning were few and far between, and some of them had already passed away. It was highly unlikely that a governor of the Administrative Office could either hire or force an Alchemist to serve him. Therefore, the rumors asserted, the Lightning harnessed by this extraordinary Thunder Army must have been obtained through unorthodox channels; Rostov must have pledged allegiance to demons.
However, rumors were not entirely trustworthy. Governor Rostov showed no signs of being cursed as the rumors claimed—no burst skin, no hair loss, no life of unbearable pain. On the contrary, the Lord Governor appeared increasingly radiant, his posture upright and vigorous, and his title as Special Representative in the King’s Council Hall was not an empty one.
An annoying matter often sent Aevernan’s thoughts wandering far afield. No, his thoughts had drifted again, this time to Governor Rostov’s other trump card: the Yonder Travel Academy. This renowned institution, located in the outskirts of Luona Capital, was famous throughout the Empire. This academy was particularly notable for contributing countless outstanding young talents to the Empire. Indeed, aside from Alchemists, the top-notch talents in the Empire’s other five major professions today often included young graduates from the Yonder Travel Academy. And the founder and owner of this academy? Still Governor Rostov.
Aevernan remembered Governor Rostov once assigning a bewildering task to the newly established Department of Roads: in every city and county where Yonder Travel Academy graduates served the Empire, a distinctive wooden sign with specific welcoming messages had to be erected by the road at the regional border.
Now, anyone coming to Luona Capital could see these peculiar welcome signs at the entrance to every city and county, painted with somewhat lengthy welcome messages. For example: ’Welcome to the hometown of Schneider, a Fighter from the Fifth Cohort of the Empire’s Guardian Army and a graduate of the Yonder Travel Academy!’ Or: ’Welcome to the hometown of Scholar Rolin, a member of the Empire’s Academic Society! He once studied at the Yonder Travel Academy but also played in the mud in Hurricane County!’
This seemingly meaningless directive had been highly controversial at the time. The newly-appointed Minister of the Department of Roads had firmly opposed it, thinking it was an unnecessary gesture. No one would stop because of the content on those wooden signs, he had argued. Even if someone did, they would likely be vagrants who found the content so dull they’d fall asleep beside them. Because of this belief, that minister had been transferred to a mining site half a month after his appointment.
The second minister had lasted a little longer. One and a half months later, he was forced to resign for mocking the plan to lay a steam railway throughout the Empire.