Steampunk Era: Mad Abield
Chapter 687 - 476: The Root of Trouble (Part 2)

Chapter 687: 476: The Root of Trouble (Part 2)

As Malin walked into the train station’s waiting hall and saw Larraya and Clover in a pool of blood, witnessed the old couple from the Church of Justice confront Linz Mowish, and saw the actions she took standing on the side of the Nobility, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply.

If there were no Chaos, if there were no Tide of the Dead, would the ones clashing with swords be him, Malin, and the Nobles of this world?

So, when Linz pulled the trigger on the old lady, Malin extended his hand and caught the bullet.

With his left hand pushing forward, the giant hand of Spiritual Energy sent the daughter of the Mowish family flying out of the waiting hall.

Then he came beside Larraya and Clover, listening to everything the old lady said, Malin sighed in his heart. Why had everything turned out this way, why, after all the scheming against each other, had they ended up with such a malicious finality on the chessboard of Fate?

Everything has its limitations.

Hence, slavery was replaced by feudalism, feudalism was then replaced by democracy, and after that, the farce known as democracy unfolded time and again, until the people stood up and fought for a world of their own with their fists of iron.

Do you think Nobles, do you think the wealthy naturally tend toward philanthropy?

No, their kindness, their hypocrisy, their fear... they are all born from bloodshed.

Since the Stone Age, the best way to deal with problems in this world has always been to eradicate those who cause them... utterly.

Malin was lost in his musings until Linz’s roar echoed behind him.

I don’t have the right to judge you?

Malin turned to look at her.

"No, I do," he said, while extending his hand to bring this madwoman before him through the power of Spiritual Energy.

"I can sense that you targeted me. Before Nova could become Queen, as a member of the royal Mowish family, indeed you could use your identity, your position, and your status to lead your peers in Farole, but now... you’ve crossed the line."

As he spoke, Malin waved his hand, and several members of the Sydney Security Bureau who charged at him were knocked to the ground by his Spiritual Energy.

"You’ve crossed the line, Linz Mowish. Naively you thought your brother, a Legendary figure, could help you. You ignored the kingdom’s royal household, disregarded my authority as the Prince, and overlooked everything I had arranged. You are challenging my authority, it’s not just about crossing the line; you are playing with fire."

Spiritual Energy twisted and contorted her left pinkie into a grotesque spiral of flesh and blood, causing the woman before him to scream until she was slammed against a wall by the Spiritual Energy.

Malin turned around to face the elderly man who had arrived late: "You too are playing with fire. Knowing full well that I had set a plan in motion, why did you lend her your power when Linz Mowish came to you? You have ten seconds to answer me."

Bippo popped its head out of Malin’s messenger bag, grinning with sharp teeth, but it was quickly smacked twice on the head with Spiritual Energy by Malin, making the little creature sever its torturous coordinate connection and whimper back into the bag.

"It was my mistake, Your Highness. But, indeed, Miss Linz has the right to lead us in her official capacity, and our allies from Sydney have the right to guide us." The white-haired old man bowed his head, presenting Malin with a slightly balding scalp.

Malin smiled: "Fio, Lorrin, Melo, help this gentleman remove his left arm."

Fio pulled out the Blood Roar from Subspace while Lorrin and Hemingway formed a support to lay the arm on before the old man.

"Your Highness, as a Prince, you have no right to cut off the arm of a high-ranking official," a young Noble who had been watching the scene interjected with a sneer on his face.

"Your name." Malin looked at him.

"Jacob Spencer, from Stadal City, an important fortress in the North. If I may say, Your Highness, sometimes you should take yourself more seriously, after all, you are just a Prince."

"Lulu, my recorder, announce my order to my factory guards: the Spencer family of Stadal City has insulted me. All fully assembled battalions move out immediately. Overthrow any rebels who dare resist their Prince along the way, and bring me the heads of the Spencer clan." Having said this, Malin waved his right hand and the head of the young Noble before him, who hadn’t even fully grasped the situation, parted ways with his neck forever.

And then his equally clueless wife.

"Yes, Your Highness, I will contact your conglomerate right away through my communication system," Lulu said with a nod and a smile.

Malin turned his head to look at the white-haired old man: "Catalia Hemingway, you pride yourself as the royal hound, yet I have never seen your loyalty. This disappoints me greatly. Perhaps I should say as I have to my wives, sometimes, we should place more trust in those chosen from the common system who are loyal to us."

As he said this, he looked towards the young man in blue uniform: "The loyalty they possess, you cannot give to me. You are only loyal to your own land, to your own Noble families, but as for this nation, these people, and those who have sacrificed everything for all this, you never feel sorrow for their sacrifice because it has nothing to do with you. So, put your hand up, Catalia."

"Your Highness, you are not yet Legendary, you’re playing with fire."

"You are still deluded about power, I’m not Legendary?" Malin laughed as he turned and pointed at the young man struggling to get up from the ground. In the next second, the young man was consumed by the purest of flames.

"That was your nephew, the finest offspring of your brother, a suitor of Linz Mowish. He died by my hand in the most worthless of ways, just because of your question. Ninth-level spell, did you see? If you think an autoignition spell isn’t enough to reflect my power, then..." At that, Malin snapped his fingers and in the next second, the burning corpse was compressed into a black sphere, which then, along with the flame and soul, was cast into Subspace.

"I know you don’t like me, a Prince like me, because you can’t control me, your instincts tell you that I’m a very dangerous man, my presence is a threat to your future, or perhaps whatever ghostly thing you believe in has told you... But I’m telling you, the reason you’re still alive isn’t that I lack power, but I think letting you live to fight the Tide of the Dead is the best death for you."

At this, Malin turned around, and Linz, who had his Spiritual Energy sealed and was attempting to charge at him for close combat, was slapped so hard he spun five and a half times before crashing heavily to the ground.

"You relics left behind by the times! Trash that should be swept to the ocean floor by the tides of the era! Why must you mistake my love for this world for weakness?" In that moment, Malin angrily kicked the woman on the ground, and her left leg immediately deformed at a ghastly angle.

"Why! Why must you force me to display my murderous intent in such a bare manner? Why must you make me become a tyrant?"

"I don’t know why you would think so, but I’m a wise Prince. Since that’s what you believe, then I’ll satisfy you. Construct a gallows in the square, I want to hang her." Having said that, Malin turned to look at Catalia, whose left arm had been chopped off: "I love this world, but I won’t tolerate anyone who dares to challenge me. The gallows is the only ceremony I welcome them with, death is the only relief I offer them."

"Your Highness, that is, after all, a member of the Mowishes." Lulu, having already sent the messenger, raised a very practical question: "Moreover, she is also a relative of your wife, Faye Mowish. I know you have lost patience with traitors, but broadly speaking, she is still your kin. Although killing her would pose no legal issues, I would still prefer that at some point in the future, when people speak of you, no one will call you a kin-slayer."

In response, Malin just laughed and shook his head: "After my death, who cares about the deluge? But indeed, you remind me, go tell my father-in-law to come see me, this is a situation his sister brought upon herself by seeking her own death. He can try to save his sister from my hand."

"How shall I explain to him the meaning of your last words?" Lulu opened her notebook, her quill pen fidgeting as she waited for Malin to give her an explanation.

"It’s simple, either let me hang his good-for-nothing sister, or let his daughter become a widow."

Having said that, Malin turned around and looked at the elderly couple before him, "Do you think I was too cruel?"

"...If being cruel to a small number of people can save the vast majority, then we don’t mind," the old man said, pointing to the Chaos that they had tied up: "Mr. Malin, how do you plan to deal with this fellow? He is a Sect Hierarch of the Chaos Cult, and along with his subordinates who died here today, they are almost all of the Elite forces in the entire southern world, which should give us peace for quite a few years."

As he said this, Malin turned to Casaman and reached down to pick up the Firearm he had previously given to Larraya from the ground. He reversed the gun and handed it to Casaman.

"Casaman, I heard that you killed the fish at the bottom of the blue uniform," he asked.

"Yes, Mr. Malin," Casaman nodded,

"Why? If you had not done this, this elderly couple would not have been able to eradicate all of the Chaos. I remember your mission was to continue your infiltration at all costs. This old man and his wife were not part of your protective duties. Why not kill them to gain trust?" Malin asked with a smile.

Malin suspected he knew what was on the man’s mind, but still felt it was necessary to hear him say it out loud.

Casaman caught the pistol that Malin passed to him, switched off the safety, and then walked towards the Sect Hierarch.

"Do you know, Mr. Malin, I became the fish at the bottom because my loved ones were annihilated by Chaos, and I was utterly helpless at that time... So when I saw that child protecting the girl behind him, I got tired of being the fish at the bottom. That’s why I no longer play the role of Casaman. I am me..." Standing in front of the Sect Hierarch, Casaman pointed the pistol at him, "Mr. Malin, killing him now might make us lose a lot of intelligence. Are you sure it’s okay to do this?"

"It’s fine," Malin said, turning to look at the empty space on one side, "Ace, how long are you planning to hide?"

"I was thinking of hiding forever, especially when I found out you were also a Legend." Mr. Ace’s freshly waxed skull peeked out of the rift forcibly opened by Malin.

"Undead! No, isn’t he afraid of you, Mr. Malin?" The old lady was utterly confused, but her husband understood: "Our Lord mentioned meeting a young Lich from the Realm of the Undead, even said he was an interesting fellow, and told us to make sure to ask for identity if we ever met someone named Ace... It must be this one."

"For that old gentleman to remember me, truly, it is horrifyingly delightful," Ace said with a bitter smile, straightening up, "Young human, kill him. You should know that we, the Undead, have unique and final say when it comes to controlling souls."

Thus, Casaman chose to pull the trigger, and Malin watched as the Sect Hierarch fell to the ground, lifeless.

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