I Created Scientific Magic

Gard turned his head sharply, and a familiar figure emerged slowly from the darkness.

"Gustav?!" Gard immediately recognized the newcomer, his face first showing a flicker of joy, which then turned to a thick shade of anger. "Is this what you called 'foolproof'?"

"The food in the wizards' hands will never run out; they can even conjure bread with magic. Our wheat is now worthless, and now it's all over, everything is finished!"

Gard's face, full of fierce resentment, reflected his curse; had it not been for the other's incitement to launch this food war, they would not have fallen to such a plight.

"Do you think, without this incident, those wizards would have spared you?" Gustav said with a cold laugh. "Look at the people rioting outside your castle; the wizards have long been plotting to take your lands secretly! I merely gave you a chance to reclaim your authority!"

Gard stared at Gustav with a sullen face, although angry, he also understood that this commander of the divine punishment army was not someone he could contend with. He could only suppress his rage and inquire about the other's intentions.

"I am here, of course, to save you!" Gustav said slowly. "With your current strength, you're probably not a match for those rioters."

Not a trace of happiness appeared on Gard's face. Naturally, for a commander of the divine punishment army, dealing with a mob was easy, but the fact that he chose to sneak into the fortress to meet with Gard was a clear enough indication of his intentions.

"State your terms!" Gard said solemnly.

"There are no terms this time, only a blessing," Gustav said as he pulled out a strangely shaped statue from his chest. "It will grant you new power, enough to take back your lands."

"An Evil God statue?!" Gard stepped back involuntarily, a chill running up his spine. He recognized all too well what this was.

And knew just how terrifying it was...

This was not a so-called blessing; it was a sacrifice!

Gard immediately took out the holy artifact passed down from his ancestors. A strong divine light appeared instantly within the fortress, but to his surprise, the holy artifact did not attack the enemy before him.

Gustav looked at Gard mockingly. The holy artifact had been bestowed by the church a hundred years ago, yet Gard foolishly thought to use its power to contend against him; it was utterly nonsensical!

"Serve your final value!" Gustav stepped forward, his hand holding the Evil God statue piercing straight through Duke Gard's chest.

No blood flowed out; Gustav's hand passed through as if through an illusory barrier, placing the statue within the other's heart.

The next moment, countless voices flooded into Gard's mind.

"Praise, lord of famine and plague!" "You bring disasters to the world, punish all who do not reverence the divine, and drag the mortal realm into hell..." "Lord, punish your enemies with plague..."

Elevated and incessant prayers along with the horrifying, evil memories kept assaulting Gard's will, his face twisting and body shaking uncontrollably, collapsing to the ground, enduring severe pain both spiritually and physically.

Had he not been a Bloodline Knight; he might have completely collapsed during the first onslaught of mental assault!

This was precisely why Gustav had made the special journey; ordinary humans did not possess the capability to bear the Evil God's power—even just a statue bearing a portion of the demonic force was no different.

The attendants in the room knelt on the ground, trembling, not even daring to look up.

Gustav listened to the other's wailing indifferently, not moved in the slightest. Since those wizards had long plotted and incited the rebellion of the mob, then these nobles had lost their value to continue existing.

...

News of the people's uprising against the tyrannical nobility achieving victory after victory in the Kingdom North Border quickly made its way back to Fire Oil City through various channels.

"Very good, excellent indeed. Now the entire kingdom has been brought under the rule of the council, without exception!" Harrov said with great satisfaction.

This was the second year since they had stepped out of Wizard Land, and the results they had achieved were clearly far beyond their expectations. They had not only successfully established themselves on this continent but had even made a direct incursion into the empire!

"This is certainly a glorious occasion worth celebrating, but now is not the time to relax," Vittorio reminded him.

They had removed the greatest source of instability within the kingdom in one fell swoop, but arresting so many nobles at once, imprisoning them, and confiscating their properties, even with ample justification, had caused substantial panic.

Furthermore, a shortage of administrative staff meant that the entire kingdom would inevitably face a period of administrative chaos.

"Master Lynn, I've heard that you are devising a new method to massively select grassroots managers to govern the entire kingdom. Do you have any ideas yet?" Aurora asked curiously.

Ever since the council began to rule the kingdom, they had been contemplating how to govern such vast territories.

There were two prevailing voices within the council.

The first was to cooperate with the nobility, as before, and to govern through a system of feudal assignments, with the nobility in charge of secular affairs and the wizards in charge of the mystic and the extraordinary.

This approach was clearly impractical, for they had taken the path of the common people, to dissolve the Church's faith, which severely conflicted with the interests of the nobility.

The second was to be governed entirely by wizards, as they did in Wizard Land.

However, in Lynn's view, this was just a peculiar form of wizard feudalism...

The essence of this was for a faction led by a Grand Wizard to directly manage a city!

This was slightly better than the hereditary succession of empire nobility since rising to this level implied that one was sufficiently excellent. However, there were also many disadvantages since having great power and a sharp mind did not necessarily mean one was adept at governance.

Indeed, many Grand Wizards didn't focus on managing their territories at all, leaving it to the wizards of their factions below them. Their management skills could only be described as inconsistent.

Not to mention the many cities within the kingdom, and even more so with the empire included, the wizards alone simply couldn't manage them all.

Lynn had no intention of holding back and soon shared the examination selection system he was prepared to implement.

The council leaders were naturally familiar with examination selections. For instance, in Wizard Land, the promotion of official wizards was assessed through tests, and Lynn had further optimized the system while at Yiyeta Harbor, so they had some understanding of it.

"Rely on scores to determine eligibility and select the best? Then what specific areas should the exam assess?" mused Vittorio.

"Firstly, literature. If a manager can't even read and write, how can he understand the orders we issue?" Lynn explained one by one.

"Then there's mathematics. The application of numerical skills is wide-ranging and necessary!" "Lastly, test some profession-related content. For instance, agricultural managers must understand climate, farming, and how to operate various alchemy instruments."

In this way, managers who passed the exam would only need a short period of adjustment to their jobs before they could get to work.

However, the senior management should principally be wizards, as an ordinary civilian simply couldn't manage wizards with great power. Lynn was clear on this point, so he could only select wizards who were proficient in management for these roles.

As for those wizards with immense power who were not skilled at managing, they would be brought into the council and granted status and positions commensurate with their strength. This way, discontent would not arise.

Beyond that, all managers would have only administrative authority. For example, the local City Lords weren't entitled to create and command armies, and replacements were appointed by the council, effectively abolishing the hereditary system.

Lynn described his ideas as succinctly as possible, also incorporating corresponding inspection and reporting systems—it was almost as if he were about to pull out a code of laws right then and there.